Chapter 5

Plans, Pranks, and Confused Feelings

A week later….

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting by the lake's edge, talking, about random things. Suddenly, Sirius said, "Hey, guys, haven't you noticed that the school has been looking a little quiet and dismal lately?"

His friends caught on to his meaning right away. "Yeah, you know your right" Peter said and James and Remus nodded.

"So, what do you say we liven things up a bit? Using, of course, our usual victims, the Slytherins," Sirius continued.

"Good idea. So, what do we do to them this time?" James asked.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something. But it has to be completely outrageous, to, you know, break the monotony nicely," Sirius replied.

They continued talking for a while, giving suggestions until they thought of the perfect prank. They also thought of a smaller prank that they would do that afternoon, just for some fun. They noticed that throughout the time when they were planning, James was very quiet and looked as if he was thinking of something important.

"Prongs? You still with us mate?" Remus asked, waving his hand in front of James's face.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah. I just thought of something," James said, snapping out of his thoughts.

His friends leaned forward eagerly, thinking that James was about to tell them something that could contribute to their plan. They were terribly disappointed, however, when James said, "I was thinking that if we pull this prank with signs that us Marauders did it, Evans will surely be mad thus drawing me further away from further suspicion that I'm the guy she danced with during the Halloween Ball".

Sirius groaned in annoyance and said, "I knew this had something to do with Lily. But, it'll be worth it. Now let's finalize everything, shall we?"

..------..

While the Marauders were busy planning their latest prank, Lily was with her friends, doing one of the things she liked best: ranting and raving about what an annoying idiot James Potter is.

She had been going at it for the past ten minutes now, and Alyssa and Stacie were getting bored. "I mean, apparently it isn't enough that he has to ask me out every freakin' day, he also has to be such a conceited, bullying jerk! Why, I ask you. Why me? Of all the girls in this school, why did he have to pick me?"

"Because you're the only girl in our year who hasn't said yes to him yet?" Alyssa said. And it was true, literally. Even Stacie and Alyssa had gone out with James at some point.

That answer caused Lily to rant even more. "Exactly! And what irks me is the fact that he looks at me as if I'm a trophy or a prize of some kind that he desperately wants to win! Also, there's the fact that one moment he's asking me out and professing his undying devotion for me then the next moment, he's off making out with another girl! I mean, come on, how----"

"Look Lily, you've already made it clear that you get jeaous whenever James goes out with another girl so-----" Stacie interrupted, but before she could finish, she too was interrupted by a very annoyed Lily.

"Stacie Irene Morisson, what exactly are you implying?" Lily said, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm implying that you like James Potter. I mean, come on Lils. You talk about him almost everyday, and you get jealous whenever you see him with another girl. Go on, admit it" Stacie finished, not at all afraid of her friend's reaction. Stacie was too used to Lily's temper to get intimidated or frightened.

"WHAT! Stacie, have you gone completely crazy! Let me get a few things straight with the both of you. One, whenever I talk about him, it's always about what a jerk he is. Two, I do not get jealous of his girlfriends. It just annoys me think that he act as if , and three and most importantly, I DO NOT LIKE JAMES POTTER!" Lily said, indignation and annoyance showing in her voice.

Stacie and Alyssa looked at each other and began to murmur, "Someone's in denial….."

If Lily heard them, she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she muttered a good bye and headed to the Head's common room. Once there she went up straight to her bedroom and lied down on her bed.

Although she would rather drop dead than admit it, Stacie had given her some food for thought. "Why do I act mad when I see him with another girl, and why do I talk about him so much?" she thought to herself.

"Maybe because you do like James?" her sub-conscious replied,

"You've got to be joking. I mean, the chances of me actually liking James are---wait a second. Did I just call Potter by his first name, in my head? Oh God, this getting confusing" Lily thought.

"Of course you called James by his first name. You call people whom you like by their first names. Perfectly natural" her sub-conscious said, her voice sounded strangely like Stacie's.

"Would you shut up! I don't like him, I don't, I don't!" Lily yelled in her head.

"You do like him, you do, you do,"

"Arrgghh! I can't believe that I am arguing with myself. This is completely useless. I do not like James Potter, and that is final!" Lily suddenly exclaimed out loud.

Instantly, she remembered what Stacie and Alyssa had said earlier. "Someone's in denial….."

Annoyed at herself for even thinking about it, she hopped of her bed, left the common room, and proceeded back to the Gryffindor common room. When she arrived, she saw that a lot of people were crowding around the Marauders, the people talking at once.

Lily found her friends sitting on the armchairs, shaking their heads. She went to them and asked, "Um, Stace, Liz? Care to tell me what is going on?"

"The Maruaders" Alyssa said simply. "They bewitched this suit of armor by the entrance to the Great Hall so that if a Slytherin would pass, they would get mud thrown at them. Immature, but impressive".

"What! I can't believe them," Lily said angrily. "Let me guess, James helped in this, didn't he? And to think that he's supposed to be the-----"

"Wait a minute Lily," Alyssa interrupted. "Did you just call James by his first name?"

Too late did Lily realize her mistake. She herself didn't get why she had called him by his first name. But, to cover up her mistake, she said, "What? I said Potter. It must have been your imagination".

"Whatever you say Lily" Stacie and Alyssa said doubtfully.

Meanwhile, as she watched the Gryffindors applaud as James and Sirius recounted how they did it, Lily thought to herself, "I cannot believe this. And to think that I actually entertained the thought that I might like Potter!"

"James," her annoying sub- conscious corrected, "It's James, not Potter"

"Jeez, Fine! I'll call him James, but only in my head. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. I must be crazy, because if he continues acting like this, the only feeling I will have for him is complete hatred".

Hey! So, what do you think? Lily's already wondering if she does like James or not. Please review! The more reviews the faster I'll update!