September the First looked as though it would be just as dreary and cloudy as the previous week had been. Although she was safely inside the train station, Lily could hear raindrops spattering on the glass-paned roof overhead as it began to drizzle. By the time she had stowed her trunk in one of the luggage compartments and boarded the Hogwarts Express, the drizzle had evolved into an all-out rain shower. She was about to make her way down the corridor in search of the other Gryffindor seventh year girls when she felt a tap on her right shoulder and turned around, only to be wrapped in a tight, enthusiastic hug. "Lily!" a familiar voice squealed in her ear, "How've you been? It's been weeks since I saw you last."
After the initial shock wore off, Lily wrapped her arms around the speaker and squeezed her tightly before pulling away to smile at her best friend. Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans had been fast friends ever since the first week of First Year, when they had both accidentally gotten on a moving staircase on their way back from dinner and spent the better part of an hour trying to find their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Not too long after that, their duo had expanded to include another housemate, Mary MacDonald, and it was after this third member of the trio that Lily now inquired, "I know. Way too long. Have you found Mary yet? I don't have long before I have to go run the Prefects' meeting, but I have to talk to both of you. You'll never guess who I ran into yesterday in Diagon Alley."
Fortunately, Marlene had found Mary, and both girls had already secured a compartment, to which Lily was now ushered. All this meant that, twenty minutes later, as she made her way to the Heads' compartment at the head of the train, Lily had already had a chance to relay yesterday's unexpected events to her best friends and was less anxious about the upcoming Prefects' meeting. In fact, she was feeling cautiously optimistic. After all, Dumbledore was not an idiot; he had to have had good reason to give Potter the badge. She was at least going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Despite previous declarations that she absolutely loathed his "smug mug" and couldn't stand to be around someone whose "ego was so huge she was surprised the castle could house it," Lily really didn't want to spend every Prefects' meeting fighting with her fellow Head Student. Still, she didn't doubt that the first meeting might be a bit awkward, especially since Potter, never having been a Prefect, would have no idea how it was supposed to be run in the first place. She very much hoped he would arrive in enough time for her to at least tell him what was supposed to be accomplished this morning, but she wouldn't be surprised if he turned up late for the meeting.
When she arrived in the Heads' Compartment at the end of the train, it was, as she had assumed it would be, empty, which meant that she was free to choose whichever seat she wanted. She immediately took one by the window, as one of her favorite parts of the journey to Hogwarts was watching the scenery roll by. Thankfully, they seemed to have left the rainy weather behind in London, so with any luck, the view today would be marvelous. She glanced at her watch, noting that there were still a good twenty minutes left before the meeting started, and made herself comfortable by curling her legs up on the seat. Brushing her long, red hair behind her ears, Lily leaned against the wall to her right and smiled as the sunlight filtered gently through the compartment window to bathe her face in warm, golden light. With her attention still focused on the scenery unfolding before her, she picked idly at a stray thread on the worn-out knee of her jeans and settled herself in for a bit of relaxation before Potter and the Prefects arrived and the hustle and bustle of the school year began.
Elsewhere on the train, James was hurrying his way up the corridors to the Heads' Compartment. Bidding farewell to his parents had taken a bit longer than expected, and he was determined not to be late to his first meeting as Head Boy. The corridors, however, were crowded with students. He had to flatten himself against the wall more than once to let past a third-year girl or to allow some group of second-year boys to scurry by. Just when he thought he was nearly to the front of the train, an extremely pretty girl with thick, wavy brown hair stepped out in front of him, blocking his way.
"Hel-l-o, Mister Quidditch Captain," she began, fluttering her eyelashes.
James took a step back, surprised. "Sorry?" he replied, peering down at her. After a brief moment of confusion, her face and name clicked in his mind, and he was feeling very awkward indeed. It was some girl James had met that summer at Britain's Quidditch match against France, had gotten drunk with at a victory celebration immediately afterward, and had spent a good deal of the night snogging in the haze of pride. He opted to keep things casual in the corridor, as he really ought to be meeting Lily in the front compartment to go over what was to happen in the Prefects' Meeting. Since he had been a bit of a wildcard candidate for Head Boy, he wasn't exactly sure how the whole business was supposed to be run. However, it all seemed like a pretentious ball of fluff to him. He could spare a few minutes, surely. They spoke for a few minutes, exchanging flirtatious banter and eventually determining the pair of them should go to one of the upcoming Hogsmeade weekends together. With a wink and a wave, James was on his way.
He reached the front of the train, locating the Heads' compartment easily by virtue of the fact that he could see Lily's fiery red hair through the frosted glass of the sliding door. He took a deep breath outside and then opened it, closing it behind him as he sat down on the bench across from her. "Morning, Miss Evans," he said with a smile, giving her a very quick and subtle once-over. The summer had been kind to this girl, that was for sure. "How've you been?"
His voice startled Lily from her contemplation of the beauty of the English countryside. She turned around quickly to see who had entered the compartment and was surprised to find James sitting across from her, as she hadn't expected him to arrive any earlier than a few seconds before the meeting was due to start. Offering him a polite smile, she answered, "Morning. I'm well, and you?" His early arrival was a surprise, but a pleasant one. At least things seemed to be getting off to a good start. Still, there were only ten minutes left before the Prefects would be arriving, which meant that it was time to get down to business.
Sitting up, she focused her attention on James instead of the scenery. "I'm glad you're early," she said, "I figured you didn't know much about what's supposed to happen at this meeting, so I thought I'd give you a brief run-down. Basically, the point of the meeting is for everyone to be introduced. The sixth and seventh year Prefects will all know each other already, but the fifth year ones won't. I thought we could give everyone a chance to introduce themselves, let them know a bit of their responsibilities for this year, decide who will be patrolling the corridors when and then dismiss them. Oh, and we have to tell them the date of the next meeting, which we ought to decide now." She paused, glancing over at James for any input he might have on this matter. When none was forthcoming, she offered, "It's usually held sometime in the evening on the first day of classes."
James nodded along with Lily as she rattled off today's to-do list. Contrary to what one might have believed, he was eager to pick up all his new responsibilities with the Head Girl. One of his best friends, a boy by the name of Remus Lupin, had been a school prefect for years, and he always seemed to be off at meetings. Hours at meetings meant Remus had to be spending time with the other prefects, and it was common knowledge that the Head Boy and Girl had to sort all manner of things out together. If all his theories were correct, it appeared that this coming term might carry with it untold hours with Lily. The sudden influx of responsibility, he decided, was more than welcome if it meant he got to spend countless hours in the company of his favorite redhead. His attention was caught by one responsibility in particular. He was eager to sort out Patrol duties - wasn't it that the Head Boy and Girl typically patrolled together? This could be good. Though by the end of sixth year, he had begun to back off in his pursuit of the redhaired girl, he was still harboring a massive crush on her. James considered Lily's appointment as Head Girl to be one of the perks of being named Head Boy. Thus far, she had not shown any indication of being swayed by his charms, but perhaps if they had to work side-by-side all year..
That train of thought was brought to an abrupt halt as he realized that Lily was finished speaking and was now waiting for him to reply. "Sounds good," he said, relaxing back against the seat cushion. "So we do a meet-and-greet and then figure out the basics. Is there like a patrols timetable we ought to be using? Moony's a seventh year prefect- you think I'd have had this sorted by now." He shrugged, flashing a crooked smile at the girl across from him. "What is it you need me to do? I mean, I got the same task list from Professor Dumbledore as you, I'm guessing, but you've done this scene before." He was feeling very casual about all of this. Perhaps it was a big to-do to some, but he hadn't really wanted the post. His beginning-of-the-year Quidditch trials, playbook and training, however, were far more important to him. He had spent hours perfecting the team structure, and was eagerly anticipating the start of the season. Yet that would have to wait. Lily was here and now, and somehow James didn't mind putting off Quidditch for a conversation with her, even if it was only a conversation about Heads duties.
"All you have to do is introduce yourself," Lily replied. "You can let them know when the next Prefects meeting is too, if you'd like. I'm assuming that tomorrow evening works for you? Say at eight o'clock, right after dinner? There is a patrols timetable, but we have to decide which pair patrols when. And, of course, we'll have patrol duty ourselves. There are other things to consider too, like scheduling Hogsmeade weekends, but we don't have to worry about that just yet. We do need to meet on our own sometime before tomorrow night, though, so we can work out a temporary patrols schedule for the next week."
Before they could set a time, however, the compartment door opened and a boy and girl, already in school robes, filed in. Lily could only assume that these were the new Hufflepuff prefects, as she recognized neither one, and they both wore black-and-yellow ties. "Just hold that thought," she told James, for the compartment was now quickly filling with this year's group of Prefects, and a couple of minutes later, they had all arrived. Rising gracefully to her feet, Lily cleared her throat ever-so-slightly to gain the chatty crowd's attention and then addressed them all with a warm smile: "Welcome everyone and congratulations on earning your badges this year. I'm sure you all have friends to get back to, so we're going to keep this meeting brief. All we want to accomplish this morning is to settle on shifts for patrolling the corridors during the train ride. But before we get to the business part of the meeting, I thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves, for the fifth year Prefects' sake. So! I'll start. I'm Lily Evans. I'm a seventh year Gryffindor, and I'm this year's Head Girl." With one last smile to the little crowd, she took her seat again and nodded at James to indicate that he ought to be next to introduce himself.
He may have been new at this and had little time to prepare, but as James straightened in his seat to continue the introductions, it became at least partially clear why the Headmaster had chosen him for Head Boy. When he looked around the room, an easy-going smile on his lips, the Prefects' eyes turned to him as he said, "Name's James Potter, as I'm sure most of you know. I'm a Gryffindor like Evans here, and no this is not a prank. Dumbledore actually appointed me Head Boy." At the mention of pranks, a few of the Prefects (the female ones in particular) tittered, but they all appeared to accept his leadership, at least for the time being. It seemed that Dumbledore had been correct when, in his owl to James, he had cited the lad's natural charisma and leadership abilities as reasons for his appointment. He commanded the attention of the room with ease.
The rest of the meeting went without a hitch. Scarcely fifteen minutes later, the Prefects trooped out of the Heads' Compartment, headed either for their own compartments or for patrol duties. One of the seventh year Prefects, a tall, very thin young man with a head of tousled, mouse brown hair, hung back until his compatriots had left. Leaning against the wall by the door, he smiled at Lily, who was repacking a roll of parchment and a quill into her schoolbag. "By the way, congratulations, Lily. I always knew you'd make Head Girl," he said. Lily smiled and thanked him, then Remus turned his attention to James. "And you too, Prongs. Once you're done, we're in the sixth car, second compartment, all right?"
"Be there as soon as I can, Moony," James assured him, and Remus stepped out into the corridor, sliding the door shut behind him.
Now that the compartment was empty, Lily turned to James, setting her re-packed schoolbag on the seat beside her as she asked, "So are you okay with having the next meeting tomorrow night? We can give out at least a makeshift patrol schedule by then, even if we don't have a final version ready."
James shrugged, "Tomorrow? Yeah, that sounds fine." He was silent for a moment, searching for something to say to carry on the remarkably civil conversation they were having, but could think of nothing. Rather than let the awkward silence linger, he rose to his feet and said, smiling, "Listen, I've got to go and meet my mates. Have a good train ride, Evans."
Though she was more than ready to end their conversation, Lily had one more item on her mental checklist to cover, so she called out before he could leave the compartment, "Me too, Potter. Just hold on a sec. Somebody has to patrol the castle tomorrow night, too, and since we can't have given the Prefects the schedule ahead of time, I think we ought to be the ones to take the first patrol."
"Oh. That soon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well yeah, I guess." He shrugged again and, just to make Lily squirm, added, "It's a date."
A resigned frown settled over her features, and she rolled her eyes as she shouldered her bag and headed for the compartment door. "You wish, Potter. And I'll have you know I'm more than happy to take off house points and give you detention if you try anything."
James laughed. "You wish, Evans," he teased as he exited the compartment and headed for the sixth car where his mates awaited him.
"Stupid prat," Lily muttered to herself, winding her way down the corridor to the compartment where Marlene and Mary were waiting for her. She should have known it wouldn't take him long to use his new badge as an excuse to hit on her. And yet, she mused, her temper cooling as she walked, the meeting had gone remarkably well. None of the fears that had worried her yesterday after learning of James' appointment to Head Boy had been realized. He hadn't used the meeting as an excuse to crack up and act like a half-wit; the other Prefects seemed inclined to respect him, despite his lengthy disciplinary record; he at least hadn't made suggestive comments to her in front of the other Prefects. All in all, the first meeting could be counted a success, and as she was never one to dwell on unpleasant subjects for long, Lily intended to spend the next two hours until her patrol duty catching up with her best friends on all that had happened to them over the summer.
Her friends, of course, had other ideas. As soon as she stepped into the compartment and shut the door behind her, Marlene burst out, "So?! How was it?"
Surprised by the immediate interrogation, Lily turned around and glanced between Marlene's bright, eager blue-eyed gaze and Mary's more subdued, blue-grey scrutiny. After a few moments of silence, she sighed and surrendered. Apparently she was going to spend the greater part of her afternoon either with Potter or having to talk about him. "It was fine," she said, sinking onto the cushioned bench beside Mary. "Meeting went smoothly. We're having the next one tomorrow night. I do have to patrol with Potter after that, though."
The other girls watched her carefully as she spoke. Though they had never shared this sentiment with Lily, they both wondered if her feelings for James were really what she claimed them to be. Marlene was a bit more decided in her belief that Lily was secretly attracted to the bespectacled, tousle-haired fellow, but Mary at least agreed that Lily didn't really hate him as much as she so loudly proclaimed. And both girls privately thought that he wasn't nearly as awful a person as Lily made him out to be. "So nothing happened? He behaved?" Marlene pressed. She and Mary had not expected such a subdued reaction from their usually fiery roommate.
"Yeah. Surprisingly. Although he apparently thinks patrols count as a date," Lily replied.
Mary laughed gently and said, eyes twinkling, "Well that's only to be expected, right? After all, he's never had a whole hour alone with you before."
"Two hours," Lily corrected with a groan.
"Well if you really wanted out of it, half the girls in school would jump at the chance to take your place," Marlene offered.
"It can't be that bad, Lil," Mary said. "Didn't you tell us you spent two hours with him yesterday? And you survived."
"Yeah, but our mums were there. Of course he was on his best behavior. Potter's not an idiot," Lily replied.
"Oh really?" Mary said, quirking an eyebrow as she and Marlene shared a look, each one remembering the many previous times that Lily had called the Head Boy's intelligence into question.
Recognizing the look that had just passed between her best friends, Lily crossed her arms, exasperated. "Oh you know what I mean. He's not dumb enough to go acting like a prat in front of his mum, otherwise she wouldn't think so highly of him."
"Come on Lily," Marlene said gently, "Have you ever thought that maybe she likes him because he actually has redeeming qualities? I mean.. Dumbledore must think so, because he made James Head Boy. Just give him a chance."
"I know, I know," Lily said, sighing. "And I'm going to. It's just.. not how I expected the school year to start." She was silent a moment, then she looked beseechingly between Marlene and Mary and asked, "Do we have to spend all afternoon talking about Potter? We haven't seen each other all summer. I'm sure we can come up with better things to talk about."
"Actually..," Mary began, "We do. I have to tell you both about what happened while I was in Brighton this summer."
"Let me guess! You met a boy!" Marlene interjected. "Did you meet him at the beach? Was he cute?" And with that, the girls' conversation turned to lighter topics as they filled each other in on the various events and escapades of their summer holidays. By the time she had to leave for her patrol, Lily had learned all about the tall, handsome American lad who had taken a fancy to Mary while both their families were vacationing at Brighton Beach. She was in much better spirits as she began to slowly walk the length of the train corridors, keeping an eye out for any confused first-years or mischievous third years. And speaking of mischievous third years.. She had now reached the sixth car, and as she passed the second compartment, Lily turned her head to glance inside. However, mischief did not seem to be brewing in the Marauders' compartment at the moment. The boys were apparently deep in conversation. As she continued down the corridor, Lily was surprised, but glad, to know that Potter at least did not appear to be planning to start the year off by flouting his new Head Boy badge.
"You see, Padfoot, this is a good thing. Think of this as a train ride to destiny." James leaned forward so that his forearms were resting on the knees of his crisp new school robes. One corner of his mouth twisted upward to show he knew how ridiculous he sounded. "Seventh year is the time when you've got to decide who you're going to be and how you're going to go about it. Or at least figure out how to lie convincingly to yourself."
"Oh, come off it," Sirius Black said, a frown creasing his handsome face. He was reclining as comfortably as one can on a rigid train bench, legs propped on a trunk resting in the middle of the floor. His expression betrayed his emotional discomfort with speaking of such indefinite concepts as what to do after Hogwarts. The future was awfully far-off; what was the use of trying to plan it? "We're going to get through this year, complaining about N.E.W.T.s and after-graduation placement, and then we're going to move on. People have been graduating Hogwarts for centuries. Not everyone is the new hero. No epitomes, or anything."
Remus Lupin looked up.
"Epiphanies, Padfoot," he said mildly, attention returning to the Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven. "And who are we to say what will or won't happen? Every adult I have ever met has fifteen tons of advice to pour down my throat. How I ought to start thinking about my future-" at this, a wry smile ghosted his features- "or else start declaring my intentions to the world. However, I don't think that any year in anyone's life is the year. We're all in a constant state of choice."
Peter Pettigrew nodded as Remus finished, tearing off the crusts of his jelly sandwich and crumpling them into a bread ball.
"What I think," he said, flicking off a bit of jelly that stuck resolutely to his fingernail, "is that this is our last year here. And we ought to make the most of it. I mean, you blokes have got to win the Quidditch Cup- you simply have to!- and I've got to pass Charms. And, Prongs, you've got one last year to get Evans to go out with you. So, with all this stuff, we've just got to do it."
James shifted in his seat, straightening up from his hunched over position.
Sirius shook his hair from his eyes.
"Yeah, how goes that, mate?" he asked, glad the subject had moved from the abstract unknown to something more tangible.
James shrugged, fighting to keep his expression neutral.
"Horrible. Wonderful. I dunno, really. It's a toss-up every time I speak to her."
"But you get to do all sorts of cozy things with her? All holed up together, figuring out patrol schedules and such?" Sirius' expression became one of amusement. "How many times can you get her to give you detention? Moony- a galleon says he breaks into the double-digits before the Christmas holidays." The grey-eyed boy sat up straight, letting his feet fall to the floor.
Remus shook his head.
"Nothing doing," he said. "I like Lily. And besides, I don't think James is up for it. Am I right?" He shot a look in the bespectacled boy's direction.
James was looking out the window.
"You know," he said after a long moment. "We've got to work together this whole year. It might be best for the both of us if I justÉ I dunno."
A long moment of silence passed, broken only by Peter coughing as a bit of bread went down the wrong way.
Then, suddenly, James started in his seat.
"Did you hear about the Caerphilly Catapults' match last Saturday?" His hazel eyes were bright and shining with team pride. "Took down the Harpies, four hundred and thirty to four hundred and ten. I just about had a conniption fit- the match lasted nine hours!"
The conversation turned from James Potter's personal life to talk of Quidditch successes, predictions for the League finals the following spring, and the rumors flying that a International Quidditch League scout would be attending the Hogwarts Inter-House Quidditch Cup in May. They were still comparing theories and possible League lineups when the train began to slow down, indicating the students had at long last arrived at Hogwarts for another school year. Each boy rose from his seat with a sense of excitement. This was Seventh Year- their year! No matter what happened, it was the Marauders' last chance to leave their mark on the establishment of wizarding education. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter knew they were more than up for the challenge. They walked with confidence and something akin to bravado past the station attendant, each of them head and shoulders taller than the first-years who huddled behind the bulk of gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid.
"Oi!" Sirius called toward the frightened-looking group. "There's no turning back now! Hope you're ready to tackle those kelpies when we get to the sorting!" A little blonde girl with red-rimmed eyes squealed and hugged her companion to her.
Remus nudged Sirius.
"Come on, Padfoot," he cajoled. "Poor thing's aready homesick; don't make her wet herself before she's even been sorted." Sirius rolled his eyes, and the four of them stepped off the platform and onto the dirt path that led toward the carriages.
James was entirely distracted from their joking conversation when he caught sight of the all-too-familiar head of glorious red hair a few meters ahead. His stomach gave a funny little jolt, and his lips parted easily in a smile.
"You know, gents," he said to his friends, hoisting his knapsack higher on his shoulder as they headed toward the carriages, "I think this year will be one for the record books. It's our last year; we had better make it count!"
And with that, they were swept into the crowd of the reunited student body, fully unprepared for what was to come.