~ Author's Note ~

Welcome to 'Your Emerald Eyes'

Chapter One - The Hogwarts Express

I hope you enjoy!

(Disclaimer - Rowling owns it all, Merlin praise her.)


Lily pulled on a pink polo shirt, stretching it down over her stomach and staring at her reflection in the mirror. She sighed, running her hand through her soft, red hair, carefully straightened by her best friend, Alice Prewett. She ran her fingers over her eyes, checking for any loose lashes. Lily Evans wasn't one for mascara, but today was a special occasion - plus Alice had insisted.

'Hey,' Alice spoke behind her, her soft voice interrupting Lily's thoughts. 'Your parents said we'll be leaving in five, so get your things.'

Lily could have squealed in delight. Finally, the two of them would be heading back to their home, back to Hogwarts. She caught the reflection of her sister in her mirror, a disgusted glare sent towards her. Alice noticed it as well, shutting the door and turning Lily to face her.

'Ignore her, Lily, we're going home! She won't be there to torture you with her distant looks of disapproval, and there will be no more Mr Mustache coming over and spitting everywhere while he talks about his new job working with hammers.'

Lily giggled, hugging her best friend, 'I know, Al. I can't wait, I just wish she -'

Alice put her hand against Lily's mouth, holding her lips closed. 'If you wish for that bloody ungrateful sister of yours to love you once more I will sew your mouth shut forever! You don't need her, you have me and your parents!'

Lily nodded, smiling. 'Thanks, Alice. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you.'

'Probably perish messily somewhere,' she joked, taking her friends hands. 'Now, come on! The suitcases are already in the car, it's just a matter of getting to the platform!'

Lily grinned, her white teeth sparkling. With one final check in the mirror, she nodded, her emerald eyes glinting with excitement. Alice did the same, quickly checking her short chestnut hair was still in place. Lily always envied her hair. In truth, given the opportunity, she wouldn't have traded her hair for the world, but sometimes it was so conspicuous she just wished it was a little less… red. Alice's hair was soft and brown, only a few inches in length. It absolutely suited her, though, Lily thought. It used to be much longer but Alice chopped it all, deciding it was time for a change. Since she had, her plump cheeks had never been brighter, joy practically emitting from the girl.

The stairs creaked beneath Alice's feet, Lily looking around her room once more. The pictures of her and her friends would have to stay on the walls this year, there was no more room in her suitcase, especially now she was Head Girl. All the extra books she had and clothes she needed took priority. Anyway, she'd have the girls everyday, there wasn't a need for pictures.

'Come on, Lils!' her father shouted up at her. 'I'm not getting any younger down here!'

Lily quickly shut her door, hopping down the stairs two at a time, jumping excitedly as she hit the bottom. Her mother and father were waiting for her, Alice outside already. The weather looked miserable, the black, September sky terrifying to look at.

'Hi Mum, Dad,' Lily smiled, hands behind her back.

Her mother looked at her with watery eyes, holding her arms out in front of her. 'Come here, sweetheart,' she said. 'I can't believe my little girl is in her final year! Almost an adult.'

The hug Lily's mother gave her was painfully tight, Lily gasping for air against the small woman.

Her mother was the same height as her, had the same eyes, the same nose, ears, lips, chin! She inherited practically nothing from her father, nothing but his stubbornness and sense of humour. Her red hair was still a mystery, being the only person in the family with it.

'She is an adult, love,' her father told his wife. 'Right, Lils? Seventeen is the age of adulthood in your world?'

Lily nodded, hugging him. 'Yeah, Dad. Seventeen.'

She let go, Lily looking around the small corridor. 'No Petunia, then?

Her parents shared a glance, her mother speaking. 'She said she had to go, but she asked us to say goodbye for her.'

'Rubbish,' Lily said, annoyed with herself for being disappointed. 'Are you both taking us to the station?'

'No, dear,' her mother said. 'I have a doctor's appointment, remember? I'll have to sit this one out.'

Lily nodded, turning to her father, 'Just us, then!'

'And Alice, of course,' he smiled, looking to the girl outside.

Lily nodded, hugging her mother once more. 'I hope everything goes alright, I'm going to miss you so much.'

Her mother squeezed her, pushing her away and holding her shoulders. 'We're only an owl away, love.'

Watery tears began to form in Lily's eyes, not at all what she wanted. She never cried, always the shoulder of support for whenever Alice or her other friends did. She shook her head, patting her eyes and shaking her arms. 'Right, we need to go, we're going to be late.'

'Great,' her father smiled, kissing his wife on the cheek. 'I'll be back in a couple of hours.'

She nodded, following the two of them outside, droplets of rain starting to fall from the sky. Lily grabbed her friend's arm, pulling her towards the car and rushing inside, the rain pouring against the windows. Lily loved the rain, it was always comforting, therapeutic.

Her father sat in the front seat, Alice beside Lily in the back. He started the car, waving to his wife. Lily waved, Alice shouting a thank you to her. They sat back, the house disappearing as they turned the corner, Lily's father beeping the horn once more.


The drive to the station took little under an hour. The traffic was good and it seemed that despite the weather, everything was running smoothly. They pulled in front of King's Cross, Lily's father turning back to the two of them.

'Right, girls, your mother will be waiting for me. I can't come in this year, I'm sorry.'

Lily waved it off, Alice smiling. 'Don't worry, Dad, I'm sure we can find our way after all these years.'

He nodded, taking off his seat belt and looking to her sternly, then at Alice. 'Now, a few rules before you leave.'

They both groaned, having had the same conversation for the past four years. Alice had started staying over Lily's for the two weeks before Hogwarts in their third year, continuing the tradition until their last. Why her father had only started giving them rules when she arrived was beyond Lily, maybe Alice's father asked him to.

'Number one,' he spoke deeply, 'do your homework!'

'Lily's already got that covered for the entire Gryffindor house,' Alice joked, Lily hitting her playfully.

'Just because I help people, Al.'

Her father nodded, smiling. 'Number two, no boys! At all!'

'I'm an adult, Dad, remember?' Lily reminded him. 'Not an innocent, unaware schoolgirl.'

He nodded, 'That may be, but you're still going to school so I'm still going to lay down some rules.'

They grinned, Lily looking to Alice, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

'Finally,' he said, 'enjoy yourselves. Have some fun, Lils, don't spend all of your time in the library like you did in your fifth year.'

'I overestimated how difficult OWLs were going to be,' she told him, 'But you can never be too cautious.'

'Either way,' her father spoke, 'go out, have fun, and play that broom game that looks so entertaining.'

Alice laughed this time, looking to him, 'You think Lily would ever go on a broom?'

He shrugged, 'Get a teacher. Is there anyone who could help?'

A dozen names sprang to mind, each as bad as the previous. There was Potter, of course, not one known for being safe on a broom, far too fast and risky. Then there was Black who took it to a new level, spending the entire Quidditch match upside down or standing up, hitting the Bludgers into the air and chasing them rather than flying away. Then there was the rest of the team, each of them a stranger to Lily. Mary and Marlene flew, but she didn't trust them holding her on the ground (not that she didn't love them), let alone in the air.

'No one,' Lily spoke, Alice looking to her with her eyebrow raised.

'Find a way, I want to see you fly by July!' he smiled enthusiastically.

'Okay,' Lily agreed, looking at her watch. 'I'll find someone, Dad.'

'Good, now give me a kiss and get out of here.'

Lily leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek, Alice hugging him and thanking him for letting her stay over the summer.

'Not a problem, Al,' he smiled. 'You know we love having you. Now off you go, you'll be late!'

They stepped out of the car, taking their trunks out of the boot and waving as her father beeped the horn and drove away, Lily's red hair blowing in the wind. Her shirt was getting wet, Alice holding her hand above her head.

'Come on, let's get inside,' she shouted to Lily.

By the time the entered the station it wouldn't have mattered if they were out there for an hour or a second, they were drenched. Their shirts stuck to them, Lily well aware of how tight it actually looked against her chest. Her jeans rubbed uncomfortably against her thighs as they walked.

'We really didn't dress for this weather,' she whispered to Alice, walking past three muggle boys, eyes glued to her chest. She glared at them, the boys quickly hurrying away.

Alice shrugged, stretching as if to prove she didn't care. 'We'll dry off when we get on the platform.'

How she was alright with it surprised Lily, it was like nothing shamed her or embarrassed her. Her skirt was sticking to her legs, dripping wet. Her polo shirt was just as revealing as Lily's. Lily could only thank Merlin they were wearing bras.

They reached the wall where a group of students were gathered, each of them passing through it when the muggles weren't looking, not that they would have noticed. Lily checked her pockets and pulled out her new Head Girl badge, red and gold, pinning it to her shirt.

'Already?' Alice asked. 'You don't even have her uniform on.'

'Shut up, ten points from Gryffindor,' Lily grinned, too excited to care.

Alice laughed, stepping ahead and running through the wall, Lily following her immediately. The noise difference as she passed through was incredible. The station they had left was reasonably quiet, but the platform they had arrived on was full of noise. There were shouts of students greeting each other, parents yelling at their children, the train whistling. Owls hooted and cats meowed, the train's whistling scaring them. Coming from the far end of the platform was an obnoxious amount of screaming, catching Lily's attention. Before she could head over, though, Alice looked to her.

'Here you go,' she smiled, waving her wand and drying her off completely, her shirt now loose and jeans now comfortable.

'Thank you,' she smiled, looking to her suitcase. 'I wish I'd taken one of my jumpers out.'

Alice nodded, 'It is getting a little chilly.'

'Here,' Lily said, looking through the crowd of students, 'let's go to that bench and get one out before we put it on the train.'

'No,' Alice said, 'I want to find out what people are screaming about.'

Lily couldn't help but notice the extra large crowd and the unusual amount of screaming. She nodded, following Alice across the platform, weaving their way through. The crowd was gathered around some boys, Lily internally groaning before she even saw their faces.

'Calm, Lils, remember?' Alice grinned, 'You're Head Girl now.'

She nodded, stepping through the inner circle and approaching the middle, the boys looking at her. Almost immediately a pair of hazel eyes were in front of hers, grinning obnoxiously.

'How I've missed your emerald eyes,' he half shouted, loud enough for the crowd to hear.

'How I'd forgotten how much I detest yours,' she replied, pushing him aside and staring at the other boy. 'What are you two doing.'

The other boy, Sirius Black, was holding a cardboard box in his hands, grinning. 'You don't want to know,' he barked with laughter, the crowd still staring.

'Well, as Head Girl, I think I need to know,' Lily informed him.

Sirius rolled his eyes, his best mate suddenly punching the air with joy. 'I wonder how many times I'm going to hear that this year.'

The people who knew of the boys and Lily's relationship laughed, Alice included. She apologised when Lily glared at her, looking around awkwardly.

'What's in the box, Potter?' Lily questioned.

'My Head Boy badge,' James grinned, walking over to it and reaching to open the lid. The crowd backed up, James and Sirius laughing. 'Oh, wait, that's right here.'

Lily frowned, walking towards him, his hand pointed to his collar. She saw the first badge, his Quidditch Captain badge, sitting in its normal place. Pinned beside it, however, was another badge. It mirrored hers, red and gold, only across the middle were the letters 'HB', where on hers it was 'HG'.

'No...' she whispered, looking into the eyes she hated so much. 'It's Remus', you're lying.'

Before he could answer, though, Sirius dropped the box. Inside it was a black beast with eight legs, squirming and wriggling around in a circle.

The crowd disbanded almost immediately, James roaring with laughter, Sirius with his wand out and tears down his cheeks. 'Remus, come out, that was fantastic!'

Lily and Alice had screamed, backing away and glaring at the two of them, ready to jump up onto a bench.

Sirius walked over to it and picked it up, throwing it around in the air. 'I knew that would work.'

'What are you doing?' Lily glared, 'leave it alone.'

James shook his head, Remus approaching and pocketing his wand. 'Don't worry, Evans, it's a toy,' James told her. 'We picked it up because we know how much Hagrid likes magical beasts, only we thought we'd have Remus control it from a distance to make it look real. We had these students on the tips of their toes.'

Sirius was laughing, sticking it to his shoulder with magic. It really was an ugly thing. 'My favorite part was when you made the leg stick out,' he said, barely breathing through his laughter. 'They nearly fainted!'

Lily stared at them, shaking her head. 'This is a nightmare,' she whispered to Alice. 'He can't be Head Boy, can't be. Look at them!'

Alice shrugged, smiling. 'A sense of humour isn't a bad thing to have, Lily. People like him.'

But I don't.

'So, Evans, summer has been good to you,' James winked, walking back over.

Lily smiled, then raised her hand.


'You just slapped him?' her friend, Mary, questioned.

Lily and her friends were sitting in a small compartment they had found at the end of the third carriage, talking together and catching up on their stories.

'Then she called him an arrogant toerag,' Alice added, grinning. 'Among other things.'

Marlene was sitting opposite her, shaking her head. 'Really, Lils. Head Girl and everything.'

Lily shrugged, sucking on a liquorice wand. 'He deserved it.'

'After saying summer was good to you?' Marlene snorted, 'Come on, Lily. He's speaking the truth, you look amazing.'

Lily blushed slightly, hitting her friend softly. 'That's not the point, it was his attitude.'

'Let me guess,' Mary said, looking to Alice, 'the, 'arrogant, cocky, big-headed, oversized ego' attitude?'

Alice winked, Lily hitting her again. 'Ouch,' Alice winced, rubbing her arm. 'What is it with you getting so aggressive all of a sudden?'

'She's holding a lot of frustration inside her,' Marlene said with a giggle, Mary laughing.

The joke passed over Lily's head completely, 'I'm not frustrated?'

'Never mind,' Marlene sighed, leaning back and talking to Mary.

'I'm right, right?' Lily asked Alice. 'He was arrogant, wasn't he?'

Alice nodded, over enthusiastically, 'Of course, Lils. Most definitely.'

Marlene missed her sarcasm, looking back to her, 'No she wasn't, he was complimenting her.'

'Shut it,' Lily told her.

'Really, Lils, it wasn't his usual proposal or cheap chat up line, he was just telling the truth!'

Lily shook her head stubbornly, 'Alice, deal with them. You know I hate it when people disagree with me.'

Alice looked sheepishly to the ground, 'I agree with her, you can't fall out with someone because they say you look good.'

'I can fall out with whoever I damn well please, Prewett,' Lily said. 'You know what, I'm falling out with you right now! We're done.'

Marlene and Mary laughed, Alice holding her hands to her chest. 'No, Lily-flower! We can't lose our dear friendship over a -' she looked around and whispered '- a boy!'

Lily sat up properly and crossed her arms, placing one finger on her chin. 'Apologise for disagreeing with me.'

'Oh dearest flower, I regret deeply the offence I may have caused! May all your upset be passed onto me!' Alice wailed, holding back a laugh.

Lily smiled, taking her friends hand. 'What am I going to do,' she spoke, looking at all of them, 'I can't have him next to me for the entire year, it'll ruin me.'

Alice rested her head on Lily's shoulder, squeezing her hands tightly. 'Roll with it, Lils, it won't be too bad. There must have been a reason Dumbledore picked him.'

Lily frowned, 'Can't you all just beat him up for me?'

They laughed, Mary nodding opposite her. 'If that's what you truly want, Lils.'

Lily nodded, resting her head on Alice's, looking out of the window at the beautiful scenery passing by. Her friends were idiots, she couldn't befriend James Potter, not after everything he had done to her, all the embarrassing proposals and stupid pranks he pulled. Why they were sticking up for him she didn't know, one compliment out of a thousand stupid, hurtful interactions didn't make up for his behaviour. So what her boobs had grown a little, her hips had widened a bit? It gave them no right to stick up for him. Besides, everyone else in the compartment looked just as good, why just direct all of his attention to her? Marlene was gorgeous, her blonde hair curling over her shoulders and resting on a far more impressive chest than Lily's. Mary looked like sunshine in a stormy day, always a pleasure to see. Her brown hair curled into a braid behind her head, her eyes like autumn leaves. Alice was unbearably cute, her pudgy cheeks and short, chestnut hair attracting attention from all sorts of students.

Something supernatural must have happened for James to spend every waking hour harassing her. A wizard God must have cursed her to have the most annoying person on the planet stalk her for the rest of her life. Lily was positive he didn't even like her, she was just a challenge, the first girl to say no to him. That was the reason he was after Lily, not because he liked her, because he wanted to prove he could get anyone.


The door slammed open, James walking into the fifth carriage, looking at Lily.

'You're late,' Lily said to him, checking her watch and picking up another chair and unfolding it.

He looked around, scratching his head. There wasn't a person in the room bar them. Lily didn't care, she just wanted to make his life difficult. Maybe he'd quit as Head Boy.

'This prefect meeting doesn't start for another ten minutes, Evans,' he smiled, taking the chair out of her hands and placing it beside another, all facing the end of the carriage where they would be standing. 'Now mistake me if I'm wrong, but being here before everyone else is technically considered early?'

She shrugged, moving the chair a little to the right, heading over to pick up another. 'We need to plan what to say, along with setting up. We need enough of these for all the prefects to sit down, four from each house, meaning sixteen.'

'I can do maths, Lily,' he sighed, walking over to the wall and taking one of the stacked chairs.

'Really?' she asked, 'you can comprehend numbers? Not what I'd expect from a caveman!'

'Yeah?' he grinned, winking at her, 'then what does Lily Evans expect from me?'

She snorted, 'Nothing, really. A lack of skill in all departments, brains the size of an ostrich's, head the size of an elephant's, the rest of you,' she looked him up and down with a smirk, 'quite the disappointment.'

He laughed, running his hand through his hair. 'You can't judge a book by it's cover, Evans. You need to unwrap it and see it's naked pages before you can do that.'

Lily stuck her tongue out in disgust, 'The last thing I'd ever want to do is unwrap you.'

'Wait till you see what I got you for your birthday,' he smirked, deeply peering into her eyes, his hazel ones scanning her soul. She wanted to look away, but in truth they were rather nice to look at. With speckles of light brown dotted across them they looked like the bark on a tree, naturally pretty.

Lily shook her head, reaching for another chair and pushing all thoughts from her mind. James Potter didn't have nice eyes, he was a jerk. A jerk with nice eyes…

There was a knock on the door, two Hufflepuffs walking inside the room and smiling.

'Is this the prefect briefing?' the boy asked.

'Of course it is,' a Ravenclaw said behind them, stepping in. 'Why would the Head Boy and Girl be in here if it wasn't a meeting. Look around you, kid.'

James smiled, the girl greeting him. How he knew her was a mystery to Lily, but then again, James Potter knew everyone.

Within thirty minutes the room was filled and the prefects had received every bit of information they needed. James and Lily were giving them a final warning.

'Remember,' James shouted after them, 'any punishment you believe to be necessary must come to us first, then we'll take it to the professors or issue it ourselves. Please don't abuse this power. The next meeting will be on Friday, we'll send the details to your common room.'

Lily could have laughed. James Potter, warning others not to abuse their power? He'd be the first to do exactly that - hell, he had done that before. Who was he to give out that warning?!

The room quietly disbanded, the students exiting the carriage and heading back towards their compartments. Lily looked at the chairs remaining, now messily spread through the room. She sighed, looking to James.

'You need to help me with these,' she told him. 'We need to stack them against the wall.'

'Whatever you say, Flower,' he smiled.

Lily groaned at the nickname, 'There are several people in this world that I find unbearably obnoxious, and you are all of them.'

James laughed, Lily walking towards the chairs. 'I like that one, Evans.'

'You would,' she said, 'I wish I had a lower IQ so I was as easily entertained.'

He laughed again, Lily getting frustrated. She picked up a chair, James stopping her. 'What are you doing, Evans?' he asked. 'Are you a muggle or a witch?'

She paused, dropping the chair, James' smugness practically oozing out of his body. He pulled out a wand and waved it, the chairs moving themselves to the end of the carriage and neatly stacking themselves. 'Like that, see?' he grinned.

'That was great, James,' Lily clapped, 'did you learn that all by yourself?'

'Yeah,' he grinned, moving towards her. 'Picked it up rather easily. Do all your insults come from a Christmas cracker?'

His face was far too close to hers, his stupid hair practically touching hers. 'No, actually. The higher the rate of arrogance in people around me, the better the snarky remarks.'

'Better?' he asked, looking at her lips.

'What can I say, you bring out the worst in me, Potter.'

He chuckled, looking back to her eyes. 'I've always loved the way you hate me.'

He pulled away, leaving her in the middle of the carriage alone. He walked towards the door, running his hands through his hair. 'Your breath smells of liquorice, by the way,' he grinned, turning around. 'I love the smell of liquorice.'

Laughing to himself, he winked and left the room, whistling down the next carriage. If ever Lily wanted to curse someone, the target was it's biggest today.


~ Author's Note ~

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this chapter, all I ask is you tell people about it, and maybe review?!

Thank you! See you soon!