Chapter 2

The Great Hall is lit up in sweeping yellow lamps and bright starry skies, the ghosts wandering around, students chattering away happily when finally Lily enters (thankfully, she had half-expected thunder and silence after the fight that broke out on the Express, that she and Potter had to deal with; McGonagall had looked extremely grim when they delivered the troublemaker responsible). After safely transporting the nervous first years, Potter and her could now enjoy their first night back.

She catches Rowlanda's eye at the Ravenclaw table as she makes way to her own and waves; Kate, who's sitting right next to her winks at her and Lily grins back, blushing. Up at the teacher's table Slughorn seems to be lecturing a very disinterested Flitwick.

"Probably telling him about how the new Minister for Magic would wipe his arse with perfume after kissing it, back in the day", Potter whispers to her. She snorts and looks up at him. They're walking shoulder to shoulder now. He smirks back at her.

She sits down next to Mary at the Gryffindor table and sees Potter slide down next to Sirius, just two seats away. Remus is sitting opposite to Lily, beside Benjy and nods at her as she sits. They seem to be engaged in a very serious conversation and Lily nudges Mary, ever-so slightly jerking her head towards them. Mary smothers a grin.

The first years enter the Hall in nervous lines and Lily looks up at the teacher s table again. In place of Professor Sutter, their former Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, is a rather young woman, with very pale skin and flowing dark hair. Lily blinks. She turns and catches Dumbledore s eye. She smiles. He doesn't, but his eyes seem to twinkle a little harder through his glasses.

The Sorting Hat begins its customary song and they all fall silent as they turn towards the head table.

Then Benjy suddenly leans across and says, "Zach isn't coming back."

"What!?" Mary exclaims.

"Yeah. He obviously wanted to, but after what happened last year, his mum refused to let him come back. Went bat shit crazy at his dad. She almost broke his wand," Benjy says, his face solemn.

"Do you blame her? She's muggle. She doesn't know anything about this world; she's already suspicious of it and then she finds out her kid got attacked because of who his mother is, she's bound to get scared, don't you think?" Remus says, unusually fierce. Lily nods in silence. She knows where his anger is coming from, and the knowledge does not make her any less uneasy. Then Sirius says something in his ear and he looks away.

The Sorting has begun but they just continue to talk, clapping mechanically every time the Hat calls out the name of a house. Lily is mostly silent, despite the pointed looks Mary keeps throwing at her; watching the others arguing loudly over Zachary William's decision. His had been the first attack the school had witnessed in a long time. His mother was muggle, father muggleborn. He had been the kind of student who enjoyed rubbing it in the faces of the purebloods; always humming Led Zepplin, flaunting band tshirts, talking about football in the same breath as quidditch. Lucius Malfoy had performed the Cruciatus on him, in Hogsmeade, where he'd come to visit his fiancee, Narcissa Black. Sirius' cousin. Sirius has his hand on Remus shoulder right now, whispering furiously. Remus looks tired.

Lily looks over to the Hufflepuff table, at the flushed, smiling face of the first year who just sat down. She's high-fiving an older student seated next to her. Lily wonders if she's muggleborn. A boy named Incus Selwyn walks grinning to the Slytherin table to loud applause. She suddenly feels exhausted, hopeless to the core. What in God's name have we done to the world, she wonders. Try as they might to not think about it, the only thing on everyone's mind was the war raging outside Hogwarts walls. And the sight of happy, clueless children only heightened that thought, worsened the dread.

The Head Boy and Head Girl had to make their way to the Principal's Office as soon as students dispersed to their dorms. The passages become more and more silent, the further they go from the Great Hall. Lily and Potter are walking at a leisurely pace, drinking in the familiar smells and sights, her mind racing to process the absolute absurdity of the situation; she's walking down a deserted corridor with James Fucking Potter; the boy who annoyed the hair off her head just two years ago; who is today single-handedly responsible for her suffering from what she can only think is a serious heart problem; the prankster who has been in detention more times than she can dream of; who is now the bloody Head Boy! What on earth Dumbledore was smoking when he made that decision, God only knows, though he hasn't been that bad so far -

Suddenly Potter asks, "What are you planning to do, after all this?"

Lily cocks an eyebrow. "By this do you mean meeting Dumbledore, or after finishing school?"

"After finishing school."

"Uh, well, I've always wanted to be a healer - "

"Really?" Potter looks surprised. "I didn't know that."

Lily wants to say you don't know much about me, but continues anyway, "But that takes another five years of training, and with the war going on," She doesn't need to complete. He nods and for a moment they're both silent.

Then Lily asks, "What about you?"

Potter gives her his infamous smirk. "Auror. Always wanted to be one, and now I guess they need them more than ever."

"Well, you still have to train first. How many years is it? Four?"

"Three. And a half, I think." Potter shrugs. "Maybe even less, given the circumstances. Why aren't you considering it? We need you! Everyone knows you're fucking brilliant."

Lily tries to be nonchalant. "I'm not that brilliant and I have considered it; I don't know, I just - I don't think I can kill people."

"You might not have that choice much longer. Besides, everybody can kill people", Potter says darkly. "Trust me, it's in there, buried somewhere deep inside you."

For some reason this rubs her the wrong way.

"I'd rather not, thanks", She says in a huff.

They've reached the gargoyle. Potter looks irritated and is about to say something but she cuts him off.

"Fizzing Whizbees", Lily mutters.

The gargoyle's wings groan like muted thunder as they unfold and the two of them make their way up in resentful silence. Fuck, thinks Lily. Just when I was about to celebrate how we're past all the stupid squabbling. I'd forgotten how annoying he was. Stupid, presumptuous, prick. She glances up at him and the mutinous expression on his face tells her he feels the same way. Then all of a sudden, all her anger dissolves and she wants to laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

"Ah, there you are!"

Dumbledore peers at them through his half-moon spectacles, leaning forward on his desk, his fingers entwined and resting before him on the surface. He stands up as they walk towards him and Lily finds herself grinning widely in response.

"Let's get straight to business", he sits down and gestures to the two seats in front of him. His office looks exactly as it always does, yellow and huge; yet somehow, welcoming. Fawkes sits to the Headmaster's right, perched on the golden handle. He seems to be mid-moult; with small red feathers emerging haphazardly, giving him the appearance of having tumbled out of a washing machine. The Headmaster's fingers tap on the desk, calling her back to the task at hand.

"No doubt you are already aware of your formal duties as Head Students. Some of them are, I'm afraid, rather tedious, but that comes with any kind of responsibility. To make up for all the thankless hours of work you put into this job, you will have separate rooms to yourselves, as you are probably already aware."

Dumbledore pauses at this, as though searching for the words and then continues, "The last thing I want to do is ruin this lovely evening with talk of Voldemort, but I'm afraid not even we, here at Hogwarts are safe from his influence." The word Voldemort falls out of his mouth so easily it's almost as if it's part of his usual, post-dinner conversation with everyone. It probably is, thinks Lily darkly.

"You are well aware of several of our own students who intend to join his cause, and many of them, you already know, are very vocal about it too."

Dumbledore sighs, and for the first time ever, Lily sees exhaustion in his eyes. "They will try to cause trouble. They will advertise their intentions and they will bully those who won't support them. The younger students are particularly vulnerable. Not just from attack, but also from influence. I don't expect you to protect them all the time, it isn't humanely possible; but, you must guide them. Listen to them. Give them courage. Inspire them to stand up for themselves. That is what a leader must do and I would not have not appointed the two of you if I wasn't convinced of your abilities."

He smiles at them at that, some of the twinkle returning to his eyes. He stands up and so do they, as he continues, "As for the troublemakers, we must help them see the error in their beliefs. For many of them, I fear, it is too late," He hesitates for a second, "But it is our duty to keep fighting, as long as good remains."

He spreads his arms wide and says, "Hogwarts is our home, and we must protect our home from people who wish to destroy it. Out here, as well as in here", he pats himself over the heart. "Do you wish to ask me anything?"

They shake their heads in silence.

"Well, that's all for today, now off to bed! Good night!" And saying so, he promptly sits down, opens a book and waves them off.

Neither of them speak on their way back; both lost deep in their own thoughts. They both hesitate when they reach the door. Potter turns to look her straight in the eyes. "That's the end of the first day then. Well. Good night", he says, almost formally, even though his lips curl just a bit, and there's a strange light playing in his eyes. Lily doesn't even try to suppress her grin.

"I'll admit, I thought Dumbledore was off his rocker for making you Head, but you weren't so bad."

He bows, unable to keep his smile from breaking out. For some reason, this maddens her and makes her laugh at the same time.

"Chocolate Frog", says Potter as the door swings open and he gestures to Lily to enter.

"Good night, prick."

"Good night, Mother Mary", comes Potter's deep voice from the stairs to the boy's dormitories as Lily splutters incredulously in reply.