Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters you recognise.
School Reunion Part 1
Three years later
"How are you and Remus doing Keira?" Carys asked her best friend as they sat down.
Keira looked around after putting her bags down in the hallway and smiled. "We're doing well thanks. He's been really sweet recently – buying me dinner or cooking for me; bringing me breakfast in bed every weekend. Mind you, it's like he's trying to make up for something"
"I'm sure its just Remus making sure you are happy." Angharad said kindly.
"You're not worried about it are you?" Lily asked, watching her friend carefully.
"Yea, I am worried. What if he's cheating on me. I don't think I'd be able to cope." She said, sitting down as tears began forming in her eyes. The other girls exchanged looks. They knew Remus wasn't cheating on her, in fact he was planning on asking her to marry him.
"Remus is not like that, and you know that. He loves you." Carys said.
"Carys is right. Remus isn't like that. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation. Why don't you talk to him about it?" Lily said, reassuring her friend. The girls fell silent, all thinking about how the relationships within the group had changed.
After leaving school, each of the couples stayed together for at least a year until Lily and James became the first couple to break it off. Although they were very happy together, they found work and the death of family members got in the way. When Lily's younger bother, Harry, and mother, Juliet, were killed by deatheaters, she became very depressed. James was still training to be an auror and was rarely home because of the intense training sessions. He had to go away for a lot of them too. Lily needed support, and although Sirius, who was like a brother to her, was always there for her, she needed James. They broke up a year after leaving Hogwarts.
Carys and Sirius were the next couple to break up but you could tell they still loved each other, the pain each felt when they saw each other with another person was unbearable. Only Keira and Remus and Angharad and Paul remained together.
The silence continued until Lily stood up and opened the window. A brown and white owl came flying through the window carrying four letters. Lily walked over to the sink and prepared a small bowl of water for it before walking over to the owl, placing the bowl next to it and untying the letters from its leg.
On the first letter she read Miss Evans and Miss Thompson-Jones, Miss Harper and Miss Collins on the other three.
"Theres one for all of us." She said, handing the girls their letters before sitting down to read her own. It read:
Lily Marie Evans
We are delighted to invite you to a reunion for the class of 1976 of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry taking place at the school in the Great Hall. The reunion will take place next Friday, July 18th, at 7pm. During the reunion, there will be a feast and drinks, however, snacks will be available all night, as well as the chance to catch up with old friends. We ask that you wear formal attire for the occasion.
We have set up arraration sites just outside the school grounds in Hogsmeade ready for your arrival. We advise that the earliest you start to arrive is 6:45 as this is when the school will first open. We hope to be see you then.
Albus Dumbeldore – Headmaster
Minerva McGonagall – Deputy Head Mistress
"I was wondering if we'd get a reunion. Are you going to take Micheal, show him off a bit" Carys said, looking up at Lily with a smirk.
"No. James will be there, I don't want to hurt him"
"What, and make him feel like he has a chance?"
Meanwhile – at James' House
James Potter had just gotten home from a long, tiring day of Auror training, to find three owls waiting on his bed. He walked over to the one closest to him and untied the letter. It read:
Dear James Christian Potter
We are delighted to invite you to a reunion for the class of 1976 of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry taking place at the school in the Great Hall. The reunion will take place next Friday, July 18th, at 7pm. During the reunion, there will be a feast and drinks, however, snacks will be available all night, as well as the chance to catch up with old friends. We ask that you wear formal attire for the occasion.
We have set up arraration sites just outside the school grounds in Hogsmeade ready for your arrival. We advise that the earliest you start to arrive is 6:45 as this is when the school will first open. We hope to be see you then.
Albus Dumbeldore – Headmaster
Minerva McGonagall – Deputy Head Mistress
When he picked up the last two letters, he immediately recognized Sirius' and Remus' writing. He read them both quickly to find that they were the same, word for word. They were just saying that they would see him next week. He didn't care about them going or not. One person was more important. Lily Evans. Though he hadn't seen her in two years he knew he still loved her. He pulled a piece of parchment out of his desk ready to write a letter. Half a hour later he looked at his letter but all it said was:
Dear Lily.
How are you?
"How pathetic does that sound anyway" He thought, looking around his room for inspiration.
His eyes caught something sticking out of an old box on top of the bookshelf. He walked across the room and pulled it out of its hiding place. It was a small piece of parchment with neat Italic writing on it. He unfolded it slowly and started to read. As soon as he had finished the first sentence realisation hit him. It was a letter Lily had given him on the train as they left Hogwarts at the end of their seventh year. He stood there re-reading it several times, until he knew it off my heart. One particular sentence stuck in his mind that day:
"Never forget me and i will never forget you."
"I've never forgotten you Lily" he said, folding up the letter and placing it in a small box on his desk. "In fact, I still love you"
xxxxxxx
The next day, Lily, Carys, Angharad and Keira stepped out of Lily's Welsh cottage and headed for the wizards town near Hogwarts, Hogsmeade. This place also held a lot of memories for the girls. For example, this was the place James and Lily had had their first kiss; it was the place Remus and Keira had their first date; and it was the Carys and Sirius first realised how much they liked each other.
They knew this would be the best place to do some shopping and the first place they headed towards was Pumpkins and Dragonflies for their dresses. It was a large shop opposite the joke shop and right next to The Three Broomsticks. When they walked in, a shop assistant came rushing over to them.
"I'm with another customer at the moment, would you like to sit down and wait or look by yourselves?" She asked politely.
Lily looked around at her friends who were busy looking at a dress in the window. "I think we're ok thanks."
"Ok then. We'll all focus on one person at a time, so then we can all help each other" Explained Carys.
"Ok. Who shall we do first?" Lily asked, looking around at her friends.
"Me!" Shouted Keira, laughing. All three girls started laughing but immediately started looking around the shop, searching for Keira's dress. Lily focused on looking for a Blue dress for her as she thought it would bring out her eyes.
Soon enough she had found beautiful bright blue dress. Made of a soft fabric, the dress flowed elegantly for the floor. It had a ruffled waist with plunge V-neck top. It would accentuate her slim waist and bring out her eyes perfectly. She picked up the dress and quickly walked over to the others and let them see it.
"Wow, Lily. That dress is beautiful." Carys said, beaming.
Angharad and Carys then showed Keira the dress they had found her. They had found a beautiful mint green floor length dress that was made of a delicate material that shimmered slightly when the light hit it. It had thin spaghetti straps and the top of the dress was slightly ruffled.
Keira was beaming as she turned around and headed to a changing room. She came out a few minutes later wearing the mint green dress. She looked beautiful but kept fiddling with the straps, as though pulling them would make them bigger. She smiled and twirled around, the other girls also smiling.
After examining herself in the mirror, she walked back into the changing rooms and tried on the bright blue dress and came out again. She was beaming again and she looked even more beautiful in this dress than she had all her life. It complimented her curves and the colour of her eyes.
"I think I have fallen in love with this dress." She said twirling around. "How much is it?"
"I think the price tag said 80 Galleons" Lily said, biting her lip.
"It's bit expensive" She said "But then I need a dress that will knock Remus off his feet don't I! Maybe then he'll pay attention to me"
"He won't be able to take his eye off you" Carys stated. "We all need a ''knock 'em off their feet'' dress. Especially Lily"
"Why especially me?" Lily asked
"James will be there as well" Angharad said.
Lily blushed "So. Remember, I'm with Michael now"
"We'll see how long that lasts." Keira said so that only the other girls could hear her. "Anyway, girls. Which colour will suit Lily best?"
"I don't know" Carys said, also looking carefully "Maybe greens, whites and reds?"
"I reckon Green or White, not red. It might clash with her hair" Angharad said, starting to move towards a rack of expensive looking dresses.
Eventually Carys, Angharad and Keira returned holding three dresses between them. Keira was still holding the mint green dress she had tried on. Carys was holding a beautiful knee – length white dress that flowed out like a dancing dress. Angharad was holding a white halter neck, plunge v-neckline dress that had a thick band of beaded embroidery around the neckline and back, which scooped down half of her back.
Lily stepped into the changing room and emerged a few minutes later wearing the white dance like dress in which she looked beautiful. The dress flowed out as she spun around and the girls all smiled.
"Lily, you look beautiful, but it doesn't look very formal" Carys said, frowning slighty.
"Yea, which is a shame. I love it" Lily replied, delicately flattening the dress. She turned around and tried the mint green dress on.
When she emerged, the girls beamed. The dress went well with her eyes, which sparkled as she looked in the mirror. Being shorter than Keira, the dress was quite long on her, so she had to lift the dress up slightly as she walked. Deciding that this would be impractical to do all night, she turned around and walked back into the changing room. She emerged a few minutes later wearing the white dress. She walked out to the girls gasps and smiles.
"You look beautiful" said a male voice coming from behind her. She turned around and found herself looking into the captivating eyes of James Potter.
"Oh, thank you." She said blushing
"Hi James. Lily, you look so beautiful" Keira gasped.
"Definitely this dress Lils" Angharad said, watching James stare at Lily.
"We'll go and look for the other dresses" Carys said, moving the other girls out of the way.
"They're right, you know." James said smiling. "You look absolutely amazing"
"Thanks" She said blushing again. "So.. How have you been?"
"Oh. Um...Fine, I suppose. Busy" He replied. "How about you?"
"I've been ok" she said looking at the floor as the image of Michael found its way to the front of her mind. "Busy as well. Work is good though" She said unconvincingly, though James ignored her tone.
"So...Anyone new in..." James started when Carys came back into the room.
"Lils, do you mind me interrupting? Michael's here" Carys said, looking at the look of horror that had just appeared on Lily's face.
"Is he?" She said quietly as Carys nodded. She could hear the other girls distracting Michael.
"Who's Michael?" James asked.
"Carys' cousin" Lily said distantly. She was watching Keira's reflection taking Michael out of the shop. "He..."
"He fancies Lily, so we can't let him see her like this" Angharad said, returning to the room.
"Oh right, well, I'd better pay for these." He said, holding up a pair of bottle green dress robes. "I'll see you next week" He said, giving each girl a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the counter. Lily touched the place where he kissed her, it was tingling pleasantly.
"Did you see the way he looked at you?" Carys said quietly, watching Lily smile to herself.
"He looked like he was in love with you" Keira said beaming.
"Well, they have a history don't they?"
"No boy ever looks at a girl like that just because they have a history together" Angharad said, walking around Lily, holding a red dress against herself and looking in the mirror.
"I didn't notice any love in his eyes." Lily lied. In fact, she had been thinking the same thing. Looking at the reflection of them both, she saw how well they went together. She reached the height of his shoulders and seemed to fit perfectly with him. People had always told them how perfect they looked together, but she had only just seen it.
"Anyway. I assume you are getting the white dress" Carys said, interrupting Lily's thoughts.
"Yea" She replied, distantly.
"Me now!" Angharad and Carys shouted simultaneously laughing.
"Maybe the mint one will suit Carys?" Keira said, examining the dress. "What do you think Lily?"
"Yea. That would look lovely, especially with your hair. But, I'll get another dress I saw for you earlier" She said smiling at Carys, who had already rushed into the changing rooms.
Keira smiled as she turned back into the main shop. "I saw the perfect dress for Angharad when you guys were looking for my dress."
She returned a few minutes later with a floor length white dress. Made of a soft white material, the flowed elegantly to the floor, complementing her curves. The plunge V-neckline stopped at an elegant band of brown and cream beaded embroidery. Angharad gasped as she saw the dress before she too rushed to change.
Lily returned with an elegant, blue, floor length strapless dress. The dress was a soft blue with silver jeweled embroidery on the bodice. The back of the dress was in two sections; the top part was a thin strap from the bodice; the second part scooped low on her back, and was gathered where it met the rest of the dress. Lily handed the dress to Carys and heard her gasp when she saw it. They both emerged five minutes later, Angharad wearing the white dress, and Carys wearing the blue dress.
"You two look amazing!" Lily said, beaming at them both.
"I can't wait to see the Marauder's reactions when they see us in these!" Angharad said as she looked at their reflections in the mirror.
A/N: Let me know what you think. I'm currently writing the second chapter, so if you like this chapter, I'll post the next one.
If you want to know what the dresses look like – see the links on my profile.