Disclaimer- I do not own any Harry Potter characters. I also do not own the name “Eduina Azevedo”…in fact, I give a special shout-out to my awesome Portuguese professor for having such a perfect name. Thanks, Eduina! Oh, and I thought of Reginald’s name because I was a big fan of the Archie comics growing up and never got to use the name. I’ve always wanted to though! And now I got the chance! YES! The title (and the title to this chapter) ALSO do not belong to me (wow I’m beginning to see a pattern here). It belongs to the amazing and fantastic Natasha Bedingfield! (Thanks for writing those songs for me, girl…lol okay so they weren’t just for me, but damn I can relate) So…um…to sum this up, when in doubt, I don’t own it. Don’t sue me. I’m a broke college student who has nothing you would ever really want anyway.

Authoress’ Note- Since I started reading and writing fan-fiction three and a half years ago in November of 2002, I have always yearned to say that I was part of something great. I have always wanted to say that my story was one that not only followed the canon, but one that dispelled the traditional Mary Sue roles. I wanted something different, something memorable. I am hoping that this story is the culmination of over three years of learning and constructive criticism- I want this to be the most accurate Lily/James I have ever done. I want this to be the best story I have ever done. I hope it is. But only your reviews and time will tell.

Summary- Has Lily’s story ever been really told? A few times. Some close, some… not so close.
Lily is tempestuous. She’s stubborn. Her life is not perfect, and neither is she. This is the story of her 7th year, the year of her Head Girl-ship, a Heads position alongside James Potter, a mischievous miscreant with a passion for pranks (God I love alliteration). This is the story of Petunia’s marriage, a marriage that broke her family apart. This is the insight you never had. This is the untold story. This is unwritten.

*-*

Unwritten

Mei Queen

Chapter 1: “Today is Where Your Book Begins”

-*-

“Oh, bloody hell. It w-won’t z-zip…” a redhead gasped, struggling for air in the stuffy bridal salon.

“Well, maybe if someone had laid off the cookies yesterday…” an unkind young woman insinuated from the bench, examining her nails disinterestedly, before happily settling on her favorite focal point- her diamond engagement ring.

“Petunia! You stop that at once! The dress must simply be the wrong size,” an older woman mediated tentatively, obviously the girls’ mother judging by her red hair and the eyes that were the same shape and color as Petunia’s. The mother sighed at her daughters’ squabbling, finally leaving the small room to find an attendant.

The moment the drapery swished closed, Petunia got up to examine the redhead critically. “I doubt it is, Lily. You’ve certainly gained weight this summer.”

“Thanks a lot, Petty,” Lily retorted snidely, before sitting down on the modeling stool, head in her hands, bra and back bare for the world to see…not that she remotely cared. Lily Evans was not the type of girl to obsess about her weight and appearance, make no mistake. But there was something about being surrounded by pink taffeta that could very well swallow you whole but yet stubbornly refused to accept your body by zipping that Lily found very insulting. What also stung was that Lily had to admit that there was a bit of truth to Petunia’s words.

She had gained a bit of weight over the holiday. Most of her body still looked evenly distributed, but she could feel it when she moved. A little jiggling that wasn’t there before, Lily thought disgustedly.

She could feel her eyes starting to prickle. I can’t believe I want to cry about this, Lily thought, ashamed. This is something I would expect Petunia to do, cry because she had gained a size. But me? I could be thinking about the NEWTs I have this year, what to wear to King’s Cross tomorrow, or even what I want to say to the Prefects during my first speech as Head Girl on the train…

She definitely had more important things to worry about.

You see, Lily Evans was not your typical seventeen-year-old. Lily was special. Lily was a witch.

-*-

Born to a non-magical family, the Evans had learned early to not question the mysterious occurrences that often accompanied Lily. They became used to the progress reports from her elementary school stating that the last thing her classmate could remember before beginning to do the two-step uncontrollably was Lily’s eyes focused intently on him because he had stole her Barbie doll. It was just how life was. Hair changed colors and people danced feverishly all the time, didn’t they? It could be a natural event, or so Lily’s parents reassured themselves.

Or maybe not, because on Lily’s eleventh birthday, an owl scratched at the window in broad daylight, proudly bearing a scroll that explained the past eleven years and inviting Lily to develop her talents elsewhere.

The elsewhere turned out to be Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a magical boarding school up north.

For Lily, deciding to go to Hogwarts was actually a really difficult decision. Petunia, her snide sister two years older, had never fully forgiven her sister for being odd growing up. Lily had developed a reputation in elementary for being a “freak”, and consequently, most normal kids would not hang out with her. That reputation had occasionally stretched to include Petunia, who could not handle being ostracized. Petunia liked to feel popular and important, and heaven forbid anything that got in the way of her reckless social climbing.

Essentially, Petunia hated Lily because Lily made her unpopular. And as much as Petunia had to admit she would enjoy Lily being shipped off to boarding school, she was positive that Lily going to that school would only cause the weird incidences to become more frequent. That school would make Lily gain control over something that basically scared the living daylights out of her sister.

Lily’s parents were much more supportive of their daughter’s dreams and ambitions. They were the kind of parents that if their daughter wanted to be a stripper, they’d be at her debut, throwing cash. If their daughter wanted to be a man, they’d help pay for the operation. They supported faithfully and non-judgmentally, a fact Lily absolutely adored about them.

There were two days after the owl came that Lily sat in her bedroom, just thinking. Do I really want to wreck my relationship with Petunia further than it already is? Is this what I really want?

Soon enough though, she realized she was just kidding herself by delaying her answer. She had the chance to be different. She had the chance to stand out, to be something bigger than her provincial suburb and the tame desk job careers that often accompanied a life here. Lily was thankful for every little thing her parents had done to get her here, but she wanted something more.

And as she sent the owl back with the date she would be able to explore Diagon Alley with a magical chaperone, she knew her life would never be the same. Her sister would never forgive her, she knew that. Her family dynamic would always be a little different. And her future…well, that remained to be seen.

-*-

Mind finally coming back to the present, she turned to look in the three-way mirror.

She saw Petunia looking carefully through a bridal magazine in the corner, and then turned her attention to her reflection.
Lily’s auburn hair clashed terribly with the tight pink frock that was insistently hugging her new curves. Though it wouldn’t really zip, Lily had to admit that it looked pretty good on her body. If only Petty had picked a different bloody color, Lily thought sullenly.

Petunia was getting married over the Christmas break in a very pretentious affair quite worthy of the ego of her fiancé, in Lily’s opinion. Vernon Dursley, an heir to a huge drill firm called Grunnings, was not exactly the biggest charmer.

In short, Lily despised the guy.

But she had her reasons. Though he had initially been civil when they first met, mainly to make a decent impression on his girlfriend’s parents, Petunia had shortly “let it slip” where Lily really went during the long months she was away.

Absentmindedly twirling her hair around her finger, Lily had to admit that she had to credit Vernon Dursley…and Petunia, for that matter. Her sister had actually managed to find probably the only person on the face of the earth that had a worse reaction to magic than her own. They’re probably soul mates, Lily thought derisively. Figures that that’s the way the world would work.

A swish of the curtain room divider signaled her mother’s re-entrance, and Lily got up from the stool. Twirling irritably for the attendant, they began the long process of resizing Lily to order a new dress in time for the wedding.

-*-

“Oof!” Lily grunted dramatically, heaving her trunk out of the backseat of her parents’ old station wagon.

“I could have helped you with that, pumpkin!” her father said loudly from the driver’s seat, stepping out of the car with a jump to his step.

Lily turned beet red at the nickname. She was seventeen. She was around a bunch of her classmates. And now, as she struggled with her trunk full of books, she was hoping the ground would swallow her whole.

“Reginald! Don’t call Lily that!” her mother screeched just as loudly, getting out of the passenger seat. “We don’t want to embarrass her in front of all her little friends!”

“Her little freak friends,” Petunia added scathingly from the backseat, never bothering to leave the car. She hadn’t given her sister a hug, much less cared whether Lily was leaving, since Lily had accepted the offer from that school.

“Petunia!” her mother hissed warningly.

Her father hadn’t heard Petunia’s remark, and looked at his wife. “Aw, Martha! Don’t be so huffy! Lily isn’t embarrassed by how much her daddy loves her, are you, honey?”

Lily couldn’t help it, she cracked a grin. “Of course not, daddy.”

“See! Told you so,” Reginald told Martha smugly.

Martha looked exasperated and turned to Lily, smiling. “Wow. It’s your last year, sweetheart. I can’t believe it’s been six years already. You know how proud of you we are, don’t you?”

And Lily did. When she had gotten her Head Girl badge in the mail, her parents had practically died of excitement. They were almost more enthusiastic than she was, and she had been dreaming about it since first year!

“Yes, of course, Mum. Are you going to remember to write this year?” Lily asked her forgetful parent with a slight giggle.

Her sixth year was spent wondering what she had done wrong, why her parents suddenly didn’t have time to write to her, before finally borrowing her friend’s owl to find out. Apparently, they had somehow lost Lily’s owl, and couldn’t figure out what they had done with it. How they lost a living, breathing creature…well, that she didn’t know. When Lily got home over the holiday, however, she found the owl, and righted the situation.

“Of course!” Reginald boomed with a cheesy grin. “And um…the owl’s in your room, right?”

“Oh, Lord. Yes. Puck is on his stand in my bedroom. Feed him his pellets for me. I’ll never understand why you don’t just let me take him, though,” Lily protested irritably, hoisting her trunk onto a cart while she spoke.

“Well, in case we have something we really want to say to you, we’ll have him there. This way we don’t have to wait for you to write to us for us to write to you!” her mother patiently explained for the hundredth time.

“Right. Alright then, I’m going to be late. Kisses!” Lily demanded.

Her parents obediently came in for their respective hugs, kisses and “I love you”, their eyes beginning to well up with tears. Their daughter was growing up so fast.

“Petunia, aren’t you going to say goodbye to your sister?” Martha asked hopefully.

“Whatever. Bye,” was the closest Lily could hope for from her sister, and she quickly returned the sentiment, turning back to her parents.

Feeling her eyes prickling slightly, Lily quickly bid them farewell, steering her cart to the brick wall she would use to start her seventh year at Hogwarts.

-*-

Adjusting her green jumper, (far too warm for September, if you asked Lily…but her mother had insisted) she scanned the familiar hustle and bustle for familiar faces. There she is! Lily thought excitedly.

Her best friend’s shiny chestnut hair shimmered in the sunlight, fanning out proudly as the girl turned.

“Lily! Finally!” the girl said exasperatedly. “Your parents take forever just to say goodbye!”

“Tell me about it,” Lily said smiling, “but I love them for it, anyway. Even though my dad called me ‘pumpkin’ really loud…and I’m pretty sure Henry Wilkinson was passing right about then.”

“The hot Hufflepuff Quidditch captain? Wow. Well, should I call the convents to see if they’ve got any room or would you prefer to do the honors?” the girl replied with a laugh.

“Eh, I’ll take care of it, Edie. It’s not like I have much to do with all these Head Girl duties,” Lily said with grinned, flashing the badge in the girl’s direction.

Eduina Azevedo had been Lily’s best friend since first year when they met in their dorm. Eduina was not the traditional beauty. Proudly Portuguese, she had been born and raised in the Azores islands. With a farming father and magical mother, she had had a very interesting childhood. When she turned eleven she was accepted to several magical institutions, but her mother had insisted upon Hogwarts, where she herself had gone to school. So Eduina left her islands every year to go to school in rainy, dreary Britain.

“I heard! Congratulations, hot stuff! Do you know who the Head Boy is yet?” Eduina asked curiously.

“Not really sure. They really should start printing that in the letter, though. It would make sense. I should suggest that to McGonagall when we get back to the school. Are we ready to board, then?” Lily sighed, dragging her heavy trunk behind her as they slowly approached the scarlet steam engine.

“Absolutely. Got to have a good compartment and all that, not that I can tell the slightest bit of difference between the compartments, but I digress…” Eduina said softly in her slight accent as she heaved her own trunk.

The accent which had been so foreign to Lily when she had first met Eduina was barely noticeable to her now. After six years, she had even learned a bit of Portuguese from her best friend.

“Oh, I’m sure they’re different,” Lily replied with a breezy smile. “They probably have different curtains on the windows. Sadly though, I’ve got to be up with the Prefects and Head Boy. At least in the beginning of the ride. Hopefully I’ll be able to escape by midway.”

-*-

As it turns out, midway she was not able to escape. In fact, wrapping up the meeting in time for everyone to have adequate time to change into their robes proved to be a challenge for Lily. The Prefects seemed to have an awful lot to say today. Her Head companion also had not yet joined the party, she noticed irritably.

“Yeah, Wilkes and Nott! Barty Crouch just booked ‘em into Azkaban!” a sixth year Prefect from Ravenclaw, Joseph Gilroy, shouted enthusiastically.

“It was for a Death Eater raid in a town right next to mine,” a small voice said quietly from the corner of the compartment.

Most of the heads turned to see a petite girl, a fifth year Prefect from Gryffindor. Alice DuPont, if Lily remembered correctly.

Lily’s heart went out to the girl. She could tell someone very dear to her had been killed in the raid, she could see it in the dead look in the girls’ eyes. It was a look seen on many people around Hogwarts for the past few years. The burgeoning war in the magical world was very dangerous and hostile. Nobody knew where or who Voldemort and his cronies would strike down next. Everyday during the post, the Great Hall collectively held its breath, hoping for no more death.

But as Head Girl now, Lily felt a responsibility to ease the students’ minds. Their schooling shouldn’t be spent in this open fear.

“Hush, everyone,” she said softly, standing up from her bench. Clearing her throat, she began. “My name is Lily Evans, for those of you that don’t know me. I’m Head Girl, and I’m from Gryffindor. Another thing I would like you to know is that I’m Muggle-born. Let’s get that out front right now.”

She could feel looks of derision from the Slytherin prefects, but she noticed looks of admiration at her honesty from her own house and a few of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

“I tell you this because I want you to know that I understand and appreciate the dire circumstances of the magical world and the big threat of You-Know-Who. I worry for my family. I worry for each of yours. But one of my priorities this year, in my time as Head Girl, is to alleviate some of the fears that this threat brings. I want us to enjoy our year at school. I want this year at Hogwarts to be a good one. I think that if we all band together, it will be. But we need to set an example for the other students. I know it’s easy to slip into a conversation about the latest raids…it’s a big threat. But before you do, think how you would feel if you as a first year had stumbled across a person in a place of leadership saying those things. It enforces the fear. It makes it all the more real.”

She paused here to make sure she still commanded the attention of the room. Satisfied at the riveted expressions, she continued gingerly.

“That is why your first assignment of the semester is to only speak about You-Know-Who in locked rooms. No listeners but those you most trust. When out in the open, when in the hallways, please try to be optimistic. Help that first year. Talk about the benefits of taking Arithmancy. Frankly, I don’t give Merlin’s beard what you say, just try to make it positive. Would you all agree that this might be a good idea during a time like this?”

Nods followed the statement, and Lily saw a hand begin to rise. That of Alice DuPont.

“Yes, Alice?” she asked pleasantly.

“Sorry that this is off-topic, but…don’t we have a Head Boy this year?” Alice asked softly.

“Well, you’re quite right to ask, really…” Lily replied shakily. “I’m not actually sure who it is…or where he is, for that matter.”

-*-

A teenager with chocolate-brown hair poked his raven-haired friend hard with his wand.

“Remus, what do you think is wrong with him?” the boy asked aloud.

“Hmm?” a sandy-haired boy replied, dreamily examining the ceiling.

“Dear Merlin,” a pudgier fair-haired boy said from the corner. “What exploded, anyway, Sirius?”

Sirius Black grinned evilly as he spoke. “Well, since you asked, Peter…first it was innocent Exploding Snap…but James and I have been perfecting their ‘snap’ over summer while I lived with his family. Now they sort of make a mushroom cloud…”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with James being unconscious and Remus daydreaming since we got on the train?”

“Well I think James was near it when it snapped, so to speak…and we’ve really perfected that ‘snap’, like I said. Moony, though. Um. I think I may have accidentally slipped a few Memory Modification Charms into the deck you two were playing with. Pity Remus lost…he’s the one that knows how to undo them…”

Peter Pettigrew rolled his watery-blue eyes. “And exactly what provoked you to put Memory Modification Charms…a very complicated spell I might add, into a deck of Exploding Snap?”

“Well,” Sirius began, “um…I don’t remember. Prongs here suggested it. It kind of sounded like fun. I think the idea was that if the deck exploded in the Common Room around Moony, McGonagall, or worse, around Lily Evans…we wouldn’t get in trouble because they wouldn’t be able to remember until someone set them right, you know?”

“Speaking of Lily Evans,” Peter said softly, “why do I feel like there’s something we’re forgetting about the duties these gits need to be doing?”

Sirius met his eyes frantically. “Lily will have a coronary. She’s been running the meeting without one of her Prefects and without her Head Boy, Wormtail!”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Dear Merlin. She must not know who the Head Boy is yet, that’s probably why she hasn’t come in here and knocked Prongs out herself for making a bad impression on the new Prefects.”

Sirius peered over James’ slumped body in response. “I guess I could try…Ennervate!”

James Potter sat up from the floor, stretching to get out the stiffness in his neck and back. Righting his crooked glasses, he looked around the compartment.

Peter looked at Sirius irritably. “Why didn’t that occur to you before, exactly? Like when you were creating the demented thing over summer?”

Sirius shot Peter a look of extreme exasperation. “The threat of Evans has a way of forcing me into action like nothing else, Wormtail.”

“Evans? Who said anything about her?” James asked all too quickly to be seen as impartial.

“Yes, we understand by now that you have a thing for her, Prongs. None of us do, since you’re jealously wondering. However, you will probably be castrated if you don’t make an appearance in that Heads compartment in the next oh…say... minute,” Sirius said casually, glancing at his watch.

“Bloody hell!” James groaned. “I missed the meeting! She’s gonna kill me!”

Quickly grabbing his wand out of his bag, he opened the door to the compartment and, dragging a dazed Remus behind him, headed for certain doom.

-*-

-*-

Unwritten

Mei Queen

-*-

Chapter 2: Hogwarts? No longer safe?

-*-

“You’re late,” Lily Evans said irritably, turning to see who was coming through the door.

Seeing who it was, she sighed. Potter. How predictable. But Lupin late, too? Wow. I actually thought better than that of him.

“Er. Yeah. Sorry. Remus here got hit by a Memory Modifier…we’ve been trying to get him back to normal, but he’s still a bit loopy,” James said quickly, dragging Remus Lupin behind him. He couldn’t help but look a little longer at Lily than normal- she was beautiful naturally, but somehow, she looked even more fantastic than she had when school had let out. She looked happier, healthier...hotter¸ James mentally added.

“Ah,” Lily said quickly, knowing better than to ask questions about the Marauders, at least in front of impressionable young students. “Well, everyone, here’s the new Head Boy!”

“Erhm. Which one?” Jeremy Pruitt, a seventh year Hufflepuff Prefect, asked, completely confused by this point.

James opened his mouth to answer, but Lily got there first.

“Why, Lupin, of course… I don’t think Dumbledore’s quite that nutty yet, Jeremy,” Lily said calmly.

“Actually, apparently he is, because I’m the Head Boy, Jeremy,” James spat out irritably, taking the badge out of the pocket of his robes as he spoke.

Lily’s eyes widened. “You have got to be joking.”

“Sadly, no. I know you’re excited about working with me all year, Lil, but there’s no need to go and get speechless on me.”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times looking like there certainly were a few choice words she would like to say to him, but suddenly seemed to remember that the rest of the Prefects were there. “You all may go back to your compartments and change,” she said stiffly. “The first meeting is two weeks into the term; we will post the details in your respective Common Rooms. Good day.”

Most of them hurried out, eager to get back to their friends, but there were a few that lingered, wondering what would happen between tardy, insubordinate James and an extremely buggered-off Lily.

“She said go!” James growled, acknowledging the stragglers.

When the room was clear, Lily shut the door. Now they were alone, aside from Remus- who had now taken to asking himself questions about ‘why the floor felt like it was moving’ and ‘where exactly he might be’…and for that matter, ‘what was his name again’?

Not going to yell. Trying not to…lose…temper… Lily thought irritably, trying to calm herself down. However, it was ineffective.

“Where have you been?” she demanded.

“I told you. Lupin is loopy. Memory Modifier,” James summed up simply, standing so he slightly towered over her. When in doubt, use intimidation.

The tactic worked slightly, and Lily back away a few paces. “But how did he end up getting his memory modified?”

“Erhm. Slytherins. Yeah. Came in and hexed us. Lupin got caught in the crossfire.”

Lily’s emerald eyes rolled in perfect sync with the crossing of her arms over her chest. “Like I’m really going to believe that, Potter.”

“Well, sucks for you because it’s the truth.”

“Of course it isn’t. If you and the Slytherins really had gotten in a skirmish, you would’ve used harsher stuff than Memory Modifiers. I should know your style by now, haven’t you noticed that I’m the one deducting the points?” Lily finished haughtily, raising her arms even higher on her chest. James could tell from her eyes, however, that she wasn’t angry. She seemed…exasperated.

Not wanting to irritate her further, James decided to change the subject. Blushing slightly and running his hand through his hair nervously, he asked, “Do you know how to fix it? Remus was the only one that knew how and he’s…well…”

They both turned to see Remus attempting the solo Sugar Plum Fairy dance from The Nutcracker. Badly attempting.

Lily’s eyebrows rose. James Potter may be an irresponsible idiot sometimes, and she knew there was more to Remus’ current state than he was going to tell her, but Remus was her friend. And he was truly a horrid dancer. He might hurt himself if she didn’t stop him.

“Yeah, I’ll help you. Help me get him to sit down and we’ll fix him up,” Lily said with a small smile after a few moments’ silence.

James smiled gratefully (and a little nervously) in return. Making eye contact with her, he found himself adding, “You look really nice, by the way.”

-*-

“Gimme another pumpkin pasty,” Lily grumbled miserably to Eduina, trying to get her robes to fasten correctly.

After setting Remus right, she and James had parted ways so they could change into their robes. James went back to the Marauders’ compartment with Remus while Lily searched the train for Eduina.

When she finally found her friend, Lily realized what a truly volatile mood she was in. She was very frustrated.

“It’s going to be such a long year,” she whined through mouthfuls of crumbling pumpkin pasty.

“Have I ever told you you’re a nervous eater, Lil?” Eduina asked, smiling.

Lily scoffed in response. “Nervous eater? Edie, I’m an eater, period. I wasn’t nervous this summer when I packed on all this extra weight…which my sister saw fit to remind me of several times during the fitting from hell yesterday.”

Eduina’s face cast over darkly at the mention of Petunia. “Pay her no attention. We could practically see your ribs before. She’s jealous because she has no curves at all. I think you look more beautiful than ever, and I’m sure Potter would agree.”

Lily’s nose twitched with amusement. “Actually, he did just that. Merlin. That boy is something else. I mean, you’d think he’d have realized that playing catch with a Snitch is not a turn-on for the entire female population by now. And so immature, always playing those bloody ridiculous pranks on Snape…”

“You had better, for the sake of my Gryffindor pride at least, not be defending Slytherin scum again,” Eduina interrupted irritably.

“Not defending…I just think that nobody deserves getting pranked by those prats. It’s an insult to one’s intelligence to get done in by the Marauders, in addition to whatever physical and psychological damage that their prank does to you.”

“Maybe if you stopped being so uptight about the rules that they’re breaking, you would appreciate their creativity a bit more,” Eduina said critically, as only a best friend can. Normal people would get murderous looks and loathing from Lily Evans for a statement like that, but Eduina - nope, she just stated it clear as day.

“I appreciate their creativity, believe me. Sometimes it’s hell turning them in because I can’t even trace the prank,” Lily said with admiration. “Of course, I would never tell them this to their faces because Merlin knows their egos are large enough already. And you know I don’t want to be uptight, Edie…it’s just really hard, being the only Gryffindor prefect to keep things remotely stable. Remus never keeps them under control; it’s always fallen to me. I am right tired of cleaning up after them, though,” she finished exasperatedly.

Eduina’s hazel eyes sparkled as she met Lily’s emerald ones. “Maybe you should stop trying, then.”

Lily smiled in return. “It’s definitely a thought.”

-*-

She could get used to this, Lily thought simply, lifting her goblet of pumpkin juice to her lips. The feast had been in session for about forty minutes, and she had definitely noticed the Dungbombs that went off at the end of the Slytherin table, in suspiciously close proximity to a spot Sirius Black was walking by earlier. Yes, naturally she had seen Severus Snape being ushered out by Madam Pomfrey, coughing up something that looked bizarrely like bubotuber pus. But was she going to let it get to her? No. When the Dungbombs had gone off, she found herself fingering her Head Girl badge and beginning to rise from the bench. However, Eduina had quickly laid a hand on Lily’s arm, reminding her of her own promise.

Lily was going to stop trying so hard.

After all, she had already gotten the position, right? What could it hurt to cut herself a bit of slack? Lily Evans had worked tirelessly for six years to become Head Girl, the female leader of the entire population at Hogwarts. But now that she had the badge, what real goal did she have to overexert herself for? She had already proved herself as one of the most competent and intelligent witches of her year. Sure, there were NEWTs to worry about, but she wouldn’t be any more ready for those after doling out endless detentions trying to punish Potter and his gang…so why should she bother?

Lily had resolved that if the Marauders were blatant enough to pull a prank right in front of her, she would, naturally, punish them severely. She wouldn’t be worthy of her badge if she didn’t. But she was tired of seeing a prank and then wasting far too much of her time trying to prove that it was actually the Marauders who committed it. Obviously it was them, most of the professors would say admiringly, prefacing some rant about how their students use phenomenal talents in Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms to pull off these complicated feats, but could barely stay awake in their classes for more than the first five minutes. Lily usually sat through the rant, exasperatedly nodding her head at the praise for the four innovative boys, before bringing up the idea of punishment. There’s no proof, was the usual response. We all know it was them, because they are the only ones capable. But we can’t prove it.

It was a waste of her bloody time.

Most of the other Prefects couldn’t be bothered by the pranks, either. The Slytherins obviously had a thing or two to say about the fearsome foursome, but they would probably rather visit the Giant Squid than aide a Muggle-born like Lily in the indictment of the Marauders.

She didn’t know why she tried so hard to punish them. Some of their pranks were actually pretty amusing and ingenious. But then there were others…she had heard via some of the professors about Snape coming back to the school complaining of a near death experience underneath the Whomping Willow two years ago. She didn’t know how, but she was absolutely positive that the Marauders were involved. They were the only group in school that had a chance at figuring out how to get into that tree without being smacked into shreds. And since she had overheard those professors, Lily had been keeping an eye peeled. She felt sure that one of their “harmless” pranks would someday horribly backfire, and she would be the only one expecting it.

Interrupting Lily Evans' extremely dismal train of thought, she heard a male voice clearing his throat at the end of the room. Looking up, she noticed that it was Dumbledore, ready to give his start-of-term speech. Angling her body slightly for a better view, she tried her hardest to pay attention- after all, if the Head Girl didn’t care, why should anybody else?

“Good evening, everyone!” the jovial voice boomed through the hall. “I hope you all found the feast to your liking!”

Albus Dumbledore began to twirl his graying beard through his fingers as he surveyed the room with bright, twinkling blue eyes. Satisfied at the nods of assent and affectionate belly-patting that met his vision, he carried on.

“I would like to introduce our new Herbology professor…Professor Sprout!” Dumbledore said enthusiastically, indicating that the squat woman should rise and take a curtsy.

Lily clapped loudly along with all the other students. She was thrilled their old professor had decided to retire. Professor Boxspring had suffered from narcolepsy, and often fell asleep in class while one of his students was suffering from the vicious attacks of some plant or another. Lily herself had a nasty battle with the Tentacula while her professor stood next to her, mumbling peacefully in his sleep.

Professor Sprout’s bright brown eyes shown with excitement as she nodded thankfully at the praise. Finally sitting down, Dumbledore saw fit to carry on.

“We also have a new caretaker this year. Everyone please give a round of applause for Mr. Argus Filch!”

A skinny man with lanky, grimy hair stood up stiffly from his seat at the Head Table. There was unsure silence for a moment, before Lily smiled and started clapping…if nothing else than to get everyone else to stop being rude. Lily couldn’t honestly say she liked the look of the man much at all, but he seemed fairly harmless. Indeed, Lily looked down the Gryffindor table to where the Marauders were seated, and she noticed big grins on each of the faces of the boys. Never a good sign, if you asked Lily.

“Finally,” Dumbledore resumed, “I would like to introduce our two new Head Students. You all know most of the Prefects in your house, and the Prefects aide our Heads in maintaining order in this great castle of ours. But the Head Students are what really help pull this place together. Please come to the front, Lily Evans and James Potter!”

There was considerable clapping and praise when Lily was called, as she was fairly well-liked. James, on the other hand, had riotous applause and more than a few female admirers swooning as he passed them on his way to the podium. Lily also heard a few snickers from the Slytherin table- “I wonder how much order is going to be maintained this year with Heads like these? A Mudblood and a rebel. Should be pretty interesting.”

She found that despite the Mudblood comment, she couldn’t help but agree.

Standing on either side of Dumbledore, James and Lily waited patiently for the applause to die down so Dumbledore could continue.

Instead of resuming a lengthy speech, however, Dumbledore simply said, “Please follow your Prefects up to your dorms, where you will find that all of your belongings have already been laid out for you. You will get your schedules tomorrow during breakfast. Good night.”

-*-

Lily looked unsurely at the retreating figures of the students. Leading the first-years to the dorm was something she had always enjoyed in the past, and she hoped that Remus would do a good enough job with only the younger Prefects to aide him. She really wanted him to point out that funny painting of Homer Honeydukes, who if you tickled in just the right way, might find a small bar of Honeydukes chocolate to hand through to you. Or that great statue of Caroline the Courtesan on the third floor, that when provoked would sing cabaret and lead you where you needed to go...

But leading new Gryffindors isn’t really your job anymore, she thought to herself a bit sadly. You’ve got to lead the student population now…along with…wait, where did he go?

Indeed, she now noticed as she snapped from her reverie, that neither James nor Professor Dumbledore was up here. Looking down the Great Hall, she noticed that they had paused and were expectantly waiting for her by the double doors.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked, jogging the length of the hall.

“You will see, Miss Evans,” Dumbledore said, his bright blue eyes twinkling happily. “You will see.”

James exchanged a dubious look with Lily that showed that he, too, had not the slightest idea where they were headed.

Lily found herself a bit out of breath as they went up six staircases, up to a floor she didn’t even know existed. She guessed they were in the west wing of the castle, but she couldn’t be sure as the staircases had all seemed to go in a different direction. Wherever they were, she suspected they had little chance of being ambushed. She, herself, would probably never be able to remember where they had gone without a map of some sort.

Looking over at James, she noticed that he seemed slightly bewildered by their surroundings. It was as Lily suspected, this area must be new. If James Potter, ringleader of the most rule-breaking group in school, had no idea where they were…it was safe to say that only Dumbledore knew about this place.

As if reading their thoughts, Dumbledore broke the silence. “This area was built just two years ago as part of an experiment to promote the unity of the Head Students. The staff and I felt that the Heads needed a place where they would not be disturbed, to ensure that only the best dances were thrown, that the points were deducted correctly, that everything in general was going as it should be. We have seen very positive results from this, as now the records are kept in a safe place where no mislead Prefects could try to tamper with them. We also believe that this place helps to remind the Head Students that they are leading a school, four different Houses, and not just their own.”

Lily had been nodding up to this point. She had heard about this experiment in Hogwarts, a History. She didn’t know why the thought hadn’t occurred when her badge had been mailed, because she had been very fascinated with the idea. However, the book had never effectively elaborated on what the experiment was, citing that the privacy of the experiment was essential. Lily actually found herself slightly excited at the prospect, until she heard Dumbledore speak again.

“This is where the two of you will be living for the next year,” the professor said, coming to a standstill in front of a leprechaun portrait.

James smiled at the portrait. “It’s Patty O’Flanahan…the leprechaun who single-handedly hoodwinked Gringotts! He broke into the vaults, took all the wizard gold, then replaced it with leprechaun gold! Since the vaults couldn’t tell the weight difference until the leprechaun gold faded, the Gringotts staff let him blatantly walk out. They didn’t even suspect a thing! It was the brilliant breakout of the turn of the century! He was never even caught, actually!”

James was looking at the leprechaun in what could only be described as extreme admiration. The leprechaun in the painting laughed. “Don’t believe everything they tell ya, m’dear. It wasn’t that fantastic,” he finished modestly, twirling his curly red hair around a small finger.

Lily was slightly shocked that they had a painting of a famous bank robber in the hallway, but found herself laughing slightly nonetheless. She stopped abruptly, however, when she remembered what was on the other side of the portrait. She was not going to get to live with Eduina anymore. She was going to be stuck with this git until graduation.

“Oh, yes it was, Patty! It was amazing! It was the best bit of mischief the wizarding world has ever seen! You are my idol!” James continued chattering excitedly, not noticing Lily’s quick change in attitude.

Dumbledore laughed quite loudly at James before turning to the students. “Okay, enough of that. Are you two ready to see your new home?”

Lily found herself nodding warily; meanwhile James looked rather like a bobble-head toy.

Dumbledore turned to Patty O’Flanahan and said softly, “Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.”

Satisfied that the painting had swung open, he turned to the students. “Hogwarts motto, you know.”

“Oh, it’s a lovely password, Professor,” Lily said softly, not wanting to voice what she was really thinking.

James, however, didn’t understand the concept of keeping one’s thoughts quiet, and loudly asked, “Can’t we have something shorter?”

Dumbledore looked a bit shocked, but turned to Lily and asked, “Do you think it’s too long, too?”

Lily coughed slightly before replying, “Erhm. Well. If we were being chased, it would take longer to say the password than for the baddies to catch up to us.”

Dumbledore seemed slightly bemused for a moment, before replying, “Okay, then. Sure, why not. Part of your jobs is to regularly change the passwords for the whole school, anyway. And no, James, you can not force the Slytherins to say profanities to enter their common rooms.”

James looked at Lily before whispering softly, “How does he do that?”

“You forget that I was young once too, James. I haven’t lost my hearing, however,” Dumbledore answered, laughing slightly. “Well, to start our tour...here’s the fireplace, and all the lovely Head’s Room furniture.”

Lily looked around excitedly. There was a chair upholstered in the colors of every house, but the two leather armchairs by the fireplace were done up in scarlet and gold to represent the two new Head Students. There were bookcases stuffed to the brim around the room, and Lily found she couldn’t wait to see what titles they held. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

Lily’s room was across from the fireplace, all the furniture a stunning cherry wood and the decorations shades of forest green or cream. Happily flopping on her bed, she heard Dumbledore pointing James to his room.

A few minutes later, during which Lily had further explored her own room, she heard something.

*creak* spring *creak* spring *creak* spring.

On and on the noise went. Finally, Lily got up from her bed to see what the insufferable sound was.

Standing in the doorway, Lily saw what the noise was. James Potter was jumping on his bed. Merlin, he was tall. It’s a miracle he hasn’t bumped his head yet, she thought with a laugh. She noticed that Dumbledore was sitting placidly in the corner, observing these events with a slight grin.

“Well, I really must get back to some business in my office. I’ll show you where the bathroom is on my way out then, shall I?” Dumbledore said softly, rising from his seat.

James finally stopped bouncing to follow.

“Here is the bathroom,” Dumbledore said, opening a door that led into one of the most magnificent bathrooms Lily had ever seen. “Your duties are all written out here,” he said, conjuring a list out of thin air and handing it to Lily. “The instructions as to how to perform each are written below the numbered tasks. You two will have a meeting with me to chart your progress in two weeks’ time, and I will keep you posted as to the exact date and time. Any questions for me before I go?”

Lily looked up from the parchment. “Where are we supposed to host the Prefect meetings at?”

“You can have them in the Great Hall, as always. Please notify me and Professor McGonagall in advance, however.”

Lily nodded. “One more question. When do we need to have the patrol schedule created by?”

Professor Dumbledore seemed to get slightly grave at her words. “As soon as possible. There has been far too much inter-house division for my liking. I fear that the hallways are no longer safe for delinquent students out of bed. We need to have patrol set up the very moment you are able to schedule it.”

James and Lily nodded, gulping slightly at the magnitude of his words. Hogwarts? No longer safe?

-*-

Chapter 3: Memories

-

Lily Evans flopped into one of the cushy chairs by the fireplace as she watched the portrait swing closed behind Professor Dumbledore.

Bringing the list of Head duties closer to her eyes (she really must get Mum to take her to the optometrist one of these days), she began to read aloud.

“1. Patrol schedule.  Organize Prefects and yourselves into a regular bimonthly schedule that simply repeats.  2. Password changes. Professor McGonagall and I simply ask that you have the different Houses report their new passwords to you every two weeks.  Do not forget to change the passwords to the Prefects’ Bathroom and your own dorm.  3. Point calculation. Though the points deduct automatically from the hourglasses near the Great Hall, we ask that you record all your point deductions, and all are to be reported into the master ledger (located in your common room).   4. Detention overviews. When a Prefect (or yourselves) issues a detention, they must report them in the bi-monthly meetings.  Though some detentions are truly unimportant, be sure that they report any violence-related or prejudice-related detentions.  Those are ones that also need to be reported to Professor McGonagall and myself.”

“Wow. That is the most I’ve ever been asked to do without any form of compensation,” James muttered, staring mindlessly into the crackling flames of the beautiful marble fireplace.

“Me too,” Lily replied, chuckling slightly.  “So do you want to work on the prefect’s schedule now?  Dumbledore certainly seemed rather…”

“Nervous, yeah.  It was odd.  I haven’t ever seen anything get Dumbledore so riled up, but he seems to feel like this is really a priority.”

“Well, it is, isn’t it? It’s not like You-Know-Who is exactly cowardly these days, is he?” Lily shot back, a bit more snappily than she intended.

James’ bright hazel eyes hardened slightly, his expression grim.  “No, no he’s not.  I guess we should start on that schedule, then?”

Lily sunk further into the cushions, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so.  “Seems like a good idea.”

*-*

The schedule was taking a trifle longer than expected, but it was, to Lily and James’ excitement, almost finished.

“So, we’ll patrol together, then?” James asked tentatively.

“Well I suppose so…we are pairing all the other prefects with their counterparts, so it only makes sense,” Lily explained with a sigh, absentmindedly twirling a scarlet strand around her finger as she spoke.

“Hah, to think that after working so hard to avoid me for over two years, you still have to hang out with me for two hours every two weeks!  This is great!”

She threw a very dirty look in his direction.  “Don’t remind me.”

“Oh, come on, Evans.  You know it’ll be a good time,” James said with a grin that he hoped looked appropriately charming, putting the final touches on to the schedule as he did so.

“I’m sure,” she replied, allowing herself a slight grin.

“So…how was your holiday, then?”

Lily rolled her eyes at the sentiment.  People asked how your holidays were when they had nothing else to say, in Lily’s humble opinion.  It was a filler question, a sentiment meant to hang in the air and lead to bigger things, like full conversations and friendships.  But Lily Evans, for as much as she was trying to lighten up, couldn’t convince herself to lighten up enough to become friends with James Potter, prankster extraordinaire.  That was definitely going too far.

“Er, decent, I s’pose.  Potter, just because we’re stuck in this really…well, kinda awkward…position together, it doesn’t mean we have to be friends.  We just need to get through our duties and get done what needs to get done.  You don’t have to act like my best friend, you know.”

James Potter’s eyes darkened until the hazel seemed downright unrecognizable.  He had no bloody idea how he was going to handle this year.  She had told him last year in a rather chastening conversation to come back with his head deflated.  Now he comes back to school deflated and dealt the perfect hand to win over Miss Lily Evans…and she still wants nothing to do with him.  This was impossible.

“Fine.  Sorry for caring.”

He quickly got up from the couch and walked into his room, making sure to shut the door with a slam that rattled the walls.

Lily groaned and rubbed her temples.  This is going to be a long year.

As she sank back into the cushioned chair, Lily’s mind began to drift into memories that she thought she had long forgotten.

*-*

Lily could still remember the first time James Potter had decided to ask her out.  It was at the beginning of 5th Year.

James Potter and Lily Evans had never been friends, mainly because of her fondness for rules and his affection for breaking them.  But they had been acquaintances, once upon a time.  In the beginning of Hogwarts, James respected Lily for her brains, and she him for his heart.  James Potter was actually one of the few purebloods that made sure to stand up for muggle-borns like herself to those crazed Slytherins and their potent hexes.  Lily, in return, was the only girl capable of besting James in every subject but Transfiguration.  She gave him someone to top, a goal to reach. 

That delicate acquaintanceship came crumbling down around 4th Year.

­-

“Have you heard who’s going together to Hogsmeade next week?” Sirius Black had said jollily, making big strides to catch up to his best friend.

“Who?” James asked disinterestedly.  He was used to Sirius’ completely useless information by now.

“Lily Evans is going with our own little Remmy! Isn’t that hilarious?”

“What?”

James was paying attention now.   “But…I didn’t know Remus liked her.”

“Apparently he has for ages,” Peter Pettigrew piped up, joining them on his way out of Muggle Studies.

“Imagine that,” Sirius replied with a grin, slyly eyeing the blonde Hufflepuff passing by.

“Well.  I don’t want him to go,” James replied, as if his opinion ended the discussion.

“Why not?” Peter asked, completely bemused.

“Because…she’s all wrong for him.  Plus, she will totally put a damper on our pranks.  She’s a bloody shoo-in for prefect next year.”

“Doth mine ears deceive me? Is…ickle Jamesie…jealous?” Sirius asked with a snigger.

“Why would I be jealous, Padfoot? I don’t like her.”

“Are you sure?” Peter asked, joining in with the fun.

“Of course I’m sure, Peter!”

“I don’t think you’re sure,” Sirius said, guffawing by this point.

“Bloody hell! I’m completely sure that I do not like Lily Evans!” James shouted, blushing the whole while.

“Well, thank you for the memo, Potter,” a sarcastic voice replied.

True to the irony of the situation, James was now faced with none other than Miss Lily Evans herself.

-

James had tried to apologize a few times after that, but it just never seemed sincere enough for Lily to accept.  Then in 5th Year, after Remus and Lily had broken up, he openly admitted his crush with far too much vigour for Lily’s liking.

-

“Hey, Evans! How about going to Hogsmeade with me?”

Lily heard it from all the way across the Great Hall. He has got to be bloody mad if he thinks I will accept, she thought to herself.  Her cheeks were heating with embarrassment as she noticed the attention of the entire breakfast crowd was now focused upon her.

“Not in a million years, Potter,” she called out simply.  Tying her hair into a ponytail and shouldering her bag, she and Eduina got up to go to class.

After exiting the Great Hall, she noticed James leaning against the banister, blocking her way to Transfiguration.

“Move, Potter.”

“No, that’s okay, thanks.  I’d much rather sit here and chat a bit.  You’re early for class anyway,” James replied dismissively, taking a Golden Snitch out of his pocket to play a little catch while he spoke.

Lily gritted her teeth in irritation. “Please move, Potter.  I like to be early.”

“No. Thanks for being polite, though.  It’s very sweet of you to care for my feelings.  Hello, Eduina, how are you doing?”

Eduina’s olive complexion reddened as Lily looked at her accusingly. “Er.  Hi, James.  Fine, thank you.  And you?”

“Great, thanks! At least one of you knows how to be polite.  But Evans, why won’t you go with me to Hogsmeade?”

Lily felt her eyes bug out slightly in shock.  Why? Because I’m bloody sane, that’s why!

“Well…for starters, you embarrassed me in front of the entire school by asking me out like that.  Not to mention that you’re a complete prat that makes my job as prefect a living hell, you haven’t had a girlfriend longer than two weeks, you torture people with your childish pranks, you don’t value the same things that I do, we have absolutely nothing in common, and…did I say you are a prat? Because you are,” Lily finished, flustered.

Eduina nodded solemnly.  “Yup, I’m pretty sure prat was in there somewhere.”

James weighed his opinions, catching the Snitch again as he did so, finally saying as he allowed them to walk past him and to their classes, “Well…it could be worse.  You don’t hate me.”

Eduina’s eyes met Lily’s.  “Yet,” they both whispered in unison.

-

The past two years felt like they had dragged on forever.  Eduina Azevedo had been the only saving grace in Lily’s day-to-day drudgery.  James Potter was a complete and utter pain in her arse, asking her out at least biweekly since that morning in 5th Year.  But for as much of a pain as he had become, he had inadvertently brought she and Eduina closer together.

-

“Evans, will you go out with me?” James recited, sitting in the Common Room about a metre from where Eduina and Lily were playing chess.

“No.  Please go away, Potter, I’m trying to concentrate,” Lily replied dismissively, scowling as Eduina captured her bishop.

“One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five, Prongs,” Sirius called, meeting his best friend’s eye.

“Lily, please go out with me?”

“One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six.”

“No.”

“Lily, you stole my queen. You weren’t supposed to do that,” Eduina accused with a slight giggle.

“Oh. Oops. Bloody Potter made me lose my concentration.”

“My name sounds so wonderful on your lips, Evans,” James replied with a grin, taking the infamous Snitch out of his pocket once again.

“Dream on,” Eduina muttered, laughing under her breath at the situation.  Normal girls were up in their dorm, chatting about boys, reading Witch Weekly.  What did they do?  Play wizard’s chess and listen to Lily repeatedly turn down James.  It would be a lovable bit of their routine if it weren’t so bloody annoying.

The girls managed a whole five minutes’ worth of play in silence, which allowed Lily to regain her edge over Eduina.  In the five minutes, Lily had captured one of Eduina’s castles, both knights, a few pawns, and one of her bishops. 

“I’m going to win,” Lily teased in a singsong voice.

“Not on my watch,” Eduina retorted, smiling at her best friend.

“So,” a male voice intervened.

The girls met eyes with a collective groan.

“How about that date?”

“One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven, Prongs.”

“I should just get ‘no’ tattooed on my forehead, Eduina.  I’d save a lot of wasted breath.”

-

The girls had gone from friends to practically sisters thanks to James Potter and his annoying persistence.  They were united against an everyday annoyance; indeed, it seemed that James would never get the hint to leave her alone.   But one day, something seemed to click.  It was near the end of sixth year, Lily remembered it well.  Finals were over, thankfully, and Lily and Eduina had decided to go for a walk around the grounds, enjoying the feel of the coming summer.

-

“Lily! Can I talk to you for a second?”

Lily turned to see James Potter quickly closing the gap between himself and the girls with his long, efficient strides.

“Why?” she asked suspiciously, partially wondering if this was some sort of bizarre prank she hadn’t been let in on.

“I want to ask you something.”

James looked at Eduina meaningfully, but Lily retorted, “She’s not going anywhere. There’s nothing you have to say to me that you can’t in front of her, you know.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to know why you always turn me down.”

Her emerald eyes bugged slightly. Now he asks? Now that I’ve turned him down over three thousand times?

“Hmm… I guess I turn you down because of your ego, mainly.  You hurt others and either don’t notice or don’t care.  Your blatant misuse of your powers…your pranks are childish, not funny.  I’m also not amused by the fact that you want me because I am the one person you can’t have.”

James had been getting successively more and more chastened as the sentence had gone on, but the last bit outraged him.

“No, I don’t want you because of that! Lily, I…well…I care about you, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you out this many times.”

“His persistence is somewhat admirable,” Eduina deadpanned.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Okay, Potter.  That still doesn’t change the fact that we’re completely wrong for each other.  Merlin, we’re not even friends!”

“I’d like that to change,” James had replied hopefully, his hazel eyes widening.

She shook her head in reply.  “Is that all you wanted to say?”

“No. Now that you’ve given me that…er…lengthy list of my less-than-fantastic attributes, what do you think I should change?  I mean, what would it take for you to finally agree to go out on a date with me?”

She chewed her lip thoughtfully, crossing her arms as she did so.  Meeting Eduina’s eyes, they both seemed to come to the same conclusion.  “Deflate your ego, Potter.  Then we’ll talk.”

-

Lily Evans had not thought of that conversation in ages, but James Potter had replayed it over and over in his brain the whole summer through.  While Lily’s holiday had been a miserable whirlwind of bridesmaid dress fittings, dinner with her family and Vernon, floral arrangements and other such nonsense, James’ had been just as eventful.  Since Sirius Black no longer lived at 12 Grimmauld Place, he spent his time at the Potters, “deflating” his best friend.  Lying down on his big bed, James Potter let his mind drift to a conversation the two had had that summer.

-

“Okay, James.  I’m Lily.  I’m walking past, looking unusually pretty.  What do you say?” Sirius prodded for what felt like the fifth time that night.

“Um…Nice arse?”

“You have got to be bloody kidding me.  How is it that I, successful ladies’ man, have you as a best friend?”

“Luck of the draw, Padfoot,” James drawled, releasing the Snitch once again.

“Okay.  Try again.”

“You look quite lovely, Evans.”

“Close, but not totally there yet, Prongs.  If you say ‘lovely’ it sounds too fake and debonair.  Also, compliments are usually best paid with first names.”

James sighed, sitting up on his bed.  They had been practicing Lily-isms for most of the night.  Every night was something different- Lily’s likes and dislikes, how to sincerely pay her a compliment, what shade of red her hair actually is, etc. etc. etc.

“Lily, you’re looking very nice today.”

“Great!” Sirius exclaimed with visible relief.  He hadn’t gotten much sleep this summer thanks to James’ “project”.  He sincerely hoped Lily gave in quickly at the start of term, because he couldn’t handle Prongs frantically talking to him through their mirrors at one in the bloody morning anymore.  “It’s sincere and not over the top.  She’ll probably be shocked, but she’ll appreciate it,” Sirius praised.

James nodded gratefully.  At least I finally got something right.  “What will I do if this doesn’t work, Padfoot?”

His best friend’s deep and thoughtful grey eyes clouded over slightly.  “It has to, Prongs.  It just has to.”

*-*

James slammed his fists into the comforter as he thought back to that night.  It was so frustrating.  He didn’t know how to approach Lily.  James had done absolutely everything he could to ensure that this would be the year.  This would be the year when Lily Evans finally let go of her longstanding grudge against James Potter, fell into his arms, and begged to have his babies.  Yes, this was the year. 

But then why wasn’t she reacting like she was supposed to?

It seemed that despite James’ first attempts at civility, Lily was happier holding a grudge than she was trying to rebuild burned bridges.  He didn’t have the slightest idea how to go about this.  Sirius and him had never done a lesson on “Get Lily to Believe You’re a Decent Person”…though, in retrospect, it might have been a decent idea. This is hopeless, he found himself thinking.  Getting up, he fished in his trunk for the beat-up Golden Snitch.  The golden plate was beginning to wear down to a duller steel layer from the amount of times James had played with it.  One wing was broken and fluttering weakly, but James refused to get another.  This is the Snitch I had when I started chasing Lily, and I’m keeping it until she gives me a chance.

*-*

The girl in question was currently watching the embers of the fireplace die down, eyes burning with unasked questions.

How is this year going to be? He seems different than he was last year, but, even so, will we be able to work together? What if we fight during the year like we have in the past?  We’ll have to work together now. 

Lily’s thoughts paused momentarily as she got up from the chair and headed towards her room, shutting the door softly behind her.  Changing and getting in to bed, her thoughts resumed once she got under the covers.  What about after Hogwarts? I don’t know what I want to be at all.  I know that I want to help fight You-Know-Who and his vicious cronies, but I don’t know how to go about it.  I have so many questions about my future.

Lily Evans drifted into a fitful sleep, dreams fraught with possibilities she wasn’t sure she wanted to consider.

*-*

Authoress’ Note- I am profoundly sorry for making you all read this again.  But really, I hated the last two chapters.  Loathed them.  They were the bane of my existence…I couldn’t follow them because I didn’t like the start that they had created.  It was too OoC, and I couldn’t stand getting review after review that pointed it out.  There wasn’t really any action in this chapter, yes; I know that…it’s mainly because I wanted you as a reader to have some background on my characters.  I hope that you didn’t mind the re-write too terribly.