Lily hesitated at the door. Did she really want to go through with this? Giving up this opportunity seemed crazy, on the one hand. On the other hand, babysitting James Potter and acing the NEWTs did not go hand in hand... And James Potter was going to be Head Boy, she just knew it. And if it wasn't him, it'd be Remus, or Severus, and in a way they'd be just as bad. (Not that she didn't love Remus. She just questioned his taste in friends. The Marauders would always be hanging around the Heads' Room and that was not a good omen for the NEWTs.) And Severus...yeah, it was probably best to just give up Headship. Nothing good could come of having that much responsibility with such important tests coming up.
Before she could change her mind, she knocked twice. McGonagall's voice floated through the door, saying, "Come in..."
Lily looked at the empty seats that she passed to get to McGonagall's desk for inspiration. No room for indecision. I must do this, and I must do this now, she thought.
"James, are you sure you want to do this?" Peter asked worriedly. "You're giving up your only chance with her!"
James clenched his jaw and made a show of covering his ears. "Padfoot, will you do Mr. Wormtail the courtesy of explaining my perspective, because obviously my explanations aren't getting through his thick skull."
Sirius, who had previously been leaning relaxedly against the wall, stood up. "Prongs, Wormy is right... I don't get you." At James' questioning glance, he continued, "You know that when I get a chance at a bird, I take it. Why don't you do something smart for once and copy me?"
Remus laughed from behind his Potions book. "Smart? Don't even start, Sirius. How many times has James listened to you? How many times has he failed 'cause of you?"
"What, so you agree with James' mad decision?" Sirius stared at Remus, exasperated.
Remus put his book down and thought about it for a moment. "It's not that I agree with him, per se... but I can understand his thought process," he stated calmly. "If he gets out of her way, then maybe she won't hate him as much. It'll give her some breathing room. Plus, can you really see Prongs as a Head?"
"Hey!" James whined indignantly. The other Marauders stared at him skeptically.
"Anyway," Remus continued. "Let's leave Prongs to his decisions. I suspect that this won't matter too much in the long run anyway."
It was summer, and Professor McGonagall was busy. She had a pile of letters to the parents of new students that weren't going to write themselves. So, in a way, choosing the Head candidates wasn't really on the top of her to-do list. Especially since her potential candidates were all playing a game of Tossing the Howler with the job.
"It's just...NEWTs are so terribly important..." Minerva recalled Miss Evans' awkwardness in broaching the subject. "And all of the Head Boy candidates are not compatible with me...and really, you could do so much better than me... So please, Professor, anyone but me!" Lily finished hurriedly.
Minerva was, frankly, quite disappointed in Lily Evans at that moment. To put it simply, she believed that Lily was running. From James Potter. From Severus Snape. From responsibility. And as Head of the House of Lions, McGonagall hoped she was raising lions, and not cubs. However, she tried not to show her disappointment too much to Lily. "I'll...consider your view," the professor finally said. Then she quickly shooed Miss Evans out of her classroom, unsure whether she should follow through with Miss Evans' request.
Remus Lupin had been the next to approach the professor. "Professor, I think you should choose James as the Gryffindor candidate instead of me," he stated simply. Before Minerva could ask why, he continued, "I physically can't handle the responsibility. So James really is the only way to go. And... I think it's finally time. She'll cave." McGonagall's eyes widened in understanding, and she smiled. "There's a problem, though.
"James has asked Professor Dumbledore to take him out of the calling. And Lily mentioned she did the same with you," Remus stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes, she did..." McGonagall's voice drifted. Then, suddenly, "What I don't understand is, why do my students think they have any say in the decision-making process?" She huffed irritatedly, "Thank you, Mr. Lupin, for bringing up your concerns. I'll consider my selections carefully; that's all I can promise."
Remus, sensing dismissal, wished the professor a good day, and left.
Now Minerva was wondering if she was taking the decision too seriously. Mr. Lupin's solution was simple and efficient: override Miss Evans' and Mr. Potter's wishes and make them Heads. But aside from the fact that the two did not wish to be Heads, Minerva McGonagall had another reason to dislike the idea of Evans and Potter as Heads: she wasn't sure they'd behave.
Sure, James Potter could be a responsible Head, if given the chance. Lily Evans would be an even more responsible Head. But the two hadn't been Potions partners since their first-year, when James and Lily let their Fermenting Thoughtfulness potion explode during an argument. A new DADA professor accidentally paired the two up in their fifth-year, but was still severely regretting it. Yes, McGonagall could not think of the number of times Miss Evans and Mr. Potter had caused a disturbance in the halls or in a classroom...how would the two live together?
But still. Just because she nominated Potter and Evans did not mean they'd be Head Boy and Girl. The likelihood was too low. Mr. Snape was a much more viable option for Head Boy, and the female Ravenclaw prefect was a close second to Miss Evans in the running for Head Girl.
This thought calmed her. She would name Miss Evans and Mr. Potter to Professor Dumbledore as the Gryffindor candidates. After that, the responsibility-and the blame-was all on the Headmaster.
That was the best solution. Now she could get back to signing the stack of letters to the first years' parents. Oh, and she had all of her other students' school supply lists to sign too, didn't she...Professor McGonagall took a long swig of the drink sitting on her desk. After all, in a few weeks, she would have to actually deal with students, and couldn't drink at all.
A pity.
Students did the darnedest things that just made you want to drink to relieve stress. Even Minerva had to admit she often craved Firewhiskey after dealing with the Marauders' pranks.
Off to work, then.
The Headmaster had dozed off on his desk. Hogwarts was practically empty, and even he was prone to feeling lonely if left unoccupied for too long. Thus, Professor Dumbledore had taken to napping in his office, where his predecessors' pictures and his phoenix Fawkes could keep him company.
A rustle of wings awoke him. Minerva's owl had finally come, with the list of the Gryffindor nominees for Head of House. The other Heads of Houses had sent in their lists weeks earlier, because they had simply nominated their prefects. But since Miss Evans, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Potter had seen fit to meddle with the Gryffindor nomination, Minerva had a lot of thinking to do over the list of her candidates.
"Dear Albus,
I have chosen Miss Evans and Mr. Potter as my nominees. I decided to ignore their wishes because I hardly think they have the right to interfere in these proceedings. Please consider compatibility (or lack thereof) in your final choice of Heads.
I leave this choice to your experienced mind.
Good luck,
Minerva McGonagall"
"Dramatic as usual," Dumbledore chuckled. "It's not like the Head Boy and Head Girl are that important in these times," he added darkly.
"Or maybe, they're even more important in these dark times, Albus," a painting spoke. An old Headmaster, whose name was long-forgotten. "When we introduced the roles, we chose them specifically to balance out the Houses. But right now, maybe you need a different sort of Head Boy and Girl..."
"Indeed, you are correct," Dumbledore answered, looking at the two names he had written on the pre-written Head Boy and Head Girl letters. "We need Heads who have strong ideals, in this age where wizards are losing theirs."