Hearts and Minds
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Chapter Two: Aboard the Hogwarts Express
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"Voldemort?".
"Yes, Voldemort."
"Is this some kind of prank, Potter?" Lily removed her hand from his and laughed, but James could see the slight fear in her eyes. "Why would he be after me?"
"Lily, I wouldn't joke about this. And it's not just you . . . it's all of us," James said seriously. "He's trying to gain followers. Don't tell me you didn't notice the Slytherins dropping like flies last year. First Avery, then Nott . . . Sirius's own cousin has made it clear that she isn't coming back to school this year."
"Bellatrix?" asked Lily.
"Yes. Anyway, Dumbledore said he uncovered a plot for an attack at King's Cross Station, so he sent owls to all of the students yesterday, telling them that the train would be leaving at five o'clock instead of ten. He put charms on the messages so that if anyone but the person they were intended for touched them, they would burn instantly. When he didn't get replies from Sirius and I, we found him knocking on the door at three o'clock this morning. He told us that he hadn't heard from you and Violet either, so while my parents took our things to the train station, Sirius and I walked down the street to Violet's house, and-"
"Poor Violet."
James sighed and quickly looked at his watch again. "Yes, well, we've got to go, we have ten minutes to get to King's Cross." He tossed his Cleansweep outside the window and it hovered there while he hoisted the trunk and then himself through.
Once he was on the broom, he held his hand out to Lily once more. Again she ignored it, and climbed out the window herself, hopping onto the broom, sitting behind James. He waited for her to close the window.
"Aren't you going to hold on?" James asked Lily when she didn't put her arms around his waist.
"Yes, and give you bragging rights? I think not!"
"Suit yourself."
James took off into the night. Lily yelped and quickly wrapped her arms around James.
"You mention this to anyone Potter," she threatened, breathing heavily, "and I'll hex you myself."
"Wouldn't dream of it," said James, grinning.
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They made it to King's Cross with barely a minute to spare. As they rushed through the train station towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten, early-morning travelers stared at the broom James was carrying, but he didn't have time to try and hide it. When he and Lily reached the barrier, they leaned casually against it and disappeared, reappearing on platform nine and three-quarters.
Out of the corner of his eye, James saw his parents looking around for him anxiously. He started walking to them, but then he noticed that the train had started moving. Instead, he simply waved goodbye, and ran after Lily, jumping on the train just in time.
They wandered the halls of the Hogwarts Express, looking for their friends. They knew they had found the right compartment when they smelled the scent of dung bombs. Lily and James both put their hands over their noses and slid open the compartment door.
Then came the booming voice of none other than Sirius Black. "WORMTAIL!" he shouted. "I told you to hide the dung bombs, not set one of them off! If Prongs and Evans actually do make it-"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Padfoot."
Sirius turned around, his dark hair falling elegantly into his grey eyes. "Oh, there you are."
"Lily!" gasped Lily's best friend, Violet Vance, who stood up to give her a hug.
"Hi Violet! How was your summer?" asked Lily.
"Great, until these two showed up on my doorstep at three-thirty this morning," said Violet, her amethyst-colored eyes darting to James and Sirius before she sat back down beside the window. "Yours?"
Lily placed her trunk on the rack above them, then sat down opposite Violet, next to a brown-haired boy named Remus Lupin. "The same, except an hour later, and just Potter." The girls laughed.
Remus spoke up. "You know, they are standing right there."
Violet and Lily just shrugged.
Just then, two more girls entered the compartment looking exhausted. They were both wearing pajamas, like the rest of the seventh years. One girl, Claire Hepburn, had dark circles around her brown eyes, and the other, Anna Clarke, had short, curly blonde hair that was sticking up in random spots. They pushed by James and Sirius and made their way towards Lily and Violet. They threw their luggage on the floor and sat down, leaning against it.
Claire rubbed her tired-looking eyes and tugged on the hair elastic that was holding her long, ebony locks. "Do any of you have a clue as to what's going on?"
Sirius looked at James, who in turn glanced sharply at Lily. She got the hint. "Not the faintest," she said.
"Well, hello to you, too, Claire," remarked Violet, tucking a strand of her shoulder-length dark brown hair behind her right ear.
Claire gave a small laugh and pushed Violet's leg. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Mm hmm!" Violet replied.
Lily giggled. She knew that Violet was a night owl, and probably had not slept at all.
"Let me guess," said Anna. "You didn't sleep, did you, Violet?"
"Nah, sleeping is for quitters."
"I'll second that," said Sirius, who was watching Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, with disgust. He was dozing in the corner closest to the compartment door, clutching an open package of dung bombs in his chubby hands.
Violet looked at him and grinned. "Too bad nobody asked you, Black."
Sirius flashed Violet a charming smile. She and Lily just rolled their eyes, impervious to the effect of Sirius's handsomeness. Claire and Anna, on the other hand, sighed.
"Well, that's my cue to leave . . . I need to go to the Heads' compartment," Lily informed the rest. She stood up and walked to the door, sliding it open.
James's eyes widened. "And where would that be?"
Lily looked at him strangely. "Why? Not going to stalk me, are you, Potter? It's at the front of the train."
"Oh, right . . ." James scratched his head. He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper, looking it over.
Lily scoffed and turned back. "Are you coming, Remus?"
Remus stood up as well, pinning a badge to his shirt. "I'm heading to the Prefects' compartment, so I suppose I'll see you at some point."
"Wait . . . you're not . . .?" Lily asked, looking confused.
Remus just shook his head and walked out of the compartment.
As Lily was closing the door, Claire said, "So tell me again why we're on the train five hours early?" and she could have sworn she heard Sirius reply, "Because I'm good-looking."
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As Lily waited for the new Head Boy to show up in the compartment, she debated who it could be. It might be Patrick Dubois from Ravenclaw, or maybe even that Hufflepuff boy, Quentin Macmillan, . . . I just hope it's not Snivellus, because that would just make my last year at Hogwarts an absolute hell . . . well, it could be worse, I suppose, they could have appointed someone like Potter . . . Lily laughed out loud. What a joke . . .
"What are you laughing at?"
Lily's smile faltered. She recognized that voice. "No . . ." she said, and looked up. James was standing in the compartment doorway. "James, urgh, Potter, you should leave, the Head Boy will be here any second, and we have important things to . . ." Lily trailed off. She had noticed a silver pin on James's shirt.
Lily pushed herself as far away from him as she could. "This is not happening," she whispered.
James closed the compartment door and leaned against it. "What, am I not up to your standards?"
"First, you show up in my bedroom in the middle of the night, and now I find out I have to spend my entire seventh year working with you?" Lily suddenly stood up. "Alright, WHERE'S ROD SERLING?"
James raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Oh, nothing, I'm just in the Twilight Zone, is all!"Lily yelled, and turned towards the window of the compartment, leaning her elbows on the ledge.
"Rod Serling . . . that name rings a bell," said James, thinking. Then, he snapped his fingers. "My father was telling me about him! He's a famous American wizard, he-"
"I can't believe this is happening!" Lily cut in, turning around to face him. "You! James Potter! Head Boy?!" She threw her hands up in the air. "What is the world coming too?"
Suddenly, James put a finger to his lips. "Shh!" He took several steps towards her.
Lily stared at him. "P . . . Potter? What are you doing?"
"Nothing . . . just, don't move for a second, okay?"
James took another step, and another, and then another. Now, they were merely inches apart. Lily felt her face burning. "Potter?" she asked, barely making any noise.
"Lily . . . I thought I saw something. . ." James said quietly. Lily looked up at him, and finally realized he was not looking down at her. James was looking past her; out the window, with a slightly spooked look on his face. "A broom . . ." he continued.
Lily tried to turn and look out the window, but James gasped, his hazel eyes narrowing on something behind Lily. "What the . . . no!"
"Potter, what-" But Lily did not have time to finish what she was going to say, for James had grabbed her and turned around, pushing her away from the window as fast as he could.
The last thing they both heard was the muffled cackle of a young witch, and an enormous blast, knocking them clear off their feet.
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A/N: THE END. Hehe, just kidding. Well, that's the second chapter! I hope you liked it. I'll be posting the third quite soon, I expect. Oh! And thank you so much for my reviews, reviewers . . . marauderbabe289, LunaBella 006, CluelessWanderer, Maxie1514, blueholly, and classicjs. And a special thank you to LunaBella 006, it's such a complement to have made it onto your favorite stories list! I'd also like to give a shout-out to classicjs, who is my editor-in-chief, haha. Thanks again, everyone!
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By: SammyLynn
