The Flower That Finally Bloomed
Chapter 2
Time for a Change
The last two weeks of the summer holidays.
Lily admired herself in the mirror. The incident with Potter that had left her somewhat emotionally drained, was still fresh in her mind throughout the whole holiday. The rude comments on her lack of feminity and the snide remarks on her studiousness had stung her more deeply than anyone could possibly imagine. She had vowed to show all of them who she could really be, so she had allowed herself to change a bit over the summer. Lucky for Lily, her body seemed to have sensed her need.
As she looked herself up and down in the mirror, Lily noticed a distinct change in her body shape. Her bust had swelled to twice the size than it was before, her hips had rounded quite well, and her legs seemed to have grown longer and slimmer. Her skin didn't seem so sickly pale anymore, but took on something more like a moonlight glow, making her body seem fuller. Lily had finally started to brush her hair, which had grown longer and tumbled perfectly onto her back in waves. Her shiny auburn locks framed her beautiful porcelain face quite nicely, making her look like some sort of goddess out of a painting. She had used magic to correct her eyesight, therefore leaving her with no excuse to wear her glasses. Lily was well aware that she could have done this much earlier, but she had been wearing glasses since she was six, and besides she had felt more comfortable with them on.
Lily suddenly got cold feet. What was she doing? She was changing herself because of HIM. 'No!!" Lily scolded herself. 'You're doing this for yourself and no one else,' she told herself sternly. This was going to be her last year at Hogwarts. This was going to be her year. Her last chance to show all of them who Lily Evans was really made of.
Over the holidays, she had done some shopping on her own behalf. First, she had decided to restock her wardrobe. She had gone around all the muggle shopping malls in her area, searching for outfits that would suit new figure. Lily mostly decided on tank tops and shorts that showed off her beautiful legs. Next, she had spent a bit of money on some light makeup. She bought some lip-gloss, mascara, and eye shadow. Lily didn't really want to overdo it with makeup. It seemed really artificial to her if too much was used. But in truth, Lily really didn't even need a hint of makeup to look beautiful. She had been blessed with flawless porcelain skin, piercing green eyes, and a perfect rosebud mouth. Even during her dork days, Lily never seemed ugly like most dorks did. She had actually looked quite appealing. But now, it seemed that the seventh year boys at Hogwarts were in for a delicious treat.
But even though Lily had taken a new interest in her appearance, her passion for studying and being responsible sure hadn't. She still held onto her ambition to be the highest scorer in the N. E. W. T's in Hogwarts history. If there was one thing Lily Evans knew how to do, it was controlling herself. She knew her limits and she wasn't about to get herself all swollen headed over her new look. Lily cringed as she imagined herself acting like those airheads chasing the Marauders around. God. Don't those girls have any dignity? Lily shook her head sadly at the thought of them throwing themselves on boys. "Idiots," she muttered.
She stole one last look at herself and thought," Wait till Potter and his friends see the new me. Then they would wish that they had never messed with me ever. Especially Potter. I'll exact such a humiliating prank on him that he would really be sorry for tormenting me in the past years. Yes. Revenge would certainly be sweet." Lily smiled softly and the thought. She then walked out of her room and started downstairs for the kitchen.
Suddenly, Lily heard a shriek of horror and found herself face to face with a hysterical Petunia. Petunia saw Lily and started screaming at her. "Look you freak, I would really damn appreciate it if you could keep your freaky little life away from my NORMAL one!!!" Petunia shouted, going red in the face. She hurtled past Lily, mumbling audibly, " Why couldn't I have had a normal sister instead of the freak of nature that I have here with me." Lily jumped a bit as Petunia slammed her door forcefully, then shrugged and continued towards the kitchen. She was so used to Petunia behaving this way too her, that she had learned to ignore her maniac sister completely.
Lily wondered what could have sparked such a rage from Petunia. She had been staying out of her way for the whole day. Lily was really puzzled at the hysterical behavior of her mad sister. Oh well. Maybe Petunia finally got what she was asking for, for a long time and was really going crazy. Lily giggled a bit at the idea. She soon shut up, as she entered the kitchen. Perched on the food counter was a huge tawny barn owl, and in its beak was a letter with the Hoqwarts seal stamped on it. Lily took the letter from the owl, and gave it a treat before ushering it out of the window. The owl ruffled it's feathers indignantly and flew away in a huff.
Whew! Lily sighed. At least she didn't have to face anymore of Petunia's madness, now that the owl was gone. Hold on. Petunia was always mad, so it didn't really matter if the owl had stayed or not. Lily suddenly remembered her letter and snatched it up greedily. Odd. It seemed a little heavier than usual. She opened the envelope, and pulled out her school supplies list, a letter, and her Head Girls badge. Lily was about to burst with happiness and pride. One of her goals was accomplished. She had finally become Head Girl.
She opened her mystery letter, and it read:
Dear Miss Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as the next Head Girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We hope you will continue to serve the school well in your new duties. You shall meet the new Head Boy on the Hogwarts Express, to discuss your new duties, in two weeks. Best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Minerva
McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress,
Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Her happiness doubled when she thought of her trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, to buy her school supplies.
Lily finally felt genuinely happy after such a long time. Her life was finally taking a positive turn.
At the Potter mansion.
James was lying in his bed. He usually didn't bother to get up until 10 o'clock in the morning. It was now only 8 o'clock. You guessed right. James was thinking about the incident with Evans again. God. His dumb conscious had been giving him no peace since the holiday started. What bothered him most however, was that he was actually starting to feel guilty for what he had done to Evans.
Frustrated, James thought that he would actually consider knocking himself out, just to get rid of the recurring memory. Finally, James opted to take a shower, throw on some clothes, and go downstairs for an early breakfast.
Once downstairs, James was greeted with an exact replica of himself, except maybe with a few more wrinkles and gray hair. James was looking at his father, Mr. Jeremy Potter, a world-class auror whose name commanded great respect in the wizarding world.
" Good morning, dad," James greeted, his voice sounded tired and nonchalant
"Morning, son. Bad sleep last night?" M Potter asked. James simply grunted and slumped onto the kitchen counter.
" James darling, what a surprise. I didn't know you could wake up this early," squealed a little-bit-too-hyper Mrs. Potter, when she entered the kitchen and saw James already there. James let out an inaudible groan. He was in no mood for his mother's I'm-so-happy-I-could-sing attitude. Don't get him wrong. James loved his parents, but sometimes they could be bit over affectionate.
"So James," his father began. "What time is Sirius coming over?" James eyes widened in realisation. Shit. He had completely forgotten that Sirius was coming over today. He would be staying here for the remainder of the holidays.
James raced out of the kitchen and to the fireplace. He could vaguely make out his mother saying animatedly, "Sirius is coming? Charming boy that one is." James sniggered. Sirius was certainly the charmer. He was always the best one to get into trouble with, since he could always find a way to charm them out of getting detention.
A sudden 'POP' and a huge cloud of soot, made James jump. He turned to the mouth of the fireplace, and saw a very soot-covered Sirius Black clambering out with a huge trunk behind him. " Hey Jamsie boy. How are ya? Tell your mum I'm sorry 'bout the mess. Well don't just stand there, help me carry my trunk up your never-ending staircase," Sirius huffed and put on a cheeky grin.
James recovered quickly from his shock and retorted with an evil grin," Hey, I'm already giving you a place to stay, so carry your own trunk."
Sirius pouted and put on huge puppy-dog eyes. "Pretty please with sugar and cherries on top," he whined. James punched him playfully on the shoulder and started walking up the stairs. Sirius grumbled and said a levitating spell to lighten his load. He then followed James grudgingly up the stairs.
James meanwhile, was thinking about their trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, where they were going to meet Remus and Peter. Suddenly a squeal of delight came from the kitchen, and a beaming Mrs Potter came running out of the kitchen, towards James. "Jamsie. Oh, Jamsie!!! You're Head Boy. Your letter just came. This is simply terrific. This would make you the fourth Head in your generation. Remember cousin Ryan, Carol, Jenny, and Lucas. Oh dear, I'm so proud of you James," Mrs Potter practically sang and engulfed James in a smothering hug.
Sirius on the other hand, looked positively horrified at the news. " James. Head Boy. What is this goddamn world coming to? God. I really pity the Head Girl. This is bad. Real bad. James, you do realize that this is going to terribly restrict our mischief-making," Sirius said worriedly, looking really distraught.
James however looked neither pleased nor saddened at his new post. He read the letter from Hogwarts. Damn. They didn't tell him who the Head Girl was. Guess he would have to find out on the train. The only thing he knew about being a Head, was that it was his duty to organize Prefect meetings, special functions, balls and set a good example for other students. All these duties he would be sharing with the Head Girl, along with the tower for the Heads.
All those demanding duties reminded him of Evans, the queen of dorks, who would have been more than happy to accept these new responsibilities. Shit. Shit. Why did he have to think of her now? James tried to stop his guilty thoughts from returning, by thinking about tomorrows trip to Diagon Alley. Yep, that's it. Just push all those thoughts about Evans' teary expression and Remus' questions aside. But no matter how hard he tried; an image of Evans shouting at him always appeared in his mind. Damn it. He could even hear Remus' voice ringing in his ears. Okay, this is so not working. James cursed his mind for being so weak. He knew he was going to have to do something before he went mad.
This was really starting to kill him mentally.
The last two weeks of the summer holidays.
Lily admired herself in the mirror. The incident with Potter that had left her somewhat emotionally drained, was still fresh in her mind throughout the whole holiday. The rude comments on her lack of feminity and the snide remarks on her studiousness had stung her more deeply than anyone could possibly imagine. She had vowed to show all of them who she could really be, so she had allowed herself to change a bit over the summer. Lucky for Lily, her body seemed to have sensed her need.
As she looked herself up and down in the mirror, Lily noticed a distinct change in her body shape. Her bust had swelled to twice the size than it was before, her hips had rounded quite well, and her legs seemed to have grown longer and slimmer. Her skin didn't seem so sickly pale anymore, but took on something more like a moonlight glow, making her body seem fuller. Lily had finally started to brush her hair, which had grown longer and tumbled perfectly onto her back in waves. Her shiny auburn locks framed her beautiful porcelain face quite nicely, making her look like some sort of goddess out of a painting. She had used magic to correct her eyesight, therefore leaving her with no excuse to wear her glasses. Lily was well aware that she could have done this much earlier, but she had been wearing glasses since she was six, and besides she had felt more comfortable with them on.
Lily suddenly got cold feet. What was she doing? She was changing herself because of HIM. 'No!!" Lily scolded herself. 'You're doing this for yourself and no one else,' she told herself sternly. This was going to be her last year at Hogwarts. This was going to be her year. Her last chance to show all of them who Lily Evans was really made of.
Over the holidays, she had done some shopping on her own behalf. First, she had decided to restock her wardrobe. She had gone around all the muggle shopping malls in her area, searching for outfits that would suit new figure. Lily mostly decided on tank tops and shorts that showed off her beautiful legs. Next, she had spent a bit of money on some light makeup. She bought some lip-gloss, mascara, and eye shadow. Lily didn't really want to overdo it with makeup. It seemed really artificial to her if too much was used. But in truth, Lily really didn't even need a hint of makeup to look beautiful. She had been blessed with flawless porcelain skin, piercing green eyes, and a perfect rosebud mouth. Even during her dork days, Lily never seemed ugly like most dorks did. She had actually looked quite appealing. But now, it seemed that the seventh year boys at Hogwarts were in for a delicious treat.
But even though Lily had taken a new interest in her appearance, her passion for studying and being responsible sure hadn't. She still held onto her ambition to be the highest scorer in the N. E. W. T's in Hogwarts history. If there was one thing Lily Evans knew how to do, it was controlling herself. She knew her limits and she wasn't about to get herself all swollen headed over her new look. Lily cringed as she imagined herself acting like those airheads chasing the Marauders around. God. Don't those girls have any dignity? Lily shook her head sadly at the thought of them throwing themselves on boys. "Idiots," she muttered.
She stole one last look at herself and thought," Wait till Potter and his friends see the new me. Then they would wish that they had never messed with me ever. Especially Potter. I'll exact such a humiliating prank on him that he would really be sorry for tormenting me in the past years. Yes. Revenge would certainly be sweet." Lily smiled softly and the thought. She then walked out of her room and started downstairs for the kitchen.
Suddenly, Lily heard a shriek of horror and found herself face to face with a hysterical Petunia. Petunia saw Lily and started screaming at her. "Look you freak, I would really damn appreciate it if you could keep your freaky little life away from my NORMAL one!!!" Petunia shouted, going red in the face. She hurtled past Lily, mumbling audibly, " Why couldn't I have had a normal sister instead of the freak of nature that I have here with me." Lily jumped a bit as Petunia slammed her door forcefully, then shrugged and continued towards the kitchen. She was so used to Petunia behaving this way too her, that she had learned to ignore her maniac sister completely.
Lily wondered what could have sparked such a rage from Petunia. She had been staying out of her way for the whole day. Lily was really puzzled at the hysterical behavior of her mad sister. Oh well. Maybe Petunia finally got what she was asking for, for a long time and was really going crazy. Lily giggled a bit at the idea. She soon shut up, as she entered the kitchen. Perched on the food counter was a huge tawny barn owl, and in its beak was a letter with the Hoqwarts seal stamped on it. Lily took the letter from the owl, and gave it a treat before ushering it out of the window. The owl ruffled it's feathers indignantly and flew away in a huff.
Whew! Lily sighed. At least she didn't have to face anymore of Petunia's madness, now that the owl was gone. Hold on. Petunia was always mad, so it didn't really matter if the owl had stayed or not. Lily suddenly remembered her letter and snatched it up greedily. Odd. It seemed a little heavier than usual. She opened the envelope, and pulled out her school supplies list, a letter, and her Head Girls badge. Lily was about to burst with happiness and pride. One of her goals was accomplished. She had finally become Head Girl.
She opened her mystery letter, and it read:
Dear Miss Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as the next Head Girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We hope you will continue to serve the school well in your new duties. You shall meet the new Head Boy on the Hogwarts Express, to discuss your new duties, in two weeks. Best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Minerva
McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress,
Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Her happiness doubled when she thought of her trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, to buy her school supplies.
Lily finally felt genuinely happy after such a long time. Her life was finally taking a positive turn.
At the Potter mansion.
James was lying in his bed. He usually didn't bother to get up until 10 o'clock in the morning. It was now only 8 o'clock. You guessed right. James was thinking about the incident with Evans again. God. His dumb conscious had been giving him no peace since the holiday started. What bothered him most however, was that he was actually starting to feel guilty for what he had done to Evans.
Frustrated, James thought that he would actually consider knocking himself out, just to get rid of the recurring memory. Finally, James opted to take a shower, throw on some clothes, and go downstairs for an early breakfast.
Once downstairs, James was greeted with an exact replica of himself, except maybe with a few more wrinkles and gray hair. James was looking at his father, Mr. Jeremy Potter, a world-class auror whose name commanded great respect in the wizarding world.
" Good morning, dad," James greeted, his voice sounded tired and nonchalant
"Morning, son. Bad sleep last night?" M Potter asked. James simply grunted and slumped onto the kitchen counter.
" James darling, what a surprise. I didn't know you could wake up this early," squealed a little-bit-too-hyper Mrs. Potter, when she entered the kitchen and saw James already there. James let out an inaudible groan. He was in no mood for his mother's I'm-so-happy-I-could-sing attitude. Don't get him wrong. James loved his parents, but sometimes they could be bit over affectionate.
"So James," his father began. "What time is Sirius coming over?" James eyes widened in realisation. Shit. He had completely forgotten that Sirius was coming over today. He would be staying here for the remainder of the holidays.
James raced out of the kitchen and to the fireplace. He could vaguely make out his mother saying animatedly, "Sirius is coming? Charming boy that one is." James sniggered. Sirius was certainly the charmer. He was always the best one to get into trouble with, since he could always find a way to charm them out of getting detention.
A sudden 'POP' and a huge cloud of soot, made James jump. He turned to the mouth of the fireplace, and saw a very soot-covered Sirius Black clambering out with a huge trunk behind him. " Hey Jamsie boy. How are ya? Tell your mum I'm sorry 'bout the mess. Well don't just stand there, help me carry my trunk up your never-ending staircase," Sirius huffed and put on a cheeky grin.
James recovered quickly from his shock and retorted with an evil grin," Hey, I'm already giving you a place to stay, so carry your own trunk."
Sirius pouted and put on huge puppy-dog eyes. "Pretty please with sugar and cherries on top," he whined. James punched him playfully on the shoulder and started walking up the stairs. Sirius grumbled and said a levitating spell to lighten his load. He then followed James grudgingly up the stairs.
James meanwhile, was thinking about their trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, where they were going to meet Remus and Peter. Suddenly a squeal of delight came from the kitchen, and a beaming Mrs Potter came running out of the kitchen, towards James. "Jamsie. Oh, Jamsie!!! You're Head Boy. Your letter just came. This is simply terrific. This would make you the fourth Head in your generation. Remember cousin Ryan, Carol, Jenny, and Lucas. Oh dear, I'm so proud of you James," Mrs Potter practically sang and engulfed James in a smothering hug.
Sirius on the other hand, looked positively horrified at the news. " James. Head Boy. What is this goddamn world coming to? God. I really pity the Head Girl. This is bad. Real bad. James, you do realize that this is going to terribly restrict our mischief-making," Sirius said worriedly, looking really distraught.
James however looked neither pleased nor saddened at his new post. He read the letter from Hogwarts. Damn. They didn't tell him who the Head Girl was. Guess he would have to find out on the train. The only thing he knew about being a Head, was that it was his duty to organize Prefect meetings, special functions, balls and set a good example for other students. All these duties he would be sharing with the Head Girl, along with the tower for the Heads.
All those demanding duties reminded him of Evans, the queen of dorks, who would have been more than happy to accept these new responsibilities. Shit. Shit. Why did he have to think of her now? James tried to stop his guilty thoughts from returning, by thinking about tomorrows trip to Diagon Alley. Yep, that's it. Just push all those thoughts about Evans' teary expression and Remus' questions aside. But no matter how hard he tried; an image of Evans shouting at him always appeared in his mind. Damn it. He could even hear Remus' voice ringing in his ears. Okay, this is so not working. James cursed his mind for being so weak. He knew he was going to have to do something before he went mad.
This was really starting to kill him mentally.