Something Like Deception
Disclaimer: ideas mine, characters you recognize are not
Chapter 3 - doubts, regret, and stranger feelings
"No," Remus said. He was more stunned than anything.
"Awww, Moony! Why not?" James whined.
"It's dishonest!" Remus retorted. His heart was pounding like mad. This was a crazy idea. He couldn't switch bodies with James! At least, not now, anyway . . .
"Dishonest, smishonest," Sirius said, flicking his hand. "It doesn't matter. She'll fall in love with James, and everyone will live happily ever after, like in those Muggle fairy tales."
'Everyone except me,' Remus thought, gloomily. He shook his head again. "Nothing doing," he said firmly. "No way, and besides she wouldn't really be falling in love with James. She'd be falling in love with me in James' body."
"Well, that's the point, isn't it? To make her fall for my body?" James interrupted. "We could deal with personality changes after we switch back."
Sirius nodded in agreement.
"But what about my werewolf state?" Remus said.
At this, both James and Sirius grinned, much to Remus' disappointment.
"We thought you might bring that up," James said. "So we checked your chart. You just transformed two weeks ago. You have two weeks until you have to transform again."
'Damn,' Remus swore silently. 'Think Moony, think!' "Wait, what makes you think Lily can fall in love in one day?" he asked, quietly.
James and Sirius grew quiet and looked at each other. 'Aha!' Remus thought, gleefully. Sirius laughed nervously. "Oh, come on, Moony, we've heard the girls talking about you. You've got 'charisma.'"
Remus crossed his arms. "No," he stated, firmly. His body was burning in guilt. 'I'm a horrible friend,' he thought. The two guys sighed in defeat, and Remus felt somewhat relieved, which made him feel even worse. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to be James - it was just that he didn't want to James to be him . . . alone with Lily.
*_*
Lily grinned to herself. She was a bubble of bliss floating around Hogsmeade. Twice, she had bumped into someone, and she didn't even notice the nasty looks they threw her way.
'Remus, Remus, Remus,' she thought, sighing. Lily grinned again. It was as if she had fallen in love overnight, but she knew deep down that she hadn't. Out of all the guys at Hogwarts, Remus was the kindest, the sweetest, the most honest . . . and possibly the best kisser.
She definitely hadn't fallen in love overnight. She'd known all these things since first year (with the exception of the kiss) and she had had a crush on him since third year. When she found out this year that he was the other prefect, her stomach had done some kind of happy flop.
"It's been five years," she whispered. "Five years we've known each other, and this year we finally admit that we like each other."
She smiled at a passing kid with a lolly. She remembered those Muggle commercials, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?" Then, she thought up her own question:
"How long does it take to fall in love?"
-_-
"Doesn't polyjuice potion usually take forever?" Sirius asked. They had left Remus and went up to their dorm.
James nodded. "Yeah, that's why I'm aging it."
"You're going to age a potion?" Sirius asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Yeah. Why not?" James said, looking up from the spellbook he was reading.
Sirius shrugged. "I don't think it's been done before."
"Cool. We'll be the first to do it, then," James grinned. "Tomorrow morning, we'll slip some into his pumpkin juice, or his water."
"It'll be finished by tomorrow morning?" Sirius asked, surprised.
"Hopefully. At the latest, tomorrow afternoon," James said. He sighed. "I can't wait until Evans is in my arms."
*_-
Remus watched her, a worried expression on his face. He was outside and the students in Hogsmeade were returning, one by one. Lily was the last, and (he noted) the most beautiful girl there. He chided himself silently. 'This is wrong,' he told himself. 'You're a dreadful friend. How will you ever explain this to James?'
"Remus?" a soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. He focused on the face in front of him, then smiled when he realized it was Lily. "Why are you sitting on the ground?"
'Waiting for you to return from Hogsmeade, Lily,' he thought, 'so I can see your gorgeous face the moment you arrived back. Plus, I'm going crazy without you near me at all times.' He smiled. That was way pathetic. It was something Sirius or James might say to a fling. The smile disappeared. James . . .
"Everyone's gone inside," she said, shivering a bit. Then she blushed a bit and smiled. "Though we could stay out here if you like."
He climbed to his feet slowly, then reached out and lightly stroked her cheek. "You're cold," he replied. "We should go in."
"Okay," she said happily, reaching out to hug him. He hugged her back and fought a smile. He had no right to smile. 'What will James say?' he thought. Another thought struck him and he suddenly pulled away from her. She looked up at him, clearly confused.
"Did you-?" he paused. Then he asked hesitantly, "Did you tell anyone about us?"
Lily stared up at him. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Her eyes were calculating the meaning of his sentence.
"No," she finally answered.
Remus breathed a small sigh of relief. 'Whew,' he thought.
"Why?" she asked, her eyes intent upon him.
He flinched and looked up at her. Now, what was he supposed to say? 'Well, let's see, my best friend is in love with you, also, and if he found out about us, I would break his heart?' Fat chance!
"It's all so soon," he said, avoiding her eyes and wishing he was a better liar.
"I see," she replied. "So you don't want me to tell anyone?"
He shook his head, still avoiding her gaze. "Please, don't."
"I won't, but . . . we're officially 'together' now?" she asked hopefully.
Remus nodded, glancing up at her to see if she'd be angry or anything. Surprisingly, she was grinning at him. This made him automatically grin back.
"I suppose it'll be sort of romantic," she said, thoughtfully. "In a moonlighted, secret sort of way."
"Moonlighted?" he asked, curiously.
Lily blushed. "Well, sort of. It's just that when I think of romance, I think of walks hand-in-hand under the full moon. It's kinda stupid, I know, but it's a fantasy of mine."
Remus stared at her. 'How ironic,' he thought, sadly. 'The one thing she wants to do with me, and I'll never be able to do it with her.'
They held hands walking back up to the castle, and a small part of him thought, 'But James could.'
(A/N: how screwed up is that, huh? lol)
-_*
Remus had been painfully aware of Sirius and James staring at him all day. For some reason, they were both being extra-nice, too. This was suspicious in itself. However, whenever he asked them what was going on, they just smiled at him, mysteriously, and refused to answer.
He finally couldn't take it anymore when he downed his water and they were practically drilling holes into him from the staring.
"For pity's sake, what?" he said, irritably.
He watched as they gave each other confused looks and then turned back to him.
"Nothing," Sirius said, sounding surprised. "Nothing at all."
Remus felt the inside of this mouth with his tongue. 'Was it just me?' he thought. 'Or did that water taste a tad . . . strange?'
"Did you two do something to my drink?" he asked sternly.
"Apparently not," James said, sounding just as surprised as Sirius had.
Remus shook his head and stood up. "I'm feeling a bit tired. Come up to the dorm and wake me up for classes in about twenty minutes," he said. 'Strange,' he thought. His legs seemed to get heavier with each step he made toward the common room. Soon he could barely walk.
He mumbled the password - "couch tomato" - and stumbled into the common room, barely remembering to close the portrait behind him. He could hardly keep his eyes open.
'I'll just take a nap on the couch, then,' he thought. However, before he could lay himself on the couch, he collapsed on it, his knees giving way. And before he could register that he had fallen, his mind went blank and everything faded away.
@_@
interesting drowsiness, eh? I thought so, too, when I was writing it - lol. I was actually surprised people liked this fic. I don't think I'd normally read something like this myself, but, hey, just goes to show people's tastes differ. And since you guys seem to think it's so great, this chapter is for you. And if you review, I'll add another chapter, maybe.
By the way, on fictionpress.com, my penname is Fade Away, though I haven't submitted anything yet. I just recently discovered the site. But when I do, I'll make sure to mention it.
Ariana S.
Disclaimer: ideas mine, characters you recognize are not
Chapter 3 - doubts, regret, and stranger feelings
"No," Remus said. He was more stunned than anything.
"Awww, Moony! Why not?" James whined.
"It's dishonest!" Remus retorted. His heart was pounding like mad. This was a crazy idea. He couldn't switch bodies with James! At least, not now, anyway . . .
"Dishonest, smishonest," Sirius said, flicking his hand. "It doesn't matter. She'll fall in love with James, and everyone will live happily ever after, like in those Muggle fairy tales."
'Everyone except me,' Remus thought, gloomily. He shook his head again. "Nothing doing," he said firmly. "No way, and besides she wouldn't really be falling in love with James. She'd be falling in love with me in James' body."
"Well, that's the point, isn't it? To make her fall for my body?" James interrupted. "We could deal with personality changes after we switch back."
Sirius nodded in agreement.
"But what about my werewolf state?" Remus said.
At this, both James and Sirius grinned, much to Remus' disappointment.
"We thought you might bring that up," James said. "So we checked your chart. You just transformed two weeks ago. You have two weeks until you have to transform again."
'Damn,' Remus swore silently. 'Think Moony, think!' "Wait, what makes you think Lily can fall in love in one day?" he asked, quietly.
James and Sirius grew quiet and looked at each other. 'Aha!' Remus thought, gleefully. Sirius laughed nervously. "Oh, come on, Moony, we've heard the girls talking about you. You've got 'charisma.'"
Remus crossed his arms. "No," he stated, firmly. His body was burning in guilt. 'I'm a horrible friend,' he thought. The two guys sighed in defeat, and Remus felt somewhat relieved, which made him feel even worse. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to be James - it was just that he didn't want to James to be him . . . alone with Lily.
*_*
Lily grinned to herself. She was a bubble of bliss floating around Hogsmeade. Twice, she had bumped into someone, and she didn't even notice the nasty looks they threw her way.
'Remus, Remus, Remus,' she thought, sighing. Lily grinned again. It was as if she had fallen in love overnight, but she knew deep down that she hadn't. Out of all the guys at Hogwarts, Remus was the kindest, the sweetest, the most honest . . . and possibly the best kisser.
She definitely hadn't fallen in love overnight. She'd known all these things since first year (with the exception of the kiss) and she had had a crush on him since third year. When she found out this year that he was the other prefect, her stomach had done some kind of happy flop.
"It's been five years," she whispered. "Five years we've known each other, and this year we finally admit that we like each other."
She smiled at a passing kid with a lolly. She remembered those Muggle commercials, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?" Then, she thought up her own question:
"How long does it take to fall in love?"
-_-
"Doesn't polyjuice potion usually take forever?" Sirius asked. They had left Remus and went up to their dorm.
James nodded. "Yeah, that's why I'm aging it."
"You're going to age a potion?" Sirius asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Yeah. Why not?" James said, looking up from the spellbook he was reading.
Sirius shrugged. "I don't think it's been done before."
"Cool. We'll be the first to do it, then," James grinned. "Tomorrow morning, we'll slip some into his pumpkin juice, or his water."
"It'll be finished by tomorrow morning?" Sirius asked, surprised.
"Hopefully. At the latest, tomorrow afternoon," James said. He sighed. "I can't wait until Evans is in my arms."
*_-
Remus watched her, a worried expression on his face. He was outside and the students in Hogsmeade were returning, one by one. Lily was the last, and (he noted) the most beautiful girl there. He chided himself silently. 'This is wrong,' he told himself. 'You're a dreadful friend. How will you ever explain this to James?'
"Remus?" a soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. He focused on the face in front of him, then smiled when he realized it was Lily. "Why are you sitting on the ground?"
'Waiting for you to return from Hogsmeade, Lily,' he thought, 'so I can see your gorgeous face the moment you arrived back. Plus, I'm going crazy without you near me at all times.' He smiled. That was way pathetic. It was something Sirius or James might say to a fling. The smile disappeared. James . . .
"Everyone's gone inside," she said, shivering a bit. Then she blushed a bit and smiled. "Though we could stay out here if you like."
He climbed to his feet slowly, then reached out and lightly stroked her cheek. "You're cold," he replied. "We should go in."
"Okay," she said happily, reaching out to hug him. He hugged her back and fought a smile. He had no right to smile. 'What will James say?' he thought. Another thought struck him and he suddenly pulled away from her. She looked up at him, clearly confused.
"Did you-?" he paused. Then he asked hesitantly, "Did you tell anyone about us?"
Lily stared up at him. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Her eyes were calculating the meaning of his sentence.
"No," she finally answered.
Remus breathed a small sigh of relief. 'Whew,' he thought.
"Why?" she asked, her eyes intent upon him.
He flinched and looked up at her. Now, what was he supposed to say? 'Well, let's see, my best friend is in love with you, also, and if he found out about us, I would break his heart?' Fat chance!
"It's all so soon," he said, avoiding her eyes and wishing he was a better liar.
"I see," she replied. "So you don't want me to tell anyone?"
He shook his head, still avoiding her gaze. "Please, don't."
"I won't, but . . . we're officially 'together' now?" she asked hopefully.
Remus nodded, glancing up at her to see if she'd be angry or anything. Surprisingly, she was grinning at him. This made him automatically grin back.
"I suppose it'll be sort of romantic," she said, thoughtfully. "In a moonlighted, secret sort of way."
"Moonlighted?" he asked, curiously.
Lily blushed. "Well, sort of. It's just that when I think of romance, I think of walks hand-in-hand under the full moon. It's kinda stupid, I know, but it's a fantasy of mine."
Remus stared at her. 'How ironic,' he thought, sadly. 'The one thing she wants to do with me, and I'll never be able to do it with her.'
They held hands walking back up to the castle, and a small part of him thought, 'But James could.'
(A/N: how screwed up is that, huh? lol)
-_*
Remus had been painfully aware of Sirius and James staring at him all day. For some reason, they were both being extra-nice, too. This was suspicious in itself. However, whenever he asked them what was going on, they just smiled at him, mysteriously, and refused to answer.
He finally couldn't take it anymore when he downed his water and they were practically drilling holes into him from the staring.
"For pity's sake, what?" he said, irritably.
He watched as they gave each other confused looks and then turned back to him.
"Nothing," Sirius said, sounding surprised. "Nothing at all."
Remus felt the inside of this mouth with his tongue. 'Was it just me?' he thought. 'Or did that water taste a tad . . . strange?'
"Did you two do something to my drink?" he asked sternly.
"Apparently not," James said, sounding just as surprised as Sirius had.
Remus shook his head and stood up. "I'm feeling a bit tired. Come up to the dorm and wake me up for classes in about twenty minutes," he said. 'Strange,' he thought. His legs seemed to get heavier with each step he made toward the common room. Soon he could barely walk.
He mumbled the password - "couch tomato" - and stumbled into the common room, barely remembering to close the portrait behind him. He could hardly keep his eyes open.
'I'll just take a nap on the couch, then,' he thought. However, before he could lay himself on the couch, he collapsed on it, his knees giving way. And before he could register that he had fallen, his mind went blank and everything faded away.
@_@
interesting drowsiness, eh? I thought so, too, when I was writing it - lol. I was actually surprised people liked this fic. I don't think I'd normally read something like this myself, but, hey, just goes to show people's tastes differ. And since you guys seem to think it's so great, this chapter is for you. And if you review, I'll add another chapter, maybe.
By the way, on fictionpress.com, my penname is Fade Away, though I haven't submitted anything yet. I just recently discovered the site. But when I do, I'll make sure to mention it.
Ariana S.