Chapter 8: Thank God It's Friday

Lily finally got a good night sleep. She woke up slightly later that usual and was in an amazingly good mood. Today was her official first day as James Potter's friend. She smiled to herself. She liked this feeling. It was so wonderful. How could one boy make her so happy?

She woke up Marlene before going to the bathroom to take a shower. Today she was going to sit next to James at breakfast. She wanted to get to know him more, to really become his friend. Someone he can trust and come to when he needs to talk to someone. Someone that he relies on. Lily knew that James already had the Marauders for that, but she wanted to be one of those people as well. She knew that James would always be there for her, even when they had just become friends. That was just the kind of person James was.

…………………………

James woke up early today like yesterday, although today it was for a better reason. He was eager to see Lily again. He just loved being around her, just seeing her smile was enough to brighten any day. God, he was hooked.

He hastily got changed and checked the time. 7:54. He would let Sirius sleep in a little, his experiment would have to wait for another day. James decided though, that Remus and Peter did not have such a curse upon them and woke them up.

James had yet to say a word about his patrols because he was waiting for Sirius to get his lazy arse out of bed. Once Sirius was up, he retold them what had happened. Sirius was enraged at Malfoy; he probably hated him even more because he was a friend of Regulus, Sirius' younger brother. He begged James to bring him along to prank Malfoy, but James would not allow it. It was something he and Lily had to do together.

The four boys made their way downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. It seemed that the girls were not yet down there. They sat down at there normal spots and waited for the girls to join them.

The girls finally walked into the Great Hall and James was again lost in Lily Land. Today, she looked as perfect as ever. Her hair was lightly flowing away from her face, and she was laughing. Her laughter was like a tinkle of small, perfect bells; it was the most beautiful sound to James' ears. If James thought that talking to and seeing Lily would get easier, he was terribly wrong. Maybe someday, but today was NOT the day.

The four girls made their way towards the Marauders as usual, James watching them as they took each step. James wanted desperately for Lily to come and sit next to him, he wanted to talk to her so badly.

As if reading his mind, Lily walked up to them and sat down right beside James.

"Morning James, Remus, Sirius, Peter," she said smiling.

"Well, aren't we in a good mood this morning," said Sirius, raising an eyebrow.

Lily smiled again and replied, "Looking forward to tonight, when I can get Malfoy for being that nasty creep that he is."

Sirius was certainly not expecting this and raised both eyebrows. "Wow, Lily Evans wants to humiliate someone who isn't James Potter. I never though I'd see the day…" said Sirius, trailing off.

"Shut it, Sirius," said Lily laughing. "Sorry, James, if I ever did humiliate you," she said shyly.

"Uhh…Oh. No problem. Don't worry about it," he said smiling.

Lily smiled back. Wow. She really was in a good mood.

Remus, Marlene and Sirius all looked at each other. They didn't smirk knowingly, or wink secretly. Their plan was working, although it wasn't them who were doing the work. It was all Lily. They were surprised that Lily had such a playful attitude and that their plan was going so well without their help.

"So," said Remus. "We hear that there is a new friendship amongst our little group," said Remus, mimicking Sirius and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeeuup. Me and James are now officially friends," said Lily. "Right, James?"

James nodded, "Of course,"

The Gryffindor table turned quiet. All those around the seventh years were looking at them in total shock. Soon, the rest of the Gryffindors fell silent, attempting to find out what was going on around the Marauders.

Noticing the silence around them, Marlene turned to look at the on-lookers. "What? Don't you people have better things to do than to stare?" The younger years shook their heads, obviously trying to figure out what had just happened. "Well then, FIND BETTER THINGS TO DO," finished Marlene annoyingly.

Lily shrugged it off. "Who cares if they find out? Knowing Hogwarts, everyone will know by the end of breakfast anyways. After all, all we said was that we were friends, it's not like we're getting married or anything," she looked at her friends' faces. "Right?"

They all looked at each other. It was true what Lily said, but they knew that Hogwarts was also a very fast rumour spreader and by the end of the day, there would be at least 20 different versions of what had happened the day before to make them friends, and at least 20 different interpretations of Lily and James' new relationship.

…………………………

After dinner, Lily was really regretting announcing her friendship with James. Many people were approaching her with questions concerning her and James. About all of the question were false and were just so absurd and Lily was getting extremely annoyed. She was approached mostly by James' fan club, or from obnoxious boys that found Lily attractive.

"So is it true that you're dating James?" asked a fake-blond Hufflepuff. "Did he really have to buy you a mansion for you to go out with him?"

"So did he really propose? Was it really romantic?"

"Are you actually his long lost sister?"

"So you finally took pity on him and accepted one date, huh?"

"Did Potter really get you pregnant? Is that why you're marrying him?" asked a tall, brunette boy. "Because I'd still date you even if you were pregnant," he finished, flashing a smile.

Lily punched the boy in the nose and stalked off. She was beyond angry now. All she did was say that they were friends! How did people interpret that into 'Lily's pregnant, so she's marrying Potter'? REALLY! How dare he come and ask me that? THAT BLOODY GIT! She was so busy fuming that she didn't notice someone running after her, calling her name.

…………………………

James walked around the corner when he saw Lily sock a guy in the nose and run off. He could see from the anger reflecting in her eyes that she was really pissed. Oh no. said James to himself. He left Remus and started running after Lily. God, can that girl walk fast, he said in his mind, making a mental note. And after the way she left like guy, blood pouring out of his nose, James was glad that he never made her THAT angry.

"LILY!" shouted an out of breathe James. "STOP WALKING!"

He caught her shoulder and bent over to catch his breath. "God, Woman. You sure can walk fast," he said, still slightly out of breathe. "And you can also cause severe damage to a man's nose," he said smiling wryly at Lily.

Lily blushed and replied, "He was asking ridiculous questions and being extremely obnoxious."

"Wait, wasn't I an obnoxious boy who asked ridiculous questions?" he said, teasing Lily.

She blushed and sighed, "James, I told you. I never hated you," she said looking away.

There were those four words again. 'I never hated you.' God, he wished he knew what that meant.

"What does that mean?" asked James.

"Nothing, never mind," she replied hastily. "Have you been getting questioned about all this also?" she asked, changing the subject quickly.

"No, but I've been getting strange looks from girls. Even guys. But I haven't really noticed. Sirius told me," he said shrugging. He started walking and Lily followed.

"How have you not noticed? Girls have been glaring at me for the whole day, and some coming to ask me questions about our friendship. And then the guys! They are really ridiculous! They have the wildest imaginations! REALLY!" said Lily, becoming angry again just thinking about the guy she had punched.

"Whoa. Whoa there Lily," he said grabbing her shoulders. He didn't know where this sudden confidence came from. Here he was, with his new friend that he has loved for 6 years, grabbing her by the shoulders and asking her what the matter was. "What did he say?"

"Ugh. How dare he think that? That stupid obnoxious little pig! What is the matter with that boy—"

"Lily," James interrupted. "Tell me what he said."

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing."

"Tell me."

"He thought I was pregnant and was forced into marrying you. And I couldn't take all the questions! I mean someone asked me if I was your sister! And another asked-"

"Lily, stop." James interrupted again. He found her absolutely irresistible when she rambled on like this. She was flustered, her cheeks were tinged with a bit of pink and her hair was slightly messy as she was shaking her head around while she talked. His heart thumped.

"You can't listen to these people. You can't let them bother you. They're just jealous that I'm your friend and they aren't. Lily, look at me," he said. He paused until Lily looked into his eyes. He felt momentarily breathless. He hadn't actually gazed into her eyes before. He usually just glanced into them or seen them from afar. He was so close to her; he could see the small flecks of dark green circling her pupil and the small flecks of yellow encircling the outside. Lily's eyes were truly beautiful.

"Promise me that you won't let them bother you. As long as our friends, you and I know the truth, then nothing else matters, okay?" he asked after finally getting his breath back.

Lily nodded. She wasn't capable of speech. James large hands were still on her shoulders and they were very comforting. She could see her reflection in James glasses, but if she looked past that, she could see his wonderful eyes. They were just so warm and soft. They were like pools of honey and she wanted to just drown in them.

"Good," replied James, taking his hands reluctantly off her shoulders. She felt the warmth leave her body and desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him and stay like that forever, but she held herself back. We're just friends for right now, she reminded herself.

"Come on, let's walk back to the Common Room," he said. Again, she nodded.

"So where were you before I caught up with you?" asked James as they walked together.

"I was in the Library finishing up homework before tonight's patrols," she said. "You?"

"Well I was with Remus, walking towards the Library to do some homework," he said smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry James. You can go back if you like, I can find my way back to the Common Room you know," she said, smirking.

"Nah, I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about the innocent boys that will have their noses broken by a fiery red-head," he said teasingly.

Lily rolled her eyes and hit his arm playfully. "Careful, Potter. I might decide that you might need a little bit of roughening up," she said with a smirk, rubbing her knuckles.

James eyes widened, obviously afraid of what Lily could do to him. "You wouldn't dare. After all, I am now officially your friend," he said somewhat scared.

Lily laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry, James. I want you in tip-top shape for tonight's patrols," she said winking.

James smiled and they continued walking. "So we're actually going to do this then?" he asked, surprised that Lily hadn't backed out.

"Of course. Unless you're quitting on me, James?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"No, I was merely asking the question for your sake," he said, smirking. "I thought you would have backed out by now," he said truthfully.

"Again, Mr. Potter. You still do not know me very well," Lily said.

"Well you can't blame me, it's only the third day of classes," said James.

"I guess I'll let it slide, but I'm getting sick of this 'Underestimating of Lily Evans' thing that's going on," she said teasingly.

James laughed lightly, "Better get used to it Lily, because you will never fail to surprise me," he said quietly.

Lily looked up at him, confused. What is that supposed to mean? I will never fail to surprise him? "Is that a good thing?" she asked quietly.

James laughed again but didn't answer. They reached the Fat Lady and James stopped.

"I'm afraid this is where I leave you," he said. "I must get back to my homework if we are going to do the…prank tonight," he finished in a whisper. "See you at eleven, Lily!" And with that, James left.

Lily stared after him until he was no longer visible and the Fat Lady interrupted her thoughts.

"Ahem. Password?"

"Devil's snare," she replied.

She walked into the Common Room, ignoring all the stares and whispers directed at her like she promised James and walked up to her dormitory.

She lay down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. I will never fail to surprise him? Is that supposed to be a good thing? Why didn't he answer the question? Ugh. That boy will be the death of me, she said to herself, but she couldn't help but smile. She turned on her side. She was going to prank Snape and Malfoy tonight, with James. She was excited.

…………………………

James walked back towards the Library, braking into a run after Lily could no longer see him. He though about that whole situation, how close he was to her, how he could see every single freckle on her beautiful face, how he could smell her naturally alluring scent, how she teased him and just how good it felt to be with her. He stopped in front of the Library and turned around. He couldn't concentrate on homework now. He found himself walking towards the tapestry on the seventh floor that held the Room of Requirement.

James walked back and forth in front of the tapestry just thinking about somewhere where he could think.

After walking past 3 times, a door appeared. James walked in and found just a room with a bed. It was perfect, no distractions.

James put his school bag by the door and lay down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, just thinking about Lily. He loved the way she would scratch her nose when she was thinking. He loved the way she would twirl her hair in her fingers when she was bored. He loved her eyes. Oh God, her eyes. He could probably spend his whole life looking into her eyes and he would always be happy. He loved the way they would light up when she got the right answer to a question. He loved how they would sparkle when she was happy. He loved how her eyes displayed so much emotion, even when he face told differently; you would always know that her eyes showed her real emotions. He loved the sound of her perfect laugh and how it would echo in his ears. He loved the way she would blush when she was embarrassed or even when she was angry. He loved how she was never predictable and would keep James on his feet. James Potter loved Lily Evans so much and she didn't even know it.

…………………………

James left the Room of Requirement and headed for his dorm at about 9:00. He had to get back before curfew and fetch the invisibility cloak and the Marauders' Map. He had spent the last couple hours just reflecting on Lily, how much he loved Lily and his new friendship with Lily. He wanted Lily and him to be more than just friends but he knew that Lily was probably not ready for it, and rejection this time would send James into a permanently depressed state.

James entered his dorm to find Remus, Sirius and Peter sitting on their beds.

"Hey, where have you been Prongs?" asked Remus.

"I was in the Room of Requirement," he replied.

"Oh. What happened earlier with Lily?" Remus asked.

"I walked her back to the Common Room and then went to the Room of Requirement," he said looking through his trunk.

"Prongs, what's the matter with you?" asked Sirius.

No answer.

"Prongs?" asked Peter.

Still no answer.

"James?"

James stopped searching through his trunk and sat on his bed. He stared at his three friends who were looking concernedly at him.

"I'm in love with Lily."

No answer.

"I'm in love with Lily," he repeated.

Still no answer.

"I'm in love—" started James.

"We heard you the first time, James," said Remus staring at his friend.

James nodded and went back to searching in his trunk.

Remus, Sirius and Peter looked at each other. Sure, they always knew deep down that James loved Lily, but he had never said it out loud and confirmed it for them. Now, they weren't sure what to say.

"So, er, Prongs. What're you going to do about it, mate?" asked Sirius.

"Nothing, for now. Lily only thinks of us as friends, so that's how it's going to stay until she wants it to move on," said James. "Ah ha. I found it," he said, pulling out his invisibility cloak. "Which one of you has the Marauders' Map?" he asked.

"I do," replied Remus, searching through his trunk for their prized possession.

"And you're okay with that, Prongs?" asked Peter.

"Of course I'm not, Pete. But what else can I do but wait?" he said shrugging his shoulders.

Sirius nodded although he never understood James obsession with Lily. How could a seventeen year old guy already know who 'The One' was?

James smiled. "Don't worry about it, mates. It'll work out in the end. Stop looking as though someone died. Just look forward to tomorrow morning when Snape and Malfoy have rainbowed-coloured clothes and hair," he said cheerfully.

Peter shrugged, smiling at the image of Snape and Malfoy's faces when they walked into the Great Hall. Remus passed James the Map and patted him on the shoulder before returning to his book. Sirius just stared at James.

"You really do love her, don't you James?" he asked his best friend.

"Of course I do, Sirius. This is the girl I'm going to marry. I know it," replied James, looking Sirius in the eye.

Sirius nodded, satisfied with his answer and smiled. "Good for you, Prongs. Good for you," he said.

"Thanks, Padfoot."

James quickly took a shower and waited until he would be able to see his beloved Lily again.

…………………………

Lily woke up from her nap at 10:30. She had only half an hour to get ready for her patrol that night. She quickly combed her knotted hair and put it in a messy ponytail. She reapplied her make-up and said goodbye to Marlene before heading downstairs. She could barely contain her excitement. This was her first prank and it was with James.

James wasn't downstairs yet when she arrived, so she sat down in an armchair and she watched the fire slowly die out.

The Marauders came downstairs fifteen minutes before eleven and made their way towards Lily. When she noticed them walking in her direction, she smiled brightly and waved.

"Excited for your first prank, Lily?" asked Sirius smirking.

Lily nodded and answered, "I can't wait."

"Well then, we'd better get moving," said James.

She stood up, said goodbye to the three boys and followed James out the portrait door.

…………………………

James had gotten over his solemn mood earlier and cheered up for his patrol with Lily. He wouldn't let his negative thoughts take over his mind. All he had to think about was the bright side; he got to spend time with Lily and prank Snape and Malfoy.

That night, Lily had tied her hair back into a messy ponytail, but she still looked stunning. She didn't know that with everything she did, she was torturing James. It was almost as if she was flaunting herself in front of him, reminding him that she was not his.

"So, all ready for tonight then? I see you've tied your hair back for all the hard work ahead of us," he said.

Lily laughed. "Actually, it was just too messy to leave down, so I tied it up. But I guess your reason works too," she said, laughing again. "OH! And I thought of another thing we could do," she said smiling.

"Really? And what evil plans have you thought of this time?" he asked, returning the smile.

"Well, we could transfigure their knickers into thongs! They're bloody uncomfortable, those things. And we could put some sort of charm on them so they can't transfigure them back!" she said triumphantly.

James laughed. "My, my, Lily. That is truly a cruel plan you have thought up, but it is brilliant," he said.

Lily smiled fondly. "Isn't it? I thought about it all by myself," she said.

James laughed again. "I'm so proud," he said, mock wiping a tear from his eye.

Lily laughed and her heart pumped a bit faster. She loved making James laugh. It was such a wonderful, soothing sound. It was a deep, masculine laugh and it made her legs go all wobbly. She would never be able to get used to that sound, and she loved it.

Lily felt as though she could talk to James without totally freaking out or hyperventilating. She wasn't completely over her nerves, but now they were a bit more manageable. It was amazing what a couple of conversations with James could do to her.

"Doesn't seem like the first week of school, does it?" she asked.

"Nope. It went by pretty slowly. It seems like we've been here for ages," he replied.

"I'm glad that it's going slowly," she said. "It means more time in this marvellous castle. It's my real home, I don't want to leave this year," she said sadly.

"I know how you feel, but don't worry. It'll be fine," replied James. It was partly true; he did feel that Hogwarts was his home, but he wasn't sure that it would be alright.

Lily smiled at him and James' knees almost gave way. He gained control of his legs and kept walking.

The patrols went by quickly as they checked closets and classrooms and soon, it was 1:00.

"So, James. You never told me how we were going to do this without being seen," she said, worried that he didn't have a plan.

James smiled but didn't say anything and pulled something out of his robe pocket. Lily gasped at what was in James' hands.

"Is that and invisibility cloak?" she whispered.

James nodded and smiled. He pulled the cloak over his shoulders so only his head was visible. Lily gasped again and brought her hand to her mouth. "Amazing," she whispered.

James smiled at Lily's awe-struck face. "Come on, we both need to get under here so we're not seen."

Lily stepped closer to him and went under the cloak. She could feel the warmth that James' body was giving off for being so close to him. She could smell his boyish scent mixed with the smell of fire and the outdoors. She breathed in deeply; James was one of her favourite scents.

Once they were both under the cloak, James pulled out a wrinkled piece of parchment and whispered in Lily's ear, "Watch this." Lily shivered. His breath on her skin made goose bumps run all along her arms. It sent tingles down her spine as she watched James mumble some words while pointing his wand to the parchment. Immediately after the words left James' mouth, thin, spider-web like lines appeared and Lily gasped. The lines were forming a map on the wrinkled piece of parchment. She looked closer and she could see two dots labelled 'L. Evans' and 'J. Potter' located right where they were standing. She could see dots labelled 'Filch', 'M. McGonagall' and 'A. Dumbledore' in other parts of the castle.

Lily turned to look at James. He was smiling fondly at the map and looked at her. "Did you make this?" she whispered.

"It wasn't just me; Remus, Sirius and Peter did a lot of it," he said modestly.

"This is amazing," she said, looking back down at the map.

"Like I said before, us Marauders know this school almost as well as Dumbledore," he said proudly.

Lily smirked and asked, "So, this is how you boys get away with all those pranks? You know where everyone is, so you just avoid them," she said, comprehension dawning on her face.

James smiled and nodded. "And it shows secret passage-ways so we can easily avoid anyone if we don't have the invisibility cloak with us," he said shrugging. "It's dead useful. But Lily, you have to make sure you don't tell anyone about this. Not Marlene, Nicole, Melissa, anyone. Okay? You're the only one besides the Marauders who know about this."

"Of course, James. You have my word. You have no reason not to trust me," she said smiling. "Now, let's get to the Slytherin Common Room."

James nodded and checked the map. "There's no one blocking our way so we should get there without incident," he said. He mumbled a couple more words and the lines of the map instantly erased. He put the map safely in his pocket and they walked towards the Slytherin Common Room.

They tiptoed quietly, and just as James said, arrived without incident. James quickly said the password to the entrance and they walked inside.

The Slytherin Common Room was freezing. It didn't have that warm, welcome feeling the Gryffindor Common Room had; they didn't have squashy armchairs, or bright, comforting colours. It was bland with silver and green walls and stiff chairs around the fireplace. James and Lily walked up the Boys dormitory staircase quietly, careful not to make any noise.

They found the seventh year boys dorm and looked at each other. They nodded and quietly opened the door. Lily went in first and James followed. Snape was sleeping on the bed closest to them. They looked around to find Evan Rosier, Rodolphus Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov and finally Lucius Malfoy. Luckily for Lily and James, all five of the boys were sound asleep.

James motioned for Lily to stay underneath the cloak just in case one of the boys awoke. They made their way to Snape's trunk and opened it. James put a spell on all his knickers making them transfigure into thongs once he entered the Great Hall. Next, they placed a spell on them and his robes so they would turn rainbow-coloured once he was in plain view of everyone. Finally, they made their way to his bed. James looked at Snape's greasy hair and grimaced. It was truly a disgusting sight. Lily mumbled the same colour changing spell onto his hair. This spell was made to last at least 2 days, if washed regularly. Sticking his wand under Snape's covers, James muttered the spell which shot slugs out of the tip. They heard a nasty squelch noise and looked to see if Snape had woken up. They held their breath as Snape turned his head slightly to the left. To their relief, he didn't wake up.

They made their way to Malfoy's trunk and repeated the procedure. Finally when they were done, Lily and James quietly made their way down the stairs. They exited the Slytherin Common Room and James checked the map. There was, again, no one around. They walked quietly back to the Gryffindor Common Room, Lily was giggling occasionally from all the excitement.

Once inside, Lily burst out laughing. She felt giddy from the excitement of their prank but mostly because she was so close to James for such a long period of time. She loved how their hands would brush slightly as they did the prank and how his breath would tickle her skin as he mumbled spells. Having James with her for that long, made her heart want to explode, but it came out in laughter instead.

James was laughing purely because Lily was laughing. He was happy that she had so much fun with him and that she actually enjoyed it. He laughed quietly just so he could hear her beautiful laughter fill his ears. He was leaning against the wall as he watched Lily laughing. He could see her sparkling eyes in the darkness and her white teeth. He wanted to kiss her right there, but he knew that Lily would probably not agree to it. He looked away in order to try and get his hormones in control. He breathed deeply and Lily slowly stopped laughing. No. No, please. Don't stop, he thought sadly.

Lily wiped her eyes of tears of laughter and noticed James' silence, "Hey James, what's the matter?" she asked.

James smiled brightly to cover up for his lack of excitement, "Nothing, why?"

"You just seem a bit out of it," replied Lily, placing an arm on his forearm.

James felt a shock go through him, making him wide awake. "Just tired, is all," he said, lying.

"I guess you're right. What time is it anyways?" she asked taking her hand from her arm.

"Probably around two in the morning. We should get to bed. After all, if we want to see Malfoy and Snape walk into the Great Hall tomorrow, then we should get up early," he said.

Lily nodded and made her way to the Girls stairs. "Alright then. Goodnight James! I had fun tonight," she smiled brightly and walked up the stairs.

"Goodnight Lily," he replied. Once she was gone, James sat down on armchair. There was no way he would be able to sleep now. He sighed. Damnit. That girl has no idea what she does to me. I can't keep living like this. He sighed once again and slowly made his way upstairs.

…………………………

The next morning, one Lucius Malfoy awoke early. He rubbed his eyes and made his way to get up. In the process, he felt something wet inside his pants. He froze. This was not happening. How embarrassing! What would his dorm mates think if they found out that Lucius Malfoy, the most powerful boy in Slytherin, has wet his bed! He hastily checked under the covers and couldn't believe what he saw. There were hundreds of brown, slime covered slugs in his bed!

"ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH!"

The four remaining boys in the dormitory woke with a start. Rosier, Lestrange and Dolohov fell out of bed. Snape was the only one who managed to stay in bed. They all looked at Lucius scared, all wondering what could cause their fearless companion to scream.

"There are slugs in my bed! HURRY! GET THEM OUT!" he roared.

The three boys didn't know what to do. Slugs? What was Lucius Malfoy doing with slugs in his bed? They hastily looked at each other but didn't move. Malfoy growled in frustration.

"Severus! Get out of bed and help me get rid of these slugs!" he screamed.

Snape didn't move.

"SEVERUS! WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH ALL OF YOU?"

"I'm afraid Lucius, I am in the same situation as you!" said Snape finally finding his voice.

"WHAT?"

"What I'm trying to say Lucius, is that you're not the only one with slugs in their bed!" he replied, screaming.

"Well, what are you three doing?! Help us get rid of them!" Lucius roared.

This time the three boys complied. They grabbed their wands and ran over to their dorm mates. Lestrange and Rosier moved towards Lucius while Dolohov was forced to help Snape. They quickly got rid of all the slugs, but couldn't quite remove the slime. Snape ran to the bathroom before Malfoy had a chance to get up of his bed. Malfoy roared in frustration. This morning was definitely not a good morning. Oh, were they in for it.

…………………………

Lily raced down the stairs with Marlene, Nicole and Melissa close at her heels. She almost ran into James in her quick haste to get down there.

"Morning James!" she chirped, blushing that she'd almost bumped into him.

"Morning Lily," said James smiling at her flushed face.

"Finally! Why do girls take so long to get ready anyways?!" said an impatient Sirius.

"Come on, we'd better get down there if we want to see Malfoy and Snape enter the Great Hall," said James checking his watch.

Lily and James practically ran to the Great Hall, the rest of the Marauders and the girls barely able to keep up with them. Lily and James entered the Great Hall and were relieved to see that Malfoy and Snape were not there yet. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, making sure they had a perfect view of the entrance. Their friends arrived shortly after, out of breath and panting.

Lily and James waited impatiently, refusing to eat any food until they saw either Snape or Malfoy.

Finally, after a while, Snape entered the Great Hall. Everyone except Lily and James wondered what the huge prank was. Snape looked completely normal.

"Lily," started Marlene, "What's the big deal? Snape looks—"

"SHH! Just watch," replied Lily, eyes still on Snape.

Then all of a sudden, Snape stopped walking. He looked at though something was had wedged itself in his arse. Oops. There actually was something wedged up his arse.

At the look on Snape's face, James and Lily burst out laughing. They were the only ones, besides Snape of course, who knew why Snape was in so much discomfort. They were leaning on each other for support; they were laughing that hard. They rest of the Great Hall didn't notice anything unusual and continued eating. It wasn't until someone shouted that Lily and James stopped laughing.

"Hey! Look at Snape! He's turned into a walking rainbow!" said a Ravenclaw boy in sixth year.

As he finished saying this, all eyes turned to look at Snape. Indeed, what the Ravenclaw boy had said was true. Snape did look like a walking rainbow. His hair and robes were now bright colours. They only things that were not a bright colour were his eyes, which were narrowing slits of black. His face was now slightly tingeing pink. The whole Great Hall burst into laughter. Remus was wiping tears from his eyes and Sirius was practically rolling on the floor laughing. Peter was hitting the table as he laughed and was sending bits of food everywhere.

As the Great Hall started to calm down and Snape had left the Great Hall, Lucius Malfoy entered with his gang. Everyone turned to look at him.

Malfoy stopped walking and shouted, "What are you all looking at?!" After those words left his mouth, he got the same look Snape did as his knickers transfigured into thongs. He flushed crimson and went to walk out the door. Lily and James were way past the laughing stage; now their mouths were open, but they were no longer capable of making any noise. There were tears of laughter falling slowly down their faces and Lily had her hand on James' shoulder keeping her upright. As Malfoy walked uncomfortably to the door of the Great Hall, his blond hair and black robes instantly turned the same colours as Snape. He stopped walking and looked down at his robes. He picked up his long locks of white blond hair and opened his mouth in horror.

"POTTER! THIS WAS YOUR DOING!" he roared in rage.

James stopped laughing as Professor McGonagall was approaching them. She had a stern, disapproving look on her face and James gulped.

"Potter! I thought you would have learned your lesson by now! You are supposed to be setting an example for your peers! Not playing pranks on them!" she said, her lips forming a thin line.

Lily immediately felt guilty. James was getting in trouble for something that she was a part of. Knowing James, he probably wouldn't rat her out either. She had to do something.

She coughed. "Uh, Professor McGonagall?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Evans. What is it?" she asked sternly.

James was shaking his head at Lily with his eyes wide, he was telling her to let him take the blame. She ignored him and continued. "Well, it's that James didn't do it all by himself. I helped."

McGonagall looked positively shocked. The Marauders and Lily's friends were looking at her wide eyed. Lily had just defended James and admitted to doing a prank. James was hitting his head with his hand.

"Pardon me, Miss Evans? Are you admitting to helping Mr. Potter with this prank?" she asked shockingly.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well Miss Evans. I am very disappointed in you both. The two Heads playing pranks on their peers? I am very disappointed. Ten points from Gryffindor you Miss Evans and 20 points from Mr. Potter. Also, detention Sunday evening with me." And with that, she left.

Lily turned back towards the table and found all seven eyes on her.

"What?" she asked.

"Lily, I told you to let me take the blame! You wouldn't have gotten a detention or lost points!" said James exasperated.

"James, I was not going to let you take the blame all by yourself, I mean, I did help! And I have a clean slate! You would have gotten in much more trouble with you're reputation! Plus, she probably wouldn't have believe that you did it all by yourself, she would have punished Sirius, Remus or Peter as well! I couldn't let her do that! And the points I'll just win back today in class," she said, satisfied with herself.

Obvious that he wasn't going to win this argument, James sighed. "Fine. But you're going to regret it once detention comes," he said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, mate," said Sirius. "I have detention with McGonagall that night too from Tuesday."

James nodded and ate the rest of his breakfast. He sighed.

What a perfect way to start a Friday morning.

A/N: That's Chapter 8 for you! I hope you like it; if you do, REVIEW. If you don't, REVIEW. Tell me what you think. It's greatly appreciated.

Oh, and do you think it's moving too fast? Like it's only the first week and w.e. When do you think Lily and James should get together? Soon? Later? REVIEW PLEASE. XD