Burnt- Chapter 1
Lily sighed happily as she finally boarded the Hogwarts Express. It had been a long summer and she wasn't sure she could have taken another week living at home. She loved her family, but she didn't belong to that world, and being away from her own made her nervous. She would be in her own world soon, and the thought of being back at Hogwarts by nightfall had lifted her spirits considerably.
Students ran around her, waving to each other and sharing their holiday experiences excitedly. She smiled at that, looking around for her own two best friends. None of whom burnt somebody else's hair. It made her slightly uncomfortable, as she remembered.
"Hey Evans, think you can set this on fire?" twelve year old James taunted her, pointing his wand at her cushion in Charms class. It made her angry. She had never been as smart as him, but she hated the condescending tone he always employed when her magical talent was being discussed. But James was almost her friend, since he was great friends with all her friends, and she admired him. So she shrugged.
"I guess I could try." She had done this before, alone in her dormitory, and she had also read the theory required for the spell. So she muttered the words and waved her wand.
Only sparks flew out.
The students around them laughed cruelly as she tried to cover her embarrassment by trying again. But sparks were all she could produce.
"I knew you couldn't," James smirked and turned away. Even many years later, Lily would still say that it was the smirk that did it. She needed an outlet, something to let out all the frustration he produced in her, something that would hurt him the way his words cut through her.
"I can," Lily grit her teeth and waved her wand, stepping back in satisfaction. It was magic she had never performed before, but James yelled as his hair suddenly caught fire; not the fire she had tried to produce earlier, but one that would not hurt him, only turn his head into a fiery source of light. Lily laughed, expecting others to join in. The sight of James head on fire was surely funny…
How wrong she had been.
Lily smiled to herself at the memory. She was sure even Marlene and Mary, her best friends at school, hadn't forgiven her for that. Well, said a voice in her mind, you did attack the school's pride and joy. James had never forgiven her for that. She had apologized to him thrice after that, hoping things would get back to the way they had been. Every time he had ignored her. The third time, his behavior hurt too much for her to try again. She had simply decided to get used to being ignored every time Marlene and Mary hung out with him. She didn't like it, but it didn't bother her too much.
She got out of her reverie as she spotted Mary in one of the compartments.
"Hey Lily!" she grinned. "Good summer?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh right, you have no idea how it went, I only wrote to you about fifty times!"
"And here we have Lily Evans, sarcastic bitch extraordinaire," Marlene entered dramatically. All three of them laughed. Lily hugged Marlene and settled herself into a comfortable corner, taking Mary's cat into her lap. She giggled as the tabby cat purred.
"So you are Head Girl right?" Marlene asked.
"Yes," Lily said, smiling. Her hands had trembled as she had opened the letter. Even now, she couldn't believe she had been chosen. It had been the proudest moment of her life.
"I was talking to Remus earlier, he said-," Mary started, but Lily interrupted her.
"It's great he's Head Boy, isn't it?" She really had hoped it would be him.
"Uh…"
"I hope he can finally get those annoying friends of his in line, they are in the seventh year, for Merlin's sake!"
"Lily, stop!" Mary looked anxious now. Lily frowned.
"What?"
"Remus told me that James is the Head Boy."
"That's great, he'll probably do a good job," Marlene said distractedly. Lily's owl was trying to nip at her fingers. Lily felt numb.
"James? James Potter?"
"That very one." Mary grinned.
"Dumbledore's finally lost his mind," Lily declared.
"Professor Dumbledore, Lily," Marlene said in a mock stern voice.
Lily covered her face in frustration. "You know I can't work with him! He hates me! What was Dumbledore thinking? Everyone knows he hates me." The thought of working with him for an entire year while he tried his best to ignore the fact that she existed left her almost in tears.
"Aww c'mon Lily, James will do great as Head Boy," Marlene said soothingly. "You know everyone looks up to him." Lily snorted. Both Mary and Marlene looked at her silently.
"What?" she said defensively. "He's the worst possible choice for Head Boy and you know it! I mean, he's a bloody Marauder!"
Mary chuckled. "Only you think that's bad, Lily. Everybody else loves them." Lily smiled slightly at that. Over the years, she had learnt to accept her little quirks. One of them was this. Lily Evans didn't just follow rules, she loved them. She attended all her classes, finished all her homework on time, had never been out of bed after curfew and she had never, ever wandered out into the Forbidden Forest unless it was for a Care of Magical Creatures class.
A knock on the door of their compartment interrupted their conversation and made her jump. She looked up and smiled as Sirius Black entered. Marlene grinned back at Lily and quickly pulled him into a kiss. Lily and Mary gaped at them, dumbstruck.
"Lily, Mary," Marlene smiled sweetly, "Meet my boyfriend, Sirius."
Mary was speechless. Lily glanced at her before clearing her throat. "Hey, Sirius. Nice meeting you."
That cut the ice as all of them started laughing. "I wanted to tell you," Marlene said breathlessly, "But I thought it would be more fun this way."
"Sure, Mars, but warn us next time before shoving your tongue down a guy's throat," Mary muttered.
"Nice meeting you too, Mary." Sirius grinned. "And you, Evans." Lily smiled back.
"When did it happen?" Lily asked.
"Over the summer," Marlene shrugged. "We met at Diagon Alley, got talking, and well…" She giggled. Lily and Mary gaped again. Marlene rarely giggled. And never in front of a guy. Lily smiled as Sirius rolled his eyes. And then it quickly faded.
"Hey Mars, Mary," James Potter entered. Lily lowered her eyes, and turned away, scratching the cat's ears. James' pointed way of snubbing her always hurt her slightly, and made her feel guilty, even though she really hadn't done anything wrong, and had even apologized. It had been a harmless prank! She couldn't understand how someone could hold a grudge against her for something that stupid for years. But it was James standing there, the person she would be working with for the rest of the year, and she didn't want things to be uncomfortable between them. So she sucked up her pride and braced herself.
"Hey James," she mumbled. The compartment fell uncomfortably silent. James nodded at her expressionlessly.
"Hi."
"Had a good summer?" Small talk helps, right?
"It was fine," he replied shortly. Clearly not.
"Mine was all right too," Lily stupidly continued, out of pure habit.
"That's uh, good to know."
Lily really wanted to die then. What was wrong with her? She sighed. Fortunately, Remus Lupin entered at that moment, saving her from her own embarrassment.
"Hey Lily," he smiled at her warmly, eyeing the badge she had carefully pinned to her school robes. "Congratulations."
It was at times like these that she really loved him. "Thanks, Remus." He glanced at James, and winked back at her, making her roll her eyes. She stared out of the window as the others talked for some time.
"We should leave for the prefects' meeting," Lily said finally, putting Mary's cat aside and getting up.
"Where's Peter?" Mary asked.
James and Sirius looked at Remus, who shrugged. "I really have no idea. He said he wanted to go meet some friends in another compartment."
"So there's your answer," Lily said impatiently. She was both excited and nervous about conducting a prefects' meeting. Mary and Marlene laughed.
"Go, for Merlin's sake," Mary grinned.
She smiled absentmindedly and started for the door. Holding it open, she glanced up at James, who shook his head.
"After you," he said. Lily was surprised at his chivalry, and stepped out, when she heard him mutter to Remus, "So she can't attack my back again." It made her both sad and annoyed. How could he still be so sore about that?
He was clearly determined to make this a long year.
