Written by never-ending nights with you. Chapter twelve will be when Amy and I will start switching on and off.
—
She sighed as she shut off her ever-ringing alarm. First day of term, she thought gravely. And I have to be on time for the Hogwarts Express this year.
She rolled out of bed, stubbing her toe on her overflowing trunk parked at the edge of her bed. Some of her books fell out, and Lily made to pick them up but stumbled yet again.
"Crap," she said, bouncing on her right foot as she attempted to hold her left. She sat on the edge of her bed and massaged the toe.
When she heard the clanging of dishes downstairs, she jumped off the bed and rushed out of the room. She yelled—mainly for her older sister's displeasure:
"MUM! CAN YOU MAKE SURE MY SKIRTS ARE DRY?"
She waited patiently for a half of a second before she heard Petunia grumbling from the adjacent room.
"Can't ever get a normal wake-up in this house," Petunia complained, opening up her door from across the hall. "Just because it's first day for you freaky teenagers, doesn't mean it is for me. I go to college next week!"
"Sorry," Lily said, mock-snootily to her sister. "Unless you want to check on my clothes while I shower?"
"Oh, I'll check on your clothes, alright," she said lowly, ducking into the first bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Rolling her eyes, Lily turned to see her mum rushing up the stairs, a flurry of blonde hair and kitchen flour.
"Hi, sweet," her single mother said fondly. "Well, get that head of yours in the bath. I'll get your skirts."
Lily obliged and opened the door to her room from the bathroom not twenty minutes later. Her skirts were pressed neatly and folded on the dresser. She pulled her favorite black skirt on, and, luckily, her bracelet fell out from in between two.
"Score!" she exclaimed happily, pulling it on. The Live strong bracelet was slightly worn, but she could care less. "Thought I left you on the gap last Monday."
She hummed to herself as she readied herself quickly, pulling her Killers tour shirt on as she attempted to fit all of her possessions in her trunk. Her Narnia books fell out yet again, and her school books toppled uneasily. Lily sighed and began to reposition all of her items over again (making it the third time in two days).
When she remembered her skirts, she pilled them into the trunk. She closed the lid, but it wouldn't clasp.
"Shit!" She counted to ten seconds, like her mum always reminded her to when she was mad at him. "Petunia!"
Her sister stormed in characteristically a minute later, annoyed.
"What?" she snapped, her hair in a towel, accentuating her neck more so then usual. "I have places to be that don't include you."
"Like hanging with your fat boyfriend, Dursley, who can barely move about the house?" Lily sneered.
"Shut it!" She looked over to see Lily standing on her overlarge trunk. "What are you doing? Trying to make your five foot one self taller?"
"I'm fine with my height," Lily reassured her, exasperated. "At least five inches of my height isn't all neck."
Petunia scoffed, and clasped the trunk for her. Lily thanked her quickly, jumping off the trunk, and grabbing her notebook.
"You may go," she said distractively, checking off items on the list she had made at midnight the night before.
"Glad to have your permission, Princess." Petunia left the room just as Lily realized how late she was.
"How in the name of Merlin's little black book am I almost late again?"
—
They arrived at Platform 9¾ only slightly disheveled, Lily's head dizzy from her quick apparition that was sure to leave her mother seasick. They had enough time for a proper good-bye, for once, much to busy Lily's dismay.
"Now, sweetie, have a good year," her mother began, fixing Lily's curly hair. Lily slapped her hand away. She continued on. "Head Girl is a very big responsibility."
"I know, Mum," she groaned, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
"And be nice to that James Potter this year!"
"Mum! You're supposed to be on my side!"
"He's only trying to woo the prettiest girl at Hogwarts. Give him some credit, at least."
The engine sounded then, and Lily gave her babbling mother a fleeting kiss on the cheek before beginning to try and hoist her trunk onto the train.
"Need some help?" a deep voice said from behind her. She turned. "The Head Boy's at your service!"
James Potter winked at her, before pulling her trunk up easily.
"Potter?" she asked, surprised out of her mind. "You're Head Boy? Not Frank? Or Remus? Or Caradoc?"
Potter laughed loudly and smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Nope. I'm Head Boy. Upset?"
Upset? she thought, running her small hands through her hair, frizzy from the humidity level. James' grin grew and he pulled her down the train by her wrist, somehow pulling her trunk along also. James didn't even look fazed by her reaction, and Lily knew she was in for something. She just hoped it wouldn't be the victim of Peter's excellent Jelly Legs hex.