The Marauders. Bright Beginnings

Chapter Five: Prefects' Duties

The next few days passed smoothly, and before she knew where she was, Lily's first week back at Hogwarts was over, and ahead of her lay a weekend of homework, reading, exploring the grounds and a prefect meeting Sunday afternoon. Things with Severus were still tense, so she decided to spend the weekend with Mary and Marlene.

They got up early on Saturday morning, or at least Lily did. The sensible thing would have been to get a head start on her course work, but she did not particularly feel like writing that Potions essay on the effects of the Draught of Peace, or practising to vanish a snail for Transfiguration. Instead, Lily let her room mates sleep and headed to the Great Hall to finally get that proper Hogwarts breakfast she had been fantasizing about all week. Thanks to Marlene, they had been in a hurry every single morning, so now was the time to enjoy some bacon and eggs with pumpkin juice.

Most students liked to sleep in on weekends, but there were some early birds when Lily entered the Great Hall. She had never been further than the Gryffindor common room this early in the morning. The teachers' table was empty except for Professor Dumbledore, tiny Charms teacher Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall. They were talking animatedly – and was that Professor McGonagall laughing?

Apparently, the house tables were not obligatory at this early hour, or at least the teachers did not care enough to enforce them. Seated at what was usually the Ravenclaw table was a mixed group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Lily squeezed in between Kingsley Shacklebolt and Frank Longbottom.

"Good morning," she smiled, "is this the unofficial prefects table?"

Pandora Sentinel, whom she had shared a carriage with earlier this week, eyed her with suspicion, not quite catching on to the humour in Lily's question, but Remus, who sat beside the Ravenclaw and looked slightly intimidated by her, let out an adorable giggle.

"More like the early birds table," he replied and gave Lily a wide smile.

"We were just discussing the benefits of getting up early," Kingsley Shacklebolt explained. His voice was rich, deep and full of confidence and the early morning light that emerged from the Great Hall's bewitched ceiling and the arched windows to the outer world made his dark skin glisten. He revealed a set of impeccably white teeth to give Lily a dazzling smile. She caught herself staring at the Ravenclaw prefect and shook her head slightly to drive away the tell-tale blush that was starting to creep up her cheeks.

"What Kings means to say," intervened Alice Fawley, who was sitting on Frank's other side, "is that he single-handedly explained the benefits of getting up early to a bunch of people who like to get up early anyway."

Lily laughed a little, thankful for the distraction from Kingsley's teeth. Frank Longbottom, however, laughed so hard at Alice's little comment he would have fallen off the bench had Alice not caught him. The two gave each other amorous looks and the rest of the group smirked knowingly, including Lily. Alice had not admitted to fancying Frank yet, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes.

To be fair, she did not know Lily that well, as she was a sixth-year, and probably would not have told her anyway. The two girls knew each other from a mentoring programme for muggle-borns that had been founded by Ravenclaw Dorcas Meadowes, last year's Head Girl. Each member was assigned a first-year from their house they were supposed to introduce to the magical world. Lily's mentee from last year, a shy boy by the name of Charlie Griffiths, had started to relax when around her by Christmas, and they had gotten along well ever since, Lily occasionally helping him with homework. It felt like having a part-time little brother. Unfortunately, the programme had been ended after just one year, because the Ministry did not approve of muggle-borns getting special treatment "given the current political climate". What was it with the political climate everybody kept fussing about? If the Ministry did not show backbone, who were they expecting to stop Voldemort instead? The whole ordeal did have its benefits though, that much Lily could not deny: sweet little Charlie Griffiths, and her friendship with Alice.