Chapter 5: Prefects

Severus stared down at the parchment in his hands, just arrived from Hogwarts, in abject disbelief. A prefect for Slytherin House? Him?

He knew one boy and one girl would have to be chosen from the fifth years for each of the four Houses; the decision was almost always made by the Head of House. For Slytherin, that meant Potions Master Horace Slughorn. But Slughorn had hardly ever noticed him; why would he nominate Severus? Perhaps Lucius Malfoy, the Head Boy who had just graduated, had vouched for him. Severus liked to think of himself as a good student, but he couldn't say he stood out…. and if he did, it was for all the wrong reasons, usually at the taunting of James Potter and his mates.

He had to write to Lily – would she have gotten a similar letter? Wonderful as she was, the odds were slim; if anything, he supposed her best girlfriend, Mary MacDonald, would be a more likely candidate.

Before Severus could find a quill, however, Lily's pet owl swooped in with an envelope in its beak. Tearing it open after absently remembering to toss the bird a Sickle, Severus eyes roamed the contents:

Our glade, 30 minutes. I have a surprise for you. Lily.

Stuffing both her missive and his prefect envelope into his robes, Severus dashed through the house and tore across the yard. His mother was out at work and wouldn't be back till dark.

The glade Lily referred to was a hidden spot under some willow trees by a still and quiet pond. He and his best friend had been going there to talk alone since they were children. It was their place, just for them, and on summer days like this…. well, Severus had never known better times.

Lily's auburn hair sparkled in the sunlight as he approached. She beamed when she saw him, then gasped when she noted the seal on the envelope Severus was pulling from his pockets. Then, she was jumping up and down and embracing him, waving an almost identical envelope in the air. "Me too, Sevvy! Me too!"

"That's bloody brilliant, Lily!" Severus crowed.

"Oh…. I'm so proud of you, Sev!" She hugged him tightly again, holding the embrace a little too long. The pair glanced at each other, and Lily stepped away, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Dragging him into the shade of their favorite tree, she babbled adorably, "I honestly don't know why McGonagall chose me…"

"Because you're brilliant and everyone respects you," Severus grinned. "Seriously, Lily – don't look a gift horse up its nose."

"I believe the correct expression is don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Lily corrected him loftily, nudging his shoulder playfully. Severus snorted, turning his prefect envelope over in his hands.

"Can't bloody tell why Slughorn tapped me though. I didn't think he knew I existed."

"Nonsense. You get good marks," Lily rested her head on his shoulder. "Does it say which girl you'll be paired with? Mine didn't give my male counterpart's name."

"Dunno. If I had to guess, Narcissa Black, most likely." He turned to look down at her, practically falling asleep against him. "When I tried to imagine who your prefects would be, I kept vacillating between either Mary MacDonald or you."

"Really?" Lily smirked, hopeful. "I'll write to her you said so!"

"Don't you bloody dare."

When they finally boarded the Hogwarts Express for the new term on September 1st, Mary quickly met them both and found them all a compartment. The Irish beauty seemed bursting with excitement, so much so that she actually gave Severus a greeting that was almost friendly. Then she procured an envelope with a familiar seal. Upon sight of it, both Mary and Lily began jumping up and down and squealing. Severus just gamely covered his ears, vaguely wondering if he should cast a Muffliato charm.

"Oh! Oh, Mary, this is wonderful! But… but how is it possible….? Only one girl…."

"I believe I can explain," a rumbling baritone made the three all turn. Remus Lupin was smiling down at them almost sheepishly. Turning his head, his eyes seemed to brighten a little, almost shyly so. "Hello, Mary."

Mary nodded back. "Hello, Remus."

"Have a good holiday?"

"Right well enough. Yourself? I…. I heard your mother has been sick. I'm so sorry…"

"Quite all right. Glad you brought it up, actually. I'll be out close to one week a month to help with her chemo care, so I suppose McGonagall appointed an extra Prefect to take over in my absences. I apologize if that puts too much on your plate…"

"No, it's fine, really," Mary smiled softly, her cheeks warming. "It's a perfect arrangement, Lily and I."

"In that case, I feel ever so much better," Remus smiled gratefully. "Thank you both in advance." Glancing past them, he took in Severus and the prefect envelope clutched in his fist. "You were appointed for Slytherin, Severus?"

Severus nodded mutely.

"Jolly good on you, then. I'm glad I found you lot – all Prefects have their own compartment for the train ride, you know." Gallantly, he offered Mary his arm. "May I?"

Taken aback, but pleased too, Mary allowed Remus to loop his arm through his. Awkwardly, Severus imitated Remus by offering Lily his own arm.

"Madame?"

Her lips upturned in amusement. "Well, it wouldn't hurt for you to learn some manners too, and as long as you're taking lessons from Remus…"

"Oh, cut it!" Severus snorted, taking her arm and escorting her to the prefect compartment. He didn't notice how Lily looked quite thrilled.

The chatter at the tables in the Great Hall died down as Dumbledore raised his arms for attention. "Settle down! Settle…. Down….." The heads of all the students for the 1975-1976 school year turned expectantly to listen to the Headmaster speak. "I am pleased to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!"

"Blimey! That's brilliant!" James pumped his fist, eliciting laughter; Lily and Mary rolled their eyes.

"Delegations from our fellow schools Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and our American friends across the sea, Ilvermorny, will be joining us. One Triwizard champion from each school will be selected to participate in three contests of daring and skill." Pausing to look at McGonagall, who nodded, the Headmaster added, "Oh, yes, and one minor note here…. no student who is not a seventh year, or any student under the age of 17, is permitted to enter their name into the Goblet of Fire…" At Dumbledore's side, Professor Binns whipped off a tarp with a flourish to reveal a golden chalice. "…. For potential enlistment into the Tournament."

He had hardly finished the sentence before there was an instant uproar, mostly from the Gryffindor table.

"No fair!"

"That's rubbish! That's bloody rubbish!" James and Sirius catcalled out, while beside them, Peter booed lustily. Meeting the girls' disapproving looks, Remus cringed apologetically.

"Too right there shouldn't be, fellas. We have more important things to worry about, like, say… our OWLS?"

James bristled, groaning. "Do you have to start the Prefecting now, Moony?"

Mary frowned. "Moony?" She turned to whisper to Lily. "Why do they call him that?"

"No idea. Just a silly nickname, I reckon," Lily hissed back.

"The Goblet of Fire will remain here in the Great Hall, for anyone student of age to submit their name, until Halloween night. The following evening, the Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Ilvermorny champions will be chosen! Now, will you please join me in giving a warm, Hogwarts welcome to our delegations from our fellow wizarding schools: the lovely ladies from Beauxbatons, the strapping men from Durmstrang, and our American cousins from Ilvermorny!"

The Hogwarts student body applauded as each delegation entered and took their seats.

After the feast was over, the crunch of bodies – deeper than usual – flowed out of the Great Hall towards their respective dormitories. Lily frowned at how James and his mates were whispering to themselves, but was soon distracted by Severus jostling to her side.

"Hello, Sev," she smiled warmly. "Find out your Prefect partner?"

"Narcissa Black – I could have called it," he reported, falling into step beside Lily and Mary until they reached the Grand Staircase. "Rookwood and Geller for the sixth years; Mulciber and Amycus Carrow for the seventh years; Avery is Head Boy."

Mary looked slightly disgusted at this. "Slughorn chose them for leaders of your House?!"

Severus shrugged. He wasn't always sure what to make of Rookwood, Avery and Mulciber either. They weren't friends, but they were friendly to him. He just hoped they had matured enough under Lucius Malfoy's tutelage.

The three arrived at the foot of the Grand Staircase, where Severus would have to peel off to go to the dungeons. "This is me. Good night, ladies."

"Night, Sev!" Lily cheerily waved, and huddling beside Mary, the pair of girls headed up the steps.

That night, the Great Hall was still as the double oaken doors creaked open ever so slightly. After a moment when nothing came through, the door closed again creepily.

Approaching the Goblet of Fire in the center of the hall, there was a rustling of fabric and three boys materialized into thin air.

"Can you get your elbow out of my face next time, Peter?" Sirius groused.

"Y-you don't exactly sm-smell like a basket of r-r-roses yourself!" Peter lobbed back, voice quivering.

"Can it, you nits!" James hissed. Sighing, he ran the fabric of the Invisibility Cloak under his fingers. "It's getting too hard to fit all three of us under here anymore. We'll have to start taking turns." Taking a step towards the goblet, James performed a series of incantations, checking for wards.

Nothing happened.

Sirius snorted. "What bloody good is a rule if you can't enforce it? 17 years of age, indeed!"

James grinned wickedly. "Truer words were never spoken, Sirius. Just makes things easier for us." Stepping up to the goblet, he took a slip of parchment and dropped it into the flames. Despite the knowledge of there being no wards around the chalice, still the trio waited on baited breath. Nothing threatening was forthcoming.

"It took it. We're in."

"Remind me the logic of this plan, Potter?" Sirius grunted as he, James and Peter squeezed under the Cloak.

"Moony is right – we'll be much too busy with potions and OWLS to set aside time for pranks. But that doesn't mean we can't make things fun for the likes of our enemies…."

Peter guffawed as all three of them disappeared into thin air under the Cloak, sneaking invisible out of the Great Hall. "You're brilliant, James. Right bloody brilliant…."

"I know." There was a moment of silence before Sirius voiced:

"If we bump into Prefect Moony, do you think he'd really dock points from us?"

"No, not a chance!" James chortled.