"Overlooking the minor details of us being nearly half an hour late for our own meeting, I don't think it went too bad. It was only a brief introduction anyway" Lily said absentmindedly.
"A brief introduction? It went for nearly three hours! We were the last to get off of the train by about an hour! We even missed the sorting!" James replied jokingly, although still with exasperation.
"These things take time Potter!" Lily snapped back defensively.
James abruptly held up his palms in surrender, mentally taking note to never question Lily's work ethic.
"Ah, you were joking weren't you?" Lily bit on her lip anxiously. All this responsibility was making her edgy.
"You don't say" was James' only reply, still hesitant to make a remark that would hurt Lily's feelings. Her temperament was as fiery as her hair he mused. How had he never noticed this before? Maybe, James wondered, it's because I was too busy asking her out, to take her seriously...
Seeing the familiar dreamy expression on James' face brought Lily back to the present, and with a swift "Don't land yourself detention on your first night, Potter" she rushed off to find a seat next to her friends in the Great Hall, leaving James to do the same. It seems the two had been both so engrossed in their first private conversation, that is was only when he began walking towards a laughing group of boys which included Sirius, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, that James heard the first of the mutterings.
"Did you see that?" One student whispered to the girl next to her.
"I can't believe it. Lily didn't even throw one curse!" The girl retorted. "Don't mind that, James didn't even ask her out! Not once!" A stranger even chipped in.
James only smiled to himself, not bothering to flinch as his three friends toppled on him, causing a line to form in the middle of the hall. The students around the pile of teenagers didn't seem particularly concerned or surprised. When it came to the infamous Marauders, less was never more. It was not uncommon for the boys to be the cause of a swamped corridor, disappearing body parts or even a flock of penguins trampling around the classroom, as what occurred in their third year.
"Jamesy boy! We were beginning to worry about you! You and Lily engaged yet?" Sirius bellowed loudly enough for the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore to turn and laugh quietly to himself. Lily, who was sitting on the bench a few feet away, glared into her lap, before launching into a conversation with Emma and Alice.
"Shut up Sirius. And move your hand, it is getting dangerously close to my pride and joy!" James replied, however Sirius was already too busy giving Peter a wedgie to listen. After five minutes of wrestling, the growing complaints of the crowd that had formed behind the pileup was a sufficient hint for the boys to finally move out of the way. No sooner had the Marauders sat down on the benches belonging to Gryfindor House, that Dumbledore cleared his throat, and held his hands open wide in welcome.
"Students it is that time of year again. It is the start of a new school year. Before we dig into the sumptuous feast that has been prepared for us, I want to bring your attention to a few points". He began.
"Firstly, Mr. Filch has asked me to highlight that magic outside of the class room is not permitted. If you are interested in the 348 remaining rules, you may refer to the list in his office. Secondly, we have a new teacher for Muggle Studies. Please welcome Professor Shrubbs. And lastly, the Weird Sisters' first single 'Do I smell a love spell?' reached number one yesterday. It is an absolutely brilliant tune." Dumbledore said animatedly, before clapping his hands to announce the beginning of dinner.
Suddenly, every inch of the four long, mahogany tables were covered in food that would tempt even the pickiest eaters. Sirius had already managed to fit three sausages in his mouth as a starter while he piled up his plate with beef stew. Across the table, Lily looked at him with disgust. Seeing her expression, James discreetly spat his mouthful of food into a napkin, picked up his rarely used knife and fork and ate modestly with his back as straight as a rod. Unfortunately for him, Lily was too busy dissecting Frank Longbottom's attentions and facial expressions for her best friend Alice, to even look his way.
After all of the main course dishes had vanished off of the table, a short break followed before dessert. James took this opportunity to ask Lily how her holidays were. However, before James had even finished his sentence, Professor McGonagall interrupted, asking to see them both. James' hand flew to his hair, while Lily bit on her bottom lip with extreme force. Surely they were told off enough earlier? was the question that ran threw both of their minds.
"Don't worry Mr. Potter or Miss. Evans, you're not in trouble. Yet." McGonagall said sharply. Both James and Lily waited expectantly for McGonagall to continue.
"I was hoping to tell you both after the prefects meeting, but for one reason or another there was no time. More often than not, the two Heads of the school have extremely striking personalities, which, when there is a need for cooperation, have often resulted in... disagreements. To overcome this, in 1643 the Headmaster, along with the teachers and Board of Governors decided that the Head Boy and Head Girl should share their own dormitory. That way..."
Lily had begun to shake her head slowly, her mouth hanging upon and her eyes horrified. James didn't show any expression, his thoughts were too occupied: share a dorm with Lily, live with Lily? Sirius is going to be hysterical with joy. The two were so wrapped up in their own minds, that they only heard the last of McGonagall's speech. To Lily, it had seemed like a very long round of torture.
"-and you two seem to need it more than any other pair I have encountered. So, follow me". Professor McGonagall led the way out of the Great Hall, with James and Lily following her mechanically. They were only slightly aware of where they were going, and very nearly toppled over each other when McGonagall had stopped in front of a portrait of a purple and yellow starfish in a shallow rock pool.
"I don't think I need to instruct two seventh years, let alone Heads of the school, on behavior and maturity. However, if I hear of any trouble, your positions of captaincy will be in question. Please try not to hex each other, in other words." Professor McGonagall said seriously, wincing slightly as she spoke.
After showing the two how to open the portrait door- "you tickle under the eyes of the starfish"- McGonagall left a still terrified Lily and thunderstruck James to stare in decidedly opposite directions. Nearly fifteen minutes of deep reflection followed, before James, who had heard the rest of the students filing out of the Great Hall, brought them both out of their reverie. Lily had been reluctant to leave her thoughts, as being in the present only made it more horrific. Staring down at her surprisingly full hands, Lily saw her timetable for all of her lessons that started tomorrow. When had they received this? Lily questioned herself.
As if hearing her thoughts, James answered that they were given them before McGonagall showed them how to open the portrait. "Speaking of which, how do you open the portrait?" Lily asked nervously. Had she really been that far away?
"You tickle under the eyes of the starfish" James quoted, before doing so himself. After being in the extravagant Prefect's carriage, James had extremely high expectations for the decor of the- mine and Lily's, he thought- dormitory. Stepping into the large common room, James' felt his expectations underestimated the grandeur of Hogwarts.
The common room was painted with the Gryfindor colours, with tiny, golden lions painted onto the deep red walls. The floor length curtains were golden yellow and red, still open so they could see that the window overlooked the lake. An elaborate sphere of individual candles were floating in midair. There were only two chairs, both pushed into large individual desks, though a large, welcoming sofa sat facing a large open fire. Elegant portraits covered the walls, while a filled book case covered an entire length of the room.
"I think Hogwarts has outdone itself" Lily murmured to herself, though turning to smile serenely at James.
"We just agreed on something Evans" James murmured just as quietly back. The quiet, empty common room made it all the more cozy and magical, like only they were in on a secret.
"Don't get used to it Potter!" Lily laughed, breaking the momentary silence. After looking around their common room for a few more minutes, sound of the clock striking eleven o'clock signaled that it was time for bed: tomorrow was bound to be a busy day. Luckily, the two separate doors at the far end of the common room each had their own names engraved on a plaque, so without any hesitation, both Lily and James made their way to bed.