~ Author's Note ~

Welcome to 'Your Emerald Eyes'

Chapter Two - Welcome Back

I hope you enjoy!

(Disclaimer - Rowling owns it all, Merlin praise her.)

The platform was busy with chatter. The amount of students was another matter entirely. Lily could barely breathe, pushing her way through the crowd, possibly injuring a fair amount of first years. With each apology came another two people falling over; Lily couldn't win. In the end she gave up entirely, looking for her friends in the distance.

As soon as the prefect meeting came to an end the train whistled. Lily barely had enough time to collect her small bag from the carriage and then run out onto the platform. She thought of Alice and the others, shouting at her from outside saying they'd wait for her. Where they were, though, Lily couldn't seem to discover. Hagrid's booming voice carried over the crowd, Lily deciding to go to him instead.

Weaving through the students yet again, Lily found the large man holding a lantern in his hands with a small clutter of first years around him. His eyes lit up when he saw her, waving to her with his enormous hands.

'Lily!' he smiled. His beard was growing, longer than it had been the last time she had seen him. 'How are you?'

'Great, thanks,' she smiled sweetly. 'Have a good summer?'

'Aye,' he nodded, 'Me and Dumbledore spent a lot of time together. Great man, Dumbledore.'

If Lily had a galleon for every time he had said that. She laughed to herself. 'Have you seen Alice, or Marlene?'

He shook his head, the first years waiting around patiently, listening to their conversation. 'No. I saw Sirius Black, though. He gave me this wonderful creature.'

He pointed to his shoulder, Lily noticing the ghastly spider that Sirius had previously been looking after. A shudder ran through her body, itchy heat on her shoulders, the sensation of spiders running over her. 'It's lovely,' she smiled.

He thanked her, pointing behind her head. 'Is that yer friend over there? Alice?'

Lily span around, Alice looking around and scratching her forehead. She seemed as lost as she had been on her first day. 'It is, thank you, Hagrid. I'll visit you in the week.'

'I'll be waiting,' he called to her as she walked away, waving.

Lily ran to Alice and smacked her on the back of her head, Alice spinning around and ready to strike. The moment she saw it was Lily she lowered her hand, rubbing her head.

'Thanks for leaving me alone,' Lily half shouted at her, Marlene and Mary coming into view. 'Seriously, how hard is it for you to spot a girl with bright red hair?'

'It's busy, Lils, in case you didn't notice!' Alice exclaimed. 'And we were forced off, they were kicking people out of their carriages extra quick this year.'

'They said for us to leave your bag in there in case you came back and couldn't find it,' Mary added, the four of them now together. 'We waited outside the window and told you to meet us at the carriages that take us up to Hogwarts.'

'Then you didn't show up so we came to find you,' Marlene finished.

Lily looked at the three of them, each breathing in deeply. They had spoken without taking a breath. Was she really that scary that they needed to explain themselves like that?

'You never said the carriages,' Lily smiled. 'All I heard was you'd wait for me.'

Alice rolled her eyes, 'You need to fix those ears of yours, Lils. You don't hear half of what we have to say.'

'I do!' Lily protested, beginning to walk to the carriages. 'You just mumble.'

Marlene nodded, Mary looking to her. 'You do mumble a fair bit,' Mary smiled, Alice frowning.

'You all suck,' she murmured, proving their point, the girls laughing.

'What did Hagrid have to say?' Marlene asked, waving to the big, bearded man.

Lily shrugged, 'He saw Black, but apparently he couldn't spot you three either.'

The girls laughed, Mary holding her arm and pulling her towards the carriages. Students were piling in, but they seemed to make way for the girls.

'We did have a carriage,' Mary said, winking to Marlene, 'but someone managed to slow us down so we lost it to a bunch of third years.'

Lily stuck her tongue out at her, looking at the long line of carriages. Funnily enough, the one at the front seemed to be empty, people were ignoring it. 'Here,' Lily spoke, 'let's go to that one.'

She led them forwards to the black carriage, arm still linked with Mary's, whispering to everyone in her way to move - politely, of course. As they approached the carriage the could see why it was empty. The door was wide open, one person sitting inside - James Potter.

He was sitting simply, legs resting on the seat opposite his, shirt unbuttoned to his chest, tie around his neck but yet to be tied. His eyes were focused on a small book resting in his hand, so much so he didn't even notice Lily. She watched him, focusing on his body. He seemed… peaceful. He looked studious, somewhat attractive. Lily frowned, looking to the other girls to back away quietly. However, James looked up with a yawn, noticing her and Mary. He jumped up, snapping his book shut. Immediately, Lily regretted thinking he was attractive. He had that same cheeky grin on his face.

'Evans!' he smiled, winking at her. 'Welcome to my humble abode. I'll ignore the fact you were staring at me lusciously if you join me?'

Mary nodded, rolling her eyes when Lily started to shake her head. 'Come on,' she whispered. 'Get to know your Head Boy.'

'I do know him,' Lily growled. 'He's an arsehole!'

Mary laughed, but one by one the girls piled in, leaving only the seat opposite James for Lily. She sat down grudgingly, staring at the boy in front of her. The carriage started moving, pulled by magic. Lily sighed and rested her head back against the headrest, eyes drifting to James' bare chest. He really should cover that up. Or he could just leave it…

'So why were you in here, on your own? Reading, of all things.' Marlene asked him.

'Not really like you at all, Jamesie,' Alice smiled. Of all the people in the room, Alice knew him the best. They were both from very prominent pure-blood families, and therefore knew each other growing up.

James shrugged, raising his eyebrows as he did so. 'Sirius and the others thought it would be funny to run off and leave just a note and a book.'

'You're not the only one,' Lily murmured, Alice hitting her playfully.

James grinned, opening the book and passing Alice the note. Lily read it over her shoulder.

See you later, Jamesie.

Sirius. xoxox

'How are the two of you not gay,' Alice said, shaking her head.

James laughed, looking to Lily without any shame. 'He doesn't have beautiful emerald eyes.'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'What book are you reading?' she asked politely, following Mary's instruction. She'd be civil, for now.

'A book based on the origins of Transfiguration,' he told her, passing it to her. 'It goes into detail about techniques lost over time and how spell pronunciation and wandless magic were much more effective back then. It informs you of some prominent witches and wizards that basically introduced the art of changing one thing into another to everyone. It even goes into detail of human transfiguration, and how back in history some wizards used to use muggles as experiments. Quite gruesome actually.'

Lily nodded, staring at the back of the book. Not recommended for students. Higher education ONLY.

'This is advanced stuff,' Lily said, handing it back to him.

He nodded, 'Despite popular belief, Lils, I do actually like to learn things. This is just the way I do it, not through writing essays for McGonagall.'

'Where'd you get it?' Marlene asked, taking it from Lily.

'Nicked it from the restricted section last year. I've read it twice already.'

They hit a bump in the stony pathway, Lily almost falling to the floor. She was only saved by clutching onto James' leg, to his pleasant surprise. He grinned.

Lily removed her hand immediately, somewhat annoyed that of all places, her hand landed there. It could have been worse and landed a few inches up, which would have pleased James tremendously, but it still annoyed her.

'How long till we're there?' Alice asked the three sitting opposite her and Lily, noticing Lily's red cheeks.

James looked out the window, 'Ten to fifteen minutes?'

The rest of the journey was made peacefully, to Lily's surprise. James was a good conversationalist, able to carry on a very interesting topic with Marlene - his new 'maturity'.

Lily had heard it all before. He was turning over a new leaf. Was going to be mature now. But despite her disbelief, he seemed a little more genuine this time. There were no inappropriate jokes, no narcissistic comments about himself or his boyfriend, and only the occasional comment and wink in Lily's direction. It was all a little too nice of an atmosphere, and Lily found herself almost enjoying it.

Twenty minutes passed quickly and the five of them got out of the carriage, welcomed by McGonagall, rushing past in a hurry as she was running late to meet the first years. She almost seemed surprised when the five of them got out together, especially knowing the rivalry between the boys and girls. However, that passed. She quickly congratulated James and Lily on becoming Head Boy and Girl, her chest swelling with pride, then she ran off.

'That was interesting,' James said, eyebrow raised.

Lily nodded, watching her disappear into the darkness. Students were all around them, but one was louder and more dramatic than all of them put together.

'What if he's lost, Remmy?' the voice shouted, panicked.

Lily rolled her eyes, looking at the girls. 'Let's go.'

'He's right there, Padfoot,' another voice said.

'Where?' The boy's grey eyes drifted towards them, settling on James. Within a moment he had bounded towards them, jumping and tackling James to the ground. 'We thought we'd lost you forever!'

'And by we, he means he.' Remus spoke nonchalantly. 'Lily,' he greeted, smiling at the others. 'We didn't really get to meet and greet earlier. You rushed off after you slapped that doughnut.'

Lily smiled back, 'We'll have plenty of time to catch up later, I'm starving and you need to tend to your friends.' She looked to James standing up and punching his mate in the arm, holding his back as he did so. 'Something tells me they need looking after.'

Peter was next to Remus, silent as ever. Lily smiled at him too, Peter politely greeting her. At least two of their group were quiet and polite.

'You've broken me,' James exclaimed, his half unbuttoned shirt opening even more. He practically tore it off, turning to Remus, blood on his hand. 'Fix me, please!'

Lily gasped when she saw his back, as did a few of the students around them. They were almost on their own at this point, the majority had made their way into the castle, they were still outside. On his back was a large cut, running from the middle of his back to his left hip, blood beginning to run down. It wasn't only that, though. His back was covered in white lines, scars of all sorts. There were three lines over his right shoulder, like an animal had scratched him, and then small ones dotted around in other areas.

Remus walked up to him, wand in hand, and muttered a spell. The blood seemed to reverse and enter his body once more, the cut tightening and closing in on itself. 'There won't be a scar this time, we were quick enough to heal it.'

'That was bloody good magic, Remus,' Mary said beside Lily. 'When did you learn to heal like that?'

Remus shrugged, looking at the ground. 'I've had a lot of experience with cuts, I taught myself.'

James put his shirt back on, Sirius meekly holding his tie out for him. 'You took my bag, my cloak, my jumper, my wand! You left a book and a note, how could you not know where I was?'

Sirius' attention, however, had drifted to a rather tall Ravenclaw fifth year entering the school. 'I'll be right back, I don't think I know that one.'

He ran off after her, James walking to Remus, taking his bag off of him. 'Everything is in there,' Remus told him.

Lily's eyes followed Sirius into the castle. 'I swear he dated her last year?'

James nodded, looking at her as he easily put his tie on, something Lily had no knowledge of how to do. 'But this year her boobs are bigger and her legs are longer, of course he's going to go for her again.'

The four girls must have had looks of disgust on their faces because James laughed. 'He's Sirius, you all know what he's like. He'll settle one day. Shall we go and eat?'

Lily didn't really want to follow James into the Great Hall, but she did. Her and the other girls sat beside him and Remus, Peter quietly joining them. Sirius had somehow managed to slip onto the Ravenclaw table, at least until Professor Dumbledore scolded him and moved him next to his partner in crime.

Almost as soon as they sat down, McGonagall walked in with the first years. As per usual, the sorting hat was set upon a small stool at the front of the room, beside Dumbledore's podium. The first years were led up to it, each looking incredibly scared, Lily trying to give them warm smiles of encouragement, and then Dumbledore spoke.

'Let the sorting begin!' he exclaimed happily, passing a long list to McGonagall.

To Lily's surprise, James and his gang actually stayed quiet and respectful during the entire ceremony. There were no jokes, no pranks, no comments, nothing. It was as though everything he had said in the carriages had been true.

As the last child had been sorted and sat down, Dumbledore spoke again. 'As with every year, even after the spectacular sorting, everyone still looks forward to the food. So, without further ado, let us eat!' He raised his hands and clapped, food appearing on everyone's table.

Lily marvelled at the magic in front of her once more. Every year she got more and more impressed with it - maybe it was just because she got hungrier as the years went on. Within a second, food was upon the table on platters of gold and silver, running from end to end. Magic never failed to impress her.

'Hey, red-head,' Alice grinned next to her, 'start eating! The food won't eat itself!'

Lily nodded, piling food onto her plate and spooning it into her mouth in what must have been the most unattractive way possible. However, James wasn't put off. He could barely take his eyes off of her. The more she ate, the more he stared. She couldn't tell if it was with attraction or marvel, but it didn't stop her. Funnily enough, she didn't mind his staring. What was wrong with her?

Sirius kept the table alive with jokes and chatter, half-shouting everything at James so he received as much attention as possible. If there was anyone with a bigger ego than James, it was him.

'Tell them about the joke shop we found,' Sirius said to James, pointing to Marlene and Mary.

Marlene and Mary were the two of Lily's group that appreciated the boy's jokes and pranks. Lily did appreciate the magic that went into them, just not the outcome. Too many times did someone get get hurt, mentally or physically. Sometimes they were funny and it was everything she could do not to laugh, but the moment she laughed at one would be the moment James would do more and more to try and impress her.

'So we -' James started.

Sirius interrupted him. 'So we were in muggle London, which is fantastic, by the way,' he said as a side note to Lily, as James waved his hands in the air in annoyance.

'We were in London and ended up taking many twists and turns through a load of alleys and streets that seemed to have no end,' he spoke, grinning. 'We ended up at a dead end, only to find this tiny shop, filled to the brim with people. There were no other people in the surrounding shops or houses, just this one tiny place, so obviously, we went in.'

'Curiosity killed the cat,' Lily whispered.

'Satisfaction bought it back,' James winked from opposite her, confusing Lily. Since when did he know muggle sayings?

'And so we entered muggle heaven,' Sirius sighed happily. 'There were so many things to buy! Disappearing ink, now residing in Remus' ink pot -'

'What?' Remus exclaimed, frowning at Sirius.

'Chewing gum that would snap at you if you took it from it's packet, stink bombs that work similarly to dungbombs, fake cigarettes, these little balls that popped when you threw them at the ground, so many cool things!'

'Obviously Sirius bought the entire shop,' James said, rolling his eyes.

Sirius punched him, 'You were just as excited as I was, you stuffed your pockets with as much as you could!'

'So?'

Marlene laughed, 'Where are you going with this story, Sirius?'

'Nowhere, I just wanted to know if muggle London had anymore cool things?' He looked to Lily.

'I live near London, as do most of you, I don't know the entirety of the city,' she told him.

'Well,' Sirius spoke, 'You're the only one here completely muggleborn, I thought you'd have the best knowledge of it all.'

Remus rolled his eyes this time. 'Just because she's muggleborn doesn't mean she knows all of London. Don't generalise.'

'Of course it does!' he looked to James. 'James, we're both super rich pure-bloods, don't we know about all of Diagon Alley and Knockturn alley and every magical shop hidden away throughout all of England?'

James looked at his dinner, causing a smirk to appear on Lily's face. Watching him get uncomfortable always made her happy. Bringing up his money was always the way to do that.

'Sure, Sirius,' he said, agreeing with him as he shook his head to the others.

'Right!' Sirius exclaimed. 'So, Evans?'

Lily smiled, 'I hear there's a really good shop in Covent Garden, tucked in an alley. I'll show you on a map sometime.'

Alice giggled beside her. Only the week before her and Lily actually had gone to London, coming across a chain of rather raunchy shops - not that they went in them, of course.

'Great!' Sirius grinned. 'I told you she'd know,' he said to James.

'You proved me wrong yet again, Padfoot.'

Sirius sat there looking happy with himself. If it weren't for his stubble, muscular upper body, and overactive sex life, Lily would have thought he was twelve. His maturity levels were far below the national standard for seventeen year olds, and he never seemed to have an intelligent conversation.

Lily's attention was drawn to the back of the room, Dumbledore standing up and tapping his glass, a loud ringing noise quieting everyone.

'Our first feast comes to an end,' he smiled. 'I hope you enjoyed it, along with the company of your new housemates. I now must ask you to wander to your dormitories, so Prefects, would you please lead the first years to their new home and would everyone else -' his eyes drifted to four mischievous seventh years '- please don't get lost. I'd like to see the Head Boy and Girl, everyone else, goodnight!'

Lily looked to James, the two of them shrugging. As the room slowly got quieter and emptier, Dumbledore approached them, almost with a jump in his step.

'Two Gryffindors this year,' he smiled, leaning towards them and looking around like a schoolboy telling a secret. 'I must confess, I was rather pleased with my decision. I'm sure the two of you will do fantastically.'

He stood back up, coughing slightly as if to draw attention away from what he just said. 'Now, something I forgot to mention in the letter. Would you follow me, please?'

He led them out of the room, the remaining students parting for them as they walked. Dumbledore whistled joyfully to himself, Lily and James following in comfortable silence. Something made Lily think of her partner, somewhat wishing it was someone else. However, she couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have beside her. Sure, she didn't get along with James, but who else was there? Remus was away half the time, Dumbledore sure as hell wouldn't want Sirius or Peter doing the job. None of the Slytherins could be trusted, there weren't any prominent Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. James was the only one who had really made an impact on the school, even more than she had. She was just smart, but he was smart, fantastic on a broom, respected among the younger students, bloody good with his wand… He was a good choice.

'Now,' Dumbledore said, stopping in front of a large curtain on the seventh floor, only a corridor away from the Gryffindor common room. Lily wondered how they had got there so quick, they must have taken a shortcut while she was daydreaming. 'Each year we have our Head students, and this year it's you two. What happens to be a secret is that there is a specific room for the two of you. Whether you stay in it or not is entirely your choice, but it's there. It moves each year to a location where it's most convenient. This year, as the two of you are Gryffindors, it's moved itself to only a short distance away from your common room.'

He pulled the curtains apart, showing them the brick wall. 'As you can see, nothing! Now watch this. Your password will be Dumbledore, you can change it as you please.'

He pulled out his wand and tapped the wall behind the closed curtain, muttering the password. This time, as he pulled the curtains apart, a small entrance was there, a very steep, spiral staircase in front of them.

'We automatically put your stuff in this room for you, but if you want to move it back to the other common room then by all means do it. There's a bed in your old dormitory for you.'

James looked to Lily, 'I don't fancy moving it tonight. I'll stay here this evening and decide tomorrow.'

Lily nodded, 'I need to tell Alice, though.'

He winked, 'I've got it covered.'

Dumbledore clapped once in exclamation, then left without another word, whistling again. James chuckled as he disappeared down the isolated corridor.

'Strange man...' he said quietly, holding his arm out. 'After you, dearest flower.'

Lily raised her eyebrow, looking at the steep staircase. 'So you can stare at my arse and look up my skirt?'

James put his hands on his chest, failing to hide his smile. 'As if I'd ever!'

She put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. 'You first.'

'So you can stare at my arse?' he repeated, cheekily smiling.

'Just move,' Lily told him, beginning to get annoyed.

James complied, holding onto the sturdy railing and pulling himself up the stairs. It turned out it was only a small staircase, twenty steps that circled up and reached a ladder that led to the actual common room.

'It's like the divination entrance,' James pointed out, Lily agreeing.

He climbed the ladder first, whistling when his eyes fell onto his surroundings. He held out his hand for Lily to grab, which was ignored, and Lily couldn't help but feel the same marvel.

The room was phenomenal. It was the cosiest room in the entire world, everything Lily ever wanted if she had a house of her own. It was only small, but it was lovely. It was square, with the ladder opposite the door that led up to the two dorms. To the left was a fireplace, and to the right was a window seat, with the enclosed ledge covered in pillows and blankets. It was Lily's dream seat! The only thing missing was someone to share it with. She could picture sitting there in someone's arms while she read peacefully. Instead, she had James, but she could forego the cuddles if it meant having that seat. James smiled as he noticed her looking at it.

'We can put a curtain over it if you want, so you can have all the privacy in the world while you sit there. I'll let you have that chair if I get the armchair closest to the fire.'

Either side of the fire were two large windows, they must have been in one of the castle's towers. They were both wide enough to get a large person in and out of them. There was, of course, another chair next to the one James wanted, he was just being nice and letting Lily have the window seat.

In the middle of the room was a large, rectangular table, big enough for the two of them to do all of their work and writing without getting in the other's way.

It was brilliantly cosy, with red and gold furniture and walls that were orange and warm, decorative paintings hanging from the walls and candles in the ceiling just like the Great Hall.

'I don't know about you,' James said, 'but I'm not going back to that dormitory. I see the guys all the time, this is a luxury I haven't had in years - no Sirius to wake me up, no Peter with his plates of food or sweet wrappers. Remus I can live with, but this is brilliant.'

Part of Lily wanted to go back to the dormitory with Alice and the others, but she knew she wasn't going to. The room was too perfect. 'I agree. I need to talk to Alice though.'

James nodded, bringing out a mirror from his cloak pocket. 'Sirius Black,' he said into it, staring at it.

'What's that?' Lily asked him.

'Jamesie?' a voice came from the mirror. 'Where are you, are you with Evans?'

'Yeah,' James grinned to him. 'Listen, the Head Boy and Girl dormitory, I've found it, it's real.'

Lily heard a snap of fingers from the mirror, Sirius laughing. 'Remus, you owe me ten galleons.'

'You knew about this room?' Lily asked James, with a little admiration.

'I suspected, we looked but could never find it. Obviously, it moves every year which is why.'

'Remus, that's another ten,' Sirius barked with laughter. 'So I take it you're staying there?'

'It's heaven, mate, of course. Listen, can you give this to Alice? Lily wants to speak to her.'

'She's staying there with you?' Sirius asked, surprised. 'I barely believe it. Wait there.'

Lily looked into the mirror just as Sirius pocketed it. 'Where did you get that?' she questioned, marvelled.

'One of the many shops Sirius and I know about,' he said with a smile, referencing earlier. He passed it to her and opened the door, revealing another short staircase, leading up.

He followed it, coming to an end in seconds. 'My room has my name on it in red, and yours is in gold. Neat. I'm on the right.'

He opened his door just as Lily's name was called from inside the mirror. 'Evans,' Sirius spoke. 'Alice is here for you.'

Lily could see Sirius hold up the mirror for Alice, not actually letting her hold it.

'Sirius,' she said, annoyed. 'What is that - is that Lily?'

'Hey, Al,' Lily smiled.

'Where are you? Are you stuck in there?' she exclaimed. 'Sirius, what sort of sick joke is this?'

She was already in her pajamas, a small tank top with loose shorts. Sirius was standing outside of her dorm. How he managed to get up the stairs surprised Lily, but yet again, he was Sirius Black. He had probably visited every girl's dorm at some point.

'Al,' Lily smiled, 'you should put something on over that top, it's not very concealing.'

Sirius immediately looked at her chest, Alice slapping him. 'Well now it isn't!' she scolded Lily. 'I don't care, where are you?'

'It turns out there's a room for the Head Boy and Girl, I'll tell you tomorrow. All my stuff is here so I'm staying the night.'

'Are you coming back?' Alice's voice asked.

'Probably not, Al,' she admitted, a little shamefully. She felt bad for leaving her friends. 'You should see it, Al. It's gorgeous.'

'I will see it, and if it isn't, you have a lot of explaining to do! I'm going to bed, Lils, see you in the morning.'

'Love you, Al,' Lily smiled.

'Love you, Lils,' Alice whispered back.

Sirius turned the mirror back to his face, grinning at Lily. 'Put James back on.'

Lily rolled her eyes, 'Nice speaking to you, too, Black.'

She turned around, James right behind her. Lily jumped a little, slapping him and giving the mirror back. 'I want one,' she told him.

He winked, looking at Sirius. 'Night, Sirius.'

'Love you!' Sirius shouted at him, loudly.

James laughed, pocketing the mirror and facing Lily. 'There is one piece of bad news.'

'What?' Lily asked.

'Now, before I tell you, I'd like to mention we've had an evening of nice conversation without any violence, swear words, insults, harsh jokes, or name calling. I can be very pleasant and I'm a clean person.'

Lily crossed her arms, nodding. It had been quite pleasant, actually. 'What's the issue, then?'

He smiled, 'There's only one bathroom.'

~ Author's Note ~

Thank you for reading, and to all who have followed, favourited, and reviewed, I love you. Share the story with everyone!

Thank you! See you soon!