James pulled his trunk along with one hand and ran his fingers through his messy black hair with the other; his wand was stowed in his pocket and his owl's cage was clunking around in the trolley, his owl hooting all the while. He let out a small sigh and frowned as he fingered the unwanted badge in his pocket. Beside him was his mother, who had been lecturing him since he had gotten onto the platform.
"Now James dear, don't do anything -"
"Stupid, mother?" he said, smirking.
"You may find it funny, James, but if I get one single letter from your school telling me that you have been out of bounds, annoying the centaurs in the forbidden forest or -"
"Blowing up Moaning Myrtle's toilet?" he asked mischievously.
"I was thinking of pulling pranks on the first years, actually," she said seriously.
"I have grown, you know."
"Yes, about ten inches by the looks of things, and we've had those robes readjusted about -"
"I meant up, mother dearest, up," said James. He was looking about as he spoke, clearly searching for something or somebody. He glanced up at the large clock that was hanging on the wall and noted that he still had a good ten minutes or so before the train departed.
"I will agree that I have received far fewer letters telling me of your hexing people in the corridors, James, but there still have been many pranks and a distinct lack of homework completion -"
"I wouldn't have been given the badge if I was as irresponsible as you make me sound, would I?" he asked patiently. "Honestly, I have grown up. My mental age is at least third year standard now."
"Well, show me, and then I will believe you. Oh look, Sirius is just over there -"
"OI! Sirius! Come over here, mate!" called James, beckoning him over. He was completely ignoring his mother, and his face had lit up with excitement when he saw his best friend approaching.
"Hey Prongs," said Sirius, smiling. "You'll never believe the summer I've had!" He turned around slightly and saw Mrs. Potter standing next to James. "Hello Mrs. Potter, long time no see."
"Good to see you again, Sirius, although I did see you just yesterday wreaking havoc in my son's bedroom," she said. But she didn't appear too mad, and he could see a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
The scarlet train emitted clouds of smoke and the horn sounded, startling the first years, who weren't accustomed to it. The wheels began to slowly revolve, and it came up so the students could begin getting onto the train. James felt a hand tap his shoulder, and he spun around, his hand clutched tightly around his wand.
"Prongs," said Remus happily. "We should start packing our things on the train soon, you know. Don't want all the best seats taken by the time I get back off my corridor patrols. Oh, hello Mrs. Potter!" The last was directed at James's mother, accompanied by a very sweet smile.
James hastily kissed his mother goodbye, and after reassuring her that he would be on his best behaviour - despite Sirius laughing openly while he did so - she finally decided to leave her only son in the peace that he craved.
She shook her head ruefully as she walked back towards the barrier; she knew her son had matured greatly since his fifth year, but she couldn't help but be apprehensive about his final year at Hogwarts. There was still a chance that he would continue with some more dangerous pranks despite promising her that he wouldn't let Sirius cause another Shrieking Shack scenario again. In the midst of a dangerous war she wanted her son to be happy and, above all, safe.
"Where's Peter?" asked James. He had been scanning the area looking for his small friend, but he couldn't see him anywhere. It was certainly suspicious - his friend was usually so nervous that he asked to meet the rest of the Marauders before they got to the platform, just in case he was accosted by angry Slytherins that wanted revenge for his pranks.
"No idea but I don't think we should we wait too long. We'll get our things on the train and search for him again in a minute," answered Sirius.
They hefted their trunks onto the train and shoved them in the compartments above the seats. James put his owl's cage onto the seat and let it out ("Quigley, come here!") after opening the window ("so it can get some exercise; the lazy thing has barely been out except for hunting all summer"). They hurried back off the train, almost anxious to search for their friend who completed the pranksters' little group of four. As James jumped down the steps he saw a long mane of red hair flick in front of his face.
"Hey! EVANS!" he bellowed. She was only a few metres away from him, but he didn't want to give her an excuse for getting away.
"What do you want, Potter?" she said cheekily, and he could almost have sworn that he saw the corners of her mouth twitching. He ran his hands through his hair nervously at the sight of her; he had very active butterflies in his stomach that were causing him to feel slightly queasy.
"How was your summer?" he asked genuinely. He really hoped to build bridges this year; he was sure that Lily couldn't resist the Potter charm if he bestowed enough upon her. He was equally sure, though, that she wasn't quite appreciative enough of him yet to find his charm… well, charming.
"Normally, Potter, you ask your friends that question. As I am neither a friend nor a real acquaintance I think I will decline answering," she said sharply, tugging at her jumper in the hope of pulling it down a little further.
"But Lily dear, you did just answer me," he smiled happily. "From the tone of your voice I must suspect that your summer wasn't very satisfactory. Shame. You should have visited me; I would have shown you a good time." He heard a derisive snort from behind him and his foot itched to seek Sirius's and stamp on it. Hard.
"I'm sure you would, but I doubt my idea of a good time is the same as yours," she said, barely glancing at his face. It was almost as if she couldn't stand to look at him, he thought glumly. That would have to change.
"You'll never find out unless you try, Evans. How about you come to Hogsmeade with me the first weekend?" he asked casually. Despite his tone, he was actually quite nervous. Lily always turned him down and for reasons he couldn't quite fathom he still persisted in asking her out over and over. His friends were tired of it, and he was certain that she was also. He had vowed not to ask her out again this year until he was certain she would say yes, but it had just slipped out before he could stop himself; it had become a habit.
"No. Have I ever given you the impression that I would like to spend any time with you?" she asked.
"Well, no, but I was sure that you loved me subconsciously despite your harsh words…"
"Get on the train, Potter, before I hex you into next year," she said warningly.
"Oh, but Evans! I could take points from you for doing that!" he called before bounding back up the train steps and leading his friends with them.
They had all forgotten about the absence of Peter now, and just assumed that he would be late or turn up at Hogwarts - in truth, they were Peter's only friends but they weren't truly worried about him. It never even occurred to them that, what with Voldemort gaining power, something awful could have happened to him. They didn't think they were invincible, but they also didn't think that Voldemort would waste his breath on them.
Lily tried helplessly to pull her trunk onto the train but soon realised that she lacked the strength. She didn't really want to use magic to pull it up either; it was definitely a sign of weakness, she was sure. But it was ever so tempting to make it feather light…
"Lily! I haven't seen you all summer!" her best friend Hannah called out to her. She hurried over and tried to help heave the trunk up the steps. She wasn't much stronger than Lily, and they were soon both panting. The train began moving, and they cast worried looks at each other.
"Oi, Sarah! Come out here and help, you lazy little -"
But she was cut off by a tall boy with messy black hair appearing at the top of the steps. Lily's face instantly darkened and Hannah could swear that she muttered a few profanities under her breath (which was most unlike her friend).
"Need some help, girls?" he asked pleasantly.
"We don't need your help," Lily mumbled. It was quite clear, however, that they did - more importantly, she did, and she grudgingly admitted it to him. He lifted the trunk up easily, pulled it into their compartment and sat down. The girls followed him into the compartment and Lily tapped her foot expectantly, hoping to get her message across.
"Thanks for helping us, James, but you can leave now," said Lily. Her face was flushed with annoyance.
"Well, thank you for giving me permission, but I don't really want to just yet," he replied shortly, with a smile. Lily smiled back, forgetting who she was talking to for a second, but her face clouded over again when she realised what had happened.
"We have a meeting in ten minutes, Evans, don't be late," he said. Then he stood up to leave, turned back, and flashed her a smile before walking down the corridor.
"That boy is extremely infuriating, Hannah," said Lily contemptuously. She pulled out her badge from her pocket, put on her robes, and pinned it on them.
"Hmm, sure, Lily. He is also the most popular boy in school and contender for the most handsome…" she said, glancing up at her friend just in time to see the look of anger that passed over her face.
"Yes, but what do you think he meant by saying 'we have a meeting'?" asked Sarah, sitting down after making her grand entrance.
"Oh Merlin, I have no idea. I didn't even think about… You don't think that Mr. Overly Inflated Ego is Head Boy, do you?" she questioned.
"No, no, of course he can't be," placated Hannah, but she too had her doubts. She knew her friend hated him but also felt that, while it may have been deserved two years ago, it definitely was not now. She knew better than to articulate these thoughts, though.
"So Prongs, what trouble making are we going to be getting up to this year?" asked Sirius jokingly. He casually flicked his hair away from his eyes and looked up from the book he was reading ("A Prankster's Guide to Pranking").
"I told my mum I'd blow up Moaning Myrtle's toilet. It would be a shame to disappoint her after being the prodigal son for so long," said James, smirking.
"Now why didn't I think of that one?" asked Sirius gloomily.
"Because you lack the brain cells required to process such a thought, oh friend of mine," said James jokingly. "What do you think, Remus?"
"To be honest, James, I think it isn't a good idea. I'm a Prefect, you know…" he said without even bothering to glance up from his newspaper (apparently there had been two Death Eater sightings already).
"That's never stopped you before, Moony," said Sirius enquiringly. "What's changed?"
"The badge that James keeps fiddling with in his pocket. It would be the first time in over two centuries for a Head Boy to be forced to give up his title," said Remus seriously.
"JAMES! You got the badge and you never told us?" said Sirius.
"I thought it was a joke, but…it's obviously not. Anyway, I'll be back in half an hour or so. Prefects meeting. You better come too, Moony, Lily will kill us if we're late."
"And we don't want that, do we?" asked Remus, rolling his eyes expressively.
"Oh you two may laugh, but I can guarantee she'll be my girlfriend by the end of the year." said James.
"Whatever you say, James, whatever you say…" mumbled Sirius.
James walked out of their compartment, hurried down to the end of the corridor and went into the slightly larger Prefects' one. As he had never been a Prefect, he had only been in there before when the Marauders had decided it was time to get one-up on the annoying rule-abiding Prefects. It was pure misfortune that the prank had landed on Remus instead of a Slytherin. Remus had never truly forgiven them for that; the girl of his fancy had been at the meeting at the time, and she had laughed a little too loudly for his liking.
Lily was already waiting there and was looking pointedly at her watch.
"We're not late! We're five minutes early!" protested James, seeing the look on her face.
She looked amused, however, when she glanced at them both. Clearly she had just wanted to annoy James and see his indignation at being accused.
"I know, you might as well sit down and wait for the rest to get here. We'll both introduce ourselves, then tell them their duties for this year, taking particular care for the fifth years who don't know what is expected of them yet. We need to address the issue of You Know Who, obviously…Everyone is bound to be scared after what was featured in the Daily Prophet this morning. Any questions about what you have to do?"
"No, I'm perfectly capable of speaking about the rules too," said James in annoyance.
"Yes, well, if you are so aware of them, why do you feel the need to break them every time you get the opportunity?" she asked. Remus grinned in amusement.
"Because if you know the rules you know how to break them properly, Lily," said James, grinning. His eyes twinkled merrily. She quickly recovered.
"Yes, well, I think it would be better if you weren't the epitome of a hypocrite. It doesn't set a very good example."
"Relax, Lily, James will do a great job. The only people that think he hasn't matured are his mother and you." said Remus, anxious to please both.
"His mother and I have something in common then," said Lily.
"It'll make it easier when she's your mother-in-law won't it?" said James.
She didn't answer since the carriage door opened at that moment. She did let a small smile play around her mouth to show she was faintly amused despite her better judgement.
"You're the Head Boy?" asked a Slytherin in pure amazement. After the initial shock the boy said nothing more and allowed a look of haughty disinterest to stay upon his face, but it was quite clear that he was displeased with the new arrangements. Everyone else that walked in didn't share the same view; some of the more uptight Prefects sniffed disapprovingly to make their point clear, but most walked in and clapped James on the back before taking their places. Lily noted this in disgust; this appalling boy was extremely popular for being a prize idiot.
"Okay, so everyone is here?" asked Lily. When everyone nodded in consent she continued, "Right. Well, I'm Lily Evans, and I'm your Head Girl for the next year. I'm sure you all know who I am by now, and as a side note, anyone who is looking to join the Duelling Club can stay behind after the meeting. We need new recruits. I was thinking we could get onto patrolling duties and rules that have been added by the caretaker since last year."
She heard a loud coughing or choking noise and stopped to look at James who was the one making it.
"Do you have a cough, Potter?" she asked, smiling through her clenched teeth.
"Not at all, Lily, but you seemed to have forgotten to introduce me. No problem though. To anyone that doesn't know - I'm James Potter, lead mischief maker of the Marauders. Not that I will, of course, be creating mischief this year in light of my badge (sniggering ensued here, and James allowed himself a grin) and new found responsibilities.
If you are wondering why Dumbledore allowed me to be Head Boy, the answer is that I truly do not know. However, I am definitely sure that I did not curse or hex him in any way for the spot (more giggling, especially from the girls). Quidditch tryouts for the Gryffindor team will be on the first week back, but please only turn up if you already know how to fly. I already got the hint that I need to build up more muscle last year when I had to carry almost all the new fliers up to the hospital wing."
He smiled as a fair few around him clapped, and noted it graciously with a small bow.
Lily continued, "So, duties. We've decided that two Prefects from each house will patrol every night. The rota stands like this: fifth years on Mondays, sixth years Tuesdays, seventh years Wednesdays. Yes, we do need prefects from every house at this time. It's essential to be prepared and protected. It's for the safety of all students that they aren't wandering the corridors at nights. The consequences could be disastrous."
James took this as his cue to read the additional rules on the parchment before him. "The new rules, which you will probably break even when you are meant to be enforcing them, are as follows: no magic to be used in the corridors for any purpose, all Quidditch practises will be observed by the Quidditch teacher or they cannot take place, even for special requests the restricted section remains off bounds, anyone caught out of bounds will get detention for a month, any duelling anywhere but the Duelling Club will be severely reprimanded, banned objects have increased tenfold…the list goes on. For a full list of the additional rules you can see the caretaker when you get to school. I'm sure he'll be only too happy to give it to you."
"You may also have noticed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gaining power, and reports of deaths are beginning to frequent the newspapers -"
"Yes," said James, "I'd also like to add that discussions about him are supported. In fact, please encourage people to use his name. It's silly calling him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And a waste of breath too. Voldemort is so much shorter, and if you use your sense of humour it sounds a bit like mouldy warts -"
"Well, enough of the jokes. What Potter is trying to say is that we need to all stand together and unite from within. Yes, that includes Slytherins and Gryffindors," said Lily, observing the looks of disgust on the faces of those in the two houses. "Please support anyone who loses a family member. It's a very difficult time, and we need to look out for each other."
"Also note that only Evans and I can give out detentions and deduct house points. I am God and you are just my lowly minions," said James cheekily.
"James!" said Lily, rounding on him. "Enough of the jokes! This is a serious meeting. If you intend to carry on, you can leave."
"You can't just banish the Head Boy, Lily. I'm far too large for 'Evanesco'," he said.
He distinctly thought he heard her mutter, "I could try," but he decidedly said nothing.
"Right, well, I think the meeting is over. Sixth years, you can patrol the corridors for the first part of the journey, fifth years, you can do the second part. If you have any trouble just call me or James."
With that James walked straight out of the room and back to his friends' compartment. Lily stayed behind to clear up and sighed. This year was going to be painful - especially if she was patrolling with that idiot.
The start of term feast was something that James always looked forward to. Whether it was because of the delightful food or the witty speeches his Headmaster made he wasn't sure, but they were always enjoyable. He looked across the table and saw Lily gazing at her plate, pushing her food around. She was clearly preoccupied. Because of him? He hoped not. He wanted to 'deflate his ego' this year like she had asked him to.
"So what did the Sorting Hat say this year then, James?" asked Remus, looking at him directly.
"No idea," replied James, his eyes still fixed on Lily.
"Look, you might need to know for your meeting with Dumbledore -"
"Okay, okay. Tell me then," said James quickly, turning around.
"It's telling us that house rivalries should exist no longer and that we should befriend even the…unlikeliest of people." He glanced over dubiously to a certain Slytherin at the opposite end of the Great Hall as he said this.
"When's your meeting then, James?" asked Sirius moodily, poking at the treacle tart on his plate listlessly.
"Tomorrow morning. Look, Sirius, just cheer up, all right? I didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't some kind of betrayal -"
"Whatever. I never thought you would become one of them."
"Who, exactly, is 'them'?" asked James angrily.
"You know, like Lily. Worshipping the teachers, never stepping over the line, always doing good and helping -"
"You're my friend, right?" asked James.
"Yeah, of course," said Sirius, looking puzzled. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"You two! Come on, we should leave…we're some of the last here and -"
"Well, support me on this, all right. There're more important things happening out there than my becoming Head Boy and you getting a detention," said James seriously. He turned around and saw Lily looking at him approvingly. His cheeks went a light shade of pink, and he gave a half smile.
They headed back to their dormitories in silence, none of them speaking to each other. All were thinking about one thing - where on earth was Peter?