Disclaimer: DEATHLY HALLOWS COMES OUT IN LIKE FOUR MONTHS! I'm so darn excited to read it! (By the way, if I were JK Rowling, wouldn't I already know what happens, considering I would have written it?)

A/N: First off, I'd like to give a thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed and motivated me to keep writing: DarkKyubi, pigs can fly, headgirl90, Super Smexy Snuffles, CaramelBoost, Isolde Eris, kkroonie, messyblackhair66, Snaily, Amber Tinted, zhangie, Lbeen393, twilight8ec, Acelinn, -Jeisa-, and MarisAlexia. You all rock my socks completely off.

Ahem...so...(rubs neck uncomfortably and glances around awkwardly)...long time no see. Technically, it's not my complete fault that it took me this long to get this chapter up. Alright, who am I kidding? It's my fault. I've just been so busy and my stupid computer keeps breaking. But, while my computer is up and running now I decided to finally post chapter 5 (this is your cue to start cheering...haha jk). I promise I'll try not to let the time between my updates span out for this long (two months...dang. Has it really been that long?) Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter! The plot is really starting to pick up now...

Ipod Update: Still broken. In fact, I just mailed it today to the Apple store. For some reason, I kept on forgetting to mail it and my dad came into my room at 6 this morning, woke me up, and told me to give him my Ipod so he could send it off to get fixed. Which is cool, except for that fact that my dad woke me up at STINKIN' SIX IN THE MORNING! lol

Chapter 5: And the Dares Come Out

"Don't you just love the feel of the wind in your hair and the wood between your legs?"

Lily and Marlene glanced at each other, a humorous smile breaking out on both of their faces. Both of them were thinking the same thing; Dorcas was crazy. Or maybe she was just crazy about Quidditch. Either way, the blonde haired girl was the reason that the two other girls were heading towards the Quidditch pitch Thursday afternoon. Classes had ended an hour ago and dinner was still a couple of hours away.

"Incase you hadn't noticed, Dorcas," Marlene stated, "neither Lily nor I has, or ever had, a broom."

Dorcas grinned, waving her broomstick throughout the air. "Yeah, well whose fault is that?"

"The person in charge of planting good Quidditch playing genes into children," Lily joked with a shrug.

"Exactly," Dorcas retorted happily, whistling some cheery tune.

The golden hoops that signaled that the Quidditch pitch was near loomed ahead of them and Dorcas gained an extra hop in her step. Dorcas had convinced Lily and Marlene to come out and watch the Gryffindor practice. Marlene had been bribed with the fact that she could scout out hot, potential boyfriends. Lily…well Lily simply had nothing else to do besides homework, which, as tempting as it may have sounded, just didn't appeal to her.

"Go on, then," Dorcas said as the rest of the Gryffindor team came into view. "Go sit with the Marauders in the stands."

Marlene wrinkled her nose. "Do we have to?"

Knowing that her friend was just trying to be difficult and that Marlene actually didn't mind the Marauders' company, Dorcas gave her friends a shove in the back. "Hurry up. I'm already the last one here—"

As if to back up her point that Lily and Marlene were holding Dorcas up, James called out, "Meadowes! Get over here!"

The three girls turned at the voice. "Keep your knickers on, Captain," Dorcas said, turning back towards her friends. "Wish me luck."

"Have fun," Lily and Marlene said. From behind them, James gave Lily a slight nod of the head and a smile before he mounted his broom. In response, Lily shook her head and raised her hand up in a formal sort of greeting. Dorcas, who had already bounded off towards the rest of her team mates, hadn't caught the interaction. Marlene, on the other hand, had seen it.

"Lily," she sang in a sing-song voice, grabbing her friend by the elbow and pulling her off towards the bleachers, "what was that?"

"What was what?"

Marlene sighed exasperatedly. "Don't be ridiculous. You and James…"

"It was just a greeting between two acquaintances," Lily responded truthfully. It was true; she didn't regard Potter as anything more than that. She didn't know how he'd suddenly gone from being her sworn enemy to an actual human being, but she knew it had something to do with that night they had detention. Though she still didn't quite trust his intentions, an apology was an apology.

Thankfully, the subject of James Potter dropped as Marlene climbed up the set of bleachers towards Sirius and Peter. "Hey guys," she greeted, taking a seat on the cold metal.

"Ladies, fancy seeing you two out here. Was the library closed or something?" Sirius asked.

Marlene smacked him lightly on the arm as Lily laughed slightly. "Funny, Black," Lily stated, rolling her eyes. "Hey, Peter." Wrapping her coat firmly around her, Lily flopped down beside Marlene, who scooted over to make more room. Something was missing from this picture, Lily thought, as she looked around. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. And then, it hit her.

"Hey, where's Remus?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Peter glance at Sirius. "Mum's sick again, poor woman," Sirius answered nonchalantly, picking at some invisible something on his fingernail. Lily's eyes narrowed, not quite believing Sirius. Peter nodded in conformation, his mop of blond hair flopping about on his head.

There was a lull in conversation as Peter sucked on his Sugar Quill. Sirius fidgeted from the lack of noise and the bleachers creaked as he turned to face Lily.

"So, Evans, came to check out James in his natural habitat?" he asked, a graceful smirk crossing his handsome face as he successfully switched the topic of conversation.

Lily snorted as Marlene laughed. "He wishes."

"Sadly, he does," Sirius responded, nodding. "Right Wormtail?"

Peter pulled the candy out of his mouth and licked his lips before saying, "Yep, quite pathetic actually."

Rolling her eyes, Lily turned towards Marlene and made a face. She then pulled back her coat sleeve and checked her wristwatch. As the sun began to sink below the surrounding hills, the weather began taking a sharp turn from cool to freezing. In fact, it was getting so chilly that Lily began to wonder how the Gryffindor players could even stand being up in the air where it was surely colder.

To her right, Sirius was entertaining Marlene and Peter with a joke that involved a House Elf, a Hippogriff, and a Centaur. Lily didn't even want to know what all of that meant. Her mind wandered to what she was going to do tonight. She would have more free time than usual, due to the fact that James had finally been able to find a replacement for their patrol tonight. The two Hufflepuff fifth year Prefects had agreed to help them out. As much as she hated to admit it, she was actually grateful that Potter had needed to reschedule for tonight. She had a major Potions essay to complete.

"When are we going to leave, Marlene?" Lily asked.

Marlene, who was still chuckling at the joke Sirius had told, looked up. "What do you mean? Whenever Dorcas is done."

"But she won't be done for hours."

"What are you talking about, Evans?" Sirius asked. "James never holds Quidditch practice past dinner time."

"Yeah, he likes his treacle tart," Peter added.

Confusion, spiced up with a little bit of anger, swept through Lily. "But Potter said…Potter." Her eyes scanned out the black haired Quidditch player who was leading his team back down towards the ground. She glared. He had lied to her! He had said that he had Quidditch practice tonight, and that's why they had to reschedule patrol duties. Clenching her fists, Lily whipped back to face the two other Marauders.

"There is no Quidditch practice tonight, is there?"

Peter jumped as Sirius swore under his breath. Obviously, he had realized that he had said something wrong. "Uh…oh yeah. That's right. Yeah, there's another Quidditch practice…uh…later," Sirius said, attempting and failing to sound innocent.

"What? Quidditch practice later? My legs are killing me. That's it, I'm ditching." Dorcas had approached them without any of them knowing. Her broom was lying across her shoulder and a smile was on her face.

This was all the conformation that Lily needed. Before she had time to say anything, Sirius had pulled Peter to his feet and was slowly backing away. "Well, we'll see you girls later. Nice practice, Meadowes."

"Uh, thanks?" Dorcas responded, confused at the abrupt departure. "What was that about?" she asked as the two guys walked, rather quickly, towards the Gryffindor changing rooms.

"Potter is so dead," Marlene said, voicing Lily's opinion.

OO

Lily broke away from her friends as she marched over towards the entrance to the changing rooms. She had sent Marlene and Dorcas up to dinner and had taken the responsibility upon herself of berating Potter.

Darn James Potter. Darn it, darn it, darn it…

She rounded the corner at a fast pace. The door was a open a crack and she was just about to push it open when—

"…I wouldn't be surprised if she's outside waiting with a hatchet, mate."

Lily stopped in her tracks, her hand still outstretched as if about to open the door. Instead, she compromised by lowering her arm back down by her side and she leaned her ear up against the door. Were they talking about her? Probably. Did she have the right to eavesdrop? Heck yes!

From the other side of the door, James sighed. "I've really blown it, haven't I?" he asked.

"I don't think you really had anything to blow, Prongs."

For the first time in a while, Lily couldn't help but agree with what Sirius had said. It's not like she had started liking Potter or anything.

"Thanks, Padfoot, thanks a lot." Through the small crack in the door, Lily could just make out James, who was sitting down on a bench.

"You could still win, you know," Sirius said.

Win? Win what?

Apparently, James was thinking along the same lines. "What are you talking about, Sirius?"

"Our bet."

Lily's mind froze. She only vaguely heard James snort with amusement before her mind completely shut down. Bet? As in Sirius and James had put money down on something? Oh Merlin…Subconsciously, she leaned even further towards the door so that her ear was completely pressed up against the rough wooden surface.

"You'll be five galleons richer by the end of this year, Padfoot," James laughed, clapping his friend on the back.

"Evans is a rather stubborn chick, it's not your fault."

A bet about her? Lily shut her eyes tight as her head began to pound. It sounded like…they had bet on whether or not James could get her? A white flash of rage surged through her, the blood rushing from her head to her toes as she rapidly stood up.

"What's that?" James asked, referring to the noise Lily had made when she had gotten up from her crouched position.

Without a backwards glance, Lily high-tailed it out of there. Normally, she would have burst through and yelled at Potter for doing something like this. But she didn't. For some reason, she didn't want to confront him; she merely wanted to run to her dorm. It had all been a bet! Everything made sense now. Lily had known something had been up since the beginning of the year. What, with James's new found personality makeover and his mock concern for his responsibilities as head boy, Lily should have known it was because of something like this.

James had simply wanted to win the bet and had decided to change his act in order to win her over. Yeah, well, too bad for him she had been onto him...

Lily burst into the girls' dormitory causing Marlene, Dorcas, and Alice to jump at the sudden entrance. "It was all a bet!"

The three girls shot each other confused looks. "Uh…what?"

"Potter!"

Marlene glanced at Dorcas as if asking her friend if she knew anything about what Lily was talking about. "Care to elaborate, Lils?"

"His bloody prats bet him that he couldn't get me to go out with him," Lily said quickly, trying to catch her breath from all of the news she had just learned. And before she knew it she began spilling all of what she had heard out onto her friends.

"You're kidding!" Alice exclaimed after Lily had stopped talking to catch her breath.

"That's why he's been acting so different this year! It's his last chance to try to win," Lily continued, her voice shaking from her suppressed rage.

She didn't really know why this was bothering her so much. It was mostly because she had been at the butt of another one of the Marauders' jokes, but it wasn't just an everyday blow up the pudding at dinner type of prank. The expense of the boys' little joke wouldn't have been just her hair turning green or her robes catching fire. No, what really ticked her off was that they had planned on toying with her emotions for a few laughs and a couple of galleons. What if she had fallen for James? What if he had won and then he had kicked her to the curb?

However, another part of her had hoped; had hoped that Potter was actually maturing; had hoped that there was actually an ounce of responsibility inside of the bespectacled boy. Merlin, she had been thick. Sometimes, she felt as if she were too trusting.

"That's just wrong," Dorcas said darkly, glaring at a blank piece of wall. "Did you tear him to pieces, Lily? Because I'll gladly do it."

Lily faltered. "No. I…uh…well…I ran."

Marlene chuckled. "That's bold."

"Oh, shut up."

Now that she had time to actually think, she really should have done something. At the least she could have approached them and told them off, yelled at them for being so insensitive and daft. Her only defense for her actions, or lack thereof, was that the shock of finding out that she had been used had meddled with her central nervous system.

"Well, you know what you've got to do now, don't you?" Marlene continued. There was a look in her eyes that was quite…empowering?

"Hex Potter until he can't see straight?"

"Get him back."

Lily looked up at her friend. "You mean, revenge?"

Marlene nodded. "Exactly."

Something about this revenge nonsense caused a spark in Lily's eye. It sounded rather…thrilling. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Marlene began slowly, leaning forwards on her elbows and peering at Lily closely. "They had a bet that you wouldn't fall for James, right?"

"Yeah…"

Dorcas suddenly brightened as she apparently cottoned on to what point Marlene was trying to make. "And as of now he thinks he's lost, yeah?"

"Correct…"

Now Alice sat up straighter. "Well, what if James began to think that he'd won?"

Lily frowned as she looked between her three dorm mates. Was she the only one who had no idea what in the world they were talking about? "How in the world would he possibly think he'd won? He'd have to be dumber than I originally thought," Lily stated.

"Godric, Lily, for a smart girl you really are quite thick," Marlene stated, grinning coyly.

Lily glared. "I'd appreciate it if someone told me—"

"Use him! Get him back! Make him think you like him and, when he finally thinks he has the bet in the bag, dump his sorry buttocks," Dorcas cleared up.

There was a silence before—

"No."

All three girls looked surprise. Clearly, they thought that Lily was crazy at denying the opportunity. "What?!"

"You want me to pretend to like Potter? Oh, please. That's like asking Potter to give up his Quidditch captain badge."

"But—"

"Really, as much as it sounds like a good way to get revenge…no. I refuse to even talk to Potter let alone seduce him," Lily explained.

"Alright. Fine," Dorcas began, throwing her hands up in defeat. "You leave us no choice." Lily looked between Dorcas, Marlene and Alice.

"Lily," Alice said, "we dare you to pretend to like James Potter."

Smirking, Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly, like I'm going to actually fall for that. We're not thirteen year olds anymore."

Marlene fumbled through a drawer in the small table beside her bed. "We may not be thirteen, but that doesn't mean that our rules of Truth or Dare still don't stand." From within the drawer, Marlene extracted a crumpled and slightly yellowing piece of parchment. Across the top, in Lily's childhood handwriting, was scribbled the title 'Truth or Dare; Gryffindor's Guide'.

"You still have that?" Alice asked in disbelief.

"I sure do," Marlene answered proudly.

"And," Dorcas cut in as Lily's eyes began to widen, "as rule number seven states, 'if a dare is necessary to hold up a Gryffindor's reputation it must be followed through.'"

Lily smiled, obviously thinking that her friends were pulling her leg. "You can't be serious." Her smile flickered as no one came to her rescue. She knew she had always hated Truth or Dare.

"We don't need to remind you of the rules, Lily, seeing as you wrote them, do we?" Alice offered kindly.

No, Lily, unfortunately, understood the rules pretty clearly. If she refused to do it, she would have to kiss Severus Snape. Literally. She would really have to. To insure it back in the day, Lily had placed a spell on the rules parchment; if a person refused to answer a truth or do a dare, they would constantly be drawn towards the side of the greasy Slytherin. She really hated herself for being so clever and naïve when she had been younger.

"It's either Snape, or James," Marlene said, grinning.

Lily would have chosen Snape…if she didn't secretly find the idea of using James as satisfying. She was a girl, after all, and girls can become quite nasty if they're played with the wrong way. Did she want to avenge everything James had done to her? Merlin yes. Did she want to stoop to his level? Well, quite honestly, no. As her thoughts roamed, a picture of an extremely unattractive, hooked nosed teenager cropped into her mind. Bad images, bad images...

What's a girl to do?

...She looked between her friends faces...

Get revenge on James Potter, of course.

Oh dear...decisions, decisions. Well, there you have it. Another dare that involves Lily and James...what could go wrong this time? Hm...only time will tell. Oh, and don't worry, the fact that James lied to Lily about rescheduling patrol duty will come back around. Whoever guesses the real reason why James had to cancel gets a...penny? lol Aw well, it's pretty easy to figure out anyway. :)

Next chapter: Lily puts her seducing skills to the test. Oh poor James. Bwahaha.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review! I'm on spring break this week so as long as my computer cooperates I should have another chapter up soon. Happy Easter everyone!

--HeyLookTheSnitch