We Have to What?

Chapter 5

Polyjuice Potion

A/N: OMG! Time flies fast. And don't worry, I don't write, or speak, like that (the OMG part), like ever. When I looked when I last updated and it was in APRIL! I got mad at myself. You guys deserve another chapter… The reviews were great once again, but I don't think I can respond this time…Next chapter, perhaps. Oh, but to clear things up: Lily and James did NOT kiss. When I read it again, I realized it wasn't that clear, and some reviewers had questions. Also, for plot's sake, the length of the Polyjuice Potion has been changed from 24-hours to 12-hours.


Lily and James were standing together in the kitchen of their flat, both absolutely silent. Finally, Lily broke it.

"You mean, I have to be you?" James nodded in the affirmative. "With all the…parts… and everything?" He nodded once again, but at least had the discretion to redden slightly at Lily's words.

"Why you?" she moaned, and James frowned, confused.

"Why not me?"

"Why did you have to be Head Boy?"

Once again, James was confused. "We're back to that?"

At that, Lily seemed to come out of the slight stupor that she had been in, and looked over at James, who was leaning on the table top.

"Oh," she said, "it's nothing." James shrugged and moved towards the fridge. He took out a frozen pizza, and moved to put it in the microwave.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked. James turned around to stare at her. Why was she acting so weirdly this morning?

"Eating a pizza?" he said slowly.

"If I have to," and here she paused, "be you for today, I do not want the taste of that disgusting thing in my mouth all day."

"Are you calling my pizza disgusting?" James asked, acting highly affronted, when in fact he was just amused.

"I am," said Lily. She could feel her temper heating up, perhaps because of James' absolute calm in the face of Lily's temper.

When it seemed that the argument was over, James turned to put the pizza in the microwave once again. However, Lily was having none of that. She marched over to James, carrying the vial of Polyjuice Potion in one hand.

"If we're going to do this," she began, "we're going to have to lay done some ground rules."

James nodded, looking at the girl with the firy red hair and the temper to match with an amused expression.

"First," she said, raising a finger, "NO looking."

"Aw, bloody hell Lily, I was planning on doing just that as soon as you had your back turned," James said sarcastically. Lily just glared at him, then continued.

"Second," she said, raising a second finger, "no inappropriate touching."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Although, I think you'll have a tough time keeping your hands off my body."

"Oh, gross!" she said, squeezing her eyes together, trying to shut out the image from her mind.

"And I think that I should have a say in the rules too. After all, it is my body that you are going to assume."

"What! I—Oh, well alright," Lily conceded.

"When you meet my friends…try to be at least a little normal?"

"I can be normal!" Lily protested, but then fell silent. She had to admit that she was out of her league with James' friends. They were even sometimes a little intimidating.

"Next, we have to buy each other's school supplies. But nothing else. Got that?"

In response, Lily rolled her eyes, "Right. What about lunch? I'm not having you gorge out on my money!"

"We can just swap lunch money. I'll have mine, and you have yours," he paused again, "who are you friends anyway?"

Lily got up and swatted him angrily.

"Hey!" he protested, "I really don't know."

"You'll find out," she said darkly, turning away from him, still clutching the vial of potion in one hand. Suddenly, she felt an arm grab at her wrist.

"Watch out!" she said angrily, but she shut up when she was pushed against the table by James. "What are you doing?"

"Tell me who your friends are," he growled.

Lily swallowed and closed her eyes, wishing herself anywhere but where she currently was. The feel of James' body pressed against her own was just a little too comfortable for her taste, and for some reason, she was breathing slightly faster. She told herself it was because she was afraid. Of what, she didn't know. She got her resolve up, and turned to face James, who was staring at her intently.

"No."

James leaned towards her, and for one terrifying second, Lily thought that he was going to kiss her. She was prepared to swat. Instead, he whispered in her ear, "Very well," and snatched the Polyjuice Potion from her hand, and pushed himself away.

Lily stood where she was for a moment, breathing hard. As she calmed her racing heart, she tried to brush away the insistent voices in her head that were telling her that she had enjoyed the exhilarating encounter, and instead shouted to James, who had gone into the bedroom.

"Potter! I need that bloody potion too! Hand it over!"

The door opened, and out walked a girl with red hair. Lily's eyes went wide at the grin on the James-Lily's face, and she opened her mouth to speak. Lost for words, she shut it again. James'…no, Lily's face grinned wider, and she twirled around.

"I must say," he said while turning, "You're a lot shorter than I thought."

"Hey!" she said, but then remembered something, "Where did you get a piece of me to put in the potion?"

"Easy," James said, "you shed like a dog. There was a ton of hair on the pillow."

Lily tried to ignore the fact that James was just as exasperating as Lily as he was as James, and took a deep breath, calming her anger. She opened her eyes, face lucid. "Is there something of you that I can put in my potion?"

"Let me think…" said James, "Oh yeah, I trimmed my toenails the other night. There should still be some clippings in the rubbish."

Lily made a face of utter disgust. "I am NOT using your clippings. I'll wager there's some hair on your pillow."

"I was just teasing you. I have some hair right here." James held up a short black hair, and Lily snatched it out of his hand, and the potion from the other hand. She ran into her bedroom and quickly swallowed the potion down, trying not to make a face.

For a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. But, as she looked at her hands in wonder, she could see them bubbling up, growing larger. She felt herself growing taller, and she felt the tightness of her pajama shirt on the broader chest of James.

Quickly, before the shirt ripped, she took it off, and ran into James' room. She reached into the wardrobe for some sort of cover up, and pulled out a black tee and red button up shirt. She raised her eyebrows slightly at some of the clothes he had, but put on the two shirts.

"Like what you see?" asked a voice from the door. Lily started and turned around, to find James watching her with amusement. She then realized that James was fully dressed – in Lily's clothes. In a short skirt and halter top no less. She hadn't even meant to bring the skirt, it was so whorish in her mind.

"How—you went through my things!" she said vehemently.

James shrugged. "That wasn't one of the rules. Plus, I have to look hot for you today."

"What! No!" Lily said, trying to get images out of her mind of James thinking she looked hot. Then Lily realized that she was still wearing her pajama bottoms. They looked utterly ridiculous on James' longer legs. "Uh, I have to change my, uh, trousers. So could you, um, go away?" she asked. James grinned.

"Nothing I haven't seen before, love."

Lily sighed in exasperation, and James laughed, turning around. Before he shut the door, he said, "hope you like it," and left. Lily wondered what he meant while she stripped off the pajama bottoms. Then she realized. She reached over to James' clothes and got some black jeans and boxers.

She closed her eyes tightly for the next tasks, and she was done soon. She was incredibly relieved that she hadn't – glimpsed something.

Retrieving James money from the top of the wardrobe, and stuffing it in the pocket of the jeans, she went out the bedroom door. She was ready for whatever the day would bring her.


A/N: Yay, another chapter. Albeit a little shorter than I would have hoped. No worries, I have the entire next chapter totally planned out. Please review!

-Crystaltambaia