A/N: Thanks to ChrisLoverCharmed, my first reviewer. I read the review during lunch, and spent the rest of the day going up to random people and saying, "Somebody loves me!" It was FUN!!!!Anyhoo, thanx also to my beta, I never would be able to do this without her. Well, I know nobody wants to hear-er-read- me ramble, so here's the story:
Hufflepuff Disclaimer: Well, I mean, it's really just polite and honest not to copy; I mean, it's just common courtesy. I know that if I ever copied, I would turn myself in right away.
OH YEAH: this chapter is dedicated to Becky Bracken. It's her birthday!!
Previously: "My name is Lily Evans." The boy grinned at her, a warm and welcoming smile. He stuck out his hand as well, and they shook.
"Hello, Lily Evans. It was a pleasure to save you. I'm James Potter."
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, James Potter," Lily said, grinning back at him. Without warning, all the pain from the previous morning flooded into her body like water overflowing a glass. She nearly cried out, but bit her tongue sharply instead, gritting her teeth and trying to take deep, even breaths. She prayed that James hadn't noticed anything, but it seemed that her luck had been used up for the day. He gave her a keen and penetrating stare, and suddenly raised his hand. Instinctively, Lily flinched away and pressed herself against the seat, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the inevitable blow… any second now, any second…but nothing happened. She cautiously lowered her arm, and immediately James' hand struck out like lightning, grabbing her hand and pulling her arm out so it was parallel to the compartment floor. He gingerly pushed back her sleeve, and, on seeing the flawless skin beneath it, frowned. He carefully prodded the skin on her arm, and she involuntarily shuddered and jerked from the pain. James warily grabbed his wand from the seat next to him without letting go of her hand, and, swirling it in a counter-clockwise movement, pointed it at her arm and said clearly, "Finite incantatem". Dammit, Lily thought. There was a flash of white light, and then all of her injuries were revealed. Thank god, she thought, he could only see her arm. Though that's certainly bad enough. Her entire forearm was a mottled yellow-blue-black bruise. Lily's eyes were wide with fear and surprise, and they stared at James with an intensity he had never seen before. His eyed shocked eyes gazed back, and he started. Those eyes… they were the purest green he had ever seen… hard, with a stubborn glint like emeralds, yet as soft and compassionate as new grass. They reminded him of leaves…The train gave a lurch, startling James out of his thoughts. Lily was still gazing at him in fear. He reached out an arm and put it on her upper arm to reassure her that she had nothing to fear, and she gradually relaxed. James, on the other hand, was filling up with rage. His mother, a healer, had taught him many things, and the one thing James knew about her arm was that is was practically impossible to do that to yourself- therefore, someone must have done this to Lily. "Who," he demanded through tightly clenched teeth, "did this to you?" Lily's eyes widened in fear again, and she stiffened. "I…I…I fell down some stairs." She said unconvincingly. James raised an eyebrow. Looking into his eyes, Lily felt that even though she had known him for mere minutes, she could tell him, and trust him. "It-" she started to say, but was interrupted by the compartment door flying open and a head full of black hair which was, needless to say, much neater than James'.
"Jamesie! The plan worked perfectly; Malfoy's over at the other end of the train trying everything to get rid of the flags, and we rigged the password so that he's got to say 'I am a stupid git, and even though my family's stinking rich, I still don't have ½ the brain of Sirius Black' in front of at least 200 members of a different House. It's brilliant, I tell you, pure genius, mate! This'll be our best year ever!"
"For what? Highest number of detentions served in one month?" a new voice wryly interrupted the first speaker.
"Oh, honestly, Moony! Lighten up a bit. We've been out loads of times before; this year will be a piece of cake…oh. Hello there. Didn't see you. The name's Sirius. Sirius Black," the first speaker said, performing an elaborate bow and gallantly kissing Lily's hand, winking at her with an eye that sparkled with mischief. She had immediately yanked the sleeve back down as soon as James' attention had been diverted. She grinned at the young man, and got up from her seat and did a deep mock-curtsey, which was difficult, seeing as she was wearing jeans. "My name is Lily Evans, kind sir." Then she turned to the newest arrival, a teen with light brown hair and serious gray eyes. He looked slightly peaky, though she shouldn't judge, seeing what she looked like herself. He smiled and stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Lily. My name's Remus Lupin. Don't mind Sirius there. He's had a few too many chocolate frogs." They shook hands, and Lily looked over at Sirius, who now seemed to be alternately rolling on the floor and doing jumping jacks. She grinned and cocked an eyebrow. Remus and James both nodded mock-seriously as a voice was heard from outside the compartment. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" Sirius was off in a flash, bounding to the compartment door, and throwing it open and diving outside. "As if I had to ask," came the resigned voice of the trolley-pushing witch. "Maybe a better question would be, 'Is there anything you want besides the trolley?'" James quipped. All three of them lost control of their laughter, and the sober façade inside the compartment dissolved into tears of laughter as the Hogwarts Express raced onward.
A/N: Well, that's done. I'll update soon. Before people start yelling at me, I had a purpose for not introducing Peter. Believe me. I have a wee bit of a problem (besides the obvious psychotic, chronic and schizophrenic ones. Isn't that right? Yes, it is, dear.). When I type my author name in the search bar, I can't find myself!! I also tried the title and summary, and neither of those work. In short, I don't exist!!! If somebody could PLEASE tell me how to fix this, I will give you a hint as to where the rat we love to hate went. Review anyway, tho!! I wrote this one at 1:58 am!!!