AN - So I thought I'd just put this chapter up to, just so everyone can see how far I've gotten. I'm actually working on chapter 3 right now, but I'm going to give it a few days and see how these chapters go over with everyone. Reviews are lovely, even if they're critical, i neeed feedback! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but if I did would I be writing fan fiction?
Several hours later, the Hogwarts Express chugged to a standstill in front of the Hogsmeade station, and Audrey, Lily and Alic
Several hours later, the Hogwarts Express chugged to a standstill in front of the Hogsmeade station, and Audrey, Lily and Alice hopped off, leaving their trunks in their compartment. Hurrying towards the horseless carriages, they chose one towards the back and seated themselves in it.
"So, Alice, you never told us how the meeting of Frank and your parents went", Lily said, breaking the silence as the carriages began moving towards the castle.
Frank Longbottom was a seventh year Hufflepuff and Alice's boyfriend; he had spent a weekend at her house, meeting her parents for the first time.
Alice giggled, her big blue eyes twinkling. "It went really well! They loved him. He was so charming, my mom even asked when he was going to hurry up and propose!"
Lily gasped. "Did she really? But she can't expect you two to be getting married!"
Alice rolled her eyes. "I think she was joking, Lily, calm down. The point is, they really like him! I was so worried, I really wanted it to go well, and it did!"
"That's wonderful, Alice! You and Frank are so perfect together, I knew your parents would like him", Audrey said, beaming at her friend.
They spent the rest of the carriage ride discussing the absurdity of James Potter being made Head Boy, and how odd it felt to be entering their final year at Hogwarts.
At last, the carriage stopped and the three girls clambered out, hopping up the steps and through the great oak front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Walking through the Entrance Hall, the girls chattered happily as they joined their schoolmates and made their way into the Great Hall.
The girls took three seats in the centre of the Gryffindor table, while students milled around, trying to find their own seats.
"Evans, have I told you how simply ravishing you look today?"
James Potter slid into the seat across from Audrey, throwing her a wink and then smiling at Lily. Sirius, Remus and Peter slid in beside him. "If I haven't, might I say you look simply ravishing today".
Lily clenched her fists, and Audrey could hear her snarling under her breath.
"So, James, how was the rest of your train ride? I see Sirius made it back alive", Audrey said, hurriedly trying to change the subject. Sirius, who was sitting beside James, seemed slightly more cheered up, which relieved Audrey. It was strange to ever see Sirius not smiling or laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, we're all extremely happy about that", James said airily. "What I'm really happy about, though, is what I have just found out from dear old Minnie", James said, beaming at Lily.
"Potter, tell us what you're getting at or shut up", Lily said through gritted teeth. Remus and Peter exchanged a nervous glance, and both looked down. Sirius looked thoroughly entertained and James looked delighted.
"Well, Evans, after sending a heart-warming greeting towards dear McGonagall, she happened to mention something about a dorm. A Heads dorm", James clarified when Lily continued to look puzzled.
Lily's eyes widened. "A…Heads dorm?" She asked quietly.
James beamed. "Yes my dear Evans, a joined dorm just for the Head's. They didn't mention that in my letter! How exciting!"
Lily opened her mouth furiously, and Audrey thought she was about to shout at James in front of the entire Great Hall. Before she could say anything, however, James pressed a finger to his lips.
"Hush now, love, look, it's the first years!" He winked and then focused his attention on the thirty or so eleven year olds who were marching towards the staff table, looking small and frightened.
Lily looked murderously at James. Audrey met Sirius' gaze, and the two quickly looked away, trying to stifle their laughter. Audrey couldn't believe it. She hadn't known the Heads had their own private dorm! Of course, it could be one of James' pranks, but somehow Audrey didn't think so.
"Ignore him, Lily, we'll find out for sure after the feast", Audrey heard Alice whisper to Lily, who just nodded, still glaring at James.
Audrey couldn't concentrate on the Sorting; between James glancing at her and beaming, pointing at Lily and himself, and Lily muttering death threats under her breath while glaring at James, there was no way she could.
Just when she thought she would die of hunger, Roger Zenden was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Dumbledore stood up to speak.
"I do have several announcements which can certainly wait until after our delicious feast!" Dumbledore sat down amid cheers and food instantly appeared on all of the plates.
Audrey picked up her knife and fork and began immediately putting as much food as possible onto her plate.
"Potter, you're completely disgusting", Lily said from beside Audrey, looking at James with what could only be described as revulsion.
Audrey looked up to see James eating two chicken legs at the same time, his mouth bursting from the amount of food he had forced into it. Beside James, Sirius had about half a steak in his mouth, and was currently attempting to drink his pumpkin juice without swallowing the food that was already in his mouth.
Audrey snorted and Lily promptly smacked her, giving her a look that plainly said not to encourage this type of behaviour. Audrey immediately bent her face over her plate, avoiding the gaze of the two boys, who were now grinning through their food.
"Lily, you really should be used to this by now. I don't think I've ever seen James and Sirius eat like normal people", Remus said from beside Sirius, while trying to shield his plate from the pieces of food that were falling from Sirius' mouth while he struggled to swallow it all.
"I will never get used to Potter. Or Black for that matter", Lily said, huffing and leaning away from James as he blew her a kiss, spraying food everywhere.
Remus laughed but hastily turned it into a hacking cough when Lily sent him a withering glare.
They spent the remainder of the feast in silence, except for James and Sirius, who were not halted in conversation by the enormous amounts of food they were forcing into their mouth, resulting in more food being sprayed across the table than actually staying in their mouths.
Finally, the feast had ended, Dumbledore had given a brief start of term speech, and the students were sent off to bed.
"So, Potter, if we have our own dorm then how come no one has notified me of it yet?" Lily asked, smirking.
James grinned at her and waved to someone over her shoulder. Turning around, Lily came face to face with Professor McGonagall.
"Miss Evans, Mr Potter, if you would be so kind as to follow me, I'll lead you to your Head dorm", she said briskly.
Lily gazed at McGonagall, open-mouthed.
"There…there is a Head dorm? Really?" She asked weakly.
"Why, yes Miss Evans, there really is. In fact, as I've already spoken of it to Mr Potter, he's well aware of how to get there, so you really won't be needing me. The password is Felix Felicis. I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning." With a curt nod, McGonagall strode off, following Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.
Lily stared after her professor, eyes wide with shock, her mouth still open.
"Well, Lily dearest, if you would be so kind, I will lead you to our room", James said, beaming and extending his arm.
Lily glanced at Audrey and Alice pleadingly, but the two just shrugged helplessly.
"Sorry, Lils, there's not much we can do about it. Just go on and check it out. If James is a prat just come back to our dorm if you really have to", Audrey said, patting Lily sympathetically on the arm.
Lily nodded, still too shocked to speak. Audrey walked over to James and whispered in his ear, "For Merlin sake, James, don't do anything stupid. Could you possibly get her to at least be friends with you? You two are killing me".
"Hey, it's killing me too! All I want is her to not hate me! What can I do?" James said back, rather loudly. Lily turned to stare at the two, and Audrey quickly hushed him.
"I'll see you two tomorrow, I want a tour of your dorm after classes!" Audrey said brightly, kissing James on the cheek, and waving to Lily. She made her way over to Sirius and left Lily and James to themselves.
"Two Galleons one of them gets killed before first class", Sirius muttered to her as they started walking in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Have faith, Sirius. I'm sure they'll be fine", Audrey said looking around for Remus and Peter. Alice had already gone off to say goodbye to Frank.
"Really? You are?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow. Audrey glanced at him and they both started laughing.
"Well, no, but I guess we'll have to wait and see tomorrow, won't we?" Audrey asked.
"I suppose", Sirius said, looking slightly downcast. "I didn't know the Heads had their own dorm. It's going to be odd, our dorm without Prongs".
"I know what you mean", Audrey sighed. "It'll just be me and Alice now; it'll be strange without Lily".
"If you happen to get lonely during the night", Sirius trailed off, winking at Audrey. She laughed and smacked his arm.
"You'll be the first I come to", she promised, rolling her eyes. Sirius grinned.
"I wonder what James and Lily are doing right now", he said thoughtfully as they came to the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Fighting", Sirius and Audrey said at the same time, laughing. An annoyed huff came from beside them, and the two turned to see the Fat Lady staring at them pointedly.
"I'd like to get some sleep anytime soon, if you would be so kind as to give me the password", she hinted, folding her arms.
Sirius winked at the Fat Lady and said seductively, "perhaps I'd rather be out here with you, though".
Audrey burst into laughter. "Okay, ew! Sirius, you're such a pig. And Kneazle, please, let me in before you two start".
The Fat Lady blushed delicately and swung open, grinning cheekily at Sirius and sending Audrey a rather heated glare.
As they entered the Common Room Sirius pretended to be outraged with Audrey.
"You just ruined my chances with the best looking girl in Hogwarts!" He said indignantly, hands on his hips. Audrey rolled her eyes.
"Who said I ruined your chances with me?" She teased, flipping back her long brown hair.
Sirius' mouth dropped open and he stared at her incredulously.
"Joking, obviously Sirius, but nice to know how horrified that image makes you!" Audrey said, giving him puppy-dog eyes.
Sirius laughed, but it seemed rather strained and he didn't say anything else. A strange silence settled on them for a moment.
"Well, I'm just going to go up to bed then, I'm exhausted", Audrey said, breaking the silence, but watching Sirius carefully. He paused, then nodded.
"Yeah, me too. See you tomorrow, Aud", he replied, then bounded up the stairs to the dormitories before she could say another word.
Audrey watched him retreat curiously, wondering why he was acting so odd all of a sudden.
James took a deep breath, and promised himself he wouldn't say anything stupid. If he was smart about this, he would be sharing a dorm with Lily Evan's for his entire seventh year.
"Evans? There's practically no one left in the Hall, if you, er, want to go to the dorm now?" He asked tentatively.
Lily nodded, and throwing a glare in James' direction, she stormed out of the Hall, James following closely behind.
"Which way?" She asked without turning around.
"Er, I could lead us there instead of –", James started, but was immediately cut off by another glare sent his way. "Uh, well, then. Left down this hallway", he said, following Lily, and calling out occasional directions when necessary.
Finally the two reached a long blank strip of wall. Lily folded her arms and spun around to glare at James.
"Did you get us lost?" She asked, irritated. James shook his head trying not to grin.
"No, my dear Evans, we are not lost. If you will look to the left and down slightly, you will see what we need".
Lily glanced to the left of where she was standing, and bent down slightly, tracing a part of the wall with her finger. James bent down beside her.
"It's the school crest", Lily said, sounding surprised. "I must have passed this area hundreds of times, and I never knew the Head dorms were here. Well, I didn't know there were Head dorms at all, for that matter".
James straightened up and cleared his throat. "Felix Felicis", he said proudly.
Lily jumped back as the small painting of the crest grew larger and larger, until it was the size of a very large portrait. It swung open as if on a hinge, and Lily clambered eagerly inside, James close behind her.
True, James had known there was a Head dorm, but he hadn't known anything about what it looked like or what was inside of it. Therefore, when he walked in behind Lily, he felt his jaw drop, and his eyes widen in amazement.
It seemed the dorm had been decorated specifically for James and Lily. The walls were the scarlet color of Gryffindor, and hundreds of portraits were hung along them. The portraits held previous Head Boys and Head Girls, all of whom beamed and waved cheerfully at James and Lily. There were two gold couches facing a merrily crackling fire, with a scarlet rug lain out in front of the fireplace. There was a massive shelf, as tall as the room itself, covered completely by hundreds of tomes and a huge window overlooking the lake and part of the Forbidden Forest. James noticed there was a set of stone steps beside the bookshelf, and he assumed that was where the dormitories were.
"It's beautiful", Lily breathed, her eyes wide in surprise.
"Yeah", James replied, unable to find anything else to say. The two stood there, closer than they normally would be standing, staring around their new room.
"Shall we check out the dormitories then?" James said, recovering from the initial shock he had felt when first entering the magnificent room.
Lily wrenched her gaze away from the hundreds of books, nodded, and the two walked in silence up the narrow stone stairs. When they reached the top, the pair noticed two doors, one on either side of the landing, and a large black curtain in front of them.
"What's this curtain?" Lily asked curiously, reaching out a hand to touch it. Grabbing a fistful of the material, Lily pulled the curtain to the side, revealing an old man seated on a rock.
The man in the portrait stared blankly at Lily and James, and then said, "Password?"
James and Lily exchanged a bewildered glance.
"Er, Felix Felicis?" James tried, but the old man looked at him despairingly and shook his head.
"Come on, you young ones. Where could I possibly lead to?" The man asked, crossing his legs and looking as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Suddenly, Lily gasped. "Of course! To our House Common Room! He must need the Gryffindor password!" Looking at the portrait Lily said clearly, "Kneazle".
The old man looked rather downcast that she had figured it out, and unwillingly swung forwards. A dark tunnel was all that could be seen, but the two now knew where it led to.
"That'll come in handy freaking Sirius out", James sniggered, but quickly stopped when Lily narrowed her eyes at him.
"Let's just check the dormitories, I don't want to walk through that long tunnel right now, I'm exhausted", Lily sighed, turning on her heel and entering the door on the right.
James shrugged and entered the door on the left. After about thirty seconds, the pair quickly exited the rooms they had just entered, grinning rather sheepishly at each other and walking into their correct room.
Their dorms were almost identical, except James' bed was a pale gold, with red walls, where Lily's bed was deep red, with gold walls. Both rooms had mahogany dressers and individual ceramic bathrooms, complete with a huge Jacuzzi tub in each one. Their trunks had been placed at the foot of the bed, and Lily's cat, Artemis, was already sprawled across her bed.
Wondering whether he ought to say goodnight to Lily, James poked his head out of his bedroom door, looking around for her. Less than five seconds later, Lily's head poked out of her bedroom door, looking around for James. When they saw each other, James forced himself not to smirk, and Lily forced herself not to glare.
"Well, 'night", they said simultaneously, and they both withdrew their heads from the doorway, slamming their separate doors shut.
James threw himself on his bed, grinning from ear to ear. She hadn't insulted him since they'd left the Great Hall. Feeling that some progress with Lily Evans was finally being made, James rolled onto his side and fell asleep, not bothering to change out of his robes.