Disclaimer: Professor Dumbledore and his students are the property of J. K. Rowling.
Choosing the Head Boy Chapter Two—September FirstJames watched out of the corner of his eye as his best friend vanished into a seemingly solid brick wall. He then looked around to ensure that none of the surrounding Muggles had noticed Sirius's disappearance and that they were still ignoring the partition between Platforms Nine and Ten. He took a deep breath preliminary to pushing his own trolley toward the barrier.
"This is ridiculous," he thought. "I wasn't even this nervous when I was a first year." He brushed his hand against the front pocket of his trousers as if to assure himself that the two objects contained therein were real. One, solid and metallic, was the source of his discomfort. The other, a folded piece of parchment, was only slightly more reassuring. It was his second letter from Professor Dumbledore, the one he had received in response to his own letter beginning, "Dear Professor Dumbledore, I think someone is playing a rather unusual prank on me."
"If you're contemplating missing the train because you want to get fired as Head Boy," his father said as he put an arm around James's shoulders, "I'd advise against it. It's probably not a big enough offense for Dumbledore to sack you, and Sirius is counting on you to be on the train."
James nodded with a couple nervous jerks of his head. The muscles of his neck and shoulders were just too tense and tight for more fluid movement. "Remus is probably already here," he mumbled.
Remus was being "civil" to Sirius at the moment, but the easy familiarity of their friendship had not returned. James gave Remus credit that he was trying to rebuild the relationship rather than cutting Sirius off completely, but James could see that Sirius was pained by every reminder of how far they were from the closeness they had once shared. A chasm lay between them. Their mutual friendships with Peter and James helped to fill the chasm, or at least hid it from view.
James took a few steps toward the barrier, but checked his stride as he saw two younger students and their parents coming toward the barrier from another angle. He glanced around again, checked that the Muggles were too busy in their own comings and goings to notice, and then hurried through the wall himself.
Sirius waited not far away. "Have a panic attack out there, James?" he asked with a tense smile.
"No." The word sounded weak and strained. He cleared his throat in an attempt to continue in a more convincing tone. "Just letting the younger kids through first." He glanced over his shoulder at his parents, silently begging them not to call him on the half-lie.
Sirius didn't notice. His attention was fixed on the platform near the end of the train. It was traditional for the four of them to get a compartment as far from the front of the train (and the oversight of the prefects) as possible. Even after Remus had become a prefect, he had continued to store his trunk in their compartment and to spend as much time with them as his duties would allow. Last June, however, Remus had entered their compartment only once, and only for a few awkward minutes.
James set off toward the end of the train, and he heard the wheels of Sirius's trolley just behind him. The sounds of happy voices, students greeting their friends, surrounded them. James knew that he and Sirius were usually two of the noisiest people on the platform, but happy chatter seemed too difficult for him this morning. He glanced back at Sirius and saw the worried crease between his brows. Happy chatter was too difficult for Sirius too.
"Down at the station, early in the morning—" James's father began to sing.
"Dad!"
"Oh lighten up, boys. You're on your way to school, not a funeral."
James suddenly saw a near duplicate of Sirius standing in the midst of a group of Slytherin fifth years. He stood at least half a head taller than all of his friends. James slowed as he approached, and the sound of Sirius's trolley wheels suddenly stopped.
"Hi, Regulus," Sirius said quietly to his younger brother.
Regulus stared at Sirius for a moment with pale cold eyes; then he turned and boarded the train.
"Hurry up, James," Sirius said gruffly. "Let's get on board."
As they drew near the end of the train, James saw Peter disappear on board carrying one end of a trunk. A moment later, he reemerged and got his owl's cage from a trolley beside a witch who always put James in mind of a shorter version of Queen Mary. A moment later, Remus stepped down from the train as well.
"I'll go return your trolley," Remus said to Peter.
"Don't bother, Remus," James's father called out. "We'll take all the trolleys back to the other side of the barrier when we go."
Remus had looked up sharply upon hearing his own name. His gaze settled on James for only a moment before sliding past him to Sirius. Remus nodded in greeting but glanced down at the ground before saying, "Hello."
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Peter said with a smile. "Here to make sure we stay out of trouble until the Express pulls away?"
"Something like that," James's father said.
"Lovely to see you again, Prudence," James's mother said. "It's hard to believe this is the last September first we'll be seeing these boys off, isn't it?"
"Mary. Henry. Good to see you," she replied with a slight incline of her highly-coiffed white head. "It's refreshing to see that some parents still care enough about their children to see them off."
Peter rolled his eyes and huffed in exasperation at his mother's rudeness. Still holding his owl's cage in one hand, he grabbed the cage of James's owl in the other and carried both onto the train.
"Sirius has us to see him off on the train, Prudence," James's father said sharply. He put his arms around both Sirius's and James's shoulders as if to emphasize his point.
"I think Mrs. Pettigrew is referring to my mother being at work," Remus said lightly as he grabbed the end of the nearest trunk, Sirius's trunk. Sirius darted forward and grabbed the other end. James and his father lifted James's trunk and followed them on board.
"Well, Julia knows that Remus is mature enough to come to the station himself," James heard his mother say. "I wish I could say that about these two." James's father winked at James and smiled.
Sirius and Remus lifted Sirius's trunk into the overhead rack with ease. It was actually a remarkable feat since James knew how heavy the three-lock trunk was without a lightening charm. Remus then assisted James and his father in stowing James's trunk beside it.
"Thanks, Remus," the black-haired boys said simultaneously.
"You're welcome," he said quietly. He then sat down in the corner, out of the way, rather than go back outside where Mrs. Pettigrew and Mrs. Potter waited.
"Guess I have to say 'Good-bye' to her," Peter muttered as he went back out. Sirius, James, and his father followed him out.
"Thank you again for letting me stay with you this summer, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said as he held out a hand to James's mother.
She gave Sirius a hug instead. "You'll always be welcome, Sirius. Henry and I told you to consider us your family, and we meant it." Sirius nodded and cleared his throat as if to speak, but he merely smiled slightly and nodded again. He shook Mr. Potter's hand and returned inside.
After James kissed his mother good-bye, his father led him far enough away from the Pettigrews that they wouldn't overhear. "I'm going to make two requests and give you one piece of advice. My first request, don't rub it in Severus Snape's nose that you're Head Boy instead of him. My second request," he smiled wickedly, "write and tell me exactly how he reacts when he finds out."
James chuckled. "O.K., Dad."
"Now, on a more serious note, my advice. I have always found, whenever I'm in doubt, that the wisest course of action is to defer to your mother's good judgment. You can never go wrong if you listen to an intelligent woman. So, Mr. Head Boy, whenever you are in doubt, defer to the Head Girl."
"Depends on who the Head Girl is. Evans, Sinistra, or Hopkins, no problem. If it's Sirius's cousin Bellatrix, no way."
"Some things go without saying," his father agreed.
After hugging his father good-bye, James returned to the compartment to find Remus and Sirius attempting to make polite conversation.
"—mostly gardening for some of the neighbors."
"Yeah, I can tell you were out in sun. You got some freckles on your nose."
"No, I don't."
"Just a few," Sirius said to floor.
As Peter entered behind James, Remus unclenched his hands, which had been tightly folded in his lap, and stood up. "I've, uh—I've got to go play prefect now. I'll be back later." He turned and headed into the corridor.
"Wait up, Remus," James called as he followed him. "I'll walk down with you."
"Good luck!" Sirius called after him.
Remus looked back suspiciously but kept walking. "If you're coming with me because you can't wait another moment to get shot down by Lily again, fine," Remus said over his shoulder, "but if you're coming with me so you can tell me why I should lighten up on Sirius, save your breath. I'm doing the best I can."
"I know," James replied. "You're being nicer to him than that stupid sod deserves."
Remus smiled wryly. "Thanks. So how's he doing, really—you know, with his family and all."
"Well, that little snot Regulus just refused to speak to him. That hurt. But overall, I don't think he has any regrets that he walked out on them. You know how miserable he used to get every time he went home or even thought about going home."
Remus nodded.
"He was much happier this summer."
Remus suddenly averted his eyes away from James and looked straight ahead.
"I mean, he was miserable about the problems between you two, but—"
"It's O.K., James. I know what you mean." Remus stopped outside an open compartment door and addressed the three younger boys inside "Cleverer students wouldn't attempt to ignite a dung bomb while a prefect is just outside their compartment," he paused while they hurriedly stuffed several dung bombs into an open canvas bag, "and they would use a time delay charm unless they want to reek. If you don't know any time delay charms, The Standard Book of Spells, Level Three, page—" Remus looked back at James with a puzzled look on his face.
James shook his head. "I know the charm, not the page."
Remus nodded and resumed walking.
"Law abiding prefect," James snorted.
"Let's just call it, 'Tutoring younger students in Charms'," Remus said with a smile. "Speaking of being a prefect, we've got a mystery on our hands. No one has fessed up to being the new Head Boy or Girl yet."
"Head Girl too?" James asked in surprise.
"That's the strange part," Remus said. "When we couldn't find out who the new Head Boy was, I just figured that Dumbledore was having trouble choosing. We all kind of figured it would be Virgil Catto, and— Well, anyway, maybe after Virgil died, Dumbledore needed time to rethink it all. But I've checked around and no one's admitting to being the Head Girl either."
"Strange," James murmured. He took a deep breath and got ready to tell Remus. He knew that Remus deserved to know before anyone else, and he had really meant to tell him sooner—but he hadn't wanted to tell anyone until he received Dumbledore's reply, and after he got the reply, he wanted to tell Remus in person, but then Remus had avoided seeing James (and Sirius) in person, so—here he was minutes away from everyone knowing and he still hadn't told Remus.
"I really hope Pleamon Tierney is the new Head Boy," Remus continued. "I don't want to be it, and if it's Snape, he'll make my life hell. You just know he'll deliberately schedule me to patrol the halls during every—you know—just so I have to trade off with people every month. It's no big deal to trade once in awhile, but every month gets a little sus—"
"It's not Snape," James interrupted. "In fact, it's someone who will definitely work your schedule around your schedule."
"Yeah, who'd do—" Remus began to ask. Then he turned toward James with a strange expression of almost understanding. A girl's voice prevented him from asking the obvious question.
"Hi Remus! Guess what?"
Remus and James both turned to look behind them. Elinor Bagshot and Darius Murphy, Gryffindor fifth years, were both wearing new prefects' badges on their clothes. Elinor was already in her school robe, but Darius had merely pinned his onto his sweater.
"Congratulations, Elinor, Darius," Remus acknowledged. "Welcome to the ranks of the despised and unappreciated."
"Thanks, I think," Darius said.
"Just keep going until you get to the front carriage," Remus said. "We'll be along in a moment. You are going all the way to the front, aren't you, James?"
"Apparently," James said as the two younger prefects squeezed past them. "Although I still don't understand why he picked me. You don't mind, do you?"
Remus smiled. "Are you kidding? I can't wait to see Snape's face when—speak of the devil." Remus grinned even broader for just a moment as he saw Severus Snape approach with Bellatrix Black and a sixth year Slytherin prefect. Then the smile was gone.
"Poker face," James thought as he matched Remus's calm expression.
"Aren't you at the wrong end of the train, Potter?" Snape asked. "Or are you here to hold your pet's leash?"
James was momentarily confused by the obvious dog reference and almost looked around to see if Sirius had joined them. Then he remembered that that secret, at least, was still a secret. "Dog joke, wolf joke, very funny. You won't be so smug in a few minutes, Snivellus." "You know us stupid Gryffindors, Snape, we go everywhere in groups," he said calmly.
"Don't you mean 'in packs'?"
James felt Remus stiffen beside him. "This is going to be a very long year," James thought. "He's going to drop hints until someone figures it out, or he drives Remus mad with worry." James cocked his head and pretended to think about Snape's question for a moment. "I don't know. What do you call a group of lions, Remus? Is it a pack?"
"No, I believe they are called a pride." A warning whistle signaled that the Hogwarts Express would soon pull out of the station.
"So they are," James said as put a hand on Remus's shoulder and gave him a slight nudge to resume walking toward the front of the train. He continued speaking loudly enough that the Slytherins walking with Snape would overhear. "But I don't know if I like that. I mean, what would I call you? My fellow pride member?—too long. My pridemate?—too weird. Maybe we should just take Severus's advice and call the Gryffindors a pack of lions. Want to be my packmate, Remus?"
Remus glanced back at James with a slight smile. Snape could make all the pack references he wanted; James had effectively rendered them harmless.
As they entered the front carriage, James immediately began to scan the students mingling in the corridor looking for the auburn hair of Lily Evans. Of its own accord, his hand strayed up to his unruly hair and emphasized the windswept look. He nearly collided with her as she stepped out of a compartment door and the train suddenly lurched forward.
"Hey, Lily." He knew that he was grinning like a fool, but really, with Lily only an inch away in the crowded corridor, he had a good excuse. Freckles speckled her nose and the tops of her cheeks. He thought they set off her emerald eyes rather nicely.
"Oh! Hello, James. What are you doing up here?"
"Excellent question," Bellatrix sneered. "You escorted your little boyfriend up here; you can run along now."
"No, he's here to drool over Evans," Snape said as he pushed his way between them and headed farther forward. "Your cousin is the one who drools over Lupin."
"Let's just get the meeting started, shall we?" Lily said sharply. She made her way to the section of the corridor halfway between the front two compartments. "Would the fifth and sixth year prefects all find a seat. The seventh years can stay here in the corridor if they want. That way everyone can hear."
James flattened himself against the wall beside Remus as younger students all found their places. James noticed that the Slytherins and Gryffindors had made a point of sitting in different compartments. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws filled in the empty seats. A new Slytherin prefect caught James's eye. He glanced over at Remus and saw that he was looking in the same direction.
"Look around, everyone, and see if anyone from your house isn't here yet," Lily said as soon as everyone seemed to find their chosen places.
"You can sit here, Remus," Elinor said hopefully.
"Thank you, Elinor, but I think I'll stay out here."
"You can run along now, Potter," Snape said, "unless Dumbledore's latest bit of favoring the Gryffindors was to make you a prefect."
James shook his head. "Nope, not a prefect." He glanced at Remus and saw his "No, I'm not up to anything, Professor" expression was still firmly in place. "But I was hoping to hang around long enough to find out who the new Head Girl is. I hear it's quite a secret this year. Anyone want to confess?"
Lily raised her hand and smiled. She then immediately turned to Sophia Sinistra and Tansy Hopkins. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you the truth when you asked this summer, but Professor Dumbledore insisted that I not tell anyone before today."
"That's O.K., Lily," Tansy said. "Congratulations."
"Congratulations. You deserve it," Sophia agreed.
Remus suddenly stiffened and turned his head toward the compartment containing the Slytherin prefects. James looked at him questioningly, but Remus didn't explain what he'd heard.
"Only one mystery remaining," Remus said as he looked pointedly at Snape. "Who's the new Head Boy?"
"I don't care who it is, as long as he's human," Snape declared quietly as he stared back at Remus. The hatred in Snape's eyes made James wonder just how badly he would have reacted if the new Head Boy were the werewolf who almost killed him. James slowly raised his hand. Snape's dark eyes flicked to James; the hatred there did not abate one bit.
"Very funny, Potter," Bellatrix said. "You aren't even a prefect, as you yourself pointed out."
"Actually, it isn't necessary to have been a prefect in order to become Head Boy or Girl," Lily pointed out. Bellatrix glared at with her with undisguised loathing. Snape was still silently staring at James. He only turned away when James pulled from his pocket the golden badge and showed it to Remus.
James looked up with a smile at Lily, hoping he had finally done something worthy of her approval. She was smiling, but her eyes were wary. If James had to guess what she was thinking, it would be a combination of, "Congratulations," and "What has Dumbledore done to me now?"
"Now that that's out of the way," Lily said as she pulled a pile of papers out of her bag and began to pass them around, "let's get down to business. I made up a schedule for us to patrol the train today—don't worry, you all get your fair share of free time—and a schedule for the first two nights back at school. We'll have our first prefects' meeting on the third at eight o'clock, unless someone has a conflict already." She looked at Remus, and he shook his head very slightly.
James took a quick look at the schedule as he received a copy. The first hour on the train, the fifth year Hufflepuffs, the sixth year Gryffindors, and the seventh year Ravenclaws had patrol duty. During the second hour, it was the fifth year Slytherins, the sixth year Hufflepuffs, and the seventh year Gryffindors. It continued on in this way, rotating through the houses and years. James noted that the schedule was on white Muggle paper, rather than parchment, and that his copy and Remus's were identical, even down to a mistake that had been crossed out. He wondered what kind of copying charm she had used and how she had gotten away with using that charm during the summer.
"After that first meeting," she continued, "James and I will make up the first patrol schedule. The master one will be posted in the prefects' office, and you'll each receive copies as well. We'll make a new schedule every two months. Tell us in advance of any conflicts you have—you know, Quidditch practice, study groups, that sort of thing—and we'll try to accommodate you. However, if a conflict comes up after the schedule is posted, it's your responsibility to make sure your shift is covered. Trading with other prefects is fine, but you must write in the changes on the master schedule in the office. Changes on the master schedule will show up on everyone's copies.
"The prefects' office is near the library; have another prefect show you if you don't know where. The password will be—James?" She waited expectantly. Several passwords whirled through James's mind, but half were insulting to the Slytherins and the other half had to do with Quidditch.
Then he knew. "Emerald eyes," he said with a smile. He wasn't sure if Lily really blushed, or if it were wishful thinking on his part, but she did drop her eyes and look down at the floor before replying.
"'Emerald eyes'. It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, only prefects are allowed to know the password. Oh, and that goes double for the passwords for the prefects' bathrooms. I'll set the password for the girls' bathroom tonight and then let you know what it is."
"Tell us now, Lily," said one of the male prefects. Several people laughed and the girl beside him gave him a shove.
After a few more messages, the meeting broke up. Those who did not have patrol duty during the first hour were free to stay in the front of the train or head back to see other friends. James was quite pleased when Lily made a point of joining Remus and himself as they walked back through the train.
"Lily, may I just say, 'Wow!'" James said with a smile. "I now know what it means to live in a benign dictatorship. You can order me around any day."
"Well, the next meeting, expect to do more than listen. I took over today since you don't know the ropes yet, but I expect you to carry your fair share from here out."
"I'll do my best."
She paused outside the compartment where Elinor Bagshot was now sitting with her friends. "Elinor, you get to pick Gryffindor's first password of the year. Make sure you go tell it to the Fat Lady when we first get to school and then come back to the feast and tell us. That way if anyone wants to leave the feast early they can." Elinor grinned and nodded. "And when you see Darius, remind him that he's in charge of escorting our first years up to the common room."
"O.K.," Elinor said. She then looked past Lily at Remus. "Any suggestions for the password, Remus?"
"Just pick something unlikely to be in everyday conversation," he replied. "You don't want the portrait hole to open just because someone happened to say the right words."
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."
Lily giggled as they walked away. "Someone has a crush," she whispered in a sing-song voice.
"Shut up, Evans," Remus said, but he sounded amused.
"Make sure you show Darius and James where the Prefects' bathroom is tonight. James has to set a password."
"I already know where it is," James said.
"Why am I not surprised?" Lily said as she looked between the two young men with an exasperated smile. "Well, here I am," she said as she stopped outside the compartment containing some of her friends. "Maybe I'll see you later when we have patrol duty. Even though you aren't a prefect and aren't technically on the schedule, James, just go on duty when Remus does."
"Sure."
"Lily, will you do me a favor?" Remus asked. "Wait for James and I to come get you for patrol duty. In fact, don't go anywhere alone for a few days. Walk with your friends or one us whenever you leave the common room."
James looked at Remus in confusion and then wondered if this strange request had anything to do with whatever Remus had overheard the Slytherin prefects say. Lily did not seem confused by Remus's request. She merely smiled, nodded, and said, "Thanks," as she gave Remus's arm a squeeze.
"Hey, Sirius," James said when they reached their own compartment, "Guess who the new Slytherin prefect is."
Sirius stared for a moment, considering. Then he made a noise of disgust and knocked his head back against the wall behind him. "Mother must be thrilled."
Author's Note: I've had some people ask if Lily glances at Remus when she asks if anyone has a conflict on September third because she knows that he is a werewolf or because she's merely noticed his frequent absences. It's the latter. She's noticed his frequent absences but has believed his excuses. If she had figured that he was a werewolf, she'd already know exactly when he would be absent, and she'd know that the third would not be a conflict.