James Potter

Wow.

I really fucked up this time, haven't I?

This year was supposed to be different. I'm Head Boy, I have a girlfriend, it's our final year. Looks like I'm still in the same position as I was in 5th year, with months of detention to look forward to and Evans hates me again. Not that I care. I've moved on, I have a wonderful girlfriend. I've changed. Everything has. Right? I look around the gloomy dormitory that doesn't belong to me anymore. It's not very exciting these days, everyone just feels bad about what happened the first night. To our defense, we really didn't think the nifflers wouldn't be violent, we thought they would just cause a mess and that would be it. When I think of seeing the terrified students, some of them very hurt, I shudder. We put fifty students in the Hospital Wing and three in St Mungo's. Evans probably got hurt the worst. I can't believe this happened, this was supposed to be a fun way to start the year. Now all the teachers and students hate us, we can't legally go to Hogsmeade anymore and we all have detention until the holidays. All the Gryffindor house hates us because we lost almost all our house points on the first night. If only Snivellus hadn't given Lily that stupid choker... Nobody would have cared if he ended up in St Mungo's. Besides, it was more dangerous when someone was wearing it we weren't counting on Snivellus wearing it. I can't believe Evans is mates with Snivelly! He doesn't deserve her! I look around and see Moony moping. Again. Padfoot is probably getting sloshed again with Wormtail.

"Moping doesn't help you know." I say to Moony bitterly

"I can't help it. I can't believe we did this. I'm surprised Dumbledore didn't expel me, I should never have come here in the first place. Everyone hates me." he replies weakly

I frown, I don't like it when Moony says he should have never come to this school. I sit down next to him.

"Don't say that, you have to stay here." I say

"Lily and all her friends must hate me, I'll have to apologize and I'm sure she'll never forgive me. What I did was horrible..." he says more to himself than me.

"I'm sure Evans will forgive you at least. She's gone back to hating me, and she's also mates with Snivellus." I say bitterly

"She is? I guess that's why he gave her the choker." he mutters

"He probably gave her the choker on purpose," I say in outrage

"I don't think so... Anyway, I have to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, you coming?" he asks, getting up

"Nah, I'm skiving." I say, expecting a disapproving look. I'm wrong, Moony frowns and tells me I shouldn't get in trouble right now, being Head Boy and all. I roll my eyes but follow anyway. I get in my usual seat beside Padfoot, who will be late, as usual. As I predicted, he comes fifteen minutes late. The entire day I can only think one thing: I hate Snape. I'm a zombie between the classes, even Lizzie (my girlfriend) notices.

"Jamie, what's wrong?" She cooes

I consider telling her, she can have some really good advice and doesn't judge. Then I think this over and realize what this mtime gut look to an outsider: that I still love Evans. I don't want to get her jealous and she wouldn't understand anyway...

"Nothing, I'm just tired." I lie, my voice coming out a tad false

She pouts, seeing that I'm not telling her not something but leaves it. That's one of the things I love about Lizzie, she's not pushy. We snog for a bit, but after realizing I'm not really into it tonight, she skips off to find her friends. I don't follow her, I just want to get past this day as soon as possible. I trudge into the head's common room and throw myself onto one of the comfy beanbags, sighing loudly. I hear someone clearing their throat in annoyance and turn my head. Evans is at the coffee table, evidently trying to study. I roll my eyes, it's only eight, she can still study in the librabry. Bedsides, I was going to invite Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail to play Gobstones to cheer myself up.

"You can study in your room or in the library, I'm inviting the boys over anyway." I hear myself snap

"You can't kick me out of our common room, besides you guys can talk in the real common room or their dormitory." she remarks dryly before and gathering her things and leaving

I frown on annoyance, I was expecting her to be angry, to give me some kind of reaction, like before. Looks like she doesn't want to waste her time on me anymore. It's better that way.

The next few days are strange... I'm still feeling down, but getting better every day. Evans does everything to avoid me, leaving our common room when I enter and sitting with her friends as far as they can from us in the Great Hall. This feels weird, we're not causing trouble! How boring... I tell this to Padfoot as we come back from the kitchens and he agrees. We agree that it's been long enough since the Great Hall incident and start planning our next prank. We decided to take it slow for now. The door bangs open and Moony comes in, sitting beside me.

"So I did it." he says, a smile on his face

"Did what?" Padfoot and I say lazily

"I apologized. To Lily." he says brightly

"She forgave you?" I say, gaping

"Well I told her what I did was wrong, it was really this whole speech and at the end she said she believed me and forgave me." He almost sings

"That's not fair! I apologized ages ago and she told me she hated me." I say grumpily

"It's in the way you say sorry. Besides, she has some bad memories of you..." advised Moony

Padfoot arches his eyebrow and mutters:

"I'm having a major flashback to 5th year. I thought you didn't care what Evans thought of you anymore."

"I don't care, but it'll be hard for Head business" I say hastily, not sure if that's the real reason

"Blimey, I forgot you were Head Boy!" Padfoot laughs

"When do you start your rounds?" Moony asks

"Oh yeah, the rounds... I think it's the fifteenth. Wait, that's Friday!" I say

"Full moon is on the fifteenth." Moony says, cringing

I grimace, without me, Padfoot and Wormtail can't do much to keep Moony in place. They need me.

"But you can skive off right?" Padfoot says anxiously, having the same train of thought. I cringe, imagining Evans's face when she would realize that I wouldn't show up.

"Uh... maybe?" I mumble

"You can just leave early." Moony says reasonably

"Yeah, I could do that." I say, relieved, skipping the rounds would probably make Evans even more furious.

"Well you'll have to be in the Shrieking Shack at about eleven, so that means you'll have end the rounds at about ten thirty, which is almost an hour early." Padfoot points out

"I'll still have done about an hour of rounds, so I think that's okay." I respond, nervous again

Moony looks uncomfortable, he doesn't love the fact we're changing all our plans just for him. I sling an arm around his shoulder and announce:

"Don't worry Moony, it's gonna be fine."

He opens his mouth to say some other self-deprecating thing before the door opens and in marches Alice Prewett. I like Alice, she's funny, nice and smart. We used to be sort-of friends but we haven't talked since we started school again and I'm guessing that has something to do with Lily. Right now, Alice isn't laughing, no, she looks pretty angry. Her eyes are flashing and she's turning red. No, Alice isn't angry, she's livid.

"What the fuck Potter! How could you do that!" she yells

I'm taken aback, I wasn't expecting this level of anger.

"Uh… um... what did I do?" I ask nervously, knowing it's a death wish as the words come out of my mouth

Padfoot and Moony understand as they through my sympathetic glances. Why can't they help me? I'm toast!

"You know exactly what you did! I get that The Great Hall Incident wasn't supposed to happen that way, and that you didn't really mean to hurt Lily even if you meant to hurt the Slytherins but here I'll have to put my foot down. You're the reason Lily is crying in her bathroom right now! How could you leave those horrible messages in the common room? You're such a git Potter, I'm never speaking to you again." she shouts

My jaw drops and my eyes go as wide as saucers. What? No way! I was in the kitchens just twenty minutes ago! How could she accuse me of that? I would never be that mean (well, maybe to Snape but he doesn't count)! Is Evans okay?

"What? I didn't do that!" I reply, my voice strangled

"Yeah right Potter, stop making stupid excuses. You're the only one except Lily, Tanya, Mary, Marlene and me who has the password!" she shrieks

I mentally correct her that Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail know too. Hey, it was probably Snivelly. Ugh, I want to kill him!

"No way, I swear it wasn't me! It was probably Snape!" I shout

"Ugh, are you bloody serious. I don't like Snape but I know I would never do that to Lily." she says rolling her eyes

"It wasn't me, you have no proof!" I yell

A look from Moony tells me I shouldn't have said that. Alice bares her teeth.

"All right, Potter. If you're so sure it wasn't you, why don't we do Priori Incantatem and see what happens." she suggests wryly

" Yes! Good idea!" I say gratefully because I know she'll realize it won't be me

I fumble around for my wand and spot on the coffee table. I grap it and say:

"Priori Incantatem!"

I gasp in horror as brightly colored words write themselves in the air. They spell awful words like "slut" and "whore". I gulp. Nobody will believe me now! I swear I didn't do this, someone must have taken my wand. A voice in the back of my head reminds me I had my wand with me the entire afternoon, although the last spell I did was in Charms class this morning.

"You've been caught red-handed, Potter. I wouldn't have expected this from you." Alice states coldly as she stalks out of the room. I watch as she pauses just before the door, making up her mind and turns around and points her wand at me, casting a jelly-legs hex before running away. I fall to the ground in shock (also because of my jelly-legs) and glare at the door. Nobody says anything for a while until Moony clears his throat and says cautiously:

"Wow. Uh... do did you actually do it?"

"No, of course not! Somebody must have taken my wand!" I defend myself

"No way, you had your wand with em the entire time in the kitchens." says Padfoot

"Exactly! How could I have found the time to do that horrible prank?" I say eagerly

"What if you were under the imperius curse?" asks Moony, now worried

My insides freeze as I think back to this afternoon. I don't remember having my will taken away from me but it's possible. I grimace.

"You guys believe me, right?" I plead

"Well, all the evidence points to you but I know you wouldn't do that kind of thing, especially to Evans." Moony says thoughtfully as Padfoot nodds in agreement.

"Good, because that's awful! Who would do that?" I ask

"Hmmm... maybe Snivellus?" Padfoot suggests lazily

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Snivellus would have the password because Lily and him are friends and he would totally do that! How did he get his greasy hands on my wand though?

"No, as much as Snape is bad for her, they're friends and he wouldn't do that to her." Moony says sternly

I frown. Snivelly could do that! He doesn't care about Evans!

"Okay, well I'm going to go and explain this to Evans." I say, getting up from my chair.

"Easier said than done." Padfoot mutters

"Maybe you should wait." Moony hesitates

I don't listen to them, I'm already out the door. I bump into a confused Wormtail but decide to let Moony and Padfoot tell him everything. I run to head's common room, it's empty. I bang on Evans's door and yell that it wasn't my fault but she won't listen. I think she's in there with Marlene, I can hear voices. I rub my forehead in exhaustion and sit down, pressing my back to her door. She'll have to come out sometime.

Well.

I really fucked up this time, haven't I?