Decisions, Decisions

Chapter 1

    "She snores so loudly! Honestly, the entire train can probably hear her!" James Potter whispered to his good friend, Remus Lupin.

    Remus chuckled and sat down next to a sleeping Lily Evans. James sat down on the other sider of her and stared at the beautiful young woman. She looked so peaceful just sitting there, her head propped up on a pillow. He looked up and around the compartment. It was rather small and there was barely enough room for the three of them. Lily's bag lay open on the floor. James leaned over and picked it up, hoping to get a peek inside.

    "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

    James gasped and turned looked over his shoulder. Lily, puffy-eyed and red-face, was glaring at him.

    "Oh...uh, you're awake! So good to see you! How was your summer?"

    "Don't give me that, Potter! Why were you looking through my things?"

    The heat in the train was almost unbearable, and Lily was sweating up a storm. Her long red hair clung to her face and she looked rather irritated.

    "I was...uh...looking for something to eat," James lied.

    "Right. You have money, don't you? The trolley will come around soon," she said.

    James shrugged and set the bag back on the floor.

    "Sorry Evans," he said.

    Lily frowned.

    "Listen, you're going to have to call me by my first name if you want to win me over. And, no offence but, I want some peace and quiet so could you two please leave?

    "Nope. Sorry Evans, all the compartments are full," James replied.

    "Well...whatever. Just be quiet," she said.

    The train sat still for a good ten minutes. Lily didn't seem to notice. She was so engrossed in her book that, if the train exploded, chances were she probably wouldn't notice. Suddenly, the train began moving. Lily gasped as two boys came crashing through the door to their compartment. One was tall and handsome. He had long black hair that looked absolutely amazing. Every last strand was in place and it was shiny and clean. The other was short and pudgy. He held a few pieces of candy in his hand and a wand in the other. The two sat on the floor, their books scattered around the compartment.

    "Wormtail, you idiot! Get off me!"

    The pudgy one had landed on top of his friend, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe.

    The other three instantly recognied the voice as that of their friend's, Sirius Black.

    "Sirius! Peter! What took you?" Remus asked.

    "Mum wouldn't stop hugging me. Almost killed me, she did," Sirius said with a frown.

    They laughed and moved over a bit, giving the two boys enough room to sit down. Sirius got to his seat first, leaving Peter a tiny bit of space to squeeze into.

    "Hello Lily!" Sirius said with a grin, "Have a good summer?"

    Lily shook her head.

    "Of course not. My sister still lives with me. I won't be having a good summer for a long time,"

    "Her friend's aren't still trying to burn you at the stake are they?" Remus asked.

    "No. They've matured quite a bit, although they're still pretty stupid,"

    Remus laughed and pulled a book from his bag.

    "Speaking of stupid," he said.

    He began flipping through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He handed the book to James who stared at it for a second then laughed. Sirius grabbed the book from James' hands.

    "Ooh...this should be a fun year," he said with a grin.

    "What are you talking about?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing. We were just thinking about our good buddy Severus,"

    Lily grabbed the book, looked at the page, and gasped.

    "You wouldn't!" she cried.

    "Don't worry, Evans. He'll never bother you again," James said.

    Lily huffed and threw the book at Peter.

    "You're despicable. All of you. I can't believe the way you torture that boy. I'll see you at school...unfortunately,"

    She turned to leave but stopped when Remus grabbed her leg.

    "Look," he said, holding up a shiny golden badge.

    "Prefect, eh? Me too. Should be a fun year," she said, smiling.

    Remus smiled back and watched her leave. He didn't know where she was going. There weren't any empty compartments on the train. The only one he'd seen had been with Tommy Chang. Oh, how he'd hated Tommy Chang. He hoped Lily wouldn't have to sit with that idiot.

    "MOONY! Snap out of it!" Sirius yelled.

    Peter laughed. Remus turned to face them.

    "What?"

    "Moony, you were just staring off into space. We were trying to talk to you," James said.

    "Sorry. I was...uh...thinking about Tommy Chang...and Jin,"

    "Ah. I see. No worries, Moony. Jin will be yours by the end of this year. I guarantee it. So what if she likes Tommy Chang? He's a jackass. She likes the sweet, caring guys," Sirius said.

    "And you're a sweet, caring guy mate!" James added.

    Remus sighed and sat down. He rested his head against the window and soon fell asleep. James chuckled and went back to eating.

    "Prongs? Ya' nervous mate?" Sirius asked.

    "Naw. Evans loves me,"

    "She has a funny way of showing it," Peter said with a grin.

    "Wormtail! Sheesh, go get us some food," Sirius said.

    Peter laughed and left the compartment. Sirius followed him.

    "Wait, where are you going?" James asked.

    "Uh...nowhere. I'm just...um...going to see this...um...kid, is all," he replied.

    James shrugged.

    "Whatever."

Chapter 2

    Lily stretched and stood up. She tried to touch the the ceiling but even her fingertips didn't make it.

    "Damn. I'm still short," she muttered to herself.

    "You aren't short," came a voice.

    Lily spun around and saw a tall, thin, long-haired girl about her age. Her black hair was up in a ponytail and she was smiling ear to ear.

    "Jin! Oh my gosh! How have you been?"

    "Great! What about you? Bad summer?"

    "As usual," Lily said, "So...you and Tommy?"

    "I'm over him. I'm into someone else now," Jin said with a sly grin.

    "You have to tell me! Who is it? Lucius Malfoy?"

    Jin made a gagging noise, turned around, and pointed.

    "That's gross, Lil! But be quiet! He's in that compartment over there with his stupid goons," she said.

    Lily nodded and closed the compartment door.

    "Sorry. Anyways, who is it?"

    Jin looked down at her shoes and twiddled her thumbs.

    "Come on, Jin! Tell me!"

    Jin leaned closer and whispered something into Lily's ear. Lily gasped and threw a hand to her mouth.

    "You're kidding me! Jin, I think you're in luck. I think he really likes you!" Lily said loudly.

    "Lil, keep it down! Gads, you're going to wake up everyone on this train. Look, you can't tell anyone, alright? I want to keep it a secret for now," Jin said.

    "Alright, fine. I won't tell a soul. I still think he should know, though,"

    Jin shook her head.

    "No way...not yet. Not until I-"

    "Hello ladies! Lovely evening, isn't it?"

    Lily and Jin squealed in fright and turned around to see Sirius at their doorway.

    "Sirius! You scared the hell out of me, you fool!" Jin yelled.

    "Sorry Wong. Didn't mean to...honest. So, you and Tommy?"

    "How many people are going to ask me that? Geez, we're over...we're through!"

    "I see. And who are you interested in now?"

    "None of your bloody business, that's who," Jin replied.

    "Fine! Fine...you're right, it's none of my business,"

    Sirius grinned and turned to leave, but stopped himself before he could.

    "Ya' know, I hear that Remus Lupin fellow is a really great guy," he said with a sly grin.

    "GET OUT!" Lily yelled, pushing him out and slamming the door shut.

    Lily waited until she was sure he was gone and turned to Jin.

    "See? He does like you. Just...talk to him, okay?" she asked

    "Fine...fine, whatever. I'll talk to him in a couple of days. I need time to prepare,"

    Lily nodded and the girls began sat down, anxious for another year at Hogwarts to begin.