James wandered down the train under the cover of his Invisibility Cloak, a gift his parents had given him for his tenth birthday. He held in his hands the crystal ball he'd stolen at the end of last year and kept hidden from his parents all throughout the summer. As soon as he'd boarded the train, James had stowed his trunk in his compartment with Remus, Sirius, and Peter, and then set off to find Lily, hoping to talk her into seeing the first premonition of the year on the train before actually reaching the school for their fourth year at Hogwarts.

When he reached Lily's compartment—he could hear her musical laugh through the door—he found the door firmly shut. James groaned; he had been planning on sneaking in to spy on Lily for a while, but it wasn't going to work if he couldn't get in the compartment without their suspecting his presence.

His problem was solved when a girl—James thought this one was Winola, but he had never bothered to sort out which of Lily's friends was which—exited the train's restroom a few doors away from the compartment. James flattened himself against the wall so that the girl could pass without feeling him, but when she slid the compartment door open he jammed his foot in front of it so she couldn't close it behind her.

The girl jerked at the door twice, confused, and went to heave all her weight into the effort of shutting the door. Before she could, James thrust himself past her, succeeding in making it into the compartment undetected. The girl went flying when the door slid shut easily without James's foot to block it, but she landed safely in the bench seat Lily was occupying.

"What's going on, Amissa?" Lily asked, telling James he'd gotten the name of the girl wrong.

Amissa righted herself and sat next to the redhead. "The stupid door got stuck," she grumbled, rubbing an elbow she had probably banged on the floor. "Anyway, what did Winola choose while I was gone?"

Lily grinned evilly. "She chose dare. What should we make her do?"

James realized with some delight that he'd walked in on a game of Truth or Dare. This could get very interesting, he thought to himself, making sure the crystal ball was held tightly in one hand. James watched Lily and Amissa think of a dare for Winola.

"Doesn't she have a crush on that one guy…?" Amissa thought out loud.

Lily nodded but said decisively, "No, nothing about love. That's too clichéd. We need something original…" Lily thought a bit more but said when she saw Amissa's face, "No, we are not sending her streaking down the Hogwarts Express!" The two girls fell into a fit of laughter. "I know!" Lily suddenly exclaimed. She got up and, standing on the bench seat, reached into her trunk. A few moments later she withdrew a pair of scissors. "Your dare is that you have to let me and Amissa give you a haircut, and you can't look in a mirror of any kind for the next 24 hours."

James nearly scoffed at that idea. It was so amateur! How could these girls ever think a haircut would make a good dare?

Of course, James had underestimated Lily and Amissa. He had forgotten that girls' hair tends to be longer than guys', so more can be chopped off. Ribbons can be added, glitter, Amissa even knew a spell that changed exact strands of hair different colors. By the time Lily and Amissa had finished with Winola, the hair that had started out as elbow-length and midnight black had been turned different shades of neon yellow; the lengths were uneven; black glitter added to the shock of the color; and magenta ribbons had been used to give Winola pigtails. As James watched the process, he began to wonder why he and the Marauders had never thought of giving people haircuts…

The next to go was Amissa, who wisely chose Truth. Winola immediately asked Amissa if her hair looked good; Amissa just laughed, falling out of her seat to roll in laughter on the floor.

Now it was Lily's turn. "Truth or Dare?" the two friends chorused, leaning in for Lily's decision.

Lily seemed hesitant. James could see why; he didn't want either of those girls touching Lily's beautiful red hair, either. On the other hand, Lily was obviously worried that if she chose Truth, she might be forced to admit something she didn't want to. Hair… truth… hair… honesty… hair… James could tell Lily was deciding which would be better.

Finally: "Truth."

And Amissa was ready with a question, looking as if she had been born to ask this question: "Do you have a crush on James Potter?"

Now James nearly broke out in laughter. Lily? Like him? No way! She'd turned him down way too many times! There was no way she could like him like that! It was a known fact! It's why James worked so hard to change that fact; he knew that if he didn't continue to make an effort, Lily would never like him. And if the way Lily had kicked him out of her compartment at the end of last year, James knew Lily did not have a crush on him.

"Maybe a small one," Lily admitted in a tiny voice.

Thump. The crystal ball had dropped from James's grasp and was now rolling across the floor. "Crap!" James whispered, giving himself away. Or maybe not… the girls looked too focused in on the crystal ball; maybe they hadn't heard his whisper?

The three girls stood, still looking down at the crystal ball rolling around on the floor. James took the opportunity to back up completely against the compartment door, flattening himself as much as possible. He watched the three girls gaze warily around the room, occasionally doing something with their hands.

Lily took a step closer, keeping her hands out in front of her. Another step, and her fingertips would graze his chest. On her next step, though, she turned around midway, so that her back was facing him. James held his breath, knowing that Lily was close enough to feel even the tiniest disturbance. He made sure none of his limbs were shaking, although his right foot had somehow gone to sleep. Finally, though, James had to breathe. And that one breath moved several strands of Lily's hair, causing her to panic.

Before James knew what was happening, Lily had turned and kneed him someplace no guy should ever be kneed.

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"JAMES POTTER WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Lily screeched at the floating, grimacing head in front of her. Had he heard her answer to the Truth question?

James glared up at Lily, his head so low to the ground that Lily could tell he was bent over double. "Now," he breathed, "was that any way to treat the guy you have a crush on?"

Lily gasped and slapped the floating head of James Potter. "How DARE you sneak in here and spy on us like that?" she demanded angrily, watching James writhe in pain. "What were you doing in here in the first place?"

James painfully nodded towards the glass orb that was still spinning in the middle of the room. "Premonition," he muttered.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes, but went over to retrieve the crystal ball. "If we do this, will you promise to forget everything you've heard here today?"

"Aw, do I have to?"

Lily dropped the crystal ball with a loud thump!, apparently right onto James's foot when he cried out in more pain. "Then take your stolen ball and get out."

"Fine!" James muttered. "I'll forget… I promise!"

Lily knew James would never forget what had happened here in the compartment, but she was just as eager for a premonition as he was. She picked up the crystal ball and, placing it between her and James, sat down. Winola and Amissa sat in the bench seats, giving each other knowing looks. Lily made a mental note to exact revenge on them later. Right now, though, Lily wanted to see more of Harry's life.

Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, seemed to be making their way through a series of obstacles. First there was a gigantic plant—Devil's Snare, Lily recognized—that only stopped trapping Harry and Ron in its vines when Hermione finally managed to remember that she was indeed a witch and could conjure fire at will. Another task involved Harry flying around a room on an old broomstick, trying to find the flying key to fit a keyhole in a door that lead to whatever the three friends were trying to get to. In another room the friends had to play wizard's chess, but Ron was knocked out by the queen in this round; Harry and Hermione had to go on by themselves. Later Hermione would have to leave as well, because a room full of potions and fire would only admit one person through to the other side—and into the final room. In this final room is where Harry met a pale man with a purple turban, which was removed to reveal the face of the Dark Lord. Lily gasped when she saw this face, one that she knew presently had its own body instead of sharing one with what was apparently a teacher at Hogwarts. Lily wondered what kind of headmaster would hire such a creature that was willing to allow the most evil man in memory to live on the back of his head.

There was a mirror that drew Lily's attention. She didn't really listen to what was going on between Harry and "Professor Quirrel"; instead she watched the mirror. Of course, she had no reflection since she was not really there. But at one point her image did appear in the mirror.

"Together," the Dark Lord promised, bringing up the image of an older Lily and James, "we can bring them back!"

Lily saw what He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was trying to do. Dragging her attention away from the mirror, Lily yelled at Harry, "No! Don't listen to him! He can't bring us back! No one and nothing can bring people back from the dead! Don't listen to him, Harry! No!"

Lily, however, did not get to find out what Harry decided—Amissa and Winola had shaken her out of her reverie, dragged her out of the premonition. "WHY IN MERLIN'S NAME DID YOU DO THAT?" she yelled at them, causing the two friends to shrink back in their seats.

"You were screaming, Lily," Amissa said. "So was James, but we didn't exactly think to stop him."

Lily noticed that James was still looking at the crystal ball, with a happy expression on his face. What could he possibly be seeing that could make him so happy?