Wow, It's been a week since I last updated! But, here is an update for you all! And since it is Saturday, and my gymnastics practice is cancelled (And it's 9:30 in the morning....I'm sorry, but usually I'm not out of bed until eleven.) I have nothing better to do then write personal thank-you's to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! Oh, and after this chapter, is the HALLOWEEN BALL!!!! YAY!!!! OK, just read on, and review please!

Chapter Nine

The Little Pig That Could



James sat in bed that night, thoughts chasing each other through his head. Would he ever win her heart? Or were his attempts plainly fruitless? Remus was right. Lily would never cheat on him. "Might as well give up, and just move on." James sighed, sitting up. "What am I doing?" He asked himself, as he began to pace back and forth around his bedroom. The dying embers of his fire cast a shadowy light across the room.

"What am I doing?" He repeated. "Moony is my best friend, and I'm sitting here plotting how to steal his girlfriend, which he's been with for a year and a half. I have no respect!" James muttered angrily.

"I've been deceitful, I've lied and even betrayed my friends to try and get her to fall for me. That's it, Prongs." James said firmly, running his hands through his hair. "Stop it now. Move on, date someone else, give up on Lily Evans."

James stopped, looked at his reflection on the mantle of his fireplace.

"Who am I kidding?" He asked himself. "I can't give up on her." He resumed pacing around the bedroom. "She's so pure, so smart, so beautiful, so kind. Well, to everyone but me." He grinned to himself.

"Jesus!" James gasped in exasperation. "She's got a hold on you, Prongs! She's got you wrapped around her goddamn finger! Give her up! This is unhealthy!"

'Not if she returned your feelings.' A voice in James head answered. "Well she doesn't." James said firmly. "And she never will. Give up."

James thought aloud, "Who else is a good catch around here? Well, Candace Dailey is really good looking, decent, nice. Oh yeah, Padfoot's got dibs on her. Harmony? Manic depressive." James answered his question, shaking his head in disgust that he had even thought of Harmony. "Bianca? Cute, got the sandy blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail all the time, with nice purple eyes. Eh, green is better." He said to himself.

"Alice? No, with Frank for the last two years. That girl from Ravenclaw...what's her name, Alena Field? Blonde hair, blue eyes, pretty, popular and not to mention, good at Quidditch." James stood a moment in thought. "Could work." He sighed. No one could take Lily's place in his heart. "I'll ask Alena to the Halloween dance. But I still promised to make a pig fly for Lily." James smiled slightly.

"Wait, that shouldn't matter anymore since you're going to pursue Alena now!" He said throwing his hands up as he began to follow a new track around his room. "This is the way it's going to be." He told himself firmly. "A promise is a promise. Lily was really down too, so a little humor couldn't hurt. I'll just give her a note telling her it will be just as friends, which will probably make her happy too." James sighed.

"Then, I'll start dropping hints to Alena tomorrow. I've got to make it seem real, not like an overnight thing, like it really is." He said, thinking quickly.

"Well, first thing I need is a pig." He sighed. He turned to one of the chairs at his study table, seized his wand from his night stand, and pointed his wand at the chair. "Metamorphose Adiposis." With a loud squeal, the small pink pig let loose from where the chair was, and took off into the bathroom. James tore after it in attempts to make it fly.

Lily rolled over in bed, neck sore from sleeping in the wrong position. She opened her eyes, and stared at the top of her canopy in thought.

"I think I'll go as a southern belle." She sighed finally. "It shouldn't be too hard to make with magic."

Just as she was about to get out of bed, she heard a loud squealing noise from outside her bed. She jumped in shock and quickly pulled the curtains back, revealing her large bedroom, flooded with the early morning light. Floating gently passed her fireplace, was a small pig with large hawk wings sprouting out of it's back. The wings were beating gently up and down as the pig made its way around the bedroom.

"Oh my god!" Lily gasped. Her surprise turned into immediate amusement, and she began to laugh so hard tears welled up in her eyes.



James crept up the stairs to his old dormitory the next morning. He slowly pushed the door open to cease the creaking the door usually let out. He grinned mischievously as he tip-toed to Sirius's bed. He pulled the curtains back, leaned forward so he was speaking right next to Sirius's ear. "Hey Sirius!" James yelled, laughing.

Sirius jumped in fright, then rolled over in his bed. "Come on, mommy. Just five more minutes." He groaned. James let out a short laugh. Sirius had never been much of a morning person.

James poked Sirius on the back of his head. Sirius slapped James hand away groggily. James grabbed a pillow and hit Sirius round over the head.

"Mommy! Five more minutes!" Sirius groaned. James laughed even harder, attempting to suppress his giggles, so not to wake up Remus or Peter.

"Not five more minutes, Sirius." James laughed, hitting him on the head with the pillow again.

Sirius groaned and pulled the covers over his head. Now this was getting to be useless. James sighed and pulled the covers all the way down to Sirius's feet. "Sirius! Wake up!" He bellowed.

"Wha? What're you on about?" Sirius asked groggily, sitting up in bed.

"I need to you drop a few hints to Alena Field that I like her." James sighed, glad that he had finally removed Sirius from dreamland.

"Say what?" Sirius asked sitting up.

"I need you to make Alena know that I like her."

"Who?" Sirius asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Alena Field." James said, starting to get annoyed. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, Ravenclaw girl."

"Oh, that beautiful one?" Sirius asked, standing up and yawning. "What do you want me to do now?" He asked, giving his full attention to James.

James sighed. "Drop hints that I like her."

"You like her?" Sirius grinned. "Moved on from Evans now, have you? That was quick."

James forced a grin. "What can I say?"



James stood around the corner and held his breath, hoping his plan would work. He had to press himself against the wall to restrain himself from stopping what was about to happen. He had to let Lily go or else he would be miserable for the rest of his life.

Sirius began to speak, and James took a deep breath, holding it so he could hear them properly.

"Hey Alena." Sirius said from around the corner.

"Oh, hey Sirius." Alena answered.

"So, you've heard about the Halloween ball, haven't you?" Sirius asked casually.

"Oh yes. I think it sounds like so much fun too!" Alena answered happily.

"Yeah, well do you have a date?"

"Smooth Sirius." James growled under his breath. "Make it seem like you're coming onto her."

"No, why?" Alena asked, her voice wavering slightly.

"Well, you see. I know the perfect person for you to go with." Sirius answered.

"Really? Who is that?" Alena asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"Well, let's see. You're seeker for Ravenclaw Quidditch team, you and him could really relate." Sirius said.

"Is he a Quidditch fan?" She asked, sounding slightly eager.

"Only the biggest." Sirius laughed. "He's smart, excellent at Quidditch, and he's totally hot for you." Sirius said.

James pounded his fists against the wall in frustration. Things weren't going as planned, and he had half the urge to run around the corner and confess he didn't care whatever happened to Alena as long as Lily returned his feelings.

"Really? Who is this mystery guy?" Alena asked, the nervousness fading from her voice.

"Tell me, Alena. If you could go to the ball with anyone, who would you choose?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I don't know. I don't think I have the option of going with whoever I wanted."

"I'm sure you do. Just tell me, who would the lucky guy be?"

"What if I don't want to tell you, Sirius Black?" Alena asked.

"You can modify my memory after, just get it off your chest, it'll make you feel better. And then I can tell you who wants to ask you." Sirius said. James could almost hear him grin.

"Well, I guess I would go with James Potter." Alena said, her voice cracking a bit. "Do I need to modify your memory now?" She giggled nervously.

"Nope." Sirius laughed. "Because it just so happens this smart Quidditch fan is none other than James Potter himself."

"You're kidding right?" Alena asked anxiously.

"Nope. So, if he asked you, you would say yes?"

"Well, yeah!" Alena answered, her voice much higher now.

"OK, great." Sirius answered. "I'll uh, catch up with you later then?"

"Yeah...sure." Alena answered lightly. Sirius came around the corner and grinned at James. Reluctantly, he followed Sirius into the Great Hall.

'What am I getting myself into?' James asked himself. 'Get over Lily. That's it. Just getting over her by dating someone else like Alena.' He sighed and took a seat next to Sirius. Lily was nowhere to be seen yet.



Lily wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, and walked over to the pig, which had landed on her table next to the fire and was attempting to preen its wings, yet a snout was no use. A large red bow was tied around its neck, and a scroll of parchment was attached to it.

Lily unrolled the bit of parchment after pulling it off of the pig's neck, and read it quickly.



~Lily~

I believe you owe me a dance, am I not right? But I would like you to know that I want this dance to be just as friends. You're with Remus, and I respect that. Let it be a Head Girl/Head Boy dance, in congratulating ourselves for planning an excellent ball.

Signed,

James



Lily smiled slightly. James Potter only wanted it to be as friends? He was learning respect, just when Lily thought it was entirely hopeless for him to do so! A knock came on the portrait hole, and Lily strode over to open it.

James was standing on the other side, looking not at all like his usual arrogant self. His hair wasn't sticking up to its usual standard, his face was slightly pale, and his glasses were once again crooked. He looked even a bit disgruntled.

"Hi Lily." He said putting a fake smile on his face. He looked her up and down, still in her pajama's. 'Whoa, hold it. Stop.' James ordered himself.

"Er, hi." Lily answered at his disgruntled look. She quickly fixed his glasses before James spoke again.

"Oh, thanks." James laughed. "Well, will you accept to dance with me at the ball?" James grinned guiltily.

"Just as friends, right?" Lily smiled.

"Yeah sure." James shrugged. "I'm asking Alena Field to go with me, so anything more might make her say no." He grinned.

'Alena Field? That hopelessly brainless girl?' Lily asked herself. 'Wait, why do I care? I'm going with Remus!'

"Well, I hope she says yes." Lily answered untruthfully. "And er...do you want your pig back?" She grinned.

"Oh, that was really a chair from my bedroom."

"Was it?" Lily smiled. "How did you get it to actually fly?" She asked in amusement. "Just a Transmogrifian spell." James shrugged.

"A Transmogrifian spell?" Lily asked in awe, her eyes widening. "That's after NEWT level!"

James grinned slightly. "Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm supposed to meet Sirius, so I'll have to catch up with you later."

"Yeah, later." Lily said, closing the portrait hole behind her as she walked back into the middle of the room. Why did she seem so...disturbed that James wanted to ask Alena?



Personal Thank-you's!

Gryffindor620: Glad you liked my last chapter! Thanks so much for the review!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: I'm not liking Remus much myself either. Luckily he and Lily are over pretty darn soon....:-)

YoukaiGryffindor4: Halloweeny-ness coming up next chapter! Woo hoo! It needs major editing though, to make it, ya know. Pop to life. Thanks for the FANTABULOUSISHAWESOMENESSROCKINGBOMBDIGGITYNESS review!

LiLy*eVaNs*PoTTeR2: Lily is a tease...muahahaha! Muahaha...about naughty things to happen...when no one's looking! Hee hee! Wow, I'm a bit hyper right now. Thanks for the review!

Juxtaposed: Yes, sadly I have a tendency to forget about the Marauders in my L/J fics. But don't worry. A couple nights after the Halloween Ball is a full moon, and I shall write it, in full detail. =D Thanks for the review! Mmm...Marshmallows.

Allied-Inspiration: Poor Pagan! Don't sit in the corner rocking back and forth! Hope you got your internet fixed. Thanks for the review Rougue!

Spirit007: Ah, but the only reason people keep reading is to discover the unknown. :-) But I'll tell you this. Remus and Lily will no longer be an "item" sometime between chapter ten and chapter twelve. So know that it's coming soon. Thanks for the review! And hurry up and figure out that sentence that James has to say so you can keep writing! It scared the crap outta me when you said you weren't going to write it anymore...even if you we're just kidding!

Jenna: The grandparents thing is cliche? I'm sorry! I just needed to make Lily kind of sad to stir some of James' emotions...Evil sadness. AHH! UMBRIDGE! WHERE????? *Spins around desperately trying to find a place to hide.* Thanks for the review!

JoyaSagrada: Ouch! Watch where you're shooting those...things....*turns to Sirius* Oooh....sexy man. Must go pursue Sirius! Thanks for the review!

Ehlonna: Remus and Lily end...in a way that James and Remus can still be friends...don't worry. They'll just be a bit ticked off at each other for a while.

Cho-Look-Alike: Cho's a blithering Hose pipe! Yay! I like that description! Thanks for reviewing!

Goofygal: Why Candace was so mad? Just to tick Lily off, basically. But in the character world, let's just say she was visited by a monthly friend at the moment to make her in a bit of a bad mood. Thanks for the review!



OK, now you know what to do people, Review! I'm only seven reviews off from 100! Please help me achieve my goal! But, *sigh* I have finals all next week, so I probably won't be updating until next weekend. But I'll try to get some more done this weekend! (As now, it is 10:30. Yes I did spend an hour on this. Well, I was chatting at the same time.)

Thanks again!

Pixie