Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, much as I would love to.

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated for ages, hope you liked my last chapter, thanks for reviewing everybody!! Love ya! LOTS more coming—I've started writing chapter 12 and I've done some serious planning, so hang on there! Luv Xx-I-Love-The-World-xX!

Love or Hate:

The Tale of Red Snitch

Chapter Eleven: A day to remember part 1 (What a disaster!)

The next morning Lily woke up late. Fortunately first thing for her was a free period for studying (or The Most Boring Non-Lesson Time Ever, as Marlene liked to refer to it as) so she didn't miss any classes. Still, that didn't stop Lily from worrying. After all, she had missed breakfast and she wasn't exactly a person that did whatever they wanted whenever they felt like it. In other words, Lily was a creature of habit, living each day by sticking to a disciplined routine. Otherwise, how could she pass her NEWTs? Marlene, on the other hand, took pride in getting up late, going to bed late and handing her homework assignments in late. Or it felt so to Lily at least, who noticed these things. A Lily whose stomach was groaning, loudly right now…

"Hungry?"

Marlene appeared in the doorway of the dorm (which was naturally deserted except for her and Lily), wearing an amused expression.

"Starving," replied the redhead.

"Good. I've managed to smuggle some toast into the Common Room, so as soon as you're dressed you can have a bite to eat. Alice is down there already, waiting, so no pressure."

With a quick "thanks" Lily started to get washed and dressed as Marlene made her way down. Ten minutes later, lily joined them looking much refreshed.

"So you're still alive then," joked Alice when she took a seat and started to eat.

"Moo migh," responded Lily, her mouth full of food. She swallowed. "Wow, I never knew toast could taste this good."

"Let me guess… you've never skipped breakfast before?"

"Of course I have. Like, in our second year when I remembered that I'd forgotten to do my History of Magic essay and I did it at breakfast time so I wouldn't get into trouble."

"You were such a goody-goody then," teased Alice, reminiscing.

Marlene snorted. "She still is!"

They went quiet, however, as they saw James Potter make his way towards them.

"Um… hi. Oh, I've just remembered I need to… send my letter to… my… mother. Come on Marly, let's go," Alice gabbled, practically dragging Marlene out of the Common Room. "Bye."

"So the Sleeping Beauty has been roused from her slumber," said James, once Alice and Marlene had disappeared from sight. He was grinning broadly. "Has some handsome prince been kissing you?"

"I hope no prince would be so cheeky even to try, however handsome he may be," replied Lily readily, "because I'd go mad." But underneath her disapproving manner lurked a smile.

"Good thing too. I'd be worse, and send him off to the Forbidden Forest with a red arse and a pack of wolves chasing him."

Lily had to laugh this time. "OK, enough of my handsome baboon of a prince. I've got to practise McGonagall's weird transfiguration spells for the next class of hers."

"I might be able to help you out there. I'm not too bad at transfiguration myself," James told her hopefully.

"Not too great when it comes to modesty, though, eh?" joked Lily. James feigned offence, sticking out his bottom lip. With a quivery voice of an American boy, he replied, "Ma'am, you better say something real nice soon, or I'll start to cry." He gave a sniff.

Lily rolled her eyes, though she laughed. James straightened up too, and began to speak in his normal voice again. "No, really, I will help you if you want me to. Not that you really need to, being so clever…"

Lily glared at him. "DON'T try and charm me. It won't work. It has always annoyed me and always will," she warned him, before easing up a little to continue. "However, I would appreciate it if you could help me with that spell. I can't seem to get the hang of it somehow."

James, who had been biting his lip in order to suppress laughter during Lily's "don't charm me' talk, calmed and took out his wand. "OK," he began, "remember how McGonagall told us to give the wand a good jab as you're saying the spell? Well, you have to kind of twist your wrist when you do it."

Lily took out her own wand and copied James' actions, but when she did it red sparks came flying out.

"Try again," smiled James encouragingly. She tried but this time blue sparks were emitted. James gave a small laugh and shook his head.

"No, not like that! C'mon, I'll show you." He took Lily's hand in his and did the correct movements, while she glowed inside. How odd, she thought, that only a month or two ago I said I'd rather go out with Snape than him, and yet now he's holding my hand and I'm not even complaining… and what's more, I like it!

"So you think you're ready to try the spell again?"

She gave a nod before repeating the right actions. A little dark grey smoke appeared like it was supposed to.

"There you are," smiled James, proudly. "You've done it."

Lily raised her eyebrows, trying to not look to pleased with herself, or the rather comfortable situation that the two found themselves in. That is, on their own, having a good time… Lord, I've become one of those hopeless romantics! thought Lily. She shook herself. "Not so fast. I haven't done the actually spell yet, remember?"

James didn't seem fazed. "Go on, then. You can practise on me if you want."

"Really?" Lily was surprised—the spell involved turning another person into a toad and was very difficult to master. It also took twenty minutes or so to wear off, unless the toad was spoon-fed a disgusting antidote which turned them back into a human. However students couldn't get hold of it outside of lessons, so james would be stuck as a toad for a (if small) while.

"Yeah," he replied airily. "Sure. So you know the incantation, right?"

"I think so."

"Good."

"Okay… well here goes… Beluafomorph!... Is that right?"

Lily's wand sizzled as if an electric current was whizzing through it, while the room filled with purple smoke and with a loud "crack!" James shrank down to the size of a… what was THAT?!

Lily gasped in horror to see not a toad, but a hideous-looking strange creature with a cat's head, a pig's tail, a hairy body, scaly claws and hooves on its hind legs all fused into one. No, wait, James' hind legs. Oh----!

Right at that moment, Alice and Marlene clambered through the portrait hole, laughing at something, when they noticed the purple smoke.

"Lily, is that you?"

"What happened, are you alright?"

"How did it go with him—MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?!!"

Lily looked up guiltily at her friends. At first she thought about lying to them, but she would have to tell them later anyways, and besides Lily Marie Evans did not lie. "Well," she began, "we were practising the spell Professor McGonagall taught us last—"

"Uh oh." Alice clapped a hand over her mouth, holding back laughter. "Don't tell me."

Marlene was dumbstruck. "Are you meaning to say that—that thing—is James Potter!?"

Lily bit her lip. "I didn't mean to, it was a mistake! I did the right arm action and everything, and—" Her words were drowned as both Alice and Marlene erupted with howls of laughter. For ten whole minutes they were in hysterics. Eventually they calmed down a little, but Lily was still mad at them—though she did, sort of, see what was so amusing. But regardless—what was she going to do if the spell didn't wear off after twenty minutes? Would James stay an ugly beast forever? What would his parents say? What would her parents say? And the teachers? And James' friends, especially Sirius, what would they have to say?

As Lily worked herself up in a state and while her so-called best friends were attempting to stop the giggles, Remus Lupin entered the Gryffindor Tower. Or rather, was trying to. Just as he was going to come in, he fell over onto his face, making the girls all stop and stare. (In Marlene and Alice's cases, though, it didn't last long.) Lily rushed towards him.

"Remus, are you OK?" she asked, panicking more than before now. She checked him for blood, but found none.

"Aargh—yeah, I'm fine…" he mumbled, very aware of the fact that all three girls had just witnessed his fall. He blushed a little. "I think I tripped over something…"

"Are you done now or am I going to have to wait another ten years before I'm allowed to closer?" yelled the portrait of the Fat Lady.

Remus quickly (or as quickly as he could, anyway) got up, and Lily moved away a little, still troubled. Neither was particularly in the mood to talk. With a reluctantly forced smile Remus said goodbye and went up to the boys' dorms.

Thank God he didn't ask where James was! Lily found herself thinking desperately. Apart from Marlene and Alice knowing, she seemed rather lucky on the whole, after the spell of course. It could always have been much worse. Sirius might have found out. But he hadn't, had he? So everything was going f-i-n-e, wasn't it? All she would have to do was wait another ten minutes or so until James returned to his human form, and if not… If not, she could always steal some antidote from Slughorn's cabinet. Or brew one herself if it didn't take too long. She was, after all quite a talented potion-maker, wasn't she? Right. So she knew what she was going to do. Now all she needed was time to clear her head. And keep a watchful eye on James…

"James!?" Lily's eyes filled with dismay as she realized that he wasn't in his place. Immediately she threw herself to the floor, scanning the ground for weird claws and hooves.

"Lily, what's up? Are you OK?" asked Alice, concerned.

"No!" she gasped. "I can't find him!"

Alice froze.

"Oh God," muttered Marlene. "He could be anywhere!"

"As if I didn't notice!" snarled Lily sarcastically.

"Alright, alright, no need to snap," grumbled Marlene under her breath—but Lily heard.

"No need to snap? I've just lost ages worth of studying time, I've turned James into a monster, I've lost him—and now you bloody tell me not to snap!" exploded Lily.

"Don't worry Lils, we're going to find him and when we do he'll already be back to normal because it's now gone twenty minutes, see? So I'll start looking in our dorm, Marly will look in the boys' dorms and you'll continue searching here. Is that OK? Right let's go!" Alice said. She pulled Marlene's hand and made her go up the stairs before herself, but they needn't have bothered. Because at that moment, they could hear two girls screaming, "OH MY GOD WHAT'S THAT?!?!" outside the Gryffindor Tower. And all three knew exactly what "that" was.

END OF CHAPTER 11!