The Marauders: Year Seven Part One

You Really Are the Headboy!

The Headboy badge was heavy in her hand and warm from being in his jumper. It shined - perfectly polished brass and ruby red. Lily drew a shaking breath as she looked up at him. He was smirk-grinning down at her with his stupid crooked tooth hinging the corner of his upper lip. His hair stuck up everywhere and he looked just so much like someone who would not be a Headboy that it made Lily feel quite dizzy. She looked back down at the badge, then back up at him. 

There was a long, long pause.

"Evans?" James said, raising an eyebrow. He lowered his voice, "Everyone's staring at us, waiting for us to get this thing started."

Lily's voice was a quiet hiss, "Who did you knick this from?"

"Nobody, it's mine," he replied.

"James Charlus Potter."

"Really!" he exclaimed.

"I was there when you opened your supplies letter from Hogwarts, at the camp," Lily said, shaking her head, "Now tell me where you got this from."

"Dumbledore gave it to me."

Lily stared at him.

"I swear it! He came by my house, delivered it personally."

"Right."

"He did! Him and McGonagall and Urquart all three, sitting in the living room, and ol' Dumbles goes off on one of his infamous tangents about doing good and being brave and yadda yadda et cetra and then he says Minnie you give it to him and McGonagall hands me this badge."

Lily turned, headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm looking for the poor Hufflepuff boy you've got petrificus totalused somewhere... You've got him stowed in one of the compartments, haven't you? With your bleeding invisibility cloak." Her eyes lit up. "Oh gods - Sirius. He's helped you with it. This was his idea wasn't it? I'm going to give him a bat bogey hex that he'll never forget..."

"Evans!" James caught her 'round her shoulders. He stared into her eyes. "I'm not joking." His voice was level and serious. He stared into her eyes, and repeated, calmly, "I'm not joking."

Lily looked at the badge in her hands. It was ruby. That meant it had to be a Gryffindor's. And Remus hadn't gotten Headboy, she didn't believe Remus would have lied about it if he had, and of course it wasn't Peter, and Sirius -- Gods, Dumbledore would allow Hogwarts to burn down before he would give it to Sirius Black, she prayed. So logically, it only made sense that James Potter -- the James Potter who had once dyed the school blue, and who had made all the students fall in love with the Headmaster at Valentines with a love potion... the James Potter who had been extracted from the Express in forth year for setting off a fireworks display in the corridor... the same one who had once made the bleedin' giant squid fly - was the Headboy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Oh my gods," Lily whispered, paling. She sat down heavily without checking for a chair and James only just managed to magic one under her as her knees gave out. She looked up at him, her hand closed tightly around his badge. "Oh my gods, you really are Headboy, aren't you? You're not just pulling some sort of prank."

"I really am Headboy," he said, nodding.

Her nose flared as she stared up at him, her green eyes wide with shock that warmed to admiration. Leaping up, Lily flung her arms about his neck. "Oh my gods you really are the Headboy!"

James laughed.

"Oh my gods, you've - you're - you -" She laughed, deliriously, then backed up, pulled the backer off the badge and stuck him with it. He winced as she accidentally stabbed him with the pin and she apologized quickly, popping on the backer on the inside of his robes and smoothing down the fabric to stare at the shiny thing sitting on his chest. "I - it - it looks so - you're look so - so - so good."