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I dedicate this chapter to: Who you calling girly!
Thanks so much.
-Chapter Twelve-
The 24th of December was upon them in no time. Girls all over the castle woke in the early hours of the morning, bubbling with excitement. A lot of them planning their entire day out carefully.
The gentlemen of Hogwarts, however, were doing nothing of the sort. They still woke up late, and could be found in their Common Rooms playing Exploding Snap, or Chess. Some of them not even registering that the Ball was later that night.
Lily had not seen James all day. She had been making final arrangements for the dance, later that night. It was set for 8 o'clock, but they would have to wait until after dinner before they could set up anything. The more Lily thought about it, the more she realized that she hadn't, in fact, seen any of the Marauders since breakfast. Which was, to say the least, suspicious.
'E-Excuse me?' said a timid voice from behind Lily, that made her jump slightly. She realized she'd become so lost in her thoughts, that she had just stopped, and was standing idle in the middle of the 7th floor corridor.
'Oh, sorry,' she said turning to see a small blonde haired boy, who she recognized as a first year. 'I wasn't—'
'Oh, no. It's just I have a n-note here from P-Professor Dumbledore for J-James P-Potter. But I can't f-find him. I thought maybe you would know w-where I could find him?'
'Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure where he is, either,' she said kindly. The boy looked crestfallen. 'But I can er- give it to him when I see him?'
'Thanks!' said the boy, handing her the note, brightening considerably.
As soon as the boy had walked the length of the corridor and turned out of sight, she started in the opposite direction, opening the note as she went. It was identical to the one she herself had received earlier. Now she just had the task of finding the boy before 12, so that they could make it to this meeting.
She thought for a moment then continued up the corridor to the Gryffindor Common room in hopes of finding the Head Boy in his old dorm. She supplied the password, and continued into the warmth of the Common Room, glanced around, not seeing him, or his friends, and headed for the stairs.
No one was in the Marauders' dorm, but on one of the bed-side tables, there laid a mirror. It was a mirror that, as James had explained, belonged to a set, and let you talk to the owner of its match. 'Like talkie walkies,' James had said.
She picked it up and said, 'Er- James?' into it. She waited a moment and then saw James' flushed face.
'Lily? What're you doing with this?'
'I was looking for you. We have to meet Dumbledore at 12 o'clock.'
'Oh, what for?'
'He didn't say. Where are you?'
'Hogsmeade,' he said, with a grin. Lily shook her head.
'Well, just make sure you're back here before then. Ok?'
'Yes mom,' she heard Sirius say in the background.
'Ok, Lils,' he said, ignoring his friend. 'See you then.'
And he was gone. Lily sighed, looking down at the bed she was sitting on. It didn't have a trunk at the end of it; she was baffled until she realized that this must have been James' bed. She set the mirror back on the table as she laid down, remembering her bed in her old dorm. She was suddenly rather cold, so she continued to wrap herself in warm the blankets. She was soon overtaken with sleepiness, falling into a deep and peaceful slumber. It seemed to last only minutes, though, as she was awoken by distinct male voices.
'… Hey Prongs!' on shouted, 'Look who I've found in your bed. Does that mean that all of your wildest dreams have now come true?'
The voice sounded full of laughter. Lily couldn't understand what could be so funny.
'Shut up, Padfoot,' said another voice.
'C'mon Moony. We're obviously not wanted here,' said the first voice, she couldn't tell if he was really hurt, or just pretending. She then heard the door slam shut.
'Lily?'
Her green eyes snapped open; they instantly hurt from the light, bringing her back to reality.
'Err… James? Oh no! What time is it? Did we—'
'No, but we've only got five minutes.'
'Five minutes? Five minutes?'
'Err, yes.'
'I slept that long?' she continued.
'Comfy, isn't it?' he said with a grin.
'I—yeah, actually. Very.'
'Charmed it that way in my second year,' he said, smirking proudly. 'C'mon, we're going to be late.
By the time they had reached the Headmaster's office, it was 12:09, and the Headmaster in question was waiting for them outside his office.
'Ah, my Head Students; I realized only after I sent the notes, that I had not enclosed the password. But, we shall leave no thoughts to linger on the past, as we have some work to do. Follow me, if you will,' he said pleasantly, leading them up into his office.
He took his usual seat behind the beautiful oak wood desk, and Lily and James took their usual seats in the comfortably squashy chairs in front of the desk.
'Let's get down to business. Now, I have spoken with the Weird Sisters, and they have obligingly accepted our offer to play tonight,' he said, his blue eyes twinkling. 'The feast is set for 6:00, so that leaves us plenty of time to get everything ready, I dare say.' Lily and James nodded in agreement.
'But for the actual ball, what do you have planned for snacks?'
'Oh, well I've spoken with house elves already, Sir, and they know what they are to prepare. And for drinks they are making punch, but,' James grinned, 'we also got some Butterbeer, for those who'd prefer.'
'Ah, yes, that sounds delightful. I will refrain from asking how our Head Boy managed to get Butterbeer, but I don't think anyone else will,' he said, eyes still twinkling.
'Yes, and I'm sure he will gladly tell them all,' said Lily with a laugh. The professor chuckled.
'Yes, I'm sure. Now, I plan to let the feast run until about seven, so if you wouldn't mind staying after, so we can do what we need.'
'Of course,' said Lily.
'Splendid,' he said brightly. 'Oh, Mr. Potter, I almost forgot. Your mother contacted me, and explained your plans. You are welcome to come here later, to use the fire and Floo there.'
'Ok, thanks, Professor,' he said, and they left.
'Sirius will be crushed,' James said, as they walked down to the Great Hall for lunch.
'Why?' said a voice from behind them. They turned to see the curious face of one, Sirius Black. 'Dumbledore's letting us Floo home later.'
'Awww. Why didn't you tell him no? I wanted to apparate!' he wined.
'How could I tell him no? He's the Headmaster, for Merlin's sake. You don't just tell the Headmaster no!'
'I would of. If only I'd been there,' he said sadly.
'No you wouldn't have!'
'Yes I would have!'
'Nuh-Uh!'
'Yuh-Huh!'
'Nuh-Uh!'
And they bickered like children the rest of the way to the Great Hall.
----------X----------
Lily and James had agreed to meet down in their Common Room at 7:50, leaving them 20 minutes to get ready after they'd finished in the Great Hall. Lily went straight into the bathroom to take a quick shower, beating James to it.
'Damn!' he cursed when he saw that the shower was already taken. 'You win this time Evans.' And he left to go get everything else together, deciding just to take a shower last.
Lily giggled to herself as she heard James' frustration at her being in the shower already. She, regretfully, only took a short shower, knowing that she had a lot of other things to do.
So, at 7:50, James sat waiting in the Common Room for his date. It was unlike Lily to be late, but he knew she was putting a lot into her appearance, while he had just thrown on his clothes and hadn't even attempted to comb his unruly hair. A few minutes later, he heard the brass door knob leading to Lily's room turn, and click open. He turned to see the most beautiful sight.
Lily stepped over the threshold cautiously, looking up through her elegantly curled auburn hair. Her dress was a turquoise colour, and it clashed beautifully with her fiery hair. It had a deep V neckline with a fully beaded bodice; the beautiful material flowed into a multi-layered cascade of soft billowing ruffles, that flared out as she spun, give James the 360 view.
Words failed James as he stared at his gorgeous date. He felt like the luckiest man in the world. He walked slowly over to her, not taking his eyes off of hers.
'Lils…' Was all he managed to say before he bent low to kiss her fully on the mouth. 'You look… absolutely gorgeous.'
'You don't look too bad yourself,' she said, looking at his chosen attire. He wore a simple black tux, under which he had on a pretty blue shirt, which, consequently, matched Lily's dress very well. She smiled up at him, kissing him lightly. 'C'mon, we're the Head Students, we can't be late!'
James chuckled, and held out his arm, Lily gladly took it, and they set off towards the Great Hall.
When they got there, there weren't too many people already inside; many were standing in the Entrance Hall, presumably waiting for their own dates. When they entered, the first thing that they were confronted with was Sirius.
'Hello, Mate,' he said to James, then turned to Lily with a grin, 'Wow, you sure clean up nice.'
'Thanks,' she said, a little sarcastically as someone else walked up to them.
'Hi, guys,' said Audrey. She had chosen to sport a lovely black and white satin ball gown. It had black and white stripes on the bodice, which flowed into a full gathered floor length organza skirt. Her brown hair was tied back into messy bun that seemed to be made of curled and crimped hair, with small braids every once and a while. A little funky, but absolutely perfect.
'Hey there beautiful,' Sirius said, with a smirk.
'Hello, Sirius,' she replied coolly.
'Where's your date?'
'I don't have one.'
'Awww, no one wanted to go with you?' he said, mockingly.
'No, I didn't want to go with anyone. What about you?'
'Same,' he answered ever so sadly.
'You look pretty,' she said turning to Lily, 'That dress is gorgeous.'
'Thanks,' she said, blushing slightly, 'I like yours, too. It has a nice… retro feel to it.'
'Yep, that's why I liked it,' she said with a smile.
For the first 20 or 30 minutes, mostly everyone just mingled, and made small talk. They had all heard that there would be a band, but no on had heard who, exactly. Some guessed the Hob Goblins, saying things like, Dumbledore had dated the lead singer's mother. Others hoped for the Gnarly Newts; the rumors varying greatly.
But finally, at about 8:30 the lights went low, and spotlights shined on a spot near where the Head Table usually resided. Then, suddenly, with a loud POP and a puff of coloured smoke, they heard music. As the smoke came to clear, they saw that the band was not the Hob Goblins, or the Gnarly Newts, it was the Weird Sisters. Many clapped madly, others looked on, disappointed, but overall, they were ready to have some fun.
'Hey, want some Butterbeer?' Sirius asked Audrey as he watched her watch Lily and James dance.
'What…? Oh, sure,' she said, lightly, as Sirius walked over to the table where the Butterbeer was being kept. He grabbed two and took them over to Audrey. He noticed as he went that a few people were watching him. There was a group made mostly of blondes, watching him make his way back to the table. He sighed, and handed Audrey her drink. Just then a slower song began.
'Hey, Audrey, do you… want to dance?' He asked, and for the first time in a long time, he was nervous.
'Um, sure,' she said, a little uncertainly.
He put out his hand, and as Audrey took it, he pulled her up, and out onto the makeshift dance floor. He pulled her to somewhere in the middle before he stopped. He looked at her and she put her arms around his neck, nearly making Sirius forget how to breathe. After a while of just standing there, he realized what an idiot he was and put his hands on her waist.
He looked up into her brown eyes and realized that she was laughing at him. He frowned. 'What's so funny?'
'Nervous much?' she asked with a chuckle. 'That's got to be a first, eh?'
He said nothing. He didn't want to ruin the moment with his smart-ass answers, so he kept them to himself. Audrey looked at him strangely. Then, very abruptly, she tightened her grip around him, and leaned in to touch her lips lightly to his. She barely pulled back, still feeling his breath on her lips.
Not being able to resist anymore, Sirius took his chance and kissed her again, but it was much deeper, and more meaningful than the first. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, they looked sad, which he couldn't quite understand. She then leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder, as they continued to sway with the music, although, they didn't really hear the music. Nor did they see the many faces that were staring at them. All they saw was each other.
AN: WOOO. Can you say longest chapter yet? I liked this one, it was fun. WOO SIRIUS AND AUDREY. Hmm.. so what's going to happen with them next? All I will say is that the last chapter had the most reviews of all 11, so, the more reviews I get, the faster I update. It defiantly motivates me; I do love writing this story. :)
Ok, so first reviewer gets chapter dedication, of course. And other than that? I don't know. Hope you liked it, because I sure did. See you next time! WOOOT.
Oh, and if anyone wants to see the dresses, just let me know, and I can give you the link!
-Lady Carmilla.
