Summary: Enter: James Potter and his fellow Marauders as they enter their final year at Hogwarts and James' final chance to make Lily Evans agree to date him. Enter: Lily Evans and her fellow Lioni as they enter their final year at Hogwarts and Lily's everlasting quest to make James leave her alone. Preferably for good. The seventh year interactions between these Gryffindors tells the tale of Harry's parents youth.

We hope you enjoy our first story. Let us know how we can improve and all that--we're sincerely interested, as we've already begun planning sequels. We've even modelled characters after ourselves. Buwahahaha. Thanks a bunch! Emily and Becca

Disclaimer: If you don't recognize the character, we made it up. The rest belongs to the richest woman in the world's….J.K. Rowling. End of story.

Chapter One:

Head Boy

Part I

"Bye, Mum, Dad. See you next summer," said a redhead seventeen-year-old girl. "Oh, and bye, Petunia," she added nonchalantly. Petunia, her older sister, didn't respond, but the look on her face made it clear what she was thinking—'don't talk to me, freak'. Lily Evans never got along with her sister; ever since she received her acceptance letter inviting her to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry their relationship had gone down hill. Petunia's surly boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, stood beside her, staring at Lily with extreme dislike; he had openly stated how 'weird' Lily was the entire summer.

Lily ran confidently through the barrier between platforms nine and ten and emerged onto platform Nine and Three Quarters bringing the bright red Hogwarts Express, which was puffing smoke, into view. She sighed in relief; after a long summer of having to endure her sister's snide comments, she was ready to go back to school where witches and wizards like herself practiced their talents.

Lily started dragging her trunk across the platform, weaving through hundreds of students. She couldn't wait to see her three best friends Alice Cohen, Becca Daniels, and Emily Potter. They became friends during their first year when the three girls had told Lucius Malfoy to back off and leave Lily alone. He didn't, of course, and the other three eventually got into trouble for fighting (the Muggle way) on the train.

She stopped to catch her breath and checked her appearance in one of the windows of the train. Her bright green eyes stared back at her and her red wavy hair was meticulously French braided. She straightened her Head Girl badge, gave one last look at her reflection, and continued through the crowds to find her friends.

"Why, hello, my Lily Garden! You're looking especially lovely this year." Lily spun around—she knew that voice only to well. It belonged to the one and only James Potter…her worst nightmare. He had liked her since the beginning of their first year (go figure…they'd been eleven years old!) and had never missed an opportunity to ask her out. He obviously couldn't take a hint. She had even told him countless times that he was a self-centered, arrogant, rude, and obnoxious git, but, unfortunately, he was rather persistent.

"Don't ever call me that again, Potter, or I'll have to hex you into oblivion," she remarked icily and continued on her way. Why does he have to be so infuriating? she asked herself. The sound of laughter from somewhere ahead of her broke her chain of thought.

"Becca!" Lily shrieked, running over and engulfing her friend into a gigantic bear hug, which was returned.

"Hey, Lils!" Becca said, smiling widely. Lily stepped back and took a look at her friend. Becca looked the same as she had when they'd parted at the beginning of the summer. She was still the same curly dark-haired brunette with her big blue eyes that were always filled with mischief and laughter. The only difference was that the summer sun had tanned Becca's skin.

"How was your summer?" Lily asked. Becca immediately launched into her summer holiday story which included taking a trip to France and meeting an attractive French guy. Becca ended her non-stop talking abruptly.

"Lily, how come you didn't tell me you became Head Girl?" she asked excitedly, pointing an accusing finger at Lily's badge.

"Sorry, I was waiting to tell everybody at once, but I guess that didn't work." Both girls laughed.

"Well, congratulations! I always knew you would get the badge," Becca said loyally. "So, any idea on who's Head Boy?"

"I think it may be Remus, but I'm not completely sure," Lily answered. "So where're Emily and Matthew?" Lily asked. Matthew was Becca's younger brother who was a fifth year Hufflepuff. After Becca and Matthew's parents died three years ago, they took up residence with Emily and the rest of the Potter family on their estate—Roselyn Manor—in the countryside of England.

"Well, Emily's probably off snogging Sirius somewhere. I swear, Emily owled him over one hundred letters while we were in France. I just didn't understand why she wouldn't just Floo to James's house to see him. Honestly, sometimes I worry about that girl," Becca finished, laughing slightly. Emily and James were cousins; Sirius lived with James after he ran away from his home the summer before sixth year.

The two girls stepped onto the train, dragging their trunks behind them, hoping to find Emily and Alice. A loud voice suddenly rang throughout the corridor.

"Lily, Becca! Hey, guys! I missed you both so much!" Alice came running down the train, her straight blond hair flying out behind her and her light blue eyes glimmering with happiness. She accidentally knocked over a frightened looking first year with her trunk. "Oops, sorry about that, kid. The bruise should heal in about a week," she consulted before attempting to get to her friends. They all hugged each other, excited to be going back for their final year at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe this is our final year! It's sad and exciting all at once," Alice started rambling on about how their seventh year would be the most important. Lily soon carried on the topic with Alice as Becca just stood there and rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you two, you couldn't have said anything sappier than 'Sad and exciting all at once.' Instead, you could say, 'It's our seventh year. That means…a little Fire Whiskey and some late-night games of Round Robin…"

"Becca!" Lily scolded. "I think you've spent way too much time over at Emily's house; that's something she would say." Becca laughed.

"If neither of you two has seen her, I'll check for her on the way up to the front of the train," Lily said. "I have my Prefects and Heads meeting, so maybe I'll see her and Sirius."

"Lily? You got the badge and you didn't tell me? Congratulations, you'll be perfect for the job," Alice exclaimed, hugging her friend once more.

"Thanks, Alice, but I must be going now," Lily grinned mischievously and walked off, leaving Becca and Alice to find a compartment for the four to share.

The train gave a lurch, throwing Lily into the wall of the corridor. She regained her balance and steadied herself, walking toward the front of the train.

Lily heard the sound of low voices from another compartment and suspiciously slid the door open. Emily Potter and Sirius Black were standing very close together. So close that their foreheads were touching. Sirius was quietly saying something to his girlfriend. She laughed lowly and he kissed her deeply. They were staring deep into each other's dark brown eyes and smiling happily.

Lily stared for a moment at her friend. Although Emily was in fact James Potter's cousin, the two girls shared interests and aspirations. They had become friends during the train ride to Hogwarts on September the First of their first year. Emily had approached Lily, who was sitting alone in a compartment near the back of the train, and the two had hit it off. They always laughed as they savored the memory—it involved Emily's owl Mouse doing its business all over Lily's new school robes.

Over the past several years, the two had done a lot of growing up together. At seventeen, Emily's height rivalled Lily's and her brown hair was just as psychotic. Although they didn't agree on a number of things and they were each other's academic rivals, Lily valued Emily's friendship because she was a trustworthy ear and a practical thinker. Not to mention, slightly wild.

Lily was sure it had something to do with her relationship with that Sirius Black, which Lily entirely disapproved of. Oh, Sirius was likable enough, if you appreciated practical jokes, sweaty Quidditch matches that lasted for hours, skipping an occasional class, and wandering around the school after hours—which Emily definitely did. Then again, she had always been like that.

Lily coughed discretely and watched Emily and Sirius jump apart. "First of all," she began, "you two should not be snogging on the train."

Emily grinned. "Oh, come on, Lils. What would you have me do, greet my irresistibly handsome boyfriend without a kiss?"

"Emily," Lily scolded, "there is a difference between a simple kiss and an outright snog. You were definitely doing the latter."

Sirius laughed, throwing his perfect dark hair out of his eyes. "Maybe so. But I'm sure, seeing as you are Head Girl, you'll have plenty of other opportunities to reprimand delinquent students. But, boy, will you get a kick out of our new Head Boy."

"No, I won't," replied Lily. "Remus Lupin is a shoe-in. He's near the top of his class, he's responsible, makes an attempt to keep the Marauders in line, he follows the school rules, or most of them, anyway…" She continued to list her friend Remus' merits as Emily and Sirius stood waiting for her to finish, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist.

"…And he seems to be the logical choice." Lily nodded.

Emily laughed. "Alright, Lils, but don't come running to me when my cousin's wearing the badge." Lily snorted.

"Oh, I won't be. In fact, I'm on my way to the Prefect and Head meeting at the front of the train. Just wait for my return—I'll be yelling up and down the train that it is my good fortune to announce that the new Head Boy is anyone but Potter." Emily laughed again and gave Lily the thumbs-up.

"Hey, if you so happen to see my cousin up at the front of the train, will you tell him that I said for him to keep his robes clean and to brush his hair before we get to Hogwarts? It's this Potter hair…never lies flat. I must have gotten lucky," Emily said, laughing. The two Potter cousins were incredibly close, much to Lily's chagrin. Lily grinned and turned to leave the compartment.

"Oh and Emily? Becca is looking for you. I wouldn't keep her waiting, knowing her impatience for all things Emily-and-Sirius." She laughed and walked down the corridor of the train to the front.

Emily took Sirius' hand and they walked together to the back of the train, where their friends were seated. Remus Lupin, Becca, Alice, and a mousy-looking boy named Peter Pettigrew were squashed into one compartment. Emily and Sirius approached and slid the compartment door open.

"Sirius, Emily!" Becca shrieked, jumping up from her seat next to Remus and running over to the couple. She flung her arms around Sirius, crushing him into a hug. She smiled happily at Emily instead of hugging her—they'd spent the entire summer together and a hug was simply not necessary.

"Hey, Beck!" replied Sirius. "How are my favorite lovely ladies?" he asked, grinning arrogantly, pushing his dark hair out of his face. Emily elbowed his chest, which was extremely muscular.

"Holy cow, Sirius. You're rock solid! What did you do all summer?"

"James and I worked out in the Multi-Purpose Room for hours every day. You want to see my abs?" He tugged the corners of his shirt.

"No!" cried Remus, Alice, and Becca forcefully. Emily grinned.

"Jeez, Sirius! Try to refrain from stripping on the train!" yelled Alice.

The group turned to Peter, who had been silent during the exchange. "Peter?" asked Remus, his eyebrows rose. "I didn't hear you object to Sirius taking his shirt off."

Peter jumped. "What? I mean, yeah, Sirius, keep your clothes on." Alice and Becca exchanged looks.

"So, let me guess, you guys were doing who-knows-what in an empty compartment. Am I right?" asked Remus, his bright blue eyes shinning with laughter; Emily blushed as Alice slid the compartment door shut.

Everyone settled down and started discussing what they did over the summer vacation. "Anyway, how was France, guys? Em, didn't your parents have some work to do or something?" Alice asked.

"Yeah—it was totally awesome," Becca said emphatically, staring at the window.

"What she means to say is…she hooked up with this random French guy at the beach for a month and a half," Emily said, taking a seat again.

"He wasn't random, Emily," Becca said, glaring at her friend. "His name was Luke."

"And that's not random at all," Emily muttered.

"Becca! You abandoned Emily to her own devices?" Alice said, grinning.

"Abandon her? Merlin, no," Becca said, wrinkling her nose. "She was hanging out with her brother Robert on the front porch, watching the waves roll in. And drinking daiquiris," she added, on second thought.

"Daiquiris? Virgin daiquiris?" Alice said, raising her eyebrows at Emily.

"Of course not! Plus, Robert's over-age and I'm…only a couple years shy. And it was vacation. But that's not the point! There's more about Becca and this kid Luke!"

"This kid Luke? He's not a kid, Em, he's eighteen," Becca said.

"Who cares?" Sirius said loudly from his seat beside Emily.

"I care!" Becca said. "He was really nice!"

"…and you'll never see him again. It was just a summer fling!"

"Speaking of which, Em," Alice said evilly. "Did you have any fun over the summer?"

"Nah, I'm a good girl. Or at least…I tried to be," Emily said, smiling at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius yelped, turning to look at her.

"I'm serious! I behaved myself!" Emily insisted.

"She did," Becca confirmed. "Although there was this very cute guy who stalked her for two weeks…but don't worry! I took care of that for you, mate," she assured her friend. "But Alice…how was your summer? And Remus? Haven't heard about yours yet…"

"I had an awesome summer," answered Alice briefly, standing up. "But I'll have to tell you guys about it later…I think I see Frank!" Frank Longbottom and Alice had been dating for three years now. They were entirely obsessed with each other, to say the least. Her friends rolled their eyes simultaneously, before retelling the events of their summer vacations.