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Of Love and the Biggest Prank Ever

By Magical Duct Tape Angel

"The heart has reasons that reason cannot understand."

--Jacques Benigne Bossuel

James strolled through the large hallway that held the giant staircase that led up to other staircases, the dorm rooms and other secret corridors and passage ways. Shouts from younger students and also students in the 7th year greeted him.

"Hiya James!"

"Hows it going James?"

"Good summer James?"

James smiled and nodded to all of them, the Marauders joining him in the smiling and nodding to other students. The Marauders happened to be the most popular boys at Hogwarts…except for with the Slytherins. But, then again, every house had its popular boys. For Slytherin it was Lucius Malfoy, Hufflepuff- Amos Diggory, Ravenclaw- Jonathon Bones. Each house also had its popular girls, but James wasn't interested in any of them…except for the one from Gryffindor of course. He smiled at the thought of long red hair, sparkling green eyes, porcelain skin with a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and the scent of flowers that always trailed after her.

James sighed, thinking of all the times he'd been rejected by the one he loved, and how he had tried to compensate for the hole in his heart that she had left by going out with a countless number of girls from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. He had no interest in Slytherin girls-granted a few of them were quite attractive but none of them really attracted him…they were all too obsessed with the purity of blood.

He walked into the Great Hall and plopped down at the Gryffindor table next to Remus with Sirius and Peter sitting across from them. Chatter was happening all around them and Remus was telling Sirius and Peter about how he had gone in the water during vacation and had actually conversed with one of the most beautiful selkies he had ever seen. James leaned forward so that he was bending over the table, his face close to the solid oak of the table. He turned his head so that he was looking down towards the front of the Great Hall to where Lily was sitting. He stayed like that for several moments, watching her smile and laugh with her two friends, who he only knew because Sirius had been interested in the black haired one for almost as long as he had been interested in Lily.

"James…what do you think?" Sirius was doing the exact same thing James was doing, only he was turned so his face would look into James'. "What b are /b you looking at Jamesie boy?"

James sat up quickly and cleared his throat. "Oh nothing."

"I know what you were looking at Prongsie, the young Miss Evans." Sirius gave a roguish wink and then returned to the second subject that James liked best…Quidditch.

"So how do you think Gryffindor will do this year in Quidditch?" Sirius repeated the question he had asked James while he was busy ogling the red-haired Gryffindor.

"We should do well, Donell Wood left last year as you all know and I've officially been made captain, so we bloody well do well this year." James said this with such ferocity that Sirius, who was a Beater on the Gryffindor team, had a feeling that James would have them out there practicing all the time.

Peter was whining from across the table. "I wish McGonagall would hurry up…I'm starving."

James realized that he was also hungry, and began wishing that the first years would hurry up. Just as this thought popped into his head, Professor McGonagall stalked into the Great Hall carrying a 3 legged stool, the ratty old Sorting Hat and a roll of parchment was tucked under an arm. A flock of frightened first years followed behind her to the front of the room. McGonagall began reading off names and the first years would step up and put the hat on. The first person to be called was a small girl with shoulder length coffee brown hair, and "Arena, Andrea," was the first person to be sorted into Gryffindor for that year.

James never really particularly paid attention to the Sorting, but this year it seemed different. This would be the last time he'd watch the younger students get sorted into their houses. Finally "Xenon, Xena," was sorted into Slytherin, and Professor Dumbledore stood up, his voice magically magnified.

"To start off the new school year, I have just two words for you. Tuck in!" Dumbledore clapped his hands, and food appeared on all of the tables.

James stared at the steaming mounds of kippers, chicken legs, roast beef, pork chops and slices of lamb. There were also bowls full of carrots, peas, artichokes and asparagus sitting in butter. Huge bowls of pudding, trifle and mousse were placed strategically amongst the other food items. Piles of pumpkin pasties were next to each plate along with a golden goblet, golden plate, and golden silverware. Glass pitches filled with pumpkin juice were filled and placed every 3 seats. James began to copy his friends by reaching across the table and grabbing some of everything. Sirius had already finished and was busily shoving mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"James…you did remember the map didn't you?" Sirius was still shoveling mashed potatoes in his mouth, but his eyes were fixed on James.

"Of course I did Messer Padfoot." James said with a superior French accent. "For where would we be without the Marauders Map?" He said, continuing with the elaborate accent.

Sirius leaned back and laughed. "Good, because I've been thinking up this prank all summer and I can't wait to let you guys in on it." He leaned forward a little bit in his chair. "I'll tell you guys once I have the details worked out, it's the perfect way to get Snivellus." And with that he shot a nasty look over at the Slytherin table and then continued shoveling food into his mouth.

The first month of school passed without incident. James and Lily patrolled the halls every night from 7 in the evening until 11 at night. By this time they were friends…of a sort. They talked while they were patrolling, mostly about classes and their future. Lily's grade in Transfiguration had slowly been declining since the beginning of 7th year, while James' grade in Charms hadn't quite been up to par. They had taken to meeting in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at 6 and tutoring each other, and so far each of their grades had been improving.

Lily was astounded at the change in James she had seen. No longer was he the egotistical 5th year, but now he was a focused 7th year, who had humbled himself greatly over the summer.

They came into the Gryffindor common room around 9 to take a quick break and rest. James plopped into an oversized stuffed armchair, and quickly pulled out the Marauders Map, debating on whether or not to see where his friends were. Lily had stopped at the portrait to send a 3rd year back to bed who was attempting to sneak out, but now she was at his side.

"What's that you've got there, James?" She sat down on the couch beside him and stared at the piece of blank parchment in his hand. Ever since he had saved her life from the dementor she had been calling him by his first name.

"Oh nothing really…just a bit of old parchment that's all." James quickly shoved it inside his robes.

Lily was suspicious as soon as he had shoved the piece of parchment in his robes, and she was determined to see what that parchment really was.

"Well…shall we continue?" James stood up quickly and turned to smile at the red-haired girl that was his counter part.

"Yes I suppose we should." She stood up and straightened her robes, then quickly moved to the portrait. James followed her out into the corridor. They stood in the corridor for a fair few moments until finally James cleared his throat.

"Well I guess we should split up then. I'll meet you back here around ten thirty to check up and then we can finish up the last half hour together." This statement was responded by a quick nod from Lily, who then turned on her heel and walked down the corridor. James went the other way down the corridor, but as soon as he was around the corner he pulled out the 'spare bit of parchment' that was the Marauders Map. He also pulled his wand out from the inside pocket of his robes. He tapped the wand to paper and whispered the words that would make the ink appear.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Ink spread throughout the parchment, forming pictures of towers and corridors and stairways, picturing everything that was in or around Hogwarts castle. He quickly scanned the map for his friends and noticed that they were still in the Shrieking Shack. He breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Merlin that he had remembered to tell his friends to wait for him until 11. He also stopped to admire him and his friend's handiwork. James and Sirius had come up with the idea of a map in 3rd year and they had suckered Remus and Peter into helping them. James couldn't help but admire the work that they had put into this.

James quickly scanned the parchment once more, looking for any teachers and to make sure that Lily was still walking the other way. When he found that all the teachers were in their respective offices and Lily was now a floor below him, he gave a sigh of relief and folded the parchment so that if he needed it he could just pull it out and look at it.

He moved towards the stairs and quickly trotted down them until he was on the same floor as the Great Hall. He quickly went down the cold hard stairs that led to the dungeons and to the Slytherin common room. He thought it best to roam around dungeons, due to the fact that Slytherins tended to make their trouble at night. He was moving through the cold dungeon corridor, when he saw something move in a corner. He quickly reached into his robes and pulled out his wand.

"Who's there?" He said loudly. The figure in the corner moved slightly at the sound of his voice. James moved slowly and stealthily towards the object, but instead of hexing it, he prodded it sharply with his wand.

"Ow! Bloody hell!" the figure moved away from the wall so that James could distinctly see that it was a person, hidden under a black cloak. He grabbed a corner of the cloak and yanked it hard so that it fell to the ground with a light swishing noise. Black hair and a pallid face came into view.

"Ah Snivellus. What are you doing out of your dorm at this hour? Come on, go back to your dorm." James was trying his best to be polite to his fellow year Slytherin. Ever since 5th year when Lily had yelled at him for bullying Snape, he had tried his best to be kind to him. James grabbed the Slytherin by the arm and dragged him to the portrait he knew to be the door to the Slytherin common room. The only reason he even knew where the Slytherin common room was, was because he and Sirius had snuck in during 4th year in the middle of the night to transfigure Lucius Malfoy's ears into donkey ears and also to super glue pink fuzzy mittens to his hands.

He stopped in front of the portrait and pushed Snape forward a little bit. "Here you are Severus, have a nice night." James quickly walked away and down a corridor towards the potions classroom. He was so absorbed in thinking about what his friends were up to that he didn't even notice that there was no password spoken and no squeak of the portrait being opened. He quickly jogged up a pair of slimy stairs, being careful not to slip until he reached the Great Hall.

James stopped at the Great Hall and looked around. It was the day before Halloween and the decorations had gone up just that day. Pumpkins lined the windows of the Great Hall and bats fluttered around the ceiling, making nests in the rafters. He looked up at the ceiling at stared at the full moon that was out. It glittered slightly, and there were very few clouds covering it. He was so absorbed in observing the night sky that he didn't even notice the squeak of the front door of Hogwarts being opened, and someone stepping out into the chilly night air. James sighed and thought of all the fun he could be having right now as he stared up at the moon. He shook his head quickly and glanced at his wristwatch-twenty after ten…he should head back up to Gryffindor common room.

James quickly walked towards the nearest staircase and leapt over the first 2 stairs, knowing that those were the trick ones. He jogged up the stairs until finally he reached the second floor corridor. He stopped just before he had to make a turn down another corridor to reach the common room. He reached inside his robes and pulled out the map, examining it for the few minutes he had before he met up with Lily. A moving dot out by the Whomping Willow quickly caught his eye.

"Severus Snape." James spoke the name out loud. It took him several moments to realize that his friends, one of which was currently a werewolf, were still in the Shrieking Shack. If Snape knew how to get into the Whomping Willow, then he'd surely find his friends there, and possibly be the victim of a werewolf attack. He gasped, and with parchment still in hand, ran as fast as he could towards the Gryffindor common room.

Lily was standing in front of the portrait that led to the Gryffindor common room. James ran down the hall quickly towards her. She heard the quick fall of his footsteps before she actually saw him. She turned around to face whoever was running at her.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise as James almost hit her running. "James! What's going on?!"

"I'm sorry! I can't talk now Lily! I'll be back in half an hour!" And with that he sprinted towards the end of the corridor.

Lily wasn't going to let him get away with not even an explanation. She gave an exasperated sigh then set out at a light run after the Head Boy. She was able to follow the sound of his footsteps down a set of wooden stairs and then into the area that was right in front of the great door that led out to the stone pathway and the front lawn. She stopped a few steps from the bottom and watched James grab the door handle, pull open the door, and slide out into the night. Lily ran as fast as she could to catch the door, and then also slid out behind James.

She stopped at the front steps to Hogwarts, watching the dark figure run across the front lawn. Lily gasped in surprise when she realized that he was running right towards the Whomping Willow. She jumped down off the few steps and jogged after him. She watched him duck from the swinging branches that could knock you off your feet and also knock all of the air out of your lungs. He lunged at the trunk and touched a knot that was a part of one of the tops of the roots.

The tree froze in mid swing. One of the larger branches came just within inches of James' head. Lily quickly ran towards him, keeping in the shadows to make sure he wouldn't see her. He disappeared into a hole in the roots of the tree, and she followed stealthily.

Lily paused right inside the entrance to catch her breath, she could hear James sprinting at full force and wondered how he was able to keep it up. She began to run after him, making sure she could still hear his footsteps in front of her. 15 minutes had passed of hard running and she thought that the hallway would never end, when she finally heard the creak of a door. Lily waited until she heard the door close until she crept up to the doorway. Lily stopped at the door and wondered whose house this was. It took her a few moments to realize that it was the Shrieking Shack-the most haunted house in all of England.

Lily stepped through the doorway and inhaled a deep musty sent. Everything in the house had a thick layer of dust, the floor had footprints in the dust. Lily bent down to examine the footprints, noticing that after a few steps, footprints turned into paw prints and hoof prints. She crouched down to examine the paw prints and hoof prints, wondering how James was able to turn his footprints into these odd other prints.

Shuffles, yells and loud bumps were coming from the floor above her. Lily stood up quickly, brushed the dust off of her and quickly darted up the stairs.

James slid out of the warm castle and into the cold night air. He jumped off the few stairs that led up to the large doorway of Hogwarts castle. He ran as fast as he could across the green sweeping lawn that looked almost black in the night. He muttered under his breath as he ran.

"How the bloody hell did Snivellus know to touch the knot at the bottom of that blasted Willow to get in the Shrieking Shack? Someone HAD to have told him." He arrived at the Whomping Willow, and as if the tree sensed that someone had arrived, it swung its branches around wildly, trying to knock him off his feet. Due to his Quidditch skills, he was able to dodge the malicious tree. He lunged towards the knot and touched it, freezing the tree.

James slithered into the hole in the ground that led into the Shrieking Shack. Not stopping to look around, he quickly ran through the dark dirt hallway. After 15 minutes he reached the oak paneled door. He pushed it open and stepped into the hallway of the house. James ran up the stairs as fast as he could, quickly changing into the stag. His clothes fell to a heap on the floor.

Prongs quickly trotted up the stairs, trying to be careful. He knew how rickety these old wooden stairs could be, having fallen through them at the end of 5th year. He reached the top of the stairs just as Snape was opening the door and walking in. He ran as fast as he could to the door, following Snape in. He saw Padfoot sitting in a corner, his eyes filled with mirth at the thought of Snape being ripped to shreds by a werewolf. Padfoot saw James walk in, and gave him a little doggy grin, as if to say, "Hey! Look! Snape's gonna get eaten…or even better…get bitten and turn into a werewolf himself!

The werewolf had already smelled human flesh and blood and leapt at the human figure who had flung himself against the far wall, crouching down as soon as he had seen the wolf. Prongs leapt between wolf and human, allowing the sharpened teeth to scrape and dig into his skin and flesh.

James inwardly howled in pain. He had been bitten by the wolf before, but never had he experienced anything like this. It felt as if his entire body was being ripped to shreds. He quickly turned his head so the sharpened points of the antlers that crowed his head so majestically were able to dig into the wolf's shoulders and shove him back.

Prongs quickly crouched, allowing the 7th year Slytherin to climb on his back. Blood was trickling down his side and down his legs. He found it amazing that he was still able to stand. Somehow he managed to run towards the door, and kick it closed with his back legs.

He staggered down the stairs, feeling faint. When he reached the bottom floor, he saw his red-haired counter part, standing over the clothes that he had shed when he turned into Prongs, a light blush spreading over her cheeks. She looked up as she heard the sound of hooves, and her mouth made an 'O' in surprise. It was then that he realized he was in a house with 2 humans and a werewolf was in an upstairs bedroom, with the door not even being locked. He had to get them out of here.

Prongs got to where Lily was standing and dropped his back legs so Snape could slide off. He quickly transformed back into James, not caring if either of the two saw him naked, just wanting to get them out.

"Lily," he managed to croak. He looked down at his chest, and saw a giant rip with muscle showing through. James didn't dare look any where else for fear that he would see more than just exposed muscle, but exposed bone. "You need to get out of here now!" He could barely stand, he felt his legs turning into jelly, and feared that he'd faint, but he reached a hand out and pressed his palm against the smooth wood, using it to hold him up.

"No James! You're injured!" Lily took a step toward him and blushed slightly at the sight of his naked form.

"No Lily…you need to take Snape and get out now. Go!" He leaned up against the wall, heavily and then felt his knees give out. He slid to the floor, groaning in pain.

"James…Snape's already gone. Plus, I'm not leaving you!" Lily rushed towards him, taking off her black school robes, exposing the knee length black pleated skirt, white button down shirt and red and gold tie that was the Gryffindor house uniform. She quickly covered him up with her robe.

"Lily…I said GET OUT! THERE IS A WEREWOLF UPSTAIRS, ABOUT TO COME DOWN HERE AND EAT YOU ALIVE IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF HERE NOW! NOW GO! I CAN HANDLE THIS!" Worry, anger and fear filled James' eyes, and Lily realized that he really did care about her, she wondered why she hadn't seen it sooner…he b had /b saved her life on the train after all.

"James, I'm gonna get both of us out of here ok." Lily bent down and gently caressed his face. He leaned into her caress, and attempted to reach a hand up to hold her hand there, but he couldn't move his hand.

Lily pulled out her wand and pointed it at James. "Mobillus!" He floated several feet above the ground, about stomach level with Lily. She waved her wand again and he began to move out the door, she carefully followed, making sure to close and lock the door behind her. Just a few seconds after she did this, she heard something slam against the door and snarling behind it. She gasped in surprise and pointed her wand the door, James still floating right behind her.

"Lily! Hurry! You need to run! He could come through the door any minute!" Lily whipped around and began to run, her wand out in front of her, directing James to move as fast as her. Soon they were towards the end of the tunnel. She heard heavy steps falling behind her, and knew that the creature had attacked James was now coming after her.

The red-haired Head Girl was gasping for air. She had no idea what to do, if she didn't get James back to the castle he might die, but if she didn't care for the creature then it would be free in the woods. Lily's eyes widened when she remembered the spell she had learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts. The spell would erase the scent of both her and James, and the creature wouldn't be able to follow them. She carefully pointed her wand at the earth that she and James had just covered, and then made a long sweeping line from the entrance to the tunnel and then towards the doorway of Hogwarts. She spoke the spell, speaking carefully so as not to mess anything up.

"Erasum nidor!" Yellow sparks flew from her wand and made a line in the earth. She had to make sure to follow the yellow line, because if she didn't, the werewolf would be able to smell them. Lily ran along the line, James still floating in front of her. She looked at him and noticed that he had become unconscious, the great loss of blood being too much for him.

When they two Heads reached the door of Hogwarts, Lily opened the door and James floated inside, Lily following. She let out a strangled cry as she noticed how pale James had become. A line of blood had followed them into the castle. The red head began to weep openly. She clutched the black haired boy's shoulders. "James! NO! You can't die on me! James!" She was sobbing openly now. "No…James….please don't die."

James heard someone weeping. It took him several moments to realize that it was Lily, and all of the memories of that night rushed back to him. Strong, cool hands gripped his shoulders. Why was Lily crying? What was going on? Pain surged to every single one of his limbs and body parts. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open. "Lily, don't cry…please."

Lily lifted her head from his chest where she had rested it. "James!"

"Lily, don't cry. I'm fine." James managed a small feeble smile. A tear rolled down his cheek-partially from the extreme pain he was in and partially because he hated seeing Lily cry. "Lily…I love you. I've always loved you. Just in case…something happens to me….I just wanted you to know." He mustered up his strength and lifted his hand up to caress her cheek. And with that, he felt himself slip back into the darkness that was unconsciousness, and where he felt no pain.

James awoke to a strange stiffness in all of his body. He groaned and tried to sit up.

"No James, don't move." Lily's voice was cool and comforting to his ears. His eyes fluttered open and he noticed Lily was leaning over him.

"Lily…" His voice trailed off.

"James, you're in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey has you pretty much cured. She says you'll be stiff for awhile, but you should be fine. But James…I need to ask you something. Before you went unconscious, you told me that you've always loved me. Is this true?" Her eyes filled with an emotion he didn't recognize. A light blush spread over his cheeks.

James looked into her eyes. "Yes, its true Lily."

"Oh…James!" She threw her arms around his neck.

James' eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open. "Lily, is there something wrong with you?"

"No James, I just wanted to let you know…I think I love you as well." She pulled away and smiled at him.

"When did this happen?" James asked in surprise.

"When I thought I'd lost you last night James, I realized that you'd changed…and I liked what I saw. I couldn't bear to think about losing you." Tears were rolling down Lily's cheeks as she made this confession about her feelings that she had been attempting to bury ever since the first day on the train.

"Oh Lily…you could never lose me. Your stuck with me now." James gave her a grin.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room. "It's time for the patient to rest."

"Oh…alright. I'll see you later James. Get well soon." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed him on the cheek. She turned to walk out of the room.

"Lily! Wait! Next Hogsmede weekend, will you go with me…on a date?" James leaned out of bed so he would be able to see her. Madam Pomfrey gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sure…I'll see you soon."

Fin! Ok tell me what you thought of it…wow this is a really long fic. 11 pages! Wow! Really let me know what you thought…does this sound about right on what happened? I made up one of the spells, the spell that erases the scent. I went to a Latin-English dictionary to help me. Did I get the spell to move things right? I hope I did…if I didn't please tell me. Thanks!