Bet Your Life

Would you bet your life that you could get any ten girls to ask you out? James did. But can he work his magic beneath the feet of his arch rivals, both of which are determined to make him fall?

Disclaimer: Hmm... I own the pranks and Janine Lark. Other than that, nada!

Chapter One

A tall, rather attractive boy with raven colored, constantly messy hair struggled at his restraints. His eyes focused on a scrawny, slimy, pale, teen inches away, dangling his wand right in front of his face.

"So, Potter, your day draws to a close."

"Give me my wand, Snivellus!" James Potter snapped at his foe, lashing out with his feet.

Snape easily dodged the blow. "You think you can do anything, charm anyone. But the Dark Lord knows better."

"I can charm anyone."

A malicious smile spread across Snape's face. "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"

"Of course."

And that's how James Potter had gotten himself into this mess. He had to get ten girls of Snape's choosing to ask HIM out before the year was over. So, in the midst of his battle with Evans, his adventures with the other Marauders, and procrastinating, he had to woo the hearts of some of the ugliest girls in school.

Snape's first victim was Janine Lark, from Ravenclaw. Not only had Janine never asked anyone out, she had never been asked out or even gone to a school function. For two days, James simply watched, studying her. He sat in the library, watching her read incessantly as he brainstormed tricks on Evans. Janine wasn't that pretty, but she had potential. Her long black hair, always pulled back in a bun, was shiny when brushed. Her deep blue eyes added just a hint of color to her otherwise pale face.

Lily watched him silently. He had been sitting there for hours, the perfect target. After all, she needed revenge on his little trick. The trick that was just as mature as he was...

Lily opened her eyes slowly, yawning as she sat up. There was something sticky in her hair: toothpaste. As she reached up to touch it, it transformed into a snapping turtle entangled in her hair, biting at her fingers. Shrieking, she jerked out of bed, jumping up and tugging at the creature.

She triggered a trip wire. Water balloons began bombarding her, falling from the ceiling. And as they hit, soaking her thoroughly, they transformed into pinecones, leaving drops of blood splattered across her head.

This had happened two days ago; she had been in the hospital wing for 32 hours. And now it was finally time for sweet revenge...

James couldn't come up with anything to compare to his last trick. His lips twitched into a smile, remembering her echoing shrieks. You just can't beat the classics!

James stood up and started walking towards Janine. He was ready.

This was Lily's chance. A slight wave of her wand... Potter tripped and fell headlong into a shelf of books, many of whom began making all sorts of odd noises.

'Is that all she's got?' James thought mockingly as his eyes searched for Evans. But the prank wasn't over yet. It was far from over...

Books started hovering directly over his head, books that the wizarding world had never seen the likes of. The first dropped, its title glimmering Mary had a Little Lamb. Its pages stretched, enveloping James' body, and closing shut for a few moments before spitting him out.

James had a golden wig on under a blue bonnet, make-up caking his face, wearing a puffy blue dress with pink ribbons, and he was holding a crook.

Up in their dormitory, the other Marauders unexpectedly transformed into sheep.

"EVANS!" Potter yelled so loud every creature in the Forbidden Forest could've heard him.

Lily snickered, twirling her wand between forefinger and thumb. Potter ripped off his bonnet, throwing it towards the floor in disgust. That was her cue!

Another book dropped on him, this one titled Barney When Potter was freed, he was in a large, purple dinosaur outfit. "EVANS, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Lily burst into giggles and continued her prank against her mortal enemy. By the time Lily ran out of books, Janine was long gone, probably at dinner along with the other students.

In the Gryffindor dormitory, Sirius, Remus and Peter were examining their tongues in the mirror, trying desperately to figure out why they all kept changing shape.

Tears slipping down her cheeks from laughing so hard, Lily made her way to dinner, sitting down next to Diane.

"What's so funny?" her best friend asked, a slight amount of food rolling around in her mouth.

"You'll see," Lily choked out at last, piling food onto her plate.

For the first time since their 1st year, the Marauders were late to a meal. All eyes watched as they stomped towards the Gryffindor table.

"Evans, you DIE!" James hissed, leaning over her threateningly. The threat had soon passed as James was suddenly wearing a purple dinosaur costume. The other three Marauders transformed into large, green, girlish dinosaurs. The room burst into laughter.

James ripped off his mask and launched it at Lily, but as soon as it lost contact with his fingers, the mask disappeared.

"What curse did you put on me, Evans?!" At the word 'curse' he became a huge red dog, but reverted to the dinosaur costume one word later. At 'put' he became a puppet, and at 'me' he wore the original Mary costume.

"No curse, Potter," Lily said calmly, holding back a major case of the giggled.

"What charm then?" (Big red dog)

"Now Potter, why are you so untrusting? I didn't lay a single charm on you."

James looked over where his friends should have been; instead of stood three yapping puppies. "You cursed them too?!"

"I didn't lay a curse on them either," Evans told him after taking a sip of her drink.

"Then why the hell do we keep changing shape?!" James screamed, now a slightly smaller yellow dog with a large brown spot.

"James, say the word 'color'," instructed a crocodile.

"Remus, I'm busy yelling at Evans. I'll say 'color' later." The big red dog again.

"Potter, you really must calm down," Evans. informed him, biting into a leg of fried chicken.

"What's going on here?" demanded the Charms teacher, Professor Lalpine, a tall, lanky woman with jet-black hair just below her ears.

"Professor Lalpine, I haven't done anything. Potter, here, just came over and began hurling accusations at me. I really don't understand why." Evan's lip quivered dangerously.

'Damn, she's a good actress!' James thought, annoyed.

"Now, now, Lily. I'm sure you haven't done anything wrong. James here must be mistaken. I surely don't see anything wrong with him."

"I'm a bloody dog, Professor! And it's her fault!"

Lalpine considered this for a second. "You look more like a puppet to me."

"James, don't say any words that start with the letters S, P, D, or C!" Remus yelled, finally capable of speech in his puppet form.

"Why can't I?" James asked, turning into the red dog. The smaller dogs began yapping once again. "Evans, if you didn't do anything, then why do my clothes keep changing?!"

"Now James, calm down. It's a simple enough spell," Lalpine comforted her student.

"Then you can fix me?" (Mary) Evans and Diane began laughing insanely, just under Remus and Sirius' baa-ing.

"No."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'NO'?!"

"Mr. Potter, I mean that I can do nothing about your current situation. I'm guessing whoever pulled this ridiculous prank pulled those costumes out of a set of books. All of which, I've never read or heard of before. The only way to 'fix you' is for you to read each of the books in their form in the order they were placed on you."

"EVANS, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"That'll be detention, Mr. Potter."

"WHAT?! BUT, BUT-"

"For the next two weeks. And if you continue with your incessant accusations against Ms. Evans, I'm afraid you won't be going to Hogsmeade either." She looked into his eyes with a forceful gaze before returning to the staff table.

James whirled on Evans, but she was long gone. He sat down at the table, pulling off a yellow bird mask and allowing it to dissipate.

"Like I was saying," spoke a brown elephantine version of Remus, "you change costumes every time you say a word starting with S, P, D, C, M, and B. Do try to avoid them."

A small, red, fuzzy human-shaped creature with a huge mouth and an orange nose nodded and chomped into his food.

"I'm going to kill Evans when I figure out how to reverse this stupid (yellow dog!) ARGH! THIS INSANE, STUPID, MALICIOUS, BOTHERSOME, CHILDISH, SPELL, CURSE, OR WHATEVER IT IS SHE'S DONE TO ME!" He was changing so fast you could barely identify what he was until he settled into the Mary costume, throwing off his bonnet and wig.

In the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, Lily, Diane and Samantha were all laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor and clutching their sides.

"Lily, I bow down to your superior pranks. James is never going to get out of this one," Samantha squealed with delight.

"Actually, I was planning on leaving hints all over the castle so Potter can go on a scavenger hunt for the books. I figure I should keep him occupied until I can come up with a better prank."

"But of course!" Diane laughed with a fake French accent.

Weeks left until school's out: 33

Girls down: 0/10

Current target: Janine Lark

Interested yet?! R&R!