Her long red hair was splayed over her shoulders and her face got closer and closer. Her greens eyes connected with his brown ones, she was close enough that he could smell her now. She bit her lip; their noses were almost touching now – he could hardly believe this was happening. "James…" she said, and then… and then he woke up. James sighed, of course it had been a dream – when Lily was there and wasn't yelling it generally was. Rubbing his eyes, he yanked the covers off and stood up. Running his hands through his thick black hair he smiled. It's September the first, which means it's time to head back to Hogwarts!
Two words: Lily Evans. It's all he could think about. No matter how much James wanted it to only be a simple crush – he knew it wasn't. He knew this went much deeper then that. He was almost magnetically drawn to her in a way that he couldn't explain. Not that she returned the sentiment in any shape or form; he had to constantly remind himself. No, she thought of him as an immature, self centered, egotistical asshole. He was sure she could add to that list. But that was all going to change; he was sure because this year everything was going to be different. They were so much older now. Gone were the days of boys having cooties, gone were the days of his constant pranks, his torturing of Snivellus, his loud and obnoxious proclamations of love and requests to be her boyfriend. This year, James was head boy and he knew without a doubt who would be head girl. This year was going to be the best yet, that he was sure of.
"Oi! James, over here! I found Peter and Remus!" Sirius shouted leaning out of a window of the Hogwarts Express. The dark red steam engine was minutes away from leaving the station, and platform nine and three quarters, and it was swarmed with Hogwarts students and their parents. "I'll be right there!" James shouted back, already distracted. He'd just seen Lily. She'd let her hair grow out over the summer, and it now hung a few inches past her shoulders in shiny waves. She looked up to the train, her green eyes full of happiness and her face split into a huge smile. Lily climbed aboard, and James was quick to follow. Heading over to the compartment his friends had taken over; he slid into an empty seat. "Five minutes in, and you already have your Lily look on." Remus commented, and Peter snorted. Shooting Peter a dirty look "No worries, this year it'll be different. I'm just looking for friendship this time around – leaving my feelings aside. Besides, she has to deal with me now, I'm Head Boy! I'm sure she made Head Girl. Oh crap, that's right, the meeting! Gotta go!" James said, and with a wink, disappeared into the hallway.
Lily was ecstatic. She was Head Girl, and Remus, she was sure was Head Boy. This year was going to be different. Remus will be able to keep the Marauders in check, she thought. And maybe James have grown up enough to stop asking her out every day, though she doubted it. Turning the corner into the heads and prefects compartment, her heart sank.
None other then James Potter was sitting there, looking as handsome as ever. His hair was a little longer, but not too long, and as messy as it usually was. The summer had been good to him, his nicely toned arms were visible under the arms of his robes and he'd gotten a nice tan too. "AHEM!" She said, "Please return the Head badge you stole from Remus to him and get out of his seat." He turned, smiling at the sound of her familiar voice. "Hello to you too Evans. Hope you had a good summer, I sure did," He said, and flashed her that smile that always made her heart melt a little, though she'd never admit it. "It's not a joke though, Dumbledore really did choose me. I'm second in our class, and apparently I've demonstrated leadership skills. I just got here a little early that's all, and we were just waiting for you. I've already been through a patrol schedule I worked out already – but I figured you'd want to do the intro spiel." "Ahh –ehhh. …Ok then. So welcome new prefects!..." She began, turning to face her audience.
When the meeting was over, and everyone else had James stood at the door to the compartment waiting. Lily turned around too quickly and hadn't noticed him standing there. Instead of exiting the compartment she slammed into him, rebounding a little against his chest. "Oh, uh, James. I didn't see you there. Please get out of the way." She said. They were standing so close now, it was too close for her comfort.
James's heart was doing cartwheels at how close they were standing, but he kept his cool. "Listen… Lily. I just wanted to apologize, for my… past behavior. I understand how you feel about me now, and won't be repeating those feelings that you find so disgusting. I kind of get why you feel that way, I was a prick. Anyways, I want to turn over a new leaf, start fresh. We're going to be Heads together, and share a dormitory… and I'd really just like to be your friend."
Lily didn't know what to say, he seemed so sincere! A little uncomfortable, but sincere. She found it hard to believe he could change, but then again, Dumbledore must have had his reasons when he picked him for Head Boy… "Sure James, I'd like that, it sounds much better then a repeat of previous years, stuffed into one dormitory," she laughed. "To be fair, I was pretty awful to you too, some of the things I said were a little uncalled for." For the second time now, instead of his usual sexy smirk, his face split into a true smile. She liked his smile better then his smirk, and she couldn't help but smile back. "So… friends?" James asked, extending his hand. "Friends." Lily agreed, shaking it. "I'll see you around then Lily." James said, and turned to leave. Both wondering what new possibilities this year might hold, they headed their separate ways to join their friends and tell them the world as they knew it was over, that James Potter and Lily Evans were, friendly. Who would have thought?