A/N: Wow! It's been such a long time since I've updated. I'm really sorry about that. I guess that I've just been really busy, but that is no excuse because I've had this written for months. My deepest apologies I didn't put it out sooner. I kind of haven't been on the computer that much, and when I do get on I usually only have time to check my e-mail. I'll probably have to next chapter out in a few days. Knowing me, that means a year j/k. I think that maybe the reason I didn't update sooner is because I really hate this chapter. It's just really boring, sorry to say. The next chapter isn't quite as bad. It's just that I have to introduce all the new peps and stuff. Sorry it's so boring; I didn't feel like spicing it up.

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Chapter Seven – Dormitories

There were only ten showers in the boys' bathroom in the Gryffindor house, and seeing as how everyone needed a shower except the head boy and a second year, some people had to wait. Some of the impatient sixth and seventh years did a spell that cleaned all the filth off of them, but left them still feeling dirty. They supposed that that was fine for now, and they could take a shower in the morning.

James and Sirius were somehow the first ones in the bathroom, (probably because of the amount of pushing and shoving they did) and therefore the only first years that got to take a shower in the first round. They bravely laughed at their muck covered roommates waiting in line for a shower as they passed by them on their way back to their dorm, and were nearly sprayed with bits and pieces of food, but luckily, Chez' aim wasn't perfect, and he hit the space of wall only centimeters away.

Once they had changed into their pajamas and switched their trunks with the trunks of the other boys so they had the two beds in the back of the room right by the South window the two troublemakers sat on Sirius' bed and talked.

"So I was thinking that tonight would be the best night to go explore the castle for the first time. It's the first day and everyone is tired, so the teachers will expect everyone to go to bed right away. Which we will only we won't stay in bed very long, if you know what I mean. No one will be expecting us to go looking for trouble and passageways on the first day," James smirked.

"Yeah. So, you think we should get back up around… Midnight or so?"

"Probably. Maybe one. I mean after all, even we need a little sleep before the first day of school. And seeing as how I'm not going to get much sleep tomorrow night, what with the two detentions and all, not like I'm bragging or anything, but who has two and who has one…"

"Fine little baby, we'll make it one o'clock. Just for inkle-winkle Jamie- kins!" Sirius teased, trying to get James off his gloating streak.

"Oh shut it!"

"Yes sir!" said Sirius, mock-saluting James, just as James had saluted McGonagall.

"I'm serous!" James protested.

Sirius opened his mouth to say he was Sirius, but he thought better of it by the murderous look on James' face, and expertly changed the subject back to the late night excursion. "So one then, is it?"

James' face lightened and he smiled. "Yes one. I'll just set my watch to go off at one, and hope it's not too loud and wakes up the whole dormitory."

"Bad idea. Those watch alarms can be pretty loud, and we might have some light sleepers in here. Or you might be laying on your arm weird, and not hear it at all. Look, I've got a built in clock in my head. I can always tell what time it is within five minutes, without looking at a watch. Right now it's nine forty, am I right?"

"Well," said James looking at his watch, "more like 9:42, but close enough for me."

"I've never really needed an alarm clock, because I can just set the built in one on in my head. I'll set it for 1:10, alright?"

"Okay, good. That's kinda cool."

"And now I want to get my beauty sleep," Sirius proclaimed, shoving James off his bed and onto the floor. James had tried to stop his fall, by grabbing onto the scarlet curtains that surrounded the bed, but instead of stopping him, they ripped off the bed and fell with in a heap with him onto the floor between their beds.

The two of them sat there like that (James on the floor, tangled in the curtains and Sirius lying on his back pounding the bed) laughing for nearly ten minutes. Then Sirius decided he was tired and fell asleep immediately.

For James it was a little harder. First he had to get untangled from the bed curtains. While he was already on the floor he started to do push-ups. He heard Sirius snort.

"I thought you were asleep," commented James, not slowing down in his push- ups.

"Well, you thought wrong. Can't be the first time. Why you doing those anyway? Trying to show off?"

"You don't think that I get muscles from just sitting around and eating as much as I can as fast as I can, do you?" asked James just as he finished his fifty push-ups. He flipped quickly onto his back and started to do some sit-ups.

"No, I guess not, but I didn't really think you were in this good of shape."

"What? You think fifty push-ups are good? You should see me when I'm at home. We have a bunch of weights and stuff, and I usually do those before I go to bed too."

"Wow. I had no idea," Sirius said through a yawn. "Now I know you're brag… braggn…ing," Sirius stifled another yawn. James looked up at him and smiled. Sirius looked to be asleep again.

James knew that working out before he went to bed was just an excuse so he didn't have to go to sleep as soon, but to everyone else, he just seemed a little weird, and really obsessed with being in shape.

He picked himself up from off the floor and seated himself on his own bed across from Sirius. He got under the covers, put his glasses on the bed stand next to him, and closed his eyes, trying to sleep. But he always had nightmares about being tied to a headstone in a cemetery and watching as hooded and masked dark figures surrounded him. The dream always ended just as a man who looked remarkably like a snake stood and watched as a man with one arm came up to him with a long silver knife. Even just the thought of the dream would keep James awake for hours. And he had that dream almost every night. It was terrible. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. It was bad and all, but it wasn't the worst dream that he had ever had.

Ten minutes later James was still not close to being asleep, but when the other first year boys came in, he pretended that he was. He opened one eye a crack and looked around.

"Shh!" Remus said pointed at Sirius and James.

"I'm sure the two of them can sleep through an earthquake!" Seifer exclaimed, obviously not worried about waking them up.

"So, what do you think of them? I think that they are a little weird, but they sure are going to be a lot of fun! Did you see McGonagall's face? I almost started laughing too."

"Yeah, it was great," said someone, James wasn't sure who it was. It was either Peter Pettigrew, or Zell Tilmitt. James smiled to himself. So he and Sirius were causing a riot after all.

****

Lily looked at the reflection of herself dressed in a gold bathrobe, with another towel wrapped around her head like a turban. She really wanted to go to bed right now, but she couldn't for another hour. She had to blow dry her hair and then curl it under, so it would go good for their first classes. She wished that she could just let it dry naturally, but she couldn't because her hair was just a little bit naturally curly. If she let it just dry it would look terrible tomorrow morning.

After Lily had dried off and changed into her pajamas, she returned to the large mirror in the girl's tower. She fingered her hair for a minute before she decided that she would try the spell she heard Professor McGonagall use to dry James, Sirius, Remus, and herself off. She knew it was a little dangerous, and might be a complex spell, but she thought that she could handle it. Just to be safe she decided to try it out first.

She grabbed a washcloth from the bottom drawer and ran water over it. Once it was soaked through, she placed it on the counter in front of her, and rubbed her hands together.

Holding her willow wand in her left hand, Lily sighed. She hoped this worked. "Elergerus," she said and waved her wand just the way that the professor had.

For a minute she thought it had worked, but then the rag caught on fire. Lily was about to scream when a girl pushed her aside and splashed water on the washcloth.

"Thank you," murmured Lily from her seat on the floor.

"Your welcome," said the short girl who had pushed her out of the way. "I'm a prefect and I thought it my duty. My name is Marie Potter, what's yours?" asked Marie as she held out a hand to help Lily up.

"Lily Evans. Did you say Potter? Does that mean that you are related to James?"

"He's my step nephew," explained Marie.

"Oh… Wait! Did you say nephew? Aren't you a little young to be his aunt? You look like you're younger than me!" And it was true. Marie couldn't be taller than 1.4 meters (approximately four foot seven inches). Although her hair was also black, she didn't look much like James. She seemed to be Spanish. She even had a small accent. She looked seven, maybe nine at the oldest, but to be a prefect you had to be in your fifth year, which meant she was fifteen. That seemed impossible.

"I see you've meet him. I know that I don't look anything like him, but I'm his step aunt, I'm not supposed to look like him or act like him for that matter. I'm his father's stepsister, which is really weird. You see, about fourteen years ago, James's grandfather remarried. He married my mother. I was already born. Although I was just a little baby a year and a half old. My mother is almost twenty years younger than he is, but they seem happy and that's all that matters."

"I see. Anyway, thank you for helping me with that fire," Lily said, amazed that this girl could be related to James, even through marriage. Her mom married an old man? What was she, mad?

"You were trying to do a drying off charm, huh? You said it right and everything, but you shouldn't have waved your wand that hard. You did dry the rag off. It's just that you dried it off so much that it caught on fire. You need to be more careful. Professor Flickwick told us about this one wizard who set his house on fire when all he was trying to do was dry off his hands. The same thing happened to me the first time I tried it in Charms. Go ahead and try again," offered Marie putting the now dripping rag back on the counter.

"Okay." Lily closed her eyes for a minute to concentrate. Then she swooshed her wand more softly this time and said, "Elergerus." To her relief the washrag dried off, and did not catch fire. "Thank you so much!" She beamed at Marie.

"You're welcome," said Marie as she walked off and out the door.

The happy Lily danced a little jig and then folded up the washcloth and placed it back in its drawer.

Even though she had managed to dry the cloth, she was still a little nervous about doing it to herself. She finally convinced herself that she would be okay, and waved her wand at herself and said the magic word. Looking in the mirror, she saw a frizzy (yet dry) haired girl. Lily was too tired to curl her hair, but knew she had to.

Suddenly a thought struck her. How was she going to use her curling iron? There wasn't any electricity at Hogwarts, and she for sure couldn't leave her hair like this! What's a girl to do? She thought to herself. I'll figure it out in the morning. Lily yawned and walked out of the bathroom and up the stairs to the dormitory that said over the door, First Year Girls at the top of the tower.

Lily walked in and looked around at the five girls already there sitting on their beds. Lily saw that the empty bed had her trunk at the foot of it, and was also right by Aeris'.

Good, she thought, Aeris is the only person I even know the name of in here! Lily really wished that she had paid more attention to the Sorting Ceremony, instead of staring at James.

"Hullo!" said a friendly looking girl with flaming red hair that was in the bed on the opposite side as Aeris. "I'm Melissa Weasley. You're Lily Evans, right?"

Melissa's red hair was a little above her shoulders and had blonde streaks in it (they didn't look natural, but you never know). Lily liked her right away. She had a ready smile and dimpled cheeks. She had blue green eyes the color of the ocean. She was skinny and about 1.5 meters (just under five feet) tall.

"Yeah, I am. And sorry, I don't really know who anyone is, except Aeris, and now Melissa."

"Oh, well I'm Kaki Pun and I have one thing to say to you; you lucky thing! Sitting with all those hot guys! I'd have loved to trade places, but I was sitting across from Seifer Almasy, so I guess I shouldn't be jealous! Oh! He's a hottie!" Lily smiled but said nothing as all of the other girls agreed that Lily was lucky, but only after agreeing that Seifer was hot.

Kaki's long hair was light blonde and her eyes were baby blue; she was a boy's dream girl. She was really nice, but to Lily, seemed like she was going to date every boy in the school. Which wasn't really a bad thing, its just Lily didn't want her near James. Weird, she hadn't thought that she liked James enough to care about what girls he dated. I wish I knew what was going on in my head!

The next girl to introduce herself was Quistis Paige. She had dirty-blonde hair that was a little past midway down her back. It was straight as straight can be. Her eyes were just a plain hazel, but when she stared at you, she gave you the shivers. She also was very nice and taught Lily a charm that would curl your hair under, and made it calm down so it wasn't so frizzy. Lily couldn't see how Quistis knew it, since her hair wasn't curled under.

The last girl in their dorm to be introduced was Vapory Zrelly. She had shoulder length, wavy brown hair and dark blue eyes. Lily guessed that she would be all the competition to Kaki.

The girls talked for nearly an hour before they decided it was time for bed and went to sleep. But no one could sleep for at least another half an hour, because Melissa wouldn't stop talking about her brother, Arthur, and his wife who just had the cutest little baby named Bill. After Quistis had assured Melissa, "That is great and all, but if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to punch your lights out," Melissa laughed, but stopped talking.