Just Pranks, Or More? (James)

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny stood at the top of the astronomy tower, waiting for James to come up. She'd placed a magical ward at the bottom of the staircase, so only those with Potter blood could get through (a trick she had created from the idea of Lily's death protection), and seeing as she hadn't found Harry at any point in this past, she figured he'd be safe from the prank. She sat on the edge of the window, wondering what was taking him so long, she'd asked him to come up here (to plan a prank on Severus) at seven and it was already almost half past! She thought about the prank she had set... every few steps as James would walk up would do something. The first would magic high heels to his feet, the next give him a skirt, the next, a bra and shirt, the one after some makeup, and the last a purse, and stepping up onto the landing would cause a magic camera (and a muggle one) to take the picture. The muggle camera so that even if he hid in the magical picture, she'd always have a copy. "Where are you James?" she asked.

[James Charlus Potter]

James was late, of course. He had been hanging with the Marauders outside, as he played with his stolen snitch before he realized what time it was. It was already getting dark and he looked up at the clock tower, noticing it was about 20 minutes after 7, when he was supposed to meet up with Ginny. He bid his friends ado, and ran through the castle, quickly through to the Astronomy Tower. Ginny was probably the best of the Slytherins here, and they had a lot of fun together.

James hurried through the door, now almost half past the time he was supposed to be, having prepared for a prank, but given his lateness, forgot to do his spells to disable whatever she was bound to put up. The first step he gained heels, which he stumbled in and fell. "GINNY!" James yelled knowing it was her work. He struggled up and took a few more steps, feeling more things change on him. He would get her back, he knew he would. James struggled up into the part of the tower where she was, all dressed like a girl and tripping right as he got to where he could see her.

He pulled off the heels, and went barefooted up to her. "You sneaky little devil," James said with a laugh, thinking that he had to admit it was pretty funny, having not noticed the camera.

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny burst into laughter, clutching her sides from laughing so hard. "You really ought to see yourself right now," she gasped, "you look... stunning," her voice dripped with sarcasm. She went over to the cameras and checked that the pictures had been taken, "now I shall forever remember this moment!" she smiled before turning to James. "You're late," her face quickly shifted from the smile to annoyance, though she knew the mask wouldn't hold, she wasn't really mad. "I asked you to meet me half an hour ago." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, enjoying the view, though looking beyond the bad cross dressing she had arranged for him. He really was a rather handsome boy, much more so than Harry. He looked older, even now, when she had last seen Harry as a sixth year and James was a fourth. His hazel eyes were much prettier and suited Ginny better. She rather liked them. And she liked how accepting he was that she was a Slytherin, albeit a nice one.

[James Charlus Potter]

"Oh I bet I am; even as a girl, I'm a hot person!" James laughed, before he nearly charged at Ginny and took the camera from her, "Can't be having any blackmail, can we?" He still thought it was hilarious, but at the same time didn't want his friends to find out, as they would tease him about this until the end of his life. He couldn't live with the teasing for eighty whole years! James pulled out his wand and tried one of those makeup removing spells to see if he could get the makeup off. "How can you girls survive with this... death machine?" James said pulling at the bra that had been put on him.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," James apologized, "I was with my other friends outside, and Sirius dared me too steal the snitch, and... let's just say I lost track of time..." He didn't mean to be late, because normally he was punctual, and he did value Ginny as a pretty good friend despite her being a Slytherin like Snivillus.

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny chuckled, pouting slightly because he took the camera. "You know I'm not mean enough to blackmail you, James!" She turned away, "and that I'm not really mad at you. "And as to the bras, it's better than being without one,"she said, rolling her eyes. She looked at him, "anyway, it's only a deathtrap to you because it's far too small, you're not as thin as the person who wears that." She waved her wand and whispered an incantation and his appearance returned to normal. She smiled at him, "viola, prank cleaned up." She chuckled again, "I got you good, huh, and with being late, you didn't even TRY to counter the spells!" She smirked, "not that you would've managed it, a few of them are my own personal inventions." Ginny really hoped to be an auror someday, or perhaps a creator of new spells, and working on her own spells now was good practice. And yes, even as a Slytherin, she wanted to be an auror.

[James Charlus Potter]

"Yes, yes you are," James replied with a laugh, before he handed the camera back, "But I suppose, this way, you won't ever forget it, if you have to go back." James knew that Ginny might not be able to stay forever, because she had moved here just recently. He was a bit paranoid that she would leave again, and leave him and the other marauders... mostly him. He really did like her.

"Whose is it, then?" James asked with a laugh thinking a bit perverted, he had just touched a woman's bra. James snickered at the thought. "Thank you, dear Ginny. Though, I may cross dress more often, that dress was comfortable," James joked.

"Very good! I was quite distracted when I came. I had even planned out the spells that I would try to help counter whatever you would've put up!" James laughed, thinking of how he had planned it all out, but he was stupid and was distracted. Ginny was most definitely the best Slytherin there ever was.

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny looked at him, blinking slightly, "don't you wish you knew who's bra it was," she laughed, sticking her tongue out at him. "And see, dresses ARE comfortable." She laughed, taking back the camera. "You never would've countered it, I've been working on that spell since before I moved here." Her face suddenly dropped a bit, "and I'm not sure I'll ever be leaving..." she turned away to hide the tears that began to form in her eyes. "I don't even know if there's a way to return home."

[James Charlus Potter]

"Don't tell me it was yours! Or Lily's," at the end of that his mind went to some fun and inappropriate things he could have done with the bra, "Now I wanted to keep that death trap..." James laughed, thinking of how very perverted one could take it.

"Yes, very much! If you see me in a dress at any time, you'll know why," James laughed. Just think of what Sirius and Remus and Peter would say. And Lily! Oh, he most definitely would NOT be wearing a dress anytime soon. It wouldn't match his eyes. Yeah, that's the only reason.

"At least I could've tried! I've got a number of counter spells that might have worked... Nah, they probably wouldn't have, but I wouldn't have been so surprised when I came up here if I wasn't out of my mind running late!" James said in defnse.

"There's always a way home; Sirius found his home at Hogwarts here, where his friends were. Home is where those you love are; I'll make sure you make it to your loved ones, no matter where they are," James said with a smile. He was perfectly willing to live up to it. He wanted his friends to be happy, even if it meant losing them. If Sirius was happier at home, or in Ireland, or wherever, he would make sure to get Sirius home to the place he was the happiest. James was a very confident young fellow who valued his friends greatly.

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

"Why would I reveal some girl's secret of letting the famous James Potter wear her bra?" She laughed a bit, prancing over and taking the bra out of his hand, before waving her wand and sending it back to its rightful owner. She did so, trying really hard to not take the line to be perverted, as she was sure it was intended to be. Shaking her head, she smiled, "I know you wouldn't wear a dress though. You'd be far too shy to wear one around your precious marauders or around Lily."

She shook her head, "you shouldn't have been surprised anyway, every time we hang out one of us gets pranked." She smiled at him, sweetly, "but I'm currently winning on the prank count," winked at him jokingly, "and let's keep it that way."

Her face fell again, "you don't understand it... you couldn't understand it. I'm not sure it's possible for me to be back home with my family again. I don't even think magic has a way to do it." She turned away, "it's complicated." She gazed out the window over the grounds that had changed very little between now and when she first attended Hogwarts, years in the future. "And I'm happy here, I guess, but it's just not home. Not without my brothers or my old friends." She turned back to him and smiled weakly, "though you do a good job of making me happy here. Even so, it's not quite the same."

[James Charlus Potter]

"Oh, but then I could tell her that I already got to her bra..." James said with a snicker, insinuating that he could say that at least he could get that far with whomever owned it. Him and being a teenage boy... "What? No!" James laughed, joking, "But just think of what the school would say if the famous James Potter were to dress like a woman?" It would obviously bring on challenges to his strength, because everyone knew that women, besides a select few including Ginny and Lily, were weaker than men, and more specifically him. He believed this because of the time he was in, and because he felt the need to be stronger, and prove that he was stronger because his parents always expected a lot out of him.

"No way! I must be ahead! I cannot be losing a PRANK war for pete's sake!" James said surprised, but obviously jokingly, before muttering, "I better step this thing up."

"Why not? It's just an apparation or floo to America. It's not that far. I'm sure you could owl them too," James said confused, thinking it wasn't that hard, nor magically impossible to get to America, "I'm sure Dad could get something together."

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny smacked James over the top of the head, "stop being perverted for a moment," she giggled, "it's unbecoming." She couldn't believe him sometimes. She knew he was a teenage boy, but c'mon, really, was that ALL he thought about? "They'd follow your lead, but of course. The famous James Potter is a legend and is highly revered!" She knew it was true, too. All the guys in the school would dress like a girl, in hopes of getting one of the many girls James turned down to fall for one of them. "And nope, you're behind by two points, one from today, and one from the last time I countered your prank to prank you instead of me," she chuckled, that had been a fun day. She had overheard him telling Sirius what his prank was and managed to learned how to counter and reflect the spells to rebound onto him.
"And nevermind, don't pay attention to me," she smiled sweetly and seemingly with such joy that it looked as if nothing had upset her. "It's hard to explain and you wouldn't believe me if I tried." She hid the sadness in her eyes. She hadn't known what she'd gotten herself into when she followed Harry so long ago. This definitely wasn't what she expected, and though she was falling for James, she still missed home.

[James Charlus Potter]

"Sorry!" James said rubbing his head where she had slapped him. "Why of course! Everyone wants to be like or have the famous James Potter. I am just that amazing!" James had denied many hot girls, that was for Sirius. No, no, he wasn't as much of a player as Sirius; he was more looking for the girls wanting him, not necessarily the relationship. Though the relationship could be fun.

"Of course I would believe you," James said still confused, "I'm not going to sit by and let one of my friends be sad. I want to help you become happier." James gave her a hug, a nice long, warm hug that conveyed his want to make her happy. James Potter was not falling for her! He couldn't! He loved Lily... right? But she had that Snivellus were still friends, and here was Ginny, beautiful, and smart, and amazing, and... perfect.

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny chuckled, "cocky, are we?" She shook her head. Some found his cockiness annoying or arrogant, but she knew it was all just an act, he didn't love himself THAT much. And anyway, she loved confident guys, sometimes the fact that Harry was so shy was a little unbecoming. Maybe that's why she was falling for James and pretty much forgetting about him...
She smiled when he hugged her, enjoying the warm protected feeling it gave her. Yes, she could fend for herself, but what girl didn't like to feel like a guy would always protect her? She pulled back and looked him in the eyes, studying them for several moments. "If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it secret forever, no matter what? Even if Voldemort himself were to threaten you? The knowledge could be dangerous if he were to know..." she said Voldemort without fear, though truly expecting James to flinch. The name was not something many people said aloud.

[James Charlus Potter]

"Of course! I wouldn't be me if I wasn't, right?" James replied with a laugh. Just because he appeared cocky didn't mean he actually thought so very highly of himself, though he had to say he was very amazing, just not as amazing as he said he was.

"Ginny, I would never reveal a secret that belongs to my friends. I trust you, and so trust me. I will never give anything to Voldemort," James said, nearly spitting the name Voldemort out with complete hatred of the name and the man it belonged to, "You have a Marauder Swear, the swear most sacred to myself and my friends, that I will not tell a soul you have not preapproved for telling." The Marauder Swear was a swear upon his friends and the loyalty he had towards them. He wouldn't break a Marauder Swear, because doing so would be like betraying his friends' loyalty. The four of them took a Marauder Swear to never betray each other as well.

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

She looked James in the eye, trying to gauge whether she could really believe him. Her guy told her yes, her heart told her yes, her mind told her yes, but she was still afraid... What would he think if he knew the truth? She glanced away, getting worried. "I'm not from here," she said, no louder than a whisper. "Not England, here, but 1975 here." She took a deep breath, trying to quell the fear that was steadily rising in her heart. "I wasn't even born until 1981." She looked up and out at the sky above the tower. "I was following a boy..." she didn't want to mention it was James's son, "and he touched a strange stone and disappeared, so I touched it too, and ended up here, but in the past. Before I left, I was a Gryffindor, but when I arrived, I went to Dumbledore, told him what happened, and the sorting hat decided to re-sort me. I ended up Slytherin. That's why I'm a Slytherin who supports the Order, rather than Voldemort. I haven't seen the boy I followed since we left my time, but that's what happened." Tears started to form in her eyes, "and I don't think I can ever go home..."