Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't sue me.

Author's Note: Here it is, the chapter they switch back! There's still at least another chapter or two, maybe three depending on how long and how much I cover. I'm hoping to have this done before the HP and the Half-Blood Prince comes out, just because it seems like a good deadline. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but I think I will! Not exactly a huge chapter, about 5 pages, but I think I say a lot in just a few thousand words' space. I'll give you your replies, and then on with the story! By the way, reviewers, thanks so much for all your support, it really means a lot to me.

Replies:

AnneChristy—Hi. It's fine. I'm sorry other people were giving you a hard time, but I find honest reviews refreshing every once in a while even if a little critical. As for my last chapter. The second half of that thing was hammered out in the half an hour before I posted it and I had no intention of Lily going on a prank with the Marauders. That chapter was just so completely random that I had very low hopes for it to begin with. Some chapters are just like that. As for 28, I like happy endings but I don't think they've got it yet. Frank is mad and tells Dumbledore; Dumbledore doesn't care. I understand the whole getting tired of a story but wanting it to end; trust me I've been there. I was so sick of The Fashion Choices of Miss Evans when I was only halfway through it. Hated it but kept writing it anyway. Like I said in the A/N there's only a few more chapters left.

Ladyla—Hehe. If they did that then I'd have another whole week I'd have to write about!

Loner—Thanks.

Freva—I'm glad you liked it so much. That's a lot of reading in a short time. I've got a five part short story (well, the first 2 parts are up) about the whole "We were here" thing if you want to check it out. It sounds like you'd like it.

Randomised—Thanks. I've read a few switched stories and I wanted to do one that was just kind of different. I'm happy you enjoyed it. There're only a few chapters left so it looks like you'll reach the end of this one.

HarryluvsMoaningMyrtle—Thanks! I've had stories like that to where they sound dumb, but when you read them they end up being okay. : )

Snowgremlin—I know, my chapters are never long enough and I take too much time between updates. Yes, yes, this is the switch. Thanks!

The Black Quill—Thanks. It's alright I don't mind harsh reviews once in a while. They help keep my writing from getting bad.

Chrissy8887779999—Thanks. I think the book said Neville looks like Alice. Does that count? Thanks again!

Moony's number 1—Hehe. The funny thing is, that prank wasn't supposed to happen. There was never supposed to be a prank in this chapter. She was just going to help James with Nikki and Alex. Then BAM! The keyboard became possessed. I don't know where the idea for the red food coloring came from.

SweetLikeALemon—hehe. I'm glad to make people happy!

Flamma—Thanks.

Moony9103—Thanks! Once in a while Lily actually manages to act like James. Who would have thought it?

Holyheartbreak—Thanks. It was completely spur of the moment. Wasn't supposed to be there at all. I think it might have been a little suspicious when the mirror surprised her, but over all she pulled it off well.

Fanglessphysco—Thanks. I wanted to do something kind of original. I didn't want them just to hex Snape's boxers or something, particularly since Lily had to be back in the common room by midnight.

Lizziee—Short I know, but most of it was made up spur of the moment just so I could get a chapter up since I hadn't updated in so long.

Lunatic Pandora1—Thanks.

Animerocksjapanrocks—Thanks.

Mkiara—Hehe, I know that last update took awhile. It's still gonna happen. Probably not next chapter, but the chapter after.

Amethyst Prongs—Hehe. Well, Snape didn't recognize the names Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Prongs when Harry had the map, right? So I kind of think that the names were secret. But maybe that the names were their anonymous calling card around school, like the Joker card or the Bat symbol. I don't know if I'm making any sense so I'll go find a nice padded cell to play in.

Gwendolyn James—Hehe. It was a completely random idea. I had no clue where it came from. Maybe there's a little prankster in me, underneath the exterior of bookish-ness and fanfiction. Hehe.

Hazeled eye marauder—You got that right. : )

J.E.A.R.K.Potter—Thanks.

Bhekie—Indeedy I did. Thanks.

Calistar Heir—Hehe. Glad you liked it.

Jedi Knight Bus—Thanks. I know, it took awhile, but look another one is here! You guessed right. Hehe. At least it's nothing life threatening.

Ultra-violet-catastrophy—Aw. I hope your sickness didn't last too long. My brother is a vegetarian. Lives off of Morning Star tofu bacon and nuggets and rice. He eats lots and lots of rice. Glad I could cheer you up!

Books4me—Hehe. I didn't even realize I was leaving people a cliffie. You'll have to read and find out if you're right or not one that one. : )

Jersey Princess—Thanks! Jersey Princess as in NJ? I love it there. That's where all my relatives live, I was just back there a couple of weeks ago looking at colleges!

Artemis Moonsong—Thanks. Yeah, thanks for forgiving the typos. The latter part of that chapter was hammered out in the half an hour before the chapter went up. Thanks. If you see mass quantities of typos in this it's because I finished the chapter at one thirty in the morning.

Siriusforeva—Thanks.

Chapter 30: Home

The common room began to empty, but at quarter-to-twelve there were still too many people around for Lily and James's comfort. They didn't want anyone around when they switched back and asked Remus to help clear out the stragglers. Remus managed the task with amazing alacrity.

When only the three of them remained, Lily asked Remus how he'd managed to get rid of them all so quickly.

Remus grinned. "I told them that Sirius had set off some sort of time release stink bomb in the room and we didn't know where it was. They didn't want to stick around to find out."

"Good thinking, Moony," James said laughing.

His friend shrugged. "Works just about every time." He sat down. "How weird has this been for you guys this week?"

"You have no idea."

"To hear your voice coming from somebody else who looks just like you…it's bizarre."

"Not to mention having body parts you don't usually have and sounding like somebody else completely. Your words, but not you."

Lily nodded in agreement.

Remus looked at his watch. Five minutes 'til midnight. "Can I stay?"

Lily and James looked at one another. "We've got a lot to talk about."

"You've been a great friend, particularly through all this, but I think we need a little while."

"I understand." Remus was a little disappointed but he could see where James and Lily were coming from. He'd talk to them in the morning. Not to mention watching them dance in front of the whole school tomorrow night. That was going to be priceless. He'd make sure to bring a camera. He waved goodnight to them and went up the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning."

They waved goodbye.

James looked down at his watch. Two minutes 'til midnight.

"I guess this is it."

"Yeah. In about a hundred and twenty seconds we got back to life as normal."

"You mean what passes for normal around here," Lily said.

James laughed and looked at Lily. "I can't wait to be home. I don't like being shorter than you." He stood on his toes, trying to prove his point.

"Among other things, right?"

"Yeah. Back to the life where I can pee standing up and I'm not gonna bleed from places that shouldn't exist?"

"Pretty much what I meant. As much as a hassle as girl-life is, you're right. It'll be good to be home again."

"We've only got a minute."

"I know."

In a truly cliché moment, Lily threw her arms around James and they hugged until they felt the dizziness they'd felt when they first switched places. Even with their eyes shut, everything seemed to be in a reddish haze. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves looking at each other instead of themselves.

"I'm not you!"

"I'm me again!"

They were so happy that they threw their arms around one another again in a hug.

While they stood there in that second hug, Sirius and Peter came charging down the stairs. Sirius pointed a melodramatic finger at James. "You're not my best friend!"

James, separating himself from Lily, agreed with him. "No, I'm not. I'm one of your three best friends. You promised not to play favorites,Padfoot, remember?"

Sirius stood there, flabbergasted.

Peter recovered first and held up the book, almost as a shield. "We found this. It proves it!"

Lily and James recognized the book, but Lily cut in before James could. "I know as hard as it may be to believe, James does know how to read. He's been taking secret lessons."

Sirius blinked several times. "Prongs, we found this, in between two of the pages!" Sirius held up a bubblegum wrapper for pineapple flavored Droobles. "I know that's your favorite flavor. You're the only one that buys it. And the page it was on was the spell for two people switching bodies!"

"That's why you two have been acting weird this week! You're not James, and you're not Lily!" Peter accused.

"Take it easy, mates. Ask me something only your best mate would know," James offered.

Sirius considered carefully. What was his most carefully guarded secret? "What is my middle name?" he asked gravely.

James smirked. "Eugene."

Sirius's eyes widened.

"Sorry, Sirius, you're a few Knuts short of Galleon," James said.

"Black, Pettigrew, really now. You were probably eating too much junk food, as usual. I ought to have the house-elves ban you from the kitchen. All that sugar must have gone to your heads and given you bothnightmares. Now, go on upstairs." Lily walked forward and started to shoo the two very confused boys back upstairs to their dormitory.

When she came back down and was sure the boys were out of earshot, she and James both burst out laughing.

James collapsed on the couch and Lily followed suit.

"That was priceless, absolutely priceless. I wish I'd had a camera."

"I wish you had put that book back. Imagine how much trouble we could have been in if somebody else had found it," Lily reminded him.

"You worry too much." James started running his hands through his hair. Oh it was good to be home! He reached under the neck of his shirt and touched his shoulder. It was bare. He grinned.

"What?" Lily asked.

"No bra!" James got up and started dancing around, quite pleased.

Lily started laughing. "Sit down, I thought you said we had to talk."

"Who can talk when I'm so happy to be me? Here, dance with me." He reached out an arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Didn't we try this already?" she asked. She smiled anyway; she remembered him being a very good dancer.

"At least let me dance with you once, without my being half a foot shorter than you," he asked, taking her hands.

"Oh, I suppose. But I'm not supposed to accept offers from strange men."

"Oh, just this once, pretty lady. Your mother is still away and my favorite song has come again."

"You're sure she won't return too soon?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Yes, and I'll be a perfect gentleman."

"Then ask the band to turn the music up."

Both smiling, they did a variation of the same dance they'd done in the kitchen earlier in the week, improvising as they went along. James ended the dance with a spin and a dip. "Ta-da."

Lily clapped. "I think you're a fine dancer and a gentleman."

They both sat down on the couch together, in front of the fire.

"We still need to talk, James. Dancing and teasing your friends doesn't change that," Lily said.

"I know. Where do we start?"

"How about we start with Monday?"

"What about Monday? The singing? Finding out about the guys' crushes on you?"

"Let's start with Dumbledore. How could you tell I wasn't being honest?" asked Lily.

"Hmm?"

"How could you tell I wasn't being honest when you asked me about Dumbledore's office on Monday?"

"Liars can always tell when somebody else's lying. It's a talent. That's why Sirius and I can't keep secrets from each other. Or rather, why we don't keep secrets. When one of us is trying to lie, the other knows it. So we stopped off lying to each other ages ago."

"Must have been one of the things that clued him in this week. I'm not exactly a great liar."

"What exactly happened in Dumbledore office?"

Lily looked away. "I haven't been myself lately. Dumbledore noticed. He thought you did too. But you didn't notice anything, right?"

"Yes, I did. I noticed even more than he probably did. Your eyes have been downcast for weeks now when you walk to class. You always used to hold your head up high. I used to always feel I was looking up at you even though I was six inches taller. But the last few weeks…" Except for this week. This week you seemed better. Made not exactly happier, but you weren't thinking about whatever it was, he thought silently.

Lily was silent for a moment.

"It's my sister. About a month ago she announced she was getting married. She doesn't want me to come to the wedding. Says she doesn't want her fiancé knowing about me at all. She's told him that I'm just her cousin who was living there for a while. That's how she explained away the pictures of us. Told him I've got 'problems' and that that's why I don't live at home. We've been getting more distant but…I never thought she'd cut me out of her life entirely. My parents' letters lately have been getting odd and I don't know what's wrong. I asked but they won't really tell me."

James saw the hurt look on Lily's face. "Lily, I'm so sorry."

"Forget it."

"Hey, chin up, pretty lady." James pulled her chin up so she had to look him in the eye. She started to smile. "There's the Lily I know."

Lily laughed, her face losing a little more of the sadness. "The Lily you know would be screaming right now."

James chuckled, "Well, this is the Lily I got to know this week. The Lily I'd like to keep getting to know."

Lily tilted her head to the side. "You took care of me on Monday when I fainted."

"I did."

They sat there silently for a few moments and Lily leaned her head down on James's shoulder. "You should make good on your promise."

"What promise?"

"You said you'd show me your Animagus form."

"I suppose I did promise."

"You did." She didn't move.

"You know, if you want me to make good on my promise, you'll have to get off my arm, Lily."

Lily sighed and sat up. She was still a little shocked over the fact that she was having a meaningful conversation with James Potter, not to mention the fact that she was leaning on him and really hadn't wanted to move.

James stood up, moved into a clear area of the room, and closed his eyes. His body stretched and grew and suddenly James Potter wasn't there anymore. In his place was the most beautiful stag Lily had ever seen.

"Oh, wow…" Lily was speechless. James's Animagus form was everything he said it was. Noble. Beautiful. Tall. Strong.

She reached out a hand and stroked the stag's face, making sure she was going with the fur and not against it. "Wow."

James pawed the ground, as she touched his long ears in fascination. His ears were very sensitive in his Animagus form; most animals' ears were. He didn't like them touched and morphed back into a person.

Lily backed away and her hands dropped.

"I'm sorry. I should have warned you, but my ears are sensitive when I'm like that. Did you ever have a cat or a rabbit? Sensitive ears." James ran a hand over one of his ears.

"We should probably go to bed. It's late."

"Yeah. We should."

They stood there for a moment.

"Er, James, about tomorrow."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we kind of shouldn't go to class," she suggested in a small voice.

James waited for her to continue.

"We don't want to look like idiots in front of the whole school tomorrow night, so we should probably practice the dance now that we're in our right bodies and everything. Tomorrow is all we have left before we have to get up and dance in front of everyone."

"You're right. That's a good idea. Are you sure you're willing to miss class over it though?" James asked, seriously, sitting back down on the couch.

"Well, yeah. Two weeks ago I wouldn't have done something like this, but…right now it makes sense I think." She didn't know why, but she sat down next to him.

"Do you want to go to class and leave, saying you're sick, or do you not want to go?"

"It's probably just easier to not go, isn't it?"

James grinned at her. "Well, it is if you're a bad liar."

She smacked him in the arm and laughed. "I'll see you in the morning then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning."

With an awkward hug they said goodnight and went their separate ways; James went to the boys' dormitory and Lily went to the girls'.

James looked around the familiar surroundings. It was so good to be home. He was done with the life of being a girl. No more periods. No more bras. No more Alice mooning over Frank. Now he was back on his own turf so to speak. He stripped off his shirt and pants and laid them on the trunk at the end of his bed and crawled under the covers. He inhaled as he closed the curtains around the bed. The whole area still smelled like himself, and that was comforting.

Still, James mused that he was going to miss things the way they had been, a little bit at least. This week Lily had had to talk to him. After tomorrow would they keep getting along, or were things going to go back to the way they were before the switch?

Lily entered her dormitory and it smelled of cucumber melon body lotion that one of her roommates liked to use. She was back to the life of a menstrual cycle, bras (and the uncomfortable things that went inside them), glasses, and responsibility. But it was hers. It was familiar. It was the life she'd always known and she was glad to be back.

She put her pajamas on, put her glasses on the bedside table, and curled up under the covers. She sighed. They didn't smell like James. They smelled like plumeria body wash. She wrinkled her nose.

She hoped that she wouldn't completely lose the person she'd become this week. She'd learned to relax a little bit, get along with people she didn't think she could get along with, and have fun. She'd had fun with James Potter, and she wasn't sure she wanted to forget it too quickly. Aside from that, she'd forgotten about her sister and her parents almost all week. She hadn't thought about how her sister didn't want her in her life, or how she knew her parents were keeping a secret from her. She just lived each moment as it came, without worry. Now she was already starting to miss that.

Already Lily was beginning to worry about skipping class tomorrow, about Nikki and Alex's make up exams, about the upcoming song and dance number, and about James Potter. With these thoughts troubling her, she fell asleep soundly in her own bed for the first time in a very long week.

END OF DAY 7

Author's Note: Ta da! They've switched back! Now there's just Monday to deal with and then the story is over. Personally I liked this chapter, even though not a lot happened. What did YOU think of it?