Summary: Seventh year is just beginning, as Lily is warming to James' never waning affections. LE/JP amongst others.
Author's Note: A lot longer than my usual chapter. Thought I'd mix things us a little. Hehe. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: (to the tune of 'Rooftops' by Lost Prophets) Sitting at my desk now, everybody cry your heart out:
'I don't own anything you recognise! I own Lily's friends, Ella Campbell, Cherie Belmont and Daphne Austin. So, in the words of Give my socks back, no stickeh paws!'
Chapter 1: Welcome Back
Lily
There was a loud bang as Lily Evans knocked her alarm clock to the floor. Startling at the sudden noise, she screeched as she realised she only had 5 hours to get to the train station, where she'd leave on the Hogwarts Express to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She started to panic as she calculated her morning schedule. She lived 10 minutes away from the station, this meant she only have just over 4 and a half hours to get ready. She quickly rushed into the bathroom and started her shower.
An hour later she was dressed, clean, had double-checked her packing and made sure her owl, Athena, was safe. She began to calm down and wondered what her best friends, Ella Campbell, Cherie Belmont and Daphne Austin, were doing. She glanced at her watch once more; 7:05. Lily walked over to the floor length mirror and checked her appearance. She was a petite 17-year-old witch. Her long auburn hair waved naturally and brought her green eyes out so they sparkled. She had chosen to wear a tight, pale green V neck top with long sleeves and jeans, which made her legs appear longer. She slipped on some polka-dot converses and a green jacket that brought out the emerald pigment in her eyes. She played with the badge in her hand that read 'Head Girl'. She hadn't been very shocked when she'd received the letter to tell the truth, but she still couldn't wait to tell her friends. Lily couldn't help but wonder who the Head Boy was going to be though, she'd be happy with anyone responsible, except maybe a Slytherin. Or James Potter. Like anyone in their right mind would pick him anyway, he's so…rambunctious. And way too flirty. As she thought this she gave a small snort of laughter.
"Lily! Breakfast's ready!" yelled her mum.
"Coming mum!" Lily replied and walked towards the kitchen. Her parents were sitting at the kitchen table and greeted her with warm smiles.
"Hello honey, all ready for school?" asked her dad.
"Yep dad, I packed last night." Said Lily. There was a grunt from the end of the table and Lily noticed her sister, Petunia, for the first time.
"Are we shipping off the freak again then?" This got Petunia glares from her parents but Lily chose to ignore this comment and sat down next to her dad.
James
"James! Sirius! Get up or we'll be late!" There was a shout from downstairs and James and Sirius replied by grunting and rolling over in unison. They were so similar it was sometimes strange. James found himself finishing Sirius's sentences and they were practically brothers, it freaked some of the kids at school out but they didn't care. Sirius was James best mate, along with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew; together the foursome called themselves the Marauders. Sirius had left his home, as his parents disowned him for being a Gryffindor, James was happy to have him staying with him in the summer; it was like a permanent sleepover. James looked at his clock, 7:45! How could his mother be so cruel, they didn't have to catch the train until 11 o'clock! There was another yell, James groaned and reluctantly got out of bed, coincidently, Sirius did the exact same thing, causing them to crash into each other. James rubbed his head, no matter how large there room was and how far apart their beds were they always managed to bump into each other.
"Ow, James watch it!" Sirius cried as he rubbed his head. James shrugged and stumbled towards the bathroom for his usual morning shower. He heard Sirius crash into more objects as he made his way to his bathroom.
James walked out of the shower, finally awake and refreshed. Just as he was (attempting) to brush his hair to make it lie flat he started to remember Lily. Not that he's managed to forget about her of course, but he was in high spirits, as in a few hours he'd be able to see Lily, the love of his life. It was such a shame she hated him, but this year he'd vowed to grow up and stop hexing random Slytherins ('Snape's an exception. Slimy git' he thought) in front of her so she'd want to get to know him. He was convinced this plan would finally win her over and Remus had taught him how to be a gentleman. He was sure they'd be spending a lot more time together this year as he was surprising selected to be Head Boy and there was no doubt that she'd be Head Girl.
"Oh shit Prongs, we haven't packed!" James was snapped out of his daydream of Lily brushing her cascading hair by Sirius yelling. He glanced around and sure enough all of their belongings were scattered all over the floor.
"Damn, come on Sirius lets pack." James got out his wand as Sirius began stuffing things into his trunk.
"Padfoot, what are you doing?" James asked as he flicked his wand, causing his clothes to levitate into his trunk. Sirius paused, looking blankly at him, a book in one hand, a pair of socks in the other, but then realised he could use magic.
"Doh, I'm still not used to being able to do magic outside of school."
"Ha, Sirius when you turned 17 you were casting spells on everything you saw." Sirius shrugged this off and his trunk shut with a snap. The two friends walked down the stairs, their trunks hovering behind them.
"Finally, I thought you two would never wake up!" sighed James' mother.
"Ah you know us, Melanie, we like out sleep but love your cooking more." Sirius charmed. Melanie smiled and James rolled his eyes.
"Once you've finished your daily flirt session with my mother, Sirius, we still need to add the final touches to our welcome feast prank." Sirius glared at James.
"Ok, but first, we eat." He said with a grin. James' mother shot a disapproving look across the table.
"I didn't just hear the word 'prank' did I?" Melanie said sternly. James and Sirius thought best not to answer.
By half ten James, Sirius and Melanie had got everything in the car and were setting off for Kings Cross Station. They decided to go the muggle way, even though they could all apparate, because they had time to kill. Just as they got in the car Sirius suddenly stopped and stared at the house over the road. James looked where Sirius was staring and laughed at what he saw. Cherie Belmont was leaving her house with her brother, Carl, sister, Claudia and stern looking parents. Cherie was a very attractive French girl in their year. Her curly dark brown hair bounced as she walked towards the car in a denim mini skirt, knee length brown boots and a tight purple three-quarter sleeved top, which fitted her figure perfectly and a brown jacket, the whole outfit complimented her tanned skin. Her hazel eyes showed sadness though and the happiness she possessed at Hogwarts was not there. James knew why this was; her parents didn't like her as was sorted into Gryffindor instead of the family's usual house, Slytherin. As James thought, her story was very similar to Sirius'. He noticed that she perked up a bit when she saw Sirius staring at her. She smiled at him and got in the car.
"Er, Sirius, you're starting to drool." James laughed at his friend. Sirius shook his head and got in the car.
Lily
Lily was happy as she arrived at Kings cross, granted she was 30 minutes early but this made her relaxed as the possibility of missing the train was slim. She was very paranoid like this. There was a squeal as she got out the car and was bombarded by a tall, skinny girl with short, spiky, blonde hair
"Ella!" Lilly yelled as she hugged her best friend.
"Oh Lily, I haven't seen you in positively aages!" exclaimed Ella dramatically as she let Lily go. Lily giggled.
"I saw you last week."
"Yeah, see ages!" Ella grinned, "Come on, let's go to the platform." Lily waved goodbye to her parents, and let Ella lead her towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.
"Hurry up Leon!" A tall boy who looked like Ella waved goodbye to his parents and followed the girls. They got through the barrier and Lily saw Daphne flirting with some boy in Hufflepuff and was standing next to two trolleys. Lily saw Ella's, her owl, Aphrodite, was on it. Lily smiled as she remembered the two of them searching for pet name's in the library when they were first years. Aphrodite seemed appropriate as she was a majestic bird with pink tinged feathers. Not to mention there was more than one Hogwart's barn owl seeking Aphrodite's affections.
Daphne stopped talking to the boy as she saw Lily and ran towards her. For the second time in 5 minutes she was bundled by a friend. Daphne seemed to grow prettier every summer; she had shoulder length straight brown hair (with new blonde highlights, Lily noted) and shining grey eyes with specs of hazel so they looked like pools of gold and silver. She was dressed in jeans, a baby blue top and a darker blue jacket.
"Hey Daphne!" Lily managed to say as she was gasping for breath from the hug.
"Lily! It's so great to see you!"
"You too, it seems like years since I last saw you. Where are Maisie and Priscilla?" Lily beamed. Maisie and Priscilla were Daphne's younger sisters, Priscilla was in fourth year but Maisie was starting Hogwarts this year.
"They're on the train already." Daphne answered.
"Anyone seemed Cherie?"
"No, she should be arriving soon though." As soon as she said this they heard Cherie's laughter coming through the barrier. Cherie came into view, closely followed by her siblings…and Sirius Black and James Potter. Lily's mood immediately dropped.
"Cherie!" She said as cheerily as she could muster. It wasn't that she wasn't pleased to see her, it was just that Cherie was accompanied by the Doofus Duo. Cherie then gave all her friends a hug and her siblings went off to see their friends. Cherie had the widest grin on her face as she started talking to Sirius again. Lily and her friends couldn't help but notice this and exchanged knowing glances. Sirius and James greeted everyone but just as James looked at Lily she started speaking,
"I'm sorry girls, but I have to go to the Heads compartment."
"Yay, Lily you got Head Girl! I knew you would!" congratulated Ella.
"If you're going to the Heads compartment I might as well go with you." James said with a sly smile.
"And why would that be?" asked an annoyed Lily, her eyebrows raised. James pulled a badge out of his pocket reading Head Boy and Lily gawped at it.
"WHAT!" She yelled.
"Okay, it's official. Dumbledore has gone mad." Ella said.
"Gone? He was always mad." added Sirius. Cherie grinned at him, causing him to flush slightly. James raised his eyebrow at the pair and shook his head, It was blatant they both liked each other, but both were to shy to do anything about it. That thought made James want to laugh, Sirius, shy?
Lily started walking away so James followed her.
"So you're really Head Boy?" She asked him in disbelief, "This isn't just a prank?"
"Nope, I actually am Head Boy, I was as shocked as you," he replied.
Lily was getting worried now. She didn't want to have to organise everything on her own, but if James were the Head Boy she'd have to. She stalked sulkily to the Heads compartment and slid open the door. It was quite roomy, it was basically a normal compartment but bigger. On the table there was an envelope addressed to them. Lily opened the letter and saw it was from Professor McGonagall written with the Transfiguration teacher's favourite green ink.
Dear Mr Potter and Miss Evens,
Below, you will find a list of Prefects and the passwords to each of the Houses common rooms. Your first task is to hand out the passwords to each prefect. Then make sure they understand all their duties, including patrols.
It is not compulsory that you stay in the Heads compartment the entire journey, you may sit with whom ever you like, but I ask you, please do not get any mess in the Heads compartment if you bring friends in there.
After the welcome feast you both need to report to Professor Dumbledore and he will give you further instructions.
Enjoy the train ride.
Sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall
Lily read the letter out loud to James.
"Okay then, I guess we better go to the Prefect compartment." James said after he heard the contents of the letter. Lily was stunned,
"'We'?" she asked.
"Yes 'we', I'm not going to make you do everything on your own." Lily was so confused by this point. James Potter, being responsible? It just didn't fit. And he hadn't asked her out yet, 'that must be a bloody record,' she thought frowning to herself. She led the way to the prefect carriage and they gave out the passwords and duties as instructed. They walked silently along the train, looking for their friends. Lily was upset to see her friends and the marauders sitting together in one of the larger compartments.
"Hey everyone." They both said as they walked in. Lily sat next to Cherie and James noticed his fellow marauders he had not seen on the train ride yet.
"Remus, Peter! Long time no see." James grinned, knowing fully well it was less than a week that they had last been together. Remus raised an eyebrow and Peter squeaked with laughter. Lily rolled her eyes, Peter just annoyed her, and he was awfully odd. Lily found herself subconsciously enjoying the train ride, and James' company. He was actually funny and rather sweet. Lily suddenly realised what she was thinking and mentally whacked herself, James Potter was not sweet. He was an arrogant, bigheaded prat. She accidentally glared at him so he stopped talking. Lily looked over at Sirius and Cherie and smiled to herself, she also noticed how well Remus and Ella where getting along. She felt a pang of jealousy as the four of them happily flirted. Daphne was sitting, looking repulsed by Peter's attempts to chat her up, and this made her smile more. She caught Daphne's eye and grinned at her. Daphne, however, didn't grin back, she was to busy trying to convince Ella to let her swap seats.
The train lurched as it pulled into Hogsmeade station. The eight of them walked over to the self-pulling carriages. Or so Lily assumed. She noticed Cherie stop and stare at the space of where a horse should be.
"First time I've seen them." Cherie whispered horrified.
"What?" Sirius asked, looking worried. Cherie shook her head and climbed into one of the carriages, leaving her confused friends behind.
"Cherie, are you okay?" Lily asked as she got in the carriage, Cherie had turned very white and that was hard as she was naturally tanned.
"Yeah. I'm fine." She muttered. Sirius sat down beside her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. Lily was still worried but let the subject drop. After a few minutes, the looming shadow of Hogwarts castle came into view and Lily grinned joyfully. Hogwarts was her home and she was finally returning. She almost ran out of the carriage as they arrived at the doors into the school, but used her self-restraint to stop herself. She didn't need to make a fool of herself on the first day back. She chatted with Ella and Daphne as they walked up the steps to the castle. Cherie and walking with Sirius and they appeared to be in deep conversation about something. She sat down at the Gryffindor table, between Ella and Daphne, and took in her surroundings. It was great to be back. The familiarity of the great hall made her feel more at home then she had done in weeks. Cherie, Sirius, James and Remus sat opposite the three girls, where as Peter, much to Daphne's disgust, decided to have another go at wooing her so sat next to her. Lily looked up to see James sitting opposite her again. Even though it was the first day back she could already notice a change. She sat there for a while puzzling until the hall went quiet and Professor McGonagall came in, followed by a trail of nervous looking first years.
James
He had surprised himself on the journey to Hogwarts. He hadn't asked Lily out once and when he caught her eye he didn't act like an idiot. James couldn't help but notice how often Lily looked at him though. He hoped this was a good sign and that his efforts during the summer were going to pay off and she'd finally give him a chance. His thoughts were abruptly stopped when he saw McGonagall come in with the new students for the sorting. He watched as the stern witch walked into the great hall with several small witches and wizards.
Author's Note: Yay! Chapter one is up!
I am putting Hermione Vs Draco on a bit of a back burner for now, as I am lacking in inspiration, as you may have been able to tell for the way overdue chapter update. (sorry Faye! Don't hurt me. Or you Ellie.) Any ideas, post me.
I know it's annoying when people get bored of their stories and you're eagerly (usually) waiting the next instalment, I feel that way too. I am so sorry. But I thought since I've had this one in the back of my mind for a bit I might as well start it.
