1Disclaimer. J.K. Rowling: rights, money, brainchild. Me: nothing. There. Happy?

Chapter 2: Let the games begin!

Lily was awakened, of all things, by the utter lack of noise from the seventh year girls' dorm below her. Glancing at her clock, she was surprised to note that her alarm clock read 6:00 am. At this time there should have been utter bedlam as her peers chatted and bustled about getting ready for breakfast. On top of being brave and bold, Gryffindors were almost universally loud. Feeling that, as Head Girl, she really oughtn't discourage calm and quiet, she decided against padding down to ask if something was wrong and began to prepare for the day. Entering the luxurious bathroom off the Head Girl suite (her favorite perk) she hopped in the shower and put the relative halcyon from her mind.

Meanwhile...in an abandoned classroom...

"Thank you, ladies, for coming down here so early to help us test these new products."

"If they do what you say, Remus, the pleasure is ours!" giggled Emily Terrence, a tall mousy blonde with a not-so-secret crush on Lupin.

Sirius and Peter handed out the glasses to the three girls. "Enjoy," Black winked at the girls as he performed the spell to activate the charm on them. The girls shrieked and blushed as the glasses made the marauders appear before them in only their underclothes. Peter was wholly ignored, to his apparent relief, as Marjorie and Allison stared openly at Sirius, who was lounging against a wall and smirking, and James, who was ignoring them as he perused a worn bit of parchment. Emily stared hungrily at Lupin, who nervously grinned and popped out of his seat to talk to James.

"So, how long do we have to keep this up, Prongs?" he glanced over his shoulder at his appraiser. "Padfoot's enjoying this, but I feel a little exposed."

"Sorry, Moony," he said, his eyes still glued to the map, "We have to keep these ladies occupied 'til Lils leaves the common room."

Lupin glanced at the map in James' hand and saw that 'Lils' was still roaming her private bathroom. "Damn," he said, and opened his book, trying really hard to ignore how Emily's eyes roamed his body.

Lily hummed as she did a quick drying charm on her hair, and grabbed her uniform. Her good mood quickly vanished, however when she opened her closet to find that her favorite pair of shoes had been transfigured into a pair of left shoes. After trying and failing to transfigure it back, (oh how she HATED Transfiguration!) She growled in frustration, and tossed them over her shoulders to find another pair. Left shoe after left shoe flew over her shoulder as she tossed them aside indiscriminately, trying to find at least ONE right shoe.

"Damn those marauders!" she exclaimed, briefly wondering how they'd managed to get into the girls' dorm in the first place, and rushed down to the 7th year girls' dorm to see if she could borrow one of her friends' pairs...only to find them all missing. Lily paced frantically on the landing, wondering what to do. She couldn't ask one of the younger girls, she was Head Girl! She was supposed to be the law and order around here, she couldn't show weakness by admitting to being pranked by who was likely the Head Boy. She screamed in frustration at the thought, dismissing the fact from her mind that James Potter had NEVER pranked her before, and had instructed the marauders to do the same. What had Dumbledore been thinking assigning that...that...ill-mannered prat the task of Head Boy? Well, she wasn't going to give that...Potter the satisfaction of seeing her plead with the younger girls. She composedly walked back to her room and shoved her feet into the shoes. Through sheer stubbornness, she walked an apparently effortless straight line to her bathroom, giving absolutely no indication to the empty room that she currently was operating with what was essentially two left feet. With anger simmering just beneath a thin but sturdy veneer of composure, she started to brush her teeth.

'Started' being the operative word.

"Bloody hell! Those sodding Marauders are going to get it!" she screamed, not particularly caring that her mom would likely wash her mouth out with soap if she ever heard that Lily had used that kind of language. The soap would probably be welcomed, as Lily gagged and spluttered around a mouthful of garlic-flavoured toothpaste. Spitting it hastily out of her mouth, Lily quickly performed the palate-cleansing charm, to no avail. She felt a little chagrined. While admittedly, (and oh how she hated admitting it) Potter had higher marks than her in Transfiguration, she always got top marks in charms. The fact that he or one of the marauders had found a way around her charm work...Lily ground her garlic-flavoured teeth and marched resolutely down to breakfast, angrily adjusting her stride to compensate for her footwear.

Weather clashed as Lily's stormy temperament waged a silent war with the clear, sunny skies of the Great Hall's magnificent ceiling. To the Gryffindors, it seemed business as usual as their reclusive Head Girl sat at the far end of the table working diligently to find a balance between ladylike table manners and getting the breakfast down her throat as quick as possible so as to avoid Potter. As far as the Gryffindors could tell, she'd only managed to clear out of the hall before his arrival twice, and both times he'd been waiting outside the doors with a bouquet of flowers charmed to sing off-key love songs. (James' charms were shaky at best.)

Still, she plowed on, dreaming that one day she'd only have to see the detested boy in classes and Prefect meetings. So, she kept an ear open to the gossip of the girls next to her. They always made for a kind of 'Potter Early Warning System', extolling the virtues of his Quidditch muscles whenever he entered the room. The few seconds head start was well worth the inane chatter. Currently they were twittering about something involving Sirius Black, glasses, and Appleby Arrows boxer shorts. Lily put the final sentence on her Transfiguration essay just as the conversation turned to her foe.

Hastily, she attempted to roll up the scroll, but only succeeded in knocking over her inkwell. Cursing quietly, she banished the spilled ink back into its jar and shoved everything into her book-bag, rising from her seat in the same smooth maneuver which would have been graceful if she hadn't run smack dab into James Potter himself. She overbalanced and would have landed in a huge bowl of black pudding if James' hands hadn't grabbed her round the waist. Lily was so shocked by the fall she didn't immediately register that James had dropped his hands the moment she was steady, handed her her book-bag, gently admonished her to be more careful, and ran off to sit with his friends, all in a couple of seconds. By the time she had recovered, he was already buttering his toast.

"Well," thought Lily, "that was weird."

Still reeling from her fall and James' abnormally normal behaviour, she made her way slowly towards the doors. As she walked, she felt something sliver up her leg. Worried a snake had found its way up her leg, she jumped, and as she did she felt a strange flapping around her neck. Looking down, she saw her blouse flapping open, the first few buttons vanished and her chest brazenly displayed. Looking down at the 'slithering', she watched in horror as her skirt inched its way several inches shorter than dress code and modesty would allow. Hearing a wolf whistle, she whirled around, eyes blazing, to find her attacker. Her eyes hit upon Sirius Black, who was still whistling appreciatively as he appraised her legs and chest, James Potter looking at him in horror.

Before she could hex him, as she sorely wanted to, she suddenly became aware of the snickers around the hall as everyone stared at the newly 'exposed' head girl. A blush quickly rose in her traitorous redhead's complexion, and she angrily whirled on her heel, quickly returning her clothes to their normal state. 'At least I could reverse this one' she thought dejectedly, tears of embarrassment barely masked by her hair as she raced out of the hall, tripping over her two left shoes.

James glared at his best friend. That prank should have just vexed her, not upset her. James knew her well enough that if Sirius hadn't whistled, she would have simply changed her clothes back and pretended nothing was wrong. When he had whistled though, she had turn around, giving everyone a clear view of the new outfit when it had previously been hid by her robes. 'Damn it,' he thought, and gave Sirius another dirty look.

"It's ok, Prongs," said Lupin, correctly interpreting his friends look. "She'll be angry again within five minutes. Nothing phases her for long."

James smiled at that. It was true. She had done an admirable job walking in those shoes. He had almost forgotten he'd transfigured them as she walked by. And the toothpaste...he grinned as he looked at the leftover food on her plate. Eggs, sausage, toast...her plate was filled with things that tasted good with garlic. 'My Lily is a clever, clever girl,' he thought to himself, 'but not clever enough to notice what I did to her book-bag when I handed it back. He grinned...he couldn't wait for next hour.

A/N: Ok, for those of you who are confused: I decided that the head boy and girl would probably have their own rooms, since prefects get their own cool bathrooms. I also decided that since the Marauders were the predecessors of the twins, they would probably manufacture joke products as well. Finally, I want it noted here and now that the ONLY 'SHIP in this is James and Lily. Lupin has a mild stalker, and Sirius has various flavors-of-the-week, but there are no serious 'ships for either of them. I believe Lupin is too shy and is likely to push girls away because of his lycanthropy. Sirius is just a playwizard, but more on that next chappie...