I like this one. It's almost eight pages. I high five myself for this. Anywho, happy holidays to you all. Thank you so much for reading and especially reviewing!
Chapter Twenty-One: A Disruption In The Normal Swing of Things
"Morning, gents!"
"You're in a good mood, Pete," James commented as Remus and Lily both said good morning to Peter.
"That I am, Prongs!" Peter beamed as he collected his breakfast. "Tonight is the big night!"
"You really like this girl, don't you?" said Remus with a genuine smile. He was happy for his friend. Peter nodded. "Well good for you, Peter. I hope you have fun tonight."
"Still going by yourself?" Peter inquired.
Remus nodded. "I wouldn't be going at all, but James threatened me…"
"I told you I'd share Lily with you," James said, rolling his eyes at Remus.
"Excuse me?!" Lily interjected angrily. "I am not property!"
James smirked, purposely ignoring the redhead. "I wouldn't mind sharing."
"Well…Sirius is doing kind of the same thing…" Remus thought aloud with a smirk mirroring James'. "Ah, why not? I'll split her with you."
Both boys burst into laughter at the look on her face but were immediately silenced by Lily's wand. "We love you," James squeaked, sinking in his seat.
"Yeah, you'd better," said Lily venomously. She turned her want to Remus, who immediately dove under the table shouting, "I'M SORRY!"
"It was only a joke," James whispered carefully, his eyes closed…waiting for a hex.
"Aw, cut them some slack, Lily," Peter said after swallowing a mouthful of sausage. "James only really uses about four percent of his brain on a good day. He's a smart guy, but the common sense part of his brain just is not there. Then there's Remus…he's just pathetically alone for this holiday season's ball because he's too picky."
While both boys-Remus from under the table-glared daggers at Peter, Lily broke into a fit of laughter, which effectively caused her to lower her wand.
"Lily," James said tentatively, "can my dear friend Remus join us tonight as a third date?"
"Of course," said Lily, wiping a tear from her eye. Then she turned serious. "You'd better watch your backs though. Be it today or three months from now, I'm going to get you for that."
---
"Have you even tried to do anything with that head of yours?" Remus questioned with a grin as James exited the bathroom dressed in his brilliant navy blue dress robes.
"Moony, you know full well that my hair won't be tamed," James said. "I try." As he said this, he subconsciously ran a hand through his hair.
"Well if you'd stop doing that, it'd be a start," Remus said, shaking his head and turning back to his bed. Once he was fully dressed, he walked over to James, his wand drawn. "I will conquer your mop."
When Sirius and Peter entered the Gryffindor seventh year boys' dormitory, they saw what may have been the funniest thing that they had seen all year. Remus was standing on his bed and over James trying desperately to drag a comb through the black haired boys' hair. It wasn't that James' hair was knotted or unclean, it just didn't like combs, so it fought back.
"I told you it has a mind of its own!" James was shouting, trying to get away from Remus. "OUCH!"
"James, just hold still!" Remus exclaimed. "I'm going to get this…thing…THROUGH!" Remus flew backwards, landing with a huge crash on the floor as James' hair finally let go of the comb.
Sirius and Peter both collapsed onto each other in wild fits of laughter as James exited the dormitory, muttering about how his scalp was probably bleeding now. Remus stood as James left, rubbing his lower back and groaning.
"What…what would…what would possess you to…to try that?!" Sirius exclaimed through his laughter as he and Peter properly entered the room. "Are you insane?!"
"Yes…yes, I am," Remus said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind himself.
Meanwhile, down in the Heads' Dormitories, Lily was busy doing her hair and running around like a chicken with its head cut off. She paused for nearly a split second halfway through her preparation ordeal, wondering why dances always did this to females. Not having time to contemplate it just then, however, she buried it in the back of her mind for later and continued to run in circles trying to prepare for that evening's events.
Little did she know that the boys were all wondering the exact same thing later that evening when the entire male population of the school was standing around the Entrance Hall, some spilling into the corridors, waiting for their dates to emerge from their various common rooms.
"At least you guys are only waiting for one," Sirius was saying sulkily. "Do you know how long I'm going to have to wait? There are five of them!"
"Sirius, you make me sick," James said, shaking his head and patting his friend on the back.
"If you'd have thought of it first, you'd have done it," Sirius said.
"Actually…no," said James, smiling. "No I would not have."
"There's Nancy!" Peter exclaimed suddenly. "Do I look okay? Is my hair sticking up? Is-"
"Pete, you look great," Remus said, swatting a piece of hair from Peter's shoulder. "Calm down and take a deep breath." Peter did as he was told. "Okay, now walk over to Nancy, take her arm, and have a good time tonight."
With a grateful smile, Peter told his friends that he'd see them later.
"Are you getting that kind of proud father feeling right now?" James asked the other two as they watched Peter approach his date.
"Yeah," they both said with goofy smiles plastered on their faces. "He's all grown up now!" Sirius went on, pretending to sob.
"Sirius is the mother," Remus whispered in James ear.
"GIRLS AHOY!" shouted someone in the Entrance Hall-none of the Marauders were aware of whom.
A large mass of girls were entering the Entrance Hall, looking around for their dates. "If you'll excuse me, boys," Sirius said, grinning madly. "There are three out of five of my dates. I will see you gents on the dance floor."
"He's crazy," Remus commented as Sirius left them.
"Then why do we love him so much?" James inquired.
"He adds color to our lives," Remus said. "Without Sirius, our lives would be black and white…well, more grayscale…point is, we'd be bored."
"Very true…where in the world is Lily? We have to get in there before the rest of the school is allowed in."
Just as James said this, the two young men caught sight of Lily Evans making her way down the marble staircase. Her robes were a brilliant green color and they matched her eyes. Her fiery hair was cascading past her shoulders in a brilliant collection of curls. She was the most beautiful girl in the world to James at that very moment. He felt something inside of him that he hadn't felt in quite some time, and it scared him. Deciding to ignore this feeling, James put on his best smile and he led Remus over to the redhead.
"You look radiant!" he exclaimed as they reached her, which was difficult to do in the crowd.
"You really do," Remus said, smiling politely at Lily. He was amused at the expression on James' face and could tell exactly what battle he was fighting with himself at that moment.
Lily blushed furiously and mumbled her thanks. "Shall we go in then?" she said, taking one of each of the boys' arms so that she was in between the two. "We need to be in there before everyone else, right?"
As the two boys linked arms with Lily, the trio began to head toward the entrance to the Great Hall. Lily laughed on the inside as she saw the looks that she was getting from a good ninety percent or so of the females that they passed. Whether they were attached or going with friends, they all gave her the same evil death glare. She had not only one, but two of the Marauders on her arms.
Fifteen minutes later, Remus, James and Lily found themselves seated at the high table with all of the professors. Their peers were spread out at various small tables that seated up to eight people. Professor Dumbledore was standing now, and with that simple action the students silenced themselves, all looking up at their beloved headmaster.
"This is one of my favorite times of the year," Dumbledore began. "I'm sure you all know that it comes in second to Halloween, but I do love it nonetheless. First, I think that you should offer up a big round of applause for all of your prefects and your two Head Students for planning this spectacular event!"
The Hall broke into wild applause and cheering. Once all of the commotion died down, a smiling Dumbledore continued. "I don't have much to say, because my stomach is rumbling, as I'm sure all of yours are!" With a clap of his hands, Dumbledore signaled the appearance of the feast. "Enjoy your dinner!"
Chattering immediately filled the hall. James could see Sirius and his five dates sitting at a table near the high table with Peter and Nancy, who were both looking quite uncomfortable. He pointed this out to Remus, who laughed and shook his head. "Poor Peter," he said. "That's worse than a Friday night date!"
"I can't believe that he actually convinced five different girls that this is a good idea," Lily said, disgusted at the girls more so than Sirius.
"You have two manly men accompanying you here, Miss Evans," James said, flexing his muscles.
"Down, boy," said Lily. "Two is more respectable than five, and I'm not trying to get you both in bed. At least not at the same time, anyway," she added after some thought, winking at the two boys, who laughed. Professor McGonagall, who had overheard this, looked shocked at Lily's joke, not to mention quite uncomfortable.
"Can I go first?" James questioned innocently.
"We'll see," said Lily, taking a bite of her ham.
Once each and every student was sufficiently stuffed, Dumbledore signaled for the plates to be wiped clean. Without a word, he waved his wand and everything in the hall changed from a formal dinner setting to that of a party.
Snow began to fall from the ceiling. It began to accumulate slowly on the floor, but it wasn't slippery at all. Icicles appeared, hanging from the walls. Snowmen were lined up along a far wall. If you would twist their nose, butterbeer would pour out into a mug made of ice, but charmed to not freeze or melt in your hand. The floor was now made of ice that wasn't slippery, as were the walls and doors. A stage made completely of ice appeared for the entertainment, the instruments also made of ice.
"This looks amazing," Lily whispered to Remus and James. They both nodded in agreement as Dumbledore began to speak.
"Alright," he said, clapping his hands together. "I would like all of you to welcome The Hobgoblins!"
The band members entered the Hall from a back room to thunderous applause. Once the noise level had decreased a tad bit, Dumbledore began to address the school again. "This wonderful band is going to play us a slow tune to get started. As tradition calls for, I would like the Head Boy and Girl to start us off for the evening."
James and Lily both stood, smiling, and James offered her his arm. She accepted and the pair walked eloquently to the center of the dance floor. As The Hobgoblins struck up an uncharacteristically slow paced tune, James placed his left hand on the small of Lily's back and took her left one with his right. With her right hand on James' shoulder, the Heads began to dance.
As the song progressed, some of the professors and most of the students joined Lily and James on the dance floor. James took the opportunity to draw Lily closer to him, and she didn't fight it. What was happening here, he wondered. Was he falling for her again?
No! James said to himself. You're just dancing with a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't even go there, James…just don't go there.
Meanwhile, Lily was lost in her own thoughts…
He really is quite comfortable. She laid her head on his shoulder. I'm glad I came with him. I hope Remus is okay not dancing right now…I'll have to dance with him after this song. I wonder if Peter is having a good time with Nancy now that he got away from the Sirius Black show…honestly, I love Sirius and everything, but this is ridiculous. Those girls shouldn't be letting him do these things. The only reason he acts like that toward girls is because they let him. At least he's nice to me…I'm glad that we're friends now. He can be funny. This is a long song…I wonder what-
"Lily, you can let go now," James finally broke through her thought barrier. They were standing in the middle of a dance floor full of swing dancing students and she was clutching his hand.
"Oh! Sorry!" Lily exclaimed, letting him go. "I tend to get lost in my own thoughts too often."
James chuckled.
As the night wore on, Lily danced with both James and Remus, very often at the same time. She received many dirty looks and death glares from a good percentage of the female population, but she didn't care. She was just having a good time with some friends.
Peter had spent a good amount of time on the dance floor, but was now sitting near the drink snowmen with his date. They were talking and really seemed to be hitting it off. Sirius was surrounded by a small circle of girls and was enjoying himself immensely.
Dumbledore was dancing with Professor Sprout when the news reached his ears via Professor McGonagall. It was unimaginable…it was insane…it was coming their way. He needed to act quickly. He needed everyone's cooperation…and he knew that it wouldn't be easy to get if they knew what was happening.
Dumbledore swept to the stage as quickly as possible, interrupting The Hobgoblin's tune about a dragon that fell in love with a troll.
"Attention!" he bellowed. Every person in the hall immediately silenced themselves and gave Dumbledore their full attention. "Every student must return to your dormitories now. Will all prefects please assist in escorting the younger students back, thank you."
With great wonder, everyone began to spill out of the Great Hall. "What's going on?" and "Why is the ball ending early?" could be heard coming from the mouth of nearly every student. Lily and Remus went to assist the Gryffindor prefects while James went to find Sirius and Peter to tell them to go back to the Heads' dorms, completely unsure of what was going on.
---
"What the hell is going on?!" Sirius exclaimed as he burst into the Heads' Common Room.
"No, the question is where the hell have you been?" said Lily.
"I had to walk Gina, Paige, Fran, Rachel and Jackie back to their respective dormitories," Sirius sighed, plopping into an armchair. "I will never ever do this again," he said. "I've learned my lesson." James and Remus both laughed. "Now, seriously, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know," said James and Lily in unison.
"Where's Peter?"
"I think he's staying with Nancy," Remus said. "She was, er…scared, or something."
"Right."
James was sitting on the one end of the couch in front of the fire, Remus on the other. Lily was using James as a pillow and Remus as a footrest. Sirius, sitting in his armchair, chuckled at the three. "Looks like you're threesome worked out tonight…"
"We had fun," Lily said.
"Do you think Dumbledore will fill you guys in on why he stopped the dance?" Remus questioned, just as Dumbledore entered the room.
"Good timing," Sirius said to his friend with a smirk.
"Professor," Lily said, sitting up.
"What happened?" asked James. "Why did you end the ball?"
"Hogsmeade is under attack," said the headmaster gravely. "I am leaving the castle right now. Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, you are in charge. All of the professors have gone to the village to hold off the attack. They are heading toward the school. Make sure that everyone stays in their common rooms, and inform the prefects."
Without so much as a second glance, Dumbledore was gone. The four teens were just sitting, staring at each other. "Did he just say-"
"Yes."
"And they're trying to-"
"Yes."
"Do you think it's-"
"It definitely is."
"You heard the man," James said suddenly. "Do you two want to make sure that everyone's in their common rooms while we go talk to the prefects?"
Standing, Remus and Sirius nodded. Once Lily was gone they would retrieve the Marauder's Map from James' trunk. Lily and James both left the common room, splitting up. Lily took Gryffindor and Hufflepuff while James took Slytherin and Ravenclaw.