Reunion
It was the first of September and Lily Evans lined her luggage cart up with the stone passageway leading onto platform 9 3/4 for the last time in her life. She began to run towards the barrier and just as it looked like she was going to crash into it, she disappeared through it and landed by the side of a large red train, puffing with smoke. Everyone around her was bustling with excitement, whilst loading their trunks and owls onto the Hogwarts Express.
As she looked around Lily easily spotted the nervous first years who were glancing out at the crowds of people with a look of fearful excitement on their faces. Lily remembered fondly her first time boarding the train to Hogwarts. She was just 11 years old when she had received a letter explaining that she was a witch and was invited to learn charms, potions, and much more at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lily remembered looking up at Professor Dumbledore's long white beard with awe, when he came to explain everything about the wizarding world to her and her parents. That was the first moment she felt like she truly belonged somewhere.
Coming back to reality, Lily, being 15 minutes early and having already said goodbye to her parents (Petunia had decided not to come along to Lily's disappointment although she said nothing), decided to find a compartment to load her trunk into and then get changed into her school robes. Once she was dressed, she pinned her shiny, new Head Girls badge to the front of her robes, and descended the train steps proudly to find her friends.
Over the crowds of people, Lily spotted one of her best friend's long, wavy, brown hair swishing back and forth from its ponytail prison. Rose Frost was around the same height as Lily, with a slim yet muscular build formed through years of quidditch training and big, brown eyes that at this moment were searching up and down the platform for her two best friends.
"Rose!" Lily called, trying to catch her friend's attention. At the sound of her voice, Rose whipped around and ran towards Lily, embracing her in a tight hug.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages, how was your summer?" Rose gasped.
Just as Lily was about to answer she and Rose were pulled into another tight hug from their friend Blake Ames, a tall and skinny girl with long, wispy, blonde hair. Soon the friends were all catching up on their summers and talking wildly of the year before them.
At the same time, the girls' reunion was taking place, quidditch captain, James Potter and known trouble maker/heart breaker, Sirius Black marched their way onto the platform in search of their best friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. James walked around looking for his friends when he noticed a long legged, red head giggling with her friends: Lily Evans he thought. The girl I have been after since first year. She is smart, funny, beautiful, perfect…
Noticing the hazy look on James' face, Sirius followed his gaze which landed on the girl James had been asking out since the beginning of time.
"Let it go man," Sirius sighed, "if she didn't like you last year, there's a slim chance she will like you now."
"But maybe this year will be different, maybe this year she will say yes. Look she is wearing her Head Girl badge that means we will have to spend time together, doesn't that count for something?" James protested.
"Let's just go find Moony and Wormtail alright?" Sirius replied with a look of pity in his eyes. If he had asked Lily out and she had said no, he would have moved on ages ago, however his best friend was still stuck on her and he felt slightly annoyed at the situation.
Finally, the two marauders found their other half and went to find a compartment before the train pulled away from the station. However before boarding, Lily caught a glimpse of a lean, muscular boy with a head full of messy black hair, parading around with his friends. Before she could look away, James caught her eye and gave a friendly smile yet Lily swore she saw a hint of a secret playing at his lips. Blinking furiously, Lily whipped her head around trying to free her mind of Potter's lips, and stalked off to show her friends where her compartment was. Then she promised Blake and Rose she would be back after debriefing the prefects and hurriedly made her way towards the prefect's compartment. As she pulled open the door, Lily wondered who would be head boy. Maybe Remus Lupin, she thought, he was polite, had good grades, and had after all been a prefect with her for several years. Or maybe Amos Diggory from Hufflepuff.
Just then, the least likely person she thought Dumbledore would have chosen to be head boy, pulled open the compartment door and strode in with an air of confidence. Lily just started as her heart started pounding with disbelief.
"You do know this is the Prefects compartment Potter?" Lily asked, hoping what she saw may not be true.
"I know," James replied easily. His secretive, smirk was back.
Lily chanced a glance at the front of his robes and her fears were confirmed. Pinned crookedly to his robes was a silver Head Boy pin. Oh no, Lily thought, what could Dumbledore have been thinking choosing Potter, school troublemaker and no good toe-rag, to be head boy. He is nothing a head boy should be. He isn't a hard working student like I am, Lily thought. All he does is goof off and make fun of people, yet still gets good grades without even trying.
The frustration on Lily's face was clear to James and he wasn't sure if he should be hurt or find it funny. He went with the latter.
"Earth to Evans, are you there, hellooooo?" James tried.
Not trusting her voice, Lily only nodded and continued to stare in shock.
"Why do you look so shocked, you didn't think that James Potter, master at life, could become head boy?"
Finding her voice Lily snapped back, "That is exactly what I was thinking, how on earth could YOU become head boy! All you are is a good for nothing, slimy git!"
Before James could respond, the new prefects started to file in and Lily turned her full attention to them as she began debriefing them about their patrols and duties as prefects.
