JK Rowling rules this universe, I'm just playing in her sandbox. Many thanks to my beta, Katie 3

James watched Lily hurry away toward her friends, sighing with relief. Normally, he wouldn't be happy to see her go, but he wasn't keen to have her overhear the conversation that was about to take place.

Sirius and Peter were playing a game of Exploding Snap while Remus, recently returned from the prefect meeting himself, watched.

"There he is." Sirius looked up with a grin. He started humming "Hail, the Conquering Hero," and Peter quickly joined in, rapping his trunk to provide percussion accompaniment.

He stopped abruptly when several Exploding Snap cards blew up under his hands. Peter yelped and kicked out, knocking over the trunk and setting off several more minor explosions in the process.

Several minutes later, after Remus had healed Peter's hands and James and Sirius had packed away the cards, James found himself surrounded by his best friends, all eagerly leaning toward him, anticipation clear on their faces.

He turned to Sirius and slugged him in the stomach.

"What the hell, Prongs?" Sirius complained, punching him back in the arm.

"Are you actually asking that? What kind of a lookout job was that? You weren't gone five minutes before Evans charged in, brandishing her wand like a madwoman, shooting stunning spells left and right. She's lucky that she didn't get hit in the cross-fire."

"You weren't supposed to get caught," Remus said reprovingly. "The fact that Lily needed to shoot off stunning spells at all—"

"Don't turn this around on me, Moony," James interrupted. He glared at Sirius. "The reconnaissance mission got a little side-tracked, all right? Snape interrupted me."

"You got taken down by Snivellous? He didn't use an Unforgiveable Curse, did he?" Peter frowned nervously.

"Oi! I didn't get taken down by anyone!" James protested, then stopped and blushed a little. "Erm, I supposed Evans did stun me, but she wasn't supposed to be involved. Snape wasn't even supposed to be involved, but I could have handled him. He brought Mulciber, though, and then it was two on one. Besides, they caught me off-guard."

Remus sighed and slouched back. "That was careless, Prongs. You should have taken the cloak."

"I should have had proper warning from my lookout," James grumbled. "Now Evans is angry, and we didn't find out anything about what Snape's been up to."

"I don't know, Prongs, it really seemed like she was warming up to you in the meeting." Remus gave him an encouraging smile.

"If by 'warming up to me,' you mean she didn't curse me in front of all those stuffy prefects," James said gloomily.

"I resemble that remark!" Remus protested. "And anyway, if I'm stuffy, what does that make you, Mr. Head Boy?"

"Second best?" James flashed him a gloating grin, and Remus snorted.

"As fascinating as Jamesie's pursuit of the elusive Evans is," Sirius interrupted, "and as much as I would love to decide once and for all which of you is the biggest prat in the room" -this earned him another jab to the ribs from James- "what are we going to do about Snape?"

There was a silence in the compartment as each boy mulled the question over.

"We aren't … sure that he's a Death Eater, are we?" Peter asked hesitantly. "Not that he isn't a slimy git!" he added quickly.

"We've been over and over this, Wormtail," James said heatedly. "We know he's obsessed with the dark arts, always has been. And I know what I saw in my dad's study last week. He's on a Ministry watch list! Him and his Slytherin pals! What more proof do you need?"

"The Ministry has been known to make a few blunders in its day," mused Remus.

"Are you calling my dad a liar?"

"Nobody's saying that." Remus put his hands up in a calming gesture. "But maybe we need a little more intel before we try to go snooping through his trunk again."

"We won't have another opportunity like this one," James said stubbornly. "Once we get off the train, he'll disappear down to that dungeon the Slytherins call a common room and he'll be safe to carry on whatever dangerous or illegal schemes he wants!"

"Well, we've scuppered our chances for the time being." Remus glanced at Sirius but directed his words at James. "He'll be on high alert now."

"We could go back with the cloak," James said hopefully, but Remus was already shaking his head.

"No, we can't. He's probably completely surrounded. It'd be moronic to go back there."

"Sirius resembles that remark," Peter snickered. Sirius aimed his wand at Peter, whose hair and eyebrows suddenly turned a very bright pink.

:o:o:o:o:o:

Down the corridor, Lily's friends were pressing her for more details about James and the fight with Snape and Mulciber.

"Oh, Lily, how scary!" Mary covered her eyes and leaned into Emmeline's shoulder.

"I don't like it," Marlene mused. "It's fishy, even for that lot."

"What do you mean? Potter and Snape have been at each other's throats for years." Alice's eyes darted over to Lily. "They've never seen eye to eye."

"I wouldn't go that far," Emmeline said with a grin. "We know one thing they agree on."

Lily looked up from her pumpkin pasty to find all of her friends staring at her, varying shades of glee on their faces. She rolled her eyes.

"Not that again."

"Come on, Lily," Alice chuckled, "We never really understood your fascination with Snape, but his fascination with you was crystal clear."

"Sev and I were friends, that's all. And even if you're right and he did fancy me…well, he made it clear how he feels about me."

"I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like her."

Despite the fact that Lily had done her best to forget about that day, and every subsequent entreaty from Severus, the hurt still felt fresh. Her eyes burned and she blinked rapidly.

"Maybe I would have agreed with you then, but…"

"Lily, he still looks at you like you're a prize piece of beef, " Emmeline teased. At Lily's dark glare, she backpedaled. "Of course, James has been looking at you like that for ages, so its no wonder the two of them hate each other."

"James and Sev are two completely different people," Lily snapped. "James is a prat, but he's good and decent. Sev hangs about with evil people, and as far as I know, he's turned into an evil person himself."

There was a deafening silence, and then Mary cleared her throat. "The one time you compliment Potter and he's not even here to witness it!"

:o:o:o:o:o:

That night, warm in her bed, Lily lay listening to the sleepy sounds of her roommates. She was never more comfortable than in her four-poster at Hogwarts, a fact that made her even more uneasy about her impending entrance into the adult wizarding world. She didn't like to think about the future, preferring instead to live in a world of lists, homework, and Head Girl duties. At Hogwarts, she could take a little bit of control.

There was nothing about her life in the muggle world that she was in control of. Her parents were lovely, but they didn't understand that Lily was practically a grown-up herself. Every summer she reverted to the little girl she had been her first year at Hogwarts, asking permission for everything, never going out alone. They seemed to unconsciously think that because Lily wasn't with them, she hadn't changed.

Her older sister, Petunia, had changed, though. Gone were the days when Pet waited for her at the station with their parents, uncomfortably shifting from foot to foot as she waited among the wizarding families and scattered muggle parents waiting for the students to disembark. These days, she was more likely to appear only late the night of Lily's return, or even the next day, fresh from a raucous night with her University girlfriends.

Lily sighed when she thought of how far her relationship with her sister had fallen. Once, they had been as close as two sisters could be. As the years went on, though, her patience for Lily's newfound worldview wore thin. She didn't want to hear about Hogwarts, and when Lily brought up the events that were shaking the wizarding world—the murders, the vandalism, and Lord Voldemort—she sneered and jeered until someone changed the subject.

"That rubbish doesn't have anything to do with normal people," she'd say. "Pass the chips, Dad."

Eventually, the rift between them grew into a giant canyon, and after several earsplitting rows that rattled the windows of the Evans' house, Petunia had declared that Lily was too much of a freak to be her real sister. And when Pet got engaged that last summer to a big, burly man named Vernon, whose mustache was so impressive that that Lily wasn't altogether sure was real, there was no talk of bridesmaids dresses or shopping together. In fact, Petunia had made it clear that Lily wasn't welcome.

"As if I would put a freak like that in my wedding," she had hissed to their mother. It had been late, and she and Petunia were sitting up, sipping tea and brandy and planning for the wedding. Mrs. Evans had hesitantly suggested that she ask her sister to be Maid of Honor, or at the very least give her a part in the ceremony.

"After all, you're family, Pet, darling," she had prompted.

"Family," Petunia scoffed.

Lily, standing hidden on the stairs, felt her eyes fill up with tears.

"We may be related by blood, but that thing upstairs is no family of mine."

Mrs. Evans had gasped in horror, and the two had gotten into a huge argument. Afterward, Petunia retreated from her position to appease her mother, and in the morning asked Lily to present one of the readings at the ceremony.

It was too late, though. The damage was done. Lily had stiffly accepted, mindful of her mother's hopeful gaze, but she avoided Petunia for the rest of the summer. And when she got on board the Hogwarts Express that morning, it had been with the satisfaction of knowing that she wouldn't have to see her sister for months.

The girls who slept peacefully in her dormitory were more her sisters than Petunia could hope to be, she reflected sleepily. She had found her place in the world at Hogwarts, and her true family. When they went out into the world, they'd go together. She wouldn't be alone. With that comforting thought, she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the chaos of the first day set in, with uniforms flying everywhere and spellbooks being unearthed from their hiding places in trunks.

"Lily, have you seen my tie?"

"You're wearing my skirt, Alice! Look how long it is on you!"

"What was it doing on my pile? And where's my skirt, then?"

Together, with the exception of Marlene, who was notorious for being late, the seventh year girls tromped down to the Great Hall, chattering excitedly about their schedules, which they would get from Professor McGonagall that morning. The Gryffindor table was nearly full, but they managed to find a place to squeeze in together near a group of fifth year boys.

"Budge up, you lot." Lily was jostled to one side as someone squeezed in next to her, nearly sending one of the fifth years off the other end of the bench.

"Evans," James Potter said warmly, "Just the girl I was hoping to see."

"Funny." Lily took a bite of her porridge and raised an eyebrow.

James raised his own eyebrows and gestured with his hand, as if to say go on.

"I could have happily gone the entire day without seeing you at all."

He brought his hand to his heart with an expression of agony. "Evans, you're a cruel mistress. What kind of way is that to speak to your fellow Head?"

Before she could answer, Professor McGonagall arrived.

"Let's see," she said briskly. "Potter, Potter... ah, here we are. Happy to see you back in Transfiguration this year, Mr. Potter. And it is nice to see you aren't slacking on your other studies. Still interested in a career with the Ministry?"

Lily gaped. This was the first she had heard of Potter having any kind of serious ambitions after school. Though he was undeniably bright, and often in the running for top marks in their classes, she never thought of him as having ambitions at all. It was stupid, but when she thought about the Marauders living outside of the castle, she pictured them sharing some bachelor's flat in London, drinking copious amounts of firewhiskey and living off of James' trust fund.

"If I'm to be accepted into Auror training, I'll need the full complement of courses," he said easily. "Longbottom and I have been talking about preparing our applications together."

McGonagall beamed. "Excellent. Please let me know if I can provide any recommendation, Potter. Despite your...extracurricular activities...you're a fine student, and I wouldn't hesitate to put in good word."

"Thank you, Professor."

McGonagall turned to Lily. "Another excellent student taking on a full load. My door is always open, Miss Evans, should you want to discuss future aspirations."

Lily flushed under her calculating stare, very conscious that James was listening. It grated her that he should have such clear and impressive post-Hogwarts plans, while she had been completely at sea during her required career counseling session the year before. Although Professor McGonagall had been very kind and given her many different pamphlets to consider, she hadn't given it much thought since.

Potter was already thinking about applications.

She was quiet after Professor McGonagall left. James cleared his throat.

"So, Transfiguration first thing, eh?"

Lily jumped, startled from her thoughts by his voice. He didn't quite succeed in hiding his smile. She consulted her schedule.

"Looks like it. Think they'll have the consolidated NEWT classes again this year?"

He shrugged. "No reason not to. There were what, twelve of us in Transfiguration last year? Not enough interest to extend those upper level courses to individual houses anymore."

She took another bite of porridge. "I guess, but it still surprises me that there isn't more interest in the basic courses like Transfiguration and Potions."

"Not everyone needs to know about things like human transfiguration and advanced switching spells, and its difficult enough that I can understand why some people would decide to drop it once they took their OWLs. And as for Potions, well, only someone truly sick would take a course like that unless they had to."

"Potions is a beautiful subject," she argued, finishing up her pumpkin juice and tossing her schedule in her book bag. "Subtle and logical, cause and effect."

Lily believed the things she was saying, but she was actually echoing an argument that Severus had made many times before. "No other subject requires the kind of analytical reasoning that Potions does."

They gathered their things up and continued their conversation as they walked to Professor McGonagall's classroom. Lily didn't even realize she had left her girlfriends behind until they reached the door.

Hurriedly, she took a seat in the first row to the left, laying out her bag and books to save spots for Alice and Emmeline, who were both taking the course.

"Where are you going, Red?" James followed her to the front of the room, tsking at her choice of seats. "Don't you know that it's easier to get into trouble from the back of the room?"

"You're welcome to go sit in the back. In fact, I wish you would." The easy conversation had unsettled her a little, and she was anxious for things to return to normal. And normal meant not talking to Potter was if they had been friends for years, instead of barely courteous housemates.

Potter sighed and took the seat immediately behind her. "Don't be like that, Evans."

She ignored him, turning to face the front. She made a show of opening up her textbook as Alice and Emmeline entered and took their seats on either side of her.

"This isn't over, Evans," he said, just loud enough for the girls in front of him to hear.

"What's he talking about?" Alice whispered, peeking over her shoulder to where James now sat with Remus and Sirius. It was obvious that Potter was glum about something, and a whispered argument had broken out between the three boys.

Sirius noticed Alice looking. "Take a picture, love, it'll last longer. I'll even autograph it for you."

She huffed and turned around to face front again.

"I couldn't believe when you just went off with him like that!" Emmeline said. "What were you two talking about?"

"Schoolwork," Lily answered briskly.

"We haven't got any yet," Alice pointed out.

"Head business, then," Lily snapped, exasperated. "Why does it matter?"

"You've just never been that friendly with James," Emmeline soothed. "Of course, it makes sense that you'll want to be on good terms this year, seeing as you'll be working so closely together."

"The Marauders were awfully pleased about it, too," Alice said with a giggle. "You should have seen them high-fiving each other when Potter got you alone."

Emmeline gave her a warning look, but it was too late. Lily erupted.

"He didn't get me alone. We had one conversation—ONE! It isn't like we're getting married, for Godric's sake!"

Too late, she realized that the class had gone quiet, and Professor McGonnagalagall was standing at her podium, ready to begin. Lily blushed right to the roots of her auburn hair. She could hear the muffled laughter of her classmates, including the three boys who sat directly behind her. Someone, probably Sirius, started humming the wedding march.

"That's quite enough, class," Professor McGonagall said. "Books out, please. And Miss Evans, I trust that will be the last such outburst we'll hear from you. If not, I will have to take points."

Lily sank into her chair, mortified. Class began, and Emmeline doodled on the edge of her parchment.

At least it can't get any worse.

Lily scribbled back, When it comes to Potter, it can always get worse.

A million thanks to those of you who took the time to check out chapter one and leave a review :) Thanks for giving this a shot. I'm having fun with it so far, and hope you are, too!