Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. Everything but Raea, Amelia, and this storyline belong to JKR.
"I am so tired!" Amelia groaned as she walked out of the Great Hall after the welcoming feast. Raea, Lily and Alice were following sluggishly behind. "I'm not going to make it to the tower!"
"Oh come on," Alice said, "It's not that far."
The girls started walking up the staircase, but were stopped halfway up.
"Miss Evans," a voice shouted, and Lily turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing in the entrance hall, "Miss Evans, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office before you go to bed."
"Of course Professor," Lily said, "See you guys soon," she said to her friends.
She quickly made her way to the seventh floor and headed towards the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. Only then did she realize that she didn't know the password. She stood staring up at the gargoyle for a few minutes.
"Couldn't you just let me in?" she asked it. The statue stayed completely still and showed no sign of moving, "Ugh!" she groaned as the kicked the bottom of the gargoyle, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain in her foot.
She was still hopping around holding her foot when she heard someone quietly say, "Acid Pops."
She immediately stopped hopping and whipped around to see James Potter walking, hands in his pockets, up to the gargoyle right before it stepped to the side to reveal a spiral staircase.
"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, glaring up at him.
"I'm assuming for the same reason you're here," he said, tapping his Head Boy badge.
"Oh…right," Lily said in defeat, "How did you know the password?"
"It's really not that hard," he said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair, "I've been up here so many times, that I've noticed he always uses passwords that are candy names, and he has a pattern in the passwords he uses. The password he had at the end of last year was Cockroach Clusters, and he usually goes through one more over the summer, so his next one had to be Acid Pops."
"You are unbelievable," Lily said, a look of horror on her face.
"Only to you," James said laughing, "We actually figured his passwords out in second year." James ignored Lily's expression of complete appall and turned to the staircase.
"After you," he said, smiling as he gestured her up the stairs. She stalked up the stairs, not waiting for them to start moving, with James following bemusedly behind. She pounded on the door harder than she normally would have.
"Come in," said a soft voice.
Lily threw the door open and marched into the room. An old wizened man with a silver beard so long he could almost tuck it in his belt, sat behind the large desk. A beautiful red bird sat on a golden perch behind him.
"Well, well, well," the old man said softly, "Please take a seat Mr. Potter, Miss Evans."
Lily sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk, and James took the other, still smiling.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts, and I must congratulate you both on becoming Head Boy and Girl." Dumbledore said, looking at them over his half moon spectacles. "I have called you here to let you know what duties you will be required to perform throughout this year. You will be over the Prefects and will be in charge of scheduling when they will patrol, who they patrol with, and where they go. Because you are Head Boy and Girl you can take house points for disobedience, and deal out detentions where you see fit. Any questions?"
"No sir," they both said.
"Good," Dumbledore said, putting his fingertips together, with a slight smile on his face. A sparkle suddenly appeared in his bright blue eyes as he continued, "You will both have to work very closely together. I have heard from many teachers that you two have had your share of disagreements, but I suggest you learn to look past them and try to get along."
Lily sat up straight, and glanced over at James. He was still sitting there grinning like a fool. She inwardly groaned as she turned her attention back to the Headmaster.
"Well, that is all. I suggest you both hurry back to your dormitories and get a good nights' sleep so you will be ready to have your heads filled with knowledge once more," Dumbledore said smiling at them, "Mr. Potter, if you will kindly wait outside for a moment, I need to have a word with Miss Evans. Then you can walk with her back to Gryffindor Tower."
"What is it, Professor?" Lily asked as soon as James closed the door.
"I can tell you have a few questions for me," Dumbledore responded, "Please feel free to speak your mind."
Even surprising herself, Lily's pent up frustration suddenly came out in a burst of passion. "Why is Potter Head Boy? He wasn't even a Prefect before! He is a troublemaker, and he has absolutely no respect for the rules!"
Dumbledore looked unsurprised at her outburst. "Mr. Potter has shown qualities that far surpass any other man that could have qualified for this position. He has also shown that he is willing to protect those weaker than him. This is a trait that I value very highly."
"Protecting others!?" Lily fumed, "Since when has he ever shown that? He plays pranks on people, he picks on people. Professor, he's a bully! Sir--"
"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said softly, silencing her immediately, "I know that you have never been good friends with Mr. Potter," Lily tried her hardest not to roll her eyes, "But I have seen he is a very dedicated person, who will fight for what he believes in. He is a loyal friend. He strives for what is right. It will be good for both of you to be working together. Please try to work with him, for the sake of the school if nothing else."
"Yes, Sir," Lily said quietly, looking at her hands.
"Thank you," the headmaster said, beaming at her, "Now run along and get some sleep. I can see you are in need of it. I always was after the welcoming feast. I still am, in fact."
Lily walked out of the Headmasters office and found James relaxing against the wall next to the door.
"Ready to head out?" he smiled, gesturing her back onto the stairs.
Lily groaned as she walked down the staircase. She could feel him walking right behind her.
"Aw, come on Lilykins, I didn't do anything," he pouted in response to her stony silence, as they set off down the corridor.
"The fact that you are walking right behind me down the corridor contradicts that," she said coldly. It was hard to remember what Professor Dumbledore had said about him when she had the living, breathing, annoying him next to her. "And the fact that you just called me Lilykins. Stop calling me that!"
"Alright," James consented, just to keep her happy. (Not that it was working, mind you.)
"Out late you two?" the portrait of the fat lady asked as they walked up.
"We had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore," James said.
"Well hurry in," the fat lady said, smiling at him, "It's past your bedtime."
She swung forward to reveal the bright crimson of the cozy Gryffindor common room. Even though it was empty, the warm fire still blazed in the corner.
Lily headed straight for the girls dormitory without a second look at James.
"Good night, Lily," James said softly, making Lily pause for a second.
"Good night, Potter," she said, turning her head slightly in his direction, but still not looking at him. She had started heading up the girls' staircase when she was stopped again.
"Will you go out with me!?" James burst suddenly.
"No!" Lily said for the millionth time, before she rushed up the stairs. James had asked her out every day while at school since fourth year.
"Well it was worth a shot," she barely heard him say before she shut her door.
I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I feel horrible about it! My life has just been so busy lately. I've had choir performances, and huge homework assignments, and I have just been so stressed. Hopefully now that the Christmas holiday is coming up I will have more time to write. I hope you all like this chapter though! Please feel free to comment! They help me write faster. Really they do! haha
Thanks for reading! I'll update as soon as I can!
-Yvonne
