Playing the Part

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Playing the Part

By: Shrk-bait

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Chapter 1: Confrontations

Love is simple. It's human beings who are complicated. -- Colyn Bulthaup

"James Potter! I swear . . . once I find you, you're DEAD!" a sharp voice rang in the wee hours of the morning bouncing off the stone walls leaving an ominous echo resounding through the practically empty common room.

An irate red-head leaped down the spiral staircase, messily clad in her wrinkled school uniform. Almond-shaped pools of emerald dangerously scanned the room for a certain insufferable git, otherwise known as James Potter. Her fist unclenched, as she came across a few distraught second-years, fully aware of what she was capable of when she was angry.

Not to be discouraged by the lack of Potter's presence, she marched swiftly across the common room and bounded up the staircase, identical to the one she had just descended.

"Potter, if you don't get your arse out here . . ." she warned, her eyes glinting maliciously.

She paused, awaiting some type of reaction from the closed doorway. Receiving none, she groaned, cursed inwardly, and pushed up the sleeves of her robe.

Grabbing the brass handle, she flung the door open, only to reveal what was supposed to be a room.

Instead, she walked into what seemed to her, an alien landscape. The barely-there floor was littered with stray candy wrappers, piles of crumpled clothes, and who knows what else.

"You guys are disgusting." She muttered underneath her breath.

"Lily Evans. Nice to see you. What brings you here so early this morning?" a voice called from one of the beds.

Looking around, Lily caught sight of a young rogue, one of Hogwarts' resident heartthrobs. Sirius Black.

"Oh, you know. I just love to barge into a filthy room in the boys dormitories every now and then, just for fun." Lily responded sarcastically.

She noted that he looked remarkably handsome, considering he had just woken up. He sleepily rubbed his eyes and grinned cockily at her, pointing to a nearby bed.

"I think that is who you're looking for." He smirked.

Lily didn't bother to thank him. She made her way next to the bed, avoiding the mess on the floor with extreme caution.

She threw open the curtains and with a flick of her wand, sent a wave of ice-cold water upon the sleeping figure.

"Damn it, Evans! What the hell?" James Potter sat up on his bed, which was soaked.

He ruffled his matted hair and blindly scrambled for his glasses, lying on the bedside table.

"Give it back. I know you took it, Potter." Lily stated in a business-like manner.

"Took what? Why would I ever take anything of yours? How could you possibly accuse me of something like that?"

He gestured disbelievingly, his eyes wide and innocent looking.

Puh-lease, Lily thought, rolling her eyes. Did he honestly think this would work on HER?

"Cut the crap, Potter. My charms essay, if you must be so annoyingly dense. I spent four hours finishing that, so you better return it if you don't want to get on my bad side."

"You mean, I'm not on your bad side already?" he mocked testily.

She sent him a deathly glare and tapped her foot impatiently, the grip on her wand tightening. He noticed this and sprung up off the dripping mattress to grab his wand.

With a swish of his wand, Lily's essay materialized, floating right in front of James' face.

She swiftly walked over and grabbed it. Leaning closer so only he could hear, she muttered, "Already on my bad side, Potter? You have no idea."

The tone of her voice was icy and menacing, and the look she shot him was equally alarming.

"Tootles, Evans!" Sirius called from his bed.

Immediately, her face shifted to a friendly smile as she nodded goodbye, spun around, and stalked out of the room.

"Argh! Evans is so . . . infuriating!" he muttered, performing a drying spell on his bed.

"Like I told you, Prongs my boy. I think you may have found your equal." Sirius teased.

"Ha! Evans? My equal. Equal my ass. She'll never measure up to Potter standards." He replied haughtily, an arrogant look on his face.

"And that's exactly the thinking that got you doing a jig on the dining tables, singing off-key in Potions class, pushed into the lake . . ." another voice chimed in.

Turning around, James saw Remus Lupin emerge from the bathroom, donned in Hogwarts robes with a wise look upon his face.

"Okay, okay. I get the point. I still say she's a bothersome wench who can't take a joke." James insisted stubbornly, pouting.

Remus and Sirius both glanced at each other, snickering. James, on the other hand, did not think that it was funny at all and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

"What happened? Who's there? Where's the fire?" another boy sprang into a sitting position on his bed, his eyes wide open.

Remus glanced over at him and strolled out the door, shaking his head in shame.

"Just go back to sleep, Wormtail." Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes.

Shrugging, Peter Pettigrew slumped his shoulders and fell back onto his bed, completely unaware of the events that had taken place earlier that morning.

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The Great Hall was alive with the students eating (naturally), leafing through the Daily Prophet, catching up on the latest gossip, and in Lily Evans' case, complaining about what an arse her fellow Head Boy, James Potter, was.

"He's so arrogant. What an ego he has. I honestly don't know how he manages to stand, let alone walk. No idea why Dumbledore chose him to be Head Boy." She grumbled, violently spearing the leftover eggs on her plate.

"Who knows with Dumbledore. They say he's the greatest wizard of all time. Not that I doubt that, but they also say there's a fine line between genius and insanity." An equally pretty fair-haired girl next to Lily replied.

"Kira, do you suppose there is some promise for the future, some depth to James Potter that Dumbledore sees, and that I've always missed?" Lily asked herself, more than Kira.

Kira remained silent, but followed Lily's gaze to the far side of the Great Hall, where the Marauders were cruelly teasing a far-from-innocent Slytherin with dark greasy hair and an unsightly hooked nose.

"Naw." Lily reasoned. "There must not be one decent bone in Potter's body."

"Oh, come on Lily. You can't say that! He can't be THAT bad." A voice insisted from behind her.

The brunette took a seat on the other side of Lily and brushed back her dark locks with the swipe of her hand. She stared, awaiting Lily's answer as she slathered thick syrup on her fresh Belgium waffle.

"Charlotte. Look at them. They're torturing Serverus Snape for absolutely no good reason. What did he do to them?" Lily questioned, her eyebrows furrowed as she watched them continue to bother Snape.

Her eyes narrowed and darkened as Potter let out a triumphant laugh. The pair of them - Potter and Black - had managed to trip Snape, sending him sprawling onto the stone floor.

And they had the nerve to laugh. That was it. Lily couldn't stand it any longer. Her hand clenched into a fist and she clenched her teeth.

"I'm stopping this. They're out of line - again." She said decidedly as she rose from the table.

Kira and Charlotte watched her retreating figure approach the boys.

"Get ready for some entertainment." Kira muttered.

"She's going to go off the deep end this time. You almost have to feel sorry for Potter and his goons." Charlotte added thoughtfully.

Kira sent her a skeptical look, her left eyebrow cocked above her other.

"I said 'almost'." Charlotte clarified, smirking.

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"Prongs." Remus whispered urgently.

"Not now, Moony. I'm just about to kick Snivellus while he's down." James chortled, glaring down at Snape, who was still lying on the floor.

"But Prongs . . ." Remus repeated, trying desperately to be subtle.

"Give us a sec, Moony! We're just getting to the good part. You know, the part where Snivellus runs and Prongs and I hunt him down like the scum he is." Sirius replied, not taking his eyes off Snape.

"OY! LILY EVANS IS HEADING OVER HERE AND SHE DOESN'T LOOK TOO HAPPY." Remus yelled, the irritation apparent in his voice.

"Shit. Why must Evans bother us? Could Dumbledore chosen a more frustrating Head Girl?" James cursed quietly, so only their small group could hear.

"Okay, Snivellus. You're off the hook for now, but if we catch you calling another Gryffindor, or anyone else, a m-mudblood . . ." Sirius threatened, his mouth barely able to form the words. "You'll wish you'd never met Sirius Black."

Snape scurried off muttering curses beneath his breath, while the Marauders straightened themselves out and prepared to face the wrath of Lily Evans.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing, Potter?" she hissed, addressing him personally.

"I honestly have no clue what you're talking about, Evans. We were just enjoying some good old-fashioned entertainment this fine morning." He responded coolly.

Never let them see you sweat, he thought.

"Do you really think I'm THAT daft? Don't answer that . . ." she snapped, as he opened his mouth to let out some cocky comeback. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"Relax, Evans. Breathe. Don't get your knickers in a bundle." Sirius butted in, valiantly trying to take some of the slack off of James.

"Relax? Breathe? How can I do that when I'm Head Girl and I'm supposed to be keeping everything in order and making sure that students don't get into more trouble than they usually are in while the Head Boy, who is supposed to be doing the same thing is torturing another student simply because 'he exists' in the oh-so-unforgettable words of the biggest prat of earth, James Potter." She said in one breath.

"Like I said, BREATHE. You're much too uptight."

"I'd say I have a good enough reason to be, don't you think?"

"And the reason would be?"

"All of the aforementioned."

"Oh. Right. Good point. All I have to say is that I'm glad I am not Head Boy."

"I'd have to agree with you there. Not that Potter is any better."

"Excuse me, I'm standing right here!" James pointed out, making one of the stupidest mistakes ever. "I'm a great Head Boy, thank you very much."

Sirius slapped his forehead with his palm.

What an idiot, he thought. He was almost home-free until he had to open that big mouth of his.

"YOU! First, you steal my Charms homework, just for the fun of it, and then you make Snape's life a living hell, nothing new there, then you have the nerve to claim that you're a 'great Head Boy' when all you do is make more trouble with your friends." She burst out, coming dangerously close to attacking James.

"Are you saying that I couldn't be a good Head Boy even if I tried?" he inquired, frowning.

"Yes, Potter. That is EXACTLY what I'm saying. You're so caught up in this utopia of yours, devoid of any responsibility that you wouldn't be able to last in my world without breaking down from all the pressure."

"You must be joking. I, James Potter, captain of the Quidditch team, Head Boy, almost highest ranking student at Hogwarts and practically the ruler of Hogwarts, can not handle pressure? You're not as smart as I thought you were."

"Actually, I'm NOT joking. If you want to play it that way, fine. I, Lily Evans, Head Girl, the HIGHEST ranking student at Hogwarts, former Prefect, and probably the only girl who has ever been smart enough to refuse a date with you, don't think you can handle pressure. You're so conceited and arrogant. Being a Head isn't just about power. It's about asking for help and accepting it. It's about sacrificing your free time so that the school will run smoothly. And you, Potter, can do none of those things. You would give up before you even got into the game."

"When I asked you out, I didn't realize what a psychotic mad-woman you are. Oh, I'm conceited? Don't make me laugh. I can handle anything you can, Evans. I just choose not to. Being Head Boy? Piece of cake."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try. Be Head Boy. Do everything a good Head Boy should do. I mean, all of it. Prefect meetings, meetings with me, setting up Balls, nightly patrols, long hours into the night. This is nothing like flying around on a broom trying to send a ball through a hoop. Think you can handle it?"

"Without a doubt. If you can, I can. I'll prove you wrong, Evans. And then, you will NEVER be able to say what a failure of a Head Boy I am. Deal?"

He extended his hand out to her. She glanced down at it warily.

"Deal." She decided, grabbing it and shaking it firmly.

"Prongs! You daft cow! What are you doing? You great big prat." Sirius wailed, banging his fist upon the table.

"I must admit, Lily. You are quite persuasive, tricking ol' Prongsie here into doing all his Head Boy duties. I commend you." Remus laughed, patting a smug Lily on the back.

"Thank you, thank you very much." She said, taking an exaggerated bow, while James shot them both a venomous look.

Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice rang throughout the Great Hall. His deep tones got the attention of every student in the hall and silence immediately ensued.

"Eh hem. Will the Head Boy and Girl please follow me to my office? Immediately."

With that, James stared at Lily inquisitively, which Lily simply ignored.

She walked out of the enormous doors and headed towards Dumbledore's office, James following a few feet behind.

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"Wonderful. You're both here!" Dumbledore greeted. He picked up a candy dish and held it out in front of the both of them. "Lemon drop?"

"No thank you, sir." Lily declined politely.

"Erm . . . no, that's okay." James mumbled, leaning back slightly in the chair.

"Well, what I wanted to inform you two, was the fact that Hogwarts is having a feast for the Minister of Magic and some of my colleagues at the end of the semester."

"Right. Hogwarts' First Ever Gala Dinner in honor of Aremus Diggle, Minister of Magic. You told us, well me, before."

"Quite right you are, Miss Evans. Well, it just so happens that the Minister is quite fond of what Muggles call 'plays'."

"Plays? What are those?" James asked, still bewildered.

"It's rather difficult to explain. People act and pretend to be a character, interacting with other characters. It's all written out in a script, which the actors must memorize. They dress up and everything. It's quite nice, actually." Dumbledore explained kindly, his blue eyes twinkling.

"A play? What kind of play?" Lily inquired curiously.

"Well, after much deliberation, the staff has chosen a play that we believe will depict the bonds of friendship and comradery. We believe it will show the evils of jealousy and deceit. Above all things, it will emphasize the strength of love and all that comes with it. What do you think?" he asked excitedly, gazing at each of them, awaiting their reaction.

"Erm . . . okay. But Professor Dumbledore, what play?" Lily asked patiently.

"What else? The classic tale of two tragic lovers, Romeo and Juliet."