Be Here Now
Disclaimer: Don't you know I don't own Harry Potter?
A/N: Have you all seen the music video for Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe? The ending is so unexpected! Lol! Any ideas for an arranged marriage fic title? I reread a few chapters earlier, and I realized that I said Lily's room was at the top of a flight of stairs, so I just compromised. Sorry!
Eclare LJ and Percabeeth: I wholeheartedly agree! Thank you! I hope I pleased you with his reaction! Oh, do you have any arranged marriage fic title suggestions?
peacock33: As I PMed you, all I'm saying is that I have something planned.
Aurora White: Ha-ha! Thanks! And thanks, do you have any ideas for an arranged marriage fic title?
So the last chapter was quite long, but please don't expect it from this chapter. Lol. Here's chapter fourteen!
x.o.x.o.x.
The door creaks open, revealing Lily standing at the foot of the short flight of stairs leading to her room. Sirius blinks rapidly, Remus gapes, Peter's eyes widen, Frank clears his throat slightly, and James openly stares. Maya, noticing this and the other boys' reactions, scowls fiercely.
Lily seems to glide over to the group, her green eyes sparkling. "Good evening, gentlemen," she greets. Her emerald eyes stop shimmering for a second as they land on Maya. She inclines her head slightly, shifting her tresses of hair. "Maya," she greets frostily.
Maya stares back at her unashamedly, hatred shining through her eyes. "Evans," she spits with no trace of dignity. Lily may be a classy young woman, but Maya clearly was anything but, Hilary realizes. If James (shudder) decided to marry her, that wouldn't bode well with the Wizarding world or the Potter family.
Lily dismisses this with a light toss of her head, her green eyes darting to the mantelpiece clock. "Oh! The ball begins in ten minutes! Let's go," she declares, leading the way to the portrait. As it swings open, she is surprised to find Naomi and Kate Riley standing there, looking tense.
"Kate!" she cries, greeting the kinder twin warmly. Her voice again turns frosty as she addresses the girl that had once betrayed her dearest friend. "Naomi."
Hilary can't help but admire Lily's smooth way of transitioning her voice from warm and kind to frosty and dangerous. "Naomi," she says, her voice adopting a sharp edge that dissolves quickly as she adds, "Kate."
Lily and Hilary brush past, striding down the corridor, heads bent in conversation. The others pass by Naomi and Kate with a slightly warmer welcome to Naomi than Hilary and Lily had offered. Maya pauses to engage Naomi in a short, hurried, very quiet conversation, bumps Kate rudely, and catches up to James, smiling angelically at him. James frowns slightly as he looks down at her, but keeps this to himself.
x.o.x.o.x.
"Ah, Miss Evans! You look charming tonight!" Professor Dumbledore compliments as he spots the Head Girl and seventh year prefect in the doors of the Great Hall. "And you as well, Miss Potter! Where is our dear Head Boy?"
"Thank you, Professor," Lily and Hilary chime together. Lily adds, "Behind us, Headmaster."
McGonagall comes over, nodding approvingly at the girls. "Very nice outfit choices, girls. Elegant and beautiful."
"I second that statement," James says, appearing beside Lily. "You two ladies look beautiful tonight."
Lily raises her eyebrows, skeptical. Why was James suddenly acting so nice? "Thank you," she replies hesitantly.
"In about three minutes, fifth years and over will be swarming the place. Is there anything you need to check last minute?" McGonagall asks them.
Lily shakes her head. "I don't think so, Professor. Potter?"
James shakes his head, wishing that she had slipped up and said James. "No."
"Excellent. I would just like to say congratulations. You have done exceptionally well on the ball in such a short span of time." Dumbledore nods to affirm the deputy headmistress's comment.
"Thank you, Professor," Lily answers softly, and walks away to join her three friends.
James stares after her, his mind a jumble of emotions, half of which he can't explain or understand.
x.o.x.o.x.
"Welcome to Hogwarts' first annual black and white ball! Happy Halloween! And I believe it is time for the Head Boy and Girl to perform the first dance," Dumbledore announces as a way of beginning the ball.
Lily gulps, standing. She sweeps with all the grace in the world onto the center of the cleared dance floor. Her heels make sounds that sound softly into the still, silent air. All the older students (and some of the younger ones too) knew about the rocky relationship of the co-Heads. James breaks away from Maya and joins the Head Girl on the dance floor. As they wait for the music to begin, they eye each other like adversaries. Then the music starts and they begin dancing.
Hilary watches them from the sidelines. "They look perfect together," she murmurs.
Alice nods in assent. "Probably the most perfect couple to ever walk through Hogwarts."
"If only James would notice it." Marlene pauses. "And Lily would hold onto it."
Hilary nods slowly. "I have this weird feeling that once James comes back to himself, Lily will again let go of the amazing opportunity."
The three turn back silently to watch the dance until the end. Both are exceptional dancers. James had been taught proper ballroom dancing as Hilary had since they were at the age of four. Lily had taken multiple dance classes until she turned eleven and went off to Hogwarts. Even in previous summers, she had spent a month at dance camp when her parents were alive.
After the music halts, Lily hurries off the dance floor, finding her friends at a far off table. James again stares after her, hazel eyes glimmering as he drinks in her beauty.
"Beautiful, Lils. The most beautiful creature to walk this planet," he whispers.
Maya, approaching her boyfriend, frowns as she hears this.
Lily, once reaching her friends, looks over just in time to see Maya pouring a vial of amber liquid into the goblet in her hands. Once it hits the water, however, it dissolves, leaving the water just as clear as always. Her eyes jump from Maya's goblet to James's calculating eyes. They hold each other's gazes for a moment, before James glances away and at his girlfriend, accepting the goblet. Lily gasps softly. Was it a potion? Or was it a Muggle alcohol?
x.o.x.o.x.
That night, Lily was asked by many boys to dance, but she politely declined each offer. Sitting at the table for the whole night, she watched as Marlene, Hilary, and Alice enjoyed their first Hogwarts ball ever. She also watched as James became as besotted with Maya as he had been earlier. This just heightened her suspicions.
"Lily?"
Lily turns to find Kate Riley. "Hello, Kate."
"May I sit?" Kate questions, gesturing to the empty seats.
Lily nods. "Of course."
Kate gazes onto the crowded dance floor.
Lily watches her.
Finally, Kate breaks the silence. "Have you ever fought with your sister or brother?"
Lily bites her lip, now also gazing at the crowded floor. "Yes," she answers in a whisper.
"Was it terribly bad?" Kate queries curiously.
Lily stops her outflow of answers quickly. "Why?"
"Naomi and I have been constantly fighting since we turned ten. She turned into a right bitch, betraying both her dearest friend, Hilary, and I. She shouted our deepest secrets for the world to hear, and joined the ranks of the Queens of Mean. She became one of them; she helped them bully the younger students and rule the older ones. When we got here, she became nice again, but I found out that it was to get closer to Sirius Black."
Lily freezes. "What?"
"Naomi has always fancied Sirius Black. The Blacks are such an important pureblood family, after all, and he has appeared in global newspapers multiple times. She was even more excited about coming to Hogwarts because he was here. She spent time with me like before we turned ten, and then she backstabbed me. Apparently she tried to get Sirius alone, but Sirius downright refused."
Lily allows a small smile to appear on her face. "Good job, Sirius."
"Thank you, Lily-flower."
Jumping slightly, Lily turns to face Sirius Black. "No problem, Sirius," she replies cheekily.
"Your sister is a beast," Sirius remarks to Kate, agilely jumping into a chair.
Kate rolls her eyes. "I know."
x.o.x.o.x.
"I saw something happen," Lily says as she and her friends sit in the Head Common Room.
Marlene turns curious eyes on her. "What?"
"Maya slipped something in James's drink," Lily replies carefully.
"What?" Hilary cries, angry.
Lily holds up a hand. "I'm not sure if it was a Muggle alcoholic drink or a potion. But from my memory, no potion has the color of amber, unless it's Polyjuice Potion and the person's color is amber. And seeing as James didn't transform into another guy, it wasn't Polyjuice."
x.o.x.o.x.
A/N: Bad chapter? Yeah, I'm kind of dry on ideas right now. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Not much of a cliffhanger either. Anyway, please REVIEW and until chapter FIFTEEN!...
~TrueLoveis4ever