Disclaimer: I do not own this. You know that.
Author's Note: Hey, everybody. Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I haven't been home most of 5 of the last 6 days. This chapter was going to be longer but it just didn't happen. This is where the chapter had to end.
Replies to Faithful Readers a.k.a. Reviewers,Hazen—Thanks
Radioactive Bubblegum—Thanks. That's okay, I was hardly even home this week! The singing and dancing will be like the last chapter. Or maybe second to last, I could always put something mushy afterward. Thanks!
YankeeTorp—Thanks. Yeah, I look forward to writing the Quiditch chapter! As far as who has the glasses, the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone says it was James, but in my Disclaimer for the first chapter I wrote that I was going to ignore that and make Lily have the glasses.
Cait-chan1—Thanks! Favorites List? Thanks! The Glee Club performance will come near the end but it should be pretty good. Yeah, James is going to have his first period. I've already skipped ahead and written that chapter, though it won't show up for a few more chapters. As far as the book, I did write in a book! But I used a different title. I think "So You've Discovered You're Bleeding 'Down There'" is funnier though! Thanks again.
J.E.A.R.K.Potter—Thanks, Erin.
Fernanda—Thanks. LJ is a recent addiction of mine and has been preventing me from updating my Harry stories and my Artemis Fowl. Thanks, so much!
LisBleu—Thanks. I've talked to some friends, James's costume is going to be very good. I don't know yet if Dumbledore ever will figure it out.
HYPERdingdong39—Thanks! Thanks so much. I bet you write great too. I haven't read any of your stuff yet because I don't know what Kodoma No Omocha is.
Marauders3—Thanks. Hehe, I was watching Full House when I wrote that part! Yeah, I watch it on ABC family whenever I can.
Joeyperson—Thanks. I don't know if Dumbledore will find out or not. I might leave him in the dark. : - )
Rebecca Lynn—Thanks!
Starborn—Thanks
Hitchcock—Thanks
Frankie Beeblebrox—Thanks.
Moggy-is-cool—Thanks
Jenn—Thanks
FlamezFlyer—Thanks
Briana Marie—Yeah, I try to include him some. Exactly! They suspected Remus of all people, or at least, Sirius did. They'll get along and fight off and on the rest of the story. Dumbledore might not figure out, I've yet to decide. Frank is Neville, I think. Neville seems always to get left out of things. Seamus and Dean are best friends and Harry and Ron are best friends, so that leaves Neville with nobody. I think maybe there was some sort of falling out between Frank and the other boys earlier on. I'm going to put it in The Marauder's First W eek of Hogwarts. I think, being a brave Gryffindor, maybe he stood up for Snape or somebody against MWPP. Wouldn't standing up for somebody against 4 other boys count as brave? Yeah, I could see him as a Head Boy figure, but maybe Gran is just one of those people who are overly proud of their children no matter what. I dunno. Yeah, I really don't like it when people put Lucius in their year! I agree about him being at least five (if not more) years older. I see him as going to school with Arthur Weasley since that rivalry seems pretty well established. Thanks.
Feline-go-meow—Thanks. Hehe, no, no, I've got something even better than a troll planned for Jamesie (by the time of the show, Monday, they'll be back in their own bodies since the Switch happened the midnight from Sunday to Monday).
PeRkieGuRL—Thanks
Marina—Aw, thanks!
ApsyconamedRachel—Don't worry, they'll be fighting off and on the rest of the story. I've made Lily into sort of a ticking time bomb. Things go smoothly, then James says something wrong, then there's a huge fight. It's the pattern of the story. So far I think both of them have avoided having to flirt with anybody (except James and Remus). Broadsword! I have an obsession with swords…
Siriusforeva— : - )
FrightninglyObsessed—Thanks. I love "muchly" that is a wunnerful word!
And now…on with the Show!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 8: Failing To Get Along
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They sat down together. "Tell me everything Dumbledore said."
"When was the last time you sang in front of a crowd?" she asked curiously, with a twinkle in her eye. "Dumbledore said it was seven years ago."
James blushed and reached for the mashed potatoes.
"It can't have been that bad," she teased.
"I don't want to talk about it." He didn't meet her gaze.
"Tell me."
"No."
"I'm going to find out anyway," she said in a singsong voice.
"No you won't. Frank swore he'd never speak of it again."
"Frank, eh? Good, now I know who to talk to."
James smacked his head against the table.
Lily laughed at him.
"I'll tell you about it later."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. I promise," he said reluctantly. "But only if you tell me everything Dumbledore said."
"Deal." She ate a few more spoonfuls of mashed potatoes.
"Are you going to tell, or not?"
"When I'm ready."
"We've only go twenty minutes until detention. Spill now."
"Fine," she muttered. "He liked your nail polish."
"I told you it was pretty."
She shook her head. "He said whatever personality changes Lily was going through were part of the normal teenage questioning of discovering who we are."
"I know who I am. I'm James."
Lily snorted. "Take a look in the mirror. Are you sure about that?"
He laughed. "I guess you've got a point," he said awkwardly.
"He's determined to find out why we've been acting the way we've been acting."
"We'll just have to make sure he doesn't."
"Agreed. He's convinced you love to sing."
"Me? Me-James, or me-Lily?"
"You-James."
"Got it."
"Do you?"
"Do I what?" he asked, avoiding her eyes.
"Do you love to sing?"
"We're going to be late," he said abruptly. "Let's go."
She followed him to McGonagall's office and decided to just let the subject drop for the present.
Lily knocked and McGonagall said, "Come in!"
Lily entered nervously behind James. She wasn't used to detention.
"I've no particular use for you tonight, so you'll both be assisting the caretaker by cleaning up the Owlery," McGonagall said shortly.
"Magic or no magic?" asked James, appearing as Lily.
Her lips twitched in an almost smile. "For this task you may use magic. Even I am not cruel enough to make you clean the Owlery without magic. The trophy room I would, the Owlery no. Go. Report back here when you've finished." She had wanted to set them to some task where she could keep an eye on them and observe them, but she couldn't think of one. She'd considered asking them to grade the first years' essays and some pop-quizes. Maybe that would be best after all. "Mister Potter, Miss Evans, come back."
They turned around, "Yes?"
"On second thought, I'm getting a cramp in hand. I'd like the two of you to grade this stack of quizzes and essays." She gave them red ink and quills and sat them at one of the desks while she got to work on the fifth year essays.
James and Lily sat at a desk about halfway across the room.
"So, are you going to tell me?" she asked quietly.
"Tell you what?"
"About the last time you sang in public."
James ticked off an answer as wrong and scribbled in the right one. "I suppose I might as well."
"Then start, oh great storyteller."
"Every year my parents have a Christmas party. You know, all their friends and family sort of thing, people coming in and out all day."
"And?"
"And they made me sing like they did every year. They thought I had a wonderful voice."
"So? What's the big deal?"
"Dumbledore was there and he's never forgotten it. Frank's family was friends with mine and he never forgot it either."
"What's so bad about it though?"
"I wasn't very tall then, but I grew a lot between then and my first year here. Anyway, they had me stand on the table and sing Christmas carols all night. I started to show off toward the end and one time held a note so long that I think I passed out."
Lily burst out laughing.
"That's not the worst of it. After that, I got back up again and decided since I couldn't vocally awe them anymore, I would dance. Well, I mis-stepped and put my foot in the punch bowl. There was a huge mess everywhere and I twisted my ankle. I was so mad when I couldn't go out and go sledding the next day."
"It doesn't sound that bad."
"You weren't there," he said vehemently. "They all laughed."
"I'll take your word for it." She looked at one of the quizzes he had just marked. "Are you sure about that one?"
"Yeah. Positive."
"Maybe we should ask…"
"Lily, this is first year stuff, I can do this in my sleep."
McGonagall glanced over at them. Had Lily just called James "Lily"? No, impossible. She went back to her work.
"Fine," she shrugged. "I trust you."
"Well, that's a first." James rolled his eyes.
She smacked him on the arm. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me."
James rolled them again. "I'm not. I'm rolling your eyes."
"Don't get smart with me, Potter," she growled.
He scoffed at her.
"That's it," she muttered. She ground her teeth and punched James in the jaw.
James fell backwards off the seat and landed on his rear with a thud. "Ow!" Wow, his jaw hurt.
McGonagall blinked, "Mister Potter, did you just hit Miss Evans?"
Lily glared at James, who was on the floor rubbing his jaw. "She was provoking me, professor."
"That is no excuse. Men do not hit ladies and no student is to harm another student. Now, you do have to finish your detention cleaning the Owlery without magic. There are supplies in the cupboard there. Miss Evans, go up to the hospital wing. You'll resume grading papers tomorrow afternoon, right after your last class."
James stormed angrily up to the hospital wing and Lily sulked as she entered the Owlery. This mess would take hours and hours to clean. She ended up working well past midnight.
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What did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? The next chapter is going to be called "Girl Talk" and while it isn't the torture chapter for James, it will be torturous enough for him. *big wide evil grin*