“Aimee Holcombe, you promised!” Leela insisted angrily, fully donned in Quidditch gear and broomstick clutched tightly in her hand. Lily and Alice paused as they walked into the dorm and took in the scene before them with raised eyebrows. Aimee was sitting in front of the mirror, combing through her long blonde hair, and Leela was behind her, glaring at her through the mirror.
“Do I have to?” Aimee whined. She caught sight of Lily and Alice and brightened. “Take them!”
Leela spun around to see her two dorm mates frozen at the door, silently debating whether or not they could still leave without being seen. Lily bit her lip as she realized what was coming.
“Will you two come with me to Quidditch try outs?” Leela asked hopefully. Alice groaned as she trudged over to her bed and slung her bag off her shoulder.
“Lee, why?” she asked. Leela’s brown eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe her friends were resisting so much.
“Because you three always come with me!” she said, turning to Lily for help. “It’s tradition!”
“Only because you always drag us with you,” Aimee said, scrunching up her nose.
“Well, whatever the reason, you three have always been there,” Leela replied. “It’s our last year, don’t break tradition now! What if the reason I’ve been making the team all these years is because you three were in the audience? How guilty would you feel if you girls didn’t come tonight and I didn’t end up making the team?”
“We’ll come,” Lily assured her, sighing to herself. She was looking forward to this one night of peace before her Head Girl training the next day, but Leela’s doe brown eyes looked pleading “ and there were few times Lily had ever seen that occur.
“We will?” Aimee repeated, cocking one perfectly tweezed eyebrow. Alice turned questioningly to Lily as well. Lily just gave them a look in reply. “Fine,” Aimee huffed. “We will.”
Twenty minutes later, Leela was standing amongst a sea of red and gold adorned students, and her three friends were sitting in the stands above, each with their own distinct expression of disinterest.
“I can’t believe they haven’t started yet,” Alice said, peering down at the pitch impatiently as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Where are the captains?”
“Relax,” Aimee advised, flipping through an issue of The Quibbler and setting her bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans next to her, “this will take a few hours. It always does.”
“I have plans with Frank later,” Alice said. “We haven’t been able to see each other since we’ve both gotten back.”
“We’ve been back for two days,” Lily pointed out, surprised.
“He had his own Quidditch try outs yesterday,” Alice explained. “He’s captain, you know.”
“Hufflepuff any good this year?” Aimee asked.
“How should I know?” Alice asked shrugging. She sat back so her back rested against the row of seats behind her. “I didn’t ask; I hate Quidditch.” She glanced at Aimee. “That magazine is garbage, you know.”
“I’m not daft,” Aimee snapped. “I read it because it’s entertaining “ and nothing kills time faster than Larry Lovegood’s ridiculous selection of articles.”
“Speaking of daft,” Lily said slowly, peering at two figures who were now striding toward the group of potential Gryffindor teammates. They were tall, dark-haired and sturdy, each with a broom in their hand and a shiny badge on their chest. “Is that…?”
“Merlin,” Alice breathed, squinting in the same direction. “Potter and Black?”
“Are they…Captains?” Lily demanded, her eyes big. Aimee’s blue gaze peeked out from the top of her magazine to stare down at the pitch. For a split-second she looked shocked, and then suddenly she sighed.
“Well that’s no surprise,” she said, shrugging and turning back to the Quibbler. “They were the two best Quidditch players last year.”
“B-but Potter’s Head Boy!” Lily sputtered. She turned to Alice for help, who just offered her friend a sympathetic cringe. “That can’t possibly be allowed.”
“And yet, there he is,” Aimee said, reaching into the bag next to her and pulling out a handful of colorful beans. “Would you girls like one?”
Alice just blinked at her. “At the risk of sounding like Leela, do you ever go anywhere without food?”
“I try not to,” Aimee said, flashing her brilliantly white teeth.
“Well, this is ridiculous,” Lily declared, standing up and huffing. “I’m going to go talk to Dumbledore.”
“Wha “ right now?” Aimee asked, abandoning her search for a toffee-flavored bean and staring up at Lily with her eyebrows raised. “You’re the one who promised Lee we’d come and watch. It’s your fault we’re here in the first place!”
“I know, tell her I’m sorry,” Lily said hurriedly, gathering her books and slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Maybe I can get Dumbledore to give Remus the Head Boy position.”
Aimee groaned, rolling her eyes and burying her head back in her magazine. “Good luck,” Alice called after her as Lily took off in the direction of the castle again.
Ten minutes later, Lily was huffing and puffing outside of Dumbledore’s office, one hand wrapped around her middle and doubled over, trying to catch her breath. She regarded the gargoyle in front of her and bit her lip.
“What’s the password again?” she asked the stoic statue. “Fudge Flies? Chocolate Frogs?”
“Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans,” came a deep, patient voice from behind her. Lily spun around to see Dumbledore smiling down at her.
“Oh,” she gasped, startled. “Professor, I -”
“Was coming to talk to me about Potter,” Dumbledore finished for her with a knowing look. He took a deep breath, staring intently at the redhead before him. “I can’t say I wasn’t expecting this, Miss Evans. I’m a little surprised, however, at how soon you decided to voice your concerns.”
“Well I just came from Quidditch try-outs, sir, and I couldn’t help but notice that -”
“You couldn’t help but notice that Potter was both Quidditch Captain and Head Boy,” Dumbledore completed again, his blue eyes twinkling over his half-moon glasses. “Yes, well how could you? Perhaps we better take this into my office.” He gestured toward the gargoyle, who had already sprung aside. “After you, Miss Evans.”
Lily climbed up the spiral staircase up to Dumbledore’s office and settled herself in the chair in front of his desk. Professor Dumbledore followed her in a split-second later and sat neatly down in his own chair. Next to him, Fawkes cooed happily.
“Now,” Dumbledore said, letting his hands rest gently on the table in front of him, “what can I do for you?”
“Sir, how can Potter be both Head Boy and Gyffindor Quidditch Captain? Wouldn’t he be better off holding only one of those two positions?” Lily asked anxiously, letting the words spill out of her lips before she had a chance to dilute them in front of her Headmaster. Dumbledore didn’t answer at once, but instead regarded her with curiosity.
“You have concerns about his capabilities?” he asked finally. Lily paused for a moment, wondering how blunt she could be.
“Honestly, Professor? He’s always been known for his complete disregard for the rules. He’s consistently proven himself to be an inadequate leader and student and I’m just not sure he can handle both responsibilities,” Lily said. Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his red leather chair.
“I see,” he said simply. “Well, your apprehensions are certainly valid, there’s no doubt about that. I suppose I could remove him from his Quidditch responsibilities.”
Lily looked stricken. Rebounding quickly, she retorted, “Or perhaps put Remus in charge of Head Boy duties! He was a good Prefect and makes very good grades.”
“Yes,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully, “though I wonder if his leadership skills are as qualified as his other attributes.”
“I’m sure there are other Prefects who could make a good Head Boy! Frank Longbottom was a good Prefect and he seems like a good leader, too,” Lily tried. She smiled abashedly as Dumbledore met her gaze with an unreadable blank one.
“Ah,” he said softly finally. “You think Mr. Potter should be removed from his Head Boy duties, then, is it?”
“I only think he would be better off giving up his Head Boy position than his Captain position,” Lily said, looking appropriately embarrassed. “For his own sake,” she added lamely. “Everyone knows he values Quidditch highly.” Dumbledore’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle calculatingly at her and Lily’s face suddenly felt hot. She forced herself to hold Dumbledore’s intense gaze.
“I’m afraid, Miss Evans,” Dumbledore began, “that the Head Boy position has already been given to Mr. Potter for better or for worse. However, I have faith that together, you two will be able to make the best of the situation. Both of you are bright, capable, and talented - and more importantly, you both are adult enough to work out your differences. Do you disagree, Miss Evans?”
Lily shook her head silently at Professor Dumbledore’s pointed expression. “No, sir,” she responded reluctantly. Dumbledore gave her a smile.
“Excellent,” he said, as he pulled out a drawer from his desk and removed a clear bag of yellow candy. “Would you care for a gumdrop?”
“No thank you,” Lily declined, faltering a little at her Headmaster’s affinity for muggle candy. As she watched him pop a particularly yellow one into his mouth, she felt her last hope vanish.
That night, Lily couldn’t sleep well. As the rest of her roommates slept peacefully in their respective beds, Lily’s bright green eyes stared up at the rafters above her head, dreading the following day when a Mr. James Potter would be teaching her Head Girl duties. Sighing, she turned on her side and cursed her bad luck. This year already had ‘bad news’ written all over it, and she hadn’t even been to her second day of classes yet.