For those of us who love Lily and James, the theater, music, dancing, and life. A little babble of my heart.
Enjoy the story,
-S.J.D.


"You wanted to see me, Professor McGonagall?" Lily asked quietly as she poked her head through the door of the Transfigurations classroom. The older woman, kind, though stern, looked up from her desk and held her hand out to greet the young witch, motioning to a transfigured chair in front of her desk.

"Ah, yes, Miss Evans, come in, please. Sit." Lily nodded and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. If this was any matter of academic concern, which she guessed that it most likely was, then she wouldn't want anyone to see her crying. Transfigurations was Lily Evans' absolute worst subject, though, it was similar to Charms, her best subject, she observed as she shuffled across the floor. So why should she be so awful at Transfigurations? Yes, it required much more concentration, precise wand movements, and correctly pronounced incantations, but was that so difficult? Lily knew it shouldn't be, and maybe one of these days she would find out why she couldn't even do the things that the wizards in the Muggle stories could always do: turn one thing into something else. It was stereotypical of her, but perhaps she had been brainwashed into questioning her magical ability that way because Petunia always did.

Lily held her head up and brushed off the thought of Petunia, refusing to think about her sister right now. Then she would start crying even before Professor McGonagall told her she was failing. She nodded to the woman, whose greyish-green eyes behind her spectacles hadn't left her since she entered, and sank down into the comfy chair, remembering, for once, to sit up straight as her mother had taught her. If she thinks I'm well-mannered, maybe she won't be angry with me, Lily thought, trying it out.

"How are you?" McGonagall asked first. Lily tried to keep the note of surprise out of her voice.

"I'm…I'm well, Professor, and yourself?" Lily said slowly, choosing her words carefully. Incorrect grammar was a luxury she could not afford at the moment, she thought, and silently allowed her cool to punch her worried mind, cursing herself for being so uptight under this pressure.

"Fine. Anyway, first things first. How are your classes?" Minerva continued, marking things on her papers every few moments. Lily straightened her neck up even further, not allowing herself to squirm under the Professor's steady eye.

"Good. Very good. I'm glad to be finding everything I'm learning so interesting." Her lips dripped with the honeyed words. Might as well sugar-coat some things in this world. Oh, Lily, you enormous suck-up. McGonagall seemed not to notice her deliberate kissing up, and smiled briefly as she looked up from the stack of papers that was becoming smaller and smaller as the clock ticked in the corner of the room.

"Wonderful. But, I did not call you here to talk about your grades. I was wondering if you might consider doing a sort of…extra service, if I excused you from your nightly prefect duties to take care of this..."

Lily only heard half of what she was saying. She was far too busy subtly sighing with relief after the Professor had clearly said, "I did not call you here to talk about your grades." Professor McGonagall seemed to notice and chuckled lightly. "Always worried about school, are we, Miss Evans? No matter, that's a crucial quality to possess as a student. Anyway, I was going to say that I have heard from friends of yours in my house that you are a talented dancer and choreographer. Am I false, or can you confirm this?" Lily's dark red eyebrows shot up. How…oh, was she going to murder Alice later. Not wanting to keep McGonagall waiting for an answer, Lily stammered,

"Ah…w-well, I…y-you see, I…erm…" Lily looked up from the floor where her eyes had immediately run away to as soon as McGonagall had asked her the question and gulped. Professor McGonagall was still smiling, looking rather amused at the moment. Lily swallowed hard and removed her index finger from the hair that had, she guessed, probably not twined itself around it. "I mean, I love to dance, Professor McGonagall. I have for years. I did always in my Muggle life before I came here, and I still train in dancing when I go home in the summers. Why do you ask?"

Professor McGonagall was clearly trying not to laugh at Lily's nervousness. "Well, dear, that is enough proof for me. The Head Boy and Head Girl have expressed their desire for student-produced entertainment at this school, and the Headmaster Dumbledore has most emphatically approved of their suggestions. I was wondering if you would be willing to offer your services as a choreographer for a show sometime this term. You would not be alone, certainly, and we would be very appreciative. What do you think?"

Lily stared, her mouth agape, for several seconds before she caught her breath and sat up straighter. "That sounds awfully tempting, Professor, but how much more would you be able to tell me about all of this before I can agree to anything?"

"We already have a director. Do you know Emelia Ponder?" Lily tilted her head, thinking. Emmy! Oh, I love Emmy! She'll be wonderful as a director, too! She's so creative! Lily nodded vigorously.

"From Hufflepuff?"

"Yes. Also, I've spoken to Johannah Caseley already. She has agreed to be co-choreographer. You know Johannah, I presume?" Lily nodded again. Johannah was a sweet, very pretty brown-haired, grey-eyed fifth-year girl in Gryffindor. "You should speak to Emelia and ask her what her ideas are and then you and Johannah can decide how much time you will need to hold rehearsals and auditions. There are throngs of students here at Hogwarts that are willing to participate as dancers, and some of them may not be very good yet, but they can be trained, as your friends have told me that you say very often."

Lily's lips spread into a small smile and her eyes softened. Maybe I don't have to kill Alice or anyone after all, she thought, ideas slowly forming in her mind and gaining her approval. McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I do not believe I have left any information out. Should you choose to be a contributor, you three have the full support of the staff here. Will you think about it, Miss Evans?" Lily pressed her lips together, her eyes not looking at any particular place, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. This sounded like a really fun and entertaining idea. Lily loved to dance just as much as she loved being a good student, and, realizing this, she knew she could put a balance between the two when time management came to be questioned. She knew immediately that she wanted her chance to prove that her capability loomed beyond the classroom. She looked up to the Professor and smiled.

"Yes, Professor. I love the idea, and I'll surely think about it. I'll talk to Emmy when I see her. Thank you, very much, Professor." Professor McGonagall beamed with what Lily recognized as house pride.

"Wonderful, Miss Evans. I know you are very capable and responsible. I think we'll expect great things out of this show, if you decide it suits your fancy." Professor McGonagall reached across the table to shake Lily's hand, then let her go.

Lily walked away from the classroom with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Toe, ball, heel, toe, ball, heel, she found herself thinking as she shifted the balance between the different areas of her feet. Merlin, I really am a dancer, she thought, smiling a tiny bit wider to herself. Yes, indeed, this was going to be fun. She ran up to the Owlery quickly to send a message to Emmy. Taking a sheet of parchment and a quill from her bag, Lily scrawled,

Dear Emmy,

Professor McGonagall asked me to be a choreographer in this show. I must say, I'm really excited about the idea. Can I talk to you soon about your ideas? I think you'll be an extraordinary director, Emmy! Any ideas you've got, I'm sure I'll love them! I need to know what I can work with and how much time we will need to prepare for this. Write back soon, please.

Best wishes,

Lily Evans

Lily finished the note, satisfied, and beckoned her brown and white tawny owl, Braun, to come down from his perch on one of the beams with some treats. He flew down and landed on her arm, nipping her forehead lovingly. She giggled, gave him the treats, and tied the letter to his leg. "Good boy, Braun. Fly that to Emmy Ponder, will you?" With that, Braun pecked her index finger and took off. She smiled as she watched him fly away, then gathered up her things and practically skipped down the stairs.

Ever since her friendship with Sev-Snape, she corrected herself, had so abruptly ended, Lily hadn't been sure how to fill her time. She was great friends with the other sixth-year girls in her dorm, but she had missed out on much over the years from spending so much time with her no-longer best friend. She hadn't been happy, either. She only went about her days, adhering to her prefect duties, completing her work, doing her best, ignoring the fact that some people looked down on her because she was a Muggleborn, and ignoring James Bloody Potter, of course. Lily stopped skipping and slapped her forehead, then kept walking. Why must he so rudely interrupt her train of thought? Anyway, she had had no choice but to let life pass by while she couldn't get much enjoyment out of it. Now, she could show her peers what did make her happy and that she was talented at it.


Lily was walking with Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, and Alice Prewett from their last class that day. They were nearing the courtyard and lingered in the corridor right next to the big, green open space.

"So, how do you think you did on that Defense Against the Dark Arts exam today, Lily?" Marlene asked. Lily smiled.

"I thought it was easy, and I got an Outstanding, but I was having a bit of trouble defending against the Black arts trying to copy off me," she joked. The girls giggled lightly and Dorcas chuckled loudly.

"Lily Evans, only you would completely ignore the obvious pun on Sirius Black's first name and go for the much less obvious one on his last name. You, my friend, are a creative genius." Lily flashed her pearly-whites sweetly.

"I know," she squeaked with mock pride. More giggles erupted from the group as they passed through the entrance to the courtyard and sank by one of the trees, basking in the sun that had decided to peek out on this September day. Hestia and Emmeline rolled up their sleeves and laid out with their palms facing upward with their eyes closed. Alice shook her head.

"Honestly? Why would you even try tanning at this time of year?" she asked, snorting and shaking her head.

"Because, dear Alice," Hestia said with a low, sophisticated voice as she lowered pretend shades from her eyes and piercing her friend with her bright, gold stare, "if you make no attempt at tanning, you aren't a real woman." She placed the fake shades back on her eyes and folded her hands behind her head, eyes closed toward the blue sky once more. Dorcas, Alice, Marlene, and Lily looked at one another and burst into laughter.

"So, you're saying that Lily can't possibly be a real woman? Tanning's dangerous for her," Marlene said between snickers.

"Hey!" Lily socked her in the arm affectionately.

"What, Lil? It is! If you even step out in sun, you turn into a lobster."

"I do not! It takes much longer than that. You're exaggerating."

"I just complimented you on your not-so-obvious Transfigurations genius, you're welcome, and you thank me like that? Merlin's pants, Lily, thank you," Marlene said sarcastically, but smiling. Lily snorted and fell back on the grass, squinting up at the clouds. One of them, strangely, looked a lot like Braun…

"EEE!" Lily shrieked as a letter in the form of a large roll of parchment dropped onto her face and Braun landed next to her head and hooted, proud of himself for carrying such a heavy load. Lily chuckled and gazed at his large, happy brown eyes as she dug a treat for him out of her pocket and fed it to him. "Proud of you, Braun, that was incredible," she laughed, ignoring the snickers coming from her friends.

"Really, Lil? You scare too easy," Emmeline laughed. Lily sat back on her elbows and frowned at Emmeline.

"Ba-ha-ha," she said sarcastically. "You'd have thought he was a cloud, too, because it's so bright out here," she fronted, shading her eyes with her hand.

"Lobster," Dorcas coughed. "OUCH!" followed as Lily's hand flew through the air and smacked her in the back of the head. Lily smiled contentedly and unrolled the parchment. She wondered why it was so long, but then she looked inside and understood. Emmy's handwriting had always been rather huge and she tended to talk a lot…

Dearest Lily Flower Evans,

HOORAY! I am UNBELIEVABLY excited that YOU'RE excited about this! I hope you can manage the time to fit it into your schedule because if you join with Johannah and I on this, this show will be quite SPECTACULAR. FANTASTIC. BLOODY AMAZING. People will be begging for MERLIN'S PANTS and growing MERLIN'S BEARD over this show if you join. I've seen you dance before, Lil, and I KNOW you're fantastic! Why didn't you ever teach me how? I've ALWAYS wanted to do that!

Anyway, I want you to read this document and destroy it as soon as you're done reading. As you read, look over your shoulder right now to make sure no one's spying! This has to be an absolute SURPRISE. And if you say anything, you may be hearing a stray "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Just joking. But really. Look over your shoulder right now, and make sure no one's looking. (Lily did.) Do it. Go on. Now. Is the coast clear? GOOD! Now that no one is listening in rudely on this conversation (which Lily noted was a bit one-sided), I can disclose to you, Lily Flower Evans, the most important information in the history of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Feed on all my words, Lil. Drink them up. ENJOY THEM. BECAUSE, my flower friend, if you do, THIS SHOW WILL BE QUITE SPECTACULAR. FANTASTIC. BLOODY AMAZING. PEOPLE WILL BE BEGGING FOR MERLIN'S PANTS AND GROWING MERLIN'S BEARD OVER THIS SHOW. Did I say that already? Oh, yes, I did. Oh well. Anyway, listen up. (Bloody hell, could that girl talk!)

This show is going to be a revue. It'll be a showcase of mostly dancing, with SOME singing thrown in. You don't have to sing if you don't want to, because I remember you once mentioning to me that you weren't much of a singer (How right you are, Ponder). That's okay. You dance and be pretty, as always. Anyway, the songs I've chosen are from Muggle films that I know many of our students are fond of, except those numpties of the world called Slytherins, who have no clue what they're missing. Some of the songs are: "Cell Block Tango" from the movie Chicago, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from Grease, (which I was thinking would be great for YOU to waltz to! Maybe you could get Frank Longbottom to do that! He's always had quite the happy feet, I should say), and many others! We can do ANYTHING we want with this show! McGonagall told you we had her and the teachers' full backing! This is SO EXCITING!

Anyway, life calls. I really must run. But write back to me that you can or can't meet with Johannah and myself in the library tonight at 10:00. I know that's after curfew, but I've gotten notes from McGonagall that excuse us for being out of bed then, yours is enclosed with this lovely owl of yours (he was so polite, by the way, you should reward him), and I know you know how to sneak into the library, you booky prefect, you. (Wink wink.)

And as I've said before, with your help, THIS SHOW WILL BE SPECTACULAR. FANTASTIC. BLOODY AMAZING. People will be begging for MERLIN'S PANTS and growing MERLIN'S BEARD OVER IT.

Over and out,
Emmy Ponder, Director of Said Show

Lily had to work hard as she read through the entire letter to make sure no one was spying and that she read it as passively as she would be reading a chapter in her History of Magic textbook. She, with great difficulty, succeeded in not laughing at Emmy's personality and wit. She really did want it to be a surprise up until the auditions, and not seem suspicious to her friends' eyes, which she now realized had been watching for several minutes now.

"What's it say, Lily?" Alice asked.

"Oh, it's…nothing. It's from my mum. Petunia's antics, again," she lied. They bought it and rolled their eyes.

"That girl never runs out of any, does she?" Marlene asked knowingly. Lily pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Never. Oh, shoot. I left something up in the dorm. Listen, I'll catch up with you all at dinner, okay? Happy Thursday!" she said, letting Braun hop onto her forearm and hurrying out of the courtyard, not stopping to let her friends say anything. They were too busy lazing about, anyway, Lily noted, thankful.

She stopped in at the Owlery again, and let Braun off her arm to visit with some of his friend as she scribbled,

Emmy,

You're a genius. See you and Jo tonight at 10.

Sincerely,

Lily Sneaky-Stealthy Evans