Something Like Deception

A/N: I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I'm not going to make excuses like I usually do cuz it's a waste of time, if you ask me.

Disclaimer: no it doesn't belong to me

Chapter Eight – surprise surprise

Sirius stared at book after book and found grossly illustrated pictures of spells gone wrong, but he found nothing on anything going wrong with body switching. In fact, the book that he had originally got the spell from was missing, itself. He flipped through book after book that night, but still found nothing. For the first time in a while, Sirius began to get really worried.

Lily lay awake a long time that night doing nothing but staring up at the ceiling. She had had fun. With James. James Potter, of all people. And Remus – She sighed as she remembered the dejected, confused expression on his face. Did he think she was cheating on him? And why had he pushed her to talk to James, anyway? She had to talk to him. They hadn't really had the chance to talk since . . .

Lily didn't even remember the last time they had just talked. It had been awhile. She frowned. He always seemed to be so busy. "Well, I'll just have to take him away from all that, won't I?" she whispered to herself.

And she vowed to do it tomorrow.

---

Remus awoke before James the following day as he usually did. He dressed and showered as quietly as he could before heading down to breakfast. Sirius and James never stirred. James, in HIS body. Remus felt the familiar feelings of anger rising to the surface. What exactly had they been thinking!?

He entered the Great Hall, still full of fury, and spotted none other than Lily sitting at the Gryffindor table alone. There were a few other students there, too, but Lily was the only Gryffindor. And, Remus smiled, she was also the only one absorbed in a book.

"Hey, Lily," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. She looked up and smiled. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked.

She looked mildly surprised. "Oh, go ahead," she said. "I'm afraid I won't be much company, though." She gestured toward her book.

Remus laughed. "I know the feeling. Sometimes when I'm absorbed in a good book, I – "

He stopped speaking abruptly. She was staring at him with a look of utter disbelief. "You read, Potter? In your free time?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

Remus blushed deeply. He had completely forgotten! What if he had let something important slip? Stupid, he chided himself. "I, uh, you know, um, the usual school books," he answered, awkwardly. "I mean, everyone has to study them, you know?"

Lily continued to stare at him. "You actually study?" she said.

Remus was starting to get annoyed. "Yes. Ja – I actually study."

Lily blushed. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just . . . you don't strike me as the studious type. That's more of, um, Remus's department."

Remus stared at her. "What do you mean, Remus's department?" He was curious. What did she REALLY think of him?

For some reason, she seemed to blush even more. "I-I mean. He spends so much time in the library. More than . . . uh, you and Sirius do."

Remus grinned. He decided to have a little fun with her. "That doesn't necessarily mean he's studying, you know," he whispered, leaning across the table.

Lily's eyes widened at this, and she pushed her chair back. "I, um, I don't think I'm hungry anymore. I'll just go back . . . to, uh, the common room and read this, shall I?"

She practically fled the Great Hall, and Remus grinned to himself. Maybe he was starting to get the hang of this. After all, what he just did was a very "James" thing to do.

---

James sauntered down the stairs to the common room. On the last step, he suddenly stopped causing Sirius to run into him. He shook his head. Remus did not saunter. Remus walked. Silently, he went back to the top of the stairs and redid his walk again, while Sirius stared at him like he was crazy.

"Are you okay?" he asked when James reached the bottom.

"Fine. Just perfecting, Remus's – uh, my walk," James said, grinning.

"I think this whole charade is beginning to rot your brain," Sirius said, shaking his head.

"What charade?" Lily asked, approaching them both with a smile.

"What charade?" James repeated. He glanced quickly at Sirius. Sirius shrugged.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Remus, can I talk to you?"

"Why?" James asked, bewildered by her sudden mood change. She had a serious look on her face.

"Prefect business," she said, widening her eyes.

"Oh," James said, utterly clueless. He had no idea if he would be able to worm his way out of this one. What if she discovered something, like the fact that he didn't have any idea what being a prefect was all about. "Listen, can't it wait? I'm sorry, but I'm really hungry."

A hurt expression crossed her face. For a second she just stared at him. Then, she said in a cold voice, "Fine."

James faltered, uneasy by her abrupt coldness. "If . . . If you really want to talk now – "

"No, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," she interrupted. Throwing him a mean look, she stomped up the common room stairs.

Sirius sighed. "You should know better, James," he said, quietly. "Nothing comes between those two and their prefect duties. That's probably the whole foundation of their friendship."

James stared at him. "Since when did you get so . . . insightful?"

"Since I've stayed in my own body," Sirius said, grinning. "My brain isn't addled, unlike yours."

James shook his head. "I just don't understand her, that's all."

---

Lily avoided him all of the following week. In fact, she avoided all of the Marauders, except possibly Sirius, who could be found in the library at any free hour of the day, and in between all of his classes, as James and Remus still hadn't switched back. But since Lily went there all the time, no one could be sure if she ever spoke to Sirius or not.

When James pestered Sirius to find out what was up with Lily, Sirius merely held up his hands and said he wasn't getting caught up in it any further than he had to be. He was, surprisingly, the only Marauder who was actually acting sane lately. James was locked on to Lily's every move, and Peter had taken up an obsession with salamanders for some odd reason.

Remus was worried. If the charts were right, his next transformation was next week. What if the spell wasn't off of them by then? What if . . .? He shuddered. What if James had to transform for him? Then again, what if he transformed in James's body? He was scared. The shooting pains were due to start in his stomach any time now, and the headaches would be along right after that, but so far, James hadn't said anything.

"James wouldn't recognize the symptoms, though," Remus muttered to himself. A few students in the class sitting near looked at him strangely, Lily not included. She was purposefully not looking at him lately.

If there was one thing he missed about his body, it was Lily's attraction to it. Well, at least he guessed she was attracted to his body. It was never an actual topic that came up in their conversations. More than that, though, he simply missed her. He missed being around her, missed her smile, missed her laugh, missed her intelligence. There was just so much to her that he couldn't enjoy from a distance.

The bell rang, and Remus continued to sit there in a daze.

"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" someone said, kindly.

Remus looked down at the sound of the voice, and spotted Professor Flitwick. All of the other students had left already. "Oh . . . Um, I'm fine, Professor," he said, sighing.

"Are you sure?" the Professor persisted. "You've been looking a little upset lately."

"I'm – " Remus paused. "Well . . . I've – I've got a friend, and uh, I really like her a lot, but I did something . . . and there's a secret, but I can't tell her. And, um, now, I don't know what to do."

Professor Flitwick looked startled at his outburst. Remus supposed that no student had ever really just come out and confided in him like that. The expression on his face would have been funny if Remus hadn't been serious.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I suggest that you talk to this friend of yours that you like so much," Flitwick said, gravely. "Talking is really the best thing you can do in these situations."

"You – You think so?" Remus asked, uncertainly. "I'm not so sure."

"Yes, I'm positive," Flitwick smiled. "Talking is good."

"Alright, if you think so," Remus said, doubtfully. "Thank you, Professor."

"No problem," the tiny professor said, proudly.

Remus took a deep breath as he exited the classroom. Classes were over for the day. It was time to find Lily.

Lily sat in the common room absorbed in her thoughts. Everyone else was at dinner, but Lily had skipped it, deciding to go to the kitchens later in the middle of patrolling/prefect duties. She was thinking so hard that she didn't notice anyone sit down beside her.

"Hey, Lily," a soft voice said.

Lily jumped. "J-James! What are you doing here?" For some reason, she blushed.

"Looking for you," he said, seriously. "How are you?"

"Fine," she said quickly. "I'm fine. Why?"

"I wanted to apologize. If it offended you, what I said the other morning."

"Oh, that," Lily said, blushing deeper.

She was so pretty when she was embarrassed. She was pretty all the time, actually. "Lily," he whispered.

She stared at him. "Yes?"

His heart started to pound. He could feel the blood rushing throughout his body. But he couldn't stop it. He couldn't sit this close to her, and not do anything . . .

He leaned in, his face inching closer and closer to hers. 'I'm sorry, James,' he thought, as his lips descended upon Lily's.

The moment their lips touched, he felt whole again. Something electric sizzled through him, and he kissed her feverishly, almost frantically, as if he couldn't get enough. And it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough that he simply kissed her. He needed to . . . He pushed her down on her back onto the couch. He needed to . . . His tongue hungrily explored her mouth. He needed to . . .

Devour her.

---

Lily shoved him off of her. There was something . . . so strange . . .

She stared at him. There was an apology written all over his face. And something else in his eyes . . . was it fear?

Her heart was hammering. This was James Potter, for Merlin's sake! James – freakin – Potter! "I-I don't understand," she whispered.

"Neither do I," came a voice from the doorway. Lily looked up in terror.

Her boyfriend, Remus Lupin, was standing in the portrait hole doorway.

---

A/N: CAN YOU SAY, "IRONY!?" HAHA! Okay, now I'm starting to enjoy this! I personally cannot wait for the next chapter, and so I hope I write some more soon, but this was just the perfect cliffhanger. Please Review!!! I love it when you do! It makes me want to write more, and I tend not to forget about my stories when people review . . .

Ariana S.