Disclaimer: Sorry to disappoint, ya'll. I didn't invent the Potter world. That al belong to Mrs. Rowling and Warner Bros.

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Chapter Two

Hours after the skies had stretched and yielded the sun, Alice was at her mirror, slowly brushing her long, chestnut hair. James was most likely downstairs eating breakfast with her mother, and today was the day they would get their letters from Hogwarts.

She was really hoping her letter would be bulkier than any of the rest – she had always desired to be Head Girl since her mother told her it was practically tradition. Wearing the badge would bring the family great honor, and it would be a great reward for all the hard work she had put in since she first stepped foot in Hogwarts.

Once they had scanned their reading lists, she and James would go to Diagon Alley and buy their things. Sometimes they were accompanied by Peter, Sirius, or Remus (usually all three), but she really hoped they would all be busy today.

With a full turn in front of the mirror, she eyed the outfit and hoped it didn't seem like she had rummaged through her closet for a good quarter of an hour just to end up with a white blouse, light jeans and tennis shoes. She grasped the small flower clip she had placed in her hair, and gingerly removed it.

Alice looked into the mirror and at her face, whose cheekbones were as wide as her jaw. She grimaced lightly at her reflection and then made her way to her door. As she was poised to leave, she heard a rustle of feathers and turned around with surprise to see an owl swooping in. Doesn't anyone use the door anymore, she thought dryly.

It was gray, small, yet still regal-looking. It stood quite still in the middle of the floor. Alice frowned.

"Is this from Lily?" she asked the bird. It only looked back at her unblinkingly, as if her question was too foolish to warrant an answer.

"She never writes this early," she muttered, casting a sour look at the creepy bird that had not made a move. It hooted once.

"I don't like you, but thanks, Ash," she said cheerfully, taking the thin rolled parchment in her hands. With a loud hoot, he zoomed towards the upper half of her window, only to crash into it.

Her grin slipped off her face. "You've got to be joking." The windows weren't that clean to the point that you couldn't distinguish inside from outside. She was clearly getting her reward for her attitude. Alice shook her head.

Almost as if he had read her thoughts, he left her a pleasant surprise on her floor before taking care to leave through the bottom opening. Her mouth dropped open.

"Ash!" she yelled at an empty room.

"Feisty, like its owner," James commented from right behind her; he had obviously witnessed the entire episode.

Alice turned around and glared at him, before it melted like ice under the sun at their proximity.

"No big deal," he said softly. He glanced at the pile of droppings and took out his wand. With a flick of his wrist, the pile disappeared.

"You're not supposed to use magic outside of school," she said breathlessly.

"Learn to break the rules, Prewett," James said dryly, breaking what Alice thought was a moment. He blew the tip of his wand as if it was emitting smoke, and stepped over the threshold. "Besides, both your parents are magical, how're they supposed to know I did it? They only detect if magic was used within an area."

She could not argue with the simple fact, so she pursed her lips. Her eyes lingered on the now clean spot before she motioned for him to come downstairs with her. Not a very fairytale beginning to her day.

As they walked downstairs to breakfast, she looked at James, who was for some reason looking at her hand. She glanced down and was surprised to see Lily's letter.

"Oh, it's from Lily. I forgot to read it."

"I see," James said with a shadow of a smirk. "Aren't you going to read it?"

"Eventually."

"Is she...coming here?" he asked nonchalantly, looking at the tapestry he had seen so many times he could recite the positions of each image. She couldn't see his face.

"I wouldn't know," she snapped. She thought about how it sounded. "Sorry...it's the morning and all," she mumbled.

"Yep."

She was not naïve, or stupid. She saw the way his mouth turned into a loose cannon with her best friend around and how he seemed aware of her every movement. But Lily didn't like James. It was that thought alone that gave her peaceful sleep. If there was one thing she was secure about in this world, it was that he and Lily were just a phase. He could get his fill of her this year, but Alice would have him next year...and the year after that. They had a lifetime to make it happen.

"Oh yeah, Li - Sirius is here!" James said suddenly.

"L'Sirius? Studying French again, James?" she commented.

James chuckled too much for what her less-than-witty remark deserved. Probably spiked his own pumpkin juice...

"So Sirius is here?" Sirius was witty and very entertaining when things are got a bit mundane. "Wouldn't I have heard fireworks or something in the kitchen?"

"Why would we orchestrate a show without my lovely Alice there?" James said.

She just gave him a lopsided grin because owing to the uncontrollable, rampaging butterflies in her stomach, she wasn't able to do much else.

"ALICE!" Sirius bellowed suddenly from the kitchen.

"Merlin!" she squeaked.

Her first instinct was to hide behind James before Sirius could crush her in one of his deathly hugs.

James laughed out loud and ran ahead; he left her like a deer caught in the headlights as Sirius, that monster of a man, came lunging at her. She just stood with her arms in front of her and he came at her with wild, bulging, happy Sirius-eyes - those opaque orbs that made you instantly happy to see him

"Hi, Sirius," she said meekly, holding her arms out for a hug. He enveloped her in his arms and squeezed so tight she kicked, laughed, and choked. He put her down gently and said, "What are you waiting for? There's food! And a surprise," he said slyly.

He skipped off into the kitchen while she trailed him clutching her middle.

"Stop trying to kill me when you see me!" she shouted after his figure and entered the kitchen.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of scarlet and knew at once what her surprise was. Her pain was suddenly gone. It suddenly clicked. James knew all along - did they come together? No, she wouldn't.

She looked at Lily's general direction with a calculating expression. She vaguely saw Sirius catch James' eye.

"Oh! Lily!" Alice yelped, a greeting long overdue.

"Alice, you all right there? You look like you've seen the Grim," she said. She got up and gave her a careful hug, knowing full well what Black was capable of.

Lily let her go and looked at her best friend up and down with a smile. "You look great!"

"So do you – but when did you get here?" She did look great. Her long lashes surrounded jade irises, and her blood-red hair gently skimmed the top of her breasts.

She frowned. "Didn't you get my letter?"

"She said she would open it 'eventually'," James chimed in, looking at Lily.

"That would be a delightful answer if I was talking to you, Potter," Lily said lightly.

"Ah, but you were."

"I was clearly referring to Alice."

"But you wanted to refer to me, admit it."

"You're a prat, stop talking to me."

"But I'm your prat," James said with a wink.

Alice watched this wearily. She hoped they wouldn't do this all year. It would be great if Lily at least got along with James; it would make things much easier once she and James...figured it out in the foreseeable future. It would be easier once they were both Heads…with the Head's Common Room, she thought slyly.

"Boring," Sirius drawled. "What is this pansy banter?"

"Shut up, Black," James and Lily said. James looked at Lily with a small grin and Lily exhaled heavily through her nose. She turned towards Alice.

"When are we getting our letters?"

"I dunno, probably in about an hour, it's still pretty early. Let's eat," she said, taking the seat next to James and across from Lily. Sirius sat down next to Lily and waited.

"Bacon and eggs, please," James said to his plate. The bacon and eggs appeared, fragrant and ready to be eaten. Following his lead, they all ordered their breakfasts with a drink. It was a comfortable silence, broken by a few burps and small talk about school.

"So, Potter, you like coming here?"

Alice saw James startle a little at being directly acknowledged by Lily. She chewed her toast thoughtfully while she waited for James to answer.

"Yeah, this is like my second home. Alice is great," he said, sloppily wiping his mouth with a large napkin.

Alice tried not to look too pleased with herself, so she took a big chug of orange juice.

"You too, Black? This is my first time here," Lily said conversationally, expertly eating her eggs with a knife and fork. "What a good-looking house."

"Thanks," Alice said mildly. "It's a bit much though. I'd much prefer something a little cozier."

"I know what you mean," Lily said, setting her plate aside. "I like places you don't get lost in."

"You'd hate James' house, then," Sirius told her offhandedly. "This house is nothing compared to his -"

"Shut up, Pad," James muttered. "It's about this size, and I hate it, too."

"Where's Remus?" Lily asked Sirius. "And Peter? I thought you came in a pack". She looked at James when she said that.

"Moony will be ecstatic to know you're in love with him," James said evenly.

"He's my favorite marauder."

"How about me!" Sirius cried, stung.

James ignored him. "You're still my favorite girl though."

Alice stabbed her bacon repeatedly, putting all her energy into each deliberate jab. Sirius eyed her warily and waited until she looked at him.

"What?" She shrugged. "I like my bacon in bits."

Suddenly she dropped her fork in her bacon and pushed her plate forward. Then she got up and smiled tightly at Lily, who looked concerned.

"I'm going to the sitting room. Lily?" she said pointedly.

"Coming," she muttered.

"Just leave the plates – they'll vanish. But clean up anything after – well, yeah you guys know the drill," Alice said without turning around as she headed to the sitting room.

"They're going to go play Quidditch," Lily said to Alice once she had settled on the lilac, carpeted floor, When Alice didn't answer, Lily touched her hand. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Oh," Alice said absently. "Yeah, it's just I haven't seen you, and I just really wanted to talk to you. See how you've been." She smiled earnestly at Lily.

"I've missed you. There's not much company with Petunia." She twirled her red hair in her hands. Alice looked at her sympathetically.

"But I've handled her in my own way." Alice's eyes opened wide. Lily laughed at her friend's expression. "I didn't jinx her or anything. But I let her have her space. Her new boyfriend is just" – she shook her head disgustedly – "a right nightmare." She wrapped her hands around an imaginary neck and shook it. This made them laugh.

This was why she loved Lily with all her heart. She was just – she didn't even know how to explain it. The sister Merlin forgot to give her.

"I guess it was weird to imagine James and me coming together, huh?" Lily said wryly.

Alice readjusted herself so that she was lying down on her stomach. "Sort of." She considered Lily carefully. "I'm more surprised you both came in one piece."

"Well, we did have a small row about…" she trailed off and began to blush. "It was really stupid, honestly."

Alice leaned forward on her elbows. "About what?" she asked hesitantly.

"How to get to your house," she mumbled. "I told you it was stupid."

Alice exhaled silently. "Oh, well…where's the debate? He knows this house better than he knows his own," she said with a touch of pride.

Lily closed her eyes. "I'm always at my worst around James, for some bloody reason. It's like I throw anything resembling rational thought into the wind."

Alice shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know why you guys fight so much. He's a good guy."

"You're right, he isn't Malfoy, but he isn't Longbottom either," Lily said.

Alice laughed out loud. "Who would give Longbottom the time of day?"

Lily frowned. "He's very good at Defense, and he's not bad looking…"

Alice beamed. "You like Frank?"

She got quiet. Alice remembered with a jolt about the last day of school.

"Oh, Lily," she said quietly. "I forgot about Cory. I'm sorry." She got up and sat next to Lily.

She waved this aside. "It's just hard, you know. Knowing you had a stable relationship and having it just explode in your face the last day."

"Listen," Alice said darkly. "Cory did not deserve you. No guy deserves you. He was a prick and you know it."

"He was the first guy I loved, Alice," she said thickly, looking at her hands. "I was so angry at myself, and at him, and now I'm just a mess every day."

"You'll rebound this year. Haven't you ever heard the saying, the best revenge is to live well, or whatever?" Alice said bracingly.

"I just want to forget about it." Her lip was swollen. She broke into a smile. "I'm being really stupid and emotional."

"Alice? Lily? Hello," Peter greeted to the surprise of the witches. Lily rubbed her hands over her face to get rid of the tear streaks.

"Peter? Hi! I thought you weren't coming," she said.

He gave her a weak smile. "Remus isn't coming. He's under the weather." He looked around. "Where are Sirius and James?"

"Playing Quidditch," Alice supplied. She looked over her shoulder to the door. "Or not." She giggled. Lily and Peter looked to the door.

"Did you guys get run over by a hippogriff?" Lily said, her voice thick with amusement. Their robes were streaked with mud and they had the air of just having finished a dirty, unethically-played game.

"'Did you guys get run over by a hippogriff?'" James repeated in a high-pitched voice. When Lily flashed her eyes at him he said, "No, sweetheart, but we did get our Hogwarts letters." In unison, Sirius and James held up their thick envelopes.


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