Oh... hello. Long time no see. I'M SORRY!

I've been running around like a madman for the past couple of weeks and I finally got around to writing this chapter. BUT - HERE IT IS!

Thanks go out to ObeliskX for requesting this particular chapter... a gender swap Jily! I've never written one of these before, so I was working with the "what if we switched their personalities" idea and came up with this. Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Somehow, I'm still not JKR. Therefore, none of these lovely people are mine.

The first thing I did after I woke up was check the sky – the brilliant sun shone through the windows and, though I'm sure it was chilly outside, the sky didn't hold a single cloud. Nice weather – visibility might be an issue with that sun, though.

The next thing I did after I woke up? Collapse back onto my sheets and try not to obsess about James bloody Potter.

I'd been completely and totally in love with James Potter since we met on the train in first year. I, being the charming woman that I am, immediately introduced myself. He wasn't interested. We've spent the past five years fighting, but, now that we're in sixth year, I think he's finally starting to warm to me. My friends all think I'm mad – "You just want to get inside his trousers, Lily, give it up already!" "Lily, there are dozens of other guys in this school who would give up their wands to have you fuck them. Why are you wasting your time on Potter?!"

Because I want Potter. I love Potter. Except no one really believes that second part.

I climbed out of bed and grabbed my quidditch kit off my bedside cabinet – my quidditch robes were down in the locker room but I liked to wear the kit to breakfast. Potter thought I was doing it to show off (maybe I was), but at this point it was a ritual. And I was not about to lose a quidditch match because Potter thought I had an ego.

I pulled my quidditch jumper over my head, shook my long, wavy red hair down my back and smiled at my reflection. I am so bloody fit.

"Come on, Lily, stop admiring yourself in the mirror." My best friend Marlene was smirking at me from the other side of our room while she fluffed her curly black hair with her fingers. "I'm just so bloody fit, Mar," I said smirking back. She laughed her barking laugh and stood up as I walked over towards the door, "Save it for Potter, you prat, you aren't trying to seduce me." I grinned wickedly at her as we started walking down the stairs.

"Yeah, Lily, you shake that arse!" Marlene yelled as I walked, "If you keep walking like that Potter will have to go to Hogsmeade with you." I laughed and gave her the finger over my shoulder, "You're just lucky we don't have a back up beater, Mar, because otherwise I would push you down these stairs."

Marlene and I had both joined the quidditch team in second year – she was a completely brilliant beater and I was a chaser. We'd both beat out much older players who were convinced that we didn't have the "strength" or "ability" to fill spots on the team. You're just a pair of little girls they'd said. Needless to say, nobody has doubted my strength or ability since. And now I have the captain's badge to prove that I'm the best. Not that I needed it… I've slaughtered every other team of chasers since I started playing all those years ago.

"So Ravenclaw Rob was asking me about you again," Marlene said as we walked through the portrait hole and down the corridor. I groaned, "What does he want now?" She rolled her eyes, "You know what he wants, Lily. He's so fucking fit, why won't you give him a chance?" "He's too easy –" "Oh, you mean he is actually attracted to you instead of resisting your advances at every turn like someone else we know?" I frowned, "I'm not interested in getting Potter just because he keeps shutting me down," I said, "Besides, we're not talking about him. We're talking about Ravenclaw Rob. He wants an easy screw and I have a better target in my sights…" Marlene rolled her eyes again, "Lily, how many times does Potter have to turn you down before you just give it up? You need to start seeing other people… if for no other reason than the fact that I'm tired of dating losers on my own. Don't you want to date losers and talk about them with me?"

I laughed and my voice carried through the hall as we walked down the marble staircase – "Like I said, Mar, better target… And Potter loves me. He just hasn't realised it yet." Marlene rolled her eyes, but laughed all the same.

We walked into the Great Hall and, as we approached the Gryffindor table, I saw him. His untidy black hair was sticking up in all directions as usual and Merlin did I want to rake my fingers through it. He was sitting with Remus and Sirius, also as usual, but luckily, they seemed to find me a little more charming than James did. Sirius was our other beater, so he was at least used to spending time with me. Remus just sort of accepted that he was between someone who bloody loathed me and someone who found me charming and amusing and quietly ignored me.

Marlene knew I'd spotted him; I felt her fingers attempt to wrap around my wrist, but I shook her off and walked over towards James and sat down beside him, straddling the bench. He stiffened as soon as I sat down, but I swished my hair behind my back and smiled warmly at Sirius – "Hey Sirius, ready for the match today?" Sirius smiled knowingly at me, "Definitely. You're looking lovely in your kit this morning." I smirked, "You know I always look good, Sirius," and I winked. He roared with laughter and I couldn't help the smile that filled my face when I saw James shooting him withering looks across the table.

"What's wrong, Potter?" I asked, leaning over so that my chest was just grazing his shoulder, "you don't think I look nice in my quidditch uni?" James glanced at me out of the side of his eye, "I just think you need to go eat breakfast, Evans, and leave me alone. I'm really not in the mood for your flirting this morning."

"Well, that's a shame," I said, scooting my hips closer to his along the bench and straightening up so I could come level with his ear, "because I can't stop flirting with you until you agree to go to Hogsmeade with me."

James groaned and flicked his wand, sending my sliding down the Gryffindor bench towards where Marlene was now sitting. I laughed as I slid backwards and shouted, "You'll say yes someday, Potter! We both know you can't resist me!" When I came to a halt beside Marlene she was smirking at me – "Now that you've gotten that out of the way, can we eat something so that we don't die of starvation on the pitch?" I sighed and swung my leg over the bench, shooting James one last, fleeting look before I poured myself a cuppa. "He's going to yes one day, Mar, I can feel it in my bones." Marlene laughed as she piled bacon onto her plate, "Whatever you say, Lils."

"BLOODY HELL, THAT'S ANOTHER GOAL FOR LILY EVANS!"

I smirked as I swung back around on my broom after landing my fifth goal in the first half hour of the game. The Slytherin chasers were attempting to get into formation, but Sirius and Mar were giving them absolute hell with the bludgers today.

I watched the two lead chasers rapidly passing the quaffle in front, probably hoping to confuse Mac, our keeper, until the very last second, but they made a fatal error – they forgot that Lily Evans was on the pitch today. I leaned down on my broom and pushed until I was right over their heads and… timing it just right… swooped and snatched the ball out of midair. I made a hairpin turn, held up two fingers, and tossed the quaffle out to Smith, who caught it and zoomed off down the other end of the pitch.

I laughed as I bent back over my broom and followed her, swerving a few times to avoid a couple of well-hit bludgers. "Watch it, Lils!" Marlene shouted as she flew overhead and smacked the bludger back towards the pursuing Slytherins. "Don't worry about me, Mar!" I shouted back, laughing before flying forward to get back into position. I reached the bottom of the center goal post just as Smith dropped the quaffle into my waiting hands while pretending to toss the ball into the right hoop. The keeper's momentary distraction gave me just enough time to swing around and land a goal in the left hoop.

"WHAT A PLAY! THIS GRYFFINDOR TEAM IS NOT LETTING UP ON SLYTHERIN TODAY. THAT'S 90-0 GRYFFINDOR."

The game was a rough one. We were flying better and faster than we ever had – I'd been relentless in our training leading up to this match. It was the first match of the season and it was against Slytherin – we needed to set the tone for the year… and make all the other teams dread playing us.

Bludgers were flying all over the place, but Marlene and Sirius were, as usual, bloody bang on. It was rare that a bludger came flying towards any of our players and, when it did, they were quick to retaliate with a well-aimed return. Jones, our seeker, was circling the pitch in a slow, methodical pattern – she was a second year and, obviously, this was her first year on the team. But she was absolutely brilliant and I knew she'd end up with the snitch. She'd initially gone out for chaser, but our current group was too strong to be replaced. One day though, she'll make a fabulous chaser if she did decide to make the switch back. Mark my words, the world will hear about Gwenog Jones in the future.

"GRYFFINDOR KEEPER MACDOUGALL MAKES A KILLER SAVE AND THROWS THE QUAFFLE OUT TO EVANS – CAN SHE SCORE HER SEVENTH GOAL ON THIS RUN?"

You bet your sweet ass I can, Collins.

I tucked the quaffle under my arm and took off down the pitch. I saw Smith and Turner fall into line on either side of my broom, but I knew that the Slytherin chasers weren't far behind. Flint, one of the Slytherin beaters, managed to hit a bludger into our formation, which sent Smith into a dive to avoid getting her arm smashed. Her departure sent Turner rocketing forward, attempting to get into the position that Smith wouldn't be able to reach. That brief exit gave Nott, one of the biggest prats around, the chance to move into our formation and start ramming into the side of my broom.

"NOTT MOVES IN AND STARTS RAMMING EVANS' BROOM…. BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE SHE'S GOING TO TAKE THAT, FOLKS, SHE'S JUST AIMED A KICK AT THE FRONT OF HIS BROOM AND SENT HIM INTO A BIT OF A SPIRAL." I smirked and ducked down closer to my broom to gain speed, watching the keeper all the time. I just needed to inspire that glimmer of hesitation… I shifted my weight slightly to the left – and he fell for it. Anticipating that I would, again, go for the left hoop, Avery swung over to guard the left hoop while I tossed the ball through the right.

"LILY BLOODY EVANS, SEVEN GOALS IN FORTY MINUTES. THAT HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF RECORD!"

I'd managed to score two more goals and assist on one other when it happened.

The bludger came soaring out of the air to my left and smashed into my left hand – I felt the bones in my fingers and palm shatter on contact and it took everything I had to stay up on my broom. Nott was smirking when he flew over to me, "Glad a Mudblood bitch like you finally got what she deserved, Evans," and he slammed his body into the side of my broom, crushing my already shattered hand between our bodies.

I could have been responsible. I could have flown down, healed my hand, and resumed play. I also could have gone to the hospital wing and left my team one chaser down, but, let's be honest, I would never abandon my team in the middle of a war. But I didn't do any of those more sensible things - I'm Lily fucking Evans and this prat just called me a Mudblood. I grasped my broom between my knees and steadied my weight with my left hand. The pain was excruciating, but I needed my right hand for this. I turned my cold eyes onto him as he continued to slam his weight into my now desperately painful left hand – "I'd rather be a Mudblood than a Death Eater you fucking cunt;" and I punched him in the nose… and smirked as I felt his nose crush under my fist and saw blood pour down his face.

Madame Hooch, of course, blew her whistle, but it was too late. The Slytherins immediately turned on the nearest Gryffindor player, punching and kicking whomever they could reach. Nott let out a shout of fury, but I didn't have time for his god damn nonsense – I aimed the hardest kick I could manage at his broom and sent him flying back down towards the ground. Madame Hooch was now blowing her whistle madly - I glanced around and saw that the game was collapsing into absolute mayhem… and while the Slytherin-hating part of me rejoiced (and urged me to fly back into the fray and start punching more Death Eaters), I refused to forfeit this match because we couldn't stop beating the bloody hell out of each other.

I pulled my wand out of my pocket and touched it to my throat – "Gryffindors, to the ground, now!" I removed my wand and starting casting shield charms rapidly, giving my players enough time to move safely away from the Slytherin players who wanted nothing more than to end this match. They were getting absolutely crushed and seeing us get disqualified for fighting would have brought endless, sickening joy to them.

As the team gathered around me, I cast a shield around behind us and Madame Hooch flew over, looking absolutely mutinous. "NEVER, IN ALL MY YEARS – " "I'm sorry, Madame Hooch," I said, cutting her off and doing my best to look contrite, "Nott called me a Mudblood and I just snapped. We promise to control ourselves and end this match as quickly as possible if you'll let us continue." Madame Hooch was still livid, but she took a moment to consider my words. "If I see you even thinking about punching another player, Evans, this match is over." I nodded, "Right," and smiled my most charming smile, "Can I have a moment to try and heal this hand?" Madame Hooch grimaced as I held my left hand up – "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital wing, Evans?" I shook my head vehemently. "I'll do my best and beg Madame Pomfrey's forgiveness later." Madame Hooch couldn't help the smile that filled her face as she laughed, "Beg you will, Evans. You know how she gets." I smirked, "All too well, Professor, all too well."

I saw Madame Hooch fly into the centre of the field and touch her wand to her throat – "This match will resume, but each team is to take two minutes to gather themselves. Any more fighting and this match is over. Both teams will record a loss for this match if I have to end it because you can't keep your hands off each other." A deadly silence fell over the pitch then. I didn't know we could both lose because of this.

Marlene turned her head fiercely towards me, "What in the bloody hell happened over there?!" I waved my wand slowly over my hand, suppressing a groan of pain as I felt the bones start to knit back together. "Well, I got hit with that bludger and it shattered my hand. Nott came over and started crushing my hand, which… I was more than happy to let go because he's just a jealous wanker and we were kicking their fucking arses. But then he called me a Mudblood. And Mar… I couldn't let that go." Marlene looked, if anything, even angrier. "Good on you, Lils. He's a fucking twatty Death Eater." I laughed as I finished moving my wand over my hand. It wasn't completely healed, I realised, as I moved my fingers and started pressing into my palm, but it would hold. I waved my wand again and conjured a brace, slipping it over my left hand as I turned my attention back to the rest of the team.

"Okay, mates – I got a little carried away up there, but you heard what Hooch said. We are not going to lose this match to those bloody wankers because they want to start a fight. They're going to lose this match anyway, so they have nothing to lose. They will try to start a fight to put us back one match. Do not be as stupid as I was – stay focused, fly hard, and we will win this match." I turned my attention to Jones, "Jones, catch that bloody snitch. As quickly as you can, please." Jones nodded fiercly, "We're the best quidditch team this school has ever seen – let's kick some Slytherin arse."

The game continued more ferociously than before – the Slytherins, as predicted, were doing everything they could to start another fight. We were doing the best we could to cover up our fury, but the more illegal hits we received, the more aggressively offensive taunts we heard, the fiercer we became.

Marlene and Sirius were killing the bludgers, hitting them with every ounce of power in their bodies towards the Slytherin players and not bothering to hide their jubilation when the bludger hit its mark. Smith and Turner were flying like their brooms had been lit on fire – in the ten minutes since the match had restarted, we'd already scored a combined five goals. About thirty seconds after play had resumed, I'd taken another bludger to the hand (I'm sure that Nott told them I'd broken it), but I was managing to keep my hands on the broom. "My left hand – shattered" I'd whispered furiously the next time Smith, Turner, and I were all in formation. "You two will take the lead. I'll assist." They'd nodded and took over making it look like a tactic as opposed to an injury-necessitated change.

Jones, though… Jones was having the toughest time of us all.

Slytherin knew that we wanted to end this match as quickly as possible and were tailing Jones like their lives depended on it. She spent all her time avoiding the taunts, threats, and barely hidden attacks and it was clear that she couldn't even look for the snitch.

I signaled to Marlene and Sirius, pointing furiously at Jones – they nodded and Marlene flew off in search of a new bludger while Sirius flew over to Jones' side, protecting her from the Slytherin bludgers and players as best he could.

We flew, teetering on the edge of utter chaos for about ten more minutes, when I saw Jones take off out of the corner of my eye. I saw Sirius take off after her and, hoping that she wasn't just feinting, tossed the quaffle to Turner and flew around the goal hoops to try and get a better eye on what she was doing. Croft, the Slytherin seeker, had finally caught on and was trying to gain ground, but Jones was just too far ahead.

"AND SHE'S DONE IT! LITTLE SECOND YEAR, GWENOG JONES HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" The stadium burst into life, the screams of our fellow Gryffindors rocketing through my chest like the most exhilarating drug. I flew down to the ground as quickly as I could and wrapped Gwenog in my arms, "BLOODY BRILLIANT, JONES!" She was smiling widely as the rest of the team landed around us and promptly jumped her.

The match had taken more out of me than I thought it would, I reflected in the now quiet changing room. The post-match meeting had been brief and jubilant – we all knew that there would be a huge party waiting for us when we got back up to the common room. I'd wanted to talk a little more post-match strategy and give some comments but… well, I knew they weren't really listening, so I let them go.

I sat down on the bench and unwrapped my hand, groaning in pain as the brace rubbed against my skin as I removed it. I tried to move my fingers and found, not surprisingly, that I couldn't move any of them. Fucking great. Poppy will have my head for this.

I undressed as carefully as I could to avoid disturbing the shattered bones in my hand and tossed my clothes into the laundry as I walked to the showers. One of the glories of the empty locker room – I didn't need to worry about strutting around naked.

I turned on the nearest shower and let the hot water run over my left hand first. Even the pressure of the water hitting my hand caused me to hiss in pain, but the warmth of the water was starting to ease some of the discomfort. I moved the rest of my body into the water, groaning when the water started pounding into my neck and back. I rolled my neck and my shoulders, trying to release some of the tension that had built up in my muscles. I could feel the knots that had formed in almost every muscle in my body, but there was little I could do about most of with this stupid hand. I started my usual post-match rub down, reaching my right hand behind my neck and rubbing out my neck before slowly moving down and rubbing each muscle I could reach. I had just bent over to start running my hamstrings when –

"Oh Merlin... uh… I'm sorry."

I looked up and my eyes met the bright red face of James Potter.

I smirked and straightened up, nonchalantly squirting soap into my hands and beginning to wash my upper body. My left hand had protested soundly when I rubbed it against my right to work the soap into a lather, but I wasn't about to let Potter know that I was hurt. The last thing I needed to hear was how irresponsible I was, have him tell me that this was somehow ego related, or whatever madness he would work up to spout at me.

"No need to be sorry, Potter. I'm not shy," I said, smiling as I washed my taut stomach before moving up and washing my breasts… as slowly as I could possibly wash them. James' face grew, if possible, even darker, but, I noticed, he hadn't yet taken his eyes off me. "Have you…" I allowed my eyes to rake slowly up his body before I met his gaze again– "Yes?" I smirked and moved under the water, watching his eyes trace the lines of soap now streaking down the front of my body. "Sirius?" James croaked, "I'm looking for Sirius."

I smiled, "It's just us here, James."

His eyes flashed when I used his first name, but in a way much different from the flashing that I'm used to. A glance down at his groin confirmed my suspicions – "Like what you see, James?" I asked, running my hand down the front of my body on the pretense of moving more soap off my skin, and caressing my thigh. His Adam's apple bobbed and I smirked – "You're welcome to join me if you like."

"We hate each other," James said, but his feet told a different story as he took a step towards me. I smiled as I started soaping up my hair, "I'm pretty sure I've always said I liked you, Potter." James laughed and took another step closer, "I think you were shouting it all over the castle," he said smirking back, "there was no 'saying' about your pronouncements."

I laughed brightly, "What can I say? I had to let the world know." I rinsed the soap out of my hair and smiled warmly at him. I wanted him to know that this wasn't a piss take, that I really did, do, love him. That I'd loved him since I laid eyes on him on the train in first year.

James came to a halt a few inches away from the edge of the shower – "What do you want, Evans?" His hands, and mine, were trembling – we'd never been this close before. "You." I said simply, moving a step forward so that the water was cascading down my back instead of obscuring my vision. We stood stock still for a beat until James did something that I'd desperately hoped for, but never expected – he joined me.

His hands slid up rapidly and his cloak fell to the floor as he stepped into the water, grabbing my face in his hands and pulling my mouth up to his. My right hand instantly flew to his hair and I wrapped my left arm carefully around his waist and pressed him as close to me as I could manage. His mouth was hot, even compared to the water now streaming over both of us, and he tasted even better than I could possibly have imagined. I trailed my right hand down his neck, tracing the lines of his throat as I moved down to his chest and started fumbling with his buttons. I need this shirt to come off.

James' body shook as I slowly released the buttons, his hands moving from my face and tangling themselves in my wet hair. I slid my tongue against his lips and couldn't help the grin that spread across my face when he groaned into my mouth. James pulled away infinitesimally, his eyes on fire with lust. "What are you smiling about, Evans," he asked, moving his mouth to my jaw and kissing down my neck before sucking on my pulse point. I moaned and arched into his body, my right hand wrapping itself back around his neck, having decided (apparently) that the buttons could wait. I felt him smile against my skin as he trailed his lips across my collarbone and began working his way towards my breasts. I tangled my fingers into his hair and groaned, arching my body again. James laughed and grabbed my hands, both of them, and shoved them over my head.

I couldn't contain the yelp of pain that escaped my lips. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

James whipped back like he was on fire, his eyes frantically searching my body for any sign that he'd hurt me. "My hand," I said, my voice tense with the pain coursing through my arm. He let my hands go like they'd shocked him and took a step back, "No, James, it wasn't you," I said, stepping back towards him and reaching my right hand out and wrapping it around his neck. "One of the bludgers hit my hand before I punched Nott in the nose and it shattered it. I tried to heal it over the break, but healing spells aren't exactly my forte." "And then you got hit with another bludger a minute into play once the match resumed," James said, his eyes burning with something that looked very familiar – anger.

"Watching me on the pitch, Potter?" I smirked and pressed my lower body against his, wrapping my left arm around his waist again. James rolled his eyes and backed away, grabbing my arm and holding it up so that he could get a better look at my hand. "Lily, you shattered your hand." I shrugged, "Poppy will fix it." James' eyes found mine again, his barely controlled temper filling his voice – "You can't just lounge around in here naked and expect your hand to heal itself. You could do permanent damage!" James stepped out of the shower, grabbed his wand out of his clock and dried himself off.

I did my best to keep the frown off my face when James surprised me again – he reached his hand into the shower and escorted me out. He waved his wand over me, dried me off, and wrapped his cloak around me. "This should keep you covered enough until we get to the hospital wing." He buttoned the top button and put a temporary sticking charm on the hem at the opening, carefully sealing the edges of the cloak together.

"Do we have to go to the hospital wing?" I asked, as he walked me out of the changing rooms and up towards the castle, "I can think of some much more interesting things that we could get into… or, should I say, that you could get into." I smirked up at him and winked; James just rolled his eyes. "Cool it, Evans, or I might just take that temporary sticking charm off and show the whole school your goods." I laughed brightly, "You want other men to start going after your girl, Potter?" He rolled his eyes but chuckled all the same, "Besides," I whispered huskily, "we both know that you wouldn't be able to control yourself if you did. And then I'd never get to the hospital wing."

"Whatever you say, Evans," James looked down at me and smiled.

We walked in silence for a few more paces before I finally couldn't contain the question – "So what was it about me tonight that finally made you realise how much you loved me, Potter?" James snorted – "I was just surprised… and I am male. Can you blame me for being turned on by a naked woman?" Trying to brush it off, I see.

"Don't worry, Potter," I said, smirking as we came to a stop outside the hospital wing, "I won't tell anyone how much you love me. I'll just tell them that you find me irresistibly sexy." James' jaw dropped angrily and I smiled wickedly, "Until next time." I winked and walked through the doors into the hospital wing before he could curse me.

So... what do you think? I have another gender swap in the works, so be on the lookout for that sometime soon. It's more of a "what if we took Lily and made her a Marauder" angle. I've just started crafting it in my mind, but I think it will be pretty cool. And, if you have anything that you really want me to try my hand at, let me know! Until next time xx