OOO JOYRIDE ON THE TRAIN OOO

Lillian Evans had never been the popular type. Of course she dressed well enough for the preppy girls of Hogwarts, she never searched trouble except when it came to Slytherin and got good grades. That's precisely what made her an outsider from the school's other feminine students.

She lifted her eyes to the train that would take them to Hogwarts and smiled. Maybe she wasn't the most wanted girl in school but she enjoyed the place nonetheless.

Coming from a family of Muggles, she hadn't even known the existence of the wizardly world six years ago. That letter accepting her to this superb school had left her head reeling and her parents dumfounded but quite proud.

Sorcerers, magical creatures and cursed forest used only to exist in her books. Not so anymore.

Now, she could consider having a brilliant career in this magical world. She could become so much more than a Muggle doctor, which was quite a respectful career...for a Muggle. Healer sounded much more promising to Lily's ears.

However, thinking about her possible future career made her crash down, back to reality. She was to pass her N.E.W.T. this year, which actually didn't make her jump out of sheer joy. In fact, even if she had all the time of the world (or the year), she was stressed out. She'd probably seclude herself in the library and make a small camp in a dust filled alley so no one would know and study like a demented.

She smiled at herself at those thoughts. She was the hardest person on herself. She knew it, others knew it...and used it against her. However, Lily had passed over this state of mind. There was nowhere near hell she was going to let herself be walked over by others. She just needed a quiet way of doing so since she had never been one for shows.

Except when it came to Potter.

With a sigh, she climbed the train's stairs and made her way in the alley, trying to find an empty compartment, which was quite a feat considering the new amount of first year students. She did manage though and installed her baggage in the facilities for them. She then proceeded to plump herself on one of the seats and brought her book in her face.

When the door slid open, she didn't take a glance at the new occupant...until the person jumped on her squishing her like a jellyfish in a Potion of Rejection, which was quite squished and mashed and blended...

Lily didn't mind the least though. Her book fell unnoticed to the ground while she hugged her best friend back, feeling as much joy at seeing her than the screeching girl but not demonstrating it as much.

What? Being unpopular didn't mean she didn't have any friends!

After a few thoughts, Lily corrected this last statement. She had one friend and it was Nymphadora Tonks, known as only Tonks...she had a grudge against her mother for naming her after her grandmother's disused name.. The other people who actually talked to Lily were acquaintances who in majority only wanted help with their homework. The rest of them picked up on her because of her blood.

With Tonks who could transchanged at will and her who excelled at sortilege, they could perfectly defend themselves. This year, the Slytherin wouldn't know what had fallen on them before it was too late.

Living a full month with Tonks' family could do that to a person...make them crazy, that is. Plus it had been an opportunity to work together, not with magic since it wasn't allowed, but they had found books and memorised particular formulae and had developed their team skills creating a deadly force.

Lily couldn't wait to see Potter's face when she would stand up to him or whoever for that matter.

"SO?" asked an avid Tonks.

"So what?"

"How did this last month go with, you know, Petunia?"

"Oh, I got rid of her." She shot back with calm.

"NO! YOU KILLED HER!?!" A joyful yet doubtful expression crossed Tonks' face.

"You're an awful person, Tee! I didn't! But it made you react..."

She didn't have the time to finish her sentence, Tonks was on her punching her playfully while screaming "YOU CUREL, CRUEL FRIEND....AND ME THAT WAS HOPING...I'LL BEAT YOU UP TO PULPS FOR THAT...!!!"

Just then, he made his entrance in the compartment, his three friends behind him.

"Well, well, Evans, didn't know you had yourself a Rejuvenating sortilege..."

Both Lily and Tonks stopped in their tracks. At the same moment, her brave thoughts of standing up to him flew out of her head. She couldn't do anything with both her and Tonks on the floor, hair sticking in every way possible and her fist lifted up to strike playfully Tonks for revenge.

Tonks got up first and walked up to Potter with her defiant air from her 5'8 size to Potter's 6'0. Tee was the only person who dared do that to Potter...well if you didn't count all those girls who tried to kiss him...But Tee was doing that with a whole lot different purpose in mind.

"Just leave Potter." She said through gritted teeth.

He just smirked up at her.

"You know, Tonks, you have zero credibility with your pink hair." He then proceeded to push her aside and he seated himself on one of the bench, which happened to be Lily's place. The boys following him simply sat themselves too, all the while still uninvited. Remus had the decency to look ashamed, but then again, Remus was a nice boy and truthfully, neither Lily nor Tonks could make themselves hate him.

Lily became acutely aware of her position on the floor when she gazed at Potter's dark and beautiful eyes full of mirth. Blushing furiously, she got up with difficulty (Tonks had a hard playful punch) and glared at him...or tried for that matter because while Potter was trying to hold her gaze, Sirius was simply laughing his head off.

"Oh my, Evans, do this death glare again for me puh-leese!"

Tonks would have jumped on him right then, the girl would do anything to put her hands on Black, even if it meant punching him, but decided against it when Lily moved to take her luggage.

With a cold stare behind her shoulder, she said softly "You just couldn't resist coming here uninvited, Potter. You're such a nuisance." And she left. Tee would have clapped her hands after Lily's performance but again changed her mind when she saw Potter's face darken. Her mind screamed at her "RUN!" and within a second, she had left, leaving the Marauders behind.

OOO

"I HATE HIM!" Lily flunked her stuff in the train's corridor with a vengeance.

"Of course you do..."

At the sound of her eccentric friend's unconvinced voice, Lily turned sharply around to gaze at her.

"You don't believe me?" Outrage swept her off her feet. How could she?

"I do believe you...in part...WAIT! Don't interrupt! Tell me truthfully that you wish he had been born on another planet, that you don't wish all the attention he has been paying you for the last three years, tell me you don't wish to be touched by..."

"TEE! Shut up!" Swallowing hard Tee's words, she continued "He's a real nuisance, I tell you! Arrogant prat-wit...must be pure blood showing up..."

"Hey!" Now it was Tee's turn to look offended for she was of pure blood.

"Sorry Tee...you know what I mean." With a sigh, she sat on the floor, her legs crossed. She knew the other compartments were full and there was nowhere near hell she was ever going to go back in there with Potter and his group of stuck-up sons of a ...

Tee left for a few minutes then came back with her arms loaded with candies.

"Though we could use some sugar..."

Lily extended her hand while still looking straight in front of her and when she felt some of them in her fingers, she tore open the paper and proceeded to eat. Tee sat down next to her and gulped down her part of the sugar.

Suddenly, Tee brightened up. "Hey, who got named Head-Girl? Come on Lil, spill it out, for how long have you known?"

Lily for her part looked at Tee with a disbelieving expression on her face. "How did you..."

"Come on girl! Who would they name if it wasn't you?"

"Got a point."

"Were you planning on telling me anytime soon?" Tee replied with a hurt voice. When Lily turned around to explain herself though, Tee has a smirk planted on her face.

"You knew I w..."

"Lil, I do know, it was a joke...with Potter and all that, didn't have much time now, did we?"

Lily nodded in agreement.

"You know what, Lil? We're standing here in the middle of this un-habited alley cursing this boy and his followers and they are just there waiting for us to do just that. Wallow." Tee said that last word with disgust.

By now, Lily had taken the hint.

OOO

All that could be heard from the new found compartment was laughter. Laughter! James didn't know if he was supposed to be insulted or proud that his girl had stood up to him.

"I'd say Prongs that you just got kicked in the face...by Evans." His own comment made Sirius owl again in laughter.

"Did you truly think she would have stayed idly by while Jamikins was torturing her?" Remus replied.

"I wasn't torturing her!"

"Of course you weren't...what could have changed so drastically during summer that you didn't feel the need to pick on her anymore?" Sarcasm was dripping from his words.

"Moony..." James said threateningly.

"You still want her Prongs?" Asked suddenly Sirius.

"None-of-your-business!"

"Of course it is since her sexy friend would be much more approachable if you truly liked Lil and treated her as such!" commented Sirius.

"Man, I swear, you're such a pain in the ass!"

"And pray tell, what are you, if not a pain in the ass?"

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

Laughter, louder this time, came from the corridor once again, stopping their ranting short.

James couldn't ignore it any longer and took a look though the window. What he saw horrified him.

Tonks was taking his face traits and turning them into ugly...not at all James-like traits! He was seeing his own face on Tonks being disfigured.

They were laughing at his expense.

He slid the door opened with a thud. His hands were grabbing the door with force and his eyes had clouded with fury and humiliation. They were laughing at him, she was laughing at him. It hurt.

Before he could do anything though, the train came to a silent yet dangerously brusque stop that sent him flying against the doorframe. He saw before his eyes Lily and Tonks being flunked at the end of the alley. Their abrupt end was accompanied by a crack.

They were at Hogswart, alright.

Without thinking straight, he ran to his love interest and took her moaning form in his arms.

"Lily, speak, keep focus..."

"Potter, stop shaking me!" She didn't move from her position though and stayed immobile while the turning and the little dancing stars disappeared.

"Lily." It was said with such softness that she had to look up in his eyes. They were so full of concern that she involuntarily gasped. "Are you ok?"

"Huh, I think so...Where's Tee?" Turning around sharply in his arms wasn't the best of ideas : she hit his chin with her head.

"Fuck, my head should be insured."

James again didn't know how to feel. Should he laugh or feel shocked at hearing her, of all people, cursing?

"Remus, how's Tonks?" If she wanted news of her friend, he would get them for her. He'd do anything for her except leave her alone, which he knew was her deepest wish but nonetheless, he always stuck to her.

OOO

Remus was feeling up Tonks head with his heads, trying to find a bump or a sharp bone protrusion. The cracking sound had come from her. Sirius was kneeling besides her unconscious form looking quite desperate. Peter on the other hand was non existent but came back a moment later with Hagrid and professor McGonagall. They rapidly took the two girls to the infirmary, which Lily was able to leave thirty minutes latter with the recommendations of Pomfrey to drink Murlap water and to sleep. Tee on the other hand was less lucky. She hadn't woken up yet but the nurse had assured Lily she would be up in the morning and be able to go to her own dorm after two days.

Lily missed the reception for the first year students watching over her friend. What was the point of going? Her only friend was here.

After a few hours of watch, Lily was getting tired. It then came as a surprise when Pomfrey announced to her that Dumbledore was waiting for her in his office.

She made her way towards it and waited patiently at the entrance since she didn't know the password. After a few minutes though, her back began to ache and she was looking less and less joyous.

"Ah, Miss Evans!" greeted a raspy voice. Turning around she found Dumbledore.

"I was waiting for you, professor...you needed to talk to me?"

"Of course. Tour tour blah! Come in please." He motioned her in. Lily didn't comment on his choice of passwords. It truthfully sucked.

As they took a seat, Dumbledore began his speech on the Head-Girl's responsibilities. After a few moments, he cleared his throat seeing her daze into space.

"As I was saying, Miss Evans, you can now go to your new dorm and take some rest, you'll need it."

As she got up to leave, he added "The password is Karoumba...no need to reveal it to anyone."

Shaking her head at his weird choice of password, she made her way to the dorm and said the password. The door swung opened. At first she noticed the rich decoration of the huge room. A fireplace, coffee tables and couches were disposed around the room while two staircases made their way on opposite sides, one to the Head-Girl's room, the other to the Head- Boy's. She then took note of her luggage on the side of the left staircase and figured out it was the one that led to her room.

She ensorcelled her stuff so it would make its way to her room without her assistance and climbed after it thinking of a soft bed and nothing else...least of all of the Head-Boy.

She never say the brown eyes that were watching her intently, nor did she see his bright flash of a smile.

OOO

She was finally here. He had noticed her badge when he had helped her to the infirmary and had had some difficulty in keeping his jubilation to himself. When he had come here, he had jumped all around trying to calm himself. He had her all for himself.

He didn't know how it had come to him being named Head-Boy but he owed a bright candle to the one who had made the decision. Of course, he didn't know one single thing about being Head-Boy, he had in fact never been prefect but he was glad nonetheless. He had quarters for him and Lily...alone. His mind had gone reeling in wonder and of naughty thoughts...His eyes brightened up.

The first time he had seen Lillian Evans was on their first year on the train. He had had to use a compartment with her, Sirius, Remus and Tonks, all of whom he didn't know at the time. She had stuck her nose all the way long into some book about the History of Hogswart. She had depressed him at the time. Sirius had needed to make a joke about her, which had led to a bloody nose...for Sirius. Remus, Tonks and him had laughed so hard at his surprised face. She had won their respect then...except for Sirius', of course.

He didn't truly talked to her during the first three years. Of course, he said hello and all that stuff but never more. He was with the popular group of Gryffindor while she stayed a Gryffindor geek and a loner except for Tonks who had the reputation of being one wild sorceress.

Tonks, in fact was the weirdest person he knew. Each day she changed her hair colour and style. She was always extremely joyous and loud. She had a scalp of an house elf as a lucky charm, which in itself was quite unordinary. Her owl was named Houbagou for glory's sake!

Which made him wonder what Lily and Tonks were doing together. They were worst than opposites! Lily always stayed calm, never wore anything too revealing (even if in James' eyes she managed to look sexy in anything) and had her private section in the library!

Both though had the same grades and interest in magic and that was what probably had forged their friendship in the beginning.

It's probably because of Tonks that he noticed Lily. Well, truly noticed how interesting she was.

In their fourth year, Tonks had forced Lily to do the essays for entering the Quidditch team.

That day, James saw for the first time how beautiful Lily was when she smiled. When she flew, it seemed like every little worry she had, and he knew she had a whole lot, just flew out of her head.

She was determined, intelligent (that he knew beforehand), beautiful (he truthfully needed to see that gorgeous smile again) and she played Quidditch (which in itself was quite a feat).

For one who hadn't wanted to make the tryouts in the first place, she sure was happy when they announced to her that she would be chaser with Black and him.

After that day, things had gone smoothly for a while, James keeping a low profile. Only Sirius and Remus knew of his crush. Remus had only smiled knowing the feeling he was going through having been though the same thing with his current girlfriend Alice. Sirius had only laughed his butt off. Lily wasn't his type and he couldn't comprehend how James could fall for such a girl.

James had thought that it would be easy to get Lily to fall for him, he had thought he had had experience.

When it came to Lily, however, he had none. She wasn't like every other girl. She acted on her own, independent of anyone. She didn't try to hide her freckles and didn't highlight her wavy red hair. She didn't possess the gigglish mind of the bimbos he had dated or spent time with. He knew she surely giggled sometimes, he had caught her once with Tonks listening through the boy's bathroom door, he guessed it was a feminine behaviour.

She was natural. That was his downfall.

He misinterpreted her alright. He had treated her like all other girls and got kicked in the groins for doing so...on multiple times. He had put on his arrogant, self-conceited face, thinking she would be impressed. But she hadn't been.

He moved on after to the confused tactics, which had landed in another defeat since she didn't eat for one second his pleas for help against "his confused love for her". He had to admit now that it was kind of pathetic.

Then he had begun being arrogant again, hurting her in every possible way that wasn't too drastic.

It was two years ago that he had adopted this placid face in front of her...since the day he had tried to impress her with torturing poor Snape by turning him upside down. She hadn't talked to him for weeks after that episode. It was the day he had thought he had completely lost everything when she had looked at him with such a look of disgust. It was the day he realised he truly loved her.

Coming back to reality, James took note that he had been wandering in his thoughts for quite some time. Turning back towards his own room, he couldn't help but make a happy dance.

The Potters never were ones to abandon without a fight.

OOO

End of chapter 1

Ooohhhh, I'm pretty proud of myself (grins mischievously) This is my first HP fanfic...I'm kind of obsessed by Ron these days...so here I am! Just to warn you guys...I read the books in French so the terms might not be all very well translated...bear me! Review please! (makes the cute face of the cat in Shrek 2...come on, you can't resist it!)

Anyhow, for Tonks, I just figured out that maybe in Phoenix she wasn't as young as she let go on and thus, I put her in here as Lily's best friend in place of an OC...same thing for Remus' girlfriend Alice (Alice Longbottom, who else). Do not worry, I'll never let Alice stay with Remus (we do want Neville to be born, right?), but you might not see that couple break up in here (just imagine it in the future)...but if you truly despise the image of Remus and Alice together, well find me another true character of HP and I'll happily change it...

Thinking about it, do exactly that: if you can find someone already existing in HP that I could match with Remus, let me know pretty please! Oh, by the way, don't shun me but do all four Houses have each a head-Boy and a Head-Girl? Stupid question, I know...but one that I want answered anyway please!

Anyhow, here's a spoiler for next chapter:

"Potter, what are you doing in this tower? Hell, what are you doing in my room!"