InsaneJournal

Who: Lily and James!
What: Backstory! Their first meeting as Head Boy & Girl.
Where: The Hogwarts Express
When: 1 September, 1977
Status: Complete
Rating: SFW, probably PG-13 for occasional swearing



Seventh year. It was the last time Lily would be boarding the Hogwarts Express to start off a new term, and she wasn't at all sure she was ready for that. On one hand, she was excited to get out in the real world and start her life properly, but on the other...well, considering the news stories that had been in the Daily Prophet this summer, she knew that Hogwarts was the safest place to be. Was she really ready to live in the magical world without the protection the castle offered?

Lily was distracted from her thoughts by an announcement requesting that the Head students report to the Prefects' carriage. She bid her friends a quick goodbye and headed there, fingering her badge in her pocket as she did so. Lily hadn't changed into her robes yet, so she didn't have it on, but she kept it in her pocket anyway, mostly because she was so exited and proud to have received it in the first place. She had been excitedly waiting to hear who the new Head Boy was, debating the possibilities of the four male Prefects in her year and trying to figure it out.

What she didn't expect was to see Potter in the carriage when she arrived. Immediately, Lily's expression changed from pleasantly neutral to closed off, on her guard. Could Potter really be—she brushed that absurd thought away in an instant, there was just no way. “Who did you steal that badge from, Potter, and where is he so I can go untie him?” said Lily coldly. She fully expected that Potter had borrowed or stolen the badge from the real Head Boy for a chance to hit on/annoy her in private. It seemed the most likely explanation, anyway.


James smirked to himself slightly upon hearing Lily's voice, but didn't move from where he was standing, keeping his gaze infront of him with his back to her. "Har har," he exclaimed, pinning his badge to his tie. He was already in his new robes, partially for the full effect which he knew seeing him there would have on her, and partially for the look. I mean, he looked good. Summer had been kind to James, he'd grown again and now stood even taller at six foot one, filled out even more so looked less lanky, and even managed to tame his hair a little more. It was true, James Potter had done a lot of soul searching over the summer, and after several talks with his best friend Sirius, James had decided it was finally time to move on from Lily Evans, finally. He turned around and flashed her a grin. Adjusting his glasses slightly, he tried to ignore the fact that he wasn't the only one that had changed over the summer. Lily was even more effortlessly beautiful than he remembered. Allowing himself one whistful sigh to himself, James brushed down his robes. "I thought you might think this was a prank," he replied frankly, "but it isn't, I assure you. So, you can either live in denial all year, or accept this situation," he added matter-of-factly, and folding his arms.


Lily crossed her arms as tightly as possible, glaring furiously up at Potter—who was even taller than before, blast him. So he was going to make this difficult, was he? Normally he would just own up to his prank and proposition her all in one sentence, but he seemed...well, like he was actually being honest and direct, or something. It was weird, but not weird enough that Lily was going to believe it. “You? Head Boy? Yeah, right. You've broken more rules than anyone in the castle, who would trust you to enforce them? Besides, you weren't even a Prefect. Come on, Potter, admit it so I can meet my real partner.” Her voice was bordering on venomous, and Potter hadn't even done anything yet. She'd enjoyed such a lovely, relaxing summer without him there to annoy her at every turn, and now here he was again, not half an hour into the train ride, already making her life difficult.


James sighed and adjusted his glasses. Normally he would have relished Lily Evans riding his ass but this time, it was kind of annoying. I mean, he hadn't actually done anything wrong, for once! "Trust me, I was just as shocked as you are," he told her, keeping his tone calm and direct, "I guess Dumbledore just thinks I've got it in me."


Was Potter actually being serious? Lily's eyes widened and though her arms remained crossed, they loosened slightly. “Are you...” Her head was still screaming at her that this was no more than a stupid prank, that Potter was trying to wind her up like he always did, but her gut feeling was that for once he actually wasn't having her on. Incredulously, Lily started her sentence over, still trying to make sense of this in her head. “You're serious? You really are Head Boy?” Normally Lily wasn't nearly this slow on the uptake, but it was quite a concept to wrap her head around. Quite frankly, it just didn't make any sense. James Potter and Head Boy didn't belong in the same sentence, except if you were saying that the former made the latter's life hell.


James shrugged just as Albus Dumbledore entered the room. "James, Lily," he exclaimed, shooting James a brief wink as he often did. James had always reminded him of himself when he was at school. A brilliant mind, with a penchant for mischief. Albus had decided he would make a perfect Head Boy, this year, and was even more sure that the role would help define his path in life after Hogwarts. "So good to see you," he smiled, his eyes twinkling from behind his spectacles. "I trust you are both ready to help escort the first years to the Great Hall this year?", he asked, looking over the pair.

James beamed back at Professor Dumbledore, he had always reminded him of his own Father, except he was a much more accomplished wizard, whom he had gotten to know well over the years through many hours of detention. James wasn't entirely sure what exactly made Dumbledore give him the chance to be Head Boy, but he knew it was an opportunity not to be wasted. "Of course, Sir," he replied promptly, looking over at Lily and shrugging his shoulders. He had tried to tell her.


Potter's shrug was hardly enough of an answer, but Dumbledore's entrance and subsequent greeting was. If Potter hadn't truly been Head Boy, then Dumbledore wouldn't have greeted him like he was. Lily did her best to cover the look of shock on her face for Dumbledore. Her eyes still showed it, loud and clear, but she dropped her arms to her sides and put on a professional-looking confident smile. “Yes, of course we are, Professor. It's good to see you too; how was your summer?” Making conversation with Dumbledore was always interesting, but it was also good because it kept her from having to look at James. She just knew he'd be smirking smugly at her, that there'd be an “I told you so” in her future as soon as Dumbledore was gone.


Albus smiled back at Lily and adjusted his specs. She was an easy pick for Head Girl, as a matter of fact as far as Albus was concerned he'd marked her for the position since day one of her first year. James Potter however, had only begun to show his worth after his fifth year. A bright student, and definitely amusing, but had lacked moral fibre until Severus Snape had come to Albus to inform him of Remus Lupin's 'furry little problem'. Albus had than discovered James Potter had saved his life, something definitely of note in his book.

"My summer was both extremely exciting and desperately dull, thank you Lily," Albus replied with a smile, giving no more information than that. Detail was not something he was known for. With that, he announced that the train would arrive in a little over an hour, and disappeared back to the Professor's carriage with a quick wave.

James stood still, wondering whether for a moment, Lily might strike him. She seemed awfully tense, like a feline about to pounce. After a moment, and Lily turning several more shades of red, James spoke. "So yeah, Head Boy," he shrugged again, tapping his badge.


So yeah? That was distinctly not “I told you so”, not even close. It was almost like he wasn't being a prick about this, which to Lily was almost as absurd as him being appointed Head Boy in the first place. Lily had been staring after Dumbledore, chewing on her bottom lip and thinking, but when Potter spoke, she turned to him, shook her head, and laughed under her breath. She knew she should probably apologize, but this was still Potter, here. Lily had a mental list of his transgressions a mile long, so one overreaction on her part did nothing but settle the score, really. She took a deep breath, sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, composing herself. When she looked up at him again, there was something a little contrite about her expression, but she tried to cover it with a not-entirely-genuine smile. If Potter was going to continue to be weirdly serious and not actively irritating, then Lily certainly wasn't going to ruin it by pointing out that this was probably the longest they'd spent in each other's presence without him asking her out in years. No, Lily wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. “So. We're going to have the Prefects in here shortly for the first meeting of term. I know you haven't been to a Prefect meeting before, but did you read the meeting protocol in the rulebook Dumbledore sent?” Lily had found the details of running meetings more complicated than she had expected from attending them, but that was probably the simplest part of the rulebook. Being Head Girl wasn't exactly going to be easy.


"Yeah, about that," James sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had of course read the book (mostly) and had found it fundamentally flawed. It stated that Prefects must stand in their houses, and they were to stand separately determined by gender. James figured it must have been written centuries ago it was so old school. He also noticed that it stated the Head Boy and Girl were the only people who could change certain rules within the book in the fine print. "I think it's wrong Prefects should have to stand in the houses, and in the same gender," he shrugged, "I mean, isn't Hogwarts supposed to be all about unity?"


Lily's eyebrows shot up, another look of surprise clearly evident on her face. She hadn't expected Potter to have read the book at all, let alone closely enough to notice a detail like that. It took her aback for a moment, and she blinked a couple of times. “Who are you and what have you done with Potter?” said Lily, unable to help herself any longer. There was no way that this was the same person who had spent the last six years making her life miserable. He both looked and acted more mature, and Lily would've bet a million galleons that hell would freeze over before that happened.


James froze for a moment, and then turned around to look behind him. Furrowing his eyebrows for a moment, realisation set in. "Lils it's me?", he replied, scratching his head in confusion. "I know you're a bit shocked, I am too, to be honest", he added, "but we're just going to have to make the best of this situation, alright?", he asked, almost in a pleading tone. Having her react to him this way was almost painful, given that before the summer ended he would have given anything for her to react to him this way.


As Potter spoke, Lily still looked incredulous, but once he finished, she bit her lip and nodded. Whatever had caused this change in Potter, to make him act like a decent person and not hit on her and generally take things at least somewhat seriously...well, though it was bloody weird, Lily was extremely thankful. “You're right. I'm sorry. It's just a little surprising. More than a little. You know.” She paused a moment, retracing the conversation to Potter's comments about the Prefect meetings. “About the meetings—I guess I never really thought about it, because generally that's who people are friends with anyway so it doesn't matter, but you're right about it being...well, I think it's a bit archaic. When they come in, we can tell them to go wherever they like.”


James nodded, and smiled a huge smile. He was pleased she agreed with his idea. He also thought a few other rules could be tweaked slightly, but he'd mention those at a more appropriate time. "Brilliant," he said, and then looked her over slightly. "Not changed into your robes yet?", he questioned seeing her holding them, "the meeting is in a few minutes...," he trailed off. There was no way she'd have enough time to get ready now, the girl's toilets were down the other end of the train. "I can, um, wait outside if you want to change here?", he offered.


When Potter commented on her attire, Lily checked her watch, then swore under her breath. She wouldn't be able to make it to the toilets and back in time, and being late to the first Prefect meeting of the year was unacceptable. She crossed her arms again, thinking for a second, and then nodded. “You're being all decent and stuff which I really appreciate, but just know that if I catch you peeking I'll hex you into next week,” Lily warned. Old habits die hard, and Lily couldn't help but be wary of this new James Potter. It just seemed too good to be true.


James laughed, "Fair enough Evans," he grinned, "Don't get me wrong, there was a time not so long ago where I would have given my left arm to see that show," he smiled, nodding at her torso, "But I've got a lot more on this year, and I looked up the term 'lost cause' over the summer, and it's finally sunk in", he chuckled. "I'll wait outside," he confirmed, stepping out of the front of the carriage and sliding the door across. The glass was frosted, so all he could see was a silhouette. Fixating on it, James exhaled. No matter what, she was still lovely. "So er, how was your summer?", he asked.


Lily's eyebrows shot into her hairline when Potter basically admitted to giving up on her. That was certainly something she never expected to hear. No, Lily expected him to pester her through graduation, then send her annoying letters for a couple weeks afterward before it was out of sight, out of mind and he found some new redhead to chase, but never would she have expected to actually hear him say it. She really wasn't sure how she felt about it either. The obvious answer was relief, and she was relieved that the Head Boy was going to treat her like a person instead of like his property, but there was a twinge of disappointment too. Lily admonished herself for that at once; surely it was just the blow to her ego, which despite her had always been slightly boosted by the most popular boy in school running around after her all the time.

“If I'd known that was all it took, I'd have sent you a dictionary long ago,” Lily said, raising her voice so she could be heard through the glass. There was almost a teasing edge to that, as if she were actually making an effort to get on with him properly. As she changed into her robes and uniform, she answered his question about her summer. “Umm, not bad. My dad went to Italy for work and took us along, so that was fun. And I learned to drive a muggle car, and no one died, so I'd consider that a success. How was yours?” Lily surprised herself when she found that she had asked the reciprocal question because she was actually interested in the answer. She was definitely sure that she had never had a pleasant conversation with Potter in six years, but now was as good of a time as ever.


Trying to ignore the silhouette he could see of Lily's in the window in front of him, James closed his eyes tight. "A muggle car!", he exclaimed. He had always wanted to learn to drive one, ever since his Father had bought one for show. "Amazing!", he added, smiling to himself. Feeling a few students walk past him in the corridor, James realised how mental he must look. Opening his eyes, he could see Lily was almost changed thank Merlin. In response to her question, James continued, "My summer was great, thanks-", he started, realising they were actually having a proper conversation. He had to admit, it was a nice feeling. "Sirius and I made a treehouse by the river, and we spent most of the summer hanging out in that, listening to music", he said, his memory taking him back there. "It was so warm and beautiful out there in the evenings, most nights were just stayed there", he smiled, and then turned around. "You ready?", he asked.


Potter's amazement was amusing, and Lily laughed, smiling despite herself. “I wouldn't go that far, but it is kind of fun,” she replied. Potter's anecdote about Black and the treehouse wasn't entirely surprising. Lily didn't know that he lived with Potter properly, but she assumed that they were loathe to spend time apart and probably spent most of their hols together. “Yes, come in,” she said, walking over and opening the door, then she smirked up at Potter. “Let me guess, you two had a secret chest of firewhiskey and a 'No Girls Allowed' sign?” As she spoke, she pinned her Head Girl badge onto her chest (somewhat crookedly, but she didn't have a mirror, so she couldn't tell).


James' smile froze slightly as Lily pulled back the carriage door. She was wearing new robes, which cinched her in at the waist, showing off the fact that as far as James could see she had almost definitely gone up a cup size over the summer. Her hair had been taken out of her previous bun, and it now cascaded like a beautiful ginger waterfall down her back, and her eyes, now that they were filled with less rage, seemed to almost look different in a way James couldn't explain. Mouth open slightly, James briefly resembled a fish out of water. Swallowing thickly, he snapped back to it, and running a hand through his hair in defence, he leaned in towards her.

Stepping forwards, James reached over to her to straighten out her Head Girl badge, and at that moment as if by divine intervention the train jolted, forcing Lily into James' chest. He briefly noted that her head fit perfectly under his chin, before shaking his head. "Whoooa there," he chuckled, his heart racing, He wondered if she had felt it. He placed both his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "You ok?", he asked.


Maybe it was just gratifying to her ego, but when Lily saw how Potter was looking at her, she could see that he wasn't over her at all, and...well, she was glad. Judging by his previous comments, though, he was trying, which Lily actually found sort of endearing. She could never remember seeing Potter have to actually try; that was part of his whole popular-boy charm, or so he thought. When she saw his hand reach towards her, Lily's first impulse was to smack it away, but as she glanced down at it, she noticed he was just going to straighten her badge. Surprisingly tame for Potter, but then, he was full of surprises today. Before he could manage it, though, the train jerked, and for a brief moment, she was in his arms.

Lily had raised her hands to brace herself, and now they were resting against Potter's chest, and she could feel his muscles through his robes—not that she'd been looking, of course, but she was pretty sure they hadn't been this defined last year. Not to mention he was warm and he smelled good, and—what was she thinking? This was Potter she was thinking about for Merlin's sake! She pulled away, flushing despite herself, and nodded. “I'm f-fine.” Why was she stuttering? Had the whole world gone mad? Lily turned around, pulling out of his grip, and for something to do, folded the clothes she had been wearing and set them on a seat away from the door.


As Lily pulled away James exhaled as quietly as he could muster. Cleansing himself of this 'infatuation' as Sirius had described it, was going to be most difficult. James had failed to mention earlier, that the treehouse had been built as an area for the boys to sit around and talk, and James had pretty much spent the summer discussing how James was going to move on from Lily. Sirius had given him the cold truth about his situation, which was it had been six years, and it was time to get some perspective. It was never going to happen! Swallowing thickly, James at the time had had to face facts. This year he knew he'd have to stick to his guns, stay professional as Head Boy, kick arse as Quidditch Captain, and under no circumstances was he allowed to flirt with Lily Evans. In fact, he was under clear instructions to do quite the opposite.

This was however, much more difficult in practice. Smelling sweet and lovely as she was, James felt his body tense all over when she fell right into his arms. Unable to speak himself for a moment, James regained his composure. "Er, sorry," James replied, embarrassed. He ruffled his hair briefly, and chewed on his lower lip, fighting the urge to go bright red. At that moment, the carriage door knocked, sounding the beginning of their meeting. "Good luck, this year," James said quietly, looking over to Lily.


Still determinedly not looking at him, Lily shook her head. “The train jolted. Not your fault, Potter. For once.” That little bit of teasing, though entirely lacking in its usual malice, let Lily regain her composure and turn around with a bit of a smirk. She heard the door knock and crossed the carriage to go open it, but paused when she heard him speak. Lily looked over her shoulder at him, and with a soft, sincere smile, replied, “You too, James.” It seemed the proper thing, really; now that they were sort of weirdly getting on, she could call him by his first name. At least, for as long as he continued to not be a prick. After a brief moment, she turned around and took the last few steps to the carriage door, sliding it open with a bright, welcoming smile on her face. “Come on in, and feel free to stand wherever you like, no seating arrangement.”