Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… nope… tee hee!

A/N: Umm… sorry for the late update. I think tomorrow will be two months since I last did. Sorry! And, right here, I want to thank all my reviewers for the last chapter (8 of you!!). Yes, I mean Someone aka Me, Lunatikk, soar2survive, MegaMegan, Coco96, GiddyGirlie, dracoluveralanna and Silver15Rose. This chapter's for you! :D

The Ultimate Prank War

Chapter 8: Realize

Lily's POV

"Go away!"

I buried my head further into a towel, which was clearly an expression that said I wasn't interested in talking, but that knocking kept on. It was obvious who was recklessly knocking on the bathroom door, who wanted to get into the prefects' bathroom to see me, who wouldn't stop for one bloody second to know I really didn't want to talk to him – at all.

James Potter.

"Please, Lily, just let me in?" he called through the door, begging. I was curled in the corner of the bathroom about an hour after Jadyn and I had seen the effects of the latest prank. I spent the rest of the morning washing my hair out, hoping for a change, but that stupid color-changing shampoo wouldn't leave my hair. It was permanently stained.

And that left me no choice but to curl up in a ball and wait until classes were over for the day. Because there was no way I was facing the whole school with a rainbow head, no matter how much Jadyn said it wasn't noticeable. No. Way. In. Hell.

"Lily… just open up. I have a proposal." James jiggled the knob, and I glared at it.

"If I open up, will you leave when I tell you to?"

"Yes, but only if you hear me out!"

Reluctantly, I stood up and made my way over to the door, straightening the robe wrapped around me. I turned the still knob, opened the door wide open, and came face to face with James, who wore a smirk on his face as soon as he got one good glimpse at my hair. "Nice locks, huh? Wow, the shampoo really did work!"

I gripped the door harder and tried to slam it in his face, but he stuck his toe in the crack. "Are you just going to stand there making fun of my hair and basking in your glorious prank, or should I crush your foot right now?"

He held up his hands in surrender and wedged his way inside the bathroom around me. "Just curious as to how it turned out." James walked in a small circle, admiring the fancy stone framework and millions of knobs to the bath that ruined my life. All thanks to him.

"What do you want, James?" I asked in an exasperated voice. Because, here was my worst enemy saying he needed to talk to me, and yet, he was just being arrogant and a prick about it. What else was new?

He turned back to me after staring into the soapy water of the humongous bathtub, fixed his hazel eyes on my green, and honestly asked, "Do you want me to forfeit?"

Um, what?

I could only stare at him. Because why on earth would he ask me if he should forfeit… so I'd win? I thought he cared about his pride so bloody much that he'd never lose, would never ever give up willingly, without a fight. Yet, here he was, asking to give up all of that and fork it over to me.

That was so… nice.

It couldn't be coming from the same James Potter that hexed first years for fun, repeatedly ridiculed Severus Snape, and infuriated me so much… could it?

"Seriously?" I asked with an incredulous look on my face.

James shrugged. "Sure. I mean, you won't even come out of the bathroom because of this prank." He gestured to my color-changing hair, which was currently a shade of deep violet.

I sighed. I could totally go for the whole 'let-James-forfeit-so-I-win' thing. But, something was standing in my way. Something…

Right. My own pride.

I wanted to beat James fair and square, and forfeiting wouldn't do that. No, it wouldn't. It would just make me as much of as loser as James was. And I didn't want to be a loser. I wanted to brag, I wanted to be the best, I wanted to stomp my opponent into the ground.

Letting James give up wouldn't do that.

"Thanks… James. If you're serious and everything. Because I don't know why you offered or anything, and it's kind of freaking me out that you did in the first place. I'm always so mean, and I thought winning means as much to you as it does to me."

James gestured with his hand to continue, so I took a deep breath and went on.

"But… I can't let you forfeit to let me win. I know that you know that I want to win fair and square, and so do you. So… nope. You can't. But thanks anyway."

He nodded his head once, understanding, and then smirked. Back to the old James Potter that I knew and… well, not liked. "So, it's still on, then?"

I was pretty sure a smug look was plastered on my face when I answered with, "Oh, yes. It is still very much on. You better watch your back, Potter, because I'm coming back with twice the force."

He smiled, a genuine one that I'd seen him give the Marauders. "Fine then."

And James crossed the room, pulling at a lock of my hair as he passed. He closed the door behind him, leaving me standing in a robe in the middle of the prefects' bathroom.

Stunned.

Jadyn's POV

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Nope. You?"

"Of course not, Jade. Why would I ask you if I did?"

"OK, then. Sorry, Lils."

We were at our wit's end. Completely and irreversibly exhausted from this prank war. It was nighttime in the Gryffindor common room, and we were hidden behind two Transfiguration books pulled together. Well, actually, Lily was hidden. I was merely talking to her behind the wall of books. But that's not the point.

We had absolutely no more books to look through, no more ideas swirling around in our minds, and no more creativity whatsoever for a big enough prank to get James back.

I was convinced we were going to lose, and badly. Lily would barely even show her face these days, trying to keep a bunch of friends to cover her, or her hair flipped up into the hood of her cloak every minute. James told us it would wear off in around a couple of days, and the color changings were already getting a lot slower and starting to have a reddish tinge to them.

But still, Lily's hair was different colors.

And for that, she wouldn't leave her book-y cocoon.

Lily sighed and leaned forward on the desk, putting her head closer to mine. "I know we can think of something. I just know we can."

"Yes, but we don't have anything so far," I pointed out, sending a cursory glance around the room. "Should we ask for help?"

Lily's jaw dropped, and she stared at me with disbelief clearly etched into her face. "You actually think that we need help? Seriously?"

"It's just a suggestion," I muttered, sitting up straighter and scanning the common room – my job. Ever since James had offered to forfeit, Lily wanted to keep an even closer eye on everything – or, rather everyone – around her. She was convinced James was simply trying to psyche her out for his next prank. Or so she told me.

There were only two fourth years in the corner, a group of sixth and seventh years bent over books and parchment on the couches nearby, and a bunch of mixed years playing in a tournament of Exploding Snap. Nobody suspicious.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so… you know. Angry. All the time. But we really can't trust anyone," Lily said, an apologetic look on her face. She looked like she truly meant it, so, thinking the water was safe for now, I held up one finger with a brilliant idea.

"There's one person I'm pretty sure we can trust," I said. "Mary Macdonald."

Lily snorted and flipped her multi-colored hair over her shoulder. It was practically giving me a headache just looking at it. "Jadyn. C'mon. Mary? You think we can trust her?"

"She tipped us off about James's spy," I continued, "and she offered to help just the other day."

"Since when?" Lily asked. And I didn't blame her for not knowing. Because it was only a couple days ago that Mary had caught up with me when I was racing to the prefects' bathroom to warn Lily.

I remember racing through the halls, just fresh with the news about James's new prank directly from Peeves, when another pair of footsteps fell in beat with mine. When I turned my head to my right, Mary was staring at me with curiosity in her wide, blue eyes.

"Uh, hey," I had said. "Sorry, I can't exactly talk too much at the moment, I'm kind of in a – "

"James pulled another prank, didn't he?"

And I stopped in my tracks, gaping at her, with my mouth practically open to the ground and everything. "How did you know?"

She shrugged and said, "Let's just say that James isn't the most observant person in the world."

When I just kept staring at her – I wasn't dumb, I just didn't see what she was getting to – she continued with, "James went through the window of the fifth years' dormitory, and me, being the light sleeper I am, was awakened by it. I noticed him coming in and hid under my bed while everyone else in the dorm, including you, slept. He had no idea I was watching him pour shampoo into Lily's bottle out of the corner of my eye."

That had sounded exactly like what Peeves told me, so she couldn't have been lying.

"I am on my way to tell Lily," Mary continued, "but obviously so are you. Would you do the honors?"

I nodded my head once, jaw set and ready to move as fast as lightning to get to Lily. But there was something that was bugging me. Why was she siding with us so easily? Why was she rushing to warn Lily like I was, but I was the one who was friends with the redhead for many years? Why she was so open and willing to protect Lily, even though we both knew she'd never talked to her before in her whole life?

"S-sure," I stuttered. And with that, Mary started in the opposite direction, and I turned toward the prefects' bathroom. But that thought was still nagging me, so I called out, "Wait!"

She stopped and turned around with a quizzical expression on her face.

I blurted the first question I could think of. "Why d'you… why? Um, why do you hate the Marauders?" My voice came out sounding tinny and small, and I bowed my head a little, ashamed at being so curious. But I wasn't about to go and take back those words. I was honestly curious.

Mary answered in a cold and far-off voice. "I just do. And I think that's all you want to know. I'm willing to help you, anytime, anyplace, to beat them. Just know that I'm here, and I'll do whatever I can, whenever you need me."

Her voice was so sure, so sincere, I just couldn't deny her or begin to call her a liar.

When I finished recalling my conversation with Mary to Lily, her mouth was open and she just breathed, "She really said that? That'd she help us?"

I nodded my head, hearing her distant voice ring through my mind. It sent doubtful shivers up my spine. "So, we could go find her, and then she'd help us all we want."

"With a prank?" Lily asked, leaning closer to me with a devilish smile on her face.

I pretended to consider it for a moment, building the tension, and then grinned widely. "Well, she is the smartest girl in our class with strategy and mechanical intellect. Oh, and directly behind you in grades."

Lily brought her hands together, rubbed them up and down like an evil villain would, and said, "Bring her to me."

Mary's POV

The grounds were quiet.

It seemed that way to me. Even though the people were noisy, the Quidditch fans were cheering, and the players zoomed through the air, there was a certain type of serenity to the scene. Early morning on a Saturday, and there was a peacefulness to the pitch that no one seemed to notice.

Or, maybe it was just me, waiting for the prank to unfold.

Lily could barely keep still in her seat next to me. She was bouncing around, watching James like hawk, and checking her watch every five seconds, waiting for the game to be done. Jadyn was almost as eager as Lily, but not quite as much. Probably because the prank did not involve Sirius.

There was a quick pang in my heart, but I shut it down quickly. I was getting better at controlling my emotions every day.

The players – Ravenclaw and Gryffindor – were fighting hard for the privilege to compete for the Quidditch Cup. I personally didn't care for Quidditch. It was all quite silly, anyway. Didn't we all come to Hogwarts to learn magic, not play with brooms and balls?

But I was here for the Marauder's humiliation, and only that.

There was a tap on my shoulder, and I whipped around to face Lily. She seemed taken aback by my fast response, but said in a sure voice, "Thanks, Mary."

I turned back to face the game. "No problem."

"I mean," she continued, not letting the subject drop, "you're helping us. With no direct motive. It… it's really nice. Because winning this means a lot to me."

"I know," I said, not turning to Lily. Conversation wasn't my favorite activity. I liked to give information, listen to the response, and then shut up. Receiving thanks and compliments weren't my forte.

"I just want to let you know I'm… I mean, me and Jadyn. We're really grateful to you. And probably owe you a lot more than we can give you," Lily continued. I could sense a hint of embarrassment in her voice, so I turned to look at her. Her head was also turned towards to the pitch.

I pushed my hair back from my face. "I don't need anything. I have everything I could want."

Lie. Another stab in my heart.

Lily finally turned her head and smiled at my blank expression. "That must be nice. To have everything you want, and not need anything else. It should be… satisfying, right?"

Satisfying. Sure, that's what you could call it.

I nodded and said, "I doubt you have everything you want in life."

Lily's cheeks blushed a pink color, and she said quietly, "I… I think I do. I'm pretty sure I have everything I want."

"I don't think you do." I leaned in closer to her, trying to read her expression. She wasn't exactly hard, but there was some kind of false sincerity in her voice. "You're missing something."

"What am I missing?" she whispered, turning her head towards me with a sparkle in her emerald green eyes.

"You're missing a love."

Lily bowed her head, ashamed, and said, "I know I am. But nobody will go out with me, thanks to James."

I shook my head ever so slightly and turned back towards the Quidditch game. She still didn't see she was in love with James. And there was nothing me or Jadyn could do to help her. She had to figure it out herself.

The conversation was over. Thank Merlin.

"Gryffindor wins!" boomed over the loudspeaker, and I snapped my head up quickly to catch the announcer with a wild look on his face. "They caught the snitch! By golly, Jordan caught the snitch!"

"Lily," I said urgently, and she turned her head to me while watching the players slowly dismount and cheer – Gryffindors – or sulk – Ravenclaw. "Wait until James lands with the quaffle. Then levitate it straight at his head. Not too hard, but just enough to annoy him. Got it?"

Jadyn suddenly peered around Lily and whispered, "We ready?"

I nodded. "If Lily is."

Lily bit her lower lip and said, "I hope I am. Assume positions?"

At this, Jadyn slipped around to sit in Lily's seat, while Lily slid back behind the wooden bleachers and kneeled, pointing her wand over Jadyn's shoulder. I assumed the position behind Lily's kneeling back, keeping a higher outlook on everything.

The crowd gathered around James, and a chaser handed the big red quaffle to James's hands, and he held it above his head like a prize. I nudged Lily's shoulder, muttering, "Go! Now!"

Lily fell forward, startled, but then she quickly regained composure and muttered, "Wingardium leviosa."

I tried to look at the situation as if a spectator. James was surrounded by a group of fans, but suddenly, the quaffle slipped from his grip and flew straight upward. He looked at the floating ball just a couple feet from the tip of his fingers, a confused look on his face. The quaffle just sat in the air, as if hesitant to do anything else.

"Lily!" I tapped her shoulder and looked at her shaking wand arm. "Now! Bump him on his head!"

She seemed cautious, a scared look on her face. As if she didn't want to annoy James. As if she was against it at all costs. As if she didn't want to hurt him…

Lily broke the spell. The ball fell.

It bonked James right on the head, and he stumbled, staggering backwards into the crowd. They started to notice, and everyone rushed over to James, wondering what on earth was going on. Once he regained composure, however, his eyes searching the crowd, for one girl in particular.

And when he found her, he grinned and waved.

I could hear Lily's sharp intake of breath. It was like I could see her temper start to flare up, all with that one wave of his hand. But she couldn't find it in her to pick up the quaffle and try again, even though I desperately wanted to see James knocked on the head more than a few times.

People started to ask questions, wondering if he was okay and looking at the quaffle like it would suddenly jump up and kill them. Although James kept waving his hand, all the concerns shoved off as if it was no big deal that a quaffle had just hit him square on the head.

"Why'd you just drop it? You were supposed to knock him on the head repeatedly!" I hissed in Lily's ear angrily. She turned towards me, her face pale with… regret. Yes, it was definitely regret.

"I know," she whispered with a shaky voice, and that's when I knew she finally understood.

Lily Evans was in love with James Potter, and there was nothing she could do.

A/N: Ooh, interesting! Haha, I hope this update made up for the long wait…

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