I studied my bookshelf, wondering if there was anything else I would need. After a moment of study, I moved on to my closet, looking for any last piece of clothing that could be crammed into my trunk. I didn't see any. Satisfied, I shoved the lid of my trunk down, sitting on it to force it closed. Panting from the effort, I clicked the latches closed. "Lily, we're going to be late!" my dad called from downstairs.
"Coming!" I yelled back. Now I had the task of yanking my trunk down the stairs without murdering myself. I eyed the trunk warily before picking it up and running down the stairs, it clucking noisily behind me. I ran faster than it slid, so I was safe from harm.
"Get going, Freak, dad's in the car," Petunia said from the kitchen table.
"Thanks, Tuney." I put all my effort in dragging the damn trunk across the living room and out the door.
"Whatever, Freak," I heard as I walked outside.
"Come one, we don't have a moment to spare," my dad hustled me to the vehicle, helping me place my trunk into the car.
On my way to the train station, my dad told me last minute advice, which hadn't changed from last year's. I nodded about how to be safe with boys and how to end arguments between friends; none of his advice actually worked. He told me how my mum would have been so proud to see her daughter off to her last year at school.
I arrived with two minutes to sprint through King's Cross, leaving my dad trotting behind with a shouted, "goodbye!"
"Lily Evans, there you are," I heard as I tried to lug my trunk onto the train. "Are you a witch or not? Locomotor trunk."
I grinned. "Nice to see you, Marlene."
"Yeah, yeah," Marlene McKinnon said with an eye roll. "It's my job to save the Head Girl from embarrassing herself."
"I guess I could have thought of that," I said as I followed my best friend to her compartment. My trunk trailed behind us as the train slowly started to roll out of the London station.
"Listen, I have to get to the Prefect's compartment and go over their rules," I told Marlene. "Alice and Mary should be along, right?"
"Oh, just go, slut," was the only reply I got as Marlene buried her face in a magazine.
I quickly changed and proudly pinned my Head Girl badge to the front of my robes. I found the Prefect's compartment and opened it to reveal several others. Soon all the Prefects were accounted for, except Remus Lupin. Which meant that he had to be Head Boy, right?
Wrong.
"Sorry I'm late, Evans," I heard from behind me. My body froze at the sound. That voice had haunted my dreams before.
"Potter, if this is a joke, you've gone too far," I whispered into the shocked silence.
"Nonesense, Evans, it would be a brilliant joke. But, between us, I couldn't believe it either when I pulled out the badge. I thought it was a joke on me from Moony. Apparently not. So what do we do at these things?"
James Potter seemed perfectly at ease as I explained the rules and duties to the Prefects. They listened, and we were able to finish a full hour earlier than the previous year. "Potter, could I have a word?" I asked as the Prefects eagerly filed out of the compartment.
"Of course, Lilyflower, anything for you," he said. I rolled my eyes.
When we were alone, I finally looked at him. I put all the coldness I could into my glare. "Explain how this happened."
To my annoyance, he smiled nicely at me and said, "Why don't you sit down?"
"No thank you," I replied.
"Suit yourself." Potter sat down, sprawled out on the seat. "Let's see. Remus has…er…some personal problems that take up time, so he stepped down as Prefect. However, the letters already went out, and there was some tricky business with who would step up. So naturally Dumbledore turned to a handsome, talented devil like me to fill Moony's shoes."
I listened, outraged. "Do you realize what this means?" I asked in a whisper. I finally sat down across from him and put my head in my hands. Without waiting for an answer, I continued, "This means you need to be responsible." I let out a groan. "And we have to work together. This means, we're living together." I looked up with a glare. "One bathroom."
"Evans, you need to relax. Take a potion. Let me relax you," he said as he walked to sit next to me. I slid over against the wall, but he followed, uncomfortably close.
"Potter, grow up." I was slightly panicked as his hand rested on my leg, but I couldn't let him know he got to me; that was the defensive strategy Marlene and I came up with. If he thought I wasn't uncomfortable, he'd give up and try something else. Something non touch-Lily-inappropriately.
So I allowed his hand to rest on my thigh as he said, very seriously, "We can make it work. Think of it as practice for after we graduate, when we're married."
"I hate you." He simply laughed and got up.
"If you'll excuse me, love, I've got other business to attend to."
"If you get a detention on your first day back, I'll fill your bed with floberworms," I threatened.
"As long as you're in there with them," he said as he walked out with a laugh. "Love you, Evans."
I slowly made my way back to the compartment Marlene had been in. I hoped she was still there, because it would save me a long trip down the train looking through every compartment to find her again. I smiled as I heard Alice Prewett's high-pitched laugh from the door. I slid open the door, which had the shades drawn, to find the compartment filled to maximum capacity. "I wonder if there's a record for how many students can squeeze into a train compartment," I said to the mass of bodies.
"I'm sure we've beaten it," said Marlene from her perch next to the window.
"If you missed me that much already, Evans, you could have just walked with me," Potter said from the seat next to Marlene. I noted he had a seat. My seat.
Looking around, I saw Alice Prewett and her steady boyfriend Frank Longbottom, a sixth year, sitting next to Mary MacDonald. On the other side sat Frank's best friend, Brian O'Mally, Potter, and Marlene. On the floor were Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, up with the luggage lounged Sirius Black. I looked around for a seat and almost slapped myself for thinking I could find one. I decided to stand between Alice and Mary at the window.
"I did not miss you, Potter. In case you haven't noticed, I usually try to avoid seeing you."
"Just because you're trying to prevent yourself from kissing my angelic face. I get it; I sometimes have to run from girls with the same mindset as you."
"You know that's not what I meant," I said as I stepped over Peter and around Remus. I almost made it when I was grabbed around the waist and yanked onto a lap. Potter's lap.
"Are we going to start this year with filing harassment and a restraining order?" I asked.
"What?" he seemed confused. "What's a restraining order?"
I always forgot he was a pureblood. "It's a muggle court order for someone to stay a certain distance from another. If they violate they get chucked in jail…But that's not the point," I said hastily as his hands drifted to my thighs.
Marlene elbowed me and I sighed. I couldn't let him know it bothered me. Physical contact? I'd better get used to it. At least, according to my best friend. Though, she constantly insults me and pretends to be promiscuous, but I know for a fact she's never gotten past second base, as my American cousins say it. She's not at all what she seems. I was constantly baffled by the girl I was supposed to know better than anyone else. But of course, I'd take her advice any day over mine.
I turned to look at Potter. "Is this where I'm sitting, then?" I asked.
His face was too close as he simply said, "Yes."
"Hmm, Lily Evans, making herself at home on Prongs' lap. This should be an interesting ride."
"Shut up, Black," I said.
"Touchy, touchy." I couldn't help but grin. Sirius wasn't half bad when he wasn't hitting on girls or staring at your boobs. We got along great sometimes.
"Nice to see you, though," I said.
"And you, Evans."
"So, a big surprise, then?" Alice asked me.
"What?" I was momentarily confused.
"Well, you must have noticed by now that James is Head Boy," she said with a giggle.
"Yeah, I did." The boy in question's hand idly rubbed my leg as he talked to Sirius, still lounging above him. It was slightly inappropriate, as he was touching a bit of butt, but the overall effect was almost…soothing. And I let him, pretending I didn't notice. Marlene stifled a laugh, knowing how hard I resisted the urge to curse his fingers off. "I suppose I'll have to live with it. I can't imagine how a conversation with Dumbledore would go. 'Excuse me, Sir, but could you fire Potter from his post as Head Boy?' Yeah, right. I'm sure he'd laugh at me."
"Oh, but we'll have so much fun," Potter's deep voice said in my ear.
"Should I be worried about your idea of fun?" I asked.
"You should just trust me, love." His whispered breath on my ear gave me goosebumps.
We got off at Hogsmeade station, and thankfully Potter and his mates took a different carriage. Marlene and I caught up with Alice and Mary; Alice was just as chatty and Mary just as modest and quiet as we remembered.
I sat through the feast, remembering it would be my final sorting to sit through. Half sentimental and half relieved, I gorged on food, eating way more than I should have. I watched as the Prefects herded the first years towards the common rooms, and the rest of the students slowly drifted to their beds. "Want to come see my new room?" I asked, excited.
"Hell yeah," Marlene said.
We followed the instructions on the letter I received along with my book list until we came to a plain stone wall between a north-facing window and an authentic year 1248 suit of armor. "It says here that to get in, the Head Girl or Head Boy must touch the wall where the door is and it will appear. The only other people who can access it are Hogwarts Professors," I read off to Marlene. "Sounds legit. Let's see if it works."
I looked at the wall for another moment, long enough for Marlene to grab my hand and thrust it at the wall. I gave her a look as a door appeared. "What?" she said defensively. "You were taking too long, and I'm tired."
I laughed as she reached out and yanked open the handle, revealing a common room. It wasn't decorated for any particular house, rather having a mismatched assortment of furniture that gave the place quite a homey feel. There was a giant fireplace that was merrily flickering, and hundreds of candles floated overhead, just like the great hall. There were two doors. Upon closer inspection, Marlene and I entered the one that said 'Head Girl, Lily Evans'. "It even has my name," I said happily.
"Yeah, don't let it get to your head," Marlene grouched.
"Then don't let it get into yours," I replied.
She laughed at my logic. "Sure, Lils."
I gaped at the giant bed covered in fluffy pillows and blankets. I had my own balcony that was on a cliff and looked over the black lake, hundreds of meters below. I had a giant wardrobe, already filled with my clothes. "Okay, now I actually am jealous," Marlene told me.
"I'd be too, if this was your new room."
"I think I'll be staying over a lot. Girls night, in privacy? I think so."
"But I'm sure Potter and his mates are thinking the same thing," I retorted.
"Did someone say 'Potter'?" came from the doorway of my room. I resisted the urge to jinx him from my room. "Marlene, a pleasure as always."
"James, stop talking like that. It makes you seem like you're sixty."
"And how do you know I'm not?" he challenged.
I ignored them as best as I could; of course it bothered me that Marlene was friends with my archenemy. I found the door to the bathroom and grinned; it was an open floor plan with a bathtub and a shower, both big enough to fit several people at once. There were numerous faucets, each presumably with a different scented soap or bubbles. There were two sinks, which was the first hint that Potter and I indeed had to share the bathroom, as rumored. When I saw that my personal products were lined up alongside his, I groaned at the finality of it.
Glancing around to make sure Potter and Marlene were still occupied, I walked into Potter's room. His was similar, though certainly more masculine. His prized broomstick had its own case in the corner, and an owl happily hooted from outside on the balcony. "Making yourself at home, are we?" I jumped as Potter's voice came from behind me. "I don't mind, you might as well. I plan on you being in here more than in your room, Lily."
"Where's Marlene?" I asked, still not looking at him.
"She went to Gryffindor tower, presumably to sleep."
"Alright, well, goodnight. Remember, first meeting's Tuesday, Potter." I tried to leave quickly, but he caught my elbow and drew me near.
"Goodnight, love," he said as he tilted my face towards his with a long finger. I tried to defy his actions, but any resistance dissolved as he gently brushed his lips against mine. I was certain I turned bright red as he released me. I quickly scampered back through the bathroom to my room, locking both the doors. I knew he could easily get in with a flick of his wand, but it made me feel secure nonetheless.
Why was it I didn't stop him?
But it wasn't like he did any harm. As far as kisses went, that was the most chaste and respectable one I'd ever had.
No. If I let him, he would think he could do whatever he wanted.
Marlene would say let him, for crying out loud, that I needed a good snog here and there.
And I would say I'd rather get one from Severus than Potter.
She would then say I was insane and to let him; soon he would get bored if I didn't care and it didn't affect me.
Of course, even in my head Marlene would win.