Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.
Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, not, the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned.
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Time of Our Lives Chapter 4 – Back to HogwartsSeptember 1976
Lily waited patiently just a few feet from the barrier between platforms nine and ten for her parents to gather themselves together and let her go. Not that she didn't love them, because of course she did, but a quick glance at her watch reminded her that she only had ten minutes to board the train, and it certainly wouldn't do for the new Head Girl to be late.
"Have a good term," said Mrs. Evans, looking a bit teary. Lily noticed Petunia standing off to the side, looking sulky. "Write as often as you can, will you?"
"Yes, Mum," promised Lily, just as she nearly always did. "I've really got to go," she continued, before her mother could weep all over her shoulder again. Although she was used to this by now; the same scene occurred every time she was about to leave for Hogwarts. "I'm Head Girl, I can't be late…" Mrs. Evans nodded, sniffing loudly, and gave her younger daughter one last hug.
"Be good," said Mr. Evans sternly as his wife stepped back. Lily hid a smile, prepared for what came next: "And, er… no boys. All right?"
"Yes, Dad," lied Lily. She'd wisely kept the tales of her past experiences with boys – notably Remus Lupin, Bertram Aubrey, that one kiss with Sirius Black, and a few others – to herself. "And I'll behave, not to worry." Side-stepping him delicately, she faced Petunia. "Bye," she offered.
"See you," said Petunia unpleasantly, rather as though she were hoping she wouldn't. "Have a good term, I suppose."
"Thanks," said Lily with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. With that parting word, she gave Petunia a quick hug – to the other's surprise, as well as discomfort – and then she dragged her trunk through the barrier.
All thoughts of Petunia's surly goodbye and her parents' weepy one was swept from her mind the moment the scarlet train to Hogwarts appeared before her eyes. Smiling, and with the feeling that she was at last going home, Lily headed for the nearest door.
"Need some help?" Lily turned and saw a tall boy standing just a little ways to the right, his pale brown hair falling into his forehead, his eyes warm and his smile genuine. "With your trunk, obviously."
"No thanks," said Lily, smiling back. "I wouldn't mind the company, of course. You'll be coming up to the prefects' compartment, then?"
Remus Lupin shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked with her towards the train. "In a bit," he said at last. "Not right away, of course."
"Right, right. I don't suppose you know who the Head Boy is, then, since it obviously isn't you?" She'd been eyeing his jumper, and had seen no sign of the telltale badge.
"No idea," said Remus comfortably. "Still, I expect we'll find out soon enough."
"Doubtless," she agreed, stepping onto the train and giving it a fierce tug until it came on after her. Smirking lightly, Remus lifted the other end, and together, they battered their way to the front of the train, past the prefects' compartment and to the Heads' compartment. He gently placed it on the ground, and she thanked him at once. "I imagine I'll be quite busy this year, what with all the Head duties, but we'll still have time for Sunday afternoon Charms, won't we?" She smiled at him. Since the fourth year, it had become their habit to meet every Sunday afternoon to study Charms together in the courtyard, unless of course it was raining, in which case they'd retire to the library.
"We'll make the time," he promised at once. "D'you mind if I leave you here? I've got to go find my friends," he explained. "But I'll pop in for a visit, I promise."
"Oh, don't bother, we'll see each other at the meeting – go on, pass the word around, would you? One o'clock in the prefects' compartment, there's no need for us to meet before that – besides, I'd like to discuss things with the Head Boy first, and I do remember always hating having to wait in the prefects' compartment until the Head Boy and Girl came…"
"Sounds good," Remus quickly interjected when she paused for breath; Lily had to smile, for she knew she could ramble about her duties and schedules for a long time. "I'll see you then – and hey, maybe you ought to let your counterpart announce the patrolling schedules? In the interests of keeping the prefects awake, of course…"
Lily shot sparks at him from her wand; he laughed and slid the door shut as he left the compartment. Lily settled comfortably onto the seats; they were as scarlet as the train and very plush, much nicer than the normal compartments. She reminded herself that immediately following the prefects' meeting, she'd find her friends in their usual compartment and maybe even sneak them into this one, if the Head Boy, whoever he was, didn't object.
Lily settled herself in for a pleasant ride, certain that the Head Boy was due to arrive at any moment. She pulled out Pride and Prejudice and absorbed herself within its pages, waiting patiently.
An hour later, she was still waiting, but not quite so patiently now. Every few minutes, she'd glance at her watch and then look back to her book, only to realize that she'd lost her place. Eventually, she gave it up as a lost cause, and not a moment too soon, for the compartment door slid open.
Lily had been prepared to berate the Head Boy soundly for his tardiness, but the words died on her lips and, she said, in a somewhat strangled voice, "Oh. It's you."
"Yes, it's me," said James Potter in a disgustingly cheerful voice. He sat down, to Lily's abject horror. She instantly protested.
"You can't sit there, this is the Heads' Compartment."
"I know," said James, and tapped something – Oh, no, there must be some mistake – on his chest. He smiled, looking satisfied, as she took in the HB. "And I'm Head Boy."
She glowered at him. "How dare you," she hissed in a tight voice. "So what have you done with him? Tied him up and stolen his badge? You're not winning any points with me, Potter."
"I wasn't aware that I was trying," he retorted, but he seemed frankly bewildered by the venom in her tone. "Seriously, Evans – this isn't a joke. I'm Head Boy."
"Impossible," she said at once, shaking her head. "You weren't even a prefect. Ever."
"I think I know that, Evans," he said dryly. "Still, Dumbledore obviously thought I was the best man for the job."
"He's mad," she said flatly.
"Well, he is, a bit," agreed James, "but for other reasons than this. You're going to have to come to terms with it, Evans," he continued, sitting back comfortably, "because I'm here to stay."
Lily fell into her seat. She adamantly refused to believe it. James said nothing for a long while; they simply sat in a sullen silence. After almost an hour, during which Lily had unrelentingly glowered at him and James grew increasingly more uncomfortable, as he'd never been forced to endure such hostility without actually doing anything to either earn it or stop it, she said at last, "When I find the Head Boy, he and I are going to team up and emasculate you."
He stared at her, but she said nothing more. The sentence had been delivered in such a matter-of-fact way that James was almost positive she was actually going to do it. "You're a violent person," he said at length, "aren't you?"
She didn't bother answering him. Instead, she picked up her book and found her page. It was rather difficult to read with Potter staring at her, but she did her best to ignore him, musing that nothing in the world could rile her so much as a simple word from Potter. Normally, she was quite levelheaded and witty and sarcastic, but something about him made her lose her temper entirely.
"What are you reading?"
"I should think it would be obvious, Potter, seeing as the title is on the cover." James sighed; Lily returned to her book. He began, to her great annoyance, to hum tunelessly. Lily gritted her teeth against the noise, knowing that he was attempting to aggravate her, and firmly trying not to allow it to get to her.
James sighed. "Look, Evans, we're going to have to work together. I realize you don't believe I'm Head Boy, but…" He cast around for a way to show her that he was telling the truth, and then gave it up. "…Well, I am."
"That was very eloquent, Potter. I believe, so far, that you have not even managed to convince my book that you're the Head Boy. Congratulations."
He sighed again.
"Stop that."
"I'm not even doing anything!" he protested. "Why do I bother you so much?"
"Because you are an insufferable git, and I am being forced to suffer your presence."
"If I'm insufferable, then you can't really suffer me, can you? Because I'm INsufferable."
"Potter."
"Yes?"
"Go kill yourself. Painfully. Please." He stared at her wonderingly.
"You really are very violent. Have you considered therapy for that?" Lily nearly screamed. How could someone be so flippant?
Huh. Well, there was Sirius Black, she supposed.
"Potter," she said, in a weary tone, "I will accept, for the time being, that you are Head Boy, if you would please shut up and let me read. Or you could leave. That would make me happy, too."
"Well, I can't, see, because I have duties." Lily rolled her eyes. Did he have to act the part, too? All right, it was bad enough he'd stolen the poor Head Boy's badge and probably locked him up somewhere, but Potter actually appeared very serious about his so-called duties. She decided to humor him and set her book aside.
"All right, then, your duties. We have to come up with a patrolling schedule, naturally – which I've already done, of course; it's the same every year. And there is the Ministry visit during November, as well as internships during April. And, of course, we have to plan the Seventh-Year retreat."
"The what?"
"The retreat. Ever year, the seventh years go on a retreat, planned by the Head Boy, Head Girl, and the prefects. We have a budget, obviously, and we can certainly ask the other seventh-years their opinions, but when it comes down to the wire, the Head Boy and Girl have to make the final decisions. And, finally, we have to help plan for the legacy."
"The what?" said James again.
"The legacy, Potter. Where we leave a gift behind, for the school. Every class has done it, every year. Or didn't you notice?"
"No," admitted James at last, shifting his weight. "That's a lot of responsibility."
"There's a lot more to it."
"More?" groaned James. "I don't suppose there's a way I can opt out now, can I?"
"No, there isn't," she said brusquely, before realizing what she'd said. Merlin, I think I'm actually starting to believe this nonsense – but that's impossible. Not even Dumbledore would have made Potter Head Boy. Nobody is that insane.
"Worth a shot, I suppose," he said hopelessly. "When do we meet the prefects?"
"One o'clock," she replied, and stood. He glanced at her in surprise. "Which is now," she added in exasperation. "In case you didn't notice."
"I – oh." He stood up quickly, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Right. Well, let's do this, shall we?"
As they entered the prefects' compartment, Lily sent Remus a particularly chagrined look, her eyes asking the Why didn't you tell me? question. He sent her an apologetic look in response.
Mutters had instantly broken out when they entered, and Lily could hear the same question asked over and over: "What's Potter doing here?"
"All right, prefects, good afternoon," said Lily loudly, and everyone became silent at once. "I'm Lily Evans – obviously," she added with a smile, and a few of the younger boys chuckled. "And I'm your new Head Girl." She glanced at the Ravenclaw prefects, and identified Samantha Griffith, who was looking particularly sulky, her brown eyes bitter. When she saw Lily glance her way, she attempted to give her a strained smile nonetheless. "And… er, this is James Potter."
"As if we didn't know that," said a soft voice in the corner. Lily determinedly didn't glower at the speaker, Severus Snape; rather, she continued. "And he is your new Head Boy."
At once, mutterings broke out, and grumbles of "Yeah, right" and "Impossible!" were heard. Lily looked uneasily about the compartment, wondering if there'd be a mutiny from the seventh-year male prefects, all of whom (with the exception of Remus, who merely looked bemused) seemed furious about this appointment. She'd rather hoped, until this moment, that someone might correct this, but she had seen, the instant she came in, that all four male prefects from the previous year were there, and had resigned herself to the fact that Potter truly was the Head Boy.
"Oi!" said James indignantly. "Quiet down, you lot; can't you see the Head Girl's speaking?" If Lily was surprised that he had taken charge – and that people had actually listened to him – she didn't let on. When the mutterings subsided, she spoke again.
"All right, that's enough." She didn't add that He's what we've got so let's go with it, because she wanted to present a united stance to the prefects; establish authority early on. "Now, just as in the past years, we'll split into pairs, two per night, one pair for each shift. As Head Boy and Head Girl," she added for James's benefit, as he'd never been a prefect and didn't know the schedule, "we'll have to take three nights a week." James looked incredulous, and appeared to be stifling a groan.
"We're having the same schedules as always, aren't we?" asked Sam.
"Right," said Lily, nodding. "Since James and I are the Head Boy and Head Girl and we're both from Gryffindor, we won't have to worry about putting two seventh-years from different houses together." Looking at the fifth-years, she explained, "It's customary for the seventh-years to take on Friday and Saturday, as those are the…" She coughed. "Most active nights." There were titters from all around; Lily smiled a bit. She pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket and allowed it to be passed around. "I'll have actual copies sent out to you as soon as we get to school," she continued apologetically, "but it certainly wouldn't do you any harm to memorize yours now."
"Hang on," said a fifth-year Hufflepuff. "You say that Head Boy and Head Girl traditionally take three nights a week, and that's all very well, but there are you two, and, well, there's Lupin. Since we're doing it by house, that seems to leave Lupin out of patrolling."
Lily looked taken aback. "I – oh, I hadn't thought of that." She pondered briefly what to do, when James, who had been quiet thus far, piped up, his eyes lighting up.
"How's this? Remus and I will take one night, Lily and Remus can do another, and I guess… well, that leaves Lily and I to do the last one."
"That seems fair enough," said the younger boy, and sat back. Lily nodded, impressed with this plan, and plowed ahead.
"All right, then, has everyone got the schedule?" She noticed that the fifth-years looked a bit dazed, as though they'd only managed to glance briefly at the schedule without taking more than half of it in, if that. "All right, well, never mind. You'll have your own copies soon enough, detailing how things are done. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me any time. Next topic, then.
"The rules are the same as always: you are allowed to dock points, but only if you have a very good reason. Each time you do, you will be required to submit a form to your Head of House – they should have these forms, by the way – and if your Head of House clears it, you're fine; if not, then the points will be returned to whichever House they were taken from. If you take points unnecessarily more than three times in a semester," she added sternly, "you'll be placed on probation. You won't be allowed to take points for a time, and you'd better act like paragons of virtue, else you'll have your badge taken away. Understand?" Nods all around. "Excellent. You'll have to patrol the cars from time to time, although you're welcome to spend time with your friends as well. Seventh-years, stay behind; the rest of you can go."
Lily waited rather patiently as the students filed out, and when the compartment door slid shut, she faced the seventh-years once more. "All right, then," she said, clearing her throat. "We have the Ministry visit in November, of course, so we'll need to divide the rest of our class up for the tours and interviews. We'll also have to help with the internships in April, of course; you'll be your House advisors and in charge of helping them to choose where they'd like to go. Perhaps most importantly, we'll have to plan the retreat. Obviously, we'll have meetings for it - I'll let you know when those are – but in the meantime, start thinking up ideas, we'll need as many as possible. And remember, as seventh-years, we're allowed to go to Hogsmeade on non-visitation weekends, but make sure that your housemates understand that you've got to get permission from your Head of House, and no matter when you leave, you must be back before sunset, else you'll be prohibited from further weekends.
"Anything else?" Everyone shook their heads; Lily nodded. "All right, you're free to go." As students filed out, she pointed to Remus. "You. Stay here."
He grinned at her as the last few people filed out, and then immediately said, "I had no idea until I ran into James after I helped you with your things. Don't kill me for it."
"I actually was going to ask if you minded taking two patrols, even though you aren't Head Boy," she said with a grin, "but I do promise to restrain myself from murdering you in your sleep."
"I appreciate that," he said wryly, "and no, I don't mind. I'll have the time. Will you, though?" he asked, glancing at James.
He shrugged. "I actually read that stupid schedule. I noticed there was a patrol during the week, so if you could take that, it would be great, because we'll have practice. I can take the weekend patrols."
"There's nothing stupid, about it, Potter, it's customary, and if you didn't like it, you should have refused the badge when it was still early enough to do it."
"It's all right," said Remus quickly, "and this way, we're still in for the cup at the end of the year. Wouldn't do for the Captain not to show up to his own practices, right?" He grinned at James, who grinned back.
"That's true, I suppose," said Lily thoughtfully, and she nodded. "Well, I think that's about all there is left to discuss," she said briskly. "Oh, and Potter – you and I have a meeting with Dumbledore at eleven tonight, so don't expect to get much sleep."
James sighed. "This is going to be more work that I realized, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," she told him, pocketing the patrol schedule. "If you'll excuse me?" Without waiting for a reply, she left the compartment and returned to the Heads' compartment. Once there, she made sure her trunk was securely locked, gathered up her book, and went to look for her friends. James and Remus had disappeared in that time, and so she headed through the cars, greeting friends and acquaintances. The only awkward moment was when she ran into Honoria Rookwood, who was the seventh-year Slytherin prefect and actually a very nice person, sitting with her year-mates, all of them Slytherins. They sneered at her, although Honoria gave her a polite smile. As Lily continued on, she could hear them muttering about her, and decidedly ignored it.
It took her a good hour or so to reach her friends, and when at last she slipped into their customary compartment, all four girls stopped talking to stare at her. Lily smiled at them, and Sam spoke first. "So. Er… congratulations on getting Head Girl."
"Thanks," she said warmly, and added, "I was certain you'd get it, though." Sam seemed to know she was lying and rolled her eyes in response to this.
"Well, it's all right, just means I have more time for Charms Club, right? I thought you'd be President, but you have such a load to do already…" She trailed off.
"Oh, you'll get it," said Lily, nodding emphatically. "I'll back you, Sam, don't worry." The other girl seemed satisfied with that, and she sat back.
"Do we have to talk about school?" complained Bonnie from her seat on the floor. "We'll be there soon enough."
"Too right," agreed Janine, lolling all the way across one seat. Lily shoved her off and sat down primly, ignoring the other's dirty looks. "Did I tell you Mum went to speak to McGonagall? She reckons I'm failing Transfiguration. I'm not, though."
"She did tell you that you'd never pass her class if you didn't work harder," interjected Lily fairly. "I suppose you'll need a tutor, then?"
"No, I'll copy off of James's homework; he won't mind." Lily and Sam appeared to be struggling with this, knowing they were supposed to at least stop Janine, but Dorcas and Bonnie chimed in at once, eagerly asking if they could get some of the answers as well.
At long last, Lily burst out, "He won't let you copy this year." This caused Bonnie, Dorcas, and Janine to stare at her.
"Oh, he will," said Janine airily. "The problem is you—"
"No, he won't," interrupted Sam, nodding firmly. "He's Head Boy this year." The other three stared at them in astonishment. "It's the truth. Go find him and see for yourself."
Janine's jaw hung unattractively open as Dorcas stared from Lily to Sam, convinced it was all some sort of ridiculous joke, while Bonnie giggled reluctantly. "Oh, very funny. You almost had us with that one."
"I'm not kidding," insisted Lily, and she sounded terribly resigned. "He really is Head Boy. I've no idea how it happened, but it did."
"That's not on!" protested Dorcas indignantly. "He wasn't even a prefect!"
"Don't I know it."
"That wanker," muttered Janine. "He didn't even tell me."
Lily glanced at her warily. "Are you trying to protect yourself from my wrath, or did you really not know?" Janine glowered at her. "Right, so you didn't know." She sighed and settled more comfortably back into her seat. "Well, it's very simple. I've got to go speak to this about Dumbledore. He can't go around appointing non-prefects; it's terribly unfair."
"Maybe none of the prefects were suitable," interjected Bonnie fairly.
"Rubbish. Are you trying to tell me that he deserved it more than Remus? Even Snape would have been a more reasonable choice." Lily sighed again. "Not Potter, though."
"Well, that decides it," declared Dorcas. "He's gone barmy, 'round the bend, over the hill." She frowned. "I suppose the old man was always a bit mad, but this really tops it. You should talk to him, Lil."
"What can I do? I mean, all right, I said I would, but I won't, not really. It would be utterly ridiculous; Dumbledore would never listen to me, not on that. I've no right to go questioning his decisions." She stared out the window. "However preposterous they might be."
"James will hate being Head Boy," said Janine vehemently. "He'll actually have to uphold the rules this year, you know, and he'll hate that."
"If he hates it, he won't do it," pointed out Dorcas. "Think about it; what would you do? Abide by the rules or realize that your appointment puts you above them?"
"He's not above the rules!" snapped Lily angrily.
"No, and neither are you," said Sam suddenly. "Lily, we might as well admit that we've all broken the rules at some time or another. Or did you think that getting into a fight Albany Wilkes was allowed?"
"That was a different situation," insisted Lily at once. "Be reasonable, Sam. Albany threw the first hex. What was I supposed to do?"
"I never liked her," piped up Dorcas at once. "The Slytherin girls all have it coming to them, Sam, and Albany the most."
"Most definitely," agreed Janine, and a cool smile slid across her face. "No more big brother to protect her anymore, eh? We'll see how well she gets on without Samuel to back her up."
"No, we won't," said Lily sternly. "If she throws the first shot, that's fine, but you will not go deliberately picking fights with people." Lily almost laughed, for Janine's face indicated that Christmas had just been cancelled. "At least, not on my watch," she amended.
"So if you're not on duty…"
"I refuse to answer that question," she interrupted firmly, "so you will not finish it."
"Hypocrite," said Janine, making a face.
"I most certainly am not. Didn't I just tell you she threw the first hex? Of course, if Albany sees fit to curse you, then by all means." Janine sighed.
"You'll change your mind later."
"No, I won't. We aren't going to go picking fights. Things are bad enough as it is. Have you been to Diagon Alley lately?" she asked. Janine stared at her, startled.
"I, er – no, I haven't. Not during the day, anyway. Mother sent the house-elf to do the shopping, since there's only Perry and me to shop for," she explained quickly.
"Where is Perry, anyway?" Dorcas asked, looking around as if expecting him to pop out from behind one of them. "He usually sits with us."
"No idea," said Bonnie comfortably, referring to the youngest of the Garnets. "I'm sure he'll pop by later, though. Besides, you can hardly say usually, Dorcas, he was only a firstie last year and wanted a bit of company. I'm sure he's got loads of friends now."
"Oh, he does," said Janine, nodding her head. "I met his little girlfriend over the summer—" And here she smirked, "—and she's a right proper little Gryffindor, just his type. Talks a mile a minute, and lets him sit there and listen. They might as well get married and save themselves loads of trouble over the next few years."
"Janine?"
"Yes?"
"Your brother is twelve. He's not going to get married for a very long time. And anyway, shouldn't you parents be focusing on you?" teased Sam, the only other pureblood in the group. "After all, you're the only daughter, aren't you? I'm sure your mother is speaking with families now, trying to marry you off the instant you graduate."
"Never," declared Janine. "I'll marry – well, you – before I'd marry some soft pureblood who won't let me play sport," she said.
"As if that's the most important thing," said Lily with a teasing sneer.
"It is!" This caused her friends to break into laughter, and she looked sulky. "All right, go on, laugh. Anyway, if Mother thinks she's going to marry me off to someone like – oh, I don't know, say Rabastan Lestrange – well, she's… wrong," finished Janine rather lamely.
"Who do you plan to marry, then?" asked Dorcas with a smirk. "Travers, I suppose."
"How utterly ridiculous, Dorcas. I would never marry Quince. No, he and I will get a flat and live in sin for the rest of our lives." Lily snorted. "Laugh if you like, Lily, but you'll see. It's horribly improper for a pureblooded girl to live with another man if they aren't married, even just as friends. I imagine it will give Mother fits." She smiled again. "I can't wait."
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A/N: I am sincerely sorry for the long wait, but I've been so busy lately that I just haven't had time. On a brighter note, I have exams this week (okay, so that's not so bright) but after that I'm on break for two weeks, so you can look forward to an update in at least ONE of my stories during that time, so long as dreaded writer's block doesn't strike. The next chapter of this may be a while in coming, but only because I have NO idea how to come up with a Sorting Song, so that's the part I need to work on. No, I'm not kidding. Chapter 5 is written in its entirety; so is a lot of chapter 6. I just need to tweak and come up with a Sorting Song. You would be surprised how utterly difficult that is.
On another note… I will update Shades of Grey and What It Takes eventually. I also have more stories pending—I know, right, how many more do I need going? But one of them—We Could Have Been Great—is a companion fic to this one, only it's written entirely from the Marauder's POV and they will snapshots in time, not an actual story. Another story I may or may not write—Quite the Double Act, which is solely about Sirius and James and their friendship. That one may or may not relate to this. There may be others; I haven't decided yet. So be on the lookout for those.
Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, and I can't guarantee that the long waits will improve because I've had a lot of work. But I promise to do my best, so leave me a review and tell me what you think! They help, seriously. I get some of my best ideas through reading reviews. So leave me one! And a Happy Holidays to anyone who celebrates (and even if you don't).
--Peaches 3