A/N: Hello, everybody! I just want to say that anyone who reads this fic has impeccable taste, and should R&R because it would be much appreciated.
Disclaimer: All characters, settings and events that you recognise are the sole property of J.K.Rowling, and anything else is mine… All mine!
Rating: This fic is probably just a G, but may go up to PG-13 later, depending on where the story goes.
Summary: Lily has been at Hogwarts for four years now and is going to start her fifth in September. Her sister, Petunia, looks up to her in every way, and her boyfriend, James Potter, is the sweetest guy in school. Nothing lasts forever, so everyone says. Lily is about to find out, first-hand.
Chapter 3: Classical Gas
The train ride was relatively quiet compared to the previous years, mostly because of Sirius' absence due to a rather bad bout of 'flu. It certainly didn't help that Lily was now acting all happy, as if nothing was wrong. The only problem with this was that James had always been able to see through her guise. Everyone else seemed to think he was barmy, and that Lily was just being her usual self. Peter was the only one who even half-believed his friend, not that his opinion had ever really counted for too much.
Lily was too animated, James had decided. At the sorting feast, in the previous years, she had sat back, clapped a bit and stared at her plate, waiting for the food. This year, however, she had all but leapt from her chair in applause for the newest members of the Gryffindor family. While everyone else thought she was just excited about being a Prefect or being back at school, James knew different. It was something that happened before this year had begun… before the train. Oh well, he thought, it doesn't bear thinking about right now.
"Hey James, pass my quill, won't you?" Remus called. His first day back and he was already writing letters to his family, saying how he missed them so. James rolled his eyes. Like clockwork, Sirius would make a crack about it thirty seconds later… only Sirius wasn't there because he was ill… So, he did as Remus had asked.
"Hey James, you're not still on about Lils, are you?"
"Huh? Oh, well she's acting weird. Surely you've seen it?"
"Nope. So she's a bit more involved than usual, so what? Everyone should be."
"So you don't think it's at all out of character?"
"No, of course not. Don't forget you're talking to the master judge of character, here. Whatever I say, goes!"
At this, James threw the pillow he was sitting on as hard as he could at his companion.
"Yeah right!"
"Yeah, right!" Remus retorted, magically increasing his strength. Seeing this, James dived under his bed while his friend took careful aim. "No fair! You cheat!"
"So? What's new?" he laughed.
"I'll get you one of these days, Potter. Snape style!"
"What, you mean you want to force me not to wash my hair for a week? I thought you were a prankster!"
"Good evening, Mr. Lupin," a voice sounded from behind. "And Mr. Potter, if you would please extract yourself from under your bed, you have a prefects' meeting in half an hour. You are to inform the rest of the Gryffindor prefects." Professor McGonagall swept out of the room, her robe trailing behind her gathering dust.
"Come on, Remus. I've got to get Lily. You know, she scares me. McGonagall, I mean. Not Lily."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. At least she doesn't have a huge problem with me and my 'condition', as she likes to call it."
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Making her way to the front of the room, silence took hold of the room as McGonagall took her place at the front. As the new head of Gryffindor House, and prefect head, she was nervous. The silence only made it worse. Placing her papers on the makeshift podium, she cleared her throat and began to speak.
"Now, as the first prefects' meeting of the year, I should like to remind you of the rules which you were issued when you were informed of your appointment.
"First, any prefect breaking one or more rules will automatically be issued with a detention, and, if any points are taken, the amount shall be doubled from that which a regular student would incur in the same situation.
"Second, any prefect caught in the act of being prejudiced against an individual student/group of students when issuing punishments will be penalised, and if in an extreme case, may have his/her badge confiscated.
"Third, any prefect caught inactive in their duties at any time will be punished, the degree of which is left solely up to me.
"Fourth, all prefects will be required to attend all prefects' meetings.
"Fifth, all prefects will be required to make several night patrols each week. Failure to do so will incur a revision of the student's position and may result in the confiscation of his/her badge.
"Sixth, the addition and deduction of points will be well monitored and any prefect seen as taking or adding too many will be disciplined." She paused and looked around the room. All those eyes staring at me… she brought her gaze back to the cue card in front of her. "I trust that you are all well-briefed on the subject of the more 'minor' rules, and I need not run through them at this juncture." She sighed in relief inwardly as no one made any comment, so she would not have to answer any potentially awkward questions. "Well, first on the agenda tonight is the issue of the Halloween Ball. I am aware that it is over a month and a half away, but this type of thing takes a lot of planning." A boy with black greasy hair coughed. "So, any suggestions of any particular theme? I hear a few years ago, there was a muggle-type theme. Based on Jack the Ripper or something similar."
Immediately, a girl in her sixth year with mousy-brown hair put her hand up.
"Yes, Miss…?"
"Christie, professor, Selina Christie. We could have Phantom of the Opera. That would be interesting."
"That's a silly idea," commented a blonde from the back of the room.
"Well, Miss…?"
"Parkinson, Eleanor Parkinson."
"Well, Miss Parkinson, if you dislike the idea, you must suggest a better one. Otherwise this whole thing would fall apart."
"We should just go for the traditional ball - the ball-gowns, the music, the food, everything traditional. Nothing fancy."
"You mean something boring, Parkinson?" retorted James.
"Would you like to suggest something better, Mr Potter?"
"Yes, I would. I like the idea of the Phantom of the Opera, but what about putting a spin on it and making it like a murder-mystery too. You know, appoint a murderer and the victims and make everyone a detective. That way, we could have a prize for the first one to work it out. Kinda makes it more interesting."
There were murmurs of approval all around the room, but as Severus Snape pointed out, not all were happy with the workload involved.
"But surely a month and a half is not long enough to plan? I mean, it's not just the food and the dress that we need to organise. You're talking actors, and spells that none of us have learnt!"
"Well, if we have a small team dedicated to just that aspect - the extra spells, and the acting - and the rest can get on with the usual stuff." James looked at McGonagall expectantly.
"I find that satisfactory. I trust there are no more objections? No?"
Someone coughed.
"In that case, I leave it to Mr Potter to organise a group to handle the acting and all, one person per house, I think will be enough. The rest of you, get on with it!"
As it turned out, James Potter ended up picking Severus, Brian Diggory (who was in his seventh year), and Selina. Not the best choice, in McGonagall's opinion - a recipe for disaster! Still, the meeting was over, she had established her authority, and now it was time to bring it to a close - she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. She cleared her throat.
"Students, if I could have your attention for just a moment. Thank you. This meeting is over, and the first prefects to be on patrol tonight are Mr Charman of Hufflepuff and Miss Wells of Ravenclaw."
A/N: Thank you very much to the reviewers, you know that everything you say means a lot to me. As I have previously stated, critical reviews are most welcome, as long as the criticism is constructive. I know that this chapter isn't much, but the next chapter should be more interesting.