Chapter 2 - All Aboard
Petunia had been left at home. She could not stand to have anything to do with Lily's horrible magic school, nevertheless drop her own sister off at the platform to say goodbye. Her mother had helped her unload her trunk and owl and get it onto the Hogwarts Express. Mrs. Evans struggled with letting go of her daughter, she could not stop hugging her and congratulating her on her Head Girl-ship.
"Mum, really. I have to go and start the Prefect's meeting... and I need to find out who is the Head Boy." Lily pulled away from her clingy mother.
She sighed. "I know, darling, but I'm just so proud of you. I can't believe that you're in your last year at Hogwarts and you're going to go out in the big world..." her voice cracked and trailed off.
Lily smiled at her mother. "I'm not the same eleven-year-old that got on this train six years ago. I'm almost eighteen. I'll be fine... and you know it."
Mrs. Evans had not been paying a lot of attention to her daughter. She was too busy looking over her shoulder at something that caught her eye. "Lily, darling. I do believe you have a very handsome, dark-haired admirer. He hasn't been able to take his eyes off of you since he's arrived."
"Oh mum, it's probably James Potter. I've told you all those stories about him; he's just a big jerk who needs to learn to leave people alone."
"Yes, but he's very... oh my!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "Lily Elaine Evans! You certainly are going to have your hands filled with boys that will be fighting for your attention. There is another handsome boy that staring at you. Except this one has a lighter complexion." She planted a motherly kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Have a great year, Lily. I'll miss you... and I promise that I will force your father to write to you."
"I'm sure you will, mum, but I do have to go. How would it look if I showed up late for my own meeting?" Lily returned the quick kiss and hurried onto the train.
People crowded together clogging the halls of the train. Lily pushed her way through to her normal compartment where she proceeded to discover a smug James and sheepish-looking Peter.
"What are you doing in here?" she practically spat as Remus and Sirius slid in behind her.
A jumble of indiscernible excuses filled the air as all four spoke at once. Her calm demeanor instantly disappeared. "Be quiet! All of you!" she hissed.
Peter trembled in his seat as the other three stared at Lily, someone who normally responded calmly.
"Calm down, Lily," James almost pleaded. "There were no other open compartments. How were we supposed to know that you were using it?"
Her noisy, ragged breathing cut through the silence. "Because you always insisted on bothering me every single train ride to school. It's our last year and I've been using the same compartment for the past six years!" Lily took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Before anybody could find their voice, she broke the silence. "But that's alright. I have to go meet with the Head Boy before the Prefect's meeting." She turned on her heels and marched out of the quiet compartment.
She left them speechless. This was the first time where she had actually exploded on them without the Marauders playing a prank on her.
"Wow, Prongs," Sirius said, "it looks like she finally has a temper that matches her soft... billowy... beautiful hair."
James shot a glare at him. "We didn't do anything, though. We just sat here, waiting for her to come. Just to talk, that's it. We weren't going to play a prank on her. We weren't..."
Remus laughed. "Alright, James. You're rambling, and we get the picture." He stood up. I think I should follow her to the Prefect's meeting. Promise me you'll behave, at least a little?"
Sirius grinned sweetly. "Of course we will, Moony. Don't worry."
He shook his head as he gently closed the compartment door behind him.
Instead of going straight to the meeting, Lily instead decided to go into an empty compartment to change into her school robes. The white blouse fit perfectly on her curved figure while the skirt graced her legs beautifully. She pinned the Head Girl badge to her robe with a slight smile.
Shrinking her other clothes and putting them in a small purse she always carried under her robes, she left the compartment. Pushing her way passed the trolley of snacks, Lily opened the door to the meeting room, locking eyes with the pair of dark gray eyes already in the room.
"I was wondering when you'd be arrive. The Prefect's meeting is supposed to start soon."
She looked puzzled. "Did you..."
"Know?" he interrupted her. "You had a glow about you at Madame Malkins', so I assumed that you made Head Girl. I am most certainly pleased that you are."
She gently blushed, slightly turning her head away.
He seemed to completely ignore her embarrassment, "Anyway... down to business. I assume that you know what we're supposed to discuss, right?"
A tired-looking Remus entered the compartment of the restless Marauders.
"Wow," said Sirius, "I know that Lily's Head Girl and all, but she really couldn't have run you down so quickly." He winked at Remus, who promptly glared back.
"Well I'm sure it would have been much more enjoyable had the Head Boy not been..."
James and Sirius both made wild gestures with their hands. "Wait wait! Don't tell us!" they both exclaimed.
"Is he in... Gryffindor?" James asked.
"No."
"Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff?" Sirius continued.
"No. No."
"He's a Slytherin?" James yelled as Lily slid open the compartment door.
Her lips pursed and her stance seemed to say 'give me one reason to blow up'.
"Why, hello Lily!" Sirius cheerily greeted.
His grin vanished almost instantly as she glared daggers in his direction. "For you information, James Potter, Lucius is a gentleman. More so than you've ever been or ever will be," she spat.
James jumped up. "Lucius Malfoy? That prat! He thinks that he's better than everyone else because he's a pureblood!"
Lily shook her head in his direction. "You're wrong. He's only that way to you because you and your 'Marauders' are almost a disgrace to the wizarding community. You waste your intelligence and wizarding prowess on stupid pranks, instead of becoming more powerful wizards."
All four stared blankly at Lily until Peter found the nerve to speak. "Are you taking his side?"
"Yes, Lily. Are we nuisances and disgraces to the wizarding community?" James asked, his tone threateningly low.
Sirius nodded in silent agreement.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in preparation to reply.
"Don't bother, Lily," James started, "If that's how you feel, that's how you feel."
"...but I..." His now sullen face caused her words to trail off.
Nobody moved. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked at each other. James silently vowed never to speak to, prank, or look at Lily ever again. Lily stood there brooding, suddenly finding herself extremely angry.
"James Potter! How dare you assume that, because I understand somebody, what they believe is what I believe! I..."
"That's..."
"Don't you dare interrupt me! Merlin only knows what'll be left of you when I'm through with you!"
Sirius tensed, ready to prevent James from doing anything that he would regret.
"I am sick of your pranks. I am sick of your ego. Dammit, James, I am just sick of your assumptions of me." She moved closer to him like a condescending mother. "Do you realize that I have to work closely with Lucius all year? Do you know that we share a Common Room and it's most likely that I'll see him almost as much as I see the Gryffindors in all of my classes?" Her voice dropped. "Do you not know that I must understand how almost everybody works in order to attempt to get along with them?"
A brief pause in her speech caused everybody in the compartment to realize that the train had finally stopped and they were at Hogwarts.
She looked sadly upon the Marauders and turned to leave the compartment when she paused. "I'm almost sorry that you think that of me." Her cloak slightly billowed out behind her as Lily left.
James' eyes glued themselves to the floor as the other three moved to prepare to get off the train, knowing he needed to be left alone to brood.
"I don't," he whispered, not loud enough for anyone to hear.