Heading the School

"Don't need no copy of Vogue magazine
No need to dress like no beauty queen
High heels or sneakers, he don't give a damn
My baby loves me just the way that I am."
-My Baby Loves Me, Martina McBride

Chapter Six

James was pleasantly pleased to note that he was at breakfast before Lily was Monday morning. They'd been doing patrols until past midnight, but they'd been able to sleep in a bit, as the first day back was a Friday. However, the first Monday back, Lily arrived at breakfast when it was almost halfway over. She was obviously tired, and James couldn't resist ribbing her a bit.

"James," he mocked her high pitched voice. "Tonight we need to patrol until midnight. No, I don't care if you're tired or if you've got homework. We've got to-"

"Shove it," Lily glared at him.

"Does someone not like staying up until past midnight?" he crooned. Lily took a bite of her toast.

"Bugger off," she snorted. "‘S not my fault that I need an extra hour of sleep. I made it to breakfast on time, didn't I?"

"Ooh, and so cranky, too!" James offered her a mug of coffee. "Coffee?"

Lily glared at him and took the coffee, drinking it black. A squawk overhead signaled the arrival of the Owl Post. She was pleasantly surprised that her own owl carrying a giant bulk. As it came closer, she blushed to see that it was a big lumpy present in a green muggle shopping bag. Her poor owl was huffing and puffing, and Lily allowed it a sip of her water and a rest on the table.

"Whatcha got there, Lily?" James asked. Lily opened the bag and saw two letters resting on top of three shoeboxes. She picked up the one from Oliver and began to open it when James tapped her on her shoulder.

"What?" Lily said. James pointed to the name on the front of the letter. It said, in Oliver's scrawling hand, James.

"I believe that one is to me," he grinned. Lily glared at him and thrust the letter in his direction. She ripped open the other one and began reading it, shooting dirty glances at James every two seconds.

Lily Darling,

You forgot all of those shoes that we bought at Harrod's. They made you look ever-so- beautiful and now that you've got a boyfriend, you'll need to start taking more care in your appearance. I'm sure that James will appreciate having a gorgeous girl who takes care of her appearance than a gorgeous girl who walks around in dirty trainers. I've also included your makeup that you left at home; you can't walk around in chapstick forever. I hope that your year is going well and give James a hug for me.

Love, from Mum

"Gee thanks for the vote of confidence, Mum," Lily frowned, opening the boxes and seeing very high heels inside.

James peered over her shoulder to look inside. "What're those?"

"Shoes," Lily said, closing the box again. James raised his eyebrow at her.

"They look like vampire stakes," he said. Lily laughed and put them down by her side. She didn't think that James would care either way how she looked; he'd been chasing her for years and she didn't change herself.

After breakfast, she ran upstairs and put the shoes in her trunk.

"What'd you get at breakfast this morning?" Emmeline asked as they potted a plant in Herbology together.

"Shoes that my mum bought me," Lily said. "She told me that now that I've got a boyfriend, I'll need to look better."

Emmeline looked at her and began shoveling dirt into her pot. "Well, in all honesty, Lily, you might need to put a tad bit more into your appearance."

Lily gaped at Emmeline. "B-But-!"

Emmeline shrugged. "Not as if you need a lot, but a little bit more lipstick and eyeshadow might bring out some of your better features."

"And what features are standing out now?" Lily asked. Emmeline sized her up.

"Your nose is a bit noticeable," she said, plainly. Lily's hand flew to her nose and a bit of dirt smudged it.

"Does it!" Lily said. "Do you have a mirror?"

Emmeline procured one from her purse and Lily rubbed the smudge off of her nose, turning it pink. She suddenly realized that her nose was giant.

"How come I never saw it before?!" Lily gasped. She looked down the row where James was annoying Sirius by shoveling gravel into Sirius' pot (Lily had expressed a want to partner with Emmeline, and, taking the opportunity, Sirius dragged James to the other side of the green house).

Emmeline shrugged. "Still, if you'd wear a bit of lipstick, it'd draw the attention away from it, I believe."

"Do you think that James notices?" Lily asked. She realized what came out of her mouth and blinked. When did she care what James thought about the way she looked?

"I don't think so, but a little makeup couldn't hurt," Emmeline said. "I mean, he's been after you for years, so I assume that he thinks you're pretty. Until he gets tired of you, of course."

"What?!"

"Well, I mean, if it's a ‘grass-is-greener' scenario, then I know a bit of variety can't hurt prolonging your relationship."

"‘Grass-is-greener'?"

"Yes, you know, only wanting what you can't have," Emmeline clarified. "Not that I think that's what's going on, of course, but you never know."

"Honestly, though, why should I care if he breaks up with me?" Lily asked.

Emmeline raised her eyebrow. "Because you're bloody head over heels for him, that's why."

"Am I?"

Emmeline nodded. "And you have been for a while."

"So, because I fancy him, I should be prettier for him?"

"Something like that, yes."

"All right, that doesn't sound too bad," Lily nodded, biting her lip. "Because I wouldn't want to date someone who wants to be around me just when I'm beautiful."

Emmeline shook her head. "Then I'm afraid that you're going to be waiting a long time."

"What?" Lily said.

"All guys...they don't really care much for you when you're not all dolled up," Emmeline shrugged. "But suit yourself if you don't think that he'll mind."

After Herbology, Lily ducked away from the group and ran up to the dormitory for the second time that evening.

"You look different," James said, decidedly, looking at her when they met up after lunch. Lily grinned nervously (her lips were now a nice copper color) and batted her eyes (which were covered with mascara and brown eye shadow).

"Bad different or good different?" she asked. James cocked his head to the side and squinted his eyes.

"Can you even look bad?" he said, opening both of his eyes. Lily blushed the color of her hair.

"I-I-I don't know?" she stammered. "I think I can."

James shook his head and took her hand in his. "I don't think so. You could wear a bloody house elf potato bag and look beautiful."

While he wasn't looking, Lily quickly rubbed off the lipstick.

"Sirius, you're so funny," the blonde Hufflepuff cooed. She was Sirius' fling of the night (as it was Tuesday, and there was no class). Lily was partially disgusted by the way that she adjusted herself so that a sizable portion of her breasts was showing, but she couldn't help but notice that the guys in the area were paying attention to her.

She noticed that the girl had a gorgeous dark purple robe that didn't seem to have a stain or a tear on it. Lily looked down at her robes (she was still in her school robes), which had dirt stains from Herbology and were becoming frayed at the bottom.

James had taken some of his Quidditch friends out to play a little impromptu game before they had try-outs. Sirius was busy poking his newest girl in the stomach (and getting an eyeful of her cleavage line) and Remus was going over (he was so patient) the latest homework with Peter, who was getting it slowly.

Lily looked up at the clock. She would have to go to rounds with him in about two hours. If she went upstairs now, she could maybe look a bit more decent. She looked at her half-finished homework and had a moment of insanity as she closed her book and went upstairs.

When she arrived upstairs, she went through the process of wearing every single piece of clothing that she owned. It was then that she realized just how dingy she looked in every pair of jeans she owned.

"My goodness, Lily," one of her roommates opened the door and saw the mess of Lily's clothes all over her normally pristine bed. "What're you doing?

"Well," Lily said, motioning to the pile of clothes. "I'm going out on rounds with James and I...well...I fancied looking nice, but I can't find anything-"

Her roommate, named Jacquelyn, broke out into a giant grin. "Say no more, Lily. I've been waiting for this for YEARS!"

"What?" Lily said, confused.

"You dress so...forgive me, but so bland, that it's time that you put a little style into your wardrobe!"

Lily looked at her clothes and frowned. She had though that they were fairly trendy, except a little modest. But she had never thought of them as bland or boring.

Her vision was immediately covered with dark blue sparkles. Jacquelyn was smiling brightly and nudging her to try it on. Lily felt the fabric and blanched.

"Oh, it's so scratchy!" she complained. "I don't think I can-"

"Try it on!" Jacquelyn pressed. Lily gave her a doubtful look and went behind her bed to change. She came out, looking absolutely gorgeous, except for the look of discomfort on her face. Jacquelyn cooed.

"Why that looks even better than it does on me!" she looked at the bottom, which was dragging a bit. "Do you have any high shoes?"

Lily looked over to her trunk where the shoes from Harrod's were waiting. She remembered that one pair were a silver color, that would match these robes perfectly. The only problem was that she'd probably break her neck trying to walk in them; after spending so much time flat-footed, she hadn't ever acquired the talent for balancing her weight on a tiny stick of plastic.

She had a mental flash of that girl (who was probably in Sirius' room at the moment) and gritted her teeth, wondering all the while when it mattered that she looked beautiful for James Potter.

James came in, sweaty and dirty, a big grin on his face, even though his team had lost, it had been a close game. He really enjoyed being a Chaser now, it was so much more exciting than being a Seeker.

He looked around for Lily, but he only saw a handful of people. He trotted over to Remus who gave him a look up and down.

"Have fun?"

"Oh, you have no idea!" James grinned. "Where's Lily?"

Remus looked up the stairs and nodded. "She went upstairs a few hours ago." James nodded and looked down at his sweaty robes and then looked to Remus.

"Should I grab a quick shower?" he asked. Remus looked at the clock and had a moment of indecision.

"It would be nice, but do you have time?"

"James? You ready?" James turned his head, but all words died in his throat. He'd always though that Lily was beautiful, but she came downstairs looking absolutely exquisite.

Lily, however, was trying to balance her weight on shoes that were three inches tall, walking down stairs that she was sure were not this steep when she walked up them, with a robe that was itchy and didn't cover places that she usually had covered, all the while worrying whether or not she looked beautiful. She didn't even notice James gaping at her until she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw his face. She frowned a bit that she had spent the past two hours looking gorgeous and he had dirt smudged up and down his face.

"What?" she asked, a bit irritably.

"Y-You look....beautiful," he said. Lily was both pleased and upset. She wanted to please him, but she didn't want to have to go to such lengths to please him. Plus, as she got closer, she could see that he was still sweaty.

"Thanks," Lily said. "Let's go, shall we?"

"O-Ok," James grinned, taking her hand in his. They left the Common Room and began their rounds of the school. After thirty minutes, Lily was starting to wish she wasn't wearing these shoes, as the balls of her feet were getting very sore. She was having to take five steps more than James just to keep up with him, and it seemed like five feet was like five miles.

She was thankful that James was too busy sneaking glances at her body to notice that she was in visible pain. Then she realized that James was staring at her body and she caught him on it.

"Checking me out, are we James?"

James let out a cough and grinned at her. "‘S kinda hard not to, love."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily teased.

"Means that you look bloody sexy in those robes," James said, bluntly. Lily wanted to appear cool and calm, but that comment made her blush. No boy had ever called her ‘sexy' before.

"O-Oh, well, then," she said, as they approached another round of stairs. Lily inwardly groaned as she ascended them with growing pain in the balls of her feet. She was thankful that she hadn't fallen yet, but she'd had some slip-ups, fortunately when James wasn't looking.

But as she continued along the hall, she found that she had spoken to soon. Down she went, her heel slipping off of the shoe and twisting her ankle, crying out in pain.

"Lily!" James said, rushing to her side. "Are you ok?"

"Brilliant," Lily forced a smile, even though her ankle was throbbing. She uncovered her shoes and James gave a gasp of surprise.

"No wonder you looked taller! Why the bloody hell are you wearing those shoes?" he demanded. Lily looked down sheepishly.

"‘Cause I wanted to be beautiful," she mumbled. James immediately forgot what he was going to say and softened.

"And break your ankle?" he asked. "C'mon, let's go see Poppy." Ignoring her calls of protest, he took her shoes off and hoisted her onto his back.

"James!" Lily cried, but she didn't sound convinced that she wanted him to put her down. He paused by a trash can and threw the shoes in them, which caused Lily to cry out in protest.

"Those are expensive shoes!" Lily said.

"I'll reimburse you. I'm not letting you wear them again. You nearly killed yourself," he shrugged her up on his back to get a better grip. "And where the hell did you get this robe? It's so itchy."

"It's Jacquelyn's," Lily blushed. "I thought you said it made me look ‘bloody sexy.'"

"Lily, you'll look bloody sexy in anything," James clarified. "Why does it matter what I think?"

"Well..." Lily trailed off. "I mean, since we're-" she gulped "-dating now. I figured that I should look a bit more...you know, presentable."

James stopped and craned his head as much as he could. "Is that what this is all about?"

Lily nodded against his back. He smelled really good when he was sweaty and dirty. Like a Quidditch field.

"Lily, I don't want you to change at all for me. Yes, you look beautiful in these robes, but if they make you unhappy, I don't want you to wear them. ‘Sides, like I said this morning, it's not possible for you to look bad."

Lily couldn't help but smile. "James, once in a while, you know how to make a girl's heart just melt."

"I try," James said, his heart fluttering. He didn't quite understand what he had said that had made her so happy; he was just telling the truth.

After a midnight stop at the Hospital Wing where Lily received a potion wrap that would heal her foot over night (tendons took longer to heal than bones), so James had the ‘awful task' of carrying her back to the dorm.

However, they encountered a problem when they arrived to the stairwell to the girl's dormitory. Lily couldn't walk with the wrap around her foot, and James couldn't take her up the stairs with the alarm system. They stood for a moment, trying to think of a solution.

"James?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think that the alarm system applies to animals as well?" she asked. James opened his mouth and closed it again, thinking.

"‘S worth a try. And if the alarm goes off, we can just get one of your roommates to carry you upstairs." He set her down and stepped back from her. Lily had only seen him transform once before, and she was suffocating before. In the span of five seconds, she was standing face to face with the deer she conversed with last year. She hobbled forwards and gave him a good pat.

"Ooh, I'm glad you're back," Lily teased. "I want to tell you about my boyfriend. He's the same jerk that I was telling you about last year, but now he's turned into a sweetie-" James nudged her in the shoulder. "Fine, fine, picky, picky, picky." Lily climbed on his back, putting her arms around his neck.

James put one hoof on the stairs and was relieved to learn that it did not apply to animals. Probably because the founders did not count on a student becoming an Animagus. He clopped up the one part of Hogwarts that he'd never seen, taking in every picture and every sight.

"Keep going," Lily said, sitting up when they had stopped climbing. James continued to walk until he reached the door that said ‘7th year.' Lily reached over and opened the door and they walked inside.

Once inside, James took a risk and transformed back, his jaw dropping. In the darkness, there were girl items everywhere: bras, underwear, shirts, pants, perfume, make-up. Lily nudged him in the stomach and gave him an eye.

"You're doing a good Samaritan deed, don't mess it up by lewd thoughts," she whispered, throwing her arm around him so that he could assist her to her bed. He sat her down on it and looked around.

"Where're your pajamas?" he whispered. Lily blushed.

"You don't have to-"

James ignored her and pulled out a white nightie from her trunk and brought it over to her. He stopped and looked at her questioningly. "Do you want me to help you-?" Lily shook her head, but when she stood up, she fell into his arms. "I-I suppose I could use a little help, but no peeking, all right?"

"Marauders's honor," James said, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Dare I trust anything that Sirius is apart of?" Lily said, lightly. She was trying to stop herself from trembling, but it wasn't working all that well. James helped her shimmy the itchy robe off of her and then, there she was. In her knickers. In front of James.

"Erm, my nightgown, please?" Lily whispered. James was staring at her body with a look akin to a fish. Lily cleared her throat and nudged him a bit. "You promised you wouldn't look."

James' head shot up and he blushed. "Sorry, it's just...well-"

"My nightgown, please?" Lily asked, barely a whisper. James helped her slide it down her body, his hands making the journey as well. Lily didn't take her eyes off of them, and when she brought her vision up, James was closing in on a sensual kiss.

All of the other kisses that he'd ever given her had been in a lighted area, but now that it was dark except for the moonlight that was coming in, this was a hidden and secret kiss and it caused shivers to run up and down her spine. He was completely different and, in all honestly, it both excited and terrified her.

"James, we shouldn't-" her words died as he began sucking on her neck. She felt him lower her to her bed and that's when she finally got her brains back.

"Stop," she said, her voice trembling. James looked at her and seemed to come back to his senses as well.

"Lily, I-I'm sorry," he whispered, standing up quickly. Lily grabbed his hand and kissed it.

"‘S much my fault as it is yours, James," she admitted. "Thanks for the help."

James, relieved that she didn't think him an attempted rapist, leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. He looked down to a red mark on her neck and grinned.

"Oh, sorry about that one," he touched his handiwork and then trotted away from the room. Lily summoned a mirror to her and took a look at the nice red mark that was growing on her upper neck. She glared at the door and scooted towards the bed, a smile and a frown somehow melding on her face.

The next morning, Lily (wearing nice turtleneck under her robes) was sure to give James a nice hit on the back of the head.