The Special Two
Chapter 2
James jogged lightly to catch up with Lily, and when he reached her, she was standing, stunned, in the doorway of the extravagant Head Compartment.
"Lily, look, there's a note," James pointed out. She raised an eyebrow at him over her shoulder, but walked over to read the letter.
This whole James-calling-her-Lily thing was kind of starting to make her uneasy. It was confusing the notion she had that they were strictly on a last name or derogatory comment only basis.
'Lily and James,
Congratulations again on becoming Head Boy and Girl. I hope you find this compartment to your liking. I wish to have a word with the two of you after the welcoming feast this evening. Best wishes,
Professor Dumbledore'
"Hmm. I wonder what he wants to talk to us about," James wondered aloud.
"Most likely about being Head Boy and Head Girl," Lily retorted.
He smiled, ignoring her jest, and grabbed a goblet of water from a glass table nearby.
"Is it just me, or does it smell like vanilla in here? I'm quite partial to that scent."
"I—I don't smell anything," Lily stammered, blushing. Her perfume was vanilla scented. She sank into a plush red armchair, James following suit.
"I could definitely get used to this," James said, closing his eyes.
"Yes, it's much more comfortable than the regular train." She twitched slightly in her chair and straightened up. Was that what she thought it was? Did she really just have a civil conversation with James Potter devoid of name-calling and asking out? She must not allow it to happen again.
James jabbered on as always, enjoying talking about himself, and as she listened she relaxed a little. She found herself thinking that he was quite easy to talk to.
She shook herself once again. What was she thinking? Who was she kidding? She hadn't gotten along with him for six years. A few minutes could not and would not change that. Her mind had been made up from the first time he asked her out. She suddenly jumped up from her seat, taking charge.
"Get off your lazy bum and let's go speak to the prefects," Lily scolded.
James smiled to himself. It seemed his new attitude was getting to Lily. He had thought that maybe changing his attitude from arrogant prat to amiable gentleman would throw her off, and he was right. All day he had been watching her switch between the cold, hostile Lily that he was used to interacting with and the soft, kind Lily that usually interacted with her friends. It was kind of entertaining.
They stepped into the Prefect compartment and a silence fell over the students. Lily spoke, smiling at the familiar faces she saw staring up at her.
"Congratulations, new Prefects! I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl, and this is my partner, J—"
"James Potter, Head Boy, First Generation Marauder, and all-around great (and single) guy." He flashed his famous grin.
Lily rolled her eyes and continued.
"We will hold a meeting sometime this upcoming week to further discuss your responsibilities and such. For today, all that is expected of you is to stop any trouble you spot, and run a check of the train after the students head up to the school."
James added, "And also, make sure to take away as many points as you can from the Sly—"
"PLEASE…do not take advantage of your position. There will be serious consequences for such actions. That holds true for you as well, Potter…That will be all for today, we will send you a note to inform you of the time we will next meet. Thank you!"
The prefects exited, and as just Lily and James were left standing in the Prefect compartment, James said, "This will be an excellent year. Just you, me, and the Head Dorm…"
Lily shot him a disapproving look and walked out.
With her lack of a retort, James sighed, a grin on his face. Maybe I'm finally getting somewhere with her.
Emily kept inching away from Peter, who insistently tried to make small talk. She couldn't believe her friends left her like they did, Lily, James, and Remus at the meeting, and Sirius and Anna off making themselves familiar with the opposite gender, respectively.
She felt bad for Peter, though, and tried to act pleasant, though it was hard to strike up conversation with someone she knew so little about and had so little in common with.
"How was your summer, Emily?" he asked.
"Good. Yours?"
"Good."
"That's good."
Silence.
"Are you excited for our last year at Hogwarts?" he tried again.
"Of course. You?"
"Of course."
"Cool."
Silence.
Finally, James, Remus, and Lily returned.
"Em," Lily marveled, addressing one of her best friends, "three guesses what I found Anna doing, and the first two don't count."
"Snogging." Emily stated, not having to guess.
Lily laughed. "Correct. I didn't recognize him either. She's not wasting any time."
The group snickered.
Suddenly, Anna walked in, smiling, and they all fell silent.
She looked around and said, "what?" which set them off laughing again.
The ride continued smoothly, even without incident from the Marauders' sworn enemies, Severus Snape, and his friends, Slytherins and evildoers of the first degree.
Sirius returned in time to join in on an intense game of exploding snap (which resulted in a hole in the back side of Remus' pants), and to lead the group in a round of Happy Birthday for himself, as his 17th birthday had been a few days earlier.
When the train pulled up to the gates, excited chatter filled the train.
Anna, Emily, Sirius, and Peter headed to the castle, and Lily, James, and Remus stayed behind.
Remus and a few other prefects went off to direct the first years toward Rubeus Hagrid, the recently appointed Gamekeeper, who would lead them across the river and to their new home.
Lily and James cleared everybody out of the train and double-checked for lingering trunks, animals, or other items.
"All clear, Lily," James poked his head into the hallway, donning all of the items he had found left behind, including a Hufflepuff scarf, a glittery headband, and the best, a masquerade-type mask in the shape of a badger, adorned with yellow feathers.
Lily couldn't help but laugh. She knew others were amused by him, but his antics had always made her roll her eyes. She didn't know what had changed.
James smiled as he realized this was the first time he could recall that she had sincerely laughed at one of his jokes. He had been trying so hard to change for her, and hadn't expected her to return the favor so soon.
"Your chariot awaits. May I?" he asked, offering his arm to her.
"I'd rather have a tea party with Hungarian Horntail."
He had spoken too soon.
