"hah'eeshi" James sneezed for like the fifth time since waking up, each time shocking himself with how feminine he sounded. It was getting old very fast. And on top of it all, he had no tissues. He even looked through Lily's bag for them, despite knowing what a beatdown he will get if she ever found out.
Sometimes he really didn't know what to do with Lily Evans. What sane person didn't carry tissues or handkerchiefs on their person when they knew they were coming down with something? Or maybe she hadn't realised. For all James knew the cold had just hit her last night. Though with the way he was feeling at the moment, he had his doubts. Surely she felt miserable at least from the morning the previous day.
James shivered involuntarily as he got up from the desk, thankful that he somehow managed to stay upright, since he misjudged the distance from the table when he tried to steady himself, almost falling short of reaching it.
Lily's body was small. At least compared to his own. Among the seventh-year girls, she was considered reasonably tall, although not disproportionately so. Actually just perfect, if you asked him, a couple of inches shorter than him that would allow her to wear heels without a problem, should she wish so. Although she almost never did. Lily was a pragmatic kind of girl, and high heels were anything but that.
After the room stopped spinning James even remembered to grab the witch's bag before making his way with small, tentative steps towards the hallway, fully intending to hunt down the usually redheaded girl and demand answers as to their current predicament. That is when the entrance to the room flung open, almost knocking him over. Almost, unfortunately, didn't mean that James would be able to keep his balance on his wobbly feet.
Getting saved by his own freaking hands – but them not being attached to him – was the most surreal, trippy experience of his whole life. And that was saying something, given the many years he had spent exploring secrets and hidden passages at the castle of Hogwarts where anything and everything was possible.
"I would say it's good to see you, Evans, but I'm only seeing myself…" James joked half-heartedly as Lily helped him regain his footing.
"Tell me 'bout it," Lily sighed exasperatedly as she came face to face with… well… her own face, green eyes glazed over with fever, which was also evident from the flush high on his cheeks on his otherwise pale complexion. "By the way, you look awful. I mean me… My face on you… Anyway, let's get you down to Madam Pomfrey," she tripped over her words, fumbling for a handkerchief in her pockets to give to James.
"Did Remus give you that?" Potter inquired as he reached for the handkerchief with grateful urgency, already feeling that tickle creeping back into his sinuses.
"How do you know it's not yours?" Lily quirked her brow at him, his face already buried in the piece of cloth.
"I don… hihh… don't… hekshoo… heh'pshiew… I don't own… hiihhkk… oh for the love of… hih'TCHIew!" he blew his nose hard after that fit, feeling utterly breathless. "I don't own one and leave it to Remus to always have one on hand, that's all."
"Bless you. He said you should keep it… I mean me… you who he thinks is me… this is so confusing. They wished you a fast recovery," the Head Girl sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, and they warned me not to go overboard. Do I want to even know?"
"Uhm… I guess refraining from sneaking into the Hospital Wing at night to see you will be a piece of cake…" the Marauder smiled sheepishly between sniffs.
"Right. I almost forgot about that," she frowned. James had scared the living daylight out of her when he had snuck in under the Invisibility Cloak, but apparently hopeless in the silent stalking department. "In any case, let's get you out of here, just give me a second to disinfect the room."
"What…?" James looked so stumped it was almost funny.
"Prefect meeting is in like two hours. I'm guessing you don't want Remus in a germ-infested room so close to the full moon either," the usually redhead explained with a pointed look. Though his short-mindedness could be excused under the circumstances.
"You can really do that?" he asked with a sense of wonder, never having heard of such a charm.
"Since I had decided on becoming a healer as a career choice after Hogwarts, I have been looking up and practising healthcare-related charms. Also, I have been pestering Madam Pomfrey since April to let me help around the ward with small tasks, so she showed me how it's properly done," Lily explained as she got James's wand out from her robes. The piece of wood just felt plain wrong in her hands, so much so that it gave her a pause.
"That is so like you…" Potter mumbled, rubbing his nose absentmindedly, desperately wishing for a flat surface he could lie down on.
"What is?" she snapped out of her reverie over the mahogany wand.
"Taking care of everyone but yourself," James replied, glancing up in the hope of not having offended her. Into his own eyes, unfortunately. He wanted nothing else than to see those beautiful green orbs, but even his brown eyes conveyed everything that he usually saw in Lily's. That fiery light that had drawn him to her from the moment they had met.
"I sort of am now, aren't I?" the witch shrugged. Her body anyways. Though the fact that James was currently occupying it did alter her decision-making process. She wanted nothing more than to tuck him into bed and make sure he was comfortable. Not something she would have done for herself. Responsibilities first, everything else later.
"I don't think it counts," he teased with a small grin, not lacking fondness.
"Shut up," Lily quipped, knowing that he was right. She almost began the spell to rid the room of sickness, just to distract herself from the conversation, when the slight swish of the wand sent tiny, angry sparks, resisting her handling of it. "Uhm, can you get my wand from your robes?"
James fumbled around a bit, accidentally groping himself in the process, which made Lily's eyebrows tick, but she didn't say anything.
"Good thing we don't have classes today," the redheaded girl commented, instantly filled with the warmth of magic flowing through her as she made contact with her rightful willow wand. "The switch would be kind of obvious with us not using our usual wands."
"Uhm…" James began, realising that they had bigger problems than mere classes to handle that day, but was cut off by the urge to cough.
"What?" Lily inquired with worry, patting him on the back lightly until the fit subsided.
"I was supposed to hold tryouts today," he choked out.
Oh… That meant her since she was in his body. But she was utterly hopeless on a broomstick.
"Can't you reschedule?" the girl asked in a small voice, terrified.
"Not really, if we want to have enough time to train before the first match of the season then we… hksh…"
The sneeze caught James wholly unprepared, he barely had time to turn his head to the side and sneeze into his shoulder.
"Bless you. You have to select the team this weekend. I get it," Lily sighed, running a hand through her hair as her brain whirled at full speed, trying to figure something out, only to realise the gesture was very much like what James did when he got exasperated or angry. She chuckled.
"And there is the prefect meeting, and we still have to figure out how to change ourselves back and…" James rattled on until he broke off into a coughing fit so hard that Lily had to hold him steady again.
"Slow down, I can handle all those on my own," she reassured him as she held him close to make sure he didn't fall. "Heck if I don't have to get on a broomstick I can hold tryouts too," she added with a sigh.
"You would really do that?" the Marauder peered up, his eyes lighting up with childlike glee at the news. And seriously, who could deny that?
"Sure, I'll just take notes, or draft Marlene to help or something. Blame my utter lack of attention on the fact that you are in the infirmary. I'll figure something out," Lily nodded with more confidence.
"Actually that would sound just like me," James mumbled embarrassedly.
Evans didn't comment further, but her heart fluttered with the admission that James would worry about her, and she was positive that she was going to be just as distracted with James in the Hospital Wing, so good thing she had an excuse.
They were almost out of the room when Lily suddenly remembered her earlier inner struggle regarding how to handle others knowing about the switch.
"Hey, do you mind anyone finding out?" she brought the issue up as she made him sit on the bench just outside their office while she quickly performed Disinfecto on the room.
"Ugh…" the boy groaned at the realisation, burying his face in his hands. "Padfoot would never let me live this down."
Okay, that was a definite no then if they could help it. Covert operation it remained. This should be interesting to keep up.
"Padfoot?" the witch quipped back questioningly, locking the door behind her, eagerness and anticipation overtaking her mind for the discovery of this particular mystery.
"Sirius," James explained with a bone-weary sigh, coughing lightly into his elbow.
That left Wormtail being Peter. Good to know, if she wanted to keep this charade up without being detected and all.
"That reminds me…" Lily's tone took a harder edge as she fished the folded parchment out of her robes. "What's this?"
"Uhm… a map?" there was something absolutely surreal in seeing that cheeky smirk, knowing that he was caught in another of their mischiefs on her own face, green eyes flashing, making her whole demeanour look like a vixen for a split second.
"I can see that," Lily remarked sarcastically and pushed the glasses up her nose with an unamused glare, demanding some sort of explanation as she waved the map with the other in front of him. Internally she was already prepping the counter-argument to his denial of divulging "privileged" Marauder information. Given that she had to impersonate him indefinitely, she needed to know what he knew.
"And you really should be more careful with it. Mischief managed," Potter tapped his wand against the parchment, making everything disappear much to Lily's astonishment. "It's a map of the school that we have charmed to track everyone's location on the grounds. To make it appear just tap your wand against it and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'."
Lily eyed him sceptically for just a split second before following his instructions. The yellowish paper came to life again, reddish brown ink spreading out as if it had never left their sight in the first place.
"When you are done just…" James began to explain, his breath catching in his throat for a moment with a sudden itch.
"Mischief managed," she caught on quickly, cutting him off with the counterspell before he could finish explaining, then stashed the parchment in the back of her pants, pulling the sweater over it, effectively hiding the damning piece of magical artefact. "Unfortunately it also shows where we really are, disregarding the body switch so the rest of the Marauders will have to do without it until this lasts."
"Good… hihih… ca…hah… hih'kCHiew… catch. Ugh," he looked absolutely miserable, and Lily wondered if it was always this obvious when she was feeling unwell, or just Potter's naturally whinier disposition made her body and posture look more pathetic.
Either way, she felt a jolt of protectiveness, instinctually wanting to hold him, or maybe even pick him up bridal style to make it easier for in any way possible. The intensity caught her by surprise, and she had to remind herself that she was operating with a very different set up too, no doubt the amount of testosterone cruising through her veins altering her worldview. Was this his first reaction to her too whenever she was troubled by something? Protectiveness that knew no bounds?
Lily had never seen herself particularly weak, but she could appreciate the fact that from a male perspective, she did look more vulnerable at first glance, being smaller in stature and all, but magic usually evened out the odds. Especially where her skillset was considered. But you couldn't judge magical prowess from external factors, all you saw was someone who was tiny, thin, and fragile if compared to someone like Potter. Well, Potter in his usual body, which now she was occupying and seeing everything from his general perspective. Wasn't standing up for those weaker than you – even if just physically – considered a virtue? Then why had all his actions in the previous six years made her want to curse him out for the blatant male chauvinistic approach? He wasn't making it about gender. He just saw someone potentially in need of his help, and he wanted to give it.
"Come on," Lily muttered in her now deep voice, snaking a strong arm around her currently Potter-occupied body to support him. "Before you fall over and scar my body for life."
"There are spells for that too…" he commented.
"I bet, but let's not push our luck," she sighed, practically dragging him along.
All seemed well until the second-floor landing.
"I have to sit down," James begged, disentangling himself from Lily's hold and slumping down on one of the window sills overlooking the inner courtyard of the castle.
"What's wrong?"
"Dizzy," he muttered, hanging his head low, his now long red hair falling around his face in a curtain.
The witch currently in his body was at a loss as to what to do. She had a feeling the Marauder wouldn't take it well if she picked him up and carried him to the Hospital Wing, even if it would have currently looked as if James was carrying Lily.
"Don't even think about it," he peered up as if he could read her mind or intent.
"Why? No one would think or know it's you," Lily reasoned. They would get there a whole lot faster for sure.
"And what do you think people would make of you seemingly in my arms?" James countered.
"As if they don't already know of your infatuation with me," she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but would you under any circumstances let me actually carry you?"
"Uhm…" Lily paused, knowing full well that she would probably trash around and struggle from his hold unless she was unconscious. That gave her an idea. "How about you close your eyes and pretend to have fainted?"
"Ha-ha, funny. Just get Madam Pomfrey," he sighed, causing another coughing fit.
"Fat chance," Evans swooped down and swiftly started walking towards their destination, surprising herself with the strength she had in this body. Her female form barely weighed anything with guns like this. She had to admit, being male did have some perks.
James squeaked rather femininely, going even redder in the face, then petulantly crossed his arms in front of his now squishy bosom. The sight would have been rather funny if Lily didn't catch the beginnings of a sneeze forming on her face that now the Head Boy wore. She had to admit, that yes, it was rather obvious from an external viewpoint. She also noticed that James on the other hand seemingly had no clue what was coming as he didn't even make an attempt at covering his mouth as the sneeze erupted from him. It wasn't a huge one by any count, but being in such proximity to his face at the moment Lily felt the mist of it spraying lightly on her face.
"Bollocks, I'm so sorry," he gasped, his hand flying up to his face after the fact.
"Merlin, did no one ever teach you to cover your mouth when sneezing?" the girl grumbled, knowing full well that she soon wouldn't be able to escape this cold even in this body, which was all well and dandy if it was only about her, but a full moon was coming up, and she was now sharing a dorm room with Remus.
They were nearly at the Hospital Wing when suddenly they saw Sirius walking towards them from the direction they were heading. The wicked grin spreading on his face at the sight of them made both of them groan.
He clapped and rubbed his hands, preparing to make a jibe at Evans for being a damsel in distress when a glance at her face gave him a pause. Then he looked at James, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was just not quite right with these two. His mind immediately jumped to the most logical explanation – according to him at least.
"You know Jamesie, you might have wanted to wait until after the full moon to snog Evans," the dog animagus teased, a bit of concern etching his brows. Though not for the company present, but the one he left in the Gryffindor common room just five minutes prior, who was already experiencing the pre-moon jitters and would turn into his furry little problem the day after tomorrow.
"That's not… we haven't…" Lily in the visage of James sputtered in indignation, going fully red in the face at the accusation.
"I wish…" James let slip unbidden, causing Sirius's eyebrows to disappear under his fringe, then suddenly catching himself, looked up with a terrified expression at the girl in his body, fully expecting some kind of retort or retaliation that would instantly give them away. By some ruddy miracle, Lily's cogs were turning really fast that morning – probably not being laden with the cold helped with that – and answered in the most James-like fashion she could muster.
"Really, Evans? Do tell…" she smirked, trying to muster all the swagger she didn't even know she had in her. "What else do you want me to do to you?"
This somehow seemed to alleviate any suspicions Black had.
"Feverish much, Evans?" he laughed, patting who he thought to be James on the shoulder as he walked past, adding one more comment as an afterthought turning partially back. "Do get some potions for Moony while you are here, will you? Just in case… you know… this spreads…"
"Sure," Lily nodded, though she didn't have a clue as to what potions she needed to get. Madam Pomfrey ought to know though so she didn't worry. As pro-active as she tried to be in her Healer education, obviously werewolf remedies were not something the school matron would have divulged to her as she had absolutely no idea that Lily knew about Remus's condition.
Once he was out of earshot, Lily returned her gaze to her own face looking back at her with wide eyes, still expecting some kind of telling off for making it look like she was interested in him, which until now was unheard of.
"I'm so so so sorry," James said really fast. "I wasn't thinking."
"It's fine," Lily tried to shoo off the concern with resignation, which now made Potter suspicious.
"It's… fine?" he repeated, as if not comprehending the words.
"That's what I said," she shrugged, and started walking again. "Let's get some potions on you, that should improve your brain function."
"It's fine…" Potter mumbled again, trying to decipher what it could mean.
Lily was whole-heartedly regretting having spoken her mind now, surely the raven-haired boy would soon use this newfound knowledge to begin a renewed onslaught of wooing with twice the fervour than ever before, but in the end, what was the point of denying it any longer?