Forgetting Lily Evans

Lily Evans looked out the window she was sitting next to in the Hogwarts Express that was still sitting on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. She and her two best friends, Mary McDonald and Rachel Herman, had misread the clock and arrived an hour early.

Mary McDonald had blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She was short and sort of mouthy but around her friends she was nothing but nice. She was also the Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Rachel Herman had mousy brown hair with hazel eyes. She was a quiet girl and almost always had her head in a book. She, too, was in Gryffindor.

Now, Mary and Rachel were talking excitedly and Lily started to space out...

"Lily! Lily!" Mary said. "Earth to Lily! Anyone home?" Rachel tapped Lily on the arm and finally got her attention.

"Huh? Sorry...sort of drifted off. Did you say something?" Lily responded, slightly shaking her head.

"Yeah, you haven't said too much, are you okay?" Rachel asked, sympathetically.

"I'm fine. Just sort of tired. Really!"

"All right, if you say so," Mary prodded. "Are you excited about doing Head Girl things?"

"Yeah, I'm dying to know who the Head Boy is."

"Well, you'll find out soon enough. There are only a few more minutes until the train leaves," Rachel told her as Lily just noticed how much noise there was.

A few minutes came and passed and the train was moving. Lily could hear others saying last goodbyes to their parents which reminded Lily of when she said goodbye to her mom this morning, before she Apparated with Mary and Rachel.

"I guess I better get going...to the prefects' meeting," Lily said, starting towards the door.

"Good luck!" Lily heard Mary say.

As she made her way towards the prefects' carriage she started to think of all the possible Head Boys. Well, there is Alex Patterson. He would be good. Remus Lupin would be excellent. Chris McMillan would be okay, but he's kind of thick. Merlin! I hope it isn't Severus or...

"Potter! What are you doing here?" she hissed as she walked in to the prefects' carriage. James Potter turned around and looked at her like she had just said the most nonsensical thing in the world.

She saw he had the Head Boy badge on his chest and right when he was about to say something she hissed, "Who did you steal the badge from?"

He saw the fury in her eyes. "Calm down, Evans! I didn't steal it from anyone! I got it in the mail!" He flashed her a smile with his perfectly straight teeth that he had obviously magically modified.

She rolled her eyes. "What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?"

"I know, right?" he agreed, laughing. Lily noticed Remus was also in the room.

"Hi, Remus! How was your break?" Lily asked.

"Very nice. Thanks. How was yours?"

"Fine."

They didn't say anything else as the prefects gradually filed in and signed in on the sign in list. After the room looked mostly full, Lily looked at the list and saw only Severus Snape wasn't there.

Right when Lily was about to start the meeting he came rushing in and took a seat in the back.

"Well...hi!" Lily began and most of the people said "hi" back. Lily did not enjoy talking in front of crowds. "You have all been given a great honor, but with honor there is still responsibility... Err..."

Severus was staring at her and it was quite intimidating. Crap! What was I saying? What am I doing?

"I think what Lily was saying is that you all have to take your responsibilities seriously and you can't think that since you have been given responsibility, you can break the rules. So, we'll give you all your assignments now and you will be free to go," James said, passing out the assignment papers to the prefects. "Oh, and we will be having a prefect meeting once a month. At those meetings we are going to discuss how we can make the school a better place. Good luck and see you then!" Everyone left leaving only James and Lily.

Lily was now staring at James with her mouth open. Who are you and what have you done with James Potter? she thought. "Err...thanks for covering for me back there. You did good...I went blank..."

James grinned. "No problem, Evans. I mean, come on, you can't be perfect!"

Lily was about to smile back at him but caught herself. She was thinking, what is wrong with him and why is he acting so...mature? They both left the carriage and headed off down the train. I think I'll say "hi" to Samantha and Melody before I find Mary and Rachel again...

"Hey, look! There's Sam, I'm going to make sure she is playing Quidditch this year!" James said as he opened the door to where Samantha McBride, Melody Sanders, and Jake McBride were sitting. Lily let out a low sigh and followed him in to the place she was going to go anyway.

"No! He's going to get in to Gryffindor!" Samantha yelled at her brother. "Oh, hey James! Hi Lily! Our cousin is a first year this year and we just were arguing which house he was going to be in."

Samantha McBride was a very pretty girl with dark brown hair and ocean blue eyes. She was very outgoing, wild, and popular, but she pretended not to notice. She was in Gryffindor and was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Her two best friends were Jake McBride and Melody Sanders. Jake McBride was Samantha's twin brother. Actually, they were triplets with their other sister, Vanessa. Jake and Samantha didn't talk much to Vanessa, who was in Slytherin. All three of them were tall and thin. They were also all half blood. Their parents were killed by dark magic during their fourth year at Hogwarts. Jake had the same ocean blue eyes and dark brown hair as Samantha, making him rather attractive. He belonged to Ravenclaw house and was a Chaser for their Quidditch team. Jake was smart but didn't act like it because he neglected his studies for art. Melody Sanders was your typical blonde hair, blue-eyed beauty. She was also in Gryffindor and was a very good artist. She was Muggle born, like Lily, and was wild and popular like her best friend. Also, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shack.

"Samantha, I wanted to make sure that you were playing Quidditch this year, you don't have to try out even!"

Melody answered, "No, she's not going to play this year! She's going to start drawing!"

James and Lily both looked at Samantha for confirmation.

"She's right. I've found my true calling in art," Samantha confirmed.

"Yes! Ravenclaw might have a chance this year!" Jake cheered.

James looked like he was going to have a heart attack. "But...you're the best Chaser we got!"

Samantha, Jake, and Melody burst out laughing. "Of course I am playing!" Samantha laughed, looking at the broom that was leaning against the window. "Wait? I don't have to try out? Cool!"

"No, we've played on the same team for five years. Okay, that's all I wanted. See you all around." He opened the door and went out in to the corridor.

"Did you have a good holiday?" Melody asked Lily.

"Yes, it was relaxing, I guess," Lily answered. "How about you lot?"

Samantha, Jake, and Melody burst out laughing. "It was great!" Samantha said. "I got my license and..."

"Almost got us killed!" Jake interrupted.

"We got kicked out of a Muggle bar," Melody added. "We might have had a few to many and were being a bit disruptive."

"Oh, and I fought with my grandma! Big surprise!" Samantha said.

"I got tackled by a hippogriff!" Jake said. "It was a great summer!"

"Wow, it sounds like you guys had a great time," Lily observed.

"We did!" Jake and Samantha agreed in unison.

They talked for a few more minutes, before Lily went to find Mary and Rachel.

*

"I behaved, mummy! I swear!" James tried to sound serious, but failed miserably by laughing.

"I suppose I could believe you since you didn't come back with pink hair or snot streaming out of your nose. Evans did do those things before, right?" Sirius Black asked, already knowing the answer.

James nodded. "I think this might be the year I win her heart! I bet by Christmas she will be mine! I will be hers!"

"Maybe, Prongs, maybe," Sirius said, putting his arm around James' shoulder. "There are all those possibilities out there." He motioned with his other hand and then took his arm back.

"I think Prongs grew up this summer, Sirius, or at least matured a little. So, he might have a good chance," Remus Lupin observed not looking up from the chess game he was playing with Peter Pettigrew. "It's okay, Sirius. Some of us reach that maturing stage later. In your case, you'll reach it when you are on your death bed."

"Remus, talk to the hand, you know...just talk to the hand, Remus! Gosh!" Sirius said in a high, girly voice, while holding his hand out to Remus. They all burst out laughing, once again. Once they all stopped, Sirius started talking again. "Jessica stopped by while you were at your big boy meeting, James."

Jessica Highland was a seventh year Ravenclaw girl who thought she was Merlin's gift to the world. She was a blonde that had a history of flirting with the Marauders and slipping love potions in to their drinks.

"Oh, what happened?"

"She asked where her ickle Jamsie was, told Peter indirectly that his shirt is hideous..."

"She did?" Peter squeaked, eyeing his shirt.

"It's fine!" James reassured him.

"Then she casually greeted me with a kiss on the lips and asked if I missed her," Sirius finished, his voice wry.

"At the end of last year you didn't return her kiss," Remus told him absentmindedly.

"Well, since it's not weird at all that you noticed that, it's very weird that I didn't return it!" Sirius said, sarcastically. "I CAN'T STAND HER! WILL YOU GET THAT IN TO YOUR HEAD, MOONY!"

"I know that you have never liked her. I simply enjoy having something on you that you don't have on me." James went over to Remus and they shared high fives.

Sirius shook his head, smiling. "You shouldn't have told me that!"

"You know Jessica shouldn't act like she's all that!" Peter budded in. "I mean there are prettier girls at Hogwarts, and they're nicer too! Like..."

"Lily," James mumbled.

"There's Samantha and..." Remus began but was interrupted by Sirius.

"Aha! You like McBride! Moony and Sammy sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First came love...Ouch!" Remus had just gotten up and hit him on the head with his book.

"You know who I like and I can't tell her that because it would be unfair to her because...because of what I am!" Remus told him and they all went silent.

"You like Rachel but you know it doesn't have to be that way...I mean, I think she likes you to. Just ask her out already!" James said.

The train had stopped at Hogsmeade station at last and the Marauders went out in to the corridor with the rest of the crowd.

Just as they got toward the door out, Samantha, Jake, and Melody were in front of them. Melody missed a step and fell on top of someone.

"Sorry," Melody cried, sincerely, getting to her feet and trying to help her victim. They saw it was Jessica that she had fallen on top of.

"You better watch your pet, Samantha!"

"Don't you dare call her that!" Samantha scowled.

"Yeah, you're lucky, there aren't any points for Ravenclaw to lose because some of them would be already gone!" Lily hissed at her. James saw that Lily, Mary, and Rachel were in front of Jessica.

Jessica scurried off with her friends and Jake saw some of his Ravenclaw friends and went off with them, leaving the nine Gryffindor seventh years. They all began to walk towards the carriages.

It started to rain and everyone produced umbrellas. James was about to offer Lily his when Will Whitby, a Hufflepuff sixth year, ran up to her and shaded her with his umbrella. He put his arm around her waist.

"Hello you! Thanks!" Lily said as they leaned in for a kiss.

"Anytime," Will told her, as they walked a little faster to catch the next carriage.

Samantha and Melody were whispering frantically to each other. James only caught, "I don't think he already knew." He didn't miss when they both glanced at him and looked away very quickly.

Lily, Will, Rachel, and Mary got on to the next carriage with two other Hufflepuff sixth years and it took off.

Another carriage pulled up and Samantha went straight in front where she held up an apple and it disappeared. Then, she got on the carriage where the Marauders and Melody were already seated.

"What the hell were you just doing Sam?" Sirius, who was sitting next to her, asked her.

"I just randomly felt like making an apple disappear!" she responded.

"Oh, that's what I thought. Always knew you were never quite right in the head." He smiled at her.

"It was a thestral, genius, which you obviously can't see!" she retorted.

"Well, they can see it either," he said motioning to everyone else, still grinning. "It is in your head!"

"Sirius! Thestrals are those winged things that you are supposed to be able to see if you have seen death!" Remus told him.

"Oh! Oh... sorry...Sam."

"It's fine."

"When did Evans get a boy friend?" Sirius asked.

"They got together at the beginning of last summer," Melody responded. "They have just begun going steady. I think that they're kind of moving fast." James burst out coughing. "I didn't mean that way! Well, maybe that way..." Melody tried to reassure her self and James but failed. She patted James' shoulder. "Sorry..."

Once in the Great Hall, Samantha and Melody left the Marauders to sit by Lily, Mary, and Rachel. At the Sorting Ceremony, Samantha's cousin, Mark, got in to Gryffindor and Samantha gave her brother a smug look. When the feast was served James barely ate anything, no matter how much his friends tried to get him to.

Later, up in his dormitory, James took to staring at the wall.

"Oh Prongs! You could have any girl in the school!" Sirius told him. "Except for McBride, Remus wouldn't like that to much! I'm just kidding!" He said to Remus, who was pointing his wand at him.

"No, I'm actually okay!" James said aloud and they all looked at him with shocked faces and Peter dropped the glass of water he was carrying. "Really! I've just been thinking about how long I've been chasing her. It just wasn't meant to be. I mean, I've gone out with plenty of girls but I never really took those dates seriously. I thought Lily would come along one of these days. I realize that I need to look else where."

"He's cured!" Remus cried.

They all went to sleep and as James fell asleep, he realized that it was time to forget Lily Evans.