A/N: This is my first fic, so please please please review! I need to know what you think. Flamers are welcome, but please be constructive in your criticism. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize. If I did, I would be the richest woman in England, i.e. J. K. Rowling. But I'm not, so please don't sue me. I don't have any money worth mentioning anyway, so it would be a wasted effort.
Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express
It all started on September 1, 1977. Well, I shouldn't say that. It actually started on September 1, 1971. But for all intents and purposes of this story, we'll start on September 1, 1977, the first day of my 7th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I made my way across Platform 9 3/4 feeling on top of the world. It was my final year at Hogwarts and I knew it was going to be good. I was Head Girl. I was 17: a full-grown witch. I would be starting a life for myself in the wizarding world. And, best of all, I would never have to see my horrible sister and her repulsive boyfriend ever again. Not like they'd mind. Nevertheless, this year was my year, and I was sure nothing could change that...until I saw him.
"Evans! Hey, Evans!" I saw a boy with unruly black hair and glasses making his way towards me across the platform. I quickly did an about-face and tried frantically to board the train. Maybe he'd lose me in the crowd...I could pretend not to have heard him...oh please don't see me...
Fat chance of that. People always complimented me on my hair color. True, it was a beautiful shade of auburn, but it stuck out like a sore thumb in a crowd.
"Evans!" That boy just didn't give up.
"Hello, Potter," I said as I turned to face him, trying very hard to be polite. His best mate, Sirius Black, followed him closely. I wasn't surprised; you rarely ever saw one without the other.
"Fine day for Quidditch, isn't it?" he asked as he neared me. Soon I was practically eye-to-eye with James Potter, the one person on the earth I positively loathed. Well, Petunia and Vernon ran a close second and Sirius was right up there too. But anyway, we were practically eye-to-eye. I saw practically because my eyes were level with his chest, as he was a good head and shoulders taller than I was. And, my eyes being level with his chest, I noticed he had a shiny badge pinned onto his shirt.
"Well, I suppose you cou- omigod," I said as I looked at the badge. "James Potter, how the hell did you get that badge?"
He looked at me appraisingly. "Apparently the same way you got yours, Evans," he replied mildly.
I nearly exploded right then and there. James Potter was Head Boy?!? What was Dumbledore playing at? James Potter was an arrogant, egotistic, self-centered, conceited, selfish, big-headed, offensive, rude, mischief-making prick and most certainly didn't deserve the position. I couldn't stand him, and now I was facing an entire year of working with him?!? Well, there was only one thing I could do.
"Listen to me, Potter, and listen well. You may be Head Boy, but that doesn't mean you can abuse you authority," I snarled, stepping towards him angrily. "If I find out you've been causing trouble- you or any of your stupid little friends, for that matter-," I threw a dirty look at Sirius, "I will hex every single one of you into the next millennium."
James cocked an eyebrow and looked at Sirius, who shrugged.
"I better warn Remus and Peter then," he replied nonchalantly.
"You're insufferable!" I exclaimed angrily, turning on my heel and boarding the train. I couldn't stand his carefree attitude and had no idea how I was going to deal with it all year.
I should probably pause here and explain a little about James' and my history. James was the ringleader of a group of troublemakers called the Marauders. There were only four members: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Peter more tagged along, actually, as the other three were considered the most lusted-after boys ever to roam the halls of Hogwarts. I seemed to be the only one who could stand up to their charm. They were infamous for their pranks, which occurred at least once a week. I disliked James Potter from the moment he played his first trick on me in 1st year, which involved a tarantula-like spider, a jar full of frog spawn, and dragon dung. Need I say more? Consequently, I disliked Sirius Black. Sirius and James were the best of friends. They were two peas in a pod, those two. Good-looking? Yes. Arrogant? Hell yeah. And it was for that reason I hated them both. On the other hand, I liked Remus a lot. I became friends with Remus in 5th year when we were both named Prefects, and I realized he was actually a very nice guy. I thought it unfortunate he hung around the likes of James and Sirius, but other than that I had no problem with him. And as for Peter, well, you'll learn why I hate him with all my heart later on. But as for James and me, I was certain we would never get along. He had developed an unfortunate crush on me in 3rd year, which only cemented my fervent dislike for him. As far as I knew, he still had that stupid crush on me when we entered 7th year. But I digress. Back to the story.
I made my way to the back of the train and found my friends in the last compartment. Octavia Meliflua (better known as Tave), Alice Prewett, and Drusa Medlum were all crowded around the latest issue of Teen Witch. Once more I must interrupt and give some background information, this time on my friends. Tave was my best friend of the three, which is odd as we were complete opposites. I had long, wavy auburn hair and bright green eyes. She had long, brown, straight hair and blue eyes. I was a bookworm and a bit of a studying addict. I loved getting good grades. Tave, on the other hand, loathed studying. She was extremely bright and did well in all her classes but would whine and complain incessantly about homework. She didn't care if she got a "P" or even a "D". She was extremely athletic and was arguably the best Keeper the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had ever had, while I could hardly stay on a broom. She loved to play jokes on people, much like her second cousin, Sirius Black. She was a pureblood. I, needless to say, was not. The one thing Tave and I had in common was that neither of us really dated. We had occasional boyfriends, but felt our valuable time was better spent playing Quidditch (Tave) and studying (me). And yet we were best friends. Go figure.
Alice Prewett was slightly plump but nonetheless beautiful. She had short blonde hair and, surprisingly, brown eyes. She was down-to-earth and often calmed Tave and me down when we were too upset to think straight (which was usually due to the Marauders). She was a good student and we would often have late-night studying parties where we would really tell our deepest, darkest secrets. Her boyfriend of three years, Frank Longbottom, had graduated the year previously but was an incredibly nice guy.
And last but not least was Drusa Medlum. She was usually the quietest of us four, mostly preferring to listen rather than to talk. She had incredibly black hair and equally black eyes. Her silence and appearance gave off the impression of being mean and hard to approach, but she was actually just extremely shy. Once you got to know her, you absolutely loved her. And now back to the story.
"Hi, Lily," Tave said vaguely as I opened the compartment door.
"You guys, help me," I whimpered, sitting across from them. When they didn't reply, I plowed on. "James Potter is Head Boy."
"Good for you," Drusa murmured, obviously not paying the slightest attention to me.
"Drusa!" I exclaimed, trying to pull the magazine out of their hands. "This is serious!"
My three friends looked at me reproachfully. "I don't see what you're so fussed about," Drusa replied. "Any girl would love to be in your position."
I rolled my eyes. "Well I'm not any girl."
Tave shut the magazine and tossed it on the floor. "Lily, Lily, Lily," she sighed. "You can't honestly tell me you haven't noticed how gorgeous James is. His hazel eyes are so beautiful...his hair is a perfect black and it always looks like he just tolled out of bed..." She put a hand on her forehead and fake-swooned, earning giggles from Drusa and Alice.
"Of course I've noticed," I snapped, then mentally slapped myself. Way to go, admit to your friends that you think your worst enemy is attractive. Luckily, I saved myself. "But I've also noticed he's a conceited, arrogant, selfish bastard."
"Oh whatever," Alice laughed.
"Honestly, you're the only person in the entire school that thinks that," Tave added. "He can't be that horrible if everyone likes him."
"Just because you fancy him doesn't make him nice." I knew my comeback was pathetic, but it was all I had.
"That's bullshit and you know it," Tave laughed. "I don't fancy James Potter; everyone knows he fancies you!"
I had nothing to say to that and was quite relieved when Alice chimed in, "You don't fancy James Potter, you fancy Remus Lupin!"
Tave turned bright pink, but denied it anyway. "I don't fancy him, I just find him incredibly sexy," she replied with a devilish smile.
"As much as I'd love to continue this conversation, I need to go to the Heads' compartment," I said quickly, eager to leave.
"Have fun," Drusa said suggestively, and I rolled my eyes as I left.
I found my way to the Heads' compartment and was incredibly impressed with the décor. Scarlet and gold covered everything, and there was a lot to cover. Plush chairs were strewn randomly about the compartment and as were tables. There was even a fireplace on one end. A banner was hung above it with the words "Congratulations James and Lily" emblazoned upon it.
"Merlin be damned," I heard behind me. I turned around and saw James standing there.
"Language, Potter," I said reprovingly. Okay, so I swore occasionally myself, but still.
"Sorry," he said, but didn't seem it in the slightest. I rolled my eyes and picked up a piece of parchment resting on one of the tables. "What's that?" he asked, walking towards me.
I shot him a withering look. "A piece of parchment," I replied nastily.
He raised his eyebrows. "No need to be hostile, Evans. I haven't done anything to you."
"Yet," I muttered, and his eyes danced.
"Exactly. And I won't, if you don't give me a reason." I ignored him, so he read over my shoulder.
Dear James and Lily,
I would like to extend my congratulations on being named this year's Head Boy and Girl. While the position is prestigious and highly coveted, it is not an easy one to fill. I have full faith in you ability to work together to make this a successful year.
You both will have several responsibilities to take care of throughout the year. They include holding monthly prefect meetings and patrolling the corridors after curfew to make sure that there are no students out of bed. You have the ability to dock House points as a teacher would; however, you must not use this as an excuse to harass any of your fellow students. You may also assign detentions, but once again, you must have a legitimate reason. Any abuse of authority may result in a grievous punishment. I am confident, however, that this warning is unnecessary and a punishment will be unneeded.
You will share a common room that is set aside for the Head Boy and Girl. Each of you has a dormitory off the common room, and there is a bathroom to share. This is mainly because you will be keeping late hours and wouldn't want to wake your fellow housemates. Your dormitories are located on the 4th floor, guarded by the portrait of Igor the Ignorant. The password is for you to decide.
After you have finished reading this, please go to the Prefects' compartment and instruct them of their responsibilities.
I have high expectations for you both this year. Don't disappoint me.
Sincerely,
Prof. M. McGonagall
When I finished reading I looked over my shoulder at James. He nodded, indicating he was done.
"To the Prefects' compartment then, Evans?" he asked. I nodded, biting back the harsh retort I had ready. Professor McGonagall made it clear we were to work together, and I felt the first step was being civil. He held open the compartment door for me, and I grudgingly stepped through. We moved one compartment over to the Prefects' compartment and were met by eight 5th years and eight 6th years. They were all talking amongst themselves but quieted the moment we entered.
"Er...hi," I said, suddenly shy as sixteen pairs of eyes all focused on me. "I'm Lily Evans, the Head Girl this year-"
"And I'm James Potter, Head Boy." James jumped right in, seeming to enjoy the attention. "I want to get this meeting over as quickly and painlessly as possible, so let's get down to business. Sixth years, this'll be old stuff to you but bear with me. Fifth years, listen up. Being a prefect means you have authority. Not much, mind you, but some. You get to dock House points, but only in sets of 5. You're basically here to keep the younger kids in line. But you're not supposed to abuse your authority, so don't go knocking points off anyone unless you have a good reason to."
A sneering, slightly familiar-looking Slytherin spoke up. "Like you won't, Potter?" he asked contemptuously.
James' eyes flashed dangerously as he pulled himself up to his full height. It was impressive; he had to be at least 6'2" to my 5'4". "No, I won't, Black," he snapped. "But I, unlike you, have the power to put insolent gits, like you, in detention. So watch your mouth." As soon as James said that, I realized why the Slytherin looked familiar. He was related to Sirius. I thought it odd that he was in Slytherin as Sirius and Tave were in Gryffindor, but I put the thought out of my head as James progressed with the meeting. Too soon, though, we were alone.
"I'm going back to my friends," I said when the last prefect had left.
"Me, too," James replied, and once again held the compartment door open for me. He followed me all the way to the back of the train, and it was all I could do not to turn around and yell at him. He was, after all, looking for his friends. That is, if he wasn't staring at my arse.
I came to the last compartment and found, not only my friends there, but James' as well. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting across from Tave, Alice, and Drusa.
"Lily!" Sirius cried delightedly as I stepped into the compartment. "How simply smashing of you to join us! And James, old chap! How sweet of you to drop by!"
"Stop talking like that, you're scaring me," James said as he settled himself between Sirius and Remus.
"And to what do I owe the honor of sharing a compartment with the Marauders?" I asked sarcastically from between Tave and Alice.
"Family," Sirius replied. "And the fact that every other compartment is full."
"Right." I had temporarily forgotten Tave and Sirius were second cousins. Unfortunately for me, they got along extremely well, and that meant I was looking forward to a train ride with the Marauders. Well, I thought bitterly, at least it can't get any worse. Things can only get better from here...I hope.
I had no idea what was in store for me...