Disclaimer – I own nothing.
Thank you to all of my reviewers. Honestly, you guys, your feedback means the world to me. I'm pretty much a newbie with sharing stories that I have a strong connection to. The fact that you like what I'm writing is just amazing. Thank you so much to Fairy of Obsession, ladytithenmamiwen, RoxxySpyder, WhiteCamellia, goaligirl12, and EClaire W!And thank you to my silent readers. I, obviously, don't know who you are, but if you're reading this and enjoying it, I'm glad. If you're reading this and you're not enjoying it, I'm sorry…and if you send in your complaint to I promise you a personalized apology. Please read and enjoy, though!
"Jamie! Are you getting up?" James rolled over in this bed, trying to block out the sound of his mother's voice. "James Henry Potter! I know you can hear me. Get up! Your train leaves in an hour."
"Ahh…Crap," said James under his breath. "Yeah, Mum. I hear you. I'm getting up." In an attempt to wake himself up further, James walked across the hall to check on his boarder's awareness status. Much to his surprise, Sirius was wide-awake and already dressed to leave.
"Good morning, 'Jamie.'"
"Hey, I told you not to call me that."
"You'd let your mum call you it, but I, your best friend, cannot? That hurts, James. It hurts me right here," said Sirius grasping his own heart.
"Shut up, Paddy. What are you doing up already?"
"Well, my dear friend, I still had to pack and take a shower, so I got up early."
"Dangit…I forgot to pack."
"Calm down, Prongs, I got up a little too early and I packed your stuff, too. Don't give me that look; I didn't do anything to you while you were sleeping."
James quickly ran into the bathroom to give his appearance a once-over to make sure that Sirius hadn't done anything and to check if he needed to shower before leaving for King's Cross. Much to his expectant dismay, he noticed half of his left eyebrow missing. Quickly, he fixed it with a simple spell he had learned in second year to fix similar mishaps involving Sirius being awake around a sleeping James. Although he decided he could probably use a quick shower, James realized how late he was running and instead chose to perform a freshening charm to make him appear clean. Yeah, that'll do. Lily probably won't even get near enough to me to smell.
"Hey, Padfoot," said James as he left the bathroom. "Shoddy job on my eyebrow. You could have at least put a disillusionment charm on it so that I wouldn't notice. You humble me by expecting me not to observe it."
"Oh hush, little baby. I did it out of boredom."
"Jamie? Sirius? Boys! Your breakfast is getting cold. You better get down here now or else I'll feed it to Baxter." At the sound of James' mother threatening to give he and Sirius' breakfast to the family Boston Terrier put some lead into their shoes and they ran down two stories in a matter of milliseconds.
Also, the fact that James' mother was the one calling caused them to hustle. Ever since his father, Henry, had passed away during James' third year, James and his friends had shown his mother more respect to keep her from breaking down. When Sirius moved in with the family when he was 16, James and he had done pretty much everything she asked them to.
Well, James and Sirius hustled downstairs with lightning speed to find a short stack of pancakes and fried eggs on two plates at the dining table.
"Good morning, boys," said Mrs. Potter, giving James a swift kiss on his cheek and reaching up to pat Sirius on the head. As the boys began to eat, she began to clean up the kitchen. "Are you ready to go back to Hogwarts for your last year?"
"Yesh'm. 'Is'll be da best 'ear yet," said Sirius with a mouth full of food.
"Sirius, chew your food before talking! You'll choke yourself. How you passed your OWLs is beyond me," said Mrs. Potter with twinkle of mischief in her eye.
"Mum, don't pick on Sirius. He can't help it. Don't forget he's a Black."
"That's right! Cursed genes and ancestry. Bah! It's not my fault at all that I was never taught common courtesy or how to take care of myself."
"Oh Sirius. You can't possibly blame your family for your behavior. I believe that even if you were put through years of finishing school, you would still have the manners of a mutt."
At this point, both James and Sirius choked on their food, gasping for breath, James said, "Don't say that!"
"Say what, Pumpkin?"
"Say that Sirius is a dog…it's…uhh…very rude, Mum."
"You boys get sillier and sillier every year. Oh dear, look at the time. I guess that you boys had better Apparate to King's Cross. Are you all packed up?"
"Yes, Mum."
"And we've already got our stuff shrunken and packed safely into our pockets," replied Sirius already knowing Mrs. Potter's next question.
"That's good, that's good. Well, I'm going to miss you boys while you're gone. Don't forget to write."
"We won't," the boys said in unison.
"Tell Remus and Peter to write, too."
"We will."
"Don't forget to come back during Christmas break."
"We won't."
"Bye, Mum," said James, giving her a quick kiss and waving goodbye.
"Bye, Mum," said Sirius, giving her a strong hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, boys. I love you both."
"We love you, too."
"Oh, and Mum, can you tell Baxter I said goodbye. I always miss that dog."
"Sure thing, Jamie. Bye boys."
And then the boys simultaneously Disapparated.
In her kitchen, Lily fixed herself a modest breakfast of cereal and a banana. Her parents were both at work and Petunia was off with Vernon Dursley. Apparently, he was showing her around his new work place, some little drill company where he worked as a peon.
It was 10:30 and Lily had always prided herself on never being tardy for anything. She felt that this would be a good time to Apparate to the train station. She left a note to her parents and sister bidding them fond farewell. After signing it, she quickly Apparated to an area designated specifically for Apparition near King's Cross.
She promptly unshrunk her luggage and left for the station. Before she had gotten out of the area, though, she heard two pops behind her. She turned to discover Sirius and James, both looking very happy.
"Hello, Potter," she nodded to James. "Black," she likewise nodded to Sirius.
"Hi, Lily. Did you have an enjoyable Apparatition?" asked James.
"Why, yes, I did."
James and Sirius retrieved their own bags from their pockets and unshrunk them in the same manner as Lily. Together, the three left for the station. Lily wasn't keen on making friendly conversation with the boys, but she was nonetheless polite.
"What trouble have you boys been causing this summer?" asked Lily to the duo.
"Well, just the normal pranks and merrymaking of every summer for me. James, on the other hand, took no part in most of it," said Sirius, looking proud.
"What? Potter not being a nuisance? Were you ill?"
"No, I just felt more satisfaction helping my mum out and doing homework."
"Homework? James Potter doing homework? Dear me, Black, is he really not sick?"
"Funny, Lily. I want to be an Auror after this year, and if I want to do that, I must do well in my NEWTs classes. But thank you for your concern for my health."
The seventh years continued to walk together and had the first pleasant conversation between them in recent history. The trip from the area set aside for Apparation to King's Cross Station wasn't a long one. Before they knew it, they were running through the barrier to platform 9 and ¾.
"So you're Head Boy this year?" asked Lily to James once Sirius had left them to find a compartment and probably flirt with a few girls along the way.
"Yes, I am. And you're Head Girl."
"How'd you know?"
"Remus told me. That should make for a fun year."
"Was that sarcasm?"
"No, I'm serious. I can't think of a girl more suited for the position than you. I know that I'm not the person you had planned, or hoped, to be Head Boy. I'm optimistic that by the time the year starts to pass, you will understand that I'm able and ready to take on the duties."
"Wow, Potter. I actually understood what you were saying. That must be the first time you have strung together more than one sentence in a row. I think that you even had a compound sentence in there."
James laughed at this comment. His joy shocked Lily. He had never been one to take a joke that stabbed at his intelligence. Lily and James boarded the Hogwarts Express. They made their way to the Head's compartment and, when they reached it, they sat down in silence. The silence caused Lily to think. Maybe he has matured a little bit over the summer. No, not possible. He's probably just lonely for Black or he's tired. Ugh…He just wants to shag me, I'm sure. Dirty boy…
"Lily?" James asked cautiously.
"Yes, Potter?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Uhh…No, why do you ask?"
"Well, your hands keep flexing and unflexing. Is there anything you want to talk about?"
A thousand things ran through Lily's mind. She could ask him if he's really matured, but that would maybe not get her an honest answer. She could ask him if he knows why he was able to be Head Boy, even though he's never been a prefect. There were so many things that she'd always wanted to know, but she settled for the old stand-by.
"Yeah, I want to ask you how you're able to be so insensitive to Severus, but still have a friend like Remus."
"Lily, Lily, Lily. Why are you always standing up for Snape when he calls you…well, you know what he calls you?"
"I just don't think that you and your friends should treat him like scum."
"Lily, he treats you like you're scum."
"Well, I can handle it and turn a deaf ear. Why does it bother you so much how he treats me?"
"You have to ask?"
Lily looked down and felt a blush rising to her cheeks. Is he serious? No, he's not. There's no way. He only uses what Snape…I mean, Severus, calls me as an excuse. James Potter does not have a kind bone in him. What if he is serious? Maybe he does care about—
"Lily?"
"You do?"
"Excuse me?"
"Umm…nothing. Sorry, just talking to myself."
Once again, the blushing sensation crept into Lily's cheeks. She looked anywhere to deprive James of being able to see her reddening face. She finally took in her surroundings. This was the first time she had seen the inside of the compartment designated for the Heads. The room was cozy and had snacks set upon a little cart. Lily had subconsciously picked up a chocolate frog and was slowly picking it apart. She looked down at her hands and noticed that the sweet looked like a dissection now. She noticed James was looking and glanced at him, just daring him to say something offensive.
"That's gorgeous, Lily. Are you nervous about something?"
"Well, actually, I am. I haven't seen any of the girls I normally talk to, yet. I know that Carmen and Julia aren't coming to Hogwarts this year, but Mary, Janie, and Francis assured me last year that they were going to talk to me at the station."
"Janie Smart?"
"Yeah, what about her?"
"Her mother was killed by Voldemort two weeks ago. She's not going to go back to Hogwarts this year. Didn't she write to you or anything?"
"No, I don't normally correspond with my friends over summer break. Where did you hear about her mother being killed?"
"It was in the all the papers and tabloids. My mum also works with her dad and she told me about it. I thought for sure someone like you would be abreast of all the current events."
"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean, Potter?" Lily was beginning to get angry with him for something that he had nothing to do with. Three of Lily's best friends were not going to go to school with her. She wasn't really close with any of her friends, but they were friends nonetheless. They were girls that she could talk to about boys and make up and stuff. A girl needs to have superficial friends like that in a world where people die everyday.
"I just meant that someone who is so studious and concerned."
"Well, Potter, I may not be as close to my friends as you are to your friends, but I try to keep up with them. It's hard when you're a Muggle-born. I can't exactly have The Daily Prophet delivered to my door everyday. Also, I don't think that my sister would appreciate an owl flying into my room with tidings from my friends."
"Lily, I wasn't insulting you or your connections to your friends. The last thing that I want to do is offend you."
"Just don't let it happen again."
At this point, the train began to move. With a loud lurching sound, the door that connected the Head's compartment to the prefect's compartment opened. A Ravenclaw sixth year named Parry Mason looked in at James and Lily.
"Hello. Are you two ready to start the prefect's meeting? I believe we are all in here and waiting."
"Yeah, Parry. We're ready," said James, looking at Lily to make sure she was set to go as well.
They both walked into the room and noticed nothing but friendly faces looking back at them. Even the Slytherin prefects were pleasant. Lily realized that this was going to be a fine year to be Head Girl. She imagined nothing but smooth sailing. When James looked at the crowd, however, he saw nothing but boys looking at him admiringly and girls checking him out. He wasn't exactly looking for a girlfriend (besides Lily), but he was still pretty thrilled to see the female attention he was going to get this year.
The meeting went by easily enough. By the time Lily and James were finished reading off responsibilities for the prefects, the train was about three hours from Hogsmeade station.
"What are we supposed to do now?" James asked Lily after the last lingering female fan of his had left.
"Well, I suppose we need to read our own responsibilities." Lily picked up a large roll of parchment that read "The Rules and Tasks Belonging to Heads" on the top of it. "Let's see here, it says…a lot of things."
As Lily read the fine print, James sat staring amiably at her. He heard every word she said, but didn't really listen to her. He was too entranced with the way that she would pronounce some words or the way her lips would curl when she pronounced certain sounds. Once Lily had reached the end of their many responsibilities, which took two hours to complete, she heaved a sigh and looked around.
James was in the exact spot and position he had been in when she began and the nothing had changed about the room. If it weren't for the fact that there was a window behind James that showed the night sky, she wouldn't have known how much time had passed. She loved to read aloud. Before she had learned of her magical influences, she wanted to become an Elementary school teacher.
"James? Are you all right?"
James, she's never called me that before. Maybe she has noticed a change in me after all. Boy, I could listen to her for hours, though. She has such an interesting—
"Potter? Are you with me here!"
Oh, never mind.
With a sigh, James replied, "Yes, I'm fine. So I guess that we have a lot of responsibilities. At least we won't be bored this year," he said, forever the optimist.
"Yeah, I suppose so." Looking at her watch, she spoke, "We have about an hour before we get there. You can go see your friends and change into your robes. Be back here in 45 minutes, though, so we can get ready to set the prefects to work taking the students where they need to go."
"Ok. Where are you going to be, in case I need to find you?"
"I'm going to stay here. You never know if a first time prefect will need help. They'll need to know where to find me."
"If I see Mary or Francis, do you want me to send them here to talk to you?"
"No, that's ok. Thank you for offering, though. That's very…considerate of you."
"No problem, Lily."
James left the room, leaving Lily feeling very confused about him. She wasn't quite sure what she should think of this new polite attitude he had adopted. After a couple of minutes, however, she pulled a book out of her bag and began to read. Before she realized how much time had passed, the door to the compartment opened and in walked James.
"Are we almost there?" she asked him.
"Well, in about 20 minutes we will."
"Really? I better go put on my robes. You better, too."
Simultaneously, they reached into their respective bags and got out their robes. They both looked up at the other, realizing their awkward position.
"Here, Lily, I'll go into the prefect's compartment. There aren't any in there right now."
"Ok. I'll tell you when you can come back in."
After a few minutes, Lily called to James to tell him that he could reenter. He came back in and put his street clothes into his luggage. This was when the real trouble started. The door opened and in walked Narcissa, Regulus, and Bellatrix Black, and some guys named Crabbe and Goyle, and a few other Slytherins.
"Potter, Evans. There's something I need to discuss with you," said Bellatrix, in a tormenting tone.
"And what might that be?" asked James.
"We heard that you and your mother hosted the Prewetts this summer," Narcissa said in a low voice.
"That's true. They were lovely guests."
"Well, they've been sticking their noses where they don't belong. I trust you to be able to pass the word onto them," commanded Bellatrix.
"Sure thing, darling bear. I'll send your love to the boys, ok? I know about your big crush on them," said James with a wink.
"You make me sick," said Bellatrix. At this point, the group of angry Slytherins turned and walked out, slamming shut the door.
"Why do you do that, Potter? You're just asking to be cursed."
"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. They don't scare me."
The train began to slow down as it reached Hogsmeade.
"Are you ready to get these kids to the school and in the right places, Potter?"
"That's not our responsibility. That's all up to the prefects. We just need to get them into action."
And then Lily laughed at James' joke. For the first time in recent history, Lily enjoyed his company.