Chapter Four: Change

It was not far into the day when James Potter admitted to himself that he probably shouldn't have had that last Easter egg the night before. It had been gargantuan, wrapped in shiny, inviting gold foil and just… sitting there. This realisation came after a series of strange and slightly frightening events.

Firstly, he had smiled at Lily as he passed her in the corridor. She scowled and averted her gaze, of course, but the fact was that he'd smiled at her. James Potter did not smile at Lily Evans. She was stuck-up, righteous and no fun at all. Lily was-

Secondly, he'd started referring to her as 'Lily' in his head. That wasn't right. James Potter was firmly on a last-name basis with Lily Evans. Evans. Lily Evans. Evans. Evans. Evans, Evans, Evans. Not Lily. Lily Evans. Lily Potter. Hmm, not bad… Wait, no-

He was going mad. Something was wrong with him. It was probably the Easter egg. Really, who would leave a jewel like that lying out in the open? Spiked. It had to be.

"Prongs?"

James' head jerked up from where it had been in his hands, and he looked around wildly until his gaze landed on a sheepish looking Remus.

"What?" he snapped, rubbing at his temples.

Remus stared at him worriedly. "It's just… you were muttering to yourself. You don't look too well; you should go to Pomfrey."

Hospital Wing? Good idea. No class, no people, no Li- Evans. Just what he needed; a potion and a snooze.

"Yeah, yeah I will actually." James said, perking up. "Tell old Sluggy for me, will you, Moony?"

Leaping up and grinning widely, he skipped around a bemused Remus and out the portrait hole. It was times like this he really wished he could whistle.


"Hey Lily."

Lily glanced over her shoulder from where she was setting up her cauldron, and smiled when she saw Severus.

"Care to join me, Mr Snape?" she said with a flourish at her Potions workbench.

"I would be honoured," he replied solemnly, setting down his books.

A gleeful clap came from Professor Slughorn at the front of the room.

"Wonderful! Let's get started shall we?" he said enthusiastically.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins stared back blankly.

"Ah," Slughorn continued, not noticing their lack of spirit, "and where might Mr Potter be?"

Lily sighed. Off course the prat would be late.

"He's sick, sir," Lupin called from where he was at a table with Peter Pettigrew. "He's gone up to the Hospital Wing."

"Ha, 'sick'," muttered Sev quietly, "just a scheme to get out of actual work."

Lily shrugged, but Potter had seemed a bit pale this morning. He had the nerve to smile at her this morning, something he had seemed wary to do since the spider fiasco last year, but had blanched and hurried away soon after. And Black, by himself at the table next to his mates', did seem quite worried. As Lily looked in contemplation, he sent a quick glance her way and scowled when he met her gaze, as if she was to blame. Of course. Couldn't even accept the consequences of whatever they'd done to land Potter in the Hospital Wing. She frowned back at him and turned away.

"Poor boy," Slughorn was saying, "but I guess he can afford to miss this lesson. We'll just be looking at the properties of some more complex potions ingredients today."

The class groaned collectively, and Slughorn, quick to appease, called out, "But I'll let you do a little experimenting when you've got the properties written down!"

As a list of ingredients appeared on the blackboard with a flick of Slughorn's wand and they rummaged for quills and textbooks, he passed next to Lily and Severus and leaned down, whispering, "I'm expecting big things from you two with this."


Severus Snape leaned back and watched her as she eyed some mistletoe berries critically, their cauldron on a soft simmer. Lily tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear as she held up the jar, squinting to see if there were any spoiled ones. She was really quite pretty, beautiful even. And she was an extraordinary witch, whatever her blood status. Such a pity that she was a Gryffindor; Slytherin would be so much better for her… She noticed him gazing at her and cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

"What? You're supposed to be monitoring the cauldron!"

Severus opened his mouth to reply, but then the potion started sputtering, emitting sparks and turning a strange shade of violet.

"Ah, no!" he moaned, grabbing for his wand.

"Sev!" Lily sighed in exasperation, but before she had the opportunity to say anything further, the cauldron spat out a jet of violet potion that splattered the bench, a drop hitting her on the cheek.

Everyone had paused in their work to stare at them, and Slughorn put a hand to his mouth in shock.

Because Lily Evans was turning purple.

The mauve-ish stain was spreading across her cheek, until half of her face was largely purple. Catching sight of herself in the cracked mirror on the opposite wall, her mouth dropped open and she poked at her flesh gingerly. Severus looked at her in horror.

"Oh dear," Slughorn said worriedly, hurrying forward, "what have you managed to do, Miss Evans? Though I suppose it is quite a remarkable shade."

This broke the spell and the class started tittering, Black jogging Pettigrew with his elbow with a wide grin on his face. Slughorn rifled through their sheets of parchment recording what they'd done with the potion, muttering and shooting concerned looks at Lily.

"Never mind," he said comfortingly, "it shouldn't do any permanent damage, just, er, go up and see Madame Pomfrey, will you?"

Lily, blushing furiously, shot a look at a flustered Severus and hurried out of the dungeon.


James lay on one of the beds in the Hospital Wing, the curtains drawn and staring up at the ceiling. Madame Pomfrey had, most hurtfully if he might add, suspected him of trying to get out of lessons, but after some pleading and a quick temperature manipulator spell, he managed to convince her to let him stay for a lie-down. But he still couldn't help thinking about Lily Evans. She was the most annoying, haughty person he knew, but he couldn't help laughing at the jokes she told when she thought he couldn't hear. It seemed that, with everyone except for him, she was witty and funny, understanding and kind. And, of course, she had the most beautiful pair of green eyes that he'd ever seen (though he managed to forget the look of disdain they usually had when they looked at him).

He heard the Hospital Wing door swing open, and Madame Pomfrey come tutting out of her office. Monday mornings were quiet in the Hospital Wing, he'd discovered, and patients were rare.

"Ooh," he heard Madame Pomfrey say, and he could envision her pursing her lips, "What in the name of Merlin have you done to yourself, Miss Evans?"

James nearly toppled off his bed with surprise and muffled a curse with the sheets. Was she following him around or something? Since when did Miss Perfect land herself in the Hospital Wing?

"Just sit over on that bed there, dear," Pomfrey was saying, "and I'll go get something for it, best not take a risk with a spell, eh?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey," came Lily's glum voice.

James heard her take a seat on the bed next to his. Suddenly, his curtains were ripped open and he found himself looking at Pomfrey's exasperated face.

"If you're not going to rest, Mr Potter, I think you can go now. Scurry off and have lunch, there's a good boy."

James scowled at her back as she bustled off. But then his gaze fell upon Lily and his eyes widened.

"Oh wow, Evans," he said coolly, grateful for how easily he slipped back into his usual demeanour. "That's quite a magnificent skin tone you've got going there."

She looked at him coldly and he couldn't help being drawn into her eyes. Actually, the purple kind of suited her, brought out the green.

"What?" she snapped. "You want pincers too now?"

James flinched at the memory and tore his gaze away. They sat in a tense silence broken only by Pomfrey rummaging through the potion stores, Lily looking determinately at the floor.

"Here you are," Madame Pomfrey said, handing a vial of clear, viscous liquid to Lily, "drink it all up, and you should be fine!"

Lily, still looking stubbornly angry, took it and tipped her head back, downing it all in a swift motion. A shiver ran down her body, but, the bright purple patch on her cheek shrank quickly until it was the size of a speck and then gone. She looked at herself in the mirror that a smiling Pomfrey held up, and, mood abruptly changing, thanked her enthusiastically.

Madame Pomfrey looked at James and grimaced. "I thought you'd be on your way by now, Mr Potter. Go on then, both of you, get to lunch!"

James hopped off the bed with a sigh that clearly said, I would be ever so grateful if I could stay, but she ignored it and made a shooing motion at the pair.

Admitting defeat, James followed a leaving Lily, and couldn't help marvelling at the shiny redness of her hair.

"Hey, Evans! EVANS!" he said impulsively, running to catch up with her as they came out into a corridor.

"What?" she said brusquely, whipping around.

James smiled, turning up the placating charm a notch.

What the hell do you think you're doing, James Potter, he thought frantically, but his body seemed to have grown a sentience of its own.

His hand automatically ran through his hair. "Y'know, Evans, you aren't that bad."

Lily's eyebrows raised at this and she looked at him disbelievingly. "Oh really? Wow, I feel so flattered."

On second thought, maybe that wasn't a good line to start with. But James ploughed on.

"So wanna go to Hogsmeade with me sometime?"

What? The small, same part of his brain was shouting. She hates you, you IDIOT.

He wasn't THAT bad, was he? James had always thought they'd had a… connection.

Yeah, that her fist wants to connect with your face every time she sees you.

And he knew that he wasn't bad looking. Being honest, he was probably very near the top of that scale.

You think she CARES? This is Lily Evans, for goodness sake.

He was funny, and, besides Lily, top of nearly every class. Star of the Gryffindor quidditch team.

Oh, let's see what SHE thinks, shall we?

Lily had crossed her arms and her head was cocked to the side, her expression flat.

"Oh har har, very funny. It's new, at least. If that was some pitiful ruse to get me flustered or whatever, it didn't work. See?" She gestured to herself. "Calm, collected, unamused."

Wait, what?

"What? No, I mean it! Really! Why would you – okay, but still –" He stopped.

Lily was looking at him in sceptical disbelief.

Okay, maybe we can just back out of it now, nice and easy.

Then again, he was a Gryffindor.

"Lily Evans, in all seriousness, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Something must have finally convinced her of the authenticity of his words, because she seemed to be taking on a tinge of purple again, her mouth gaping.

James tried to convince himself this was because she was so stunned at his offer. Happily stunned.

Finally, Lily let out a few strangled words. "What? Are you bloody SERIOUS?"

This wasn't good. Lily Evans did not land herself in the Hospital Wing, and never did she curse.

"No," James said, his smile faltering a bit. "I'm James."

Lily didn't take this too well. "You are such an annoying, stupid PRAT, James Potter. No. I can't believe you'd even- just, no. "

"I wasn't-"

Okay, maybe today just wasn't the day. She really wasn't herself.

She crossed her arms and glared at him, and James had to commend her for not faltering. Then he realised what she was waiting for.

"Oh, hell no, Lily-"

"Evans."

"Yeah, Evans, I am not apologising!"

More glaring. Raised eyebrow.

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"You try so hard to make me feel bad, uncomfortable. You try to annoy me with everything and now you ask me out?" Lily said heatedly. "Either you're just messing with my head again, or you are just an insensitive, hugely unobservant moron!"

She ended on a shout, breathed heavily for a moment, then turned her heel and stalked away.

James blinked at her retreating back. He ran a hand through his hair.

Told you.


Lily slammed the door to the girls' dormitory and huffed as she collapsed onto her bed. Mary and Lillian, back early from lunch, turned and began to sigh in exasperation, but stopped when they saw the thunderous expression on her face.

"What happened?" asked Marlene.

"Just James Potter being his usual self," Lily answered, rolling her eyes. She didn't feel like telling the exact truth; she knew that, among incomprehensible others Marlene and Lillian fancied him.

With a groan, Lily buried her face into the soft Hogwarts pillows, tried to forget the insanity of the morning's occurrences.


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