Written for Quidditch League Season 8 Round 1

Title: Great Minds Think Alike

Team: Holyhead Harpies

Position: Chaser 2

Main Prompt: Fear - deception

Optional Prompts: (emotion) hopeful, (setting) Room of Requirement, and (character) James Potter I.

Word Count: 1,572

Warnings for a slight bit of lying and deception besides that a whole lot of fluff.

James spotted Lily across the crowded Great Hall, heading for the door. Sunlight filtered in from the windows, making her hair shine like a ripe red apple. He'd been making plans to ask her out for days now. Planning the perfect date, or at least it was in his mind. Now, he just had to get her to agree to go, which he was pretty sure wouldn't happen as quickly as he'd hoped for it too.

"Just ask her, Prongsie," Remus said with a sigh. "The worst she can say is no and then you go back to the drawing board like every other time."

"I can't just ask her, Moony!" James exclaimed. "Isn't that right, Padfoot?"

Sirius nodded his head sagely. Holding a piece of crispy bacon like it was a pipe, he looked through a pretend monocle. "That is perfectly correct, my dear Prongs," he said in his patented Sherlock Holmes voice. "Everything has to go according to the plans."

"Plans?" Remus asked uncertainly.

"Yes, plans," James said. "When have we ever operated without a plan?" James knew the answer as soon as the question was out of his mouth.

"Let's see," Remus said, pretending to think, " the time that you and Sirius magicked the Slytherin common room to turn into a Muggle car wash. Or the time…"

"Okay," James said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Okay. We get it. We don't always operate with a plan. But this time we do. This time it's a matter of life and death."

Remus shook his head at the dramatic lengths that James was going to describe the situation. It really wasn't that serious. "What exactly is your plan?" Remus asked, knowing he would regret it in the end. He always ended up regretting it in the end.

"We're glad you ask, Moony," Sirius said, chewing on his bacon pipe as he reached for another one. "Take it away, Prongs."

James mock bowed as he took a sip from his goblet of pumpkin juice. "The plan is simple," he said. "All I have to do is get Lily Evans to the Room of Requirement."

"That's all?"

James nodded enthusiastically. The fact that Remus was taking an interest in the plan was a good thing. That meant there was a sure chance of the plan working.

"Do you actually have a plan for getting her to the Room of Requirement, Prongsie? Because just getting her to the Room of Requirement isn't a plan at all."

The hopeful look that had crossed James' features earlier now washed away instantly. It felt like he'd been punched in the gut. That's when it hit him. Not a plan, but Sirius's elbow, straight to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Then the plan hit him like a ton of bricks. He could use his and Lily's positions as Head Boy and Head Girl to get her to the Room of Requirement by telling her there was someone hurt there.

"Sirius, you just gave me a brilliant idea," James said, playfully throwing a jab of his own at Sirius's unguarded stomach.

"I did." Sirius coughed as he doubled over.

"I'm afraid to ask," Remus said, putting his head in his hands and shaking it.

"Well, Lily and I are Head Girl and Head Boy, right?" James asked.

Remus nodded and prompted James to continue.

"We have to patrol the corridors at night, right?"

"You aren't going to…"

"That's where you and Sirius come in," James confirmed what he knew Remus's fear was. "You come and find us and tell us that Sirius has been hurt in the Room of Requirement."

"That won't work," Remus said reasonably, watching the hope drain even more from James' face. "She'll just say that you can go and fetch him with my help."

"You don't know it won't work," Sirius said, jumping to James's defense. "It could work out great and James and Lily will have a fabulous date."

"Or you can be reasonable and admit it will work out like shite and he'll just be back in the Gryffindor common room alone."

The argument faded out as James thought. His plan to get her there was a genius one, no matter what anyone else said, and they'd end up having a great time. He knew it in his gut. Brushing a hand through his raven locks to make them stick up and look messy, he got up from the table and walked towards the door to Great Hall. He had to get to the Room of Requirement and set everything up. He wanted everything to be perfect.

The day seemed to fly by after James got everything ready. The table was perfectly set. A white lace tablecloth draped over a wooden table. Two sets of white candles. A bucket of unmelting ice for the wine.

A piece of soft music began to play as James thought of all the things he'd gleaned from Lily that she liked. She had told him recently that romantic music was a must on a date. So here it was to make this the most perfect date ever.

The room was strung with those fairy lights that she'd told him she had always wanted to have. He would give anything to make Lily happy, and he certainly hoped this would make her happy. The pinks, whites, blues, and purples twinkled in sequential order. He'd chosen to have them in her favorite colors.

"This is perfect," he whispered, as he looked around the Room of Requirement. "All we need to do now is get our lady love and bring her here."

He knew perfectly well where Lily would be. He just hoped that he could get to her before dinner.

Racing through the hallways like he was being chased by the devil himself, James's hazel eyes flashed over each of her usual hangouts.. Only to find that she wasn't in any of them.

"Are you looking for Lily?" Marlene asked, walking over to him with curiosity in her eyes. "She just went off with Sirius Black. Something about Remus Lupin and the Room of Requirement or something like that."

James stared at her wide-eyed. "Remus Lupin?"

Marlene nodded.

"The Room of Requirement?"

"Yeah. You might want to hurry; they seemed quite concerned about him. Like he might be injured or something like that."

All James could think was that Remus was really hurt and he had to get to his friend immediately. He thanked Marlene and took off running back the way he'd come. His date with Lily was important, but Remus was more important.

Meanwhile, in the Room of Requirement, Lily looked around at the fancy setting of the room with agitation. Who had gotten here before her, and how could she convince them to give up the Room of Requirement for her date with James Potter?

"We need to figure out who put all this stuff up and ask them if they are willing to change the date of their date so I can have my date," Lily said, looking around at all the pretty decorations. She wished that someone would do something like this for her, but she didn't think James was capable of such things. He'd probably look at this, call it girly, and then try to talk her into a Quidditch-themed date.

Sirius coughed a bit, the cough sounding quite like a chuckle, and pretended to blow his nose. "Maybe they would be more than happy to share the space," he suggested, trying hard not to burst out in laughter.

Remus sighed and elbowed Sirius gently, shaking his head imperceptibly so that Lily wouldn't notice.

"Are you guys trying to hide something from me?" Lily asked, suspiciously looking at Sirius and Remus in turn. "What are you hiding from me?"

Just as Remus was about to give in and answer, the doorknob to the Room of Requirement turned. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and then at Lily. They knew if they were caught helping Lily too, they'd be in deep trouble with James. He was their friend, after all.

"Guys," Lily said, pointing towards the other door that had just appeared across the room, "thank you for your help. I'll let you know how it goes if James doesn't tell you first."

Just as the door was closing behind Sirius and Remus, James burst through the door, looking worried. Lily smiled as she knew the message that Marlene had given him was the reason for that.

"Remus, don't worry..." James called out, looking around the room to find only himself and Lily there. "Where is Remus and what is the meaning of this?"

Lily giggled. "I asked for Remus and Sirius's help to get you up here to take you on a date," she told him, watching as his face turned from thoughtful to shocked and then finally settled on hopeful.

"You're going to find this funny," James said, pointing around the room. "I was going to do the same thing."

"This is your work?"

James nodded proudly. "So, Miss Evans, would you accompany me for dinner?" he asked, holding out one of the chairs for her.

"I would love to, Mr. Potter," she said, sitting down as James pushed her chair in. "You did a wonderful job of decorating."

James couldn't believe his luck. He couldn't help thinking, Great minds did seem to think alike after all.

Also for a few things over on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Monthly Challenges for All.

Performing Arts: Circus Skills: Task 2 - Write about something being figuratively twisted or bent. (for example: twisting someone's words)

Ultimate Battle Competition: Single Accessory Price 300 words, wine

Bunny Racing: 49. (genre) Romance

Easter Egg Decorating: Pattern Floral - Write about a character with a floral or plant-related name.

Nature Scavenger Hunt: Reptile List (Pairings) James/Lily

Flower Arranging Station: 5. Petunia (character) James

Guess the Name: Caramel (Pairing) James/Lily

Pinata Club: Medium (Era) Marauder Era

Say it With Flowers: Lily, orange: passion (pairing) James/Lily

All is Ours Day: Gryffindors Love...(pairing) James/Lily

Elizabeth's Empire: Crissie (R) 7. (genre) romance

Link Maker: Harry Potter characters, 1,572 words

I hope you all enjoyed Great Minds Think Alike as much as I enjoyed writing it.