Chapter 29

"Life's not fair, Moony! Just when you thought you had a chance, it goes flying out the window" A moaning Sirius Black buried his face into the pillow and kicked his legs into the wall behind him, instantly regretting it and got up to caress his sore feet.

"What happened Padfoot?" Peter squeaked from behind the wall as one of his rare moments in the dorms was spent completing his Transfiguration essay for McGonagall.

Sirius looked up for a split second before breaking down again "Well you know my charming ways, Tyson the sixth year Ravenclaw babe, the one every man alive would like to dig their claws into? Yeah…well she came up to say hello"

Remus looked up from the Advance Book of Spellbinding Spells Volume 6 he was reading and gasped…"you didn't, did you Padfoot? I thought you had it in for Brittany. PLUS I thought you would've had enough sense not to get tangled in with her"

"It wasn't my fault okay! The little conversation turned a little bit heated and I already had a few firewhiskys that night, the ones I secretly smuggled in from Hogsmeade with the Map last year. She kind of grabbed me…launched herself onto me for no particular reason!"

"Yeah well nobody can resist the Black charm can they Padfoot?" Remus sarcastically pointed out as he sighed and returned back to his book. "You don't even have to tell me the rest…Brittany saw you didn't she?"

"Yeah…right before Tyson was about to push me into a Broom closet! ARGH!" Sirius began pretending to pull out his hair in aggravation.

"Then what happened?" Peter squawked, "did the elephant learn to fly?"

Remus and Sirius shared a befuddled look but ignored Peter. "Well you know Davies, the girl has serious anger management problems. See this" Sirius gestured to his heavily bruised eye, a nose which had clearly been bleeding heavily and various scratch marks on his forearms and neck…

"That bad, huh? No offence Padfoot, but I think you deserved that one" Remus chuckled lightly, admiring Brittany's courage.

"But it was an accident, now she'll never go to the Ball with me" Sirius whined. "Hm…help me think Moony you're the smart one, how do I win her back? I think I should trick her, I've always been good with tricks"

"It's different this time Padfoot" Remus frowned "you love her remember? If you love somebody, things have to be tackled differently. Besides, I personally think you're kidding yourself…the Sirius Black I've known was and will forever remain a womanizing rebel…untameable by nobody!"

"Wow…sounds like you're in love with me Moony. But you do have a point…maybe she was just a challenge, a different taste from my usual girls." But as Sirius pictured her bubbly personality, her witty comebacks and her always optimistic spirit, he knew he had not satisfied his desires of capturing her yet. But he will…he would see to taking Brittany Davies for himself, even if it killed him

"Oh alcohol, you're supposed to be my friend…not cost me my chance of something special" he sighed, resuming his lying position on the bed

"You're not the only one stuffing things up" Remus whispered to nobody in particular.

Just as Sirius was going to ask him what he said, the door burst open to reveal a very distraught James Potter whose hair was shriveled more than usual and whose lips were quivering ever so slightly. His hazel eyes were bloodshot and his skin deathly pale, in fact he looked as if he was about to pass out altogether. Sirius quickly shifted off the bed as he predicted correctly, James Potter launched himself under the covers.

Just as his concerned friends were about to ask what happened to him, James beat them to it.

"Don't ask. The Prongs you knew is dead…I'm a new man" he murmured as he was clearly drifting off to sleep. However, with one quick twist of his head, he added giving Sirius and Remus a jump "If Lily comes looking for me tell her that I don't want to see her"

This caused his friends to leap up again…James Potter denying to see Lily Evans? Hell must have frozen over, what had caused this situation to arise between the two? Lily had always been his weakness, like kryptonite to Superman if you must…he seemed to have lost his soul when Lily was around, as if he had been kissed by a Dementor. Sirius and Remus shuddered at how Lily Evans or any girl was capable of affecting their friend in such a mysterious way.

As Sirius crept towards Remus's armchair taking care not to disturb James's already snoring form, he beckoned Remus forward, wincing as he accidentally stepped on Peter's sneakoscope but thanking his lucky stars that it did not go off.

"Do you think Prongs is on drugs?" he said seriously.

Even Remus could not deny that it wasn't a possibility – James Potter was certainly acting very out of the usual. He had to ask Lily what all of this meant.

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Lily knew that she had to find Potter, the irresponsible jerk she had known and learned to hate and right now, the situation was very similar – Lily's intense dislike for James Potter could compare with Filch for students. After Dumbledore had revealed the truth of the side effects of the Love Potion, Lily could not accept his words. Moreover, she laughed at his words…they were simply ludicrous – how could she be in love with James Potter when she hated every fibre of his being? Sure, she might have warmed up to his charms, after all, he had saved her life and proved his loyalty and courage. She had to admit her dislike of him had waned and she might even call him tolerable, but love! That was certainly out of the question, the effects of love were based on the connection of two souls who understood each other, cared for each other. It was not based on lust or infatuation, it was certainly not revealed by the male asking the female out every single moment of the day…as James Potter had been doing for the past 5 years.

Lily, remembering back to their meeting in Dumbledore's office was abashed to recall that she, in her outrage had accused the old Headmaster of being a liar which caused him to be very much taken aback but nonetheless, his deep blue eyes contained humour. She had knocked back her chair and blind fury had engulfed her…why she had such an overreaction was beyond her. Usually she would have just dismissed the Headmaster's words and called the Love Potion a glitch. But the Headmaster's words had been bothering her in fact, the whole situation had been gnawing away at her insides. She couldn't sit or stand for a moment without thinking back to the situation…and James Potter irksome face constantly appeared in her mind. She was sure she would not be able to rid his image from her memory in this entire lifetime.

He had been to bluntly describe it, a curse on her. She could not think of two more unlikely people in the universe to have crossed paths. He, a pureblood, worshipped and desired, the subject of many admirers within the school who managed to achieve top marks without barely lifting a finger…he had the closest friends which he could share his trials and tribulations…and above all, he had the looks and muscles to cause any girl to look twice at him if they were to pass on the street. And her? Lily Evans was a plain witch…perhaps even less than that, being Muggle born didn't help her in the wizarding community while possessing a fiery temper and burying herself in books had not earned her a great reputation in the school. She tried so hard to fit in and she supposed she did…she had 2 close friends, pretty but not spectacular looks and she was quite capable at magic. But what she did not count on was catching the attention of one James Potter.

She sighed, to this day, she did not know why James Potter was infatuated with her, why he tried to impress her all the time, why he was constantly bugging her. Before she had ignored him and thought he would take the hint and leave her alone, but clearly the man was persistent enough to keep up his end of the game for 5 years…if it was to annoy the hell out of her, James Potter had undeniable succeeded. Yet he did not stop there, he had showed genuine concern for her, in fact she was sure that his eyes held no other room for anybody else but her…

'Okay that was enough', she did not want to contemplate further how much James Potter was willing to do for her. In fact right at that moment, she wished for nothing more than his eternal disappearance from the world. She buried her head in her hands…everything was going so horribly wrong. Seventh year at Hogwarts had turned into a series of nightmares, and she supposed she should have expected nothing less with the Marauders around.

No, her mother had always told her to confront her problems and her problem now was James Potter…like it had been for the past 5 years. She had to clarify that Dumbledore's words were wrong, that they were not in love as he had told them and that there was some simple error in their Love Potion which could be easily attributed to a careless error in its preparation, most likely on his behalf. Lily convinced herself that it would easy to get out of this one…and that soon, everything would return normal. She, Brittany and Eva would be the best of friends, talking about everything and anything while they would all get annoyed at James Potter for constantly asking her out. Brittany and Sirius would be at each other's throats and Eva would be shy and embarrassed every time Remus Lupin was mentioned.

In fact, James Potter constantly asking her out was much better than this…yes, she would much rather prefer that he annoy the living lights out of her than admit they were even close to being lovers. Bashfully, she had to admit she had fantasized about James Potter being always there for her, to forever protect her in his embrace…but who hadn't? It was merely her hormones…purely based on a physical sense of desire.

Things had been much easier when they were younger, yet Lily, as she strolled down the dark hallway alone found that she could not remember the last time when she, her friends and the Marauders possessed an easily explainable relationship.

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Unbeknownst to her, a dark shadow was closely creeping behind Lily, watching her every move and Severus Snape's skill in Legilemency allowed him to pry into Lily's thoughts and to learn that they were filled with his mortal enemy, the annoyingly perfect and arrogant James Potter angered him. Lily Evans had always been a fascination for Snape, she was not beautiful in most peoples eyes yet she had a charm about her, an untameable passion that flowed through her blood. The fact that she was the object of Potter's affections had always spited him, why of all people should James Potter be affiliated with Lily? Why couldn't he just be content with his social group of losers…why did he always have to be everything he was not?

Well this time it was going to be different…as Snape licked his lips in anticipation, he felt the aftereffects of the Polyjuice Potion, Lily was only just a few steps ahead of him. Soon, the greasy hair of Severus Snape turned into sleek, messy jet black fibres, his frail and tormented frame grew into the broad and muscular body of a familiar looking hazel eyed rebel. As Snape slipped on the pre-prepared spectacles, he adjusted the Gryffindor robes he had pinched and cracked his neck. He was going to do something he should have done a long time ago…

His plans had started long before and he had teamed up with Missy to take complete revenge on James Potter…their plan would ensure that he would never have a chance with Lily especially as Snape knew that Lily was at a tender position…she was unsure where her future path would lead her. But she needn't worry because he, Severus Snape would prove to her that James Potter was not worth her attention.

Missy had been waiting impatiently at the Broom Closet closest to the Heads Room for the arrival of 'James Potter' a.k.a. Snape. She was dressed in her most flimsy outfit, and that meant of course, it was mostly see through with her parts being er…mostly covered. She applied lipstick for the 5th time that night and constantly reapplied foundation…noone who rejected Missy Redding ever got away with it, not even the great James Potter.

Suddenly, she felt someone clutch her shoulder from behind and was about to gasp when she was met face to fact with the stunning man himself. Forgetting temporarily what she was doing and where she was, Missy's heart skipped a few steps as anybody's would in the presence of James Potter.

"J-James…" she whispered, straining to see in the dark.

"It's me you idiot Redding, and don't mention that name in front of my face" Snape spat

"Oh, of course it's you Snape, James Potter's charm is completely invisible" Missy spat.

"Look here, I hate this situation as much as you do, I've put down all my pride to impersonate the person I hate most in the world…and you!"

"Shutup Snape, I hear footsteps" The two clambered into the dark Broom Cupboard as Lily Evans's footsteps approached.

Just as she was about to pass the Closet, Snape nudged Missy and the two fell into a fake embrace, Missy rolling her eyes as Severus Snape's clear inexperience at being intimate with another. Pretending that she in fact, was in James Potter's passionate intimacy, appreciating what would be his muscles and frame…if he was the real Potter, she kissed the impersonator with all her kept fury at James's rejection and the two fell out of the Broom Closet, right in front of Lily's startled frame as she let out a yelp.

Snape was groping Missy most awkwardly and although she thought it would make it most realistic, giving Snape the tongue just made her want to be ill…Missy wished Lily would hurry up and blow up at the fake James so Snape would stop digging his fingernails into the small of her back and crushing her against him.

'Lumos…what are you two doing out of bed at this hour? I must dock marks from whatever house you're in…" Lily said sternly as she pointed her wand at them.

Yet what she saw made tornados within her, she felt as if the 7 seas were churning and the waves were crashing hard against her stomach. Her shocked expression lasted a couple of seconds as her disbelieving eyes registered what she was seeing with her brain. Although she wanted to deny it, to not accept the truth…it was lying before her, almost mocking at her crumbling emotions.

"I-James…?" She whispered, backing slowly to the wall.

"That's right Evans" Missy sneered at her, her face sweaty and her mascara running, taking immense pleasure from Lily's obvious pain. "A Mudblood like you doesn't deserve James Potter" She fixed up her bra and wiped the strands of her from her face.

Lily's horrified expression turned towards James, who she did not know to be Snape. Missy's smeared lipstick was all over his face, his glasses had almost been removed in their clear moment of passion…and his shirt had been half scratched, now hanging awkwardly off his sweaty body. As he untangled himself from Missy, James, rather, Snape did not meet Lily's expression. After 6 years of watching James Potter's moves and annoyingly perfect life, Severus Snape was all too familiar with what James would have done if he was in the current situation. He had always been the one to notice the slight details others had not paid attention to and he supposed that was from all the neglect that he had suffered as a child…

"Lily…what are you doing here? Well, I didn't, you don't…" Snape stumbled, glancing to see her crestfallen and disbelieving expression, she was lowering her wand and slowly sliding down on the wall. Snape could tell that tears were threatening to fall but he knew that with Lily Evans's willpower and pride, she would not let it happen.

Suddenly, her expression hardened, Lily would not let herself be affected this way…by James Potter, what he did in his spare time was none of her business, yet with Missy…he had said that he didn't like her! And after the train trip at the beginning of the year…well she finally understood him now. As she bit down on her tongue a million thoughts racing through her mind a minute, she clenched her wand in painful aggression...the flashes of James's naked chest and Missy's gleeful snarls unable to leave her mind. She was almost shaking with fury as now she knew that James Potter was nothing but a lying, deceitful vulgar who did not deserve any of her compassion or care.

Lily fought the urge to slap him on the face, after all, who was she to question any of his actions, especially his love interests or his midnight mischief with any women...she had no right to even think twice about it. Yet as Lily Evans sprinted down the Hallway, her flaming hair streaming down behind her, she could no longer control the salty tears that flowed down her cheeks, and as she hastily rubbed them off, she realized also that she could no longer deny the painful pounding of her heart which was threatening to be ripped up, nor could she ignore the voice that told her she cared for him. She hated that voice…her heart's echoing which told her that yes, she, Lily Evans was hurt to see that James Potter had been frolicking with another girl…that that person in his loving caress should be her…her, Lily Evans.

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A/N: Geez, that was really really mean I realize after reading back over it…but without a complication there will be no resolution! Hmmm, I actually really like the character of Snape in the Harry Potter series and it is revealed in the 7th book that he is noble and brave…and that he was in love with Lily. But nonetheless he hated James…and to get back at him I'm sure he would've used any means possible…

Hmmm – the story might actually be a few more chapters longer than I intended as I want to squeeze in the Halloween Ball, Christmas, on the following year, and finally, the happy happy conclusion!!!

So thanks again to all readers and reviewers!

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Hoping to hear from you soon,

Purebliss90 [who is very happy as she is nearing the end of the story!