I frowned at myself in the looking glass. It didn't look right. The white dress flowed perfectly, but the matching jewelry didn't help. I took off the string of pearls and replaced it with a black one. I slipped on ebony bracelets and tied a black sash around my waist.
Was this better? Did it look more me? It was so hard to tell. Just like it was so hard to tell when you could trust someone.
I shook my head. I wasn't going to think of him at all. That part of my life was over, and I didn't regret it all.
Or did I?
No, I didn't.
The black looked better, I supposed. But of course, it reminded me of him.
"Awful color, black is." I muttered, turning and inspecting my outfit. Yes, it did look quite gorgeous. Like him.
No. He was filthy, as filthy as his last name
"Marls, you look lovely!" Lily gasped from her door. I turned and smiled at the redhead. My friend was clad in a simple green dress, stopping at her knees to allow her to move quickly. My dress almost trailed on the floor behind me.
"So do you, Lily dear," I responded, smiling. "Do you want me to do your hair?"
"No, I think I'll wear it down today," she replied, trying to seem casual.
"Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with the fact that James thinks your hair looks better down, does it?" I asked innocently, working my long blonde hair into a bun.
"No, it doesn't," Lily immediately flared up. "Potter doesn't have any effect on how I wear my hair!"
"Sure, darling," I whispered to myself, grinning. "So, shall we go, Lils?"
The redhead mock-groaned. "I've been waiting and waiting for you, Marlsy, what do you think?"
I tucked my arm into hers and we set off for the Great Hall, chatting and laughing about anything that flew into our heads.
It was the last night of Hogwarts. The last time we'd dance in the Great Hall. The last time we'd all be together. The last time we'd be in school. Then, off to our jobs - or at least, in my case, Auror training. Lily and I had both cherished this ambition, and finally, it was going to happen. But I would miss it all. The potions homework, the pranks, the laughter, the tears - quite frankly, I enjoyed the drama of school. All so little and meaningless, but yet so important at the same time.
"Look, Marls," Lily whispered, pointing. I looked across the beautifully decorated hall and felt tears welling up in my eyes.
"It's breath-taking. Good going, Head Girl," I complimented as Lily blushed prettily. We joined the throng of girls who were chatting near the entrance. This air-headed talk of dresses, of makeup, of boys, of love. I'd miss it. Slowly, however, our numbers fell, as handsome boys swept through and made off with us. Soon, there were barely any girls left. But of the few that were left behind, we too were included.
"You know," I said quietly, after draining my punch, "it's not that I regret anything. I… I really don't. But… it would have been nice to dance with someone this last night."
"Yeah," Lily murmured. She looked up for a minute and I knew her eyes were seeking out a certain dark-haired man with glasses, laughing uproariously as he danced.
"C'mon, more drinks?" I beckoned gently as she slowly got up. Then the peace of the evening was ruined.
"Target captured, Padfoot!" Someone yelled as I was swept up in that someone's arms. "Hello, Marlene," James Potter addressed me cordially. "How are you on this very fine night?"
I turned to see my friend in the arms of- I looked away. "I'm fine, thank you James. However, I have a question. Didn't you bag the wrong person?"
"No, no, no!" James shook his head disapprovingly. "That's not the way I can capture Lily's attention, I'm afraid." I had to giggle. The boy had finally learned. "No, actually, in all serious-ity, I had a question that's very serious, if you know what I mean."
My eyes met his as we both mechanically went through the dance. "James…" I started warningly.
"I'm sorry, Marls." He paused for a minute, then burst out - "But don't you regret-?"
"No," I cut him off staunchly. "I don't regret anything for a moment."
"But don't you ever think back and-?"
"No. My interest is in the future. After all, I am going to spend the rest of my life there."
"Talking of the future, which Auror training course have you signed up for?" My partner swiftly changed the subject.
"I'm going under Professor Moody, of course. Everyone says he's the best."
"So is Lily?" He asked hopefully.
"So is Lily." I grinned mischievously. "You're welcome. Happy birthday."
"Marlene, thank you!" James' excitement subsided. "But the thing is, are we ready for it? I don't know about you, but I still feel like a stupid 7th year most of the time."
"I know, right? There's so much you have to be able to do! You have to be intelligent-"
"Athletic."
"Perceptive."
"Quick-thinking."
I groaned. "Quick-thinking! I took almost 15 minutes deciding whether I should wear black accessories or white!"
James laughed. "Bloody hell, being an Auror, though… wow."
"I'm so excited," I agreed with him.
"Weren't you planning on being a philosopher?" James teased. When I was in 2nd year, for some reason, I thought being a philosopher would be an interesting occupation. When I learned of the less exciting areas of the career, such as living by myself for years on end, I hurriedly stopped liking it.
I tried to defend my 12-year-old self as I twirled around, listening to the music to check which part of the dance we were on. "But it would be fun, you know. Don't you ever wonder about big things? Like, what's the answer to life, the universe, and everything?"
"42." It was a different voice, different hands holding me, a different step guiding me. I looked into my new partner's gray eyes, startled.
"Hello, Marlene," said Sirius Black. "Long time, no see."
"Siri- Black…" I tried to struggle out of his strong grip.
"Please, Marls," he pleaded. "Please just think for a minute. To dance with me or not to dance with me. It's a simple question. That can be answered. With the first option, preferably."
And for some reason, I decided to stay. I don't know why. But it turns out that sometimes it's these small decisions that can change your life forever.
"What do you want, Black?"
Sirius winced. "Black, Marls? Why Black?"
"Because we're no longer anything remotely close to being friends." Right? Yes, right. We weren't.
"Why not? What happened, Marls? Why did you dump me?"
There. He said it.
"I dumped you because you didn't love me and I wanted to save you the trouble of dumping me yourself." I answered through gritted teeth.
"How can you say that I didn't love you?" He argued vehemently.
"Hello? Look at all the other girls you went out with for a week! At least you made out them in public or something to say 'Hey, look, I'm going out with this girl'. Not for me though. No, we went out for two whole bloody months and all I get is a few snogs in private. Is that fair, Siri-Black? Is that fair?" I demanded of him in a piercing voice. A few people turned to look at us.
"I respected you too much to do that, Marlene," he spat back.
"Oh, sure," I drawled sardonically. "So how many girls were you doing on the side?"
"It wasn't - like - that! I haven't touched a single girl, much less snogged one since you decided that I hated you!"
"Really?" I challenged him, noticing the trembling that was starting to come into my voice.
"Really," he answered shortly. We both stared at each other for a few minutes, still going through the motions of the dance.
"You know," he started, bending his face close to mine as the song ended. "If you had a problem, you just could have told me." He brushed his lips against mine, kissed me once, twice, three times, then disappeared, leaving me looking like an utter fool with my hand pressed to my heart.
Not for long. The dark-haired man came running back to me after a few minutes.
"Sorry for ruining my amazing exit, Marls," he said, panting, "but there's an obstruction at the front of the hall, aka, my exiting area."
"What's happened?"
"James and Evans are drinking each other's saliva." Sirius made a face.
My eyes widened. "Lily's finally given in?" I sparkled. "Yay!" I ran off to congratulate my friend. Bad idea. I walked back to Sirius, permanently scarred.
"My god, that's vile."
"Yes, very."
We looked at each other. "So," I started, "if James and Lily are snogging each other…"
"Maybe we should emulate them," Sirius suggested innocently.
"Oh, to hell with it all!" I exclaimed and threw myself upon him.
A/N: Hello, my dear little readers Welcome to my oneshot for a challenge I found on the Harry Potter Challenges Forum! *fanfare*
Nothing much to say about this, really, besides the fact that I love love love Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
Till next time, Her Majesty, The Queen, Violet ^_^