1:00

This is another FanFiction from the German "Harrypotter-Xperts" site which I would like to bring to you because I think it is too good to be kept to the German speaking world alone. Heidi, the author of this great story, gave me permission to translate it and I would like to thank her very much for this honour. You can access all of her stories here: http://www.harrypotter-xperts.de/fanfiction?author=11876&sid=5d0031c3f1d085d2ba5972cc0f5c3fef

Disclaimer: All characters you recognise belong to Mrs. Rowling who created the wonderful Harry Potter universe, giving us room for our imagination.

A/N: Coley21 for president! (She beta-reads all this, you know...)

3. 1:0

The carriages were slowly making their way towards the castle. Lily and Jackie had joined Alice and her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, and Frank asked with a grin, "So, Lily, tell us about the train ride. I mean – you and James, alone in the Head compartment, and you are still both alive?"

Lily was well aware of his sarcasm and put on her most beautiful smile before she answered, "Unfortunately, I cannot scratch his eyes out yet, or I will be saddled with all the Head duties on my own."

Jackie and Alice exchanged amused glances, but kept their thoughts to themselves. However, they did not have much time for thinking. Only moments later, a large bunch of chattering students pushed them through the entrance.

Jackie and Lily paved their way to the Gryffindor table, followed by Alice and Frank. When they finally spotted some free places at the very end of the table, they sat down.

Suddenly, Lily heard the well-known voice of Black Beauty who whispered in her ear, "Hey, Evans! I am glad that I got my Jamie back in one piece, you know." James, who was sitting across from Sirius, rolled his eyes and looked at Lily as if to apologise.

Jackie, who sat next to her, whispered, "Could you please switch places with me?"

Lily shook her head with a grin and whispered back, "No, or else you will be hanging on Black's lips before we even start eating."

Jackie sighed loudly, which earned her a suspicious look from James and caused Sirius to bend over the table and look at her. Jackie blushed immediately and looked the other way.

The Sorting was finished, and the tables were laid with so much food that they threatened to break down under the load. Sirius clapped his hands and exclaimed happily, "Finally! I was starving."

Remus had been silent all the time while sitting next to Sirius. He growled. "Hey, Padfoot, you've wolfed down a huge load of Pumpkin Pasties at the train."

Sirius looked around with an innocent expression and munched. "I can eat all the time, as you very well know."

Lily cast a revolted glance and said, "Your table manners leave much to be desired, Black." She was quite repulsed by the way he held his chicken leg in one hand, chewing loudly with his mouth open. But he replied, munching away happily.

"Oh, but I have other amenities, Evans. However, I have to deny them to you because..." He winced and gave his counterpart an angry glare before he hissed, "That was very unfriendly, James."

Lily looked from Sirius to James, but the latter immediately dropped his gaze on his plate again.

Alice and Jackie exchanged a knowing "everything will be well" glance, and Lily gave an annoyed sigh. Her thoughts drifted away to the dungbombs in the Marauders' trunks, and she was looking forward to what would happen when Potter and his cronies opened them.

The welcoming feast was almost over and Dumbledore rose from his seat. After his usual speech, he looked towards the Gryffindor table and said, "This year, both our Head Girl and Boy are from Gryffindor house. Therefore, they will move to separate rooms in Gryffindor tower instead of the usual Head Boy/Girl suite. Please give a big hand for our new Head Girl and Boy, Lily Evans and James Potter.

The Gryffindors started cheering loudly, so Lily and James had no choice but to stand up. They both gave a forced smile, and when Sirius exclaimed, "Hey, James, you won't be very far away from us!" on top of it all, Lily rolled her eyes irritably and plopped down on her seat between Sirius and Jackie. She did not notice the mocking gazes from some students at the other house tables and the booing from the Slytherins, because Jackie said, "I'm sure you'll let me use your bathroom every now and then, right, Lily?"

Lily gave her a small smile while Sirius bent forward and said suggestively, "Of course, Andrews. We might even have fun together in the prefects' bathroom."

Jackie emitted an appalled gasp, and Lily looked at her with that certain 'what did I tell you?' look.

James interrupted them. "I hate to break up your conversation, but Lily and I have an appointment with Gonny." Lily nodded viciously and followed James out of the Great Hall before the other students started moving.

Without a word, they walked towards their Head of House's office. James buried his hands in his pockets and bowed his head. Lily could hardly keep up with him and was quite out of breath when they finally reached McGonagall's office. The deputy headmistress was already waiting for them and gestured towards two chairs in front of her desk.

The Head Girl and Boy sat down, and James immediately crossed his arms in front of his chest in a defensive gesture, when McGonagall said, "First of all, I would like to inform you that there will be a Halloween ball this year. You will organise this event with help from the prefects."

James moaned irritably, but Lily nodded and the Gryffindor Head of House continued. "Moreover, you have got to secure the inspection rounds in the evenings. As Head Girl and Boy, you will have to do the rounds yourself twice a week and assign the duty to the prefects in turn on the other days. Your rooms are located below the stairs to the Gryffindors' dormitories. Of course, you have continued access to the prefects' bathroom. If you have more questions, please ask."

Lily had already opened her mouth, but James growled, "I guess we have enough information for now."

McGonagall gave them another encouraging smile before they both left the office.

Lily had some more questions in mind, but it had been a long day for her and if she thought about it, all she wanted to do was go to bed. On their way to Gryffindor tower, James muttered to himself, "That's just great: patrol two evenings a week, Quidditch training and the bloody ball on top of it."

Lily snickered and said, "We could patrol on Mondays and Saturdays, then you'd have enough time for your training on the days in between." In her mind, she added, and for my pranks.

James stopped abruptly and screwed his eyes up when he asked, "Evans, since when have you been interested in Quidditch?" He could not believe that she would voluntarily back him up for his Quidditch training.

Lily stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, "I want to coax you into helping me with the preparations for the ball."

James shivered a little when her warm breath caressed his cheek. His breathing accelerated and he cursed himself. No other girl had ever made him lose his composure like this, and he had never before wanted a girl as much as her. He would have loved to ask her for a date, but he wanted to change his approach this year and make no mistakes.

Lily, on the other hand, took one step back when James, as she perceived it, started panting like a dog.

They continued their journey in silence until they finally reached the Gryffindor common room. It was almost empty. Most students had already gone to their dormitories, and only the three Marauders, Jackie, and some sixth years were still awake. Jackie was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Remus, and Lily said a quick prayer, pledging that her friend would start fancying Lupin, nice chap that he was, and forget about Black Beauty.

James plopped down on an armchair and Lily stood next to him hesitatingly. However, a less than profound remark followed immediately. Sirius put on his most irresistible Black smile that helped him twist every girl around his little finger and said, "You could always sit with me, Evans." He patted his lap with his hands in an inviting gesture.

Inside, Lily was seething with rage, but the thought of the dungbombs helped her to keep quiet. She put on a false smile and said, "Maybe another time, Black. At the moment, I am just tired. Your friend has worn me out quite a bit." In a theatrical gesture, she moved the back of her hand to her forehead.

Jackie and Sirius gaped in astonishment. Remus sniggered, Peter understood nothing, as usual, and James pressed his lips together to prevent himself from laughing out loud. He cleared his throat and gave Lily a wink, and then he said, "Oh, yes, Lily and I will retire to our rooms now." He hoped that he had not made a big mistake with these words and that Lily would not scratch his eyes out, but she was in a very good mood and just gave the others a small wave before turning to the door under the stairs, followed by James.

Jackie asked suspiciously, "Did Potter give her something or curse her?"

Sirius laughed. "Listen, Andrews, James certainly does not need to resort to such measures, and neither do I." He gave Jackie a pitying smile, and in spite of her crush on him she scolded, "You know what you are, Black? A narcissistic, arrogant, macho bastard." With these words, she turned around and angrily started trudging up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Peter smirked. "She sure let you have it."

Sirius was speechless and a little hurt when Remus said, "Wonders will never cease. There actually is a girl who doesn't drool all over you."

Lily and James entered the rooms they would inhabit during their last year at school through a door that could only be opened with the password "fairy dust". A small corridor ended in a large, brightly lit room, which looked as if it was going to be their common room. On one side, there were large windows with two desks in front of them. There was a fireplace on the other side and an inviting red three-piece suite in front of it. There were two doors in one of the other walls. One bore Lily's name and the other one obviously led to James' private room.

"It seems that we are living next door now," James said and opened his door. Lily peeked inside and found that it looked typically Gryffindor. The bed was a little larger and the room was not very large, but the furniture seemed practical.

Lily did not like the closeness between their quarters at all, but she had already come up with something that would prevent him from simply opening her door. She murmured some words, enchanting her door so she would be the only one who could open it. James did not notice any of it because he was already searching for a bathroom. It could obviously be accessed from the small corridor. He opened the door and murmured, "Well, this is not quite up to Head Boy standards, I'd say."

Lily followed him and gazed through the door. It was a small bathroom that contained all necessary facilities. The only thing she did not like about it was the fact that she had to share it with James. Nevertheless, she said coolly, "There's always the prefects' bathroom in case this one does not come up to your standards, Potter."

James looked at her and hissed, "I am not as fussy as you might think, Evans. Good night. I am going to bed now."

His voice sounded a little hurt and Lily bit her lip. She had no time to think about what she had said because seconds later there was a huge bang and James tore open his door again. He was standing in the middle of a purple cloud and an awful smell surrounded him. His clothes were covered in red, stinking dust, and Lily's eyes widened when James pushed past her, shouting. "Just you wait, Padfoot, I will get back at you for this!" He left the Head Suite with his wand at the ready, running towards the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

Lily, who did not want to miss the spectacle, followed him.

In the common room, he suddenly faced two figures who were equally covered in red dust. Lily made them out as Black and Pettigrew. Remus stood on top of the stairs and almost toppled over with laughter.

The three stinking, red friends were now standing in the middle of the Gryffindor common room staring at each other, dumbfounded. James and Peter were still fully clothed while Sirius wore only his boxer shorts and hissed, "This is a very bad joke, Prongs. How am I supposed to take the fact that my trunk has just exploded, leaving me looking like this, stinking like a load of dragon dung?"

James growled. "Very funny, Padfoot. Do you think I pull my own leg nowadays?" It was then that they realized that Remus had obviously been spared, and Sirius angrily aimed his wand at him. "Moony. It was you! Of course! Your trunk did not explode when you opened it, so it must have been you!"

Lily pressed her hand to her mouth to keep herself from laughing. The three boys were a sight worth seeing, and she was very proud of the fact that her first prank had been such a perfect success. But when Sirius and James simultaneously aimed their wands at Remus because they thought that he was the one behind it, her bad conscience kicked in and she hurried to face them. Ignoring the stench around them completely, she said very loudly, "Stop this at once and go get a shower before people start swooning from the smell."

She let her gaze wander to appreciate Sirius' almost naked body, which, in her opinion, was quite an eyeful. Swallowing heavily, she heard Sirius, who had regained his mental capacities, answer smugly, "Okay, Evans. If you are through ogling me, I better follow your advice and go get a shower."

Mumbling to himself, Sirius climbed the stairs again, followed by Peter. James disappeared towards the Head Boy room and Lily looked at Remus, who kept standing on top of the stairs, grinning. Their gazes met, and for one moment, Lily felt as if Remus knew. She did not even want to think about it because this would put an end to all the good ideas she had in store.

She turned around quickly and followed James. He was probably already taking his shower because she heard him rail, "If I get my hands on the person who did this, they'd better prepare themselves for my revenge!"

Lily grinned and decided to tell Jackie about her success first thing in the morning. She went to her room and opened her trunk. First, she unpacked her books and lugged them to the common room. She was depositing them on one of the desks when James – clad only in a towel he had slung around his hips – headed for his room. Lily's eyes nearly popped out of her head – it was the second time that evening that she was faced with a half-naked young man, and this one was much more to her liking than his friend Black.

She probably looked a little too long because James pulled his towel tighter and murmured, "You will have to get used to such a sight, Evans. Sweet Dreams..." With these words, he disappeared in his room, swearing quietly. The smell from the dungbomb probably still lingered in there.

Lily closed her eyes in an attempt to ignore the strange feeling that had started to spread from the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling that she did not know because nobody had stirred it up in her yet. She cursed herself for getting those butterflies in her stomach from seeing Potter, of all people, half-naked.

Later, when she was lying in bed, she promised herself to fight these feelings with all her might, and start planning the next prank at once. She would only have to wait until Potter held the first Quidditch training to start her mission "hexed broom". When she finally fell asleep, she had a smile on her face, and her dreams revolved around one very special person...