Author's note: Sorry about the unrealistic lack of Peter in this story, but I just hate the little turd so much I couldn't write him in.

Beta's Note: I second that opinion!!

Another Author's note: By the way, Bilius Weasley is the Uncle Bilius that Ron mentions in PoA. You know, "My uncle Bilius saw one, and he died twenty-four hours later!" There has been some confusion on the subject. I just couldn't resist putting a Weasley in the story because I love them all so much.

CHAPTER ONE: BACK TO HOGWARTS

As the Hogwarts express pulled out of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Lily Evans settled back in her chair with a contented sigh. It was going to be her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she had never felt so happy to be going back. It wasn't that she didn't love going home for the summer to see her parents- she did, very much- it was just that she felt that five years boarding at Hogwarts had created a gap between her and the rest of her family. Particularly between herself and her elder sister, Petunia. Lily sometimes wondered how she fitted into the Evans family at all. With her dark red hair and emerald green eyes, Lily looked totally different to her brown-haired father and blonde mother and sister. And of course, being told that she had magic inside of her, that she was a witch, made her feel even more different to the rest of her family.

Lily turned and watched houses flashing past outside the window. Never mind Petunia, she told herself sternly. I'm going to be back at Hogwarts soon.

Her two best friends at Hogwarts, Evelyn O'Kelly and Ingrid Bell walked in. They had been storing their trunks and things in the luggage compartment.

"All right?" Lily said when they came in.

"Fine." said Evelyn, brushing her sandy coloured curls out of her face. "Nearly dropped my trunk on a first year when they ran into me, but… Idiot first years…" She was a short girl, but always full of energy and spirit. She hailed from Ireland, had large brown eyes, and was constantly getting scolded by teachers for speaking her mind at the wrong moment.

"Evelyn, remember when you were in first year and you nearly fell off the train on your way to Hogwarts because you were so excited?" said Ingrid pleasantly, sliding the compartment door shut behind them. Lily and Evelyn laughed. Ingrid was very tall and slim, with jet-black hair that was very straight and very long. She had piercing blue eyes, and was the shyest of the three girls. Her older brother, Evan Bell was in seventh year and very protective of her, as Ingrid's father had died when they were very young.

"Lucky thing James Potter was there to pull me back in." Evelyn said, laughing again. Lily groaned at the mention of the name. Evelyn and Ingrid both turned to each other and rolled their eyes. They were quite used to the battle between Lily and James Potter, a fifth year Gryffindor like themselves.

Since first year, for inexplicable reasons, James Potter and Lily Evans had hated each other from day one. Maybe it was because James poked fun at lily's red hair, calling her a carrot top. Maybe it was because Lily dropped her trunk (accidentally) on James' foot on that very first train ride to Hogwarts, causing him to drop his owl's cage, breaking it, and letting the owl fly around King's Cross Station, hooting madly. All they knew was that from the very first moment they met, things had gone wrong. Things weren't made better when James and Lily were put into the same house- Gryffindor. Things were made even worse when they both tied for top of the year first year- and every year after that. Lily often called James an immature, attention seeking spoiled brat. James often called her a snobbish, unpopular talentless prude. Lily couldn't stand James, and James couldn't stand her. It was a very simple relationship, based on feelings of mutual hatred. People couldn't figure out why, however. It was as though they were almost too alike to accept the other's existence. Both of them were highly intelligent, determined, brave and popular. They were both notoriously stubborn, and would never take no for an answer. Both were known for their phenomenal talent at Transfiguration and Charms, and both of them could fly a broomstick with amazing ability.

"Lily when are you and James ever going to get over it?" said Evelyn wearily. "I mean, what's not to like about him?"

"What's not to like?" Lily repeated, her eyes flashing. "Maybe the fact that he's a self absorbed prat may have something to do with it."

"Oh, Lily, that's not very nice, he's not a prat at all," said Ingrid, disagreeing in her usual gentle way that only served to irritate Lily even more. "He's sweet, and funny, and he's smart, and really good at Quidditch- and he's always nice to me."

"And me." said Evelyn. "Besides, he's really cute, and sure he's a moron, but he's a hot moron."

"Well, I'm glad you two are so Pro-James," said Lily evenly. "Why don't you go and marry him?"

"I just might," Evelyn said, winking, "before someone else snaps him up."

Ingrid giggled while Lily made retching noises.

"Can't you just accept it?" Evelyn said with some satisfaction. "You only hate him because of a stupid four year old vendetta."

"I don't like him," said Lily firmly, "because I just don't. He's not my kind of person."

"Maybe he is." said Evelyn, smirking. "You just don't know it yet."

Lily snorted. "Believe me. I know enough James Potter to not like what I know."

Evelyn rolled her eyes at Ingrid despairingly. "Ah, Ingrid, how I despair of our dear Lily. I dunno how she gets such good grades when it's quite clear to me that she's an idiot."

"I'm still here, you know," Lily said testily.

Evelyn raised her eyebrows, "I do indeed," she said impetuously. Lily was about to reply, but was interrupted by a commotion outside.

Down the corridor of the train, they could hear thumping footsteps and the sound of laughter.

"Don't run! Don't run!" they heard a boy yell. "I learnt a lovely hex over the holidays!"

"Yeah sure, who taught it to you- your Muggle mum?" someone else shouted back breathlessly. More laughter, and the sound of scuffling. Then a third voice joined them.

"What are you two gits DOING?" the third person laughed.

"We're drilling holes in London bridge, Moony, what does it look like?"

"Looks like you're in a clinch to me."

"Oh, EW! EW! You're disgusting Moony!" Sounds of more scuffling followed.

"Well I'm not the one hugging Sirius."

"I know, lucky you. You STINK Sirius!"

"Hey! Speak for yourself you four-legged moron!"

Inside Lily, Ingrid and Evelyn's compartment, Lily rolled her eyes at the other two.

"Good god, it's the three idiots. I hate it when they travel together."

There was a thump as someone hit the compartment door and slid down to the floor. Obviously the scuffling was reaching a height.

"Ow!" the person who had hit the door yelled. Someone laughed.

"See who's in there, James!"

The door slid open. James Potter was lying on his back on the floor, having opened the door from there.

"Hey girls!"

"Hi, James!" chorused Evelyn and Ingrid.

James rolled over onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows. His rumpled jet-black hair was looking particularly messy this morning and his glasses were slightly askew from the scuffle. He grinned rakishly, a dimple appearing in his right cheek as he did so. This was the smile he used to charm everyone, to get him out of trouble when he'd been up to no good. (He used it a lot.) But teachers usually didn't seem to mind that much, (Well, none of them except Professor Dolhov, the Potions teacher) and they were all lenient on James and his friends. It was a well-known fact he was Madame Hooch's favourite student and not just because he was a star player on the Quidditch team. People just seemed to be drawn to James and his mischievous nature. He and his little gang of friends were well known throughout the school for constantly playing pranks, and sneaking out of their dorms every night to cause havoc around the school. None of this seemed to bother the teachers, especially when he flashed them that smile. Many girls at Hogwarts thought he was the cutest boy ever to grace the earth. (Lily pretended not to notice, but the fact was James was quite good looking.)

"You girls look better every time I see you!" he said earnestly. Ingrid and Evelyn giggled. Lily made a vomiting noise and picked up a book. James looked over at her, and raised his eyebrows, giving her the "I-don't-like-you-very-much-at-all" look he reserved just for her.

"Oh it's you, is it?" he said giving her a curt nod.

"Yeah. And you." Lily said, shooting him an equally distasteful look.

Sirius Black, James' best friend and partner in crime, appeared at the doorway. An exceptionally handsome boy, Sirius had a knack for charming people into doing things they didn't want to. He was as popular as James, as intelligent, and as brave. He had thick dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, a million-watt grin and a flirtatious way with girls. Sirius had always been nice to Lily even though his best friend couldn't stand her. Lily found him a bit over bearing at times, but other than that she enjoyed his company very much.

"Hey girls!" Sirius said. "Lily." he added, giving her a little wave.

She smiled and waved back. James pulled himself off the ground and plonked himself between Ingrid and Evelyn on their compartment seat.

"So what's the buzz, girls?" he said, straightening his glasses. "Tell me all your sordid secrets."

Sirius laughed. "Gossip queen Potter strikes again."

Remus Lupin appeared at the doorway behind Sirius.

"What are you two doing- Oh. Hi." He waved at the girls in the carriage. Remus Lupin was one of those people who seem to be permanently tired or ill. The bags under his light gray-green eyes gave him the appearance of being exhausted, all the time. He was quieter than James or Sirius, but no less brave and talented. He seemed to keep to himself a lot, and was frequently out of school for being ill. Lily sometimes caught herself wondering about the mysterious Remus- he was quiet and earnest, and Lily's favourite of James Potter's friends. She caught his eye and grinned at him. He smiled shyly back. (Whenever he was in the presence of Evelyn O'Kelly, Remus tended to become even more introverted. He'd had a crush on Evelyn since third year.)

"Remus, my loony old friend!" James said. "Come, join our party!" (Evelyn and Ingrid giggled. Lily gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes despairingly.) Sirius and Remus came into the compartment and slid the door shut behind them. Sirius sat down next to Lily and stretched his arms luxuriously.

"Did you girls have a good break?" he said, giving them a cheerful grin.

"'Course." said Evelyn. "And are you boys ready for another school year?"

"More than," said James. "Nothing ever happens at home. That's why it's always good to go back to Hogwarts." Remus laughed dryly. "You're only happy to be back because this is when your reign of terror begins, James."

"What?" laughed Ingrid. "Reign of terror?"

"Ah, yes, that's right," grinned Sirius, settling his arm comfortably across the seat behind Lily. James grinned proudly.

"Yes, my faithful minions, soon you will all be working under ME!" he gave a demonic laugh.

"What are you talking about?" said Lily tersely, looking up from her book.

James stood up and bowed. "Friends, it is true. I, James Potter, have been voted Prefect of Gryffindor Hou-"

"What?" Lily exclaimed- rather too shrilly. James, Sirius and Remus stared at her. Evelyn snorted into her hand and tried pretend it was a cough.

"What's your problem?" he said. Ingrid, meanwhile, was looking excited.

"You've been voted Prefect, James? That's fantastic! Lily was voted Prefect too!"

"What?" James said, in a voice nearly as shrill as Lily's. They stared at each other in horror for a few moments.

"I can't believe this…" Lily groaned to herself.

"Me either." James said in dismay. "You're a prefect?"

She nodded miserably. "And you are too?"

"Yeah." said James crossly. Evelyn tried in vain to contain her laughter while Ingrid looked worriedly from Lily to James glaring at each other. Remus looked uncomfortable and started staring out the window. Sirius however, stood up and grinned.

"Well, looks like there's a fraction too much friction with these two."

"No kidding!" sniggered Evelyn. Sirius, still grinning, extended his hand to Lily.

"Way to go," he said. "You deserve it."

"Thanks." She shook his hand, still feeling dismayed. The prefects of a house always had to work closely with each other, organizing Quidditch and collecting house points; being part of a student council and approaching teachers with suggestions from the student body. It took a lot of organization and responsibility, and the thought of working with James Potter- who hardly knew what the word "responsible" meant- the thought of working with James Potter for the next three years made her feel sick. And it was clear, from looking at James' angry expression that he felt the same way.

"Congratulations." said James finally, with a petulant glare.

"You too." Lily said coolly. "Excuse me," she made her way past Remus to the compartment door. "I need to use the bathroom." She could feel James Potter's eyes on her as she went. She stormed out of the compartment, nearly running into the fourth member of James' little gang, Peter Pettigrew- a chubby brown-haired boy who idolised James. She waited until she was a way down the train corridor until slamming her hand against the wall in frustration. She'd been so happy when she received the letter in the holidays, telling her she had been selected to be a Gryffindor prefect. Her mum and dad had both been so proud of her. And now the whole experience would be ruined, because of that irresponsible prat.

"Darn you, James Potter!" she said aloud savagely, causing a passing group of second year girls to giggle. Lily sighed. What a mess everything was now.

And she'd so been looking forward to this year!

*

Despite Lily's disappointment, her bad mood cleared up by the time they reached Hogwarts. The start of term feast was a most pleasant affair, though Lily and James steadfastly ignored each other and Evelyn kept on sniggering at them behind her hand.

However, another nasty surprise came when the Prefects for the years were announced. Two students from each house of the fifth, sixth and seventh years, as well as the Head Boy and Girl, made up the student council. Both James and Lily were equally disquieted when Professor McGonagall read out the fifth year Slytherin prefects and announced that Severus Snape was one of the Slytherin Prefects for his year!

Severus Snape happened to be James' archrival. In much the same way Lily and James had got off on the wrong foot, so too had Snape and James in their first year, and they had hated each other ever since. Snape was intensely jealous of James' talents and popularity, as he himself was hated by the majority of students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw House, though Lily, too had her own reasons for hating Snape. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter glared murderously as Snape, his greasy black hair slicked back and dark eyes shining smugly, stood up and walked to the teacher's table to shake Dumbledore's hand. He had already put his prefect's badge on, and it glittered by the light of the thousands of candles suspended magically in the air. He was followed by the female fifth year prefect for Slytherin, "Samantha Avery."

"Fifth year Gryffindor prefects," called Professor McGonagall. "James Potter."

There was tumultuous applause from the Gryffindor table. James, still frowning, walked up to the teachers' table. Lily watched him walk to Dumbledore, noticing that he had grown at least a foot over the summer holidays. He walked up and shook Dumbledore's hand grimly. Dumbledore said something quietly to him, and James smiled. Self-consciously Lily straightened her robes.

"…and Lily Evans." Professor McGonagall read. More loud applause. Lily blushed automatically. She hated having attention drawn to herself. She forced herself not to hurry to the teacher's table. "Be dignified!" she told herself firmly. As she reached Dumbledore, his piercing blue eyes twinkled merrily. "Congratulations, Miss Evans," he said quietly, shaking her by the hand.

"Thank you professor," said Lily, as calmly as she could.

"I think we can expect great things from you this year, my dear." he said. Lily grinned, feeling better. She joined the end of the line where the new Prefects were standing next to James.

"You look nervous," James said out of the corner of his mouth. "Sure you can handle this, Evans?"

"Can you?" she said, trying not to make her lips move.

"I asked you first," he retorted.

"It's not a question of handling it," she whispered, as a fifth year Hufflepuff prefect ("Kiki Kessavat") joined the line next to her. "It's a question of wanting to."

"Huh," snorted James. "And I suppose you think I don't."

"Quite frankly, no," she said coolly. "Now shut up. We'll get into trouble."

James remained silent after that. When all the Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl had been announced, Professor McGonagall, who was Head of Gryffindor, took the new Gryffindor Prefects aside.

"Now that you have been accepted into these positions of responsibility, I trust you will uphold the respect it deserves." she started. Seeing the glazed looks and yawning mouths, though, she decided to keep it short. "The new password for the Gryffindor common room is "Canis minor". Your first official student council meeting will take place next Saturday directly after dinner. Congratulations once again on being chosen to represent your house and years."

And with that, the Prefects dispersed, following the rest of their house up the marble staircase and onwards to the common room. The crowd milled about in front of the portrait that was the entrance to the common room.

"What's the password?" several people were yelling.

James cupped his hands to his mouth and bellowed, "PASSWORD'S CANIS MINOR!"

"Canis minor!" several other people echoed. The portrait door swung open and there was a press of people. Lily stepped back to avoid being pushed over by a crowd of fourth years, but she stepped back right on someone's foot and stumbled.

"Oh, sorry! I'm so sorry," she cried, as the person held out their hands to steady her. She turned to see that it was James Potter. He let go of her at once as if he had been burned, and Lily herself jumped away so quickly she nearly knocked over a first year. There was an awkward moment where neither of them said anything, but just stared at each other. Suddenly James, probably for the first time, smiled at her. Lily, to her utmost annoyance, found herself smiling back, automatically. Quickly she wiped it off her face.

"Sorry." she said again.

"No problem." said James, shrugging. He smirked, and held out his hand. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Evans." His voice was sarcastic and Lily felt her temper rising.

"Sure, you too," she said, equally as insincerely. She didn't take his hand, instead gave him a curt nod.

"Night." said James, and disappeared into the crowd moving into the portrait hole.