A/N: Exams are the excuse of choice this time. However, it is now the summer holidays, and whilst I have a lot to do over the summer, I'll try and find a bit more time for writing too. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Lily,

How on earth can it be the end of the summer holidays already? It seems shorter every year… Not that I don't want to go back to Hogwarts, but this has been a great summer.

I must admit, though, I'm feeling a bit wary about going back. I mean, it's bound to be a difficult year, with the exams and everything, added to which there'll be Head Boy duties… And if I'm honest, I'm slightly worried about the rest of the school's reaction to me being Head Boy. Normally I'm not one to care, but I just don't think anyone will have expected it (I know I didn't!) and I want to take it seriously.

On a related note, I'm sure you'll have realised that there will be a certain amount of muttering about the two of us. People are likely to come up with all sorts of ridiculous stuff, given, shall we say, our past record. I hope this doesn't bother you too much – we could always keep it quiet for a while if you want?

This letter has turned out far too depressing! We're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow! And I love it when September 1st is a Friday. First two days of term are the weekend! I hope the weather's good and we can go outside. Ah, the opportunities!

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow,

James
xx

I smiled on reading this letter, touched that James trusted me enough to reveal these worries to me, and also at his concern about how I felt about other people's reaction to our relationship. Whilst neither his trust nor his affection was by now unfamiliar, it still felt wonderful every time he showed them. Getting up from my bed, I crossed over to my desk, sat down, and pulled a fresh piece of parchment and a quill towards me to write my reply.

James,

Let them mutter! They'll be wrong about you being Head Boy, and we both know that they'll be wrong about us.

Seriously, I've said it before and I'll say it again: you'll be a great Head Boy. Since when has Dumbledore ever been wrong? I don't think I'm the only one who realises how much you've changed. And you're already really popular, so you shouldn't have much difficulty getting people to listen to you. And I doubt they'll give you too much grief for taking it seriously, either. Cheer up!

I can't wait to go back, but it's strange that this will be our last year, don't you think? It's all I've ever known in the magical world, it'll be strange to leave it behind. It's exciting, but a little scary too. But there's still another year before then, starting tomorrow!

Meet you in front of the barrier to the platform tomorrow?

Lily
xx

At a quarter to eleven the following morning, I sat in the front seat of the car next to Mum as we parked the car in front of King's Cross Station. Mum went to get a trolley as I heaved my trunk out of the boot, and we then proceeded into the station.

"Have a good term, Lily," said Mum, hugging me tightly. I had said goodbye to my father that morning before he had left for work.

"I will," I replied, hugging her back. "See you at Christmas, Mum!"

"See you at Christmas," she echoed, and released me. "Well, I need to be going. Goodbye, sweetheart!"

"Bye," I said, smiling. She turned and walked towards the station exit. As I watched her go, I felt a tap on my left shoulder and turned. But there was no-one there. I turned the other way, and saw James right next to me.

"Hello," he grinned. "Fancy seeing you here." I laughed and hugged him. After a few seconds, we broke apart, and it was only then I noticed the three people standing a short distance behind him: James' parents, and Sirius.

"Public displays of affection for James, Lily? Who'd have thought it?" said Sirius mischievously. I laughed, slightly nervously, aware as I now was of the presence of James' best friend and his parents.

James, however, seemed quite at ease, and more than used to Sirius' teasing. He took my hand in his. "Don't mind him, Lily, I think he's just jealous," he quipped.

Sirius looked mortified. "How on earth did you know, James?" he wailed. "I thought my love for you was absolutely secret…" We all laughed.

"It's lovely to meet you, dear," said James' mother, addressing me for the first time. "James talks about you a lot."

"You can say that again," muttered Sirius, loudly enough that we could all hear him, and we laughed again, although I felt slightly embarrassed.

The five of us, James, his parents, Sirius, and I, went through the barrier together, emerging onto Platform 9 ¾. The magnificent Hogwarts Express billowed steam onto the platform, over the huge tide of students and their parents, sharing goodbyes and greetings, all with a sense of tremendous excitement.

After James' parents said goodbye to us, James, Sirius and I headed up the train. Sirius left us when he found Peter, but James and I kept going right up to the front carriage. We boarded the train and entered the as yet empty prefects' compartment, and James lifted my trunk into the luggage rack for me before placing his own beside it. We sat down next to each other, waiting for the other prefects to join us.

They entered one by one over the next five minutes. All of them except Remus showed visible signs of surprise at the sight of James; the two Slytherin seventh-year prefects looked positively murderous. James, however, seemed completely unfazed.

The final prefect, a Gryffindor fifth-year, appeared just as the train began to move at precisely eleven o'clock. As James had never been a prefect and so knew about as much of what should happen next as the fifth-years, I decided to take charge.

"Hello to all of you," I said, standing up. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Lily Evans, and I'm Head Girl this year. James Potter here is Head Boy," I continued, indicating James to my right. All eyes rested upon him expectantly, but he just smiled and said, "Hi."

"Our first job is to organise duty rotas and so forth," I said, and as everyone returned their gaze to me, I noticed that James still looked rather nervous. "You will do your duties in pairs with the other prefect from your year and house. If anyone has any problems with this they can come and talk to me or James later."

The rest of the morning was spent organising the prefects into their duties and telling them what was required of them. During all of this, James hardly said a word, although he did glare ferociously at the two Slytherin fifth-years, who were whispering to each other while I was talking. They shut up pretty quickly.

At about one o'clock, we dismissed the prefects, telling them to patrol the corridors occasionally and report any trouble. As they walked out of the compartment, I sat down next to James. Remus was the last to leave.

"The others are all in the first compartment of the next carriage," he said as he left. "I'll see you there?" We both agreed, and he slid the door shut behind him.

"You okay?" I said to James, resting my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "It's just, I know less about what I'm doing than they do, and you and I are supposed to be in charge!"

"You'll pick it up quickly," I reassured him. "Besides, all your duties are with me, so I can keep an eye on you." He looked down at me, and meeting his gaze I saw him wearing a suggestive look. I blushed slightly. "You know what I mean!"

He chuckled. "Shall we go and face the others, then?"

"Alright," I grinned. We stood and left the compartment.