Author's note: Sorry for the wait guys, I haven't been home, so I hope you enjoy this chapter.You might have to wait a few days for the next chapter. I'm really sorry, but I'll try to get it up ASAP. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this one!
"James are you sure about this? I'm not positive it's legal."
James Potter and Frank Longbottom were crouching in the Shrieking Shack, looking into a cauldron bubbling between them. After leaving the Three Broomsticks they had walked to the run down old house, after much persuading on James' part the two had entered, trying not to allow anyone to see them. Which was amusing in its own right, seeing as Frank Longbottom was not the stealthiest guy in the world.
"Frank…guess what?" James asked in an excited whisper.
Looking at the black haired boy stirring the potion, Frank scowled, "Answer my question."
Not bothering to look up at him, James answered in an annoyed tone, "I will, I just need to tell you something first."
Frank sighed, "Fine…what?"
James smirked, "Shhh, be quiet I think I hear something…be quiet for a few minutes and then I'll tell you."
Frank shook his head, but didn't make a noise. Five minutes passed with neither saying a word, and no noise but the bubbling of the potion and occasional sound of James adding something to it. Every few moments Frank would look at James' bowed head and frown, wrinkle his eyebrows, and try not to sigh. After at least ten minutes of sitting in silence, the "sub-Marauder" could take no more.
"James?"
James' head shot up, "What?" He sounded surprised, and then looked annoyed, but Frank was a curious fellow so he didn't back down.
"What did you want to tell me?"
James looked confused for a few moments, "Oh yeah…that…that was just to get you to shut up." He smirked at Frank and continued with the potion.
Frank glared at James as though attempting to burn holes in the top of his head, but stayed quiet. While James continued doing God knows what with the potion, Frank drew on the dusty floor.
'Alice + FrankLove'
"Hey Frank what's that?"
The sandy haired boy looked up so quickly that he felt his head collide with something hard…something that felt oddly like a chin. James Potter rolling on the floor holding his face confirmed his suspicion.
"Damn it Frank you have a head like a rock, I think you broke my chin, bloody hell why'd you jump like that?"
Frank looked embarrassed and quickly wiped the floor where the letters were. "I—a—well we are in a haunted house." Frank looked at James triumphantly, patting himself on the back for thinking on his feet.
James however simply looked exasperated, "I told you that those were just stories, would I be sitting here so calmly if I knew there were violent ghosts in here?"
"Well no…" Frank answered lamely, "but how do you know anyways?" He finished, looking at James with his eyes squinted, as thought there was something about him that he hadn't seen before.
James looked at him over his nose like there were invisible glasses there, reminding Frank of McGonagall. "I know Frank…trust me…I know."
Frank rapidly shut his mouth, but shot James pointed looks whenever he made a noise. Looking around the room they were sitting in, he took in his surroundings. Broken furniture was everywhere, and what looked like paw prints were all over the floor. Everything seemed to be torn by something with claws…
"Done."
The sudden noise made Frank jump. "Done?"
James grinned at him, "All done, Little Miss Prissy's date will sure be interesting after this."
"I thought that giving her that drink to make her cough in front of her date was all you were going to do today."
James shook his head, "No, why do you think I got the hairs?"
Frank shrugged, "I dunno, I just thought you'd save them for later or something…" He trailed off, and resumed looking around the room. James started putting the potion in two vials.
"James?"
No answer.
"James?"
Silence.
"James?" Frank repeated, hysteria beginning to creep into his voice.
James however continued working, purposely being quiet.
"James!"
"What?" James' yelled, his head snapping up, eyes glaring.
"I don't think a ghost did all this damage…and…" Frank gulped, "there's paw prints."
James stood in one motion, "All the more reason for us to get out of here."
Frank looked at him as though he was crazy, but nodded and quickly got to his feet.
While James was plotting, and Frank was becoming more and more confused, Lily and Jonathan were strolling around Hogsmeade, enjoying the sites.
"Oh look at that little house isn't it cute?"
"Oh…yeah…sure."
Lily soon learned that Jonathan wasn't an architectural genius; he might be a gourmet though.
"We just had drinks before… 'Thanks to Potter…' Do you want to pick up something to eat?"
"Sure…"
Trying not to sigh, Lily smiled at him and asked sweetly, "What do you want?"
"Doesn't matter," Jonathan answered in the same monotone.
'I wonder where they serve that…'
They eventually got ice-cream, and continued to walk around.
"So…" Lily looked at his profile, the sun catching in his light hair. Sure he was gorgeous…but he didn't seem to be anything like what she expected, or hoped for. He was aloof, and at times even cold. But for some odd reason she couldn't get the image of them walking to the village, with his arm around her. If only he would do that…then maybe things would begin to go better. He hadn't bothered to acknowledge her when she spoke, not that she could blame him, after all she couldn't really maintain a conversation with him, and so it wasn't just his fault.
"Do you still want to come with me to the party this Friday?" Jon's sudden statement surprised her, but she smiled, glad he still even wanted her to go.
"Of course, what time is it?"
"7:00, so we have enough time to get to the village and get on the knight bus." The answer came quickly, as though it was rehearsed.
"Ok, does Dumbledore know? I mean do we have permission?" Lily looked at him expectantly, 'Now he probably thinks I am such a loser…'
A snarl appeared on Jon's face, "No he doesn't know, but we won't be gone long, we won't get caught." Surprisingly his tone stayed civilized.
Blushing, Lily answered ok quietly, and looked at the tall boy once more. Maybe Andrea was right and he was trouble, but something about him drew her to Jonathan Avery. He was an enigma. She didn't know much about him, and she knew he was hiding something. If he was anything like his idol Malfoy he didn't have a normal childhood. So maybe there was something worth finding out. That and there was a sense of danger surrounding him, that made Lily proud of taking at least one risk in her life.
"Where is the party?" Lily asked trying to keep the conversation going.
Jon's face once again became blank and he replied in the same quick manner as before, "Near a Muggle town. It's actually Muggles holding it. So we won't be able to use magic, and we'll have to walk part of the way. Normally I wouldn't associate with them, but there will be a few of our kind there and they throw a decent party."
Lily nodded but chose not to answer, she didn't like the way he referred to them as "our kind", and from his tone let her know that he didn't think Muggles as good as himself.
"You can meet me at the front doors at 6:00. We'll have time to get there, and meet with the others going."
Lily genuinely interested inquired who else was going.
"Just a few others from out year, I don't know who yet."
Lily nodded, "I'm really looking forward to it." She smiled at him, her heart leaping when he caught her eye and smiled back.
"Ok, now Frank all we need to do is add the hairs to these, and make sure they drink the right ones."
"Explain it to me once more."
James Potter rolled his eyes and looked at his accomplice.
"Its simple, Sirius and me had this polyjuice made last week in case we needed it for something, and this is perfect, Lily drinks the one with snake boy's hair in it, and snake boy drinks the one with Evans' in it. It's simple; they'll switch places...kind of"
Frank grinned, "So is it Lily or Evans?"
"Shut up."
The grin on Frank Longbottom's face became something similar to the one James usually wore. "You fancy her don't you?"
James' face quickly went from white, to red cheeks, to all red. "I do not like Evans! Dear Jesus Frank, all I did was call her by her first name and now I fancy her? I call you by your first name, I fancy you now too?"
Frank simply smirked, "Ok James, you don't have to get so defensive. Makes me think you do have something to hide." Saying that to an already mad James Potter was definitely a…less that intelligent remark on Frank's part.
"Not that you do…" Frank quickly sputtered when he received a glare.
"Of course I don't," James growled.
Secretly Frank felt it proved he was head over tails for Evans, but he liked his head attached to his neck, so he didn't comment again. They were sitting at the Three Broomsticks waiting for "Evans and Snake Boy" to come.
"They have to come, they didn't eat before, and I can't see them going anywhere else."
"I can."
"What?"
Frank looked at James seriously, "I can see them going somewhere else; they just walked by with ice-cream."
James jumped up and looked out the window; sure enough Lily and Jon were walking past the pub ice-cream in hand. Frank didn't think that an agent in a James Bond movie could have moved faster. In one fluid motion he was out the door trailing the couple down the road.
"Fancying her doesn't even begin to cover it, he's head over heals." Laying money on the table and signaling to the barmaid that it was there, he ran out of the door to follow James Potter, all the while thinking he was losing his mind.
Lily couldn't explain the change that came over Jon after he discovered that she still wanted to go to the party. He was flirting with her once again, telling her that her eyes were beautiful, and she could swear the he was walking closer to her.
"We're going to have so much fun at this party Lils." Jonathan laughed after she told him about the real reason she had to cancel their original date in the most comical way she could.
Lily smiled, and threw the napkin that had surrounded her ice-cream away. Holding out her hand, and raising her eyebrows at Jon, she smiled even more when he handed her his, and allowed his fingers to brush her palm. Nothing could ruin this date.
"Hey Evans!"
Almost nothing.
Lily turned her hair flying out behind her and catching the sunlight. James Potter's lanky form was running towards her, and something possessed her into not running away.
'What does he want now?'
"What does he want now?" Jon asked, her thoughts spoken out loud.
Before she could answer, the black haired boy had reached them. Panting, James bent over placing his hands on his knees, "Wait---one---second."
Crossing her arms and placing one foot forward Lily did that only thing expected in this situation. She glared.
"What do you want Potter?" Jon's voice was icy, but James seemed to have the amazing ability to ignore it.
"I wanted to apologize."
To say that Lily Evans was shocked would have allowed us to say we have won the understatement of the year award. "You what?"
James bowed, trying his best to look humble, Lily stifled a laugh thinking about all the times that James bowed when he was up to something. "I wish to apologize to you dear lady. You and your…well I want to apologize to you dear lady." He swept up and grinned the devil may care smirk that so many of the girls in her dorm talked about.
"And what pray tell are you going to do to make me forgive you?" Lily asked amused, trying her best to ignore Jon's glaring and sounds of annoyance.
James looked scandalized at her words, "Make you forgive me? Never! I simply ask and hope you will forgive a stupid silly young man."
Lily raised an eyebrow, he sure was putting it on thick, "Ok Potter…"
"I wish to take you for a drink, so we can put the past in the past."
Curiousity getting the better of her, she nodded, and whispered to the fuming Jon to go along with it.
When they arrived at the Three Broomsticks, James insisted on going to get them all drinks.
'He is definitely plotting something…'
When James returned carrying drinks for the whole table, barely containing a grin, and insisting Lily take a certain bottle ('Oh I drank out of that one…'), and Jon taking another ('I shook that one…'), she was sure that he was planning something. And she would bet any amount of money on something being in the drinks her and Jon were served.
James sat grinning, "Well aren't you going to drink up?"
When neither made any move, and Frank Longbottom who had arrived shortly after them sat staring at James like he was a lunatic, Lily decided to do something.
"Potter how are we supposed to be sure you didn't put anything in our drinks?"
"I well…I wouldn't do that."
Lily raised her eyebrow and looked at him like Frank's glances were justified and he was crazy, "I can easily name five times you put something in drinks of mine James Potter."
James paled, "I didn't this time though."
Lily grinned wickedly, "Prove it…you take a drink of Jon's and Frank can take a drink of mine, and I'm assuming that whatever was in Jon's is worse, considering his background."
James gulped, "You could say that…"
Lily smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes, "So you're saying that there is something in there?"
James quickly became defensive, "No…"
The wicked grin on Lily's face replaced the sweet one, "Prove it."
James grabbed the bottle quickly, and slowly raised it to his mouth, Frank gulping and following suit.
Thanks for all the reviews guys! Reponses will be in the next chapter, sorry, I just really have to go to the Doctors now, and can you tell I am avoiding that? Hehe anyways…this is for Aevum…
Jonathan Avery was rapidly trying to get ready for his date with Lily Evans. Unfortunately, he was moving to quickly to notice the rug a certain girl pulled out from underneath him. He tumbled down the stairs in front of all the important people in Slytherin house, bruising his ego, along with his head.
Don't worry, he'll get worse than that in the future, hope your enjoyed your revenge. Hehe.
