Author's Note: I'm trying to update this as quickly as I can because I'm not sure about the next time I'll be able to, but I need to know people are reading because one review, as nice as it was, is pathetic. Let me know you're reading, please. Let me know how you like it.
After changing into her robes, Lily left for the Prefect compartment, taking all her stuff with her. Even though she only had a bag full of books, she still didn't completely trust Samantha and Lindsey not to go through everything, perhaps getting finger marks on her pages.
Lily hadn't exactly been shocked when Professor Dumbledore had chosen her as Head Girl, but she'd acted that way for her mother, not wanting to sound so conceited and sure of herself. Her mother had been extremely proud. It had really been the only good part of her summer.
She arrived at the compartment, opening the door to see the familiar faces of people she had expected Dumbledore to choose as prefects, but when she saw another familiar face, she had to close her eyes and breathe in deeply to prevent herself from causing a scene. Maybe the other students were right. Dumbledore had gone insane.
Lily didn't have to approach him to ask why he was there; he walked over on his own. "Hey, Evans," he said, smiling brightly. "Nice day today."
"I never imagined you'd be in here, Potter," she said, rolling her eyes. "At least, you're on time."
Lily walked past him, heading over to the other side of the room where she found a chair alone. She hoped that this little meeting wouldn't take too long.
James, perplexed, walked over to where she was. "No screaming?" he asked.
Lily turned away from him. It had been less than five minutes, and already he was getting on her last nerve. She didn't have many. "My screaming never makes you leave me alone," she told him. "I rather think you enjoy it, and I'm not wasting my breath on you. Got it?"
That seemed like the Lily he knew. Calm and cool, just caring and kind when left alone, but if he dared to step into her bubble, she'd erupt.
"Is everyone here?" James asked her.
"I think so," she replied.
"Then…we should begin. I mean, we want to get out of here as soon as possible, right?" he asked.
For once, she and James were actually in agreement. "Definitely."
Seeing James Potter again after the long, terrible, summer was like dealing with a season change. Her sister and father represented the hot, ghastly, muggy, weather that you wish to do away with, and you pray to yourself that the summer, or her time with Petunia, will end soon, and the winter will arrive to take it away. However, when the winter does come—when Lily is forced to see James Potter again for another year—it's suddenly too cold to deal with. You wish to have summer back again.
James Potter being Head Boy was something, no matter how hard she tried to, Lily absolutely couldn't understand. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to complain, even if it was only in her head. She would just have to learn to reluctantly deal with it.
After explaining to the prefects what had to be done, Lily and James got up, along with the other students, to leave. She hoped to get out of the room without being ambushed, but James caught up with her.
"Why did you want to get out so quickly?" he asked, still holding onto that annoying smile of his. "I thought you liked doing all that Head…prefect…stuff."
She shrugged. "I like my book better."
James could tell she didn't want to talk about it, but, of course, he didn't stop there. "What's it about?" he asked as they closed the compartment door after the last student in scurried off.
Lily rolled her eyes. Lily knew James couldn't care less about the book she was reading. "I hate small talk with you just as much as you dislike reading," she said, looking straight ahead, but saw James' smile through her peripheral vision.
"Evvvvy," he sang, stepping in front of her, blocking her path. "Talk to me."
Lily glared, placing her hands on her hips in frustration. "First of all, move out of my way. Second of all, stop calling me that!"
"I'll move out of your way when you tell me about your," his eyes drifted to her bag, "book."
"It's a muggle book, Potter."
"I like muggles!" he said excitedly. Did nothing put this boy down?
"Why are you always so happy?" she asked wearily, trying to push him out of her way.
"Happy is fun!"
Lily smiled slightly at his enthusiasm, but made sure to wipe it off as soon as it had come. James looked way too pleased with it for her liking. "James Potter, you are a strange, and extremely annoying boy, so if you would ple—Severus—hello," she said, seeing him walk by the two of them.
Severus glared conspicuously at James, and then turned to give Lily a half-smile. Lily nodded in reply, with a quick smile. Snape, seemingly satisfied, walked away. Things had become faintly awkward between the two of them since fifth year.
If there was one thing James disliked about Snape the most, it was the fact that when Snape walked by Lily, she smiled, and when James made her smile, she wiped it off quickly as though she were disgusted by him. James hated that he couldn't be the one to get one of her gorgeous smiles thrown his way.
Of course, if James admitted it to himself, Lily didn't just smile at Snape, but actually at everyone. Besides him.
"So, summer?" said James, still refusing to move out of Lily's way.
"Move," she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I will if you promise to talk to me while we walk, even, heaven forbid, glance at me a few times?" he said hopefully.
"Don't give me conditions."
James sighed, moving to let her pass while the two of them walked down a hallway that couldn't end soon enough for Lily, couldn't be prolonged enough for James.
When they were nearing the end of the hallway, Lily turned to him. "What about summer?" she asked.
James looked confused. "What?"
"See?" said Lily. "Exactly my point. You don't care how my summer was, so why did you even ask? I was going to be polite, and answer, but so much for that."
Before James could respond, Lily closed her compartment door. "By the way," she called out, knowing he hadn't moved from behind the door, "it wasn't that great."
"I'm sorry to hear it," he said, biting his lip to prevent himself from making a stupid comment before walking back to his own compartment.
"My favorite part of Hogwarts," Sirius declared as the four marauders walked into the Great Hall after the sorting and food was served, late as usual, "is most definitely the feast."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Padfoot, you tell us almost every day a new favorite thing at this school."
"What's wrong with liking things?" asked James. "While he's staying at my house, he says the same thing every few minutes."
The others laughed along with him as they found a spot at the table across from Lily. James caught her eye, and smiled. Lily merely picked up her book again. James caught a glance at the title: Extremidade.
"Is it good?" he asked, though he wasn't quite sure she'd hear him while she read so intently.
Lily didn't move or stop reading for a moment. "Yes," she said simply.
James gave up on conversation, moving instead to grab a piece of cherry pie. He could tell his friend Remus was having an internal struggle, wondering whether or not it was important to voice his opinion how he should be eating something much healthier for dinner.
"I'll eat dinner later," he answered the unvoiced complaint. He could not help wishing that Lily would just put her book down so that he could stare at her, or at least, so she could eat.
Finally, with only about three and a half minutes left of dinner, Lily put her book down gently beside her, and put some potatoes on her plate. James, watching her as always, didn't surprise her, but the fact that the other marauders stared in her direction made her look up.
"Is there a problem, boys?" she asked, irritated.
"That's all you're eating? A scoop of mashed potatoes?" asked Sirius, bewildered. Remus nudged him a bit, letting him know he wasn't being courteous, but Sirius still looked at her as though she belonged in a hospital.
Lily actually blushed a bit. "I was distracted by my book, and there's not much time left to eat," she explained herself, then ate two or three bites before Professor Dumbledore announced that they should all head off to bed.
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all got up with the other students to leave the Great Hall. James watched as Lily walked magnificently just a few steps in front of them, her long, beautiful, red hair moving from side to side as she walked. He couldn't believe she was reading again, the large novel in her hand as she confidently walked without bumping into anyone or anything.
"…and then it would be easy, of course, with James being Head Boy now."
"Well, that's what you said when I became prefect," said Remus, laughing. "You with us, Prongs?"
James didn't hear the conversations going on around him, almost falling flat on his face when he realized they were about to walk up the stairs. He was simply amazed at how she could walk so straight while immersed in a book like that. He could barely move while he was immersed in her.
"James!" said Sirius loudly, tapping him. "Helloo."
"Potter, your friend is calling you," said Lily from her position in front of them. James immediately turned to Sirius.
"Well, thanks for listening to her, mate. Really appreciate it."
James shrugged, falling out of his trance. "You know you're completely unimportant to me, Sirius. I've told you," he teased good-naturedly.
James rolled his eyes as the fifth and sixth year prefects explained to the first years how to 'say a password' because, evidently, that was a difficult task, and where the couch was because, clearly, eleven year olds couldn't see it for themselves. Boy, was he glad the Head Boy and Girl didn't have to deal with that arduous chore. It might tire them out completely, all that pointing.
Lily, however, smiled encouragingly as she walked by the fifth year prefects, muttering to one girl in particular that she was doing a fine job. James couldn't believe his ears. After all these years of trying to impress her, all she wanted was for him to point to a couch and a staircase. If only he had known, perhaps he would have won her over already.
After the first years went up eagerly to their dorms, Lily took a seat on the end of the couch in the middle of the common room with her book.
James, feeling for some reason more frustrated than ever before, shouted, "What is so great about it?!"
Shocked at his outburst, Lily moved her book down to her lap, looking at him, confused, the way many others, including his three friends, were also looking at him. "Were you talking to me?" she asked calmly.
James nodded, being decent enough to blush as he waved the shocked students away, urging them to go on with their activities. "I'd just like to know what it's about," he said quietly.
Sirius looked at Remus. "Umm, why?" he whispered, "does he care?"
Remus looked at him as though dealing with a child. "Because he's in love, Sirius. It's quite obvious."
After watching James standing across from Lily awkwardly for a moment or two, the other three marauders thought it would be more pleasing for them to go upstairs to their dormitory, leaving James alone in his misery.
"Like you care, Potter," she put her nose back in the book. "I told you, you don't need to use phony excuses to talk to me."
"Oh, of course not," he said, smirking, "because without my excuses, you're just ready and willing to talk."
"Go away."
James took this as an invitation to sit next to her on the couch. Lily sighed. "I can't read with you there!" she said, irritated.
"Why?" he asked. "Distracted by my striking good looks?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "And you tell me you're not arrogant. Why are you interested in this?"
James smiled. "In you?" he asked.
Lily turned to him. "Actually, I'd meant the book, but yes, that's actually a good question. Tell me, is it because I'm a difficult catch?" she asked, marking her page as she made her way over to the girls' dormitory staircase for a more private place to read.
"Of course not," said James, coming up behind her before she reached the first step.
"Give me one good reason, then. I'm sure you can't even think of one," she said, flipping her hair off her shoulder.
James thought to himself for a moment. There were too many to name, and he'd sound like a fool if he gave her a list right then and there. Besides, he knew she didn't want to hear a reason; she'd only asked because she didn't believe he had one. An idea came to him.
"I'll give you three-hundred and three reasons," he said. When Lily looked bemused, he went on. "One reason every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday until June thirtieth. You'll get one reason a day, and that makes three hundred and three reasons. Of course, there's more, but I'm only assuming you don't want to spend time with me this summer."
Lily looked up at the ceiling, asking why she had to deal with such a boy. Every time she sat down to just innocently read a book, it seemed the whole world jumped onto her case. "You're insane," she reminded him.
"You love me," he said cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You disgust me," she told him, taking a step up on the staircase.
"You love me," he repeated.
"You wish!" she said, sounding revolted at the thought.
"I do, indeed," he said, laughing. "Before you leave me, no doubt to go in your room to read or plot ways to kill me in my sleep, I'll give you my first reason: you're nothing like me."
Lily replied by rolling her eyes skyward for what seemed like the tenth time that evening. "That's your reason? I'm your opposite? Opposites attract? Is that what you're implying?" she asked, no doubt displeased by it.
"That's not what I said. I said you're nothing like me."
Lily still didn't seem any happier with his response, so James merely shrugged. "Reason number one down. Good-night, lovely."
Lily scowled at the name, turning around to continue her walk up to her room. It was going to be a long year.
Author's Note: I actually sat here for, like, five or ten minutes, actually figuring out how many days would be from September first until the end of June lol, just in case you were wondering if that was a guess. Anyway, my math sucks :) Please please please review. It makes me sad that I only have one.
