Carnival Day 1: Monday

"Is everything ready this afternoon, Ms. Evans? I know you've been working hard all evening!" Professor McGonagall asked her the day of the festival opening.

"Hm, what? Oh! Professor! I'm so sorry, my mind is everywhere today! Yes! I do believe everything is ready. Just waiting on everyone to get out of their evening classes!" Lily said, frazzled.

"Good, good. I think I'll go see if Professor Dumbledore is ready to come down and join the festivities!" McGonagall said before strolling away.

Lily's chest was heavy, she was so anxious for everything to start, just so she would know she was done planning. Her mind raced with thoughts of doubt and fear of everything going wrong.

"Hey Lils!" someone yelled from the entrance. She turned to find Fess walking towards her.

"Hey!"

"The place looks great! I have no idea how the hell you pulled it off, but I think you did! Where's James?" Fess said looking around excitedly.

"Not sure. He hasn't really said much to me in a couple of days. Maybe he's waiting on the guys in the common room or something" Lily said.

"Right. So, what event is first?"

"It is Monday Madness. So in here we will have the normal little games and things, and these will be in here everyday, but every night the events are on the quidditch pitch. So, Monday Madness is James's concept. I'm not really sure I understand the whole concept…he said it would be kind of like-"

"A paint party" James interrupted from behind her.

"Yes, and who knew a wizard would know what a paint party was" Lily exclaimed.

"Well, Fess likes paint parties, also likes to drag me to them every summer. Recently I acquired a liking for them, therefore, paint party on the quidditch pitch" he said gesturing towards the pitch.

"So why is it called 'Monday Madness'" Fess asked.

"I've been asking the same thing" Sirius said.

"Because were wizards…it'll be like a cross between paintball and paint party, which is utter and complete madness" Lily said.

"paintball?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, muggles use guns that propel balls of paint towards each other and call it fun. You can use a gun on your best friend, shoot them, and then they are out of the game" Lily explained to him.

"So how is this party like paintball?" Fess asked.

"Why…we'll be shooting paint at each other with out wands…but don't worry, no one is "out" once they are hit. We'll be judging for the person with the most different colors of paint on them. That's who will win. Other than that, it's just a paint party!" James said throwing his hands in the air like someone had just made a touchdown.

"Hell yeah! So when does this said Monday Madness begin?" Fess asked.

"At 10, Dumbledore gave us permission to let the 6th&7th years be out past dark. A few of the prefects that didn't want to attend will be on patrol" Lily said smiling widely. She was so happy that this week was finally happening. She turned around, noticing the students starting to stroll in, enchanted looks on their faces.

"Everyone! Welcome to our Halloween Carnival! I hope you all enjoy the many festivities that our Head Boy and Girl have produced! I dare say, I am! Now, let the festivities begin!" Dumbledore announced from the front of the room. Clapping his hands once, he turned the candles into pumpkins and the tables disappeared from the sides of the room so as to give the students more room than they had.

Grabbing Fess's arm, Lily ran with her, smiling the whole way to one of the booths. After a couple of hours of playing various muggle carnival games, the lot of them retired to the common room, the girls wanting to change clothes before 'Monday Madness.'

After changing, the girls came downstairs, both in sweats and tanks, determined to be able to run as quickly as possible. James looked up as they descended down, the pair of them laughing, Lily's hair falling in her face when she looked down. He had also changed pants, determining that the slacks he was wearing would hinder his running.

"What are you two on about?" he asked as the girls reached the bottom of the stairs.

"That is none of your concern Mr. Potter" Lily said straightening up.

James stood tall, sticking out his chest, "Mr. Potter, do you say? Well, that sounds right dapper. Oi! Moony! I've just been called Mr. Potter!"

"And here I thought your ego had been diminished at the beginning of term. I stand corrected" Remus said shaking his head.

"James? Ego? Who said he had an ego?" Fess asked jokingly.

"Who has eggo's?" Sirius asked jumping on the couch excitedly.

They all burst into laughter. Sirius looked confused. "Mate, you really need your hearing checked!" James said through laughs.

Becoming frustrated with everyone laughing at him, Sirius huffed, "Can we-can we just-just get on to the pitch then? Please?"

"Sure, Padfoot, sure" Remus said clapping him on the back, still laughing.

They walked down to the pitch where they found an enormous amount of people waiting on them. "I think we're late" Lily said to James. James smiled at the good mood she was in. They walked to the front of the crowd, everyone staring at them.

"So how are we starting this?" James whispered.

"You mean you hadn't worked that part out yet?" Lily whispered back.

"No, no I hadn't actually. I was hoping you had," James said honestly.

"Hmph" Lily huffed walking a few feet from James. Swirling around quickly, she aimed quickly at James's chest, sending a whirling emerald paint splatter at him.

Catching him off-guard James screamed like a girl, then said "Oi!" and sent a shot at Lily. She leaned quickly so as to miss it, but her long hair, caught in the wind, was the receiver of James's ruby splat.

"You're dead, Potter!" she said and at that the rest of the students sent shots firing every way possible. Lily sped off after James, both of them sending paint at each other.

"Padfoot, you look dull, mate!" James said as he ran past Sirius, sending a shot his way. Catching him on the back of his shirt, Sirius felt three more shots hit him. Remus being his closest target, Sirius sent a bolt of his slate-colored paint towards him, covering his shoulder in it.

Lily looked around after chasing James for a couple of minutes and just started firing shots at random. Laughing and screaming, she made her way back to the front where she found Fess dueling with Remus, Sirius firing at everyone, and James no where to be found. Sending a shot towards Fess, she soon found herself in a 4-way battle, and she was losing, badly.

"Ah! Remus!" she screamed, firing shots his way.

"Oi Evans! That's the second time you've hit me in the chest!" James jokingly said to her, as he had stepped into the battle at the wrong time.

Without thinking, Lily revved back, and fired again at him, this time hitting his face.

James paused, standing there like a statue, "Nice, real nice, Lily. You have officially blinded me!" he joked, taking off his now emerald stained glasses. He was blind as a bat without them.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry James!" she said running over to him, taking his glasses from his hands, attempting to clean them.

"You're not going to be able to clean them until the game ends. You know this, you made the rules" he said sweetly.

She tried feverishly to clean his glasses, failing miserably. James smirked at her, laughing under his breath. He shook his head, and reached up to her hand that was holding the glasses. Lily was taken aback by the feel of his rough, callused hand on hers, his fingertips were warm, inviting, comforting. She looked up at his face, and for the first time truly seeing James's hazel eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, until Lily started giggling.

James looked behind him, to the sides of him, he wished he had a mirror, 'what was she laughing at?' he thought.

"Oh James, I'm terribly sorry! It's just…its just your face! I'm afraid you look rather like a Slytherin at the moment!" she said through her roars of laughter.

"WHAT?" he yelled, "Great, I cant see, and I look like a Slytherin. My reputation is over! The ego is diminished! The Great James Potter is done! You have officially taken my pride, Lily Evans, I do hope you are happy!" he said regally, taking steps back, waving to the crowd that was paying him no mind. He walked to the edge of the pitch, climbed up a few flights of stairs, and sat down in the bleachers, watching the students below him shoot paint at each other. Although most of it was a blur, he could hear them laughing and screaming.

"Come up here to hide? I'm surprised you made it up the stairs, what with no glasses and all that ego from tonight" Lily joked, standing at the top of the stairwell.

James smiled, "I'm actually surprised, myself, that I made it up the stairs without my glasses. I can hardly see you" he replied.

She walked over to him and sat beside him, "Can you see me now?"

"Mmm, not quite, you'll have to get closer"

"Now?"

"No, still closer"

"How about now?"

"I'm blind as a bat, Lily, remember?" James said to her. Lily moved so that her nose was an inch from his, "Now?" she whispered.

"You know from this angle, you have…..12 freckles on your nose" James whispered back to her. She playfully hit him on the arm, laughing, then laid her chin on his shoulder, their foreheads touching.

"What are we going to do, James?"

"Well, I can think of a couple of things…What are you suggesting?" he replied. Again hitting his arm, she said, "I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about, what are we going to do? With the war going on and everything" she said solemly.

"Were going to fight. We are going to fight because we have something to fight for and because we don't give up. And I won't let them take you away just because of who you are" he said proudly.

"True Gryffindor, aye?" she said.

"I like to think so" he said straightening up, smiling. He then took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her waist, carefully, scared of her reaction. When she didn't give a negative response, but instead scooted closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder, James almost jumped in excitement. His stomach got the little butterflies again that he sometimes wished would go away. Not tonight. Tonight he welcomed the butterflies, they told him something was actually happening, it wasn't just some dream, it was real.

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