After reading so many great Lily Evans and James Potter fanfiction stories, I decided to start my own. I'm trying my best to keep everything mentioned in the books the same, but there are some new, original charcters of my own and the story idea will be made up, except for the relationship, of course. The biggest problem I'll have with this story will probably be time - according to the books, this should take place in the late 1970s, but since I didn't live in that time period, there are going to be a lot of mistakes. I may end up pretending that it's happening in real time and mentioned modern stuff, but at the moment I'm trying to keep that out. I hope you like this story no matter what, though!
Disclaimer: All the characters are, of course, J.K. Rowlings', except for a handful of characters that came from my crazy imagination.
Chapter One: Back to Hogwarts
A loud alarm clock woke Lily Evans from her deep slumber. Even though it was still dark, she forced herself to crawl out of bed and finish packing her trunk. She needed to be at Platform 9¾ at exactly 11 o'clock, which was in a mere four hours. Her parents would be waking up soon, but Lily knew her older sister, Petunia, wouldn't get out of bed until she was dragged kicking and screaming from it. Petunia hated everything magic-related, especially the fact that Lily went to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Every single year Lily had to go through Petunia looking down on her as the 'freak' and complaining about having to go to King's Cross instead of hanging out with her friends, especially her new boyfriend, Vernon Dursley.
No matter how many times Lily tried to apologize to her sister, Petunia refused to listen. She tried to pretend that she hated Lily because she was a freak, but Lily had found the letter she had written to Dumbledore, begging to be admitted into Hogwarts. Lily knew that her sister was jealous, and was twisting her actions to hide all the hurt feelings that she bottled up. Even being separated for over nine months every year didn't soften her anger and Lily was forced to endure the silent glares and verbal insults the entire summer. So, the thought of getting back to Hogwarts certainly filled her with joy.
Especially since it was her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. In less than a year from now she was no longer going to be a student; instead, she would be out on her own in the real world. The thought both scared and thrilled her. She would be even more independent than Petunia, who was in college.
Lily pulled herself from her thoughts and returned to focusing on her trunk. She had packed most of her stuff in the past week, but she still had a few things hanging around her room that she had to remember to shove into her trunk before she left. Plus she needed to grab something to eat and get ready. It would be just her luck if she ended up being late to the prompt Hogwarts Express because she had to quickly brush her teeth. And Petunia would never let her forget that she had arrived late and missed the train; even though Petunia would be busy with classes, still living at home would give her plenty of time to torment her, which was exactly what Lily wanted to escape from.
After she got ready, Lily headed downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal to eat. She was happy to munch on the cereal while reading the Daily Prophet, which a tawny-colored owl had delivered to her while she was closing her trunk. She scanned the articles on the front page, reading about a protest about house elves' rights and information about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who was suspected to be behind a recent attack on a group of Muggles. Then, when her parents came down to eat, Lily put down her newspaper and discussed various subjects with her parents while she waited for her sister to come down so that they could leave.
Mrs. Evans sipped coffee from a red mug while watching her husband and daughter. "So, are you excited for your last year, Lil?"
Lily nodded. "Not too excited about the N.E.W.T.s, though - they're probably going to be killer."
"Well, as long as you study hard you should do fine, sweetie," Mr. Evans reassured her, clapping her on the back as he did.
The loving moment was ruined when Petunia stomped her way into the kitchen, dramatically yawning to remind everyone that it wasn't her idea to wake up this early. She grabbed an apple and took a loud bite from it, trying to drown out any conversation. Mr. Evans smiled at his younger daughter, silently apologizing for his older daughter's behavior. Mr. and Mrs. Evans never bothered Petunia about her behavior because they knew it wouldn't help, and would only cause her to resent Lily even more. Instead, the three quietly tolerated her behavior and tried not to press her.
Soon it was time to leave for King's Cross, and the Evans piled into the family car, with Lily's cat, Sasha, curled up on Lily's lap. Petunia was busy staring out of the window and ignoring the rest of her family, as if her silence would mean that this wasn't really happening. Lily didn't mind, though - she was too busy thinking about Hogwarts to worry about it.
She was happy that she would soon be back with her best friend Ivy Parks, but she wasn't looking forward to being constantly followed by James Potter, who had started asking her out repeatedly ever since their fifth year. No matter how many times she turned him down (at first politely, but recently much harsher), he couldn't get the idea through his arrogant head. And yet Lily and Ivy had begun hanging out with James and his gang of 'Marauders' during the past year, so that they could almost be friends. If only James would move on, of course.
The rest of the car ride zoomed by quickly, and soon she was getting out of the car with her trunk being pulled by her father and Sasha in her arms. She was still dressed in Muggle clothes - simple jeans and a fitted tee - so other than the cat and the huge trunk, she didn't really stand out in the crowd of busy Muggles who were rushing to get to their trains or the cabs waiting outside King's Cross. Lily was great at blending in though - after all, she was a Muggle-born, and until she received her letter from Hogwarts back when she was eleven, she hadn't known anything other than the Muggle world.
Petunia was dragging her feet behind them, looking around the station at everything except her family in front of her. Lily knew that she was trying to pretend she didn't know them, but she refused to let it get to her. She didn't want to give her sister the satisfaction of ruining her first day back at Hogwarts, where she truly belonged. She couldn't wait to slip through the hidden barrier between platforms nine and ten and into the hidden world that she gladly called hers. That was something Petunia couldn't take away from her, no matter how sullenly she acted.
When the barrier came into view, Lily took her trunk from her father, placing Sasha on top of it and increasing her pace as she walked toward the wall between the two platforms. She walked faster and faster, although refraining from running, before she hit the wall and smoothly walked right through it, right into the Hogwarts Express platform. She quickly moved aside so that her parents and sister could join her.
Her father and mother popped through a few seconds later, with Petunia practically being dragged in between them. Petunia hated going through the barrier - she was always worried that she was going to hit the wall, even though she knew there was a platform behind it. The first time they had gone through it, she had thrown a fit and it had taken fifteen minutes to calm her down, almost causing Lily to miss the train. But this time they had arrived twenty minutes early, and Lily was happy to see dozens of families still milling around the platform, taking their time before their children had to get on the train.
"Look, there are the Parkses," Mrs. Evans said, pointing towards a group of four standing about twenty feet away.
Lily smiled and hurried over to her friend, who had just noticed her.
"Lily!" Ivy had a huge smile on her tan face, her dark blonde hair curling slightly at her shoulder. Her bright blue eyes were full of excitement at seeing her friend again, which made the smile on Lily's own face grow even more.
"Ivy, it's so great to see you!" Lily cried, hugging her friend fiercely.
"How was your summer?" Ivy asked as soon as the two friends separated.
"Boring," Lily sighed. "All I had to keep me company was homework, Sasha, and your awesome letters."
Ivy grinned. She was well-known for writing funny letters that spanned the length of at least a foot of parchment, full of her small handwriting. She always sent Lily, along with other friends and family, long letters that ranged from funny to random to touching, depending on her current mood. And since her mood was normally somewhere in the bubbly, happy range, her letters tended to make the reader laugh at the crazy writings. Lily was the proud recipient of letters from Ivy at least once a week, and they had helped keep her entertained while she was stuck alone in the Muggle world.
Behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were speaking with Ivy's parents; even though both Parks adults had been raised in the wizarding world (Mr. Parks was a pureblood while Mrs. Parks was a half-blood), both loved talked to Lily's parents about various things in the Muggle world. They found most of it fascinating, while other things crazy, although they weren't as ignorant as many wizards who had never visited the Muggle world.
Petunia, meanwhile, was staring at Ivy's younger brother, Dillon Parks, who, although only sixteen and therefore three years her junior, had caught her eye. It didn't really surprise Lily - Dillon was certainly good-looking, not to mention funny to be around. Right now he was talking with a few of his friends, a few feet away from Petunia. Lily smirked at her sister but didn't say anything, knowing her sister would just get even madder at her.
Ivy also caught sight of the subject of Petunia's staring, and she rolled her eyes. "Great, another girl for the Dillon fan club."
Lily rolled her eyes at her friend. Even though Ivy often complained about the score of people who liked her brother, Lily knew that she was secretly proud of her little brother. The two were closer than most siblings Lily knew, like herself and Petunia or their friend Sirius Black and his brother Regulus, who was a year younger and in the Slytherin house like the rest of the pureblood Blacks. Sirius hated his family, and was proud that he had been sorted into Gryffindor.
The girls continued talking about their summers for a few more minutes, until they heard the warning whistle, reminding them that the train would be leaving in ten minutes. Both girls turned to their families to say good bye.
"Bye Mum, bye Dad," Lily said, hugging each in turn. She hugged her sister, whispering in her ear, "Bye, Tuney." Instead of answering though, Petunia stiffened in her younger sister's arms and refused to hug her in return. Lily sadly let go of her sister, and reached for her trunk before a hand reached it.
"Here, I'll get that for you."
Lily recognized the voice instantly and looked into the face of James Potter, who had appeared at her side. He was followed by the rest of his group, Sirius, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and he had a smile on his face, although Lily noticed that for once it didn't seem to be a cocky smirk. Of course, over the last few months of her sixth year, she had become something close to friends with the Marauders, so maybe that was it.
Without waiting for an answer, James had already picked up the trunk and held it with only a little strain showing in his handsome face. Lily rolled her eyes but replied, "Thank you."
Sirius, likewise, had picked up Ivy's trunk, and both girls were free to walk ahead of them, with Sasha safely in Lily's arms.
Finding an empty compartment took a while, but soon the girls, along with the Marauders, had settled into one. Lily relaxed again the cushion, enjoying a few minutes of peace before she had to leave for a prefect meeting - she was Head Girl, so she had to make sure that they were all there and had to run the meeting.
James sat down next to Lily, pretending to yawn with his arms stretched above him before slyly placing an arm around Lily's shoulders. Without even stopping her conversation with Ivy, Lily took his arm off and turned away from him, smiling slightly at Sirius' snickering behind her.
"So, do you have any idea who the Head Boy is," Ivy asked, also ignoring the boys behind Lily. "I guess it could be one of the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. I really doubt it'd be a Slytherin..."
Lily nodded. She hadn't been told who the Head Boy would be in the letter she had received over the summer along with her badge, which was in her bag with her robes, waiting for the meeting. "It could be Remus, I guess."
Ivy nodded before looking across the compartment at Remus, who was sitting next to Peter and Sirius. "Hey, Remus, are you the Head Boy?"
Remus shook his head. Despite being in the Marauders, he was always the best behaved, and had managed to be appointed a prefect in his fifth year, along with Lily and Ivy and a handful of other fifth, sixth, and seventh years. Lily noticed a small smile playing across his lips, and she had a feeling that he knew who the Head Boy was.
"Any idea who it is?" Ivy persisted.
Remus nodded, and the smile became slightly more pronounced.
"Who?" Lily asked.
"Me."
Lily turned in shock towards James, who had just answered the question. "You're Head Boy?"
James nodded, the cocky smirk finally returning to his face. "Yep, HB at your service, Ms. Evans."
Lily continued to stare at him. James hadn't even been a prefect the past two years, plus he was one of the biggest pranksters at Hogwarts - there was no way Professor Dumbledore had appointed him Head Boy. But the look on Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter's faces made her suspect this wasn't just another trick and they really were telling the truth, no matter how twisted it might seem, or how impossible.
James laughed at Lily's shock. "Looks like somebody doesn't believe in my perfect behavior that led to this appointment, huh?"
Lily glared at him before looking back at her friend, who was giggling behind her hand. Lily in turn glared at her, but she felt a smile tugging slightly at the corner of her lips. The thought of James as a Head Boy was certainly laughable - even if it were true, there was no way he was going to manage to act like one. In the meantime, it would be funny to watch him try.
After the last of her shock disappeared, Lily continued talking to Ivy before she glanced at her watch and noticed that the prefect meeting would start in about five minutes. She stood up, pulling Ivy up with her, before turning to James. "Well, if you aren't lying, Potter, then it's time to get to that meeting."
James stood up with a smile on his face and led the way with Remus by his side, who was also a prefect. Sirius and Peter, on the other hand, remained behind, taking out something before Ivy closed the door behind the girls. Lily and Ivy hurried to catch up with Remus and Lupin, not possessing their long legs. Soon the four arrived at the large compartment, settling in the bench farthest from the door. Lily ended up next to James yet again, and she glared at him when he brushed a hand by her leg.
The room soon began to fill up with prefects, and then Lily had to start the meeting, ignoring James, who was whispering to Remus about every five seconds.
After she gave all the important information and rules out, Lily turned to her fellow Head with a fake smile on her face. "And now, for some words from your Head Boy!"
James hadn't realized she wanted him to talk, and it took him a few seconds to stand up and address the group. "Well, hello fellow prefects. I guess I only have one thing to say to you," He said, pausing while he scanned his head for an idea of what to say. "And that is, um..."
Lily smirked, waiting for him to say something.
James' face lit up before he finished. "All I want to say is forget the rules - this year is going to be one big party!"
The prefects laughed, and Lily glared at him. James returned with a smile, and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her without even pretending to stretch. Lily glared at him and removed his arm yet again, ignoring her friend's giggling next to them. "Great speech, did you think of that yourself?" Lily asked sarcastically.
James nodded, mock pride on his face. "These brilliant things just come naturally."
Lily groaned. This was going to be a long year.
I hope you liked this - please review with thoughts/constructive criticism! I'd love to know what you think so that I can improve and continue doing certain things. Hopefully the next chapter will be up next Sunday (I'm going to try to update once a week) but there's no telling what'll happen between then and now thanks to school and life in general. I'll try to have the next chapter soon though!