Hi! Finally the night of the dance has arrived! And, even though you already know: I am not J. K. Rowling and therefore do not own anything taken from the Harry Potter series. Though I do own the character's personalities and what happens in my story.

The rest of the week, I avoided Remus the best I could, never giving him more than a few seconds to speak to me. Instead, I took the secret passageways that I discovered during rounds. I also surrounded myself with my friends, retreating into my dorm right after dinner. On Friday morning, James came to talk to me.

"So are you still ignoring me, or are you going to go to the dance with me tonight?"

"That depends. Are you going to apologize?"

"I'm sorry for trying to get you to snog me. I'm sorry for assuming you would after one date."

"That date hasn't even happened yet."

"True. So, will you forgive me?" I sighed.

"I'll go to the dance with you James, but only as a friend."

"That's more than I deserve."
"You're right about that. Now can you please tell Remus to lay off?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask a question?"

"You just did." He smirked when I glared.

"Anyway…. Why did he look so sick the night that- Monday night?"

"That's also a secret that's not mine to share." I had forgotten about my unanswered question about the boys' nicknames.

"I can live with that. Provided you do get him to stop bothering me."
"I will. Provided you tell me exactly how beautiful you're going to look tonight so I know how many flowers to get you."

"Well, if you must know…."

"I must."

"I'm wearing a green dress,"

"To match your stunning eyes." I blushed, but continued.

"And silver heels and a matching shawl."

"What? No tiara for the princess?"

"I'm hardly a princess."

"If you're not a princess, I'm not a Marauder."

"You're not? I could have sworn you spent every waking moment with Sirius."

"Ha ha. Very funny." We smiled.

"So I'll see you tonight." I stood up.

"Yes, you certainly will. And I'll be sure to bring a tiara for my princess." I hit him playfully before heading to my first class.

No one paid any attention the whole day and most teachers knew better than to make us work. Most. McGonagall and Professor Binns, of course, didn't. By the end of the day, everyone was jittery; the girls raced up to their dorms to prepare. I, on the other hand went to the library to finish that pesky History of Magic essay.

"Lily! Why aren't you in the dorm?" I looked up to see Theresa.

"I only need to put my dress on. It's not going to take five hours."

"It will if you're going to impress James." I rolled my eyes and let her pull me through the halls and into the common room. I slipped on the dress.

"See, I told you it wouldn't take long."

"You can't go just like that!"

"Why not?"

"You've got to put make up on!" Theresa pulled me into a chair in front of her makeshift vanity. I sighed as she applied blush, lipstick, and eye shadow. I opened my eyes.

"Wow."

"See the difference?"

"Yes." She smirked.

"Now it's time to do your hair." Alice giggled from her bed. "You'll be next," Jeanne warned. Theresa had already given her a makeover. After much pulling and pinning of my hair, Theresa was done. She had curled it a little more than usual, piling it atop my head. It took me a while to realize that she had cut the front strands of hair to give me bangs that lined my face.

"You cut my hair?!"

"Oh, you know you like it."

"But you didn't ask!"

"Exactly. If I had, you wouldn't be looking so hot." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, get going. We have to see what Alice comes out looking like." Alice groaned, but, soon enough, she was done up and looking just as beautiful as the rest of us. Theresa giggled.

"That Frank Longbottom is going to blow a fuse." Alice glared and her face was turning pink from blushing.

"What are you going to do to yourself?"

"You'll see." The girliest of my friends got dressed and brushed on a mountain of make up as opposed to what she did to us. She straightened her hair and put it into a bun.

"Well, are we ready to go?" We all nodded. "Then let's get going. Lily, don't forget your wrap thingy."

"I won't, Mother." She rolled her eyes and we left. All of our dates were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, talking. They didn't notice us until Theresa giggled. I took a step back into the shadows so James couldn't see me. Theresa ran down first into the arms of a Ravenclaw Quidditch player. Alice followed, greeting her boyfriend, Frank. He turned bright red when he saw her. Jeanne shyly went down to meet Gilderoy Lockhart. Gosh that boy is cute. But not as cute as James. His stunning hazel eyes searched for me. I figured I'd better not keep him waiting, or Theresa would give me a lecture. I stepped out of the shadows and descended the stairs. It was unnerving to see-and feel- all the waiting couples' eyes trained on me.

"Lily." James breathed. "You look amazing."

"Well, you can thank Theresa for that." He held up a bouquet of flowers, making me blush as I grasped it. He also had in his possession a silver tiara. There were quite a few emeralds set into it.

"Oh, James. You shouldn't have." I blushed redder as he set it on my head. I reached up to fix it, but there was nothing to fix.

"Of course I did. You're my princess."

"And just when I thought my blush was going away." He grinned and took my hand, leading me into the Great Hall. Three of the House tables were lining the walls. The other was nowhere in sight.

"So, where would you like to start?"

"Considering I can't dance, I'd say the food."

"I'm sure you can dance." I frowned.

"But that can wait until the beast's appetite is sated." I smiled sweetly and let him lead me to a table that was heaped with food.

"What catches milady's eye?"

"Everything. It all looks so good."

"When is it ever not?"

"When there's a Slytherin near us." I whispered. He looked over and his expression hardened. Snape was heading towards us.

"Why, Lily. You are looking quite beautiful tonight."

"Thank you, Severus." I said, laying a hand on James' arm.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Sorry, but James is my date tonight and he should get the first dance."

"Very well," he said. "Perhaps later." I felt James tense.

"Perhaps. And thank you for that jewelry box. It was exquisite."

"Yes, but no match for you, I fear." This was too much for James.

"Get out of here you bloodsucking vermin," James said through clenched teeth.

"Ooh. Touchy, are we? I was unaware that I was doing anything but having a conversation with a friend."

"Really, Severus. James, calm down. Severus, I think it's better that you go."

"Your wish is my command." I turned to James as Snape stalked off.

"You really do need to calm down. There's no need to be jealous of him. There's not any chance of what you think might happen, happening. Not after last year."

"But-"

"No buts. Now eat, before I get mad." He grabbed a cookie off a plate. "You have to eat real food at some point, you know."

"Yes, Mother." James shoved the rest of the cookie into his mouth and took a sandwich, nibbling at it.

"You're being more ladylike than I am. Where has your appetite gone?"

"It disappeared after I saw you tonight." I rolled my eyes. We talked for a few more minutes until a relatively slow waltz song played.

"May I have this dance?" I sighed as he proffered a hand.

"You're going to make me dance at some point. Why not get it over with now?"

"Exactly." We walked onto the dance floor. I placed a hand on his shoulder and the other one in his. He placed one on my waist. My heart beat faster at his touch. We started moving as I followed his footwork, completely unaware that I was actually dancing.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?"

"I never really tried." The song ended and he bowed. As lucky as I was that night, a slightly more modern slow song came on. I groaned silently, but placed my arms around his neck as he placed his on my hips. We swayed back and forth, slowly turning. He stepped closer, subtly closing the gap between our bodies. Not thinking, I rested my head on his shoulder. I was startled when Snape returned.

"May I cut in?" He asked with a smirk on his face. I looked up warily. James was scowling, but he politely stepped back when I glanced at him and nodded. My childhood friend took his place. There was more distance between us then when James and I had started. My arms were stretched as far as they would go.

"I know I already mentioned this, but you do look splendid."

"Thank you," I couldn't wait for this song to end.

"So what have you been doing these past few months?"

"Oh, the usual: schoolwork, spending time with my friends, talking with James…." I trailed off as he stiffened.

"Why do you like him?" He almost growled.

"He's not that bad once you get to know him. He hasn't bugged you since last year."

"No, but he wants to."

"I think you want him to, so you can get a chance to hurt him." He looked down at me with a scowl on his face.

"Well, it would teach him a lesson."

"He hasn't done anything to you that you haven't already gotten revenge for."

"Yes, he has. He took you."

"He doesn't have me. And I'm not something you can own!" I was angry by now, if you hadn't noticed.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"That's what they all say." My tone was accusing. It just made him angrier.

"Listen here you little Mudblood!" That was it. I wrenched myself away from him; his arms had tightened around mine, and ran out of the Great Hall. I begged that tears wouldn't come. I pulled off my heels and sat down on the stairs. My will wasn't strong enough to keep trickles of water from running down my face, ruining the work Theresa had done. I pulled off the tiara; it was hurting my head. Leaning my head against the railing, I let the tears come. James came out a few minutes later, running towards me and pulling me onto his lap and into his comforting arms. I held on to him, the tears coming faster as he asked what was wrong.

"He-he-he called me a Mudblood." For what seemed like the millionth time that night, James stiffened.

"I'm going to-" But I cut him off.

"D-d-don't do anything to him."

"Why not? He insulted you."

"I made him angry. Sure it was by accident, but it was still m-my fault."

"It's not your fault he can't control his anger."

"We were t-talking about you. He i-insulted y-you and I told him you hadn't done anything to him this year. He s-said that you did bec-cause you took me." He stiffened again. "P-please don't get angry. An-nyway, I told him I wasn't something anyone could own and he just k-kind of….snapped." The tears had stopped and James brushed the last one off of my cheek. He took the tiara in his hands and placed it back on. He lifted me up and set me on my feet.

"I know it's probably kind of itchy, but it completes the look." I laughed shakily, looking into his eyes. Green met hazel and my breath caught. There was a question in those eyes. In answer, I nodded a fraction. He leaned in and our lips met. Soft and reassuring, his mouth captured mine for only a second or two before my brain kicked in. I managed a ragged gasp accompanied by an apology before running up the stairs to the Prefect common room. I sat there for hours, crying fresh tears of shock.

Sorry about the mini-cliff hanger. I promise that the night is not over. So, while you're waiting, you can review:)