Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. The plot is slightly mine, but not entirely. Everything you recognize belongs to Joanne Kathleen Rowling, the magician who created the Harry Potter series.

Summary: Once, Alice had asked Lily why she and James never got along. In answer, Lily had replied, "Potter and I are incompatible." It was the only thing she and James agreed upon.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my friend Allison, who helped me go over it, and to angelgurl161, who wrote some really nice things about this story in her fanfic, The Potter Boy. When you're finished with this, I command you to go out and read it. Also, a cookie goes to anyone who spots the H.M.S. Pinafore reference! (Yeah, I'm a loser…what's new?)

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INCOMPATIBLE

CHAPTER FIVE

"I swear, if another Prefect asks if we can have a ball, I'll scream," Lily said, burying her face in her hands. It was late September; the biweekly Prefect meeting had just ended, and she and James were the only people still in the room.

"I know the feeling," James said, grinning. "But why don't you just give them one and make them happy?"

"Do you know how much planning is involved for a ball? Or any major event, for that matter?" she asked irritably, looking up. "It's virtually impossible to list all of the things you need to do! And guess who all the burden falls upon?"

"Us?" James asked.

"Damn straight," she replied. "And I will not add preparing for a Ball to my already crazy schedule. I'm about ready to fall over from exhaustion."

"You look it," James said, gesturing to her appearance. Nights of constant studying were beginning to take their toll on Lily: her hair was slightly tousled, there were circles under her bleary, blood-shot eyes that were so dark that it looked as if her face was bruised, and she was paler than usual, her skin almost white.

"You don't need to say it," Lily sighed, collecting her papers and standing up. "I still have to do that Transfiguration essay, and I have no idea how I'm going to get it done by tomorrow morning. I can't afford to not hand in any of my assignments; I'm barely scraping an 'Acceptable' as it is."

"I have to finish the Potions and Charms essays," James said. "I'm just glad that Charms isn't due until Monday; I may actually pass on it this time." Lily grinned.

"Sounds just like my Transfiguration," she said.

"Why don't we ever help each other?" he asked quietly, coming over to stand next to her. She backed away, feeling slightly uncomfortable at how close he was to her. While they had set aside their differences so they could perform their Heads duties without problems (James had finally started rounds with Lily a few days after she had mentioned them to him), she was still ill at ease around him. It was a complete turnaround from their previous relationship, and Lily, at least, was still slightly unsure of how to act around James.

"I…don't know," she replied, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "We're just never free at the same time, I guess."

"Yeah, right," James scoffed, walking forward. "You just don't want to accept help from anyone—least of all me. That's it, isn't it?"

"And if it is?" Lily retorted, getting angry. What right did he have to question her self-sufficiency? "You've never exactly given me a good reason to trust you! I don't know if you remember that incident with the flying carrots, but I most certainly do!"

"Oh…that," James said, turning red.

"Yes, that," Lily said. "And as to me helping you in Charms, I refuse to give up any of the time I need for studying to help you unless I will gain something from it. So unless you can prove to me that I can trust you—"

"And this past month hasn't been enough to convince you?" James asked her heatedly. "I've grown up, Evans. I'm not the 'arrogant, bullying toerag' that I was in Fifth Year any more, you know." Lily flushed.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can set up something later?"

"Later means that you're never going to do it," he said, leaning against the wall. "I know you, Evans."

"But that doesn't mean you know all of my little nuances!" she exclaimed, frustrated. "There's more to me than what you see!" James raised an eyebrow.

"I would hardly know that, since you don't show me anything beyond the furious, yelling Head Girl with a hot temper," he said. Lily opened her mouth as her face turned red with anger. "See?" he cut in, gesturing to her. "I don't know the other side of you; you just yell at me whenever I say anything." Lily took a deep breath, suppressing her rage; it was so hard to be around him without screaming bloody murder at him!

"All right," she said finally. "Let's set up a time. Wednesdays good for you?" James shook his head.

"Quidditch practice," he said. "Fridays?" Lily shook her head.

"I promised Dorcas I'd help her with Potions on Fridays," she said. "But I help Remus catch up on Charms right after full moon every month; maybe you could come then?"

"That's only once a month," James pointed out. "What about Saturdays?"

"And if there's a Hogsmeade weekend?"

"We don't have to spend the whole day studying," he said. "Besides, if you're really dying to go to Hogsmeade, I could take you anytime you wanted to go." He suddenly realized that he had made a mistake as Lily looked at him appraisingly.

"Yes, I would expect you to have some method of getting to Hogsmeade without waiting for the arranged dates," she said. "You use more prank supplies than what I see you buying there each time, and there are those parties every time we win a Quidditch game—"

"Which is every time we have one," James cut in. Lily laughed.

"And you say you've changed, Potter?" she asked. "You're still arrogant, although you may have stopped your bullying." She tilted her head to one side, studying him. "I'm still trying to figure out what caused that change," she said. James's cheeks turned slightly pink and he ran his hand through his hair nervously, messing it up even more.

"I…er…decided to take my Head Boy responsibilities more seriously," he said, afraid she would not buy his explanation. To his surprise, she nodded approvingly.

"It's about time," she said, picking up her belongings and walking out of the classroom. "I'll catch you around, Potter."

"Wait!" James called, grabbing his bag and rushing out after her. He was unsure why he was following her, but the damage was already done.

"Yes?" she replied, turning around.

"I need to talk to you," he said quickly, thinking up an excuse to talk even more with her.

"What about?" she asked.

"Where do we meet for these study sessions?" he asked.

"Library?" she suggested.

"I don't really see Madam Pince taking too well to the idea of our practicing spells in there," he said, grinning. "No offense, but you're not the best at Transfiguration, and my Charms…well…let's just say that they leave a lot to be desired." Lily laughed, her eyes lighting up, and James stared at her. She was so gorgeous when she laughed!

"You got that right," she said. "And none taken; you insulted yourself along with me." James laughed.

"Glad to see you have a sense of humor, Evans," he said. She grinned.

"You just haven't seen it before," she said. "If you'd matured several years earlier…"

"Oh, shut it," James said, pushing her lightly, although he was grinning, too.

"How about we just meet in the Common Room and figure out whether we want to go anywhere else then?" she suggested.

"Sure," he said. "That sounds good. I'll ask McGonagall if we can use her room, too…she usually lets me use it when I need a space to practice."

"Okay, then," she said. "And if you're late, I swear I'll castrate you."

"We never set a time, Evans," James said. "How can you castrate me if you don't have a reason?"

"I'll find one," she said, grinning. "But fine…fiveish?"

"All right," he said. "And if you try to castrate me, I'll think of something equally dire for you."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Lily said, flashing her brilliant smile at him. "Positively shaking in my bunny slippers."

"You should be," James said, returning her smile. "And you wear bunny slippers? Those I have to see."

"Shut it," she said, slapping his arm lightly, although she was still smiling. They passed a window, in which the nearly full moon was visible. Almost immediately, their happy mood evaporated.

"Remus was looking a little peaky today," Lily said quietly. "How's he holding up? Full moon's in two nights, right?"

"Yeah," James said. "He's doing as well as can be expected; I wouldn't be surprised if he missed classes tomorrow."

"Poor Remus," she sighed. "He doesn't deserve it."

"No, he doesn't," James said, although he felt a slight pang of jealousy. What did Remus have to warrant so much of Lily's attention that he, James, didn't? "Oh, and I promised Remus that if he was…um…indisposed, I'd switch with Elphias and do their patrol on my own; Elphias'll go with you. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course it is," Lily said, stopping; they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I'm glad you're doing that for him. He's lucky to have friends like you." She patted his arm lightly before saying the password ("fellytone"; Lily had decided that it was her turn to choose the password, and was poking fun at James' inability to say "telephone") and entering Gryffindor Tower. James stayed outside. He ignored the Fat Lady, who was telling him sternly to get in the tower or close the portrait, and stared at the place where Lily had disappeared. He then glanced down at his arm. Until now, Lily's only form of physical contact with him had been violent, so naturally, he was shocked. What had caused such a drastic change?

***

Lily waltzed into the Common Room, dropping her bag on the floor next to her usual seat.

"Hello!" she said merrily. Her friends, engrossed in their homework, murmured a greeting.

"You're cheerful today, Lily," Alice commented, glancing at her friend.

"I'll bet it's because she hexed James again," Dorcas said, looking at Lily. "What did you do to him his time, Lils?" she asked eagerly.

"Nothing," Lily said. "To tell you the truth, I'm unsure why I'm so cheerful. All I know is that I feel…well, happy. If I didn't know better, I'd say that someone had cast a Cheering Charm on me."

"But that can't be it," Marlene said, looking up. "So…what is it? Did the Prefect's meeting go well for once?"

"I wish," Lily sighed. "All the girls want to have a damn ball."

"What's wrong with having a ball?" Alice asked. "I think they're perfectly lovely."

"For you, maybe," Lily said irritably. "But there's so much work and planning that comes with a ball, especially for the Heads; the teachers put all the major burdens on us, saying they're willing to help if we need it, but that we're expected to do as much as possible on our own. Neither Potter nor I have the time to do one, so unless you're willing to become Temporary Head Girl, we are not having a ball. We may have a fair or something at the very end of the year to celebrate the end of exams, and we'll have the Hallowe'en Feast, but that's about it."

"That sounds good to me," Sirius said, coming up from behind them. "Anything with lots of food is always good."

"You would like it," Lily commented, reaching into her bag and pulling out her half-finished Transfiguration essay and her book. "Do you need something, Sirius?"

"Have you seen Pr—James?" Sirius asked.

"He came up with me," Lily said. "I don't know where he is if he hasn't come in yet." Sirius glanced over at the portrait hole.

"Oh, there he is," he said, seeing his best friend enter the Common Room. "Oy, James!" he yelled. He was immediately shushed by all the Seventh and Fifth Years, who were fervently studying for their N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s, respectively.

"What, Sirius?" James asked, walking over to join Sirius. "And lower your voice, for Merlin's sake!"

"Can you help me with the Potions homework?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I haven't even started it," James replied. "Ask someone else."

"There is no one else!" Sirius exclaimed. "Moony doesn't take Potions, Wormtail doesn't know monkshood from wolfsbane—"

"There's no difference between the two, Padfoot," James interrupted.

"That's the point!" Sirius said. "He doesn't know! Merlin knows why he opted to take Potions!"

"It's the only one he got an 'E' in, or do I have to remind you of how much his mother yelled at him when the results came?"

"Nah, you don't," Sirius said. "But still—"

"But nothing. I'm sure Peter's already finished his homework, and he might be able to help you. Besides, what do you need help on?"

"The essay," Sirius stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," James said, slightly annoyed. "But what exactly about the essay?"

"I don't understand anything about Aging Potions," Sirius sighed.

"What's there to understand?" James asked. "You take them to grow older!"

"But how much older?"

"Do I look like Snivellus?" James ejaculated, getting irritated with his friend. "Read the bloody textbook, Padfoot!"

"All right, all right!" Sirius said hurriedly, trying to placate his friend. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing," James said. "I just have a lot of work to do, and I can't get it done with you constantly badgering me with questions about things you should have no trouble understanding!"

"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted," Sirius said, walking off and sitting down at their usual table. James came over and sat next to him as Sirius pulled out a sheet of parchment and his Potions textbook.

"Look, Padfoot, I'm sorry," James said. "It's just…I'm a bit stressed right now."

"And I'm not?"

"You're taking five N.E.W.T.s, I'm taking six," James explained.

"And your point is?" Sirius asked, looking up at James. "Lily's taking six, but she doesn't explode at anyone!"

"Why does everyone always compare me to Lily?" James asked, not realizing that he had said her first name. "'Why can't you do this like Lily?' 'Why don't you act more like Lily?' 'Lily does this, why can't you?' It's bloody sickening!" Sirius chuckled softly. "What's so funny?"

"You ought to listen to yourself," Sirius said. "You say that you don't like Lily, and yet every time you get worked up, you say her first name. If that's not a sign that you fancy her, I don't know what is."

"We're friends now," James said.

"Really?" Sirius said. "She doesn't call you 'James,' does she?"

"That was out of order, Padfoot," James said. He quickly changed the subject. "How's Moony?"

"How do you think he would be?" Sirius retorted. "He's sleeping right now; the poor guy's exhausted."

"I feel so awful for him," James said.

"We all do, but there's not much we can do for him; we're already doing what we can," Sirius said. He then leaned in. "Full moon's in two nights; did you manage to escape patrol?"

"I told Elphias that Remus wouldn't be able to do it with him and that I'd take over their patrol and he could work with Li—Evans," James said. Sirius looked at him piercingly, but did not comment on James' reluctance to say Lily's first name.

"So she doesn't suspect anything," Sirius said.

"No, she doesn't, and I intend to keep it that way," James replied. "If she gets wind of what we're doing…she may be on fairly good terms with all of us right now, but she won't hesitate to turn us in. I'm not particularly eager to explain to my parents why I have to go to Azkaban before I even graduate."

"We all feel that way," Sirius said, turning to his Potions essay.

"Where's Wormtail?" James asked, looking around for his blonde-haired friend.

"Kitchens," Sirius said, not turning his head from his book. "He promised he'd bring me back some chocolate—"

"Oh, no, he won't," James cut in. "Not if we want to get any sleep. Moony gets all the chocolate."

"Evil," Sirius said half-heartedly.

"Of course," James replied, also pulling out his Potions things. "You wouldn't have me any other way."

"No, I wouldn't," Sirius agreed, grinning. They worked in silence for the rest of the night.

***

Lily was running through the Forbidden Forest. She was unsure of how or why she was there, but knew that she was being chased; she heard the cracking of twigs and crunching of the dry fall leaves behind her. She turned around to get a glimpse of her pursuer, but tripped over a protruding tree root. Looking up, she could see the Hogwarts grounds through the thick trunks in front of her, but as she stood up, the noises following her stopped, and she could hear heavy breathing close by. She slowly turned around, and bit her lip to keep from screaming. She had heard the stories of werewolves living in the Forbidden Forest, but had dismissed them as fiction. Now, however, she remembered that every story had its basis in fact, and this creature staring her in the eye was most definitely a werewolf. Its amber eyes glowed with a primal light, its mouth was open, revealing its large, pointed teeth, and it was salivating heavily as it looked at her. Lily fumbled for her wand, but found nothing. It was no use trying to climb a tree; werewolves had amazing strength, and she did not doubt that this one would be able to find some way to follow her up. The castle was too far away for her to run to, and it looked like she was stuck. Just then, the werewolf charged. Lily hastily turned around, running faster than she ever had before, but the creature was gaining on her. She could see Hagrid's cabin ahead of her, illuminated by the full moon, but as she glimpsed it, the werewolf pounced. Luck seemed to be on Lily's side, as she ducked and it shot over her. But now it was furious. It advanced upon her, causing her to back into a tree. This was it; she was going to die, and Lily closed her eyes in final acceptance. She waited for the final blow to hit her, but none came. The werewolf growled angrily, and she opened her eyes, to see…

Lily jerked awake, sitting up. She was sweaty and breathing heavily as she thought of what she had just dreamt. For the past few nights, she had been having this dream, and every time, she had woken up at the exact same point. She was thoroughly frustrated by the lack of a resolution, but could not think of any way to figure it out. And when she thought about it, she could not figure out any reason why she would have a dream about being chased by a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest. Yes, Lily was afraid of werewolves, but not to the point that they would haunt her dreams, and this was the fourth time she had had the nightmare.

Her dreams were also contributing to her constant fatigue. Every time she woke up after having one, she was unable to go back to sleep, thus depriving her of her much-needed rest. Sighing, Lily glanced over at the clock on her bedside table. The glowing hands told her that it was four-thirty in the morning, and she frowned. She had four hours until classes started, and decided to go down and read in the Common Room, not wishing to bother any of her dorm mates, who were all sleeping peacefully. Slipping on her dressing gown, she slid her feet into her bunny slippers (she hadn't been lying when she had mentioned them to James), and grabbed a book as she left the dorm noiselessly.

The Common Room seemed deserted when she got down there, and she settled herself on the couch in front of the fire, curling up next to the arm of the sofa. She read quietly for half an hour, enjoying the rare silence. Just then, she heard a noise nearby. Startled, she marked her place and looked around. She smiled.

James was sleeping at a table in the corner, slumped over his homework. There were ink marks all over his face, and he was breathing heavily, his glasses crushed against one side of his face. As Lily watched him, James shivered, clutching himself. Feeling sorry for him, she conjured a blanket and walked over to him, tucking it around his body as well as she could. She pulled off his glasses and carefully eased his homework out from under his face, trying not to wake him. He stirred slightly, and she stopped, but he simply turned his head and resumed his heavy breathing. With a sigh of relief, she managed to pull out the paper and tucked it into his bag, along with his textbook, which was still open. She then conjured a pillow and gently pushed it under his head, getting ink all over it.

"Scourgify," she whispered, and the ink disappeared from both James' face and the pillow. She stepped back and examined her handiwork. Satisfied, she nodded and walked back over to her book, starting up where she left off, a small smile on her face.

***

James awoke with a start. Disoriented, he looked around before realizing that he was not wearing his glasses and therefore unable to see anything. Feeling around, he found them and put them on, allowing them to settle on the bridge of his nose. He shook his head to clear his vision and then looked around again.

He was sitting at his table in the Common Room, in the same spot where he had worked on his essay the previous night. Looking at his watch, he noted that it was seven in the morning; he must have fallen asleep while finishing his homework. The sun was spilling through the curtains, and was undoubtedly what had woken him. James suddenly realized that there was a blanket draped around his shoulders and a pillow on the table in front of him. He knew that he had not conjured them, and wondered who had, looking around again.

"You're awake," a voice said from in front of the fire. James jumped, standing up. There, seated on the floor in front of the fire, was Lily, wearing a dressing gown and fuzzy slippers with bunnies on them, a book in her hand.

"Yes," James said, walking over and sitting next to her. "Did you do all that?" He gestured to the pillow and the blanket.

"Mmhm," she affirmed, nodding her head. She smiled. "You look so peaceful when you're sleeping; I couldn't bring myself to wake you and tell you to go to your own bed. I hope you don't mind—"

"Of course not," he cut in, surprised. That was the first compliment he had ever heard escape her lips, and from Lily, it was high praise. "Thank you." He then grinned. "So you do have bunny slippers."

"Of course," Lily replied with a grin, although she flushed slightly. "I don't lie." James raised an eyebrow.

"What, never?"

"No, never," she said, smiling.

"What, never?" James repeated.

"Well…hardly ever," she conceded. He laughed.

"Glad to see you're fallible, Miss Evans. Welcome to the ranks of mere mortals."

"Oh, shut it, you," she said, pushing him lightly. "And don't call me Miss Evans; that's my sister."

"Petunia, right?"

"You remember?" she asked, surprised. James shrugged.

"Hey, you never know," he said. "It could always come in handy as leverage someday."

"Oh, you…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

"Me what?" he asked curiously, looking at her.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"Of course I am," he said proudly. "Otherwise, I would have stopped bothering you the first time you yelled at me. You were pretty scary." He grinned. "I never expected a girl of your size to have such a loud voice."

"Shut it," Lily said, although she laughed along with him. She stood up, picking up her book. "I've got to go get dressed; see you at breakfast, Potter."

"James," he said. She paused and looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"My name is James, not Potter or anything else," he said. Lily smiled.

"All right, then…James." She laughed. "And my name is Lily. See you, James."

"See you," he said, watching her go up the stairs. "Lily," he whispered into the flames.

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A/N: And that's Chapter Five! I like this better than Chapter Four…I hope you liked it, too! And now, the part where I thank all the wonderful people who reviewed Chapter 4!

SoulAvenger: Yeah, James is a little slow…it'll probably be a while until he tells Lily. As for her reaction…well, you'll just have to wait and see! Thanks!

Loraliant Angelisa Snape: Okay, just let me know when you need any help. You have my e-mail address, right? Oh, that sucks about the caffeine…why can't you ever pick something you don't like for Lent, like spinach? Thanks for the review!

LimeJuiceTub: Yeah, I liked the conversation between James and Sirius too…and we finally see his more serious side! Wow…I never thought about the turning feet backwards…yeah, I guess that there's pain reliever in the spell; after all, it didn't hurt Harry when his bones were being removed by Lockhart…it was an empty threat, anyways. Thanks!

child-of-scorpio: Yes, James "lurves" Lily. Hehe…I'm sure your voice isn't that bad! Wow…I have the ability to make your day better? Yes! "All bow the all-mighty Eos, who controls emotions!" Ooh…"all-mighty Eos"…has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Lol. Thanks!

Pauly-85: Thanks!

Christy Corr: That's okay about Chapter 4…we all have times when we're so bogged down with work we can't do anything else; you don't need to apologize. Yeah, I did think James' realization came a little quickly, but if you think about it, I implied (or at least tried to imply) that James had never really stopped liking Lily; he was just in denial. Hehe…I liked the Snape-McGonagall incident, too; I was reading through it, and I cracked up when I read it…my family thought I'd lost my marbles. They haven't realized that my marbles are long gone…I think they're somewhere in Africa by now. Lol. Thanks!

LiTtLe-bLaCk-sTaR: Wow; that has to be one of the best compliments I've ever received! (After my Lit. teacher telling me that I write like an adult…) Heh…I have a weird complex where I don't like anything I write, so…yeah, you get the picture. Thanks!

ThreeEaredBunny: Yes, James has finally realized that denial isn't just a river in Egypt…Lol. Thanks!

Anaii: Thanks!

FrightninglyObsessed: Just out of curiosity, what are you "frighteningly obsessed" with? Sorry…just had to ask (I love your pen name!) I'd like to see that "extremely odd-looking happy dance" of yours…Lol. Thanks!

Hogwarts-Drama-Queen: Wow, he must be a bad singer if he "can't carry a tune farther than [you] can walk without running into something or tripping"…Yes, it's been one of my greatest dreams to fly, and yes, Dorcas sounds like a total spaz…seem fitting? Lol. Thanks!

Agloechen: Yes, I do try to keep my story as error-free as possible…that's the first time? Wow…I've seen a couple with few or no mistakes in grammar and spelling…Thanks!

Musicizdbest: Thanks!

Animalluvr75: Thanks!

fizban hat: Don't you DARE touch Sirius! He's mine, I tell you, MINE! Go out and get your own! (Wait…I just contradicted myself…but who cares?) Yes, I think the sky must be falling for Lily and James to like each other; in this chapter, it must have already crashed into the ground! Yes, Dorcas is a bit odd, but she's to Lily's group as Sirius is to James' group, and don't you think Sirius would enjoy flying around the school? *Grins* Yes, we all love Sirius, and of course Lily thinks that James is insane…he's totally nuts! (Not as much as Sirius, but you get the idea…) Thanks!

angelgurl161: Did you see the A/N at the beginning of the chapter? Heh…Thanks so much!

J.E.A.R.K. Potter (Erin): Yes, it is good that James finally admitted his attraction to Lily…Thanks!

LJstagfloewr4e/JCtigerwolf4e: Thanks!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: Thanks!

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A/N: Whew! *Wipes forehead* 78 Reviews! You guys are the greatest! Anyways…I won't be able to write much for the next three weeks…my teachers really hate me. It's nearing the end of the term and I'm so bogged down with work I don't have any time for anything else…so don't expect anything until mid-March. Thanks to all of you, and don't forget to review: you make my day infinitely better!

~Eos