A/N: for extra background information, the magical world is split up into four separate lands – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I also do not own any of the characters or places mentioned in this story, everything belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Enjoy reading!

The hot summer sun beat down on Hogsmeade village where the common people of the Gryffindor lands spent their afternoons trading and selling their handmade goods. Beyond the village lay the Gryffindor castle, where the common people of Gryffindor placed their trust.

Lily could feel the hot summer rays beating down on her face. She wished more than anything to take off her heavy dress and soak in a cool bath. She could feel dirt and grass getting between her toes and she tried to shake it all out but it was no use – her sandals picked up even more dust every time she took a step. She made a mental note to ask Marlene to prepare a bath for her once they got back to the castle.

"It's a very nice day, isn't it my lady?" Marlene asked, interrupting Lily's thoughts.

"Hmm?" Lily said, turning her attention towards her handmaid. "Yes," she said, nodding in agreement. "Although, I wish we could do something about these bugs–" she swatted a fly away from her face.

"It's only because we're walking past the stables," Marlene said.

"That reminds me, I need someone to change Philippa's shoes and brush her coat and mane."

"I shall tell one of the stable boys to do it once we pass one," Marlene replied. "Although, some of them aren't the fastest workers–"

The words had just rolled off her tongue as she and Lily walked past the royal stables where they found two young men throwing water at each other.

"It appears I spoke too soon…" Marlene muttered quietly.

"You git!" shouted one boy with messy hair. His clothes were drenched in water and his face and shirt were covered in dirt and some other dark brown substance. Lily and Marlene stood among the other common people, watching the incident in front of them.

"That's what you get for throwing horse dung at me!" the other boy shouted, holding a barrel of water in his arms.

Lily and Marlene watched the two boys scuffle for a few minutes. At first Lily thought that they were arguing, but her theory was dismissed when she saw the boy with disheveled hair laughing as he got drenched with water.

The boy with messy hair grabbed a bucket of water and started running towards his friend.

"Don't you dare!" his friend shouted, spinning on his heel. He started to run towards Lily and her handmaiden.

"My lady, don't you think we should move?" Marlene asked cautiously.

"No, we're out of their way. They wouldn't dare come near us." Lily said confidently.

The boy who was being chased hid behind a horse for a short moment before being seen by his friend.

"Get over here you prat!"

"Never!"

He ran out from behind the horse and into the street, not bothering to say sorry when he pushed past innocent bystanders. He ran right past Lily and hid behind a small stand of fruit behind her.

The boy with the bucket ran past Lily and threw the bucket of water over his arms towards his friend.

"No!" the other boy shouted with a grin, hitting the bucket with his fists towards the opposite direction.

The opposite direction, towards Lily.

She felt warm water splash on the back of her head and run down her back. She screamed loudly and turned towards the two boy standing behind her. The whole street had stopped what they were doing to watch the scene. The two boys in question were standing still with horrified looks on their faces and water dripping down from their hair. The one boy with longer hair dropped the bucket.

"Both of you!" Lily shouted at them. "Come here!"

They exchanged wary glances before stepping out from behind the fruit stand and standing in front of her.

"What are your names?" she demanded angrily. The boy with the long hair looked at the ground. He had brown spots of dung on his shirt.

The boy with messy hair ran a quick hand through his black locks then spoke up. "I'm James Potter and this is my friend Sirius Black."

She sent him an evil glare. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, you're Highness." James bowed his head and looked at his shoes.

"You should both be ashamed of yourselves. You are supposed to be working, not playing. My father does not waste his money on servants who don't do their work. I should have you both sacked immediately."

"No, please! Your Highness, we need the money–"

"Well maybe you should have thought about the consequences before you wreaked havoc everywhere."

The boy Sirius spoke up. "Princess, we are very sorry. Please, don't sack us. We'll do anything."

"My lady," Marlene spoke up quietly. "They meant no harm…"

Lily stuck her nose up in the air. The Potter boy would not look away from her. His eyes were pleading. Lily straightened her posture and stared the boy down, but he still did not break eye contact. She could practically see his hazel eyes asking for forgiveness. Lily forced herself to remain tall and strong, but she couldn't stand to see his torn clothes and dirty hair. She sighed, submitting to her inner self.

"Very well then – I won't sack you. But as punishment, both of you will double your work for no extra pay."

The boys murmured a string of thanks.

"But heed my words; the next time I catch either of you engaging in ridiculous acts of tomfoolery, I will have you both sacked without a second thought."

Lily cast one last glare at the Potter boy before turning around and heading back to the Gryffindor castle with Marlene.

"Are you okay, princess?" Marlene asked once they had returned to Lily's chambers.

"I'll be fine," Lily muttered angrily. "Will you prepare a bath for me then help me take this soiled dress off?"

Marlene cross to the other side of the room where a large clawed bathtub sat and started to pump water into the tub from a well that lay underneath Lily's chambers. When the tub was full, Lily threw her hands up in the air while Marlene pulled the heavy layers off her. She laid the soiled dress at the edge of Lily's bed before untying her corset.

"I can't believe they did that…" Lily exclaimed. "Do they know how expensive that dress was?" she pouted. "It's a shame, it was my favorite."

"Emerald green does look very nice on you," Marlene agreed. "Shall I have the seamstress sew you a new one?"

Lily shook her head. "No, there's no need. That Potter boy will probably find a way to destroy it again."

"I don't think so," Marlene said. "After getting yelled at, he most likely won't bother you again." She opened Lily's dress cabinet and pulled out a thin royal blue dress. "Will this one work?"

"Yes, that's perfect." Lily replied with a small smile. "Dinner is soon. I hear my father has invited the king of Slytherin and his family to dine with us."

Marlene's thin brows met in confusion. "Slytherin? Why?"

Lily shrugged. "My father wants to make peace. I doubt it will happen." She picked the dirt out from underneath her fingernails. "The king has a son, Severus. I fear my father will force me to marry him to bring to the two lands together."

Marlene shook her head. "Your father is a good king, princess. He wouldn't marry you to a family of Dark Magic."

Lily sighed and shook her head. "I don't even know how they're royalty if they have magic. Wizards aren't meant to hold power. Magic is evil."

Marlene pulled up a chair in front of Lily's vanity and motioned for her to sit down. She grabbed a brush and ran it through Lily's dark red locks.

"Sometimes," Marlene said, making eye contact with Lily through the mirror. "I wish I had magic."

"Why?"

Marlene shrugged. "I don't know. I wouldn't use it for evil," she said quickly. "I would use it for peace. I'd make everyone of equal power and rank; everyone would be able to afford nice things and they wouldn't have to go a few nights without supper."

"If I had magic that's what I would use it for," Lily agreed. "And I'd also maybe use it to hex that Potter boy."

Marlene's lips curled into a small smile. "He's not as bad as you think he is, my lady. I see him often when I go into the market. He's always helping people. He's actually very kind, in all honesty."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."

"Maybe you should invite him and his friend to the dinner tonight. You said they had to work double, so why not? It could give you an opportunity to get to know him. I think after a while, you'd grow fond of him. He and his friend are very handsome, don't you think?" Marlene grinned.

Lily's cheeks suddenly turned as red as her hair. "Marlene!"

"Sorry, mistress," she said. "But you have to admit, they're more handsome then most of the other boys in the village."

"I happen to think the Potter boy and his friend are very average looking, thank you very much!"

"Mate, stop laughing! That was the princess!" James scolded. He was sitting on an upturned bucket watching Sirius double over from laughter.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he wheezed. "It's just – did you see her face when the water got her! She was so dramatic about it!" he let out another belt of laughter. "She tries so hard to look scary, but it's kind of difficult to achieve when she's half our size. I was only scared that she would send the guards after us. But c'mon mate, you have to admit – it was pretty funny."

James crossed his arms over his chest. "It wasn't funny."

Sirius shot him a serious look. "If it hadn't had been the princess you would've thought it was the funniest thing in the world." A grin suddenly spread wide across his face. "I bet you fancy her, that's why! I saw you mess your hair up and straighten your posture–"

"Sirius, I do not fancy her! I'm mad because we almost got sacked! You know how much we need this money. We can't afford to mess up again."

"Yeah, I know." Sirius said. "Speaking of which, have you heard from Moony lately?"

James shook his head. "The last time he sent a letter was a few weeks ago. He said he was hiding in the Forbidden Forest."

"Did he say whether he had found other werewolves or not?"

James shook his head. "No, but I hope so."

"Do you think if we get enough money we'll be able to cure him?"

James sighed. "Maybe. The problem is, I don't know who would help us."

"We'll find someone." Sirius said, turning over a bucket and sitting down on it. He started picking out the dirt from underneath his fingernails. Suddenly he looked up at James with an eager expression. "I have a brilliant idea!"

"Oh blimey…" James muttered to himself, putting his head in his hands. "Your ideas are never good."

"What if we ask to work for the princess? She said we had to double our work, right? What if we work for her, get on her good side, and then tell her about Moony? She could help us!"

James stood up and brushed horse hair off his clothes. "Mate, that would never work. She hates us already, and if she found out we were trying to sneak a werewolf into Gryffindor she'd have our have our heads on a stake."

"But technically, he's only a werewolf for one night a month. The rest of the time he's a normal human. She could help us get him in here safely, and she could get him a job and a house and protection–"

"Mate." James cut him off mid-sentence. "Forget it. It's not going to happen."

Sirius let out a sigh of defeat. "It could really help Moony."

"I know it would, but he wouldn't appreciate us telling the princess he's a werewolf, nor would he like us taking money from her to help him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just going to take years for us to earn enough money to find someone who can cure him."

"We'll get there eventually. We just have to keep up the hard work." James said. Sirius stood up and brushed the dirt and dung off his face and clothes as best as he could. When he was finished, the two boys left the stables and made their way down the street.

"I just don't see why you can't just cure him yourself," Sirius said quietly, walking almost shoulder to shoulder with James.

James shot him a look. "You know I would, if I could. And keep your voice down, we're in public."

They walked through the brick streets and to the outskirts of the village to their home, a small, two room brick cottage. Sirius walked through the door and slumped onto his bed without even bothering to take his shoes off. A few minutes later, James heard him snoring. He grabbed a sack of grain off the dusty kitchen table and went out back to feed the chickens.

He was just closing the gate to the yard behind the house before he heard a woman's voice.

"Potter?"

Upon seeing the Princess Lily standing in front of him, James immediately bowed, accidently spilling grain in the process.

"Your Majesty!" he welcomed nervously.

She was clad in a long royal blue dress that was covered by a long black cloak. He noticed that her hair had been washed – it cascaded down her back in small waves. He prayed that she had not come to his house to scold him for what had happened earlier. He straightened his posture and ran a hand through his hair, attempting to make it look somewhat neat.

"Hello," Lily greeted nicely. Her arms were behind her back and she gave him a short smile.

"I don't mean to come off as rude, my lady, but why are you here?" he asked. "You're not here to yell at me again, are you?" then he added quickly, "my lady?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you would have given me a moment to speak, I would have told you. No, I am not here to yell at you."

James shut his mouth and stared at her shoulder to avoid looking her in the eyes. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright. I came to ask if you and your friend wanted to come and serve at my father's dinner party this evening."

James looked back at her. Her green eyes seemed much brighter than they had been hours earlier.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because, as your punishment you need to work double, and why not show you how to behave better than in the royal castle?"

"Will we get paid?"

"No. I told you, you won't get paid extra for your work."

"I'll have to talk to Sirius about it, then."

Lily gave him a curt nod. "Alright then. If you do decide to come, dress in your nicest clothes and meet Marlene and I in the Great Hall. I hope to see you there."

She turned to leave and James copied her and closed the gate to the chicken pen.

"Oh!" Lily turned around again. "Potter?"

"Yes, your highness?"

"If you do decide to come, take a bath first. You smell horrible."

Thanks for reading! Reviews would be greatly appreciated! If I get enough positive feedback I will post the second chapter within the next few days. :)