Travelling swallowing Dramamine
Feeling spaced breathing out listerine
I'd said what I'd said that I'd tell ya
And that you'd killed the better part of me
If you could just milk it for everything
I've said what I'd said and you know what I mean

I am JK Rowling. I expect royalties from every other author on this site.

"Just open the bloody box." Kate it appeared had finally gotten fed up waiting for Emily to open the ancient shoebox. Though I didn't blame her, Emily had been peering at the thing with her big blues and shaking it about like a little kid on their first Christmas. I settled back into the cushy seat and absentmindedly tucked my wand behind my ear. Bloody red hair was getting in the way.

"This is a special moment guys, another summer gone, our final one…" Emily sighed as if ready to make another grand sweeping speech. Best not to let her get started on one of those. Her previous speech at the beginning of the summer had been halted only when Sam had unfortunately found herself on the floor of the compartment twitching and yelling inappropriate words. We'd never found the culprit to that jinx, it was blamed on a sympathetic passerby from the hall by Kate. Apparently they'd failed to notice Kate's maniacal giggling, but whatever works.

"Open it." Sam insisted, as she too was growing antsy. Really now, I didn't have all day either. But after spending six years with Emily I'd learned that the girl could not be rushed.

"But guys, this is important—"

"Em, you're acting like there's a wedding ring inside, just unwrap the box." I finally joined in the cajoling.

"Well you never know, the way things with Travis have been going…" Kate, Sam, and I snorted in disbelief. Travis was Emily's fling of the week, an American boy on holiday; his chances on making it past the three day mark were slim seeing as he didn't know Em was a witch. And also seeing as the telephone number she'd left him connected to an apparently well staffed gay-sex hotline...Despite her frown at our laughing she finally opened up the tattered old box. "Alright dolls, who wants to pick first?" She shook the shoebox along in her small pale wrist for all of us to see. The four of us peered inside to stare at the small folded scraps of paper.

The tradition had started first year on the train ride back. Kate and Emily and I had been discussing our hopes and expectations for the summer to come. And Kate had gotten the brilliant idea to write them down and then see what we'd done at the end of the summer on the return trip to Hogwarts. After our original container had been deemed too dirty (it was my old sock) after second year we upgraded. New first year and friend Sam had supplied us with a very dressy pink shoebox, and it had stuck with us for the next five years.

"Youngest first." Sam proclaimed, reaching a tanned hand (damn her) into the box and pulling out a slip of paper. She read it and immediately burst into a fit of giggles, sending her perfectly spiraled brown curls bouncing on her head. I envied her perfect hair, a problem that had lead to several daydreams of springing the curls, and which in a fight in third year had caused me to shave the whole thing off. That had actually been one of the few times I'd been glad for the marauders pranking, they'd taken the heat for that one not me. "Kate," Sam announced turning to my friend, "this ones yours," and in a poorly done impression she read the slip "I resolve to be married to Dean Winster."

"How you doing on that one?" Emily queried, sending Kate a raised eyebrow and a cheesy wink. Ah Dean Winster, quidditch player extraordinaire, and just generally man extraordinaire. Agreed to be the most attractive man in the twenty to thirty age range by oh, the entire female population.

"We're in an open relationship." Replied Kate with a straight face.

Always ready to burst her bubble I shot back, "So open in fact that Dean's dating that bint from Surrey and doesn't know she exists." Bazing.

"Give me that box." Kate snatched the box out of Sam's hand and rummaged through it. Most likely looking for a nice one about me to get me back. "Alright Lily, here's one of yours 'I resolve to streak at the annual Black family picnic'. Oh Lily, I really can't wait to hear how this one ended up."

One of the negative sides to sharing a courtyard with the notorious Black family was their yearly picnic. Actually to be fair there are no positive sides now that Sirius has his own flat. Every pure-blooded but brain-addled relative trumps out onto the grass behind their house for a day long celebration of intolerance and dark magic. Well, they referred to it as a celebration of their family unity. So each year I stayed inside my home in Priory Estates watching fearfully and praying that none of them are sane or cognitive enough to remember that "a mudblood traitor" lives up the street. Ah Grimmauld Place, a charming neighborhood. "Well, I nearly did it. It was about dusk day of and I got all starkers and crept over to the big pine tree near their lot."

"Wait! You, Lily Evans hopped around in public in your birthday suit?" Emily had the largest look of shock on her face, as if I'd just told her I supported You Know Who. Her blue eyes wide and blond hair flipping about as she did a double-take at me. "My baby's growing into a right young slut. I'm so proud of you. You'll be doinking Ja—"
"Anyways," I cut back in, maybe a bit overly loud, but she was getting to my least favorite topic of discussion; Potter. "I got over there and saw Regelus taking a drag of his fag near the trash can. I got cold feet all of a sudden and I skedaddled. But I scraped my bum on a thorn," I winced at the memory, "I'm never venturing out naked again." I finished my tale and took the pink shoebox from Kate's lap. I searched through the papers accidentally knocking a few on the train floor.

"Err, Regelus, what a creeper." Kate remarked, picking at her fingernails and propping her feet up into Sam's lap on the seat across from her.

"God yeah, at least you don't have classes with him. Have you got any idea how chilling it is to be sitting in potions minding your own business and have his evil little stare directed at you." Somehow I highly doubted Sam was minding her own business in potions, as she was physically incapable of doing such a thing at any time.

"It's a shame he didn't turn out more like Sirius." I muttered under my breath. Sarcasm? Maybe. My relationship with Sirius was strained, because any relationship with friends of James Potter is strained. But also because I could never tell where we stood. Sometimes we were BFFs joking about old times, and other times we were screaming at each other like Potter and I do.

"Speaking of the devil, where are the marauders?" Kate was glancing at her watch, an ancient Mickey Mouse relic. "It's five till, the trains going to leave soon."

Squelch. I tried to respond to Kate's comment, and I think so did Emily. But the task was made insanely difficult as the four of us found that we, and our entire compartment were encased in green jello. In jello every movement sounds the same; squelch. Of course I should have known or moments of peace on the train would be short lived. The marauders had arrived, I could hear Sirius's cackling and Potter's howls of laughter as they peered into the compartment to admire their handiwork. The two raven haired madmen were back up to their usual tricks. I had a million zippy responses to Kate's question, but as I mentioned talking in Jello is difficult to do. Besides I was far too focused on becoming irrationally angry at Sirius and Potter. I had just about imagined what I would do when I got my hand about their mangy little necks when my savior gave me the chance. A pop, and the jello had disappeared, replaced by an exasperated and apologetic Remus Lupin. Thank Merlin for sane boys. But first to the insane boys.

"Sirius Orion Black and James Don't Remember Potter!" I was up and howling in an instant before the other girls could beat me to it. I bolted down the train corridor following the trail of their laughter. "When I find you two I will destroy you! A hundred points from Gryffindor! I'll have you expelled before we even reach Hogwarts!" Finding them wasn't difficult, the two boys and their lackluster sidekick had holed up in the nearest empty compartment. "What on earth were you two thinking pulling a stunt like that on the train! In front of all the first years too! This is our final year, you guys are supposed to be setting a good example!" I had taken steps towards them until I was yelling into both of their faces. Sirius was shaking his head to clear his shaggy black hair out of his gray eyes, clearly not paying attention to my lecture (he also clearly hadn't paid attention to my lecture last year on him getting a hair cut). Potter however, was surprisingly listening, his hazel eyes meeting mine steadily. Peter was cowering in the opposite corner.

"Well, see Evans we were thinking to brighten your day with the snack that gives back—"

"Rhetorical question Potter." I followed his eyes which were now stopped at about my shoulder, an improvement over my chest, but…There it was, there was a bit of jello still attached to my sweater. I flicked it off at him.

"Lily-flower, you know we were just—"

"Black you know what I threatened to do if you ever use that nickname again." He gulped and nodded silently, good, apparently he remembered our last discussion vividly. "I have half a mind to march the two of you down to the Head's Compartment and see what the new Head Boy has to say about this." I threatened. Potter and Sirius glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Go for it, sounds like a right good idea." Advised Sirius.

"By the way, congratulations on being made Head Girl." James replied, motioning to my badge. I'd been so excited when it had come in the mail, though I had to admit I wondered who Head Boy was now. I'd had my money on Remus but he hadn't been sporting the badge.

I was a bit miffed by their support, but maybe that was a sign of their new maturity. Doubtful. "Fine then. Off we go." And march we did, the three of us in an odd procession down the hall of the mahogany train. It's a tricky maneuver to pull off, marching through the crowded train, especially as the train was just pulling out of the station and all the ickle first years and stragglers were still trying to find compartments. After hustling and bustling past a dozen kids, directing at least five first years to the back of the train, and saying hello to all our old friends we made it to the front of the train and the Head's Compartment.

I opened the door and let out a gasp. My first time inside the Head's Compartment and it was far beyond my expectations. Decked out with two couches, a handful of cushy looking arm-chairs, a small card-table, and cabinets that seemed to be overflowing with sweets, it was definitely the hot-ticket within the train. Being obedient and respectful and attentive for six years was paying off, big time.

There was a throat clear and I turned around. Potter sent me a charming smile and ran a hand back through his messy black hair. "So, what do you think we should do with this troublemaker?" Potter asked, tapping the Head Boy badge now attached to his chest and glancing at Sirius.