Disclaimer:
Sadly I do not own Harry Potter; instead I shall wallow in self pity and write lowly fan fics in a pathetic attempt to reconstruct my fantasy.
Chapter One
The Freezing of Hell
James Potter and Sirius Black stood in the middle of a crowded platform, with two trolleys and a large broomstick case, waiting patiently for the rush of people to abate so they could step onto the magical nine and ¾ platform. Muggles with small rolling suitcases and harassed looks on their faces passed quickly by, not sparing a glance at the two teenage boys smirking at them. Just as they were about to step onto the platform when the crowd thinned, a loud obnoxious voice startled them.
"Euch, look, it's two of i your /i kind Lily," spat a frizzy haired teenage girl, accompanied by none other than Lily Evans, James' long time crush and one of the most successful girls at Hogwarts.
"Brilliant Petunia, I swear you get smarter every day," replied the red head, rolling her eyes.
James and Sirius glanced at each other, "Excuse me," objected Sirius, "But we do have names."
"Like I'd care to know them," scoffed Petunia snobbishly, turning her nose up at them.
"Look, I'd appreciate a little respect here considering I could turn you into any foul horrible thing you desire in the blink of an eye," threatened James.
"What?" she snapped at him, though a little more wary than before.
"That's right, so shut up and leave us be," said Sirius, glaring at her.
"Lily, not only are your people disgusting, they're also rude," remarked Petunia, eyeing the two marauders.
"Only some of us are," snapped Lily, "And you just met two of them." She turned on her heel and pushed her trolley through the wall, making James and Sirius step aside.
James and Sirius gaped at her, "And she calls us rude!"
Petunia sighed huffily and walked away, turning her back on the magical world until the summer, where she'd be forced to admit it existed yet again.
James shook his head and walked through the wall, with Sirius right behind him. He smiled contently, directly before him was the magnificent crimson Hogwarts Express. Hundreds of students and their families were packed onto the small platform, and the din in the crowded area was deafening. "Blimey," wondered Sirius, "You'd think we were leaving forever the way some of them are acting," he gestured towards a group of tearful mothers with hankies.
James chuckled, "That was my mum seven years ago."
Sirius made a face, "My mum would do that about as soon as she would marry Dumbledore. Now can we go find a compartment? I'd rather not go through the tedious process of bullying someone out of one today."
"Okay, but I'm not going to ride the whole way there with you guys," mentioned James hesitantly, as though he expected Sirius to blow up at any moment.
"What?" asked Sirius, rounding on him.
"Er, I'll explain later, let's go, I think I smell Snivelly," said James, leading the way to the train. Sirius shrugged and followed him, whatever James was doing probably involved a prank and Sirius was more or less invited along.
Twenty minutes later and the two marauders were settled in a compartment at the very back of the train, with their trunks tucked away in the luggage compartments and seats saved for Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
"So what were you going to tell me Prongsie?" asked Sirius, comfortably reclining in his seat.
"Oh, that, well um . . ."
At that precise moment the door slid open and Remus Lupin strolled in, levitating his trunk in front of him. He magicked it up into the rack and then sat down, grinning at his two best friends.
"Hi Moony," said Sirius, "good summer?"
"You were with me for most of it Padfoot," reminded Remus, "But yes, it was rather fun."
"That's good, now James has to tell us something. Go on Prongs," instructed Sirius, fixing his gaze on James.
"Oh well, um, I got a letter this summer," mumbled James, avoiding Sirius' gaze and instead looking at Remus.
"Well that's shocking," said Sirius sarcastically.
"And it said – well it said," James glanced at Sirius, "Er, this was in it," he thrust something at Remus.
Remus took it and looked at it, and the grin on his face slowly disappeared. He held it up for Sirius to see. Sirius grabbed it and held it close to his face, as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Then he turned and looked back at James, a deadly look in his eyes.
"Head Boy?" he asked icily.
"Erm, yes," uttered James, wincing.
"How could you?"
"Look Sirius, I didn't ask for this, trust me, I'm not looking forward to it," insisted James hastily.
"I can't believe you," he said disappointedly.
"Remus?" asked James, pleading with him to respond.
"Congratulations," grinned Remus, pulling his thoughts together and smiling, "That's great, I'm glad to see that Dumbledore finally thinks you're ready to handle responsibility. Good job."
James smiled slightly, "Thanks, I didn't expect it. I thought for sure it was going to be you."
"I don't think anybody ever would have thought you would be Head Boy," interjected Sirius, "And I don't think anybody'll think you deserve it."
"I don't deserve it," admitted James, relaxing a bit now that he had gotten the news across, "but Dumbledore obviously had a reason or he wouldn't have made me the – the Head Boy."
"I think Dumbledore just went insane," scoffed Sirius, "and I'm going to make sure he knows it too."
"C'mon Padfoot, It'll be great. If any prefect tries to give you a detention, I'll dock him fifty points!" laughed James happily.
"It ruined the entire year," protested Sirius stubbornly.
"Not necessarily," shrugged Remus, "think of all the stuff you'll be able to get away with. Whole new windows of opportunities just opened, think about it that way."
"Oh," said Sirius, thinking that over, "but he'll have to do all the stupid Head's duties and enforce school rules, how are we supposed to prank and have fun?"
"He'd make time," said Remus softly, "Is this really worth losing your best friend over?"
"Yes!" glowered Sirius, "but I'll be nice and give it a chance."
"Thanks mate," sighed James, "now I have to go."
"Why?" demanded Sirius angrily.
"Head's carriage, I get to give out the rules to the prefects and discuss some things with the Head Girl."
"Who's the Head Girl?" asked Sirius, shooting daggers at him.
"Dunno," replied James, standing up. Remus stood up too.
"Where are you going?" exclaimed Sirius.
"I'm a prefect Sirius, I get to go to that exact same meeting and listen to James tell me what to do," explained Remus, grinning slightly at Sirius' face.
"Oh, and what am I supposed to do?"
"Talk to yourself, the wall, or Peter," suggested Remus, gesturing at a mousy boy trying to open the door.
James strode over and forced it open, sending poor Peter flying inside the compartment and next to Sirius.
"Fine," pouted Sirius, crossing his arms and looking the other way.
Remus and James snickered slightly and exited the compartment, sliding the door shut behind them. They could see Peter trying to talk to an adamant Sirius, and that only made them chuckle more.
"So, James," began Remus as they strolled down the corridors of the train, "do you have any idea how to be a Head Boy?"
"Well, no," sighed James dejectedly, "I have no idea what Dumbledore was on when he decided who was going to be the Head Boy. I have never obeyed a rule nor will I ever want to. How on earth am I supposed to enforce them?"
"That's your problem," said Remus, "but here's my advice. Do whatever the Head Girl asks you to and be as quiet as possible. Listen to your instincts and morals, and when the time calls for it imitate McGonagall. Trust me, that's all there is to it."
"I'm horrible at impressions," groaned James, turning white.
"You seem to imitate Snape making an idiot of himself all the time fairly well. Try being McGonagall, yelling at Sirius for doing something disruptive," prompted Remus.
"Okay," hesitated James, "here goes." He cleared his throat and started speaking in a really high-pitched voice, "Mr. Black! That is unacceptable! How i dare /i you try to curse someone in my class." He had made his lips seem really thin and his eyes were bugging out of his head.
Frank Longbottom, a seventh year Ravenclaw, happened to be walking down the corridor at that exact moment, "Er, Potter? What are you doing?" he asked confusedly. James, keeping his McGonagall face on, turned to look at him.
"I'm Minerva!" said James, in falsetto, "isn't it great?"
Frank rolled his eyes and walked away, trying to put as much distance in between him and James as physically possible.
"No, you're Head Boy," said Remus, smiling, "here's the Head's compartment. Good luck, and don't make an idiot of yourself." He held the door open for James, who stumbled inside and fell on the seat, and then followed him inside.
Lily Evans was sitting in the compartment, staring out the window. Her long soft red hair was falling around her head, and she was still wearing her dark jeans and a long sleeved dark green v-neck shirt. At the sound of the door closing she turned her head and immediately stood up. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, her eyes flitting from the door to the grinning idiot standing in front of her.
"I belong here," he declared, warming to the idea.
"No you don't, and you never will," replied Lily scathingly. "Now honestly, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to do what it said to do in my letter," snickered James, enjoying tantalizing her.
"Your letter!" Exclaimed Lily, "Don't tell me you're the . . ."
James pulled out his Head Boy badge, "Sorry to bust your bubble sweetheart," he said cheerfully.
Lily sat down with a bewildered look on her face, and then she said faintly, "I believe Hell just froze over."
"No, I think Dumbledore was just on something when he chose Head Boy and Girl," corrected James, grinning cheekily.
"Oh thanks Potter," snapped Lily, her eyes flashing angrily.
"No no no, I didn't mean it like that," protested James quickly, "I mean that he was on something when he chose me to be, I mean when he chose the Head, I mean . . . oh never mind." He sat down opposite Lily and sighed.
"Just shut up, you're only making things worse for yourself," she snapped at him.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
The door slid open and a few prefects strolled in, took in their surroundings, and sat down. Everyone was silent, and it was very awkward in the small compartment.
A few minutes later and everyone else had arrived, all of them sat squished together, and most of them were praying for the meeting to end so they could leave the cramped quarters and return to their happy friends.
Lily stood up and glared at James, who took that as a signal to follow her lead. She turned to face the prefects, and began speaking. "Hello everyone, I'm Lily Evans from Gryffindor, your Head Girl."
"And I'm James Potter, also Gryffindor, your Head Boy," continued James, smiling warmly at everyone else.
"Now this year should be quite similar to the last if you were a prefect, and if you're new the system is generally quite easy to get used to. Your duties are to be leaders in your house and to enforce the rules of Hogwarts onto the rest of the student body. You will know all the passwords to the houses, be expected to patrol the corridors in regular shifts, and help oversee that no one is doing any rule breaking. If you see any inappropriate behavior," she looked directly at James, "you will be expected to stop it. Now, on the rest of the train ride we ask that you occasionally walk the corridors, simply making sure that no one is doing anything seriously out of line. Once we reach the station, please assist the first years in disembarking the train and then proceed up to the castle. After the feast you will be expected to lead the new students from your house to your common room and show them to their dorms. For the first few weeks of school we ask that you guide the first years in finding their way to classes, meals, etc. We'll have our first prefect's meeting next week, and we will pass out patrolling schedules to you then."
She looped a silky strand of fiery hair behind her ear, "Do you have anything to add?" she shot at James.
"Erm, no you pretty much covered it," he replied casually, leaning against the window.
"Oh, one more thing. During patrolling you will be partnered with someone else. They will be your partner for the rest of the year, and we expect you to get along. If you have a serious problem with your partner, come speak to us and we'll see what we can do. Are there any questions?" She asked briskly, sweeping the room with her emerald eyes.
Most of the people in the compartment seemed to understand every word she said, unlike James who had no idea what he was supposed to do. Then someone spoke.
"Yes," announced a slimy voice from the corner. A greasy haired teen with an abnormally large hooked nose peered out at everyone contemptuously, "I refuse to be partnered with anyone . . . unworthy," his eyes lingered on Lily, "or any marauder so to speak."
"Oh no need to worry," assured James lightly, "I wouldn't dare pair you with anyone who practices personal hygiene, it'd be unhealthy for them. You'll have someone as equally greasy for you for a partner, and probably from your own house too."
A few of the prefects snickered, looking at Snape blush slightly. "Real witty Potter," he spat at James, who stared right back at him. Finally Snape looked away, "Fine," he snarled angrily.
"Anyone else?" Asked Lily kindly, "alright you may all leave."
The prefects all rushed towards the door and crammed out of it, anxious to leave the crowded compartment. Remus was last to leave, but he had one more thing to say, "Don't be too hard on him Lily, I know he screwed up but this is his first time, he's not like you."
She nodded at him and he left, sliding the door shut behind him. Then she turned and glared at James, who looked at his knees. For some reason he felt like his mother was about to scold him for not picking up his room or something, and it was scary.
"What was that?" she demanded as he winced.
"What was what?" he asked quickly, avoiding the question.
"You acting like a third year, that's what! Snape was i baiting /i you! He wanted you to screw up so it would prove you're not fit to be Head, and you played right along with him. Trust me, you earned i no /i respect today," her voice resonated in James' head.
"Oh, would you have stood for that crap?" asked James, getting angry now. "He was insulting everyone in here that wasn't a pureblood, and in case you didn't notice, you're not!"
"So? I've dealt with that my whole life, it doesn't bother me! What bothered me was your reaction to his stupid attempts to pick a fight, it was immature and - "
"My reaction? I told him to – "
"You insulted him, his house, and showed that you've stooped to his level when you did that. Sure you got a few laughs, but was it worth it?" she stood up and grabbed a bag on the seat, "you haven't changed Potter, and I don't think you ever will."
Then she left the compartment in a swirl of fiery hair. James sat in complete silence, pondering her words. What did she mean that he stooped to Snape's level? He didn't do dark magic or not wash his hair . . ."
After a few minutes James stood up and exited the room, walking back to his compartment with Peter, Sirius, and Remus. On the way he got brief glimpses into the other compartments; timid first years banding together in an attempt to be brave, small little Hufflepuff fourth years, who flashed him quick smiles as he passed; sixth year Slytherins, looking remarkably like slimy thugs, and of course the seventh year Gryffindor girls, with Lily and her friends chatting happily about this or that. He sighed, Lily would always hate him, it was the way the universe worked and unless everything stopped orbit, she'd never like him as even a friend.
Finally he reached his friends' compartment, and with a sigh of relief he entered the interesting scene. Sirius was talking loudly and exuberantly to Peter, who looked frightened and kept glancing at Remus as if pleading with him to save him. Remus was just reading, but would occasionally furrow his brow and obviously commit some complex and difficult spell to memory. James stood there and laughed, each of his friends was so different and hilarious it was hard to choose which was best.
"Hello James," greeted Remus, temporarily looking up from his book, "long time no see."
"Ha, funny," answered James sarcastically as he plopped himself down beside Remus.
"What'd she say?" Asked Remus, still reading from the book.
"I'm immature, I've stooped to Snape's level, and I haven't changed and never will," replied James dully, playing with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.
"Oh," said Remus, then he shrugged, "could have been worse."
"Wait, what?" Asked Sirius, tuning in to their conversation.
"Lily Evans is Head Girl, James screwed up, she yelled at him for it," answered Remus in a monotone, "not that big of an event in the universe."
"Oh," said Sirius, "doesn't she do that a lot?"
"Yeah," answered Remus, rolling his eyes.
"I cannot do anything right when I'm around her. Either she just doesn't think I did it right or I really didn't do it right," sighed James.
"Such is the hardship of life Prongs," reminded Sirius, "She'll never like you, it doesn't matter that she's the hottest girl in our year. Or that you're one of the most popular guys. She doesn't like you and never will."
"Thanks Padfoot," uttered James, staring vacantly out the window.
"Can we be done with the pity party? I want to play Exploding Snap," announced Sirius, holding up a deck of cards.
"Sirius is it within your abilities to feel empathy?" asked James, staring incredulously at him.
Sirius stared right back, as if in deep and serious thought. He stroked his chin and squinted his eyes, obviously pulling some complex thought from the depths of his brain. At last he opened his mouth and spoke to James, honestly and truthfully, "Not quite sure what the bloody hell empathy is mate."
center /center
"My God is it physically possible for Potter to get any more immature than he already was?" Asked a furious Lily as she banged into her friends compartment.
"What do you mean?" Asked Marlene McKinnon, better known as Marly, "You shouldn't have even seen him yet."
"Seen him yet? Seen him yet? You have no idea . . ." growled Lily, throwing herself into a seat.
"Is he a prefect?" asked Alice, raising an eyebrow at Lily.
"No, worse," retorted Lily.
"He's Head Boy?" asked Marly, smiling slightly.
"Yes!" cried Lily, "Isn't that awful?"
"No," scoffed Marly bluntly, "he's not horrible, he's a pretty cool guy."
"But he takes some special interest in tormenting me, all the time, and has since first year! He is such an ass, honestly, I'm not going to be able to deal with this."
"Lily, he's not that bad. In all honesty he's a pretty cute, sweet, funny guy. What's so bad about that?" questioned Alice, refusing to think pessimistically.
"He publicly humiliates people just to amuse himself! He's conceited and has gone out with about every girl in the school, he's disgusting," refused Lily solidly.
"Lily, he's a good person," responded Marly, "I really don't see what's so horrid about him."
"Please, you have not dealt with what I have dealt with. I don't appreciate arrogant berks who think quidditch is the answer to all problems!"
"Ugg!" groaned Marly, banging her head against the compartment window.
The rest of the train ride passed in a similar manner, with Marly and Alice trying to convince Lily that James wasn't that bad and Lily stubbornly refusing to cooperate. Finally, after a long while, the train began to slow down. At once the three girls changed into their robes and checked to make sure their wands were inside their pockets, then Lily went off to help the first years find Hagrid.
Outside of the train it was windy and cold and all of the girls wished they had remembered to put on their cloaks before they left. ("You'd think after seven years of the same weather we would have remembered.") They gratefully got into one of the horseless carriages, and sat in silence. "Oh look, there it is!" squealed Alice after a few moments, pointing at the gigantic Hogwarts castle, with all of its windows lit up and a welcoming air about it.
Lily was breathless, sure she had seen the sight many times before, but there was something about feeling like she was home at last that took her breath away every time. She sighed happily; Hogwarts was her favorite place in the world.
Fifteen minutes later and Lily and her friends walked through the big oak doors and into the entrance hall. The doors to the Great Hall were on her left, and she walked in, grinning excitedly. The four House Tables were directly in front of her, and she walked towards the Gryffindor one with her friends. They sat in the middle of their table, and waited for everyone else to become seated. Finally, when all was quiet, Professor McGonagall led the first years in.
They were like most first years, quiet and intimidated by everything around them. Some were eagerly anticipating what was next while most looked like they could fall over at any given moment. They lined up, nudging each other in a reassuring manner, until finally McGonagall carried in the hat and three-legged stool.
Lily smiled in a responsible sort of way at the looks on their faces when the hat opened its mouth and began to sing. It sang the same thing every year; if you're loyal and kind you belong in Hufflepuff, if you're clever and sly you belong in Slytherin, if you're brave and good you belong in Gryffindor, and if you're smart and hard working you belong in Ravenclaw. After it had finished McGonagall instructed the first years on what to do, and then she began reading off names.
The sorting went on for a very long time, with each scared eleven year old stepping shakily to the stool. Then the hat would announce their house in its signature voice and the first year's fate was sealed for their next seven years. Some of them looked relieved when the hat called out their house, while others simply looked confused. Lily was glad to see, however, that all the new Gryffindors looked very proud to be where they were.
One young group of boys in particular caught her eye. They were smirking a lot, and sneering at quite a few students scattered through the hall. When the first one of them was called, a disturbance caught her eye down the table. Sirius Black had stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth, "Good luck in Hufflepuff little bro!" he shouted at the kid. The younger boy, who looked similar to Sirius, rolled his eyes and walked to the hat. Potter, Remus, and Pettigrew laughed uproariously, and a few of the students even started snickering.
The rest of his friends looked on rather uninterested, and did not seem surprised when their friend was pronounced a Slytherin. Black sat down again, muttering something to Potter and glared at the first year. Each of the group of boys were called after a while, and all of them were brought together again at the Slytherin table. The look on their faces when the hat shouted it out made her cringe; they were going to grow into a fearsome bunch. Probably bullies and creators of terror during their school years, and Lily didn't even want to know what they would become after school.
(Author's Note: The boy that Sirius yelled to was obviously Regulus. Sirius was taking advantage of his brother's discomfort in order to remind him that Sirius has the upper hand at school, and Regulus is the new kid.)
Finally Professor McGonagall rolled up her parchment, picked up the stool and hat, and took them out of the Great Hall. At this Dumbledore stood up, spreading his arms out to his students. With a deep voice and a welcoming smile he spoke, "At last, another year has begun."
