Chapter One:

Let the Morning Come

The hot August air was slowly giving way to an early fall. The trees outside Lily Evans's window trembled in the wind, swaying back and forth to an invisible yet powerful rhythm. She watched them, her chin rested on her hands, and let her mind wander with a newfound peace. All of her hard work over the past six years had paid off. They'd made her Head Girl.

Her parents had been as proud as they could be of her after she had explained to them what the title meant at Hogwarts. She knew for a fact that Petunia wouldn't give a rat's ass, but there was nothing Lily could do about that. At this moment, just one day before Lily was to leave for school, her older sister was on holiday in France with her intensely boring fiancé. Lily had barely seen her over the past year, but Petunia didn't seem to care. She went on with her life while Lily got left behind wondering what she'd done wrong to deserve to be ignored by her own sister.

Severus, whispered a voice in the back of her mind. It was Severus. She thinks you're like him.

She scowled as she rummaged around in her desk drawer for fresh parchment. Lately, she had been devoting too much of her time thinking about her ex-best friend Severus Snape. Lily, though she told herself that she had recovered, was still trying to sew her heart back together. She was still healing where he had wounded her pride and her faith. Mudblood, he had called her. Thinking of that night almost brought tears to her eyes. She pushed the dark memories away. This was going to be a different year at school, a better year at school. It was her, James, Remus, Sirius, Marlene, and Peter against the world, against anyone who'd dare hurt any one of them. They would have fun together, keep up business as usual.

But there was also an undercurrent flowing through their group of friends: an awareness of danger. Lily, a Muggle-born, was a prime target for the group of nasty Death-Eaters-in-training at Hogwarts. James, Marlene, and Sirius, all blood traitors in their own ways, were also in danger.

She was lost in thought—or perhaps it was worry—when an owl landed on her windowsill.

"Oh, hello," she said brightly to Sirius's bird as she removed the letter, mindful of the owl's sharp talons.

Lily –

Marlene's told me the news. Congratulations on being chosen for Head Girl and all that. We all knew it would be you.

I'm afraid I have something less exciting to tell you—no, actually it's terrible news. I regret to inform you that the person with whom you will be sharing this honor and responsibility is my brother, the Notorious Prick James Potter.

Thought I'd warn you before school starts tomorrow—just so you're prepared when you board the Hogwarts Express. If I were you, I'd get out while you still can. Maybe you can spend a year at Muggle school or whatever it is you Muggles do for education and come back next year, when you won't have to put up with him for an entire year. Just a thought.

(Don't tell James about this. Maybe act like you didn't know, or blame it on Marlene's blabbermouth. James was looking forward to leaving this unpleasant surprise until when you see him on the train tomorrow. But what he doesn't know is now that I'm friends with both of you I'm not always going to be on board with his decisions that regard you.)

Hope you had a good summer. I still think it's rubbish that you didn't come to stay with us at James's, but I understand if you wanted to spend time with your family. I also would have preferred a quieter summer than the one I've had in this house full of rambunctious witches and wizards, but I guess it's too late for that.

Can't wait to see you on the train tomorrow. (Remember: act surprised. Don't let me down, Lil.)

Much love,

Sirius

Oh no, Lily thought. Oh no, no, no, no.

This wasn't right, not right at all. James hadn't even been a prefect last year. What had McGonagall and Dumbledore been thinking? There were so many other more worthy candidates: Hugh from Hufflepuff, Adrian from Ravenclaw—pretty much any of the Ravenclaws from their class—and, of course, Remus. Remus would have been a much more responsible choice for Head Boy. Why he wasn't chosen was a complete mystery to her.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy James's company. In fact, they had grown to be close friends after her falling out with Severus last year. She just didn't know if she could handle being Head Girl and having to work with him every single day. Just her damn luck that she had finally gotten everything she'd ever dreamed and now she had to share that dream with a reckless trickster like James who'd rather skirt around the rules than follow them.

But Lily Evans was nothing if not stubborn. She decided that even though she had half a mind to complain to Dumbledore, she knew he had enough on his plate with a war going on and certainly didn't need to waste his time with a mundane problem such as this. So she would have to stick it out for the year. Just one year—her last as a student—she would have to deal with James Potter.

Term hadn't even begun, and already she knew that this year at Hogwarts was going to be the longest and most challenging yet.

/

"As radiant as ever, Evans."

She didn't miss a beat. "Keep it in your pants, Potter."

James laughed out loud, and Lily couldn't help it—his smile was infectious.

He had appeared at the door of her compartment on the Hogwarts Express. (She had boarded a bit early—not for any particular reason—just because she thought it was something a Head Girl would do). Behind him stood Sirius, Remus, and Marlene.

James strolled in to sit across from her, followed by the rest of their friends.

"Lily!" Marlene shrieked, pushing passed James to fling her arms around Lily's shoulders.

Lily returned the hug emphatically, and then hugged Remus and Sirius as well.

She was relieved to have her friends with her again. After the terrifying events of last year and the constant killings on the front page of the Daily Prophet, part of her had feared the worst. All summer, she had writing to them and wishing to be with them, and here they were, in front of her and very much alive.

"Where's Peter?" she asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Running late as always. I swear, that kid—"

"You're not much better, Padfoot," Remus said. "It's as if you think classes start five minutes late."

Bickering between the two boys ensued, and Marlene joined them enthusiastically ("Remus is right, Sirius—you have a real problem").

Lily watched them with smiling eyes, taking a photograph in her mind. This was her happy place. The Hogwarts Express slowly filling with excited students, the air buzzing with reunions and anticipation, and her friends making her glad she'd gotten that letter six years ago telling her she was a witch. Magic might have forever separated her from her sister and thrown her into a world far darker than she ever could have imagined, but this world was also full of light, and the proof was right in front of her in the form of four incredibly vibrant people. They were all so full of hope, and that was what brought Lily the most happiness.

Breaking her gaze from her friends, she noticed that James was watching her from the seat across from her. She smiled at him and he smiled back. She would never admit it with a wand held to her nose, but she'd missed his stupid black hair that stood straight up and his stupid lopsided grin and his stupid rumpled clothes that smelled suspiciously like the detergent she remembered smelling in Potions last year when Slughorn had let the class brew Amortentia for extra credit.

He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he studied her face.

"So," he said. "Sirius told you I'm Head Boy."

Lily flushed. "How do you know that?"
"You noticed my badge and didn't storm off of the train at the sight of it."

"Oh," she said. "Oops. Do you want a do-over?"

"Well, I was expecting much more of a reaction from you. I feel like I've been cheated."

"Alright, Potter." She turned in her seat and closed her eyes, then turned around to face him again, opening her eyes again. "Ah! Is that a Head Boy badge on your shirt?" she exclaimed, clutching her chest for dramatic effect. "What a disgrace! This is an outrage!"

James dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Was that better?" she asked.

"Much," said James. "That's exactly how I envisioned it happening."

"You're welcome."

He sat back in his seat, studying her with a bony finger pressed to his chin. "So, Evans," he said, "how was your summer? I hardly heard from you."

Lily cocked her head. "Oh. I didn't think you wanted to here more from me. I would have written you more often—I spent most of my summer bored out of my mind. My parents were working and I had no sister to argue with."

A frown etched itself onto his face. "Where was Petunia?"

"France," said Lily shortly. She didn't want to talk about it, how Petunia always jumped at the opportunity to spend time away from her freak of a little sister, how much it hurt to feel that she was unloved, how much she hated the fiancé. "With her new fiancé."

"A Muggle?"

"Oh, of course. Of the most boring kind. His name's Dursley or something."

"Well, from what you say about Petunia, he sounds like just her kind."

"And I'm not," said Lily, thinking aloud. I will never be her kind.

A look of anguish struck like lightning across James's square-framed eyes. "No! No, that's not what I meant at all—Lily, you have to know—"

"I know, I know," she said. "Sorry. I'm a bit sore from it all, that's all."

"You don't have to be sorry. You can vent to me about Petunia whenever you want."

"Huh. That's strangely sweet, Potter. What's gotten into you?"
"I guess I must have missed you, my flower."

Lily smirked. "Oh, shut up."

"Never leave me again or I'll go insane," he teased. "I'm serious."

"No, you're not," butted in Sirius, who had stopped the conversation with Remus and Marlene. "I'm Sirius."

James threw up his hands in utter defeat. "Will you ever just let that one go?"

"What?" Sirius said, indignant. "She said my name."

"I'm not even gonna start with you, Padfoot. I've had it up to here—"

It was that moment that Peter decided to show up at the door to the compartment. He smiled sheepishly and the train began to inch slowly, as if nervous, along the tracks. He'd made it on board in the nick of time.

"Hey guys," he said.

"It's about time!" exclaimed Marlene, jumping up to greet Peter with a hug.

"Did I interrupt something?" said Peter.

"Just James giving me grief, as always," Sirius bemoaned.

Lily crossed her arms and glared at the long-haired boy. "That's because you're always a smartass."

"My, my," said Sirius, a smirk growing on his face. "Do my ears deceive me or is Lily Evans actually defending James Potter?"
Both James and Lily became quite flustered. But before they could argue, Peter interrupted. "Glad to see we're all as combative as ever," he said with a grin on his round face. Lily resisted the urge to punch him in the stomach.

The rest of the train ride was spent discussing the upcoming year at school. Lily and James left briefly to make rounds, checking to make sure the journey to Hogwarts was safe and efficient. Lily only encountered some trouble when she passed by the infamous gang of Slytherins near the head of the train. They jeered at her as she passed, ("Who let the Mudblood be Head Girl?"), and all Lily could do was refuse to acknowledge them while trying to keep a her expression as neutral as possible. Severus didn't join in, but he didn't stop them either. Lily felt his stare like beetles crawling on the back of her neck as she walked away.

Only when she returned to her car did she allow herself a moment of weakness. She ducked in to the restroom at the front of the car, tears gathering in her eyes. She hadn't seen Severus, who had once been her best friend, since last term. Seeing him for the first time in months, watching him with those Death Eaters he called friends… it had affected Lily more than she'd expected or cared to admit.

She felt the remnants of his stare even now as she dried her eyes with a hand towel and looked at her face in the miniscule mirror above the tiny sink. Her green eyes were brighter with tears and her cheeks were red from embarrassment.

Sometimes, she didn't know how much of her was Lily and how much was Mudblood. Severus had blurred the line between the names and now she didn't know how to erase the dirty label from her identity. Someone who she thought had cared for her deeply had looked her in the eyes and named her Mudblood. It wasn't something you could dab away with a hand towel.

/

"This year will be different from other years," James said to the others, a grim look on his face. "We have to be more careful. You Know Who is getting stronger. Hogwarts isn't as safe as it used to be. Always be on alert."

Lily and James were on the prefects carriage on the way to the castle. Part of their duty as Head Girl and Boy was to debrief the prefects before the opening feast.

As James spoke, Lily stared at the road ahead of them and tried to calm her nerves. The day had dimmed to a deep lavender night. The only light came from the moon, which was framed by wisps of clouds. She listened to the song of the wind ringing through the grassy hills and the faint drumming of the Thestrals' feet against the gravel road. She couldn't see the creatures; she was lucky enough to have never seen someone die before her eyes. But James could see them. He had told her one snowy night last year after their other friends had called it a night and the two of them had been alone for a while in the common room, half studying and half talking.

My grandfather, he'd murmured. He died when I was eight.

It had been a bonding moment for them, even though Lily hadn't realized it at the time.

She didn't know when or how it had happened, but somewhere between here and there she had come to care for James as a dear friend, just as she had with Remus and Sirius and Peter.

They were fighting the good fight. Lily knew she could count on them in times of need.

Lily and James finished instructing prefects as the carriages arrived at the castle. They were the first ones there. James hopped from the carriage to the ground first, and then held his hand out to Lily to help her down. She stared at his palm for a second, surprised, before taking his hand and stepping out of the carriage.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

He mumbled a "You're welcome," and glanced at his feet. The night was dark and the lantern light dim, but Lily could have sworn she saw him blush.

Her fingers burned with life where they had touched his, even as they led first years into the foyer, even as they watched the sorting, even as they ate and laughed together with their friends, even as Dumbledore began to speak.

The Great Hall was darker than usual, or perhaps that was only Lily's mind sensing the despair in the room. There were some new orphans sitting at these tables, kids without siblings they once had, even empty spaces where there once were students. Whether they were killed or their parents had kept them home for their safety, Lily felt their absence like a hole in her chest.

"These are dark days," said Dumbledore at the podium. His half-moon spectacles glinted under the candlelight. "And sometimes in the dark days, we need to work to find our light. We have to show the darkness that we are strong, that we are unified against it. So, although it might seem an odd time for such an event, I am pleased to announce that Hogwarts School will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year."

A collective gasp shot through the hall. Lily exchanged a shocked look with Marlene.

Dumbledore kept on talking, but Lily barely heard any of it over the roaring in her mind. This year was going to be different, indeed.