AN: This story begins in 6th year and is based on all information in the first five books. Although there will be descriptions, I will assume that readers have read the first five books and I will not unnecessarily include the tedious depiction of known characters and settings. I'm Canadian so my British lingo is practically non-existent. This story is told mostly from Lily's perspective.
The TrainBEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Ugh! Whoever invented alarm clocks must have been terribly disturbed or, at the very least, suffering from a temporary lapse in sanity, which I would know all about." I commented, although I soon noted that there was no one else in my room at 6:00 A.M. on September 1st. Apparently, in one of my delusional moments last night, waking up early to go for a run seemed like a good idea, evidently I was trying to get off to a good start this year so there would be plenty of room to go downhill. I mean, it's a new school year and I am now able to forget not only the fact that I was doing homework last night that's due on Monday and that I had two months to complete, but also the fact that my routines designed to make me the perfect student never last longer than a week. Ah well, I try. And, apparently Dumbledore thinks I try hard enough to make me a prefect. Fortunately I'm the only one who knows what a failure I'll be.
Argh! As much as I'd like to just go back to sleep for another hour and pretend that the idea of fitness never crossed my mind, I must remember how important it is appear fit and energized on one's first day of school, particularly when one is being scrutinized by the likes of James Potter and his motley crew.
I never would have thought that avoiding someone could be so difficult. If you've seen the size of Hogwarts you'll know what I mean. Avoiding someone in a castle larger than Buckingham palace itself should be a simple task, but I swear he has tracking senses, ( either that or I dawdle in the wrong places. It's not my fault I'm clumsy and he found me sprawled at the bottom of the south staircase).
Lily Evans, a bright girl with vibrant orange hear and luminous green eyes scrambled out of bed after 15 minutes of intently examining the pale cream ceiling of her moss green room. She lay splayed on the floor for another couple of minutes before crawly the length of her carpeted room to a wooden dresser where she retrieved short black athletic shorts, an purple T-shirt and a sports braw which she put on before pulling on her socks and shoes and galloping down the stairs of her small, three-bed roomed house where she had spent the last 2 months pleasing her parents, squabbling with her sister and visiting her muggle friends.
2 and a half hours later, after an exhausting run, a brief breakfast, and a formal farewell from her parents (and none from her sister), Lily was scrunched into a lopsided ball, propped precariously on the edge of a seat in one of the Hogwarts express, leaning against the window and indulged in a novel. In fact she didn't even notice the messy haired boy and his three companions at the door of her compartment until his one of them shoved the messy haired boy over the threshold of the door and was then pulled on to the floor along with his friends. Lily jumped; throwing her book into the mass of bodies that had accumulated on her formerly empty compartment floor.
"JAMES POTTER, WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?" I yelled so loudly I almost gave myself a headache. I really shouldn't react like this. If anyone else had walked in here and done exactly the same thing, I would have given them a weird look, snatched up my book and gone back to reading. But, #1, Peter, James, Sirius and Remus, as their names happen to be, would never let me ignore them, #2 they're probably up to something and there is no way I am going to them pull one over on me (although almost every other time they've tried to pull a prank on me they've been successful, if I tried to stop them or not) and #3 they infuriate me (well mostly Potter).
"Lily, you can hardly tell it's me under here, why do you automatically accuse me of any misfortunes that may accidentally befall you?"
"Aha, you admit that your arrival is a misfortune, I knew you were deliberately annoying me…" The four boys, self-titled the Marauders, grinned innocently (never a good sign: I must always remember not to make triumphant comments until I am certain that I am actually triumphant) "Wait…That's not good…What is going on?" I said this before I could stop myself and evidently it was greeted with more grins although these ones were slightly more manic.
"Nothing, we just came to see how your holidays went," Said Sirius.
"MMmmhm, …and my sister is a spotted goldfish, I live inside a mushroom and chocolate was invented to kill us all." I muttered sarcastically. Although I'm normally sarcastic, living in the wizarding world has forced me to become far more creative with my comments because otherwise the meaning is lost on witless fools like those currently standing before me. Unfortunately they are not as witless as I'd hoped as it would appear that Sirius Black has just locked the door most likely using a charm that can only be unlocked by the user. Great, I am stuck in here surrounded by brats that I can ignore. Enchanting.
"Sirius, don't even think you can keep me in here with you four for a total of six hours. I have to…uh…go to the bathroom." Heh, it's worth a try, they say most wizards have no common sense.
"Lily, you definitely need a new excuse, we even know that you've already been to the prefects meeting, our operations were carefully executed," James gloated. And, of course you can trust him to say this all while sitting next to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. It is at this point that one wishes their good friends didn't have boyfriends in other houses to spend time with and would show up to save a poor suffering friend, namely me. I definitely am on my own and will have to use my book to attempt to lessen the torture, if I could find it.
"POTTER, you made me loose my book."
"No, don't worry I've got it here, but you can't have it, because then you'll ignore us." Trust Remus to hold a book against me, I mean he should be one to talk he ignores people when he reads. I'll have to make another excuse (not that any of them have worked so far)
"Remus, you can't blackmail me with a book. It's against the code." Okay, so I failed yet again to come up with an excuse and they all look baffled. Oh well, some good has come of this argument; I was able to stand and rid myself of Potter. He's always insisting on sitting next to me and asking me out yet oddly enough I can't ignore and I can't look him in the eyes without feeling all weird. Who knows why, but I have deducted that it is much better to avoid him and if not possible at least avoid contact.
"What code?" Great they're all shouting at me now because I dazed out, staring at James. Great.
"You know, … the code that says no blackmail." Oh well, I tried. "A" for effort.
"Oh yeah, that one, come on Lily, sit down you'll get it back at the end of the trip."
"But Potter, it's a really good book and I was at a really good section, one of the characters is about to take over the world, you wouldn't want me to miss that would you?"
"Lily it'll still be there when you get it back, Duh."
"No, that's the problem, it's one of those books where the stories change every few days, you know."
"Sorry Lil but they don't exist we are the master of all deceits and we already tried that one on Professor McGonogall when we hadn't finished that essay on changing tea kettles into walruses. She was not impressed."
"Ugh, it's still a really good book which I would much rather be reading than being forced to converse with you four if I do have to be locked in a compartment."
"We're not that bad."
"Right Potter, and Hogwart's Tuesday night meatloaf is going to walk off your plate and take over the world."
"Where do you get these ideas Lily? And, you do realise that you might not find us so disagreeable if you were nice and at least called us by our first names."
"Oh Sirius, but I do call you by your first names: Remus, Peter and Sirius, see."
"Ahem, I believe you forgot me, or should I say purposefully ignored me?"
"Yep, that is exactly what I did. Now, seeing as you braniacs insist on leaving me without a distraction from your mindless banter, how about a game of cards?"
"See Lily it wasn't hard being nice was it?"
"What, just wait, I wasn't nice, you guys are supposed to hate me, ignore me, not give a care about what I think of you all powerful popular people and I am supposed to be left to make snide remarks behind your backs and joke about your occupation with superficial things and clueless blonds. Vous comprenez?"
"Uh… considering that last part was in French, I don't think we do. Besides, you should know we're not the type of people to follow the rules and you don't fit the stereotypes either."
"Remus, can't you let me win just once? You already have my book, which you're more than welcome to read although you might be confused by the muggle stuff, but honestly, what more do you guys want of me?… SIRIUS BLACK Do not look at Mr. Potter that way! Ugh I'm going to sleep, wake me up when we get there or when you open the door, which ever comes first."
