Trading Places- chapter four- that you thought would never come

A/N: Led Zepellin: It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, time. mutters sorry. I haven't wrote in a long time because I just haven't been in 'a writing mood.' It's been over two months! But I was getting very confused with this story and it's been hard to write. I've also been questioning my writing ability and I feel like I'm not that good. So, if any of you were frustrated at this story not continuing for a while, so was I.

I know that I'll need this review:

James- is actually Remus inside

Sirius- is actually James inside

Remus- is actually Sirius inside

Lily- is actually Peter

Peter- is actually Lily (This is the easiest one. Just remember that Lily and Peter switched bodies to make the story more interesting than just the Marauders trading places)When I say 'Sirius said' that means Sirius' body, but James talking. I'm not going to use who is actually talking, because that would ruin the point. Have I successfully confused any of you yet?

When I use the character's names, it's referring to the body, not the person.

Here we go...

Chapter Four: Who's who?

That morning at breakfast was just about as normal as it could possibly be, considering the fact that four boys and a girl had switched bodies and had to adjust to being someone else. They awoke that morning, got dressed, (Lily- Peter had a lot of trouble.)

They were now seated at the Gryffindor table. The Marauders were talking eagerly about Quidditch, and some of the more observant students noticed that the Quidditch- crazy- Potter didn't seem as enthusiastic about the game as he usually did, and they thought that he might be coming on with some horrible, life-threatening illness.

Lily's friends also noticed some changes in her; like the fact that she wasn't wearing any make-up, her usually elegant hair was in a messy ponytail that looked more like a knot, and she was consuming four times as much food as she usually did. Her friends exchanged amused glances, but deciding not to say anything- she might snap at them. " Time of the month," Alice whispered. The others nodded.

" So, Lily," began Rachel, in a cheerful voice, "How are you feeling?"

" Hungry," she grunted, grabbing for the maple syrup.

"Obviously," Rachel muttered under her breath so that Lily didn't hear.

Lily swallowed her mouthful. "What class do I have first today?"

The other girls exchanged glances, as though questioning Lily's sanity.

" Transfiguration," Alice reminded her kindly.

"Oh," said Lily, sounding disappointed. "I forgot to do my homework!"

" But you always do your homework," Hilary said, disbelieving.

"Well, I forgot," replied Lily, as though it didn't matter. The real Lily would be stressing, panicking, and trying to catch up as quick as she could. But this had only happened once, in second year.

"We saw you do your homework!" said Hannah. "Where'd you put it?"

"I dunno." Lily's friends looked shocked at the idea of Head Girl, straight A student- Lily Evans- not caring about whether or not she failed transfiguration. Lily shrugged, and said thickly, "Pass the bacon."

Looking utterly confused, Alice handed the plate of bacon to Lily, who usually avoided bacon, and most fatty foods. And the other girls noticed her lack of manners, Lily always said please and thank you to everybody. Her friends silently agreed that something was seriously wrong with Lily.

Meanwhile, a few seats down the table, James, Sirius, and Remus were in a deep conversation of last weeks game when the Falmouth Falcons had clobbered the Ballycastle Bats.

" I just can't see how Bagman was fouled so bad! He didn't even see that Bludger coming! And he was out the whole rest of the game! He only had a mild concussion-- he could have finished the game!" Sirius-actually-James cried enthusiastically.

" I agree with you, Prongs." said Sirius-in-Remus in the same tones. " They should have a re-match."

"Can you guys please stop talking about Quidditch?" pleaded James-Remus, looking rather pale. Several people around him looked at James as though checking to see if it was just someone wearing a mask of James, (which it almost was) because James even talked about Quidditch in his sleep.

"Why ever would you say that, Moony?" asked Sirius in a hurt voice.

"Because I'll have to play, and I'll be clobbered by the Bludgers, won't make any goals, and will help to make this Gryffindor's first game lost in years." answered James miserably.

"Oh, come on Moony! You really need to have more confidence in yourself. You'll do fine! You've played Chaser loads of times at James' house!" Remus-Sirius reassured him.

"Yes," said James through clenched teeth. "Buts that's without hundreds of people watching me."

" Alright then, Moony. Pretend they're not there," said Sirius-actually-James.

"Or in their underwear!" Remus-actually-Sirius cried. James socked him in the arm.

"Ow!" whined Sirius. "Stop hurting yourself!" James chuckled bitterly.

"Well, Remus," said Sirius-Remus. " Don't forget that I'll have to do something that I'm not used to too," he frowned. " You won't have to transform this month. I will."

A curious look of both sympathy and relief crossed over Jame's face. He didn't seem to know what to say, because in the long run, he had it easy for once. A game of Quidditch was nothing compared to a werewolf transformation. Sure, in Quidditch you can get a few injuries, but it's nothing compared to a werewolf transformation; it ripped your soul, personality, and everything about you straight from your body, and replaced it with a murderous, blood-thirsty beast. It stretched your spine, curving it, hunching it into the back of the monster. Every cell of your body was changed, and every inch of your skin burned, as you literally changed into a different creature. Not even yourself. Werewolves were feared in both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, but in reality, they should be pitied. It's not their choice. It changes them, so that they're not even themselves. And now, Sirius would have to endure that pain. Remus felt a guilty pang that his friend would have to experience that. No one should know that pain.

The bell rang for the first class of the day, jaunting Remus from his thoughts. He picked up his bag, and followed the others out of the hall.

The Marauders sat in their usual places in the Transfiguration classroom- second row, to the left. The class chatted as they waited for the bell to ring. Professor McGonagoll looked sternly around the room, waiting for her class to resume its usual silence.

After several more minutes of useless babbling from the class of seventeen-year olds, and watching several stragglers wander into class just seconds before they were tardy, the bell chimed all around the school, and the students instantly silenced and faced the front of the class. They were well trained, in this class at least.

"Now," began the Professor, her voice echoing off the walls. "Before we start the lesson, could you all please pass your homework's to the right, so that I collect them before we start the lesson."

Throughout the room, there was sounds of murmuring, whispering, and the sound of students searching through their bags. With a couple of students you could hear the scratching of quills as some students hurriedly copied from their neighbor's papers. The Marauders performed quite an act of trying to think of who's homework should be handed to who, so that the correct person could pass it in.

Peter whipped around to face Lily behind him. "Do you have my homework?" he hissed.

"No," said Lily, a blank look on her face. "But I need yours."

Peter sighed and handed over the homework. Lily bent her head down and checked the answers. "Good job, Evans. This'll be my first A this trimester."

"And it'll be your first F!" Peter-Lily cried. "It's bad enough that you're going to make me fat by pigging out at breakfast, but now you're going to make me fail all of my classes too! But what you don't realize, Peter, is that it's you who will fail this class." He smiled in a satisfied way.

Lily's smile vanished, and was replaced with a confused, angry look. "Oh, right. I forgot."

Peter scowled, and faced the front of the class. The real Peter was delighted at getting an easy A, but slightly ashamed that he was causing Lily an F. But what could he do about it? To everyone else, apart from James, Sirius, Remus and Lily, he was Lily.

Professor McGonagoll collected the papers, and began her lesson.

" So- where we left off last lesson- the Mystic Kettle of the Nackledirk did not exist, Stebbins- as much as Mr. Black and Mr. Potter assured you that it does. And that was very off topic, and caused you to miss valuable class time that could have been used to complete some of your homework. Now, I know that you've all been waiting for this lesson since I introduced you to Transfiguration on the first day of your first year. Today, we will be turning the desks into creatures. Mice for today, but by the end of the week, we will be turning them into pigs. You may not transform the desks into any animals that may be dangerous or off the lesson plan without my permission. Do not feed the animals, lest you will have to keep them as your pet."

"Can we turn them into dogs, then?" called Remus, startling several students, because Remus never talked out of turn. Professor McGonagoll looked down her long, thin nose at him, but Remus didn't relent.

"I suppose," breathed Professor stiffly. "Under my supervision."

"Or stags?" yelled Sirius. His outburst surprised no one, but a stag?

" A stag?" The Professor repeated, looking at Sirius shrewdly. "Why on Earth would you want to change your desk into a stag?"

"Because they're oh so cute and fluffy," answered Sirius simply, flashing a charming smile. The class giggled, with the exception of Professor McGonagoll. Remus socked Sirius on the arm, and James chuckled. Peter looked slightly disapproving, and Lily was laughing heartily.

"You're a strange one, Mr. Black." she said stiffly. "And the answer is no."

"Alright then," sighed Sirius dramatically. His friends grinned, and pretended to comfort him.

McGonagoll chose to ignore the interruption, but continued on with the class, before casting the boys one last frustrated, bewildered look. Remus and Sirius did a high-five, and James rolled his eyes. McGonagoll eyed the boys sternly, and all four slapped on faces of pure, angelic innocence. Lily learned that if she was to act like a Marauder, she would have to follow their every move, idiotic as it may be.

Professor McGonagoll gave them instructions on the blackboard, and they went to work.

"So," said Remus, clapping his hands together as students all around him began rolling up their sleeves, pulling out their wands, and facing their desks. "What animal shall we do first today?"

"A mouse, remember?" said Peter-Lily sweetly.

"Oh yeah," Sirius and Remus said together. They saw Lily's messy red head join them.

Lily bent over and whispered to Peter, " Your friends talk way too much. Sirius this, Sirius that, what's up with Moony, and it was really embarrassing when they keep asking me about you, Prongs!"

The friends laughed heartily. Remus perked up. "What do they say about me?"

" Oh, yeah, Padfoot. Hannah fancies you." said Peter-Lily casually.

Peter looked scanilized. "You're telling our top secret girl business?"

James and Sirius leaned in, excited. "Spill it, Wormtail. We must hear this top secret girl business, that you speak of."

Remus' face remained stunned. "Hannah likes me? How come she never said anything?"

"Maybe because she was afraid that she would just be another fling to you," snapped Peter.

"She wasn't very obvious," Remus continued.

"Padfoot, old friend, you call her blushing and giggling very time she sees you, finding excuses for her to talk to you during everything, and downright stalking you isn't obvious?" said James incredulously.

"Well, know." said Remus bluntly, "Not unless she comes out and says it."

"She's shy," Peter insisted.

"Get to work, boys!" McGonagoll barked.

"And by the way, Moony- Hilary likes you."

Since today was a long class, after Transfiguration, the friends headed straight for lunch. James passed around a plate of crisps, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

It was a nervous looking Hufflepuff. He had dark brown hair and brownish gold eyes.

"Yes?" asked James-Remus politely.

"Um, P-Potter," he stuttered. Remus looked slightly taken aback at being called Potter, but recovered quickly. Sirius looked up, after hearing his name. "Are you s-still going out with Lily Evans?"

James looked slightly startled, and said, "No." the boy's face brightened. Sirius's eyes widened and he kicked James under the table.

"I mean yes," said Remus, wincing. "We are."

"Oh, sorry." he murmured. And the boy slumped away, looking disappointed. Peter was laughing, and looked highly amused.

"What's so funny?" asked Remus-Sirius.

"Oh, it would just be quite funny if Remus did in fact say no to the boy, and he went off flirting with Peter thinking that he was me." Peter choked.

The Marauders laughed appreciatively, with the exception of Peter. "That wouldn't have been funny!" he protested, causing them to imagine it and laugh harder.

The last class of the day was History of Magic, which they were able to get through, with hardly anybody noticing any difference in any of them. Some of the more observant, or bored students noticed that Peter Pettigrew seemed to be taking a suddenly alarming amount of notes, when a week ago he hardly took a sentence of notes, if that. And Lily Evans, who usually was able to copy every word Professor Binns said, was now snoring loudly, with her head on her desk, and her friends snatching bewildered glances.

The Marauders were playing paper Quidditch in the corner. James had his hands up as a goal post, as Remus and Sirius took turns making goals with a squashed up piece of homework. Nothing new here. In fact, the classes attention went easily from the teacher to the Marauders without Binns noticing. The Marauders constantly joked that the Professor could die and not realize it, just get up to teach as a ghost one day.

That night after dinner, it was getting dark out, but that didn't stop James and Sirius from teaching Remus some Quidditch skills for the upcoming game. The three of them marched to the pitch, leaving Peter and Lily to study for Muggle Studies. Lily knew that Peter would need help in that class to keep her from failing, so she was tutoring him. But to everyone else, it would look the opposite. Peter would be tutoring Lily.

The three boys mounted their broomsticks and kicked off from the ground. After doing several laps around the court to warm up, Sirius (James) began instructing James (Remus.) while Sirius retrieved a Quaffle for them to practice with.

"Let's start by just passing the Quaffle around," Sirius called, throwing it to James. They passed the ball around counter-clockwise. Remus would fumble slightly with the ball, but always catch it, and this was encouraging to him. Every time they caught it in a round, they would back up a couple more feet to make it harder.

For their next exercise, James and Sirius took turns guarding the goal posts while Remus tried to score. He was quite strong, and on average, three out of five shots made it through the hole.

By the end of the practice, each boy was panting. "If you play like that Moony, you'll do fine." James reassured him. Sirius nodded in agreement. Remus smiled.

"Why don't we just tell Professor Dumbledore?" asked Remus in James' voice.

"Because," said Sirius simply. " One: We'll get in trouble. Two: It'll be hard to explain. Three: We'll all learn how hard it can be to be each other. And four: This is fun!"

His friends smiled, and three of them trooped up to the school, joking all the way. Even in different circumstances, some things never change.

A/N: End of chapter four. Took me long enough! I'm home from school sick today, so I found some time to write. My sister is getting married on Thursday, so it will be a very busy week! I hope you liked, even though it was short to me. I still have writer's block, so this was hard. What should the next chapter have: Quidditch, more classes, and perhaps the werewolf transformation. I'm not sure now long this story will be, so I don't want to make any promises. Thank you to all of my reviewers! Until next time!