Disclaimer:  I don't own any of this shiz, so don't be thinkin' that I do…

An Unexpected Head Boy

The rest of the train ride passed without event, with the exception of when one Severus Snape paid the Marauders a visit.  As result, Snivelus was the victim of a well placed Jelly Legs curse, and he remained in that state until Remus finally took pity on him in the entrance hall.

"Aw, what'd you do that for?"  Sirius whined.  "I was enjoying that!"

"Must you be constantly entertained, Padfoot?" Remus asked his friend wearily.

James watched his friends, amusement sparkling in his hazel eyes as they continued to bicker.  James looked around the familiar Great Hall and automatically made his way towards the Gryffindor table.  He sat at their usual spot in the middle of the table, as they tended to be the center of attention.  James ran a hand through his hair as he made himself comfortable, a habit he had gotten into his second year and couldn't seem to break.  As he did so, Lily shot him an evil glare from a few seats down. He quickly returned his hand to the table, remembering too late that that particular habit drover her mad.

He then turned his gaze to the head table, where Albus Dumbledore, the greatest living wizard in James' opinion, sat in deep conversation with Professor McGonagal, the young transfiguration teacher.  They finished whatever words they were saying in a short minute, though, and the young witch went off to collect the first years.

Sure enough, a few minutes later some sixty or so eleven year olds tripped nervously into the Great Hall as McGonagal brought in a spindly stool and a rather frayed and dirty wizards hat.  The line of first years came to a halt in front of the tables, staring with terrified eyes at the hat now sitting in front of them.  The rest of the students turned to the hat expectantly as a rip in the hat opened wide and began to sing.

"Welcome Hogwarts students

To another year.

Now's the time for sorting,

So listen without fear;

I'm the sorting hat you see.

I'm smarter than a cup!

And it's my job to tell you,

Where you will end up;

For the brave and cunning

There is old Gryffindor.

Whose daring, nerve, and chivalry,

All are traits of lore;

Or maybe Hufflepuff's for you,

Where patience is the key.

Hufflepuffs are just and true

Disloyal they'll never be;

But Ravenclaw perhaps you'll find,

Is the better fit.

Sharp minds are what are favored,

And a ready wit.

You might belong in Slytherin

If you've a ready mind.

Those of swift and cunning

Here will find their kind;

So put me on your little head!

It cannot be waylaid.

For it's my job to place you

While our thoughts I raid."

After the hat finished it's little ditty, it bowed deeply to each of the four house tales as the hall filled with applause, then slumped lifelessly unto the stool.  McGonagal then addressed the rather relieved looking first years.

"As I call your name, please sit on the stool whilst putting on the hat.  Au, Anton!"

"RAVENCLAW!"  The hat shouted immediately, and the table on the far left burst into applause.

"Azow, Bekah!"

As James watched Bekah also join the Ravenclaw table, his mind began to wander.  HE looked over at Sirius, who was gazing at the golden plates with a glazed yet concentrated look, as if willing them to be filled.  His eyes then skimmed over Peter and Remus, who were watching the sorting with only a semi-disguised look of disinterest.  Then he found his sight set once more on Lily Evans.  Unlike most of the seventh years, she put her all into cheering for each of the new Gryffindors, as if it were her personal responsibility to make them feel welcome.

He wasn't sure how long he had been staring at her, but his attention was quite suddenly pulled back to the sorting as McGonagal finished with Zachers, Ewan.  (Hufflepuff)  With all the first years seated, Dumbledore stood.

"I shant bother you with an old mans wandering wonderings just yet.  Tuck in."

With that, mountains of food appeared on the tables.  James busied himself with a rather large portion of roast and potatoes, followed by a delicious strawberry trifle until Dumbledore stood once more once he was sure everyone had eaten themselves to oblivion.

"Now, for a few start of term notices.  First years are to know that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students."  Dumbledore gave a pointed look towards the Gryffindor table, and Sirius leaned towards James indignantly.

"You'd think he didn't trust us or something…"

"Also, quidditch try-outs will be held for the house quidditch teams in the first week of October for those in second year and above.  Please see your respective quidditch captains for further details.  And lastly, a very special announcement indeed.  Some of you may have noticed, as there isn't someone strutting around the castle like they own the place, that a head boy and girl have yet to be selected.  For the first time in over thirty years, the head boy and girl are from the same house, and I felt this deserved some special attention."

James gave Remus suggestive shove on the arm, figuring it must be the young werewolf and Lily.

"Please join me in honoring are new heads, Lily Evans and James Potter!"

Lily's POV

"No, no, nononononono…. not him…" was all that Lily could think as the Hall erupted into cheers. 

She forced a smile on her face, hoping it covered up her previous look of bewilderment.  She looked down the table, where James sat with the same look of astonishment she had just wiped off her face, and the applause was deafening.

"Yes, yes.  Congratulations to the both of them.  If you both will be so kind as to meet with me for your badges and assignments, the rest of you may waddle off to bed."

With the finish of Dumbledore's speech the students began filing out of the hall, the first years in quivering clumps following the prefects.  Lily looked down at the now cleared table and dropped her head repeatedly onto the hard surface.

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANGBANGBANG

"Uh…Evans?"

Lily groaned at the interruption to her self-inflicted torture, knowing it could only be Potter, as everyone else was scrambling gout of the Great Hall.  Even her best friend Linnea had left her to fend for herself with James.

"Yes, Potter?"

"Well, Dumbledore just pointed in the general direction of his office and told us to meet him, and I wasn't sure if you had heard due to your, er- previous activity."

Lily blushed slightly at the reference to her little tantrum but quickly got the blood flow to her cheeks under control.

"Alright, let's go then."

Lily stood abruptly from the table and stalked off towards the doors, making sure she stayed at least three steps ahead of 'his arrogance.'

James' POV

It must be that time of the month.

This was the only explanation James could come up with for Lily's odd behavior.  James had to work his long legs hard to keep up with Lily's quick pace, and even then she somehow managed to stay a few paces ahead of him.

He just didn't understand what was going on with her.  Just when he thought Lily was warming up to him she turned colder than an owl on an iceberg.

"Oy, Evans!  Wait up!"

Lily spun around to glare at him in response.

"Aw, come on Lily.  What'd I do?"

"You're being…" Lily stopped, apparently searching for the best word to describe James' insolence.

"You're being…YOU!  And since when did you start calling me Lily!" she screamed at him, as if calling her by her first name was a tool of the devil.  Deciding this was a sufficient explanation, Lily whipped around and continued on her path to Dumbledore's study.

James followed her at a slower pace, letting her gain the distance she so desperately insisted she keep between them, and eventually made it to his destination.  He sat through there meeting in a daze, only half listening to the headmasters words, and was highly relieved when they were dismissed back to their common room.  He quickly made his way through the halls to stand in front of the fat lady.  He muttered the password (Tinderblast), and found his way to his private head boy quarters at the base of the boy's dormitory stairs. 

James threw himself on his four-poster bed thinking, "At least being head boy has some perks," in a rather bitter tone of thought.

He just couldn't understand why Lily all of a sudden redoubled her efforts to display her hatred of him.  This was definitely something he needed to talk over with his fellow Marauders.

He pulled himself off the bed with much effort and slowly climbed his way towards the seventh year boy's dormitories.  He entered to find his three friends having a heated discussion over the latest issue of Perilous Pranks for Pompous Pigheaded Prats.

"No!  I'm telling you two parasitic sacks of Puffskein intestines will make our Fungus Formula ten times more powerful!"

"Padfoot," James said upon his entrance, "If our Fungus Formula was any stronger our targets will be getting chopped up in the kitchen to use in a bowl of cream of mushroom soup."

"Good idea Prongs!  I'll be sure to slip a dose into Snivelus' pumpkin juice."

"Padfoot," Remus put his two knuts in, smiling wickedly.  "I think you best watch your schemes, a you are now in the presence of the Head Boy."

"Oh, shut up Moony."  James said as he whipped a pillow at Remus.

"So Prongsy," Peter jumped into the conversation.  "What are your duties as master of the house?"

"Oh, you know," James started, sprawling out on Sirius's bed.  "Have to patrol the halls with Lily almost every night…"

"Doesn't sound so bad to me…" Sirius interjected, earning him a glare from James.

"…checking for students out of bed…" but James was forced to stop once more, as all four boys burst out laughing, knowing full well it was them that usually roamed the corridors after hours.  When James reigned in his laughter, he continued. 

"I also have to co-run the bi-weekly prefect meeting, and…erm…keep the student body under control in general."

The Marauders could contain themselves no longer.  Peter collapsed onto the floor in a fit of giggles and Sirius was clutching a pillow to his chest as tears of mirth streamed down his cheeks.  Even Remus, usually more reserved than the others, was clutching his stomach to soothe the knot of laughter overtaking him.  Finally, they got themselves under control.

"So Prongs…"Remus began, "What brings you up here to the lowly commoners dorm?"

"What…a guy needs an excuse to visit his best mates now?!"

"So girl trouble then?"  Peter sniggered.

"Ah," Remus chuckled.  "I believe our short friends has pinned the tail on the hippogriff.  It's Lily then, is it?"

James merely grunted in response to Remus' astute conclusion.

"Aw…" Sirius sighed, batting his eyelashes at James.  "Does our Prongsy still have a crushypoo on our darling Lily flower?"

"Didn't you get over her last year, James?" Peter asked.  "You stopped asking her out anyway."

"I thought I had…"

"Well then, what are you going to do about it?"  Remus questioned.

"Attempt to ignore it?"  James responded, cocking an eyebrow and looking at Remus hopefully.

"Some how I don't think that's going to work."

"Well, what else am I going to do!?" James shouted, dragging a hand through his hair.  "She hates me!  She thinks I am the mot arrogant, self-serving, womanizing git in the wizarding world!"

Remus sat looking at James, waiting for him to calm down.

"Are you done now?"

James nodded apologetically.

"Here are a few counter points, if you will.  We all know that you cannot be the biggest womanizer in the wizarding world, as Sirius definitely has you beat and is still going strong…"

Sirius grinned at his growing reputation that he had worked so hard to achieve.

"Yeah, mate.  You're good, but…come on!"  Sirius joked, throwing his arms up as if daring James to find a fault.

James sniggered at Sirius's cockiness. "Okay, you got me there, but you can't deny the rest of what I said was truth, at least in her eyes."

"So…"  Remus stopped, thinking for a moment.  "What you need to do is…change her perception." He finished, saying the last bit as if this was the easiest and most obvious thing to do in the world.

"You say that like it's an easy task to accomplish."

"Start with the little things first.  Apologize for our actions on the train, for example…" Remus said, giving James a pointed look, and leaving him wondering how he had heard about that little incident.  "Other than that…just don't be such a git."

"Oh, thanks Moony."  James said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.  "If that's all, then I'm off to bed."

With that he strode toward the dormitory door, but spun around just as he it.   He screwed his face into a stern look, strongly resembling Professor McGonagal's, and raised his voice an octave.

"Now make sure you kiddies get enough sleep.  You have a big day tomorrow, and I will not tolerate any misbehavior."

James then winked and dashed down the stairs to his won room to mull over Remus' advice, leaving his friends as they laughed their arses off.

A/N- Alright, well here's chapter two.  I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it!  Exams are coming up, so I don't know how soon I'll be able to update, but hopefully it will be soon.  Constructive criticism is always welcome, so don't forget to review!!