Lily Evans, a redheaded girl with green eyes, was nervously wringing her hands. A few minutes ago, a large barn owl swooped in through her window, gave her a piece of parchment with a small package and swooped out.


She had opened the parchment carefully and was delighted to see she had been made Head Girl. She had scanned the paper down to the end. There was a small note that read ‘You will meet the Head Boy on the Hogwarts Express. Please be early.’ But who was the Head Boy? Hopefully a fellow Gryffindor. Lily could get along well with a Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff was decent, but she sincerely hoped it wasn’t a Slytherin.


So, she thought, if it was a Gryffindor, it’d probably be Remus Lupin. Remus was a good friend. It was a pity his best friends were the infamous Marauders, the well-known pranksters of Hogarts. Sirius Black and James Potter were the leaders.


The familiar image of James popped into her mind. He was running his hand through his black hair, glasses perched lopsidedly on his nose, and a cocky grin plastered on his face.


Lily shivered. The window was still open, and the wind was blowing in. She stood up and walked over to it. It took some effort to get the windows to shut, but when she was done, she flopped on her bed and read the letter for the umpteenth time. Finally, she stood up and dashed downstairs, skipping every other step. As she wheeled around to face her mother, who was in the kitchen chopping carrots.


“I’m Head Girl!� she blurted out.


Her mother stopped and broke out into a wide grin. “Honey, that’s great!� She nudged her husband. “Dear, did you hear Lily’s news?�


“What? Oh. That’s my girl.� He beamed proudly. Petunia, who was watching the whole thing, gave Lily a nasty look, scowled, and stormed out of the room.


Lily didn’t notice. She looked at the metal badge clutched in her hand and was quiet for a moment. This year promised to be especially interesting.


______________________________


Lily pulled her luggage. It seemed to be even heavier than normal this year. “Stupid…bloody…trunk!� she emphasized every word with a pull. She managed to give it a final effort, before a man in a uniform took her bags and put them onto the train. Stepping back, she collided into someone.


“Sorry, sorry,� she said apologetically. She stood up, brushed some dirt off her robes, and turned around to face James Potter.


She half expected him to smirk and say something witty (or something he considered witty, but he seemed just as astonished as she was. Lily was glad no one else was here yet. She was twenty minutes early.


To her surprise, he just said nervously, “Any time, Evans.� He placed a hand on his knee and stepped up.


Lily regarded him for a moment, before turning around and making a point of keeping her attention fixed on the shiny red train. After a few moments, it was clear he wasn’t going away. She could feel him shifting uncomfortably.


“Last year in Hogwarts,� James said calmly


“Yeah,� Lily said coolly, before stepping onto the train. He could feel him wince. She looked around before turning right to go to the Prefect’s carriage for a meeting.


When she arrived, she glanced around. A Ravenclaw prefect looked up from her book when Lily opened the door. After watching Lily for a moment, she glanced back down to her book. Lily took a seat and waited.


After about ten minutes, almost all the prefects had already taken a seat. Only a Hufflepuff prefect and the Head Boy remained. Lily was still anxiously wondering who he was. Preferably someone bright.


James walked into the room and seated himself next to Lily. His gaze wandered to the bright pin on her robes, and he grinned.


“Figures.�


Lily stared at him for a minute. “You’re Head Boy?�


James nodded. “The one and only.�


“But – But – I thought – Remus-� she stammered. James shrugged and she shut her mouth.


The meeting was short, which was nice, because Lily’s attention kept wandering. First she wondered about her friends, Alice Longbottom and Dorcas Meadows. What where they doing? Were they having fun? Then she wondered about James. What pranks was he planning for this year?


James’s smooth voice brought her back. “So that should take care of the schedules. Yes, Muller?�


Her mind drifted off again…


Why couldn’t she pay attention? For some reason, James’s voice made her sleepy. She stifled a yawn and blinked. Her eyelids drooped and she had to struggle to look alert.


“Evans and I are patrolling especially late on Mondays and Fridays. With the attacks, we need extra security, particularly around the Great Hall area. Any questions? Good. Evans, can you think of anything I missed?�


He looked at Lily. His eyes were a perfect, dreamy shade of hazel… she snapped out of it.


“Yes, actually. Dumbledore wanted us to make sure that you don’t forget your wand! You probably won’t be attacked on patrol, but if you are, it won’t be good.�


James nodded. “Dismissed,� he said importantly.


What’s wrong with me? Lily thought. Why in Merlin’s name did I think his eyes were gorgeous? They’re just eyes. The thought was disturbing.


She stood up, picked up her pack, and wandered back to the compartments. Only one was empty, and the others were crammed. She opened the door where her friends were, but Alice said, “Sorry, all full.�


Finally, in defeat, she took a seat in the empty compartment. James entered a minute afterwards. She gave him a ‘you-better-watch-yourself’ look and turned to look out the window, watching the green hills fly by.


Finally, James said, “Er, Evans, I wanted to speak to you. I just-� at this moment, a blonde girl in pigtails threw the door open and flung herself at James.


“Jamie! Where have you been?� she covered his face in kisses, before dragging him outside. Lily got the faint impression that was not how he wanted this to go. He had probably been planning on having a normal conversation with her.


She recognized the girl. She was Meredith Boler. Sirius and Remus had urged James to give Lily up and find a girl who was crazy about him. He had gone on a few dates with Meredith, and they were technically a “couple�.


After James had left, Alice, Lily’s friend opened the door and swung on the edge of the sliding door before plopping herself down next to Lily. “How’ve you been this summer?�


Alice had short, curly hair that was usually dark brown but now it was light brown. Lily blinked at it. “Good. Wait till I tell you – oh my gosh, I’m so excited – I’m Head Girl!� The last part came out as a squeal.

“Head Girl? We all knew you’d get it. Who was Head Boy? Was he cute?�


Lily scowled. “Guess who.�


“Remus?�


“No.�


“Black?�


“No. Think even more arrogant.�


“No way – James Potter?� the last two words were hushed.


Lily nodded.


Suddenly, Alice became brisk. “Well, here’s hoping he’ll finally show some maturity.� She shrugged. “Who knows? This year, anything could happen.�