Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own any of the characters contained in my story. They are the property of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter universe. Not all of the ideas contained in this story are original; I just thought I'd try my hand at writing what I considered fantastic concepts. I do not make any money from my writings. I write for the enjoyment it gives me, and the possible enjoyment reading gives others. With that being said, taking something from another writer without crediting them is plagiarism, and it's against the law. So please don't do it.

Chapter 1

"It's her, isn't it? She's Head Girl."

Remus sighed. For the past three weeks their conversations always returned to this point. "I think she is, Prongs. You think she is. Sirius thinks it, as does Peter. Face it, Lily is the only obvious choice for Head Girl."

The two walked through the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, nodding at students they recognized. "But what if it's not her, then what do I do."

"Mate, you need to stop all this worrying. It's Lily. No other seventh year girl is qualified."

"But Dumbledore made me Head Boy. How do you explain that?" James stopped as they reached the door labeled "Prefects' Compartment."

"The same way I explained the fact that Lily's Head Girl. You're the only one with the qualifications."

"No, there has to be something else."

Remus looked into the compartment; it was already filled with the other prefects, including Lily Evans. "Look Prongs, I can't make you understand what you don't want to understand, but I'm going in. The meeting should be starting soon, and you need to be there before it does."

James sighed. "Fine, go. But I think I'll wait a few more minutes before I go in."

"All right, but I'm going to find a front row seat for this," Remus laughed as he spoke.

"You know, you're starting to sound more and more like Padfoot. I think he's corrupting your mind." James shook his head as he spoke, his fingers running through his hair while he glanced into the train compartment in front of them.

"Good luck mate," Remus said, clapping James on the shoulder before he walked into the compartment, "you're going to need it."

Remus immediately saw the flash of red hair as he walked through the door. "Hello, Lily."

Lily turned to face him. "Remus, it's good to see you. How was your summer?"

"It was alright. And how about yours, did your sister get married yet?"

"No. The wedding's going be during our Easter break. Just imagine my red hair combined with yards of fuchsia fabric, bows, ribbons, flowers, and anything else you can think of." She smiled as she spoke, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. The two stood by the door, comfortable with each other after two years of combined Prefect duties.

"So you're in the wedding then?"

"Oh, yes. No matter what Petunia or I said, our parents insisted that I be in the wedding. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with her as the time gets closer. I could barely handle her last summer, and this summer was an utter nightmare. Visiting churches and reception halls, florists and bakeries."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"No, it was worse." The corners of her mouth turned down as her voice lowered. "But I heard there were some problems near your neighborhood this summer," Lily said, their conversation turning serious.

Remus nodded his head, "Yeah, some muggle baiting and torture. No one was killed, so I guess that's a plus, but it's getting hard everywhere these days."

"I was worried when I read about it in the Daily Prophet. With all the new laws and regulations popping up everyday I was afraid that something happened and they were looking for you." Lily's green eyes conveyed the magnitude of her words.

"Your owl found me safe and sound. Thank you, Lily, I really appreciate it," Remus said, a smile taking over his face.

"Vita is always up for a trip. Plus, she enjoys your company. Rumor has it you feed her bits steak every time she visits." She smiled and placed her hand on his arm as gesture of comfort.

"When a gorgeous owl like that visits, you have to treat her right, or she may never return again."

"Don't give me that bull, Remus, I can see straight through it. You just like fattening her up so she won't want to eat the food I give her." Lily laughed as she spoke. Then, looking around the room she said, "Well, it looks like almost everyone is here. I guess I should get the meeting started soon."

Remus' smile suddenly lit up his entire face. "So you're Head Girl then?"

"Yes. You didn't know?"

"Oh, I had my suspicions, but it's nice to hear them confirmed."

Lily removed her hand from Remus' arm and placed it on her hip. "You damn well knew I was Head Girl before you even walked into this room, Remus Lupin." Her pleasant mood suddenly turned to confusion. "But aren't you Head Boy?"

Remus laughed. "No, no. Not me."

"But I was so sure it was you. The only other logical choice would have been Dennis McKinnon from Ravenclaw, but after he walked in and didn't say anything—" Lily stopped her sentence as the compartment door opened.

"Hello, everyone."

Lily's jaw dropped. "No way, Potter."

Remus continued to smile as he glanced back and forth between the two Heads of School. "I'll just go find a seat so you two can start the meeting."

James walked up to Lily and spoke quietly in her ear. "Look, I know this isn't your ideal situation, but there's nothing we can do about it now. So why don't we conduct the meeting; well, actually, you can do all the conducting as I haven't a clue as what to do, and we'll talk about this after everyone has left." James could feel the heat radiating off Lily's face.

"Fine," she hissed, "But trust me, you will follow my lead, or you risk the possibility of never having children. Do I make myself clear?"

James nodded, "Crystal."

LJLJLJLJ

The prefects filed out the door to find their friends and eventually begin their patrols.

"Please remember, everyone, roughly five to ten minutes every other hour, and not all at the same time. We want prefects consecutively patrolling the train, not simultaneously."

"Lily, it is always a pleasure talking to you. We will have to do it again sometime soon."

"Yes, Remus, we will," Lily said with a smile on her face. "By the way," her voice dropped to a whisper, "how did I do leading my first meeting?"

"Brilliant, just like I expected." Remus glanced at James standing behind Lily. "Be nice to him, Lily. He wants it to go smoothly."

Lily sighed. "We'll see, Remus."

Remus nodded. "I'll see you later, Lily." He nodded at James. "I'll talk to you in our compartment, Prongs." After Lily turned her back Remus mouthed, "Good luck."

James stood in the middle of the compartment as Remus, the last of the prefects, returned to the rest of the student body. His hands were in his pockets, and as he rocked on his heels his glasses fell slightly down his nose.

Lily walked around the room, picking up discarded papers and candy wrappers. "There's no need to be nervous, Potter."

"I'm not nervous."

"Oh?" Lily stopped and looked at James.

He ran his hand through his hair, unwittingly forcing pieces to stick up at odd angles. He swallowed the little spit left in his mouth.

"Let me make this easy for you, Potter. I don't know how you did it, or what in the name of Merlin Dumbledore was thinking, but we are now forced to be at least somewhat cooperative this year. If you and your friends stop your childish attitudes and your insane pranks, me and my friends will proceed to act cordially towards you."

"But—"

Lily held up her hand, stopping James from continuing his interruption. "When the train arrives at Hogsmede, you and I will make sure the first years find Hagrid safely. Then, we will board the last of the carriages driving us up to the castle. After the feast, we will make sure the prefects from each house lead their first years to the dormitories. When they have all left the Great Hall, we will join Professor Dumbledore in the room connected to the Great Hall, where we will receive further instruction."

James nodded during Lily's instructions. "OK, I get all that, but—"

"As I said during the meeting, prefects patrol in pairs, each pair patrols twice a week with a third rotation a few times a year. As Head Boy and Girl, we patrol every night between eleven and one."

"Does it have to be every night?" James asked, thinking of the full moon in two weeks time.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes, Potter, every night. I expect your full corporation, otherwise, there will be consequences." With that, Lily left the compartment to find her friends before patrolling the train corridor.

James stayed behind for a few minutes. He ran his hand through his hair. "It could have been worse," he said to the empty room. "It could have been a lot worse."

The compartment door opened again, and James turned, hoping Lily had returned.

"Hey, Potter."

James lifted his hand in a semi-wave. "Hi, McKinnon. How was your summer?"

James and Dennis McKinnon were enemies on the Quidditch pitch, but friendly towards each other while in school.

"Not too bad. Great actually, after I found out I wasn't Head Boy." Dennis began searching the compartment. "Ah, here they are."

"What do you mean?" asked James.

Dennis turned to face James. "My glasses. I only need them for reading, but I always seem to be leaving them somewhere. You'd think with all the advances of modern wizarding remedies, they'd find a better way to deal with poor eyesight."

"No, well yes, better eyesight would be a plus." James pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "I meant, why wouldn't you want to be Head Boy?"

Dennis sat, pointing to a chair indicating that James should also sit. "Look, out of the seventh year prefects, I knew I was the obvious choice. Lupin is a great guy, but too shy. I see him around you and your friends, and he's so relaxed that it makes him look like a completely different person around everyone else. Hell, it took almost two years before he finally relaxed around Lily, and that was only after she completely badgered him into it. And Snape, can you honestly expect anyone to listen to him with his fascination in the dark arts? If they did, it would only be out of fear, not out of respect."

"What about the Hufflepuff bloke, Adams, or Alberts?"

"It's Avairs, and he's too much of a happy-go-lucky type of guy. He's great when you want fun and laughter, but rubbish if you want to be serious. Not the best choice with the beginnings of a war going on."

"Alright, I get all that, but why wouldn't you want to be Head Boy?" James looked confused. Head Boy and Girl were privileges that very few students were awarded. Besides House Quidditch Captain, they were the other most coveted positions for Hogwarts students.

"It's not that I don't like the idea of being Head Boy. But you know what's going on out there right now. How can I lead an entire school into a dangerous war? I'm not that person, and I never wanted to be that person."

"But you wouldn't be leading them to war. You'd be teaching them to defend themselves, defend the honor of the wizarding world. It's something they need right now. You'd be a role model, someone to aspire to."

"That's why Dumbledore chose you, Potter, not me. I'm not that person. When it comes down to it, I will fight. But I'd prefer to hide behind a book. You're the natural leader. People listen to you. You've led Gryffindor to three Quidditch Cup victories, you already have the admiration and respect of the younger students, and," Dennis laughed, "you have quite the relationship with Miss Lily Evans."

James laughed and leaned back in his chair. "That's the part I'm most worried about."

Dennis stood to leave the compartment. "Don't be. That's the easy part. Just do what comes naturally, and everything else will fall into place." He opened the door and turned back. "During the meeting, you weren't yourself. Just find what you were missing an hour ago, and it will work for the two of you." He smiled and left James alone in the compartment to contemplate what he'd just learned.

LJLJLJLJ

"I can't believe Dumbledore made him Head Boy."

"Lils, we know, you've mentioned it a few times since you returned from the meeting," said Dorcas, one of the four seventh year Gryffindor girls lounging in the compartment. "And besides, I don't see what the big deal is—he is one of the most eligible boys in our year."

Lily stared at her friend, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "I can't believe you just said that."

"It's true, Lily," said Marlene, "he is available, and cute, and a great Quidditch player."

"Alice, are you hearing this. Please tell me they're joking."

"I'm afraid not, Lily." The quiet girl in the corner spoke up. "He always has girls going after him, which says quite a lot about him."

"Yeah, that he's a conceited, stuck up, know-it-all, pretty boy, pain in the arse." Lily sat on the bench by herself, her three friends across from her. Her arms crossed in front of her chest and she scowled as their conversation continued.

"Unfortunately for us merely mediocre girls, James has only eyes for you, Lils," said Dorcas. She picked through a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans in search of a watermelon-flavored bean. "Must be the hair, as it's not your personality. Ah, here we go," Dorcas popped the found bean in her mouth, "ugh, cough syrup. Anyway, you're too mean to him for it to be anything else."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Marlene looked up from the game of Exploding Snap she was playing with Alice. "Lily, you aren't very nice to him."

Lily threw her hands up in the air. "Why should I be nice to him? He's done nothing but torture me for the past six years, and now he's been given an open invitation by Dumbledore to annoy me whenever the hell he wants."

"Really, Lily. I think you're being a bit unfair," said Alice. "He wasn't that bad last year; it's almost as if he was trying to grow up. And I spent some time with him over the summer when I went to visit Frank; he's really quite nice."

"Not that bad! Quite nice!" Now Lily was shouting. "He's asked me out every day since the beginning of fifth year, he's turned my underwear purple, he's turned my hair green. He forces himself into every conversation I have with any other boys; and those boys who do manage to get in a few words without Potter finding out are eventually hexed and wind up in the hospital wing getting warts removed, or picking pieces of chalk out of their noses. And poor Sean Dougherty burped up slugs for a week because we went on not one date, but two. James Potter is ruining my life."

There was a knock at the door, followed by James' head leaning into the compartment. "Good day, ladies," he said before turning to Lily. "I was just going to patrol the corridor for a bit and I thought you might like to join me, Evans."

Lily glared at him from her seat. Her eyebrows almost joined in the center of her forehead and a slight twitch began under her left eye.

"No, well I guess since the corridors aren't very large there's no need for the both of us. We'll just start that paired patrolling once we get to the castle. Very well, then. I'll be seeing you, Dorcas, Marlene, Alice." James nodded to each girl in turn. "By the way, Evans," James said as he returned to her, "I didn't get a chance to mention it earlier, but you're looking gorgeous today. We really should go out sometime. Let's say Friday, after classes have ended for the week." James' eyes followed Lily's body down, then up, before stopping at her eyes and lifting his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and blowing her a kiss.

After he left the compartment Dorcas, Marlene, and Alice collapsed in a fit of laughter as Lily scowled at the door.