A Walk in Your Shoes

by Spirit007

Imagine that one person that irritates, infuriates, & insults their way under your skin to the point where each moment with him or her becomes a pop quiz in self-control. Now, imagine that you've woken up in that person's body. For Lily Evans & James Potter, learning to navigate this unfortunate and stressful new reality is truly a walk through hell.

11. Beauty DOES Know Pain

A/N: Hey there…grins guiltily I'm guessing you all noticed my prolonged absence, huh? Sorry about that, I truly had no idea it would take this long. Part of it isn't exactly my fault. But I did make the wait worth it, because this chapter is thirty-six pages long! NO JOKE! I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter, since it was what you were all waiting for. FIVE-HUNDRED AND SOMETHING REVIEWS IN TEN CHAPTERS! Wow, I feel loved!

ONE MORE THING: This is dedicated to all guys out there reading this who need to understand what we girls go through to look good for you! This is for: SZELIJ, CHAD, LUKE, BRAD, AND ALL OTHER FRIENDS OF INDIAN GURL WHO READ OVER HER SHOULDER!

Okay, with that all said, ONTO TO CHAPTER ELEVEN!

Chapter Eleven: Beauty DOES Know Pain

Lily shut the door to the Transfiguration classroom and yawned. She had just finished serving her detention, and was so tired she felt like she could have just fallen asleep on the ground. On the bright side Lily had finished all of her homework, just like James had promised her. She had even had gotten ahead on a few things.

Lily grinned as she made her way onto the second floor landing. Who knew Potter would be the type to keep his word? she thought. Strange…

Then again, the entire week hadn't exactly been normal.

Lily didn't hurry her way up to the Common Room, using the time to think about everything that had happened. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever be back in her own body. It had only been four days, but to Lily it had felt like four long years. She missed not being able to talk to Kate and Parker the way she could normally, she was constantly in pain because of the Quidditch practice, and she had had enough of that damn James Potter to last one hundred life times.

Potter… Lily thought irritably with a roll of her eyes.

James had tormented her from day one, always bothering her whenever he was looking for a good time. There had been so many occasions on which James had played tricks on her that Lily had lost count. This experience of spending every waking moment with him just proved that he remained to be the same boy as he was five years ago.

He's insensitive…Lily thought with a scowl.

But as soon as the word crossed her mind, a counterexample followed. Lily thought back to the moment when James had said that he would do anything for his friends, and the words he had yelled echoed in her mind. I know what it's like to be lonely…

Certainly not something an insensitive person would say.

He's about as sincere as a Slytherin…

But that wasn't really fair. Would a Slytherin spend as much time as James did teaching her the rules of Quidditch? Although Lily wasn't the best player in the world (far from it), James had been patient with her.

At least in the beginning.

Doesn't have a serious bone in his body! Lily thought furiously.

But that was completely untrue, and Lily knew it. Ever since they had switched bodies, James had showed Lily more than once that he had a temper. There had been times where the teasing twinkle in his eye had been extinguished in an instant, and where Lily found herself actually feeling afraid of his anger, although never let him know it.

No matter how begrudgingly she admitted it, Lily had to acknowledge the fact that there was a lot more to James Potter than she had ever imagined. He was a someone who had many sides, who was very careful about which one he showed the world.

Lily also had to accept the fact that "hate" was now to strong a word when it came to describe how she felt about James.

Despise? Maybe.

Dislike? Unquestionable.

Lily lifted the corner of her mouth in a half smile as she thought of a word that hadn't been connected to James a week ago. Respect…she thought wryly. Most definitely.

Lily finally reached the Gryffindor portrait and tiredly looked up at Agatha. "H-hi A-a-aggie," she stammered through another yawn. Agatha paused in her spinning and smiled kindly at Lily.

"Hello, James," she said to her. "It's a good thing you're finally here. Maybe you can help her." Lily grinned at her and shifted the bag on her shoulder.

"Help who, Aggie?" she asked.

"Well," Agatha replied as she re-threaded the spindle. "Lily's been in a right state since she returned earlier this afternoon. Hasn't stopped pacing round the room at a'tall. Keeps muttering under her breath, she does. I believe she mentioned her own name once or twice as well." Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.

"All right," she relented. "Lion's Den." Agatha waved and swung open. Lily stumbled in and looked around. She spotted James pacing around the couch, running his hand through his hair. It was already sticking up in random places (Oh God, Lily thought. He's having a bad influence on me and my hair). A few students who were still relaxing by the fire kept casting curious looks at him. James turned and stopped abruptly when he saw Lily standing there. He strode up to her, looking slightly frantic.

"There you are!" he exclaimed loudly, ignoring angry looks from students. "Where have you been?" Lily blinked in surprise, taken aback by James' concern.

"Um…" she stammered. "In detention…" James waved his hand wildly.

"I know that," he said, waving his hand impatiently. "But that was over with at midnight. Your arse should have been back in this room one minute later, young lady!" he finished, jabbing his finger at his wristwatch. Lily snorted and pushed past him.

"Thank you for your concern, mother," she said scathingly. "I'm touched you care about me so much." James crossed his arms and followed Lily to the couch, where she had stretched out lazily.

"Care?" he repeated incredulously. "About you? Evans, I wouldn't have cared if you had been jumped by a thousand boggarts."

"Thanks so much," Lily muttered under her breath.

"The only thing I care about," James continued, plopping down next to her. "Is that I have gone four hours and nineteen minutes without one chocolate-covered pistachio. Count'em, Evans! That's two-hundred and fifty-nine minutes and—" He glanced at his watch again. "—forty-one seconds! I've been in agony! Do you know what agony feels like?" During his rant James had leaned in closer to Lily.

"I will if you don't move away," she said, leaning away from James. James rolled his eyes again and shifted away from her.

"You forgot to tell me where to get more," he said to Lily. "I've been going insane. I don't think I can take it anymore! I went down to the kitchens but the elves said that there were none left!" James' breathing quickened and he once again started to rake his fingers through his red mane. "What if there aren't any left in the world? What am I going to do!" Lily caught his hand and pinned it to his side, preventing him from ruining her hair permanently.

"First of all," she said calmly. "You need to take a breath." James opened his mouth and took a gulp of air. "Second, the pistachios—" Lily paused and glanced at James. He was turning slightly red. It was then Lily realized that he hadn't exhaled. "Let it out, Potter, before you faint," she told him. James let his breath out in a rush of air.

"Thanks," he gasped. Lily looked down and grinned, trying not to start laughing.

"Second," she continued. "An order of chocolate-covered pistachios should be coming soon."

"How soon?" James asked immediately.

Lily shrugged and put a pillow under her head. "I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Perhaps around breakfast tomorrow morning. Lunch at the latest." Lily closed her eyes, smiling slightly when she heard James let out a cry of horror.

"That long?" he said in a dreaded whisper.

Lily laughed quietly. "Don't fuss, Potter," she told him gently, her eyes still closed. "You'll live." James knelt down by Lily's side, scowling at her.

"Easy for you to say," he said loudly in her ear. Lily groaned and put another pillow over her ear. James just lifted the corner of it and talked louder. "This is all your fault, you know! If you hadn't taken a bloody bushel of them for yourself, I might be peacefully eating my pistachios. I hope you're happy, Evans! Thanks to you, I'm not going to get a wink of sleep tonight because of that aching feeling in my stomach that should been filled by—mph!" James was cut off as a frowning Lily placed her hands on his face and shoved him away from her.

"Oh, shut up!" she muttered crossly. "It's only food! You can survive. Now go away! I'm tired and I want to go to sleep." Lily rolled over on her side and faced the back of the couch. James set his mouth in a line and picked up his wand. He quietly walked to the back of the couch. Then he raised his wand, muttered a spell, and bit down on his lip as a carefully-aimed stream of cold water shot into Lily's face.

"Dammit, Potter!" she yelled. More irritated looks were sent her way from the students across the room. She angrily wiped her face on the blanket. "I was just drifting off to sleep, you twit!" James just grinned at her and Lily lay her head back down on her pillow. "Can't you just leave me alone for a few hours?" she pleaded in a whiny voice. "One hour, even?"

James vaulted over the couch, landing next to Lily with a less-than-graceful plop. "Nope," he said cheerfully. "I feel that if I can't sleep, you should stay awake to keep me company. It's only polite, you know." Lily narrowed her eyes at him and he responded by smiling dazzlingly.

"One of these days, Potter," she said menacingly. "Who knows what I'm going to do to you one of these days! I wish I could just—!"

James grinned. "Tie me in a chair and give me a lap dance?" he finished for her cheekily.

Lily promptly whacked him on the back of his head with a book. "No!" she cried.

"Ow!" James exclaimed. "What are you, an Amazon? Why are you so damn violent all the time? Haven't you ever learned to use your words?"

"You use enough words for the entire school."

James grimaced as he touched his head gingerly. "I'm already losing enough blood from this period-thingy and you have to add to the pain," he grumbled under his breath. "I swear, by the time you get back to your own body there'll be nothing to get back to except a shriveled bag of skin. Then you'll be sorry…" Lily rolled her eyes as James continued to complain. She crossed her arms, leaned back on the couch, and closed her eyes.

Eventually, the quiet sound of James' angry griping lulled her to sleep.

The next morning Lily woke up with a feeling of growing dread, but she didn't know why. When she looked at James, who had fallen asleep with his cheek resting in his hand, the she remembered the reason why she had been dreading Friday evening.

At six-thirty, James would be in the meeting Derek Thomas outside the Gryffindor Common Room for their date. A date that Lily knew should belong to her. Lily groaned and rubbed her eyes; suddenly, she felt like staying on the couch until the end of the year.

Forcing down her trepidation, Lily threw back the blanket and heavily got to her feet. She stretched her arms and yawned widely. Just as she was about to wake James, someone clapped a hand on her back.

"Hey, mate," Sirius said cheerfully.

"'Morning," Lily muttered half-heartedly as she neatly folded the blanket. Sirius chuckled and folded his arms.

"No need to be so cheerful," he said jokingly. "Hey, shouldn't you be a bit happier, though? Aren't you going on that date with what's-her-name?" When Lily gave him a puzzled look, Sirius continued. "You know, Veronica. Or maybe it was Vanessa? No, no, I'm pretty sure it was Victoria."

"For the last time," said an exasperated Remus, who was coming down the stairs. "The girl's name was Valerie."

Sirius waved his hand impatiently. "Minor detail," he said carelessly. "So Prongs, what happened with her?"

Lily had to think back a few days before answering. "She cancelled it," she said with a shrug.

Sirius let out a hoot of laughter while Remus raised a skeptical eyebrow. "She cancelled it?" he repeated disbelievingly.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Lily asked, frowning slightly as she straightened up the pillows on the couch. "Why is it that everyone thinks that it's impossible for someone to turn down the mighty James Potter?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances before Remus said, "If not impossible, then highly improbable, James."

"Exactly," agreed Sirius. 'You've never been turned down before, and there's only one person who would ever do so without hesitation."

"Who's that?" Lily murmured absentmindedly.

"Like you don't know," Sirius scoffed with a grin. "The beautiful auburn-haired spit fire that sleeps soundly right over there."

Lily rolled her eyes, grabbed a nearby pillow and unceremoniously whacked James on the head with it. "Get up," she said shortly. With his eyes still closed, James scowled and threw the pillow back at her. "Come on, Evans," Lily said impatiently. "We don't have time for this! You have to wake up, now."

"Don't be so harsh, Jamsie," Sirius said with a smile.

Still half asleep, James reluctantly pulled himself into a position on the couch and grumbled irritably, "Sirius, I swear to God if you call me Jamesie one more time I'll knock your damn block off." Sirius looked at Remus, his curious expression clearly asking 'What's with her?' Remus shrugged.

Lily bent down to pick up a pillow to hide her smile; she had forgotten to tell James that during his period, his irritability would be worse in the morning. Oh well, Lily thought. He certainly knows now!

"Morning, sunshine!" Sirius said brightly.

"Go to hell," James muttered grumpily, rubbing his eyes. "I need coffee…" he said. He pushed passed a very baffled Sirius and picked up his bag. Then he stumbled his way out of portrait door. In his sleepy haze, he had forgotten to change out of his pajamas. Before he had slammed the door shut, Lily made sure to point her wand at him and change his clothes.

When he was gone, Remus turned to Lily and asked, "What's up with her?"

Lily grinned and shrugged. "She's feeling a bit…cross this morning."

"You know," Sirius said to Remus, looking thoughtful. "Lily just called herself James. That's the second time she's done that this week." Lily froze.

This wasn't good.

It wasn't good at all.

Remus frowned. "Yeah, she hasn't really been herself this week has she?"

"Oh, you know," Lily said with a nervous laugh. "It's just…PMS! You know how girls are…with the…pm…pms…stuff." Smooth, Lily, she thought. Way to act like Potter.

"You know what, James," Remus said, turning to her. "You haven't really been yourself this week, either."

Lily forced an innocent smile on her face. "What are you talking about, Remus?" she said in a false, overly-cheerful tone. "I'm fine…perfectly fine…" Lily trailed off and averted her gaze; she had to get away from those two before she made things worse. "You know what? Class starts soon, and I'm hungry so…I'll…see you guys later." Lily quickly grabbed her bag and hurried out of the Common Room before Sirius or Remus could question her anymore.

The two boys stared after her for a moment. Remus sighed and sank down on the couch. "There's something extremely weird going on here," he said to Sirius. "James has been spending time doing his homework other than the ten minutes he has before it's due."

"He hasn't kissed a girl in a week," said Sirius, looking a bit worried. "And you should see him on the pitch. He's terrible!"

"He hasn't been on a date, either," added Remus. "Then there's the time he's been spending with Lily. They've been inseparable all week. James hasn't been talking to us as much. And they've both been sleeping down here on the couch. Together."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the arm on the chair. Both boys were quiet for a few minutes as they let their thoughts sink in. "There's definitely something going on here," Remus finally declared again.

"I know," Sirius agreed. "What do you think it is?" The two were both quiet for a moment, and the same thought seemed to have struck them. Sirius looked at Remus, slightly alarmed. "You don't think they're dating, do you?"

Remus slowly shook his head, biting his lip. "I'm not sure. But we're going to have to keep an eye on them."

"Right…" Sirius said. Remus noticed that Sirius sounded a bit distant and turned his head to face him. Sirius's had a slight grin spreading on his face and was staring over by the portrait door. Remus looked there just in time to see Parker and Kate slip out.

He turned back to Sirius, a teasing expression now taking over his features. "Ah," he said slyly. "It looks like your eye on something other than Lily and James, eh Padfoot?" Sirius just smiled and swept his hair back; he was never one to be embarrassed. "When are you going to realize that Parker is never going to go out with you?" Remus said with a laugh.

"Please!" Sirius scoffed haughtily. "James may have lost his touch, but I certainly haven't." To prove it, he turned around and called out, "Hey, Teresa!" Across the room, a petite girl with short blond hair looked up from the book she was reading.

"What?" she yelled back. Surprisingly, she didn't look fazed in the least.

"Wanna go out with me on Saturday night?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "I have a boyfriend, Sirius."

Sirius smiled cheekily. "I won't tell if you don't," he said slyly.

Teresa sighed and heavily got to her feet, making her way to the portrait door. "You are such a sod," she said to Sirius as she passed him.

Completely bewildered, Sirius flopped back down on the couch staring blankly ahead with his mouth slightly open. Remus on the other hand, was bent over with his elbows on his knees and head bowed down, shoulders shaking from his laughter.

Sirius snapped out of his stupor and glared at Remus. "It's not funny!" he said indignantly.

Remus lifted his head, grinning ear to ear as he said, "May I offer a piece of advice that you might find helpful?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius grumbled.

Remus casually put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Next time, Sirius," he said knowingly, "don't ask out a girl other than the one that you're interested in. I'm no expert, but I hear it could be a real turn-off."

Sirius looked at Remus, eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "But…why?"

Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. I should have expected an answer like that.

Down in the Great Hall, James Potter was not a happy person.

He sat at the table with arms folded on the table and his chin resting on top, sullenly poking at his breakfast. Although normally James piled on the pancakes, eggs, and bacon, he didn't feel like eating anything except for his chocolate-covered pistachios. And unfortunately, they hadn't come yet. Not even coffee could relieve his craving, and that was very bothersome since James thought coffee was the remedy for everything. James sighed. I'm stuck in a body with an aching back and a bloated stomach, with my emotions completely out of whack, and there's absolutely nothing to console me, he thought piteously.

James heaved another great sigh and looked around the room, wondering just how many girls had their periods at that very moment. Now that he knew what it was like to go through hell that was PMS, he saw girls in a whole different light. How can they act like everything's normal? he thought in slight awe. James was surprised none of them were doubled over in pain, yelling their lungs out. Truth be told, he had a whole knew respect for girls because of what they had to go through every single month.

Not that he could ever say that aloud, especially not to Lily.

James straightened up and propped his elbow on the table. It seemed clear that the pistachios weren't coming at breakfast, so he decided just to eat what was there. I never thought I would be reluctant to eat a meal, James thought wryly as he took a bite out of his food.

As James quietly ate his breakfast, he suddenly felt pair of lips on his cheeks. It took him completely by surprise, and he dropped his fork and immediately began to wipe his cheek. "Ugh!" he cried, making a face. Then he demanded, "Who did that?" James whipped around and a confused Derek came into his view. "Oh," he said, not bothering to act excited. "It's you." I'm really beginning to regret saying yes, he thought ruefully.

Derek slung one leg over the bench, looking concerned. "You okay, Lily? Sorry I startled you."

James rolled his eyes and returned to his food. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered.

Either Derek didn't notice James's attitude, or he ignored it. "So," he said, grinning. "Tonight's the night. Looking forward to it?"

"Can't wait," James said dully.

"Listen, Lily," Derek said seriously. "Remember when I wanted to change the date from seven to six-thirty?"

"No."

Derek laughed, thinking James was being sarcastic. "That's what I like about you, Lily," he chuckled. "You have a great sense of humor."

"Ha-ha-ha!" James forced out, a big fake smile plastered on his face.

"Anyway," Derek continued. "I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to switch it again. This time, it's back to seven o'clock. Is that alright with you?"
"I'm sure I'll go on somehow," James answered dryly.

Derek smiled. "Great," he replied.

He stood up and bent over to give James another kiss, but James quickly leaned away and held up a hand. "You know what," he said. "Why don't we save that for later? We don't want to move to fast, know what I mean?" Derek paused a moment before he straightened up, and smiled at him instead.

"Alright," he said to James. "I'll see you later then." With that, Derek left to go sit at his house table.

When Derek was clear out of ear shot, James muttered to himself, "Unfortunately not as late as I would want." At that moment, Lily walked down and sat across from him.

"What was that?" Lily asked worriedly. as served herself. "What was Derek doing over here? What did he say? Did he cancel the date? Answer me, Potter!"

"I will if you shut up for a minute!" James snapped at her. "Relax, all he did was push the date up to seven. Yay for me," he added under his breath.

Lily smirked at him and took a bite out of her biscuit. "Serves you right. Didn't I tell you to—?"

"Evans," James growled. "If you even try to finish that sentence you won't be able to, because that roll will be permanently lodged in your throat."

Lily grinned. "Sorry," she said. "Look, after the last class I'll help you get ready, okay?"

"What's to get ready?" James asked, frowning slightly. "Can't I just throw on an outfit?"

Lily stared at him disbelievingly. "Wow," she said. "You have a lot to learn about being a girl." Before James could ask what she meant, the Parker and Kate sat down at the table.

"Hey, you two," Kate said cheerfully.

"Morning," Lily and James dully replied in unison.

"So Lily," Parker said to James, grinning from ear to ear. "Tonight's the big night!"

"I know." Again, Lily and James said it at the same time, both looking glum.

Parker gave Lily a strange look before looking back to James. "Shouldn't you be more excited Lily?" she asked him. "You've liked Derek for a long time. When he asked you out, you danced around on your bed for an hour."

James looked a Lily and smirked strange. "Oh, really?" he asked teasingly. Lily blushed and looked down at her plate.

"Yeah," said Kate. "But now you look like you'd rather go out on a date with the giant squid in the lake."

"Is that an option?" James asked hopefully. One blazing glare from Lily told him that it wasn't.

"Is everything alright?" asked Parker.

James sighed and nodded. "Yeah," he said.

"Are you sure?" Kate asked doubtfully.

"Not at all," James answered sullenly.

Right then, Remus and Peter sat down on either side of Lily. Sirius plopped down next to Parker and smiled brightly. "Morning, sweetheart!" he said cheerfully to her.

Across the table, Remus rolled his eyes and served himself a plate of eggs. "Here we start," he muttered. "He'll never learn."

Parker groaned. "Sirius!" she said exasperatedly. "Go!"

Sirius blinked in surprise. "Go where?" he asked.

"Go to France, go to Russia, go anywhere you want! Just go far away from me!" Parker stood up in a huff, grabbed a muffin, and stalked out of the Great Hall. Sirius turned back to the others and grinned. "I think she's warming up to me, don't you?"

"No," they all answered.

"You're going about it all the wrong way, Sirius," Kate said matter-of-factly.

"How do you know?" Sirius asked indignantly.

Kate took a bite out of her bacon and shrugged. "I don't," she said coolly. "But I suppose if you were going after Parker the right way, she wouldn't be running in the other direction, would she?" Kate picked up her bag and went off to her next class, leaving Sirius stunned.

"Why do girls always have to act like they know everything?" he grumbled.

"Because they think they do," answered Remus.

"But how?" Peter pressed.

"It's the sorority of Satan," James mumbled monotonously, thinking of all the times Lily had acted all-knowing.

Lily smirked as the boys all sighed.

"Can't live with 'em," sighed Remus.

"But we definitely can't live without'em," finished Sirius, sulkily poking at his breakfast.

"I hate Charms," said James vehemently a few hours later as he and Lily made their way to Herbology. "It's a stupid class that no one will ever use in life."

Lily grinned and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "You know," she said to James. "That could be a reasonable argument if it weren't for it being absolute crap. Charms are used in every profession. As a healer you use it to dull the pain and heal cuts and bruises. As an Auror, you use it in almost every situation and it can save your life. As a Herbologist—"

"Maybe one day, years from now," James interjected, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "you will realize that you are a person and not a pamphlet."

"And one day maybe you will be able to cast a decent color-changing spell," Lily shot back. "Although I doubt it. How hard can it be to change a red apple to a green one?"

"Extremely!" James said hotly.

"Well, I never thought it could be," snorted Lily. "But obviously you have proved that theory wrong, Potter."

"Maybe if you hadn't been screeching at me like banshee I would have gotten it!"

Lily wrenched the door to the greenhouse open, narrowly missing hitting a startled Hufflepuff in the face. "Anyone would have gotten impatient if someone turned an apple blue, Potter," she said scathingly as she threw her bag down on the table. "There is no such thing as a blue apple. And it's certainly understandable that I got a little bit upset when you turned the damn thing brown! Who ever heard of a brown apple? At least blue is closer to green!"

"APPLES CAN BE BROWN, EVANS!" James shouted, losing it. "WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS WHEN THEY ROT!"

"They become excellent compost for plants," said Professor Oaks sternly, effectively cutting off Lily's response. "Sit down, Potter. Five points for shouting in my class, Ms. Evans. You know not to shout in here, it disturbs the mandrakes."

"Like I give a hippogriff's hairy arse," James muttered under his breath with a scowl, sinking into his seat.

"What was that, Evans?" demanded Oaks sharply.

"Nothing," James answered, harsher than he had meant to. "Professor," he added respectfully. But it came too late.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Ms. Evans, for your back talk," the Professor said severely. James' scowl deepened as Professor launched into that day's lesson. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily lean in closer to him with a glower on her face. "Shut up, Evans," he told her sharply as she opened her mouth, not bothering to turn his head. "If you don't have anything helpful to say—and that's not uncommon—I suggest you keep your mouth shut for once in your life because I am not in the mood." James was astonished when Lily actually listened to him and kept silent.

James took out a quill and sheet of parchment and idly started to doodle as he let Professor Oaks' words go through one ear and out the other. He bit down hard on his bottom lip and his scowl seemed to be permanently etched into his features. All of a sudden, he felt frustrated with everyone. Frustrated with Lily, who always seemed to think she was right about everything; frustrated with Derek, who didn't have the smarts to be able to tell that James hated to be kissed by him (And he call's himself a Ravenclaw, James thought scornfully); frustrated with Dumbledore who couldn't fix this mess he and Lily were in; and frustrated with his friends because they couldn't tell who he really was. They should know me by now, James thought heatedly. Sirius has known me since I was young. How could he ever think that I would be sorry to have cursed Malfoy, or that I would call a Quaffle a damn waffle!

There was another thing, now that he thought of it.

James didn't need to be a Seer to know that the Quidditch game on Saturday would be an absolute disaster. It would kill him to be sitting in the stands, watching Lily doing something that she had the nerve to call "flying" in front of hundreds of people. To make matters worse, it had to be the game right before they played against Slytherin for the cup. Correction, James thought sourly. If we play for the cup, So far Gryffindor hadn't lost a match this year, and James felt that if his team lost due to "his" terrible playing, he would be too ashamed to ever mount a broom again.

Then again, James thought wistfully. I could never stay away from Quidditch for too long. James thought back to what he had said to Lily the other day, about her not knowing a wit how important the game was to him. It angered him that she had assumed yet again.

But that wasn't unusual. People always assumed things about James Potter.

They assumed that he was a natural-born Quidditch player, when in the beginning James had to work hard to be able to take off correctly. It had taken him weeks to learn how to stay on his broom without sliding to the end. It had taken him months to perfect his aim when he threw the Quaffle into the hoop. It had taken him years to be as good as he was today. The only reason people thought he was a natural was because he had learned all of this at an early age, before he came to Hogwarts.

Assumptions. All of them.

His grandfather had taught him that word at the age of seven, after James had collided with the ground rather than landed on it and wailed that he would never be good at Quidditch. "That's an assumption, my boy! Never assume, Jimmy. It makes an ass out of you and me." James chuckled softly as he thought of the phrase. It had taken him a long time to understand the joke hidden in the words of the sentence.

James grinned wryly at the memory; his grandfather was saying things like that. He was never one to play the stereotypical role of a grandfather. He was the walking definition of dignified in appearance, with his thick, white mustache neatly groomed. His hair was always brushed and parted slightly to the left side, no matter what time of day or night. Indeed, Matthew Potter was extremely distinguished, and known for it, but those who got to know him knew very well that he would talk loudly and swear like a sailor. James' mother had hated it. James had to stifle a laugh when he remembered the time his mother had thrown a fit after his grandfather offered James a glass of brandy.

"You can't give a brandy to a six-year-old!" she had raged, pouring it down the drain. "What were you thinking? Are you trying to turn him into an alcoholic before he's ten!"

"Nonsense, Marian!" Matthew Potter had thundered, gulping down his own glass. "A bit of brandy won't bloody kill the boy. That's bullocks! It's good for the heart, I tell you! Why, when I was his age I swallowed three glasses of it each day. And look at me, I'm as strong as a damn phoenix!"

That wasn't the only disagreement that had, James thought with a smile. On more than one occasion, Marian and Matthew would squabble endlessly.

"Why can't you act a normal grandfather?" Marian Potter would say to him crossly. "One who tells his grandchild sweet stories while sitting by the fire and gives him candy?"

"Because I don't want him to drop dead of boredom, that's why!" Matthew Potter's voice would boom with his pipe dangling out of the corner of his mouth, gesturing his hands wildly. "The boy needs some bloody excitement in his life, Marian, excitement! Needs some experience and fresh air in his lungs, or he'll be as lazy as all hell, that's what I say. Why, when I was his age, staying indoors all the time was known as idle!" he would end, banging his fist on the table. Then Marian would shake her head and mutter darkly under her breath, shooting glares at James and his father who would be trying hard to contain their laughter and failing miserably.

But James knew his mother had been fond of his grandfather. If she hadn't been, Marian would have just ignored him rather than bicker. She would always call him Matt just to upset him. If anything bothered Matthew Potter, it was being called Matt.

"Matt," he would say in disgust each time he heard it. "A filthy name! It is a common object used to wipe one's feet on. Nobody wipes their damn feet on a Potter! Never call you're children that, Jimmy! You come from royalty and should name your children as such!"

James cracked a grin. His grandfather was always very proud and opinionated, but could also be a kid at heart.

It had been his grandfather who had taught James all he knew about Quidditch. If it hadn't been for Matthew Potter, James probably never would have gotten involved in the game. His grandfather had always had a love for it, and when he grew too old (or at least, that's how Marian Potter put it. James' grandfather preferred "overly mature" or "well-seasoned" instead of old) mount a broom, he began to teach James. That was how James had grown close to him, and that was how he continued to feel close to him after he died. In addition to loving the sensation he felt while in the air, James felt like the game was his only way of keeping that special connection to his grandfather.

But no.

James' smile faded as he looked over to Lily, who was diligently taking notes on Professor Oaks' lecture. He knew very well that Lily thought he only played Quidditch for the status, and as usual, she was dead wrong. Status didn't have anything to do with it. James' mouth, which was set in a grim line, slowly curled into a smirk.

But it didn't hurt, either.

Forty-five minutes later Lily was making her way to Muggle Studies, while James was going up to Transfiguration (the only reason he was going was because Lily had threatened to go out in onto the Quidditch Pitch in a dress. Unfortunately, he also had to behave to keep her from doing it).

Lily was walking down the hall towards the classroom and was a few feet from the door, when Sirius and Remus suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking her way. The both folded their arms, eyebrows raised and smirks playing on their lips.

"Er…" Lily said uncertainly. "Hey guys…"

"Why hello," Sirius said, grinning brightly. "Harold."

Who's Harold? Lily thought bewilderedly.

"How's it goin'?" Remus said conversationally. "How are…" Remus paused and wiggled his eyebrows. "…things?"

Lily looked confused. "Um…" she said, looking from Remus to Sirius. "They're fine. You know, we really should get to class." Lily made to go around them, but the two boys immediately stepped in front of her. She moved again to the left, but Remus and Sirius matched her movements and blocked her again. Lily scowled. "What are you doing?" she said impatiently. "Do you see how there are no other people out here? They're in this silly little thing called class, imagine that! Now move."

Remus and Sirius looked surprised, yet amused. "Chill, Prongs," Sirius said, smiling serenely. "We just want to talk to you. It seems like we haven't talked for days."

"We've talked!" Lily protested, shifting the bag on her shoulder. "What do you think we did before breakfast this morning? And yesterday, and the day before—"

"That's not what we mean, buddy," said Remus, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Lately, you've been spending a lot of time with someone other than us."

"A certain…girl perhaps?" said Sirius slyly, also slinging an arm around her. "An auburn haired beauty slash spitfire, to be exact." Completely perplexed by their insinuations, Lily let Remus and Sirius steer her away from the Muggle Studies classroom.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, tensing up between the two boys

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're talking about you dating Lily without telling us," he said bluntly.

Remus took his arm from James' shoulder and smacked Sirius on the back of the head. "Way to be tactful, Sirius," he said sarcastically.

"He was being too slow on the uptake," Sirius shot back. "We don't have all day."

"Wait a minute," Lily said, waving her hands and closing her eyes for a moment. "You think that that egotistical bag of scum and I are…going out?"

"That's not very nice," Sirius said, frowning slightly. "But yeah, we think that you and Lily are going out."

Lily snorted. "Under what pretense?" she asked skeptically. "Have you not noticed the way we were at each other's throats in Herbology today? And how about at Transfiguration on Tuesday? Or, here's a good one, how about the way we've despised each other for the past six years?"

"Yes," Remus said calmly. "But we've also noticed the way you've been spending time with each other for the past week. You sit together in class, you walk together down the halls, and you've been sleeping together on the couch in the Common Room. You've even laughed together a few times! What are we supposed to think?"

Lily groaned and rubbed her forehead. For a moment, she was seriously considering telling Remus and Sirius about the switching accident. "Look," she said tensely. "I know what this seems like but you've got to believe me when I say it's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" Remus asked with an eyebrow quirked.

Lily paused, casting around for the right words. "Well…" she said delicately. "It's…um…very complicated and…twisted. But not as twisted a concept as me and Pot—Evans and I being in any other relationship other than enemy-ship!" Lily cringed at the last part. Is that even a word? she thought.

Sirius clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Denial, thy name is James," he said solemnly.

"Sirius, thy name is clueless!" Lily shouted in frustration. "Can I go to class now?"

Remus and Sirius glanced at each other doubtfully. "Sure, James," Remus said. Lily breathed a quiet sigh of relief and started to walk to the classroom, almost ten minutes late.

When Remus and Sirius didn't follow her she stopped with her hand on the doorknob and faced them. She got the distinct feeling they had been talking quietly, because Sirius looked much too interested in the gargoyle mounted on the wall. "Aren't you coming?" she asked Remus.

"Why don't you go on ahead?" he replied, smiling innocently. "Tell the Professor we'll be there in a minute."

Lily sighed again and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered. Very inaudibly she added, "boys" in a irritated voice.

Sirius waited until she disappeared behind the door before turning to Remus and saying, "I think we're onto something here, Moony."

"I dunno, Sirius," Remus said dubiously. "James denied it pretty profusely."

"Exactly!" cried Sirius, smiling and holding up a finger. "Denial is the first confession of the truth."

"That, Padfoot, is an oxy-moron," Remus said pointedly. "And you, my friend, are just a plain moron."

"No, I mean it!"

"So do I."

"No, really," Sirius said, getting enthusiastic and beginning to pace. "What if…say Lily and James started going out, right? They meet in empty classrooms to have mad, passionate trysts between classes and they want to keep their relationship a secret because all of James' exes keep trying to poison Lily's food out of pure jealously and Lily's keep trying to beat James up! And they plan to elope this summer!" Sirius paused and added, "Lily and James, not the exes."

Remus blinked. "Have you been reading Parker's romance novels?"

"No! It all makes perfect sense!"

"Maybe in your conflicted world," Remus said, looking at Sirius amusedly. "I don't think the situation is that dramatic, but I do think we need to keep watching them. There is something going on here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it."

Sirius chuckled and nudged Remus playfully. "A regular Sherman Holmes, eh Moony?"

Remus gave Sirius a patronizing look and twisted the doorknob to the classroom. "It's Sherlock Holmes, Sirius. Sherman Holmes is the proctologist in Diagon Alley."

"We have to get ready now?" whined James. He was being tugged along by Lily right after the last class ended that day, who insisted that they had to start getting ready to meet Derek immediately. "It's only three-thirty, Evans," James continued. "I have to meet the blasted loony named Devon at seven. That's almost four hours from now! Why do girls always have to start getting ready for a date a century before it actually happens?" James wrenched his wrist from her grip and stuffed a fist-full of chocolate-covered pistachios in his mouth, which had arrived a lunch just as Lily promised.

"First of all," Lily said briskly, giving James a withering look. "His name is Derek. Second, I normally wouldn't start getting ready until five-fifteen or five-thirty—"

"Oh yes," James said scathingly through a full mouth. "That's much better."

"—but since I have to teach you everything," Lily said, raising her voice. "We have to start now." Her forehead wrinkled worriedly and she rubbed her eyes. "Oh, there's so much we have to do," she moaned. "We have to pick an outfit, do your nails, shave your legs—"

"Will I be showing them?" James interrupted.

"—fix your hair—"

"Is it broken?" joked James with a playful grin.

"—pluck your eyebrows—"

All amusement melted off of James' face. "That sounds painful," he said wearily.

"And we need to do your make-up," Lily finished with a sigh.

James paused, his hand full of pistachios and half-way up to his mouth. It hadn't even crossed his mind that he would have to wear make-up.

He found it highly disturbing.

"No," he said bluntly.

"No what?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"I'm not wearing make-up," James said firmly. "I don't do make-up."

Lily just shrugged and continued to make her way up to Gryffindor Tower. "Of course not," she said serenely. "I'll be doing it for you. Now hurry up! We'll be getting ready in the Prefect's bathroom, and I have to get a bunch of things from my dorm before everyone else comes up. Quidditch practice is at seven thirty, but I have to be out there around twenty minutes early or else Brian will have my head. Plus I have to go down the Library before to do some research, so it would be very helpful if you would cooperate without a fuss."

James smirked at her. "In that case, I'll make sure I don't."

Lily exhaled and closed her eyes; she didn't have the time, or the patience, to deal with this. "Then in that case," she, turning and smiling sweetly at James. "I'll make sure to wear my shortest dress to the Quidditch game tomorrow. And I don't think it will look as appealing on a sixteen-year-old boy riding a broom."

James narrowed his eyes at her. "That's low, Evans," he said.

Lily shrugged and turned the corner. "Hey, it had to be done." She paused for a moment and glanced at James. "By the way," she added. "Who's Harold?"

James's eyes widened and he coughed violently, choking on a pistachio. "Wh-what?" he stammered, paling considerably.

"Who's Harold?" Lily repeated. "I was talking to Sirius and Remus earlier today, and Sirius called me Harold."

James shifted uneasily and looked away, a light blush coloring his cheeks. "I dunno," he muttered.

Lily studied him for a moment and a smirk grew on her lips. "You do know," she said gleefully, understanding finally. But she wanted to hear it from James himself. "You know who this 'Harold' is, don't you Potter?"

James groaned and closed his eyes. "Alright," he relented. "Alright, I'll tell you. The reason why Sirius called Harold is because…" James sighed and lowered his voice. "…It'smyrealname," he said quickly under his breath. Lily let out a snort of laughter and covered her mouth with her hand, eyes shiny with mirth. "It's not funny!" James cried indignantly. "I hate that name. It doesn't fit me at all."

"You're name is Harold!" Lily gasped in delight. "The mighty, smooth, and elegant James-who-thinks-his-cooler-than-everyone-Potter's name is Harold! Oh, that's great!"

"Shut up!" James exclaimed, scowling at her.

Lily quieted her laughter. "Sorry," she murmured. But a smile was still on her face, and it showed no signs of fading.

James' resentful expression was replaced with a pensive one. "Hmm," he said slowly. "He usually only calls me that when he's teasing me about something, or trying to find something out. What did he say?"

"Nothing, really," Lily said, grimacing and shaking her head. "He and Remus were interrogating me because they think you and I are dating."

James groaned. "Again?" he said.

Lily nodded. "They think the reason we've been talking so much is because we're going out. Ridiculous, I know," she added when James let out a doubtful snort. "But I think we're going to be watched for a while, so we'd better be on our guard. So…" Lily gave James a side glance and grinned at him. "…Harold, eh?"

James cringed and nodded. "Yeah," he admitted reluctantly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hate that name. It was the name of my great-grandfather on my mother's side. I guess it's some sort of family thing or something, because it's my cousin's name, too. Luckily, my parents have decided to save me from any more humiliation and call me James, my middle name. I think it suits me much better. But Sirius and Remus—Sirius especially—love to torment me about it."

Lily snickered. "I don't blame them," she said. "Harold." She covered her mouth with her hand again, but a only snort escaped through her nose.

"It's not that funny," James said indignantly.

"Yes, it is!"

James made a face at her before saying the password to the portrait. "Evans, that is a secret that you will take to your grave. Understood?" he said under his breath as they entered the Common Room.

Lily scrunched up her nose thoughtfully. "You know," she said. "Somehow that isn't as threatening coming from a person named Harold. It sort of takes the fear factor out of everything."

James exhaled loudly. Clearly, there was only one way to keep Lily from telling. "Please?" he pleaded, his tough demeanor gone. Lily looked at him in surprise. "I'm serious, Evans." James paused and bit his lip. "Please don't tell anyone?" he added.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright," she relented. "I won't tell anyone."

James let out the breath he had anxiously been holding. "Thanks."

Lily grinned mischievously. "Of course," she said, a hint of teasing in her voice. "You do know that makes excellent material for blackmail."

James smiled in a way that was identical to hers. "If you say anything, I'll tell Remus you liked him in third year."

Lily gasped and her eyes widened in horror. "How'd you know about that?" she demanded.

James shrugged and sat down on the arm of the couch, looking smug. "I have my ways, Evans. I have my ways."

Lily clenched her teeth. "Fine," she said tensely. "Let's both just forget we had this conversation, deal?"

"What conversation?" James said innocently.

"Perfect," Lily said. She checked her watch looked up the stairs towards the dorms. "Alright, it's about three-forty now. I have to go up and get a few things to get ready. I need you to come up with me to the Girl's Dorm and—"

"Why, Evans," James interrupted, smirking at her. "I never thought I would hear you say those words. Who knew you felt that way about me?"

"Oh, please," scoffed Lily. "I'm not even going to bother responding to that. C'mon, we don't have much time until the others get back."

Making sure no one else in the Common Room was paying much attention, Lily and James made their way up to the Girl's Dorms. After Lily sent James in to make sure no other girls were there, she walked over to her wardrobe while James settled himself on one of the beds.

"Okay," Lily said, running a hand through the black mop on her head. "We don't have much time. I have no idea what I'm—I mean what you're going to wear, so I'm just going to bring a bunch of my favorite things and we'll choose later." She opened the doors with a loud creak and started to rummage through the contents.

James watched as Lily pulled out a number of different colored skirts, pants, and shirts, mumbling to herself about what would match. After she had a considerable amount of things chosen, she walked over to James and set them down in front of him. James picked up one of the shirts, which happened to be a black halter top, and studied it curiously.

"You like wearing these?" he asked Lily, who had gone to her dresser drawers searching for jackets.

She turned around for a moment to see what he was talking about. "Yeah," she said, turning back to the dresser.

A grin began to spread on James' face. "Really?" he said, holding the top up and looking at it appraisingly. "You know, I happen to find these sorts of shirts kind of…sexy on a girl."

Lily stopped what she was doing and looked at James. "You…do?" she said uncertainly.

James' grin broadened as he nodded his head. "Yep," he said cheerfully. "Very much so, in fact."

Lily walked over to James, took the shirt out of his hands, and studied it herself. "Damn," she said, looking wistful. "I really like this shirt."

James cocked an eyebrow. "I knew you weren't immune to the Potter charm," he told her, smirking at her. "I guess you'll be wanting to wear it all the time now?"

Lily turned the shirt over in her hands and shook her head, frowning slightly. "No," she said thoughtfully. "It's a bloody shame you like this, Potter."

James chewed his pistachios slowly, looking baffled. "Why's that?"

Lily tossed the halter top over her shoulder and went back to the dresser. "Because," she said ruefully, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Now I'll have to burn it."

Derek and his fellow seventh-year Ravenclaw, Anthony Nelson, watched as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team practiced for the game that was to take place the next day.

Anthony turned to Derek and grinned, his blond hair whipping about from the light breeze. "So," he said slyly. "Big date tonight with that Gryffindor, huh? What's her name again?"

"Lily Evers or something like that," Derek answered, eyes on the blue blurs soaring above.

"She cute?" inquired Anthony.

Derek laughed and bumped his friend's shoulder with his. "D'you think I'd have asked her otherwise?" he said. "She's the one of the hottest girls in her year. Quite a looker. A bit of brain, though, if you know what I mean. Always on about her studies. I heard about a month ago that she had eyes for me. Can't get any easier than that."

"What about Charlene? I thought you liked her, but now you're going after this Lily?"

Derek rolled his eyes and gave his friend a pointed look. "When did I ever say I liked Lily?"

Anthony frowned slightly and contemplated Derek's words. "Okay, so she's younger and a brainiac. Well, that doesn't sound like much fun." Anthony paused. "Wait a minute," he said slowly. "The only other reason you would ask her out is…" Derek smirked and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Anthony's jaw dropped open. "You snagged a virgin?"

"Yep," Derek answered, looking smug.

"But—but," stammered Anthony. "How do you know?"

"Please," snorted Derek. "As an expert in this field, it's not hard to tell. Lily's innocence is as apparent as a Slytherin in the Gryffindor Common Room."

Anthony laughed and gave Derek a pat on the back. "Way to go, man," he said. "What do you have planned for tonight? Are you going to take her?"

"I prefer 'broaden her horizons', but yeah, I plan to."

"And you have the Astronomy Tower booked?"

"Of course."

"All night?"

Derek turned to his friend and smirked again. "All night."

Anthony leaned back lazily and put his hands behind his head. He was quiet for a moment before saying, "How do you know she won't say no?"

"She won't," Derek answered, sounding very certain.

"How do you reckon?" Anthony asked.

"Please," scoffed Derek. "It's never happened before, it definitely won't happen now. Just ask Alison, Trisha, Patty—"

"Okay, okay," Anthony laughed. "I get it." He turned his attention back to the Quidditch practice. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I gave her a go after you, would you?"

Derek shrugged and ruffled his light-brown hair with his hand. "Go ahead," he said carelessly. "I don't really plan seeing her again afterwards, anyway." He squinted up and gazed at the Ravenclaw seeker, who was zooming around in the air in close proximity of the snitch. "Hey, Anthony," he said suddenly, hitting his friend lightly with the back of his hand. "Isn't that Shannon O'Reilly?"

Anthony raised an eyebrow and studied the figure above. "Yeah, I think so."

Derek's mouth curled into a roguish grin. "Is she single?"

Up in the prefect's bathroom, James watch in horror as Lily set various tools on the counter. As each silver instrument sounded with a soft clink on the crème-colored tileJames' eyes grew bigger.

Lily furrowed her brow and tapped her finger on her chin. "Let me see," she murmured to herself. "Shaver, tweezers…lip gloss, definitely can't do without that." She finished taking out the rest of the supplies, then turned to James and said, "Alright, before we begin, I need to say a few things."

"Just a few?" James joked.

"We'll see if you have the same sense of humor after what I'm about to put you through. Potter, have you heard the saying, 'beauty knows no pain'?"

James raised an eyebrow. "Um…" he said uncertainly. "Sure."

"What about, 'it pays to be beautiful'?"

James' expression clearly showed that he didn't get the point. "It sounds vaguely familiar, yeah."

Lily nodded and smiled. "Good," she said serenely. "I just want you to know something." James looked at her quizzically. "What?" he said.

Lily continued to smile at him. "It's a load of crap," she said cheerfully. "All of it."

She was satisfied to see James pale considerably. "Really…?" he asked wearily.

"Yep," Lily answered. "But don't worry, Potter. It's nothing that will scar you." Lily paused and added, "Not for life, anyway."

James made a scornful noise and covered his face with his hands. "Great," he said, his voice muffled through his fingers. "Just the way I've always wanted to spend my Friday nights. Getting plucked, painted, and put through pain. Fun times, that sounds like."

"It does, doesn't it?" Lily said happily. She meant it, too. Although she was not glad about the fact that James would be going out with someone she was crazy about, she couldn't help look forward to getting him ready for the date, knowing that it would all be very amusing.

Lily grabbed a stool from nearby and set it next to her. "Okay," she said to James, patting the stool. "Come sit over here."

"Why can't you come over here?" he retorted.

"Because," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "I need you to sit down so I can fix you up."

James instantly sat down on the floor and grinned up at Lily. "I'm sitting now," he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"On the stool," Lily said menacingly.

"I'm much more comfortable down here, thanks," James said calmly, popping a pistachio in his mouth.

"Potter!"

"Yes?" he said innocently. "You know, this would all be over with if you just stopped being childish and came over here. You're really making things more difficult than they have to be, Evans."

Lily let out a roar of frustration. "Do you always have to make things difficult for me?"

"Of course not," James replied. "But everyone needs a hobby, you know."

Lily stared at him for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. Then she sighed. "Potter," she said tiredly. "Would you please try to cooperate just this one time? I don't like this anymore than you do. Do you think I like helping a boy in my body get ready for my date, with someone who I've liked for months? Not to mention the fact that instead of having a fun time with a nice, funny, good-looking person, I have to go out on the bloody Quidditch Pitch to prepare to make a damn fool of myself tomorrow in front of a thousand people! So it would extremely appreciated if you could do me a favor and for once in your life be understanding towards someone other than yourself!"

James blinked. He bit down on his tongue to keep in the sharp remark that had instantly popped up out of pure habit. Although he didn't like being called selfish, he could see easily that Lily really was on edge. He didn't think it was wise to push the limits, and forced himself to get serious.

"Alright, Evans," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll cooperate."

"You will?" Lily asked hopefully.

James heaved a sigh and stood up. "Yeah," he said, reluctantly sitting down on the stool. "That's what you want, isn't it? So, here I am. Make me up like a bloody girl, so we can get this over with."

Lily beamed at him. "Great," she said. She rushed over to the sink, and grabbed the tweezers in her hand. "Okay, we'll start with the eyebrows." Lily walked over to James, studying him intently. She ran a finger lightly over one of the red eyebrows. "Merlin," she murmured, frowning slightly. "I haven't done these in weeks. I'm lucky I can still see the line."

James' eyes were fixated on the shiny, silver tweezers. "What exactly does this involve?" he asked carefully. "Is it painful?" Lily said nothing and avoided his gaze, and it didn't go unnoticed by James. "Okay, that's not good," he said, moving her hand from his face. "You just avoided looking at me, and that means this involves pain."

"Don't be silly," Lily said briskly. "It's not that bad." She tipped James' head back a little bit, making him lean against the counter behind him. "Alright," she told him. "Close your eyes."

"Why?" he asked immediately. "If this is about eyebrows, I shouldn't have to close my eyes!"

"Relax," Lily soothed, patting his shoulder. "It's just easier this way." James leaned back slowly, glowering and keeping a trained eye on Lily the entire time. "Close your eyes," Lily said again, moving closer. "Don't worry; it'll all be over before you know it." James finally closed his eyes, and Lily leaned down and positioned her hand by his eyes. She grinned, and fought down a snort of laughter. Wonder if he'll be the mighty Potter now, she thought gleefully.

Lily bit her lip and put tip of the tweezers to his skin. James flinched at the cold touch, but otherwise kept still. "Don't scrunch your face up like that," Lily scolded. "It'll make the eyebrow uneven."

"Oh dear, whatever shall we do," James muttered, eyes still closed. But he did as Lily told and relaxed his face.

Lily took a deep breath and pinched the tweezers closed, grasping onto a bunch of red hair. She silently counted to three, and then yanked them away.

"Ow!" James slapped a hand to his eyebrow and glared at Lily. "Not that bad," he said through gritted teeth, glaring at Lily irritably.

"Well, it wasn't!" Lily said defensively.

"Yes, it was!" James cried, grimacing. Lily snickered, much to James' fury. "IT'S NOT FUNNY, DAMMIT!" he yelled.

"Look," Lily said, a smirk playing on her lips. "You'll just have to deal with it because we have to do this."

James scowled and folded his arms. "Nobody cares about your bloody eyebrows, Evans!"

"I care," Lily snapped at him. "Not stop being such a baby and lean back!"

"No!" James said indignantly.

"I said, lean back," Lily said through gritted teeth. Not waiting for James do it himself, she roughly tried to push him back against counter. However, James put up quite a fight. "Potter, would you—sit—still! Don't make me put you in a body bind!"

Not wanting to be put in a full body bind, James sat back against the counter with a deep scowl. "Fine," he grumbled. "Just hurry up, okay? I don't know how long this cooperation thing will last."

Slightly out of breath from their struggle, Lily picked up the tweezers from where they had been dropped. "Alright," she said. "Close your eyes again. This won't take long." She grasped a few hairs from above the eye, and pulled.

"Ouch!" James cried. But Lily had kept her free hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving much, and he had no choice but to stay still. Lily wiped the tweezers clean of the hairs and started again. Each time Lily jerked the hairs away, James flinched and cried out in pain.

"Now, really," Lily scolded as she wiped the tweezers clean again. "Don't you think you're being dramatic? Even I didn't complain this much my first time."

James winced and ran a finger over his eyebrow. "Isn't there another way that's less...drawn out?" he asked pleadingly.

Lily pursed her lips and studied him for a moment. "I suppose," she said thoughtfully. "If that's what you really want."

"It is," James said eagerly.

Lily looked doubtful. "Are you sure, Potter?"

"Would I have asked otherwise?"

Lily looked at him for a bit longer as she considered the other option. It would serve him right for being such an ass, anyway, she thought. "Alright," she said slowly. "If that's what you really want, will do it the other way. The…faster way."

James breathed a sigh of relief as Lily put away the tweezers. "Good," he said. "I guess I can relax now."

"I wouldn't say that yet," Lily muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" James asked.

"Nothing," Lily said quickly.

James looked suspicious, but said nothing about her response. "So, what's the other way?"

Lily grinned, but James didn't see her since her back was facing him. "You'll see," she said in a sing-song voice. She walked back over to him, holding a small bowl, a stick that resembled a coffee stirrer, and a few strips of special paper.

James looked at it all in amazement. "All of that for fixing eyebrows?" he asked incredulously. "Merlin, you are such a girl."

"Thank you," Lily said. She set each item on the counter and picked up the stick. "Okay," she told James. "Lean back and close your eyes." James did as he was told, a small smile playing on his lips. That won't last long, Lily thought gleefully. She carefully dipped the stick into the wax and spread it on part of the eyebrow.

James' smile grew at the feeling of the heat. "Hm," he said. "That feels nice…kind of calming and warm. I like warm things," he added lightly.

Biting back a giggle, Lily covered the wax with a strip of paper, and pressed it down with her fingers. "Okay, Potter," she said. "Relax, now."

"I'm very much relaxed," James drawled lazily, hands folded across his stomach.

"Do you want something to hold?" Lily asked hesitantly. "Something to…grip, perhaps?"

James' forehead wrinkled slightly and opened his eyes. "Why would I want something to hold onto?" he asked with a snort. "This isn't bloody childbirth, you know." He leaned back again and closed his eyes. "Wax away," he said happily, drumming his fingers on the back of his hand.

"Okay," she said, still sounding doubtful. She took hold of a corner of the paper. "Alright, Potter," she told him. "On the count of three."

"Ready and waiting, Evans," James sighed carelessly.

"One…"

Lily's hold on the corner of the strip tightened between her thumb and forefinger. "…Two…"

That's women, for you, James thought with a small smile. Always blowing things way out of proportion…

"…Three!" Wincing and biting a corner of her bottom lip, Lily ripped the strip of paper away, along with many hairs out of the skin.

A yell resounded through the Prefect's Bathroom that would have made a banshee cover her ears.

Kate threw her book bag on her bed with a heavy sigh and lay down. "Finally," she said. "I thought Friday would never get here."

"I know," Parker agreed, sounding equally relieved. She flopped down on the bed on her back. "This week has seemed to drag on forever. I'm not doing any homework tonight; I don't care how long it'll take me on Sunday."

Kate glanced at her. "There's always tomorrow," she pointed out.

"I know," replied Parker. "But there's the Quidditch game against Ravenclaw."

Kate furrowed her brows and propped herself up on her elbow, now facing Parker. "That's in the morning, though. You could do it at night," she suggested.

Parker rolled her eyes. "Are you intent on ruining my weekend when it hasn't even started yet?" she asked Kate.

Kate grinned. "Face it, Parker," she told her. "If it weren't for me, you're homework would never get done. You're middle name is 'procrastinator'."

Parker sniffed and pretended to be offended. "Please," she said in a dignified tone. "I prefer 'organizationally challenged,' if you don't mind." Kate stared at her for a moment before dissolving into helpless giggles. Parker joined her, and for the next few moments they just couldn't stop. They finally calmed down, and Parker took a deep breath. "Hey," she said suddenly. "Where's Lily?"

Kate paused and cocked her head, thinking. "I don't know," she said, breathless from laughing so much. "The last time I saw her, she and James were in the hallway together. And that was right before the last class. Before that, it was at lunch, and they were at the table arguing over something or other."

"Hmm," Parker said slowly. "I'm beginning to see a pattern, here."

"What's that?"

Parker bit her lip and ran her thumb over her chin. "Lately, whenever we see Lily," she said slowly. "She's always with James."

Kate looked confused. "When has she ever hung out with James Potter willingly?" she asked skeptically.

"Never," answered Parker. "But for about a week now, they've been almost inseparable. Sure, they've still been snapping at each other. But they've also been sitting together during classes, talking and walking in the hallways…Kate, something's up."

"But…" Kate shook her head. "I'm a bit surprised Lily wouldn't tell us if something was going on with her and James. I mean, remember when Derek asked her out? She wouldn't stop talking about him for days, Parker. I can't even count the number of times I heard her say, 'Derek's so cute' , 'Derek's so smart.' 'Merlin, isn't Derek the nicest guy in the world?'"

Parker laughed and threw a pillow at her friend. "I know, Kate," she said. "I was there, too, remember?"

"I'm just saying," Kate said, grinning at her and tucking the pillow under her head. "Lily hasn't been talking to us as much. She hasn't exactly abandoned us, either. But we haven't had any real girl talk, lately."

"Well," said Parker. "We'll figure out what to do about it later. Maybe we'll insist on a girl's night out only. A sleepover or something. She can tell us all about her love life there."

"That sounds good," Kate said. Then she smiled secretively. "Lily's not the only one with a love life, you know."

"Who?" Parker asked, thoroughly baffled.

"Oh, please!" scoffed Kate, rolling her eyes. "Don't think I haven't noticed what's going on between you and Sirius. I'm not blind like he is, you know."

Parker looked at her anxiously. "It's not obvious, is it?"

"Actually, no," Kate said, shaking her head. "I only just figured it out a few days ago. You were pretty good at hiding it. How long have you liked him?"

"I dunno," Parker said, shrugging her shoulders. "About two years, maybe."

"Why haven't you done anything about it, then?" Kate inquired, eyes widening slightly. "He keeps asking you out. Why don't you say yes?"

"Because," Parker snorted. "Sirius is a player. And no matter how good-looking he is, he'll never change. I'm not going to be one of those girls who goes out with him only to be cast aside and forgotten."

Kate sighed. "I guess I see your point," she said. "But there's always a chance, right?"

Parker shrugged and stood up. "I guess so. Hey," she said, changing the subject. "What do you say to a game of Wizard's Chess?"

Kate grinned and stood up as well, heading to the door. "I say, you'd better get a broom and start sweeping up your broken chess men, right now." She laughed and raced out of the dorm, Parker hot on her heels.

Never again, James swore silently, as he winced and ran a finger over his newly-groomed eyebrows. I never even want to hear the word 'wax' ever again. Lily hadn't been lying when she had said it wouldn't be fun getting ready. James realized all of this was very different from throwing on a pair of pants and a shirt like he normally did, and, truth be told, he couldn't believe that girls would want to go through what he called torture just for a date. Periods, primping, James thought with a roll of his eyes. I certainly took being a boy for granted.

He sighed and looked over at Lily, who was currently searching through her make-up bag and pulling out make-up. "How hard is it to decide what make-up to put on?" he asked her exasperatedly.

Lily walked over to him and set everything in her hands on top of the counter next to him. "Believe it or not, Potter," she said, going back to her bag. "There's a certain art to make-up. Put on the wrong colors and you'll look like someone straight out of clown camp."

"Whatever," James muttered. He picked up a small container of pink lip gloss. "Raspberry flavored," he read aloud. He looked up at Lily and smiled. "I didn't know make-up came in flavors." James held the container up and smelled it. "That's bloody brilliant!" he exclaimed. "Is that what makes a girl's lips taste so good when I kiss her? Rather convenient, I say."

Lily just rolled her eyes, not even bothering to answer. She pulled out a few more items, and walked over to where she had set the rest of them. She turned just in time to see James making a horrible face with his nose wrinkled and face scrunched up, tongue sticking out. "What is it?" Lily asked him. "What's wrong?" The container of lip gloss was open and James' finger was by his mouth. It was looking oddly shiny. Lily raised an eyebrow and settled her weight on her left leg. "Did you just eat my lip gloss, Potter?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes," James choked out. "And it was horrible."

Lily grabbed the lip gloss away from him. After examining it closely to determine how much was left, she twisted the cap on. "Well it's not edible!" she exclaimed. But her eyes twinkling in merriment. "What did you expect? Candy?"

James swallowed a few times to try to rid the repulsive aftertaste from his mouth. "Well, yeah," he said. "By my logic, if something smells good it tastes good. I also thought that since it gave a girl's lips a nice flavor…well, you get the rest." Merlin, I can't get the flavor out of my mouth! James grabbed a towel and wiped his tongue on it numerous times. He gave a small shudder and put it back on the rack. "Ugh," he said, putting it back on the rack. "Gross."

Lily eyed the towel with a sickened expression. "Gross indeed," she said under her breath, wrinkling her nose. "Remind me to bring my own towel next time I come here. Okay, now that we've got your eyebrows done…" She grinned and held up a razor and shaving cream. "Next, we do the legs."

James smirked and looked down at the legs that had come with his new body. "Hmm," he said appraisingly. "I've always liked legs. I should have no problem with this."

Lily cast him a doubtful glance. "Have you ever shaved legs before, Potter?" she asked him.

James looked horrified. "Hell, no!" he exclaimed. "Do I look like the type of person going around worrying about what my legs look like? Men like me—" Lily snorted. "—do not shave their legs. I would much rather put my effort into something more…worthwhile. Like my face," he added loftily.

"And how your hard work has paid off," Lily commented dryly.

"Why, thank you," James said with smile, ignoring the sarcasm.

Lily set a second stool in front of James. "Here," she said, patting it. "Put your leg up there, and bend it." James obeyed. Lily began to apply the shaving cream to the leg up to about two inches above the knee.

"You know," James said as he watched her. "If another prefect were to walk in here at this exact moment, he might think something very wrong and dirty was going on between you and me. It'd be quite a laugh, really." James paused. "Although," he said, with a cheeky grin. "It is a bit of a shame that I'm not in my own body right about now. I've always wanted to rub my hands over a girl's leg."

Lily gave him a dark look and, after making sure it wasn't the same that James had used a few minutes before, wiped her hand on a towel. "Alright," she said as she uncapped the razor. "Don't move around or anything or you'll end up with a nasty cut." James kept still and observed as Lily carefully dragged the razor from the ankle to right above the knee, and wiped the excess shaving cream off the razor with a tissue.

"This reminds me," he said as Lily repeated the process. "You might want to run a razor over the face in a few days, or you'll end up with an unattractive shadow about the chin."

Lily raised her eyebrows at him as she wiped the razor again. "Like you shave, Potter," she said with a teasing smile.

"Excuse me!" James said, looking highly insulted. "How would you know, Evans?"

Lily snorted and carefully drew the razor around the knee cap. "Please, you aren't man enough to shave."

James pretended to be offended. "That's hurtful, Evans," he said jokingly. "That's down right abusive. How can you question the manliness of James Potter?"

"Well," Lily told him. "It's hardly considered manly when a boy has his period, is it?"

James sighed. "You just had to mention the damn period thing, didn't you?" he said moodily. He stuffed a few chocolate-covered pistachios in his mouth and said while chewing, "Tha' was vewwy une'es'ary, Evan."

Lily smiled and finished shaving the other leg, then cleaned off any cream she had left behind. "Okay," she said with a deep breath. "Done with that." She then pulled out a brush, a comb, and bunch of hair ties from her bag and turned James so that he faced the mirror. "Now," she said, standing behind him and looking at their reflections. "We do the hair."

"Great, this is going to take forever," James muttered, crossing his arms.

"Nah," Lily said, beginning to brush the thick red hair. "I already know what I'm going to do. It's very simple, yet elegant. And it won't be hard to keep from messing up. It's just going to be a ponytail with a few locks of hair hanging down the side of the face. It should only take a few minutes."

"Well, that's a relief," James said, trying to keep his head from moving when Lily tugged it. "It's four-twenty-five now, and all we have to do is the make-up. Then I'll get dressed and be on my merry old way with about two hours to relax before this date from hell." Lily grinned mischievously at James through the mirror. "What?" he asked her.

"Didn't I tell you that you had a lot to learn about being a girl?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So I haven't picked out an outfit for you to wear yet," Lily answered. "And that's always the hardest part. Ergo, that's that bit that always takes the most time. I promise you that there will be no time for you to relax before meeting Derek."

James groaned. "Damn!"

"I know," Lily said, patting him on the shoulder and pretending to be sympathetic. "It hurts, doesn't it?" Then she shrugged and continued to brush what was once her hair. "Then again," she said, dropping the act. "We all have to do things we don't want."

"Evans," James said, scowling deeply. "One thing that I detest hearing is the saying that 'life isn't fair'."

"Well, it isn't, you know."

"Yes, I know," James said, gritting his teeth when he felt a sharp pull on a strand of hair. "This whole bloody situation is the perfect example."

"Too true," Lily said grimly. They were both quiet as Lily finished putting the hair into a neat ponytail and put some of it down so that it rested against the cheek. Even though Lily wished harder than ever that it could be her getting ready for what should have been her date, she couldn't help admitting to herself that she was having just a little bit of fun watching James react to the different things he had go through to go on a date. It was something that she would have to remember to put in her Pensieve once she got the chance.

She put the brush, comb, and hair ties back into the bag. "Alright," she sighed. "Time to do make-up."

"Just the thing I've always looked forward to," James said monotonously. "My life finally has a purpose."

"Oh, shut up," Lily snapped at him. "I'm sick of your complaining, Potter. So either you shut your mouth or I stuff it with enough lip-gloss to make the inside glisten like diamonds."

James glowered at her, and muttered, "I knew you were the violent type."

Lily picked up a make-up brush and a compact of light pink blush. "Lean your head back," she commanded.

James looked at her wearily. "You aren't going to make me look like Professor Veronique's twin or something, are you?"

"Of course not," Lily said briskly, tipping James' head back with her finger and swiping the brush over the pink power. "Have you ever seen me with that much on?"

"I've never seen you with any on," James pointed out.

"Actually," Lily said, looking pleased. "That's not quite true. I don't wear make-up every day, but I like to every now and then. I prefer the natural look. After all, the whole point of make-up is to not look like you're wearing it."

"Wait a minute," James said, holding his head up again. "Are you telling me that girls put on make-up to look like they aren't wearing any? Then what's the point of putting it on?"

Lily grinned and shook her head. "Again, you don't have it exactly right," she explained. She forced James' head back again and began to lightly sweep across his cheek until a faint tinge of pink showed up. "Some girls want it to be seen, so they use colors other than their skin tone. Sometimes, it can look alright. But, as you can see at our school, a lot of girls really over do it. So does my sister. But my mother taught me a while back that the best way to apply make-up is so that it accentuates your different colors and features."

To his own surprise, James found that he was listening to this intently rather than just letting go through one ear and out the other. Lily gently turned his face so that she could do the other cheek.

"For instance," she was saying. "If someone has nice cheek bones, they can make them stand out more by putting a small bit of blush right under them." Lily turned James so that he could see his reflection and smiled. "The effect is really quite nice," she said.

She's right, James thought as he studied the results in the mirror. It doesn't look all that bad on her features. No wonder I never knew she was wearing make-up. This looks like it could be…well, natural. But he'd be damned if he admitted to Lily that, one, she could look pretty; and two, that he found her talk about cosmetics interesting in any way.

"I guess it could be worse," James said nonchalantly. "Are we done yet?"

"Not yet," Lily said, setting down the blush. She picked up a container of eye shadow. "We still have to do the eye shadow, lip-gloss, and mascara."

"Mascara?" James asked curiously. "What's that?"

"It's something that makes the eyelashes stand out."

"Eyelashes," James said blankly. "You really think boys give a damn about eyelashes? We're too busy looking at your bodies!"

Lily narrowed her eyes and sneered at him. "That is so shallow," she said scathingly.

"This coming from a girl who cares about her eyelashes enough to paint them," James retorted.

Lily glared at him for a moment before putting the mascara back into bag. "Fine," she said shortly. "I won't do mascara. But we're sticking with the eye shadow, no argument." Lily applied color to the eyes and lips, much quicker than James knew he could ever pull off.

In fact, this whole experience had been rather enlightening to him. James now knew that whenever he asked a girl out, they took it much more seriously than he had imagined. He appreciated the fact that they thought so highly of him as to spend hours going through something he definitely would never bother doing. Then again, why wouldn't they? he thought smugly. I am worth it. James grinned, imagining Lily how appalled Lily would look if she had heard him say those words aloud.

Just when he was deciding whether or not to do it just to get a reaction, something else caught his attention. Lily was pointing her wand at small items in her hand, making them bigger with an enlargement spell. When they returned to the normal size, James saw that they were actually clothes.

Lots of them.

James' eyes widened as he watched the size of pile of clothes grow. "Er…" he said uncertainly. "You do know that this is only a date, right? It's not like you're packing for holiday."

"Of course I know," Lily murmured, preoccupied with detangling two sleeves that were tied together. "That's why I didn't bring them all."

James sighed and rolled his eyes. "I should have known."

Lily continued to sort through the different items, separating them into three piles of skirts, pants, and tops. When she was finished she picked up a dark blue skirt and a white tank top. "Here," she said to James. "We're going to try this one first." She pointed at James and said, "Sapora!"

The school uniform was instantly replaced with the outfit Lily had chosen.

"I like this one," James said instantly. He hadn't even looked at it, and he didn't really care; all he wanted was to pick an outfit as quick as possible so he could relax before it was time to meet Daren.

Or whatever his name was.

But Lily didn't answer right away. Instead, she had her chin in her hand and was scrutinizing the results. "Come here," she said, waving James over. James stood up with a heavy sigh and walked over to her. "Turn around," Lily ordered. James did so with a roll of his eyes. Lily circled him, looking over the outfit carefully. She murmured a quiet, "Hmm," and walked around James again.

When she had done that for the third time, James snapped impatiently, "What are you, a vulture? Do you like this one or not?"

Lily frowned and shook her head. "No," she told him. "No, I don't think so. The skirt looks too big. Makes me look a bit frumpy." She walked over to the piles and picked up a black sweater and a pair of jeans. "Let's try this. Sapora!"

In the blink of an eye the blue skirt and white shirt were gone, and in their place James wore the jeans and the sweater.

"This is certainly warmer," he commented.

Lily scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "No, I don't like that, either." Without another word she picked up a black dress with long sleeves. "Sapora!" Lily looked at it for a moment before saying, "No, too formal for a first date."

James groaned and closed his eyes as Lily leaned down to pick up something new. It was clear that this was going to take a very long time.

James wasn't very happy at all. As he had predicted, Lily had spent a while going through various combinations for him to wear. In fact, it had taken about an hour and fifteen minutes and was now quarter to six. His feet hurt, and they were beginning to lose feeling from standing so long. And the worst part of it was that Lily had taken away his bag of chocolate-covered pistachios twenty minutes ago, insisting that they would "give you bad breath."

James felt highly aggrieved.

"Are we done yet?" he asked dully for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Almost," Lily said absentmindedly. She picked up a red skirt and matching top. "Let's try this one!"

James rolled his eyes. "We did already," he sighed. "Twice."

"Hmm…" Lily said thoughtfully. She held the skirt out at arm length, looking at it carefully. She glanced back at James, looking doubtful. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," James said exasperatedly. "I remember because that's the one that itched. Then there was the one that was so tight I couldn't sit down, then there was one that—"

"Okay," Lily interrupted. "Alright, I get it." She set the clothes down and scrutinized the pile, slowly stroking her chin with her thumb. Lily bit down on a corner of her lip before bending down to pick up a black skirt and a tan sweater. "Okay," she said, grinning. "I think this is it. Sapora!"

The green pants and white shirt disappeared and the chosen items instantly replaced them. Lily squealed and clapped her hands, jumping up and down. "That's it!" she cried. "Perfect! Go have a look in the mirror, Potter." James sighed and reluctantly stood in front of the mirror, preparing himself to cringe at the reflection for the tenth time. He raised his head to look at the results.

What James saw made him start slightly in surprise.

Actually, the outfit didn't look that bad. The skirt went down to about two or so inches above the knee, which immediately drew attention to the legs in contrast to the pale skin. The sweater wasn't exactly ugly, either. It was long-sleeved, for which James was thankful, and was a bit form-fitting. In fact, it made the body he was in, Lily's, look rather…nice.

James raised his eyebrows in approval and nodded. He turned to the side and studied the combination from the back. Then he faced the mirror again and lifted the corner of his mouth into a smile. "Wow," he said. "I guess this isn't too bad." Not bad at all, he added to himself. "I look pretty hot," he added without thinking.

Lily realized what he said before James did and looked up from folding the rest of the clothes. She quirked and eyebrow and stared at him from her position on the floor. "Um…Potter?" she said hesitantly. "You do know that you just complimented me, right?"

James tore his gaze from the mirror and looked at her. "What do you mean?" he asked, still not catching on.

Lily picked at a loose thread on one of the garments, silently cursing herself for beginning to blush. "I mean, that by saying 'I look pretty hot', you were really talking about how I look in that outfit," she said pointedly. "You know, considering our current situation and everything."

James looked a bit confused for a bit longer before his eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped slightly open. "Oh," he said, realization dawning on him. "I get it now."

Lily rolled her eyes and continued to fold and shrink the clothes. "Aren't we smart," she muttered under her breath.

James didn't seem to hear her. Damn, how could I be so stupid! he thought in horror, biting down on his tongue. Of course saying how good I looked sounded like a compliment. I look like herIt was clear that he had some cleaning up to do. "Uh…" he said blankly. "Well…how do you know I…um…wasn't complimenting…myself?" James cringed; even he knew that sounded dumb. Lily looked at him as though he was crazy. James took a breath and regained his usual cool composure. "I mean, really" James said, taking on a drawl. "For all you know, Evans, I was just commenting on good I—" He gestured to Lily, signifying that he meant his body "—looked tonight, which I do. So you shouldn't take that 'looking hot' thing personally. Compliments like that are extremely rare from me." James exhaled slowly. Not as smooth as usual, he thought. But good enough. Sort of…

Lily made a derisive noise and shook her head, trying to forget the conversation had ever taken place. "Whatever Potter," she told him. "We don't have time for this. I still have to pick out shoes to go with it and teach you how to walk."

"What do you mean, 'teach me how to walk'?" James said indignantly.

Lily pulled out a pair of tiny black high heels from her pocket and pointer her wand at them to make them bigger. She grinned widely and held them out to James, whose eyes widened in shock when he saw that they were about four inches high.

He looked back at Lily. "You are mistaken if you think I'm going to risk my life for this date by putting those on," he said flatly. "Very much mistaken."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Lily scoffed. "These aren't that high."

"Evans!" James exclaimed. "Those aren't even shoes! They're bloody stilts!"

"Parker has shoes that are six inches high," Lily countered.

"Well good for Parker," James said crossly. "I'm not wearing them. It's bad enough you're making me wear a damn skirt, so don't push your luck with the shoes."

Lily sighed and tossed the shoes to the side. "Fine," she said reluctantly. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Which is why I brought these." Lily held up a pair of dark brown shoes with a shiny, thick, gold strip across the part about halfway to the toe. There still was a heel, but it was thicker and lower to the ground.

James cringed. "Don't you have anything more masculine?" he requested. "You know…tennis shoes or something?"

Lily set her mouth in a grim line and dropped her arms to her side. "Potter," she said sternly. "I'll be damned if I let you wear old, dirty tennis shoes on my date with Derek Thomas. You are wearing these shoes. No questions, comments, or complaints."

"But I—!"

"I said no complaints!" Lily snapped. "Now put these on." James hesitated and looked at the shoes unsurely. "Put them on!" she ordered impatiently.

"Fine," James grumbled. He snatched the shoes from Lily and stuffed his feet into them clumsily. He teetered in the shoes and wiggled his toes around, trying to get used to the new height. "Evans," James said uncertainly, as he tried to balance. "I—I don't think I can walk in these." James' eyes widened and he wobbled dangerously, waving his arms around and trying not to fall. Lily rushed forward and caught hold of his arm in a firm grip.

"They're only two inches high…watch it!" Lily ducked to avoid James' flailing arm.

James slowly lowered himself onto to the stool. He bent over to examine the shoes. "These are two inches higher than what I'm used to wearing," he said bitterly. "And they make my toes hurt!"

"Well, tough. It pays to be beautiful," Lily told him as she cleaned up.

"I don't care," James whined. "There aren't enough Galleons in the world to make this worth it! I always thought girls looked great in heels and everything, but I never thought they were so uncomfortable. I'm going to have to take them off." James started to pull the shoes off, but Lily cast him a malicious glare behind her shoulder.

"Potter," she said tersely. "Those shoes go perfectly with that outfit, and they make my legs look good. Therefore, you will keep them on until your feet are swollen, black and blue. Understand?"

"No!" James insisted. "Now that you mention it, I don't at all!"

"Well, that doesn't matter!" Lily answered, her voice getting gradually louder. "Shoes aren't supposed to be understood! They're just shoes!"

"But they're supposed to be comfortable!"

"NOT IN THE WORLD OF A FEMALE!" Lily shouted. "Do you have any idea how many shoes wouldn't exist if they were only made for the sake of being comfortable? Now hurry up! It's six o'clock now, and I want to make sure you can walk alright in those."

Excellent, James thought. All I have to do is wobble and trip and I won't have to wear them! "What if I can't?" he asked Lily.

Lily shrugged. "Then you'll get plenty of practice your way to meet Derek."

"Damn," James muttered regretfully.

Lily walked over to a place about ten feet away from James. "Okay," she said. "Let me see you walk." James sighed and stood to his feet heavily. He awkwardly lifted his left foot and put it down, then he did the same with his right. He was slowly beginning to make his way to Lily.

Very slowly.

"Stop, stop!" Lily cried, waving her hands.

James looked up. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"You're doing it all wrong," Lily chastised. "You can't move your feet like they're made of solid blocks of wood! Move gracefully with a little movement. Like this." Lily turned on her heel and demonstrated walking with her head held high, adding a little swing to her hips. James' eyes widened in horror at the sight of what appeared to be him walking like that. It was worse than her standing with her hands on her hips, and definitely the antithesis of manly.

Lily turned around and faced James, still demonstrating the graceful and lady-like walk.

James closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously, hands over his eyes. "Stop!" he shouted. "I can't handle seeing myself walk like…that! I'll walk whatever way you want, just spare my eyesight and never do it again!"

Lily smirked and sat down on the stool. "Okay," she said in a satisfied tone. "Let's see your walk, Potter."

It had taken nearly forty-five minutes, but James Potter was now an expert on walking the way Lily had taught him. I'm ashamed to say, he thought, completely humiliated. With the combination of having a period, going on a date with a person of the same gender, and walking in a way that James personally had always found alluring with a girl, it was safe to say that he would not forget this experience as quickly as he had hoped.

He was watching Lily dully now, who was rushing around and making quick fixes to this strand of hair or that smudge of lipstick, and muttering incoherently under her breath. James smirked and wondered if Lily Evans, who to him had always seemed confident, always acted this frazzled before something that was just a harmless date.

However, even though he was careful not to show his anxiety, James was beginning to feel a bit nervous himself. Up until now, he had handled wearing a skirt, having a period, wearing make-up, shaving his legs, and waxing his eyebrows (James winced at the memory). He had even been able to sit through being kissed on the cheek by the clueless Ravenclaw. But that was where James drew the line, and he down-right refused to let it go any further than that. In his opinion he had been far more than well-behaved than necessary, and nothing Lily could do would pay him back for it.

James groaned and kneaded his knuckles into his back. Bloody period, he cursed silently, then nearly laughed out loud at the pun. He was getting tired of switching emotions so suddenly. And that wasn't even the worst part.

He missed his chocolate-covered pistachios.

"Okay," Lily said, glancing at her watch. "It's now about quarter to. Where were you supposed to meet Derek?"

James shrugged and held on tightly to the banister as he climbed the stairs. "I dunno," he said carelessly. "I think he said he would pick me up in front of the Gryffindor portrait."

Lily inhaled deeply and tried to calm her nerves. "Great," she said.

James bit his lip thoughtfully. "Or maybe he said in the front of the Great Hall."

Lily stopped abruptly and looked at him. "You mean you can't remember?" she asked desperately.

"Who cares?"

"I do!" Lily cried. "It makes a difference, you know! The Gryffindor Common Room and the Great Hall are about seven floors apart! I don't want you to be late, so you had better remember in the next ten minutes."

"Alright, alright," James sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty sure it was in front of the Portrait."

"You're sure?" Lily said anxiously.

"Didn't I just say that, Evans?"

They rounded the corner and paused before Agatha the Portrait. "Okay, Potter," Lily said seriously. "I know that this probably isn't the way you would want to spend your Friday night—"

"Probably," James interrupted contemptuously.

"—But I would really appreciate it if you don't make a complete disaster out of this." Lily continued, wringing her hands nervously. "If all goes well tonight, I'm sort of hoping I might be able to go out again with Derek once I get back to my body. So if you're just really nice and polite, everything should be fine."

"What if he tries to kiss me?" James asked, giving her a side glance.

Lily winced and looked at James, forcing an innocent smile on her face. "I don't suppose you would consider kissing him back, eh Potter?" she asked in a tiny voice.

James narrowed his eyes at her. "Not for a second," he said menacingly.

Lily groaned and dropped the act. "Alright," she said. "I guess it's already a miracle that you're going, right?"

"Right," James said firmly. "So don't push it."

"Okay," Lily agreed. She turned to the portrait and said, "Lion's Den." Agatha swung open without a word and continued spinning.

"I swear, Evans," James said as he climbed in. "As soon as we switch back, I never want you to ask me another favor again. Understand?"

"Fine," Lily huffed, following him inside. "I won't ever ask you a favor again if you never ask me one again."

"When did I ask you to do a thing, Evans?" James shot back.

"What do you call what I'm doing tomorrow, Potter?" Lily snapped. "Do you think I want to get on a broom in front of a thousand people?"

"You should be thankful that I'm giving you this opportunity, Evans. It's an honor to play Quidditch as James Potter."

Lily rolled her eyes. "An honor," she said mockingly. "Please…" Agatha swung closed, effectively cutting off their loud banter.

During their bickering, neither Lily nor James noticed a grey tabby cat streak out of the shadows about fifteen feet away from Agatha the portrait. Her yellow eyes gleamed through the dark corridor as she took off quickly for the office on the fourth floor. This feline had a stern look about her that had become a bit of a trademark of a certain professor…

James shifted his weight uneasily to his left leg. It was about seven-o-five, and he was waiting for Derek outside the portrait, just like they had agreed. Lily had been giving him some last minute instructions, such as cross your legs when you sit, smile, and don't talk with your mouth full. She also had made James agree that he would at least let Derek hold his hand if he tried to.

James shuddered. I'll just make sure he doesn't try, then, he thought. "Why am I even here?" James asked himself aloud. The only answer he got was his echoing voice through the corridor. It's not like Evans would know if I skipped it, right? he reasoned silently. Not until Monday, that is.

Just as James was seriously considering sneaking back into the Common Room, he heard the hollow tapping of shoes coming down the hall. He turned abruptly and saw Derek rounding the corner with the side of his mouth quirked up in a charming grin. James noticed that he was wearing navy blue dress robes for the occasion.

"Hey, Lily," Derek greeted, stopping in front of James and beaming. He gestured to the outfit. "You look great!"

James crossed his arms and smirked. "I do, don't I?" he said smugly. He figured if he acted less than polite, maybe the date would end short.

"Definitely," Derek agreed, looking down at his (Lily's) legs. James found it very unnerving when he didn't look up any time soon. Pitiful, James thought, rolling his eyes. The boy doesn't even know how to be subtle. He could learn a thing or two from me.

He cleared his throat impatiently and bent down so he could meet Derek's eyes. "Excuse me," he said, smiling sardonically. "Last time I checked, my face was up here."

Derek jerked his head up, and a look of innocence replaced desire. "Sorry," he laughed easily. "Hey, why don't we head on our way? I've got a surprise for you that I think you'll like. I hope you're hungry." He held his hand out and looked at James expectantly.

James looked at it, and then back at Derek before shaking it and letting go. It's not going to be that easy, he thought grimly.

Derek looked at him in surprise before bursting out in laughter. "That was great, Lily," he said, although his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "You really crack me up."

"So you've said," James said dryly.

Derek grinned and took his hand. "Okay, let's go," he said. He tugged James along, keeping a firm grip on his hand. "So," Derek began conversationally. "How was your day, Lily?"

"Well, I was having a good one," James said, looking pointedly at Derek and trying to loosen his grip.

Derek didn't pick up on the emphasis on the past tense. "That's great," he said cheerfully. "Yeah, I had a pretty good day, too. But I had a Charms test. That was brutal."

It went on as they made their way up the stairs, Derek talking fluently and James giving dull, one-worded inputs. Much to James' discomfort, Derek kept trying to put his arm around his shoulders. Luckily James managed to evade it by feigning and yawn and stretching his arms widely so many times that Derek eventually asked James if he had taken a sleeping-draught.

James paid close attention to where Derek was leading him. They were heading up, so they weren't going outside. They weren't going to the Great Hall. So that left only one possibility for a date, and James was praying that there was some other location he didn't know about.

His fears were confirmed when Derek finally stopped before large door which lead into the Astronomy Tower, a well-known place for teen couples to go. James knew very well what went on there, since he wasn't exactly a stranger to the room.

"Oh, crap," James said in a hushed whisper, staring at the door.

Derek looked at James excitedly. "I know," he said proudly, mistaking James' horrified look for awe. "It's hard to book the Astronomy Tower for a Friday night, but you deserve the best, Lily." He stepped forward and opened the door. James' breath caught in his throat as Derek proceeded to grab his wrist and lead him inside.

What James saw beyond doorway put him on his guard before he even crossed the threshold.

A/n: wince I'm guessing everyone wants to strangle me now for leaving a cliffy.

Also, ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING: I've had a lot of questions concerning when Lily and James would start liking each other, and when they were going to kiss for the first time. As of now, they don't like each other like that. While they are in each other's bodies, they are developing a friendship, which I think is really important to do first. The romance isn't going to kick in until after they switch back. Don't get me wrong, this isn't going to be one of those stories that drags on and on forever. They're not going to be stuck in each other's bodies for eternity, and I know where they're going to switch back, and I sorta know when. It should be something like the nineteenth or twentieth chapter or somewhere around there. However, I am always brainstorming about what's going to happen, so I'm sure I'll have an idea eventually. Feel free to drop one of your own, as long as you don't mind the possibility of it being used or not being used.

Thanks to everyone for waiting and understanding. Hope you liked chapter eleven!

Until next time,

Spirit