Lily Evans stood on Platform 9 ¾ and looked around her. As she did, she took a deep breath. This is it, my last year at Hogwarts. Merlin how did this happen? Students were hustling and bustling around her and saying goodbye to their parents. Lily's parents hadn't come due to the fact that her older sister Petunia had a major problem with magic or anything "freakish" as said by her lovely other sibling. Lily had gotten her letter at age 11 and since then Petunia had basically shunned her.

She was brought out of her reverie by a loud voice screaming, "LILY!" Lily felt a huge smile brighten up her mood. Her best friend Arabella Figg was rushing towards her, curls flying behind her and blue eyes sparkling, "Lily! How was your summer? I missed you so much."

Lily laughed lightly and replied, "Bella I saw you two weeks ago."

She was of course teasing her best friend which you could tell by the sparkle of her green eyes and the smile that was adorning her face at the moment. She had missed Arabella too. Her friend laughed and said, "Is it a crime for me to miss my best friend since 1st year?"

Arabella was a half-blood with a mother as a witch and a father as a Muggle prime minister. Her cheerful disposition and snarky sense of humor were evidence of a childhood full of love and laughter. The latter mostly in place because of Lily.

Lily smiled and remembered little things from first year. The Sorting Hat putting her into Gryffindor, being the first person to get the Levitating charm down the first day of class despite being Muggleborn, and she also remembered James Potter. James Potter. That crazy little kid that grew into a mature 16-year-old. She recalled an event from fifth year. Little flashes passed through her conscience. Sev-no Snape being dangled by his foot by Potter's wand. Her screaming at Potter to stop. Snape calling her a mudblood….. I need to stop thinking about this.

"Hello? Earth to Lily!"

"Sorry Bella. Classes haven't even started yet and I'm already getting lost in thought." Lily laughed a little.

"Well I imagine being appointed Head Girl can do that to a lass." Arabella smirked as she said this.

Lily laughed heartily at that statement. "That's a good point and you just reminded me. We should get on the train to get a compartment with the other girls."

The two 17-year-olds levitated their trunks and found a compartment towards the back of the train. Once their trunks were stowed and they found their other friends, Arabella went to the loo and Lily went to go to the Head compartment to meet with the other prefects and find out who the Head Boy was. When she went out of the compartment she nearly ran into James Potter.

"Bloody hell! I'm really sorry about that, I need to watch where I'm going." James Potter finally looked up from where he'd dropped something he was previously holding and smiled as he saw he was talking to Lily. Hmm, definitely James Potter. Fits the description. Messy black hair, hazel eyes, hiding behind glasses, and a slightly rumpled outfit that looks messy enough to show his carefree side but put together enough to show his maturity.

"Honestly James it's fine. That was my fault as well." After she said this she looked over him again and saw a flash of silver partly hidden by his hand, "What's that?"

James looked down and flushed a little. "Erm, my badge. I was appointed Head Boy," he said with a sheepish expression.

Honestly, he acts like I'm going to start yelling at him any given second. Actually thinking on it that has been my behavior in the past. I should probably clear that up a tad. In fact, Lily's opinion of him had started to change towards the middle of sixth year during Easter break. He had sent her a letter wishing her a good break and a happy Easter without any fluff or cheesy pickup lines tagged with it. Shocked, Lily showed the letter to Arabella who smiled smugly and proceeded to say something that would change the way Lily thought of him from then on. She had been told this before but the maturity and pure kindness in the gesture he had made in the letter actually made Lily listen to the statement and the meaning behind it. "He's not all that bad," and from then on Lily started noticing the small things he did that she used to think were annoying. After receiving that letter, she realize those actions were gestures of kindness, not sarcasm or the want of attention.

Lily smiled genuinely up at him considering he was a good 6' 3". "Congratulations James! You'll make a fantastic Head Boy."

He looked flabbergasted but managed to smile back. "Thank you. I'm going to assume you're Head Girl?"

Lily laughed lightly due to the effect of a nervous habit. She didn't like getting overly praised. She was a firm believer in being humble. "Thank you. You think we should head to the Prefect carriage where we're meeting?"

James nodded and gestured to lead the way. Boy this is going to be an interesting year, James thought and followed behind Lily as she led the way.