A/N: See my profile for information about the group Fanfictioners Against World Hunger. Also... Okay, clearly, I've been a little overambitious with my rice requirements for previous chapters. Apparently my previous two chapters weren't good enough yet to merit anymore than 630 grains. I'll just have to try harder. But just so you know, I did hold the story back for an entire day due entirely to the fact that the rice requirements weren't met. I'll delay the next chapter for the same amount of time or longer if the requirements for this chapter (see end author's note) are not met.
Special thanks to Tigoamy, who donated 230 grains of rice for last chapter.
Also, thanks to arwenjanelilylyra, who is, I must opine, the best beta 100 grains of donated rice can buy (well... not buy: employ for a chapter more-like.).

disclaimer: www .hplex .org has been of great help in my ability to get any correct canon which I have managed to get right.

Chapter 3

The Sorting Hat's Song

The Marauders were among the first of the Hogwarts students to make it to their seats in the Great Hall. They had taken one of the first horseless carriages up specifically for that purpose.

"What's wrong, Wormtail?" asked Sirius, with a note of concern in his voice that James had only ever heard him use with Peter.

"I hate Thestrals," said Peter with a shudder.

"Even after all these years? You've been seeing them since your third year after your Great Uncle Paul died, haven't you?" asked Lupin curiously. Remus had been seeing the Thestrals since his 4th year, after his father had died in St. Mungos. Remus had gotten over the Thestrals by 5th year.

"They remind me of death," said Peter, shuddering again.

"Petey, no one can kill you in Hogwarts. Dumbledore's the bloody headmaster, isn't he?"

"Yeah," said Peter, but hardly seemed comforted.

James tried to think of a way to cheer his friend up. "Food's coming soon," he pointed out.

Peter smiled, "That's true."

James smiled back at Peter. "See. Everything's going to be all right."

Peter nodded. "I know. Thanks James. Sorry if I've been being annoying lately, I'm just...you know...scared sometimes."

"We'll always protect you Peter," said James.

"I know," said Peter, sincerely. He smiled again. James was glad. He wanted to help his friend out.

And then something happened that made all four Marauders' jaws drop halfway to the floor.

Lily Evans spoke to James. On purpose. She said, "Hey James, mind if we sit here?"

James seemed to be trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. Lily involuntarily noticed that he looked cute when he was trying really hard to think. She kicked herself mentally. She was just trying to be friendly to Potter because they were going to have to work with each other. But then again, she supposed that there was nothing wrong with having a cute friend.

After a full five seconds, James spluttered, "Of course you can." After another three seconds he recovered enough to make a joke, saying, "You're the head-girl, you can sit wherever you want."

"Hmm," said Lily. "I suppose that's true. But are Chloe and Marietta also allowed to sit wherever they want?"

James was so thrilled that Lily had just joked with him that he couldn't think of a joke of his own. So he simply said with a smile, "As long as they're with you." Lily smiled back.

The other Marauders couldn't decide whether to be more surprised that Lily had smiled at James, or that James couldn't seem to come up with anything witty to say to her.

"So…how was your summer, Pot- James?" asked Lily. Why was it so hard to switch to calling him by his first name?

"We should start calling you Pot, too, James," said Sirius, before James had a chance to answer.

"Be nice," scolded Lily. But then she smiled again. If she was going to be nice to James that meant she had to be nice to all the Marauders, not just Lupin like she normally was.

"My summer was fine," said James, automatically. Then he thought about it some more. "Pretty fantastic, actually."

"Glad to hear it," said Lily with a smile. It was getting easier and easier to smile at James. She couldn't figure out why; but at least it suited her plan to get along with the guy who, only hours ago, she had considered to be the worst Head-Boy of all time.

"Oh, here comes the firsties!" said Peter.

"Geez they look scared," said Chloe.

"Peeves must have gotten to them," said Remus.

"Oh good old Peeves," said James. He noticed Lily raise her eyebrows. He'd been looking at her a lot since she sat down, and Lily was surprised to realize she didn't mind.

"Everyone be quiet, the sorting hat's going to sing!" said Marietta with an excited grin.

"She likes it 'cause it rhymes," explained Chloe with a smirk.

"I said 'shhhh!'" whispered Marietta.

Lily and James shared a smile.

The sorting hat began to sing.

One day the brave old Gryffindor took me off his head,

And decided that it'd be wiser if I did the deciding instead,

I can always tell a clever student where she belongs,

That is of course, among Ravenclaw's great throngs,

But far more students are made of hard-working stuff,

And those are the children who belong in Hufflepuff.

The students who hold such noble blood within

Are those who belong in the house of mighty Slytherin,

And the students who will never forget what they are fighting for,

Are the ones who belong in the house of my old owner, Gryffindor.

Everyone remember to trust who is in your own house,

Any who would betray a housemate is truly a louse.

Times outside have been getting rough,

but no witch or wizard is made of fluff.

So each of you must come to Hogwarts to learn,

and when you leave everyone will reap what they earn.

The sorting hat stopped. After the applause, chatter immediately began.

"I think the last bit was directed at us older students... reap what you earn," said Remus.

"Almost sounds ominous somehow, doesn't it?" asked Chloe contemplatively.

But no one had a chance to respond, as the Deputy Headmistress and head of the Ravenclaw house - Andrea Artimandura, who taught Arithmancy - silenced the crowd.

"Well, let the sorting begin," she said, and began reading off names.

As usual, Hufflepuff got the most students, Ravenclaw the second most, and Gryffindor and Slytherin got the about the same number. Hufflepuff netted 20; Ravenclaw 17; Gryffindor 16; and Slytherin 15.

After the sorting was over, Headmaster Dumbledore rose to make a speech.

"Good evening to my friends old and new. I am glad you all made it safely back to school this year," over half the students frowned as they remembered the poor Hufflepuff 4th year who had been killed along with his family by Death Eaters the summer before last.

"Now that everyone knows to which house they belong, I would like to say a few words about this school year. There is a popular muggle saying: that 'knowledge is power'. That, my dear students, is nowhere more true than in the magical world, where the knowledge of what spell to use could literally save your life. We have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year, his name is Julian Aurelius. He is highly qualified, and will be making sure that every student here knows as much as they can about the Dark Arts, which will be one of your most important subjects this year. Of course, as my colleague Minerva McGonagall - Head of the Gryffindor House, for those of you who haven't met her yet - will tell you, transfiguration can get you out of many tight spots as well; many potions can save your life faster than even a trip to St. Mungo's could; a well placed charm is never useless either. What I am trying to impress on you, my charges, is that we are living in a time when lines are being drawn between good and evil. And those of you who pick the right side of that fight will need to know how to protect yourself from those who fail to do so.

"Of course, not everything that can save a life can be taught in a school. But it is my job and your professors' job, this year more than ever before, to make sure that you all have the knowledge you need in order to be safe. I apologize sincerely for having to burden the opening of this year at this great institution of learning with such a melancholy speech. But it needed to be done, and it needed to be done tonight, because classes start tomorrow and there are few spells that you will be learning this year which could not, under the right circumstances, save your life. Now, if I haven't spoiled your appetite, it is time for us to feast together as friends before we make our respective ways to bed."

Food appeared on the table. There was silence in the great hall for a full three seconds before Sirius, compelled to break what was for him entirely too long of a pause in noise, yelled, "Luckily, I don't think anything could spoil Evans' appetite!"

The exclamation was so random, especially because he chose to use Lily's name, that almost three-quarters of the people in the Great Hall burst out into laughter. James turned to Lily who was, to his continued amazement, sitting beside him, and their eyes met for a moment. James was reminded for the thousandth time in his life how beautiful Lily Evans looked when she laughed. Lily could somehow tell that was what James was thinking; she was surprised to find she almost didn't mind.

After Sirius broke the tension, people began to eat, talk, and generally have an almost normal Welcome Feast. But of course, after the speech Dumbledore had given, it couldn't be totally normal.

The first evidence, for Lily, of this fact, was when James opened his mouth, and the first thing out of it was serious, genuine, and even thought-provoking.

"Dumbledore was talking to us. The seventh years I mean. I think he's planning something. I don't know what. But I know a man like Dumbledore...He just...He wouldn't let Voldemort win."

Lily, Sirius, Lupin, and Marietta all nodded thoughtfully. Chloe and Peter each had a pained look on their face.

"Please James," begged Peter in a pathetic tone of voice that pained Lily to hear, "I've asked you not to use the name. He scares me."

"And I've told you, you've got nothing to be scared of Petey. We'll always protect you," said Sirius.

Peter looked a little more confident now. He was clearly struggling very hard to be brave.

"Why don't you say the name, Peter?" asked Lupin. "Maybe it'll help you not be scared of the name. It's only a name, after all."

"V-v-vollll-" Peter was struggling so much it seemed cruel to Lily to make him continue.

"Couldn't we maybe... Call him something else?" Lily wondered.

James looked thoughtful for a minute. Lily wondered if she had ever seen James look thoughtful when he wasn't sitting in the common room with the marauders whispering quietly about their next prank. She didn't think so.

"Well of course we can call him something else. We could call him jalapeno for all I care. Unless anybody here is scared of jalapenoes," said James with a slight grin.

"What about by his real name?" offered Chloe.

"What, you mean Riddle?" asked Sirius. "He isn't much of a riddle. He's a bloody evil git. No mystery involved."

"Er. Point taken," said Chloe.

"What about Tom?" asked Marietta.

"Or Tommy!" said Lupin.

"Ickle Tommykins," said James decisively.

All seven of the teens laughed.

"Fine. For Peter's sake, we call him Ickle Tommykins. Or Kinny for short. Because let's face it, 'Ickle Tommykins' is kind of a long name," resolved Lupin with an air of finality.

"Good. Got that problem solved. Which is a relief, don't get me wrong," said James sarcastically. "So now we just have to figure out how to kill him."

"We don't have to figure out anything, you just said Dumbledore will fix it, didn't you?" asked Peter nervously. Lily had never spent enough time around Peter to realize how annoyingly nervous he was. She wondered briefly why the sorting hat had put him in Gryffindor. But then again, the sorting hat was never wrong, was it?

"I think Dumbledore might use us somehow. Well, not use us, let us help. Once we're of age, you know?" said James. Lily nodded. James was making sense lately. It was weird. She was looking straight into James' eyes, but she was telling herself that the reason for that was that she didn't want to look at Peter. She was sure he looked horrified, and she couldn't bear to see it.

"How could we help?" asked Marietta.

"Fight the death-eaters," said Sirius.

"Well. And kill Kinny," said James.

"You'd really kill people?" asked Chloe.

"Ickle Tommykins? In a heartbeat. Probably some Death Eaters, although it's probably ok to just take them prisoner most of the time. Unless you're outnumbered. Then you don't have time to think about being nice," said James.

"You've put a lot of thought into this," said Lily. There was no surprise in her voice. She had pretty quickly become acquainted with the fact that James could be thoughtful. Now she just wished she had noticed it before today. Perhaps they could have been friends. Perhaps they could even still be friends. It was no use holding a grudge anymore about what he had done to Snape. Snape hadn't talked to her for all of Sixth year. She sometimes wondered why.

"Haven't you?" asked Sirius.

"Well... not much," admitted Lily. "I prefer to think of happier things."

"So do all of us," said James. "But sometimes you have to be prepared for the worst."

Lily nodded solemnly. She thought she heard Peter let out a moan, but she tried to ignore it. "Of course, you're right," she said, mildly aware that she had never expected to say those words to James Potter.

"Why don't we talk about more cheerful things for now though?" asked Marietta. "We're safe while we're in Hogwarts at least. So let's take a break from thinking about the future and just think about being students for now."

"Yeah, students who wish the dessert would get out here soon," agreed Peter.

"Students who would particularly like some chocolate pudding, perhaps?" asked James.

"Ooooh, yes!" Lily practically screamed. She had almost forgot there was going to be chocolate pudding, of which the Hogwarts variety was the best in the world bar-none, as far as Lily was concerned.

The thought crossed James mind that he wished he could make Lily scream "Oooooh, yes!" under different circumstances. He was glad Lily couldn't read his mind. He was sure she would be disgusted at what he just thought, and it would ruining [ruin] what appeared to be, miraculously, a burgeoning friendship between the pair. And James was hoping like hell that it would somehow turn into something more than a friendship.

After dinner ended, having been filled with more pleasant conversation for its remainder, the students all got up from the table.

"Anything we need to do tonight?" James asked Lily. "As Head Boy and Girl?"

"No, prefects are pretty much in charge tonight. First thing we have to do is patrol the hallways together during late-shift on Wednesday."

"Right," responded James. "Ok, great. Er... Today's Monday, right? I always lose track during the summer.

Lily smiled. "Yes James. It's Monday. We'll teach you your days of the week yet."

James smiled back at Lily. "Well. I'll let you walk with your friends." Marietta and Chloe were a few paces ahead, the rest of the Marauders a few paces behind.

"Who says you're not my friend?" asked Lily. "Or don't you want to be?"

James looked sincerely shocked. "No, of course I want to be your friend, I think you're- a really great person."

Lily smiled, flattered in spite of herself. "Really great, huh? Not something a girl minds hearing every once in awhile."

James smiled back. "Well, I'm here to remind you any time you forget Lily." He was slightly scared that she would correct him and tell him to call her Evans when they were talking out of the public eye.

She didn't.

Lily looked at James face. There was something different about it that she couldn't quite work out.

And then she realized. James' smile wasn't cocky. It was just... sweet.

A/N: Next Chapter costs 2000 grains from freerice. I don't care how many people it takes to get that high. On a related note I'm going to do what many before me have done and appeal to natiionalism: Between the posting of this chapter and the posting of the next, there will be the first monthly Marauders & Lily freerice World Cup. Country that donates most grains wins. Of course, don't lie about how many grains you donate, it defeats the whole point of what I'm trying to do here.