Lilianne Evans was sitting in front of her vanity in the same room she shared with her dorm mates in her 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft in Wizardry. She was calmly putting on the final touches of her costume. The whole school was in a flurry for that night's activities; there was to be a Halloween concert that was much anticipated.
Lilianne was a strong girl of about 5 feet 9 inches. She had long, luxurious, red hair that fell down her back and wisped around her face. Her deep chocolate eyes were always sparkling with mischief and excitement for life. While Evans was not a stick thin weed, she possessed a full figured frame that swayed slightly from side to side when she walked. But she usually never chose to walk when she could run. She bounded from step to step on the stairs, skipping every other one so that she could reach her destination faster.
She stood up to go gather in front of the full length mirror her friends were all primping in front of. They had all chosen to be characters from a muggle television show called, "Friends". Lilianna had opted to dress as Monica, a quirky character who's behavior she was often teased for imitating. She looked over and saw her friends Ellie, dressed as Joey. On the far side, brushing her blond hair was Andelle, whom everyone called Andy. Marsha was on the floor pouting and pulling at the ridiculous beard she was sporting. And in the middle was Katherine, finishing the entirely too complex process of putting on her makeup. They were missing one person to play the last person to play the character Ross. It would have to do.
Lilianne was always close to her sister, Jana. Jana was her best friend with a wild, crazy streak. They two girls were inseparable, even with their famous tempers and mismatched personalities. The summer before, Jana had a terrible accident and was sent away to recover in a facility in Australia. Lilianne felt completely alone. She had never been without her twin. As a result, she had spent the first 5 years of her Hogwarts career, never really bonding with other friends in her year. It was slightly awkward and frightening at first to open up to these girls who she had shared a room with for 5 years without really getting to know them. But she had no choice, Jana wasn't coming back with her, and it was time to make some new friends. But fortune was on her side, for they were one of the most big-hearted individuals anyone could ask for and accepted her into the circle without question.
"Ellie, is there Mr. Certain Someone coming tonight?" teased Andy, knowing the exact answer to her question.
Blushing, Ellie answered sheepishly, "Yes, and he's bringing his other friends as well."
"Alright!" Lilianne cheered, never giving up a chance to meet new boys, "and who is this young man that you two are discussing?"
"Ellie has a crush on a 7th year named James, and we're pretty sure he likes her back," replied Marsha who always had some tidbit of gossip to offer.
"Whatever, can we just go?" complained Katherine. Taking this cue, the girls took one last look at the mirror and set off for the Great Hall. They were immediately approached by a sizeable group of 7th year boys who took it upon themselves to rowdily greet the girls. The rest of the girls had already been on multiple excursions with these boys, while this was Lilianne's first time meeting any of them. The leader of the group was a relatively tall and sleekly built figure with clear aqua-colored eyes. To his right stood a rather large boy named Remus. Sirius bounded up on his left and came to attack everyone with a warm hug and intense enthusiasm for the band that was to play that night. Peter stood at the far end, lighting up a cigarette.
"Gentlemen, this is Lilianne," announced Andy to introduce the new girl to all of the guys.
"Hey, my name's James," he came up and shook Lilianne's hand. The instant their eyes met, an unexpected spark flew between the two while their eyes played an intense match of wills. His eyes uncomfortably bore into hers as she struggled to return it. It was broken by the rest of the boys following suit to bombard her with hugs and welcomes. The night had begun. The candles began to dim as the area around the stage began to glow. The Happy Pumpkins were on the stage. As they were playing marvelously through their set, James and Remus grabbed Lilianne and pulled her into the area in front of the set. The boys began to dance madly, inviting her to join in as well. She was laughing too hard to really realize what to do or how to politely decline the offer to look like a wild, dancing, monkey. Nevertheless, she ended up getting into it, having too much fun to care what she looked like. It was the first time she truly let go of herself since Jana's accident. During the break between The Happy Pumpkins and the next band, the trio went back to the tables to grab a drink and their breaths. They were soon joined by their friends.
"Aren't they amazing??" Sirius gushed shamelessly as he
"They were pretty good," admitted Andy.
"Pfft, 'pretty good' does not begin to cover it, lady," retorted Sirius.
"Ha, whatever, the rest of us just aren't in love with them, that's all," Andy said waspishly.
"Well, I'm going to go outside for a second, it's just too hot in here," interrupted Lilianne as she excused herself. She walked out to the balcony and stared at the moon, the bright light pouring into its dark contrast.
"So you danced up a storm back there," commented James as he came up from behind her.
Lilianne laughed as she replied, "I felt like the world's biggest fool."
"Dance like no one's watching. It doesn't matter what you look like as long as you enjoy yourself?" he said.
"I suppose, it was very fun, but it helped that the music was so incredible as well," agreed Lilianne. She was intrigued by this guy's interest in her, but managed to convince herself that it was a miscalculation. He was just a friendly person who wanted to make her feel welcome, not truly interested in her. James was most definitely supposed to be attracted to Ellie. The pair went inside to join their friends for the next two sets. The evening ended a success as everyone trudged to their beds, fully exhausted.
As Lilianne laid in bed listening to the other girls gossip about the night's events, her thoughts kept going back to James. She eventually drifted off to sleep amid the intense discussion of Andy's rather stiff efforts with Peter and Remus's apparent interest in Katherine.
