Title: Diametrically Opposed

Author: mony2208

Rating: PG-13 for occasional bad words

Spoilers: Written before Ootp, HBP & DH but contains some spoilers.

Summary: Lily Evans has always detested the very sight of James Potter and up until fifth year, James thought he felt the same way. But circumstances arise that begin to make James look twice at his so-called enemy… & now he can't seem to get her out of his mind ...

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Forewords: All I have to say right now is WOW! I can't believe how many reviews I have gotten in the past few days. So far I think its 22 since the last time I updated!

Therefore I decided to make this chapter longer than usual. The actual chapter (excluding the authors notes) took up 13 pages on word. So please review!

Diametrically Opposed

Chapter Ten

Aftershock

..

Lily only felt like she'd fallen asleep only moments before her dorm crashed open. She prised one eye open to see Arabella and Sionell bursting into the room.

"Lily! Get out of bed right now!" Arabella commanded, throwing herself carelessly onto the end of Lily's bed and jolting her already throbbing head. Her so called friend gave no indication that she would be leaving anytime soon, and Lily knew better than to cross her fingers and hope she'd miraculously disappear. She reluctantly sat up, bleary eyed and groaning, before proceeding to push Bella off her feet.

"I was sleeping!" Lily finally found her voice, covering her mouth as she yawned widely.

Unlike Bella, Sionell carefully seated herself on the edge of Lily's bed. "Haven't you had enough sleep already?" she asked, an incredulous note to her voice. "You realise it's almost lunchtime."

Whoops. Lily gasped. "Lunchtime!"

"Yeah, missy, lunchtime. You know we were really worried about you this morning when we woke up. You weren't on the couches next to us in the common room."

Lily frowned in confusion. "Common room?" she repeated slowly. Is that why the beds were empty when she came in this morning? She really should have connected the dots sooner, but her brain just did not want to function.

Sionelle confirmed her suspicions. "Yeah, we fell asleep on the common room couches sometime last night," she admitted sheepishly, gesturing to their unmade beds. "We never quite made it upstairs to our beds because we'd had a few too many butterbeers."

"But you were suspiciously absent from the common room, weren't you?" Bella continued on suspiciously. "Where did you go?" she asked.

Lily was at a loss for words.

"I- uh- I-" she spluttered, no plausible excuse springing to mind. She couldn't exactly tell them the truth either, as she was still coming to terms with what had happened! As it was, half the night just kept flitting back to her in confusing flashes … Josh … getting drunk but not actually knowing that was why she had started feeling so high and carefree … the Marauders, and spending the night in their dorm. Oh God, and in Potter's bed too.

Her heart started pounding loudly through her head at the next realisation. She'd told them about the prank too. Oh, the shame. Potter knew it was her that had charmed his boxers.

Why haven't they killed me yet, she wondered curiously.

"Aha!" Bella cried out in triumph. Lily jumped, returning back to the present with an uneasy jolt. Bella was looking at her with a knowing glint in her eyes. Could she possibly-

"-I knew it! You snuck away early last night, didn't you?" Bella exclaimed. "You left your own party to get some study in!" She shook her head. "I should have known you'd do that once Nell and I were – out of the picture."

Relief flooded Lily, and she found herself slowly nodding. For once, Bella jumping to conclusions was a good thing. Surely, her explanation was less complicated, so why couldn't Lily just leave it at that? What she needed to do was try and forget last night had ever happened. It would be less painful that way … for everybody involved of course.

Even the idea of Obliviating the Marauders sounded pretty reasonable just then. Nah, that would never work. But surely, the threat of a hex or another embarrassing prank would be enough to keep them quiet, or she could even agree to keep the identity of the prank a secret from the rest of the school. The idea of being upstaged by Lily Evans would not be particularly appealing to Potter, she was sure.

As for Josh …

…Well, no doubt his future held a lengthy visit to the hospital wing. It was just a matter of how and when, not if…

"Lily?"

Startled, Lily jerked her head, and then wished she didn't. She gritted her teeth to fight the pain, but when that didn't work she gripped the side of her head with both hands.

"Hey, are you all right?" asked Sionell.

"Just a bit of a headache. I'll be fine," Lily mumbled.

"Maybe you should go and get a headache cure from Madam Pomfrey," Bella suggested.

Lily nodded slowly. "Yeah … yeah I might go do that now," she replied, climbing out of bed. Very careful not to jostle her head anymore, she slowly pulled a robe over her to conceal her pyjamas. Before walking out the door, she turned and managed a small smile, though it felt more like a grimace. "Then we can go to Hogsmeade, right?"

Sionell practically bounced up in excitement. "Of course. We need to get you some dress robes."

"So don't be long," Bella added as Lily walked down the stairs.

It wasn't a long walk to the hospital wing, nor did it take long to find Madam Pomfrey and take a headache cure. What took the longest was the walk back … and for some considerably good reasons too …

… Just as she walked past the entrance to the Great Hall, fate ruined any chance of a quiet afternoon.

"Josh Phillips," Lily greeted, deliberately adopting a sickly sweet voice. She stopped in the hallway to face the boy in question. He had obviously been on his way to Hogsmeade, joking around with his friends as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened the night before.

However, Lily noted with a certain amount of satisfaction that Josh's nose was slightly swollen and discoloured. Potter's right hook had left quite a mark. For now, that would have to do, she thought disappointedly. With plenty of potential witnesses, her own plan for revenge would have to wait until a more … appropriate time.

She still managed to muster up a passable smile to match her sweet tone.

The boy in question visibly tensed at her approach; shifting his uneasy gaze down to Lily's wand hand, which was fortunately (for him), currently empty. Clearly, Josh wasn't exempt from the rumours circulating her last hexing of Potter. He probably was expecting the same treatment.

With good reason too.

Josh's voice was guarded as he greeted Lily in return. "Lily."

Although her fingers itched to grab her wand, Lily was careful to keep that desire off her face. "I thought I would inform you that fifty points will be deducted from Gryffindor for the childish behaviour that you displayed last night," she stated. "I feel as though I don't have to repeat just what behaviour that was either."

His friends were eyeing him with confusion, but Josh ignored them to give Lily a stiff nod. To her satisfaction, the tension in his body seemed to relax somewhat when she said nothing further, and his eyes even flickered up to meet her gaze as he murmured his goodbye.

Let him relax, she thought vengefully, watching his back disappear down the hallway. She would get him later, and when he least expected it.

She set off to the common with a slight bounce in her step, humming a tune under her breath as she conjured up in her mind all the possible hexes that she could use on Josh that hadn't already been targeted towards Potter.

"Why didn't you hex him?" A voice behind her demanded.

Speak of the devil. Lily scowled at being caught by surprise by the berk, but didn't bother to turn her head as she continued to walk on.

"What makes you think I would?" she asked him innocently.

There was a loud scoff. "I've been on the other end of your wand before, Evans," James said, his loud footsteps following close behind her. "I know exactly what you are capable of."

Two steps later, and he easily fell into stride with Lily.

"Should you dare to be so close to me?" she shot back frostily.

James laughed unexpectedly. "I shouldn't, but then again I like to take risks. Besides, I'm more eager to talk about last night."

"Well I'm not." Lily said shortly, increasing her stride. James shot out his arm to stop her, but she angrily shook him off.

"You shouldn't let him get away with what he did to you," insisted James.

"And you shouldn't concern yourself over me," retorted Lily, then sighed. "I'm thankful for what … you … and the other Marauders did for me last night, don't get me wrong. But please just drop it. I am not letting him get away with anything. As you most likely eavesdropped just now, you would know that I deducted points for his behaviour."

"That's nothing, Evans and you know it," James maintained angrily. "Why don't you just let me hex him in the corridor or something? When he least expects it?"

"Yeah, because that's your solution to everything isn't it, Potter?" Lily shot back, conveniently ignoring the fact that she had been planning to do the same thing only moments before. "Hexing people whenever you feel like it, wherever you feel like is what you do best, isn't it?"

James narrowed his eyes in resentment. "Well you're one to talk. Have you already forgotten my recent face - lift? Or-" Here his face actually flushed, "-my boxers? You sure didn't mind hexing me on those occasions."

This time Lily stopped in her tracks to face James. "You're a special case, Potter."

"How?" James challenged.

"Because. You. Won't. Leave. Me. Alone!" she cried back, flinging both arms into the air in pure frustration.

"But I never slipped anything into your drink like Josh did, did I?" James said.

Lily arched an eyebrow. "Really? Then how did I become a cat for a week?" she enquired nastily.

James gulped. "Point taken, but I didn't get you drunk or take advantage of you like Josh would have … And I never snuck into your dorm to charm your pyjamas either!"

"You didn't go that far … I admit." Lily relented reluctantly, calming herself down. She swallowed hard, finding it difficult to spit out the next words. "And for that … other prank … if you were truly hurt by it, I'm … sorry."

James was amazed. To be thanked by Evans was priceless … but an apology as well was like unheard of until now. Granted an apology still didn't satisfy him for what she had done. He was still copping abuse from the many Slytherins, especially the ones who had managed to keep incriminating images of that morning, and for quite a while afterwards, he'd been slightly anxious to sleep in his bed at night, not knowing who might sneak in again, and what might be enchanted that time.

But at least he now knew who was responsible, and obviously he'd be getting his revenge with the Marauders one day.

Smiling slightly, he didn't acknowledge her rare apology, other than to meet her gaze for a long moment. She nodded, somehow understanding that was his way of putting that prank behind him, and they continued to walk the rest of the way in silence.

As he reached the portrait, James couldn't help but add, "I really wouldn't mind hexing him though."

Lily sighed. Would he ever desist? "Haven't you done enough already? I thought that honker of a nose would have been sufficient enough for you anyway."

"Physically yes, I am proud of that hit," admitted James, facing the portrait. "Snitch." The portrait swung open, letting them pass through. "But my wands itching to participate as well."

"For the last time, Potter, forget about it-," Lily broke off, feeling a bit exposed in the common room. Noticing that they'd attracted a few stares from curious onlookers, she added in a softer tone, "-and I'd really appreciate it if you and the Marauders wouldn't say anything to anybody else. Bella and Sionell don't know."

James looked incredulous that she'd even brought it up. "Of course we aren't going to say anything. Why do you think we went to all that trouble of hiding you last night?"

Lily hadn't quite thought about that point. "Okay," she conceded, then thought evilly of her earlier thoughts, "Because if you did, I was going to admit to the school that the famous Marauders had been upstaged by three mere witches."

James gasped in mock shock, though inwardly he was slightly perturbed at the threat.

"Resorting to blackmail now, Evans? My, aren't we getting corrupt this year? Already you've snuck into people's dorms to mess with their personal belongings-"

"Not personal, when you are wearing them" Lily mumbled softly.

"-transfigured body parts-"

"Honestly it made you look better."

"-and now its blackmail!" James replied, pointedly ignoring Lily's comments.

She offered an innocent shrug in return. "But I don't think I have to worry about anything else now, do I? You are obviously way too smart for me there," Lily said sweetly, and she walked away from a wordless James and over to the staircases.

James sighed as he saw her retreating back. What could he have said to that? He couldn't exactly argue his point, because then it would prove him to be immature.

… Damn Evans. Why did she always get the better of him?

Things definitely took an upturn after her problematic birthday party. After buying her first set of gorgeous looking dress robes and returning back to Hogwarts that same day, Lily had managed to catch a glimpse of Josh as he walked down the hallway in front of her.

And this time he had been alone.

Despite her previous protests with Potter, Lily was not about to forget about what had happened and was far from getting her revenge. She just tended to be more discreet about those sorts of things.

From what Lily heard a couple days later, Josh was now residing in the hospital wing with a severe case of laryngitis. Seemingly, he was mysteriously hexed (by someone unknown behind him) with a powerful silencing spell that Madam Pomfrey was unable to reverse.

Lily chuckled. All she did was put on a simple silencing charm … with a slight twist to it of course. It was Josh's own fault, really. He really should have seen Madam Pomfrey first … not try and fix it himself. His fruitless attempts had only intensified the duration and strength of the charm.

Which was what she had also originally intended. By Merlin, she loved being top of the class in Charms sometimes.

She was also detention free for a while, which was a first for this year. Clearly, he wouldn't be saying anything for a while … and even once he could, there was only the suspicion that she was the one responsible. Lily was too clever to leave any actual proof of her … involvement. Besides, Josh was probably just like Potter … too ashamed to admit to anyone that a girl hexed him good.

The only problem that remained now for Lily was the little matter of finding a date for the ball. Normally she would be too shy to ask anybody, but since the ball was the first in more than six years, prefects were being asked to open the ball with a dance. Obviously Lily couldn't dance with herself, so she was unable to get away with having no escort alongside her.

Lily had practically frozen as the Head Boy and Girl reminded them of that fact two days before. Just hearing the word 'escort' was enough to send her screaming into the Forbidden Forest. The same had applied to Snape by the looks of things. During the meeting, he'd seemed equally as horrified at the prospect.

Lily had felt so stupid afterwards about overlooking that little fact before. Either it slipped her mind or her mind repressed it. Both ways meant that she was screwed. It was obvious to her that it would be next to impossible trying to find a date at the beginning of December. The Ball was only three weeks away!

Nobody had asked Lily so far … apart from Potter … something, which Lily tried to ignore completely. But times were getting desperate and as the days ticked by, it was something that pressed more and more onto her conscience.

It was one Potions class that Lily found herself being partnered up with Severus Snape.

As Snape grinded the asphodel roots into fine powder, Lily stopped to glance thoughtfully over at him. He was probably having the same problem as her with finding a date, and she was wondering how he was faring. Maybe Snape could find somebody for her, and vice versa. She suppressed a snort at that last thought. Finding dates and the name Snape just did not fit together in the same sentence, much less the same reality. Nonetheless she couldn't help but wonder, so Lily decided to do something about it.

"Have you found a date for the ball yet?" Lily asked suddenly.

Snape's hand slipped as he jerked his head to look back at her in surprise. "Why would you want to know?" he blurted out scathingly.

"Oh, come on Severus, lighten up," Lily chided gently. She was used to Snape's antics by now, and they didn't bother her in the slightest. Everybody had covers, Snape's was just slightly more … bitter than most. "It was just to start the conversation going. No need to bite my head off."

"Couldn't you have just started the conversation by asking something less personal?" he hissed back scowling. He flitted a nervous look behind him where two fellow Slytherins' were working at their own potion.

Lily noticed the glance, but said nothing of it. "I could have," she spoke slightly softer, "but I thought I'd get right into it … and it was an issue that has been on my own mind for a while."

Snape frowned. "What, me having a date?" He said it as though it was something dreadful.

"No," Lily replied laughingly. "Finding a date in general. I still have yet to find one myself, and the crowd of available guys seems to be dwindling everyday."

"No one has asked you yet?" Snape asked, his voice betraying a hint of incredulity.

"Apart from Potter, no."

"Potter!"

Lily chuckled. "Sorry, should have known not to mention his name in your presence."

"Why the hell did Potter ask you?"

"He pitied me for not being able to get a date myself. Thought he was doing me a justice by asking me," she replied indifferently, though it still secretly irritated her.

"Ah of course, how could I forget Potter's chivalrous side? Always one for heroics and saving the damsel in distress," said Snape, sarcastically. "So you're saying that you're going to have to find a date as well?"

"What with this stupid opening dance that we Prefects have to do, yes I'm afraid so. I gather from what you just said that you also do?" Lily pressed on curiously.

Snape nodded in confirmation. He seemed about to say something but then returned back to their cauldron. A few moments later he spoke up, although his voice was barely perceptible.

"We could always go together," Snape suggested uncomfortably. After catching Lily's shocked expression he added, "Just as acquaintances of course."

"Oh," was Lily's only reply.

"It just saves the problem of finding a date as I'm not too particularly find of asking anyone from my own house … but only if you're willing." Snape continued on slowly, his face tilted towards the cauldron so Lily was unable to read the emotions on his face … Not that he ever showed any, of course, Lily corrected herself.

Lily licked her lips slightly. She had truthfully, not been expecting that question from Snape's mouth … bringing up that issue was not done purposefully, she never intended for him to ask her … it just seemed weird … not grossed out or anything as he was … just as he said, an acquaintance … but strange nonetheless. As she pondered it further, Lily realised it would solve all her problems, and she wouldn't be tied down with him. After the opening dance, they were sure to go their separate ways anyway, she concluded. Snape hadn't even wanted to come to the ball in the first place, if she could recall correctly.

"Sure."

Snape seemed surprised, but kept his face impassive as he nodded in return.

"Well that's settled then," he said, before he grew silent.

The rest of the potions class was spent in silence as they worked to finish their potion. But by the end of the lesson, after they'd parted their own separate ways, Lily was decidedly more cheerful with the weight of finding a date now thrown off her shoulders.

"I'm sooo tired, why can't we do this tomorrow night?" Peter yawned as he was handed a goblet containing a rather putrid smelling potion.

It was past midnight and the four Marauders were hidden in an unused classroom this time. They hadn't been too keen on standing in three feet of water in the haunted girls bathroom, as Moaning Mytrle had flooded the toilets again. This room seemed better suited to their needs anyway, and they had managed to clear a space in the middle of the classroom by shoving desks and chairs into the corners. Only one desk still stood nearby, holding the cauldron that contained the very same potion Peter had in his goblet.

Sirius exhaled noisily as he poured himself some of the same potion. "We've waited long enough. The potion was ready ages ago in case you haven't forgotten, Pete?"

Peter still looked less than pleased. "Well, I don't want to go first this time. I'm not some Potions lab rat."

"Fine, I'll go first, then Sirius, then you. Happy?" James said irritably. Peter nodded weakly and James continued on. "Okay, according to the book all we have to do is take the potion and let it slowly guide us into our animal form. After the potion teaches our bones, muscles, organs, and whatnot to alter into our form tonight, it will take another couple of weeks before we can successfully change without the aid of the potion."

"How long until the potion wears out and you return to your human form?" Remus asked nervously. He wasn't altogether comfortable with the idea of having three animal friends for the rest of his life. He was animal enough for all four of them.

Sirius glanced at his watch. "If it works about ten or so minutes," he answered. "You can make it last longer but James and I figured it was best to keep it as short as possible."

Remus nodded. He couldn't believe they were about to go through this for him, but knew they wouldn't listen if he voiced his concerns again.

James took a deep breath as he eyed the goblet warily. "Here goes nothing then." Pinching his nose, he raised the goblet to his mouth, threw his head back and gulped it down.

At first he stood there, his face screwing up in disgust at the slimy taste of the potion and the way the liquid seemed to burn as it travelled past his throat.

Then, it began.

First as an uncomfortable sensation … almost as though his bones were liquefying into bubbles. It wasn't at all painful, but James couldn't deny that the sensation was entirely welcome, especially when he felt his bones starting to change shape. His arms started to grow slightly longer, making him lean forward slightly to combat the sudden change in balance. This only grew worse when his leg bones soon followed suit, and the ends of his fingers and toes curled up tightly until they felt practically fused together. The sudden lengthening and curving of his spinal chord propelled him to actually bend forward to stand on all fours, causing his robes to tear into unrecognisable shreds.

Whilst all this was happening simultaneously, light brown fur had also started to sprout all over his body, and the most curious feeling of them was when two distinct lumps began to grow on either side of his head. At first it was though they were pushing outwards, then they suddenly burst out and James caught his first glimpse at his … antlers?

Sirius was the first to approach him.

"Whoah," he whispered in awe, reaching out to pat the stag that was now James. "I've never known you to go stag before James, so this is a first," he joked, then winced as his arm pressed against the sharp antlers.

James let out a grunt as he heard Sirius' words. A stag! Who would have thought?

"You better watch yourself there, James. You don't want to spike us with those prongs of yours before we can shift ourselves," Peter warned, his voice squeaking slightly as his eyes followed the two large antlers.

Sirius' eyes lit up. "Prongs!" he breathed. "That's a perfect nickname. You can be called Prongs."

James the stag glared stupidly at his friend, but kept quiet as he tested out his new legs. As he was quite large, he could only take a few steps forward and back before reaching the other desks and chairs. It was still a fantastic experience, being in control of such a powerful yet surprisingly graceful creature.

True to Sirius' words, he transformed back into himself after ten minutes. It was a quicker process than before, but he embarrassingly found himself still on his hands and knees on the floor.

James stood up quickly, wiping his hands on his now shredded robes and grinning sheepishly (or should he have said stagishly). Quickly patching them up, he turned to his friends and laughed. "That. Was. Amazing!" he gasped.

"What was it like?" asked Sirius, instantly.

"Everything inside of me started to change, and I could feel like my bones were bubbling and shifting into another form. It wasn't painful Peter!" He added in exasperation after he caught Peter backing away in fright.

"What did you mean by calling me Prongs, by the way?" James asked Sirius, who had begun to grin as well.

"I just thought that it's about time we got some special names for ourselves," he explained. "And what better way to link it with our Animagi forms. When Peter said it, I realised that you can be called Prongs because it's obviously your most noticeable feature."

James nodded his agreement. It made sense to use their newfound nicknames as a sort of codeword to hide their new ability, but it would also be amusing to have those names out in the open without anybody ever actually knowing where they'd come from.

Although it wouldn't quite work for everybody … As he glanced sideways at Remus, who didn't look thrilled with their idea, Sirius followed his gaze in realisation.

"Remus, you obviously need a name too," Sirius said quickly.

James nodded. "Yeah, something connected to being a – werewolf," James said the last word, almost apologetically. He knew even the reminder of his affliction was sometimes painful to bear. "Something to-" he trailed off slowly to think of some possible names, but his mind came up blank.

"Something to do with the moon," Remus quietly interjected, his eyes falling on the light shining down from the window. "Something like Moon, or Moony …"

James knew even though he couldn't quite see it, Remus could tell exactly what stage of the moon they were currently at.

Sirius clapped Remus on the back, breaking the sad moment. "Yeah … that fits you Remus. From now on you're Moony, and James is Prongs. Now it's just me and Pete who have yet to find names. I'll go next."

And without further ado he downed the potion. The same process started again … except this time, Sirius' body transformed into a …

"Merlin, you look like the Grim!" Remus exclaimed, watching as Sirius began to chase his tail, barking merrily. Peter's eyes had practically bugged out of his head at the sight.

James only snorted. "Bet you'd give our Divination professor a real scare if she saw you," he said, pulling one of Sirius' floppy ears gently, who snapped back joyfully.

"Maybe now you'll be quiet enough to sneak past those house elves in the kitchen and steal us some food," James teased, "You've always been hopeless at doing that in the past."

Sirius waited until he transformed to yell happily at James. "I will be more silent than you are. Whilst you go clip clodding around, I'll be going around with no sound on my padded feet!"

"That can be your name Sirius," Remus suggested suddenly.

Sirius made a face. "What, padded feet?"

"Yeah, or something like it, how about … padfeet?"

"Or how about just Padfoot?" James modified helpfully.

Sirius grew silent as he considered the name. "Yeah that'll work ... Padfoot."

James turned to the last of their group to try the potion. "Okay, now you, Peter. Don't worry, we're here if you need help," he said, trying to sound reassuring. Their fourth friend needed that extra boost of encouragement sometimes.

Peter reluctantly drank the potion. Unlike the others, he began to shrink rapidly and the goblet dropped beside him. As a result, after his transformation had finished he was partly hidden from everyone else's view.

The only visible feature of Peter that the others could see was a long …

"Blimey you're a worm!" Sirius chuckled.

… tail.

Peter squealed indignantly as he emerged from behind the goblet. He wasn't mightily pleased with being a rat, which he figured he was what with the teeth and size, but being mistaken for a worm was much worse.

"Scratch that, it was just your tail," James corrected. "I guess you are the potions lab rat after all, Petey," he added cheekily.

Peter squeaked again and turned away from them, his long tail dragging behind him.

"Ha! Worm … tail, what's the difference? Hey … Wormtail! There's your name," Sirius cried. Without waiting for confirmation from Peter, who was still scampering around the room, Sirius continued on in a loud voice. "We have our last name ladies and gentleman. We are proud to introduce Mr Prongs, Mr Moony, Mr Padfoot and Mr Wormtail … the Marauders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"And don't forget criminals now Mr Padfoot," Remus added, but he had to grin. Look at what his friends had just done for him.

James mock groaned, sinking into a nearby seat and covering his face with his hands. "Please don't start with the Messrs again."

A/N: Finished. Another chapter finished. I've been wanting to get this one out for a while. The animagi part in particular, I have had going through my mind and finally I've been able to put it into words. I hope you like the little L/J and L/S interaction this chapter as well. Just to make things clear, there will be NO romantic feelings between Lily and Snape. Anyway please review and tell me what you all think.

Thank you so much to the following reviewers:

Chookstar: I hope you remain stuck on my story then! Keep on reading, I promise I'll keep on updating.

Write-on3108: Borrow my creativity? Sure. That will be 1,000, 000 dollars please! LOL, only joking. As if my creativity is actually worth anything. Actually here in Australia I don't use the terms snogging and stuff. I just got it from reading all those English books, and fanfiction of course! I have a different lingo down under.

Coolcatjenny: Thanks, and I'll be sure to tell you about that little incident … eventually. Like most authors I've got it planned for later when the suspense has built up, and the readers wanna throttle me! I've actually written that bit out though.

Alohomora26: Wow. Just for me? I can't believe it. Thank you soo much. Never once did I actually believe people liked my story so much. I also have never thought my fic to be intimidating either. When I first started though, I felt the same way. There were all this really excellent fics already existing, Pensieve and Crossroads are two examples, and I thought, I wonder if anyone would read mine? And they did, so please, I hope you write your own story, I'm sure they'll be great and I'll read them!

Snuffles: He he just looking at your name is reminding me of something that's gonna happen later in the story. You might find out the origin of that name ;) Anyway, its good that you have reviewed to all my chapters. I just really like the feedback. I was surprised that you like my characterisation of Amos, although he probably won't be making much of an appearance anymore. I also want to say that I was really happy when the OoP came out, and found that my story was quite similar after all. There are differences, which you have already found, but I thought apart from those I'll try and keep it as much the same as possible. Their romance (or lack of it) was pretty much what I thought it would be and I'm really relieved that I started my fic at fifth year after all. I hope you keep on reviewing and thanks!

Lily: No don't die, I need all the reviewers I can get! I hope it's not too late for me to update now is it? LOL.

DRUIDGIRL: Thanks for reviewing again, and I can understand how you must have felt when your parents caught you laughing at the computer screen. And in answer to your question, back in chapter three I think it was, Sirius wasn't really angry, he himself said that the pranksters behind it would 'reign the throne' so to speak. So as he just found out, he respected Lily (grudgingly). He wants to get her back though of course. And Peter, well he doesn't really do anything on his own unless there are others. So he just kept his pathetic little mouth shut (LOL I guess you can tell I don't like him much)

babygal: Thanks, writing the Messrs scene was fun for me as well. I'm glad you like everything so far as well.

Ella: LOL I liked that bit too. And the funny thing is, with the whole 'way up low' bit that he sang, it actually happened to me. I sang it like that at school once, even though I knew the song. Tragic but true. LOL.

puppy_girl: LOL, I'm not writing a sequel but this story isn't going to finish anytime soon. I think I'll be writing until their deaths, not sure yet though.

cemhp4eva: Thanks and here is the next chapter.

Lily: LOL I have don't worry. Hope you like it!

Parselmouth Majere: He he, like I said before, writing the Misters bit was fun. Glad you liked it. And the quote too. Unfortunately of late, that could be considered to be my life as well. LOL.

Lily: no problem sissi, I'm delighted that you chose to review twice. Just makes me feel that much better :)

LiannesLily: Thanks I'm happy you don't mind. I just read too much I reckon, so I always have bits and pieces of other stories stuck in my mind as well.

Stormyweather457: I didn't think people appreciated my story so much. I'm really pleased that you do. And some of the qualities of my characters are kind of based from real life. Partly from me, my friends and my family. They aren't just of one person though. It's kind of a mixture of them all, if you can understand my rambling.

Princess TigerLily: Do you realise how professional your review sounded? It was like reading the reviews that are written with the blurbs at the back of some books! Tell you what if I ever write a book, can you review it? lol. Anyway sorry I'm sounding a bit crazy, but don't worry I'll keep updating.

Drops-of-winter: Thank you so much for your review! And don't worry, I didn't make an error with Lily's age because my story is set in the 5th year. I will be continuing on through the rest of their years at Hogwarts as well.

Chic4412: Lol. I'll try and update as quickly as possible, but I won't be finishing this story anytime soon. It will end up to be a looong story … I think. I'm glad you think its believable as well :)

Kiwi: Yeah, unfortunately I got tired of waiting for the OoP to come out, so I started this story a month before. I was quite pleased that some of my predictions were true, but there are some differences that I really don't wanna change. Like James being a prefect, and Arabella not being a squib and an old woman. Other than that, I will try and follow the OoP, so that little tidbit we got in the book might follow up later. And don't worry, I'm a fanfiction nerd too. Why do u think I started writing? ;)

Sissi: Thanks, I was hoping that they would be characterised the same as the book was, and I'm really happy that other people like yourself think so too.

Diana: You like my funnies? Lol, sorry that bit sounded stupid. Thanks for reviewing and its good to know that you can see there is a gradual change going on with some of the characters, cough*James*cough. Nothing too fast, but going somewhere all the same.