Change is Possible

Change is Possible

Chapter 2

"Oh Lily, I'm so happy for you!" Rachel exclaimed as they both sat down on her bed, "it's so great to see you mingling with people our age at last."

"Yes, I guess I'm finally over my initial shyness," Lily replied, "I only took me five years to do!" The two of them laughed and smiled at each other. The next moment, Lola and Andrea walked in.

"How did you do it Lily?" Andrea asked, sitting down with a look of bewilderment on her face, "we've been giggling at every joke, flirting our butts off with James Potter and Sirius Black for five whole years and they don't even notice you. But within a day of meeting James, you've enchanted him and you're going out!" Lily smiled gently back and replied,

"I don't know, Andrea. Maybe you two are just trying too hard, you know that Sirius is such a joker and never thinks about another person's feelings. Why don't you just be natural and they won't know what to make of it?" Andrea thought about this advice, and then shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied, fluffing her hair and going over to Lola, who was applying make-up carefully to her eyes.

Lily rolled her eyes and Rachel laughed, ever since James and Lily had started going out, her shyness had seemed to drop, and a whole new, exciting, friendly and kind girl had appeared. She had also been looking a lot happier recently as well, and had been noticed a lot more around school, having finally got rid of the glasses and plait, Lily wore her hair down and was really very pretty.

"Anyway," Rachel said, continuing what they'd been talking about, "d'you want to go into Hogsmeade tomorrow? We need to get you some new robes and clothing, the holidays will soon be here and then we can wear whatever we want. Lilz, you have to get rid of all those bulky and unfitting dresses and skirts you have. (Author's note: we're going back a few years in fashion to when I 'think' J.K.Rowling planned for Lily and James to be alive) Lilz, you really need to show off that lovely body you've got, I think it's time for you to try a mini-skirt or two and some flares." Lily gasped. She had never worn anything as revealing as the 'mini-skirt' (that was currently the height of muggle fashion) or the low-slung flared trousers, which were all the rage in the muggle market.

"Oh Rach, I don't know..." Lily replied, not too keen on the idea.

"Oh come on Lilz!" Rachel exclaimed, "at least let me see what you look like with some on." After much more badgering, Lily finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with her the next day, to a new shop, which 'promised to give the magical community the low-down on muggle-fashion'. Lily was dreading it!

* * * * *

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling a little sick though very excited at the same time. It was the last weekend before the Easter holidays, and the promise of a trip to Hogsmeade was a very welcoming break from the piles of homework the professors had been setting. Lily got slowly out of bed and peeked through her hangings before making a dash for bathroom. However, she wasn't as lucky coming out of the bathroom and was pounced on by Rachel who immediately started rooting through Lily's and her own clothes to pick out something 'suitable' for Lily to wear. In the end, after much refusing at 'borrowing' a miniskirt, Lily emerged from the dormitory with her hair loose and glossy on her shoulders, dressed in a denim skirt, which reached just above her knee, and a fitted lilac-shirt with a light jacket over the top. Rachel followed looking pleased with herself, followed by Lola and Andrea who were dressed in the shortest mini-skirts they possessed, high-heels on their feet and make-up carefulyl and intricately done so that each eye-lash was highlighted.

As they stepped out into the common room, James was waiting with Remus and Sirius. At the sight of Lily, he gasped at first, she looked lovely in those clothes, and they suited her so much more than those baggy, shapeless dresses.

"Lily," he said, "you look lovely." Lily blushed slightly and kissed him on the cheek, whispering in his ear,

"Thanks, I love you too." James grinned and slipped his hand into hers. Rachel walked along beside Remus while Lola and Andrea firmly attached themselves to Sirius, giggling hysterically at his every word.

It was a gorgeous summer day, the sun was high in the sky, and as they walked through the sunny grounds of Hogwarts, heading for the gate that led to Hogsmeade, Lily had a strangely light feeling in her heart. She felt deliriously happy. James had his arm wrapped loosely around her waist, and Lily in return was leaning close to James, with her hand around his shoulder. As they walked along with their fellow school students, Lily noticed that several of the girls were giving her glares of anger and jealousy. This troubled Lily and she removed her arm from around James' shoulder slipping out of his hold.

"What's wrong?" James asked, walking up and trying to get his arm around her waist again but failing.

"I just don't like the glares I'm getting for being so close to the guy all of the feminine Hogwarts' population is talking about!" Lily replied sadly. James replied with laughing and slipping his arms around her waist from behind, kissing her neck. Lily giggled, as she was extremely ticklish and played out of his grasp. James grinned in return and pulled her too him, kissing her quickly but deeply before grabbing her hand and walking along with her, smiling mischievously. Lily just smiled back and walked along with him.

In return to this, Rachel and Remus swapped smiles, whilst Sirius grinned and pushed Lola and Andrea away, before walking up behind James and putting his arms around his waist. James jumped in shock and was instantly jumped up and down by Sirius who exclaimed,

"Oh Jamesie I love you! Pick me, not smelly old Lily!" Lily spun around and doubled-over laughing at the sight of Sirius jumping up and down with his arms around James' waist. Rachel and Remus also burst out laughing, Lola and Andrea giggled hysterically before firmly attaching themselves to Sirius again after her let go saying,

"Oh Sirius, you're so funny!"

"You always make me laugh!" Sirius in response sighed and walked away with them, trying to think up pranks to rid himself of both of them. James meanwhile had returned to Lily and had his arm back around her waist, apologising profusely whilst Lily smiled.

* * * * *

Lily stared at herself and couldn't believe what she was wearing. As soon as they had arrived at Hogsmeade, James, Sirius and Remus had gone off to Zonkos, while Rachel had practically dragged Lily along to the clothes shop she had been telling her about. After casting an expert eye along the shelves, Rachel had picked out several outfits for Lily to try on. These had included three mini skirts, one in sky-blue, one in indigo and another in pine-green, along with two pairs of flared trousers and numerous tight tops, some of which showed way too much flesh for Lily's liking. At the moment she stood staring at herself, dressed in the sky-blue mini-skirt and a lacy-white top with a low V-neck front, which barely covered Lily's tummy button. Lily found herself crossing her arms across her chest to cover up the flesh that showed feeling extremely embarrassed. After much badgering from Rachel, she finally came out to a gasp from her friend,

"Lilz!" Rachel exclaimed, "You look gorgeous!" Lily blushed deeply and quickly retreated back into the changing cubicle. She passed Rachel out the outfit and then tried on a pair of the hip-clinging flares, which then splayed out into the flared trouser-legs, pulling a pale-blue strap top on, on top of the trousers. After many other trying on sessions, most of them gaining the same sort of remark as that of the first outfit, Rachel took all the clothes away while Lily pulled on her other clothes.

Lily left the changing room and to her horror discovered that Rachel had bought a large amount of the clothes, which she had tried on. If Lily hadn't known that Rachel's parents were extremely rich, she would've worried about the price, but as she already knew this, she was worried about what Rachel was going to force her to wear. After paying the woman at the desk, Rachel came up carrying two large bagfuls of new clothes and passed them to Lily, before forcing her back into a changing cubicle and shoving some clothes over the top for her to change into. Lily slowly slipped off her clothes and pulled on the sky-blue mini-skirt, low-V-neck fronted top and light hooded jacket, which Rachel passed her. When she walked out feeling very self-conscious, Rachel gasped for a minute, before smiling reassuringly at her, and leading her out of the shop and into the sunny street.

* * * * *

James, Sirius and Remus had come out of Zonkos with fresh supplies of new tricks to prank people with, feeling very pleased with themselves. They walked into Honeydukes to try some new sweets they'd heard about; when they saw Rachel and a very pretty, attractive girl who made them all stare. James couldn't believe his eyes; Lily was wearing new, fashionable clothes and was wearing a mini-skirt. She had the most gorgeous body and long, graceful legs.

"Lily..." he said, gob smacked, "you look...wonderful." Lily blushed deeply and mumbled something before turning away to look at some sweets she had been viewing, she caught Rachel's smug, 'I told you so' look, and grinned in reply. The others crept silently away without Lily realising, as she was so engrossed in the sweets, leaving only James there behind her, watching her with an amused smile on his face.

Lily suddenly felt two arms winding their way around her waist and jumped quite suddenly as she felt James' nose nuzzling her hair and him gently kiss the back of he neck.

"You look fantastic," he whispered in her ear. Lily turned around and smiled gently at him, running the back of her hand down his cheek.

"Not here," she whispered back, "don't forget we're in the middle of a sweet shop!" James smiled back in knowledge and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the shop and into the sunny street.

"Then lets get somewhere...more private," he replied, a grin spreading across his face. Lily smiled back and allowed her to be led by him down the street and into a small wood by the main street of the village. When they were finally out of view of the village, James gently lowered Lily to the ground and they kissed passionately, enjoying their seclusion and this chance to be alone.

"JAMES POTTER!" the voice screamed through the glade they were in. James and Lily both jumped, and their eyes shot around to look at the group of girls who were coming up. The one in the lead, a pretty girl with long black hair and dazzling blue eyes fixed James with an angry glare, Lily recognized her as a Ravenclaw in their year. James looked defiantly back at her as he helped Lily gently to her feet.

"What d'you want Gail?" he asked in a cold voice.

"To ask why that nerd deserves you after we've flirted with you tirelessly for years. It's pay back time Potter, even one of those bimbos in Gryffindor which suck your arse would be better than that nerd." James stood defensively in front of Lily, and glared back,

"I never asked you to flirt with me," he replied, "I never loved any of you, just drop it Gail and find yourself someone else." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I don't think so," she replied, her voice almost a snarl. "You're gonna pay James Potter." She nodded and before they knew what was happening, the girls rushed the two of them and yanked Lily away from James, holding her tight while James was pushed to the ground. Gail stood over him, a glint of satisfaction in her eye. "Time for some humiliation..." she said, smiling slyly, raising her wand, "Castr..." But before she could finish, Lily pushed aside the girls that were holding her and shouted,

"Accio wand!" the wand flew to her hand and James took this opportunity to jump up and point is wand at Gail threateningly.

"We'll just be going," he said, "come on Lilz." Lily walked calmly over to him, and before any girls could fire a curse, they had run back into Hogsmeade, and had joined their friends outside a café. James proceeded to tell the others what had happened, Lily still held Gail's wand, which she charmed to fly back to Gail and let go so that it floated off. After James had finished telling them about their episode with Gail and her gang, Rachel looked disgusted,

"That cow!" she exclaimed, "she just never lets it rest does she?"

"By the way..." James said, turning to Lily, "what was the curse you stopped her doing Lilz?" Lily brushed slightly before saying quietly,

"She was about to castrate you." A look of horror crossed James' face, Sirius just burst out laughing and got a death stare in return from James.

The next moment, Andrea and Lola came up, at the sight of them, Rachel and Lily looked in disgust as James, Sirius and Remus just gawped. Lola was dressed in a tiny skirt, which barely covered her tiny bum, and excessively high heels, while Andrea wore extremely flared, low hipster trousers and a tight black top, which ended about two inches below her breasts.

"That's a nice belt you're wearing, Lola," Sirius commented. Lola smiled stupidly back and giggled aloud.

"Oh you're SO funny Siri!" she exclaimed, fluffing her already overly-fluffy blond hair, "this is a new miniskirt though, VERY fashionable in the muggle world, d'you like it?"

"It certainly shows a lot of flesh," Remus replied, before turning and smiling at Rachel, something had been growing between them recently. Lily smiled with interest. James firmly pulled Lily on to his lap, to show that he wasn't interested at all.

"Don't you like my new pierce Siri?" Andrea asked, showing off a newly pierced tummy-button with a hoop sticking out of it. Sirius looked at it and then turned away,

"It's lovely," he remarked, before turning and starting to talk to James again, who still had Lily on his lap and was investigating how ticklish she was. The two blonds looked at each other in annoyance, and decided to sit as close to Sirius as they could instead, laughing at his every joke. Lily rolled her eyes and pushed James away as he attempted to tickle her on her neck.

* * * * *

Back at Hogwarts for the summer term was not an improvement at all for Lily, after the best holidays of her life. As well as having to cope with a truckload of revision for the up and coming OWLS, she also found that her new appearance was attracting some attention from the male population of Hogwarts and didn't enjoy the attention. It seemed that now when she walked in the corridors, she got guys coming up to her, offering to carry her books and finding any excuse to talk to her. Lily found an escape from these new admirers by walking about with James who offered her some protection. However, when she had different lessons to him, such as doing Arithmecy instead of Divination, which James did, she found that she would have at least one boy coming up to talk to her.

One Thursday morning, Lily was walking to the Charms corridor after going to an Arithmacy lesson alone, when a group of boys suddenly seemed to surround her, and managed to pin her into a corner.

"Please Lily," one was saying; approaching her slowly while the others barred her escape route, "go out with me."

"No," Lily replied, "look Aidan, I've told you before, I can't, I'm seeing James..."

"Oh come on!" Aidan exclaimed, "What does he have that I don't?"

"I love him," Lily replied angrily.

"He doesn't love you," Aidan said angrily, "he was flirting with that pretty Hufflepuff Amelia Jones in Potions when your back was turned."

"I don't believe you," Lily snapped back harshly, "James would never do that."

"Wouldn't he? Don't forget Lily, before you met James, he was a womaniser, and he had a different girl every week."

"He's not like that anymore..."

"How can you be so sure?" He was now so close that he was almost touching her, "dump him Lily, and be my girl friend, I know how to give a girl a good time."

"I know what a good time is. James gives it to me all the time, get out of my way Aidan!"

"Okay, give me a kiss and I will."

"What? Don't be crazy..."

"Go out with me!"

"No!"

"What are you doing? Leave my girl-friend alone!" The circle was suddenly broken and James and the marauders were pushing them away. James grabbed Aidan and glared at him. "Don't you dare touch her," he said, his voice icy and harsh, pushing Aidan roughly away. "Come on Lilz," he said, putting his arm around her, and leading her gently yet firmly away, "he won't touch you again." Lilz looked gratefully at James, feeling completely safe with his arm around her. As soon as they were down the corridor, Rachel ran up and hugged Lily.

"Oh Lilz, are you okay?" she asked. Lily returned the hug, feeling relieved about being back with her friends.

"Yeah, I'm okay now," she said, as she pulled away and smiling in relief at Rachel. She then turned and looked with gratitude at James, before she knew it, they were hugging. Suddenly, Lily felt tears of relief coming to her eyes. "I'm so glad you came," she said, loving the feeling of security she felt being in his arms.

"No-one's ever going to hurt you again," James replied, gently kissing her on the lips.

"You guys, I hate to break this up, but we have Herbology," Remus prompted. They pulled away and Rachel instantly linked with Lily, leading her down to the greenhouses. As they walked down through the Hogwarts grounds, as Lily felt Rachel linking with her on one side, and James walking on her other side, she couldn't help feeling that she finally belonged, she felt wanted.