A/N: Well, I just wanted to finish this chapter and post it quickly before I went to bed. It's a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you like it! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Nope, still not J.K. But maybe I could get my hands on some Polyjuice Potion and fool you all..just kidding.I was surprised by how quickly that the first of September came upon me. Before I knew it, it was time to apparate to King's Cross Station. While I stood among my possessions, Mum fawned over me.
"Now, Lily, you won't forget to eat our sleep, will you? Of course you won't. And you'll write often? Oh, of course you will. Listen to me, babbling on and on…" she said, speaking very fast.
"Mum, calm down. I'll be fine," I told her soothingly, pulling both of my parents into a hug.
"Lily? We are so very proud of you, especially for that," she said, pointing at the Head Girl badge that I had pinned onto my blouse.
"Thanks, Mum. I'd better go, got to catch the train and all." I said pointedly, trying to pull myself free from her clutches.
She and my father smiled wistfully and waved goodbye. With a hand on my trunk and the cage that held my owl, Athena, I apparated to a hidden alley next to King's Cross Station.
Pulling my trunk behind me, cage in one hand, I hurried through the station and walked straight through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. I smiled, remembering how nervous I had been first year, but by now it was second nature.
"Lily!" came a shriek to the right of me, and I turned to see Marlene running towards me, her dark hair flying in all directions. Her bust did not look any larger, although she was considerably tanner, I noted.
She hit me with a thump, and we both laughed.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't write! Mum took away my owl, told me that scarlet women weren't permitted contact with the outside world," she said.
"Don't worry about it," I told her kindly. "Let's get on the train, yeah? I have to lead the prefects' meeting."
She noticed the badge on my shirt. "Wow, Lil, that's great! I knew you'd get it. Who's Head Boy?" she asked me.
"Actually, I don't know. I think it's either Remus or Amos Diggory, the Hufflepuff prefect," I said, wishing that I knew for certain who it was.
We loaded our trunks onto the train, found a compartment, and waited for Alice and Mary to find us.
Twenty minutes later, we had been joined by Sirius, Remus, Mary, Alice, and Frank. I asked Sirius and Remus, "Where are Peter and James?"
Sirius told me, "Peter is always late."
Remus said, "I have no clue where James is. But congratulations on being Head Girl, I knew you'd get it."
I could no long hold the question inside of me, "Do you know who Head Boy is?" I asked, noticing the lack of a badge on his shirt.
He frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't."
I sighed, "Well, I'd better change into my robes and head over to the prefects' compartment."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
When I reached the compartment of the train reserved for the prefects, I pulled the door open, only to find James Potter sitting inside.
"Joke's over, James, Head back to your friends, they're sitting on the seventh compartment on the left," I told him.
He smirked. "But Lily, I am obliged to be here," he said, pointing to something on his chest. I squinted to look at it- HB was engraved on it. I'm going to pass out. What in Merlin possessed Dumbledore and forced him to appoint Potter as Head Boy?
I stared at him like an idiot, at a loss for words.
"Well, I think we should get organized before all the prefects come in," he said.
We were soon joined by all of the prefects from the four houses, and I quickly stood once I had a head count and was sure that we had each prefect in the spacious compartment.
I clapped my hands loudly, and everyone looked over at me. "Right, thank you," I started.
"For those of you that don't know, I am Lily Evans and I am Head Girl for this year. Standing to my left here is James Potter, Head Boy." I cleared my throat before continuing.
"For the fifth-year prefects, we welcome you and hope that you remember the privilege and responsibility that comes with being a prefect. I think we would do well to remind the veteran prefects, as well. Alright, as a prefect, you will take one patrol night per week, most likely with the other prefect of your year and house. You have the right to deduct house points, only when necessary-"
I looked at Potter when I said this, and continued,
"—you also have the right to give detentions, provided that you check with the student's head of house first. You will also have access to the Prefects' bathroom, the password to which is 'gillyweed', and we will have a prefects' meeting once a month. Other than that, I think you're free to go."
The prefects shuffled out, eager to return to their friends before the train ride ended.
"Well said, Lily," James told me.
"Thanks. Now, we have the Head's dormitory," I said, wincing in anticipation of the suggestive comments that we sure to come pouring out of his mouth.
But alas, none came. I continued, "I've never been inside, so I don't know what they're like, but we have them. I think we can sleep in the seventh year dormitories as well, if we opt for that."
He stood. "Well, I've got to go…"
"Off to meet Ashley?" I asked, surprised with the bitterness in my voice.
"Er, yeah, actually…we're done," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He always did that when he was uncomfortable, I'd noticed.
We? Potter and I never…oh. He and Ashley, I see.
"I just have to find the right time to tell her…" he continued. "It's awkward, really. I guess I'll tell her within the next few days."
Ignoring the strange sensation of relief that I had, I exited the prefects' compartment and headed back to my friends.
After the carriage ride up to the castle, we finally sat down to the Welcome Feast. We watched the Sorting, listened as Dumbledore spoke of the dangers of the situation with You-Know-Who, and nodded when he reminded us of a few rules. Well, at least I nodded. The Marauders just smirked.
With a wave of Dumbledore's hand, our feast appeared on the table, and everyone dug in.
"You all have a good summer?" Alice asked.
Peter, surprisingly, was the first to speak. "I went to France with my parents."
"Sounds cool, Peter- my parents took me to Germany,' Frank said.
"I was kept prisoner in my home, for reasons known only to Lily, Alice, and Mary," Marlene told the group.
I smiled, giving her an all-knowing look. "Well, Petunia is engaged to the whale of a man known as Vernon Dursley," I said. "And she wouldn't even see me off at the train. Not that I mind much…"
Alice patted my shoulder as the desserts appeared. I cut myself a slice of lemon meringue pie, my absolute favorite.
As we finished up dessert, I sighed. This year, I didn't have to lead the first years to their dormitories- I left to the prefects.
"Ready?" James asked me. I nodded, with a pang in my chest: I wasn't living with the girls this year. The thought was bittersweet.
We trudged up to the Heads' dormitory, but stopped when I pointed out a moving tapestry. I pulled it aside, ready to catch the snogging couple inside.
"Oi! Get to your dormitories, ten points from each of—"
I stopped when I saw who it was. James did a double take. Ashley Kanto and a Hufflepuff sixth year that I didn't recognize, both looking more caught than a werewolf under the full moon.
"—ten points from each of you, and be glad it isn't more. Off with you!" I snapped.
Ashley turned to James. "Jamesie, please…"
He glanced at her, a steely look in his eyes. "Ashley, we're obviously done. I was planning on dumping you anyway, thank you for giving me the perfect excuse."
She scurried off with tears in her eyes. James snorted. "She doesn't regret it one bit, she'll be over it and have a new boyfriend within a week."
"Are you okay?" I asked him tentatively.
"'Course," he said. "I'm just tired."
I yawned and nodded. "Me too," I said, and looked at the statue of a centaur outside of the Head's dorm. "Pumpkin pasty," I said to it, repeating the password that Dumbledore had told me.
We stepped inside and looked around. We had a small common room, decorated with Gryffindor banners, comfy-looking couches and chairs, and an ever-burning magic fireplace. There was a staircase that led up to two doors, and we peeked inside each.
My trunk lay at the foot of the bed in the room on the left, so I assumed that it was mine. There was an intricately carved, wooden four-poster bed, a desk and chair, a closet, and a door that led to a bathroom.
I poked my head out of my room to see if James was there. He was.
"Well, goodnight, Lily," he said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Goodnight, James," I said.