Project 731: The Lily and James Swap

Project 731: The Lily and James Swap

Year 7

Review Thanks: MarinaBlack, pottersgirl363, JayaMioneDurron, cilverblood, hermioniegranger (Hadn’t expected that much, thanks all for the reviews (constructive criticism)! [insert smiley] )

Chapter Two

“Did you see his face?” Emily laughed. Lily nodded, gasping for breath.

“That was so hilarious especially when the Giant Squid kissed him!” Kris said, clutching her stomach and leaning against the wall far support. They had previously played their prank on James whom was soaking wet as they sat down in the Great Hall. It wasn't a very original prank Lily admitted but she couldn't let James get away insulting her. Her best subject was Charms and used a charm to push James in the water when he got off the carriage. At the exact moment it seemed that the Giant Squid, it accidentally kissed him in mouth.

“…Prefects lead the first years and I entrust Head Boy and Girl to lead the rest of the years. Now, off you trot to bed.” Dumbledore called, finishing his speech after the feast was over.

“See you upstairs Lily,” Emily called after her as she and James lead the rest of the years upstairs. Lily grinned at her friends and later was met by a glaring, wet James.

“You did that didn't you Evans?" James blurted out irritably. Lily tried to stifle her laughter and put on her most innocent face.

“I admit nothing,” Lily said, crossing her arms. James only glared fiercer as they walked up the stairs.

“Sure and I'm a flobberworm,” James retorted. “I'm not thick, I know it was you!" He pointed his finger at her.

“Innocent until proven guilty,” Lily said, quoting Dumbledore. “Cirdog.” The Fat Lady opened her portrait and Lily strode in with a smile on her face. She felt a wet splatter all over the back of her robes in response. “Ooh, why I ought to…” Lily growled not turning around and stomped upstairs to her dormitory. Slamming the door behind her, she flung herself onto her bed. Lily, in fury threw a pillow meaning to fling against the wall but it was caught by a grinning Kris.

“Temper Lily m'dear.” Kris said, tsking as she sat beside Lily, followed by Emily.

“So, had a row with Potter?” Emily asked as she put her arms around her friend and quickly drew it away. “Your back is all wet!” Lily nodded grimly.

“I don't know why 1 like him so much! Now I absolutely hate him!” She cried out angrily. Kris rolled her eyes inwardly. Lily said this every time whenever she and James had a heated argument.

“Lils, everyone is not perfect and there are days when you will hate somebody and days that you will. Like last summer you practically swooned about him to us and now you're ranting about how much of a nitwit he is.” Kris said in a sensible manner. Lily sighed.

“I know…but I did not swoon!” Lily exclaimed indignantly. Lily was bombarded with cries from Kris and Emily at the same time,

“You so did!”

[]

Lily woke up the next morning sleepily and slowly opened her eyes. The sun was shining through the window and bounding out of bed, she quickly changed into her uniform. She brushed her hair rapidly and bounding to her trunk, she pulled out her Ancient Runes dictionary, parchment and her quill.

“Simply lovely dear,” Her mirror commented as Lily walked downstairs to the Common Room. It was about two weeks after she arrived from Hogwarts and she wanted to get started on that Ancient Runes translation she had to do. Sucking her quill absentmindedly, she poured over the text, frowning.

“Hienzah Dooique eihwaz...” She muttered, who was so intense in her work that she didn't notice James studying on the other table in the corner. He looked up and glowered at Lily before looking back to his work. “I think eihwaz means partnership or defense... one of those…” She said aloud to herself, flipping though her runes dictionary.

“Shhh!” Lily looked up to see James glaring at her, with his finger on his lips.

“Well sorry for disturbing your very important work,” Lily said sarcastically and went back to her work. She heard a snarl of frustration.

“For your information eihwaz means defense.” James snapped, shutting his book with a loud bang and furiously striding towards the portrait hole. Lily was taken back. He usually wasn't the one to usually lose his temper easily that was more like her. Unless he was having troubles on something, he was short-tempered. Closing her book she ran out of the portrait hole to catch up to James.

“What is your problem?” Lily demanded firmly but there was some sort of gentleness in her tone. James looked at her incredulously.

“What's my problem? What's your problem? Working with you for various Head Boy and Girl projects, you playing pranks and not doing your duties, you ask me what's wrong?” He exploded.

“Look it wouldn't be that bad if you actually had a life!” She yelled hotly. James looked ready to throttle Lily.

“You want to know why I keep on refusing you whenever you ask me out on a date?” He shouted back and Lily was now quiet. “Because you ignore your Head Girl duties and playing pranks on innocent people, hexing anyone who insults you just because you think you can and especially dating boys as if they were objects you can throw away after you don't like them anymore! Stop your silly games Evans, you're seventeen and the Head Girl now, it's time for you to act your age! I don't know how Dumbledore chose you for Head Girl but I sure know that you don't deserve that position!” Lily's eyes bulged angrily.

“Maybe it's time for you to get a life! Life doesn't only rotate around studying and working on exams and homework! Life includes having fun and facing real trouble when it comes for you. Like enjoying the sunrise or making jokes with your friends or watching the clouds in the sky! Snap out of your work and spend some time with the outside world Potter! Try to live your life to the fullest! Sometimes, a good harmless prank can help people cheer up and as for hexing people who insult me, they call me that word one muggle-born hears from certain Slytherins! You don't know me Potter, not about anything! There's more to me than that so stop acting like you know everything `cause you don't! ” She said furiously and turned around. “Cirdog!” She said angrily and slammed the portrait door shut.

“Fix me properly this instant!” The Fat Lady said indignantly but both James and Lily were too angry to listen to anything. Lily felt was too angry to feel anything else as people stared at her when they walked out of the Common Room to go and eat breakfast.

“Hey Lily!” Emily called out and grabbed Lily's wrist.

“Yeah?” She snapped angrily as Emily looked taken back. Kris looked worried and winced at the furious Lily seething.

“I won't ask right now but let's go and eat breakfast.” Kris said as Lily followed them, silently and her temper flaming.

“James again?” Emily whispered and Kris nodded. “Seriously, how does Lily like him after fighting all the time?”

“This year they do...James and Lily never actually thought until what happened in fifth year. They were nice to each other in first year... Remember the prank she meant to pull on Snape in second year but unfortunately it happened to James instead and he didn't forgive Lily when she tried to apologize?” Kris said. The two called James `Potter' only when Lily was around but otherwise they called him James. Lily meant to burn Snape's cauldron but her aiming marked James's cauldron instead. When Lily apologized to James after Potions, James didn't believe her and stubbornly believed that she had done it on purpose on him. Then Lily got angry and the two ended up throwing hexes on each other, yelling all the way up to Madam Pomfrey's. Ever since then they didn't talk to each other until fifth year.

Fifth year. That was a big fight…There was a transfer student from France, Fantine-Merle Vasser, who was friends with Lily at the time. The two weren’t there at that time – both had told Vasser and Lily to go ahead after their DADA written exams (O.W.L) were over. Vasser and Lily had picked on Snape and the reason was because Vasser was bored. Picked was a mild word…They had tortured Snape and it wouldn’t have been for James, Snape would have faced the ultimate humiliation…After the O.W.L’s, Vasser had then dumped Lily, Kris and Emily made new friends with Heina McClatchy and her group of friends – and both group of friends disliked each other. Vasser became enemies with the three of them, especially Lily and both, she and Vasser received surprise pranks that embarrassed them – by James. Vasser accused Lily and there was no proof that James did it, only the smirk and look in his eye whenever he looked at Lily. But fortunately, Vasser went back to France at the end of the year.

They winced, watching Lily glare at the hall with fierce, fiery, falcon-like eyes and striding furiously towards the table.

“We’d better watch her over…” Emily muttered. Kris nodded.

“What’s the matter Evans had a bad day?” A voice interrupted Lily as she silently and angrily started throwing food into her plate.

“Just shut your flapping clanghole McClatchy,” Lily said irritably. A girl with reddish-brown hair smiled sweetly, pretending that Lily didn’t say anything.

“Did you hear something about…a Hogsmeade date?” McClatchy said in a honeyed voice.

“No…why should I care about your private affairs? Go ahead and bang with a bloke, I don’t care.” Lily said. McClatchy’s nose flared and her eyes flashed dangerously.

“Careful of your words Evans…It’s no secret that you like James.” McClatchy smirked. Lily tensed up and looked up quickly.

“So you said many times before...Ever since Vasser joined your little clan…” Lily said lightly with a hint of warning. McClatchy smiled.

“I know…she still sends an owl every now and then.” She said in a casual tone. Lily narrowed her eyes; she didn’t like McClatchy’s smile and her tone. She was up to something.

“What do you mean? What are you up to?” Lily said sharply, glaring her eyes and scanning McClatchy’s face. She had masked her emotions carefully – it was perfectly innocent and blank.

“Oh, nothing. Just to tell you to watch out this year…” She said in a mysterious way and left to join her friends, who were watching and snickering at the other end of the table.

Kris and Emily sat down, giving suspicious looks to McClatchy.

“What’s she up to?” Kris asked, glaring at her. McClatchy only gave an innocent look and returned chatting to her friends.

“I dunno…She talked about Hogsmeade dates, Vasser and to watch out this year…It was annoying, she was acting like honey in disguise of poison.” Lily said disgustedly as she watched McClatchy flirting with James. Lily knew McClatchy really didn’t like James; it was only to spite her. She lifted her head proudly and turned away.

“Vasser? What about Vasser?” Emily asked, feigning a questionable look. Lily shrugged. “Hmmm…” Emily said her expression now thoughtful.

“Ah stop your I-know-this act Em and just eat. We’ll find out sooner of later.” Kris said, rolling her eyes. There was a loud clinging against a glass somewhere and the hall gradually hushed. Dumbledore rose up and gazed upon the students.

“I’d like to announce that we will have a special exchange program this year, with the United States and France. Students in sixth and seventh year are able to submit a form from their Head and it can be given anytime starting today to end of this week to Professor McGonagall. We will have one student going to the States and the other going to France, in exchange, we will have two students, one from America and the other from France in Hogwarts for the rest of the year. Thank you.” Dumbledore announced and sat back down. Immediately, an excited chatter ran through the Great Hall.

“Did you hear that?” Kris said excitedly. “Are you guys going to submit your names?” Lily looked unsure.

“I dunno…It sounds like a great opportunity but if I do get chosen, but still…” Lily said, eyeing James out of the corner of her eye. He looked just as excited as Kris and was talking animatedly with his friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.

“So that was what McClatchy was talking about,” Emily said thoughtfully. “Guess who the exchange student from France is going to be?” She said grimly.

“You don’t mean that–” Kris started, her face expression clearly miserable.

“Vasser?” Lily said horrified.

A/N: It’s supposed to be a dramatic cliff-hanger…but I don’t really think it is…Anyways, Fantine-Merle Vasser is French – Fantine means childlike, Merle meaning ‘blackbird’ and Vasser means a corruption of Vavasour, one who holds an estate next to a lord. I chose random French names and pieced them together though I’m thinking Fantine-Merle to be rather childlike and has a mind of a clever blackbird…We’ll see. The fifth year incident is suppose to be like the fifth year incident in OoP in the chapter, ‘Snape’s Worst Memory’ except swapped. Oh and did anyone notice the password ‘Cirdog’ is Godric backwards?

I had to research British slang words, since I’m American…so for those of you who don’t know British slang words and expressions…‘bang’ means having sex and ‘Shut your flapping clanghole’ is shut up but it’s not a nice expression to use. Since it’s rated PG (though the rating may go up to PG-13), there will be no womanizing, etc. Anyone is welcome to correct any mistake about British slang words and expressions and it’d be helpful if you gave me some. And I’m going to need help on French accent…all I now is that they say ‘t’ as ‘z’ and skip the ‘h’…

My chapters may be edited time to time and that is because I’m currently searching for a beta-reader. Anyone who has a recommendation of a good beta-reader or wants to be, tell me when you drop a review. So anyways, if you don’t see a new chapter, it means I’ve edited the previous chapters; so you have to read from the beginning, mwahahaha…

Oh, almost forgot – make sure to check back at Chapter One’s A/N at the top because it’ll tell you what this: --- and [] means.