Lily Evans stood at the head of the long wooden table in the Prefects room on the Hogwarts Express and gathered up the papers around her as she prepared for the very first Prefect meeting of the year. She gathered the papers that were spread around her in an unorganized mess and put them in the order that she was going to address things when the meeting resumed.
She put the letter that Dumbledore had sent her about what was most important talking about on top to guide her and then everything else in the order that was listed. She split the pile in two, one for her, the other for the Head Boy who would be sharing the responsibility of the school with her.
She couldn't help but grin at the way that the bright, shiny badge flashed in the light of the room. She was not one to usually boast about her achievements but she felt like for once in her life she could.
Seven years of Slytherins hissing, "Mudblood," to her in the corridors as she made her way to class or breakfast, the way that they would sometimes corner her when she was alone and hurl verbal abuse about how she was less than them or weaker or dumber just because she came from a family of muggles.
The way that she had had to actually duel some of them in order to prevent them from causing her any harm and the amount of nights that she had gone up to bed and cried herself to sleep because some of the words that they yelled at her actually struck a nerve and hurt. She'd lost count of the amount of times that she had actually hated who she was and wished that she was different just so she wouldn't get picked on, the amount of times that she stopped caring about everything and everyone.
She had had to pick herself up and dust herself off and remind herself that she was someone and that she was worth just as much as anyone else and why shouldn't she be just as good, if not better, than a pureblood? What made them any better than her? She had to tell herself that running away from a dangerous situation did not make her a coward; it didn't make her any less of a Gryffindor just because she didn't want to land herself in the hospital wing.
And then she would study like there was no tomorrow and push herself to get the best marks in all of her classes and to show everyone that it didn't matter what kind of blood you had, the effort that you put in was all that mattered. She would never show it but Lily was always secretly pleased whenever a teacher called her out on her accomplishments and watched as everyone that hated her and her bloodline stewed in their anger and jealousy. They could yell whatever they wanted at her but not one prejudiced pureblood elitist could claim that she couldn't do everything that they could just because of her blood.
And pretty soon everyone knew that Lily Evans was a force to be reckoned with and good luck if you wanted to beat her or bring her down. She never once cried; not when she was injured, or when a potion blew up in her face, or when the Slytherins pushed her around in the halls. She didn't cry when they stole her things and wrote offensive phrases all over her books and told her exactly what people with dirty blood could do with themselves.
She refused to show weakness in the face of the enemy because she was Lily Evans and she was a Gryffindor. She wouldn't accept anyone's help for anything because she could take care of herself just fine thank you very much.
All the Hogsmeade trips that she'd missed just so she could do research or study for a test and the Outstandings that she got on her OWLs all paid off when she got the Head Girl badge during the summer before Seventh Year and a letter from Dumbledore congratulating her on her position.
And now after all of that hard work and the tears, she was Head Girl with the most responsibility and with the most freedom. Lily had shown everyone who had ever looked down on her that she was just as good as them and that she could achieve more. She couldn't wait to see the looks of astonishment on the Slytherin Prefects face when they walked in and saw her.
Lily straightened out her papers and gently laid them down on the desk and looked out at the empty cushy chairs surrounding the long table and the walls that were covered in photos of Head Girls and Boys from past years. She hadn't thought that she would ever get this title, certainly hoped but never thought that it would be given to her. Her own photo would line the walls of the compartment for future generations to see. People could try to wipe her off the face of the planet but there would always be something to remember her by and she would make sure of it.
Her gaze darted towards the door when it creeped open and a head with jet black messy hair came around the corner and the tall, lanky body that followed. Lily started in surprise when James straightened out his shirt and saw the badge that he was holding in his hand that was identical to her own save for what was written on it.
"James?" Lily asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Lily, I knew you'd get the position," James replied with a grin and hurried over to her side. He threw his black robe behind the back of his chair and picked up the pile of papers that was closest to him. "Is this my pile?"
"Er, yeah, you can either wait until I'm finished reading through all of mine or we can go back and forth," Lily said, and waited for his response. She couldn't question him about why he'd been chosen as her partner, the meeting was due to start any minute, she could express her shock for as long as she wanted afterwards.
"We can go back and forth," James said. As soon as he had finished speaking, the door opened again and prefect after prefect poured into the room and took a chair. Once everyone had settled into a chair, Lily cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
She was met with silence and the widening of several pairs of eyes when they saw her standing at the Head of the table with James by her side. Lily raised an eyebrow in question and looked around as if daring anyone to challenge her.
James leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Lily Evans has entered the building, watch out Hogwarts."
She could feel the chuckle that he was holding in in his voice and couldn't help but give a half smile at what he'd said in return.
"Hello everyone, this year's Head Boy is James Potter. I, Lily Evans, will be your Head Girl. And we are in charge."
It was Lily's turn to run the show.
A/N: So I had a lot of fun writing this one-shot and I hope that everyone who reads this enjoys it as well and if you've got any suggestions on how to make it better or if you just enjoyed it in general, feel free to drop a review in the review box below!