Chapter 2 - On the Way Back To Where We Belong
"Lil's, this is great! We are so proud of you! But realistically... come on! We all knew you would get it, right?" Laura's auburn curls bounced around her shoulders as she happily chattered on, and the other girls in her compartment continued to nod their heads eagerly in agreement.
"Stop it! Stop! You know I can't stand it when you gush at me! I do not want to let this get to my head. Not when I need to be so... respected…" Lily said the last word with gusto as she adjusted her posture, puffing out her chest a few centimeters. The compartment burst into giggles. When Lily recovered her composure, she began to speculate. "Wow, though! I wonder who Head Boy is...probably Remus, you think? I hope so… What if its that Hufflepuff, Bones... ugh!" Lily shook her head in dismay.
"It could be worse! A Slytherin could be made head boy! It's happened before, you know," Laura's sarcasm appeared in her freckled face as well as her words.
"Nah... The only option would be.. who? Severus? Not likely. He's so stuck up now… It would cause a riot. I bet Remus. It has to be Remus. Who could beat out Remus?"
Christiana stared out the window, humming a mellow tune and watching the rain fall onto objects blurred out by the speed of the train. Lily was one of her best friends in the entire world. But she couldn't help but get a little jealous. If Lily got Head Girl, Chris was sure that Remus was Head Boy. And that meant Lily and Remus would spend a lot of time together. Time in which she would not get to see either one of them. It was one thing if one of them was off doing Head duties, but both of them? And no late night fireside conversations with Remus anymore. No, he would probably go up to the Head Dorm after supper. She sighed as she looked around the compartment. She looked around again; something was definitely off. It took her awhile to realize it, but Marlene was nowhere to be found. Of course, since she was not the most talkative, her absence was missed at first. In the silence, Chris was not the only one who had noticed. Lily looked up from the badge in her hands, confused, and asked, "Where did Marlene-"
At that moment the door to the compartment slid open.
Marlene stood in the doorway, a tad disheveled, her left hand shoved into her pocket. She crossed the compartment and sat down across from Chris, a smile pasted on her face. "Congrats, Lil's! I've only heard just a moment ago! You and Jamesiepoo! Head Boy and Girl! This year'll be fun, eh?"
"No."
The word came across loud and flat, and Lily looked around, trying to find some hint of a prank. Her friends in the compartment stayed silent, until her fumbling hand opened the door. She ran down the hall to the Head Compartment. Sitting inside was Remus, reading a book as usual.
"Oh good. It's you!" She laughed. "Marlene played this awful trick and actually tried to tell us that JAMES was Head Boy! Imagine that. Never."
Remus continued to read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as he spoke.
"Oh, he is. He merely wanted to surprise you. That's all."
"FAN-TAS-TIC!"
The head of James Potter appeared, floating in midair in the center of the small room. Lily tried to wipe away the tears that flooded her eyes, but James expression showed that he had seen them. Remus quietly slipped out of the compartment to find Peter and Sirius. Lily sat down on the red cushioned bench and stared up at James. Why was this always happening to her? For years she had been doing everything to avoid him. His pranks. His flirting. Even him standing up for her. And over those years, he began to grow on her. He listened to her now, as a friend. He apologized or asked to help when she got upset. He was generous, loyal, and extremely talented. But he also avoided maturity and got quite big-headed at times. And if he knew she liked him one little bit, everything she tried so hard to maintain would be ruined. Now she had to spend every day with him, or at least it seemed like it. Lily took a deep breath. She was going to keep her pride and if she fell, well at least she'd go down with her head still firmly on her shoulders. James sat down beside her as she gazed into space, lost in thought. And for the first time, she didn't get up or push him away.
Back in the girls' compartment, Chris's face struggled to relax, while she filled with joy inside. Remus was unable to find Peter anywhere, and Sirius was currently off tormenting Snape, so he had wandered into their room and took a seat in between Chris and Laura. He was now catching the girls up with James, "Yes, for the third time, he definitely is Head Boy", and how the poor bloke had surprised Lily into tears. When Remus finished with his story, he paused for a moment, then opened up his book and began to read. Remus felt Chris's eyes resting on him, so he leaned over and held the book up so that they both could see it. Chris settled her brown, narrow chin happily against his shoulder, and began to read a section halfway down the page about grindylows. On the other side of the small little room, Marlene sat silently, shoving her left hand, the one that held her wedding ring, deeper and deeper into the pocket of her robes.
Marlene's thoughts raced through her mind. No one here could know what had happened to her only a week ago. No one. And she knew it happened, but not why. Why not? Because Dumbledore said so? He refused to tell her why! Was it Walden's idea? What would Dumbledore have to gain from that? What could he possibly have meant by "grave danger"? Was Macnair in danger too? Did he like her? She assumed not, that this probably was not so great for him either. But why had she agreed to this? That was still obvious each time she asked herself - because she trusted the Headmaster with her life. But Macnair hung out with the Pure Blood supremacists… he was supposed to be one of her soul-sworn enemies! She was a Gryffindor! So what? The houses used to get along... and she was in danger… it was worth it.. right? Okay then, so why could she not know how or why or anything? Nothing made sense! In a mad storm she got up, stomped off to the nearest empty compartment, sat down and tried to gather her composure. It was no use, her thoughts kept her full of energy, so she left her attempts at composure in the compartment and went to go find answers instead.