We Have to What?
Chapter Seven
Diagon Alley Maneuvering
Summary: Lily and James are told by Dumbledore that in order to be Head Boy and Girl in their seventh year at Hogwarts, they have to learn to live together! In a two room flat! Chaos ensues…
So Far: Lily and James move in together, and must complete several tasks before going to Hogwarts as Head students together. They go to a dinner party where they take part in charades, all the while being punished if they argue. These are lifted, and the two are required to take a 12-hour polyjuice potion to switch places. They are then instructed to go to Diagon Alley to fetch their stuff for school. To note, Lily is Lily in James' body, and vice versa. And so beginneth the chapter…
Rated: PG-13 for sexuality. Some language, but that would probably be mostly PG language. No violence as of yet.
Disclaimer: I feel kind of guilty that I never put one up, so here it is. I don't own anything you recognize. I do own Podis Bagmore (mentioned in Ch.1)
When Lily had finally stepped out of James' bedroom, the two Heads were on their way to Diagon Alley, having decided to take the train.
They spoke very little, but it was a comfortable silence. Lily was reading a gossip magazine she had procured from one of the vendors at the subway station, earning many a strange look from middle-aged women wondering why a teenaged boy was reading Glamour. All Lily could do was grin at herself. Let them wonder, she said.
James, completing the strange disguise, was reading a football magazine, frequently looking up and asking absurd questions about the muggle sport, such as,
"Why would you want to kick a ball into a goal?" and,
"Flying is much more fun than running. I don't know how they do it," and,
"Who cares if some ref hurt his ankle while in a mob of players angry at his foul call? Quidditch refs disappear and die all the time."
People were giving the petite redhead in a tank top and a miniskirt yelling loudly about the absurdness of football sideways glances, trying to pretend that they weren't listening.
James caught Lily's eye after an old lady was pretending not to stare at them, and leaned towards her. Shocked, Lily leaned back until she realized that James was just moving to whisper in her ear.
"See that old lady?" he asked, "Want to give her a show?"
Lily smiled and nodded. This would be fun.
She turned to James, not once thinking how weird it was to be stroking her own leg, and whispered in his ear.
"Old ladies have dirty minds."
James grinned and gave the tiniest of head bobs.
"Isn't it weird for you to have yourself touching you?" she asked. James smiled again, and turned closer to her.
In retrospect, Lily would wonder why she hadn't shied away from this show. She supposed it was because she told herself that it wasn't James she was touching, but herself. Which sort of made it better.
Getting off the train, the two were breathless with laughter.
"Did you see her face? I thought she was going to wet her trousers!" said James. Lily laughed again, tears streaming out of her eyes.
Suddenly, both calmed down, and silence transformed into an awkward one. Neither really knew what to say, or do for that matter.
Luckily, the two were interrupted by a sudden shout.
"JAMES!" A large lump of something barreled straight into Lily's side. Lily, who was completely unprepared promptly fell down in the middle of the street. She heard a giggle and scowled up at James who was trying unsuccessfully to hide the wide smile on his face. Lily looked at who had knocked into her.
"Bl—Sirius!" she exclaimed. James, still looking down on them, winced at her near mistake.
"Oy mate! You've disappeared off the face of the earth since old Dumbledore sent you to live with Evans. Where is she anyway.?" Lily raised her face to the figure of herself looking down on the two friends. Sirius followed the gaze and started, then whistled softly,
"Wow Evans. When'd you get so damn sexy?"
James smiled flirtatiously at Sirius, while Lily sat on the ground scowling. Black should know her better than that. Granted, she had never really talked to him, but she didn't exactly wear clothes like that on a day to day basis.
"C'mon Sirius," Lily finally grunted, lurching to her feet, "Let's go school shopping."
Sirius turned back to James, who was standing a few feet away from them.
"What about Evans?" he said in a stage whisper, trying to be secretive but failing miserably. After a pining look from James, Lily sighed.
"She can come with us until she finds her friends."
Sirius looked between the two, "Why so solemn-looking James mate, you've only been in love with Evans for, like, ever." Both Lily and James turned red, and Lily noted that she looked extremely flushed when embarrassed. Sirius looked again between the two, noting to himself that they were both blushing. Which could mean something. Also, they weren't fighting so far. Also a good sign in Operation Get Lily and James Together, or, simply put, Operation Sexy Beast.
Two hours later, the three were sitting at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor laughing at a joke Sirius had just told.
"So, then I said 'I haven't seen any flying pink elephants! I don't know what you're talking about!'"
They roared in laughter, and Sirius dribbled some ice cream down his chin, naturally causing all three of them to laugh even harder.
When the had eventually calmed down, Sirius turned to Lily, "You know, I'm sort of glad that your mates didn't make it today, Evans. No offense, but I always thought you were more of a tight-ass than you really are."
Lily fumed, "I am no—OW!" she cried, hit by a large stiletto heel. James was glaring at her, and Lily noted that she looked sort of sexy when glaring. Then she remembered why she was mad, and said, "I have to go to the loo."
She stood up and made it halfway there when she was stopped by James.
"What were you doing in there?" he hissed angrily, "You almost gave away our cover!"
"I forgot, okay!"
"Since when does Lily the tight-ass ever forget anything?"
"I do to forget—argh! James! You are a little, very annoying, red-headed female git right now!"
James just smiled, "Ah, but remember that that red-headed female git is you to everyone else in the room."
Lily just glared, then marched back to her seat. Sirius was sitting there smiling, his arms folded across his chest.
"Lover's spat?" he asked, ignoring the waves of hate being sent to him by the two other teenagers.
"I'll have you know," said James, sitting up, "that I get in plenty of trouble."
"Oh yeah," retorted Lily, "tell me about it," daring him to say something.
James just smiled smugly back at her, "Well, there was this one time, when I thought no one was looking, that I snuck out of Hogwarts at night to go clubbing in London. I stayed the weekend there. I told Dumbledore, when he asked where I had been, that I had been visiting a sick relative."
Lily gasped in horror. How did James know about that?
"Another time, I went into the forbidden forest at a full moon to see if I could find a werewolf, but I was chased away by a frightening stag with a huge head of beautiful antlers."
By this time, Sirius, who was no dummy, although people often thought he was, was catching on to James.
"Hey Evans, can I talk to you for a second, alone?"
James glanced at Lily, who had panic in her eyes, then grinned at Sirius.
"Sure, mate!" The two shared a glance, and then it was unnecessary for Sirius to talk to James alone.
"How did you do it?" he whispered, this time actually quietly.
"We can't tell you," Lily said. But at the same time,
"Dumbledore made us."
Lily rolled her eyes and sunk down in her chair angrily. If he was going to blow the cover, fine, but she was not going to take any of the blame for it.
Around five o clock that afternoon, Lily and James finally began speaking again, and by the time it was dark and they were almost home, around ten at night, they were bantering playfully.
As they approached the house, however, the banter stopped. James turned to Lily, looking serious.
"Hey Lily. Don't get mad at me, but I was wondering if, maybe, it would be strange to, you know, hug yourself."
"Um…why do you ask that?"
By this time, they had arrived on the front step. James stopped and looked up at Lily.
"I just think it would be fun. Before we change back, to see what it's like."
Lily paused, but then looked thoughtful. "Okay then."
"Really?" And the amount of joy that was present on James' – well Lily's really – face when she said that confused Lily even more. Did James really like her?
But she could think about it anymore because James had moved forward. Lily suddenly moved towards him too, and they bumped elbows. Lily laughed nervously.
And then they were hugging. It wasn't romantic or intimate, because, well, it was frankly just weird to be hugging yourself. After a few seconds, Lily pulled back, but James hung on, then looked up at Lily with such a longing in his eyes that she moved down to give him a kiss on the lips.
A wind blew up around the two, and magic filled the air. Lily felt her body changing, but she couldn't leave James' lip. They were connected.
Then the wind died down. Lily froze. She wrenched her lips away from James and stared at him, shocked. She turned and ran back down the pathway. She wanted to be anywhere but near him.
"Lily!" she heard a call behind him, but she didn't stop running.
Finally, when she thought she was far enough away, she stopped, completely out of breath. She knew James wouldn't be able to catch her because he hadn't gotten his apparition license yet. She could, so she could go back whenever she wanted.
Sitting down on the wooden bench near her, she told herself that she would close her eyes for just a few minutes, but soon her head was filled with dreams, visions of a raven haired quidditch player filling her mind.
A/N: SORRY! I've just been so busy with school and stuff that I haven't even gone near any of my stories for months. And I've lost several of my computers, because they've died, that all had beginnings of this chapter in them. I suppose there's really no excuse though. If you still remember this story, please review!
Crystaltambaia
