Chapter 1 �“ In Which A First Year Is Lost, An Argument Ensues And A Bet Is Made

“So,” Lily smiled, and patted the girl reassuringly on the shoulder. “Do you think you can remember all of that?”

Charlotte nodded up at her, beaming. “Up the marble staircase after breakfast, turn left, walk to the end of the corridor, turn left again and then immediately right, and that’s it!”

“And what did we say about Peeves?” Lily questioned.

“To just ignore him; he’s nasty to everyone and it doesn’t mean anything when he says horrible stuff about us.”

“Good girl. Now if you have any other problems finding your way around just come and find me. Hogwarts can be pretty tricky at first �“ I remember!” Lily mock shuddered, grinning at the little first year, who laughed in delight.

“What’s going on over here, then?” said an obnoxious voice to her left, and, turning, she sighed heavily as James Potter swaggered up to the pair of them.

“Trouble getting around Hogwarts?” he smiled superciliously down at the little girl, who blushed and mumbled something unintelligible. “Well,” he sighed, “I suppose it could be daunting for those who don’t know it as well as I do-”

“James!” Lily interrupted, furious, even as she put one hand reassuringly onto Charlotte’s shoulder. “How dare you be so condescending?”

Glaring, she turned her back smartly on him to address Charlotte. “Don’t worry about him �“ he got himself even more lost and into even more trouble than you when he first arrived,” she said, conspiratorially.

Behind her James spluttered, choked and opened his mouth indignantly to retort. Whirling, she turned to face him, pressing a finger gently to his lips. James froze in shock, and then became mildly cross-eyed as he attempted to stare at her finger.

Lily smiled wickedly at him. “Now, Potter, I want to tell my story without any of your usual jibes, comments or other unhelpful additions, and then you can have your say �“ deal?”

He winked at her. “Only if you leave your finger where it is to shut me up…” he leered slightly as his lips became rather more interested in said digit. Rolling her eyes at him, she yanked her hand away, and made a show of cleaning it with the hem of her robe.

Perching comfortably on the arm of the younger girl’s chair, she slung an arm around Charlotte’s shoulders and began telling her tale. “Now, let’s see if I can remember this rightly. Potter, here, decided he’d make a bit of a name for himself in the first few weeks of school.”

She leaned in towards Charlotte, and lowered her voice just enough to appear secretive, while allowing James to hear every word. “He fancied himself a bit cooler than the rest of us, you see, and didn’t much like the fact that no-one seemed to pay him any attention.”

She winked down at the little girl, who grinned back up at her. “So, a few weeks after the sorting ceremony, he decides to sneak out and impress all us Gryffindors by breaking into the Slytherin common room and hexing a few of them.” Lily gave James an amused look, and added in an aside to Charlotte. “Well, he tried to in any rate.”

Charlotte had wide eyes as she stared up at James Potter, who preened slightly under her gaze. Lily ignored him and continued. “Potter, here, had already managed the impressive feat of infuriating a large number of the Slytherins after only a few weeks. I suppose it must be one of your natural talents, eh, Potter?” she asked slyly.

James grinned back at her, and winked. “‘Impressive feats’? Glad you think so highly of me, Evans.”

Lily smiled coolly. “I was thinking more of your limitless aptitude for annoying others actually, but we’ll move on…”

Turning her attention back to the first year by her side, Lily continued her story. “So Potter sneaks out with the intention of earning a name for himself; no doubt he was imagining the cheering awe of his housemates on his celebrated return, and the glory he would receive from all of Gryffindor…” she mocked the older boy.

James folded his arms as he watched her, but said nothing.

Lily stifled a laugh. “Anyway, Professor Slughorn found him the next morning - cold, hungry and completely and utterly stuck, with half his body sticking out of a wall, and the other half disappearing goodness knows where!”

Charlotte stared for half a minute, gobsmacked, before breaking out into nervous laughter. “But… but… how does something like that happen?”

“It was a trick section of wall,” replied James, haughtily. “I’d cleverly discovered it the day before-”

“Yes, very cleverly,” Lily muttered, interrupting him.

“-but it changed from the opening of a staircase to a solid piece of wall at the wrong moment.”

“But... but,” Charlotte stuttered once more, “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Dreadfully!” James sighed, placing one hand across his chest in dramatic fashion. “But I bore it heroically and didn’t make a sound the entire night; I suffered in silence!”

“Ignore him,” Lily sighed. “It doesn’t hurt a bit. It just feels like somebody’s giving you a really tight hug. You can’t move at all, and there’s a heavy pressure all around you, but it’s not painful in the slightest.”

“Oooh,” murmured Charlotte, who to Lily’s great annoyance, seemed slightly star-struck by this story.

“Anyway,” she continued, “the up-shot is that he has no right to look down on you for feeling confused and lost at first �“ he was a lot worse when he first arrived.”

The cocky retort that must have been jumping up and down for attention on the tip of James’ tongue seemed finally to have gotten the better of him. “Now, look here, Evans,” he began, affronted, “that bloody staircase may have trapped me, but at least I had the guts to go out looking! I bet I’ve found more hidden passages and secret tunnels in Hogwarts than the whole school put together!”

“Oh, you do, do you?” ground out Lily, enraged by his attitude. “Could your head get any larger? I have no idea how it manages to contain your ego.”

“There is nothing wrong with the size of my head! It’s all true �“ ask Sirius, Remus and Peter just how many we’ve found.”

“Oh, of course,” scorned Lily, tossing her head in irritation, “because they’ll give me nothing but the complete unadulterated truth of all your silly little adventures.”

“Fine,” James snorted, crossing his arms angrily. “Don’t believe me, turn your nose up and walk away, Evans, just like you always do!”

Lily shot to her feet, furious, while Charlotte quietly slipped off the chair and darted into the centre of the common room for protection. “If my nose is turned up, Potter, it’s only to try and breathe some fresh air �“ otherwise the stench of testosterone surrounding you would choke me!”

“Ha!” he snorted at her, and fumbled for a moment, before smirking back. “I think you’re jealous.”

Lily’s stilled completely, before letting out an astounded laugh. “Jealous?” she gasped. “Of you?”

Shaking her head, an action that sent her long crimson looks swishing across her shoulders, she carried on, scornfully. “Of an immature, arrogant, conceited little teenage boy?”

James cheeks reddened, and he became aware that the common room had gone oddly quiet. When he chanced a look around the room it seemed that a great many people suddenly found very interesting things to look at �“ like their fingernails or the shoes of the person sitting next to them.

“You’re jealous that I know so much more about Hogwarts than you,” he shot back, unpleasantly. “You’re the bookworm, Lily, you’re supposed to know more than everyone else, isn’t that what you think?”

“How dare yo-”

“In fact,” James continued, bolstered by all the students staring at the pair of them, “I can prove it. I bet I know Hogwarts so well I could walk around the entire school blindfolded! What d’you say to that, Evans?”

Lily stared at him for a moment, seeing only an infuriatingly cocky grin, smug pose and the look in his eyes which screamed I’ve won, I’ve won again and they all know it.

Arching one eyebrow, Lily Evans lifted her chin and replied, “I’ll take that bet, Potter.”