Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. The plot is slightly mine, but not entirely. Everything you recognize belongs to Joanne Kathleen Rowling, the magician who created the Harry Potter series.
Summary: Once, Alice had asked Lily why she and James never got along. In answer, Lily had replied, "Potter and I are incompatible." It was the only thing she and James agreed upon.
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INCOMPATIBLE CHAPTER ONELily Evans stood in front of the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten at King's Cross Station with her family. Her mother was fighting back tears as she bid farewell to her youngest daughter.
"And make sure to write," Rose Evans was saying. Her husband stood next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist, and he rolled his eyes at Lily as Rose continued. "You're sure you have everything?"
"Yes, Mum," Lily replied exasperatedly. Her mother had asked her this at least five times in the past ten minutes. Rose opened her mouth again, presumably to continue interrogating her daughter, but her husband cut her off.
"Leave the poor girl alone, Rose," Charles Evans interrupted. "You'll worry yourself to death!" He smiled at Lily. "Take care of yourself, all right, Lily?"
"Of course, Dad," Lily replied, thanking him with a wide smile. She turned to her teary-eyed mother. "Mum, I really have to go; the train's leaving in fifteen minutes, and I want to find my friends."
"All right, dear," her mother said. "We'll miss you." She hugged her daughter. "You are coming home for the holidays, aren't you?"
"Yes, Mum," Lily replied. "I wouldn't miss Petty's wedding for anything." Charles looked at his daughter skeptically, noting the sarcasm in her voice as she spoke of her older sister, Petunia.
"Oh, good!" Rose said. "We'll see you then."
"Take care, Lily," her father said, hugging her. "Have a good year."
"Thanks, Dad," Lily said. "I will. See you at Christmas!" She waved to her parents, pushing her trolley towards the barrier. She walked through it, entering Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
The platform was swarming with Hogwarts students and their families as the children got ready to set off for the new school year. Lily could see several people she knew, and waved to them. Two boys dashed past her, yelling exuberantly.
"Didn't I tell you that would be great, Padfoot?" one of them yelled. He had messy black hair and hazel eyes that shone with mischief behind his wire-rimmed glasses. His companion, a boy with black hair that fell elegantly into his bright black eyes, laughed.
"Of course you did, Prongs," he said. "But we'd better find Moony and Wormtail; Snivellus' on our tail!"
Another boy, dressed in black Hogwarts robes with greasy black hair and a hooked nose, chased after the other two. The source of his anger was revealed when his robes swept back, revealing a small pink dress.
"Potter! Black!" he exclaimed. "Change it back!"
"Sorry, Snivellus," the bespectacled boy answered as he dashed off. "But that charm lasts for a week!" The other boy made a sound of anger and continued his pursuit. They dashed out of sight, and Lily shook her head. James Potter and Sirius Black enjoyed tormenting Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy who was James' archenemy. Her thoughts were turned from the three boys when she spotted one of her friends standing nearby.
"Alice!" she exclaimed. A blonde-haired girl, with a round, smiling face, turned to face her friend.
"Lily!" she replied, making her way through the crowd to her best friend. "Dorcas and Marlene are saving a compartment for us! Come on!" She helped Lily heave her trunk and owl cage onto the train, and they headed down the train, chatting amiably.
"So how was your summer, Lily?" Alice asked.
"It was nice, for a change," Lily replied. "Petty hardly bothered me; she's too busy trying to plan the wedding of the century. She's going to make all the bridesmaids wear pink." Lily shuddered. "The dresses are these horrible confections of lace and bows, and it's all hot pink." Alice nodded sympathetically.
"I bet that looks awful with your hair," she said, referring to Lily's auburn locks.
"That's exactly why Petty chose it," Lily replied. "Mum tried to persuade her otherwise, but Petty said that if she had to let me be a bridesmaid, then we would have to wear it. She hates me, Alice, she really does." Alice noted the sadness in her friend's voice, and quickly changed the subject.
"I met Frank's family over the summer," she said, referring to her boyfriend of two years. Frank Longbottom had graduated from Hogwarts the year before, and had been in Gryffindor with them. Alice had been extremely nervous about meeting the Longbottoms when Lily had last seen her, at the end of July.
"Oh, really?" Lily asked, her attention effectively diverted from all matters concerning her sister. "How'd it go?"
"All right, I guess," Alice replied. "His mum's scary." Lily laughed. She had heard rumors of Mrs. Longbottom, and had gathered that she was very strict. "Frank says they liked me, though, so I guess that's a good thing."
"How are you two going to keep in touch?" Lily asked. "I mean, he's training to be an Auror now, and you're still in school."
"We're going to write to each other each week, and we've agreed to meet up at Hogsmeade weekends," Alice responded, opening the door to a compartment. "Otherwise, we'll just have to wait for Christmas and Easter holidays." There were two girls in the compartment. One had brown hair and brown eyes, and was heavily tanned. The other was pale with raven hair and bright blue eyes.
"Lily!" the first exclaimed, rushing forward and hugging her friend.
"Hullo, Marlene," Lily said, hugging her back. They broke away, and she turned to the other girl. "'Lo, Dorcas."
"'Lo, Lily," Dorcas said, hugging her red-haired friend. "Alice been boring you with tales of Frank?"
"There's nothing boring about them," Lily said, her green eyes glittering with amusement. "It's a regular soap opera!" The other girl laughed, while Marlene looked on, confused, and Alice became indignant.
"Is not!" she exclaimed. "We don't have any of those problems most couples have!"
"Which is why it's a soap opera," Lily said. "It's too perfect." She made her voice high-pitched. "'Oh, Frank! You're so wonderful!'" she exclaimed, fluttering her eyelashes demurely.
"Stop!" Alice said, pushing her friend good-naturedly. "You're so mean, Lily."
"Um, Lily?" Marlene asked.
"Yes, 'Lene?" Lily said, turning to her brown-haired friend.
"What's a soap opera?"
"Muggle thing," the other three chorused. Alice and Dorcas were half-bloods—one parent magical, the other non-magical—Lily was a muggle-born—both of her parents were non-magical—and Marlene was a pureblood—both of her parents were magical. Thus, the other three would often talk about muggle things, leaving Marlene confused.
"Oh," Marlene said.
"So, how were your summers?" Lily asked, sitting down.
"Same as usual," Dorcas said. "I'm seriously going to kill Benjy Fenwick if he asks me out one more time." The other three laughed. Benjy Fenwick was a Ravenclaw in their year who was besotted with Dorcas.
"Oh, come on, Dorcas!" Alice exclaimed. "We know you like him; just go out with the poor boy already!"
"I do not!" Dorcas retorted. "There is as much chance of my going out with Benjy as there is of Lily going out with James!"
"At least you use his first name," Marlene said. "Lily can't even say 'James', can you, Lily?"
"Nope," Lily replied proudly. "He is, has been, and always will be 'Potter' to me." Her other friends sighed.
"Lily, why can't the two of you just get along?" Alice asked.
"I've told you a thousand times, Alice," Lily replied. "We're not meant to be friends!"
"Why don't you just try, Lily?" Alice, ever the peacemaker, asked.
"It's just so much easier to hate him," Lily responded. "But we've strayed from the topic. How was your summer, 'Lene?"
"Oh, I went to Greece," Marlene answered.
"That explains your tan," Lily said. "How was it?"
"Fantastic," her friend said, getting a far-off look in her eyes. "The boys there were so dreamy…" She trailed off.
"Merlin, here she goes again," Dorcas said exasperatedly. She shook her friend. "Marlene! There are no boys from Greece here!"
"Oh, right," Marlene said dejectedly. She then turned to Lily. "How was your summer?"
"Petty's being unbearable about her wedding," Lily said. "But she stayed out of my way for the most part; I'm so glad we can use magic at home now."
"I can't," Marlene said. "I'm not seventeen yet."
"But you'll be seventeen in a month or so," Alice said, comforting her friend. Dorcas turned to Lily, a merry glint in her eyes.
"I heard that someone got Head Girl," she said.
"Oh, shoot!" Lily exclaimed. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her Head Girl badge as she stood up.
"What?" Marlene asked, surprised. Lily pinned her badge to her shirt.
"I have to be up in the Heads Compartment to address the Prefects and meet the new Head Boy!" she exclaimed. "I'll see you later. Try not to have too much fun without me, okay?"
"Don't worry, we will," Dorcas said, grinning. Lily laughed, running out the door.
"What do you think she's going to say when she finds out who the Head Boy is?" Alice asked the other two worriedly.
"I dunno," Marlene said. "I just hope she doesn't castrate him; Aunt 'Lissa would never forgive me." All of the purebloods were related; thus, Marlene was James' cousin (her Aunt Melissa was his mother).
"Yeah," Dorcas agreed. They fell silent, waiting anxiously for their friend's return.
***
Lily proceeded up to the front carriage, greeting all the people she knew as she passed. There was a nasty incident involving a carriage of Slytherins, but Lily managed to escape with minimal injury to her pride. She finally arrived at the Heads Compartment and pushed it open to find all the Prefects waiting there attentively. The Head Boy was nowhere to be seen.
Taking another look, Lily noticed another absence: Remus Lupin was not there. Thus, she assumed that he was Head Boy. She was consequently surprised when the door flew open behind her, revealing James Potter, a Head Boy badge pinned to his shirt.
"I'm terribly sorry, Evans," he said earnestly. "I totally forgot." Lily sniffed disapprovingly, but said nothing. Remus Lupin entered behind him, slipping silently into his seat and nodding to Lily in greeting. Lily noticed the looks of loathing that Severus Snape was throwing at Remus, and wondered what had incited this detestation; Snape had never looked at Remus so hatefully.
"All right, then," Lily said. "I'm going to take attendance." She waved her wand. A list of Prefects immediately appeared in front of her.
She called the roll, her eyes widening slightly at some of the new Prefects; Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, was the new male Slytherin Prefect, while Fabian Prewett, Alice's Hufflepuff cousin, was the new Prefect for his house. When she reached the Seventh Year Prefects from Slytherin, Bellatrix Black and Severus Snape, both shot her equal glares of abhorrence. Most Slytherins hated Muggleborns, and these two were no exception. Both must be sore about not getting the Head positions, Lily mused.
She finished, rolling up the sheet of parchment and vanishing it with a wave of her wand.
"I'm Lily Evans, the Head Girl this year," she said. She paused, indicating to James that he should speak.
"I'm James Potter, the Head Boy," he said. Lily looked at him in surprise; his arrogant nature had yet to show itself.
"Oy, James!" one of the boys called. Lily recognized him as Elphias Doge, the new Gryffindor Prefect. "How'd you get to be Head Boy?"
"I dunno," James said, shrugging his shoulders. He ran his hand through his hair, a habit of his that Lily hated. "Dumbledore thought I was the best person for the job, I guess. He was right, of course." Lily detected a hint of the arrogance that she knew so well, and her surprise evaporated. James Potter had not changed one bit.
"Moving on," Lily said, narrowing her emerald eyes at James, "you are all here because you have been selected as the best of the best. As Prefects, you are expected to be role models to the school, and to enforce the school rules. Contrary to popular belief, they do have a purpose, and the position of Prefect is a highly prestigious one.
"Your duties include, but are not limited to, patrolling the hallways after hours to ensure that no one is engaging in—inappropriate—behavior, organizing school events, and, of course, making sure that everyone follows the rules. You have the power to assign detentions, but may not dock points. And to give detentions, you must get them cleared with a teacher or the Heads." She thought for a minute. "That's about it. Any questions?" No one spoke.
"You are dismissed," she said. "Make sure you patrol the train for about an hour or so in pairs. Have a good year!" There was a flurry of movement as everyone rushed out of the compartment. James, Remus, and Snape stayed behind.
"So, Dumbledore has finally cracked," Snape said smoothly, in his quiet, oily voice. "Making a Mudblood Head Girl? What was our esteemed headmaster thinking?"
"Take that back, Snape," James said, his wand immediately out. Snape's was in his hand barely a second later.
"Potter, put that wand away," Lily said. "I don't need you to defend me."
"But—I—he—"
"I am perfectly aware of what Snape called me," she said coolly. "And Snape? Five points from Slytherin and a detention for inappropriate name-calling."
"You can't dock points," Snape retorted.
"Oh, yes I can," Lily said, smirking slightly. "It's one of the many benefits of being Head Girl. Now go and join your Slytherin friends before I decide to take more." Snape left quickly, and Lily sunk into one of the seats. Remus came up to her.
"Congratulations, Lily," he said in his quiet way, his amber eyes looking deep into her green ones.
"Thanks, Remus," she said. "I thought you would have been Head Boy." Remus shook his head.
"Nah, I'm not much of a Prefect anyway," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly with an apologetic smile.
"You feeling okay?" she asked, noting his pale complexion. "When was the full moon?"
"Last week," Remus replied quietly. She was one of the few people who knew that Remus was a werewolf. "I'm still recovering. It was especially bad this time." He did not add that it had been so hard because James, Sirius, and Peter, who were Animagi and accompanied him during his transformations, had been unable to come and help him. "I'll see you later; I think James wants to talk to you. And please don't kill him, Lily."
"I can't make any promises," she said. "But I'll try, just for you."
"Thanks," he said, leaving the carriage.
"So," Lily said, turning to James. "Congratulations."
"Thanks," James replied. "You too."
"I can't believe it, though. You Head Boy? You're the most irresponsible boy in the school!"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Evans," he said sarcastically. "We all knew you were going to be Head Girl. Perfect Prefect Evans: how could you not be Head Girl?" Lily's temper started to rise as the name from the previous year came up.
"Seeing as we have to work together, I think we should…make a truce of sorts," Lily said, trying to repress the anger rising in her. She had to force the words out.
"A truce?" James asked, raising his eyebrow. "What kind of truce?"
"You don't bug me, I don't bug you."
"But getting under your skin is so fun, Evans!" James exclaimed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Lily was starting to see red, and stepped forward, clenching her fists at her sides.
"I understand that you're not mature enough to take your responsibilities seriously, Potter, but you should at least make an effort; I'm trying here!" she exclaimed. "Now, look, do you agree to try to minimize the fighting for the year?"
"Sure, Evans," he said quickly, noticing the danger signs. He did not want to get on Lily Evans' bad side before the year had even begun. "Whatever floats your boat." He stuck out his hand. "Truce?"
"Truce," she said, shaking his hand. She squeezed it a little harder than necessary, taking her anger out upon it, and when they let go, his hand was red. "I'll see you around, Potter." She turned and left the compartment.
***
James stared after Lily as she swept out of the carriage. What on Earth had possessed her to propose a truce? The two of them had never got along, even when he had had a crush on her, in Fifth Year. Maybe her friends had bothered her as much as his had bothered him? That must have been it. He had to admit that it had been very enjoyable having Sirius living with him over the summer, but his friend's constant bugging on the subject of Lily had become too much more often than not.
James followed Lily out of the carriage, going to join Sirius, Peter, and Remus in their carriage. He pushed the door open and entered.
"So how'd it go, Prongs?" Sirius asked his friend. James' black-haired friend was playing chess against Remus, and from the looks of things, Remus was winning, as usual.
"He's alive, at least," Peter said, looking James over, "and he doesn't seem to be hurt in any way. This must be a first!"
"I was just as surprised as you, Wormtail," James said. "She actually wanted a truce." There was a loud cry from the chessboard as Sirius lost his queen to Remus' castle and turned to face James, shock painted on his face.
"She what?" Sirius asked. He absent-mindedly moved one of his pieces, not really thinking about what he was doing.
"Asked for a truce," James repeated. "I nearly fainted from the shock. She hates me!"
"Which is in no small part attributable to you," Remus said, carefully studying the chessboard. He moved his knight, and Sirius cursed violently as he looked at where Remus had moved his piece.
"English, please, Moony," James said, sitting down and watching the chess game.
"It's mostly your fault that Lily hates you," his werewolf friend translated. "Are you going to make a move, Sirius?"
"Let me think!" Sirius exclaimed. "Why are you so bloody good at chess, Moony?" Remus shrugged.
"When you don't have many friends, you become friends with the chess pieces," he said. "They've taught me all the strategy."
"That's sad, Moony," Peter said, biting the head off a Chocolate Frog.
"But it works," James cut in. "Have you ever seen him lose?"
"No, I haven't," Peter said grudgingly. Sirius finally made his move, taking Remus' bishop with a cry of triumph. Remus simply shook his head, smiling slightly, and moved his rook, checkmating Sirius. The latter groaned loudly and thumped his head on the chessboard.
"That's five galleons you owe me, Padfoot," Remus said, leaning back with a grin.
"You're still betting against Moony in chess?" James asked his best friend in surprise. Sirius smiled sheepishly.
"I need some extra Galleons; I'm saving up to buy that flying motorbike," he said.
"If I know my mum and dad, they'll buy it for you anyways," James said. "They like you a heck of a lot better than they like me." He imitated his mother's voice. "'No, James, you can't have any more cookies. Oh, Sirius dear, would you like some more? James, come inside and take out the garbage. Would you like some lemonade out there, Sirius?'" The other boys laughed and James shook his head. "You would think that you're their son, not me!'
"It's just my natural charm, Prongs," Sirius said, striking a pose. The other three laughed.
"You think that, Padfoot," Remus said.
"I will, thank you," Sirius said. The other three nearly fell over, their laughter intensifying. "What's so funny?" he asked, looking around in surprise.
"And Evans tells me I have a big ego!" James said, rolling around on the floor. "Sirius, your head is so big and full of gas that I'm surprised you're not floating in the air!"
"Is not!" Sirius protested. "At least my broom can get off the ground!"
"That was low," James said. "Don't remind me of the lake incident." The "lake incident" was the term the boys used to refer to the disaster following the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.s., as it had occurred near the enormous lake on the Hogwarts grounds.
"Not to mention it sounded really dirty," Remus added dryly. "And we know that's not what you meant, Padfoot."
"Nah, it wasn't," Sirius agreed. "So, Prongs, are we going to have a repeat of Fifth Year with Miss Lily Evans?"
"Merlin, no," James said. "I learned my lesson; I'm sticking with safe girls that I know like me."
"But do you like them?" Peter asked.
"Maybe, maybe not," James said, trying to have an air of mystery. Sirius looked at him in surprise before laughing.
"Oh, that's rich!" he exclaimed. "You're still carrying a flame for Lily!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!'
"Are too!"
"Stop it, guys, you're giving me a headache," Peter said.
"You also sound like Lily and James when they get into an argument," Remus said. "I'm surprised you two can still remember what you're arguing about after five minutes of 'Am not!' and 'Are too!' It's pathetic, really."
"Is not!" James said. The others groaned.
"Let's not start again, Prongs," Remus said. "Please."
"All right," James said. He then decided to steer the conversation away from Lily Evans; Sirius had come closer to the truth than he liked. "So, you guys got any ideas for our start of the year prank?"
"Ooh, pick me, pick me!" Sirius exclaimed, bouncing up and down with his hand in the air. James looked at him over his glasses.
"How much sugar did he have, Moony?" Even if Sirius had eaten sugar at the beginning of the train ride, it would have taken this long to have effect.
"At least three boxes of Every Flavor Beans, five Pumpkin Pasties, twenty Chocolate Frogs, and that's not even counting the amount of candy he appeared to have hidden in his trunk," Remus said, ticking them off on his fingers. James buried his head in his hands.
"We're dead," he said simply as Sirius continued to bounce up and down.
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A/N: And now, thank-yous to all of my wonderful reviewers! I didn't even expect ONE positive review, and I get eleven; wow. You people make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside…
LiLKiKi15: My first reviewer! I hope your question was answered in the above chapter…
J.E.A.R.K. Potter (Erin)
ShimmeringEvil
MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus
wondergirl03
pRoNgSMoOnYPaDfOoT
Anita Coffee: Yeah, I know the feeling. There are so many fics out there that have good plots, but the lack of attention to technical details detracts from reading them. I'm obsessed with perfect grammar and spelling to a fault (my friends say they're going to knock it out of me), and if you find any mistakes, please share them with me. I'm glad you like this fic; please keep reading!
A.
ThreeEaredBunny: Thanks! Yeah, it is somewhat rare, but I do try to write my stories at an educated level. I'm glad you like it.
~*~rOk_stA~*~
Spunky Panda
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Don't forget to review with your suggestions and comments! It helps me make the story better!
~Eos