A/N: Hello everyone! My name is Kiah and this is my second story on FanFiction! Unfortunately, I deleted the first one because, even though it was good, I felt that I couldn't write it anymore. This one just flows so much better. Please review and tell me what you think (i.e. should I continue or not?)

Disclaimer: Any characters and/or settings that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. I will not say this again, so get over it.

If You Give a Boy a Lily

Chapter One: Making My Way Home

"I can't believe that sixth year is already over!" Madison Gilbert said. "It seriously seems like it just started last week."

"You're crazy. There's no way it could have started only last week. Too much has gone on. Life's taken its course. Things have changed," Johnny Bellman, a Ravenclaw, retorted. He is one of the only friends that Maddie and I have that isn't in our house. You could probably tell he was gay just by talking to him, although he doesn't have the type of voice one would normally associate with a gay man. His voice is mysteriously calm and deep.

Johnny's hair is cut short; truly what one would call "peach fuzz." It feels like velvet when you touch it. He's my favorite type of brunette, seeing as how he has a little bit of red in his hair. I would be lying if I didn't say that he's a beautiful man. He has high cheekbones and delicate features. His eyes are the deepest chocolate brown and he has beautifully long eyelashes. His skin is the color of hot chocolate with a bit of sugar added. And he takes care of himself. With Johnny, there are never gross socks lying about on his bed, you always feel completely comfortable, and everything is clean. There's no other way to describe it. Everything is completely immaculate.

Madison, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She's extremely messy, but that is only to be expected of a tomboy. Not that Madison isn't beautiful, it's just not always so apparent; she's the kind of beauty that takes longer to recognize, the kind that seems somewhat hidden. Her hair is midnight black, but it goes perfectly with her bronze skin. I've always thought her skin to be somewhat the color of caramel. Madison is Persian, but obviously one wouldn't know just by hearing her name. Her parents died when she was a baby and since then she's been through a lot. She moved from Iran to England when she was just five years old and was adopted by a nice Wizarding family that possibly couldn't be any paler in comparison.

I've always thought that the trauma she went through somehow made her throw herself into sports. Madison is an amazing Quidditch player. She plays Chaser on the Gryffindor team along with James Potter and Lauren Wright. Sometimes I think that Maddie suffers identity issues and feels like sports and studies are the only things she can control. Well, that, and eating, of course, but Maddie is smarter than to do anything harmful to her body. She needs strong bones for Quidditch and therefore has a healthy appetite. Madison eats just as much as James Potter and the rest of his little gang do, if not more.

"Maddie, I think I'll have to agree with Johnny on that one. Too much stuff has gone on for all of it to be fit into the time capacity of a week," I said.

"Fine, Lily. Join his side! You guys team up against me for everything!"

"Stop being so dramatic," Johnny said.

"Stop bickering you guys. Mads, no one is taking sides. We're just right and that's too much for you to handle, apparently. I'm going to the loo. Try not to destroy each other while I'm gone," I said as I slipped out of the compartment door.

We were only four hours into the train ride, so we had a good long while left. I still had to patrol the corridors with Remus Lupin, my fellow Gryffindor sixth year Prefect. I decided that that could wait, seeing how my bladder was in serious need of attention.

Just my luck, there was a line for the bathroom, a good five people long. I vowed never again to have seven bottles of pumpkin juice in such a short time period. As I stood in line, Sirius Black came up behind me. "Hey Lils. Long wait?" my shaggy-haired, gray-eyed friend asked.

"That depends on your definition of long. Including me but not including the current occupier of the facilities, there are six people before you. Now, let's say each person spends one minute in the bathroom. That's six minutes. But let's increase that time to two minutes, which makes a twelve-minute wait. If each person spent three minutes in the bathroom--"

"Okay, I get your point Einstein. It could range anywhere from six minutes to forty-two minutes to ninety-six minutes, depending upon how long each person takes in the bathroom. I'm not an idiot, you know," Sirius interrupted.

This, I can't exactly argue with. Sirius is extremely funny and very smart. He doesn't always make the best decisions, but he's only seventeen years old as of his birthday last month, so I can't really blame him. Teenage boys are not exactly the most responsible beings, and this statement is only the more true for Sirius and his band of miscreants that call themselves the Marauders. They swagger about terrorizing people in a fun and slightly amusing way, but it occasionally gets out of hand. An incident in fifth year comes to mind where I defended Severus Snape against them, but it ended badly and ever since then when the Marauders are torturing Snape, I look the other way.

Sirius and I chatted for a bit longer until it was my turn for the loo. My wait ended up being about fifteen minutes and I was positively dying by the time I entered the lavatory. I stepped into the room, did my business, washed my hands, and then looked up at myself in the mirror.

I've always thought of myself as fairly attractive, but I've always been told I was a genuine beauty. I'm not the type to be vain and it's rare that I believe comments such as those. Sure, boys give me attention, but not many of the ones that I actually like. Part of this, I suppose is due to James Potter. Maddie says that James really, truly likes me, but I think that it's more that he's up for a challenge. I'm the only girl that's never succumbed to his "charm." Even Maddie has gone out with him and Johnny thinks that he's something of a fox. I can't help but think that Johnny is more partial to Sirius, though. I'm pretty sure that Sirius doesn't swing that way, but the world is full of surprises.

Sirius pounded on the door and I was jolted out of my musings. "Your six minutes are up, Lilykins!" I dried my hands and exited the bathroom, giving Sirius a pat as I passed. Then it was time to head back to my compartment.

"No, I think that Billy is definitely hotter. I mean, he sings lead vocals and plays the guitar. How much sexier can you get than that?" Johnny was saying.

"Drums are sexier. I mean, if a guy can bang a set of drums like that using just some drumsticks, then imagine what he's like in the sack!" Maddie said.

"Well, you do have a good argument there. And Will is pretty attractive. Well, now. I'm just going to have to rethink my whole band member sexiness rating… Lily! You're finally back! Took you long enough."

"There was a long line."

"Well Johnny-Boy and I were just discussing the sexiness of the band members of Abra Cadaver," Madison said. Abra Cadaver is the most popular band in the Wizarding world right now. They play some pretty sinister-yet-fun music to go along with their sinister-yet-fun name. All of the members, Billy, Will, Jason, and Patrick, are Muggle-born, which explains the whole "Abra Kadabra" type thing. I quite like them myself, so I joined in on the conversation.

"I think Patrick is a fox," I said. They looked slightly confused because, although he was attractive, Patrick wasn't considered the cutest one of the group. "Well, playing keyboard is pretty damn hard. Besides, I play the piano and I know how hard it is to learn and come up with notes and stuff like that. Besides, his hair is just fabulous. It's just the shade of red that I wish mine was."

"I love your hair, Lils!" Johnny said. "It's gorgeous. Like…like… I don't know. It's just very pretty. And it looks delicious with your beautiful emerald-green eyes."

My hair is somewhere between auburn and strawberry blonde. Patrick has auburn hair and I desperately wish my hair was that color. I tried to charm it once, but the charm didn't last and it would just be too much of a hassle to have to do that all the time. I'd rather just leave my hair the way it is.

However much I hate my hair, I love my eyes. I've always thought that eyes were windows to the soul and my eyes always seem very open. I'm a very open person. If I have a problem with you, I'll tell you. If something's bothering me, I'll usually vent about it. I don't believe in writing my emotions down because it's too risky. Anyone could just walk up to your dorm and find your diary or journal or whatever it is and steal it and read it. Besides, if you write something in your diary that you haven't told your friends, it'd be like keeping secrets from them. I'm not the type that keeps things from my friends. Oh, don't get me wrong  I'm very loyal. I keep other people's secrets, but my life at this point is very open, so I have no reason for secrets.

The three of us continued debating who was hotter in Abra Cadaver until I realized that it had been an hour since I had left for the bathroom. It was time for me to patrol the train with Remus.

"I still stand by my drums theory," Madison was saying.

"That's a very good point, but I just love guitars. They're so…hot," Johnny replied.

"I'm going to find Remus for Prefect duty. See you later, guys."

"Bye, Lily!" they both chorused and then promptly began talking about their plans for summer.

I left the compartment once more and went to find Remus who would no doubt be with his three best friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.

I searched thirteen compartments before I finally found them. I knew they were there before I even approached on the door on account of how loud they were being. I heard a small explosion, laughter, some snores, and a soft groan as I stood at the door. My guess was that they were playing Exploding Snap.

I knocked on the door and it slid open as thought it was touch-activated. My hypothesis had been correct: James and Sirius were playing Exploding Snap, Peter was sleeping, and Remus was sitting on his cushion quietly reading a magazine and groaning whenever James and Sirius burst out in peals of laughter.

"Hey Remus, Sirius, Potter," I said as I entered the compartment and slid the door shut behind me. I was greeted with replies of "Hullo, Lily," "What's shakin'?" and "Hi, Evans."

"Remus, do you think now's a good time to start patrolling? I didn't see any prefects in the hall on my way up here," I said.

"Sure, Lils. Just let me put this away." Remus got up and stuffed his magazine into his bag. He then stretched and made his way over to me. I gave him a hug and we began chatting on our way out.

Remus Lupin is an interesting character. He and I had been friends since our second year when I learned that he wasn't as horrible as I believed the rest of the Marauders to be. Remus is smart and slightly introverted, but mischievous all the same. He wouldn't be a Marauder if he weren't. He's what I would call good-looking, but nowhere near as cute as Sirius, or (however much I hate to admit it) James. It's not hard to imagine that I had a crush on him for that short period of time during fifth year. We even went out on a few dates, but everything ended when Remus said he felt disloyal to James and things couldn't continue. I completely understood and things stayed good between us. Now, here we are, sixth year Prefects for Gryffindor house, working as well together as anyone you've ever seen.

I knew all about Remus' ailment. He finally came out and told me he was a werewolf during Christmas break of this year, but I had known for a while before that. It wasn't that hard to figure out really. Remus is a good liar, but if you've known him as long as I've known him, then you learn to know when he's lying and when he's not. He always seemed to have the same excuses. He has a headache, he was nauseous, his mother was sick, his grandfather was ill, et cetera, et cetera. It all just added up one day, how he was always missing around the same time every month and how his excuses always seemed somewhat paper-thin.

So Remus and I patrolled the corridors of the train and talked up a storm about our summer plans. "I'm going to be working in that little coffee shop in Diagon Alley," I told him.

"Really? That's pretty amazing because I'm going to be working in Flourish and Blott's! We'll get to see each other all the time!" Remus said.

"Wow. How come you didn't tell me before?"

"Oh, I just found out they hired me yesterday," he said. "It's really a perfect situation because I'll be getting free books for my courses next year. That should save me some money for other things."

"That's great! All I get is free coffee. I'll probably be hopped up on caffeine whenever I see you. If I do something crazy, just know it's the coffee's fault, not mine."

We finished patrolling the corridors about an hour later. I walked him back to his corridor and said goodbye to him, Sirius, James, and the now-awake Peter. I was about to turn away when James got up and said, "Hey, Evans? Can we talk outside for a second?"

Ordinarily I would have said no, but because Remus and Sirius were making eyes at me and had on somewhat pleading looks, I complied. James closed the door and followed me into the hallway.

"I was kind of wondering…if maybe…well…" he started.

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Remus seeing each other?"

I snorted. "No! Why would you think that?"

"Oh, no reason, really," he said, relief flooding his eyes. "Do you think…that maybe…you'd like to go out with me sometime this summer?"

"Potter, we've been over this before. No, I will not go out with you."

He looked crestfallen. I immediately felt bad for being so harsh with him. "But I thought you said you didn't hate me anymore. Remember the last time we talked in the Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, I remember." It all flooded back to me now. At our last Hogsmeade trip, just weeks before, Madison had ditched me for her boyfriend, Lenny, and Johnny was tragically sick. I had only come to Hogsmeade to buy some last-minute gifts for my parents because they adored things from the Wizarding world. I fully intended to be there for an hour at most and then go back to Hogwarts, get some soup from the kitchens, and tend to Johnny who was currently holed up in his room in the Ravenclaw sixth year boy's dorms.

I decided to stop for some butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks because the stash that Maddie and I had had run out so I felt that buying some more for the few weeks ahead would be appropriate.

I had bought my drinks and was about to exit the building when I passed Potter and he asked me to sit down. I told him that I only had a minute because Johnny really was very ill and needed my help.

"Why do you hate me?" James had asked.

I was caught a little off-guard but I answered his question as truthfully as possible. "I don't hate you as you so kindly put it. Granted, I used to, but I don't anymore. I know about Remus and how loyal you must be to be friends with him under all of that pressure. You're smart, you can be amusing on occasion, and your eyes are pretty. In other words, you have a few good qualities."

"So why do you dislike me so much?" He asked.

"You should know the answer to this question by now, Potter. But, since apparently you still have no idea, I'll have to tell you again. I suggest you write it down this time." I was joking, but he actually took me seriously and took a scrap piece of parchment and a quill out from the deep pockets of his robes.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"You're arrogant, you're big-headed, you bully people, you get good grades without even taking the initiative to study, you go around acting as though you own the school, you talk to me in a demeaning way, and you're something of a womanizer," I listed.

"Wow. I had no idea there was so much stuff," he mused.

"Oh, and you're always showing off and you run your hand through your hair to make it look as though you've just gotten off of a broomstick, which I find highly annoying."
He continued scribbling out what I had said on the parchment. "Okay. Thanks!"

I bid him goodbye and then left Hogsmeade to tend to Johnny.

Back in the present time, James was looking at me thoughtfully. "So you remember?"

"Yeah. I remember it perfectly," I replied.

"Well, haven't you noticed how much I've changed in the past three weeks since that Hogsmeade visit?" He asked.

"James, no one can change that much in just three weeks."

"You called me James."

"Nice way to be observant."

"And I did change that much in three weeks!"

"I'll have to see it to believe it," I said and with that, I said goodbye and went back to my compartment for the rest of the train ride. When the train finally stopped at King's Cross, Johnny, Maddie, and I said our goodbyes and parted ways. Before I crossed through the barrier, I scanned the crowd and the last person's face that I saw was James Potter. He saw me to and raised his hand to wave goodbye. I smiled at him and crossed over, hoping that, considering how I am Muggle-born and live in Surrey and he is a pureblood and lives somewhere, most likely in a large house that's not in Surrey, I wouldn't see him for a while.