Chapter Twelve
The Halloween Dance was looking good. Fake bats were charmed to fly and swoop over people's heads as they danced. Tables were pushed against the walls containing a vast selection of Halloween themed sweets from Honeydukes along with a few classics. Little sofas were scattered around one side of the hall for relaxing and nothing else McGonagall had sternly warned. The rest of the Great Hall was used as the dance floor with a small section in the middle raised with the popular band the Fizzing Acid Pops. The students were loud and excited. They loved every minute. The Halloween Dance was a roaring success. It was amazing.
For some people.
He watched her dance and twirl around. He watched her being happy; wishing it was his arms around her waist. Despite the mask he knew it was her. Nobody else had long, ruby red curls tumbling down their back, swishing side to side as they moved. She was the most elegant in the hall. She wore a beautiful pale blue ball gown that puffed out like a real princess's dress with little white sleeves. The outfit was finished off with a simple white mask adorned with pearls that covered her eyes. She may have been dressed as Disney's Cinderella but she was his princess.
"Does she know that you stare at her like that?" asked Jordan, from his side, startling him. Or should he say Zorro the masked swordsman startled him.
"Probably," mused James before snapping himself out of his reverie. "I know it's bad, morally and all." He could hear himself and his casual tones made him feel sick.
"You never did tell me the full story," grinned Jordan, handing him a drink of punch. "It's from the bowl that's been spiked."
"Good," chuckled James. "No I didn't. There's not much to it really, from my side anyways. Just before I started working here I went out with some mates to a club to celebrate and have a good goodbye, you know what I mean. She was in the club and we got talking so we went back to mine for the night… you can figure what happened from there. I never knew she was a student, she lied about her age, I was so shocked to see her in her school uniform the first day of school."
"I bet you were," commented Jordan, thinking. "You still like her don't you?"
He turned to look at Jordan properly. "Am I really that transparent?"
"Well you have just been staring at her for the past couple of hours," he answered with a laugh.
"We were so close to being together properly as a couple," admitted James, adjusting his mask slightly.
"I presume in secret?" He waited for James to nod before carrying on. "What happened then?"
"I did the right thing," said James with a sad smile. "For what has to be the first time in my life when it comes to women as well. She wanted to have sex and I stopped her. I didn't want to mess things up by rushing it and I ended up messing it up by doing just the opposite. She thought I rejected her and ran off, then Daniel begged her to forgive him for sleeping with Callie and it looks like she's back with him. Merlin, how messed up is that."
"Sounds like her head is pretty messed up at the minute," said Jordan. "Do you want to know something that might make you feel a tiny bit better about all this?"
"Go on then."
"I had a relationship with a student once, at the school I worked at before this; Beauxbatons."
"What happened?" asked James, intrigued.
"I lost my job," said Jordan as a warning, his dark blue eyes twinkling forebodingly. "She was a bright and beautiful student only a few years younger than myself, a lot like you and Lily. I liked her but as her professor I could only like her from afar. One day we were alone in the library, I was helping her find a book I said would help with her homework and she admitted that she liked me.
I couldn't help myself, I liked her and she liked me, it's supposed to be that simple. It was the Easter Holidays the next day and we met up every single day; we were inseparable. In love one might say. The last day of the holiday we decided to go to a restaurant to celebrate the last night we could be together properly. It was romantic right down to the wine they served to the candles on the table. Until the Headmaster from the school walked in with his wife."
"And then?" urged on James wanting to be more. This was what he had dreamed about being with Lily would be like right down to the nightmare ending on occasion. He looked out to the dance floor fleetingly. She was slow dancing but as he caught a glance of her face, she didn't look happy or content as she had done earlier. Was it all a façade?
"He couldn't fire me because technically we hadn't done anything in school but we couldn't be together. All the teachers knew about us, the students didn't but just the teachers shaming her had upset her enough. We were both on a close watch. I knew if I said something that wasn't remotely to do with school work or just spent that little bit too long with her I'd be fired and she could be expelled. That couldn't happen, she needed her NEWTs and I needed my job. It pained us to be in a room together but not be able to be together. After the school year ended I knew I couldn't stay there, none of the teacher's trusted me. That's the end. I packed my bags, handed in my notice and came here."
"What about her? The girl? If you loved her that much surely you'd have seen her since."
"Nope, the last I've saw her was the final day of term," Jordan said with a sad smile. "She'll be about your age now. She could be married with kids for all I know."
"What was she called?" asked James, with an understanding smile. It was a comforting feeling to know that someone else had been through what you are going through. He knew he wasn't alone in the world.
"Isabelle Harrington," smiled Jordan. "The most beautiful girl I ever knew.Can I give you this one piece of advice that I wish I had followed?" James expected that he was going to tell him to get as far away from her as possible.
"Whatever you do, for Merlin's sake, don't let the girl get away," pleaded Jordan, a big grin on his face. "If you like her or even love her as much as I think you do you should risk your job, your integrity even because she has got one year left here. All you have to do is suffer for one year and then she's yours for the rest of your life. It's taken me until now to realise that. It's too late for me but not you."
"I think it's too late for me too now to be honest," he drawled, casting his hazel eyes on the dance floor once more. "She's with him again now."
Jordan laughed. "But does she look happy? No. That slobbering twit Daniel has dressed up as Peter Pan where as she is Cinderella. Now look down at yourself." He'd worn a Prince's outfit. He knew it was cliché but he never did have a good imagination when it came to costumes. "Cinderella needs her Prince Charming. Not some idiot who's never gonna grow up."
If he went up to her now, he could either make her kiss him or slap him and there was a very fine line in between. He didn't want to screw it up anymore but he would never know if he didn't take the chance. Jordan was brave enough to take the chance he just wasn't brave enough to take the risk.
"I'll catch up with you tomorrow," he announced to Jordan, determination etched upon his face. He took a moment to check his gold mask was in place. It covered the most of his face, only his mouth and chin showing. He wore a crown that would stop her from seeing his messy black hair thanks to the fact she was shorter than him. She wouldn't know who he was unless she recognised his voice which was highly possible.
He walked towards the newly reinstated couple and tapped Peter Pan on the back. Daniel turned around sighing impatiently. As Lily opened her mouth to say something he pompously gave her a look that clearly said 'don't you worry your pretty little head about it, I'm here, I can handle it'. Lily was a fiery independent witch. She didn't need people like him not letting her say what she wanted.
"You mind if I steal this dance?" asked James suavely, not even looking at him but staring shamelessly into her eyes. She looked confused as though she could picture his eyes and his voice but couldn't quite place them.
"No I'm trying to have a good night with my girlfriend, sorry pal," glared Daniel defensively. "She doesn't want to dance with you."
"Actually, Daniel I think I will take… Prince Charming up on his offer," she said, a soothing hand on Daniel's shoulder, the other delicately taking James's. "The night's not over yet I haven't fully decided whether I want to be with you or not. I'll see you later."
James tried not to laugh at Daniel's angry stunned face but instead he placed one of his hands on the small of her back pulling her in gently towards him. He was thankful that the Fizzing Acid Pops were playing a slow romantic song so he had a reason to pull her flush against him, letting him breathe in her sweet scent. He could feel her soft breath on his neck, a tingling sensation.
"I must congratulate you on the dance," he murmured softly as they swayed. "It looks amazing."
"Thanks," she said, he could feel her smile against his neck. "I didn't do it all by myself though. I had a… friend who helped me plan it. Well, really I helped them plan it. I couldn't have done it without him."
"I'm sure he feels the same way about you," he sighed, wishing he could kiss her soft lips.
"Hang on," she said suspiciously, pulling away from him. He held his breath in anticipation; her reaction could shatter his heart in moments. "Professor Potter organised this dance. No one knows I helped." He felt her emerald burn into his. He leant into her touch as her hand brushed against his cheek. With one quick sharp moment she ripped off his mask and frowned. She looked at him so disappointedly that he had to look away from her penetrating gaze that scorched him so. "I told you to stay away, James."
Her voice was choked up and his hand itched to wipe away the tears that fell down her powdered cheeks.
"Lily..." he trailed off pleadingly, not knowing what to say, reaching out his hand to her. She shook it off as she turned away from him, the gold mask slipping from her hand. He watched her walk away as fast as she could, without drawing attention to herself, out of the Great Hall. He stared at the empty space she had once inhabited for a moment longer before pulling his senses together and took off after her.
"Lily," he called out into the empty Entrance Hall. She was gone yet he knew she would have ran off to her newly passworded Common Room. Something glistening caught his eye on the staircase.
A glass slipper.
"You have got to be joking me," he muttered.