A/N: I'm trying something new this time. I just put in a short section from Petunia's perspective, just to try it out. If you like it, please tell me. I might try it out from other people soon.

When Gideon starts talking smart, I made up the entire thing. Don't worry, I don't think any of that actually happens. I made up chemicals and all, because I am not a scientist and thought you'd rather have fake chemicals then have to wait longer for your update while I looked them up.

I do not own the song "Obsessed" by Mariah Carey or the lyrics. I know this didn't come out until after their time, but I just couldn't resist. :) The words that have asterisks (*) around them are from the song Obsessed. I don't own anything, nor do I want to take any credit from it.

In this fic the dorms are opposite. Boys aren't allowed in, but there aren't the stairs or anything.

Chapter Five: Holidays and Other Adventures

October 30

James

I was nervous as anything. Everyone in Gryffindor was waiting for another prank, I just knew it. I'd owled Liam and he'd replied with a whole letter of ideas, but I wanted to do something original. Something that would get us noticed. That's the whole point of pranks, sometimes. Personal ones were hilarious, but when they include people you didn't notice they were so everyone knew who you were.

The four of us were sitting on our respective beds, tossing ideas back and forth. Well, Sirius and I were thinking of things, with an occasional Peter thrown in. Remus was being reasonable…if the idea sounded like it could work he would find something wrong with it. It was right annoying.

"We should let loose zombies!"

"Where would we get them, Peter?"

Silence. That was disgustingly unhelpful.

"How about we get the ghosts to do something?"

"Nah, they're still made because apparently when we hexed that Slytherin we got the Bloody Baron as well and he's pissed at us. And them."

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

"How about…" Sirius said the awfully familiar words and I sighed. "We could so do something like that body idea of ours, remember James?"

"Like what?"

"Well, instead of switching bodies, we could make everyone become the opposites of each other!"

I sat up. That was clever. "Could we do that?" I could picture it: Evans loosening up and not acting like a priss…perfect.

"We'd have to do it quick…Halloween's tomorrow…" Sirius said, as if I didn't already know that.

"Well," Remus thought out loud, "You could take that love potion we found in Madelyn's friend's trunk, that Oppsites Attract one, and reverse it somehow? I remember reading for homework that reversing a potion doubles the amount. And—" Remus muttered to himself, getting up and rummaging through his trunk. He comes up with a handful of notes and a small bottle. "I got it."

"Care to explain? Sirius asked, annoyed.

"All we have to do is reverse it! James, can you?"

"How? I'm bloody awful at potions," I moaned. I knew I should've paid attention in Potions. Most of our success at potions was due to Zonko's already having the answer. We were creative, sure, but the actual theory was hard.

"When in doubt, ask Slughorn…out?" Sirius cracked, but nobody laughed. "All right, fine, I was trying to make you all laugh. Let's go ask him. Oh and James? Fancy bringing along those chocolates your mum sent you? Might soften him up a bit."

Lily

"…just know they're going to do something, Sev. I mean, why would they pass up that opportunity?" I blew out a big puff of air angrily, crossing my arms. "Stupid Potter," I continued, but it was so quiet I didn't think Sev heard.

"Well," Sev said softly, cupping his pale face in his hands. "Where Potter and Black are concerned, I have no expectations of them apart from them making everyone else's life worse then their own."

Ouch…I giggled at that. So true. But I didn't convince Severus to come out here so we could talk about Potter. "Enough about the prats, Sev. I need help on what to do with Pet! She's still not talking to me."

"Why do you care?" His voice was toneless, as if he didn't even care.

I turned to look at him. We were sitting outside, underneath a slender tree. The leaves were beautiful shades of red, gold and orange, and a cool breeze ruffled them. It was perfect…well, it would be perfect but Sev was acting so negative! "She's my sister, Severus!"

"She clearly doesn't care for you overly if she dumps you at the first opportunity."

I felt my eyes fill with tears. "Shut up, Severus Snape!" What did he know about it, anyway?

He sat up, concerned. His lank hair fell into his pale face, but the sight didn't fill me with sympathy like it usually did. Honestly, he could just shampoo and condition! "Lily, I'm sorry…it's the truth, though. She feels inferior, so she hates you. She doesn't deserve your compassion!"

I stood up. "Severus, you wouldn't understand!" I said angrily and sharply. "You don't have any family, do you?" Giving the pale boy a sharp glare, I stormed away. The wind pricked at the tears in my eyes, and I barely paid any attention to where I was going. Severus just didn't get it. I couldn't just give up on my sister! I ignored the fact that she'd given up on me…two wrongs don't make a right, Mum's voice told me sternly.

"Miss Evans, whatever is wrong?" I looked up—or rather, down—to see a sympathetic Professor Flitwick patting my knee.

I shrugged unwillingly. I liked the Professor, but wasn't about to treat the tiny man to a sobfest about my idiot sister.

"None of that, now. I won't tell anyone else," he soothed. "Can't have my number one student off her balance, eh?"

A small laugh, more like a puff of air coming of my nose, escaped me. I shrugged again. "It's my sister, sir. She's not talking to me because she's a Muggle and I'm a witch."

He stroked his tiny beard with one hand, looking for all the world like he was pondering a difficult maths equation. "I see the problem, Miss Evans. Never fear! If us Ravenclaws are good for anything, it's solving problems! Have you perhaps tried to talk to her about it?"

I opened my mouth to say, 'Yes, of course,' but realized that I'd never spoken to her. Well, she doesn't exactly make it easy. "No sir."

"You see the obstruction, I hope? Lack of communication has vanquished a great number of good hearted people, Miss Evans. I wish you luck."

I smiled down at the professor. I wished I were in Ravenclaw; it would make everything so much easier. No Potter, right? Anyway, I wasn't brave at all. I was smart. "Thank you, sir."

"No problem, no problem. And, don't tell Horace—" he winked. "—but ten points to Gryffindor for thinking through a difficult problem."

My grin widened. I didn't see the logic at all in that decision but wasn't about to protest. "Thank you, Professor."

"Off you go, then!" He nodded at me, smiling widely, and trotted off. As he left, I heard him mutter, "When Minerva hears about this!"

"No, no, no, boys. That isn't how it's done." Slughorn scolded us, waggling a fat finger. I was hypnotized by the flesh jiggling back and forth as he did so. He frowned, flipping through a potions book with one hand as he greedily shoved a French Truffle in his mouth with the other. "If you were to tell me the potion's name this could be easier!"

"We don't know the name," Sirius lied. I nodded innocently behind him as Slughorn licked his fingers.

"Well, reversing really has to do with the main ingredients. For example, to reverse a Shrinking Solution, you would have to create a base that would not only cancel out the lacewings, but would also stimulate the potion as if there were ground beetle figs."

I didn't understand what he was saying (what was a beetle fig?) but I nodded my head. "Yes, Professor."

"Could you tell me what the main ingredients in this potion is?" He asked me as Sirius scanned through the scrap of parchment we'd brought with us. Remus had scribbled down the ingredients and basic directions. I waited for him to finish, offering another chocolate to the greedy man. Good thing I wasn't particularly fond of expensive sweets, otherwise I may be jealous.

"Here it is," Sirius finally spoke up. "Main ingredients are ground Unicorn Horn, one pinch of Phoenix feather dust, er…what does that say, James?"

I peered at the scrawling handwriting. "Lovage, I think? And, frozen Ashwinder eggs."

Slughorn narrowed his eyes. "Boys, boys, boys," he boomed, almost like a father would. "I understand, now. I was young once."

"What's he on about?" I muttered to Sirius, who shrugged in response.

"I hope you know that love potions can be dangerous?"

Shoot! How did he know? "But, Professor," I began, looking up at him helplessly. "We're not making a love potion, honest."

"Mr. Potter, don't try to fool me. These ingredients are crucial to a love potion." Slughorn waggled a finger at me, dropping a fat liquor-filled chocolate to the floor by accident.

Knowing I had seconds to think up a believable excuse, I exchanged a wide eyed look with Sirius. Then, I had an idea! Crying was such a girl thing to do, but when I was a kid it had got me out of all sorts of trouble. Closing my eyes briefly, I pictured my entire family dead, leaving me alone in the world. Feeling a lump form in my throat, I swallowed hoarsely. It's working, it's working, I thought triumphantly as tears started to fill my eyes and Slughorn looked worried—but Sirius started to snicker from next to me. Stepping on his foot, I blinked so a tear rolled down my face. I haven't done this in years. "I-I'm sorry," I cried, "B-but I was just worried about my friend, Professor! I t-think he's under a l-love potion, and I just wanted to reverse it!"

Slughron patted me on the back. "Merlin's beard. Do you have any notion of what potion is in effect?"

Thrilled that Slughorn was such a gullible fool, I nodded weakly. Sirius looked impressed, as he well should. Who can trick anyone? James can! "O-opposites Attract, sir."

"I know just the thing!" Slughorn snapped his fingers. "Stay here, lads, I may know how to fix this." He waddled off, leaving Sirius and I behind.

"Damn, Jamsie," breathed my friend. "Nice going, you puss."

I shove him. "Don't start with the girl cracks, wanker," I threatened him, smiling widely. "You couldn't do that."

"Sure I can," Sirius said competitively, screwing up his face as he rubbed his eyes. I waited smugly, tapping my foot. He opened his eyes again, and the look on his face was so comical I burst out laughing. He looked like he was in pain!

"Mate, leave the fake crying to me," I pleaded with him. "You look like a constipated pig."

He elbowed me, but it was at that moment when Slughorn returned, holding lots of little bottles in his arms. "Mr. Potter, this is what you must do. The love potion your friend is under is rather strong and uncurable." I sniffed mournfully. "So what you must do is this: mix all of these together and add a drop of Opposites Attract. This will not absolve said potion, but rather cause your friend to act undesirably. It will pick the quality in them that runs strong—the quality that would be attracted—and flip it. The lady who is drugging said friend will surely find him undesirable. Is this all?"

"Thank you, Professor," I said gratefully. He basically just did our prank for us. I nudged Sirius (it was his turn to get us out of here).

Looking at the clock, Sirius instantly paled. "Oh Merlin. Oh Merlin's beard."

"What, Mr. Black?"

"I have detention!" Sirius said fearfully and completely untruthfully. "Thanks for the help, Professor, but Professor McGonagall is going to kill me!"

"Anytime, m'boys," Slughorn said thoughtfully, probably thinking about McGonagall. Oh, that's just nasty.

As we ran away, I muttered, "Will this be enough?"

Sirius shrugged. "We can always just prank Evans and her friends and be done with it."

Now that wasn't a bad idea.

October 31

Lily

Potter and Co. were looking happy. Too happy. The four of them were giggling like school girls—like Aliya, Liz and I, I admit it—and were talking in loud whispers. I strained to catch what they were saying, but missed it completely. Glancing across the hall, I catch Severus' eye…but he's glaring angrily at me. Giving him an irritated look in return, I stalked over to Potter. I felt Sev's eyes on me, watching me closely. He hasn't apologized, which is completely ridiculous.

"Evans," Potter drawled, pushing his messy hair out of his face. "What a pleasure."

"Isn't it?" I answered sweetly, sitting down next to him and pulling an goblet towards me. "Water, please," I requested, holding it tightly. I'd figured out that it gave you whatever you wanted. I felt eyes staring at me and turned—Aliya, Lizzie and Alice were staring at me, openmouthed. So was Severus, actually. Serves him right. Let him see how much fun I was having without him.

"Not that I don't love your company," Sirius spoke up sarcastically, "but why are you sitting with us?"

I smiled at him as Aliya got up to come sit next to me. "Aw, Sirius, because you love my company!"

Remus chuckled to himself and I grinned triumphantly. "And, Potter," I continued as Aliya slid in next to Sirius. "I just wanted to stop your…" I searched my brain for a suitable word. Pranking? No. That was unoriginal. Trouble making? Hmm. I got it: "Your marauding."

Aliya snorted, shaking her head at me. "Use small words," she cautioned. "They don't understand."

I contained a smile, waiting for Potter to retort, but found him staring off into space. "Marauding," he whispered to himself. "Marauding." He nearly leaped up, settling instead to give me a hug. Ew! I pushed him off me, shuddering from the feel of his sweaty arms.

"You prat!" I said crossly, wiping off my arms with a napkin. "Don't touch me."

"I got it!" Potter continued, like he hadn't heard. "The Marauders."

I stared at him. "You're off your rocker, Pothead." Aliya snorted and so did Liz—when had she sat down?—but Sirius stared at the two of us, grin slowly spreading across his face.

"The Marauders," he said, before whooping loudly. "Brilliant!"

"Hello, what are you on about?" I asked loudly. Why were they so happy that I insulted them?

The two of them, still mid-smirk, turned to me. "Don't worry about it," they said nearly at the same time, their voices overlapping like they'd planned it. I rolled my eyes at them, turning to the people who had just sat down on my other side.

"Lily, m'dear," my neighbor said heartily, sounding spot-on like Slughorn. I glared at him.

"Hi, Gideon."

"Call me Gid, eh?" He said, taking a sip from his pumpkin juice. I shook my head and rolled my eyes up to the starry sky. Why was everyone acting so strange?

"And me Fab!" the other redhead sat down next to Gideon. "Because, I am. Fab-u-lous!"

"O…kay…" I said slowly, raising an eyebrow as they pulled chicken towards them and started munching on them.

"I thought Dumbledore spoke before you stuffed your faces?" Why was the food here? I looked towards the head table, but Dumbledore was missing. The food had magically appeared, along with big jugs of apple cider.

Gideon grinned at Aliya, who'd asked the question. "Ah, you wound us so, pretty lady. We're aren't stuffing our faces…we're stuffing food in our faces."

"Dumbledore's away on business anyway," Fabian inserted as Gideon chugged down a healthy gulp of apple cider and dodged Aliya's smack. She was violent sometimes. "So we get extra time to eat." Fair enough, I thought. Shrugging to myself, I drank some sweet cider as well. Now this was good…unlike that awful pumpkin stuff.

Gideon frowned, slowly, setting down his cider and holding his stomach. "I'm not hungry," he said slowly. This made me look up; every boy in Gryffindor seemed to have always empty stomachs. It was common knowledge that our table got more food than the others. So why was Gideon suddenly not hungry? His voice was prissy and he sounded snotty, like Petunia.

"And why not?" I asked, annoyed for some reason. He was being ridiculous.

"I read in Science Daily that if you eat carbohydrates after seven o'clock, they settle in your stomach, causing the process of eataphase to begin." I gaped at the normally joking Prewett twin. What on Earth was going on? Gideon would never, not even as a joke, read Science Daily. And, 'eataphase'? It sounded like some made up nonsense.

"As did I, dear brother. The process of eataphase can be detrimental to your health. The carbohydrates contain a chemical called yummitis, which is acidic and can eat away at the stomach lining." Now Fabian? This was a load of bad words. He was definitely making this up. Yummitis?

Aliya giggled, an annoying, high pitched giggle that grated on my eardrums. "Gosh, Aliya," I snapped. "Why are you so, like, weird all the time?"

Aliya immediately quieted. "I'm sorry."

I tossed my hair, feeling the strangest sensation wash over me. It felt hot, then cold before I felt like I was looking at everything through new eyes. Literally. "I love you!" I cooed, not minding that I was making a fool of myself. All I knew was that I suddenly felt a rush of affection to my friend. I grabbed her arm, pointing at the absolute hottest boy I'd ever seen in my like, entire life! "Look at him!" He was blond and so, so cute.

Lizzie took a glance and shrugged. "Nothing special," she said dully. "Doesn't matter." She sighed deeply, playing with her mashed potatoes before her shoulders slumped.

I gasped, bringing a fluttering hand to my mouth. "What? What did you say? Like, OMG. Lizzie, not liking a boy?" Call the police.

"It's nothing," she said quietly. "It's only a boy."

"Only a boy?" I gasped, nearly standing up in my shock. "Look at him! He's…he's…gorgeous!"

Alice rolled her eyes, examining her bitten nails snobbily. "He's not nearly as gorgeous as to go out with someone like me."

I giggled, finding this statement incredibly funny. "Aw, you're so narcissistic, Allie!"

Lizzie sighed a long, depressed sigh. "Why does it matter? That boy's not going to even bother asking any of us out."

"I know, right?" Aliya chimed in.

"Listen, girls," Potter said from next to me. He looked at us sternly. "Your parents would not like you fawning over boys like this." I only giggled, finding him trying to be responsible endearing.

"If you don't respect yourself," Sirius said reflectively, running a hand through his hair. "Then how do you expect others to respect you?"

"Well, I don't respect girls," Peter proclaimed. He ruffled his thin hair, puffing up his chest. "They don't need to be respected."

James

A couple minutes earlier

"Is it done?"

"All clear."

"Ooh, I hope this works!"

"Don't ever 'ooh' again, Peter."

"Sorry James."

We took our seats at the table. I positioned myself so I was nearly across from Evans. I so wanted to see her reaction to the potion. What would she be like? Moody? Giggly? Stuck up? The potion really only attracted the poor victim to a one or two personality traits, so it would make sense if those traits became opposite.

"Hey," Peter said. "Do we have to drink the potion, too?"

Sirius didn't answer. He still didn't like Peter. Neither did I, but I dealt with him just because. He had no one else to hang out with, and, well, he thought I was cool. Of course, everyone would be thinking that soon, but I could suffer his annoyingness until then.

"Yes," Remus said. "Otherwise the Professors will know that it was us."

"They will know anyway," Sirius said lazily. "But hell, why not? It'll be fun."

Evans suddenly got up, dropping into the seat next to me like she'd been there her entire life. "Evans," I smirked at her. "What a pleasure."

Instead of immediately snapping at me, she only shrugged her shoulders. "Isn't it?" She said in that high pitched voice of hers before she asked the goblet (she's insane) to give her water. To my surprise, it did, and the clear liquid caught the shine of her hair. Because, of course, it was so greasy since she obviously never washes it.

"Not that I don't love your company," Sirius ribbed her, since I was suddenly unable to speak, "but why are you sitting with us?"

Then, she smiled at me. I tell you, I was scarred! She had no business smiling at me. She was upsetting the natural order of things! "Aw, Sirius, because you love my company!"

Remus found this funny, but I didn't at all; like any of us could love her stupid company. She said something, but I tuned her out. Something about…. "Marauding."

What? Marauding. I rolled the word around on my tongue. I'd never heard that word before, but it obviously meant something like trouble making. Which we did best. I stared at the Ravenclaw table, thinking about it. "Marauding," I said out loud. "Marauding." It was perfect! Nobody knew what it meant, but it so clearly said 'wickedness.' Too excited to think about my next move, I grabbed Evans and hugged her before I realized that I'd just touched her. Argh! I would normally go take a bath, but I was too caught up in that brilliant word.

"I got it!" I told Sirius and Remus. "The Marauders." It was perfect.

Sirius started to smirk, obviously seeing it in his head. We were the Marauders. Now that we had a name, we could do some serious pranking.

"The Marauders…Brilliant!"

Evans interrupted us, looking annoyed, but I didn't spare her any thought. "Don't worry about it," I told her dismissively, at the same time Sirius did. She rolled her eyes, turning to talk with the Prewett Twins. I couldn't care less. I was busy writing down the name on my napkin with the quill I'd stolen early today…

"Oi, James," Remus whispered. "It's starting to work. Quick, drink something."

The food suddenly appeared, and I peered into a goblet of apple cider. Hopefully this would work…The four of us held up our goblets, clinked them together, and chugged them down at the same time. I was curious about how I would react…the opposite of myself? Must be awfully boring.

When the Prewett twins broke out in science talk, I exchanged a gleeful look with Sirius…before I felt ashamed of myself. I shouldn't be encouraging such pranks. So immature.

I felt a rush of success when Lily Evans started cooing over some guy, before the potion-ed part of me shot it down. See, since we knew it was a potion, we could fight it. I felt pride mixed with disapproval.

Lizzie over there seemed all depressed. She sighed deeply, shoulders slumping. "Why does it matter?" She asked, looking at he plate. "That boy's not going to even bother asking any of us out." I wanted to reassure her and rub in our success at the same time…this was brill—horr—iant—ible. Brilliant. No, wait. It was horrible! Oh, this was frustrating! It was clearly so much harder to be boring and mature.

"I know, right?" Aliya said eagerly. The "James" part of me saw the resemblance to Peter and smirked. But then I felt so bad about entertaining such immature thoughts I decided it was my duty to tell those girls off.

"Listen, girls," I said earnestly, looking at them seriously. "Your parents would not like you fawning over boys like this." You should be concentrating on your studies, I wanted to say. But I found I couldn't get the words out. The non-drugged part of me had shot those responsible words down.

"If you don't respect yourself," Sirius said suddenly, tiling his head to the side. He pursed his lips, clearly thinking hard. "Then how do you expect others to respect you?" I wanted to laugh, but settled for a mature looking nod.

"Well, I don't respect girls," said a self-important voice. PETER? What did this potion do to people? This is hilario—awful! Peter then said something my childish self used to say often, before I was enlightened by maturity. "They don't need to be respected."

Remus choked on his chicken, a wide grin crossing his face. He mouthed 'priceless' to himself and peered under the table. When he resurfaced, he was looking straight at me and smirking. "Now, Peter," he said, laughter laced though his voice. "Are you sure you want to say that?"

"Of course, Remus dear chap!" Peter ruffled his hair once more.

"That's like, awful," Evans said in disgust. I looked at her, head tilted. Why did I hate her again? I honestly couldn't remember. She was rather pretty. It was more of a distinguished beauty, something only mature people could see. "You are not getting a girlfriend, Pettygrew."

Never mind. This Evans was so childish. I mean, insulting Peter with petty, literally, words? I felt above such immaturity. But it's bloody brilliant! Imagine what she'd be like without a potion! I could so convert her to the right—wrong—side.

"Maybe Peter and Petunia can get together!" Alice said finally, smiling around the room like that was a brilliant idea. "I know I could do it."

"Don't try to set people up," I lectured, the potion completely taking over. "It will only end in unhappiness." Not that I would know. I was above relationships before teenage years.

"If you are only together because others want you to be, then is the relationship for you or for them?"

"That's an interesting theory, Sirius," Gideon said. He rubbed his finger on his nose, almost as if he wanted to push up heavy eyeglasses.

"Would you care to expand on it?" Fabian said. "The theory of happiness—"

"Is rarely explored." Gideon answered. A snort distracted me from looking on with approval, and this time I tried ducking down to see what Remus was looking at under the table. I couldn't see a thing. What was he hiding?

Lily

"This is like, the best Halloween ever!" I cried, meaning it with every fibre of my being. "I love you all!"

Alice cleared her throat, holding out her hand. "I have something to say," she said in all seriousness. "I was like, why are you so obsessed with me?"

"Now, Alice, I wouldn't jump to conclusions," James started, but it was too late. Alice had started talking, and just wouldn't stop. I strangely felt a catty glee watching her embarrass herself. Served her right, disappearing and fighting with me and dropping the period bomb like I cared at all. She thought she was so cool, just because she got to "be a woman?" Ha! I'd rather be like this than be a loser like her.

Meanwhile, Peter was trying to charm Alice—who was having none of it. "*Finally found a girl you couldn't impress?*" She sneered, and I rolled my eyes. "God, Pettygrew, you are so lame. I mean, the very *last man on the Earth couldn't get this,*" she pointed to herself. "Get a clue. Anyway, *why you so obsessed with me?*"

"Nice," I smirked at her, though I was mortified for her. I couldn't hang out with some one like her anymore—my reputation would be ruined!

Across the room, Severus stood up. I rolled my eyes. I hoped he wouldn't contact me—I would never live down the embarrassment of socializing with the likes of him. "Lily! I LOVE YOU!"

After the feast

Lily

Oh. My. God. James. Freaking. Potter. Is. Dead. I cannot believe he turned all of us into the opposite of what we were! I cringed as I remembered pointing at Sam Oren, loudly going on about how hot he was. "God, kill me now! I can't believe I shouted out that Sam Oren was gorgeous!"

"Kill me first," Alice moaned, her face bright red. "I can't believe I told Peter all that stuff about being obsessed with me!" And I felt spitefully happy! I couldn't believe how awful I'd acted.

"At least you weren't depressed!" Lizze groused. "Stupid Potter."

"Well, at least you weren't a stupid little insecure girl!" Aliya protested, twirling a dark lock around her finger. "That's not fair!"

We were sitting in a circle in front of the fireplace, blocking out the cheers and moans going on around the room as people discovered what happened to them. "Evening, ladies," Sirius said, slipping in our circle between Aliya and me. Aliya blushed immediately.

"Hi," she started, but I interrupted her, smacking him hard on his arm.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" I yelled, hitting him again for good measure.

"Ow! Ok, ok!" He said, flinching back. "Merlin, you're violent!"

"Why?" I moaned. "Do you know how stupid I was?"

"Well, I was always thinking of the deeper meaning!" He said in an annoyed voice, though he was grinning widely. "Do you know how awful that is?"

Potter came up behind us. "Aw, Evans, didn't like my prank?"

"YOUR prank?" I said angrily, standing up. "You embarrassed all of us!"

"Why can't you ever take a laugh?" He scowled back, coming face to face with me.

"Why do you always ruin good occasions?" I shot back. I clenched my fists. I would win this fight. I was tired of him getting the better of me!

"Why do you always ruin good pranks?" He yelled.

"Why are you always a prat?"

"Why are you always a stuck-up little girl?" Potter bellowed, his face going red. I am NOT stuck up!

"Why can't you just be mature for once?"

"In case you didn't notice, I was mature that whole meal!"

"Well, that just shows you can NEVER be mature!" I yelled triumphantly. Beat that, Potter!

"WELL AT LEAST I CAN BE IMMATURE SOMETIMES!" He took a step forward, his hazel eyes flashing from behind the lenses.

I could almost feel my hair crackle. "AND WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" I could be immature! I could! I just chose not to be!

"I know how to have fun!" He took another step closer. Why is he coming closer? I wanted him farther and farther away until I could never see him again! He should go live on the moon! And die there!

"Well, you have a very strange sense of humor!" I wanted to scream! Why was James Potter so annoying?

James

Oh, she made me so MAD! Why couldn't she just be NOT ANNOYING for once? Merlin's freakin' beard! "At least I have a sense of humor!"

Her green eyes flashed. They're really pretty like that, I thought before mentally slapping myself. "Maybe you should try getting rid of that then!" She yelled, stepping forward so her nose was almost touching my mouth. She was so short.

Was it possible for her hair to get any brighter? I watched it, still not believing I'd ever thought that her eyes were pretty! My anger at her made the words come out sharper. Good. The stupid little girl deserved it! "Maybe you should try getting some of it too!"

"It takes two hands to clap!" She shouted randomly, and I wanted to hit something.

"What the hell does that mean?" Oh, she drove me up the wall!

"IT MEANS I WON'T BECOME IMMATURE UNTIL YOU BECOME MATURE!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"It's a deal!" I said, thrusting out my hand. She grasped it, and her small cool hand made my sweaty one feel…better?

"Fine!" She said, shaking it roughly. With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

"Fine!" I turned the other way and stomped to my dormitory. SHE WAS SO ANNOYING!

Lily

UGH! Why did I make that deal? And how in hell did James Potter drive me up so hard?

December 14

James

I was peacefully writing a letter to Liam, telling him all about our latest pranks:

Hey Liam!

What's up? How's the cousins? Say hi to your mum and dad from me. Hey, we should get together over Christmas. I have some brilliant prank ideas. Did I tell you about Halloween? It was so wicked!

So Remus Lupin (I told you about him, didn't I?) stole all this love potion from the girls. Then Sirius and I charmed the Potions teacher, Slughorn, to telling us how to reverse it. It was called 'Opposites Attract' or something like that. When we reversed it, it made everyone the opposite of what they were! Isn't that cool?

So Sirius became something Remus calls "philosophic" and Peter became all stuck up. Remus, the idiot, didn't take it! He recorded everything we said! Uh, let's see…Lizzie, remember her, the blond? She became all depressed and sad! Alice was kind of like Peter. She sang the song "Obsessed." It was so funny! And Lily Evans. She was a giggly, girly, OMG girl! It was hilarious! She kept going on about boys. She looked different, too. I like her better now. That was plain scary. Speaking of scary, I was mature. It was horrible!

After that, Evans and I got into this huge fight. We were in the middle of the common room. She was screaming and I was yelling and oh, even thinking of it makes me angry! I don't know how she did it, but she conned me into a deal: if I became mature, she was loosen that stick up her arse. She didn't quite put it that way, but that's the main part of it. How did she do that? She just snuck it up on me! I need a really good prank idea for her! Li, do you know how to change hair and eye color? While we were fighting, her hair got so bright it was blinding! It's red, by the way. And her eyes? Jeez Louise. They got stunningly green. It was awfully Slytherin.

I told you about the fireworks and also Mary Waters, right? That was great. Mary had no idea we put shrinking powder in her shampoo. Serves her right!

Write back!

Your favorite cousin, James.

P.S Ask Aunt Camille if we can come over.

I rolled up the paper and whistled for Lily. Merlin, that felt weird. I wasn't used to saying "Lily," so I mostly just said, "Hey girl."

"Hey, girl," I said, stroking Lily's reddish head. "Can you take this to Liam Potter?" Lily hooted and nipped me gently. "Ow! You get a treat when you come back, little brat." I laughed to show her I was kidding, even though she probably didn't understand me. "Good. Go on, now. Wait for a reply."

Lily fluttered her wings and took off, soaring through the window we usually kept open for owls. It was right cold now, though. I closed it firmly, staring out on the snowy grounds. December was here.

I was gazing outside, watching Lily get smaller and smaller, when Sirius came barreling up the stairs. "James!" he gasped. "I need your help."

I turned and burst out laughing. He was disheveled and dirty, with smudges of mud all over his cheeks. "What happened to you, mate?"

"Snape!" Sirius growled. He looked so murderous that I felt scared for Snape. "The little idiot…"

"What happened?" I asked curiously, picking up my wand from my bed and trying to summon a towel. Accio! Accio, dammit! I'd overheard some fourth years practicing, and the spell would be so useful! Accio!

"I was on my way to the Owlery because I was going to owl that man in Diagon Alley, the one who owns that girly shop? And anyway, I was going to ask him for a birthday present. And Snivelly hexed me!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or sympathize. "Batting for the other side, then? Why would you want a present from a girl shop?"

Sirius scowled at me. "For Aliya…you know, her birthday…"

I shrugged. I wasn't concerned; I still had some chocolate in my trunk. I was sure I'd get some for Christmas, so it wouldn't matter if I gave some to the Indian girl. Girls love chocolate, right? That's what Mum said. "So?"

"Don't tell me you already have a present!" Sirius groaned. "Damn you! What're you giving her? What do you give a girl?"

"Why are you giving her anything?" I asked, completely confused on why Sirius would care. He liked that Julie girl! Well, he hadn't confirmed it…wait a minute. Sirius was blushing? "You like her, don't you?"

Sirius groaned loudly and flopped on his bed. "I don't know, mate!"

I tried to stop myself from smirking. "You like her! Sirius Black likes Aliya Patil!"

His face was on fire! "No I don't! I like—" He stopped. "Not Aliya!"

"Yes you do. Don't deny it." I smiled smugly and joined him. He didn't look at me, he was so embarrassed. "Hey, Aliya's pretty! You'd be good together."

"We're not getting together!" He exclaimed, sitting up. "She doesn't fancy me! And I don't fancy her at all!"

I frowned. I didn't have any experience with girls, either. Hell, I didn't fancy anyone! What was I supposed to tell him? "You could ask her out and see?"

"Like that would work." Sirius put his head in his hands. "I don't like her! Or most girls in general!"

"Oh, I see," I teased. "Open those closet doors."

"Wha—hey! I don't like blokes! That's not what I meant!" Sirius tackled me. Oh, I see. He's gonna change the subject.

"Admit it! You like Aliya!" I flipped him over. Ha! I'm the winner! I'm stronger!

"Do…" He pushed up. "NOT!"

Remus walked in at that point, took one look, and groaned. "Now what?"

"Sirius likes—"

"SHUT UP!"

"Aliya Patil" I finished triumphantly.

Remus looked amused. "That's nice. Hey, you should ask her out."

"Why does everyone think that?" Sirius moaned. "Leave me alone!"

"Nope." I said.

"Fine! Who do you like? Oh, wait, I know the answer to that." He sighed deeply, muttered something under his breath, and put his head in his hands.

"Sirius!" I said, looking to Remus for support. The boy in question looked like he'd been clubbed over the head. "I hate Lily Evans!"

"You said it, not me," Sirius said defensively.

"You know what they say," Remus pointed out. Not him too! Why was everyone against me? "To hate someone, you'd have to like them first."

"Nice one, Remus."

"What? That's ridiculous! So you love Snape, now?"

Sirius opened his mouth and promptly shut it. "Good point." Remus just rolled his eyes.

Remus sat down next to us. "Why are girls so confusing?"

December 18

Lily

Aliya's birthday was today! I was so excited! Liz, Alice and I planned out everything. It's great. Only our dorm is having a party because Aliya had told me sometime ago that she didn't like big parties in her favor. We decorated the dorm and begged a seventh year to glamour it all over. We all have presents. Alice disappeared for a hour and came back with the promise of food. I owled Dad and he sent me some Coca-Cola. It was all set…but Aliya hadn't said a word about her birthday all day. We'd woken her with a "Happy Birthday!" Aliya had only smiled and gone downstairs. Why didn't she want to celebrate?

Lizzie, Alice and I were up in the dorm, plotting a way to get her to have fun. Lizzie was currently pouting, looking at the beautiful decorations sullenly. "If I have to drag her up here," she said suddenly, "I will!"

"Nah," Alice said wickedly. "I have a better idea."

I leaned in closer. She looked around and then whispered one word: "Sirius."

Lizzie clapped her hands together but I was still. What? Sirius Black? No! Sirius didn't like her. She…he…no! They weren't together! Sirius was, well, Sirius! He was annoying and arrogant! Aliya had no business liking him!

"But…Sirius?" I pleaded. "How would that help?"

"Oh, it would! She likes him, remember?" What? Since when? She picked him over Slughorn, but who wouldn't? Why didn't she tell me? "So if he tells her to come upstairs and have a party, she will."

"That's ridiculous. She'll just think he's kidding." I said urgently. This was insanity!

"No, she'll be pleased!"

"Yeah, she'll have fun!" Lizzie echoed Alice.

"No," came a new voice. "She'll wonder why her friends are setting her up with Sirius Black instead of having a sleepover party like she wants!"

"A – Aliya?"

"Guilty as charged. Come on. Potter forgot about my birthday, but he dug some chocolate out of his trunk and handed it to me. Let's eat it!"

"It's probably drugged," I tried, but Alice and Lizzie had already reached out a hand. Oh, well. I wouldn't eat it. I didn't trust anything from that stupid boy.

Later on…

James

I kept hearing giggles from Evans's dorm. It was across the hall from us, after all. What were they doing? Merlin, during our stay-up-late nights we planned pranks. I really wanted to be a fly, just so I could see what the puzzling gender did when they were alone. I looked over at Sirius…he had a pillow over his head and was scowling at the door. "Stupid giggles," he griped when he saw I was looking. "Don't they ever stop?"

Remus sighed. "It is rather annoying."

"Let's go explore," I suggested. "Instead of letting them drive us batty."

Sirius agreed, his face lighting up expectantly. Exploring usually led to pranks. "Can we explore near the dungeons?" Sirius still hadn't pranked his cousin, that Cissa girl, but he was constantly thinking of ways to do so.

Peter agreed without a sound, nodding his pale head up and down. Remus was the last to agree, his eyes flicking tersely around the room, to where moonlight shone in the window. "We'll get lost again," he said, always the reasonable person in the group.

"So we'll map it!" I said, before I stopped putting on my trainers. "We'll map it," I repeated slowly. "We'll map it! Guys, we should make a map of Hogwarts!"

"Aww, James, that'll be too hard," whined Sirius.

"But it will be so useful! I mean, next time we want to prank someone, we can figure out exactly where to do it! Plus, Liam told me that there are tons of secret passageways. It'll be brilliant!"

Sirius and I were poking about the corridor, trying to find a passageway, while Peter and Remus sat against the wall, carefully sketching out how far we'd gone.

"Pssst!" A low voice whispered, causing Sirius to draw his wand and wave it around. We didn't know any hexes, but who cared about that? Actually, I did know that Curse of the Bogies that Evans had hexed me with.

"Who's there?" I said suspiciously, drawing mine as well. It wasn't a teacher or a prefect—it was nearly eleven-thirty. The prefects usually stopped patrolling at eleven. Only the Head Boy and Girl were out now, but they would've taken points and sent us off to bed. So it had to be a student, and most likely a Hufflepuff—Ravenclaws didn't usually sneak out.

"Come closer!" The voice urged. It was a guy's voice, but it sounded more like an adult. A seventh year? What were they doing? We went closer to the voice, leaving a puzzled Remus and Peter behind. It was a…portrait?

"Are you talking to…us?" I asked the picture skeptically. The picture was one of a twenty-something year old bloke holding a firecracker in the middle of an empty room.

"Absolutely!" The man said cheerily, waving the lit firecracker around. "I'm Charlie, protector and supporter of all troublemakers! I used to have tons of people here with me, but they all ran away after I played pranks on them."

"That's great and all," Sirius said, clearly not meaning it. He looked over me, mouthing 'he's mental.' "But why did you call us over?"

"To tell you I guard a passageway, of course!" Charlie boomed. "Goes to a hidden room in the third floor, only accessible through me! Actually, that's wrong. So when you exit the room, to get back in you have to tell the wall a successful prank you did and it'll let you in! Wicked, right?"

I laughed, no longer thinking this Charlie bloke was mental. Hogwarts was amazing. A room where you had to tell it a prank for it to open? A portrait that supported troublemakers? Brilliant! "Do you have a password?" I asked, nudging Sirius to go get Remus.

"Certainly, certainly! It is mischief managed."

Mischief Managed? That was catchy. I liked that. A lot. I'm definitely going to use that one day. Remus and the rest arrived, and I took the map from Remus and quickly added a picture of a portrait. Underneath, I wrote Charlie—mischief managed. "Uh, mischief managed," I said hesitantly, and the picture swung open. We quickly entered, laughing a little with excitement.

"This is great," Remus said, brushing a hand against the wall. It was nearly pitch black in here, but he had gone in first so was leading the way. We walked, whispering to each other, for about five minutes before Remus said, "I feel a lever. Should I push it down?"

"Go ahead," I told him, and I guess he did so even though I couldn't see. The wall slid upwards and we ran into an empty, circular room. "Wow," I breathed, walking around it. "This is…wow." It had some chairs and a table that was covered in dust. It had a few windows will shades pulled down over it, and some empty shelves in the corner. "We could store our prank supplies in here!"

"Yes!" Sirius cheered, leaping around the room. "We're famous explorers now! Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin! We rule the world!"

I slapped his hand as Remus cheered along with him. "Don't forget Peter," he scolded, "And no one can stop us, we found a passage to the third floor! Who knows what else is there?"

December 19

James

Dear Jamesie,

I'm every so sorry, sweetie. I know you wanted to come home with Sirius this Christmas, but your rascal of a father planned a twenty-five year honeymoon for us. We did get married December 23, after all. We are journeying to Greece, and I daresay you won't want to come along. I owled Cammie but she says she may send Liam to Hogwarts along with his sisters, as she is going to be away as well. I will mail you your gifts—I included some for Sirius as well. I'm so sorry, dear. Have a wonderful Christmas! I will be thinking of you, and know your father and I miss you dearly.

Lots of love,

Mum

P.S Hey, sport. I know you're mad at me, but what can I say? The ol' Potter charm is at it again! Lizzy Rose is trying so hard not to be excited for your sake, but between you and me—she really wants to go. You can handle it, right? Your mum hasn't seen the package I'm including—take those prank items and use them well! You haven't written to me lately, James-o. I love you tons. Take care of yourself!

Dad

I held the letter in my hand, blinking away unwilling tears. I wasn't a puss! Blokes didn't cry. But I'd never been away from Mum and Dad at Christmas before! Sirius and I had already planned the mayhem we were going to cause at the Party! This wasn't fair!

"Oi, mate! I saw Dahlia, didn't I? What'd your parents say?" Sirius hollered up the stairs, his voice echoing all weird.

I petted Dahlia, one of our many owls, lightly on the head. "No go, mate," I said, making sure my voice was completely unshaky. "Dad's hauling Mum off on a honeymoon adventure!"

"Rotten luck," he groaned. "Remy's staying too, I'm pretty sure. We should see if we could convince the girls to stay! We'll have a great time! There are so many good Christmas pranks…"

I grinned lightly at the thought. "Fun with the girls? Are you serious? Don't turn into a pussy-cat on my watch!"

"As if!" He called back. "I'm off to pester Evans for you. Want to come?"

"Why not?" I said, leaping over my bed and trotting downstairs. Halfway down, I paused and yelled, "Dahlia, you can go!" to the owl still sitting in our room. At the bottom of the stairs, Sirius rammed into me hard, knocking me to the floor. "What the—mhelg!"

My wanker friend shoved his hand over my mouth. "Shut up!" he hissed. "Here comes Keisha."

I wrenched his hand away, taking in a deep, non-sweaty breath. "The beater? Why're you scared of her?"

Sirius looked shifty. I glared him down and he blew a lungful of air out. "Okay," he began. "So I may have pranked her again…"

I started to laugh even as an angry Keisha headed straight for us, eyes blazing. "Black," she growled. "You are in some deep shit."

'Black' paled. "Keisha!" He said charmingly. "Wow. You look gorgeous in that dress!"

Keisha, who was wearing a yellow sundress, looked down and adjusted it, blushing. "I don't like dresses," she confided. "But mum always wants me to wear them."

Sirius winked at her. "You don't like dresses but dresses like you."

She blushed harder and swatted his arm. "Where'd you get that line?"

"Caught me. It was in Wizard Weekly," Sirius lied. I didn't think there was such thing as Wizard Weekly. "I can't believe you're going home! I'm going to be all alone." He pouted, looking up at her. I stayed away, watching in awe as he completely charmed Keisha. Why couldn't I do that? That wasn't fair! When Liam gets here, I consoled myself, he'll teach me how. I can't not be able to charm girls. They're girly and all but dead useful. I mean, if I could charm Evans, she wouldn't yell at us!

"Poor baby," she said, patting his hair like he was a child. "I'll write you."

Sirius perked up. "Really?" Wait a sec. What happened to Aliya?

"Tell you what," she said. "Promise to not prank me the rest of the school year and I'll get you a present."

"Deal," Sirius said instantly.

She smiled at him. "Wise move, Black. See you later."

Sirius nodded, watching her go. When she left, he turned to me, grinning like a maniac. "Ha!" He said excitedly. "Did you see that?"

"Nice!" I said, slapping his hand. I lowered my voice, feeling awkward. "How'd you know what to do?"

"I read a book," he said like it was obvious. He looked at my gaping face. "This Christmas, we're going to study it."

"Studying," I moaned. "Over hols?"

"For a good cause!"

December 24

Lily

Argh! I hated the song "Jingle Bells." It was so annoying and was played constantly on the radio. Petunia had taken to singing it as well. Just to torture me, I was certain.

Speaking of Petunia, she'd been…normal. Like nothing had happened. I was fine with that, but it was kind of insulting that she just glossed over nearly two years of bratty behavior. It was Christmas, so I should forgive her, but I kept finding myself annoyed at her 'nice' behavior.

"Lily!" Petunia herself hollered up the stairs. "Help me! Mum's got me on salad duty!"

I grinned to myself. Salad Duty was the dreaded job that Mum always gave us. Seeing as neither of us liked salad, making it was torture. "Mum!" I cried. "Petunia needs to help me put the presents under the tree!"

Mum sighed loudly. "Fine, go! Send Richard in, then."

I smirked to myself, going out of my room quietly and walking—more like tripping—down the stairs. Of course, Daddy was in the library and he saw me fall, just in time to catch me. "Ow," I moaned. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Anytime, Princess. You know, I really like the idea of 'daddy,'" He mused. "Can't you call me that for a little longer? It seems so long ago that you did…"

"Ten years old, Daddy," I reminded him, smiling up at him. He was such a softie, sometimes. Last Christmas, I could've sworn I saw tears in his eyes. Not that he'd ever admit to it.

"How could I forget?" He scooped me into his arms, just like I was a baby. "Now, you are going to be the little minx you are and get me out of setting the table!"

"I already did," I grinned at him as he carried me into the kitchen. "Have fun making the salad."

"Hey!" He growled playfully, nuzzling me with his stubble. I squealed and he put me down. "Rosie-pie," he said mournfully. "Salad? Me? Do you want it to have chocolate chips in it instead of healthy bits?"

"You'll make it if you want your bits to stay healthy," Mum threatened. Dad paled and brushed me off carefully.

"Go run along now, Princess," he said hurriedly. "We'll see about revenge!" Then, "What's this about my bits, Rose?"

In the living room, Petunia was waiting for me, looking at the tree with misty eyes. It was a plain tree, large and smelling of pine. "Hey," I said softly. She jumped and turned around, before smiling—was it real?—at me.

"Lily!" She said. "Sorry. I was just…" Petunia shrugged. "Remembering, I suppose."

"There's a lot to remember," I agree quietly, looking up through the tree branches with her. Minutes pass, before I speak up. "Remember when Mum forgot to put ornaments up and we did after Christmas?"

"Or that time she put that one with Aunt Raney with a big "X" through it, and she dropped in for a visit?" Petunia said laughingly, pulling the two boxes of ornaments towards here—one was 'bought' and one was 'handmade'—and opening them.

I pulled out a particularly horrendous 'handmade' one: a picture of a chubby me and a bawling Petunia. Blushing, I gave it to Petunia who groaned, "Lily! Just…shove this down, will you?"

"I heard that!" Mum yelled, and I rolled my eyes. I examined the picture, wincing at the sight of my fat cheeks. Why did Mum ever take this picture? I'm sure she thought it was cute, but it's rather embarrassing. Plus, it isn't like she can show this to any of her friends without looking like an awful mother who fed one child entirely too much, and neglected the other until she screamed.

"Yes, Mum!" I called back, picking up a paper clip and bending it out of shape before hooking it on to the picture and then the tree. I pushed it back far, so the needles hid it from sight. I certainly wasn't about to let this mortification be glaringly obvious. Petunia caught my eye and we both stifled grins, remembering Christmases past, in this very room, when we'd strategically place the ugly pictures back in the shadows.

James

"This is boring," Sirius moaned. I was staring out the window, rolling a quill between my fingers. Where was Liam? This Christmas is going to be w-i-c-k-e-d. It's basically like Christmas at Hogwarts: Potter Style. Aunt Camille got Dumbledore to agree to let Liam and his twin siblings (girl and boy) to come over since she's off gallivanting around the world with boyfriend number fifteen. Madelyn was here too, since she claimed "there was no point going home if I'm going to be alone the whole time" and everyone else at school was going home. Practically everyone, anyway.

Sirius had been all moody. It was so annoying! He just grouched around our dorm, muttering to himself. What was his problem? I think it's that he doesn't want to be around all those girls. Who would? But it's irritating me to death. "Are you just going to stare out the window all day?" Sirius exploded and I dropped the quill with a clatter. I'm not a bloody girl, who stares dreamily out of the window!

"Merlin, Sirius!" I said, bending down to pick my now-broken quill up. I examined it before groaning loudly. "It's broken! Mate! You owe me a quill!" Truth be told, I couldn't care less about the quill, and knew Sirius would never give me one back. We didn't pay each other's debts. Sooner or later, he'd buy me a chocolate frog or something and we'd be even.

"It was Remus' anyway, and just get that Liam boy to patch it up!" Sirius said loudly, his voice cracking hilariously on the 'get that' in the middle.

I stared at him, mouth twitching. He stared back unwillingly. Slowly, though, he started to smile. A second later we were cracking up…pun so intended. "Did your voice," I started breathlessly, "Just…crack?"

He started to blush. "Did not!" Sirius protested, holding his throat like he could keep the cracks in. Seeing my grin, he hit me. "Stop laughing at me!"

"Stop laughing at me!" I mimicked, making my voice go up high in the middle. He glared at me, opened his mouth to say something, and dissolved in laughter.

Lily

Dear Alice,

How are you? What are you doing? Do you want to talk—

I groaned in frustration and scribbled out the single line I'd written. Grrr. I stomped out of my room, holding the crumpled piece of paper in my hand. In moments like this, I would usually go to Petunia and ask her for help, but as nice as she was pretending to be, well…let's just say I was wary.

I did want to talk to Alice. I didn't want to leave things hanging like this. I was already fighting with one person (Petunia) and I didn't fancy the idea of Alice and I arguing all the time. I wasn't exactly sure what her problem was, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Offering to talk about it just appeared awkward to me, but I certainly didn't want this to fester.

I stomped into the kitchen, sliding into a chair. Mum, who was bustling around and cooking, barely spared me a glance. "Lils, dear, would you set the table? Richard opted out of that job.

"Mum," I started to ask her about Alice. Maybe she'd have some suggetions?

But, she wasn't listening. "Lily, can you just do it? Ask me later, I'm kind of busy—oh shit! I mean, shoot!" She slipped on oven gloves, opening the oven door and flapping away smoke that came out. Sensing this clearly wasn't the right time, I gloomily went to set the table. Dad was leaning back in one of the chairs, feet on the table, reading a book.

"Dad!" I hissed softly. He jumped, knocking the chair down as he fell to the floor. I snickered at him, pasting a completely innocent look on face as he glared at me from the floor.

I expected him to muffle a swear word as he got up, but instead the corners of his lips turned up just a tad. I swear he was silently laughing at me, but all he said was, "Hey, Lils? Leave the role of drama queen to your sister…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said suspiciously, not offering to help him up. Was he making fun of me, or of Petunia? I never could tell with my dad…he could say rib you with a completely straight face and leave you wondering if it was a compliment or an insult.

"Nothing, darling," he replied affectionately, getting to his feet with a groan. "Damn, I feel old," he muttered to himself. When I fixed him with what I thought was a stern glare, he held up his hands defensively. He ran them through brown hair and tried to glare back at me.

"Dad, that's obviously not working," I informed him, putting my hands on my hips. He tried to keep a straight face, before he smiled.

"You're so cute," he grinned, pulling me into a hug before I could hit him. I narrowed my eyes, squirming out of his grasp.

"Dad," I scolded. "I am twelve years old, nearly."

"So?"

"I'm not cute anymore!" I scowled, stalking out of the room. Am I 'cute?' I don't want to be cute. Cute is my little four year old cousin, Kat, not me. Dad is so ridiculous sometimes.

A/N 2: Hey…so I'm churning out chapters as fast as I can, just for you! Even if I'm pretty sure I got all of one review on the last chapter. Come on, folks! I love to hear what you think. And I know more than one person is reading this. I get like five emails a day, saying 'BLANK added you to their story/author alert' or to favorite author or story list. If you can do that, you can spare me a couple sentences saying what you liked or not. It helps me improve my writing, and make the story more enjoyable for you!

Now that that's out of the way…I had complete writers block on this. I'm sorry. The rest of Christmas is coming up next chapter, as well as some more drama. This seemed like as good of a place to end as anything. I'll hope to write another chapter for you soon, but I'm leaving for the TIP program on Saturday so I won't be able to write for three weeks. Hopefully, this can hold you over. Lots of love, I'm Actually A Squib! (Which I am)