Author's Note: Hmm… My fourth Harry Potter fic, third Lily/James fic… Yes, once again, a stupid title… This story doesn't focus on only Lily/James (my other fics were supposed to, but they ended up not focusing on them…). So anyway, just read on and you'll see what happens, of course… This chapter's just to set the stage, so bear with me.
Title: Partners in Love
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, but just a little bit.
Summary: In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall makes a surprising announcement—this year, the sixth years will be working as partners! Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…
Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for the non-famous stuff.
Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in their fifth year and continues from there.
--- - setting change
italics - emphasis
-What?-
Sirius Black, a handsome boy with dark hair and dark eyes, came into the fifth year boys' dorm room, looking very pleased with himself. A boy with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes, otherwise known as Remus Lupin, looked up from the book he was reading and said, "All right, Padfoot, it's Monday. Who's the girl of the week?"
"Allegra Foster. Fourth year."
James Potter, who had jet-black hair and hazel eyes, shook his head. "A new girl every week—I don't understand how you can even keep their names straight."
"Yeah," Remus said, "how are you ever going to find that 'special someone' if you don't stay with a girl long enough to really get to know her?"
"Hey, Allegra's special," Sirius retorted. "Who knows? I might even give her two weeks."
James threw a pillow at him.
---
"Stupid Potter," Lily Evans muttered, trying to get some disgusting-looking gunk out of her dark red hair. She plopped down on her bed. "He's so immature."
Alyssa Parker, one of Lily's best friends, looked up from her Transfiguration book. "I told you not to give him a reason, but you just had to retaliate. If you show him that you're annoyed, he'll just keep bothering you." She twirled a strand of her shoulder-length brown hair around her finger. "Why do you always let him get to you?"
"Because she's secretly attracted to him," a girl with long, wavy, reddish-brown hair said from across the room, giggling.
"I am not!" Lily answered vehemently. "And you shouldn't go around saying things like that, Danielle—unless you want me to tell Kendall Wexler you fancy him," she stated, an evil glint in her eye.
Danielle Phillips's light brown eyes went wide. "You wouldn't," she gasped.
"Yes, she would," Alyssa replied, turning a page in her book.
"All right, I take it back!" the fifteen-year-old shouted, seeing Lily heading for the door to the staircase that led to the common room.
The redhead smiled triumphantly and went back to her bed.
Melanie Daniels walked into the dorm room. "Hi, Lily, Alyssa, Danielle." Melanie was Lily and Alyssa's other best friend and a generally shy person. Her dark blond hair was a little bit longer than Alyssa's.
"Hey, Mel," Lily and Danielle greeted her. Alyssa didn't say anything.
"Alyssa?"
"Hmm? Oh, hi, Mel."
"What's got you so distracted?" Lily asked.
"I was just thinking about—" The brunette stopped talking and blushed.
Lily grinned. "I see. Can't stop thinking about Adam, huh?" she asked, referring to the seventh year boy her friend had a crush on.
"Shut up."
---
Kendall Wexler walked into the fifth year boys' dormitory and dropped his belongings on his bed. "Hey, Pete," he said to the short blond boy in the room. Kendall had dark brown hair and blue-green eyes. He shared a room with the Marauders, but he couldn't help feeling that he was being left out of something. They all seemed to be much better friends with each other than with him. It didn't bother him much, since he had friends in other Houses, but every once in a while, he would get that feeling.
James ran into the room. "Hide me!" he whispered frantically.
Kendall helped get the black-haired boy under Remus's bed.
"Potter!" an angry female voice yelled. "Where are you?!"
"We told you already—he didn't come up here!" Sirius's frantic words could be heard through the door.
"Lily—" Remus's muffled voice was cut off as the furious girl kicked open the door.
"Where is he?" she demanded, her emerald green eyes blazing in fury.
"Who?" Kendall asked innocently.
Lily almost spit out the name. "Potter."
"Oh, well, I haven't seen him since this morning," Kendall said in an innocent tone of voice. "What about you, Peter?"
The other boy shook his head.
"Fine," Lily said. "He lives—for now. He's dead the next time I see him," she finished dangerously. As she passed Sirius and Remus on the way down to the common room, Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him. "Sirius, I do not want to hear any stupid excuses."
When he was sure it was safe, James slid out from under the bed and brushed himself off. "Thanks, Ken."
"No problem. What did you do to her, anyway?"
"Oh, the usual, just with a little twist."
---
"I can't believe him!" Lily exploded, entering her room.
"What happened this time?" Victoria Arlington, a blue-eyed elegant beauty, her other roommate and Danielle's best friend, asked. She put down the brush that she had been using to untangle her long, black hair.
"I don't want to relive it. I might tell you all later."
---
Lawrence, Alyssa's older brother, entered the common room from the boys' dormitories. "Alyssa," he called.
"What?" Alyssa had been reading a novel in the Gryffindor common room for the past hour.
"Go to bed. It's late."
"You're still up," she pointed out.
"I'm older than you," replied the tall, brown-haired boy.
"Only by a year."
"Whatever. Just go."
"Fine, Mr. Bossy Pants," she muttered, getting up.
"I heard that!"
---
"Jeez. We're going to be taking our O.W.L.s in a few days. Time does fly when you're having fun," Danielle mused.
"Ooh. It's almost the end of the year. You know what that means, Alyssa?" Lily asked.
"What?"
"It means you won't see Adam anymore," she teased.
"Shut up."
Melanie sighed. "I am having the hardest time with Transfiguration."
Victoria replied, "You should probably ask someone for help."
"Vicky, I hate to admit that he's better than me at something, but that's Potter's best subject," Lily said to her. "And Black's a close second. You want Melanie to ask those goons for help?"
"Pretty much."
"You are so weird."
Meanwhile, Melanie was headed downstairs. She spotted Sirius Black sitting by himself at a table—a rare occurrence, since he was almost always with at least one other Marauder (or his current girlfriend). This time around, his "girl of the week" was in Hufflepuff, so she wasn't in the Gryffindor common room.
"Sirius?" she called timidly.
The now sixteen-year-old boy looked up. "Hi, Melanie," he said, smiling.
"Er, O.W.L.s are coming up soon, and I'm having trouble with Transfiguration, so—"
Sirius smiled charmingly at her. "I am pretty good at the subject, if I do say so myself. Would you like some help?"
The blonde nodded.
---
"Hey, Alyssa," Remus said, trying to catch up to the young witch. They had just taken their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.
The brunette turned to face him. "Hi, Remus."
"How do you think you did?"
"Oh, all right, I guess. Did you get those werewolf questions?"
"Yeah," Remus said, looking at his feet. "I think I got all of them right," he continued (looking a bit sad).
The two started walking toward Gryffindor Tower. Alyssa accidentally dropped a book when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Remus bent to pick it up. He started to hand it to her, but pulled his arm back a little when he saw the cover. "I've read this book before. It's good."
Alyssa took it from him and answered, "Yeah, I know. I'm about halfway through it."
"You like to read?" he asked, stepping into the common room.
"Yeah. A lot. It's fun for me."
Remus smiled. "Me too. Have you read this book by—um—Oh, I can't remember the author's name…"
---
The Hogwarts Express had just arrived at Platform 9¾ to take Lily Evans and her friends back to Hogwarts to begin their sixth year of training in witchcraft.
Lily had been looking around for her friends when she spotted a familiar blond head in the crowd. "Hey, Melanie!" she called out.
Melanie's dark blue eyes pinpointed Lily's location. She moved through the throng of parents and students toward the redhead and inadvertently came across Victoria and Danielle. "Hey, Vicky, Dani."
"Hi."
"Hey, Mel."
"Come on, Lily's over there."
---
Alyssa opened the door to a compartment. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you," she said, sitting down next to Melanie.
The door opened again, revealing a handsome boy with blue-green eyes. "Hi. Sorry," Kendall Wexler said, closing it, "I was just looking for somewhere to sit."
"You can sit here if you want," Lily offered.
"Thanks."
---
"Hey," Alyssa said to Lily and Melanie, spotting Remus getting off the train, "I'll see you at the Sorting, okay? I'm just gonna go—" She started walking toward the boy with light brown hair without finishing her sentence.
"What was that about?"
"Don't know."
---
"Remus."The sixteen-year-old boy whirled around to find that he was looking into a pair of bright hazel-colored eyes. He smiled. "Hello, Alyssa."
"Hi. Did you read that book I sent you?"
"Yeah. I liked it. My favorite part was when—" He and Alyssa started walking toward a horseless carriage, leaving three very confused-looking Marauders behind.
---
Since Alyssa had gone off with Remus, Lily, Melanie, Danielle, and Victoria shared a carriage without her.
"You what?" Danielle exclaimed. "You sat next to Kendall? Oh, you're so lucky."
Lily answered, "Danielle, I'm not the one who likes him. I didn't think I was lucky."
"Oh, but you are. You are so lucky."
---
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The sixth years clapped and cheered as a smiling first year girl ran to sit at the long table. The Sorting ended and the feast began.
"So who's your next target, Padfoot?" James asked his best friend.
"Tara Small. Ravenclaw," Sirius said between bites.
"Someday, you're going to have to settle for one girl."
"Like you will with Lily?" Sirius teased.
James threw a dinner roll at him.
---
Professor Minerva McGonagall stood in front of her class of sixth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors on the first day of classes. "Attention, please," she declared loudly. "This year each of you will be paired with someone else in the class. That person is whom you will be working with to complete several projects that I will assign over the course of the year. Now," she said, moving her gaze up and down the rows of students, counting in her head, "since there are as many boys as girls in this class, the partnerships will be boy/girl."
The Marauders groaned. How could they create mischief if they weren't partnered with each other?
The professor glared at the four young wizards before speaking again. "Mr. Black, you will be partnered with… Miss Daniels. Mr. Wexler, you will be Miss Phillips's partner. Remus Lupin and Alyssa Parker, you will works together. Victoria Arlington, your partner is Mr. Pettigrew. And Mr. Potter, you and Miss Evans are partners."
Lily's mouth dropped open in shock as the adult witch went on to pair up the Hufflepuffs.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Interesting? Yes, no? Suggestions? Review? Yeah? Please? Thank you?