---

The dark figure shuddered, pulling the cloak tighter about them. This was worse than anything they had ever expected.

Darkness seems to close in on you even more when you are alone, but not in this case. They were not alone at all, but the curtain of nothingness would not be lifted. Neither wand nor candlelight could have penetrated this.

You did well.

Another shudder...but this one was of sheer delight. It was not often that the Dark Lord praised his followers, but this was a special case.

"Only for you." they whispered back reverently, bowing their head.

Was it now? Don't lie to me. Remember, the Dark Lord knows all.

"There was no other reason." Desperation filled the voice of the speaker. But this time, they knew that they should have told him, should have explained.

Yes. You should have. Why did you not?

The head dropped in shame, and the wracking sobs emitted from the figure made Lord Voldemort grimace in disgust.

"I didn't tell you...because I remembered what happened to the other."

You answer swiftly. Were you expecting this interrogation?

"O-of course not."

Voldemort caught the stammer, and his eyes lit up, shining through the darkness like catlike slits from the abyss itself. To their surprise, his spidery hand snaked out to raise their chin, forcing their eyes to meet his own.

"You will not be like the other." he said aloud. "I have another use for you."

"What is it?"

"An unfinished task. The very thing we were just speaking of...tainted your last assignment. This time, do it right." he placed the charmed object into the other figure's hand, his touch cool and soft, like that of one long dead. They could feel the sharp edges and small ridges of the object, but could not guess the origin of it.

"You will receive more instruction from Malfoy. Now go." he turned away, and the figure was gone in a wisp of smoke.

---

"It's the thirteenth time I've looked upon the castle from this train, and the feeling never changes."

Lily did not expect James to speak, and his words startled her. They were now settling in their familiar enmity, something that did not happen often. It was freak chance that both of them were kind to each other in the same moment. James had even counted these rare happenings.

"Isn't all that great." Lily said sourly, even though she was feeling the same way James looked. I'm home.

James turned from looking out the window to face her, his hazel eyes hooded and unreadable.

"Why do you hide the way you feel?" he asked. Lily felt uncomfortable, because it was strange to talk to him without arguing. Also, she didn't know how to truly open up to another human, so she did what she knew how to do, she scoffed.

"I don't hide the way I feel." she said in a sickly sweet voice, her eyes widened in an innocent manner.. "Doesn't it show how much I can't stand you?"

James didn't answer, but turned back toward the window, arms folded across his muscular chest. Lily's cruel demeanor wilted a little,partly because he didn't react to her insult. She watched the lights of the castle loom closer until the train finally stopped, jolting her with a 'bump' onto the floor, near James' feet.

For the second time that day, he offered her a hand, and this time she accepted by hauling herself to her feet. His hand was warm and callused, and she dropped it as if she had been burned. She glanced up at him to see a smirk lighted on his handsome face, but again, he did not say anything.

She brushed past him, flicking her wand and charming her trunk to follow behind her, walking out the door. She could tell James was close by, just by the sound of his even breathing behind her.

She stepped off the train, watching as people began to file out, laughing joyfully with their friends. The scared-looking first years boarded their boats, folding their hands and not daring to look into the deep, black water.

"Let's go."

Lily jumped at the sound of James' voice, and the feeling of his breath tickling her ear. She nodded quickly, stepping away and walking toward the horseless carriages that James had pointed out.

She hopped in, a feeling of excitement jumping around in her stomach and making her smile.

---

"This is the Head's carriage! You can't ride in here!" Lily snapped as two boys tumbled in behind James.

"You just want the excuse to be alone with Prongs." Sirius slurred, grinning and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh god." she moaned, shoving him away. "You're drunk, you ass."

"Damn straight." Sirius replied dumbly.

"Well keep your nasty breath to yourself." Lily said huffily.

"Why? I want to share it with you." Sirius said, leaning forward and puckering his lips comically.

Lily looked over at James and glared, as if this whole escapade had been his idea. James shrugged, looking out the window. It was not he, however, that spoke up.

"Are you going to turn him in, Lily?" The boy that Lily dimly recognized as Peter Pettigrew asked, looking distressed.

"Of course!" Lily answered, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's disgusting that he would sneak alcohol onto the train and--"

"But considering your history with him, I don't think that's a very good idea." James cut in slyly. "People would suspect..." he let his voice trail off convincingly. "You know."

Lily reddened. She was glad that the darkness hid her blush, and she hated James Potter more than anything at the moment. And yet, she took a page out of his book and ignored him, turning to the window.

The carriage lurched into motion, and the rest of the ride was silent after that.

---

James shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his robe, following Lily as she walked through the doors to the Great Hall. They were supposed to meet Dumbledore at the staff table before he began the annual announcements.

Lily's shoes seemed to make too much noise on the marble floor. James wondered about this until he realized that everyone had become completely silent as the pair walked by.

That's odd. He thought to himself. He then did a double take, realizing why everyone was so appalled.

Here they were, Head Boy and Girl.

James Potter, the biggest, most arrogant prankster of the school and formerly percieved "innocent bookworm"but really a fireballLily Evans. Their shared hatred for each other wasn't exactly a secret. Practically the entire school knew about every argument.

They finished what seemed like the 'Walk of Truth', reaching the Staff table in record time. Dumbledore was there, smiling his mysterious and seemingly knowing smile.

"You wanted to see us?" Lily said tentatively, crossing her arms.

"Yes, yes. From now on, you two will be sitting at the head of the Prefect's table during mealtimes." he said calmly, smiling slightly at the looks of horror on James and Lily's faces.

"The Prefects get a choice to sit there or not..." James said, having asked Remus that question before. "Do we?"

"As long as you both sit there together twice a week to speak with the Prefects about whatever you're working on at that time." Dumbledore replied. "Now I must make our announcements, and then, of course, the Sorting."

"...Then do we eat?" James asked apologetically.

"Yes, then we can fulfill our bodily needs." Dumbledore replied, turning away.

Lily turned to walk towards the Prefect's table, muttering. James caught up with her easily.

"...Crazy old nutter." she mumbled, indirectly trying to start a conversation with James, especially since she was embarrassed about their earlier conversation.

But James wasn't listening, but looking at Lily and thinking about 'bodily needs'. His hot gaze traveled from her face downward, and if she had known she would probably slap him.

She sat down wearily at the table, listening to the Sorting with only half her brain, the other half trying to think of ways to make Potter forget about the things he had been insulting her about earlier.

She thought about this the entire dinner, hardly eating anything and hoping no one noticed. Of course, James did. When she wasn't looking he piled more potatoes and meat on her plate, and she ate them distractedly. He smiled, but was curious to what she was thinking about in that scheming little brain.

He had been approached by a lot of his friends. They were either people he knew from Quiddich, ex-girlfriends, people he had hexed and then apologized to, or girls he often helped with homework. Lily, on the other hand, had not talked to a single soul.

James always wondered why Lily did not have many friends. She pretended to be mean and cruel, but he knew she was truly a considerate, sweet person. She just never had the chance to act like that around him, never being able to get over what a prat he was when he was younger.

James narrowed his brow, instinctively hardening his heart against this girl. He wasn't going to forgive her this time...oh no. This time she would pay for insulting him on the train.

---

"Now that you're the big HB, you get to use the Prefect's restroom." Peter said laughingly. "Padfoot always wished he was a Prefect just for that reason."

"For about ten seconds." James snorted. "He would be an awful Prefect. By the way, where did he get to? I didn't see him after we got out of the carriages."

Peter laughed. "He went up to the dorm and passed out on his bed."

"Without a password?" James asked. The two friends were walking leisurely down the halls up to the Gryffindor common room, taking their time. Peter wasn't really a shy person; he just only really got along well with James. It had been James that had invited him into the boys' clique way back in second year.

Peter rolled his eyes.

"You know Sirius..the fat lady is in love with him! He could charm his way out of a box if he wanted to, and she drools over him."

"Seems like all females do." James said wryly, thinking of all the ex-girlfriends that had said 'hi' to Sirius on the train.

"Well, I'm exhausted. " Peter said, his round face stretching into a yawn. "I'm heading up to the dorm. You coming?"

James shook his head. "I'm going to walk around a bit more."

Peter shrugged. "Suit yourself." And with that he turned and walked away, narrowly missing the invisible stair as he walked up the staircase. James grinned and turned around, heading toward the kitchen.

He loved wandering the halls at night, just because it was something he was good at. Even without his cloak he could slip silently into the most heavily guarded rooms, investigating anything he wanted to.

He stopped in and said 'Hello' to his favorite house-elves, finally deciding to head up to bed.

He whispered the password to the Fat Lady, who smiled hugely at him and swung open. He walked through the corridor into the common room, looking lovingly about the all-too-familiar surroundings. Everyone had already gone up to bed.

Well..almost everyone.

James knew that she would be there. For the second time that day, he caught Lily Evans sleeping. He knew that every year she always slept on her favorite couch on the first day back, and there she was. He guessed that she probably didn't feel like arguing with the other girls, just felt like being alone in the school that she loved.

He walked over to her and again was struck by how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. He was overcome by a powerful urge of passion even though he told himself to feel nothing for her. He leaned over and brushed his lips over her eyelids in a feathery kiss, running his fingers down her delicate cheekbones.

"I wish we could have a future together." he whispered in her ear. She rolled over, muttering.

He brushed her hair out of her face and stood up, glancing at her one more time before heading upstairs.

---

"Evans! Get off your arse and come on!" a nasty voice awoke Lily from her pleasant…wait, did I just think 'pleasant'?, dream. Lily snapped to attention and came face-to-face with an old house rival.

Samantha Burghely was a seventh year Gryffindor who took crap from no one, and pointed this out on several occasions. Her tall, imposing form was enough to strike fear into the hearts of many, but not Lily Evans.

"What do you want, Burg-elly?" Lily asked, using a taunting old nickname she had devised in second year. Samantha rolled her dark eyes, holding out a hand to haul Lily off the couch.

"You're Head Girl, and since I'm a Prefect I got chosen to deliver you a message." Samantha said.

"What's the message?" Lily asked, wondering if she should believe a word of it.

"There's a transfer down in the Great Hall waiting to shadow someone, and McGonagall said that you would be the best choice. She wants you and James to meet her there in," she checked the watch on her slender wrist. "Three minutes."

"Bloody Hell!" Lily swore, throwing her hair back and straightening her slept-in robes. She left her rival standing there speechless, running quickly out the portrait hole.

She ran into James at the staircase right before the Great Hall. He was looking rather tired, with bags under his hazel eyes and his hair a little flatter than usual. But nonetheless his robes were in excellent condition, his tie tucked perfectly in beneath the black fabric of his cloak.

"Did you hear?" he asked, eyeing her attire skeptically. When she shook her head, he continued. "There's a seventh year girl who is transferring from somewhere. Supposedly she is supposed to trail us today to figure out her schedule."

"Oh." Was all that Lily replied, not even looking at him. His eyes narrowed, and he knew that this was the bad start of a long day.

The two walked in awkward silence down to the Great Hall. Lily ignored James, James pretended to ignore Lily.

Lily spotted Professor McGonagall standing by a suit of armor to the left, talking rapidly to a female that looked to be around Hilary's height.

As she got closer, she saw that the girl had chestnut-colored hair that fell in casual waves on her thin shoulders. Her face was the classical heart-shape, with rather large lips and a high forehead. Her eyes were a dull, hazy green. All in all, she looked like a much-prettier version of Narcissa Black, a Slytherin with a bad attitude.

"Ah. Here they come now." McGonagall was saying as she spotted Lily approaching with James at her heels. "This is our Head Boy and Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans."

"Hello." The girl said curtly. "My name is Tevyn, but no one calls me that. I'm more commonly known as Vyn." She had a rather brisk accent that Lily had trouble placing. She figured it was some form of American, but she couldn't tell.

"Hello Vyn." James finally said, breaking the awkward silence that Lily had created. He stepped forward and shook her hand, and Vyn smiled tenuously at him.

"Well, now that the introductions are over." McGonagall said, raising her eyebrows at Lily, who still did not greet the new girl. "I think you all should go to your first class, since you slept through breakfast."

"Thank you, Professor." James said, in a (what Lily thought) oddly polite and mature attitude for him. He gently steered Vyn out of the Great Hall and into the nearest corridor, immedietaly starting to tell her all about Hogwarts. Lily stood still for a moment before deciding to follow them, jogging slightly to keep up.

"What is your first class?" Vyn was asking.

"History of Magic. Boring class." James replied, grinning. Vyn laughed, shaking her hair out of her face.

"I didn't like that class much either." She said.

"Where did you go before?" James queried. He glanced at Lily, who was staring hard ahead of her, completely oblivious to the world around her.

"The Salem Witches Institute, which is in Boston. I actually lived in New York, though. It was a mere matter of apparating to classes every day. Quite fun, actually." Vyn replied. She seemed like a very outgoing person, just by the way she easily sank into conversation with James.

However, Lily knew that not that many people had trouble falling in love with James. He was just easy to talk to, unless you were a Slytherin…or Lily Evans.

"Ah, so that's what the accent was." James said laughingly. "I was wondering."

Lily ignored the rest of her conversation, trying to remember the details of her dream the night before. She grimaced, knowing she would end up telling Hilary. What will she think? Lily thought to herself, ignoring the pair beside her.

They entered the History of Magic classroom without Professor Binns even noticing that there was a new student there. Everyone else, however, rushed over to say hello and talk to the 'new kid'. It was very rare that people transferred into Hogwarts, and they all wanted to speak to the new phenomenon.

Hilary had saved Lily's normal seat for her, which Lily sank into appreciatively.

"What's up?" Hilary asked, instantly recognizing that something was bugging her friend. She followed Lily's glare up to James, who was performing simple sleight-of-hand tricks to impress Vyn.

"Oh, jealous of the new girl?"

"No!" Lily answered. "He's just annoying, is all. Imagine having to spend time with that…that—" her voice was cut off by a loud giggle from Vyn, because James had transformed his own hands into the paws of a dog and was making footprints all over Binns' desk.

"You see my point?" Lily said incredulously. "He preaches day and night about how he's so in love with me, and the first hot thing that passes by him he completely ditches me and—"

"Wait." Hilary interrupted. "I thought you didn't even like him?"

"I don't." Lily said firmly. "I'm just-"

"Jealous." Hilary said. "I can completely tell. Now don't even try to prove me wrong, because Binns is about to notice that we haven't started class yet."

Sure enough, the wizened old professor was telling everyone to sit down. James sat down near the front, pulling out a chair for the chestnut-haired female who was smiling so hugely at him. Lily grimaced in disgust, forcing herself to try and pay attention.

………………..it didn't work.

After about twenty minutes, Lily gave up trying to make sense out of Binns' monotonous lecture, pulling out some parchment to write notes to Hilary.

L: I had a really odd dream last night.

H: About what?

L: Don't you DARE say a word---Potter.

H: HAH!

L: I won't count that as a word.

H: What was it about? Tell me all

L: Don't fly off the handle, okay?

H: Sure. Tell on.

L: Well, it was like…odd.

At that moment, Lily decided that she did not want to tell Hilary about that dream. It had been too…erotic and sensual. It had been the first time that Lily had dreamed of a boy like that. She made a face, wishing it could have been anyone, anyone but James Potter. Hilary smacked her on the shoulder.

H: Are you going to tell me, or not?

L: No, it was sick.

H: Sick as how? As in you were shagging him,sick?

L: Yeah…

H: How is that sick? That's adorable! You know you're meant to be with him if you dream of him.

L: It disturbs me, actually. It was like he was really there, touching my face or something.

H: Aaah, Sirius is trying to read this!

He was, actually. Hilary quickly stowed the note in her pocket, meaning to write more later. But she forgot, getting into an animated conversation with a Ravenclaw on her left. Lily merely sat boredly through the rest of the class, trying not to think about her current situation. She now wished that she had never told Hilary.

---

James looked over at Vyn, who was packing up her things for their next class. She was a sweet girl, and he could tell that she was falling for him, hard and fast. Maybe this was a good thing, he told himself. I didn't think of Lily this entire period.

He stood up, cursing quietly when his quill fell out of his pocket. He looked up to see that Vyn was still waiting for him, grinning slightly. He stood up and walked over to her, leading her to their next class.

---

Lily was on the edge of her seat in Potions, her worst class. It had been two weeks since they started the term, and she already knew that she would have to work her ass off to actually pass Potions on her N. E. W. T.'s. In fifth year, she had done the dumb thing and decided to take on advanced Potions. Now she hated herself for it.

Their teacher, Professor Kelpily, was an old man who was very adept at turning the simplest Potion seem like the most puzzling thing in the world. That was why only two Gryffindors had decided to take the N. E. W. T. level class. At the moment he was explaining the first project of the year to them—something that Lily knew would take her a long time.

They were supposed to create their own antidote to the Buttreasu poison. The Buttreasu was a flower located in Romania somewhere. It was so deadly because it could sense your emotions. If you were particularly angry, it would attach its deadly spores onto your clothes until they had absorbed into your bloodstream. It you were happy, however, it would leave you alone.

"And this project will be a team effort." Kelpily stated, handing out the parameters for the project. "I have already chosen your partners, and their names are written on the top of your paper."

Lily sighed, wondering what oaf she had been partnered with. The class was fairly small, mostly because it was one of the hardest you could take. On second thought, Lily really wouldn't mind being partnered with anyone except for—

"Sirius Black! Damn!" Lily swore aloud, grabbing her paper and catching up to Professor Kelpily. "Professor, there must be a mistake! I can't work with—"

"Of course you can, Miss Evans." Kelpily said, looking down his large nose at her. "It was completely random that the two Gryffindors were picked to be partnered. Frankly, I think you should be thankful."

"Thankful, Professor?" Lily asked, spotting the dark-haired Black snoozing leisurely across two chairs in the back of the room.

"Why, Mr. Black currently has the best grade in the class, whereas you have the worst." Kelpily said. Lily blushed in embarrassment as the nearby Slytherins sniggered rudely.

"It's only been two weeks." She muttered.

"Yes, but working with Black will bring up your, ah. Your T." Kelpily said, eyeing her grade on his clipboard.

"What does Sirius have?" Lily asked, ignoring the continued sniggers.

"Currently an O, but that's only because he did exceptionally well on my Morphing Potion exam." The Professor replied. "Now kindly go back to your seat."

---

Hello! I am so happy that you guys have been giving some reviews. Thank you so much for the quick responses!

Also, I've noticed that I have a huge hit count, but very little actual reviews. If there is something you don't like, would you please take the time to review and tell me what is wrong with it? All criticism is accepted! Just don't be too cruel, please. laughs

Well, anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you think!

--Pia