Chapter Summary –

"You look so whorish that it isn't even funny," Lily said seriously.

"I bought it today."

"You had a perfectly nice costume be-"

"That was until I found out Sirius Black is going as a dog."

Chapter Title – A Masquerade Halloween

The competition is to start tomorrow. Excitement is filling me. I can't wait to deflate Potter's ego. I know for sure the girls will win. Sirius and I have been working rapidly to get the point values made out. The highest amount of points you can get for one achievement is 500, and that's only if you save someone's life. The smallest point values were 10, and that was for if you answered a question correctly in class. Sirius and I also made minus numbers such as detentions, answering wrong, and being expelled. Everything was looked over by the two teams before Remy and August made the score sheets. Everything is ready for tomorrow's kick-off day. The score sheets look amazing.

Rhia, August, and I – or the 'Mirages' as the boys now call us – have been attempting to make nicknames. Rhia was very adamant about being named 'The Boobs', but somehow August talked her out of it. I really wanted to be 'Bloodsucking Fiend' but I was told it was a bit too long. We did manage to pick names – only the boys hate them with a fiery passion. I'm Blossom. Rhia is Raven. August is Smarty. The 'Marauders' said that those names were too girly, so they're picking new names for us. Oh, joys beyond joys. I can only imagine the outrageous things they will name us.

Lily sat next to August eating breakfast. It wasn't fair that she had to stay behind from a Hogsmeade visit just to get the Great Hall ready for the Halloween Party that night. She would much rather go out with Rhia and August or even with Brent. Of course, she couldn't though – stupid prefect obligations. The redhead stabbed her sausage with her fork as an annoying voice called out her name.

Sirius Black stood behind her. He picked up Lily's satchel on the space next to her and threw it onto the table. He then took the seat for himself. Sirius smiled at her as he brushed a lock of black hair behind his ear. Lily looked from Sirius to the school bag on the table. She then said, "I was saving that seat for my best friend."

"Good thing I got here before anyone else took it then," Sirius spoke cheerfully as he grabbed a piece of sausage from the redhead's plate.

"Hey! Get your dirty fingers away from my food!"

Lily swatted at Sirius's hand as he plopped the piece of sausage into his mouth. Royally annoyed at Sirius, Lily took a free plate and loaded a mountain of sausages onto it. She then placed it in front of Sirius with a smile spread widely across her face. The boy didn't look amused.

"What's with the ears?" Lily questioned.

On top of Sirius's head was a black headband that had two pointy dog ears sticking out on the top. Lily reached out a pale finger flicked the fake ear closest to her. Sirius let out a yelp of pain and swatted her hand away from his ear.

"That's part of me, you know," Sirius snapped playfully as he snatched another sausage from Lily's plate.

"What's up with the ears?" Lily asked again.

"It's part of my costume for tonight."

"What part of masquerade don't you understand?"

"So what? People know who I am. Big deal," Sirius stated with annoyance lacing his words. "What are you going to be?"

Lily didn't say anything. Instead, she just turned towards her breakfast and continued to eat it. Sirius asked her again in a whiney voice, but the redhead didn't dare say a word. The table started to fill up. Rhia had taken a seat across from her best friend with James Potter sitting right next to her. The two were whispering to each other as if they were plotting something. It was annoying Lily, so she tried not to pay attention to them.

Within twenty minutes, everyone started filing out of the Great Hall to go to Hogsmeade. The younger students went to lounge in their common rooms or around the castle. The prefects stayed in the Great Hall, most looking sulky and moody. Remus appeared behind Lily and took a seat next to her with a smile etched upon his drawn face. The head boy and girl were standing in front of the teacher's table.

"All the decorations are in that room," Frank started as he pointed to a door not far away from the professor table. "I want the decorations put up and the tables set. Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were nice enough to stay behind with us to help us with the huge pieces of furniture that need to be moved out and brought in. Get with your group, pick an area, and start putting everything together."

Lily and Remus went towards Alice Prewett and Frank Longbottom. McGonagall and Flitwick started banishing the house tables and replacing them with small round tables. Chairs appeared all over the Great Hall as well as boxes. Lily opened one box to see it was filled with dishes and silverware. The redhead groaned. She hated setting tables.

Remus and Lily were put on duty of setting up the tables. They covered each table with tablecloths that were adorned in dancing pumpkins with witch's hats on their heads. The plates were then placed in front of the chairs. When Lily was setting one of the tables, she heard a gruff voice say, "Oy! I'm dancing here!" The redhead picked up the plate she had just placed down to see a sullen looking pumpkin. Lily made sure not to place any more plates on the pumpkins, which was difficult because they were dancing all over the tablecloths.

The Great Hall looked magnificent from every angle. Craved pumpkins were suspended in midair with orange and black candles. The tables looked wondrous. In the middle of the room was sparse for dancing. Streamers were everywhere. There was a huge, colorful banner behind the professor's table that read "Happy Halloween" with pictures of dancing pumpkins, witches, black cats, and everything else dealing with Halloween. The banner was made by the artsy Daniel Thomas.

The prefects were exhausted after hours of decorating. They treaded back to their common rooms to get ready for the party in a couple hours. The other students were just coming back from Hogsmeade. Lily walked into her dormitory and collapsed upon her bed. Several minutes later Rhia and August walked in.

"Have fun?" August asked.

"Oh, oodles," Lily spoke sarcastically.

All the girls rushed around the room to get ready for the Halloween feast – all but Lily that was. She had fallen asleep at some point. Lily only knew this for she was rudely shaken awake by her best friend in a ridiculous getup. Rhia had a black bodysuit on that looked as though it was two sizes too small. She wore pointed black ears, which looked oddly like Sirius's. Around Rhia's eyes were thick layers of kohl to act as a mask. Her nose was powered pink and small whiskers came out from under her nose.

"You look so whorish that it isn't even funny," Lily said seriously.

"I bought it today."

"You had a perfectly nice costume be-"

"That was until I found out Sirius Black is going as a dog."

"So you wanted to be a cat, because cats and dogs go so well together?"

"Shut it, you!"

Lily rolled her eyes dramatically and shot a look of utter disbelief to her friend. Without another word, the redhead got up and went over to her wardrobe to pull out her Halloween costume. She felt slightly silly to have picked out such a costume, but it was the only thing she could think of in such a short amount of time. She was going to be a fairytale witch. She had a long black dress that she cut up at the bottom so that the bottom was shaped in several pieces of pointed fabric. She then sewed on orange triangles to fill in the spaces at the base of the dress. She wore clunky black boots that made her several inches taller. She placed a black witch's hat on top of her red head. Lily then covered her face in a green powder and a fake green nose with a wart on the very tip.

"Tada!" Lily exclaimed as she struck a pose.

"And you say I look like a whore," Rhia muttered.

"You look so beautiful, Lily," August commented as she stepped out of the bathroom.

August looked stunning. The usual plain, bookish girl had decked out for the occasion. She was a mermaid and looked superb. Her chestnut hair was pulled in loose curls. Her top looked like something out of the sea. It had a plunging neckline. It was made of lace was adorned with colors that could only be found under the sea. Her skirt flowed down to her knees and looked as thought it was made out of kelp and seaweed. There was a mask over her eyes with sparkly fish covering them.

"I love your mask!" Lily cried.

"I attached it to my glasses so that I could see."

"Very resourceful!"

The three girls linked arms and walked down to the Great Hall. As soon as they stepped inside, August and Rhia gasped in shock. The place looked magnificent, and the two voiced their opinions. Several students were already in the Great Hall with their costumes on. The girls were about to find a table to claim as their own when an arm reached out and grabbed Lily's elbow. It was a gently touch that sent shivers through Lily's body.

The redhead turned around to see someone dressed in the silliest getup. It made Lily burst out into a fit of giggles. The boy standing behind her wore white tights with a blue old-fashioned top embellished in ruffles. He had on tassel shoes. On his head was a hat with two huge feathers sticking out. His eyes were covered with a sleek black mask.

"What are you supposed to be?" Rhia asked as she too had erupted in a fit of giggles with August.

"Prince Charming," the boy declared as he bowed, "my fair ladies."

The boy's voice sounded so familiar, but Lily couldn't place it. Green eyes wandered over his features to try to place whom he was, but she couldn't. The boy stood up straight, and Lily looked into his sparkling hazel eyes. Lily had thought for a split second that the mystery boy was Brent, but her boyfriend didn't have those intriguing eyes or the comical personality.

"Care for a dance?" the boy asked as he reached out a hand.

Lily took the hand without thinking. A smile was spread widely across her face as the boy led her out to the middle of the dance floor. The prefect thought of Brent and how she was cheating on him, but that thought was quickly pushed from her mind. It really wasn't cheating. They were only dancing. It wasn't like Lily was going to snog the boy senseless or anything like that.

The mystery boy wrapped one arm around Lily's thin waist and pulled her close to him so that there was no space between their bodies. His other hand found the redhead's pale hand, and he held it gently towards his chest. Lily melted in his grasp and positioned her free hand onto the boy's shoulder. For the first time in her short life, Lily felt as though she completely belonged. It was as though Mr. Charming and Lily were meant to spend the rest of their lives together.

Everything was lost to Lily as she swayed with Mr. Charming – as Lily had now dubbed him. The redhead didn't notice anything that was going on around her. She was lost in the hazel orbs as she tried to place who this boy was. Mr. Charming had a smile planted on his face that never left as he danced with Lily.

The music stopped and the headmaster's voice filled the Great Hall. Lily reluctantly turned around to face the headmaster who was dressed in a Santa Claus suit. The prefect couldn't help but let out a laugh as Mr. Charming chuckled behind her. Professor Dumbledore had a huge burlap bag resting next to him. There was a sullen woman standing next to him dressed up as Mrs. Claus. It took Lily a minute or two to realize that the woman was actually Professor McGonagall.

"I see that almost all the students are here," the jolly headmaster announced. "We'll have an hour for mingling and dancing, and then the delicious Halloween feast will be served. So bip bip, my young students, and have a glorious evening!"

Lily turned back to Mr. Charming to see that his smile looked as though it was smiling going to tear his face apart. Her emerald eyes wandered over to her best friend who was dancing with a boy in black dogs ears, a black eye mask, a black t-shirt, and jeans that had a pointy tail sticking out the back. Sirius Black really wasn't a very creative person at all. Lily searched the Great Hall for August. She immediately spotted her bookish friend who was dancing with a boy covered in a white sheet. There were holes for his hands to go through. On the front of the sheet was written 'BOO' in black marker.

"So, would you like to tell me about yourself?" Mr. Charming asked sweetly.

"Well, I'm awfully clumsy and sometimes truly clueless, but I've got friends that love me for all my flaws," Lily answered cryptically. "How about you?"

"I'm crazy, but in a good way," the boy replied with his lovely low chuckle.

"Is that so?" Lily inquired playfully.

"Quite so," the boy said with another chuckle. "I'm such a loser at times, so forgive me if I say anything offensive."

"You may be a loser, but I love it."

The words had slipped out of Lily's mouth before she could stop herself. What had gotten into her? She was openly flirting with a complete stranger when she had a brilliant boyfriend in the same room. Lily bit her lip and decided to forget about Brent. He could be out there right now flirting with some random girl. It wasn't like Brent had tried to find out what Lily would be so he could hang out with her at the party. Quite the opposite, Brent had been avoiding her for the past week.

"So where are your friends?" Mr. Charming asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh, they're dead," the boy declared jokingly. "Everyone knows I killed them, but nobody seems to be able to find the bodies."

There were screams from the left of Lily and Mr. Charming. They whipped their heads around to see a couple first years had fallen into the enormous apple-bobbing container. They were soaking wet, and Professor McGonagall – or Mrs. Claus – was hollering at them for disturbing the party. Students around them were guffawing at them.

"Never underestimate the power stupid people hold in groups," Mr. Charming told her.

"Never underestimate the power ickle first years hold in any type of group. They are utter restless and idiots."

"I'm highly offended by that, Miss Creepy Witch," Mr. Charming said while smiling like a bloody fool. "When I was a first year, I was poised, intelligent, and overall the best student ever!"

"What happened to you then?" Lily sniggered.

"What?"

"You said was," Lily smugly replied a smile stretched upon her face. "That's indicating that you aren't smart and poised anymore."

The boy burst out laughing, and immediately Lily starting laughing as well. Several people turned to look at them, but the two didn't even notice. As soon as Mr. Charming had calmed down a bit he said, "It's funnier now that I get it." That simple comment made Lily burst out in another fit of giggles that she couldn't control.

The two never left the dance floor once. They slowly swayed the whole time, oblivious to everything happening around them. The two had realized at one point that they were the only two still standing on the dance floor. Professor Dumbledore stood behind them with a smile etched on his wrinkly face. He politely asked them to take a seat. There was a definite twinkle in his eyes as the two teenagers turned crimson – although no one knew Lily actually blushed due to the fact that her face was smeared in green powder.

The two sat down at the table with Rhia, August, Sirius, and the ghost boy. Lily took a seat next to Rhia as Mr. Charming sat down next to Lily. Rhia nudged her best friend in the ribs. The raven-haired girl puckered up her lips and then mouthed the word 'scrumptious'. Lily laughed before turning towards the delectable cuisine.

Through the whole meal, Lily kept glancing at Mr. Charming. He was too good to be true. The redhead had so many thoughts filling her head that she didn't know which ones to sort out first. Lily was seriously thinking about dumping Brent to go out with Mr. Charming. Then again, what if Mr. Charming was really a jerk and was just playing up the part of being perfect for one night? Could she risk her wondrous relationship with Brent to be with someone whom she didn't even have a name to put with his personality?

"You're so creative," Lily addressed Sirius.

"I know! Took ages to come up with this costume," Sirius stated.

"You could have pretended that you cared."

"Like you did?" Sirius shot back. "All you did was put on a hat, dress, and painted your face green, Poppet."

"Where's the rest of your posse?" Lily inquired as she changed the subject.

"I haven't seen James or Peter all night."

"Where's Remus? You've seen him?"

"He's at this table right now," Sirius replied.

Lily looked over to Mr. Charming. It couldn't be Remus could it? No, the eyes were different. Moreover, Remus wasn't that tall. Emerald eyes wandered over to the ghost sitting next to August. Oh, it was so fitting that Remus was a ghost. The boy was awfully shy like that. A pale hand from underneath the sheet waved at Lily, and she waved back with a smile planted on her face.

"He wasn't inventive either," Sirius complained, "and you aren't yelling at him!"

"I'm sorry," Lily said sincerely. "Remus, next patrol I will have to yell at you like there is no tomorrow. Tonight, however, I'm all out of yelling because I spent too much time berating Sirius."

"That's so stupid!" Sirius whined.

Once the feast was done with, the headmaster had granted the students one more hour of partying before they were to go off to dreamland. Mr. Charming led Lily back out into the dance floor to take their spot that they had previously that night. Mr. Charming pulled Lily close to his body as the two swayed to the music playing throughout the Great Hall. Lily never felt safer or more relaxed with anybody else.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" Lily asked as the hour quickly passed.

"Then it wouldn't be a masquerade party," Mr. Charmed replied mischievously.

"How will we ever keep in touch after tonight?"

"You'll see me around."

"But I don't know who you are."

"Well, I'll leave you with a kiss, and you will remember that kiss and find me again."

Mr. Charming leaned his head forward slowly towards Lily's green face. The redhead stood up on her tiptoes to lean towards the mysterious boy. If Lily saw fireworks, then she was defiantly going to break it off with Brent. If not… then maybe Mr. Charming wasn't Lily's soul mate after all.

Their lips brushed against each other, and Lily saw a flash of green obstruct her vision. It was hurting her. Her chest felt as though it was going to explode. Lily was going to pull away when Mr. Charming grabbed Lily by the back of the head and pulled her into a bruising kiss. Another flash of blinding green light filled her senses as the pain in her chest seemed to increase. It burned as though it were on fire. The kiss deepened, and Lily heard high-pitched menacing laughter fill her head. Mr. Charming pulled apart for a couple seconds to catch his breath and then their lips locked again. A frightened, female scream filled Lily's head. The woman screamed, "Harry!"

Lily tried to mumble stop, but she was too weak to. She heard the name, Harry, scream through her head once more before darkness filled her. She felt as though she was falling down a bottomless pit. Then, everything stopped. The pain, the laughter, and the screaming had all ceased. Everything was empty.

Lily would never forget the feeling she had when she kissed the mysterious boy. It was as though a wave of memories were shouting out to her, but Lily couldn't place what it meant. Her chest hurt so much and the light was so bright. Lily would want answers, but she wouldn't know where to find them. She would try to push them out of her mind, but they would always be haunting her.

Author's Notes – Another chapter! Yay! A day late, but let's not dwell on that. The questions from megaroony, sparkley-tangerine, and mkiara were answered in my livejournal. The link is in my profile. I hope you enjoyed the chapter – with a little cliffhanger at the end – and please… please review? For me?