Disclaimer: I am nowhere near that lucky, unfortunately.
A/N: Wow, I updated quickly! I'm actually kind of surprised at myself! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and I hope you like this chapter! Lots of drama!
Enjoy xx

"Not again!" James mumbled, grabbing my hand and pulling my over to the drinks table.
"James, I've had three Butterbeers already!"
"Yes, but we needed an excuse to get away from that old hag."
"She wasn't that bad!"
"Yeah, and Malfoy's my best mate."
"Oh ha ha…"
"Hello, Jamie, dear!"
"Hide me." He moans, ducking to hide behind me, but it's too late.
"Oh, aren't you handsome, my little cousin, all grown up!"
"Hello Mrs Bones."
"And who is this?"
"This is Lily, ma'am. We're together." He says proudly, and I blush.
"When's the wedding?"
"Oh no, we're not...I mean, it's not...we're not…"
"There's not a wedding planned at present, Mrs Bones, but I hope that there may be one in the future."
I wink at her, and she smiles secretively as James stutters, so I leave James to chat to her, walking into the middle of the room.

I'm just standing, watching the people talk, when I feel a hand at my waist. I jump, and turn, and it's not James or Sirius like I thought I'd be. It's a boy, a bit older than me, wearing a tux, and I can't help but think that James looks a lot better in a suit than him.
"Hello. It's Lily, right?"
"That's me. Sorry, who are you?"
"Jacob Fawcett. Nice to meet you."
"And you."
"So, how are you liking the party?"
"It's lovely. The house is exquisite."
"Yeah, Mum likes expensive things."
"Oh, this is your house?"
"Yep."
"Sorry, I didn't know."

Jacob winks, contorting his face in what I'm guessing is supposed to be winning smile.
"So, babe, are you going to be free next Saturday?"
"Oh no," I laugh, trying not to embarrass him. "I'm in a relationship at the moment."
"Aw…" He pouts, and though it looks cute when James does it, here it looks childish and a bit silly. "Come on, babe, it'll be fun. Your boyfriend doesn't have to know…"

I step backwards, clutching my glass like a lifeline, and make my voice cold and hard.
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention to do anything except walk away from you."
"Don't be a prude, hon…" The slimeball murmurs, and he snakes his arm around my waist. Freezing at the sudden move, I'm still until his hand strays to an inappropriate area, and I slap his hand away, stepping backwards quickly, reaching for my wand but of course it's not there.

"Excuse me?! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Come on, hon, I know you're loving it."

My fingers are twitching, itching to hex him into next week, and then a familiar voice sounds next me
"Lily! Are you okay? Bored yet?"
I thank Merlin for James' best friend's intuition.
"Jacob here, was just showing me the best way to offend a girl."
"Oh, really? I'm sure James would love to hear how you're hitting on his girlfriend."
Sirius comes to my rescue again, and Jacob pales.

"That's your boyfriend? James Potter?"
"I'm sure he'd love to hear how you groped me, but there we go."
"He what?" Sirius asked, voice low and menacing, and I grab his arm to steer him away, going against all of my instincts, as I know it'll just get Sirius into trouble.

We walk over to the drinks table again, and Sirius mutters to me out of the corner of his mouth. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, but he's a git." I hiss back, and Sirius nods approvingly.
"That, I agree with. Are you going to tell James?"
I look over at where I saw James going, and frown as I spot him, speaking with a tall girl with long blonde hair, wearing a short red number that wouldn't look out of place at a strip club.
"He looks at bit preoccupied at that moment." I say darkly, eyes still fixed on them as she runs her long red manicured nails down his shirt, giggling obnoxiously as he makes a joke and grins. I clench my fists, my non-manicured nails biting into my palms, and watch, boiling, as he leans down to whisper in her ear, and she giggles again. The noise is horrible, like unicorns being killed. Who knew a laugh could be so high-pitched and ear-splitting and annoying?

"Who's that?" I try to sound casual and Sirius answers, swigging from a bottle.
"Anne. Anne…Fawcett, I think. That guy Jacob's her brother."
"Figures." I mumble, but he's too busy drinking to notice.
"Sirius….is that Firewhiskey?"
"I'm of age, Lily!"
"Yes, but that's not the point."
"What is the point then?"
"That you're drinking!"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Didn't you get alcohol poisoning in sixth year?"
"Well…"
He doesn't elaborate, but puts the bottle down, which I accept as a kind of personal victory. Looking over at James and Anne, they're still talking, and Anne is twirling her hair in her fingers and still doing that infernal giggling. I stare at her so intensely that her glass cracks, spilling some drink on the floor, and then I turn away, embarrassed that I couldn't control my magic, and annoyed at her blatant flirting.

The gramophone starts to play a different tune, a lilting waltz, and several couples sweep into the middle and start to dance.
"You going to dance?" Sirius asks, and I shake my head.
"I don't know how."
"Rubbish," Sirius scoffs, brushing his hands on his robes. "You just haven't had loads of practise. Come on, Lilybug."
I lift my arms up half-heartedly, and he adjusts my arms before twirling us out onto the floor. He leads, which is good because I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do. However by the time the song ends I'm grinning as we swing around the floor, and then gasp as Sirius spins me so that I end up dancing with someone else. I dance with Sirius, Gideon and Fabian Prewett. I dance with Frank Longbottom and I dance with James' cousin Matthew and nearly everyone in the ballroom. I dance until my feet hurt and my arms ache and my stomach hurts from laughing so hard, and for a second I forget about James and Anne and the fact that they look more like a couple than James and I ever will, and I just dance. I dance, and I lose myself in the beautiful soaring music.

The music fades as the clock in the corner glows, and then someone starts a countdown.
"Ten! Nine! Eight!"
I look around for James, but I can't see him.
"Seven! Six! Five!"
Where is he?
"Four! Three! Two!"
Fine.
"One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Everyone yells, and everyone's grinning and kissing and laughing and I'm not because I'm still looking for James.
"Lily! Happy New Year!" Fabian kisses me on the cheek, and I smile absently at him, eyes still searching for the one person I want, and the person that I can't see.
"Lily? Are you alright?" Sirius is there, hand gripping mine, and I take a deep breath.
"I'm fine. Just need some air. Happy New Year!"

He laughs, and lets me go, so I turn, deposit my drink on the nearest table and walk back out into the deserted drawing room, trying to breathe normally. I don't like small spaces, and the room was too loud, too big, and there were too many people cramped together. I'm shaking, hands quivering as they rest on my lap, and I know that I need to calm down, and I know that I need James because he's one of the only people who can calm me down when I get like this but he's not here.
I know what I need to do.
I need to go home.

I need to go home, but I can't, because someone new lives there now, and my parents wouldn't be there anyway, and that hits me like a slap in the face and I'm crying, mascara smudging and make-up trailing down my face like a river.
Then I stop.
I know where I need to go.
I'm repeating it in my mind, over and over again as I get up and walk back into the ballroom to find Mrs Potter. She's talking to someone in the corner, Sirius, but they stop as I approach them, and I mumble what I'm trying to say, quickly, so quickly that I have to repeat myself. She listens intently, and then answers, but the roaring in my ears is too loud for me to hear what she says. Holding my arm, she steers me out into the drawing room again, and I stutter what I need, and she kisses me on the forehead, before Disapparating, me holding onto her arm with an iron grip. I tell her what I need, where I need to go, and then she nods, nods again, hugs me, and sends me up to bed.

Oooh! Drama! Jealousy! Exclamation marks!
Virtual cookies if you guess where she's going. Let me know in a review!
Thanks, and I hope you liked it!
Au revoir,
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx