Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.This is a rewrite of my story of the same name.
All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not intend. Art isn't your pet - it's your kid. It grows up and talks back to you.- Joss Whedon

Lily

"Don't forget to write to us every month!" Lily's mother called to her from the platform, more out of habit than anything else. Lily was starting her fifth year at Hogwarts. She knew the drill by now.

"Every week" Lily promised her parents."I'll see you at Christmas". She was eager to say goodbye and get on the train. This was the second year in a row that Petunia had refused to come and say goodbye to her sister and after a long summer of trying to salvage some of the closeness they once had Lily longed for the soothing company of her friends.

She waved goodbye one last time before boarding the Hogwarts Express. After storing her trunk in the luggage compartment Lily made her way down the train to look for an empty compartment. No sign of Potter yet. Thank god.

"LILY!"She heard someone yell from behind her. She turned to see her best friends Alice Prewett and Marlene McKinnon running towards her, nearly sending a startled first year sprawling on the floor. Lily laughed, tossing my wavy red hair over her shoulders. "Alice, Marlene!" She called hugging the two girls. "How was your summer?" Marlene asked, tugging gently on one of Lily's glossy curls. Lily grimaced "Petunia's boyfriend Vernon was staying with us for the whole summer and I had to keep my owl in most of the time so that's why I couldn't write to you guys as often as I wanted to"

Alice beamed" Cheer up Lils" We'll be at Hogwarts soon. I can't believe we're fifth years now" "I know" Marlene agreed "Now come on, let's find a compartment."

Lily smiled. She'd missed her friends over the holidays.

She watched Alice's blonde hair dart through the students wandering the aisle. Alice had short, blonde hair and stunning blue eyes that reflected her bubbly personality. The three girls had been friends since first year when they had been placed in the same dormitory and Marlene always said it had been a case of becoming friends or enduring a lot of very awkward silences over the years.

Marlene McKinnon was almost completely the opposite, with her very long dark brown hair and icy blue eyes she was gorgeous. Every boy thought so. Marlene had a short temper and nobody would want to get on the wrong side of her. Of course the one person who constantly winds her up would be a person who defies category. Sirius Black. Their long term rivalry had lasted almost as long as James Potter's infatuation with Lily- far too long too to number in their opinion.

Lily followed her friends into a compartment, eager to catch up on all the gossip She had missed out on.

James

"James!" He heard a booming voice yell. James Potter grinned and turned to face his best friend, holding his hands above his head in surrender. Sirius ran at him, closely followed by Remus and Peter, and he tackled James nearly knocking him to the ground in a ferocious hug. "I've missed you so much" He cried, seeming close to tears. James laughed. "You know mate" He said "with you living with me now, you'd think being apart for ten minutes wouldn't be so bad. " Sirius wiped an invisible tear from his eye.
"The longest ten minutes of my life James. Never underestimate the love of a best mate." Remus rolled his eyes at their antics. "We've got a compartment down here" He told James who nodded and made to follow them down the aisle.

James heard laughter outside a compartment as he walked past and couldn't help looking in as he passed. Lily Evans was inside, listening intently as her friend Alice talked quickly and without pauses about something involving her boyfriend Frank and his strait laced mother. James sighed to himself as he watched and Sirius smacked him upside the head from behind him and pulled his hair back in a messy imitation of Professor Mc Gonagall.
"Move along now Mr Potter. There'll be plenty of time for your creepy Lily watching when we arrive." Sirius told him.
James scowled and ran a hand through his hair until it was standing on end. "It's not creepy"
"It's a little creepy" Sirius countered "Now hurry up. I want to plan a brilliant prank for the Sorting ceremony." He put a hand on James' back and lightly shoved James until he moved, casting one last lovestruck gaze in Lily's direction.