Chapter Twenty-Six:

Head Boy and Girl

"Did you hear Marlene?" Mrs. McKinnon beamed with pride. "Lily was made Head Girl!"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. Who else would it be?" She picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth.

I smiled. "I wonder who Head Boy is."

Marlene glanced at her mother and cleared her throat. "Well, actually, I know who Head Boy is..."

"Is it Remus?" I asked eagerly. "I bet it's Remus!"

"No," Marlene said slowly. "Remus isn't head boy..."

My face fell. "Oh, he must be so crushed..."

"No, he didn't seemed to mind at all. In fact, I think he was a bit happy."

"Happy?"

"Well, yes," Marlene said carefully, "he was happy for James..."

"Why would he be happy for James?"

"Because...well, James is Head Boy..."

I gaped at her. James Potter. The James Potter? The one who once jinxed balloons filled with Bulgeye Potion to fly at Slytherins, making each one of their eyes swell at an alarming rate? The one who once filled the entire third floor with Garroting Gas, causing all classes to be cancelled for the day? The one who once tricked the house elves into serving canary creams at dinner, temporarily turning nearly every person in the Great Hall into a canary? This couldn't be right. It just couldn't.

But then again, James was a natural born leader, and he was indisputably the bravest bloke in the year. Not to mention, he was top of nearly every class without even trying!

"Well, I guess it makes sense..." I said slowly.

Marlene raised her eyebrows. "Does it?"

"Yeah, I mean, have you met a bloke that was braver than James? Besides, he's got excellent grades, he's in several clubs, and he's the captain of the Quidditch team. He's a good choice."

Marlene stared at me. "You sound like Remus. He said the same thing."

I smiled sadly. "Well, tell James I said 'congratulations'."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"

"Because that arse refuses to speak to me!" I told her angrily. "Oi, how are we going to do our duties as headboy and headgirl, if he refuses to communicate with me?"

Marlene shrugged. "I'm sure by the time school starts, you two will be friends again."

I shook my head. "It's different this time."

"What exactly happened between you two anyway? You never even told me."

I sighed. "I wanted to go back to being friends and he didn't. It's as simple as that."

Marlene groaned. "When will you two realize that you're meant for each other?"

"Knock! Knock!" Dorcas said in a sing-songy voice as she banged the door open.

"Dorcas," Marlene winced, "don't bang the door open like that. Mum'll kill me if you lot break it again."

"She's right you know," Mrs. McKinnon said, glancing up from her newspaper.

"Sorry," Dorcas said apologetically, gently closing the door behind her. "So, what are we talking about?"

"Lily and James," Marlene replied.

"Not anymore," I said. "Let's talk about something else."

Dorcas gave me a pitying look before launching into a story about some stupid prank Sirius had pulled on Peter. I only half-listened, my mind wandering to the messy-haired boy next door.

"Lily, how are you?" Mrs. Potter greeted me warmly.

I smiled. "Hello. Sorry to bother you, but Mrs. McKinnon sent me over to give you these," I said, handing her a plate full of custards and pies.

"Ooh, James loves these," Mrs. Potter exclaimed, taking the plate from me.

Mrs. Potter was probably the sweetest woman I had ever met and she had taken an instant liking to me. She had the same hazel eyes as James that lit up whenever she smiled or laughed. Other than that, she looked nothing like her son. She was a tiny and frail woman with a loud voice. I had heard her several times, shouting at James or Sirius about something or other. Just the other night, James and Sirius had accidentally sent their chandelier flying down. We could hear her yelling at them all the way from Marlene's house. I felt bad for her sometimes. Raising James must not have been easy. And then having to raise a teenage Sirius? Godric help that poor woman. I had never met two more troublesome blokes in my entire life.

"Would you like to pop in and say hello to James?" she asked, her chin jerking toward stairs. "He's upstairs with Sirius."

"Oh, no, I really have to get back," I said quickly. I really didn't want to see James. I knew it would be awkward.

"Oh, alright then." She smiled, holding the door open for me. "Congratulations, by the way! I heard you were made Headgirl!"

I grinned. "Thanks! I heard James is Headboy too."

Mrs. Potter beamed proudly. "Just like his father!"

"Yeah." I smiled, walking down the front steps.

"Lily, wait!" she called.

I turned around. Mrs. Potter was gazing at me sadly, her eyes clouded with worry. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "James seems a bit down this summer."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know anything, Mrs. Potter."

She studied my face. "Well, he's gotten much better ever since you showed up but he still seems upset. Did something happen between the two of you?"

I opened and closed my mouth, wondering how I was going to answer her. How much did James want her to know? How much was appropriate to tell her? Should I even tell her?

"Lily?" James said, coming up from behind my mother.

"Hey." I smiled awkwardly at him.

"Lil!" Sirius bellowed eagerly.

I winced. "Hi, Sirius."

"Lily dropped off Mrs. McKinnon's custards, James. I know how much you love them," Mrs. Potter informed her son.

James grinned. "Blimey, I haven't had those in forever."

"Yeah, they were good." I smiled. "I'll see you lot later."

I began to walk down the Potter's front steps again when James shouted my name.

"Lil, wait!" he called. Forcing another smile on my face, I turned around again.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Congratulations...on headgirl. I knew it would be you," he said sincerely.

"Thanks!" I grinned. "You too."

Mrs. Potter and Sirius looked between me and James suspiciously.

"Well, I should go..." I mumbled, gesturing to Marlene's house next door.

"Erm...yeah..." James said awkwardly.

"And James?" I added before turning around. "You'll be great."

He stared at me.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have picked you for Headboy if he didn't think you weren't up for the job. You were meant for this," I assured him.

His face broke into an actual smile, all the worry and stress from his face quickly fading. It was as if he had been waiting for somebody to assure him.

"Thanks, Lil," he said wholeheartedly.

"No problem." I smiled, turned around, and slowly walked back to Marlene's house.