A/N: Hey! Another awesome story by Prongs! Hope you all enjoy! Thank you all for reviewing, and for reading. And I know you ALL want to review right? Of course you do!

CHAPTER 1:The Trip and The First Day

Do you know how annoying it is to be asked out by James Potter every 3 seconds? Of course you don't, that only happens to me.

I'm Lily Marie Evans and my life sucks.

"Up, up, up!" I groaned and pulled my pillow over my face. Why must my sister insist on being annoyingly peppy in the morning? I know for a fact she only does it to irritate me. Unfortunately, it works.

"Go 'way Tuney!" I yelled. So of course she bangs on the door until I get up and yank it open, ducking to avoid her fist, still raised to pound the door.

"Happy?" I growled. I'm NOT a morning person.

"Yes. You're leaving today Freak!" Petunia grinned. "Pack, get dressed, leave. See you." She ran off into her room to call her git of a boyfriend, Vernon Dursley.

I suddenly got happier. I was leaving for Hogwarts today. It would be easier to forget who was missing from the dinner table, the chair by the telly, the kitchen stove. My eyes prickled at the thought of my mother, who had been killed by a drunk driver at the very beginning of summer. I still hadn't told any of my friends.

I shook my head, then gathered my things and headed downstairs.

After grabbing a couple pieces of toast and a banana for breakfast, I towed my dad out the door. At the rate we were going, I was going to miss the train.

We got to King's Cross at 10:50 and I barreled through the barrier at 10:57.

"Bye Dad, love you!" I called over my shoulder as I sprinted towards the train. I hopped on just as the whistle sounded and the doors slid shut. I waved out the window, then dragged my trunk down the train, looking for my friends.

Suddenly, I heard "LILYYYYYYYYYYYY!" I dropped my trunk and braced myself. I felt something slam into my side and I crashed to the floor with 165 cm of hyper energy bouncing on my stomach.

"Hi Mary honey, I'm glad to see you too. Can you get off me? People are starting to stare." I said this like it was completely normal. At this point, it was. You get used to weird when one of your best friends is Mary MacDonald.

Mary's head popped up from where she had been busy squeezing out my life force and she looked up at the head poking out of compartment doors to stare at us. "Whoops, my bad." She popped to her feet and grinned at the startle faces. "What? It's ME guys, come on!" There was a general rumble of agreement, and people retreated back into their compartments. Lovely. My friend was so weird that tackling me in the corridor no longer surprised people. I knew I picked the right friends!

And speaking of friends, here came Marlene McKinnon and Alice Simmons, my two other best friends, skipping lightly down the corridor towards us. They stopped and looked at me on the ground and Mary bouncing energetically with no surprise at all. They too were used to Mary at this point.

"Hello you lot," I said from the floor, grinning up at them.

"You lot!" exclaimed Alice in a mock offended tone. "She addresses us as though we were common farmers or shopkeepers!" Now she had a very fake and posh accent going.

"The horror!" Marly copied Alice's accent. "As if we could ever be mistaken for peasants!"

"Not us great ladies!" Now Mary had joined in. "Why I am cousin to the Queen and the Duchess of York!"
"And I, I am the great countess who fended off a hundred barbarian raiders with naught but 20 men at arms!" Alice exclaimed, striking a dramatic pose.

Time for Marly's two cents. "And did not my husband become a knight and I a lady for our daring missions on behalf of the Queen?"

I got up, faking a serious expression, though I felt about to explode with suppressed laughter. "Forgive me, gracious ladies, for my grievous error." I curtsied, pulling my red skirt out to either side and dipping low. "It shall never happen again."

"See that it doesn't" Alice said severely. We managed to hold the façade about 3 more seconds, then burst out laughing.

"Merlin, I love you guys!" I gasped out, throwing my arms around my best friends. "Now let's go find a compartment before Potter shows up.

We linked arms and skipped haphazardly down the corridor, levitating our trunks behind us.

We finally reached and empty compartment when I remembered something. "Guys, sorry, but I have to go down to the Head's compartment. I forgot."

Alice squealed. "How could you forget? You made Head Girl!"

"I knew it!" exclaimed Marly. "I knew you'd be Head Girl! Who's Head Boy?"

"Don't know, McGonagall didn't say in the letter."

"Well I hope he's cute!" said Mary, with a wink.

"Mary!" I laughed. "I gotta go, bye!" I ran out and down the hallway towards the Head's compartment, arriving panting and slightly late.

I opened the door and gasped "Oh my Merlin, I'm so sorry. I forgot and I-" I stopped as I caught sight of who was sitting next to McGonagall, then covered my eyes and said flatly, "Please, please tell me Potter is only here to ask you a question Professor and the Head Boy is also late."

"No, Mr. Potter is the Head Boy Miss Evans. I expect you to get along. Especially seeing as you two are sharing a dorm." I uncovered my eyes to stare at our Transfiguration professor in horror.

At the same time, Potter brightened considerably. "We're living together? Brilliant!"

I glared. "No. Not brilliant. Professor, how much 'sharing' is involved exactly?"

"You'll have separate rooms, but share a bathroom, common room, and small kitchen. I expect you to behave yourselves Mr. Potter."

Potter grinned innocently. "Me? Misbehave? Never Professor, never."

McGonagall gave him a look the clearly said Yeah right, and continued. "You'll organize the Prefects, starting with their meeting in about 20 minutes, and take patrols yourselves. You'll head efforts for planning any school events we may have, and you'll occasionally patrol on Hogsmeade weekends. Any questions?"

"No Professor," we responded.

"Good. Prepare something to say while you're waiting for the Prefects. Miss Evans, do try not to kill Mr. Potter. I don't have time to find another Head Boy." McGonagall stood and left, leaving me alone with the prat.

"How was your summer Lily?"

I looked at Potter suspiciously, waiting for the lame pickup line. "Fine," I lied. I hoped he would pick up on the fact that I didn't want to talk about it, but no such luck.

"What did you do?"

Oh, lounged around the house, read some books, and watched my mother die on a hospital bed right in front of me. "Nothing."

"Oh come on, you must have done something in 3 months."

I stood up abruptly. "I have to use the loo; I'll be back in a minute."

He looked confused, his eyebrows drawing together and his eyes full of concern. "Lily-"

"Start planning what to say to the Prefects. I'll be back to help in a minute." I practically ran out into the corridor, slamming the door behind me and rushing to the loo. I whipped open the door and sped in, banging it shut. I leaned against the wall and shut my eyes wearily. Scenes flickered behind my closed lids.

Two mangled cars, their point of impact head on. A frantic car ride, ending in white lights, white halls, and white sheets. I hate white. It was so blank and unfeeling. There was red everywhere on her. The beeping of the heart monitor slowed and stopped. I didn't even get to say goodbye.

A strangled sob burst out of my clenched lips and my eyes flew open. They were the same scenes that dominated in my nightmares each night. The same scenes I tried to bury each morning, only to have them leap easily to the surface when I fell asleep. I hated those images and they mocked me, never letting me rest, never letting me forget, even for a little bit, that I'd never see Mum laugh or smile again. She'd never cry at my wedding or hold her grandchildren.

I took a deep breath, shoving the thoughts away. I would not cry. I could not. I had to be strong, because I was a leader and I couldn't be weak. And most of all, I couldn't let Potter see me vulnerable.

I splashed my face with water and steeled myself to face Potter again.

When I walked into the compartment, head high and tearless, I was completely calm and collected. "What have you come up with so far?"

He eyed me warily, but accepted my avoidance of the subject of summer. "We can set up pairs from different houses to patrol each night. I thought we could take each Monday night and they'll rotate around from Tuesday to Friday."

"What about Saturday and Sunday?"

"It's the weekend, let people relax."

"Alright then. When do the Prefects get here?"

He glanced down at his watch. "About 15 minutes, we still have a bit."

I sighed and sat down as far away from Potter as I could. I could tell that this term was going to stretch on forever.

"Lily. Lily, wake up." A hand was shaking me and I woke up slowly.

"Nnnngggg," I groaned. "Five more minutes."

A low chuckle. "Come on Lily, wake up. We're almost to Hogwarts. You need to put your uniform on."

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I had been so tired that I'd finally slept without the dreams that had been waking me up, night after night for 3 months. I looked up into the hazel eyes of Potter. They were much too close and I glanced sideways quickly. I recognized the landmarks outside as meaning we were only about 2 minutes from reaching the castle. Yelping, I leapt up and ran to my trunk. "Potter, why didn't you wake me up sooner? I have no time to get to the loo to change!"

He smirked. "Beautiful as you are, you looked like you needed your beauty sleep."

I groaned. I knew the pick-up lines were lurking in there somewhere. He just decided to let the out now. I narrowed my eyes as I thought. "Close your eyes and stand facing the wall," I snapped.

"What?" He looked confused.

"I need to change somewhere Potter. Close your eyes." Still smirking, he complied. I went over to the door and yanked the shade down. I changed as fast as I could, not wanting to give Potter a chance to look.

As I was buttoning up my shirt, Potter, his eyes still shut, said "You know this would be a lot more fun if I could look."

I scowled at his back. "Don't EVEN think about it Potter. I will hex you from here into next week if you even peek a little."

I could tell from his voice that he was smirking again. "I'm just saying."

"Don't make that face so much Potter, or it'll freeze like that. Oh wait, I think it already has. That seems to be the only expression you're capable of making." I quickly pulled my robe on and added, "All right, you can turn around now."

I quickly looped my tie around my neck and grabbed my wand from my skirt pocket, stuffing my Muggle clothes into my trunk and snapping it closed as he turned to face me. "Let's go."

We made our way to the exit as the train stopped at the Hogsmeade station. I hoped my friends would save me a spot in our usual carriage. Suddenly I stopped short.

"Lily? What's wrong?" asked Potter.

"What are those things pulling the carriages?"

He barely glanced at the front of the nearest carriage. "Oh those? Those are thestrals. They can only be seen by those who have seen death. They're actually really gentle, but people think they're unlucky because of their association with death. I thought a bookworm like you would have come across them before." He smiled to show he was teasing.

"Shut up Potter," I said in a dazed voice, reaching out to touch the nearest one. It looked like a combination between a lizard, a horse, and a bat. Its face was reptilian, with slit pupiled eyes and a sharp nose. Its skin was leathery and black. The body and legs were horse-like, but thin in the extreme, like its skin was simply draped over its bones. Huge bat wings arched from its back proudly. It leaned into my touch and whickered gently. I noticed a scar on its right cheek.

"Hello," I whispered gently. I giggled as it nosed me in the chest. "I'm going to call you Cicatrix." It was Latin for scar, but I doubted Potter knew that. In fact he did look vaguely confused, but accepted the fact that I was naming it.

I spotted my friends and waved them over as Potter wandered away to find Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin.

"Lily, where have you been? We were worried!" Marly asked as soon as they were within earshot.

"I fell asleep after the Prefect meeting," I admitted sheepishly as we all piled into the carriage pulled by Cicatrix. "But you'll never guess who the Head Boy is."

"James Potter," said Mary immediately.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Black, Peter, and Lupin came by after you left and Black would not stop talking about it! We had to give him food to shut him up 'cause he wouldn't leave either."

I made a sympathetic face. "I'm sorry you guys had to put up with that. You should have just hexed him out into the corridor."

Marly laughed. "That your specialty Lils. How was Potter?"

I sighed. "Pratty as ever. I think he looked up new lame pick up lines over the holiday."

They all patted my arm sympathetically and we continued the ride up to the castle, exchanging the same kind of lighthearted banter the whole way. When we got out at the castle, I patted Cicatrix unobtrusively. I could only assume that my friends couldn't see the thestrals seeing as they'd never brought them up before. I'd think someone would say "Wow, they have horse-lizards pulling the carriages!" at some point in 6 years.

The Sorting Ceremony and feast were a blur. All too soon, it was time to head up to my shared dorm with Potter.

We followed McGonagall (after an 'I hope there's a fireman around, cause you're smokin' from Potter, which I rolled my eyes at and ignored) up to a 4th floor corridor where there was a portrait of a woman in a Victorian style dress reading a book. She marked her place and looked up. "Ah, good evening Deputy Headmistress"

"Good evening Ethel. Cornish pixies."

Ethel opened to reveal a hole just like in Gryffindor Tower. I looked in and gasped. The common room was a riot of red and gold, but somehow it wasn't overdone either. There were hints of other colors (blue, green, purple) but the dominating theme was definitely Gryffindor. I could see a little of the kitchenette to the back left and there was a staircase heading up to the bedrooms and bathroom to the right. It was really nice looking, to say the least.

Potter poked me from behind. "Let me see Lily." I went through the portrait hole and moved aside to let him see. He grinned. "Nice place."

I turned around. "Thanks Professor."

She smiled. "No trouble at all. Good night you two."

"Good night," I replied.

"Night Minnie!" Potter chirped from where he was already piling a plate from the refrigerator.

McGonagall gave him a stern look, but there was a twinkle in her eye as she closed the portrait.

"Potter, we just ate! How can you still be hungry?"

Lesson number one Lily. Teenage boys are always hungry." He grinned flippantly and flopped on a sofa with a plate of fried chicken. I scowled and headed up the staircase. The first door I came to had 'James' written on it in gold cursive. I walked down a short hall and came to another with 'Lily' written in the same gold cursive. I pushed it open and gasped again. The room was decked in all my favorite shades of blue (which included just about all shades of blue known to man), with some subtle green-blues and purple-blues added in. I felt as though I'd just walked into an ocean, or the sky. It was amazingly beautiful.

I walked slowly to the enormous bed, covered in sheets of the lightest sky blue with an aqua colored duvet. I put my hand on it gently, and felt the incredible softness of the covers. I was sure this bed would be the most comfortable thing I'd ever sleep in.

I turned to the walk in closet and looked inside. All of my clothes were hung neatly on racks or folded on shelves. They took up a pitiful amount of space in the huge closet that I could have easily lived in.

I shook my head, and moved to the door on the other side of my bedroom. It opened to an enormous black and white bathroom. The bathtub, which was in the middle of the floor, was the size of an Olympic swimming pool and made of black marble. The sinks (which took up one whole wall) were white set in more black marble and there was a white Jacuzzi in one corner. A huge standing shower dominated the other corner with 2 toilet stalls between it and the Jacuzzi. It was impressive. I saw my toiletries sitting next to the close sink, so I went over and brushed my teeth and my hair before putting my shampoo and body wash in the shower.

I went back into my room. There was probably something better to do, but I felt like I was about to crash, so I put on my favorite midnight blue pajamas and stretched out on the bed, which felt like lying on a cloud. I fell asleep praying that I wouldn't have nightmares. Of course I was wrong.

A/N: Hit the button! You know you want to! I know you want to! At least I want to! please! This is my enjoyment in life! Dont take my happiness! Hit the review button! PLEASE!