Changes

by NicolaPadfoot

Author Note: Hello!! Sorry it's been such a long time, I know, I'm a very naughty girl and I should be ashamed of myself. But, I'm here with the next part now, so don't shout at me ;) I also have to say something or else I may scream. Lord of the Rings is amazing!!!!!! Both the book and the film. Of course Orlando Bloom is such a babe how could the film not be amazing. He is so sexy. I've been to see the film three times now, and it gets better every time, lol! Anyway babez, I gtg, must get back to staring at my life-size picture of Orlando Bloom....(I wish) Keep reviewing!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, my name is not J K Rowling (amazing genius woman), and neither is it 'Warner Bro's' (people might look at me funny if I was called that). Anyway, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING, that way I don't get someone trying to sue me

4. Operation Serena

"So, what do we do first?" asked Serena. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was very excited.

"First we go to the new robe shop, Madame Malkin's. I've seen your robes. Do you buy the robes that are two sizes too big on purpose?" Lily asked sarcastically.

"Yeah actually, I do," Serena said, she was becoming increasingly embarrassed.

"Well not anymore you don't," said Lily happily. Serena could tell she was thoroughly enjoying this.

Serena and Lily went out of the pub and back into Diagon Alley. Lily spotted Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and practically dragged Serena into the shop.

"Hello girls, how may I help you," Madame Malkin turned out to be a tubby, but very pretty lady who had graduated from Hogwarts only two years earlier. She had been a Hufflepuff prefect.

"Have you got any fitted school robes?" Lily asked without a trace of embarrassment. Serena didn't know how she could do it. She would have gone as red as a beetroot. Madame Malkin pointed to the storeroom with her wand shouting 'Fittimus Robelius'.

"We have now," said Madame Malkin smiling widely. She then rushed off to the storeroom bringing back a large pile of fitted black robes. She then conjured two small stools from nowhere for the two girls to stand on.

"I'll just take your measurements girls, that's right up on the stools please" Madame Malkin said kindly. She got a long tape measure from her pocket which started taking measurements of it's own accord. Madame Malkin was scribbling the measurements down as fast as she could. When done, she gave the girls a set of robes each and told them to try them on and come out when they were ready, so she could see that they fitted right. Serena quickly got changed and then looked at the mirror in the dressing room. She gasped, it was unbelievable how much the robes made a difference. They made her look slim, yet shapely at the same time. They had a low cut neck line, but not too low, which Serena was highly grateful for. It had long sleeves, which were tight at the top but then hung loosely at the bottom.

"Well, well dear, don't we look nice!" said the mirror, it sounded almost as astonished as Serena felt. "You must go and show Madame Malkin dear, she will be pleased!" Serena took one last look at herself and then left the dressing room.

"Perfect dear, just perfect!" she said rather excited, Lily just stood there speechless. "How many will you be wanting dear?"

"Three please," said Serena happily.

"That will be fifteen galleons please," Madame Malkin said.

The girls then left the shop, their purchases clutched tightly in their hands. Lily then dragged Serena into a shop she had never been in before, Buntons Cosmetics for the Modern Witch.

"Time to buy you some make-up!" laughed Lily.

"But we're not aloud to wear make up at school," scolded Serena.

"I've been wearing it since second year!" Lily said, amused by the fact that Serena hadn't noticed, "Did you think I just looked like that naturally? Anyway, when you get into forth year your allowed to wear make-up, didn't you know that?"

"No, I didn't actually," now she just felt ignorant.

"Well it doesn't matter now, Miss Bunton is a master when it comes to shades of make-up" said Lily matter-of-factly.

"Did I hear someone call my name?" a beautiful blonde woman came into view, she had a very kind face. She was dressed in black form-fitting robes almost identical to the girls' school ones.

"Hi Miss Bunton, I'm here to give my friend a new look today," Miss Bunton came closer to Serena, looking at her skin tone, eye colour and face shape, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, she wont have glasses and she'll have blond highlights in her hair."

"Please take a seat er..."

"Serena, it's Serena," she said nervously.

"Well Serena, your skin tone is quite light, 'Accio Foundation'," a basket with bottles in it came flying towards Miss Bunton, "I would probably say medium tan is the base colour for you. Now lip wise, I would say Toffee Brown with lip shine and brown lip liner," at these words, the objects came flying out of nowhere, landing in Miss Buntons lap, "Eye wise, elongating black lash mascara, black eye-liner and a eye-shadow tray for green/brown eyes, I think. How do you feel about your eye colour?"

"Sometimes I wish they could be more green. Yeah, dark green." Miss Bunton pointed her wand at Serena's eyes and muttered 'Eyato Darcius Grenia'; Serena felt an odd tingle in her eyes. Miss Bunton then swapped the tray in front of her for one that said 'Green Eyes'

"I think we're done here then," Miss Bunton said happily, "Send me an owl if your school has a special event, I will send you some dressy make-up suiting your skin tone. That's one Galleon and eight Sickles, oops, I almost forgot, 'Accio Blusher No.5'" she put the blusher in the bag and the girls left the shop.

"Where to next then?" asked Serena.

"Aiden's Magical Hair Salon, that's where!" Lily said in a singsong voice. This was the part Serena was looking forward to the most.

The Salon was a small shop right at the end of Diagon Alley. Serena was surprised to see that in the shop there was only one Salon chair.

"Good afternoon ladies, how can I help you now," said a man with a heavy Irish accent.

"My friend wants her hair styling and then highlighted please," Lily said breathlessly, it was obvious that she fancied Aiden rotten.

"Well hello Lily, I didn't recognise you there, your growing more beautiful by the year," Aiden said in the most charming voice he could muster. This made Lily blush profusely. "And what would your friends name be?"

"Oh sorry, where are my manners?" Lily blushed again, "This is Serena."

"Right now Serena, for hair colour I would suggest blond and copper highlights, your hair is a bit long and lifeless so I would suggest a shorter cut that will frame your beautiful face!" Aiden said merrily, and with a wave of his wand he was finished.

"Oh, thank you so much! It's beautiful!" said Serena astonished for yet another time that day.

"Yes well. That's what I'm here for, to work wonders!" said Aiden, "I think that comes to about 5 Galleons." The girls paid Aiden and left the shop.

"Is there anything else?" asked Serena, "Cause I'm dead on my feet."

"No, we have to get your eyes done the muggle way, with contacts I'm afraid." Lily's face then fell, "We haven't got our dress robes!"

"It's okay, we can get them at Hogsmeade, Madame Malkin's will be shut be shut by now."

On the train home Serena was so happy. She couldn't believe her luck, not because of her new image, but because she was so lucky to have a friend like Lily.

When they got home from their shopping trip in London, Lily and Serena had a long talk about their fellow witches and wizards at school.

"Why, haven't you asked James on a date before anyway? It isn't as if he hasn't dropped hints," stated Serena.

"It isn't a girls place to ask a boy out on a date, and what do you mean he's dropped hints?" asked Lily curiously.

"You can't mean you haven't noticed?" Serena looked shocked, "Well what about that time when you were playing chess and he let you win, like five times in a row."

"He so did not let me win!" shouted Lily.

"He so did!" Serena shouted back, "I know James isn't amazing at chess or anything, but anyone is better than you are at it!"

At this Lily picked up a pillow and threw it at Serena's head, it didn't take long before it turned into a fully-fledged pillow fight. It only ended with Petunia banging on the bedroom wall and shouting 'Keep it down in there you freaks'.

"So what other hints has he given?" Lily was smiling now; maybe this meant she was in with a better chance with James.

"Remember on Valentines Day last year when you got about fifty cards?" said Serena. Lily went a shade of magenta, "well you know the singing one? Didn't you notice that James was singing that exact same song the day before?"

"That was just a coincidence!" said Lily quietly.

"Why do you choose to ignore what's staring you, point blank in the face?" asked Serena.

"Because I don't want to get my hopes up to high, they'll only come crashing down again."

"Not this time they wont," said Serena quietly. This made Lily smile, Serena always made Lily smile.

"Anyway, who do you like, and don't say nobody, cause then you'd be lying. I already know who it is, I just want you to admit it!" Lily said mischievously.

"Prove you know who he is," Serena said, she wasn't going to tell her it was Sirius if she didn't already know. "How many letters has he got in his first and second name?"

"He has....er....six in his first, and.....five in his second. I'll also drop in a hint, he is the most annoying person you or I are ever likely to have met, but I think that's why you like him so much," Lily said with a very superior look on her face.

"How on earth did you guess it was Sirius," asked Serena. She was completely dumfounded.

"When other people laugh at you or embarrass you, you usually get angry with them and mutter something under your breath, but when Sirius does it I can see the hurt in your eyes, and I notice you get upset," said Lily. She looked sad when she said this.

"Do you think anyone else will have noticed," asked Serena with an apprehensive look on her face.

"I think Remus has noticed, every time Sirius says something to you or about you he tells him off, but you needn't worry about him saying anything to Sirius, he values your friendship too much."

"It doesn't matter anyway, Sirius wouldn't want me. He's got a thing for Miss Narcissa 'I've got an attitude problem' Hamilton," spat Serena bitterly.

"He hasn't got a thing for her, he's got a thing for her looks," Lily said sympathetically, "He's what you would call a typical male, he can't resist a looker, so when we get back to school he wont be able to resist you either!" said Lily happily. This time it was Serena's turn to blush. "We're gonna have to go to sleep now, we gotta go to the opticians early."

"Why does everything have to be early with you?" asked Serena with that sour look on her face again.

"Cause early is the best time of the day!" Lily smiled as she heard Serena give a loud 'Humph' from underneath the covers.

Lily woke Serena up at seven o'clock the next morning to her disgust. She told Serena that her appointment was at eight thirty, and she mustn't be late. She also said that they would need some muggle clothes for Hogwarts and that her mum had left them some money each. Serena thought this was very generous of her.

They had to get to the nearest muggle town by bus, as Lily's mother had to go into work early that day. Serena had never been on the bus before, she had never really handled muggle money either. Lily laughed at her when she said it would be like an adventure. They reached the opticians at eight thirty on the dot.

"Hello and you would be Miss...?"

"Riddle, Serena Riddle. I'm here for my eight thirty appointment," said Serena politely.

"Aha, yes your right on time, you were needing contact lenses fitted, Miss Riddle?" asked the woman.

"Yeah, that's right," Serena said nervously.

"If you would like to go down the hall Miss Riddle, you'll find that Dr. Henchess is waiting for you in room four. Your friend can wait for you in the reception area if she likes."

"Sure," said Lily, "Thank you."

The optician already knew the lens strength of Serena's glasses, so all he had to do was show Serena a range of contact lenses.

"I suppose you won't want coloured lenses, your eye colour is very beautiful. You have wonderfully bright eyes," said the optician.

"Thank you," said Serena, she felt like a bit of a fraud, as the dark green in her eyes wasn't natural. She finally picked some lenses and then told the opticians to deliver them to the orphanage every month so they could deliver them to Hogwarts. Walking out into the street with the absence of her thick geeky glasses, and her boring mousy hair, made her feel special. Her made-up face brought out the beauty she never thought she had. Everything was perfect, for once in her life she was happy. From that moment on she knew she wouldn't be unpopular and geeky anymore. She would be what she always wanted to be, confident. People would admire her, like they admired Sirius Black and James Potter.

"Hello, is anybody in there?" shouted Lily loudly.

"Oh, sorry Lily, I was away with the fairies for a moment there," Serena said in a misty voice.

"We'd better get a move on if we're gonna get some muggle clothes hadn't we?" said Lily, "What were you daydreaming about?"

"Oh nothing," sighed Serena.