Disclaimer: I own none of the original Harry Potter characters, or Hogwarts itself, and everything in it. I do own, however, Jezebel Lait, Sera Weater, Marcia Sitark, Professor Marmite and the once mentioned Jeremy.

Hello faithful readers.

This will only be three chapters in length, going through a year in the life of Lily and James. I am a huge procrastinator at time, hence the reason it's taking me over a year to get these out…

I've gone through and corrected many a thing. Again. I'm just hard to please. -innocent grin-

"We will be partnering today for this potion. I'll call out your name and your partner's, and one of you will grab your things and move to their station."

"Isn't that what we do every time we go in partners?" Marcia muttered to me, covering it by examining her nails with her light blue eyes. I let a grin creep on my face, but kept my eyes on Professor Marmite as he began listing our names. "Lily, I'll die if I get a Slytherin." Marcia had the ability to make her normal everyday voice sarcastic in the most fun of ways. Very amusing, if I do say so myself. One found it hard to tell if she was being sincere half the time. She thought for a second. "Or Pettigrew."

"I still don't understand why you went out with him," I murmured with my head down, gathering my belongings for when my name was called – only if I had to move of course. No point in not being prepared.

"It was second year, Lily," she said dismissively. "I was allowed to be stupid. And everyone needs the 'I can't believe I went out with him' guy in the back of their memory." Marcia gave a sharp but barely noticeable nod in Peter's direction. To anyone else it would look like she was just simply shaking the blonde hair from her face. "He's mine."

"Sitark and Pettigrew," Marmite droned before calling the next names.

"I thought that spot would have been taken up by Jeremy." I smirked as she left with a scowl, now deepened by my comment, towards Pettigrew who looked no happier.

"You had to bring that up, didn't you?" Sera asked from my right, her large greenish brown eyes watching me turn to look at her. "She's going to be in a bad enough mood as it is after working with Peter."

"Yes, but you forget that she can never stay mad at me and vice versa," I told Sera as she was paired off. ("Weater and Fletcher.") "Have fun." Sera rolled her eyes and left with a fake but believable smile towards Mundungus, who… really was quite odd. There was no other way to say it: the black sheep of Gryffindor. "How can she be so chipper to everyone?" I asked Jezebel, my best friend since I was three-years-old, making us both Muggleborns.

"It's not chipperness," the brunette replied. "She hasn't the ability to be mad or crude to anyone in their face. Even if she hates them, she'll be nice." ("Snape and Lait.") Jezebel gathered her things and stood up.

"Like you?" I commented before she walked away with no revulsion on her face. No one liked Snape, that much was known. But Jezebel – the 'give everyone a chance' friend – would be making friendly conversation (one-sided, mind you) all class with the grease ball.

Those were my friends; the people I had spent just over six years of my life with. All different from each other with their own ideas of how to live in and deal with the world. What I simply couldn't place is how I fit in with them. What I contributed to the bunch and if we'd still talk after Hogwarts…

"And lastly, Potter and Evans," Marmite called out. "Everyone move to your partners now and begin the potion."

I held back a laugh and heard Marcia and Sirius Black making sarcastic jokes a couple of desks behind me. Knowing James would be where Sirius was, I turned around and saw him coming over.

James put his bag on Sera's seat and looked down at me. "I honestly think Marmite's gone blind," he stated and began taking out his parchment and quill. "Everyone moved as he called them." He then put on his best over exaggerated Marmite voice that always got a laugh, "Everyone move to your partners and begin your potion on blindness cure. I have run out of my prescription."

I chuckled and lit a fire beneath the cauldron, getting everything ready as James copied down the ingredients and instructions from the board. "I forgot to congratulate you on making Head Boy," I said casually, trying to ignore James' always-messy black hair flipping about as he glanced from the board to his parchment. "Sirius' shock and fake sobbing when Dumbledore called your name at the Welcome Feast last month was too distracting, and I hadn't thought of it since. Congratulations."

James finished writing with a flourished loop at the end of '…potion will be ready.' He had added as many curls and circles as he could to the 'y'. James put the parchment aside and began helping me cut up the ingredients. "Thank you. And I must congratulate you also, Lily, for becoming my prestigious partner."

"Thank you James," I said, meaning it for the congratulations and for him cutting the boar eyes instead of me. James smirked at me, understanding my thanks.

We worked in quiet solitude, our potion smelling more rancid by the minute. The clock ticked on and many people were beginning to realise that they had missed a step or did one wrong. Puffs of smoke belted out into the classroom for a cauldron a few feet away, a cauldron bubbled and boiled over the edges on the other side of the dungeon, and in front of mine and James' work station, one desk was gaining a very large hole beneath the overflowing cauldron. Marmite, in his slow-to-anger attitude, was lazily fixing the mistakes. I had always disagreed with him on that and had gotten into trouble many times because of it. The students should learn to fix their own mistakes and be shown how. Not have it done for them. This is a place of learning.

Nearly half an hour into our work, I asked, "How're the Quidditch tryouts coming along?"

James tossed in two shavings of cactus root before sitting down beside me to wait six minutes and thirty-four seconds before we were to add the eyes and finish the potion. "Pretty good," he said. "We can't find a decent Seeker, though. I'll have to address the whole Common Room for anyone who at least has the ability to fly a broom. But other than that small thing… they're going really well."

"Hm… don't expect me to try out," I told him with a smile when I saw the look he was giving me with his gorgeous hazel eyes. I could fly a broom easily, but that was just nonsense flitting about. I wasn't one for racing around and getting hit by Bludgers. No thank you. "Or the other girls. Marcia would never leave the ground – scared of heights. Jezebel never plays sports, not even Muggle ones. And Sera loves the game, but isn't competitive enough to care. Sorry."

James blew out a breath upwards. I smiled when his bangs fluttered for a moment. "Well, I was just wondering." James looked around the room and smiled. "Marmite's the only teacher who pairs them together." He nodded behind us.

I followed his gaze to Peter and Marcia.

"The potion isn't supposed to go blue!" Marcia yelled. "Did you copy the notes correctly?"

Peter began comparing his notes to the board. "I-"

"Give me those." Marcia snatched them from the small blond boy. James and I watched her eyes scan the parchment, verify with the board, then scan again. "You idiot!" she exclaimed. "It was supposed to be two teaspoons of powdered bearded lizard scales – not two tablespoons!"

James and I looked away as Peter shielded himself from Marcia's beating: both verbal and physical.

"I'll put the eyes in," James said with a smile towards me. I pushed the thought of his simple yet adorable smile out of my head and thanked him.

When class was over I met up with Marcia at the door and began walking, knowing the other two would be late. Jezebel had slowed down the cleaning process so she could talk to Snape some more. Get him to trust her and 'open up'. Mundungus had left Sera to clean everything up. I'm nice, but I'm not about to miss any of Charms to pick up boar eyes and wipe up snake bile. It's better for two to be late than three or four. James and I had gotten perfect on our potion of course; kudos to us for that.

Marcia and I got to our seats in Flitwick's class and gave the small Professor the reasons as to why the other two girls would be late. He accepted them readily. Marcia, no matter how sarcastic or bitter to some people she could be, always had a way to make teachers and other such authority figures believe in her innocence. And me? Well, who's not going to believe the Head Girl?

"Sorry we're late Professor," Remus Lupin said hurriedly as he, James, Sirius and Peter walked briskly to their seats.

Jezebel and Sera had come in five minutes earlier and I was positive the boys rushed out of Potions before anyone else. I wonder what their excuse will be today.

"We saw a younger student being picked on and James, as Head Boy, thought it right for us to calmly put a stop to it," Sirius said smoothly, grey eyes believingly sincere to those who didn't know Sirius Black.

Sirius' rule eighty-seven of not getting caught: Help the needy/younger/weak with something in halls. And combine that with rule thirty-nine: Mention 'Head Boy', and there was no way a teacher could deny them.

Marcia and I smirked at each other then looked at the boys. "How admirable of you," I commented with a wink at James who gave a playful smile back.

"Tell me, did you punish the one picking on Pettigrew?" Marcia asked with a drawl. In all rights, anyone who just met her might think she was a Slytherin. She was bluntly honest, didn't care if you knew what she thought of you, found the Astronomy Tower a lovely place of "learning", and have I mentioned sarcastic? Being this way was simply her way of amusing herself and covering anything that might be bothering her. There was the occasional breakdown, however, but no one outside of me knew that.

"Leave him alone, Marci," Jezebel said calmly.

Marcia turned around and gave Jezebel her infamous 'not only were you not a part of that conversation, but I can do what ever I want' look. But with one look at me, Marcia sighed, leaned back in her seat and forgot about the quarrel that would have been.

I smiled to myself. No one could get to her or make her stop anything except for me. I knew it, our friends knew it, other students knew it – but best of all, Marcia knew it.

At the end of Charms came dinner and we all hastily left.

"I can't believe you conversed with Snape all Potions class," Sera commented with a sour look on her face. "He's just too gross for me. And evil," she added, putting her brown hair up, "he's also evil."

"But you'd never say that to his face, would you?" Marcia stated, not asked. We've all learned to ignore those comments - they were rhetorical after all.

"He's not that bad," Jezebel defended Snape as we sat at Gryffindor table, grabbing food greedily. None of us knew what it was with her, but the girl couldn't say a bad thing about anyone without getting to know him or her and learning the hard way. Of course there are the exceptions. With her father being murdered a year ago, she had plenty of things to say about Voldemort.

"Jez, he called you a Mudblood out of the few words he spoke to you all class. Everyone heard him," I said, still shocked that she had said nothing about it to him or anyone else. Rather, she acted like it didn't happen. "I was ready to hex him instead of taking points from Slytherin."

"Oh no Lily – you see, Snape just needed a few more hugs growing up," Marcia said matter-of-factly, picking out all the vegetables out of her stir-fry. "Therefore we should shower him with the caring he never had." She ended it with a fake wipe of a tear.

We all laughed. "Shut up," Jezebel said, smiling.

"I'm sure Snape's the reason James and the others were late to Charms," I said, getting an agreeing roll of the eyes from Marcia and a nod from Sera.

"They were helping a student," Jezebel told us as if we had forgotten.

"I'm sure they were," I said amusedly, patting Jezebels shoulder. "I'll ask." I leaned forward and called to James a few people down from us. "How's the student you helped earlier?"

James smirked as his friends laughed. He glanced towards the Great Hall doors then back at me. "I think he's ok."

I turned and so did my friends, to see Snape walking in, brooding and skipping every third step.

- - - - - - - - - -

"You lucky bastards have fun at home," I said at the Hogsmeade's Train Station. I was staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. My family had all been murdered last spring (something I still hated to think about) and I didn't feel like spending Christmas time at my godparent's house in France. Before the funeral last year, I hadn't seen them since I was six-years-old.

"Don't get too smothered by your mothers," Remus added from my side. He wasn't going home either. He wouldn't be feeling well during the holidays.

"Oh we won't, Moony. I'll bring you two back some goodies." Sirius gave us thumbs up from the train window he was hanging out of. "Happy Christmas, Prongs!" The train started moving away and Sirius still didn't pull in. "Happy Howling, Moony!"

"Don't be crazy, Sirius!" I yelled, Head Boy coming out. "Get your overblown head back in the train!" His face was going to get bloody frostbite.

Sirius merely cheered as the train picked up speed and the wind and snow whipped him in the face. When we could barely see him, due to distance and snowfall, we caught his silhouette popping back into the train.

"Idiot's going to get himself killed," Remus commented with a shake of his head. "Let's go, the wind's picking up." He turned and threw the hood of his cloak up. I followed suit: both the turning and hood thing. "This may very well be the snowstorm Professor Ramla predicted that will kill hundreds."

I laughed and walked beside my friend, following others back to the horseless carriages. Professor Ramla, a younger witch from South Africa, had a tendency to warn us about death every couple days. Everyone agreed she was just paranoid. I kept my head bowed from the rising wind, not even noticing what I was doing before Remus commented ("You look like a fool, Prongs."). Apparently I had been following another's small and short footsteps through the shin-high snow. No wonder I was stumbling; I wasn't used to such short strides.

I looked up to see if I could recognize the person I may have been following. Had it not been for the red hair escaping her hood, I would have just passed her on for another student. You can't pass this Head Girl on for just anyone else. "Lily!" I called. Why I had just done that, I don't know. Probably because she was all alone. I ignored Remus' humoured glance my way.

The lone figure turned and I saw that it was indeed Lily. Could that hair have belonged to anyone else?

"Yes?" she called back, holding the sides of her hood to keep it from uncovering her head.

I unconsciously made the decision to catch up with her. I jogged to her, still following her footprints and looking stupid hopping around. I heard Remus' crunching footsteps as he caught up, still on his own path.

"Hi," I said to what oddly sounded like a child's voice. I stopped any perplexed look from appearing on my face and pretended that I purposely used that tone. I continued much the same way, "Can we walk with you?" I bit my lip to give off the 'cute' look. Oh sweet Merlin, I hope that never gets back to Sirius…

With a look to Remus who shrugged off my weird behaviour, Lily agreed, "As long as you don't talk like that."

We loaded ourselves into a carriage and shook the snow from our cloaks. The ride back to Hogwarts was relatively quiet, aside from comments on the weather, homework and classes. Apparently Lily didn't get along with her sister and she didn't have much to go home to. Her parents had too been killed, but by different ways than most Wizarding children's. Her mother had died of breast cancer when Lily was thirteen, and her father in a plane crash on a business trip two years ago when she was fifteen. Lily casually added that Petunia (her Muggle sister) believes that she cursed the family by going to Hogwarts. It appears to be something of routine for her to hear that. Needless to say I was shocked. Remus, on the other hand, had heard about it during their many Prefect meetings during fifth and sixth year. Well, I hadn't been given that pleasure… for some reason, Dumbledore and McGonagall didn't feel I was ready for responsibility back then.

- - - -

"I'll sneak you some chocolate frogs tomorrow, ok Moony?" I whispered to Remus as he lay in the Hospital Wing a couple days before his transformation. I was already warned twice by Madam Pomfrey to leave, and decided it best to agree before she funnelled some bad tasting and horrible affecting potion down my throat.

"You better not forget." Remus strained a smile, but I knew he was in pain, even two days before he was to transform.

With a squeeze of his shoulder I left, narrowly missing Pomfrey. I can be quite the Drama King, can't I? I blame it all on Sirius.

Whistling a low tune to myself, I wandered the halls. All there was to do without my friends, homework, class or Head Boy duties was to wander and think. Damn. That is, of course, before I spotted our Head Girl. I whistled louder and walked just a little bit faster, hands in my pockets so my elbows stuck out. I casually walked by her, letting my elbow push her arm forward slightly.

Ending my whistling on a quick high note, I turned around a few strides ahead of Lily. "Oh I'm sorry Lily dear, I hadn't seen you."

Lily stayed where she was, crossed her arms and surveyed me. I wondered what she was thinking until she stopped and glanced around us. She looked to her left, to her right; behind me (standing on her toes) and behind herself. When she was done, she smiled.

"Because there are so many people in the halls, eh, James?" She smirked at me and continued walking, obviously expecting me to follow. Who am I to deny her the pleasure of my company?

"No, you just blended so well with the corridor," I told her as we walked. I used my arms to emphasize my dramatic points. "Your red hair: its grey stones. Your green wool sweater: its steel black knights. They're all every similar." I turned to her with a smile and was surprised to see a sad and vulnerable look on her face.

"So nothing about me stands out?" Lily asked quietly, not looking at me but something intangible only her eyes would focus on. I opened my mouth to take back what I had said, but Lily shook her head and lifted her hand. "No, it's alright. Just… I was thinking that, er… I was just thinking earlier. Don't mind me."

We continued our walk and I ran over our encounter; every touch, word and glance. It must have been me. She seemed happy when she saw me – then she became miserable.

"Was it something I said?" I asked, unable to come up with any reasons why she would be upset and getting angry at my inability to find out the problem.

I seemed to have startled her out of whatever reverie she was in. "You only said the truth, James," Lily said and smiled weakly.

"That I didn't see you?" I asked, trying to figure this girl out. Whoever said women were impossible to understand was right. Lily nodded, confirming my question. "I was only joking, Lily," I said. I was unsure how to tell her I was just having fun and pretending not to see her. How could you not see someone like Lily wandering the halls, even amongst millions?

Lily gave a small laugh, devoid of humour. "Even so, you were right." I opened my mouth to respond, but Lily continued, "Let's get some dinner." End of discussion, I see.

Evidently dinner was awkward. I'm positive the teachers felt it also. Since only a handful of students were staying, we sat in one big happy circle for our meals. No one spoke too much except for the occasional "Pass the mashed potatoes, Headmaster" or "I'm just tired, but thank you for asking Professor." The last one belonged to Lily when Professor Sprout questioned Lily's melancholy that evening.

After dinner, in which Lily excused herself early, ergo causing me to miss dessert to go with her unasked, we walked silently up to the Tower. Our first words, each spoken at the same time, were "Words of good cheer", our password and quite ironic at that…

With a simply spoken, "Goodnight James," Lily left up the stairs to her dorm. I stood in the empty Common Room, wondering what the hell I did that day.

- - - -

It's Christmas Eve day and I promised Remus chocolate frogs. It's Christmas Eve day and the storm hadn't let up all night. It's Christmas Eve day and today I had to find out what happened yesterday with Lily and I.

I grabbed four or so boxes of chocolate frogs, stuffed them in my pockets and left my dormitory. I was still in my nightshirt, flannel pants (a wonderful Muggle achievement) with a robe lightly tossed on, and Quaffle slippers on my feet. No one was in the Common Room, and I assumed it to be quite late in the morning. Possibly near noon. Ah well, I was Head Boy and it was the Christmas holidays; I was fine.

I walked down the halls exchanging Christmas greetings with portraits, Sir Nicholas, a few students (who all looked at me oddly) and a couple of Professors. I jovially entered the Hospital Wing, not an easy task, and quietly padded my way over to Remus' bed. I was taken by surprise when I saw Lily Evans sitting by his bed.

"Good morning my fellow Gryffindors," I greeted them, waiting to be invited into their conversation and not just jump right in. Remus gestured to the end of his bed and I sat.

"Good morning James," Remus yawned. He mustn't have gotten a good sleep last night… if any at all. I emptied my oddly shaped pockets on Remus' legs. Ok… so I guess I grabbed more than four. Sirius won't even miss them. "Ah, thank you James."

Lily watched with a slightly open mouth and raised eyebrow. "Is that good for you at this time?" she asked. Hm… she might think he has a stomach bug.

"They do nothing to tamper with the transformation," Remus said, opening a box and tossing me the card without looking at it. So she knows already. I wonder when - oh!

"I don't have this one!" I said happily. "Hedwig, eh?" I went about reading the short description about this famous witch. With my attention on the card, I didn't see Pomfrey come over.

"Good day Mr. Potter." I jumped and looked up. "I suggest you two leave so Mr. Lupin can get some rest."

I stood up with Lily and glanced over Remus' bed. I couldn't see any of the chocolate frogs. When Pomfrey made Remus lay down, I heard the sound of boxes rubbing against one another and realized that they must be under his pillow. Pomfrey glanced at the ground, thinking she had kicked or stepped on something. Lily and I smiled at each other and left, promising to visit before dinner.

Lily seemed in higher spirits as we played a game of Exploding Snap in the Great Hall. I forgot about our conversation the day before and just enjoyed Lily's presence.

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