Lily's sleeves of her robe were tear stained from all of her crying. The tears had matted her long red hair, her eyes felt puffy and she knew she must look like a mess. The old door creaked open and she began to stifle her sniffles. Lily heard the patter of one set of feet in the girls lavatory.

"Lily?" Amethyst's boisterous soprano voice filled the lavatory, she was a small framed girl but was always able to make herself heard. "I am almost certain that you are in here!" she began to knock on every stall. Each one easily opened and slammed on its hinges. She stopped in front of the final door. "Would you like to come out now? Or should I come in and drag you out?" After Amethysts' threat Lily opened up the last stall door and walked out of it. Lily caught sight of herself in the mirror and cringed.

"James is such a jerk" she realized this was the same James from first year. "I just thought that he would be better. I thought he had matured over the years." She was having relapse from their younger Hogwarts' years.

Amethyst leaned against the wall next to the sinks, "You know he just tries to act macho and tough in front of his friends." Amethyst reasoned adamantly studying her nails. "and you just told me the other day that you thought he was perfect. shouldn't you at least give him a second chance? Of course you shouldn't make it easy on him." A gleam sparked in the back of her eyes.

Lily stared at the bottom of her robe, and hadn't noticed the gleam in her eyes. The robe was an inch above her shoes because she had grown during the semester. "I do want to go to the ball with him, and I do think he is perfect." she smiled and looked up at Amethyst finally seeing the infamous look. She was distant and had a smirk on her devious face. "But he is going to have to speak to me. Are you even listening to me?" Lily waved a hand in front of Amethyst's face. As her gaze shifted back to present Amethyst had the perfect idea.

Amethyst studied Lily's face to see if she would be able to accept her proposition. "I told Sirius I wouldn't go with him to Yule ball if you didn't go with James." As she said this Lily's mouth dropped at the realization of her friends loyalty. Seeing her reaction, Amethyst knew she could get Lily to agree to her devious plan.

"You would do that for me?" Lily answered after her friend's shocking announcement. "Sirius finally got the courage to ask you to the ball. And you turned him down?" Amethyst stood up from the wall and practically shook Lily

"Lillian you are my absolute best friend! I did that to convince Sirius and James to speak to you. You should have seen Sirius' face when I said I needed to be with you on the night of Yule Ball," the same devious smile played across her face, "Priceless!" Amethyst of course was thinking of how to make James life miserable not of how she had hurt Sirius.

Lily stared in awe of her best friend. Knowing that she was willing to risk the guy she had been crushing on for two years to have her friend be happy. Lily's face brightened as she realized how much Amethyst had grown on her and how close they had become over the years at Hogwarts. Lily had completely ignored Amey's evil smile. "Well I guess I should go talk to James because I did kind of blow up on him." Lily ambled over to the sink and checked herself in the mirror.

Amethyst joined her, silently primping beside her. Seeing her friend so easily falling back into line with James was sickening. "Why should you have to go talk to him? Why not let him come begging back to you?" Lily saw the dangerous half smile play across her face, the infamous glint in her eye after a great idea. Lily now understood what Amethyst had been smiling about this whole time. She had been planning ever since leaving the courtyard.

"Elizabeth you have the most devious person I have ever met." Lily watched her best friend curtsy and take a bow. "Always the theatrical sort." Lily sighed and mock fainted.

"I prefer brilliantly insane. Perhaps I am the perfect Ravenclaw student. The sorting hat did a very good job in placing me." Elizabeth knew Lily wouldn't stick with the plan and would swoon as soon as James said, 'sorry'. It gave her some form of faith that maybe Lily could withstand his unfaltering charm.

But when Amethyst looked back at Lily she found her staring into the wash basin. Lily had always had insecurities like every other girl. When she did have them it was nearly impossible to make her think different. "It isn't like I'm absolutely gorgeous, and I was quite rude." her lips pursed as she tried to fix her hair, the tangled mess of red hair clouded her green eyes. Although her hair had a slight wave, the winter wind had made it a tangled mess.

Amethyst came up behind her and pulled it out of her face. She patted down and untangled most of the hair. "You are the prettiest girl in our whole seventh year. Don't you want to go with him to the ball?" She fixed her robes and turned her around. She looked her up and down in the front, her head girl pin was askew and the collar of her robe had flipped upward. As she made these changes to her appearance Lily focused on the wall in front of her.

Once finished Amethyst gave a thumbs up. A smile crept on to Lily's face, "You really meant that?" Lily had gone back to looking at her shoes and not making eye contact. She always did this when she didn't believe what Amethyst, or anyone else for that matter, said.

"Do you really need me to tell you that?" Amethyst did a famous eye roll and continued picking up speed as she went. "You have everything any girl here could want! A charming personality, the guy of your dreams, and you are the most brilliant witch of our time! Professor Slughorn said so himself!" Amethyst was practically ranting by now, pacing back and forth her hands making flailing movements. "And if you don't believe me you could ask James himself! He would have no arguments against all I have said."

Lily placed her hands on either side of her small friend. Took a deep breath and looked at Amethyst. She followed suit and let out the breath slowly. "You got carried away again, I think you could make anyone believe you."

"Does that mean I have convinced you?" Amethyst asked while shaking off Lily's hands. "Because if I haven't I will go to James, he seems to be the only one who can convince you anymore." she sighed.

Lily was shocked at what Amethyst had said, she didn't know that she had stopped listening to anyone else. That was all going to change. With that Lily changed the subject, "Well I guess we had better get going so we can make it to dinner on time." The two girls left the lavatory arm in arm.