The warm glow of a London afternoon radiated through the small window of a taxi cab, a patient redhead waiting her hardest for the cabbie to come to a complete stop. Nerves on end, Lily Evans moved out of the car and to the trunk, waiting for the man to open it for her. Waiting, waiting, waiting. She never did like waiting. She sighed when her luggage was finally on the curb, paying the weathered man his dues before turning to gather her things. She took in a breath and shrugged on her backpack, dragging her trunk up along the walkway until she could find a cart to put it on. It was frustrating… having to do everything by herself. Even last year, she had her dad by her side to help out. Now… she didn't even have that. She frowned at the memory, finally having to wedge the cart against a pillar so she could edge the heavy trunk up upon it. Bloody luggage.
Pushing her way through the crowds, she smiled, watching on as what looked to be a first year stood a few feet in front of the column between platforms nine and ten. The young girl swallowed hard, her blonde pigtails pulled tight as her brow scrunched together. It was evident she was trying to concentrate, and not end up crashing. With a pat on the back by what appeared to be her mother, she ran forward full speed, making her way through the barrier. The woman that was with the young girl followed, but at more of a steady walk, not wanting to catch anyone's eye. Lily couldn't help but remember her first time, where neither her nor her parents were really sure that running at a wall wound do anything but cause them pain. Smiling soft at the thought, she took much of the same pace the older woman had, pushing through the barrier and onto the platform.
The Hogwarts Express was gleaming in the sunlight, the chatter of students and families surrounding it. She scanned the crowd for anyone familiar, knowing that many students wouldn't even be at the station yet. She bit her lip, deciding her best bet would be to get her luggage on board, then look. As she started towards the back of the train, however, she could hear her name being called out.
"Lily!"
The girl in question turned to see her best friend racing up to her, crystal blue eyes glimmering in the light. Allison. She was an inch or two shorter than Lily was, but had much sharper features, much more defined.
"Ali!" Lily grinned, her smile broad, "how have you been?"
"I've never been better," she beamed, bounding up to stand beside the other, "how about you?"
Lily shrugged, taking in a breath as she continued to look around, "I've been alright… Just can't believe it's our last year, you know?"
"Yeah…" Ali mused, looking around as well, "I know what you mean."
Sighing softly, Lily looked back to her friend, looking her over. She had lost a few pounds over the summer, that much was evident. She had a curvier figure than most the girls at Hogwarts, something Lily knew the girl had a love-hate relationship with. Yes, it made the boys notice her, but no, it was not always in the positive light. She had also dyed her hair, something she had a tendency to do. It had transitioned from a pale blonde, to a now rich chocolate brown, the soft waves floating down her shoulders.
"You look so different. Lost some weight?" she smiled hopefully, thinking that maybe the girl would appreciate the complement.
Allison simply shrugged, looking back to Lily with a slightly forced smile, "I think it's just the hair, to be honest. Makes me look like I've lost ten pounds." She added the last remark with a hint of a smirk, her shimmering pink lip gloss gliding with her smile.
Lily simply nodded, looking to the ground at a loss for words. Allison, however, began to chuckle as she peeked across the way. Looking up to follow her gaze, Lily groaned. James Potter and Sirius Black were exiting one of the compartments near the back of the train, side by side like brothers. James had his wand between his fingers, twirling it around as golden sparks flew out, and Sirius had his head thrown back in laughter.
Something about seeing the bespectacled boy made her feel uneasy. Perhaps it was the fact that they had not spoken much in the past year… or perhaps it was simply that he looked older, more mature in some respects, and she wasn't prepared for the change. When he looked up from his wand, he caught the emerald orbs that had been following him carefully, and smiled softer.
Blushing furiously, Lily turned away, looking to her things, "Erm… Ali? You made sure Artemis got on the train, right?" Wouldn't want to forget her cat…
Allison rolled her eyes, "Lily… I make sure that bloody cat gets on the train every year. Why would I forget this one?"
Lily was about to make a witty retort, but was at a loss for words as she watched James and Sirius start for them.
"Hello, ladies…" James smiled a bit broader, looking between the two, "how were your summers?"
Setting a slight scoff across her countenance, Lily rolled her eyes, "Considering I got to spend it away from you…" she sneered, "delightful."
"Figured…" he sighed, his smile fading a tad as he ran his hand through his messy black mop of hair, "how about you, Willows? Have a good one?"
Ali smiled as she searched his eyes, nodding slowly, "Yeah… it was amazing. Got to visit my older sister in the States."
"The States?" Sirius cut her off, raising a brow, "I didn't know your sister lived in the States."
"She doesn't," Allison blushed, eyes quickly flickering to rest on Sirius' silver ones, "she's only there on assignment from the Ministry. She'll be coming back in November."
"Oh, right," Sirius nodded as he looked down, suddenly quite interested in his shoelaces.
An awkward moment passed in which no one spoke, Allison swallowing hard as she looked away from the boy she had had her eyes trained on, cheeks reddening darker and darker. Sirius continued to start at his feet, crossing his arms slowly. Lily and James stood off to the side, looking at the pair and avoiding eye contact with one another, waiting for one of the other two to break the silence.
"Padfoot! Prongs!"
They all swiveled around to see Remus Lupin, pushing his cart towards the small group with a large grin plastered on his face. The heavy atmosphere evaporated, and the mood returned to normal once more.
"Remus! How are you old chap?" Sirius clasped Remus' hand and shook it, donning an old, classical British tone.
Remus straightened up, taking the boy's hand and replying, mocking Sirius' choice of accent, "I'm quite fine, Sirius, my old friend."
"I hope you had a good summer, mate," James said, in quite a normal voice, "if anyone needed a break from work, it was you."
Lily looked from Remus to James, mind racing. He even sounded older. Allison noticed where Lily's eyes had averted, and nudged her in the side. Emerald eyes glared towards the brunette, narrowing slightly. Ali motioned towards James slightly with her head, and quirked her eyebrows up and down suggestively. Lily simply punched her in the arm softly, trying to act as if the moment never happened as Remus turned to look at the two of them.
"Hey girls, how were your summers?" The boy asked with a frank smile.
"Good," they replied in unison, one's voice a bit tenser than the other's.
"That's great," he said, turning back to his mates, "I have something to show you guys… so, we should probably get going."
"Alright then," James muttered, throwing on one of his most charming smiles, "we'll see you two lovely ladies later. Right now, us guys need to go talk about some very important manly things."
He puffed out his chest when he said 'manly', causing Ali to burst into a fit of giggles. He gave Lily an extra smile before turning around to walk back to the compartment with the guys, mentioning that they should probably look for Peter along the way.
Lily couldn't hide the look of feigned disgust that was showing on her face as she watched them leave, gagging and making a retching sound. Meanwhile, Ali recovered from her fit of giggles, regaining her composure.
"He isn't that bad, Lily," she mused, "he's really a nice guy. Nice, smart, athletic, hot… why won't you give him a chance?"
Cringing at the thought, Lily sighed, giving her friend a bit of a look as she leaned against her luggage cart, "Why should I? He's still nothing but trouble. You know what he did to me in our second year… I'm still not over that."
"Lily…" Allison pursed her lips, raising a brow, "he's changed, he's mature now," she added, perking up with an innocent smile, "besides, you looked good in blue skin."
"I looked like a blueberry…" The girl mumbled, quite put off.
Ali simply started giggling again, "Let's get your trunk tucked away, and find a compartment."
Lily trudged along, but obliged, walking with Allison along the platform to do just that. After loading everything on to the train, they found a small compartment and settled in, soon feeling the familiar lurch forward that would start their final trip to Hogwarts.