Heading the School

SGR's Note: Gosh! I've been nominated for Best New Author and D2M has also been nominated for best JRK non-H/HR novel-length fic (or something like that). I am deeply honored by the nominations and I thank you so much for the compliments.

Now, without further ado, here's the sequel!

"See you're not what I expected,
But you're the only one who knows how to handle me,
And you're such a great kisser,
And I know that you agree."
-You're the Only One, Maria Mena

Chapter One

The curtains were stagnant in the open window. The heat sizzled off of the black asphalt in invisible ribbons. Kids who were forced outside by their parents lay half-dead under shady trees, puddling in the midday sun. The sky was a motionless blue, with no clouds to offer any shade. There was not a breath of wind that moved, nor any other sign of life...

...except for the frenzied groping on the teenaged wizard's bed coming from the two (fully clothed) teenaged witch and wizard. Moaning echoed through the stagnant blinds and anyone who stood under the window could hear the sound of sucking on skin that was coming from the room inside

There, the girl giggled while the boy kissed as much of her skin as she would allow him to. His hands tangled in her hair and they rolled around for a good few minutes, giggling and kissing and doing what lovers do. She reached up and tried to make his unruly jet black hair stay put, but it wasn't working.

"You've been trying that for the past five minutes," he mumbled, nuzzling his face into her neck, kissing and lightly licking. She moaned softly and her body went lax against him, eyes closed and mouth open slightly. While she was distracted, he slipped his fingers under the hem of her shirt.

She said nothing, but took his fingers out from under her shirt and placed them on top.

He made a sound and then started pushing the hem up her back. She broke apart from him, gave him a tired look, and then pushed her shirt hem back to where it was. In response, he kissed her harder, pushed her over on her back and pinned her hands to the top of the bed with one hand. With the other, he rested it lightly on her hip. Of course, when he moved his hand upwards a little, the shirt went with it.

"James! Stop it!" Lily shoved him off of her and sat up. James sighed and hung his head.

"Your hip, Lily," James groaned. "It's not gonna kill you if I touch your hip!"

"James...look..." Lily said, moving to the edge of the desk. "I thought we agreed that we were going to take this slow-"

James groaned. "Yes, slow, I know! But Lily, listen to me," he scooted forwards and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's the beginning of August, right?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"And we've been going together since the beginning of July, correct?" James continued.

"Formally since the 17th, yes."

"So doesn't that mean that we should...you know...keep going in our relationship?"

"What relationship, James?" Lily asked, standing up. "A few snogs and one dinner date? I thought you said you weren't after me for a cheap time!"

"In case you've forgotten, Miss Evans, you and I have been spending quite a deal of time together as of late. The guys are starting to get jealous, especially Sirius."

"But why are we always snogging?"

"Vell, my dear," James said, scooting closer to her. "It iz because I cannot take my hand off of you..." He pulled her close to him and buried his face in her neck again, blowing on it and making her squirm. "But if you vant, my dear, I vill take you out again."

"Y-you don't have to....I'm s-sorry," she giggled, closing her eyes and trying to beat him off, as he was quite tickling her now. "Not quite sure h-how this is supposed to w-work...d-dating and everyt-thing"

"I vill teach you, my dear, using ze tickle method..." he pushed her on the bed and tickled up and down her side, causing her to shriek loudly. Of course, this also alerted those downstairs that they were not doing what they were supposed to be doing.

"All RIGHT!" Thumping echoed up the stairwell. "You came up here FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO to get a BOOK!"

The door burst open and James flew off of Lily, who sat up, flushing. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were standing in the doorway. Peter was looking unsure of interrupting them, Remus was looking exasperated at Sirius, and Sirius was looking irate.

He took one look at them and his irate look turned to one of disgust. "Bloody hell James, it doesn't take fifteen minutes to get her clothes off."

"What Padfoot is trying to say, but failing very untactfully, is that it's almost time to go back, and I think that the two of you need to...adjust yourselves...before we return."

Lily ran a nervous hand through her hair and James' eyes flew to his crotch, but luckily he was wearing loose robes.

"Right, we'll be down in a minute," James said, nodding to Lily.

"Oh no, Prongs, you're coming with us!" Sirius grabbed him by the shoulder. "If we leave you two alone, you'll never come down."

As Sirius pulled him out of the room, James waved sadly to Lily who waved back.

***

"Right now, this afternoon we will be practicing large object Transfigurations from inanimate to animate," Frank said, beaming at them through a pair of horendously large sunglasses. Sirius was standing in-between Lily and James with a big frown on his face, Remus and Peter were on the other side of James, and Emmeline was on the other side of Lily, both with uncomfortable looks on their faces (as it was the middle of August), and the Prewett twins stood next to Peter with sweat pouring down their faces. Out of them all, Frank seemed the only one who wasn't bothered by the immense heat.

"So, break up into partners and-" Before Frank could say another word, Sirius called out "I call James!" and latched onto him, dragging him away by his arms. Remus and Peter (for Remus, it turned out, was the only one patient enough to teach Peter all that he needed to know) followed them, Peter squeaking out questions and Remus patiently answering them. Lily looked towards Emmeline and shrugged, following her. Which left (as always) the Prewett twins to practice with each other.

The sun beat down on each of the four groups as they practiced changing large rocks into various living things. Lily wiped sweat away from her eyes and Transfigured the rock into an elephant.

"I wish there was a tree around here," Emmeline whined, changing the rock when Lily had turned it back into its originals state.

"Well, a tree is living, isn't it?" Lily asked. Emmeline looked at her oddly and then nodded. Lily Transfigured the rock into a giant tree with lots of shade. Emmeline grinned and plopped down at the base of it.

"Lily, you're a genius!!" she grinned, stretching out. "So, what happened at lunch that got Sirius in such a tizzy?"

Lily flushed slightly. "Well, James had to go get a book for Remus and I went up to help him find it...and he started kissing me. Then Sirius got mad because we wasted our entire lunch hour."

"Lily," Emmeline asked, looking over at her. "I thought you told me that you were going to take it slow? I mean, it seems as though whenever you're alone, you can't keep your hands off each other."

Lily cleared her throat. "Well, turns out that Potter is less of an idiot than I originally thought. And....he's a nice kisser. "

"Oh really?" Emmeline said, sitting up and giving her a sneaky look.

Lily sat up a bit and stared at her toes that were poking out of her sandals. "Well, on our first date, you know, a real date, he was the perfect gentleman. Brought me flowers and everything," she flushed at the memory. "And then, he walked me to my door and we chatted for a while on my swing. He started playing with my hair, and twirling it around his finger-"

"Mm...sounds very romantic...your hair really is lovely when you let it go like you've been doing it."

"Well, you can thank James, he's the one who threw out all of my Sleakeasy," Lily said, with a slight frown. "He's so impulsive sometimes."

"So back to the story. He was twirling his hair around his finger...and..?"

"Well, of a sudden, he's kissing me. Now, normally, I would have pulled away, but...I just couldn't, you know?"

"Because he's a good kisser."

"That and...I really wanted to be kissed by him...just something about him now...I don't know...I can't explain it."

"I suppose he's a good boyfriend," Emmeline mused.

"What makes you say that?"

"He's been worshiping you for years, you know," Emmeline said. "I'm just surprised that you're moving so fast after denying him for so long."

"We're not moving fast at all," Lily shifted a bit. "I've made myself clear and he knows it."

"Whatever you say, Lily," Emmeline fanned herself with her hand. "Honestly, it must be at least 90 degrees out here."

"Probably hotter than that," Lily moaned.

"I am not like a bloody moth!"

"Speak of the devil," Emmeline giggled, looking over the hill where Sirius and James were having a small argument.

"Every time she's in the vicinity, you always have to go to her, you're like a moth to the flame."

"Well," James said, spying her and having a very goofy grin spread over his face. "Then it's a really good flame."

"I give up," Sirius sighed, watching James trot over to his little fire. Emmeline was eyeing them, so Lily made him keep his hands to himself. She was very odd about public affection. Meanwhile, Sirius adjusted his robes and sat down next to Emmeline, who was looking quite perturbed at him being so close.

"Having an argument?" Lily asked in that annoying quiet voice that she used with James.

"Just an ickle one," James said, also using that same, private voice.

Sirius made a face as if he was going to yak, which didn't score him any points with Emmeline. However, she brightened considerably when Remus and Peter came into view, hurrying along to get out of the heat and into the shade.

"Here, Remus, you can sit here," Emmeline said, scooting over far enough.

"Are they gone yet?" Remus asked, taking a seat next to her. James and Lily were still using the private voices that drove everyone else up the wall.

"Afraid so," Emmeline said, pulling her knees up against her chest and looking a bit flirtatiously at Remus. "How is it going with you?"

"The spell?" Remus asked, oblivious to the eyelash batting. "Oh, going well enough. I don't think Peter's ready yet, but hopefully I can get him there before the final exam in a few weeks."

"You're such a good friend," she cooed.

"Oi! What is this?!" The Prewett twins had been drawn to the cool tree like everyone else, but were put out to discover that they were the only ones not under it.

"Waaait a minute!" Sirius said, hopping to his feet. He marched over to the twins (who stared at him as if he was crazy, but this was typical Sirius) and scrutinized them.

"What?" The left one said.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said, cocking his head to the side. "The two of you even sweat the same patterns!"

The twins, by now, used to Sirius' futile attempts to tell them apart, said nothing and took their spot on a patch of ground, cool now that it had been out of the sun for so long. The heat was getting to all of them, as they stared, bleary eyed at the sizzling grounds around them. James and Lily were leaning against the tree next to each other, and Lily was halfway asleep, whereas James was too busy being mesmerized by the way her eyes moved to say anything. Remus and Emmeline were trying to transfigure a blade of grass into a cup so that they could conjure some water, and Sirius, realizing that his other two friends were too busy for him, turned to Peter.

"Summer is so boring," he said. "And if there is anything to do, it's too hot to do it."

Peter nodded and continued to look a bit nervous. He knew, like the rest of them, that he wasn't ready to take the exam, nor did he think that he could pass it right now. But he had his friends, and somehow, they always made it through.

"I'm bored, Prongs!" Sirius called, looking over to his friend.

"Well then, why don't you start working on the work I've assigned you," Frank said, behind them. "Break already, troops? I see we've lost our resident mushmakers over there, but let's see if we can't get them up."

With a wave of his wand, the tree transfigured back into a rock and James and Lily fell back with a thump, moaning sleepily and rubbing their eyes.

"Fraaaaaank," James said, putting his glasses back on. "That wasn't cool."

"All right troops-" Frank had started calling them troops once the summer began, he found it quite amusing, the rest of them found it quite lame. "We have two choices, we can either sit out here and puddle, meanwhile tomorrow, we have to do twice as much work, or we can finish up what we have to do for the day and have a regular workload for tomorrow."

"Or how about we just say we did it and do the regular workload tomorrow?" James offered.

Frank was already half into explanation about the next spell they would be practicing.

***

"Mum!" Lily called, closing the door behind her. "I'm home!"

"Oh good, we're picking out bridesmaid dresses!" Mrs. Evans called from the kitchen. Lily walked into the kitchen and balked. The kitchen looked like it had been hosed down with Pepto- Bismol. But that wasn't why she had stopped short, it had looked this pink for the past week. It was Petunia who's face was as pink as the sheets.

"What's the matter?" Lily asked, putting her bag in a chair and rushing to her sister's side.

"Vernon HATES the color!" Petunia cried, fresh tears running down her cheeks. "He told me that we h-h-have to buy all new fabric and D-D-Daddy can't a-a-afford it!"

Lily put her hand on her sister's back, comforting. She hated Vernon Dursley, especially after meeting his family a few weeks before. She thought they were classless, rude people, and their son was just as horrid. But her sister apparently loved him, and he apparently loved her back, which is all that Lily could ask for.

"Look, Darling, I'm sure that you're father can work over time, I mean, it's not the end of the world, and we can cut somewhere else-"

"Is it the color that's so terrible?" Lily asked, soothingly, taking out her wand. "Well, I can fix that in a hurry, now Petty. What color does Vernon want?"

"H-H-He said a-a-anything but p-p-pink," Petunia sobbed. Lily grinned and touched her wand to the fabric. From her wand tip sprang a lovely color of violet, not overly killing as the pink was, but just purple enough to not make it white.

"How's that Petty?" Lily asked. Petunia had a face of complete and utter loathing on her face, but Mrs. Evans clapped and picked up the fabric, cooing.

"Now this will make such lovely dresses, won't it?"

"I suppose," Petunia sniffed. Lily stood up and touched the fabric, happily. She knew that the pink color would clash with her red hair, but the violent wouldn't be so bad. Her mother reached an arm around her and hugged her.

"Now that problem is solved, I think I'll start dinner," Mrs. Evans said.

"Mum, I'll make dinner," Lily offered. "You've had a hard day-"

"But you've been at class all day-"

"Don't worry Mum," Lily smiled and waved her wand again. Dinner began assembling itself before their very eyes. Mrs. Evans clapped her hands again and settled in next to Petunia who was scowling even more. Mrs. Evans chose to ignore Petunia, putting the fabric up to Lily's face. "This is going to be so beautiful on you-"

"Mum, why can't Elise be my maid of honor?" Petunia snapped.

"Because it's the nice thing to do," Mrs. Evans shot her a nasty glance. "And you'll be the matron of honor at her wedding. Speaking of which, how is that lovely boyfriend of yours, Lily dear?"

Lily laughed nervously. "Mum, he's not..."

"Well, what is he, then?" Mrs. Evans pressed.

"He's a very good friend," Lily said, nodding.

"So why did I see you snogging him on the front porch last night?" Petunia sneered. Lily flushed three shades of red. "Very good friend, hm?"

"Petunia! Hush!" Mrs. Evans bristled. "Lily, darling, he hasn't been rude to you has he?"

"Oh no, Mum," Lily shook her head. "He's been just perfect, but, I don't know if I can call him my boyfriend yet."

"Lil-" Oliver gasped as he skidded into the kitchen. "Wow!" He ran to go look at the stove where a spoon was currently mixing a pot of gravy. Mr. Evans, dirty from work, followed behind.

"Richard, come over here and see what your daughter did for Petunia today!" Mrs. Evans beamed. Mr. Evans peered over the fabric and nodded approvingly.

"So this means that I don't have to work overtime, huh, Petty!" Mr. Evans said, joyfully. "Where's the mail, Dear?"

"Oh, speaking of mail, Lily, you've received your book list early this year," Mrs. Evans said, handing her a rather stuffed envelope. Lily took it gently in her hands and opened it up, a golden token falling out of it. As she bent down to pick it up, she read the first line of her letter. And promptly banged the top of her forehead on the table in shock.

"Lily, darling, what's the matter!" Mrs. Evans rushed to her side.

"I'm-I'm-I'm-"

"Expelled?" Petunia offered, hopefully.

"I'm Head Girl!" she squealed jumping up from her chair and reading the whole letter aloud. "Dear Miss Evans, it is my pleasure to appoint you the Head Girl for the 1977-1978 school term! With this new position you will have new responsibilities such as tutoring, appointing meetings, blah blah blah..."

"Must not be that important, then," Petunia sniffed.

"I will be meeting you and the Head Boy at school on the evening of September 1st to discuss your duties and answer any questions that you might have. Sincerely, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore!!"

"My, a Head Girl in the family!" Mrs. Evans beamed. "And who, do you think, is the Head Boy?"

"Remus Lupin, no doubts," Lily nodded. "He's the perfect example of a model student. Gets top grades, kind, considerate. His friends leave something to be desired, even if James is one of them."

"So you don't think James is going to be Head Boy?" Mrs. Potter asks frowning. "He's such a nice boy."

Lily snorted. "I can assure you, Mum, that James is most certainly not Head Boy."

***

"Bloody hell..." James stuttered, staring at the golden badge in his hand. "MUM! DAD!" He raced downstairs, nearly flattening Sirius while he was at it.

"Merlin's Beard, James, what's wrong!" Mr. Potter cried, running out of his study. His son was as white as a sheet.

"Read this!" he said, shoving the paper under his father's nose. Mr. Potter read it and snorted.

"Naturally, James. I was Head Boy in my year. I don't see why this is such a shock to you."

"But...Dad, I thought Remus would....?"

"Prongs, he told you that he didn't want it," Sirius, brushing the footprints off of his stomach, walked downstairs.

"But...why me?"

"That is an excellent question," Sirius took the paper away from James. "Well, I suppose he picked you because you're the only one who could protect Lily from all of those idiot Slytherins."

"L-Lily?" James stuttered. "You think she's Head Girl?"

"You don't think she is?" Sirius asked, handing him back the letter. "Ask her tomorrow."

"Wow. I'm Head Boy. Padfoot, I'm Head Boy!"

"What is this, James?" Mrs. Potter asked, walking out of the kitchen. "You're Head Boy? Dumbledore must have flipped his lid."

"Mum!" James frowned.

"Oh, come now, Dear," Mr. Potter laughed. "James is perfect for this job, now isn't he?"

"From all of the owls that I've gotten over the years, and all the complaints from all of the parents about how you've hexed their children for no good reason, and from all the times that I've had to come up to the school to sort out your problems, you expect me to believe that you're the perfect model student?"

Both James and Mr. Potter, identical mouths gaping, had nothing to respond to that.

"Not that you haven't improved at all, Darling, but I think that it would have been better placed to another boy who has had exemplary conduct all seven years."

"So you think that Remus would have made a better Head Boy than your own son?" James asked, his giant hazel eyes growing to the size of dinner plates.

"James, you just....don't quite fit the bill," Mrs. Potter smiled thinly. "You've caused too much trouble. And you've never been a Prefect."

"I like how you don't have any confidence in your own son, Mum," James sat down at the table and picked at the table.

"James," Mrs. Potter sat down next to him. "It's not as though I don't have any confidence in you. Merlin knows that I do, and I think that you'll make a great Head Boy, but I don't know if it was fair to the other boys who toed the line all seven years while you and Sirius were off breaking rules. What sort of an example does it set for the younger boys?"

"A fine example!" Mr. Potter broke in. "It goes to show that if people change, they can be rewarded for it!"

Mrs. Potter gave him a look that clearly said 'Shut up.'