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Lily sat in the Heads’ compartment alone. She had been made Head Girl earlier in the summer and now, on the first of September, she had arrived extra early to settle herself in and meet the Head Boy before they addressed the other prefects.
As she sat making bubbles appear out of the tip of her wand, Lily’s thoughts went unwillingly to her rather lonely summer. Petunia had long since ceased to want contact with her, but Lily had never minded much because she could still hang out with Severus Snape during the summer. But last year he had called her an unforgivable name and Lily had once again found herself without a confidante, someone close to her she could tell everything to.
Shortly into the summer before her sixth year, she had come across Alan, a boy from the year above her in Gryffindor. They had hung out that summer and soon after returning to school he had asked her out. Lily was reluctant at first, the last person she had become close to having backstabbed her because of her Muggle blood. Gradually, though, she opened up and he started to get to know her. Things had been great between them as Alan stepped in to replace Snape.
Around her seventeenth birthday, on her way to the kitchens for a late-night snack, her heart broke as she caught Alan behind a statue with Francis Weatherall, a Hufflepuff girl in his Care of Magical Creatures class. He hadn’t seen her, but it didn’t matter because Lily broke up with him the next morning. So now with no Petunia, no Snape, and no Alan, her summer had been a lonely one.
The sound of a few voices outside the train and on the platform brought Lily back. She once again began to prepare mentally when someone walked into the compartment.
–Oh, hello, Potter. What do you want?†she asked, but not unkindly.
–I needed to speak with the Head Girl,†he replied. When she asked how he knew it was her, he pointed to the badge pinned to her chest. –Hey, is everything alright?â€
James had come to the compartment expecting the usually cheerful Lily, quickly turning sour at the look of him. Though last year things had mellowed and everything was rather mild between them. But he hadn’t expected to see a strange look on her face, a weird sort of detachment behind her eyes.
Quick as he noticed it, the look was gone. Lily seemed to have pulled herself together and was asking, –So what can I do for you, Potter?â€
This made James smile a little as he said, –First of all, I think we can drop the surname thing. How long have we known each other?â€
–Long enough.â€
–Exactly. Secondly, we’re supposed to talk,†he continued, his smile growing at her confusion. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a badge identical to Lily’s and said, –Yeah, I’m Head Boy.â€
–But how? You’re not a prefect,†she blurted out.
James shrugged and said, –Dumbledore must’ve seen something in me.â€
Lily stared as James put the badge back in his pocket. He seemed embarrassed about it and didn’t want to parade around wearing it. She continued to stare, her mouth slightly ajar, all thoughts of preparing to greet the prefects forgotten.
–So are we supposed to just say hi and tell them to patrol the corridors or is there something else we have to do?†asked James, sitting down across from Lily and looking expectantly at her. He’d never been to one of these meetings and wasn’t sure how they were done.
–Er, that depends.â€
–On?â€
–On us. Whether we want to give a more detailed meeting now or later at school,†answered Lily, the shock slowly wearing off. She had at least closed her mouth.
–So what do you think?â€
Again, Lily looked at him. He was being oddly helpful and it was unsettling her. But she had to admit that the year would go by much smoother if she had this to work with and not his previous self.
Looking at her watch and noting the amount of students on the platform boarding the train, she said, –I think that we haven’t discussed anything worth mentioning yet and should just do the big one later.â€
She stood up, James copying her, and they left to go to the larger prefects’ compartment. It was an odd choice for Dumbledore to have made given that he chose a Head Boy with no experience as a prefect, not to mention his track record in detention.
–So when did you want to talk about the big meeting stuff?†asked James, taking another stab at some conversation. As he put his hands in his pockets, his on hand curled around the badge. He still couldn’t believe how much responsibility he had been entrusted with.
–Well, the Head compartment will be empty for the rest of the ride,†she suggested. –But if you want to sit with your mates we could just meet some time later in Gryffindor.â€
Lily said all this as they approached the prefect compartment, purposely not looking at him. She had long since realized that eye contact was very personal. They showed expression of feelings on a level that scared her a bit. And she neither knew nor cared what James Potter’s eyes had to say.
–Sure. Whatever works best for you,†answered James. He saw a lot of his friends over the summer and they shared a dormitory all year, so there was really nothing to catch up on.
Lily thought about this. She had owled with her roommates, but hadn’t seen them since their last train ride. Then again, they were roommates and could therefore talk all night, whereas there were certain people she would prefer not to see for the moment.
–How about a little later on, when the food trolley has come?†she suggested.
James just had time to agree before he was opening the door to the compartment for her. Looking around, it was still rather empty, but he did see Remus talking to a few prefects from their year. He excused himself and headed over to his friend.
Now that James had left her side, Lily didn’t know what to do with herself. It had been unusually pleasant speaking with him. There were still five minutes before the train was to leave and she had been rather distant with the other prefects toward the end of last year. So she sat down, took out her wand, and began making bubbles again, not noticing the strange look James was giving her.
As the compartment filled, many people congratulated Lily on the appointment, asking how her summer was, and then finding a seat. Some shared a joke with James on how he had managed his badge.
Finally, the train lurched and they began moving as the last few prefects came in. Lily stood up and James made his way over to her. They greeted them, the prefects were all introduced for the new-comers’ benefit, James included, and a schedule was made for corridor patrol. Soon everyone was rising and Lily watched as they all left.
–See you later, Potter,†she called out as James left with Remus, just to confirm.
–That’s James to you,†he replied with a grin. –And I’ll bring some chocolate.â€
Lily smiled and shook her head at that last comment, then left with the stragglers. She had left her trunk in a compartment having arrived so early, hoping her roommates would find it and save the compartment.
Nearing the door, Lily paused just out of eyesight. She could hear deep voices inside in addition to the more familiar higher ones. Praying that maybe someone had brought a boyfriend or a brother and that they weren’t some undesirable Slytherins, she braced herself and went to open the door.
When she opened it, she found that not only had her roommates found the compartment with her trunk, but so had James’. They were all sitting around chatting away about their summers comfortably. Lily didn’t know how to respond and so she continued to stand in the doorway, the door still left open behind her.
–Evans, grab a seat!†cried Sirius, patting the one next to him. When she gave in a sceptical look, he added, –It’s either here or you can sit over there with Prongs.â€
–You know what, I think I will,†she told him, finally closing the door and taking her seat next to James. –You have that look on your face that screams of trouble.â€
Sirius’ friends laughed at him knowing full well he did have something planned, no matter how much he spluttered against the accusation. Then James said quietly near Lily’s ear, –Sorry about this. Apparently there was nowhere else to sit.â€
Lily turned her head to respond and that’s when their eyes met for the briefest of moments, her response caught in her throat. But before either of them could comment on it, her roommate Bernie said from Lily’s other side, –So Lily, have you managed to successfully turn your sister’s whatever-he-is into a platypus and get away with it?â€
Her roommates had often heard of Petunia’s boyfriend over the past few years and all agreed that he would be much more interesting to them as a platypus, although Helen had often made the argument for a lemur. The boys, on the other hadn’t, had never heard of such a strange comment, least of all one suggesting Lily use magic in such a way against a Muggle.
–Evans?†asked Peter in disbelief.
–What - you don’t think I’d hex Snape if he didn’t walk through the door?†asked Lily defensively.
–You wouldn’t hurt a fly,†reasoned Sirius. She had always come to Snivelly’s defense, not to join in. And she was a prefect meant to stop that sort of thing.
–I beg to differ,†commented James. He had been on the receiving end of a few of her spells and knew that she didn’t hold back. If this guy was as horrible as Bernie said, he wouldn’t put it past Lily to at least plot his demise, even if she never acted on it.
Lily gave him a look of gratitude mixed with something else James couldn’t quite place. But once again, their momentary eye contact was disrupted, this time by the food trolley.
Helen immediately bounced up to get a handful of licorice wands, Bertie Bott’s, and some Drooble’s while Remus did his best to carry an armful of chocolate. Having fully loaded their compartment with sweets, everyone began eating their fill.
Not much later, Viola and Laura, two more of Lily’s roommates, opened the door to join them. Viola asked, –Where are you two going?†James and Lily had both stood up to leave. They never did things together, they barely got along last year, and they saw no reason why they should be leaving the compartment together.
–Heads meeting,†answered Lily, grabbing a few cauldron cakes to go.
–You mean he’s been made . . . and you two will have to work together all year?†Laura asked, unable to believe it.
Neither James not Lily responded when they left, but they were sure the moment they were out of earshot the two would explode with gossip. It was common knowledge that James fancied Lily, and it was equally as common knowledge that every time he asked her out she had turned him down. Viola and Laura were known as the romantics of their dormitory, and really of Gryffindor in general, and they would no doubt be playing them up as a future couple. But Lily knew better.
She’d had nothing but grief since she and Snape had stopped being friends, and when Alan had cheated on her, she vowed not to let anyone that close to her again. No matter how much she would have to work with James over the upcoming year, theirs would only be a working relationship. He could be as civil and charming as he wanted because Lily was determined to keep him at arm’s length.
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Close by Secret Marauder 90
Chapter Endnotes: So what do you think of it so far? I like hearing your comments, whether you loved it or hated it.