Pre-Author's Notes: This fic is based on the manga, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e also known as For You in Full Blossom. I had to change some elements from the Harry Potter story to make it work, so live with it. Yes, I am aware that some of the facts from the Harry Potter series is off, but I had to change it for the story. ^^
The day after Christmas, Isabelle escorted Lily, James, and Frank back to Hogwarts. Isabelle went to go and visit her brother in the infirmary and found that he had already escaped from her grasp. Everyone was still away for vacation and they wouldn't be returning until after New Year's Day.
Lily and James still had to work a few things out, before everyone else came back from school. Frank knew that James had a girlfriend, but he had no idea that Lucas was Lily. This was going to be problematic because Frank was already spreading the news throughout the population of the school that had stayed during the holidays. James didn't mind it so much, but Lily did.
As soon as Isabelle had given up on looking for Pierre, Lily decided to go and look for him to get some advice. She eventually found him hiding in one of the hidden panels of the medicine storeroom. "It's safe now. You can come out," said Lily, giggling.
"Mon Dieu. I thought she'd never leave," muttered Dr. Pomfrey. "What are you doing here? What's wrong now?"
"You're lucky I didn't tell her about the hidden panel," said Lily. "Anyway, I have a bit of a problem. Not really a problem. Hmm. How can I explain?"
"Just tell me already," ordered the French doctor impatiently.
Lily explained to him the whole situation. Dr. Pomfrey listened without interruption, but he did chuckle every once in a while. By the end, he was laughing so hard he could barely control himself. Lily looked at him completely exasperated with her foot tapping impatiently. "Are you done laughing yet?" she asked, quite irritated.
"Yes," chuckled Dr. Pomfrey. "So, you're now officially his girlfriend. Or boyfriend. This is confusing."
Lily blushed at his statement. "So, what's the problem?" he went on. "You should be happy."
"That's exactly the point. I am so confused. This changes everything about our relationship before. I don't know how to act. I've never had a boyfriend before," admitted Lily.
"Do I look like I know what you should do?" asked Dr. Pomfrey. "Just be yourself. I've said that before. You don't have to pretend to be a boy around him anymore."
"That's true. But, I'm living with him in the same room," said Lily.
"I thought he knew for sure ahead of time that you were really a girl," pointed out Dr. Pomfrey. "Rumor has it that he's due to be Head Boy."
Lily was more surprised by James knowing that she was a girl ahead of time than him being Head Boy. She was wondering if she would stay in Hogwarts long enough to see that. She knew that she couldn't keep up the lie much longer. If James knew before she had told him, then there was a chance that other people knew as well.
This gave Lily loads to think about over the next few days. They had a quiet New Year's. The other students returned to the school. Sirius, Remus, and Peter returned all at the same time. They all went to go and look for James the moment they returned.
Sirius knocked on the door. He listened very carefully, but he didn't hear anything. "James, it's Sirius. We're back. Are you in there?" he asked. He listened again and the door swung open.
"Hey Sirius. Remus. Peter. When did you guys get back?" asked James.
"Just now," replied Remus. "Mind if we come in."
"No problem," said Lily as she smiled at them. "What did you guys do during the break?"
Remus and Sirius sat on James' bed because he had sat on Lily's. James didn't really want any other guy sitting on it. Peter took the chair from James' desk, and Lily was in her own chair. "Well, you missed a great time in France in Remus' family's vineyard," said Sirius. "Did you have to work hard? Or was Reggie's mum as laidback as Dr. Pomfrey?"
Lily and James laughed. "She inherited her work ethic from Madame Pomfrey. She barely gave us any time off," answered James. "She wasn't that bad compared to the Malfoys."
"The Malfoys were there?" asked Peter.
"Not all of them. Just Lucius and his sisters," replied Lily.
"They were all pains in the arse," said James. "Especially his younger sister. His kid sister was the only decent one in the bunch."
"Aw. You mean you don't like Tara?" teased Lily.
"Tara? Was she cute?" asked Sirius.
"Very," said Lily, thinking it was a good idea to say so. She wanted to appear as much as a teenage boy as possible. That included being interested in girls. James was grinning ear to ear because they had spent the past few days coming up with a plan on how to improve Lily's disguise.
"She was a pest," said James.
"But she was cute," insisted Lily. "But, I don't think Malfoy liked her obvious crush on you." She laughed.
"What about the other Malfoy?" asked Remus.
"Her name's Kat. She's three years old. And she's so adorable. She developed a crush on Frank," answered Lily. "She got so upset that she didn't want to go home and leave him."
"He's a cradle robber," laughed Sirius.
"Did you make any money? Not that you need it," said Remus.
"We made some money," said James. He had saved it up in his trunk rather than send it to his father for depositing into his vault at Gringotts. He had noticed how much Lily needed the money she had made. He watched her make a list in her notebook of expenses, which included trips to Hogsmeade. She also had extra expenses that girls just couldn't avoid. Lily had written her mother and told her that she would take care of it on her own. James kept his money in case she needed it.
"What else did you guys do?" asked Lily.
"Well, you see Remus had to--" started Peter.
James cut him off, "Why don't you guys go back to the tower? I have a meeting to attend." Peter put his hands in front of his mouth. Lily instantly thought that they were hiding something. She stared at Remus who looked back at her calmly.
"We're sorry to keep you, James," said Sirius quickly as he stood up. "We should get back to the tower. We have to get ready for class tomorrow."
Lily wanted to ask what was wrong with Remus again, but something in their tones told her not to. Sirius gave her a look that silenced her as they left. "See you guys tomorrow," said Remus. "We've got Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I think Potions, right, Sirius?"
"Yeah. See you," said Sirius. They were out the door. James closed the door behind him and sighed. Lily turned back to her desk as he came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Finally, I thought they'd never leave."
"What was that about?" asked Lily quietly.
"What was what about?" asked James.
"You know what I mean. What's wrong with Remus? What chronic condition does he have?" asked Lily.
James took his arms off of her and straightened up. "What makes you think he has a 'chronic condition?'"
"He's always sick, but most of the time he's fine. Every month he seems to come down with something, James. And just now, Peter was going to say something, but you stopped him. What's wrong with Remus? You can tell me. You know everything about me."
"It's not my business to tell you, Lily," said James. He only called her that in private. "It's Remus' business if he wants to tell you."
"You're helping him, aren't you?" she asked.
"Of course, I am. He's my friend," he replied without hesitation. "Look, just stop asking about him, okay? Like I said, it's his business if he wants to say anything or not."
Lily frowned at James. He shook his head. He wasn't going to give her an answer. "Don't you have a meeting to go to?" asked Lily, deciding it was better to change the subject.
"No. Well, yes, but I really don't want to go," answered James as he leaned back in his bed. "I'm going to take a nap."
Lily sighed as she smiled. She just couldn't help herself.
*
The next morning, there was a lot of teasing and razzing waiting for Frank because Sirius couldn't help himself. He teased Frank about Kat Malfoy's crush on him. Frank took it good naturedly. He let something slip.
"Tara Malfoy had a thing for James, even though she was talking to Lucas a lot. James finally got rid of her by saying he had a girlfriend," said Frank.
The other Marauders stopped talking and turned to look at James. "Girlfriend?" laughed Sirius. "You must have been desperate to get rid of her. Not that I blame you. Imagine Malfoy as your brother-in-law."
Remus didn't seem to see it as a joke though. "Do you have a girlfriend, James, that we haven't heard of?"
Peter didn't say anything because Remus and Sirius had taken all the clever things to say. James nodded slightly as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. Sirius' eyes bugged out. "You do? When? Who? How?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" said James slyly. Lily shook her head. He was having too much fun with this.
"Did you know about this, Lucas?" asked Remus.
"I only found out during the vacation. It's as much a surprise to you as it is to me," she answered. "I have no idea who his girlfriend is. He won't tell me. And I don't really care."
Frank smiled slightly. "But, you liked Malfoy's sister better than he did."
"She was cute, but too talkative for my tastes," said Lily. "Besides, she's too young for me, cradle robber."
Frank turned red at the ears. "I am not a cradle robber," he said indignantly.
The whole Gryffindor table laughed, causing attention from the Slytherin table. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were sitting next to each other watching them with increasing disgust. They both took a swig of pumpkin juice, wishing it was something stronger.
"Can you believe them? They were nothing but servants for the vacation. It was paradise. That's how it should be," muttered Lucius.
Snape didn't care whether or not James Potter was a servant. His family was well off, but they had house elves who were absolutely loyal to them. He only cared that Potter was walking about like he owned the place, when he most certainly did not.
Severus hated James' attitude towards the rules, and he couldn't believe that Dumbledore would allow James to get away with it along with his little friends. He couldn't believe that Potter made prefect. Severus swore it was only James' ability to hang on to a broomstick that got him the position. Just once, Severus wanted to get even with James Potter and put him in his place. That would make his entire stay in Hogwarts worthwhile.
A plan was hatching in Severus' mind. He had to find a weakness in the group. He immediately thought of Peter Pettigrew, but Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were always around him. Severus knew that neither Black nor Lupin would do anything against Potter. They were too loyal, especially Black. Frank Longbottom was a bit of a loner from time to time, but he wouldn't do anything against another Gryffindor, and he was the keeper on the Quidditch team. Severus' dark eyes rested on the red head next to Potter.
Evans. Severus knew that Evans didn't typically go with Potter and the rest of his little gang whenever there was something going on. There was something else that Severus noticed about the group, specifically Remus. Severus was always very observant. He noticed how often Lupin claimed he was ill, ever since the beginning. Severus wasn't completely sure, but he knew that there was something wrong with Lupin. Recently, it had clicked during a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. It made perfect sense now.
"What's going on in that mind of yours, Severus?" asked Lucius.
Severus' expression didn't change. "Just thinking. That's all," he replied as he gathered up his books.
*
School started again. It was hard to jump start everyone after such a relaxing holiday. The Marauders were still causing their usual mischief here and there. They made some very important modifications to the map. James and Sirius looked up spells to improve the map, but it was taking a long time.
They realized that even though the map was helpful in remembering where all the secret passages were located, they'd had one too many close calls with the faculty and staff. James suggested that the map should be improved to give warnings, but Sirius suggested it would be better if the map could tell them exactly where everyone was at any given time.
After much argument, Sirius gave the map to James to modify. "I still don't understand why you don't want me doing it. I'm just as good as you are," said Sirius stubbornly. "Don't you trust me?"
"I do, but I'd rather do it myself," insisted James. "Besides, you have work to do in Arithmancy anyway."
"You have prefect duties," pointed out Sirius defensively.
"But, I don't do them," countered James.
"What's the big deal who does it anyway?" asked Peter. He and Remus were playing chess in the corner. He was losing.
"I think Padfoot is concerned about who might see it," replied Remus as his knight moved forward.
"Is that what you're worried about?" asked James to Sirius. "That someone will see it? There's more of a chance of someone seeing it here than in my room. I have a private room after all."
"That's not true. You have a roommate," said Sirius finally. "A roommate you've been telling things to."
"I haven't told Lucas anything," said James defensively. "You're jumping to conclusions."
Sirius' temper was rising. "How do we know that? You've probably told him everything. We don't know him," he said angrily.
"He doesn't know a bloody thing! I didn't say anything. Don't accuse me of being a traitor, Sirius!" shouted back James, angrily. Luckily, they were in one of the empty classrooms instead of the Gryffindor common room. He stood up, to fight.
Sirius did the same thing. It was alarming how much the two looked alike at that moment. They were like brothers. Remus stood up slowly. "Okay, now, now. Let's take it easy. There's no reason for you to fight. Come on. Stop," he said, attempting to pacify them.
Peter wasn't one to get into a conflict, so he sat there as quiet as a mouse. "I'm sure that James didn't tell anything to Lucas that he shouldn't have," continued Remus. "There's no reason to fight."
"I will not stand here and have you accuse me of doing anything wrong. I'm leaving!" said James in a loud voice as he placed the map in his Transfiguration book and slammed it shut. He went to the door and yanked it open. He walked out and slammed it shut behind him, stunning them.
As soon as he was out in the hall, he started walking over to his room. He had the map with him in his book. James knew he had to be the one to make the improvements on the map. He didn't have a choice because he knew that Sirius would get it right. Sirius would learn the truth about Lily.
James stopped in the middle of the hall. He wanted to keep her safe. Suddenly, he felt very tired and with good reason. He was spinning around in circles it seemed. He was keeping up too many lies and too many stories. James regained his resolve. He started for his room again.
"How was your meeting?" asked Lily when he walked in. She smiled at him. She was working at her desk.
"Fine. Just fine," replied James, forgetting all his troubles.
He didn't even care that Sirius was mad at him. She was in the same Arithmancy class as Sirius. Even so, her mere presence made him feel better. James put the Transfiguration book on his desk. It was something that could wait until tomorrow.
Post Author's Note: I had finals. Also I had writer's block. I can't stand this story anymore. I only want to finish it so that my head doesn't get bitten off. In the last chapter, I wrote that it would be one of the few Christmases that James and Lily will spend together because it's true. They will die. The time they have is very limited. With death, there is the feeling that there is never enough time with one's loved ones. Something I learned in one of my classes.
I have found this story very frustrating. The only thing I can do is rush through this story, so I can finish it. Two more chapters to go after this. People can probably guess what will happen in the next chapter. I actually got an idea of how to end this thing. Let's see if I can pull it off.
Go to kirikarin.livejournal.com for more info.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (For You in Full Blossom). I just borrowed these for my fic.
