Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor anything else you may recognize. The great J.K. Rowling does! Plus, if I did, would I really be sitting here in this tiny little house instead of a nice big mansion?

- - - - - - -

Silver Linings

:Chapter Three:

Alice Device has been my best friend since first year, when we met on the train. I'll never forget how we met, even if it was a tad embarrassing.

I had only learned about Magic and Wizards two months before, so I was a bit scared. In other words, I was freaked out of my mind.

The Ministry of Magic had kindly sent someone to help me buy all my school things, and learn as much as I could about the Magical world before the big day came. They did that for all Muggle-borns. At least I had Mrs. Crabill, my mentor's, helpful words echoing in my head that day, or I don't think I could have managed without running out of there and back into my mother's arms.

"Just run straight through platforms nine and ten, you'll be fine, don't worry, because on the other side is Hogwarts!" She had said to me reassuringly.

"Smile a lot, and you'll have dozens of friends in no time!" She tried to tell me encouragingly.

But I hadn't smiled at all. I cried, and practically wailed when I got on that train. I was going to have no friends and get horrible marks in all my classes, I knew it. My life was ending. And then Alice found me, curled up all alone in an empty compartment, crying my eyes out.

"It's okay...everything will be all right." She had told me in a soothing voice. "No one is going to mess with my best friend."

Looking back, she must have been as freaked out as I was. But she still comforted me. Alice Device had called me her best friend. And we've been best friends ever since.

Now, six years later, we sit in that very same compartment in silence, something not very common for us. Both of us were gazing out the window, watching all the people scampering around like puppies that had lost their mothers.

As always, I broke the silence. "Do you know who the Head Boy is, Alice?"

Alice glanced at me shaking her head. "No, why would it matter to you?"

I stared at her puzzled before I realized she didn't know of my wonderful accomplishment. I proudly pointed to the shiny badge pinned to my chest.

"Lily! You're Head Girl, fantastic! Not that it's a surprise or anything... now I'll never get in trouble again!"

I grinned. "Yeah, but I have to go to the Prefect's compartment now..."

Alice's smile faltered. "Oh dang I forgot about that. Now I have to spend the whole train ride without you, again."

I shrugged as the conductor blew the whistle. "It's not the whole train ride you know. I'll be back in probably in hour."

Alice nodded as I started out the door. Before I even walked three feet, three boys were standing in front of me.

"Is that an empty compartment? We can't find any on this blasted train!" said Sirius Black, a boy in my year and house. Standing behind him were two of his best friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

"No, actually Alice is in there-"I had started to say, but I was cut off by Black.

"Oh, that's okay then. Toodles Evans." He said sauntering in the compartment behind me. Remus and Peter followed him in. Remus gave me small wave, and Peter grinned.

I continued walking down the train until I reached the compartments marked PREFECTS. But, there was one marked HEADS, so I went in that one confused. I didn't remember a separate compartment last year! Oh well, that was cool.

Lounging inside, eating a Pumpkin Pasty, was the last person I'd ever expect to be sitting in the Head's compartment, with a Head Boy badge pinned on his sweater. James Potter.

I almost laughed out loud at that. Before I continue, let me explain a few things. James Potter and his three best friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, are the school's worst troublemakers. They're rarely seen without another by their side. They have the strongest friendship I've ever seen, and most of it is exercised in the art of pranks and jokes. Life is one big party in the eyes of their little gang. Some would say they all act quite immature, even Remus, who was a prefect. They even have these weird secret nicknames. I think James is Pong or something, and I'm sure Peter is Wormtail. I don't know the other's names. Anyway, you can see how shocked I was to see James sitting in that spot.

"Hey, Evans" James said casually. "I expected it'd be you."

"I didn't expect it to be you." I said on the verge of laughing.

"Tell me about it." He said patting the seat next to him for me to sit down. I did. "When I got my letter, my mother thought Dumbledore had gone nuts." He continued, smiling. "I thought for sure it'd be Remus."

"Well, congratulations anyway." I said smiling. "How come we get our own compartment?" I asked vaguely. "I don't remember the Heads getting a separate one last year."

"They didn't." said James, running a hand through his already messy black hair. "I just thought we deserved it." He said with a glint in his eye.

"You?! What a responsible Head Boy you are!" I said amused.

"Ah, well, I try." He said smirking. "All it took was a sign that said HEADS hanging on the door. I bet I could get one that said FLYING PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS and be able to reserve another empty one."

"Clever." I noted. "But just how are we going to give the prefects guidance, eh?"

"If they want guidance, they can come in here and get it." He retorted. "Can't you hear the racket they're making? Believe me, they don't need us."

"Okay" That sounded reasonable enough. "So what do we do then?"

"Eat pasties." Replied James as he handed me one. Yum.

"Thanks." I said taking a bite. "But really, what do we do?"

"I though you were a prefect." He said grinning as he took a sheet of parchment out of his pocket.

"We are to patrol the halls." He stated reading from it. "Actually the prefects are, but we can do it fine."

"What are you reading from?" I asked, curious.

"It's the letter we got, Lily. Did you not read it?" James asked smirking again.

I remembered opening the letter reading the first line and shrieking with joy. I just tossed the letter aside after that. Oops.

"Not really...I just read the first line..." I said tentatively.

"Oh. Typical Evans." said James, rolling his eyes.

I ignored that. "Well, let's get to patrolling then. And we can check up on the prefects, too."

Once again, James rolled his eyes.

"Hey, if you weren't up for the job, you shouldn't have asked for it." I said in a scolding voice.

"I didn't. It just came."

I glared at him.

"Fine." He said reluctantly getting up and walking out the door. I followed.

- - - - - - -

Patrolling was boring. At least we could talk. I asked James how his summer was. He got into this long story about how he and Sirius went out into the Muggle city to see how it was like. I think he exaggerated just a bit when he said he was threatened with death by a Girl Scout wanting him to buy cookies. I told him I cut the hedges, and one of them looked like a monkey if you squinted your eyes a certain way.

When we passed Alice's compartment, I peeked inside to see who was in there. Just Sirius, Remus, Peter, and her.

"I thought Remus was a prefect. How come he's not in their compartment?" I asked, confused.

"He is. Maybe he just isn't too fond of mobs." James said with a smirk.

I hate it when he smirks.

"Mobs?"

"Mobs."

We went to see the prefect mob, and it wasn't that bad. The compartment was filled with empty candy rabbits, and uneaten Chocolate Frogs crawling around. By the looks of it, the prefects inside had gone insane, playing some sort of tag where everybody was it. Dumbledore was nuts I guess.

James and I decided we better break it all up, since we have the power to do so.

As soon as we walked in, the chaos stopped. Oh look, the little prefects are such innocent angels. "WHAT have you been doing?" I asked trying to use a stern voice.

"I don't know. What have you been doing? Were you and the Head Boy snogging? I think you've been snogging, because you're face is all red, and that's what happens after you snog." said a blond haired Sixth Year.

How rude. My face was red because he was insinuating I was snogging, not becauseI was snogging.

"Shut up." Those were the only two words I knew how to say at the moment. I think my face was getting warmer.

The blond boy was about to say something else, but nothing came out. None of the other prefects could talk either. I looked at James. He just smirked and blew on his wand like in the movies, when the bad guy blows on his gun after he just used it.

It became much quieter after that. We told the prefects exactly what they had to do, and how responsible they had to be now that they were prefects. Then we left to go back to Alice's compartment, but of course I performed the counter charm to let them speak again, much to James's dismay.

In no time flat, we reached Hogwarts, and I was finally home.

- - - - - - -

(A/N: Wow, it only took me a day to update! That was pretty speedy wasn't it? ) Thanks Stephxd again! Did this one have a point? I tried to make it have a point, lol. Last chapter was just another look into Lily Darling's life, and if you read in between the lines, I put in hints of what will happen, cuz you know, only I know what will happen. This story is a tad AU cuz it's not love/hate. It'll be more along the lines of love/just like. You get my drift? Heh. Maybe the next updation will be just as speedy. Oh, and Alice's last name, came from the Harry Potter Lexicon. Brilliant site.  Please review, and I'll love you for it!