By headupintheclouds
Lily shook off the odd urge to tell James that she'd only given Remus a friendly hug. She assured herself, that this was merely Potter's latest attempt to get her to go out with him, that a person couldn't change in only one summer. She concluded to talk to her friends about it later. Maybe.
The train jerked to a stop about thirty seconds later, and Lily calmly stood up, and stepped out of the Heads' compartment leaving James with a slightly dented ego, although he tried to shrug it off.
The carriage ride to the school was mercifully quick, since the Heads' shared a carriage up there, too. Then they had to go to the feast, although they could sit where they pleased. Dumbledore's speech went by in a flash, and food appeared. All too soon, however, it was time to be shown to the Head Common Room, which both were dreading. James was dreading it because it meant even more chance of pissing off Lily, and Lily was dreading it because it meant talking to James, which might meant deciding he had changed. Which was a scary thought, because it meant she might have to change.
"Follow me," Dumbledore said kindly, leading them through a series of twists and turns. James merely looked around curiously, while Lily took vigilant notes on how to find the Common Room.
Finally, Dumbledore stopped in front of a portrait of a Veela sitting in a tree, looking miserable.
"The password is "Canook," but you may both change it, if it pleases you. Inside are your rooms, marked quite well. These have no passwords, but please respect each other's space," Dumbledore said, setting his glistening eyes on James. He looked a little bashful, but nodded.
Turning swiftly around, his robes swirling around him, Dumbledore retreated back down the series of hallways.
"Er…" Lily said, gesturing for James to go first.
"Right," he agreed, and, turning to the Veela, "Canook,"
She through him a coquettish glance, giggled, and swung open the portrait for him. Her melancholy mood was apparently gone.
Stepping through behind James, she took in the room. It was beautiful, much less cozy than the Gryffindor Common Room, though. The floorboards were not broken in, and were a deep oak color. A crisp purple couch earned a glance distaste from Lily, because it looked half as comfortable as the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room.
A large glass table was in the middle of the room, along with oak chairs with purple upholstery. Nothing looked as homey or cozy as the Common Room she missed. Sighing, she stepped across the room quickly, putting her hand on the chilled handle of the door labeled 'Lily.'
She paused, breathing deeply, then slowly turned the handle. The door opened to a cozy room that was furnished sparingly but tastefully.
Stepping further in, she found a comfortable bed with green satin sheets, and gold curtains that fell well past the floor and shone slightly if the light was right. The floor was oak as well, and the walls were a deep green. There was one large window, which looked out on the Grounds.
She collapsed onto the bed, the events of the day having taken their toll on her. James appeared in the doorway, and looked around her room.
"Is this what your room at home looks like?" he asked cautiously, unsure of her mood.
"No," she said, too tired to be argumentative, "this is what I wish my room at home looked like."
"Heh. D'you think maybe the rooms figure out a person's dream room and create it?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"I dunno. Let me try something," she replied, closing her eyes and placing two fingers on her temples gently. Suddenly, the room filled with pink things, and James stepped back quickly, alarmed.
"Yeah, I guess they do. Or at least the adapt to what you want at a given time," she concluded, before closing her eyes and changing the room back.
"That would make sense…" he trailed off, running a hand through his untamed hair. Snapping back into the moment, he chanced a conversation starter.
"So when should we do our rounds?" he asked tentatively.
"Oh…." Lily groaned, as James tensed up. "Soon, I suppose," she said, causing James to relax a little, relieved. "I'm going to have a quick nap and then we'll go, okay?"
James nodded, returning to the Common Room, and perusing a couple of magazines before selecting Witch Weekly, thinking it would be a laugh.
An hour later, Lily came out yawning. James slammed shut the magazine and placed it on the table, trying to conceal the title. Being caught reading that would earn him at least a 'prick, but probably more.
He was too late, however, and Lily burst out laughing, leaving a confused James standing there, trying his best to look "un-prickish."
Lily laughed all the way out of the portrait, a nervous and baffled James to follow. Once the portrait shut behind them, the Veela blew James a kiss, at which he sped up significantly. Lily looked a little bit ticked off, but his it quickly.
"Someone's got a crush on James," she teased, trying to seem light-hearted.
"Shut up!" he exclaimed jokingly, glad that the awkwardness had lifted.
They proceeded with the rounds, talking animatedly. An hour and a half later, as it was nearing midnight, they started back.
"Uh-oh," James said, looking down the different hallways.
Lily whipped a neatly folded piece of paper out of her pocket and start reading off it, "We're at the Great Hall, good. Up the stairs. Turn left, take a right at the portrait of the snoring badger…"
They followed Lily's flawless directions all the way to the common room. James looked stunned, as Lily said the password.
"For him…" the trailed off flirtatiously.
Lily rolled her eyes and James looked awkward and stepped through behind her. "Goodnight," she said fondly.
James nodded, heading for his own room. After being sure Lily wouldn't catch a glimpse of his room, he carefully opened the door and slipped in. He decided he didn't mind the décor, and didn't bother to change it. Wondering if he ever would, he turned over, leaving the lights on so as to be able to wake up looking at Lily Evans face in the only way he thought he ever would.
He definitely didn't mind the décor all that much, and fell asleep wondering how many times he would've been called 'prickish' for that comment.
A/N: Sorry it's a bit short, but I really wanted to close with the Lily Evans being plastered on James' wall thing. I hope you all got it. That's the décor- the wallpaper is Lily Evan's face. I wasn't sure how to say it and still be the narrator and… yeah. I thought it was cute :)