A/N- Hi! So this is the first chapter of this fic, halfway through the POV changes to James and then back to Lily and then continues like that. James POV'S will be shorter as I'm a girl I don't really know how to write as a male, bear with me! Please review HONESTLY! Hope you enjoy this!
Shout out to MaraudersAtHeart for beta-ing this!
Lily's POV
"Lily!" I hear my sister screeching to me,
"Get down here know, we have to leave to go that 'freak' school you go to!"
Petunia has always been like this insulting the wizarding world. She claims she isn't jealous of me for being a witch and a part of the WW (Wizarding World) but I and my parents all know that she is.
I just jog down the stairs and follow Petunia into the car, where our parents are waiting for us. My trunk's already in the boot and my dad starts the engine.
"You got everything?" He asks, smiling. He and my mother have always been happy to have a witch in the family and they love September 1st because they get to go into Platform 9 and ¾ and see all the magic going on, whereas Petunia always hangs back near the exit waiting to leave as soon as possible.
"Yeah." I reply simply and with a flick of my wand charm my seat belt to go around my slim waist and click into place. I smile knowing that I can now do magic without getting a warning from the M.O.M (Ministry Of Magic). Today's my birthday and I'm now 17 so I can do magic legally. (I got lots of clothes; nothing else would be of much use as they can't go into Diagon Ally and get me a witch product, now could they?). I always love September 1st along with my parents because of my birthday and I get to go to Hogwarts!
The rest of the journey went by quickly, and now I'm stood outside the entrance to Platform 9 and ¾. I go first and the I'm soon followed by my family, Petunia only comes in reluctantly.
"So you're Head Girl, aren't you?" my mum asks beaming at me.
"I am yes; I wonder who Head boy is…" I reply, saying the last bit more to myself than to my mother.
"I think you'll find that's me."
A voice pipes up before any of my family can speak. I swivel around to see who the speaker is, only to see I'm staring into someone's chest, obviously a young-man. Then I look up into the mischievous hazel eyes of James Potter. He has a grin on his face what makes the scowl which was formulating on my face, grow bigger.
"Hey," he says still with that grin on his handsome face. Wait. Did I just think that?! My scowl goes bigger at the ludicrous though which just crossed my mind.
"What did you steal that badge of someone?" I accuse gaping at the badge saying, 'HB' with a background of the Gryffindor Lion and colours I just noticed on his white shirt, identical to the one pinned to my white blouse, but of course mine says 'HG' instead of 'HB'. Huh, we would look kind of the same; clothing's wise, if he was wearing green pants (He couldn't wear a skirt, although that would be kind of funny, okay, hilarious).
He just smirks at my shocked state and then says "Nope."
"Lily, don't be so rude, accusing this fine young man of stealing!" My father suddenly says, reminding me that he, him, my mother and Petunia-hating-my-freak-sister-for-eternity, are still there. I redden in anger, my face probably now the same colour as the roots of my hair.
"Ah, you must be Mr and Mrs Evans?" Potter says with a polite smile on his face and shaking hands with both of my parents.
"…and you must be Lily's sister? Are you a witch as well, I don't think I've seen you around Hogwarts before…" He continues and I snort at the thought of Petunia being a witch and at the way her face scrunches in disgust, at being thought a witch or being spoke to a magical person other than me I don't know, probably both. She continues looking like a scarecrow or something but doesn't say anything, so I decide to speak for her.
"Potter, Petunia is not a witch, she's a muggle."
He looks startled by the fact that Petunia didn't reply or look like his presence didn't bother her, when half of the female-population at Hogwarts would swoon if he so much as smiled at them; in fact her face curled even more, if that's possible.
"Oh." Potter finally speaks up and continues looking confused, I turn to my parents, "Well I'll see you next summer then! I'll write to you lots!" I say as I'm hugging them both. I turn to see the world's biggest prat do something prat-ish, but for better than for worst, (well for me, anyway) after he greets goodbye to my parents he goes right up to Petunia and hugged her whilst saying "Bye, Patricia!" before turning to come next to me with a satisfying smirk on his face!" "Bye." I say again to the three of them before wandering off to the Hogwarts Express with Potter and spluttering,
"That-What-Oh-", he carries on smirking.
After I've composed myself I say,
"That was the best thing ever!" He grins at me mischievously,
"I know" he says modestly, surprisingly.
"Why did you do it?" I say with a growing grin on my face.
"See seemed to not like the wizarding world so I thought she's hate to be hugged by a wizard. As for the name, no one likes being called a name which isn't their name."
I'm surprised that we're actually talking like friends.
"Oh my Merlin." I reply, star struck.
"I'll take that as a 'thank you'" I don't reply and he doesn't say anything, either, as we trudge on along the corridor of the scarlet steam engine in silence.
"Oy, James!" Someone shouts out of a compartment and James Potter goes off to go onto the compartment the voice called him from, but I grab a fistful of his shirt and hiss to him,
"What do you think I was just walking with you out of choice? We need to go to the prefect's compartment and give them instructions!"
Yes, Potter might have just hugged and called Petunia, Patricia so she could scrunch her face in disgust and so he and I could get pure pleasure out of it, but he was still Potter. Potter looks at me and smirks,
"You're just using that as excuse, you're enjoying my company." I look into his warm hazel eyes and say sternly, a bit like McGonagall,
"Potter tell-" I look over his shoulder, on my tiptoes, to see a smirking Sirius looking at us , then Remus and Peter- the other two Marauders in the compartment, they seem to be playing an intense game or chess and haven't even noticed mine or Potters presence. I look back at Potter,
"-Sirius you're going to the prefects compartment because you're Head Boy" I finish now I'm smirking,
"-or is that too embarrassing for big bad Jamsie Potter?" I say 'Jamsie' because I've heard Sirius call him it before in classes and I know how annoyed he gets. His face contorts into anger for a split second, but then he says nonchalantly,
"No," then over his shoulder, "-Sirius, I've got to go to the prefects compartment, Head Boy." He taps his badge with his finger and then he says,
"Oh yeah, Remus, come on."
"Aww, he's going to ruin yours and Lily flowers alone time." Sirius says wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I glare at him in disgust as Remus comes towards me and Potter-Sirius taking his place in the game. That's why most of the girls are jealous of me because they believe James Potter actually likes me, when he absolutely does not because he annoys me on purpose! Remus reaches us and we hurry towards the prefects' compartment.
"-list of rounds is here, put your name wherever you want and that's it you can go." Potter finishes speaking to the Prefects. Surprisingly he actually knew what he was talking about. I actually completely forgot to put my name down before everyone else got the chance too so now I'll probably end up with the worst rounds. So eventually after lots of squabbling and pushing the prefects, one by one, scampered away to their own compartments. Techniquely you're allowed to stay here if you are a Prefect but no one ever does.
"Bye, then." James Potter calls, he must have just put his name down as well. He ducks out the door and leaves me stood there alone. But in a matter of seconds he's back and says,
"Oh yeah, Happy Birthday." Then he smiles and actually goes. Well, that was…strange. I go over to the table with the chart on and see what rounds I'll have to do and with who. The chart shows:
PREFECTS ROUNDS CHART
September 2- Dylan Pines and Charity Hardy (HufflePuff)
September 3- Henry Brown and Cassie Bynes (RavenClaw)
September 4- Lucius Malfoy and Narissa Black (Slytherin)
September 5- Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon (Gryffindor)
September 6- Amos Diggory and Harley Hem (HufflePuff)
September 31- James Potter and _
The Prefects as just shown, always partner with one of the Prefects from their house, and it's got to be with the opposite sex. Supposedly this means you will not mess about i.e. partner with a friend and just slack of. I don't think they'd count on that most of the prefects are actually going out with each other, friends (did they not realise people have friends of the opposite sex?) or they hate each other and will end up hexing them?
There's only the space next to Potter's untidy scrawl left so I sign my name there in my elegant scrawl: Lily Evans. I sigh. The system really does not work. For every Prefect and the Head's to be patrolling every night then there would have to be 60 prefects, when really there is only 6 from each house. So people usually have to write their names down twice and usually there with the same person. As being a Head you have to patrol 2 times a week as well as the time the chart says. So that's 9 or 10 times a month.
What I suppose isn't so bad- but my point was it's all rather confusing.
I go out of the Prefects compartment taking the chart with me and charm the parchment so it fits into my blouses breast pocket. I know no one ever puts anything in there breast pocket but I'm wearing a float-y green skirt with no pockets so there's nowhere else to put it. And If I do say so myself, it matches my eyes perfectly.
I finally find the compartment with Marlene McKinnon, Emma Vance and Alex Clove are sat. (Alex is actually short for Alexandra, but no one ever calls her that).
"What took you so bloody long?" Alex shoots, looking at me with a certain twinkle in her chocolate eyes I'm not sure I like. Alex is tall, skinny (not in a bad way, though) and has dark black wavy/straight hair. She could practically be related to James Potter or Sirius Black, based on looks. But she really could have been, with how far back pure blood wizarding families go, but she's not as they checked in 6th year searching through books and books of old wizarding families. But she isn't related to either of them. Quite lucky really that she isn't related to Sirius, as they've had this on-and-off relationship going since the end of 5th year.
"It wasn't as long as some of the meetings in the past." I finally reply.
"But Marlene came back 10 minutes ago!" She continued to wine.
"Maybe she had a good snog with are good friend, James" Emma pipes up, and I glare at her. See, like everyone else my friends think he actually fancies me, but at least they aren't jealous of me for it. Even though it's not true. Marlene and Alex are on the Quidditch team, along with James, they've all been on it since second-year when you're allowed to be on the Team. They're too close friends with James too ever go out with him. Alex is already kind-off with Sirius, so if something went seriously wrong (no pun intended) with him, she wouldn't then go with his best mate. Emma doesn't really know him, but she's already going out with a HufflePuff, named, Paul Abbott. And I of course can't go near anyone, because of James Potter. Again, it's said that he hex's everyone I ever take minimal interest in because he likes me, but come on, he just likes hexing people. (Okay so, it's kind of weird he only hex's people I like and stopped hexing people randomly in 5th year, but I don't know what that means!)
"He and Lily were dawdling when everyone was going to sign the rounds calendar…" Marlene says, dazed, remembering the moment. Even though she may be in a daze or something I still turn my glare on her."
"Shut up McKinnon," I know what wit I have. I should have been in RavenClaw.
"- you know perfectly well you're going to leave us in a few minutes to go snog Remus in an empty compartment somewhere and in a broom cupboard when it's you night to do rounds together…" I decide to share that tid-bit of information with the others.
But she just nods and grinning like the maniac she is slowly stands up and says,
"Uh-huh." And then she grins over her shoulder at me one last time and with a swish of her long mahogany hair leaves the compartment.
"Disgusting." I hear Emma say dryly, her blue eyes now looking ugly with her blonde hair, as there bulging out of her head at how Marlene didn't even seem embarrassed at hiding the truth in what I just said whilst Alex just laughs.
"Uh-huh" I repeat Marlene's choice of words from earlier and then I mumble tiredly, "I'm going to sleep for a bit."
James' POV
I'm waiting on platform 9 and ¾ staring at the entrance until I see a certain red hair come through. I told Lily Evans last year that I'm going to introduce myself to her family this year to annoy her (even though I like her, she's cute when she's angry!) but I bet she didn't think I was being serious.
I see her and watch for about 2 seconds before I stride over there, keeping my eyes locked on her. She's wearing a white blouse which you can see her white lacy bra through, bet she didn't know that. She's also wearing a long green skirt what goes down just below her knees. As well as that Lily's also got on white dolly shoes. Probably not the most warmth outfit but it's surprisingly warm for a September 1st. Being in England, the summer's usually aren't summers and it's not usually sunny, but hey! It is today!
I'm finally 5 paces behind her when I hear her say,
"I wonder who head boy is…"
Instantly I interrupt,
"I think you'll find that's me." She turns around to me and we're so close I had to stop myself from pulling her into my arms. I can see Lily's startled to see me there but I engage myself in small talk with her, and her family.
A few minutes later we say are goodbyes and I hug her sister and call,
"Bye Patricia!"
Lily looks startled again by this but then she grins at me. Hmm. Maybe this year I might get somewhere with her. Maybe.
I watch as she drones about everything and anything to the Prefects. I stare at her pretty sight until I get that feeling; you know that feeling, where you feel as though someone's staring at you and your 99% right. I snap my gaze from Lily and find almost immediately whose starting at me. Remus. He's smirking but his gaze is more knowing. If you hadn't been friends with him for 7 years you undoubtly couldn't tell what he was silently saying:
Stop! You look desperate! Everyone already knows you fancy her, don't let them know you like her that much!
Really? I answer telepathically, but I know he knows what I'm saying.
Yes! Don't look at her again, you knew I was looking at you; she might already have noticed you were staring at her, stop!
Oh Merlin! What if she has?! Okay, I will.
James, don't panic, she doesn't look like she has.
Why did you say it then?!
So you would stop, now speak it's your turn.
And before I can telepathically tell him he's a prat, I realise Lily has just stopped speaking. I shoot a glare at Remus and then say my part.
Once I've signed up my name after everyone else, well except Lily, she seems to be in a daze. I say a quick goodbye and the slip off to the compartment I know I'll find the other Marauders. Not even halfway there I realise I've not even wished her a Happy birthday! I hurry back to the prefects' compartment and luckily, Lily's still there.
"Oh yeah, Happy Birthday." I say quickly. She doesn't reply so I scamper off.
"Tut, tut, tut." I see Sirius shaking his head and saying that, being mock disappointed. The grin on his face shows otherwise. Remus is grinning and Peter's got a mouthful of something but still doing this crooked grin.
"Had a good old' snog with Evans then?" Sirius again speaks up, explaining why they're all grinning stupidly.
"Maybe the staring wasn't a bad thing then." Remus says, earning two confused glances at him, so he hasn't told Sirius and Peter then. Hm. I ignore him as not to make more questions.
"I wish." I mumble answering Sirius' question as I sit down next to my best mate. There grins slip off their faces.
"What took you so long then?" Peter asks, finally finishing the sweets he had been shovelling in his mouth.
"Well I was waiting to see If she'd snap at me, for staring."
"Did she?" Remus asks.
"No."
"Why so down then, mate?" Sirius now.
"I'm not down."
"Yeah you are."
"Nope."
"Uh-huh."
"No"
"You-"
"No"
"But-"
"NO!" I say with a final tone in my voice. They now know they're getting nowhere. And they sigh in unison. The truth is, my slight hope has fizzled out now and I can see the truth. I'm going to get nowhere with her. She hates me and there is nothing I can do about it. But I guess I'll keep trying…
I feel one of them chuck something at my chest and see a chocolate frog lying there on my lap.
"It'll make you feel better, anyway I've got to meet Marlene now see you!" Remus ends and then walks out the door of the compartment.
The rest of the train ride goes by quickly and then we're going out waiting for the carriages to arrive.
Lily's POV
"-HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LILY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
My friends finish screaming at the tops of their lungs and then Marlene-she came back ages ago- conjures a cake and splits it up into quarters. We always wait until were nearing Hogwarts to celebrate my birthday. They got me a book, Some Honey Dukes fudge and 10 galleons (Wow, a lot!).
5 minutes later we're stood outside waiting for a carriage- we're next. And we still have cake in our hands.
We're just getting on to the carriage when we see 4 more people coming up too us and quickly getting on to our carriage-The Marauders.
"Hello."
"Hey."
"Hi."
Remus, James and Peter greet to us and sit down, well James and Peter sit anyway there's only room for 6 people in the carriage. Whilst they all greeted us politely and normally, Sirius comes over to me though and kisses me full on the mouth quickly and then pulls away with a smirk on his face then he says,
"Hope you liked your birthday present," and he winks.
"Well, I would say thanks but I didn't actually enjoy it, Sirius." I say sweetly. He puts a hand to his heart in mock hurt-ness and the he laughs and turns to Potter,
"Tough one, this one" he says, which I don't get, maybe I've had too much cake. However Alex definitely seems to get it as she bursts out laughing. I look over to James Potter himself and see he's- he's-blushing!
What?!
He sees me looking at him and then says.
"Uh, well, what are we going to do about the seats?"
"I'll sit on Remus' lap!" Marlene says quickly and moves out of her seat so Remus can sit there, the she plonks herself onto his lap.
"I'm staying here" Alex says
"Me too." Emma agrees.
"Well, I'm not moving." That's Peter.
"Me either." Sirius says lastly and moves me out of my seat and sits in it himself, so now I'm stood up. I glare at him knowing it had something to do with what he said before; I still don't get it, though. I've definitely had too much cake.
"Well where will I sit?" I snap.
"On James' lap of course!" Sirius replies.
"WH-What?" I stutter, there's no way I'm sitting on his lap! We aren't even friends! Why can't Alex sit on Sirius' lap anyway, aren't they together?!
"Lil, you aren't sitting on our laps!" Alex shoves me into Potters lap now and I stay their knowing there's nothing I can do about it now. Unfortunately.
"God Evans, you have such a bony arse." Potter whines and shifts uncomfortably beneath me. I blush but still snap back at him,
"Well I didn't choose to sit here!"
"Doesn't mean your arse isn't bony!" He snaps back at me. Sirius, Alex, Emma, Remus, Peter and Marlene all start to laugh hysterically, but I just reply back,
"Well you shouldn't have joined us then."
"Not my idea."
"Not my problem."
"Stop wriggling!"
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
"Well move if it bothers you!"
"No!"
"Stop whining then!"
Are friends continue to laugh merrily and they don't hear when Potter whispers into my ear,
"I'm sorry." I can feel his breathing next to my ear, it sends chills running down my body but I answer back in a steady, but equally as quiet as his, voice saying my apology to him. That argument was stupid, well I guess all of our arguments over the year have been stupid, but I wasn't about to admit that. Truly, I probably hate apologising to people just as much as the boy I'm sat on does, but if he can apologise to me, I guess I can to him.
"Friends?" He asks in a hopeful voice. He wants us to be friends? I wish I could say yes to him, because everyone else in the school, even the teachers seem to like him, just not me. He can't be that bad can he? But can I put 6 years of, maybe not hatred, but mutual dislike down the drain, like it's never happened? He obviously doesn't dislike me then, if he wants to be friends, but I can't just say yes. It would be accepting supreme awkwardness this whole year. So instead of answering normally, I act dumb.
"We were never friends." Wow, I know I've said it before, but I really should have been sorted into RavenClaw.
"That doesn't mean we can't be." So now he's practically asked to be friends, I can't play stupid forever, so I turn his offer away, kind of.
"We argue too much."
"Agree to Disagree?"
"You hate me."
"No, I don't." Okay well I can't say no now can I?! I know he's not going to give up so instead of saying no I say,
"Okay, yeah."
"Good." He finishes our little conversation with a glowing smile. I can almost feel the warm happiness radiating from his eyes as I smile back at him.
When we reach the entrance hall everyone in our carriage hops off and heads straight towards The Great Hall, except me and James. I've decided on calling him by James instead of Potter because well, what friend calls their friends by their last name?
"Why do you want to be friends with me?" I blurt out suddenly. My question seems to startle him but when he answers he seems to be sure with himself.
"I like you."
"You do?" I ask, raising my eyebrow, were halfway to the Great Hall now. He rolls his eyes and replies,
"Obviously."
"Hmm…" I say acting unconvinced.
"I do!" He shoots, getting annoyed now.
"I believe you…" We're making our way to the Gryffindor table now.
"I do!" He repeats himself.
"I know you do, now let's celebrate!" I say jollily
"Celebrate?" He asks his anger fizzling out now and being replaced by confusion.
"Yes, celebrate our first kind-of-argument as official friends; Merlin knows we'll still have tons." I explain grinning and bumping his hip with mine, well it's really his upper thigh as I'm so much shorter than he is. He stares at me until we've reached our friends who are all sat together, not that unusual as everyone in Hogwarts sits with people in their year, mainly. Once we've both sat down though he shakes his head and does this little breathy laugh,
"You're a strange one, you are, Lily." I notice how he calls me Lily.
"I know, James." I decide to say his first name to him as well and it's like we've both sealed the deal. We know now that the other is willing to try to make the best out of this friendship. I don't know why but it's not awkward between us at the feast. Of course we aren't just talking between ourselves, we're talking with everyone. (Emma, Alex, Marlene, Remus, Sirius, Peter).
"What was with you and James? You were both calling each other by your first names and speaking civil-y to each other!" Marlene blurts out as soon as we close the door to our dormitory. I sigh, I knew this was coming.
"When all you banshees, were laughing your heads off in the carriage, he asked to be friends, I said yes. That's it." I say simply not wanting to be pestered about it.
"THAT'S IT?!" Alex screeches, plonking her bum on her four-poster bed,
"That is not it, there's got to be something more to it!" She continues.
"You know he doesn't just want to be your friend, right Lily?" Emma says calmly, well at least she's not shouting at me.
"No, he just wants to be friends, wouldn't you want to put a stop to 6 years' worth of hatred and insults? And that is it!" So I don't mention the argument, but that's not important, it was a fake argument! They'd only catch onto the part where I said 'let's celebrate' thinking we were going to sneak out into Hogsmeade and get drunk! When really all I meant is, I'll find you at the party, Gryffindor has at the start of every term, or you find me. And that only means so we can share a friendly butter beer together!
"If you say so..." Marlene drawls, unconvinced.
"I do say so! I'm knackered anyway."
"Me too," Emma says stifling a yawn, "night!"
"G'night."
"Goodnight!"
"Sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite!" I say the muggle-saying not realising Marlene and Alex won't have heard it.
"What?" I get twice.
"Muggle-saying!" Emma answers for me; being a half-blood she knows it.
James' POV
I don't know how I did it. I really don't. I suppose my Gryffindor bravery came out when I asked Lily to be friends with me in the carriage. And she actually agreed! Maybe I will get somewhere with her this year. And she's stopped calling me Potter! I've been grinning since I got into the 7th year boy's dorms. I've just finished explaining everything to Sirius, Remus and Peter. They're all as shocked, but as happy as I am. I know she didn't exactly say she'd go out with me but it's better that her hating me, but I suppose she didn't or doesn't anymore if she agreed. And she wants to meet up at the start of term party! I'm sure again only as friends but I'm ecstatic. Friends with Lily Evans after all these years of trying. The guys are talking between themselves still and I tune back in to here Sirius saying,
"If only he'd said she had a bony arse before! Who would know she'd fall at his feet!"
I scoff,
"Oh come on, if wasn't because of that! And she's not falling at my feet, she just agreed to be friends!"
"This could go somewhere though…." Remus says thoughtfully.
"Yup." Peter then says, with a grin.
"Well I'm not saying it couldn't, I'm just saying we're only friends now."
"Hm." Sirius says, it could mean anything. He waves his wand and the oil lamps flicker off.
A/N: So that's the first chapter! Was it too long? Was it interesting enough? Were James' POV's too short or too awkward? Review please?!