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.
A/N: Sorry this took me so long…I was having trouble writing the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
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Lily sighed, looking at the mountains of parchment surrounding her. It was the first day of school, and the teachers had already piled on mounds of work, using the excuse of preparing the Seventh Years for their N.E.W.T.s. She allowed her head to fall forward onto the table in the Gryffindor Common Room, groaning.
"I share your pain, Lils," Dorcas said, coming and sitting next to her friend. She dropped her bag on the table with a loud thump, causing the table to teeter like a seesaw.
"Dorcas!" Alice exclaimed as ink spilled all over the table. She quickly picked up her Herbology essay to protect it from the black liquid as Marlene waved her wand, causing the ink to go back into the bottle. Alice sighed with relief, placing her parchment back on the table and scribbling furiously.
"I'm going to die," Lily moaned, still slumped over the table. "Do the teachers want to kill us?"
"Yes," Dorcas said. "I've been trying to tell you that since Fifth Year, but no…Lily Evans doesn't want to put a stain on our beloved teachers, and is too good to listen to the likes of me."
"Shut it," Lily said, looking up at her friend. "I have more work than the rest of you; may I remind you that I'm Head Girl and that I'm taking six N.E.W.T. classes, while you three are only taking four?"
"Well, that's what you get for being an overachiever," Marlene said, furiously waving her Charms essay in the air to dry the wet ink. "See, we all know not to bite off more than we can chew, Lily, but you're just pushing it."
"I thought I told you three to shut it?"
"You started it by complaining about all the work you have to do," Dorcas said, her nose buried in her Potions book. Lily sighed.
"I know, it's just…I can't get this Transfiguration assignment!" Lily exclaimed. "It's so hard!"
"Lily, you know none of us are exactly Transfiguration whizzes," Marlene said. Alice was still scribbling furiously, not saying a word to anyone. Lily sighed again.
"I know," she said. "The only people I can ask are Sirius and Potter, and Sirius is in detention, which leaves Potter, and there's no way I'm going to talk to him of my own free will!"
"I thought you made a truce with him?" Marlene asked. Lily silently cursed herself for telling the other girls what had passed between her and James.
"Only for Head Boy and Girl business," Lily protested, pulling her Charms text towards her. "I'll just finish the rest of my work and wait for Sirius to get back."
"Lils, knowing him as well as I do, you know that Sirius won't be back until past midnight, and we do have classes tomorrow," Dorcas said. "Just ask James for help."
"No way," Lily said. "There is no way I'm asking that—that—jerk for help!"
"Talking about me, Evans?" James Potter's dry voice came from behind her, and she whirled around to face him. "Flattered as I am, Dumbledore wants to see us." Lily sighed, pushing her chair back and getting up.
"I'm coming, Potter," she said wearily. "Don't wait up."
"But you don't know the password, and I do," James said. Lily glared at him.
"Do you want me to kill you, Potter?" she asked, walking towards the portrait hole. She climbed out from behind the Fat Lady, followed by James.
"Considering all the homework the teachers have been giving us, death will be a nice respite," he said as they walked towards the headmaster's office. "So, by all means, go ahead and kill me. Just know that I'll haunt you for the rest of your life."
"There's no getting rid of you, is there?" Lily asked in exasperation.
"Nope," James said proudly. "Get used to me, Evans, because you're stuck with me."
"Oh, I don't have to get used to you," Lily said with a smirk, pulling out her wand and twirling it between her fingers. "I can just threaten you with harm to your…crown jewels, if you get my meaning, Potter." James did comprehend, but did not say anything. He settled for glaring at her, although it was much less satisfying than retorting with his usual cutting remark.
James remembered all too well the time in Third Year when his and Lily's friends had locked the two of them in a closet in an attempt to get them to be friends. Come to think of it, what had possessed them to keep the two bickering Gryffindors locked up in a very small space for a long period of time? Anyway, Lily and James had ended up arguing, as usual, and it had ended with her kicking him in his crotch. He had been in agony for two days; Lily had been wearing high-heeled boots at the time, being fairly short for her age. James was not eager to feel that kind of pain again.
He was jerked from his reminiscence as Lily stopped in front of him. They had reached the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office, and she looked at him expectantly. James suddenly noticed how green her eyes were…
"The password, Potter?" she asked sharply, jerking him from his reverie. Was I just staring at Evans? he asked himself in shock.
"Er…right," he said. "Peppermint toads," he said to the gargoyle, which sprung aside, revealing the spiral staircase that led to the headmaster's room. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing to the stairway and looking at Lily.
She glanced at him in surprise before climbing onto the stone steps as they rose upward in a spiral. It was very unlike him to be so…gentlemanly. He followed her and the staircase continued to spiral up until it stopped at the oak door that led to Dumbledore's office. Lily raised the brass knocker and rapped hesitantly on Dumbledore's door.
"Come in," the headmaster called from inside. Lily pushed the door open and James followed her in, closing the door behind him. Dumbledore was writing something, his half-moon spectacles gleaming in the light of the fire nearby. The quarter moon shone through the windows, resting upon Dumbledore's array of whirling gadgets on the spindly tables scattered about the room and illuminating them slightly. Dumbledore looked up and smiled at Lily and James, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
"Ah, nice to see you, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter," he said. "I assume that you have figured out why I have called you here?"
"Is it Heads' business, Professor?" Lily asked. Dumbledore smiled.
"Right as always, Miss Evans," he said. Lily's cheeks turned slightly pink, while James scowled at her.
"Perfect Prefect Evans," he muttered under his breath. Lily instantly turned to glare at him; if looks could kill, James would be dead and buried five hundred times over.
"Sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore asked, pulling out a bowl of sweets and offering it to the two, who were glowering at each other. They turned to look at him in surprise and shook their heads, their quarrel forgotten. That was typical of Lily and James; neither of them could remember their small, inconsequential arguments, although every now and then they would have a fight that would leave them not talking to each other for several weeks. (Their friends hoped and prayed for these fights but also dreaded them, as they usually meant that Lily and James' argument would be longer and louder, but also meant that there would be a respite—however brief—from the constant fighting that plagued the Gryffindor common room.) Dumbledore shrugged and popped one of the round, yellow sweets into his mouth.
"Suit yourselves," he said. "Moving on, the main reason I called you here is to discuss your duties as Heads. You still have to do all of the Prefect duties, but there are some other responsibilities that you have.
"You are in charge of organizing any school-wide events such as balls, feasts, parties, et cetera, although you may ask for the assistance of the Prefects in such planning. You will run the Prefects' meetings and submit a report of what was done at each one. You are also responsible for coordinating such Prefect duties as patrolling the hallways and regulating trips to Hogsmeade—which you will also be in charge of organizing. You must keep a record of all the detentions given and points deducted—although only you two may deduct points. You can change passwords, but they must be passed by one of the four Heads of Houses or myself; nothing inappropriate, please." His twinkling blue eyes swept over to James as he said this. "Also, you are expected to use your knowledge of the passwords in a responsible manner, not for mischief-making." Again, his gaze lingered on James. "That's about it; any questions?" Lily and James shook their heads.
"And another thing, Miss Evans, Mister Potter," Dumbledore said. "I know that the two of you have a…volatile…relationship, but please try to get along for the sake of the rest of the school." Lily and James murmured their agreement. "That is all for now; feel free to come see me if you have any questions."
"Thank you, Professor," Lily said. She left the room, followed by James. As she stepped off the staircase, walking briskly down the hallway, he called after her.
"Evans!" he called. "Wait up!" She paused, turning around and looking at him questioningly.
"Make it quick, Potter," she said. "I have a ton of homework to do, and I don't need you holding me up."
"Look," James said, running his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. He did not notice Lily's eyes narrow in annoyance. "I know we got off to a bad start yesterday, and I'm sorry." He extended his hand. "Can we renew that truce?"
"Did I ever say that it was off?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," James said hesitantly, "but from your behavior towards me all day, I thought that was what you wanted." Lily smiled slightly.
"It was," she said. "But I shall reconsider your offer, Potter, and give you my answer tomorrow morning." James sighed, not knowing whether he was relieved or disappointed. He then had an idea.
"And if you want help with Transfiguration, I'm willing to give it to you," James said. He suddenly realized that he had made a mistake as Lily's eyes narrowed in anger.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Mister Potter," she said coldly. James flinched at her tone. "But I do not need help with Transfiguration. What gave you cause to believe that I did?"
James smacked himself mentally. Lily hated it when other people offered help; she was very self-sufficient and hated to ask for assistance from other people, especially James. (She was also rather proud, although no one had ever been able to get her to admit to it.) Whenever James offered to help her (which was a rare occurrence) she always felt that he had some ulterior motive, and, now that he thought back on it, she had fairly good reason to. First, there was his telling her the spell that exploded things when they were supposed to be turning a beetle into a button in Transfiguration, in Second Year, then the pink and purple bunny ears he gave her when he was "helping" her with Human Transfiguration…and how could he ever forget the prank his friends had nicknamed the "Flying Vegetable" incident? (He had turned a flock of birds into carrots to attack her, causing her to blow up at him—his nickname for her had been "carrot-top", a name that she despised. However, that nickname was dropped in favor of "Perfect Prefect Evans," which made its appearance in Fifth Year.)
"I…er…um…that is…" James fumbled for an answer that would keep Lily from causing him bodily harm, becoming increasingly nervous as she took her wand out and tapped it against her palm.
"Today, Potter," she said, getting annoyed.
"Evans, please don't kill me," he said. "I was just listening to you talking to your friends, and I couldn't help but overhear what you said about the Transfiguration homework…"
"So you were eavesdropping, then," Lily said flatly.
"Not really," James said, his eyes twinkling. "I wasn't dropping any eaves, if that's what you mean." Lily started twirling her wand.
"Potter, this isn't the time for you to make wisecracks," she said irritably. "If I just…" she waved her wand absently, and James fumbled for his wand to defend himself. However, nothing happened; Lily did not say anything, nor did she point her wand at him. She just kept waving it aimlessly as they walked along the corridors.
Finally, they stopped at the picture of the Fat Lady, who guarded the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Lily said the password ("cherry bomb") and entered the common room. James followed her, keeping enough distance between the two of them so that he would be able to get out of the way quickly if Lily suddenly decided to hex him. She whirled around as soon as they were both in the common room, and James braced himself, tightening his grip on his wand.
"Potter, I'm warning you," she said coldly, "I have enough to deal with this year without you adding to it. Now, I need to get back to my work and can't afford to have a detention, so consider yourself lucky. Next time, I won't hesitate to hex you. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," he said, gulping as she looked up at him angrily. Although he was several inches taller than she was, she somehow managed to seem as if she was towering over him.
"Good," Lily said. She walked over to the table where her friends were still working on their homework. She paused before settling down and turned around, facing James, who was still staring at her. "Oh, and Potter? I would advise you not to play any more of your pranks on the Slytherins, or you might find something nasty waiting for you." With this ominous threat, she sat down, pulling out her Potions textbook.
James gaped at her. This was not the Lily Evans he had known; something was definitely off with her. Normally, she would simply ignore him, not threaten him. Or she would yell at him as she threatened him, not say it so coolly. What had changed?
With a sigh, James left off thinking about Lily and got to work on his homework. Like Lily, he was taking six N.E.W.T. classes. However, she was studying to become a Healer, while James' dream was to become an Auror. To accomplish this goal, he would have to work hard (for once), something he was unused to; he was used to everything coming to him with a snap of his fingers. (Except for Charms, but that was another story.)
Finally, around midnight, James finished his work. He heard a sigh from across the room and glanced up, seeing Lily scribbling furiously on her roll of parchment; they were the only two people in the common room. James collected his books and work and stuffed them into his bag in preparation for the next day.
Suddenly, both he and Lily heard sounds from outside the portrait hole; it sounded like someone was arguing with the Fat Lady. James crept to the hole and strained his ears to hear what was going on outside. He grinned as the voices and words became clear.
"What business of yours is it that I'm back so late?" Sirius' voice was bellowing at the Fat Lady.
"You don't have to wake me up so loudly!" the Fat Lady exclaimed irritably. "All you have to do is ask nicely!"
"Well, I'm tired!" Sirius exclaimed. "Let me in!"
"Not without the password," the Fat Lady said haughtily.
"I already told you that I don't remember the password!" Sirius said angrily. "You know that I'm a Gryffindor; just let me into the bloody Tower!"
"No password, no entrance," the portrait said. James heard Sirius sigh in exasperation.
"Damn you and your stubbornness!" he cursed the portrait. James finally decided that his friend had probably had enough, and crawled through the portrait hole, pushing open the Fat Lady's picture.
"Who's there?" she asked loudly.
"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed. "I thought I was going to be stuck out here all night!"
"Shh," James cautioned him. "Do you want to wake up the whole school? You've been making enough noise to wake the dead, Padfoot!"
"Well, Filch kept me until midnight, polishing all those trophies—" Sirius started, but James shushed him.
"You can tell me in the common room," he said. "Just get in."
"Thanks, mate, you're a lifesaver," Sirius said, climbing in. He closed the portrait behind him loudly, causing the Fat Lady squawked indignantly.
"So, what happened?" James asked his friend, aware of Lily looking over at the two of them curiously.
"Well," Sirius said, "first of all, Filch got mad at me because I set off a couple of dungbombs in his office before detention, and he was worse than usual during detention."
"What did you have to do?"
"Trophy Room," Sirius sighed. "You would think they'd get a little more creative; I must have polished those things at least three hundred times since First Year!" James laughed.
"They're not creative, and you'd better be thankful that they aren't, otherwise you might be serving detention cleaning out the toilets."
"Yuck," Sirius said, making a face.
"I don't see why that should be a problem," Lily's voice cut in as she walked over to join them. "You blow up enough of the things every week; you should be used to the smell."
"It's not the smell," Sirius said. "They made us clean the Slytherin toilets once." He shuddered. "Cleaning up after Snivellus…gross." Lily laughed.
"Go on with your story, Pad—Sirius," James said, catching himself before he gave away Sirius' nickname. Lily looked at him strangely, but said nothing.
"So Filch made me clean those trophies five times over, until they were so shiny it hurt to look at them," Sirius continued. "He didn't let me go until after midnight. And then, I didn't remember the password, so I was stuck out there until you came, because the Fat Lady's just so bloody stubborn."
"The password's 'cherry bomb,' Sirius," Lily said. "Potter made it up."
"Hey!" James said. "I think it's better than your idea! What kind of password is 'fellytone,' anyways?"
"It's 'telephone,'" Lily sighed exasperatedly. "And it's a Muggle thing; no one would say it randomly."
"Well, no one would say 'cherry bomb' randomly, either!" James exclaimed. "And Dumbledore said that my password was better, so there!"
"He did not!" Lily protested. "You went to him with your suggestion first; if I had got there sooner, he'd never have approved your password! It's ridiculous!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Will you two shut up?" Sirius cut in. "Remus is right; you're worse than two year olds!"
"Shut it!" James exclaimed, turning to Sirius. He then turned back to Lily. "'Cherry bomb' is not a stupid password!"
"It is too!" Lily retorted.
"Is not!" James said.
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not is not is not!"
"Is too is too is too!"
"SHUT UP!" Sirius bellowed. He rubbed his temples. "How you two can argue when it's so late is beyond me. I'm going to bed."
"Fair exchange for waking the rest of the tower, don't you think, Sirius?" Remus asked, coming down the stairs. James cocked his head to one side and realized that Remus was right; he could hear sounds of anger coming from both staircases, along with several cries of "Shut up!" and "Get your arse in bed!"
"Not a pleasant lot after midnight, are they?" James asked.
"Is anyone?" Remus retorted.
"No," Lily said. She yawned widely. "Well, I don't know about you three, but I'm going to bed; I'm exhausted." She climbed up the stairs to the girls' dormitories, bidding Remus and Sirius goodnight. She simply glared at James for a few seconds before turning back around and entering her dorm.
"Me too," Sirius said. "C'mon Remus, let's go."
"Wait a minute," Remus told his friend. He turned to James. "Coming, Prongs?"
"You guys go on up," James said, suppressing a yawn. "I'll be up in a minute." Remus nodded, and beckoned to Sirius. The two boys climbed up the stairs to their dorm, and
James heard the door close behind them as he turned his gaze to the fire. As it flickered, he was reminded of someone whose temper mirrored the blazing flames when they were around him. He sighed.
Why did he and Lily dislike each other so much? In the beginning, each had just rubbed the other the wrong way—Lily was the goody-two-shoes, and James the mischief-maker, the rule-breaker—but that really did not explain almost six years of loathing each other. James often wondered why he had found Lily attractive in Fifth Year; she had not changed significantly, and there had not been anything to explain his sudden infatuation. Sure, they had gone back to hating each other by the start of Sixth Year, but James could never hate Lily the way he had before. More often than not, James would look back on their never-ending fights with a tinge of regret, thinking of how things would be if he and Lily got along. He would be able to see her green eyes light up when she was happy, watch as she tossed her red hair back when she laughed so that it glowed in the sun, see her cheeks flush when she was excited…
James groaned and buried his head in his hands. Sirius was going to have a field day.
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A/N: Chapter 3, everyone! And now comes the part where I thank all the wonderful people who reviewed Chapter 2!
LiTtLe-bLaCk-sTaR: Thanks! Maybe we know what Sirius is going to do, maybe not…he always does something I don't intend for him to do…I'm honored you've put this on your favorites list! Thank you so much!
Berlas: Wow, lots of adjectives. Thank you! Maybe Padfoot will do that to Snivellus, maybe he won't…you'll just have to wait and see!
LimeJuiceTub: Maybe Sirius will make Snivellus declare his undying love for Professor McGonagall, maybe not…things always turn out differently from what I intend for them to be. As for my summary…I had the idea bouncing around in my head for a while: I asked myself what I would do if I had to write an interesting summary…I'm glad you like it! Thanks!
stephy chan: Thanks! In response to your comment about Bill, I went on the Harry Potter lexicon (www.hp-lexicon.com) and checked, and it said that Bill was in school with Lily and James, although younger. However, he would have had to graduate by 1981, which means that, at the latest, he started Hogwarts in 1973, and my story is set in 1977, so…yeah, I guess that was a mistake. But as he doesn't show up any more in my story, I don't really think I need to correct that…Thanks for pointing it out, anyway!
child-of-scorpio: Ah, always glad to meet a fellow insane person. You really thought it was that funny? I feel warm and fuzzy…it took me ages to think of a prank that wasn't clichéd…Thanks!
FrightninglyObsessed: Thanks! We all think we know what Sirius is going to do, but you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?
MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: Thanks!
Hogwarts-Drama-Queen: Lol. I'm glad you like Sirius, and I'm glad you think my OCs are convincible; I do try. And of course I understand why Sirius has to be a spaz…you don't think I'd forget, do you? *wink*
fizban hat: Sorry to burst your bubble, but I keep Sirius under very high security. You'd have to get through three mountain trolls, five giants, and ten dragons before you got him, and then, you'd have to get past them again to get out. So kidnapping Sirius isn't very realistic, but I'll make sure that he has lots of sugar to keep you happy! Hey, I'm a loser too…Go losers! Yes, I do feel bad for Remus and Peter…and yes, Lily is a very naughty girl. Lol. I sent you an e-mail about the Dorcas/Marlene/Alice question; if you didn't get it, tell me and I'll e-mail it again. Thanks for reviewing!
J.E.A.R.K. Potter (Erin): Thanks!
jess131346: And you get two cookies for reviewing Chapter 2! Lol. Yes, I'm going to have lots of fun with Sirius…Thanks!
ThreeEaredBunny: Thanks! I'm honored that you think I'm true to J.K. Rowling's books…But some of the best fics I've read are A/U, so…anyways…Yeah, everyone likes Sirius, and I'm still trying to figure out why…Lol!
Christy Corr: Thanks about the cliché warning…but…*winces* the cliché you've described is something that gets on my nerves too, so I do my best to avoid it. I hate those "perfect" little worlds where Lily hooks up with James and all her other friends start dating the Marauders…doesn't work for me; not everything in life turns out that way. And I don't really think that Lily's friends pushed her into realizing her feelings for James…she's going to have to figure it out on her own. Yes, I love to torture my characters. Also, as far as the Snape-McGonagall incident, I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet…you'll just have to wait and see (as will I)! Thanks for reviewing!
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Thanks to all of you who reviewed! 40 reviews for three chapters; that's a little more than 13 reviews per chapter! Thanks so much, and keep reviewing…you're what keeps me writing!
-Eos