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."

James grinned and leaned closer, his voice husky, "Would now be a good time to reevaluate the matter of the meaning of the term ages?" he asked.

Lily stared at him. 

James smiled so all his teeth showed.

"You absolute arsehole," Lily suddenly said, "Oh my gods, you are supposed to be an example to all the other students and -- you're -- gods alive, you're you. I can't. I can't handle this. I'm going to lose my mind." She turned and sat heavily again.

James grinned.

There came a quiet clearing of the throat and he looked about. The prefects were all sitting there, staring up at them. "Sorry," said Regulus Black, who was wearing the Slytherin prefect badge, "It's just that we're all sort of wondering if you've forgotten about the fact that we're all still here? And that we're sort of... witnessing all this?"

James replied, "Sorry, Reg. You're right. Let's start by introducing ourselves." He looked at Lily and she nodded, standing up, still looking rather in disbelief. "My name is James Potter and I'm your Headboy." He paused. "After six years, I am happy to report to you all that I am Lily Evans's boyfriend."

Lily flushed.

There was silence in the room, then finally, the Ravenclaw prefect, a girl named Aurelia Wells said, "Well bloody hell it's about time."

It was quite a way into the ride North and Sirius was laying across the bench in the compartment, having finished re-etching their intitals on the door of the compartment. P.P., J.P., R.L., S.B. - and, for good measure, adding on, L.E. He stuck his head onto Remus Lupin's lap and his feet up on the window ledge. "I wonder how Lilith is taking the news."

"I sort of expected to hear her shouting by now," Remus giggled.

The compartment door opened and Peter Pettigrew squished is way in, throwing himself down on the bench across from Sirius and Remus, panting. "You lot hear the news?"

"What news?" Remus asked, looking up.

"It's all over the train! Every compartment I looked in - I was looking for Wendy, you know? I couldn't find her anywhere, though! - Every compartment was talking about it!" Peter said, "I can't believe you haven't heard it yet..."

Sirius said, "Alright, but I haven't left the compartment, Wormtail. All I've heard is Moony's breathing."

"Don't say it like you don't like my breathing," Remus said, "Very important, breathing is."

"Elphinstone Urquart's been sacked from the MInistry."

"Sacked?" Sirius's brows dipped in concern.

"What? Why?" Remus asked.

"Dunno," Peter shrugged. "But McGonagall was spitting rage apparently. It happened after the last apparation lesson, when we all left in a hurry to go meet up with you," he added pointing at Sirius.

Remus looked at Sirius. "It's your fault we've missed witnessing it."

Sirius looked appalled, then looked at Peter, "And none of your sources knew why?"

Peter shook his head, "Not a one. I asked around."

"Well damn," Sirius murmured. Then, "Fuck."

"What?" Remus looked down at him.

Sirius said, "It's just if he's not with the Ministry anymore, he probably isn't the Defense professor anymore."

Remus frowned, "I hope that's not so. He was really good."

"And he made McGonagall happy!" Peter added.

Sirius said, "And it means I bloody lost four galleons to that ruddy Rowling bloke."

"How does it mean that?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I bet the duffer four galleons we'd finally have the same DADA professor two years in a row."

"I swear the position's cursed," Peter murmured. "We've never had one stick around longer than a year. Even Ned Veigler was only our teacher for a year."

"Remember the time Minnie taught it?" Sirius snickered.

"That was brilliant," Peter piped up.

Remus sighed, "I wish we knew what happened with Urquart. I mean, he's worked at the Ministry for ages, hasn't he?"

"I believe Minnie said once he's worked there since he left Hogwarts -- back when she was in school," Sirius remembered, then he added, smirking, "So back in the Jurassic era."

"She would transfigure you into a worm for that," Remus said.

"Can't say I'd blame her if she did," Sirius smirked.

The compartment door opened again, "You're all assigned detention for being a bunch of lazy lay abouts."

"Hey look, it's the Headboy," Sirius said.

"And the Headgirl," Lily's voice came from behind James as she leaned to look over his shoulder.

Sirius sat up, "Now I'm scared."

"Blighter," James said and he punched Sirius in the shoulder. "Oi, Sirius, did you know your brother was made Prefect?"

Sirius, who'd been in the reclining motion, about to lie back down, quickly sat back up. "Say what?"

"Regulus," James clarified, "He's a Slytherin prefect."

"Ferfucksakes," Sirius muttered. "Another bloody thing for the perfect son to have achieved that I didn't. I'm sure mother's just fucking raving about it to all of her Death Eater friends." Sirius shook his head.

James said, "I'm actually not surprised, to be honest. And Peter, Wendy's one for Hufflepuff."

Peter clapped, "Oh no wonder I couldn't find her earlier!"

Sirius said, "I bet You Know Who threw him a fucking party to celebrate."

James laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm just picturing Voldemort with one of those little cone-shaped party hats, blowing on a horn."

"With confetti," snickered Remus.

Sirius guffawed loudly.

"Sirius?" Lily asked suddenly from behind James, where she was staring at the compartment door.

"Lilith?"

"Why are my initials a part of your door graffiti?"

Sirius grinned. "Because you're one of us now."

"I told him not to do it," Remus intoned from where he was leaning against the window, opening a bottle of gillywater.

Sirius's voice was a low chant, "One of us, one of us, one of us."

Lily shook her head, "What an example for the first years!" And she ducked away down the hall.

James raised his eyebrows, "Yes, Black, what an example! Ten points for your arseholery."

"Careful mate, you take points off me, you take'em off Gryffindor," Sirius reminded him.

"Blast," James muttered, and he ducked out of the compartment after Lily.

Sirius beamed about at Peter and Remus, "I'm getting away with ruddy anything I want to do this term."

Remus shook his head.

"FIRS' YEARS O'ER HERE! FIRS' YEARS!" Hagrid's voice boomed over the commotion of the platform in Hogsmeade, the moon hanging low over the lake.

James breathed deeply as he stepped off the train, following behind Lily Evans, the very last one to step out into the Scottish night air. "Gods it smells like home," he said wistfully, looking up at the silhouette of the castle on the horizon, purple, blue and black against the pale white disk of the moon. 

Lily smiled and when James stepped off the side of the train she took his hand and laced their fingers together.

"Why if it ain't James an' Lilly," came Hagrid's voice, the cast of his lantern flowing over them, "Headboy an' girl! If that ain't jus' fittin', I don't know what is." Then his beetle black eyes landed on their joined hands and his mouth popped open in a perfect O behind his wooly beard. "Whut's that?!" he asked, pointing to the way Lily's polished fingers wrapped between James's broomstick-calloused ones. "Whut's THAT?" Hagrid raised his lantern higher for a better look at them.

Lily looked at James, "Oh go on, we both know you want to."

"Hagrid," said James, grinning as he turned to face the keeper of the grounds, "You'll never believe what happened during summer holiday..."

The Great Hall was nearly as chaotic as the platform had been. Sirius, Remus, and Peter clustered together at the Gryffindor table, and along came Ali Prewitt, looking a bit lost without Frank. Marlene waved from the Ravenclaw table, where she was sitting with Emmaline Vance, and Sirius saw Maryrose settling in at the Hufflepuff table.

"There's two new professors," Sirius said.

"What?" Remus looked to the faculty table. Next to Dumbledore was the empty seat that belonged to Minnie, but beside her was the man with the striped trousers - though now he wore dark green robes and was leaning back in his seat, his heavy booted shoes sticking out from beneath the table, sprawled out. "Oh. Gods." Beside him was a shorter, rounder man that looked twitchy and wide-eyed.

"What?" Sirius looked at Remus.

"It's him," Remus hissed.

"Who?"

 "The bloody guy from the camp that I told you about. The one with the teeth." Remus pointed.

"That's teeth guy?" Sirius looked at him. "Those dreadlocks are massively cool."

"Stop, he's creepy, not someone you ought to be admiring."

"I'm just saying, his hair is fierce," Sirius shrugged. "What would you think if I did my hair like that?"

"Your hair wouldn't do that," Remus said, "It isn't the right texture for it."

"Damn," Sirius murmured, and his eyes roamed about the room.

"He can't possibly be the new DADA teacher...?" Remus murmured.

"Dunno, why would there be two of them?" Sirius asked, distracted.

"Dunno," Remus murmured, and he stared up at the table, counting off the members of staff against the classes offered at Hogwarts, trying to figure out if there was anyone else missing he was drawing a blank on.

Suddenly Sirius made a loud choking sound. "Fuck."

"What?" Remus looked at him.

Sirius pointed across the Great Hall.

Sitting at the Slytherin table, eyes black and vacant, hair greasy and longer than ever, was Severus Snape.

Remus's smile fell off his face. "What is he doing here?"

"Durmstrang must've chucked him out," Sirius muttered. "Can't blame them. I'd chuck the bastard out, too." He sneered. "Bloody hell. James is going to shit himself." He looked around the hall, trying to spot James Potter, but he was busy somewhere doing Headboy duties.

The door to the room to the side of the Hall opened and McGonagall entered, carrying the Sorting Hat and the little stool. She put the stool down in the center of the little platform, and put the hat down on top of it as the first years - more than Sirius had yet seen starting at Hogwarts - followed along behind her and crowded around, staring nervously about. Taking up the rear of the little procession was Lily and James, who closed the door behind them and stood against the wall, watching.

Lily waved to Ali and James crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Sirius, who flipped him off, and James laughed until Lily gave him a Look and he stood up, serious, and straightened his badge as though to remind himself he was Headboy.

Sirius snickered.

McGonagall backed away from the hat, stepping down to the side, and there was a long silence, the first years glancing between one another... and then the brim of the hat opened wide and it began to sing:

Listen up - clean out your ears -
Prepare to hear my song
And as you put me on your head,
I'll tell you to which House you belong!

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff,

Ravenclaw and Slytherin -

Brave, Kind, Clever,

or filled with Ambition

Though divided the houses must be -
Across the school we must bond
For when attacks come - from outside or within -

It is together that we stand strong!

 In the times of darkness that fills us up with sorrow,
When the light seems the furthest gone,

It is then that we must fight the hardest
So that evil cannot prevail for long...

It is a lesson hard to teach,

Experience the best lessons sow,

But try and teach it, I must attempt
For it is important that you know:

Whatever pain and suffering might come

However lost you believe you might be

You're not alone when you're here in Hogwart's walls -
If nothing else, you've got a friend in me.

So if you have a question -

If you have a doubt -

Come along and seek the Sorting Hat -
And we'll sort your problems out.

And now let's begin our yearly ceremony

Of sorting the First Years to their Hogwarts homes

And it will be another year before
You must listen to this old Hat's poems.

People all about the Great Hall clapped as the Sorting Hat's brim closed, the song over, and Minnie broke the seal on a scroll she'd been holding in her hand, unraveling and holding it up to read off the names.

"Amagi, Sakura!" McGonagall called.

Everyone watched with baited breath as the small girl with jet black hair cut in a short bob tripped up the plinth and scurried to the stool. Lily had nearly instinctively leaped forward to help her when little Sakura had nearly tripped and James had to catch her elbow to stop her. McGonagall dropped the Sorting Hat onto her head.

The little hat dropped onto her head and here eyes disappeared beneath the brim.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat cried out.

And thus the Marauders seventh and final year at Hogwarts school had started - with a cheer from the Hufflepuff table.