"Are you sure you're Head Boy?" Dorcas asked as the Gryffindor seventh years collapsed onto their benches in the Great Hall, ready for the Sorting and, more importantly, the first feast of the year.
James produced his letter for what felt like the millionth time that day and handed it to the girl beside him. Word had spread quickly on the Hogwarts Express, and the Marauders' compartment had been inundated with visitors after James' surprise performance at the Prefect meeting, including rival Quidditch captains who could barely contain their glee at James' full attention being taken off of the glorious sport for the whole year.
"Shame, mate." Hufflepuff's Bert MacMillan had said to him, clapping him on the shoulder "I was really hoping you'd wipe the shite-eating grin off Nott's face for us this year. Start as we mean to go on, an' all."
"If James hadn't been suffering an attack of imposter syndrome about the whole thing before, he was deep in the throes of one now, and he stared into space glumly.
"Look at it this way" Peter whispered, for James' ears only, "at least you'll be getting to spend lots of time with Lily this year. Maybe Dumbledore's trying to fix your love life for you?"
The Head Boy laughed hollowly. If that were the case, he was quite sure Dumbledore was on a mission to get him hexed to death by the most powerful student in the school.
"Cheer up, Prongs" Sirius kicked his best friend under the table "you're not allowed to be a moody bastard when we're about to eat our weight in glorious food. Plus, you still haven't told McKinnon about the arm exercises yet and-"
"Arm exercises?" Dorcas questioned, leaning forward into the boys' conversation. She handed James his letter back and motioned for Marlene to join in, too.
"We're not talking about Quidditch already, are we?" Marlene groaned, catching the mischievous glint in Sirius' eye and fearing the worst.
"Our dear Head Boy has decided that we need to improve our arm strength so that we can do the batting thing."
"The batting thing we've been doing really well since third year?" Marlene clarified, thumbing the bottom of one of her plaits.
"That's the one" James responded, allowing himself to be drawn into the conversation "so, I was reading about these exercises you could both do to improve your wrist actions. Apparently it's all in the flick-"
Dorcas spluttered, dribbling pumpkin juice down her robes.
"Attractive" Sirius acknowledged, nodding at the witch's front. "So, what do you think about the wrist exercises, Mar?"
Marlene was biting her lip to stop herself from snorting "you…you want me to do exercises to improve my wrist action?"
James nodded enthusiastically.
Sirius, knowing that his fellow Beater's mind resided in the gutter at the best of times, beamed at her. "I'm sure there are boys and girls alike who will be thrilled by this news, Mar."
"Agreed" Dorcas coughed, still trying to clear her airways of pumpkin pulp.
James did the gentlemanly thing and thumped her twice on the back, earning a teary eye and a hoarse "thank you" for his efforts.
"So, just to be crystal clear" Marlene's shoes knocked at Sirius' shins under the table "you want Black and I to improve our wrist actions for Quidditch by wanking?"
James' face flamed. "Well, that's not the specific exercise-"
"Wanking off other people, then?" Marlene was really enjoying watching her captain squirm.
"Now that's a great idea" Sirius agreed "ten house points to McKinnon."
"You can't give house points, Padfoot" Remus piped up.
"Sirius" Marlene turned to face the boy beside her, noting for a moment that his hair seemed to have gotten even darker over the summer holidays, "how many people have we put in the Hospital Wing on the Quidditch pitch?"
"Five" the boy answered without hesitation, recalling a particularly spectacular memory of the previous autumn, when Marlene had sent a Bludger spinning squarely into Lewis McLaggen's nose when he was within touching distance of the Snitch. It had almost caused a full-scale riot from the normally placid Hufflepuffs in the crowd.
James had been so enthralled that he'd nicked the ball from Gideon Prewett after the match, who'd caught the Snitch seconds after McLaggen's nose had been broken, and kept it for prosperity.
"Do you think we need to improve our wrist action?" Marlene asked.
"Well" Sirius pondered "if it's a direct order from our captain, how can we say no?"
Marlene rolled her eyes "I'll think about it."
"The wanking part or the actual exercise part?" James asked nervously.
"The blonde raised her eyebrows "you'll never know."
"We will if you start shagging Ellie Corner again" Peter interjected "she wouldn't bloody shut up about you last year."
Marlene had the grace to flush slightly "I didn't count on her becoming a borderline stalker, did I? She's a Ravenclaw for goodness sakes, I thought they were meant to be sensible!"
"Probably didn't help that she caught you and Bert MacMillan snogging at the Ravenclaw party two weeks after you ended it with her" Dorcas reminded her best friend, ducking to escape the playful swat Marlene aimed at her.
"Alright, fair point, well taken, everyone" Marlene huffed "but Pete, we've really got to get you dating this year. Your encyclopaedic knowledge of who's gotten off with who is just fucking unnerving."
Remus could hear his friends tittering behind him as he continued to talk to reassure Lily in low tones further down the table "I know you don't like him, Lily, but I think this will be a really good thing for him. He can be mature when he wants to be."
"That's the problem, Remus" Lily hissed "he doesn't want to be Head Boy, does he? He wants to spend hours plotting how they're going to throw the ball in Quidditch or whatever. He doesn't care about anything else."
Remus suppressed a small smile at her exasperation. "He cares about this school, Lil" he said softly, touching her arm briefly "and, I know it's a rubbish point to bring up, but he also cares about things that are important to you."
Lily's mouth dropped open "how can you say that after what he did to Severus? James doesn't care about anything unless it directly benefits him."
Remus held up his hand, signalling that he was ending the conversation: "James is one of my best friends, Lil. I know he'll do a great job with this and, if you want him to stay out of your way, just tell him. He'll respect that."
Lily scoffed "like he's respected me for the past six years, you mean?"
Remus shook his head, and Lily knew she wouldn't get any more out of him. She stuck her bottom lip out petulantly. "I really wanted it to be you, Remus. You're just so…good at everything, and we get on, y'know. This year is going to be crap."
"Make sure you perk up a bit in time for the first years, eh?" Remus grinned "I'm sure they'd love to hear a healthy bit of optimism from their Head Girl on their first day of term."
The redhead sighed heavily and conceded "you're right, as always. Sorry for putting you in this position again, Remus."
The pair exchanged a small smile and turned their heads to the front of the hall as the aforementioned first years – impossibly short and some shaking with nerves in their robes – waited for the Sorting to begin.
There was no way that Lily Evans was going to let James Potter get in the way this year. Absolutely none.
"I don't think I'll need to eat for another week" Alice groaned, pulling at the waistband of her skirt in an irritated manner. "Why did you let me eat that last bit of artic roll?"
"Here" Sirius' hand brushed hers under the table, as he passed his trusty flask beneath the bench "that'll take the edge off. Welcome to seventh year!"
Alice smiled as she decanted some of the Firewhisky into her goblet under the table. "Is the Head Boy letting you get away with that?" she teased, passing the flask to Dorcas, who tipped a generous amount into hers and Marlene's drinks. Knowing that Lily wouldn't approve, the flask hastily ended up back in the hands of its rightful owner.
"Cheers" Marlene raised her goblet and clinked it with her fellow seventh years. "To one last year of raising mayhem" she winked at the Marauders and took a healthy glug.
"And studying for NEWTs" Remus added quickly, his cheeks tinged slightly pink from the ratio of pumpkin juice to Firewhisky in his cup.
Everyone, bar Lily, groaned at him. Peter began muttering something about Remus being a spoilsport under his breath when Dumbledore called for students to start making their way back to their respective Common Rooms.
Lily sighed and rose from her seat "come on, Potter" she chided "we've got to oversee the Prefects."
James obediently knocked back the rest of his pumpkin juice, wincing as the traces of Firewhisky seared the back of his throat. Remus flattened his robes and stood to guide the new first years to the Common Room for the first time. His voice, calm, authoritative, more pronounced than usual to hide his tipsiness, floated over the din of the rest of the table, and the eleven-year-olds fell over themselves in excitement to follow him out of the room.
"Oi!" James yelled over to the Hufflepuff table, where Amos Diggory and Amelia Bones were wrapped up in each other "didn't you hear Dumbledore, Prefects? Duty now, snogging later!"
"Professional, Potter" Lily said sarcastically, watching the pair break apart at lightning speed.
"Got the job done though, didn't it?" he smiled. Stood behind her, she could smell the Firewhisky on his breath.
"You stink" she told him as they made their way across the emptying hall, checking that nothing had been left out of place and that the all the students were headed in the right direction "don't let McGonagall smell that on you, she'll flip."
"That way, kiddo!" James corrected a flustered new Hufflepuff, who was trying to follow the Slytherins down into the dungeons "you don't want to end up down there, trust me."
He turned his attention back to the Head Girl "plus, it's a celebration, Evans. First day as Head Boy, last first day of Hogwarts and all that."
Her emerald eyes locked on his hazel ones for a second "that sentence didn't make sense" she informed him haughtily.
She turned to exchange greetings with Professor Sprout and both Heads nodding respectfully in McGonagall's direction as she peered over the top of her glasses at them, no doubt judging their performance from the other side of the room.
"You know, Evans" James was speaking out of the corner of his mouth as professors continued to pass them, many stopping to congratulate Lily whilst staring at James' Head Boy badge in confusion, "you could really do with letting loose a bit this year. This good girl act is going to kill you one of these days."
"It's not an act, Potter. Some of us are just good people who respect the rules."
The Great Hall was empty now, and he turned to smirk at her, eyes dancing with mischief and whatever other effect the alcohol had had on him: "but you're so fun after a few drinks, Evans. I know you're dying to break up with the wrong twin again, just admit it."
"You're a pig" Lily snapped, pushing in front of them as they began to walk towards the Gryffindor Common Room.
He laughed, following the swoosh of her robes as she made her way up the stairs, "oh come on, Evans. It was a joke!"
Lily, knowing full well that it wasn't a fucking joke, was propelled along the corridor by her fury. She stood outside the Fat Lady and waited for her Head Boy to catch up. "Do a length of the corridor" she ordered, pointing in the direction they'd just come from "I'll go this way and check we don't have any stragglers."
"Sure you don't want more of my delightful company?" James offered.
Lily didn't dignify the question with a response and set off for a short walk down the corridor. After checking the second broom closet, she was ready to turn when someone cleared their throat behind her.
Wand drawn, Lily found it pointed at none other than Severus Snape.
For some reason, she was taken aback every time she saw him. She'd spent most of her summer successfully avoiding him at home, integrating with muggle kids she'd gone to primary school with or visiting the girls, spending as little time in Cokeworth as possible. Every time she'd walked by the catacomb of streets that led to Spinner's End, she'd felt like someone was stamping on her windpipe repeatedly.
He'd gotten a little taller over the summer and his skin was even paler than usual. His dark eyes had sparked in alarm, but relaxed as she lowered her wand.
"I just wanted to say congratulations" he said hurriedly "I knew you'd get Head Girl. You've always wanted it."
Lily didn't trust herself to speak. This happened every few months, ever since the unmentionable incident in fifth year, he would approach her and just talk at her, as if nothing had ever happened. As if they weren't on two separate sides of the blood politics in the school.
It hurt, Lily couldn't pretend otherwise. Sev knew the essence of her. They weren't of the same blood, but they were of the same dirt. They'd sprouted from the same place, both birthed in thick coal smog, both in a place they knew they didn't really belong. And, by all luck, they'd both blossomed at Hogwarts. They'd grown together in every sense of the word, but it wasn't enough, she reminded herself stubbornly. She couldn't be what he wanted, couldn't give him what he thought he needed. It was that simple.
"Shame about Potter, though" Severus continued, tapping his foot in the way he did when nervousness overtook him "whoever thought that was a good to put you with an imbecile like him needs their head checking."
Lily still didn't, couldn't, answer.
"Anyway, I thought maybe we could study together this year?" his eyes, usually cold, were pleading with her "you're the only other person who actually gives a shit about NEWTs and I – I, I really miss you, Lily" he faltered "you know that."
"I think it's time you left, Severus" Lily found her voice. "We're not friends any more, and I'm not going to be your study partner either. You know that."
Severus opened his mouth to say something else, but he was interrupted.
"I think the Head Girl asked you to leave, Snivellus." James had come to look for the Head Girl. His wand was raised in Severus' direction, and they all had evidence to suggest that he wouldn't ask nicely twice. "Don't make her tell you again. It would be a real shame for Slytherin to lose house points so quickly, or for me to hex that greasy hook off your face."
Severus' spine straightened "if it isn't the great buffoon with his shiny new badge."
"Go, Severus" Lily snapped, suddenly desperate to be surrounded by her friends where she could scream into a pillow freely. "Just go."
Snape bowed his head towards her and shot James a filthy look, before making his way towards the stairs. Lily noticed that James didn't drop his wand until her former best friend was out of sight.
"Sorry about that" James apologised "are you okay?"
"I was handling it, Potter" she spat "I don't need a knight in shining armour, you know."
James frowned "a what?"
She stared at him in disbelief. Had he ever paid attention in Muggle Studies? She feared she already knew the answer to that question. "I'm tired" she said quietly "let's get inside, shall we?"
"After you" James offered, nodding towards the Fat Lady, who was waiting for them expectedly.
"Cockatrice" Lily shuddered, internally scolding the Fat Lady for choosing such a grotesque password for the start of the year.
"Evening dears" she creaked forward on her hinges "two Gryffindor Heads! I think that's a first in Hogwarts history, you know. Did you have a good first day?"
"Delightful" Lily sniped "have a nice evening."
"Evans" James reached for the Head Girl's arm as she tried to barrel her way up the stairs to cry her heart out. Potter's voice was low and uncharacteristically serious "if he comes near you again-"
"You'll what?" she exploded "hang him upside down again? Bully him? Try and get him killed?!"
James blanched at the last mention, unsure of how much she knew about the incident at the Whomping Willow the previous autumn. "That wasn't-" he stopped, gathering himself "that's not what I meant, Evans. I know you don't need me, or particularly want me helping you, but you need to remember that there's a war going on out there and, for the most part, snakes lie with their own."
"I can handle myself, Potter."
"You're the best witch in this school" he promised her "but no-one here would forgive themselves if something happened to you on our watch. I won't let it happen on mine."
The choking feeling that had overwhelmed her that summer was back in her throat and, wordlessly, Lily made her way up the stairs.
"Fuck boys" she declared after opening the door to the dorm.
Marlene, Dorcas and Alice enveloped the Head Girl as she promptly burst into tears and, between them, prayed this wasn't a sign of what was to come.
Happy seventh year, indeed.