A/N: I own none of these characters. J.K. Rowling is and will forever be the goddess of all things HP.

Chapter 1

The Hogwarts express finally pulled away from platform 9 ¾ . Lily breathed a sigh of relief. As much as she loved her family, this past summer had been hellish. Petunia had long ago given up on foolish name-calling or teasing. Her current strategy was to ignore that the fact that Lily existed at all. To have her own sister treat her as something lower than pond scum was almost beyond endurance. It had even dampened Lily's joy of receiving the news that she had been made Head Girl.

Her parents had been pleased, as they should have been. But they were Muggles, and didn't really understand the responsibilities that being Head Girl implied. And while Lily had communicated with her friends via Owl Post, she had missed the evenings in the Gryffindor common room, talking and laughing about anything and everything with Evie, Alice, and Grace.

She wished that she could go find the three of them at that moment, but being Head Girl entailed duties before fun. Lily made her way to the front of the train, where the prefect cabin was. She was supposed to meet the new prefects, greet the old ones, and become better acquainted with the new Head Boy. She wondered who had been chosen. She sent up a silent 'thank you' to whoever was listening that it hadn't been Severus. Running in to him on the platform had been awkward enough. Lily knew that Severus wished that they could go back to the way things were. That he could go back to being the quiet, shy young man, and she to the naïve, Muggle-born who trusted him implicitly. But his betrayal still stung like a fresh wound, and she knew that they could never go back.

Lily brushed her long red hair behind her ear as she skirted around some third years in the train corridor. She grinned at them as they cast harmless red sparks at one another, and looked guilty as they caught her watching. She just winked at them and continued on down the train.

She found the right car, and slid open the door. A handful of prefects were already there. She waved at Frank Longbottom, a seventh year Hufflepuff prefect. They had several classes together over the past few years. He was bright, loyal, and Lily knew he also had a soft spot for her good friend Alice.

There were several other new prefects who looked more than a little anxious. Lily tried to smile reassuringly at them. More kept arriving, but none wore the Head Boy badge on their robes. Lily checked her watch. She was already a few minutes behind schedule.

"Alright everyone!" Lily called everyone to attention. "Let's go through everything quickly so you can all get back to your friends. As some of you may know, my name is Lily Evans, and I am your Head Girl this year."

"Who's Head Boy?" Frank asked.

"To be honest, Frank," Lily began, "I don't know. And it seems as though he's running a few minutes behind."

"Actually, I think he just wants to make an entrance."

Lily turned to see who had spoken. It was Remus Lupin, sitting serenely in the corner. He looked paler than he had at the end of last term, and looked a bit like he had lost some weight.

"Who is it that wants to make an entrance, Remus?" Lily asked.

But Remus did not get a chance to respond. For at that moment, the compartment door slid open, and none other than James Potter strode in.

"Oh bloody hell…" Lily muttered under her breath.

"Greetings one and all!" James shouted. "It is I, James Potter, your glorious new Head Boy for the coming school year!"

"You're joking, right?" Lily asked. "There's no way that Dumbledore would possibly make you Head Boy. You practically invented detention."

"Wrong you are, Ms. Evans." James replied in his best school teacher voice. "For I am a reformed sinner thanks to countless hours of confession and self-inflicted toadstool scrubbing."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lily asked, annoyed.

"Nothing, Lily dear." James replied, attempting to placate her. He spun to the prefects once more. "I will tell you right now, that as your new Head Boy, I look forward to instituting a new kind of regime at Hogwarts. One of open and honest communication. So it is in your own best interest to tell you now that I will accept bribes, both monetary and otherwise, in exchange for night-time hall passes, untraceable sick notes from Madam Pomfrey, and the answers to any test you may take."

The prefects all laughed. But Lily knew that James was being somewhat serious. This wasn't going at all like she had planned.

"Everyone, pay no mind to what James is saying." She shot James a look that clearly said "be quiet". As per her instructions, she continued. "I'm giving you each a scroll, which contains not only the passwords to your dormitories, but also, the patrolling schedule and your list of weekly duties. You will also find the chain of command while at Hogwarts. Any serious wrong-doing will be reported to us, and if we deem it, will then be reported to Heads of Houses, and in extreme cases, to the Headmaster. We will meet on a bi-weekly basis starting this Saturday at 3 p.m., in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. If we hear of any abuse of power of any sort," she shot James another knowing look, "the transgressor will be treated with the severest discipline. Understood?" She flicked her wand, and a scroll fell in the lap of each prefect. "Are there any questions?"

There was a general murmur of "no".

"Excellent. We will see you all on Saturday afternoon. Please take the time to read through your scrolls before we get to school. Thanks so much everyone!"

The prefects filed out slowly, chatting as they went. Frank and Lily exchanged a few more pleasantries before he left. Soon, only James and Lily remained. She rounded on him.

"Seriously, Potter? That's how you start off the year?"

"What?" He asked, feigning innocence. "It gave them all a laugh, Evans! I didn't mean it." He paused. "I didn't mean most of it."

Lily made a loud sound of frustration. "Just try not to disrupt the natural order of things too much, will you? I'd like to make it through my final year unscathed."

James gave her a naughty gin. His black hair, disheveled as always, flopped into his eyes, which sparkled mischievously. "You shouldn't be so uptight, Evans. I could teach you how to relax, if you'd let me."

Lily, already used to this kind of innuendo, said flippantly, "When pigs fly, Potter. When pigs fly." And with that, she strolled out of the compartment, in search of her friends, leaving James Potter staring after her.

He spent a large majority of his time staring after her. There was something about Lily Evans that drove him to the brink of madness. Maybe it was her red hair, or her sparkling green eyes. She had only gotten more beautiful over the summer. After he found out he had made Head Boy (Dumbledore really was crazy if he thought that was a good idea), he had an inkling, which was then confirmed, that Lily had been made Head Girl. She was a shoe-in, of course, given her stellar academic record and all-around niceness.

Of course, she was never very nice to him… Perhaps his rate of asking her out was too incessant?

But one day, Lily would say yes. He was sure of it.

Lily made her way down the train, glancing in compartments as she went by to see which one her friends had claimed. She saw several classmates along the way, and she smiled and waved at them. Her spirits were lifting, even after that disastrous display by Potter. Dumbledore had gone round the twist, in her opinion, making James Head Boy. She sighed. It was going to be a long year.

She finally found Evie, Alice, and Grace in a compartment three-quarters of the way down the train. She slid the door open and flopped down on the empty seat.

"Went well, did it?" Evie asked.

"Hardly," Lily grumbled. "Guess whose Head Boy?"

"Who?" Alice asked.

"James Potter."

The three girls' mouths dropped open.

"You're joking." Grace insisted.

"I wish I was." Lily replied.

"That makes no sense." Evie stated. "Why on Earth would Dumbledore make him Head Boy? He's been in detention more times than anyone in our year, combined!"

"My thoughts exactly." Lily agreed.

"And did he ask you out again?" Alice inquired.

"Not in so many words, but it was definitely implied."

"Well," Evie began. "It looks like you're in for a long, cozy year with Mr. Potter. Just think of all those cold winter nights, where you'll be huddled together over the patrol schedule, with nothing to keep you warm but your own dirty thoughts." Evie wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"Gah!" Lily exclaimed. "Don't put that image in my head!"

"You love it." Evie insisted.

"Could we please talk about something else?" Lily pleaded. "How were your holidays?"

"You'll say anything to change the subject, Lils, won't you?" Alice laughed. "But my holidays were pretty good."

"Talk to Frank at all?" Grace asked, a knowing look in her eyes.

Alice blushed. "Maybe a little," she admitted.

"I just saw Frank." Lily said. "He looked quite fit."

"You've already got a hold on Potter." Evie teased. "Don't go after Frank too."

Lily laughed. "I'm not! I'm just letting Alice know that the holidays were good to him."

"We're supposed to ride up to the castle in a carriage together." Alice said quietly.

The rest of the girls all oohed appropriately. Alice blushed even more deeply. "Just shut it, all of you." She chided. "I'm already nervous!"

They laughed, and the conversation turned to other things: the other girls' holidays, who was cute (during which Potter's name did NOT come up), and their upcoming classes. The morning passed into the afternoon easily.

Lily excused herself to stretch her legs for a minute and to check to see if anyone had mutilated any first years. The corridors were bustling with student activity, but none of it was illicit. She rounded the corner to head to another car and ran smack into James Potter. It was also at that moment that the train decided to run over a rock and shook violently for a second.

He grabbed her waist so she didn't fall over and she steadied herself with her hands on his chest.

"Easy there, Evans." He purred. "No need to get all handsy."

She shoved away from him. "Get away from me, Potter."

He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "You're the one who ran in to me, not the other way around." He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling and his untidy black hair sticking up at all angles. Didn't he own a comb?

"Sorry." She grumbled. "You just took me by surprise is all. Thanks for not letting me fall."

"That rhymed. I didn't know you were a poet, Evans."

"I am." Lily said seriously. "I intend to write books of poems. And they'll all be dedicated to you and of our unspoken love."

James' eyes went wide. It was the first time that Lily could remember ever seeing him speechless.

"Are we done being stupid now?" She asked.

"I suppose."

"So where's your band of Merry Men?" Lily asked. "I'm surprised they're not running amok. Did Black break his legs over the holiday and is now confined to a chair?"

"You know what's great about me being Head Boy, Lily?" He asked, ignoring her question.

"What?" She humored him.

"It's that you don't have to worry about what Sirius, Remus, Peter, and myself are doing." He explained. "I've got that all covered."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better."

"It should." He paused and took a step closer to her. "You know what else would make you feel better?"

"Oh Merlin's beard, Potter!" Lily exclaimed.

"What?" James looked taken aback. "I was just going to say a Fizzing Whizbee!"

"You're more trouble than you're worth."

"How do you know what I'm worth?" James asked. "You've never bothered to find out."

But Lily was ready for this verbal assault. "I already told you, Potter. When pigs fly. Now, if you'll excuse me." She brushed past him, making sure that their shoulders touched ever so lightly. Smiling to herself, she continued on down the train.