a/n: In my defense, I was out of town and didn't have computer access. But here is the long awaited Chapter 2! I hope you like it. REVIEW!

CHAPTER 2

"But you can't- I mean, this is impos-" I stared at the boy across from me for a moment as my mind rejected such a ludicrous idea like James Potter becoming Head Boy before snapping my mouth shut. Standing up proud and tall, I put on my best poker face. "Stealing is against the rules, not to mention unethical. I suggest you return the badge to the person who actually earned it, Potter."

His grin only widened. "I rather think I earned it, quite honestly. I put a lot of thought into our pranks these past six years, Evans. Besides, Dumbledore was bound to come to admire my sterling qualities after all of our post-prank chummy moments. You injure my pride with your doubt."

"Your pride could use some injuring. I don't have time for you right now, Potter. So get on with whatever it is you're doing in here, so I can say no and you can leave."

"So you want me to ask you out, Evans? I knew I'd wear you down eventually," Potter said. The gleam in his eye said clearly that he was just joking, though I knew it wasn't far from what he truly believed.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Potter. Now, you shall return that badge to its rightful owner, and then you are going to go away. This carriage is for prefects only, not their friends," I said, my voice full of authority that I didn't feel was completely mine, despite the badge that was pinned to my clothes. I suppose it hadn't quite sunk in yet.

My full attention returned to the annoyance in front of me. His previous mocking tone turned serious as he looked straight at me. "Hence my presence, Evans." My eyes searched his face for hints of untruth, though they came up empty.

Naturally, I hate being made a fool, so I calmly turned to Remus and said, "Sorry, Remus, but your friend must be removed now." I tried to keep the uncertainty out of my irritated, but cool and authoritative tone. It wasn't until that moment that I was painfully aware of all the prefects' eyes watching our dispute. Trying my best to ignore them, I only became more aware of this blasted situation when Remus looked at me with sympathy.

"Sorry, Lily, but the badge is really his."

The world stood still. Feeling more than a little dizzy, I turned away without a second glance and opened the compartment door. "Potter, come with me." Exiting the compartment, I walked down the corridor until we were far enough away to not be overheard.

Opening my mouth to say something, anything really, but all words completely escaped me. Of all the times to be speechless, my stupid mouth had to pick now? Taking a deep breath, I leaned against the wall for a moment. I wanted to get the truth out of Potter as quickly as possible, so I was going to have to calm down long enough to think clearly. Had it not been for that bloody dream last night, I might have my wits about me a bit more. But as it was, my nerves were already a bit frazzled by his presence.

After a moment, I sighed and stood up. "Are you really Head Boy?" He opened his mouth, probably to deliver some carefully concocted response, but seemed to think better of it. So he just nodded.

He's nodding? What is this world coming to? I thought. Potter managing to hold his tongue and me not yelling at him? Is that even possible? Apparently. "I need to sit down." Ignoring the slightly worried expression that flitted across his features, I sank to the ground with my back against the wall.

"How did you manage this? I mean, really, if I wasn't so horrified, I might be impressed," I said, looking up at James Potter. Was I really going to be able to work with him everyday for the next nine months?

"Honestly?"

I gave him a look that told him just what I thought of that question, before he continued.

"I really have no idea. I never saw it coming. Sirius almost wet himself when he saw the letter. I bet McGonagall had a grand old time writing that one." His wry smile told me he was just as confused as I was, if not more so.

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to live with it. I'm going back to the compartment. We have a meeting to conduct. You coming?" How I managed to say anything with a straight face was beyond me. But manage I did. He nodded and offered me a hand. Hesitating for a moment, I took it and let him pull me from the ground. Stumbling over my own feet, he steadied me. I thanked him quickly, trying my best to ignore the increasing redness of my cheeks as we headed back to the compartment.

Upon entering the compartment, all eyes turned to us. I couldn't help the color that bloomed across my cheeks as their scrutinizing gazes shot between the two of us. Remus was watching us uncertainly, wondering what exactly had transpired in the corridor. He was looking at Potter when he relaxed slightly. Glancing over my shoulder, I knew he must have made it clear that he would be informed later.

Shaking my head free of these worries, I clapped my hands and looked at the seated Prefects.

"Alright! It's time to get started. I don't want to keep you here any longer than necessary. I'd rather return to my friends as much as the rest of you."

I spent the next twenty minutes explaining the various duties and responsibilities of prefects, before reminding them to patrol the train corridors. I could feel Remus's worried eyes on the pair of us the entire meeting. Thankfully, Potter followed my lead, only inserting comedic comments when their attention started to wander. Not having been a prefect the previous two years, he really couldn't have known what to expect from his appointment as Head Boy, though he concealed it well. After telling the others that we would have a meeting to discuss patrols later in the week, we sent most of them on their way.

Taking one look at the messy haired Head Boy, I sighed heavily before promptly plopping onto the nearest bench, much to the surprise of the Slytherin fifth years who sat near me. They looked at me with open distaste before standing and leaving the compartment. Ignoring their less than friendly exit, I ran a hand through my hair ruefully. How had I gotten myself into this mess? Marlene was going to have a field day when she found out.

Marlene! Oh, how had I not seen this before? She spent the majority of her summers with the Potters, being old friends of the family. Standing abruptly, I stormed from the Prefect compartment. I was positively fuming by the time I made it to our own compartment. Throwing open the door, I glared at my former friend balefully.

"Marlene Ophelia McKinnon, how dare you! I-"

"Your middle name is Ophelia?"

"Shut up, Black! Lily, you're not supposed to tell people that!"

"And you are supposed to tell me, as your best friend, when you find out that James Potter is Head Boy!"

"Well, I-"

"You didn't tell her? Marley, we talked about this!"

"It never came up! I didn't want to spoil her bloody summer!"

"You knew too, Alice? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I told Marlene-"

"Hey! Don't blame this all on me!"

"Someone pass the popcorn."

"Shut up, Black!" we yelled in unison.

Alice laid a comforting hand on my arm. "We're sorry, Lily. We really didn't want you to worry about it. You know how you get. You would have had a panic attack by the time school came around."

"Multiple ones, probably."

"Not helping, Marlene."

Glaring at my two friends, I crossed my arms over my chest before sitting. Only then did I see that Black and Pettigrew were watching us avidly, while Frank was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Alice sat next to him, relaxing against him. She watched me carefully, making sure I was finished. "I still can't believe you didn't tell me," I grumbled.

Marlene smiled, knowing that the worst was over. She tossed me a box of Chocolate Frogs. Grumbling, I ripped open the box, deftly catching the frog as it tried to make its escape. Glancing at the card, I rolled my eyes. "Another Agrippa." I tossed it onto the seat, only to have it snatched up. Raising an eyebrow incredulously, I turned to look at Black, who was staring between me and the card in disbelief.

"Cornelius Agrippa is one of the rarest cards."

"I eat a lot of chocolate," I said, as if that summed it up nicely.

"You're insane."

"You're batty."

"You're cracked."

"You're nutty."

"You're-"

"Alright, children, that's enough." I turned in my seat to glare at Potter as he dropped into the seat next to Black. A look of confusion flitted across my face before I quickly masked it. Potter had never, and I mean never, passed up an opportunity to sit next to me. There was very clearly a seat next to me, while the other side was already packed with Sirius, Alice, Frank, and Peter. Remus took the empty seat next to me as the others began a game of Exploding Snap. I pulled Wuthering Heights from my bag and had just cracked it open when Remus leaned towards me.

"I should have told you, Lily. I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

"It's not your fault, Remus. My friends could have told me, but they forgot to mention it."

"Oh. Well, I-"

"That's not to say, I don't consider you a friend, Remus, because I do, of course." He smiled softly.

"Thanks, Lily. But don't worry. I know you won't believe me now, but he's really not all that bad."

"You're right."

"I am?"

"Yeah, I don't believe you." We grinned at each other before I returned to my book and he joined in the game. Had I been paying the least bit of attention, I might have noticed Potter watching us and his exchange with Remus after. But I didn't.

…

It was in the midst of rereading the first few chapters that the ink appeared in the margins of my book.

I promised him I wouldn't say anything to you until school. I owed him a favor after he covered for me that night I came home from the pub. Mum would have skinned me alive if it hadn't been for James.

It was a spell the three of us had perfected years ago to avoid being caught passing notes in class. The words would appear on any surface that the caster intended. In this case, on my battered copy of Wuthering Heights. I clenched my teeth, barely containing my disapproval. I glanced up to look at her, but her eyes were following the fourth game of Exploding Snap. Pettigrew now was missing an eyebrow.

'I'm still mad at you.' I replied, scribbling beneath her explanation with the charmed quill I found in my bag.

Well that's not very kind of you.

Rolling my eyes at her, I lifted the quill to retort but was cut off by the arrival of the trolley witch asking us if we'd like any sweets. Despite the olive branch that she had tossed at me earlier, I bought another load of Frogs and Sugar Quills, stowing them in my bag for later.

After we purchased our sweets of choice, we settled in for the ride. After a rather pointed look from Alice, I decided it was just best to drop the subject all together. It was clear that she had been reading over my shoulder the whole time. It would serve no purpose now but to make us both angry.

Biting into the chocolate frog that had tried to escape my grasp, I plucked the card out of the box.

"Babayaga." We all shivered at the gruesome history of that particular witch. She definitely wasn't one to be trifled with.

Tossing the card into my bag, I propped my feet up in Alice's lap. She rolled her eyes at me but kept them there all the same.

We talked for a bit about our summers. Marlene had snuck out on various occasions to go to the Muggle village that spread out from the valley beneath their manor. This came as no surprise to us, as Marlene was constantly breaking her mother's myriad of rules and loved to flout them in her face on most occasions. It turned out on one such occasion, she had been out with Potter and Black to the pub and her mother had caught them entering the manor well after midnight.

"James told my mum that it was Black's birthday. Even when he's smashed, he somehow manages to charm her." Potter lifted his gaze from the game at that and grinned.

"If you would just try to get along with her, you might actually succeed in not getting in trouble for once." Marlene looked appalled that he had even suggested it.

It was no surprise that Mrs. McKinnon and Mrs. Potter were old acquaintances. They might even be considered friends, if one could be friends with a woman as disapproving as Mrs. McKinnon.

Marlene continued the story, explaining how her mum had fallen for it with surprising ease and had sent the boys off through the Floo Network with a wave and a gracious smile.

"She barely even scolded me. It was bizarre." Marlene shook her head at the memory.

After her story, our attention turned to Alice.

"So how was your summer, Alice?" Marlene leered at her, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Alice's blush was bright, and she looked down to avoid our gazes. Frank tightened his arm around her shoulder, and we all grinned. Teasing Alice was far too easy.

Marlene glanced at me, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

The next hour consisted of us shouting insults over games of Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess. After that, Marlene stretched out on her side of the compartment, propping her legs up in James's lap despite his protests and napped, Alice talked to Frank and Remus, and I was left to my thoughts, wondering how I was expected to handle the upcoming year now that the boy I had despised for the first six was now partnered with me.

I leaned my forehead against the glass and sighed. It was going to be a long year.

…

The screeching and jolting of the train woke both Marlene and I up. As I had been sitting upright, I was able to stop myself from tumbling forward. Marlene, however, was not so lucky, and with a loud "Umph!" she landed on the ground at our feet.

Alice and I didn't bother disguising our laughter. It wasn't often we could tease Marlene for clumsiness, so when the opportunity arose, we took full advantage. Black offered her a hand, his grin patronizing to say the least. She swatted it away and stood on her own, before whacking him with the Prophet someone had tossed on the ground during the ride.

I smirked at his offended expression. It was a typical Sirius Black response and everyone but Marlene had ignored him.

The boys stood to remove their trunks from the bins overhead, before helping us with ours. I had just stood to reach for mine when it was lifted above my head and placed lightly on the seat that I had just vacated. Turning around, I came face to face with Potter. He was just inches away from me due to the close quarters. He smiled slightly at me, a knowing look in his eye that I didn't quite understand. He turned away to retrieve his own trunk, and I didn't have much time to contemplate it as everyone was moving out of the compartment.

We filed off the train, and I smiled at the astounded looks of the first years that were gathered on the platform, Hagrid's enormous form towering over them.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Hagrid's voice carried over the assembled group as we passed them. I waved and saw the smile that lit up his face at the sight of all of us.

"'Allo there, Lily!" He waved to the rest of the group before turning back to the first years and leading them towards the lake and the awaiting boats. I smiled at the memory of my trip across the lake and the Sorting Ceremony that followed.

Realizing that I had stopped in my tracks, I hurried to catch up to my friends as they began to clamber into one of the carriages.

"We'll see you lot at the castle," I said, gesturing to Remus. He grabbed Potter's arm and steered him towards where I was waiting. Alice gave my hand a squeeze and went to the carriage.

The boys had waited patiently for the girls to climb on, and then Frank slid in next to Alice. Black was just about to step on when Marlene slammed the door closed, a smirk on her lips.

"Sorry, we're full. Best wait for the next one." Directed at anyone else, I would have scolded Marlene for her rudeness. But this was the Marauders and I understood perfectly. We had had quite enough of their nonsense the entire train ride.

Black glowered darkly at Marlene and opened his mouth to retort, but Potter placed a hand on his arm. "Not worth it, mate." Alice and I exchanged raised eyebrows over the carriage door but didn't comment as the carriage had lurched forward and carried them towards the castle. I turned on my heel and walked towards the oncoming throng of students.

Finding myself amidst younger students, I began directing traffic, before boarding the Prefect carriage with Potter and Remus.

…

When the lights of the castle started to appear through the trees, I felt my pulse quicken. It always did when I saw Hogwarts for the first time after an extended absence. Even returning from Christmas holidays caused the acceleration. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I watched the lights grow brighter, finally breaking through the tree cover to illuminate the castle. It was good to be home. While I loved my Muggle home and family, there was nothing quite like being at Hogwarts. I could truly be myself. And though many people despised my kind because of our blood status, at times like these, I couldn't quite find it in me to care.

It took only a few minutes after that to arrive in the courtyard, where we all shuffled in through the main doors and made our way into the Great Hall. The candles hovered above the tables, just as they always had during the Welcoming Feast. I smiled when I saw the girls waiting for me, a seat open between them. Sitting at the end of the table, all the seventh years were grouped together. Even if we didn't always get along, seventh years had always sat at the head of the table, and we weren't about to break the tradition. So we sat and waited for Professor Dumbledore to begin the Feast.

The tall double doors at the end of the hall opened with a loud creak, and the Hall fell silent as McGonagall lead the first years towards the front of the room. She unrolled the parchment that she had every year and began calling out names. "Abbott…"

We watched silently, cheering loudly every time a Gryffindor joined our ranks. When the Sorting was over, Dumbledore stood and greeted us before reminding us of the usual restrictions. His eye twinkled when he glanced at our table and introduced Potter and me as the new Heads. We stood, and I could feel the heat of a blush start to spread across my face before I quickly sat back down as the feast began.

We all piled food onto our plates, starved from the lack of anything but sweets since we had left the station. We suspended talking in favor of eating for the first few minutes. When our plates began to dwindle, the conversations resumed. Marlene began with a rather pointed tease at Alice, who was sitting quite close to Frank throughout dinner. I threw a roll at her, which bounced off her forehead and onto her nearly empty plate.

"Ten points for Gryffindor!" Black cried, having witnessed the shot. All I received for my efforts, however, was a smile from Alice and a rather displeased look from Marlene. I was suddenly very glad that I was seated across the table from her, rather than next to her. The Irish weren't known for their tempers for nothing. Not to mention that I had to share a dorm with this particular Irish.

But Lady Luck appeared to favor me, as she decided to just roll her eyes and pull apart the roll before devouring it like she had the rest of the food on her plate. Exchanging a look with Alice, we stifled our laughs. It was at this point that the room began to quiet again. Alice nudged me, and we turned to look at the staff table.

Dumbledore was standing once again, which signaled the end of the Feast. It was just about time to return to our dorms. Just as the thought crossed my mind, he instructed the prefects to lead the rest of the students back to their respective common rooms. Taking that as my cue, I stood and walked towards the door, nudging Potter in the shoulder to follow.

I heard him stand to follow me, and the other Gryffindors soon followed. As the other Houses mingled with ours, we climbed the stairs, making sure we could be seen.

"Gryffindors, this way!" I shouted above the cacophony of voices below. Turning, I resumed my climb of the stairs.

"So you do this every year?" Potter's voice startled me, as I had forgotten that he was walking with me.

"You don't remember? Usually it is the oldest prefects who lead them, but Heads take over for their respective Houses." His sheepish grin was easy to catch.

"We weren't usually with the other students going back to the Tower."

"Well, then how did you ever learn the password?"

"Moony, of course."

"Oh… right." I couldn't believe I had asked such a silly question. That's what speaking without thinking first will get you.

We fell silent after that, except for the occasional call to the newly sorted Gryffindors to stay together. When we finally reached the portrait, the Fat Lady looked down at us pleasantly. She was always in a good mood at the beginning of the year.

"Password?"

"Audacia Maxima." The portrait swung open, and Potter gestured for me to go first. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw the quirk of his lips, signifying that he had understood the meaning of the password.

I quickly claimed the chair closest to the fireplace and it wasn't long before Alice and Marlene joined us. Frank had gone to talk with the boys, leaving us to ourselves.

"Do you think that McGonagall will start us off with an essay?" Marlene's question stirred me from contemplating Potter's actions.

"Doesn't she always? Not to mention this is NEWT's year, so she's probably going to make it even more difficult than we think," Alice said.

I frowned at the prospect. Transfiguration was the one class that I consistently had problems with. Despite everyone's insistence that it was a difficult class in general, I knew that I just wasn't cut out for it. But since it was required for Healer training, I would trudge through the last year, praying to any god that would listen to help me pass with good enough marks.

It would be difficult, but not impossible I knew. But the only good thing about tomorrow's schedule was the Double Charms that I had just after lunch. It would be a nice way to end the day, being my favorite class.

Our conversation veered to other topics but didn't last much longer. We were all tired from the long trip and knew that we had a long day tomorrow. Standing, I linked arms with Alice, and we followed Marlene to the girls' staircase. If I had bothered to look back, I would have noticed the hazel eyes that followed my movements to the stairs until I disappeared. But I hadn't, so I didn't.

I barely managed to change into more suitable attire before crashing on my bed. With a careless flick of my wand, the drapes closed around my bed, and I murmured a goodnight to my friends before putting my wand on the nightstand and falling into a deep sleep.

A/N: so what'd you think? did it live up to snuff? review, por favor!