Chapter Four

James sat in his favourite chintz armchair besides the fireplace, reading a novel Remus had lent him, as the harsh autumn wind rattled the Common Room's windows. He yawned as fatigue finally kicked in, his late nights prior to coming Hogwarts had resulted in him being unable to go to sleep at an earlier hour. Still wearing his muggle attire, James had been unable to find his trunk or owl when he entered his dormitory. He made a mental note to ask Professor McGonagall what had happened to his belongings first thing in the morning.

Something, however, was irking him. It wasn't just his missing trunk that came to mind, he had the strangest feeling that he had forgotten something very important, and he couldn't help but feel that the two were linked.

Thinking that a walk would do him some good, the Gryffindor Chaser and Captain, stood up and left the common room. He grinned as the Fat Lady shook her head at his newest late night excursion.

"Couldn't you wait? It's only the first day back!" said the Fat Lady, exasperated.

Chuckling quietly to himself, he began meandering his way around the castle until he found himself besides a painting of a bowl of fruit. It was the illusive entrance to the Hogwarts Kitchens, a find that deemed very useful to James and his fellow Marauders. He tickled the pear and turned the door-knob that appeared soon after, entering a well-lit dungeon with shelves and cupboards full of ingredients to one side. The other side, however, was very reminiscent of the Great Hall. There were four long tables with the benches to boot, but without the decorative banners for each House. House elves were scattered here and there, carrying trays of food, no doubt for breakfast the next day.

"Ah, Minty, good to see you!" smiled James, at the eager house elf that was bundling towards him.

"And you Mister Potter! Oh how you've grown!" squeaked the small watery-eyed elf, bowing deeply. "What can I get you? Miss Evans didn't notify me that you would be joining her, or I –"but James cut him off.

"What, Evans? You mean Lily Evans?" frowned James, as he whirled around, searching for a mane of red hair.

Lily, who was hoping to be unseen by James, looked up surreptitiously just as his gaze fell on her.

"Evans!" said James, positively beaming, taking a few, long strides to reach her. She groaned as he took in her appearance. She had donned grey pajamas, several sizes too big for her and baggy track suit bottoms. It was quite unlike the usual immaculate Lily Evans everyone saw, but to James, this Lily was just as endearing, if not more.

"Fancy seeing you here! I didn't know you knew where the kitchens were!" James said, plonking himself beside her.

Lily grimaced, she had not intended to be caught by anyone being down in the kitchens, especially not James, who she knew wouldn't let this go. No-one was supposed to be in the kitchens, especially Head Girls.

"Speaking of not knowing where things are or not, why didn't you come to the Head's Dorm?" Lily asked, trying to divert the subject. "Hey that's mine!" lunging at James, who had just taken a scoop of Lily's strawberry trifle.

He raised the trifle out of her reach and said through a mouthful, "Sharing is caring - have you no manners?" He grinned and then added, "And what's this Head's Dorm about?"

"Hope you choke on it" muttered Lily eyeing the trifle longingly, whilst earning herself a laugh from James. Lily frowned and then proceeded to ask, "Didn't you read your letter? We're sharing living quarters." This last part caused James to cough and splutter, eyes widening. Lily patted his back awkwardly as the coughs subsided. She didn't feel comfortable being around him like this. After years of pranks and verbal abuse, being up close and personal made her feel uneasy. James pushed the trifle back to her which she happily took back and dug in.

"I err, do remember reading something like that. I was just so caught up in thinking it was just one of Sirius' pranks it must have slipped my mind. I couldn't re-read it when I found out it was real because I, err burned it." said James sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 'Oh so that's why my stuff was missing. It must have been taken to the Head's Dorm…' he mused, tipping his head slightly. Unfortunately for James, Lily mistook this as a sign of mischief and leaned over towards him, glaring.

"Don't you dare try anything Potter. I swear if you try anything fishy, I'll make you wish you hadn't been born." said Lily waving a spoon at him threateningly.

"You're threatening me with a spoon?" James said incredulously. Alas, his yelp of pain that followed was probably heard by the entire castle.

James took a deep breath as he stood outside the tall oak doors that lead to the Head's Dorm. The door had a brass knocker with Hogwarts insignia engraved upon the metal. However, most noticeable was the large portrait of a portly man in a green bowler hat. He introduced himself as Frederick Fudge and notified them of the password 'Carpe Diem'. And so, after exchanging pleasantries with their new keeper, James entered the Head's Dorm with Lily for the first time.

Before them stood a grand room of gargantuan size with extravagantly laid out furniture. The walls were not made out of stone like the rest of the castle, but of some type cream coloured material had never seen. It seemed to emanate warmth and the bright light from the chandelier only pronounced that impression. In the centre of the room was a roaring fireplace, not unlike the one in Gryffindor's Common Room, but with the addition of some homely sofas on either end.

"That's your room over there and on the other side there's my room." said Lily, pointing towards the two spiral staircases in opposite corners of the room. He started moving towards his staircase when Lily announced that she was going to bed. Before she left however, James managed to cram in a snide remark about her choice of clothing. Blushing furiously, she jogged the last few steps and slammed her door shut behind her.

After climbing the stairs leading up to his room, he finally entered what would be his sleeping quarters for the rest of his last year at Hogwarts. He was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be spending his last days with his closest friends, but instead with a girl who, put mildly, disliked him very much. They had their moments, but peace never lasted in James-Lily territory. The feeling of disappointment was slightly numbed as he took in the sight of his room. The room was exactly how James would've arranged it. There was a simplistic look and feel to the room, something that James appreciated. In the corner, next to a bookcase full of muggle and non-muggle novels, was a tidy mahogany desk with a gold plaque reading 'James Potter – Head Boy'. His old four poster bed was there also, giving him a sense of familiarity. He quickly changed into his pajamas as his body became more and more lethargic. He clambered into bed, and slowly drifted off into sleep as he thought excessively about how life would be like living with Lily Evans.

Sorry for the long wait! Life just gets in the way sometimes, y'know? Sheesh, year 11 sure is hard. I made a revision timetable for this month. Safe to say I haven't being adhering to it :p

Anyway, what started out as a 'I just wanna see what it's like' thing, I've actually come to really enjoy writing this story. Yes, the chapters are rather short, but it takes a lot of inspiration to keep writing, it's easier just to quit the word file and carry on reading other fanfiction. At first I was really nervous, I kept doubting my work and all, but now I just go with it. Who cares if it's not perfect, it's just practice. That's my motto now :D

Anyway x2 REVIEWS. NOW. Please. Good people of , you know how dear reviews are to authors. They are the most encouraging things ever to have existed. My last chapter got no reviews at all :/ Reviews = faster updates.

So come on peeps, let me know what you liked/disliked and what I should include and all that sorta stuff!

Bai - FingerlessTyper