Chapter 4

Lily woke the next morning to the sun shining through the glass of the dormitory window. Lily always took the bed by the window, so that if she wasn't able to fall asleep at night she could watch the stars, also so she could see the beautiful sunrises in the morning. This morning's was particularly breathtaking. The sky was a bright orange, and swirls of pink and purple scattered it. The sun itself was raised only a sliver above the horizon, only beginning to cast its warmth over the Hogwarts castle.

Lily sighed. She loved sunrises. Unfortunately, though the sun was warm, the dorm was filled with the chilly September air. Lily shivered as she stepped out onto the cold stone floor. She sluggishly stumbled over to the bathroom the four girls shared and slipped into the shower, turning the heat up as high as it would go, enjoying the pleasant stinging sensation it brought to her skin.

When she got out of the shower and dressed in her uniform she wandered down to the common room to greet Sirius. She gave a small peck on the cheek before whispering, "'Morning Siri."

"'Morning love," Sirius said, burying his head in Lily's fragrant hair and wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug, pulling her close. He breathed in deeply. Her hair smelled strongly of the beach, or so the smell reminded him of.

James stood with Remus on the other side of the Common Room, glaring at Sirius. He had everything James wanted. He wanted to be the one holding Lily, smelling her hair, and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. It killed him to see his best friend, with the girl of his dreams. He had to do something about it. But what?

His thoughts were interrupted as Brooke sauntered down the stairs as using a shortening charm one her, what should be, knee length skirt. However, how short she'd shortened it left little to the imagination. She'd also left the first three or so buttons of her blouse unbuttoned, and her robes were only loosely tied. Her sweater, also appeared to have shrunk in the wash, it barely touched the waistband of the skirt.

James suddenly knew just what to do. He just had to get Brooke to agree to it. He'd also have to wait for the right time, when she was alone. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be this morning as Esmerelda and Jessica quickly trotted down the stairs to join her.

Esmerelda gasped in shock, "Girl, what did you do to your uniform?"

"Well, a shortening charm here and there, and shrinking spell or two…" she began.

"You look great," Esmerelda said.

"'Relda! She looks like a slut!" Jessica proclaimed.

"Okay, maybe leaving that fifth button undone is pushing it a bit…" she considered.

Brooke shrugged, "At least I can get someone's attention," she said noticing James staring at her.

Jessica blushed, she knew Brooke's last comment had to do with her little obsession with Remus, and yet he didn't even notice her. She sighed.

Lily and Sirius eventually parted to stand with their friends, and Lily just about had a heart attack when she saw what Brooke had done to her uniform. She discreetly lengthened it an inch with a lengthening charm when Brooke wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, what've we got this morning?" Esmerelda asked.

Lily looked at her schedule, "Ach, double potions with the Slytherins…"

"What a wonderful way to start off the morning," Jessica grumbled.

"Hey, that Luscius Malfoy's looking pretty good this year. That silky blond hair…mmmm…" Brooke said deviously.

"Ew! Brooke! That's sick, sick, sick, SICK! How could you even think about…with a SLYTHERIN!" Esmerelda shrieked.

"Think about?" Brooke said winking, "More like dream about. Come on, you guys have to admit, he is pretty hot."

"But he hangs out with Snivellus," Sirius said and he snuck up on Lily and pulled her back into his arms.

"Oh, when are you guys just going to leave him alone?" Esmerelda said, "I don't like him much either, but you guys have done some pretty cruel things to him."

"Like that time we tied him up to that tree branch? Remember Padfoot?" James said, reminiscing.

"Oy! And he was like, 'Let me down, let me down!!! I can't hex you up here, let me downnnnnnnn!' and then we dropped him and he fell plumb on his head!" Sirius added chuckling.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well if I catch you guys doing it again, I might have to take points from Gryfinndor."

"But Lily, it's our house…" James began.

"It's only fair, James. Not like he's ever done anything to you," Lily said.

"Except jeer," James said.

"And sneer," Sirius added.

"Let's just go, we're going to be late for potions! And you know how mad the professor gets if we're late!" Esmerelda said.