Hey guys!!

Even though I've JUST finished publishing Oblivion (and thanks sooooooo much for everyone who's reviewed! It means so much to me. Luv you! Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention Kay! She got very annyoed when I didn't dedicate anything to her, because she's reading my stories even though she thinks they're "so-so". Anyway, I apologize for the delay in thanks... Thanks Kay for all your lovely comments and actually understanding the story after reading every chapter twice :D), I've been working on this story for a while now, with the help of my absolutely brilliant beta; crushed-lilyflower. Don't worry, this is just an "establishing" chapter, so even though there isn't much plot in it at the moment, I promise there is a method to my madness :D There will be a bit of old Voldy so be aware....

So here goes, please review, that's what makes me update faster and it means heaps. If you DO review, please do so honestly, critic is welcome as it helps me understand what I need to do to improve my writing. I know this chapter is long, but please stick with it.

Luv you all forever

xoxox

pixy

Chapter One

She was an honest girl. Well, usually, anyway. This was one of those few occasions of her seventeen year old life where she was trying to do what she hated the most: lying to herself. It was September 1st, and Lily Evans sat cross legged on her bed as she read the Daily Prophet, tryingtoconvince herself that the person whose photo was splashed over the front page was not good looking. Because that person was James Potter. That very same James Potter who had asked her out countless times over her six years at Hogwarts, the very same James Potter who had chased after her tirelessly trying to persuade her to give him a chance. And that very same James Potter who she had rejected time and time again due to his arrogance and, of course, seriously unattractive appearance. So there was no earthly way that James Potter was good looking. She would have to admit that his jaw seemed to have become stronger and more defined over the summer; perhaps she noticed that he had let his jet black hair grow a little longer, and maybe she acknowledged that now she inexplicably felt that it suited him immensely. But just because she noticed these changes, it didn't mean that she appreciated them. After all, she was an observant girl. Could she really be blamed for examining the photograph alongside the front page story of the Prophet? Of course not. She was just a casual observer who was genuinely interested in current affairs.
But sadly, she was an intelligent one: which meant that she realised pretty quickly that her attempts at fooling herself were failing miserably. With an unhappy sigh, Lily collapsed onto her mattress and reread the article for the fiftieth time.

SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD HERO SAVES INNOCENT LIVES

It has been revealed by the Ministry of Magic's most highly acclaimed aurors that in the early hours of Tuesday morning, James Potter, seventeen, saved a family of five from being held hostage and tortured by a group of dark wizards (for more information to who those attackers are rumoured to be, turn to page 5). Potter single-handedly fought off the attackers with stunning spells, saving the three young children and their parents. The criminals, now being held custody in Azkaban, are awaiting trial of conviction. When questioned, Potter shakes his head and determinedly refuses to dispatch the family's identity, "I respect their privacy," he says. On being called 'brave', he laughs and waves it off. "I just reacted on instinct. There was nothing brave about it; I'm sure anyone would have done the same."

The survivors have yet to issue a formal statement, but have expressed their gratitude to Potter with the offer for a large sum of money in compensation, which Potter immediately declined. "He's just glad they're okay; the family survived, and that's all he could have asked for," says an anonymous spokesperson of Potter.

The family are currently recuperating in St Mungo's; but healers assure the Prophet that thanks to our hero, they will make full recovery. Potter, meanwhile, will return for his final year at Hogwarts School on September 1st, where Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has recently made the decision to appoint him Head Boy.

Rita Skeeter

Lily chuckled a little nervously as she read the last sentence. How James Potter had actually managed to get the badge was beyond her. He and his three friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew formed the Marauders; in their own words 'the biggest and the best pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen.' The boys landed more detentions than dates, and in Sirius's case that was one hell of a statistic. Oddly enough, Gryffindor still won the house cup year after year even though the Marauders always managed to loose more points alone than the rest of the school put together. Black and Potter were the Gryffindor Quidditch heroes and made up for the points lost by flying around on a piece of wood. Go figure…

But what was she going to do about this sudden change of heart? She could go on as she had over the past years: ignore him, yell at him when he asked her out and be as brutal as humanly possible. But there was a voice nagging her from the back of her mind…a voice reminding her of the piece of paper which lay right in front her eyes. How could she possibly treat him that way, after he had risked his own life to save five people he didn't even know? No, she wouldn't be able to do that… the old James Potter had gone, and he no longer deserved that... Not to mention that she and Potter would be sharing their own private dorm. She didn't want to spend a year living through that tense atmosphere. So, she would have to remain neutral…see how things went. If things changed: great! It would certainly make things easier with Head duties and organising the prefect meetings. And if nothing changed, things would be just as they had been for the past six years. Something she would be able to deal with. She was decided: neutral it was.

"Lily darling, are you up yet? It's eight o'clock and it takes an hour to London," Mrs. Evans knocked on Lily's door softly.

"Mum!" Lily called angrily as a loud hooting came from the darkest corner of her bedroom. "You woke Belzebub!"

"Sorry, dear," Mrs. Evans chuckled. "Well, come downstairs when you're ready," she prompted.

"Will do, thanks mum." Lily sighed and walked over to her owl. "It's alright, you can go back to sleep," she soothed.

After the owl closed its amber eyes, Lily crossed the room to her trunk. It was already packed and organised, but she needed some clothes for the train. Glancing out of the window, she saw the last remnants of summer sun beating down onto the ground. It was definitely going to be too hot for the jeans and t-shirt she'd had in mind, Lily thought. She would have to go with… the short white shorts and the well fitting dark blue T-shirt. And the only shoes that matched the outfit were her black heels… and if she was wearing those shoes, her big silver hoop earrings would finish everything off nicely. After getting dressed, Lily studied her reflection thoughtfully. She rarely made an effort with her appearance, or even bothered to see how she looked, but for some reason today she felt she ought to. Her long red hair fell lifelessly over her shoulders and her usually bright green eyes were still puffy from sleep. This would not do. She was the new Head Girl of Hogwarts: she couldn't turn up at the train station looking as if she'd just rolled out of bed! She reached out to grab her wand from her nightstand, performed a few complex wand movements, and moments later her hair was in curls, tied back from her face with a long dark blue scarf and the puffiness around her eyes had disappeared, leaving them fresh-looking and now enhanced with mascara. Much better.

"Lily, you really need to come down now!" her mother's chivvying voice carried up the staircase.

"Coming!" she called back, stepping out of her bedroom and right into her sister Petunia.

"Watch it, freak," Petunia spat nastily, her thin lips twisting into a grimace.

"Watch it yourself," Lily returned coolly. Petunia gave her one last dirty look before stomping off without looking back. Lily sighed sadly. She wished more than anything that things were different between them. When the two of them were girls they had been inseparable. Now, Lily couldn't even remember what school Petunia had gone to. Lily had given up trying to close the gap between them, and instead simply let all Petunia's unpleasant insults slide past, neither acknowledging the hurt nor returning it.

"Oh, you look lovely!" Mrs. Evans gasped when Lily entered the familiar kitchen.

"As usual," Mr. Evans said from behind his newspaper. Lily smiled at her father.

"Not dressing up for anyone special are you, Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked knowingly.

"Of course not," Lily replied quickly, although she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks.

"Ooh, who is it?" Mrs. Evans was like a dog with a bone. "It is still that Huston boy? He was smart…terrible manners though."

"No, mother," Lily exhaled noisily. "Huston and I broke up months ago."

"Then who is it?"

"Who cares?" Petunia said dramatically, obviously bored with the conversation. "Why do you really want to know which freak she's jumping into bed with?"

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans said, aghast.

"It's alright, dad," Lily waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't bother. I don't care. Even if I had a boyfriend she really couldn't say anything. After all her fiancé is the size of a stranded whale."

"How dare you?!" Petunia shrieked, jumping from her seat. "Vernon just hasn't lost his baby fat yet—"

"--Baby fat at twenty-one?" Lily scoffed. Then after a moment's consideration, "I suppose it could be possible. He has the maturity and intelligence of a new born…"

"That's enough, both of you!" Mrs. Evans interrupted shrilly. "…I just wish you would learn to get along."

"I think you're wishing for world miracle number eight," Petunia muttered under her breath.

"Alright, that's it," Mrs. Evans said, her eyes narrowing. After all these years, Lily still cowered away from her mother's penetrating gaze. "You're coming with us to King's Cross!"

"WHAT?" Petunia yelped. Her already pasty skin gradually turned chalk white, and her eyes seemed about ready to pop out of their sockets. "You can't expect me to--to go where… to see those…freaks!"

"I do, and you will. End of discussion," Mrs. Evans said finally. "Now eat your bacon before it gets cold."

Lily followed her sister's suit and returned her attentions to her breakfast. Her heart was pounding angrily at Petunia's behaviour, but her mother's words were also floating across her mind…'Dressing up for anyone special?' Well, of course she wasn't. How could she be considering it, even for just one second? Like she had told her mum, she had broken up with Huston months ago and there was no one else she was remotely interested in. 'Except for Potter,' said that unbidden voice in her head. Lily snorted, causing her family to look at her curiously.

"Sorry," Lily said hastily, ignoring her flushed cheeks and concentrating on her plate. Potter was no one special. Perhaps he interested her….but she was certainly not interested in him. She was just remaining neutral. She had chosen the dress because of the heat. No other reason. And that was that!

---

"This is it then," Mrs. Evans said emotionally as she hugged her daughter for the fifth time. They were standing just in front of the invisible barrier that would take Lily onto Platform 9 and ¾.

"Yes, it is," Lily agreed for the third time. She could see tears in her mother's eyes and did her best to stop her own from spilling over.

"Your last year at Hogwarts," Mrs. Evans sniffled, "and you're Head Girl."

"I know, mum," Lily swiped away stray tears impatiently. "Look, you're making me all teary, you have to stop," she joked.

"Fine, fine," Mrs. Evans grumbled. "I just--"

"Veronica," Mr. Evans warned. He turned to his younger daughter. "We have something for you."

"Oh--I nearly forgot about that," Mrs. Evans said, flustered, pulling a small box out of her handbag.

"Oh, but you didn't have to--"

"We know," Mr. Evans said softly, "but we wanted to. Like your mother said, this is your last year and you're Head Girl. We just wanted to show you how proud we are of you."

"Open it," Mrs. Evans smiled. Carefully, Lily untied the emerald ribbon and opened the lid of the velvet box.

"Oh my God," she breathed. She lifted the golden chain out of the cotton wool and let the golden heart glint in the sun. Looking closer, she saw that 'Lily' was engraved on it.

"What?!" Petunia shrieked.

"Do you like it?" Mrs. Evans asked Lily eagerly; Petunia could've been a fly on the wall.

"No," Lily watched her mother's face fall. "I love it."

"Oh, darling," Mrs. Evans sobbed, falling into her daughter's arms.

"Mum…" Lily groaned.

"Right, sorry," Mrs. Evans said, stepping back and brushing off her skirt. She took the necklace out of Lily's hand and fastened it gently around her neck.

"Why did she get a necklace?" Petunia suddenly snapped angrily. "She became leader of the freaks and you give her a necklace," she took a tentative step forward, inspecting it, "a necklace that looks like real gold. I'm getting married in a few months and all you gave me was 'congratulations'."

"Well…honey--" Mrs. Evans tried.

"Don't you honey me, mother," Petunia spat nastily. "I'm the one who's been with you all these years, I don't come home with pockets full of frog eggs….And you give her a necklace?" She paused, wrinkling her nose, "you three deserve each other."

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans roared, causing several people to turn around and stare. "Apologize to your mother this instant!"

"No," Petunia glared. "Not until she apologizes."

"Mum has nothing to apologize for," Lily turned on Petunia. "She already gave you Granny's engagement ring."

"Yes, exactly!" Petunia said hysterically. "That thing is practically falling apart and the diamond is so small you wouldn't be able to see it with a microscope!"

A stunned silence fell upon the family, where the only sounds that could be heard were those of Mrs Evans' stifled tears against her husband's shoulder.

"You can have it back!" Petunia shrieked; throwing the ring to her mother's feet. "Vernon promised he'd buy me a bigger one anyway," she added smugly.

That been said, she spun on her heel and walked away. The three remaining were in shock. Mrs. Evans burst into renewed floods of tears, clinging to her husband.

"Mum," Lily whispered and pried her mother from her father. "Mum, don't worry, she'll come around. You know how she can be."

After a few moments' eye contact, she reached out to clasp her daughter's hand and wiped the tears from her eyes with the other.

"You're right. We've turned a blind eye on her for so long, we never said anything when she was bullying you all those years," she looked at her husband desperately. "We thought that she'd come around…I'm so sorry."

"Mum, it doesn't matter," Lily soothed. "In fact, it might even have been good for me. I learned that not everyone is as accepting as you both are. It made me appreciate you even more."

"But she isn't everyone," Mr. Evans said. "She's your sister! We've let it get out of hand…thinking of the two of you as children, how close you were…If we would have only tried to stop her sooner--"

"She would have kept it going behind your back. Really, don't worry about it," Lily said. "It's just the way she is." There was another moment's silence. Eventually, Lily spoke into it; "I really should get going. I need to make sure that everyone's alright and I've got to organise the prefect meeting with Potter, and--"

"Ooh is he the boy you fancy? I saw him in your newspaper, he's very handsome," Mrs. Evans smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"Mother," Lily groaned, rolling her eyes and trying not to grin. Mr. Evans chuckled.

"Let your mother have her fun," he laughed, planting a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "Have a good year, write to us soon. I think I've finally worked out how to tie a letter to Belzebub's leg without being pecked half to death."

"Will do," Lily promised. "Thanks for everything."

"Bye, lovely," Mrs. Evans hugged her daughter one last time. "Remember to brush your teeth--"

"--After breakfast and dinner," Lily finished. "New socks everyday. Brush my hair one hundred times morning and night…. Yes mum, I know. Say 'thank you', 'please' and 'excuse me'. Don't worry, you taught me well," Lily grinned. As she hoped, she got a watery chuckle from her mother.

"Indeed I did. Now, go, before I change my mind," Mrs. Evans said, gently pushing her daughter towards the barrier.

"Bye! See you soon! I'll write!" Lily waved, now no longer to keep the excitement out of her voice as she thought of what was waiting behind the barrier. Taking a quick look around to make sure that no muggles were looking her way, she walked right through the barrier…. finding herself on Platform 9 and ¾ moments later. Hazy smoke was already drifting across the platform from the chimneys of the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Students of all ages and sizes were bustling around: trying to find their pets, saying their goodbyes to family members, or else meeting up with their friends after a whole summer apart. Lily beamed. She then darted her way through the crowd, looking for her own friends. And then…she saw him.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read. Please if you DO have time, review. It makes me smile (the only thing I have to smile about, seeing as exams are LITERALLY days away. Sniff... sniff...)

luv

xoxox

pixy

P.S. You know who all of this belongs to..... ME.... not. Of course this is all property of the great, the awesome J.K. :D