James was livid. Why would Lily- his Lily- do something so stupid? Did she not use her brain?

He couldn't decide what to do: be mad at Lily, the girl he was hopelessly in love with, or just hold her as she broke down and cried right in front of him. This can't be happening, James thought.

SEPTEMBER: 4 MONTHS EARLIER

"Oi! Evans!" yelled James Potter, a seventh year Gryffindor and newly honored Head Boy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Young wizards and witches from all over Great Britain flocked Platform 9 ¾, excited for yet another school year.

Lily Evans, the new Head Girl, felt the butterflies in her stomach start up immediately at hearing his voice. Truth be known, she had liked James Potter for about a year now, but he was always such a prat, that she never could bring herself to go out with him. Since they had first met, he asked her out on a near daily basis, but did so in such a manner that made her want to rip her hair out. He never could get it into his thick head that he should treat her like she was a girl he actually liked, instead of eyeing her like a piece of meat. He was always attention seeking, conceited, and rude to those who were not the Marauders—his closest group of friends—or Lily Evans herself (and he was even pretty rude to her, on occasion). Of course, he never purposefully directed any of his insults at her, but she still witnessed the brunt of his cruelty on more than one occasion.

However, in their sixth year, he had changed. His features became stronger (which Lily noticed first) due to the muscle build up from the intense Quidditch practices he had with his friends over the summer holiday, he seemed far more relaxed and laid back than in their previous years at Hogwarts, and his voice had even changed. Not that it got deeper (that had happened a few years prior), but it just seemed… calmer. He was no longer constantly yelling to make sure he had been heard by everyone within a 50-mile radius, and just seemed to possess a peacefulness about him that Lily actually found quite appealing. Before she knew it, she was head over heels for him, but she couldn't let anyone know. That would spell disaster.

As she turned to face him, the butterflies just intensified. She noticed he was wearing Muggle clothing—a simple t-shirt, jeans, and trainers. But damn, he looked good.

James smiled at her as he approached and asked, "So, did you get Head Girl?"

Lily shook away the thoughts of how attractive his smile was as she answered, "Yeah. I was so excited when my head badge came in the mail. I'm pretty sure I gave both of my parents a heart attack with the banshee-like scream I let out when I saw it."

He chuckled. James Potter chuckled. And it was the warmest sound Lily had ever heard, but she'd be damned if she ever let him know that. She blushed slightly and bowed her head so he couldn't see. Once again, she shook the thoughts from her mind as she realized that he was speaking to her.

"You'll never believe who the Head Boy is," he said with a wink.

"Y-you're Head Boy?" she guessed.

"The one and only." He smiled again. More butterflies. "I kind of gave my parents a heart attack too when I got my badge—and I'm pretty sure my mum still doesn't believe it." They both laughed quietly as they boarded the train. Lily went to sit with her two friends, Alice, a beautiful blonde, and Marlene, an equally beautiful brunette, while James walked off into another compartment to find the Marauders. She greeted her two closest friends brightly and sat down across from them. After exchanging hugs and pleasantries, they all started talking about their summers, each with a different story to tell, although most of the talk was about boys they had met over holiday. When Alice and Marlene had both finished their stories, they looked at Lily expectantly.

The look on her face must have been one of pure confusion, because Marlene asked Lily, "So, are you going to tell us about your summer or not?"

"Oh! Of course! Well, I got Head Girl, and that was about the most exciting thing that happened. I didn't really do much this year."

"Oh please, Lil. We all knew you would get Head Girl," Alice jumped in. "What she meant was, did you meet anyone?" A smirk appeared on her face as she said this, which made Lily feel rather uncomfortable. Sometimes it was hard being friends with Alice and Marlene. They were both gorgeous, and often times Lily felt like she lived in their shadows. Everyone (except for James of course) had always preferred one of her two friends over herself, and so the both of them always had great stories to tell about different guys they'd met.

Shaking her head at them, Lily just laughed quietly and replied, "No, there was no one."

Just as she said that, James Potter walked into their compartment. She could feel her heart practically bursting out of her ribcage as he locked his hazel eyes on her and said, "Hey Evans, we should probably be getting back to the Heads' compartment now. I'm sure McGonagall's waiting. You know how she is," he added with a grin. Lily nodded and told him she would meet him there in about two minutes. The second he shut the door, however, was when her friends pounced.

"Merlin, Lily! You like him, don't you?"

Shocked, Lily just stared at Marlene, mouth agape. How do they know? she asked herself. He was in here for less than thirty seconds! How did they figure that out? Marlene and Alice both stared back at her, with identical knowing smiles on their faces. Unfortunately for Lily, the more she tried to think of a way to refute the statement, she knew she couldn't lie to her friends. Reluctantly, she mumbled, "Yes."

"Oh my goodness! It's like a fairytale story!" Alice shrieked.

Lily just quirked her eyebrow at her blonde friend countered, "No, it is not. He doesn't know, and he can't know. No one can know. Please understand? Now, I've got to get to the Head's compartment, so if you'll excuse me…"

"Not yet, you don't Lily Evans. When did this happen? Did you two hang over the hols? Are you a couple?" Marlene bombarded her with various questions.

Exasperated, Lily rolled her eyes. "No, we didn't. I'm pretty sure he has no idea I like him. I mean, right about that time I started really crushing on him was conveniently around the same time that he stopped asking me out," Lily deadpanned.

"WHAT?"

"Wait, he hasn't asked you out since the beginning of sixth year! So that means…"

"Yes, I've liked him for about a year. But please, guys, I'm begging you. Don't tell anyone. I'd hate for him to laugh in my face at the fact that he was already over me by the time I started liking him. That would be torture."

Still smirking, Alice and Marlene nodded. With that, Lily left for the back of the train. When she stepped inside the last compartment, she saw Professor McGonagall and James waiting patiently for her.

The old professor cleared her throat as Lily took her seat across from her, right next to James. "Hello, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter," she said with a smile and a nod of her head as she addressed each of them. "I must start by congratulating you both on your accomplishments. I trust you both will take this responsibility very seriously," she added that last part with a stern look showing that she meant business. Lily and James nodded quickly, so she continued, "There are a few things we must address first. Number one, since you are the new Heads, it is the responsibility of both of you to create a rounds schedule for all prefects. This will be due to Headmaster Dumbledore at the end of the month. Official Quidditch practices do not begin until October, so you have time to take that in to account, and I will provide you with a set schedule for each team's practices by the end of this week, so never fear, Mr. Potter. Second, absolutely no foolish behavior will be tolerated. That's not to say you can't have fun; but you must remember to set an example for all the younger students here. Whether you realize it or not, they do look up to you." She smiled warmly at them both, and they grinned in response.

McGonagall paused for a second before continuing, although this time she was watching them very keenly, as if she was waiting for something. "And the last thing. You two will be sharing a dorm this year."

"What?" they said simultaneously.

At the horrified look on both their faces, she resumed quickly, "Not a bedroom, mind you. But, as the Heads are the most responsible and the most privileged students in school, they get to share a dorm. You each have your own bedroom and bathroom, though you share a common room. It has been a tradition at Hogwarts for many years, so I hope that no problems will arise to make us take this privilege away."

They both stared at her with mixed emotions: shock, horror, confusion, glee, and shock again. The professor got up and excused herself, saying that was all she had for them, and wished that they have a pleasant train ride.

After a minute or two of rather awkward silence, James finally spoke up. "So… do you think we can make it work?"

"Make what work, Potter?"

"Living in the same dorm. I mean, I know we've had a rocky past and all, but I'd say we were getting along pretty well this morning, so what's another school year? What do you say, Evans?" he said with a smirk.

"Sure, Potter," she said with a small smile and extended her hand for him to shake.

The rest of the train ride went by smoothly, albeit quietly. Each of the students pulled out a book and tried reading for a while, but soon both minds were steered away from the words on their respective pages and drifted to the coming school year.