I do not own anything you reconize, which is any of the wonderful characters that JK Rowling has brought into our world, and I do not own the story of Cinderella. But this time i do own this story Erin sorry about last story i was just doing something i didnt want u to read it so i sorry hope I forgiven.Thanks
It was middle November, windy and cold as it usually was at this time of year. The only sounds that could be heard on the Hogwarts grounds where the far off cries of the unknown animals deep in the Forbidden Forrest and the swishing of the wind. But inside the large castle that dominated those grounds, it was anything but quiet.
Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, had just posted the date of the annual Seventh Years Masquerade Ball, and everyone was overly excited. Well, all the girls where; except for one.
"Oh Lil, isn't it wonderful?" Erin Schwartiz asked giddily to her best friend Lily Evans as they watched the hordes of girls clustering around the announcement board outside the Great Hall; talking excitingly to each other about their new dress robes.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Lily replied flatly as her sparkling emerald eyes gazed over ar the giggling girls. "It's just a ball."
"Oh Lily, you and your non girlish ways," Erin joked. She flipped her magically straightened light brown hair over her shoulder before continuing. "To every seventeen year old girl, this is a really big deal. This is a time to get all dollied up, and to try and get with the guy they like. It's a once in a lifetime chance." She explained.
"And I should care about this why?" Lily inquired, shaking her head of red hair slightly.
"Well, you really don't have to. I mean, you have all the looks that all girls dream of, and you already have the perfect guy." Erin pointed out, her honey-brown eyes showing the slightest hint of envy.
"Erin, you know that I am not the prettiest girl in the school, and that I am no prettier than you are. And let's get something straight," Lily's voice hardened and became a deathly low. "This so called 'Perfect Guy' you're talking about, I don't have one. I don't want one, I don't need one, and I HATE him."
"Well since we're on the subject of James Potter, then why hasn't he asked you out to the Ball eight times yet?"
"I don't know," Lily paused, then her face brightened up and she finished hopefully, "Maybe one of his fan club girls got to him and he knew I would say no, so he decided to go with her."
"I highly doubt that, Lil." Erin remarked skeptically.
"Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?" Lily asked in mock offence as they entered the Great Hall and took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table.
"So Prongs, when are you going to ask Evans to the ball?" Sirius Black, James' best friend, inquired as he stuffed a large piece of toast into his mouth.
"That's gross Sirius. Keep your mouth shut." Remus Lupin protested as Sirius stared expectingly at James, his mouth open to reveal some very mushy pieces of heavily buttered toast.
"I'm not going to." James muttered as he pushed his scrambled eggs around the plate.
"And why not?" Sirius asked shocked, some pieces of toast falling onto his plate.
"Because. She'll hate me more. And maybe she might think of me as an okay guy if I don't ask her out every second of the day."
"Moony, I believe something terrible has happened to our old buddy Prongs here."
"Oh, and what exactally do you believe is ''wrong with him"?" Remus asked in an amused manner.
"One, he has only asked Evans out four times this year, and two, he hasn't asked her out to the ball and won't. He's just acting weird."
"Well, I think I have a conclusion for you, Sirius."
"Really? What is it? Tell me what's wrong with him!"
"I think that James here has matured."
"What?" Sirius asked confused.
"Let me put it into terms you'd understand," James said. "I deflated my big head a bit. That make sense?"
"Yep. So, you're not going to ask Evans out to the Ball?"
James simply glared at Sirius before looking at the two girls that where sitting at the far end of the table. He sighed sadly as he stared at her for so long that he lost track of time. He didn't know if it was a minute, a hour, a day, or even a week. He was content with simply staring and memorizing her every feature.
"Prongs. Prongs? PRONGS!" Sirius yelled into James' ear, making him jump several inches into the air.
"What?" James asked annoyed.
"Are you going to ask Evans to the ball or not?" Sirius repeated.
"Sirius, you are impossible." Remus remarked laughing before he opened up his Potions book and began to read.
"James is staring at you again." Lily rolled her eyes and ignored him; though she could feel his penetrating gaze upon her. She once more tried to concentrate on the book that she had proped up against the side of the table.
"What are you reading?" Erin asked conversationally as she sipped her pumpkin juice.
''Book."
"What book?"
Lily looked up annoyed. "A book." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and continued reading.
"Could you at least tell me the author?" Erin sighed.
"Grimm."
"Grimm. I know that name. Where do I know that name?"
"Cinderella."
"That's it!" She snapped her fingers and looked at her friend oddly. "You're reading a fairy tale book?"
"Yeah, so what. Something wrong with that?"
"No, it's just that, well-"
"It's just what?"
"Well, no one really reads fairy tale books anymore. They're for-"
"For what?" Lily snapped. "For children? Is that what you where going to say?"
"No, for..for.."
"Muggleborns." Lily finished and stormed out of the Great Hall, slinging her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the lake.
When she reached the lake, Lily's anger had subsided. She had no reason to get mad at her friend, she just overracted. But still, Erin was a pureblood and hadn't grown up with them like she had. It was childish to read about beautiful princesses getting into dangerous peril and then having a handsome prince slay the dragon and the two of them falling in love; it just wasn't realistic.
She sighed once again and opened to the last page of the story that she had been reading, her favorite, Cinderella. 'She was then taken to the Prince, who fell immediately in love with her again, and they lived happily ever after.' She closed the book and rested her head against the tree trunk that shaded her from the mild autumn sun. Lily closed her eyes and admist the swirling wind, she managed to doze off slightly.
James watched as Lily angrily stormed away from her friend and out the Great Hall doors while Sirius was rambling on to him about something Quidditch.
"...and Prongs, we desperately need a new beater, cause Tom says he's done, he quit. Didn't like all the work and things so you need to hold tryouts soon, okay? Prongs!" He yelled annoyed that his best friend wasn't paying any attention to him. Sirius followed his gaze and saw where it led. "Now she's on her own, ask her now." He whispered.
"No, I'm not going to ask her."
"Why not? It's alright for Wormtail to show up alone-"
"Hey!" Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, picked up his head from his plate of eggs and glared at Sirius.
"- but for you it's just sad." Sirius finished as if Wormtail had never spoken.
"So? We'll all be wearing masks so it's not like anyone's going to reconize me."
"James? Your hair is pretty reconizable." Wormtail pointed out.
"Not really, there are a lot of guys with black hair."
"Yeah, true, but yours is the only one that sticks out like that." Remus pointed out regretfully.
''So I'll use potion. Or maybe I won't even go." James mumbled.
"No, you have to go. Marauder's prank." Sirius insisted and Peter nodded his head in agreement. "Moony, whip up some potion for Prongs to use for the ball... and, now that I think about it, try and find a spell that'll make his eyesight perfect."
"Why?"
"Because, if Prongs doesn't want girls fawning over him, then he'll want to look like every other guy there... who won't be wearing glasses."
"What do you say to that, James?" Remus asked.
"Fine, I don't really care." He grumbled, "Why are we making such a big deal about this ball?"
"Because, it needs to be perfect so we can mess it up with another one of our marvelous pranks." Peter piped up over his goblet of pumpkin juice.
"Exactally," Sirius nodded, "Speaking of which, what shall it be this year? Just the Slytherins or everyone? What do you think, Prongs?"
"Slytherins, Snivellus and his group in perticular." James said, his mood brightening now that the subject of conversation was off him. "I was actually thinking that this year we use the house elves to help us..."
The cool breeze ruffled Lily's hair as she made her way back to the castle to get started on her homework; while she passed many students of different years coming outside to enjoy the cool weather on that fine Saturday. When she reached the portriat of Aelphaba the Wicked on the fifth floor she stopped in front of it, waiting patiently for the figure inside to realize her presence.
"Oh, hello." The green skined witch said stiffly. "Password?"
"Carpe Diem." Lily said walking through the hole behind the portrait that led to the Head's common room. The lavishly decorated room in every house color was twice as spacious as the Gryffindor common room. It had a huge marble fireplace which was always magically burning so that the flames never died down and large, comfortable armchairs and couches surrounding it.
Although when she walked in, she saw that none other then the famous Marauders occuping the couches, pieces of parchment scattered around them and the floor, with their heads all leaned in close together, whispering intently.
"No...too dangerous..." She heard Remus' warning whispered tones.
"Oh...not that bad...it's blue...turn them-"
"What are you planing now?" She interupted Sirius, making her presense known. All four boys turned around at the sight of her and Sirius nudged James 'discretly' in the side.
"Evans! Fancy seeing you here." Sirius replied beaming, ignoring her question as he and Peter struggled to hide the papers.
"If you plan on pranking anyone and I mean anyone during the ball, you'll-"
"Be marked down in Hogwarts history?" Sirius finished, getting up, "Thanks Evans, you're too kind." He brushed pass her and hurried out the portrait hole with Remus and Peter in tow.
James kept his gaze down at the fire and couldn't and wouldn't look into Lily's piercing stare.
"So..." She trailed off, hands on her hips, staring at him angrily.
"So what?"
"Potter, we have been planning this ball for months! You know how important this is to all the Seventh Years! You can't just decide that you and your friends want to ruin it because you can't think of anyway better to spend your time!"
"People like our pranks, Lily. No one's going to mind." James said absently, getting up and walking towards his dorm room.
"Yeah, everyone except the Slytherins. And did you just call me Lily?" He stopped at his door, his right hand clasped around the brass door knob and turned to look at her.
"Yeah, something wrong with that?" She just stood there, staring at him, and walked angrily towards her room; trying to ignore the odd feeling that she felt when he said her first name.
'It was a twinge of hatred, no loathing. Yes, loathing's a much better word.' She thought once she was in the safety of her room. 'But, why did he call me Lily? I haven't been any nicer to him, and him likewise to me. Although, he hasn't asked me out that much this year, but still...' Her thoughts drifted away as she fell into a sleep where she felt nothing, thought nothing and dreamed nothing.
James watched her sadly as she walked through the door to her room and slammed it shut behind her. He sighed and entered his own room and fell face first onto the large four-poster bed.
'Great job, Potter. You freaked her out. You tried to actually be nice to her and you make her angry by answering with another rude retort. Absoulte genius.' He slammed his head down on the scarlet comforter repeadily until he heard a faint whispering.
"Prongs!... Prongs!" James brought his head up confused and looked at his nightstand where a mirror lay amongst the pieces of parchment and books. He smiled slightly and picked up the rather light mirror and brought it close to his face.
"Hello Padfoot." His smile grew wider as he saw Sirius' come into view, his black hair hanging against the sides of his face.
"There you are. Been wondering when you'd hear me. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Well, I just wanted to tell you that I just came back from talking with the house elves. They told me where the Slytherin table would be during the ball. It's all too easy."
"Yeah, it should be. But, how are we going to get them to smell it? We can't put it in the food."
"There's going to be flowers. We replace the flowers with ones that'll squirt out the spray and then they'll smell it."
"What about the other tables? Won't we smell it too?"
"No, we're confining it to one perticular area. Moony's figuring it out in the library with Wormtail as we speak."
"Cool. Wait- Wormtail's in the library?" James asked unbelevingly.
"Yeah, why?"
"Just didn't know he could read, that's all."
"Yeah, it was a surprise to me too when he told me that he was going to help Moony. Anyway, back to the spray. Have you got anymore or do we have to make it?"
"No, I have some Padfoot, don't worry. It's clear, so that's a good thing. They won't be able to see it."
Sirius smiled maliciously. "Excellent. Look, it's dinner. How 'bout we continue this conversation in the Great Hall with Moony and Wormtail? And we have to talk extra loud to make sure that Evans hears us."
"No, let's not." James said immediately. "She's really angry right now."
"Why? You ask her out finally?"
"No. She doesn't want us to go through with the prank. And I called her Lily, so I guess she's not too happy about that either."
"Why wouldn't she be happy about you calling her Lily? I mean, if you call a girl by their first name doesn't that mean that you've matured?" Sirius asked confused.
"'Matured'? Why are you using such large vocabulary, Padfoot?"
"I've been hanging out with Moony too much; now that you've always got head duties. You never answered my question."
"I don't know. I mean, I guess it does mean that I've matured, but... then again, it's just her name. It's not like I've done anything else besides not asking her out that'll make her think me a better person."
"Huh? Wait, I'm confused."
"Don't try to think too hard, Padfoot. You'll hurt yourself. I'll see you at dinner." James smiled at his friend and placed the mirror back on the nighttable before getting up and leaving his room. He turned his head towards Lily's room and saw her also leaving, her hair slightly messed up and her eyes bright from sleep.
"I'm sorry," James said to her as they walked out of the portrait hole and down the corridor. "For what I did to make you mad."
She looked at him with a mix of surprise and shock before nodding her head slightly, "You're forgiven. And I'm sorry too, for overracting." She mumbled as she quickened her step and entered the Great Hall.
Lily spotted Erin at the end of the table, sitting by herself and playing with the salad that she had on her plate. "Hi."
Erin looked up and saw her friend. "Hi." She mumbled in response, resuming playing with her food.
Lily sat down next to her and immediately felt bad that her temper had gotten the best of her again. "I'm sorry."
Erin looked up slightly. "For what?"
"For letting my temper get the best of me. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you for that."
"It's okay. I shouldn't have said anything about the book. So, we're alright?" Erin asked tentively.
"Yeah, we're great."
"So, anyone ask you to the ball yet?" Erin said, perking up immediately, and Lily smiled.
Thanks plz read and review there will be 3 or more chapters