Lily looked between James and Bellatrix with curiosity, but James saw her eyes almost glowing with mischief.
"The two of you are going to end up together!" Lily declared. It sounded so innocent, coming from her, but he knew better. James found it too easy to be swept by Lily, go with her flow, and they would often end up being distracted from her lessons and instead play or just talk. Lily knew who Bellatrix was, and what she was like.
The smile that Bellatrix threw towards Lily had a slight edge to it, but it was obvious that at that moment, Lily was Bellatrix's favorite person.
If James was honest with himself, not being afraid for his life had changed his perspective in a way that he did not expect. He actually found the insanity of Bellatrix to be endearing, and he was not as opposed to the idea of being with her as he used to be. They were still young, Bellatrix being 16, so most would easily believe that there was still time before anything would happen to them. Except that Bellatrix didn't really do "acceptable", and James wasn't sure how much more she was willing to wait. If what she had been doing can even be considered waiting.
Sirius, the bastard, found the situation highly amusing. As soon as Edgar Bones arrived, he was already retelling the tale, making it sound even more dramatic than it really was.
Of course, they did have a right to be amused, though James wished it wasn't at his expense. It was quite a sight, to see him hugged tightly by the insane beauty. Especially considering that he didn't quite hit his growth spurt yet, and instead of being reasonable, she lifted him off the ground.
Thankfully, James was able to free himself from Bella's grasp with enough time to find a compartment before the train left. He also managed to convince her to not join them, but instead sit with her roommates. While he was warming up to her, Bellatrix was one to be handled in smaller doses.
As the train started to move, the kids settled down comfortably, though there was a little competition between Narcissa, Lily and Amelia on who sits next to James – Amelia took her loss with dignity. Narcissa was rather cold towards Lily initially, but any misgivings she had towards the muggleborn were gone when she realized that Lily was quite educated when it came to magical etiquette and tradition, and even gave a surprisingly warm smile to James when Lily gave him the credit.
James knew that Narcissa's anti-mudblood education was stopped while she was still young due to his own influence, but he was still encouraged by how events progressed. If she could easily move past her misgivings, then it's not impossible for other Dark families to do the same.
"What house you're hoping for?" James asked, curiously, as they were discussing Hogwarts.
"Gryffindor!" Sirius declared loudly. Narcissa scoffed, while Amelia and Edgar looked surprised and curious.
"A Black in Gryffindor, how brave…" James said with a smirk.
"Aunt Walburga would go mental when she hears about this…" Narcissa muttered.
"Good thing Mother has no say in this!" Sirius countered darkly.
"Would she care that much? Why do the houses matter?" Lily asked, confused. James frowned, remembering that they never really talked about Hogwarts itself.
"For most, the houses don't matter that much." James decided not to go into a lecture about his own theories regarding houses and sorting, since he would also need to explain how he came up with them. "For us, it's a bit different. Because we have a seat in the Wizengamot, practically everything a heir does also has a political meaning to it. The houses we are sorted into tell a lot about us and our intentions, especially since our housemates are going to be our likeliest allies."
"The houses reputation also has implications about how those sorted into it approach politics, and their general leanings. Many Light families traditionally go into Gryffindor due to their direct personality, and similar approach to politics. They are often those with weak personal influence, so their approach to politics is aggressive, trying to keep their opponents on the defensive, or to appear morally superior so that others feel it's wrong to take an opposing stance."
"The Dark families go into Slytherin because they prefer subtler approach, backroom dealings and creating loopholes in laws so that it favors them. Hufflepuff's famous loyalty makes them powerful allies because their agenda is rarely not in favor of the alliance they are part in, and they are very effective mediators. Ravenclaws are… Problematic. They like to go into every little detail and they can be so pedantic that it hurts. Neither of these two houses has an obvious political inclination towards either party, so they are considered neutral. Grey families go into those two houses most often, but there are plenty of cases where it's not true."
"The Potters are a Grey family, but we're still more often than not sorted into Gryffindor. Our aggressiveness in politics can be attributed to self-assuredness that is borderline disgusting arrogance, but the political and financial powers of House Potter are simply too big for our house to be easily threatened. No point in being subtle when you can beat down your opponent without fear of retaliation."
"Huh, I-" Lily started, but was interrupted by the door to their compartment sliding open with force.
And there he was, with all his greasy glory, Snape. Severus Snape. Crooked nose, sneering as soon as he spotted Lily, in his threadbare robes.
"So this is where you were, Evans? Found yourself a bunch of Purebloods to latch on to? That's why you rejected the friendship I graciously offered you?" Snape asked contemptuously.
Nobody appreciated his words, obviously, and James used the chance to scan his mind. He found Snape to be a rather interesting character… Already making several plans.
Snape didn't think that his words would affect them too much, he was mostly testing the waters, seeing how they would react to what he said, but he did hope to sow a seed of mistrust there. He hoped that throughout the year, he'll find opportunities to have that seed grow, and for the group to eventually reject Lily. A rejected Lily would be more vulnerable and he'll be able to use the chance to show her that he's a better friend, while the group itself may be appreciative of his early warning, which would give him a connection to potentially politically powerful Purebloods. And even if neither accept him, he'd have hurt Lily for humiliating him!
"Ah, trying to charm a girl by insulting her? Classic, but I doubt the way you're going at it is too effective…" James said, sounding serious, as he eyed the very angry Lily, hair and face nearly the same shade.
Of course, it wasn't a classic. Negging was something in the relatively far future… And it wasn't what Snape was going for, not really. It would be silly to expect the girl to befriend him just to show the others that she isn't befriending them for their influence and power… Right? Well, who knows. Stranger things happened.
Of course, that attitude was easier to call out than Snape's real intentions, and it was close enough to catch him off guard.
"Don't cry to me when you see her for who she is." Snape sneered.
"I know her well enough. I also know that you've been harassing her and won't leave her alone. If you don't want us to see how flammable is all the grease in your hair, you should leave." James said with a jerk of his head, indicating towards Lily, who already had a wand well in hand.
As impossible as James thought it was, Snape paled further. Though he tried to maintain some dignity with a sneer, he could not disguise his retreat as anything but that.
"Well… That happened."
"James…" Sirius barely croaked out.
"I warned you that this setting could be a bit much! You guys insisted…" James defended himself, trying to get support from the only one remaining in the room, Edgar. The girls hastily left one after the other, needing a visit to the bathrooms to recover.
Edgar Bones was focusing on his breathing, trying not to vomit.
"I did not expect such a detailed description of my character's intestines being ripped out and strangling the rest of the party!" Sirius snapped, only to gag at the imagery.
"I'm never offering you guys to play Attics and Attorneys again." James grumbled.
Hestia trilled above him. While it did help Sirius and Edgar with their distress, James knew that the damned bird was mocking them for having a weak stomach. How could they not expect such an outcome after failing a Filing skill check? Pathetic.