Meanwhile in the back of the train, Lily, Grace, Emma, Riley, and Bella were getting themselves settled for the ride back to school. The girls had a tradition; Riley got shattered, while Emma and Bella took hits off of Bella's pink and purple pipe that they had all stolen when they were shopping in a muggle thrift store. Grace, who was usually the life of the party kept to herself, attached her prefects badge and drank from her flask, that is, until the boys came. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were easily the best looking guys at Hogwarts, well at least James, Sirius, and Remus were. There was something about them that led the whole school to fall under a trance. Remus was a prefect, James was a Quidditch God, and Sirius was just well, Sirius. Everyone just assumed that Peter had walked in on the boys doing something terribly illegal and the only way he'd keep his mouth shut, was if he was allowed to be in the gang.

James walked in first and sat down right next to Lily, and put his arm around her. Lily rolled her eyes and threw his arm off of her just as the three remaining boys were taking their seats. Peter sat on the floor, Sirius next to the door, and Remus next to Grace. The boys brought out their fire-whiskey and made themselves comfortable. Remus turned to Grace and started whispering into her ear, and instantly a smile crept upon her face. She turned from the window she had been staring out of, and threw her arms around Remus in a loving, brother to sister hug. James looked on and wished that he was able to do that with Lily. He had fallen in love with her in their second year, as soon as Grace and Bella introduced her into their world.

James had known Remus, Grace, Bella, and Riley since they were toddlers. He had never met Grace's parents, he didn't think that Bella had even met them, but he knew that their parents ran in the same circle. Remus had met Grace at a play group when they were younger, and his nanny had invited Grace's to come and play with the boys. Grace's nanny brought Bella's, and the rest was history. Riley's summer was right next door to James' and since her parents usually left her their with the drunk nanny when they returned back to Ireland, James' mother and father had opened up their home to her. Maddie was a sick child and was never far from the family doctor who lived with them in their estate in Dublin, so James had never really gotten to know her. It wasn't always easy for the girls, James, Sirius, and Remus were very protective of them. Neither of them had ever been dumped because not only were no boys stupid enough to dump the beautiful Grace, the bitchy Bella, or the wild Riley, but they knew that if the girl's hearts were ever broken, the boys would have to deal with whoever broke it. James and Grace had dated once when they were younger, they were each others first kiss, as were Sirius and Riley. Grace and Remus had never dated, although everyone thought they eventually would, but it never happened. They had become sort of siblings, all of them. They had always had counted on each other for family, and now with the addition of Emma and Peter, the family had expanded, and James' loved it.

Lily though, was someone he wanted to be actual family with. Although James' would tease her to no end, he absolutely adored her. Lily cared for James too; she was just entranced with the thrill of the chase that the road to her heart was going to be filled with twists and turns that James would carefully have to maneuver through.

About halfway through the train ride, Grace and Remus left to attend to their prefect duties. Peter left saying that he had to use the bathroom, and Sirius made up some lame excuse about having to finish homework. This left James, Bella, Riley, Emma, and Lily all alone in their compartment. Bella decided that it would be best to give the Lily and James a moment alone so she got the girls to agree on a trip to find the food trolley. Lily gave the girls a death stare as they exited the compartment and slowly turned back around to James.

"Ah alone at last my dear Lilyflower" James chuckled as he tried once again to put his arm around Lily. "How was your summer?"

"James, urgh, get off of me. You know perfectly well how my summer went; I spent most of it with you."

"Yes, now that you mention it, I do seem to recall a very nice, itsy bitsy, bikini that you looked amazing in" James scratched his chin as if in deep thought. "It was very flattering" He quickly added seeing the look on Lily's face, knowing that he needed to say something to get her to stop glaring.

"James Potter, you are…the most…horrible feckless thug I have ever met. Get off of me, and get out of my compartment. All you boys are all the same. All you care about is how good a girl looks in a short skirt and bikini. I'm sick of it, and most of all I'm sick of you."

Lily stood up and threw James out onto the train's hallway. She sat back down and blushed; she loved it when James' complemented her, although she wasn't going to let him know that. James picked himself off of the floor just in time to see Sirius enter a compartment with a strange girl.