Chapter Five
The barrier flew past as Lily stepped onto platform nine and three-quarters on Friday morning. She took a deep breath, savouring the scene around her. Parents and students hurried to and from the scarlet train as they bid farewell to each other. Lily had said goodbye to her parents before Apparating to King's Cross station. Being of age was definitely an advantage in the wizarding world. She looked through the crowd for Marlene and, failing to see her, continued on to the Heads' compartment at the front of the train, hovering her trunk in front of her.
After stowing her trunk on the overhead rack, she took her book bag off her shoulder and set it on the seat. She rummaged in the front pocket for her Head Girl badge and pinned it onto her robes. Smoothing her hair, she stepped into the hallway in search of Marlene.
Lily's search kept getting interrupted by people congratulating her on becoming Head Girl and she was relieved when she finally found Marlene chatting with some of their friends in a compartment halfway down the train.
"Hey, Lily!" Elizabeth Quirk, better know as Lizzie, a Ravenclaw in her year greeted her. "Oh- you did get Head Girl. Marlene refused to tell us whether you had or not. We had our suspicions, of course, since Janice-" she was referring to Janice Thompson, a seventh year Gryffindor who played Beater on the Quidditch team "was made a Prefect, but we didn't know for sure."
Lily smiled. Lizzie didn't believe anything until she saw it for herself.
"Are those new robes?" Ellen Bethan gushed. "They're so pretty- and perfect for being Head Girl."
"Thanks," Lily told her as she sat down. Ellen was in Hufflepuff and a Prefect in Lily's year. She was the first friend Lily had made when she had come to Hogwarts. Like Lily, she came from a Muggle family. Ellen had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and was also obsessed with clothes of all sorts. She planned to open her own shop when she left Hogwarts with her Hufflepuff year mates, Ruby Dobbs and Olivia Bradshaw.
Linda Colmes- yet another Gryffindor- pulled at Lily's hair. "You finally let your hair grow out," she stated happily. "Janice will be thrilled. Are you going to let her fix it up for you?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "As if I would have a choice. She's fussed with my hair since first year- even though it was cut up to my chin."
The others all laughed. Janice was always cutting and styling everyone's hair. Lily suspected this was because she kept her own thick, curly black hair cut extremely short. She had been pestering Lily to grow hers out for ages.
"I heard James Potter was made Head Boy. How's that going to work?" Ellen asked Lily. "You two have never got along."
Lily shrugged.
Linda gaped at her. "But you can't stand him," she said, as Marlene stifled giggles behind her hand. "What?" she looked at Marlene in confusion. "There's something you aren't telling us."
Marlene couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "First Hogsmeade weekend!"
Lily covered her face in her hands and groaned. "Marlene…"
The girls rounded on Lily. "What's this about the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Lizzie demanded.
"Nothing." Lily glared at Marlene. "There's nothing about the first Hogsmeade weekend."
Marlene ignored her. "They're going to find out anyway." She took a deep breath shoot Lily a triumphant look. "Lily Evans has agreed to go to Hogsmeade with James Potter."
There were several loud squeals and shouts of laughter. Lily crossed her arms and frowned at them. Lizzie was rolling on her seat laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. "It's not a big deal," she protested.
"It is a big deal," Linda argued.
"And," Ellen put in, "he's been asking you out constantly since third year. You've always refused."
"Oh, Merlin." Lizzie sat up in her seat, wiping her eyes. "I guess his good looks finally got to you," she said mischievously.
"What's this I hear about good looks?" Sirius stuck his head into the compartment. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes at him. "Who else could we possibly be referring to?" she asked him sarcastically.
The train whistle blew at that moment, signalling that the train would be leaving in ten minutes, and forestalling Sirius' reply, Lily stood. "I better go, there's a meeting in a few minutes. I'll see you all later."
"In that case," Sirius said, "you won't mind if I take your place." He sat down in Lily's vacated seat and propped his feet up on the opposite one, resting his arms behind his head. "So, ladies… know anyone who will come up to the Astronomy tower with me tonight?"
"Sirius, you're incorrigible." Marlene's voice drifted down the hall as Lily made her way back to the Head's compartment, pausing to say 'Hello' to several people along the way.
She opened the door to the compartment to reveal James sprawled out on one of the seats making notes in a book with a quill. He smiled when Lily entered.
"Hey, Evans. I wondered when you'd get back." He sat up and tucked his book and quill back into his bag and pulled out a few pieces of parchment, which he handed to her.
"What's this?" she asked him as she walked across the hall to the empty Prefects' compartment.
"Dumbledore owled me the common room passwords and the one to his office. I also made some notes on stuff I think should be covered at the meeting. I wasn't sure how everything works, not having been a Prefect and all." He sat on the seat that faced all of the other ones and Lily sat down beside him.
"Oh. Well, it's pretty simple. We just go over the rules about taking house points and giving detentions. I can cover that part," she said, as the Prefects started trickling in. She glanced over the parchment he had given her and raised an eyebrow at him. "'Be responsible'? That's a bit rich coming from you."
He raised an eyebrow at her in return. Lily couldn't help it- she burst out laughing.
"The world has ended," Remus said- who was looking a bit off colour- come to a stop in the doorway. "Lily Evans is laughing at something James Potter has done."
"Move your arse," Janice said loudly, pushing him into the compartment. Remus took a seat on one of the many benches across from Lily and James. Janice grabbed both of Lily's hands in hers and said fervently, "I am so proud of you."
"Whatever for?" Lily laughed.
"For growing your hair, of course!" She sighed. "Now if only I had a reason to dress it up."
"I know of one," piped up Ruby Dobbs from the back row, her short curly red hair bouncing excitedly. "The first Hogsmeade weekend!"
James let out a burst of laughter before covering it up with an unconvincing cough. "News travels fast, doesn't it, Evans?"
Janice eyes him suspiciously. "What this about the first Hogsmeade weekend?"
"I'll tell you later," Lily said through gritted teeth. Janice grinned at her as though she already knew what Lily would say, and sat down next to Remus.
Lily stood up and motioned for everyone to sit down once the train gave a final whistle and started moving. They had arranged themselves by year, with the new fifth year Prefects sitting proudly in front, their badges shining brightly against their black robes.
Lily let them chat while the train picked up speed and then, when they were well on their way to Hogwarts, she stood up and motioned them into silence. "Welcome back for another school year and congratulations for being made Prefects. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Lily Evans and I will be Head Girl this year."
They all cheered. Lily was well liked around Hogwarts. Few people didn't know who she was, and those that didn't knew she was someone to be respected. It helped that the teachers always told students to go to her for help with classes, no matter which house they were in- not that the Slytherins had ever asked for help from a Gryffindor. Lily smiled at them and turned to James, gesturing for him to introduce himself.
"Hi," he said, "this is the first time I've been at one of these meetings, so bear with me." He grinned at everyone and continued with a small bow. "I'm James Potter, Head Boy and Marauder extraordinaire. I promise I shall do my very best to keep the mischief to the minimum this year." They all laughed at this, though no one truly believed him. The Marauders were famous for misbehaving, and they all knew that James was the leader.
Lily glared at him before speaking again. "I'd like all of you to know who everyone else is, so we'll start in the front and you can all introduce yourselves."
Once everyone had said their names, year and which House they were in, Lily continued, "For those of you that are new, I'm going to go over the procedures for taking house points and assigning detentions. All of you are able to give and take house points, but only for reasonable things. No taking points from someone just because they're in another house, or because their socks don't match. The same goes for rewarding points. You can't give them to someone just because they're in your house or for doing something silly, such as brushing their hair- even if it's the first time they've done it." She looked at James as she said this and he scowled at her.
Lily continued, "This is all common sense and I trust you have it, since you were made Prefects in the first place. As far as detentions go- only the Head Boy and I can assign them. If you feel that a student deserves a detention you need to write a statement saying why and give it to one of us, so that we can take care of it." She looked at James. "Do you have anything to add?"
He nodded. "I know that I'm one to talk, but just because you're Prefects doesn't mean that you're any better than the other students. That means no picking or hexing anyone just because you can. Also, I'm sure you all remember what it was like being a first year. Make sure that you help them out if they need it. It doesn't matter if it's showing them where a classroom is, giving them a hand with their homework, or just talking to them. It's your job to make sure Hogwarts feels like home. If you notice any of them having trouble adjusting, especially those that are from a Muggle background, tell Evans or me so that we can talk to them about what's troubling them."
"Alright," Lily took over, "the teachers will be doing the patrols this weekend while we get settled, but starting on Monday we will be helping them. There will be a new patrol schedule each month. We have another meeting on Sunday night and you'll get your first patrol schedule then, as well as the passwords to the Prefect Bathrooms. Please, remember that there are separate bathrooms for the boys and girls for a reason. The passwords are not to be shared. If this rule is violated, the bathrooms can be closed up and you won't be able to use them. Oh, speaking of passwords, we have the ones for your common rooms."
Lily handed a fifth year from each house one of the parchment pieces James had given her earlier. "You know that these are not to be shared with other houses and that they'll be changing periodically. Make sure you tell the members of your house to check the bulletin boards for this."
Abigail Wreath, a sixth year Ravenclaw raised her hand. Lily nodded at her to speak. "Will there be a Head common room for meetings again this year?"
James looked at Lily questioningly; he didn't know anything about it. "Yes, there will," Lily answered her. "We're meeting with Dumbledore after the feast and he's going to tell us where it is, since they move it according to who the Head Boy and Girl are. My guess is that it will be nearby Gryffindor Tower. We'll let you know where it is at the meeting on Sunday, which will be held in the antechamber off the Great Hall. Does anyone else have a question?"
When no one raised their hand, James spoke again, "Great. For the remainder of the trip you all have to patrol the halls and make sure no one is doing anything they shouldn't be. That doesn't mean you can't talk with friends, just make sure that you do your job, too. One of us will always be in the Head Compartment if you need us for anything."
Lily halted them when they made to leave. "Before you go, I have one more announcement to make," she said, looking around the compartment at everyone. Her voice was quiet when she spoke once again. "I'm sure you have all heard about the recent attack in Diagon Alley." They all nodded solemnly. "This year is going to be different from anything we've known before for reasons I know you are all aware of. Even though Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers will be taking precautions, you need to make sure that the students in your house are being safe. No student is allowed out of their common room after curfew unless they're a Prefect on patrol. Make sure that you report anything unusual you see to Dumbledore, Potter or me. And I mean anything, even if it's one of your friends acting a bit strangely. The Prophet just reported that someone from the Ministry had been found to be under the Imperius Curse. And, while I don't think Voldemort or his Death Eaters would target students, no one can know for sure. For now, curfew and Hogsmeade trips will be as they were last year, but it might change later on in the year depending on how the situation outside of school is. So remember, keep your eyes open."
Lily looked around the room one last time, meeting everyone's eye. "Alright, see you all later. Oh," she added, "make sure that everyone has changed into their robes by the time we reach the school."
-()-
The train ride to Hogwarts was surprisingly bereft of confrontation. The only incident was when some of the older students told the first years they would have to wrestle a mountain troll to see which House they would go to. But, seeing as that rumour surfaced each year, it was an easy matter to resolve.
After the train stopped smoothly in the Hogsmeade station, Lily hopped off and, along with James and the seventh year Prefects, guided the students to the carriages that would take them up to Hogwarts. When the last few stragglers were finally off the train she and James boarded the carriage that had been waiting patiently for them.
Lily rested her arms on the open window and gazed out into the dark night, watching the lights of the castle loom closer as the gentle night breeze wafted over her face. She drew in a deep breath- this was her favourite time of the year. There was something so simplistically magical about it that it took her breath away each and every time.
James let out a heaving sigh and Lily looked over at him. "What is it?"
He gave her a sheepish grin. "I love this part. There's something so perfect and calming about it." He leaned back and stretched. "It's like… this is the one time every year that I can just relax and let everything just… be. Merlin, I can't believe this is our last year."
"I know. So much has happened and yet… it's as though nothing has changed."
The rest of the journey up to Hogwarts was spent in silence. When they got to the front doors, James bounded from the carriage and then helped Lily down. They walked into the castle and went through the entrance way and into the Great Hall.
The noise was deafening. Even thought the students had had plenty of time to talk during the train ride, there was something about being back at Hogwarts after summer holiday. Lily and James walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from each other near where their friends were sitting.
They had sat with each other before, but never at the Welcoming Feast. Although as Head Boy and Girl, Lily felt that they should at least show all the other students that they could put their past differences behind them and get along for one evening. So far, it hadn't been much of a trial.
Several moments later the doors to the Great Hall opened again and Professor McGonagall strolled through with the new first years following meekly behind. Lily studied them, as she did every year, wondering which ones would be sorted into Gryffindor, as McGonagall placed a three legged stool and the Sorting Hat in front of them.
The Hall melted into silence as everyone waited with bated breath for the Hat to begin its song.
"There comes a time in a wizard's life
And a witch's too,
When you must make a difficult choice
Which is never easy to do.
Though your peers will say this
Your parents will say that,
And as to who is right
No one knows for a fact.
The founders found out the hard way
When Slytherin left in rush,
Behind was a trail of bitter words
Which today some people still trust.
'Pure-bloods yes, but Muggleborns no'
Is what Slytherin had said,
The other founders, they disagreed
'Please reconsider,' they pled.
But Slytherin refused to change
And that's why he had gone,
So now I sit before you today
To sing you all this song.
Though your houses are not the same
One thing is true for all,
You each have magic in your veins
And have since you were small.
So, to Gryffindor go the bold
The courageous and the strong,
To Ravenclaw the ones with brains
The clever are hardly wrong.
To Hufflepuff the trusty ones
The dependable and the true,
To Slytherin go those with cunning
The pure-bloods who are few.
So step on up when you name is called
And put me atop your head,
I'll tell you the house where you belong
And where you'll go to bed."
Everyone burst into applause but it was interspersed with whispers. It was the first time Lily had ever heard the Hat give advice. It must have done so in the past as the teachers didn't seem surprised, but this still bothered Lily. She exchanged a worried look with James who leaned over and whispered, "I suppose we have our work cut out for us this year. Can you imagine us joining together with the Slytherins?" He gave a disgusted snort.
"Maybe not all of them," Lily agreed.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, unrolling a scroll of parchment, and cleared her throat. "When I call your name," she said, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Aubrey, Judith!"
A small brown-haired girl walked up and sat on the stool. The Sorting Hat fell over her face and the Great Hall was silent as the Hat worked its magic. Nearly a minute later the Hat's brim opened again and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff table clapped and cheered as Judith scurried over and sat down next to her older brother, Bertram Aubrey, who ruffled her short hair.
McGonagall called the next name and, one by one, the first years were sorted into their houses. When the last name had been called, McGonagall picked up the stool and the Hat and carried them out of the Hall. At the staff table Professor Dumbledore stood up and motioned for silence.
"Welcome!" he greeted them. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I know you are all eager to fill your stomachs, so I will until after the feast for the usual announcements and my few words of wisdom. Until then-" he clapped his hands and the tables filled with food. "-enjoy the feast! Thank you!"
Once Dumbledore had sat down again the students restarted their previous conversations. Sirius stretched and cracked his knuckles before reaching for the plate of chicken in sitting in front of Lily. "I love that he lets us eat first," he said.
"Yeah, that way we're too full and tired to listen to a word he says," James added.
"I suppose that's why you never remember what the rules are, right?" Lily asked.
"Nah." Sirius waved a hand at her. "We have to know the rules. How else would we know how to break them?"
"Instinct."
Remus snorted. "And we all know Sirius has loads of that."
The others laughed and the remainder of the feast passed by Lily in a blur of happy chatter with those around her. Every once in a while she heard someone mention the attack on Diagon Alley, but she tuned them out, wanting only to enjoy what she knew would be her last relaxing evening for a long while. When the last of the dessert had disappeared and the plates were restored to their previous shine, Dumbledore stood once again and the students quieted down.
"I have only a few start of term announcements to give to you. All first years, as well as some of our older students, should note that the Forbidden Forest is just that- forbidden. There are two new additions to the staff this year. First, Professor Julian Lowbard-" a man with indistinct looks stood up and waved to everyone "will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Also, due to the untimely passing of our dear caretaker, Mr. Apollyon Pringle, I am please to introduce you to Mr. Argus Filch, who shall be replacing him." A stooped man with stringy grey hair sitting at the end of the staff table stood up and glared at the students.
Sirius leaned across the table. "I know who we'll be pranking first," he whispered to James.
"Then I'll know who to give detention to," Lily said, smiling at him innocently.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Watch me." Lily crossed her arms and returned her attention to Dumbledore.
"-no magic in the corridors. There is also a list posted on his office door with all banned items. Anyone caught with any of these items will loose house point and receive a detention." He paused and looked around solemnly at everyone. "Many of you are aware of the recent incident in Diagon Alley. Precautions have been taken, and while Hogsmeade visits are still allowed, we ask that you go in groups and be cautious. There are dark times ahead and we must join together if we are to overcome them. On that note, it's off to bed. First years, please follow your house Prefects to your dormitories. Good-night!"
As the students rose and scuttled off to bed, Lily and James made their way to the antechamber off of the Great Hall to meet with Dumbledore.
He looked up at them when they arrived from where he was sitting and motioned for them to take the chair across from him. He looked back and forth between them as they sat down and there were several moments of silence before he said, "Wonderful."
Lily and James exchanged a glace. Sometimes Dumbledore could be very… well, in a word, odd.
"I am very pleased you both chose to accept the Head positions this year. Very pleased, indeed." He sat forward and clasped his hands together, his blue eyes trained on them. "Now, I am sure you have many questions to ask me, but we shall save them for a better time. It would surely be too tiring to answer them all tonight. Shall we say, tomorrow at ten in the morning, instead?"
Lily and James nodded in agreement. As much as they wanted their questions about Diagon Alley answered they were too tired.
Dumbledore continued, "Miss Evans, I know you are aware of the Head common room as you have been a Prefect these past two years, though Mr. Potter is not. It has been a while since both the Heads came from the same house but, I must say, it very convenient." He smiled. "We won't have to argue about what the colours or the location of the common room will be." James and Lily laughed at this. "You should have no trouble finding the room as it is located near the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, behind the portrait of Godric Gryffindor. There are several Head common rooms throughout the school and I thought that this one would suit you both."
"It sounds perfect, Professor," Lily told him.
Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you. The password is currently 'sugar quills', but if you would like to change it to something else be sure to let Professor McGonagall and I know."
"Sure, Professor," James said. "Only, I think we'll keep the password as it is for right now."
"Very well. I will let you go on your way then. There are several… features, for lack of a better word, about the room. But, I will let you discover them for yourselves. I'm sure you will enjoy them thoroughly. Good night. I will talk to you on the morrow."
Lily and James bid him good-night and left the room.
"This is brilliant!" James exclaimed as he and Lily bounded up the stairs. "Just think, a place to plan pranks without being interrupted but first years every ten seconds."
Lily glared at him. "If you think I'll let you use it as your own personal room, you're wrong. The only people allowed in are you and me."
"What about Prefect meetings? Aren't they held there?"
Lily shot him a frustrated glance. "Yes, but the Prefects will wait outside until we let them in. That's how it was the last two years and all the ones before it. Besides, I wouldn't want all the Prefects knowing the password. They would come barging in at all hours to use the room for themselves."
"Ah, you do have a point there," James agreed.
"And no telling your friends," Lily demanded.
James nodded. "I won't tell my friends as long as you promise to do the same."
"Agreed."
They reached floor where the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower was and James looked over where Godric Gryffindor's portrait was hanging between two giant potted palms. "Shall we have a look then?"
Lily shrugged and walked over to the portrait. He looked down at them from his gilded armchair, his famous sword balance across his lap. "He looks rather aristocratic, doesn't he?"
"Just a bit. Well-" James turned and gave Lily a half smile "here's to being Head Boy and Girl. Sugar quills."
The portrait swung opened to reveal a short corridor. At the end was a heavy oak door with 'Heads' Common Room' written on it in thick gold print. James opened the door and motioned for Lily to go through first. She passed the threshold and stopped, staring around in wonder.
It was the most luxurious room she had ever been in. The room was circular like their dormitories, so it must be in one of the castle's many towers. Opposite the door was a huge bay window that overlooked the Quidditch Pitch. A thick, plush carpet in Gryffindor colours covered the dark, hardwood floor and there were two enormous armchairs and a sofa in front of a roaring fire. There was also a long table with several chairs and a small bookshelf, which was currently empty.
Two desks sat along one wall, separated by a bulletin board, which was divided into four parts- one for each house. James called to her from where he was standing in the doorway to the bathroom.
"Come take a look at this. It's like a smaller version of the Prefect bathroom."
"How do you know what the Prefect bathroom looks like?" she asked as she walked over to him.
He gave her a look. "Remus."
"Oh… right, forget I asked," Lily responded, looking past him. It was true- the bathroom was a smaller version of the Prefect one. There was a huge tub and a shower stall on the wall facing them and across from them was a double sink. There were hooks along the wall behind the door with two bathrobes in Gryffindor colours hanging on them. Next to the bathrobes was a shelf with several fluffy towels on it and a hamper sat next to that.
James went to the small wardrobe next to the sink and opened it. There was a full length mirror on the door and several hangers inside.
"We can put some of our clothes in here," he said, grinning. He left the bathroom and flopped down onto the sofa. "This is brilliant."
"Yeah, it'll be nice to have somewhere quiet to go." Lily pushed his feet out of the way and sat down next to him. "We have a lot of responsibilities this year, not to mention our N.E.W.Ts." She sighed and laid down on her back, knees bent, and rested her head on the armrest.
"What's the matter?"
Lily sighed again. "This is our last year at Hogwarts."
"Mm-hm."
"You're Head Boy."
"Mm-hm."
"I'm Head Girl."
"Mm-hm."
"Everything is changing."
James looked over at her and their eyes met. He studied her for a moment before replying, "Is that so bad?"
"No." Lily gave him a half smile. "No, astonishingly enough, it isn't."
-()-
A/N: Hello everyone! I love hearing (reading) from you, so don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Chapter six will be posted in about a week, so keep a lookout for it!