I am not good at this. I really tried. So, um, tell me if this is okay. I NEED A SELF-ESTEEM BOOSTER!
Disclaimer: Well, my BFF sent J.K Rowling a fan letter. Does that count?
Chapter One
As the scarlet steam engine neared Hogwarts, I quickly got up and adjusted my robes. As my fingers brushed against the silver badge on my chest, I smiled. When the letter that proclaimed I was chosen for Head Girl arrived during the summer, I had shrieked loud enough for Petunia's bedroom window to break into a million little glass pieces.
"You two didn't notice my badge?" I asked my best friends, Jessie Smith and Emma O'Reilly. They both stared at it for a second, and then leaned back in their seats.
"We already knew it," Jessie grinned, her dirty blond fringe flopping in her face.
"It was so obvious you would get picked to be Head Girl," Emma yawned lazily.
Emma's the type of girl that never worries. She's very easy-going, and she looks like it, too. She has sleepy-looking grey eyes and shaggy black hair. She reminds me so much of Sirius Black, the handsome-but- annoying dog-like boy.
Jessie's American. They do have their own school of wizardry in the States, but Jessie decided to Hogwarts anyway. She's crazy and fun, and does the strangest things sometimes. She's one of the prettiest people I know, but she doesn't seem to care.
"So," Emma smiled slyly. "What do you think of James Potter?"
I snorted and rolled my eyes at her random question, smoothing out my robes once more. "Who cares about Potter? There's nothing to discuss about that—that cretin."
I glanced sideways at my best friend, who was twirling a strand of her silky hair. "Anyway, why'd you ask?"
Emma paused, her grey eyes flickering.
"Well…" She said slowly, as if savoring her answer. "I'm going out with him."
The gleaming silver Head Girl badge, which I had been polishing with my sleeve, fell to the floor with a tiny clang. I gaped at Emma, my mouth hanging open, but Jessie just rolled her eyes.
"Haven't you already had your fun with Black? Why date another playboy?" She questioned, putting her wavy hair into a loose bun. She stared out the window, smiling at the nearing castle.
Emma shrugged in response to Jessie's comment, stretching out her long limbs. Her eyes shifted to me; I was still gawping at her.
"What's your problem, Lils? Is it so wrong to go out with—"
"The most annoying, vile, idiotic boy in our year?!" I screeched as my jaw snapped back into place. "I hate him! He never leaves me alone! He's always trying to get me to be his girlfriend!"
He's going to break her heart.
I gritted my teeth, instantly regretting what I had said. My best friend was James' girlfriend now, and here I was talking about him asking me to be his girl.
Emma's face hardened, and hurt flashed in her eyes.
"You're right, Lily. He likes you." She snapped, nostrils flaring. "So maybe I've had a crush on him since I was fourteen. A crush so secret I didn't even tell you two. But I guess it doesn't matter, because even though James asked me out, he still fancies you."
She looked like she was about to cry—and Emma never cries.
"Oh, Merlin! I'm sorry, Em!" I apologized quickly. "Potter bothers me because he wants to piss me off, not because he likes me! He knows I hate him, so he's asks me out just to set me off. He doesn't like me." I gave Emma what I hoped to be a comforting smile, and she slowly resumed her usual laid-backness.
"Alright. That's fine then. And don't worry—I'm sure he's not going to break my heart, if that's what you're thinking." She said, running her fingers through her hair. It looked so Potter-like that I laughed, half amused and half relieved that Emma wasn't mad at me.
Jessie, who had coolly and quietly observed our quick argument, chuckled softly, too. "Emma, you're even acting like your boyfriend!"
At the word "boyfriend", the train stopped and our compartment door slid open.
In stepped…my worst enemy.
Oh, and his friends, too.
"Hey, Evans." James said, giving me a crooked smile. I scowled at him, wondering why he hadn't greeted his girlfriend first.
Speaking of…
"J!" Em called out, jumping up and grinning from ear to ear. She practically glowed.
"Em!" James swooped down, kissing Emma full on the lips.
J? Em? What the…? I thought to myself, staring at the lip-locked couple. It was really quite… awkward.
God... are they using tongue?!
"Ahem," I coughed after a long, quiet minute passed by. Emma and James broke apart, both staring at me.
"What?" They asked at the same time.
Afraid they would start making out again, I tried to start a conversation.
"Did you… uh…Did you do anything interesting over the summer?" I mumble-asked, looking down.
James raised his eyebrows, and then dramatically raised his hand to his heart. "Lily Evans is asking me about my summer? Did hell just freeze over?"
I glared at him as Sirius laughed.
"Yeah, Prongs. I'm sure my Slytherin ancestors are ice skating right now."
"I wasn't talking to you, Potter!" I spat, ignoring his best mate. My eyes narrowed menacingly. "Leave me alone. You don't want to mess with me, I'm Head Girl!"
James mock-gasped, not even concerned about my threat. "Yeah, but Miss Head Girl didn't go to the Head compartment? Oh, my."
"Shut up." I said. "I wanted to be with my friends, so I didn't go."
James smiled that signature cocky smile of his that won over almost every girl.
Almost.
"I know. I wanted to be with my friends too, so I skipped the Head thing."
I snorted, before realizing the meaning of his words.
"Wha—you're not—No way—"
"Oh, yeah, Evans." James smirked. "I'm Head Boy."
0o0o0o0o0oo
Why?
Why did Dumbledore make James Head Boy?
"Merlin, Evans! Could you at least try to slow down?" James complained, jogging to catch up to me.
I ignored him, and continued to walk at my brisk pace. Even if I had to do all that Head stuff with James, it still didn't mean I was going to wait for him.
My shoes tapped on the floor, my robes swished. "Hurry up, Potter," I snapped, stalking down the hall. "We're going to patrol the Astronomy tower—which means lots of walking till we get there. So get a move on it—I am NOT going to wait for you!"
I felt James catch up and fall in step beside me. "Geez, Evans. You are uptight."
I stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. "What did you just call me?" I hissed in my most intimidating voice. James Potter has got NO RIGHT to call me anything.
"Uptight." He repeated confidently. His usual smirk was back on his face. "And don't say, 'Is that how you talk to your girlfriend's best friend?' Because personally, I don't give a damn."
I blinked in surprise, wondering how he'd known what I was going to say.
"Well… uh… too bad," I muttered.
Was that really all I could come up with?
"I am so telling you off to Emma!"
As soon as I finished the sentence, I regretted it. I blushed, realizing how much I sounded like a three year old.
James, fortunately, didn't notice.
"Really. You go ahead and do that." He said absentmindedly, staring intently at a Quidditch notice pinned up on a bulletin board.
"Hey! Are you listening to me?"
No response.
"JAMES!" I yelled.
He blinked, looking away from the piece of parchment. "You… You…" James stared at me in astonishment. "You called me by my first name!"
"No, I didn't!" I denied quickly.
"Yeah, you did!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES! You know you love me, Evans!"
I glared at him, clenching my fists. He had a girlfriend, and yet he was flirting with me. His girlfriend's best friend!
I really, really wanted to hex James Potter to next Wednesday.
But Head Girls don't do that.
They use bad mouthery instead.
"POTTER, YOU STUPID, IRRIATING, PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A MAN! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH FOR ONCE? WHY DOES EMMA EVEN LIKE YOU?!" I screamed. My voice echoed loudly down the nearly empty hall, causing a few lost first-years to scurry away in fear.
As my burning eyes drilled holes into his skull, James just calmly stared back at me with his cool, multi-colored hazel ones.
"I say two sentences, Evans, and you get all premenstrual. It is that time of the month, right? Because you're acting like Sirius on Monday mornings: cranky, scary, and only in his boxers. Except…scratch the boxers part."
The sudden image of Sirius Black in his underpants was so disturbing, my eyes started to water.
But James, thinking he had made me cry, immediately looked like he wanted to kill himself.
Insecure freak.
"Oh, damn, Lily, I'm sorry! I mean, I always manage to make things worse, and I really shouldn't have called you premenstrual because it's not right to get into the PMS problems of women, and—"
Wow.
It didn't really bother me that he had used my first name. I mean… James Potter was actually caring that he had hurt someone's feelings!
I should have recorded his babbling on muggle-tape.
"No, it's not you," I mumbled, wiping away some hysterical tears, rubbing my eyes and pretending to be truly upset. "It's just…that…"
I peeked at James through the little space between two of my fingers. He looked… genuinely sorry!
"It's just that the image of Black in his underwear was really disturbing. Eye-watering disturbing."
James stared at me for a long, shocked moment—before he burst out laughing. As he practically rolled on the floor sniggering, I couldn't help myself: I cracked a smile.
Before, of course, immediately regaining my Head Girl authority. "Shut up, Potter!" I shouted. "We've got some patrolling to do!"
He stopped laughing and rolled his eyes, muttering a word that sounded suspiciously like "uptight", but followed me down the hall anyway.
As we made our way up to the Astronomy tower, I remarked—trying to prove I wasn't uptight—"James, that image of Sirius might scar me forever. I just wanted to let you know that."
He was silent, not answering. When I turned around to look at him, however, I saw that he was smiling.
"What? Why are you so happy?" I asked, puzzled.
James' grin widened. "You called me by my first name! Again!"
"No, I didn't!" I yelled.
"Yeah, you did!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"ARGH!"
I really hate my best friend's boyfriend.
Alright, review. Please. I'll even accept flames.
