Two's Company (private)

Location: Hogwarts Express
Date: 1st September 1975
Status: Private

The rumble of the train was hypnotic, soothing as James arrived in the Head compartment of the train and settled immediately into one of the plush armchairs that were fixed to the floor. It felt good, finally, to be away from the incessant taunting that he'd received at the hands of the Marauders. The jokes, the comments...the pranks...worriedly, he glanced down at his robes, hoping desperately that the magically luminous letters that Sirius (and, he suspected, Remus) had charmed onto them saying "Kick The Wanker" had faded.

Honestly, with friends like these, who needs enemies?

He knew that he had to attend the Prefect's meeting in ten or fifteen minutes, and the thought still made his stomach turn slightly. Him. A prefect. Not just any prefect though, no no no, King-fucking-Prefect himself. Mind you, at least he'd calmed down slightly from when he'd first found out.

The slow movement of the carriage from side to side was lulling him gently into sleep, an inexorable push towards the realms of somnambulence, and away from that of reality. He knew the Head Girl would be in any second (and oh boy, did he hope that he was right on who it would be), but he figured a few moments of simply...resting his eyelids...well, it couldn't hurt, could it?

He was just about to drift off when the sound of the carriage door wrenched him back to consciousness.

He couldn't help but grin as the footsteps suddenly stopped. It had to be Evans, there was nobody else who'd be stumped in such an infuriated way by his mere presence. Apart from Snivellus maybe. And in all honesty, he wouldn't have been surprised to learn that the little snake had been named Head Girl. He'd always suspected that he wore a petticoat under those robes, even if the time they'd dangled him upside down for the world to see had proven that theory wrong.

He chanced cracking an eye open, his grin broadening as he took in the girl before him. Her crimson, silken hair spilled out over her shoulders as her viridian eyes glittered with what he could only assume was cold fury. Her hands were on her hips - he wondered if she even knew whether or not she did that - and the slow flush that was crawling up her cheeks was utterly endearing. Well, endearing, and terrifying. To say that he wasn't slightly afraid for his life would be a lie. On a par with Peter's supposed "broom cupboard experiences" with a fifth year Ravenclaw who hadn't known his name when questioned on the matter. He sat forward, standing up and giving her an appraising glance. He shouldn't tease her, he knew this - this was his chance to play the adult, the model Head Boy. A leader of the student community, a new, improved, mature man. Not a Marauder.

The problem with that was that James Potter was born a Marauder, and he'd die a Marauder, no matter what else changed.

"Looking good, Evans." He remarked with a wink. And wow, didn't she just! Where did those curves come from? He was sure that her robes didn't look so...defined, last year. She was certainly blossoming, that much was certain. With a slight internal raising of an eyebrow, he redoubled his conviction to take her to Hogsmeade this year...once she calmed down, of course. "And er, sorry to break it to you," He tapped the shining Head Boy badge on his breast, just above the ensign of Gryffindor house, "But I think you'll find I do."

Oh man, she didn't like that. He sat back down and crossed one leg idly over his knee, fishing around in his pocket for his pack of Bertie Botts' Every-Flavour-Beans. After a few seconds of rummaging as she snapped at him, her arms now folded (unfortunately) over her chest, he found them.

"I dunno, they can't come in here. We've tried, the room threw them out." He replied nonchalantly, opening the packet and taking one before offering it to her, not bothering to explain the moronically-evident meaning of 'we'. His eyes widened slightly at her next outburst as he yanked the packet back, popping a red bean into his mouth that tasted suspiciously like mud. "Oh come on Evans," He said exasperatedly, finally losing some of the good humour that he'd built up to cushion her inevitable outburst. "I'm one of the top students in the year, I get better marks than you in Herbology. Is it really that hard to believe that I've got this badge?" As if for good measure he tapped it again, flashing her another patented Potter grin, guaranteed to charm (or blind). Alright, he was lying through his teeth, he was absolutely gobsmacked that he'd received the badge, but she didn't need to know that. Oh no she didn't.

"Besides," He winked at her as he stood up again, folding up the packet and putting them back into his trousers after unfortunately coming across an onion flavoured bean. "Don't pretend your heart isn't beating that little bit faster, that you're not that little bit more excited about this year now you'll be spending it with me." He grinned impishly as he stepped around the chair, unconsciously removing himself from any physical reach. "Frankly, I'm surprised you received the badge." He teased, leaning forward on the back of the chair. "I've never seen you as a particularly assertive authority figure. The only time you ever scared us was when you shrunk Sirius' trousers three sizes down in fourth year..." He trailed off, the troubling memory flashing over his mind. "Actually, come to think of it...maybe you are a bit scary..."

He was slightly taken aback by her sheer outrage at the fact that he'd gotten a badge. Yeah, he'd meant to get a rise out of her with his words, that was his defence mechanism after all. But still, not being able to see any redeeming qualities in someone and vocalising that point to the nth degree was guaranteed to cut, even if it was shallow. He couldn't deny it hurt a little, but he covered this up with a frustrated sigh.

"Look, Evans." he said, trying a new tact and a calm, level voice, purposefully devoid of the usual cockiness. "I don't care if you'd rather I didn't have a badge. I wasn't expecting a hug and congratulatory kiss," Although, that would be nice. "But I do have one. Someone apparently thinks I'm worth more than you do, and sorry, but you have to deal with that." The last part came out slightly waspishly and he fought to regain control of it.

And failed.

"Besides," He grinned, not being able to keep up the wounded puppy facade for any longer, "Haven't you learned by now that I think you're pretty when you're incandescent with rage? You're only encouraging me, getting pissed off at me just being here." He glanced up at her as she refused to meet his gaze, her arms still folded. "Take a seat." He said finally, rolling his eyes at her. "For Merlin's sake, I'm not going to bite." He wiggled his eyebrows, "Unless that's your thing. Okay, it's not mine, but we can compromise...fine, I'll stop." He sat back down in his chair.

"What do you figure for the meeting agenda?" He shifted instantly into business mode as if the tension that hung over them now didn't exist in the slightest, hoping that the quick transition would be enough to unseat her mood by getting her talking about something she obviously liked. Authority.

Actually, that could be quite kinky...

Vaguely, it occured to him that this was the longest she'd spoken to him for, for about three and a half months. He decided not to vocalise that last thought.

He nodded slowly, sitting back in his chair and thinking about her offer. He hadn't had any experience as a prefect, true. That was only one of the reasons why he thought that his appointment was odd. But still...he was Head Boy, and he did want to work as much as Lily would be at this.

No, he didn't want to prove himself to her. Well he did, but that was only a part of it. In some ways...he wanted to justify it to himself, to prove to his own conscience that he was capable of fulfilling the role. And he didn't want to let down Dumbledore, a man who'd given so much to his group of friends over the years, and now to James himself. A man he wouldn't want to disappoint. Briefly, he scared himself by having brief memories of his father and mother's words floating across his mind. Words about duty, responsibility. His grandparents, murdered this summer by Death Eaters, their words about following your heart and doing the right thing...

...god, was he actually being responsible for a change?

"Thanks...but I can handle it." He said quietly, staring out of the window as the train sped through the countryside outside of Reading on its way towards Scotland. That brief, five seconds of introspection had cost him all of the bravado he'd managed to build up through the conversation, and inwardly he winced. The last person he wanted to see him vulnerable was Lily bloody Evans.

So with an intake of breath, sitting up in his chair, he decided that she wouldn't.

"I have a few things I need to say anyway, that Dumbledore wants me to, I think." He said, pulling the battered piece of paper that he'd written his introductory speech on from inside of his robes, along with the letter from Dumbledore. Briefly, he opened the missive, his eyes scanning the slanted form of the letters before he placed it back inside his pocket, feeling slightly more heartened already.

"S'just stuff about inter-House unity...about what's going on in the world and how Hogwarts needs to be kept separate from that..." He explained, passing her the sheet. "Here, you can read it over, to make sure I don't swear or anything during it. God forbid." He passed her the piece of paper. "D'you know who the seventh year Slytherin prefects are?" He asked, after a few minutes of silence. He figured he may as well be prepared, although he figured he already knew who one was. The banter seemed to have slipped suddenly as they talked shop, their trading of barbs and come-ons, of insults and attacks momentarily ceased for the moment as more important issues encroached into their sphere of existence, as the outside world slipped its tendrils into their own small world of the Heads carriage. James supposed it was good in some ways, it showed that they could exchange a few sentences at least in an even voice.

It was a start, if nothing else.

"Snape and Black," He sighed, picking at a thread on the armchair. "Great...alright." This day just kept getting better and better.

Silence fell between the pair then, the only noise being the general racket of the train, the occasional muffled laugh from the Prefect's carriage and the quiet tick-tock of the grandfather clock affixed to the wall. The sunlight threw its wavering pattern over the side of the carriage as the train turned this way and that, weaving and winding through the English countryside like a snake would an underground warren. James inadvertently shuddered at his own analogy. Somehow, given recent times, that wasn't fantastically comforting. Especially when you'd be situated approximately in the belly of the beast.

To distract himself from his own thoughts, he glanced up at Lily. She too was glancing out of the window, lost in thought as he was a few moments previous. He took a few moment simply to look at her, to drink in the detail and revel in the strange little thrill he felt at seeing her again. Despite how he might come across, he genuinely did feel strongly for Evans, had done since his third year, really. It was nice to be in her company and be civilised for a change, he realised suddenly, without innuendo or shouting.

And it didn't hurt that she was beautiful to look at.

However, he realised it was dragging on too long, and so after a while, he spoke up.

"So erm, did you have a good summer?" He asked, his own voice sounding odd in the tranquility of their carriage. Her eyes met his then, a fusion of mahogany and viridian that would have made him catch his breath, were he inclined towards such physical displays of his emotions. He could help the quiet chuckle, and the small grin he cast her way. "You didn't write back from the owl I sent you, so I'm woefully in the dark."

"Yeah, it was good." he replied, still slightly spun out by the surreality of the situation. Nothing had been thrown, whether it be hex or insult yet, and it was slightly unnerving to tell the truth. Not that it wasn't good, just...yeah. Weird. "Pad...Sirius is living at my house now, so we had a great time." He said slightly stoically, knowing that his best friend probably wouldn't appreciate him extrapolating on the reasons as to why he was currently living at the Potter residence.

He raised an eyebrow at her explanation of what happened to his owl.

"Really?" He asked, confused. "Surely your family's used to them by now, you've been at Hogwarts for six years?" He ran a hand through his hair, this time out of puzzlement more than anything, mussing it up slightly before he glanced at his watch. Oh well, he supposed that explained what happened to the letter. Although he had a sneaking suspicion that it might have been Lily who instigated the Great Missive Conflagration, he didn't say anything. He hadn't expected a reply, in all honesty. He knew that she corresponded with Remus sometimes (a fact that drove him green with envy for the werewolf), but he'd not she'd read one from him in a million years.

Oh well.

"Head Students' quarters should be nice." He remarked, still passing the time. "I've nearly forgotten what a room to my own is like, especially with Sirius this summer. Okay, he doesn't stay in my room, but he makes enough noise that he might as well be." He remarked with a wry grin, before blinking a few times and searching around for a topic that would be a bit more user friendly. Somehow, he doubted that Lily Evans was particularly enthralled with the idea of studying Sirius Black's sleeping habits.

Or at least he hoped not.

Oh god.

"Still got a few minutes. D'you want to go through, or d'you actually want a Bertie Botts Bean this time?" He asked with a smile, proferring the pack to her.