By headupintheclouds
Lily Evans woke up to find a brown tawny owl pecking at her hair. She sprang up, surprised, and a stretch and yawn elongated her body. She propped herself up on one arm, and shook out her hair, before accepting a parchment envelope from the bird's ankle. She let it drink some water, before dismissing it and hurrying downstairs, still in her pajamas.
"Mom, my Hogwarts' letter came!" she said in a singsong voice.
"They've been coming from the past 6 years, why would they stop now?" inquired her mother fondly.
Lily's face fell, realizing that this would be the last letter. Every year since she got her first one, she had anticipated it all summer, and now there was nothing for summer to climax to.
She carefully peeled the wax sealing off, careful not to break it, and pulled out the carefully creased parchment that lay stiff and crisp inside. Opening the parchment, she found not one, but two pieces, the second handwritten. She skimmed her eyes over her list of books, mentally tallying costs and wondering at difficulties. They all seemed to be standard books.
She turned her attention to the handwritten parchment, closing her eyes briefly to make a wish that it carried good news, not bad news. Good news being something that made James Potter either disappear or catch amnesia, and bad news being that he had been made Headmaster.
The letter began,
Dear Lily Evans,
I'm happy to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl-Her face broke into a wide grin, and she turned to her parents, without finishing the letter. She squealed, making her mother put down the toast she had been eating, and her father glance up from his newspaper, worried.
"I've been made Head Girl!" she exclaimed wildly. Her parents exchanged looks of pride. Lily heard a rustling behind her, and she turned to find an enraged Petunia.
"Did they burn that 'school' of yours, finally?" she asked snidely.
"No, they've made me Head Girl!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her arms around her sister joyously.
She was shaken off as Petunia trudged back upstairs, leaving Lily with a face that look like an abused puppy.
"Come, come," her mother said soothingly, encasing her daughter in a hug, "She meant nothing by it."
Lily tried to humor her mother, but her smile looked pained.
"Let's go celebrate!" her father burst, and he smiled like a lunatic until Lily finally broke into a grin.
Her parents hauled her, and an unwilling Petunia off for a day of fun, leaving thoughts of the unfinished Head Girl letter she needed to read the rest of far behind on the kitchen counter.
They all got home late, and most trudged straight up to bed. Lily lingered in the kitchen, and the Head Girl letter caught her eye once again. She picked it up unexpectantly.
Dear Lily Evans,
I'm happy to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl. Your duties will start on the Hogwarts' Express, conducting the first Prefect meeting in the Heads' carriage, where you will need to report upon arrival at the platform. You will conduct this first meeting with the Head Boy, with whom you will be sharing the Head Common Room. I ask you to trust me with the selection of the Head Boy, though you may find him questionable. James Potter will be joining you as Head Boy. Please enjoy the rest of your summer.
Albus DumbledoreLily made a sound of outrage, and discarded the letter directly. This year at Hogwarts was going to be hell. She stumbled up into bed, and tried to make the entire day a dream. She'd rather give up the position ad Head Girl than serve it with James Potter.
Meanwhile, far away, James was taking the same news in a different way:
Curling up inside his blankets, James scooted to the edge of his bed, trying to avoid the series of batterings his friends Sirius was trying to awaken him with. Finally, he turned over to face his friend, and knocked away his hand. "Whatdyouwan?" he asked woozily.
"You to wake up!" his friend replied. "There's an owl here for you, and it won't give me your stupid letter, so you have to take it."
James reached up and took the letter, putting it down on his nightstand, before rolling back into a comfortable position and sleeping.
"James!" a feminine voice yelled from his doorway.
"Wha-?" James whined.
"Get up!" she screamed fondly, kicking his bedposts to shake him.
He merely nodded and sat up a little.
His mother left to cook breakfast, and Sirius sent his friend an innocent smile. James replied with a glare, and picked up his letter.
"It's just the usual back-to-term notice thingy," James concluded, before tearing it open, breaking the waxen seal.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, the normal books and junk." He said blandly, before focusing on the other parchment enclosed.
He read, somewhat disbelievingly, what the parchment said:
Dear James Potter,
I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Head Boy. You duties will begin on the Hogwarts' Express, where you must conduct the first Prefect meeting with the Head Girl, Lily Evans, with whom you must also share living quarters, mainly the Head Common Room. Please do not abuse this opportunity, and prove to me that I picked the right man.
Albus Dumbledore
"Crap, Paddy!" James exploded, prancing happily around the room and beginning to throw various belongings in his suitcase merrily.
"What happened?" Sirius asked, eyeing his friend curiously.
"I'm Head Boy!" James burst, while Sirius made a sputtering noise of disbelief. James threw the letter in his friend's general vicinity. Sirius scanned it quickly, before turning a devious eye on James.
"You know what this means, right?" Sirius asked.
"Yes! Lily Evans has finally realized her undying love for me!" James said, only half joking.
"Er- no. Actually, I was thinking that you can't screw this up." Sirius replied, raising an eyebrow at his friend's antics.
"Well… that too, I suppose…" James concluded lamely, and both boys head down to breakfast, before what James hoped would be a successful train ride to Hogwarts.
A/N: Huge thanks goes out to darkforest214, who helped me conceive of the story line! Thanks pal!