Seventeen Forever

"Maybe you should slap her," a murky sounding voice suggested somewhere far above, almost seeming to be a lifetime and a half away. Lily's subconscious was roused, as it tried to make its way out from the blinding and deafening darkness that consumed her.

"What even caused that? That's a little drastic for such a minor thing," another voice, sounding a lot like Sirius, asked.

"The stress presented by such a situation, I suppose, must've caused her to have a minor panic attack, or she hyperventilated. Maybe her body just took over to protect itself from such an, ah, painful experience. Sorry, buddy," the speculative voice of Remus deduced, apologizing to an unknown person who groaned heavily.

Lily struggled to the top of the blackness that seemed to be enveloping her and opened her eyes, blinking at the sudden harsh light. The concerned, slightly blurry faces of her friends filled her view, anxiously staring at her for any sign of life. Once they saw that she was conscious, they backed up, relieved. The ground beneath her was shaking violently back and forth still, oddly enough.

Oh.

Wait.

She was on the Hogwarts Express, on her way to school, so of course it was shaking. But the question still remained: why was she on the ground? She began to sit up and multiple hands attempted to push her back down, but Lily shrugged them off impatiently, leaning against a seat for support.

"What happened?" she mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to fight off what was sure to evolve into a murderous headache. "I remember yelling, but I can't remember why..." She trailed off, the reason for her outburst suddenly remembered in a bright flash of images of Remus' apologetic face and Potter running his hand through his damn, untidy hair. Her own long red hair whipped around as she searched the room for the slimy, disgusting prat-

"You!" she shrieked accusingly, shakily finding her legs and standing up. Immediately, Maguire and Anna stood on either side of her, barricading her from the startled James who was now pressed against the door of the compartment, his own bodyguards of Sirius and Remus encircling him protectively. Peter seemed to have fled the scene, seeing as the smaller, younger boy was nowhere to be seen. Trying desperately to claw her way out of the iron grasp of her friends, Lily had no success against her captors and growled angrily. Instead, she settled for seething and glaring daggers at him from a good distance away, absolutely furious.

"Why," she demanded harshly, not even bothering to turn the word into a question.

"That's the thing! I didn't!" James exclaimed, running a hand through his hair, out of both nervousness and frustration. Her eyes narrowed even more as cold anger swept through her, desperately wanting to rip off his hand as it, once again, mussed his hair even more. How just one simple action could piss her off to such a degree shocked even her sometimes, but she blamed the years of antagonizing and torture she had suffered at his hands for her reactions.

"Oh please," she scoffed bitterly, her eyes narrowing sharply as she clenched her fists in an effort to control the irrational desire to rip out his jugular. "You must've paid off somebody to get Head Boy! I can't believe you'd do this! Are you that desperate?"

"He didn't, honestly," Sirius interjected suddenly, surprising everyone. "I was there the day he got the letter. We all thought it was a joke too, but James' mum owled Dumbledore himself after James asked her. He said he didn't want it; he didn't do anything to steal it or try to do whatever else the hell you think he did. Dumbledore said they thought he'd make a good Head Boy, God only knows why, I always knew the old man was a lunatic. But I digress. Well, uh, meet this year's HB!" Sirius grinned awkwardly.

"I still don't care. This is ridiculous. As soon as we get to school, I'm going straight to Dumbledore myself. This is unbelievable..." Lily muttered furiously, standing with her hands on her hips, no longer planning James' immediate death as she began to plan her tirade to Dumbledore. What was the man thinking? James Potter, James Potter, as Head Boy? How many times had he had detention in the past year, completely disregarding the obscene number of times he had had it in the past? He was a diehard prankster, cunning manipulator and a natural born asshole, in her humble opinion, at least. So why in God's name was he appointing Potter as the leader of the student body? Her furious thinking was interrupted by the subject of her thoughts and she turned to face him angrily, glaring as he opened his stupid mouth to make a stupid comment that was wasting her stupid time.

"Is the idea of spending even a little bit of time with me really so repulsive?" James asked bitterly, looking at the ground, badly disguising the hurt in his voice. He looked up at her, his

The angry look in her eyes softened slightly at the question, but quickly hardened again when she realized he was only trying to play with her emotions. However, Lily sighed heavily, attempting to release some of the murderous, unhealthy anger bubbling up inside her. She looked at James sadly, seeing him only as the boy who had tormented her for the last seven years, two thousand eighty six days and innumerable hours. "This was going to be my year, my best year. It was going to be absolutely perfect. No stupid pranks, no drama, just enjoying the last few months here before, I don't know, the real world. And now to have this, you, I mean. It's just..." She shook her head, disgusted. Everyone else had fallen silent, watching the little melodrama playing out before them.

"You never know, you might start to like me," James pleaded, his brown eyes hopeful and heartbreaking at the same time.

"How many times," Lily asked, annoyance evident in her tone, "do I have to tell you? I don't like you like that. I'm--I'm not even sure if I like you at all."

As soon as the words were spoken, she wished she'd never even thought them. When the words left her mouth, the somewhat hopeful expression on James' face imploded, leaving him looking like a sad, little boy, resulting in a strangely maternal instinct inside Lily to want to hug him for some reason. She might not like James, but she hated hurting people's feelings even more, since according to James' face, she had hurt him deeply. She hadn't really meant to say that; she had the bad habit of saying things before her mind actually agreed with her mouth. And once again, she'd done it and screwed something up. The expression on his face was absolutely shattered, devastated. But she couldn't take the words back now.

Uttering a tiny, "Oh, I see," James sank back down into his seat, looking as though he had been slapped, totally absorbed in what he'd just been told, obviously replaying the harsh words in his head. He pulled out a book and began reading, not even registering that the book was upside down. Sirius, Anna, Maguire and Remus all stared at each other in shock, confusion and dismay, wondering how to handle the now extremely awkward situation. They eventually took their seats a few moments later, making embarrassed conversation to avoid being sucked into an abyss of awkward, awful silence following the Lily-explosion. Lily herself just sat back down in her corner, staring out the window in shock, horrified at what she'd just done.

Oh God, what did I do? She thought desperately, replaying the crumpling of James' face over and over in her mind's eye. Sure, it's Potter, the bane of my existence. Yeah, he's a little overly obsessed with me, but that doesn't give me any right to be such a bitch to him, even if it is Potter...Holy fuck. I'm an awful person. I can't believe I said that. I should apologize, I really should. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, to say the words that might fix what she had broken. She continued to fight with herself, unaware of anything around her except for her own inner battle.

When the plump, usually jolly trolley witch strolled into the tense compartment some minutes later later and saw the tortured expression on Lily's face, the dead look in James' eyes and the worried faces of Sirius, Maguire, Remus and Anna, she quickly sold her wares and all but ran out of the compartment, eager to get away from the dismal aftermath of the verbal massacre that had taken place. While the others snacked on pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes and Bertie Bott's, Lily ate nothing, except to feebly nibble on a sticky black Licorice Wand Anna offered her.

Eventually, the others stopped putting on a façade; within the half hour of Lily's explosion, Maguire was curled up on her seat, looking very much like a napping kitten. Sirius was sitting next to her sleeping figure, staring moodily out of the window, an intense expression dominating his features, thinking deeply. Across the aisle, Remus was reading, nothing out of the ordinary there, while absentmindedly stroking the white blonde hair of Anna's head that lay in his lap while she too slept. Of course, Lily was still gazing out the window, a battle raging inside her, desperate to not feel like such a horrible excuse for a human being. James seemed to be in a catatonic state, his head buried in his hands that were balanced across his outspread legs. Looking at him quickly, Lily groaned slightly, disgusted at how insensitive she had been. She could've handled it better...

"Lily," Remus' quiet, calm voice murmured, keeping his eyes on his book as he addressed the fiery red head.

She glanced at him, mumbling a nondescript, "Mhm?"

"Please don't kill yourself over what you said. James will be fine," he whispered consolingly. "He bounces back. He always does."

Lily sighed heavily, knowing he was only trying to make her feel better; Remus was too nice, she decided ruefully.

"Thanks, Remus, but I still feel horrible anyway. No one deserves to be told they aren't liked, not even Potter," she replied with a sigh. "I feel like I just kicked a puppy. A dead puppy."

"Don't worry about it, seriously," Remus repeated, meeting Lily's gaze over his book. His mouth twitched into a small, encouraging smile and Lily found herself smiling back, however slightly. She leaned her head against the top of the cushioned seat and looked out the window, staring as the scenery flew past her. The greens, blues and browns of the countryside blurred together and she could feel her eyelids drooping and did nothing to stop their downward descent. As the train roared onward, she slept.

*~*~*

"Uggghhhh," James groaned quietly to himself, shaking his head in his hands. He sat up and scrubbed his eyes, blinking rapidly. He jumped when he realized he wasn't the only person conscious in the compartment. The calm, serene gaze of his werewolf friend greeted him as he grew accustomed to light again.

"You okay?" he whispered quietly and James only had to take a quick look around to take in the other four slumbering figures in the car to figure out why Remus was whispering. Anna was curled on her side, her luminous hair fanned all over Remus' lap across the aisle. Lily's face lay against the window of the compartment, her arm a resting place for her head. His heart jolted as he took in her features, just as it always did whenever he saw her. Maguire was draped across the seat, long legs curled under her, the arm she was using as a makeshift pillow dangling precariously off the seat. Sirius lay stretched out vertically between them, hands behind his infamous hair, mouth wide open as he emitted earth shattering snores. James chuckled at the image his oldest friend made and then sighed, remembering his predicament: the girl he loved couldn't even stand thirty minute or so minutes alone with him, let alone think about it, which caused her to hyperventilate and faint. He groaned unhappily again.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Remus observed ruefully and then said, "You know she feels awful?"

This was news. "No, she doesn't. She hates me; she made that much pretty obvious."

"Well, you should've seen her a little while ago. She was all but crying she felt so bad. You could see it in her eyes. Said she felt like she'd kicked a puppy, which is a direct quote, actually," Remus commented quietly, gazing at the sleeping redhead. He turned back to face James. "I--I had an idea. One you probably won't like, but it might make you more...attractive in her eyes."

James straightened up, immediately alert. "Tell me," he begged. "I'm desperate, she was right, like she always is."

"You know how Lily mentioned earlier how you were, um, 'an arrogant, egotistical prick who likes to hurt people physically and emotionally for a laugh'?" Remus flicked his gaze to his friend, whose jaw clenched tightly at the unpleasant memory. "Well, I was thinking...why not prove her wrong?"

"You've lost me," James confessed, confusion etched on his face.

"Prove her wrong. Show her you're not such a jerk; show her how you can be a nice, funny, smart guy. A gentleman, even, if I may be so bold. Make Lily notice your good qualities, not your...unflattering ones," Remus finished with a triumphant smile.

"And how, dear Moony, would I go about doing that?" James asked sarcastically.

"This is the part you're really not going to enjoy," the werewolf warned, gritting his teeth. James braced himself and nodded at Remus to continue.

"Grow up. Stop showing off in front of Lily. Stop being a prat, though I know you don't mean it," he corrected quickly, as James shot him a look. "And also...stop pranking."

Silence filled the car. The earth seemed to stop moving. James even forgot how to breathe for a nanosecond as he watched his friend's mouth move up and down and speak the death penalty.

"You're joking."

James was stunned; pranking was his pride and joy! It was part of who he was; part of his identity!

"Only if you're joking about this. Do you love Lily Evans?" Remus demanded, his dark brows furrowed together.

"Yup," James replied automatically.

"Would you do anything to win her affections?"

"Well, what's classified as any-?"

"Yes or no will do, Prongs."

"Fine, yes."

"Then can you give up--maybe let up is the better term--pranking for her? Not forever," he hastily corrected, looking at his friend's shell shocked expression. "Just for, you know, a little bit."

James really didn't have to think about his options, even though he wished there was an alternative.

"Yeah, I guess," he sighed resignedly.

Remus nodded encouragingly. "Now, after that, you should-"

"Hold up, wait," James objected. "I have to do more?!"

"Do you love this girl?" Remus reminded him.

"I loved her the second I saw her," James replied instantaneously, "but that doesn't-"

"Then this really shouldn't be that hard, if you really love her," he goaded and continued, ignoring his friend's put out expression. "James, doing this will finally kill that stuck up, arrogant, idiotic image Lily has of you. If you can be somewhat mature, thoughtful and responsible throughout the year, you very may well have a chance at finally getting the girl of your dreams."

"You sound like you're selling me something," James muttered darkly. He hated it but he had to agree with the plan; it was a good one. Remus chuckled.

"Only trying to help my desperately pathetic best friend."

"I like it," a new voice agreed. Sirius opened one eye expertly and grinned.

"You prick, I thought you were sleeping!" James accused.

"I'm a man of many talents," he replied, stretching his arms wide and dropping them to his sides limply. Unfortunately, he smacked Maguire in the head, causing her to jump in her sleep and wake up.

"Mmm?" she mumbled sleepily. Not waiting for an answer, she uncurled herself, stretching her arms over her still lying down head. She brushed Sirius' thigh with one hand and each felt their breath catch in their throat at the sudden contact. She quickly retracted her hand and sat up, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"What time is it?" she asked, her question breaking off into a yawn.

"Well, we left at eleven, you've been asleep for two hours or so...I'd guess it's around two o'clock," Remus supplied, as Anna also awoke and straightened into a sitting position.

"Four more hours? Fuck. What are we going to do?" Maguire complained, grimacing at the dismal prospect.

"Sing-a-long, anyone?" Sirius quipped sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Maguire rolled her own eyes and said, "Oh yes, because we all know and love your talented vocal skills, Mr. Black."

"Hey," Sirius objected, his infamous grin turning into his even more infamous pout, "I take offense! I sing just fine, thanks. I've gotten better since fourth year."

"I'm sure you have," she teased, giggling at the memory. She stood up to reach into her trunk, saying, "I think I've got Exploding Snap-"

At that moment, the train lurched forward suddenly and jolted back in the next second, jostling everyone in the car. Maguire stumbled and fell into Sirius' lap with a loud exhale of breath, as he expertly caught her before she hit the ground. The violent shake woke Lily with a shock as the sharp jolt caused her to smack her head into the glass windowpane. As she opened her dazed eyes, she took in the sight of Maguire perched on Sirius' lap and muttered to herself, "Don't you two look cozy." Remus' eyes flickered to her now blushing face as she spoke and he winked.

Maguire quickly scrambled off of Sirius' lap and nonchalantly said, "Quit trying to feel me up, Black."

"What's to feel?" he shot back, grinning at James, looking for a high-five for his witty remark.

He started to smile back and offer him a hand, but he saw Remus shake his head a fraction of an inch. Catching on, he spoke to Maguire instead, asking in a concerned voice, "You okay, Maguire?"

Confusion written across her face, she answered hesitantly, "Um, yeah. I'm, uh, fine."

She exchanged a puzzled look with Lily, who was also bewildered. Since when did James care about anyone other than himself? James looked at Remus, whose tawny head nodded as insignificantly as before.

Filled with more confidence, James asked, "Do you have Exploding Snap? It'd be fun for all of us to play, you know, just to do something."

Maguire searched her bags, gripping the iron railing to prevent further accidents and came up empty. "No, sorry," she apologized with a sigh. "God, I do not do well with free time. What should we do?" she asked, plopping back down Indian style on the cushioned seat of the car. The compartment was quiet as everyone racked their brains for some form of entertainment.

"Cards?" Remus suggested.

"What are you, a grandma?" Sirius scoffed with a shake of his shaggy head. "I need something a little more...stimulating."

"Charades?" Lily volunteered, looking around the compartment.

"What?" the pureblooded Maguire, Sirius and James asked incredulously.

"Never mind," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "You guys wouldn't know it, it's a Muggle game."

"Sounds like a disease," Sirius muttered, giving Lily a wary look while she stuck her middle finger up at him.

"I bet it's, um, fun, whatever it is," James said suddenly, glancing at Lily while everyone else continued thinking. She looked at him, perturbed, but nodded slowly at his sincere expression, a miniscule smile twitching at her corner of her lips. Maybe Remus was right, she thought. He does bounce back.

"Oh! God, I'm stupid. Why don't we play Truth or Dare?" Maguire exclaimed excitedly, to which everyone quickly agreed. "I'll go first," she offered, sitting up straighter in her seat.

"All right," Sirius replied, taking on the role of interrogator. "Truth...or Dare?"

"Knowing you, you'd probably have me strip down and run through the corridors. I'll stick to Truth, thanks," Maguire quipped with a smile.

"You're no fun," Sirius complained and he looked at his friends. "What's a good Truth?"

After a moment of thought, Remus suggested quietly, "What's the wildest thing you did this summer?"

"What?!" Sirius crowed in disbelief. "That's not a good-"

"Yes, it is," Maguire countered quickly. "It's a perfectly valid Truth and I'll take it. Let's see..." she thought aloud, "the wildest thing I did this summer? Hmm..." She fell into deep thought for a few seconds until Sirius snapped.

"Sometime today, Burgess, eh?" he said, snapping his fingers impatiently.

"Keep your pants on, Black," she replied, using his surname with easy familiarity. "Oh wait, with you that might be too hard."

The compartment burst into peals of laughter, while Sirius shrugged it off with a suggestive wink and smirk. After a moment, the laughter died down and Sirius said, "All right, you had your laugh, now answer the damn question."

"I guess the wildest thing I did this summer was attend the Ball of Summer," Maguire answered, nonchalance exuding from her tone. Lily, Remus and Anna exchanged looks of confusion.

"You might have to explain to them," Sirius pointed out to Maguire.

"Oh! Well, the Ball is this big party all of the pureblood families go to and we dance, eat and show off, I guess. You get all dressed up and you have to act like a right prat the entire night," she finished with a wink in Sirius and James' directions.

"If it's just a dance, why was it so wild? It sounds like it'd be pretty tame with your parents there and everything," Anna asked, curious.

"Yeah, I'm kinda wondering the same thing," Sirius said, suspicion written across his face as he peered at Maguire intently.

"Wait, I thought this was a pureblood thing?" Lily asked, even more confused than before. "Why didn't you go?"

"Actually," James replied, "neither of us went."

"Okay, I think I'm missing something," Lily moaned, turning her confused gaze to Sirius, James and then Maguire.

Sirius heaved a heavy sigh and began to explain. He told them how he'd finally walked out on his family that summer, after a particularly violent row with his mother. Sick of their pureblooded superiority views, their intolerable cruelty towards him, which he vehemently refused to explain further, and them in general, he had done what he called, "the smartest thing I've done in years". He'd gone to the only place he could think of: the Potters'. James took over narrating at that point, since Sirius was having trouble keeping his voice at a reasonable level, and told them how, when the gilded invitations had arrived in the post, they'd chosen to abstain from the festivities to avoid a confrontation with the Blacks, which definitely would have been unpleasant, surrounded by other like-minded, pro-pureblooded families.

"So yeah," Sirius concluded, not really meeting anyone's gaze. "That's my summer in a nutshell."

"Oh, Sirius," Anna whispered sympathetically, always the maternal figure.

"What? It's not as if my life has been this wonderful fairytale," he spat bitterly. "This has been coming for years. Hell, it's a wonder I made it this long. I think I only stuck around to see if Reg would turn out like them, which he obviously did. Looks like I'm the black sheep of the family," he said harshly, laughing darkly at the depressing irony. "I don't give a damn about them or their values, they never gave a damn about me since I stopped putting up with their shit when I turned eleven."

Silence followed his outburst until Remus murmured uneasily, "Well, uh, why was it the wildest thing you did, Maguire?"

For a second, Maguire seemed lost in thought, a thoughtful smile on her lips. With a sigh, she explained.

"So, it's this really exclusive party, right? My parents, Nathan and I were all together; shocking, I know. It's one of the few times--well, never mind, whatever. My mom and I got all dressed up and everything-"

"Oh, what did you wear?" Anna interrupted excitedly.

Maguire smiled girlishly and gushed, "Oh, it was gorgeous. It was this silky, floor length red gown. It had these straps that were so thin, they were like little strands of thread. There was a slit up to here," she said, marking off the scandalous height on her thigh, "and it had this insanely low cut back, with this crystal piece at the base of my back. It was amazing," she sighed dreamily. "And of course, it pissed off my mom because it was so indecent, so that made me even happier. She thought I was going to wear this God-awful, heirloom dress but I ran out and bought the dress a few days before."

The male Marauders, confused as ever by the female brain, exchanged looks; it was a dress. So what? The girls, however, were looking in envy at Maguire, nearly drooling as they fantasized about the dress.

Sirius muttered darkly, "Wonder what Nate did when he saw..."

Grinning devilishly, Maguire answered, "Oh, he just about dropped dead out of shock when I came down the stairs. Mother was so pissed at me, but she couldn't do anything about it. It was great."

"Anyway..." he drawled, itching to get the game going.

"Relax, Sirius. So, the party was-"

"Wait!" James interrupted and Sirius groaned dramatically. "Shut it, Padfoot. I just want to know where the party was this year."

"Oh, um," Maguire mumbled, suddenly secretive, "it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Raising an eyebrow, Sirius locked her in his gaze and demanded, "Where was it?"

She looked at him silently, staring back at him in defiance for a moment before she gave in. "Fine, whatever," she growled darkly, already knowing how angry the boys would be when they heard her answer. "It was at the Malfoys'."

"Shit, you were at the Malfoys' alone?" Sirius accused furiously. James cracked his knuckles out of habit at the name.

"No, I was not 'alone', you idiot," she snapped, eyes flashing angrily. "I was with my parents! And a whole bunch of other people!"

"And we all know how protective and nurturing they are," Sirius grumbled sullenly under his breath.

"Fuck you," she spat, turning away from him angrily. "Anyway, a few of us got bored with the adults and decided to go upstairs. Penny Parkinson, Lucius, of course, Frank Longbottom was there, Macmillian went, a few of the Prewett kids, which shocked me, since I was sure it was gonna turn out pretty nasty with them there. Uh, who else...oh, some of the Greengrass girls were there too. There was a good amount, like ten or so. Not all Slytherins or guys," she added when she saw the looks on James and Sirius' faces. "We all snuck upstairs after the dinner to an unused room and I don't know. We just, you know, socialized, played a few games..." she trailed off.

"What kind of games?" Sirius inquired, trying very hard to keep control of his temper.

"Drinking games," she replied brightly, chipper as ever. Sirius gritted his teeth together and growled. The idea of Maguire playing drinking games with a bunch of Slytherins did not appeal to him. "A few people got really tipsy, but for the most part, it wasn't that bad."

"'Tipsy'?" Lily speculated curiously.

"You'd think," Maguire mused thoughtfully, the edges of her mouth struggling not to break out into a grin, "that a Malfoy would be able to hold his liquor better..."

"Malfoy drunk," Remus contemplated aloud as everyone broke into gales of laughter. "I'd certainly like to see that."

"Did anything else happen?" Anna wondered, glancing nervously at Sirius' clenched fists and tense figure.

"No, ew, definitely not," she replied and Sirius relaxed a tiny bit. "The Slytherins were all getting quite cozy, so Frank, Macmillian, the Prewetts and I all left. Not," she said leadingly, "before we all played Truth or Dare, drunks Slytherins included."

"No!" Lily gasped.

"Mhmm." Maguire nodded excitedly, as she went on with a giggle. "Those Slytherins, they've definitely got their fair share of juicy secrets. Of course, those of us who could stand a few rounds of Firewhiskey shots were not about to give up an opportunity to hear them."

"Oh my gosh, you didn't!" Anna gasped, exchanging incredulous looks with Lily. "What'd they say?"

"Oh, you know, the usual; drama, scandal, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll..." she teased as everyone else groaned.

"Tell us something," Lily begged.

"Sorry to disappoint, but that night is a little bit hazy, I have to admit. I might be an experienced, albeit illegally underage, drinker but Firewhiskey..." she trailed off with an appreciative sigh and a slightly enigmatic grin, "it sure does a number on you."

"How unfortunate," Lily drawled, rolling her eyes. "All right. Who's next?"

Sighing, James finally volunteered and Sirius' dark eyes got a mischievous glint to them. He looked at Maguire conspiratorially and she too had a certain gleam in her eyes.

"Okay, James, Truth or Dare?" Sirius asked menacingly.

"Hmmm," James mumbled, while stealing a glance at Remus for a hint on how to act. Casually, Remus stretched his arm above his head, holding up one finger. James assumed he meant Truth so he answered, "Truth," as Remus inclined his head almost unnoticeably.

"Ugh, you suck," Maguire muttered, her plans dashed at James' answer.

"Let's see," Sirius mused. "What can we force James to tell us against his will?"

Remus spoke up unexpectedly again. "What's the most vivid memory you have of last year?"

James hesitated for just a second too long and everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting. He took a deep breath and plunged ahead, saying in a rush, "The day with the whole, you know, uh, Snape thing and with, um, you know."

Everyone knew. And no one knew what to say to it.

Lily's cheeks immediately flamed and James looked away, guilt and misery evident in his eyes. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought, I'm such a friggin' idiot! Remus groaned inwardly; that wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. He had been hoping for a safe, tame, even somewhat mature answer. What was the boy playing at, bringing that cursed memory up?

"Who's next?" Maguire asked a little too brightly after an immeasurable, awkward moment of silence.

"I'll go," Anna offered, also trying to cover the tense atmosphere.

For the next half hour, Remus, Anna, Maguire and Sirius played Truth or Dare while Lily and James stared out their respective windows, across the aisle from each other. A mixture of confusion and guilt were obvious on both of their faces. Finally, Maguire couldn't take the dismal environment anymore, visibly twitching anxiously at the tension in the air and broke the awkward tension.

"Um, Lily?" she ventured hesitantly. "Wanna play?"

After a long moment, she turned slowly towards her friends and said, "Yeah, sure, why not?"

Maguire's eyes lit up and she asked the question: "Truth or Dare?"

Unthinkingly, still lost in her own world, Lily mumbled, "Uh...dare, I guess."

Sheer, absolute joy glowed on her best friend's face at hearing the blessed word and Lily immediately regretted her decision.

"No, wait, I take it back-"

"No, no, no," Maguire practically sang, jumping out her seat and dancing over to her best friend, pulling her up in her glee and spinning her around. She looked at the males in the compartment with a suspicious eye.

"Out," she commanded, pointing towards the door.

"What?!" Sirius cried incredulously, nearly exploding out of his seat. "Oh no, that's not fair!"

"Oh hell yes, it is!" she yelled back, planting her fists on her hips. Tugging open the door, she bowed towards it. Remus complied and exited the compartment without a word. After a second, James needed no further urging and followed Remus out, hanging his head morosely. Sirius, however, was a different matter. He had to be bodily removed by Maguire, who grabbed him by his forearms and dragged him, inch by inch, out of the compartment, despite his best efforts to dislodge her. Still protesting, she slammed the door shut in his face. Once the room was testosterone-free, she whipped around, a wicked grin spreading across her face. Lily cowered in the corner, terrified at what she'd gotten herself into.

"All right, Anna, you're good at poetry. Help me out," Maguire spoke quickly, pacing.

"Wait a second, what are you making me do?" Lily asked, even more afraid. Poetry? This would not end well, not at all.

Maguire cupped her hand around Lily's ear and whispered her plan.

"Oh God, no!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. "I feel bad, but not that bad! No. I refuse, I absolutely refuse-"

"A Dare's a Dare," Maguire reminded her gleefully and Lily had no response to that, except for once again sticking her middle finger in the air.

~*~*~

"What are they doing in there?" an impatient Sirius muttered as he paced back and forth in front of the compartment door. James and Remus, slumped against the vibrating walls of the train's corridors, shrugged. He banged on the door for the seventh time, calling, "Can we come in yet?"

On the other side of the door, Maguire turned to Lily and asked, "Do you have it down?"

A reluctant "yes" escaped Lily's mouth and she glared at her former best friend. Maguire just laughed and said, "You'll thank me for this later."

"If I ever talk to you again," Lily muttered mutinously, crossing her arms across her chest.

Maguire yanked open the compartment door and startled Sirius just as he was about to knock on the door again. Giggling, she tugged him into the room and pushed him down into a seat, Remus and James following.

"So..." Sirius said expectantly, looking from Maguire, to Anna, to Lily and back down the row of girls again.
Maguire was looking at Lily, nodding excitedly and smiling. Lily frowned, blushing furiously. Maguire's smile shrunk as the seconds passed until she gave in to her impatient nature and snapped, "Just do it, Lily!"
Blushing and grimacing, Lily started to mumble, but Maguire stopped her.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I can't hear you," she enunciated sharply. "You're gonna have to speak up."

The look in Lily's eyes spoke pure murder. The phrase 'if looks could kill' ran through James' mind. What was she being forced to do that was so awful?
"When we get to Hogwarts, I'm going to search for the most awful, horrendous spell I can find and fucking hex you so badly, Maguire," Lily growled, cheeks as red as her hair.

"Shut up and go," she shot back, draped across the seat comfortably. When Lily failed to begin her task, she coughed pointedly and eyed her.

"Go to hell," she spat before she finally began.

"We play a game called Truth or Dare.

I chose Dare and I chose wrong, so now I've got to sing this song.

A dream come true, just for you, (she looked pointedly at James)

You've got to pick option one or two.

Option one, if it's picked, you will kiss me on the lips, (she shuddered violently)

Pick option two and a date to Hogsmeade

Is what I'll owe you.

So think it over, long and hard, that's the end of my little song.

Hurry up, for Maguire's ass I've got to kick, pick!"

She finished her song, looking as if she was seriously considering harming Maguire physically.

"Oy, I didn't write that last line!" she exclaimed, pouting, over the loud clapping of Sirius.

"I chose to add my own little flair," she retorted, plain fury raging in her eyes. James' mouth was a round O of shock, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. Sirius, unable to clap anymore, was slumped over in his seat, roaring with laughter at the situation now presented to his best friend.

"Uh..." James mumbled, still in shock.

"Excuse us, but now it's time for the ladies to exit. Privacy, you know," Sirius took over for his shell shocked friend.

As the door shut in the girl's faces, Sirius whirled around to face his friend, demanding, "You know what you have to pick, right?"

James shook his head, struck dumb by the miracle that had just resurrected all hope back to life in his heart.

Gripping his shoulder fiercely, Sirius shook him, saying, "Pick one. The kiss, you idiot!" He leaped onto the seats, as though the action would strengthen his point, as he bounded excitedly from cushioned seat to cushioned seat. "Come on, James, it's so obvious. Make out with her and she'll just have to go out with you!"

A quiet cough came from the corner. "James," Remus cautioned, "don't do that. Pick the date, seriously. Think about it: pick the kiss, and she won't think you're serious enough about her, that you're just in it to get some. Pick the date, on the other hand, and she'll get to see how you really are, your personality and whatnot. Besides, when does he," he said, jerking his head towards Sirius, "ever know what a girl really wants?"
"Oh, trust me, I always know," Sirius said suggestively with a wink and accompanying hand gesture.

James groaned, rubbing his head for a few minutes. After deliberating with himself, he looked up and said, "All right, I've made my choice."

Walking over to the door, Sirius looked at him suspiciously. As the door slid open, Maguire tumbled in, her ear having been pressed against the door. Sirius caught her reflexively for the second time that day, steadying her.

"Nice catch," she complimented, breezing past him. He looked slightly confused for a second and then shook his head. A gloomy Lily followed Anna into the room, looking as though she was dead girl walking. Suddenly nervous, James wondered if he'd made the right choice.

"Um. I made my choice...?" James started to say, his statement turning into a question. Maguire was so excited, she was nearly jumping out of her skin while she whipped her head back and forth at a dangerous speed from the two. Lily just looked at him, one eyebrow raised expectantly. Looking at Remus for support, he nodded encouragingly and James took a deep breath.

"I pick two."

Sirius, who'd been leaning casually against the door, choked on air in response to his friend's so un-Marauder-like answer. Maguire looked extremely disappointed as well, all the excitement exiting her immediately in such a way that she resembled a popped balloon. Lily, however, looked neither upset nor relieved, resigned to her fate.

"Don't do it, if you really don't want to," James said a second later, distraught at Lily's expression. "I don't want to make you do anything you really don't want to do."

She actually showed some expression at the suggestion.

"No, I'll do it. I'm not exactly thrilled, but I'll do it. A Dare's a Dare," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"You'll do it?" James, Sirius and Maguire all asked simultaneously. Anna and her werewolf beau rolled their eyes.

"I have to. I never go back on a Dare, no matter what," she explained with a rueful grin. "It wouldn't be good sportswoman ship."

"Wow," Sirius said, drawing out the word. "You sure have high morals."
"No," Lily murmured quietly, more to herself than to anyone else, after everyone's laughter had died down. "I just always give into my conscience." The picture of James' face crumpling after her harsh words earlier burned brightly in her mind and she knew, no matter how annoying or obnoxious he was, she couldn't cause someone pain like that ever again.

~*~*~

For the remainder of the trip, the group chatted, played more Truth or Dare and napped. James sat in his seat quietly, his head whirling from the events that had taken place in the last few hours.

It was his seventh and final year at Hogwarts.

He was Head Boy and Lily was Head Girl.

He was surrounded by his best mates, once again.

And most importantly, he was finally going to go on a date with Lily Evans, after seven long years of begging, desperation, more begging and waiting.

As the train let out a long, sweet note when it finally pulled into the station, James stood up and grabbed his bags enthusiastically, a large grin plastered across his face, thinking, The year is definitely off to a good start.