AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is much longer than the last chapter, at least twice as long if not three. Much more happens in it, though, and a great deal of it is humorous. I still need a beta reader!!
Read it, review it, and enjoy it. All standard disclaimers apply. Thanks for taking the time to read this!!
~Teller
Christmas had arrived at Hogwarts. Snow covered the ground outside the castle, and stray misletoe leaves hugged the ceiling within. Giggles became louder and occured more often, and certain voices became unusually deep and manly -- no doubt about it, the SnowBall was approaching. It was different from the Yule Ball in that it was only for 4th years and up, and that the Yule Ball was solely a Tri-Wizard Tournament occasion. Lily and Harry were sleeping in a room in Gryffindor Tower, just a little bit down from Sirius' room. The morning before Christmas Holidays began and the day of the SnowBall, a tawny owl tapped on Lily's window just as the sun began to light the horizon. Lily, grumbling and blinking sleep out of her eyes, slid the window open, shivering as a wintry breeze swept through the room. Harry shuddered at the cold and snuggled closer to his teddy bear. Lily let the owl in and shut the window quickly, flipping it two Knuts for the delivery of the Daily Prophet. But the owl shook its head and handed her, instead, a thick envelope. Lily squinted closer and realized it wasn't the usual Prophet delivery owl. She fumbled around a purple wax seal and several sheets of paper slid out.
Dear Ms. Potter, it read,
I am happy to inform you that you have been accepted for the job of Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
She didn't get any farther than that. The paper drifted to the ground on the small current of air Lily's feet kicked up as she sprinted out the door.
"Sirius!" She shouted, trying to kick his door in. "Sirius! Open this god-damned door!"
"Lily?" A surprised, sleepy looking Sirius opened the door cautiously. Lily dove for him, hugging him tightly around the neck. "I made it!" She squealed. "ImadeitImadeitImadeit!!!!" Sirius tried feebly to pull himself away from her, but Lily had his head in a death grip.
"Lily," He croaked out. She stopped.
"What? Oh -- sorry," she said, releasing him. He hit the floor with a muted thump, but before he could properly catch his breath, Lily had him again and they - well, mostly she - were waltzing around the room, Lily singing at the top of her lungs.
"Lily!" He repeated. Lily paused, laughing hysterically.
"What?" She asked, then pouted. "Oh, look at you! You made me loose my count. Now where was I?" As she tried to retrace her steps, Sirius broke away and threw his hands up in the air.
"You made what?" he demanded. Lily looked surprised.
"Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, of course." Sirius stared at her. Lily blinked. A few Gryffindors peered around the door, giggling.
"You made it!" He shouted. "YOUMADEITYOUMADEITYOUMADEIT!!!" Sirius whooped, throwing himself at Lily. They - well, mostly he - began to salsa around the room. "I can't believe you made it! You beat out Quirrell for the job! Way to go, Lil'!!" Lily, still surprised by his initial reaction, finally registered what he was saying. Then she laughed, and began to salsa as well.
"I made it!" She cried.
"You made it!" Sirius responded. There was a loud cough from the door. They turned, and saw a thin-lipped Professor McGonagall standing just inside the door in her nightgown and bath robe, hands akimbo. Lily and Sirius grinned sheepishly.
"What is going on here?" She asked in clipped tones. Lily and Sirius stepped away from each other, and dusted themselves off. Sirius clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels, looking out the window with a would-be innocent expression on his face. Lily tried vainly to get her hair out of her face. Both of them felt like they were back in high school -- which, to a point, they were. "Well?" She prompted.
"Er, nothing, Professor McGonagall," Lily said, slipping past her into the hallway. "We were just - erm - celebrating."
"Celebrating what, may I ask? You've woken the entire Gryffindor Tower, if not the whole school!"
"I'm sorry, Professor, we just -" Lily stopped midsentence. "Wait a second," she said, as if she had just realized something. "You're not my Professor anymore!" She shook a finger at her. "Don't mess with me, Pr - Minerva," she struggled with the name. "Because I am now one of your colleagues! I will be the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts next year!" Minerva raised her eyebrows. Several of the Gryffindors in the hall cheered; they had become close with Lily ever since she moved in with them.
"Congratulations, Miss - Professor - Potter," she corrected herself. "I look forward to teaching with you next year. Until then, do try to keep under control." Lily laughed, then straightened her face.
"Yes, of course, Pr - Minerva," she said in what she hoped would be her Professor-voice. "Do excuse me."
"Of course," she said loftily. "Good day, Mi -- Profess -- Lily," she finally got out, continuing down the hall. When she turned the corner to her bedroom, she let the smile she had been trying vainly to hide escape. Lily teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts? She wouldn't miss the next year for anything in the world.
After it was made common knowledge that Lily had become the next Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, there was a surprising increase in the number of students who would be staying over the holidays. After Sirius had found out that Lily had become the next Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, he had set out to find the most troublesome Gryffindor seventh-years he could find. After forty-five minutes of scrounging, he had six grinning students lined up in his room - four boys, two girls.
"Right, troops," he barked. "Today is your last day of school - er, essentially. You've already completed all the required courses - and passed, I hoped," he glowered for effect, and after making sure they were all paying attention, snapped back to his military-commando style of speaking. "And do you want to go to graduation as unremembered goody-two-shoes? NO," he roared, "You want to emerge from Hogwarts battle-torn and stained with the sweat of victory! Did we give up when Professor McGonagall said 'no'? When Filch made us clean the bathrooms - without magic? When Peeves ratted us out? When The Fat Lady wouldn't give us the password? No! When the going gets tough -" he paused and paced for three or four steps. "THE TOUGH GET GOING!" He thundered. "Who's with me?" The Gryffindors cheered lustily.
"Now, here's the battle plan . . ."
At breakfast, Lily noticed that Sirius and several of the Gryffindor seventh-years were late. She looked at Dumbledore and raised her eyebrows, who shook his head wearily in response. She giggled. Hogwarts is in for a surprise, she thought as she spooned mashed peas into Harry's mouth. I hope Sirius hasn't lost his touch. She grimaced as Harry spat the rejected peas into her lap, and hoped that was a good omen.
Halfway through breakfast, when some of the students had begun to stand up and drift to the hallway, the large double doors slammed shut in their faces. Murmurs of surprise and some of fear arose from the students. Lily contained her laughter. Here we go, she thought. A loud cackling came from the center of the Great Hall, and the clouds in the enchanted school began to swirl and become dark and menacing. There were several loud explosions, and four or five ghosts materialized. One was Peeves, who was clearly in his element. Laughing insanely, he cupped his hands and shouted at the ceiling as loud as possible,
"LET 'ER RIP!" As if on cue, an obscene amount of snow dumped through the enchanted ceiling. A shrill laughter, different from that of Peeve's or the students, also sounded, and the doors burst open. A flood of Cornish Pixies flew in, giggling in their strident voices. Sirius, Remus Lupin, and the seventh years came charging in behind them on broomsticks, roaring battle cries at the top of their lungs. Sirius scooped up a hand-full of snow as he flew and quickly packed it into a snow ball, then bewitched it with his wand. After hurling it at a confused looking first year, he hightailed it in the opposite direction. The explosion sounded, leaving the first year in the center of a veritable crater of snow with slightly singed eyebrows. Anyone near him had been buried in the snow that had been kicked up from the explosion, and they erupted from the snowbanks roaring with laughter. Smiling devilishly, Sirius flew a loop-the-loop and crept up on Lily, a platter of scrambled eggs in his hand. He waited till she had handed Harry to Professor McGonagall, who sat on her right, and then dumped the whole thing on her head, roaring another battle cry. Lily, gasping for breath and spitting scrambled eggs and laughter out of her mouth, picked up a tureen of strawberry jelly, and hurled it at Sirius. He ducked, and the jelly hit Professor Dumbledore instead. Lily turned white and Sirius went red from laughing.
Remus flew up behind Sirius and dumped an arm-load of snow on him, knocking him from his broom. Lily ducked the snowball Dumbledore, laughing uproariously, had hurled at her in response to the jelly, and grabbed Sirius' broom. She mounted it, grabbed a pitcher of orange juice, and hovered above Sirius, who was rolling about in the snow, laughing. She upended the pitcher and made sure the orange juice landed square on his chest. Professor McGonagall looked scandalized, but Remus fixed that by hitting her right between the eyes with a snow ball. She began to look furious, but then a slow smile formed on her face and she threw the syrup pitcher at Remus, charming it so that it turned over right above his head. Remus looked shocked, an expression that dissolved Professor McGonagall into hysterics. Sirius glanced at the students, and saw that it had become a complete free-for-all.
"To insanity and back again," he heard Professor Redding mutter to no one in particular. Sirius grinned to himself as he leapt at Lily and shoved her off his broom. Success!
Dumbledore decided to cancel classes that day, and everyone spent the rest of the morning strolling around the castle corridors causing mischief or having snowball fights outside on the grounds. Sirius, Remus, the seventh graders, and Lily had been detailed to cleaning up the Great Hall, even though Lily had nothing to do with the entire incident, aside from being the inspiration of it, but Professor McGonagall had decided that was enough reason anyway. When they had finished, Sirius clapped the seventh graders on the back and said:
"Excellent job, the Maurauders themselves couldn't have done it better," he said, winking at Lily, who had given Harry to a group of Ravenclaw fifth year girls. "I say, to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer treat!" They blinked at him.
"But . . . we can't get to Hogsmeade," they said blankly. Sirius, Remus, and Lily looked scandalized.
"You mean you haven't found the passageways out of the school yet?" They chorused. Still blank-faced, the seventh years shook their heads slowly.
"And you're seventh years! For shame, for shame," Sirius said, shaking his head.
"We found the way to Hogsmeade in our fifth year," Remus boasted. "And you lot call yourselves mischief makers!" Lily grinned at them.
"Not to worry, chaps, that's what we're here for!" She cried, putting her arms around the two girls, Miranda and Melody. "Come on!" She beckoned. "To Hogsmeade!"
"To Hogsmeade!" The boys echoed in a roar, linking arms with Lily and the rest of the girls. Like a troupe of misled dancers, they cantered down the hall towards the statue of the One-Eyed Hag.
They emerged in the basement of Honeydukes, creeping out of the passageway as quietly as possible.
"Go up in groups of two or three," Sirius whispered hoarsely, feeling his way around several large boxes and crates of candy and pointing at the stairs. They all nodded and started up the stairs as silently as possible. Their emergence from the back door went unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of pre-holiday shoppers. Giggling quietly, Lily, Miranda, and Melody slipped into the crowd and out the door of Honeydukes to wait for the boys. When they took longer than expected, Melody stamped her foot impatiently.
"Where are they?" She demanded. Lily and Miranda shrugged in unision. Lily opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a sudden shriek from inside Honeydukes. Looking at each other with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, they rushed inside, only to be shoved out by a mobbish crowd eager to leave the scene. Like salmon swimming upstream for mating season, the three girls fought their way through the people to see what the commotion was about. When they reached the scene, it was all they could do to keep from doubling over laughing. A sheepish looking Sirius and a red faced Remus stood behind a pile of Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Whizbees, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and several other candies scattered across the floor. At least five overturned barrels the size of trunks were evidence of what had happened, and the elderly lady who owned Honeydukes was on her knees in the midst of it all, looking like she was at a loss of what to do. The husband of the lady strode over to the small crowd importantly, throwing out his chest.
"What happened here?" He demanded.
"Well -" Said Sirius.
"You see -" said Remus.
"They were shoving each other around and fell into the barrels," Darren, a seventh year boy, said from behind a case of Ice Mice. Sirius and Remus glared at him, and he ducked. Miranda stuffed a fist in her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud. Lily, chuckling to herself, knelt and started picking up Chocolate Frogs.
"Now now, young lady," the man said, coming over to her. "You don't need to do that. It was none of your affair."
"It doesn't hurt me to help, and it does a lot of good to you and your wife," Lily replied good-naturedly, still sweeping up Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Miranda and Melody took the hint and got down on their knees beside her. Sirius and Remus leapt to help, and the seventh year boys followed one by one. In no time the Frogs, Fizzing Whizzbees, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans were back in their barrels. The old man scratched his head.
"Well, I can't say how much I thank you, but unfortunately I can't sell damaged goods. What am I going to do with all of this?" Lily and Sirius exchanged excited glances.
"I'm sure you could sell it at half price or something," Miranda suggested, having caught on to what Lily and Sirius were thinking. The old man waved the idea off.
"No one wants to buy candy that's been on the floor," he scoffed. "And I don't want to throw it out. Here -" he looked as though an amazing idea had just come to him. "Why don't you three girls take it, as you weren't involved with it at all and yet still helped me clean up. Have a party -- but see to it that these hooligans aren't invited!" He shook a finger at Sirius and the seventh years.
"No worries there, sir, we don't even know who they are," Melody said importantly. Lily put on wide eyes and a surprised expression.
"No, we couldn't possibly take all that candy, what will we do with it? There's no way we can carry all of it --"
"Oh, please, Lily?" Miranda begged. Lily sighed.
"Please??" Melody began pleading as well. "Please, Ms. Potter? We'll be very good!"
"No, no --" Lily began, but the old man cut her off.
"Ms. Potter, is it?" He asked, a sad expression coming across his face. Lily looked up, surprised.
"Yes, that's me, Lily Potter," she said, extending a hand. He shook it.
"I read about your husband in the Daily Prophet," he said gruffly. "I used to know him when he was at Hogwarts. Constantly filching the odd Chocolate Frog." His voice caught in his throat, and Lily paled drastically. "But he was a good boy, he was," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"Well," Lily choked out. "I am too." She was quiet. The old man sniffed, then quickly changed the subject.
"Gerron with it, take all you can of those five barrels. It's all rotten now, anyway." Miranda and Melody looked at Lily with pleading eyes, who collected herself and forced a resigned sigh out of frozen lungs.
"Oh, very well," she said, dropping her hands to her sides in an expression of helplessness. Miranda and Melody squealed in joy and leapt to the barrels, stuffing bags and boxes full of sweets. Lily couldn't help but laugh as the bags got larger and larger and heavier and heavier.
"Little piggies," she laughed. She tapped the bags with her wand, and they became considerably lighter. "There you go. Now it will be much easier to carry all that nonsense around."
"Thanks, Lily!" They chorused. When they had taken all they could carry, there was still at least half one barrel full of sweets. The male owner of Honeydukes flicked his eyes in Sirius and Remus' direction, and said grudgingly,
"Oh, go on, take what's left." The boys cheered and threw themselves at the barrel, and the man walked behind the counter, shaking his head as more customers gradually filtered into the store.
Twenty minutes later, all of them were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, gulping down hot butterbeer and laughing over the morning's events.
"Rosie!" A very red-faced Sirius bellowed. "Another round of butterbeers over here!" Madam Rosemerta, a young woman who had been several years above the Marauders in Hogwarts, complied, grinning at Sirius.
"Don't drink too much of this now, Mr. Black," She said, shaking a finger at him. "You never had have much of a tolerance for alchohol."
"Don't be ridiculoush, Roshie!" Sirius laughed, clapping her on the back. "Thish ishn't shtrong enough to get even theshe children shmashed," he gestured to Lily, Remus, and the seventh years.
"Maybe not, Sirius, but if my memory serves me correctly, it's quite strong enough for you," Lily said, throwing a piece of bread at him. It hit him in the nose, and was so startled he jumped and almost knocked over his butterbeer.
"Dunno wha' yer talkin' 'bout," he slurred from behind his glass. Remus shook his head, and whispered conspiratorially to the students:
"He has the alchohol tolerance of a house-elf, if that much," Lily nodded her agreement, and the seventh years laughed. Lily checked her watch, and her eyes widened.
"Well, we've missed lunch, and if we want to be back at Hogwarts in time for dinner and the SnowBall, we ought to head back pretty soon." Everyone nodded, and they stood, pulling on cloaks and jackets and leaving a generous tip of Chocolate Frogs for Madam Rosmerta on the table. They strode out of Three Broomsticks, and decided to walk around a bit before going back to Hogwarts so that Sirius' behavior wouldn't rat them out. When the cold air and brisk walking had sobered him up considerably, they turned back to Honeydukes. On their way there, they walked through the village green. Lily, Miranda, and Melody insisted on window shopping, so the boys had mock Muggle duels with sticks from the ground as the girls pressed their faces to the glass.
"I've got an idea," Lily said suddenly.
"What?" Miranda asked.
"Are you two going to the ball tonight?" Lily asked, peering in the window of a store that sold dress robes.
"Well, we weren't planning on it," Melody said.
"Were you asked?"
"Yeah . . ." they trailed off. Lily was shocked.
"And you turned them down?" She asked.
"Well, we had other things to do," Melody protested. "And besides, who'd want to go with Darren?" She asked, pointing at him. Darren stuck his tongue out at her in response. Lily sighed with exasperation.
"That's it," she said furiously. "You're coming with me. Remus, take the boys back to Hogwarts. We'll be along shortly." Remus nodded and winked at Miranda and Melody, and turned back towards Honeydukes. Lily dragged the two girls into the store.
"Pick out some robes, and try them on. You're going to the dance tonight."
"What?" Miranda asked, going red in the face. "I don't want to go to the dance!"
"Have you ever been?" Lily asked, looking through the racks.
"Well . . . no," she responded. Lily glared at her reprovingly.
"You've been missing out. Some of the most fun occasions I've ever been to have been dances."
"But I can't dance!" Miranda protested.
"Me neither," Lily said, dumping five or six dress robes into her arms. "Now go change." Miranda, looking completely cowed, docily obeyed.
"Now for you," Lily said, sizing Melody up. "Hm . . . this off white would go nicely against your dark skin . . . I've always wanted to have a daughter, this is just like I imagined having one would be! Guess I'll have to settle for this, now." Sadness flickered across her face, but was gone almost as soon as it had come. Melody grinned mischeviously.
"What about Mr. Black?" Lily stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what about having kids with Mr. Black? It's obvious he's in love with you." She said, grinning wider.
"Don't talk absolute rot," Lily said brusquely, shoving some robes into her arms. "Sirius and I are old friends. We don't think about each other that way."
"Okay, Lily, whatever you say . . ." Melody said, scurrying to the dressing room. Lily shook her head and went back to looking for robes.
Twenty minutes later, Miranda and Melody had picked out their robes. Melody, who was black and had amber eyes and long, wavy black hair, had picked an off the shoulders pastel yellow robe that had small sequins glittering at the hem and hugged tightly around her waist. Miranda, who was pale white and had long, straight black hair and blue eyes, had chosen a dark blue robe with a low back and square neckline, embroidered with silver thread. Lily helped them pick out hair jewels and earring to go with their robes, and when they were at the cash register Miranda asked:
"Wait, what about you, Lily?" Lily flushed.
"Well, I'm not going to the ball," She said quickly. Miranda and Melody exchanged outraged glances.
"What do you mean, 'You're not going'?" Miranda demanded. "If you're making us go, you have to go too!"
"No I don't," Lily said placidly, giving the cashier the robes and jewelry.
"Wait one second," Melody told the cashier. "We aren't through yet."
They shoved Lily into a dressing room and threw in some robes after her. Lily, chuckling quietly to herself, put them on. Miranda and Melody decided that she looked best in a forest green velvet that complemented her eyes very nicely and had a V-shaped waist, a tie-up back, and a low, curved neckline. It was embroidered with gold thread, and it set off the golden highlights in her brilliant red hair.
"That's the one," Melody said confidently.
"Are you sure?" Lily asked uncertainly.
"Definitely," Miranda said. "Sirius will love you in it."
"And what do you mean by that?" Lily demanded. Melody and Miranda merely exchanged glances and giggled. "Girls," Lily said. "I know what you're thinking, and I can promise you, it's not like that."
"It sure seemed like it was this morning when you were dancing around his room with him in your nightgown." Lily sighed an exasperated sigh and payed the cashier.
"Sirius and I have been friends ever since we started attending Hogwarts. There never was anything romantically between us and there never will be, especially since -" her voice caught, and she paused a moment. "It's not like that," she finished lamely. Melody and Miranda exchanged knowing glances behind her back and they walked out of the store, heading back towards Honeydukes and Hogwarts.
The ball was supposed to start at eight. Of course, everyone wanted to be 'fashionably late,' so no one actually got there till about eight forty-five. It ended at midnight. Lily, Miranda, and Melody, had been primping themselves in Lily's room ever since dinner, which had ended at six thirty, and in spite of themselves, they all were excited to go.
"Should I wear the gold eyeshadow or the natural tannish stuff?"
"Gold! It's so much prettier!"
"No no no, wear the tan. It makes your eyes look more brown."
"But the gold makes them look more like amber."
"True, true . . . all right, wear the gold. Should I wear my hair like this or like this?"
"Like that, I like the little twisty at the back, and put one of these little clips here . . . . . and here."
"No, not there, it'll catch the light better here, see?"
"Oh yeah, that's right. Do it that way, that's much better. Should I wear red or pink lipstick?"
"Red."
"Pink."
"No . . ."
Sirius, Remus, and the seventh year boys listened at the keyhole, snickering.
"Who'd have thought?" Will laughed. "Melody, wondering which eye shadow to wear?"
"And Miranda wearing lipstick?"
"And dress robes?"
Sirius and Remus laughed.
"It seems Lily has bad effects on all witches," Sirius snickered. "She always did like dressing up."
"Are you lot going to the ball?" Remus asked the seventh years.
"Pshaw, no! Raiding the kitchen is lots more fun."
"Have you ever been to the SnowBall?"
"Now that you bring it up, no . . ."
"Boys, boys," Remus said. "You can always raid the kitchen after the ball. Dances are fun, I guarantee it. Sirius? Care to give me a little help here?"
"What? Oh, yes, no doubt about it, balls are loads more fun than raiding the kitchen. Do you all have dress robes? Right then. Go change, I'll meet you in my room."
When Lily, Miranda, and Melody finally arrived at the ball, Remus, Sirius, and the boys had already been there for about ten minutes. Remus was dancing with Madam Pomfrey, and the boys had all found various girls to dance with, but Sirius sat at a table by himself -- if you didn't count the punch glass to his right. When Lily walked in, he sat straight up and stared. She looked beautiful. The fairy lights played tricks with her hair, making it red, then gold, then red again. He walked up to her and bowed cordially.
"May I have this dance?" He asked, grinning up at her. Lily laughed, and accepted. He whirled her onto the dancing floor, and Melody and Miranda exchanged excited glances. They couldn't talk, however, because several boys had gathered about them and soon they too were swept onto the floor.
"That's a lovely dress, Lily," Sirius said to Lily as he spun her around.
"Oh, thank you, Sirius. You look very nice yourself."
"I know." Lily smacked him lightly on the shoulder, and he laughed. The music slowed, and ended. Sirius put an arm around her shoulders, and Lily rested her head on Sirius' chest in a position that brought back high school memories.
"Let's go on a walk," he said, gesturing outside. Lily nodded, and they stepped outside. The air had been bewitched so it felt like a summer evening, and they walked through the rose bushes that had been grown just for the occasion. They paused by a sparkling fountain and sat down on a nearby bench to watch the fairies flit across the surface. Sirius kissed Lily's hair lightly, and she sat up and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Sirius . . ." she started, but he brought his lips down to hers and kissed her. Startled, she pulled away, and stood up. "No, Sirius, I can't," She protested.
"What? Why?" He asked, his eyes as wide as hers.
"Jame--I mean, Sirius, I can't, I just can't," she said. Tears began to form in her eyes.
"Lily -" Lily began to sob, and she ran away into the rose bushes. Sirius sighed and let his head drop. A gentle hand clasped his shoulder and he felt someone sit down next to him. He looked up and saw Remus smiling kindly at him.
"She needs time," he said. "Don't rush her. She's still healing." Sirius nodded.
"I know," he sighed. "I am too, I guess. I just wish . . ."
"I understand," Remus said. Sirius nodded again and stood, and they both headed back into the ball.
Lily sat on a bench, sobbing. She felt a cool hand on her shoulder, and she sat straight up. It felt like she had stepped through an icy waterfall, so cold was the air above her. She shivered, and looked around. No one was nearby. She turned, and saw a ghostly figure standing behind her. She squinted. There was something familiar about it . . .
"James?" She whispered. The ghost smiled and put a finger to his lips, then came and sat down next to her. "Is that you?" The ghost nodded.
"Can you speak?" He shook his head.
"James . . ." Lily seemed to be at a loss for words, and silent tears began to spill out of her eyes again. "Why are you here?" She whispered. James pointed at her, then pantomimed a huge smile. Lily frowned.
"What?" James repeated the gesture. Lily began to cry harder. "You want me to be happy?" She sobbed. James nodded vigorously and beamed at her. When he saw her tears, he reached out a ghostly finger and made the motion of wiping them away. Lily smiled shakily. "It'll take time," she said. James nodded. "But now that I know you're here . . . it won't be so hard." James nodded again, and smiled. He chucked a finger under her chin an a gesture so familiar to her it brought tears to her eyes again, but she bit them back. He brushed his ghostly lips across her own, and a flash of warmth surprised them both. But it faded into nothing, and they pulled away. "Thank you," she whispered. James nodded and faded away. Lily took a deep, shuddering sigh, and wiped her eyes. After a moment, she stood, and headed back to the castle.
Miranda bit her lip.
"What was that about?" Melody wondered aloud. Miranda shook her head in response and they both watched Lily walk back to the castle from their hiding place in the rose bushes.
"I wish we hadn't seen that," she said ruefully. Melody sighed.
"Me too."