Hi, everyone! So I finally got to writing another fanfiction, and I can happily say that I'm pretty pleased with the outcome!
Enjoy!
An ear-splitting whistle sounded off somewhere in the distance, a mother shouted at her son for dropping his toad on the pavement, and two girls sprinted towards the train with their hands entwined and excitement reflecting off of their smiling faces. People moved about, shoving past each other, muttering quiet excuse me's and curt 'I apologize's. It was a busy day on Platform 9 ¾, and you could practically feel in the air that something great would be happening this time around.
James Potter stood smack dab in the middle of the chaos, one hand gripping his cart and the other tapping lightly against the shiny pin on his chest, which had the words Head Boy scrawled neatly across it. His hair was ruffled, his glasses were slightly lopsided, and he had on a crooked grin. People passed him with quizzical glances, silently wondering to themselves why a student was just standing about, gawking at the train as if he had never seen one before.
But, of course, it wasn't just the train he was gawking at. He was gawking at the year ahead. The future.
Someone knocked into him and he caught himself, along with the other person, who happened to be Peter Pettigrew, one of James' best friends. He slapped his hand across Pettigrew's back and let out an excited woop. "Wormtail, my good fellow, isn't it such a lovely day?" He pointed towards the train entrance. "What's with all the dilly-dally, eh? Let's board! I've got patrolling to do, you know!"
Peter rubbed the back of his head and lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, Prongs, how long have you been standing there? Padfoot just sent me to get you-"
"What?" James turned his attention back to his friend. "Sirius is here already?" He chewed on his lip for a moment. "Damn him! I've been waiting for him for at least half an hour, and the stupid git couldn't even get me himself." He shook his head and took off towards the train, Peter trailing behind him with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Once James boarded, he practically sprinted down the aisle until he came to a compartment where a very handsome, very shaggy-headed boy sat. Sirius Black turned his head and gave James a large, white-toothed smile. He beckoned him inside, as if he had any control over what James did. "Come in, come in, Mr. Potter. You know, I've been looking everywhere for you."
James pushed himself inside, not even bothering to hold the door open for Peter, who wedged himself in after him. "You're an arse, you know that? How long exactly did you watch me stand out there?" James asked, throwing his things onto the shelf above their heads. His owl, Gideon, hooted irritably when his cage slammed against one of his suitcases.
"Well, you looked like you were enjoying yourself out there, is all. I didn't want to ruin your fun."
Peter slid into the seat opposite of Sirius and looked worriedly out the window. "Prongs, did you see Moony out there?"
James shook his head as he took his own seat beside Sirius. "Not a hint of him. Which is kind of peculiar, now that I think about it. Usually he's here first."
They all sat in silence for a few moments, and then the whistle that announced their departure sounded and at the same exact time someone knocked unreasonably loudly on their compartment door.
Each head turned to see a very furious-looking Lily Evans standing in front of a guilty-looking Remus Lupin. As soon as James cracked a smile, Lily flung the door open and glared at him. "So, I hear you're the new Head Boy, Potter. I wonder how drunk Dumbledore must've been when he picked you."
James' hand returned to his pin and he shrugged modestly. "What can I say, Evans; I'm just a natural-born leader."
"Pfft. That's a joke if I've ever heard one. Anyway, we have things to do. Now."
His eyes widened. "Huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Potter, did you think this was all going to be fun and games? As Heads, you and I have to direct the Prefects on their duties! Right. Now."
"Hold on a second, Evans. You're Head Girl?"
"Congratulations, Potter. I thought maybe it'd take longer for you to figure that one out."
James shot to his feet and wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulders. "Looks like today's my lucky day, and I've got a feeling this year may be better than expected."
"Get off of me," she grumbled, wrenching herself free and ducking out of the compartment. "Now let's go. The train's already taken off."
Lily grabbed James' collar and pulled him out after her, and then glanced at Remus. "Take him."
He nodded and snatched James arm, then began to yank him down the aisle.
"Sorry about this, mate," he murmured under his breath, his eyes flitting nervously towards Lily. "She threatened to tell Dolly about the real reason I broke up with her if I didn't find you, and I just couldn't let that happen."
James shrugged. "Don't sweat it, Moony. This thing can't take that long anyway, right?"
They ceased walking when they found the compartment crammed with fifth, sixth and seven year Prefects from all four Houses. The Prefects were talking to each other excitedly, discussing their summers and what it was going to be like this year. When Lily, James, and Remus stepped inside, however, they grew quiet.
James attempted to take a seat next to Remus, but Lily grabbed his collar once more and pulled him to his feet. She smiled at the group of Prefects, hiding her irritation with the bemused boy next to her. "Welcome, everybody! First off, I'd just like to congratulate you all on making Prefect this year! It really is a huge honor. But, I know this might sound overly-cliché', but with great power comes great responsibility, and I hope you all are determined to be good role-models for the school this year!"
They all stared at her blankly.
"How are we supposed to be good role-models when we have James Potter to look up to?" Grendala Hiddle, a sixth-year Hufflepuff, scoffed, pointing at James.
Lily blinked. "Well, that's a very hard question to answer, Grendala, being that I have no idea why Potter was chosen, either. Just…just try to ignore him and focus on me. This year you will be expected to do rounds on the train, in the morning, and at night. It will also be a huge help to both Potter and I if you tried to banish any trouble you may see while moving between classes."
"Is that it?" Dalkan Smits, a fifth-year Slytherin, asked. "Can we go back to our friends now?"
"Of course not! There are rounds to be made!"
James watched with amusement as Lily waved her arms around and directed the students where to go. After twenty minutes, the compartment was empty except for the two of them.
"So, looks like we're going to be spending a great deal of time together," he purred, taking a step closer to her.
She eyed him like a cat would eye something dangerous. "You should know by now that I'm not interested in you," she replied steadily.
He let out a kind-of whimper and his shoulders sagged. "Oh come off it, Evans. It's our last year here, and I'm dying for at least one kiss."
She frowned. "Did you completely forget the past six years, or are you just playing stupid? You know that you've slipped in a sloppy kiss multiple horrifying times. And, may I add, each one was even more gruesome than the last."
He pressed his hand to his chest and dropped his jaw in mock-hurt. "That was a little below the belt, don't you think? Ah well." He touched her arm lightly. "I've had a whole summer to improve, and I highly suggest you let me show you how well I've been doing."
"What did I say about touching me?" she grumbled, shaking him off of her and pulling the door open. "Now come on, we've got rounds to do."
"What? But I thought the Prefects were doing rounds!"
"It's a big train."
"Ugh."
She held her hands up and stepped out of the compartment. "Hey, at least you'll be able to spend some time with me instead of hanging out with your idiot friends."
He followed her out. "First of all, my friends are not idiots. Okay, maybe Peter, but not Sirius or Remus. And second, you have no right to trick me like that!"
She sauntered off down the hall. "Just hurry up."
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