A/N: Hey! Sorry it's taken me ssoooo long to get another chapter out but classes come first and I had to get my English essays out of the way, not to mention work and my volunteer job. So I haven't had much time to write this. And then I couldn't get this one plot bunny out of my head so I wrote that down to get it out of the way. I posted it here so if you get a chance read it please do...it's H/Hr and it's called Slapping Sense. And thanks to everyone who reviewed…it really means a lot! And thanks to my beta…she's the best and this chapter wouldn't be what it is without her! *Sigh* Ok...enough blabbing because I know you want to get to the story...so without further ado here (finally) is chapter 3!
A/N 2: There were a few changes made to this chapter on 12/08/04. So if you have read it already and something doesn't match what was said in future chapters that is why.
Disclaimer: I do not own HP...it belongs to JKR.
Growing Change
Chapter 3: On the Hogwarts Express
Lily stepped onto platform 9 3/4 and suddenly realized that this was her last year at Hogwarts. She looked around the platform, taking in her surroundings and committing them to memory.
She could see frightened first years exchanging tearful goodbyes with their parents and then walking timidly towards the scarlet school train, the Hogwarts Express. Friends were meeting up with each other to talk about summer vacations and the upcoming school year, while newly made prefects were showing off their shiny badges.
Lily let out a sigh and then made her way through the crowd and onto the scarlet train, dragging her trunk behind her. She made her way to the front of the train where the Head's compartment was located. Sliding the door open she let out a relieved sigh when she saw that it was empty.
Lily pulled her trunk into the compartment. She was about to sit down when a light brown, curly haired head peered around the doorframe. Lily saw who it was and a smile lit up her face as she ran to give her best friend since first year a hug.
"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Lily exclaimed.
"You too!" Marlene agreed, her brown eyes sparkling. "And congratulations on making Head Girl! I knew you had it in you," she added returning Lily's hug.
Marlene shut the door they sat down so Lily could tell her all about meeting with Professor Dumbledore and seeing the Head Common Room. "The only thing that would make all of this a whole lot better would be if they changed who the Head Boy is," Lily said sighing.
"Really?" Marlene asked, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Who is it? You never did tell me."
Before Lily could answer, the compartment door slid open and a tall, dark haired boy walked in.
Marlene's eyes widened and she looked from James to Lily and then back again. "You're Head Boy?" she asked incredulously.
"Oh!" James gasped and clutched his chest in mock pain. "However did you guess? Could it have been this brilliantly shiny gold badge that gave me away?" James sprawled on the seat across from Marlene and Lily, leaving the compartment door open.
Marlene rolled her eyes. "I don't envy Lily on bit having to put up with him all year," she thought.
"Hey, Prongs!" Sirius Black walked leisurely through the open door, his black hair falling with natural grace into his grey eyes. Remus Lupin was following behind him. Sirius, Remus and James had been friends since they met on the school train for their first year at Hogwarts. They had been inseparable ever since. The three of them, along with Peter Pettigrew, called themselves the Marauders.
"I'm glad we found you," Remus said. With his soft brown hair and eyes, he was the most studious of the group. "I was looking through my Charms book and I saw a spell I thought we could use for our pra-omph!" Remus rubbed his side, glaring at Sirius. "What was that for?"
Sirius gestured wildly to where Lily and Marlene were sitting. "Hello! Head Girl and Head Girl's best friend! They'll rat out on us if they knew what we're going to do."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. It's not like they don't know already. They've know us for seven years. And the professors should know by now that we do a prank at the beginning of every year. It's expected."
James nodded in agreement. The Marauders were famous for their pranks. They had been pulling pranks since their first year at Hogwarts and it had become a tradition. Each year they had a new prank. Last year anyone who had eaten the treacle pudding had been overcome with a sudden urge to punch the person sitting next to them. It had created quite a stir.
"Yeah, but if they know what it is they won't be surprised like everyone else. No one is supposed to know what the prank is going to be except for us," Sirius said.
"Oh, fine." Remus knew that when Sirius got like this is was a lost cause trying to reason with him. "Come on," he said, dragging Sirius out the door behind him.
"We'll find Peter, plan everything out and then fill Prongs in on it later."
The train's whistle blew, signaling that it was time to leave the platform. Marlene stood up. "Well, I'm going to go back and sit with John and the others," she said, referring to her Ravenclaw boyfriend, John McKinnon, and the other people she and Lily were friends with.
"Ok," Lily replied, giving her a knowing smile. "Tell everyone I say `hi'. I'll try to stop by after we meet with the prefects, but I don't know if there will be anything else that I have to do."
"Alright, we'll see you at the carriages then if you don't make it." Marlene said as she left the compartment, shutting the door behind her.
The train pulled out of the station soon after Marlene left. Lily went over to her trunk and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. She sat back down across from James.
"Ok," she said. "We need to go over what we want to say at the meeting."
James looked up from reading Quidditch Through the Ages. "Uh...what?" It was obvious that he hadn't heard a word she had said.
"The Prefects' meeting. You know...the one that all prefects go to at the beginning of every year."
"Well...considering that I was never a prefect, how was I to know?"
"Oh, honestly! Don't you read?" Lily went over to her trunk and pulled out another piece of parchment. This one was longer then the other one and had writing on it.
"Didn't you get one of these with your letter?" James shook his head and Lily continued. "Besides, Remus was a prefect. Didn't you ever ask where he went at the beginning of the term the last two years?"
"Uh..." James ran his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat. "We, uh, thought he was meeting a girl..."
Lily snorted. "You would. Anyways, you should have gotten something that explains all the duties that the Head Boy and Girl have to do." She scanned the parchment.
"And right here is says `conduct a meeting on the Hogwarts Express ten minutes after the train leaves the station. This is a mandatory meeting for all Prefects.' Here read it yourself." She thrust the parchment out at James. "It explains everything you have to do."
"Nah," James said and pushed the parchment back towards her. "Why should I bother when you have the whole thing memorized? I can just ask you."
"Fine. But don't come running to me when someone asks you something and you can't answer it." Lily checked her watch. "Come on, let's go. Everyone should be there by now."
She and James got up and Lily led them to a compartment across the hall and a few doors down from theirs. It was a large compartment; large enough to fit twenty-four students (a boy and girl from each of the four houses for years 5, 6, and 7) plus the Head Boy and Girl. There were three rows of comfy benches that could each seat 8 people facing another smaller bench. The prefects were talking amongst each other when Lily and James arrived. A bubbly blonde bounced over to greet them when she saw them enter.
"Hi, Lily. Hey, James," she said giving James a flirty smile.
Lily inwardly groaned. "Hi, Missy," she said with a tight smile. "I see you've been made a prefect." Missy was a seventh year Gryffindor. She was about Lily's height and had bright blue eyes and short blonde hair that she pulled back with two clips, leaving several strands to frame her face. She and Renee (another 7th year Gryffindor) had been chasing after the Marauders since their fourth year and (as far as Lily knew) had yet to catch them. They were the year's biggest flirts and Lily had no idea how they managed to get sorted into Gryffindor let alone how Missy was made a prefect.
Missy nodded her head energetically at Lily's comment. "Mm-hm. I wasn't sure if I was going to accept it at first. But then I heard that James was Head Boy, so I couldn't possibly refuse." She threw another smile at James and winked at him.
Lily cleared her throat. "We need to get this meeting started. See you, Missy."
She and James walked to the front of the compartment and James asked everyone to sit down. After they had introduced themselves Lily told them what they were expected to do this year. She explained the patrols and said that the schedule would be posted next week in the prefects' room. James talked about their plans for a Halloween feast and said that they wanted to have something extra at Christmas but hadn't decided what. Lastly, Lily handed out the passwords to the House dorms and also the ones for the Prefect bathrooms (one for the girls and one for the boys).
After answering all their questions Lily and James went back to their compartment. Lily put the parchment with all her note from the meeting in her trunk and got out her charms book. She curled up on one of the seats and opened the book in her lap.
James was about to sit down when he remembered that he was supposed to meet up with the Marauders after the meeting. "Hey, Evans, I'm going to go find Remus, Sirius and Peter. I'll be back before we get to Hogwarts."
"Alright," she said without looking up from her book. "If you see Marlene tell her that I'll stop by later," she added distractedly.
James smiled, shaking his head. "It's just like Evans to read a book when she could be talking with friends," he thought, shutting the compartment door behind him.
********
When James returned a few hours later, Lily was curled up on her side sleeping. Her cloak, which she had been using as a blanket had fallen to the floor. James picked it up and recovered her gently. He reached out to brush her red hair back from her face. She sighed and shifted in her sleep. James held his breath, half afraid that she would wake up and witness him acting so out of character. But when she had all her guards down, like she did now, he couldn't help but feel relaxed too. It was calming in a way. He sighed when she settled back down, knowing that when she woke up they would be back to arguing like they always did. But then, that was half the fun wasn't it? He was about to sit down when the train lurched to a stop, almost knocking him off his feet. James went to the window and looked out, but he didn't see anything. He went to where Lily was sleeping and shook her shoulder gently.
"Evans. Hey, Evans, wake up," he whispered. She didn't move so he shook her shoulder again, harder this time. "Evans."
Drowsily, Lily opened her eyes. She saw James' face above her and sat up with a start. Only James' quick Quidditch reflexes saved his nose from being broken.
"Potter!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Why are you in my room? Get out!"
"Evans, you're not in your room, you're on the Hogwarts Express."
Lily blinked. "Oh...sorry...I-I didn't realize. Why did you wake me up then? Are we there yet?"
"No, we still have another hour yet to go," he replied, worry in his voice.
Lily stood up slowly. "There's no reason we should have stopped then."
"I know."
"Well, we have to find out what's going on. Everyone is going to be wondering."
"Exactly. Do you want me to go up front and check?"
"Yeah," Lily said. "Make sure you have your wand with you. I'll send all the perfects to the compartment and tell everyone else to stay put and not wander around until we know what's going on. I'll meet you in the Prefects compartment in 5 minutes, alright?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." James opened the compartment door and Lily walked through ahead of him. "I'll see you in a few."
James walked to the front of the train where the conductor and food cart were. He could tell immediately that something wasn't right as he opened the door...
A/N: Yes I know….a cliff hanger…I'm sorry but it fit! Anyways I'm partway finished with the next chapter and I have chapter 5 outlined. I'm aiming for 2 weeks for chapter 4, so look for it around then…who knows maybe it will be sooner…but I don't count on it. Classes are easing up a bit now that mid terms are over so I'll have more time to write. As always, read and review! Much love! See you soon!