Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with Harry Potter, as I'm sure you already know.

A/N- Sorry for the wait! You all liked the third chapter so much I was scared to write this next one. This chapter's a bit short, and is way too serious for my liking, but ah well. There's always next chapter, right? A special thanks to my beta reader, Lamia Lupus, and thanks so much to my reviewers, it is always appreciated.

EyesofEmerald: Thank you so much! I am also from the States, but am constantly wishing I was from England. That is probably the greatest complement a person could give me, thinking I'm actually from there. And thanks for continuing to read the story!

Ecrivain Sage: I'm glad you approve Sare!

Now without further adieu….

Of Denial and Arguments

"Lily? Are you alright?"

Lily looked up to see who had inquired about her mental sanity.

"Hullo Gwen…"

Gwendolyn Schreiber was a Ravenclaw seventh year who Lily actually knew quite well. They had grown up in the same neighborhood, her mum being a muggle, and they had remained friends despite the difference in houses.

"So, what's bothering you Lils?" Gwen asked, plopping down beside her distressed friend.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Classes, friends…"

"Boys?" Gwen suggested.

"Who said anything about James!"

A look of shock overtook Gwendolyn's face at Lily's preemptive outburst.

"You fancy James? Mister I'm too sexy for my quidditch robes Potter? That James?"

Lily clapped her hands over her quickly reddening face. "I do not fancy James Potter. He just keeps…popping up in my head…at strange times in the day…"

Gwen shook her head in amusement, and then looked at her friend strangely, as if just realizing something.

"Shouldn't you be in Divination?"

"Technically speaking," Lily groaned.

"So what happened? Actually see something in a crystal ball?" Gwen snorted, trying to get her sullen friend to smile.

Lily looked up at Gwendolyn with ashen face, emerald eyes wide with acknowledgement.

"Merlin!" Gwen exclaimed, scooting closer to Lily eagerly, fixing her with a peircing blue gaze. "What'd you see?!"

Lily looked down at her feet, carefully avoiding Gwendolyn's inquiry.

"Wait…. James…and then vision…You had a vision about James!" Gwen said triumphantly, pointing an accusatory finger at Lily.

Lily buried her face in her hands once more.

"What was it about? Has it happened before?" Gwen asked eagerly.

Lily sighed, realizing Gwen wasn't going to leave her alone till she explained everything.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, Gwen. I mean it."

"I promise, I promise! Now tell me everything."

"Well, the vision thing has never happened before, but I did have a couple of dreams over the summer. Apparently seeing him again has aggravated my entirely too vivid imagination. I swear I don't like him though!" Lily added, almost desperately. "I mean, I've never even enjoyed his company, let alone wanted to snog him…"

Gwen smiled knowingly. "I'll be the judge of that…what was this vision about?"

Lily thought back to the vision she had had naught but fifteen minutes ago…

…James was leading her down a dark, deserted hallway, his large hand intertwined with her smaller one....

That alone had been enough to put Lily on edge, but what happened next…it sent Lily spinning away from everything she knew as reality.

…James pulled her behind a statue of Gregory the Smarmy, pinning her to the cold, stone wall, one hand above her head, the other twisting a lock of her long crimson hair. Lily shivered, but her shivers had nothing to do with the temperature of the wall…

"James don't!" Lily said playfully, wrapping her arms around his well-muscled shoulders. "We'll be late for the meeting and…"

Lily wasn't able to finish her protest though. Before she could finish, James' perfectly shaped lips swooped down and captured her own. A soft moan escaped her lips as James deepened the kiss…

"Lily? Are you gonna tell me or what?"

Lily turned towards her blonde friend, blushing furiously.

"I'd rather not say…"

Gwendolyn stood, shrugging. "Suit yourself. I have to take off though. I've got Herbology next, and it's a bit of a walk. Oh, and when you see Remus, could you ask him to meet me before supper? I've got something to tell him…he'll know where."

"You promised you wouldn't say anything!"

"Lily, he's my boyfriend. I think we can find better things to talk about than your fantasy love life."

"Oh, right…sorry." Lily said sheepishly.

"No worries, and if you ever need to talk, I'm here. Now get back to class!" Gwendolyn teased, giving Lily a brilliant smile. "Oh, and congrats on making head girl!

With that Gwendolyn strolled down the hallway towards the entrance hall.

"Thanks!" Lily called to the retreating girl as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.

Lily reluctantly stood from her spot on the stairs and trudged towards History of Magic, thinking she would give all the galleons in Gringotts not to have to see James Potter right now.

.............................................................................................................................................

"I'm knackered," Sirius said, throwing himself on a particularly squishy armchair in the Gryffindor common room.

"How is that humanly possible?" Peter asked. "You slept on me all through History of Magic! And I have the drool mark to prove it…" He brushed the shoulder of his robes in disgust.

"Sorry 'bout that, mate. Normally would have slept on Prongs here, but he was too busy trying to impress Evans. His damned elbow kept hitting me with all the notes he was taking. Bit annoying really…"

"Well excuse me if I want to do well on my NEWT's this year!" James snapped at Sirius, trying very hard to deny he was doing it to make an impression on Lily.

"And I don't want to do well?!" retorted Sirius. The teasing tone was gone from Sirius's voice, real anger taking its place. "History of Magic is the most ridiculous class in Hogwarts, and I seem to recall a time when you felt the same!"

"In fact," he continued, "if Evans hadn't been there, I bet you would have been leaving your mark on Wormtails other shoulder!"

"Or maybe I grew up."

Silence filled the corner that the Marauders currently occupied as James glared at his best friend. Peter squirmed uncomfortably at the sudden change of mood as Remus desperately searched for a way to break the tension that couldn't be cut by a battle-axe.

"You know what I think we need?" Remus said, after several minutes of agonizing silence. "A nice prank to relieve all this start of term stress."

Peter nodded eagerly at this suggestion, looking first at Sirius, then to James, who were still locked in an intense stare.

A slow grin began to overtake James' face.

"Right you are, Moony, as usual. That's exactly what we need."

Sirius grinned back at James, making a silent agreement to forget their little argument. His blue eye's shined with delight as an idea popped into his mind.

"Lets tie Peter up and lock him in Moaning Myrtles toilet. Scantily clad, might I add."

"Bullocks to that!" Peter said, shaking his head vigorously.

"Well, unless you can think of a better immediate target…" Sirius trailed off as his gaze settled on something behind James' back.

"Found one," he said, raising his wand.

James turned around, expecting to see some innocent first year on his way to dinner. Instead, though, he saw a familiar red-headed witch making her way across the common room.

"Sirius, don't—" James started, but it was too late. A jet of purple light zoomed across the room, hitting Lily square in the back of the head. James watched in horror as Lily's beautiful auburn hair slowly turned a violent shade of violet.

Linnea began to snigger from across the room as she looked at her friend's strange new look, and the rest of the common room followed, Sirius rolling on the ground from laughing.

Lily looked down at herself, running her hands over her face and hair, trying to figure out what the spell had done. A horrified look crossed her features, and her hands went immediately from her face to her bottom, as if expecting she had sprouted a tail.

"Like we would play a joke more than once…" James thought to himself.

The affected girl sighed in relief to find no odd protuberances form her backside.

"Lily…" Linnea said, choking on her laughter. "It's your…your…your hair!"

Lily ran over to the fireplace and the mirror above. As soon as she glimpsed her reflection, a hand clapped over her mouth in horror. She quickly recovered from her shock, however.

"POTTER!" she roared, stalking over to James after seeing her rather nauseating hair color. "This is your doing!"

"No, Lily. I—I—"

"I—I—don't want hear it! I am sick of your bloody pranks all the time—"

"But Lily-"

"DON'T INTTERUPT ME! THIS BLOODY WELL MEANS WAR, DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU HAVE HUMILIATED ME AND UNDERMINED MY AUTHORITY. IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE GAVE YOU A DOSE OF YOUR OWN POTION, AND THAT SOMEONE'S GONNA BE ME!"

"At least let me—"

"Just bugger off, Potter."

James stood, absolutely furious that Lily wouldn't even give him a chance to explain. He moved closer to Lily, towering over her, and was pleased to see her take a step back.

"Fine," he whispered, very close to Lily's ear, his breath tickling her cheek. James was almost sure he saw a shiver run through her body.

He then quickly turned away, beckoning the other Marauders to follow him, and headed towards his private dorm.

Remus shook his head hopelessly, following his angry friend.

"Oh man, Prongs. You are really going to have to make up for that one."

A/N- And so ends chapter four. I am thinking about starting a little prank war between Lily and James so she can "give him a dose of his own potion", but I think it might be out of character…give me your thoughts when you REVIEW, yeah? They would be much appreciated. I'm aiming for five reviews again, as I came up one short last chapter, so pretty please with a chocolate frog on top review!