The Hogwarts Express

The next day, Lily boarded the train with Melanie and Bekki, and they sat in their compartment chatting about the things they did over the summer and how excited they were about being in the seventh year. As the train began to start, the three girls heard a knock on the door. Bekki got up to open it and there were Sirius, James, and Remus.
"Hey!" Sirius said. "We were wondering if we could share your compartment because all of the others are full.
Bekki glanced over her shoulder at Lily and Melanie, who smiled, then said, "Sure! Come on in! It might be a little cramped, though."

After a great deal of shuffling and bumping and overall chaos (Bekki wanted to sit next to Sirius, Melanie didn't care, because she would flirt with anyone, even though she was supposed to be James's girlfriend, Lily didn't care, James wanted to sit next to Sirius, and they were both pretty tall, and took up a whole bench to themselves), Sirius and James sat on one bench, Sirius with Bekki on his lap, and Remus sitting between Melanie and Lily, who was sitting across from James.
They sat there for an awkward minute or two, then they all started chatting at once. Before they knew it, there was an announcement on the loudspeakers, saying that they would be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes.
They all stuffed the sweets that they had bought into their pockets and the boys left to find someplace else to change.

"You know, Remus is kinda cute," Melanie mused as she pulled her Hogwarts robe over her head.
"My God, Mel!" Bekki said while trying to find her robes in her trunk. "You're going out with James! Isn't he good enough for you?"
"Well..." Melanie trailed off as she sat down on the bench. "It's just that sometimes I think that he's too good for me."
Lily hid her grin beneath her own robe. "Maybe you should tell him that you weren't meant for him," she suggested as her head popped out.
"Maybe you're right," Melanie said. "I'll go find him right now!"
And with that, she pulled on the rest of her garments and walked out the door.
"Aaaah!" Bekki exclaimed. "Don't open that! I'm not dressed!"
But Melanie was already gone. Lily was in a state of shock. How could this be happening? She had wanted this so badly that now that it was happening, she could hardly believe it. Suddenly, she realized that she was grinning like an idiot, and wiped it off of her face.

However, Bekki had already seen it. "What are you grinning at?" she demanded. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were happy that Melanie's breaking up with..." Bekki trailed off as it suddenly dawned on her that Lily had a crush on James. "How long?"
"Since I met him in the first year," Lily said dreamily.
Bekki's jaw dropped. "And you never said anything?! What were you thinking?! When I first figured out that I had a crush on Sirius, I told you guys right away!"
"I know," Lily said. "You think I should tell Melanie?"
"She's gonna find out sooner or later, you know," Bekki said, shaking her head with a smile.
Just then, Melanie burst into the compartment, grinning wildly, and panting like a dog.

"What happened to you?" Bekki asked.
When Melanie could breathe correctly again, she said, "I ran into Remus."
"And that's why you're dying from lack of oxygen, or did I miss something along the way?" Bekki asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
"No! We were..." Melanie started giggling uncontrollably.
Lily rolled her eyes. "What!!"
"Well, we were just..." Melanie started giggling again. When her giggles subsided, she told them. "I ran into him and I just had to tell him that I dumped James and he asked me out and we started kissing and then James came out and he started laughing so hard and then Sirius came out and started rolling on the floor with James and I decided I should go and then I came back here." She said this all in one breath and Lily had to blink a couple of times before she figured out that Melanie was finished speaking, then had to try very hard to figure out what Melanie had just said, then she started laughing. Bekki caught on a moment later and soon all three of them were hugging their sides and wiping their eyes.

Suddenly, the compartment door swung open, and there stood the three boys, along with Peter Pettigrew, who looked very untidy and forgetful in his dirty robe and crooked wizard's hat.
"What's so funny?" James asked.
Lily and the other two girls pressed their lips together to keep from laughing again.
"I see," said Sirius, exchanging glances with James and Remus. "They are going to remain silent."
Remus blushed very red and tried to hide a smile. Sirius nudged James with his elbow, who cleared his throat loudly and said, "Can I talk to Lily? In private?"
This time, it was Lily's turn to blush. She saw Melanie and Bekki smirk at each other over the top of her head. She hesitated before standing up, then stepped out into the hall as Sirius, Remus, and Peter sidled into the compartment.
As the door slid shut behind them all, Lily turned to face James and looked up into his sparkling blue eyes. "Yeah?"
"Oh!" James said, as though stepping out of a trance. "I was just wondering if, umm..."
Lily felt her cheeks heat up as James took a deep breath and started speaking again. "I was wondering if you might want to go out with me. I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay, but I just wanted to make sure that-"
Lily cut him off by pulling his mouth to hers and kissing him as thoroughly as she knew how. It was everything she had dreamed of. It was better. It was...
Lily ran her fingers through his untidy black hair and felt him wrapping his warm, strong arms around her small figure, and Lily just wanted to stay in that moment for the rest of her life and beyond.

When they finally pulled away, Lily's knees didn't seem to be working right, and she had to lean on James to keep from falling.
"I guess that's a yes," James said breathlessly, and Lily smiled against his chest. She was rather short, after all.
"I wonder when-" Lily's thought was cut off as the whistle sounded and kids started gushing into the halls. Lily heard snickering behind her and abruptly realized that she was still pressed against James. She blushed and pulled away from him, wondering who was snickering. She turned around and saw Sirius, Remus, Peter, Melanie, and Bekki, all staring at her and James, trying not to laugh.
"Come on, Lily," said Bekki. "Let's go find a carriage."
Lily gave James a goodbye smile, then joined Melanie and Bekki as they walked off of the train and found an empty carriage.