Disclaimer: All of this belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 3: Back
I woke up earlier that morning than I had previous years; the first day of school jitters seemed to intensify, and my dreams could no longer calm my excited mind. Sitting up from my four-poster bed, I looked around my dormitory, taking in the sleeping forms of my friends.
Alice Barnes was in the bed next to me, still asleep and snoring slightly. Her breathing ruffled the stray brown hair that had fallen into her face, and her hands clutched at her pillow.
Marlene McKinnon was across the room. Her form was fidgeting more and more with each moment, and I knew that she would be awake within the next fifteen minutes, whether she wanted the extra sleep or not.
Finally, my vision fell on Mary Hughes. Her brown hair was spread across her pillow, and a slight smile was on her still sleeping face. Her fingers moved slowly against the sheets as if beating out a pattern. I assumed she was still dreaming.
Slipping on a pair of slippers and a robe, I made my way to our window and gazed out at the forest. Dewdrops were on the glass, and a light mist covered the grounds. Feeling calmer than I had all summer, I smiled and rested my forehead against the cool glass, smiling.
"Well, aren't you just the early riser."
"Morning Marlene." I said without turning around.
"Morning Lily."
Marlene joined me at the window. I smiled broadly, giving her a tight hug before stepping back to look at my friend. She had gotten a bit taller, and, like Potter, she lost any vestiges of baby fat. Her blond hair was piled into a loose bun at the top of her head, and her grey eyes still looked tired.
"I missed you so much!" I said, pulling her in for another hug.
"So did I. I wish you didn't have to leave us and spend time with that horrid family of yours."
I gave a weak smile.
"James was asking about you."
"Really? I'm shocked." I answered dryly. She laughed, turning back to the window.
"It was rather adorable, actually." She said. I laughed, nudging her in the arm.
"What did he say?"
"He wanted you home. We all did." I laughed, but I knew the sentiment was serious. My true friends knew that my summers were not happy times.
"Well, you can tell James Potter that I am very happy to be home."
She laughed, and together we waited for our dorm mates to wake up.
***J&L***
"McGonagall! Professor!"
"Miss Evans, how nice to see you again." She says, giving a small smile. I nodded back.
"I still need my schedule—" She nods and pulls out a piece of parchment before tapping it with her wand and handing it to me.
Ouch…
My schedule is a bit demanding, but I feel up to the challenge. I like challenges.
I turn to leave the Great Hall, but she stops me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Not so fast, Miss Evans. Have you met with the Head Boy yet?" She asks sternly, and my stomach sinks. Minerva McGonagall is the only professor that makes you feel guilty about missing something before term even starts.
Again, ouch…
I begin to shake my head when I hear someone else come up behind me.
"Actually, she has, Professor. We were talking about it early this morning. You remember, don't you Lily?"
No. No. No,
Slowly, I turn and come face to face with James Potter. Well, I actually come face to face with a Head Boy badge, as Potter seemed to have grown another foot over the summer.
YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS.
"Sorry, but… what?" I say, feeling especially eloquent.
"This is our Head Boy." McGonagall says, and I can hear the exasperation in her voice. My eyes meet hers, and I can see the 'yes, we both wish this was a joke' look on them before she looks back to James, who is grinning at us.
"But… you—you weren't even a prefect…"
"Well, that obviously didn't stop me." He runs a hand through his hair, and my chest burns with annoyance.
Oh my God.
"We will have a formal meeting with you and the prefects this Thursday in my classroom. Until then, please attempt to keep things under control." She says sternly, before turning on her heel and striding towards the professors table for breakfast.
"Morning Evans." James says, giving me a wide grin. I am still looking at him in shock.
"Are you all right? Don't give yourself an aneurism. We haven't learned any healing spells yet. I wouldn't know how to help you."
"I'm fine."
Well, fine is actually a relative term. I don't think I am fine.
"Okay then… I just wanted to let you know that you have nothing to worry about."
"What exactly do you mean, Potter?"
"I'm not going to skive off my duties this year. I will actually help you, Lily." I roll my eyes. Expecting help from James Potter is like expecting a hippogriff to let you dress it up in bows. In other words, it wasn't going to happen.
"I promise, Lily. I'll be different this year."
"Oh yes, and you proved that this morning, by breaking your favorite routine on the first day of term." I said. My fists were bunched at my sides, and he grinned down at me. I was getting extremely annoyed now, and, gathering the last of my logical thoughts, I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the Great Hall, worried I would make a scene.
"Not that I don't like being man handled by you, Evans, but what exactly are you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing. I just seem to remember being asked out, again, by a complete prat whose big head wouldn't fit out the common room passage!" I said. He laughed and ran another hand through his messy black hair.
OH MY GOD.
"Oh. Well, I don't know anyone who fits that description, but if I did, I am sure they would say it was simply for old times sake. Nothing like that will happen again this year." He said, mock concern in his voice. I sighed, exasperated.
"Fine. But you better help me this year, Potter. I can't have you skiving off your duties just because you want to play a few pranks."
"Lily," He grabbed my shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, looking me in the eye, "you have my word. And believe it or not, that is worth something."
Hm…
I nodded, showing I understood, and he gave me a small smile.
"See you in class, Evans."
Curious…
***J&L***
My first class of the day was Potions, and it happened to be with the Slytherins. While this may have annoyed other Gryffindors, I was actually very happy about these two tidbits of information.
My best friend was Severus Snape, who was a Slytherin. Our friendship is very strange to other students. Normally, Gryffindors and Slytherins do not get along. I don't know if this is due to some unspoken agreement between the two houses, or if it was actually caused by a rift between the two founders. But regardless, this friendship between Severus and myself persisted.
After a hurried breakfast (I had never been able to stomach much on the first day of classes) I found Snape waiting outside the Great Hall, his potion book already out and decorated with a series of scribbles and notes. He looked up from his work when he saw me approaching and gave me a smile. I returned it happily.
"Hi Lily."
"Hello, Sev." I said, giving him a one armed hug, which he returned happily.
"I suppose I don't need to bother to ask how your summer was…"
"I lost weight." He knew me well enough to know what that meant about my summer. He sent me a look and took my books from me as we walked toward the dungeons.
"Oh, and here come my star students!" Slughorn yelled as we approached. He was holding his door open and ushering students inside.
"Hello professor!" I said cheerily, and he gave us a warm smile. Severus and I quickly found two seats near the front, and unloaded our bags.
"Morning Snivellus. Hello Evans!"
Please no.
"Sirius." I said warningly. He gave a barking laugh and took the pair of desks behind us, lounging in his chair. Severus' ears turned pink, and he grimaced. He knew what Black's presence had to mean.
"Hello, Lily!"
James.
I tipped my head in James' general direction before turning back to Severus. His knuckles were white as he gripped his book. Knowing Black and Potter were in the class, and seated directly behind us did not help my nerves. For the past six years, they had made it their missions to make Severus' life as difficult as possible.
"Morning Snape." James said calmly. Severus looked behind us and shot James a scathing look before Slughorn reentered the class.
"Good morning my N.E.W.T students! I am so pleased to have you all here today. Normally, I would ramble on about the fun I know we will have, but I am cutting it short here; there is simply too much to do! Just know that this year will be exceedingly difficult. But I know you are all up to the task." After beaming down at Snape and I, he continued.
"Now, I will need to change a few seating arrangements, as I will be using a few competitions to your houses' advantage… So, Mr. Snape, if you please, could you sit next to Mr. Parkinson, over there—yes." Severus gave me a glum look before trotting over to his fellow Slytherins.
"Mr. Black, with Mr. Lupin—no, you and Mr. Potter will cause far too much trouble together." He said, as Sirius protested.
"And Mr. Potter, you over here to Miss Evans. Yes, that should do it!" He said excitedly, clapping his hands together. My jaw clenched as Potter sat down next to me.
"Now, we will be concocting a rather interesting potion today. You may be familiar with it's sister, the Draught of Living Death? Well, today we will be making a Draught of Dying Life—yes, we potions masters seem to be lacking creativity these days—so turn to page 23 and you may begin!"
James smiled and began assembling the ingredients.
Let the games begin…
Sorry for the delay, but I have been super busy lately. I promise the updates will get faster… But please read and review! Thanksabunch.