I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I hit a writer's block because I wanted this chapter to be really good. Hope you all like it!
GorgeousGriffin: Thanks! Hope you like Prankster Lily
Prongspotter: Thank you very much!
Lily's POV
Every thing is ready to go… I can't believe I'm doing this again. A year ago if someone told me I would be pulling a huge prank on Hogwarts - and for James POTTER no less, I would tell him or her they were delusional and needed to be checked into St. Mungo's immediately. Now I think I'm the one who needs to be checked into St. Mungo's. This is so crazy, so downright, out of my goody-two shoes league. Thank Merlin I am devilishly clever or I would've been caught before it even began.
Lily thought back to the last two weeks since she decided to throw a prank for James in the empty graffiti-covered corridor. Trips to Slughorn's store room and supply closet were easy enough to sneak in, as the teachers pet, she had a copy of the keys. But sneaking into the boy's dorm and sneaking out of Hogwarts took more skill and guts than any potions recipe.
So much has happened, all of it leading up to this exact moment. There were a multitude of times when I was about to chuck everything and continue on with life, but one more look at James's empty face brought me back to the planning mode. Hanging out with the Marauder's definitely gave me the edge I needed to pull this off. Ha! I can't believe for the past two weeks, those 3 boys were my friends.
Neither could anyone at Hogwarts. Lily and the Marauder's were the talk of every hallway. A month ago, students could distinctly remember a time when Lily was furious with those boys and Lily and James's screaming matches were not easily forgotten. But yet here they were sitting amicably at lunch or in the common room, a jaw dropping scene for anybody who cared – and nearly everyone cared.
Lily, herself, couldn't stop thinking about this bizarre new relationship. She found herself enjoying James's company when he was being his real self, not his mopey, depressed shadow. She realized that he was only really James when he was with his best friends and… Lily. She never thought of him as genuinely funny before, but now she could never stop laughing. She would get red in the face with tears in her eyes and would start to get embarrassed, but one look at James gleeful face, and she found she didn't care she looked like a ripe tomato.
Remus and Sirius didn't know what to think of the new friendship. Remus never had a problem with Lily, since he was a prefect with her, although the sudden change between James and Lily definitely confused him. Sirius was a little grumpy towards her… as any best mate should be, because she was the reason James never did anything fun before their friendship - at least that's what Remus told Lily during their weekly prefect patrols.
Well I hope this prank will change Sirius's mind about me.
Lily checked again to see if everything was ready to go. I can't postpone this any longer or my window of opportunity will be gone. Here we go!
James's POV
James strode into the Great Hall for breakfast searching for a familiar redhead who was strangely not in the common room as per usual. He found her group of friends lounging and eating, trying to wake up for class. He scanned the whole Gryffindor table searching for her beautiful face but he didn't find it. However he did find Sirius and Remus fighting over Remus's plate of bacon. James chuckled and walked toward his aloof mates.
"Hey, Pads, have you seen Lily? She wasn't in the common room, and she's not here or in the library, I checked." He took a seat next to Remus, while grabbing a muffin and a pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Did you check her room? She probably slept in, mate… all that work can take out anyone." Sirius was referring to all the work piled on essay after essay by their professors, seemingly trying to prepare them for next year's NEWTS. Of course, Sirius still hadn't started, unfazed by the stress felt by his fellow sixth years.
"Oh… I didn't think about her room! She was probably late and went down to wait for me after I left her! Uhh I'm such an idiot! She definitely won't be my friend now!" He ran his fingers through his hair. James was incessantly skeptical of Lily's change in mood towards him, and felt that any second she would hate him again and he would lose her for good.
"Prongs, you thought of the library and the Great Hall before seeing if she was even awake? Yea she'll definitely hate you now." Sirius chuckled at that idea and turned back to his stolen bacon. James was beginning to look extremely agitated, when Remus stepped in.
"James, she's not going to stop being your friend because you left her to go eat. You guys aren't even dating. You're trying to get over her… remember?"
"Yea… Moony, that's like making an alcoholic become friends with a bottle of Odgen's…" I think I am more in love with her than I was before, but of course I can't tell her that. James began to pick at his muffin, without actually eating it, checking every five seconds to see if Lily would walk through the doors.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Sounds of distant fireworks behind the Great Hall doors erupted, alarming all the students, even some to their feet, James included.
BANG!
All of a sudden a figure flew rapidly into the Great Hall on a broom, triggering a wave of fireworks down the Great Hall, lighting up the hall with red, blue, gold, and yellow sparks of light. James's jaw dropped when he realized that the person on the broom was HIMSELF. What the-?!
He gaped at the imposter flying around the Great Hall, throwing gold and red confetti and popping more firecrackers that tumbled in all directions of the room. Four large floating speakers rose to every corner and began to chant "POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER!" The imposter James flew over the Gryffindor table throwing an assortment of brightly colored candies, chocolates, and confetti, prompting the other people to chant along with the speakers. Imposter James flew down the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, throwing more chocolates, boxes of Bertie's every flavor beans, chocolate frogs and cockroach clusters. The entire hall was chanting Potter's name and cheering as they caught a handful of candy. Rows of girls swooned at the sight of the popular Quidditch god flying over them, oblivious to the fact that the real James was just down the table. The fireworks became larger and louder to match the students yelling in the hall, cartwheeling and flipping over the heads of excited students.
Finally Potter flew towards the Slytherin table and pointed his wand at the door as hundreds of black balloons zoomed in and levitated over the Slytherin table like a dark cloud, and with a lazy flick of his wand, all the balloons dropped onto every Slytherin, soaking the entire table with slimy, dirty, water from the Black Lake. Girls stood and screamed as balloons rained down on them, and the guys growled menacingly at the flying James, sopping in their drenched robes.
The other three tables laughed merrily at those well- deserved students dripping in their clothes. The imposter James flew in circles around the hall, encouraging more cheers and chants from all the students, and set off the finale of fireworks erupting in the air, wowing the crowd with an impressive show. The imposter Potter flew out of the Great Hall while the whole school was transfixed by the beautiful fireworks gleaming and erupting in the ceiling, but the real James Potter never took his eyes off his doppleganger, and saw a flash of red emerge from his head before the Great Hall closed shut, abruptly stopping the fireworks show.
All the students looked around in confusion, stunned at what just happened, when all of a suddent Sirius yelled, "WHO WAS THAT?"
As everyone turned toward him, they all looked to see the real James Potter, with his jaw dropped, still staring at the closed door, and realized what had transgressed.
The silence was over as quickly as it came, and everyone began to chatter excitedly, pointing at James and wondering who had flown in the Great Hall, if it wasn't the real James Potter.
James shook himself out of his stupor and turned to his mates.
"I know who it was," he said with a smile. And then began to laugh. Uncontrollably. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, worried for their friend's sanity.
When James was done wiping the tears from his eyes, he beckoned his friends closer, and after they huddled together, James looked at his friends with lovestruck, amazed eyes and said,
"That was Lily."
Sirius and Remus dropped their jaws, and everything they were holding, pieces of bacon and handfuls of candies left on the ground. Sirius turned and ran out of the Great Hall, James and Remus not far behind him, in search of their legend of a friend, Lily Evans. The girl who just pranked the whole school and got away with it.