Title: The Ultimate Killer of All

Pairings: Wolfstar and Jily

Rating: T

Warnings: None.

AN: Thanks to all of the members of my lovely team, the Wimbourne Wasps, for reading over this for me. Your help is greatly appreciated. This story was written for Finals 2 of the Quidditch League Competition. Submission for Keeper of the Wimbourne Wasps. My chosen cliche to make original was bodyswap. :) This was actually really fun to mess with, and I hope you all enjoy my take on it.

Vulnerability is the essence of romance. It's the art of being uncalculated, the willingness to look foolish, the courage to say, 'This is me, and I'm interested in you enough to show you my flaws with the hope that you may embrace me for all that I am but, more important, all that I am not.'

~Ashton Kutcher

"James…" The voice was hesitant, filled with fear, and on the verge of falling into hysterics. The air felt like murky water, and James struggled to breathe and open his eyes. He was here. He was with the voice that called his name in such a pretty and light tone. He wasn't lost, nor was he alone in the seemingly endless void of darkness that surrounded him.

"James…" The voice called again. It sounded more desperate. It was as if the speaker knew of his internal struggle and tried to reach him with their voice. He reached, his imaginary hand soaring higher and higher into the sky as he attempted to hang onto the thread the voice provided.

Almost there, almost there…

Just like that, a relieved sigh sounded, but James was confused. He hadn't made it. The thread was still a few feet higher. If that was so, why was the nice feminine voice squealing and laughing in relief?

What had happened?

That's when it happened. His voice, deep and smooth yet silky and playful at the same time, washed over him, taunting him with the fact that while it was his voice, it wasn't him.

Panic, completely wild and unclear, set in, and James screamed, yelling loudly 'I'm here, I'm here!' over and over again.

Sadly, no one heard him, and the last thing he heard was the relieved sobbing of the girl as she whispered her thanks over and over again. What she was thankful for, he did not know, but he missed the sweet and heavenly voice as he was swallowed by the darkness around him.

Four weeks had passed since that day. After James had been completely enveloped in the darkness around him, he had floated for what felt like days. It was scary; not knowing where you were. It frightened him, and he never wanted to go back to that state. He sat there, immersed in his own subconscious for days until finally a ray of light seemingly shined upon him. Brighter and brighter the light shined, and with slow and uneven steps, his consciousness slowly moved forward. He was hesitant. What if this was all a trick? However, longing soon filled him. He wanted out!

Taking a mighty step forward, his consciousness ran towards the light, eager to finally be free of the darkness that had taken precedence over his soul.

Farther and farther he went, and finally, finally he was free!

If only he knew that was a big mistake…

When he was completely immersed in the light and free of that wretched place, the force that wouldn't allow him to meet up with that oh so tempting voice, gave way. He could open his eyes easily now, but it took time to get used to the onslaught of light. He hissed, closing his eyes rapidly in a vain effort to stop the deadly rays.

Opening them slowly once more, James warily looked around. Bland white walls surrounded him, and the distinct and overwhelming smell of medicine invaded his senses. Crinkling his nose at the overly sanitized smell, James continued his inspection. Machines both big and wide sat precariously around him, and although that was a big give away to where he was, he didn't truly understand that he was in a hospital until a mediwitch walked into the room, clipboard in hand and a relieved smile on her face.

"Mr. Lupin," she breathed, hands extending to each of her sides as if she wanted to embrace him. "You're awake!"
James simply batted his eyelashes at the woman in shock. Why did she call him Remus' name? Didn't she know that he wasn't him?

'Maybe this is a trick?', he reasoned in his mind. 'Yes, it has to be. Why else would she be calling me Lupin?' Happy with this train of thought, James decided to go along with it. Maybe she was just so happy that she wanted to play a joke?

"Yep!" he chirped, smiling widely at the now blushing mediwitch, but James paused as soon as he realized that the voice he used wasn't exactly his. No, this voice was a little higher in pitch and sounded exactly like Remus'. Gulping, a memory of the dream he had crossed his mind.

That's when it happened. His voice, deep and smooth yet silky and playful at the same time, washed over him, taunting him with the fact that while it was his voice, it wasn't him.

Panic, completely wild and unclear, set in and James screamed, yelling loudly 'I'm here, I'm here!' over and over again.

This was not happening…

Sadly, it was.

The next few weeks had passed by in a blur. After realizing that he was indeed Remus Lupin, at least in body that is, James had ran out of the hospital room on too small feet and made his way to the reception desk. He demanded in a shaky voice where James Potter was and bolted towards room 310.

Upon making it there, he stopped and just stood before the all white door. He knew all too well that what he might find behind the door may shatter him completely. He knew, that if it was indeed Remus Lupin masquerading around in his body, he may just have a panic attack. Slowly he grasped the handle.

It couldn't be true. Remus was not parading around in his body, and he was not stuck inside a body that wasn't his own. Gently, as if he were afraid this was all a dream, James turned the knob.

Once again, the smell of medicine overwhelmed his senses, but this time James didn't crinkle his nose. Instead he stared transfixed into his own eyes. Eyes so familiar to him, yet alien at the same time, stared into his own, and all was silent as the two sat there stunned.

Then the moment was over. A demented grin curled along the edges of James mouth, and with an almost insane glint in his own eyes, James waved at his old friend.

"Remus…" He called, voice almost soaked with insanity. "It seems we have a problem." Remus couldn't seem to agree more because he nodded vigorously in response. It was weird, James decided, to see one's own body moving for you.

Closing his eyes, James wished that they would come out of this unscathed. Of course, that one wish damned them both.

As it turned out, even with Remus' expertise when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts and James' own knowledge when it came to pranks, they couldn't figure out what had caused this. Thus, they had been like this for four weeks now. These weeks wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that James had a huge crush on Lily Potter, and it would be weird if he didn't flirt with her. To make matters even worse, Remus and Sirius were a couple, and it would be messed up if Remus didn't act like the lovesick werewolf he was. Due to these oh so helpful tidbits of information, James had to pretend to be Remus and go out on dates with Sirius while trying to keep the grimm from kissing him, and Remus had to go out of his comfort zone and flirt with the red headed fireball.

Of course they could tell their partners, but they were afraid. Afraid that Sirius would break up with Remus because he was in James' body, and afraid that Lily would find it too freaky in order to even consider giving James the time of day, not that she had given him much before but still. It was the very idea of it that frightened James to the point that he too wanted to keep the charade up for a while longer.

It worked. It really did, but then that day came.

James was supposed to meet Sirius in the park for another date, but upon making it there, he found Lily, Sirius, and Remus already there. The expression Remus wore on James' face was utterly terrified as he looked James in the eyes. That face told James to run, to run as far as he possibly could and never look back.

James almost did too, but upon seeing the almost malicious gleam in both Sirius and Lily's face, he stopped.
He was a marauder, and he was Remus' best friend. He wouldn't leave the other boy to suffer the inevitable storm these two could and would create. Looking into eyes that were so familiar yet different at the same time, James tried to convey his thoughts. Remus seemed to understand because the boy sent a shaky grin back. Breathing in a quick breath, James walked towards the wolf and stood next to him, looking concretely into both Lily's and Sirius' eyes

Everything was silent until finally, Lily's sweet and feminine voice rang throughout the empty park. How they were able to empty it, James didn't know.

"So…" she whispered, slowly taking a step forward and walking around them both in a circle.

"You want to tell us or should we tell you what we know?" she asked. James shrugged and watched as that wicked gleam in her eye grew brighter.

"Okay then, we'll tell you. Firstly, you-" Lily pointed at Remus, "are not James. The same goes for the other," she paused, waiting and daring for one of them to deny her claim. When they didn't, she continued.

"Somehow, you two have exchanged bodies and didn't tell us." At that statement, her voice hinted at a spark of anger.

"Why?" she asked, voice strained as she looked into both of their eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" she repeated, voice stronger as indignation set in. Both boys were quiet, and she was just about to yell, but Sirius grabbed her arms and pulled her back.

She looked him in the eyes and they shared a silent conversation. Pulling her arms out of his hold roughly, Lily turned her head to the side and let the other boy handle it.

"Yes, why didn't you tell us?" Normally, Sirius spoke in playful tones, but not an ounce of that playfulness could be found here. His eyes were trained on Remus, and betrayal hid in the depths of those gray eyes. Remus couldn't bear to look at the other and turned his head to gaze at the side walk. How could he tell Sirius that he was afraid? Afraid that the Black heir would leave him?

Closing his eyes, Remus wasn't expecting his jaw to be roughly grabbed by a strong hand and for him to be forced to look into all gray eyes that radiated sadness.

"Did you not care for me enough to tell me?" Sirius' voice cracked, and Remus couldn't stop the tears that welled in his eyes.

"No…" he whispered, "It's not like that at all."

"Then what is it, Remus? The way I see it, you didn't trust me. What do I have to do for you to trust me?" Sirius asked, the sadness in his eyes growing more intense. Remus was about to say something- anything to get that heartbroken look out of Sirius' eyes - when James spoke up.

"What were we supposed to do? Tell you both so you could break up with him, and so Lily could decide that this was too weird for her to even give me the time of day? We didn't do this because we didn't trust you. We did this because we loved you guys so much that we were afraid to lose you!" At first, the boy's voice was deadly quiet and on the verge of being a mere whisper, but by the end it grew in strength as he glared fiercely at both Lily and Sirius.
Silence reigned down upon them as both Lily and Sirius struggled to understand what was spoken, and James panted with the sheer force of the sadness that doused his soul.

"We were cowards," he began softly. "That I admit, but I'd rather be a coward than lose the two of you. If that's so wrong, then call me a sinner because I don't want to lose you!"

Taking a step forward, Remus laced their hands together and looked Sirius dead in the eye.

"I'm a sinner too then." He spoke, voice quiet but filled with resolve. "Do you still love me despite that?" The sadness that lingered in gray orbs steadily morphed into affection as the boy stepped forward.

"Of course I do." Instead of the frown that had sat upon Sirius' lips earlier, a grin as bright as the sun shined. Remus smiled warmly at the gray eyed teen and used his other hand to lace their hands together as well.
With that settled, three pairs of eyes looked silently into Lily's emerald eyes. James, ever the courageous Gryffindor, turned pleading eyes onto his one true love.

"Forgive me?" he asked quietly. If she rejected him, he was fully prepared to give it a rest and finally stop bothering her. The ball was in her court.

Hardened emerald eyes gazed into his own for a moment before finally Lily released a resigned sigh and stepped forward to lace her fingers together with his.

"Don't get used to this!" She warned, smiling slightly as the warmth of his palm transferred into hers.
Instead of being disheartened, James simply smiled and brought her closer, happy that she had finally given in. Now, let's see if he could get her to agree to be his girlfriend…

As if knowing what he was thinking, Lily bopped his shoulder with hers and began to walk forward, pulling the others along.

Turning sparkling green eyes at them, she yelled, "Come on! Let's see if we can get this fixed!" Remus, James, and Sirius all smiled enthusiastically and they all set off on their next adventure.

In the end, Lily and Sirius didn't leave them and James and Remus had never been happier. This was the start of something new.

AN: Besides being written for Finals Round 2, this was written for...

The Sims 3 Challenge - Personality Trait - Insane

Chocolate Frog Comp. - (Gold) James Potter - Write about James Potter.