Disclaimer: I would have to be seriously deluded to take credit for J. K. R.'s amazing creations. All characters, situations and... well, pretty much anything you recognize, belong to J. K. Rowling.

Chapter Two: Sorting Mayhem

The only sound in the dimly lit compartment where Lily and James stood was the slow, rhythmic force of the train's engine. The carriage swayed gently back and forth, swinging the rusty gas lamps on the ceiling as the darkening landscape rushed past beyond the glass of the window.

In the awkwardness of the silence, Lily found that she was oddly aware of her own breathing. Odder still was the fact that James had not yet spoken so much as a single word to her. The two of them had been standing side by side, stock still, for almost a full five minutes now.

Then, suddenly: "You're bleeding."

Lily nearly jumped out of her skin when James spoke, his voice low and soft. She blinked, gaping upward at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Your hand." James gestured toward her wand hand.

Sure enough, the appendage in question was covered in blood that seemed to be trickling out of a deep cut between her index finger and thumb. She was mildly startled at the sight; it hadn't seemed so bad at the time.

"Oh, that. The bird bit me," Lily said faintly. What's it to you? she would have added in some other universe—one where Potter was actually Potter, and not whatever anomaly had replaced him in the current reality. She swiped at the sticky red mess with her sleeve, which only seemed to aggravate the wound. Blood began trickling anew.

Before she could begin dabbing again, a large hand wrapped around her wrist. Lily looked up, astonished, to see James peering down at her in amusement.

"You're just making it worse," he told her. "Here." Before she knew what was happening, he was pulling his wand out of his pocket.

Potter plus wand equalled alarm bells in Lily's head, and so her immediate reflex was to yank her hand away. "It's just a little cut," she reasoned when she noted his surprise. "I'm not about to die."

James shrugged. "Fair enough. It looks painful, is all."

Lily felt completely off of her game, as though she was floating in a void and grasping at strands of conversation that simply did not compute. She had about a million retorts on hand to the lame let me kiss it better comments that should have been coming from James' mouth, but not a single intelligent contribution to this unexpectedly civil conversation.

"Come on," James said, apparently not relenting as a tiny grin hitched at his mouth. "I've been practicing my healing charms all summer; it's all been leading up to this. Are you really going to deny me my moment of glory?"

Lily scoffed. "There are no words to accurately convey how little I trust your healing abilities, Potter," she said, and to her horror, it came off sounding almost flirty. The dynamics were completely wrong, like an off-struck chord in the middle of a familiar tune.

Before either of them could say another word, the door creaked open behind them. Professor Dumbledore strolled in, an imposingly tall figure in robes the colour of red wine. "Miss Evans, Mr. Potter! Sorry to have kept you waiting." He examined the modest compartment cheerfully, and then raised his wand between precise, bone-thin fingers. The lanterns grew to an incandescent glow, flooding the space with warm light. Dumbledore smiled. "That's better," he said, taking a seat on one of the velvet-topped benches. "Please, sit down."

Lily and James obeyed, awkwardly settling themselves next to one another on the opposite seat. Albus Dumbledore aboard the Hogwarts Express, with his robes billowing out over the cushioned bench and his reflection in the dewy window, was an incredibly odd sight.

If Dumbledore himself thought so, however, he didn't show it. He was humming, blue eyes scanning the walls of the compartment fondly. "I believe this was the compartment in which I sampled my first sherbet lemon," he said. Lily and James both smiled uncertainly, and the Headmaster's eyes leveled to meet their gazes. "I trust you both had a good summer."

"Yes, thank you," said Lily.

James shifted. "Could've been worse, I suppose."

"Ah, yes. I was very sorry to hear about your... predicament, James. But of course, things have a way of working themselves out. I am glad to hear that everything is alright now."

"Thanks." James nodded.

Lily, meanwhile, was trying to suppress her curiosity regarding this cryptic conversation.

"Now, down to business," Dumbledore said, folding his hands in front of him. "You may be curious as to why you did not receive your letters and badges over the summer."

In actual fact, the thought had barely crossed Lily's mind. She nodded anyway.

"I will not lie to you," Dumbledore continued. "There was some… shall we say fierce disagreement amongst the staff as to whether my selecting the two of you was a grave mistake. After several strongly worded letters from concerned faculty members, I was encouraged to rethink my decision. In the end, my choice stands; you complement one another perfectly."

Lily turned her laughter reflex into a hacking cough. "Sorry," she wheezed.

Dumbledore regarded her with amusement. "Try to understand, Lily. I am well aware that you two have had your differences in the past. I am also, however, confident that you will be able to put these differences behind you this year."

Lily and James glanced at one another quickly, his expression hopeful and hers a defiant scowl.

"See? Off to a good start already." There was a twinkle in Dumbledore's crystalline eyes. "Regardless, you are both responsible, highly capable students, and it is for these reasons that I am putting my trust in you."

Lily felt her cheeks glow for a second before coming to the realization that Dumbledore had just called Potter talented. And responsible.

What in the world?

To be fair, he was reasonably intelligent and a decent Quidditch player, but honestly; Potter? Talented? The bloke's only real aptitude was in devising idiotic practical jokes. And the closest James Potter had ever come to responsibility was ensuring that the dungeons were empty before blowing them up.

"…and this year we will also be organizing a Defense against the Dark Arts camp for the seventh years."

Lily snapped back into focus and realized that she had not been listening to a word that the headmaster had been saying. She frantically tried to appear engaged.

"Professor Wolfe and I agreed that it would be a marvelous opportunity for a practical approach to the subject," Dumbledore continued. "You will be spending three days at Celestial Lake in Western Canada. Of course, the lake being a central part of the wizarding community, there will be no need to worry about unwanted muggle attention."

James and Lily nodded simultaneously.

"But anyway, more on that later," said Dumbledore. "I am certain that Professor Wolfe will be more than happy to provide all of the details in class, and I have a sneaking suspicion that we will be arriving shortly. One last thing before I return you to your friends..." He removed two small, golden keys from a velvety pouch. "These," he said, passing them over to Lily and James, "are your keys to the Heads' Room."

Lily's shock must have been all over her face, because Dumbledore chuckled. "No cause for alarm," he assured her. "You will still use your regular dormitories. The Heads' Room is simply a space available to you should you ever need some peace and quiet."

"Oh! Of course!" Lily said, feeling the colour rise in her cheeks. "I figured as much."

Dumbledore smiled. "The room is located on the second floor, beside the painting of Evic the Swift. Use it wisely." He seemed to look at James as he said this. "And finally, I wish you the best of luck. Do either of you have any questions?"

Still oddly mute, Lily and James both shook their heads.

"Very well then," said Dumbledore, rising to his feet. "I suppose we are finished, and just in time, it would seem."

The ghostly silhouette of Hogwarts castle swam in fog outside of the window. Lily felt the familiar chill of excitement sweep over her skin.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a few more bits of business to take care of." Dumbledore slid the compartment door open and nodded in farewell. "I wouldn't want to be late for the feast. I hear they're serving Shepherd's Pie…"

"Lily! There you are!"

At the sound of Isabelle's voice, Lily turned around. Steam billowed up from the stationary train, thick and grey in the cool night air. Isabelle and Evangeline were waiting by the station gates, their faces illuminated by the lanterns as they waved.

Lily hurried over, shivering even in her thick robes. "Merlin, I swear it gets colder every year," she said.

"How was the meeting?" asked Evangeline as the three of them began to wander toward the carriages.

Lily shrugged. "Alright, I suppose. Dumbledore's proven he's totally insane."

"You needed proof?"

Isabelle appeared to be genuinely curious. "What did he say?"

A wry smile tugged at Lily's lips. "Apparently most of the teachers were against Potter and I being made Heads, but Dumbledore decided to go ahead with it anyway because he thinks we "complement" one another."

Isabelle made a face, while Evangeline snorted loudly. "Yes," she said, "about as well as peanut butter and mayonnaise."

"No," Isabelle said. "Even that's too good. I'd say more like peanut butter and... and... what's something that goes really, really terribly with peanut butter?"

"Cockroaches?" Evangeline suggested.

"Eugh. You would come up with that."

"Like peanut butter and cockroaches," Lily mused. "I think that's fairly accurate. But I'm the peanut butter."

"Well, obviously," agreed Evangeline.

They had arrived at the darkened clearing, where throngs of horseless carriages were being boarded by students. Lily scouted out the shortest line and the three of them joined the wait.

"So, how was the rest of the train ride?" she asked her friends.

Isabelle sniggered and gave Evangeline a very pointed look. "It was… interesting."

Evangeline crossed her arms. "Oh, come on. What? He deserved it."

"What happened?" Lily asked, though she had a fair idea of where this was headed.

"Ask this one," Isabelle replied, shaking her head in Evangeline's direction.

The brunette girl sighed. "Well," she said, a sinister expression shifting her features, "the Marauders left their invisibility cloak in our compartment. Idiots. I may have hexed Black when he came barging back in to get it."

Isabelle laughed. "You should've seen him Lily. Covered in warts! He had to go to the hospital wing as soon as we arrived."

"Oh, god." Lily said. "Watch your back now, yeah? I guarantee he'll be out for revenge."

Evangeline's expression turned stony. "Lily, since when does he ever need a reason to pick on me?" she said dully. "I might as well throw a few punches of my own when I get the chance."

They were ushered into a carriage at this moment, just the three of them. No sooner had they sat down when the wheels wobbled to life, jolting them down the cobbled path towards the castle.

As Lily entered the Great Hall, she felt the familiar rush of homecoming flood her senses. The hearty smell of the feast wafted through from the kitchens and a bubble of excited chatter surrounded her. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was finally home, and it pained her to think that this was the last time that she would ever be experiencing this wonderful sensation.

"Looks like Sirius is back from the hospital wing," Isabelle noted quietly as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Lily glanced around to see the Marauder in question stalking through the grand archway, face restored to its devastatingly handsome glory.

"Ah, bollocks," Evangeline said. "I was hoping for at least a bit of temporary scarring." Her eyes followed Sirius as he approached the table. He slid onto the bench next to Peter, a short ways down from the girls, and caught Evangeline's gaze as he did so, looking mutinous. Eva, for her part, stared back just as hard.

Lily was certain that something terrible would have happened had Dumbledore not begun talking at that moment.

"To our first year students, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! And to the rest of you, welcome back." The headmaster's voice rang through the great hall, extinguishing the chatter in its wake. "I do have a few important notices to give, but back to those later. For now, let the sorting begin!"

Applause filled the hall as a row of small, stringy-looking first years filed onto the stage. Professor McGonagall strode briskly forward and stood next to an old, wooden stool, unfurling a long scroll of names.

"Aspen, Hailey!" she called out.

An extraordinarily small girl with mousy brown hair stepped forward, shaking visibly with nerves. She sat down on the stool, her thin legs dangling precariously, and set the sorting hat on her head, where it slipped down and covered her eyes. Lily, reminded of her own sorting, smiled. The hat barely hesitated before announcing:

"Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers and the girl looked incredibly relieved as she hurried over to join them.

"Barlow, Laurence!"

This one was a large, menacing boy with dark hair and a scowl plastered across his wide jaw.

"Five guesses where he's ending up," Lily heard James say.

Sirius appraised the boy for a moment. "A galleon says Hufflepuff."

James chuckled, then frowned. "Wait, you're not serious?"

"I'm going for the non-stereotypical approach."

"If he ends up in sodding Hufflepuff, I will eat my tie."

"Have fun with that."

"Sirius, he is without a doubt the most Slytherin-y Slytherin that ever—"

"Slytherin!" called the Hat.

"...Damn it."

Lily stopped really paying full attention at this point, clapping along politely as the names were read and the students were sorted. That is, until one name in particular caught her attention.

"Hansen, Ethan!"

A thin boy stepped forward , practically bursting with excitement. He had chocolate-coloured hair, a face full of freckles and huge blue eyes. Evangeline's eyes.

"I completely forgot Ethan was starting this year," Lily whispered.

"Yeah, I really hope he gets Gryffindor." Evangeline tapped her fork against her plate anxiously. "He's been going on about it all summer. Says if he's in Slytherin, he'll ask to be resorted. Not that I blame him. Go Ethan!" she added in a loud voice. Her brother grinned widely and gave her a thumbs up as he climbed onto the stool. McGonagall sent a piercing stare her way, to which Eva could only respond with a guilty shrug.

A few seconds later, the hat burst out: "Gryffindor!"

Evangeline cheered loudest of all as her brother made his way to the end of the table, giving her a high-five as he passed.

"Brilliant," Sirius muttered as the cheering died down. "As if one wasn't enough."

Evangeline's smile faded instantly. She rounded on him. "What did you just say?"

To his credit, Sirius had the enough sense to look a bit uncomfortable. "Maybe he's alright," he amended, "but we all know you don't belong in Gryffindor."

Evangeline stood up with such force that the wooden bench jerked back a few centimetres on the stone floor.

"You arsehole!" she shouted at him. "Take that back."

Sirius stood up too. "No, I don't think I will."

By now the sorting had stopped, the whole hall was silent and all eyes were on Sirius and Evangeline. They, however, were completely oblivious to this.

"I swear, Black! If you ever insult my family again, I'll…"

"You'll what? Cast another first-year hex on me?"

"Ugh! You'll be wishing I had when I'm through with you!"

They both whipped out their wands simultaneously.

"MISS HANSEN! MISTER BLACK!" Both Evangeline and Sirius had been so caught up in their warfare that they had failed to notice Professor McGonagall stomping down to their table in fury. Nobody had never heard the professor yell quite as loudly as she just had; it defied all laws of physics. "What has gotten into you? This behaviour is completely unacceptable! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

The table erupted in yells of discontent: "We'll be in the negatives before the year even starts!" and "Your own house, Minnie! Have a heart!"

Even Evangeline and Sirius stopped glaring at each other to gape at her in dismay.

"But, Professor-" Evangeline began desperately.

"Nothing you say will change my mind." McGonagall cut her off with a terse raise of her hand. "There is no excuse—"

"But if this absolute idiot hadn't—"

"Oh so I'm an idiot am I? That's rich coming from a—"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

The sheer volume of McGonagall's voice silenced the students at once. Her face was tight with rage. "Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, please escort Miss Hansen and Mister Black to their dormitories at once."

Lily nodded hastily and stood up. When Evangeline failed to follow her, she grabbed her friend by the arm. "Come on, Eva!" she hissed, tugging at her sleeve. Evangeline shot Sirius one last look of hatred before reluctantly following Lily out of the Great Hall.

Behind them, James had wrenched Sirius away from the table and was now dragging him along behind, his movements being followed by the eyes of everyone in the hall.

"That stupid prat! He insults me and then I get thrown out?" Evangeline flopped onto her bed once they had arrived at their dorm, still fuming.

Lily sighed and sat down beside her friend. "Come on, Eva. You sort of encouraged him."

"Yeah, well he started it," Evangeline grumbled. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I just made a complete fool of myself in front of the entire school, didn't I?"

"No, of course you didn't—"

"Lily." Eva rolled her head over to give a deadpan stare.

Lily dropped the optimism. "Well, yes. I suppose you did. Is that what you want me to say?"

"It's only the truth," Evangeline said. "Why do I take his bait? Every bloody time. I just hope McGonagall doesn't write to my parents. Mom'll have a fit."

"She won't write to them." This, Lily could say with almost complete certainty. "McGongall never writes, unless it's something really terrible."

"It's true, isn't it? Thank Merlin for that, anyway."

They sat in silence for a moment, both deep in thought.

Finally Evangeline, who was still sprawled out on her back, glanced over. "You know, you should probably get back to the feast. I don't want you to miss it on my account."

Lily looked doubtful. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Of course. Anyway, it's your last beginning of year feast ever. You should be there. I only request that you save me some pie."

"Two or three slices?"

"Seven would be excellent."

"I'll see what I can do."

"You're the best," Evangeline said, smiling faintly. "I'll... I'll see you later then, I guess."

Lily regarded her friend's pathetic form amidst the bedcovers. "See you," she said. "And put on some pyjamas before you fall asleep, hey?"

Eva waved her away with a limp hand and then squashed her face into the comforter. Seconds later, as the door clicked closed, she felt a wave of emotion rush through her as the full magnitude of the situation sunk in. This was the last chance she would ever get to experience the start-of-year feast at Hogwarts, and she was missing out completely.

This is all his fault! If the prat had just kept his mouth closed...

Her hands bunched into fists. Sirius Black was something else. People had been known to have near seizures when they found out that he and Evangeline had actually been childhood friends. Even Eva could barely fathom it some days, but the proof was in the photographs and childhood knick knacks and, of course, her parents' constant reminders.

The Hansens and the Blacks were next-door neighbours, and with their being the same age and Evangeline's tomboy-ish tendencies, a friendship between the two eldest children had perhaps been inevitable. Eva and Sirius had grown up at one another's houses, or else running around the neighbourhood together and 'stirring up trouble', as Evangeline's mother liked to put it. They had been more or less inseparable as youngsters, and even through the first few years of Hogwarts. It had been around fifth year when things really started to change. In fact, Evangeline could probably pin it down to a single day.

A single moment, even.

She let her thoughts drift back, the memory still crystal clear.

"Eva! Get down from there! Do you have a death wish?" Sirius' anxious voice carried up to the treetop where Evangeline was perched, her hair loose and her bright eyes filled with delight.

"Come on, Sirius! You have to see the view. It's brill!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, the sunset is just as visible from down here."

"Sure you're not just too scared to climb up?"

Sirius rolled his eyes again, not bothering to reply.

Evangeline sighed. "Fine then, be a spoilsport." She climbed down lithely and then jumped, stumbling into Sirius on the landing. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"You know, one of these days you're actually going to get yourself killed," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah." Evangeline threw him a sarcastic smile, then turned her eyes to the horizon, where the sun was setting. Oranges and reds were leaking into the surrounding softness of the clouds, painting a vibrant image in the sky.

Sirius followed her gaze. "I'll admit, that's one hell of a sunset," he commented. He stared at Eva for a moment and then laughed. "Your hair's a mess," he said, reaching out and gently tucking the loose strands behind her ears.

Evangeline stiffened. There was something… different about the softness of his touch. Something not right. She was suddenly very aware of their close proximity and the way that his hand lingered after he had fixed her hair.

She bit back the nagging sensation of doubt when he reached out and trailed a finger lightly down the side of her face. And then his face was drawing nearer to hers everything was moving too quickly and some sort of panic filled her body. Sirius' lips barely brushed her own before she turned her head and pulled away in alarm, mind reeling. For a moment, neither of them said anything, and the awkwardness hung in the air like drops of humidity before a storm. "I…"

Sirius' momentary look of hurt disappeared so quickly that Evangeline thought she must have imagined it. He turned around and began to walk away.

"Sirius? Wait!" Beyond confused, Eva stumbled after him. When he didn't turn around, she ran ahead of him and blacked his path. "Hold up," she insisted, and he finally paused, staring at the ground and actively avoiding her gaze. "I don't… I don't know what to say."

Sirius' face could have been made of stone for his lack of expression. He lifted his eyes and regarded her coldly. "I think you pretty much just said it all," he deadpanned.

A lump formed in Evangeline's throat. "But—"

"Never mind; it was stupid. I dunno what I was thinking," he said. "Anyway, besides, I've been meaning to tell you that I probably won't have much time to hang out this year. Lots going on with the Marauders, and you know, them being my best friends and all, I have to put them first."

The words hit Evangeline like a ton of bricks. "Wait, what?"

Sirius scowled. "You heard me," he said. "Come on, it's time to move on from this dumb childhood friendship, yeah?"

Evangeline felt teardrops welling up in her eyes but forced them back. "So that's it?" she said, bewildered and hurt. "I'm just your dumb childish friend, am I?"

Something like regret flickered in Sirius' eyes for a moment. "Just... just go away, please," he said. And with that, he turned, leaving Evangeline to lean her side against the tree trunk and sniff, finally losing her battle against the tears.

Everything had changed after that. It had started off as a sort of avoidance—he stopped coming over, stopped speaking to her at school, didn't reply to any of her letters. Then, a few months later, it was a new approach: insulting her relentlessly and reverting to surnames.

At first, the combination of everything had absolutely destroyed Evangeline. She was already dealing with the aftermath of strange emotions, and a building doubt that would not leave her alone; one that said I wanted to kiss you back. But it was beyond over. If Sirius could throw fifteen years of unwavering friendship away in just one day, then bloody hell, so could she. The best way to stop feeling horrible was to return his insults with equal hatred; to build up her walls as high as they could go in order to dull the pain.

And it worked. She was pretty sure she legitimately hated him now.

In fact, all of this nostalgia filled her with nothing more than a burning irritation. Restless and full of a fidgety energy that was undoubtedly going to drive her mental, she growled and began to squirm. The bed creaked and rumbled as she thrashed over, slamming herself onto the other side of her body with a loud 'Hmmph'. When she finally settled, her cheek fell onto a damp patch on the covers.

She reached up, startled, and brushed the tears from her eyes.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed—you guys made my day! I hope you all enjoyed it, and please leave a review to tell me your opinion. Improvements? Comments? Anything at all? I would be eternally grateful!

-Liz