Chapter 15

(A/N) I know, it's only been, what, two or three days? But really, it feels like forever. Oh, and one more thing: THE BALL! THE BALL! (And a rather angry McGonagall)

Disclaimer: I own the plot, Bella, Evelyn, and some spells. J.K owns all.

*~*~*~*~*

The rest of their days passed by quite quickly, and soon it was the night of the Ball. In the girls' dormitories, it was mayhem.

"Lip gloss! I need lip gloss!"

"My curlers were on too long! My hair's on fire! Help!"

"I ripped my dress!"

"My date's sick!"

"I caught the flu! My nose is all stuffy! My date'll be so disappointed!" (It sounded more like 'Bmy nobsfe is all snuffy! Bmy date'll be sbo dissabboinded!')

"Someone help me with this stupid zipper!"

"Ahhh! Who replaced my face cream with skele-gro?" (Hint: It involved a certain group of anigami)

"My dress shrunk!"

"My owl left droppings all over my outfit!"

"You look great!"

Half the room stopped still to see who had dared to be perfect when everyone else was part of a major pandemonium. Naturally, it was Lily, standing in front of a gilt-edged mirror, staring at herself critically.

"Lily! You look wonderful! However did you manage?" asked the girl who had left her curlers on for too long. (Someone had doused water on her smoking head.)

Lily bit her lip. "No idea, really. My grandmother sent this last Christmas."

She was wearing a simple white tank dress, with pastel butterflies scattered across it, and a white top underneath. She wore the necklace her mother had sent, and a trace of glitter was in her auburn hair, which hung loosely, clipped back.

"You all should try a bit less to be perfect, you know… less effort would make you look more natural."

"Easy for you to say," Bella said, trying to disentangle a brush from her honey blonde hair, which was already gleaming.

Lily shook her head. "I'll be reading, if you need me, in the Common Room." A few girls desperately tried to dissuade her, as they still hadn't gotten the idea of wearing muggle dresses quite right.

"You'll all look great," Lily reassured them, muttering a calming spell under her breath at a quite hysterical fifth year.

*~*~*~*~*

"Potter," she nodded at James hunched figure in a chair.

"Evans. You look-"

"Great. Beautiful. Pretty. Nice. I've heard those already."

"Quite full of yourself today, Evans," James noted. "And I was going to say 'better than usual'."

Lily shrugged. "Whatever."

"You do look great, though."

"Thank you," Lily said stiffly.

"Your welcome," James replied in a strained voice.

Lily sighed and snapped her book shut. "Politeness isn't exactly an element in our normal conversations, Potter."

"Point taken, Evans. Let's start over. Hello, Evans. You look horrible."

"Why thank you, Sir Ugly."

"Your welcome, Lady Hideous."

"So why are you down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Lily shrugged. "You know, the Ball would be a wonderful chance to do the little 'favor' of getting caught by Filch."

At James' mildly surprised look, she said, "The blackmail. You didn't think I'd actually forget, did you?"

"Silly me. I should have remembered… 'Elephants never forget.'"

"Futile to point out that I thin, isn't it?" Lily asked, opening her book again.

"Rather. So why are you down here? Shouldn't you be worrying about how your mascara doesn't match your dress and how your dress makes you look fat with the rest of them?"

"By 'them', I assume you mean the girls?" James nodded shortly. "Well, I'm more concerned about important issues, rather than that. Mascara… it barely shows up, anyway."

James shrugged. "Ah. I'm not an expert in girly make-up, and stuff like that."

"I see."

"What?"

"Nothing."

James tried to steer the conversation in another direction. "So tell me, Evans, what else did you see?"

Lily gave him a puzzled look. "Pardon?"

"A few days ago, you told me that you saw people-"

"I had hoped you'd have forgotten about that," Lily cut him off shortly.

"No indeed, I didn't. So, it obviously disturbed you. Got an interpretation for it?" James asked.

"Maybe."

"Yes?"

"I didn't say yes."

"You meant yes."

"The reaper."

"What about him?" James asked.

"Don't you get it, you abnormally unobservant idiot?"

"I resent that."

"The reaper… He was Death. Get it? The Grim reaper? A reaper? The Grim reaper? The old guy in the hooded cape, with the reaper tool?"

James frowned. "I've heard of him. But you said the reaper was smiling. He wasn't 'grim'."

"He was smiling because… Well, my theory is that he was smiling because he'd get to take another life. Potter. That's what I read on the parchment that came down, remember?"

"And then?"

"Well, the rest, I'm a bit confused myself. I mean, doves and flowers…" Lily shrugged.

"What about the phoenix?"

"The phoenix represents life in some places… someone killed it. You figure it out."

"And the faces? Can you name them?"

"I told you, way too many to count."

"And the wand? What about it?"

"Potter, are you going to ask me about every single detail of what I saw?"

"Maybe," James shrugged slightly, then returned to a thick Transfiguration textbook.

"Boys," Lily muttered under her breath as she got up and left.

*~*~*~*~*

"And Opening the Ball will be the Prefects and Heads. All prefects, and Head Boy and Girl, please report to the front at this time."

Lily got up from her seat and joined James.

"Potter, let's get this over with."

"Faster the better," James nodded, watching a Ravenclaw prefect out of the corner of his eye.

"Marissa Claude," Lily said, following his gaze. "She looks pretty, doesn't she?"

"I detect a note of jealousy, Evans," James shot back, his eyes never leaving Marissa.

"Most certainly not. She and I are simply… not on the best of terms. Last year, her boyfriend dumped her for me. I rejected him anyway, but she despises me still."

"Someone would choose you over her?" James asked.

"Evidently so, Potter."

"Hmph." James greeted the Ravenclaw girl, who gave Lily a frosty look.

"Hi, Marissa! You look lovely!" Lily called after her. "See? We aren't on the best terms."

James glanced at Marissa again.

"Come on, Potter. I know I don't quite live up to Marissa's radiant beauty, but at least pay attention," Lily snapped sarcastically.

If James had less sense, he would have yelled that he didn't think so, that Lily was probably the best looking girl on the floor, but somehow, he suspected that it wouldn't have been a good idea.

Marissa was pretty, though.

*~*~*~*~*

"Vinnis Staegus Non," Lily muttered, while she was on the floor with James.

"What?"

"Side effect of the spell I preformed earlier, Potter. You're shedding," Lily said simply.

"What?"

"Kidding. Learn to joke, Potter."

James gave her a puzzled look as he turned her lightly in sync with the other prefects. "Who needs to learn to take a joke, exactly?"

"Oh, right. Anyway, I'm wreaking havoc at the Slytherin table. Jolly good fun, really."

"McGonagall's going to notice your wand, isn't she? Isn't there a strict 'no-magic' rule?" James asked as Lily did a quick side step.

"I didn't use a wand. Telekinesis. Very interesting concept-"

"I know what it is," James interrupted irritably.

Lily frowned as they swept across the dance floor. "Let me finish, will you?"

"Fine. Go on," James said.

"Never mind. I might as well be talking to a wall," Lily's eyes flashed a look of contempt at him. "Tell me, Potter, why are you so concerned about what I saw in your soul?"

"Because… I just want to," James said, avoiding looking at her, which was quite hard, as this was the point in the dance at which they were required to look at each other.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"You ask too many questions, Potter. Don't forget… Filch'll have to come up with the punishment."

"Huh?" James asked, as the dance ended and Lily left him.

*~*~*~*~*

"So… Sirius, I believe you promised me a dance," Lily smiled at him.

Sirius laughed. "So I did. But just as long as I don't have to do that complicated waltz you and James just did back there.

"I guarantee you, you aren't quite up to the level, not that I doubt your capabilities."

"Sure."

Sirius, however, was soon whisked away by another girl, and Lily found herself spun by a large number of different boys, until Remus took her, and everyone else was too tired.

"So, Lily, what have you been doing during the Ball so far?" Remus asked.

Lily laughed; Remus had watched her dance the entire night. "Hmm… Guess."

"Er… Did you happen to meet a secret admirer?"

"Not to my knowledge, unless you'd like to prove me wrong, Mr. Lupin."

"Eh, I'm quite sure he'd rather I not reveal that information to you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, ma'am. So… What did you tell James? He was blabbering about blackmail again, and how we were the 'pawns in your chess game of life'."

Lily tilted her head. "Well, actually, he would be the knight, which I'd have to eventually sacrifice. Sirius would most likely be a knight, also. You, Remus, would be a rook. And Peter… Peter is a pawn."

Remus laughed lightly. "And who are you? The fair queen?"

"No. I'd be the chess player who declares all your moves," Lily replied.

"Wise. Even more powerful than the queen. But we're getting off topic."

"I told you before, Remus. Play a prank, get caught by Filch, and Filch must come up with the punishment. Not a really severe task."

"I know. But still? Why do you want to blackmail us?"

"I don't know… Six years of torture on myself aren't good enough reason, Remus?" Lily asked as they left for the snack bar.

"Ah. That."

"More reason than that, I despise your friend, the sacrificial knight."

"Er… James?"

"The one and only," Lily responded, ladling some butterbeer into a cup.

"Why?"

"Haven't we been through this before?"

"Yes."

Remus smiled bitterly. "But I still have to ask, as I still believe you don't really hate him."

Lily shrugged and matched his gaze for her own. "Aright, then. Perhaps you're right, Remus. Perhaps I don't despise James Potter. Maybe I do. Is there really that much a difference between friendship and hate?"

"You mean love and hate."

"Same thing," Lily snapped.

"No, big difference."

"What are you saying, Re-" Lily suddenly froze and her eyes glazed over.

"Lily? Lily?" Remus asked in an echoing voice. His image was blurring…

A sudden flash brought Lily to a new scene. Remus and Sirius… both older a shabbier looking. Both were carrying a look of complete malice at a rat. Another flash brought her back to reality. Dumbledore was frowning.

"D-did everyone just see that?" Lily asked.

Remus nodded. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Lily answered faintly. "I'm- I'm perfectly fine. Just a little tired. I'll just go get some rest…" Without warning, Lily slid to the floor.

*~*~*~*~*

"What happened?" Lily mumbled, stirred from a deep sleep.

"Oh, Lily! You're alright!" a voice identified as Evelyn's cried. "You went all rigid, and-and you sort of seized up. Then you came back to normal, and then you fainted."

Dumbledore walked in, looking disturbed. "Miss Evans, did you, er, see anything?"

"See? Oh! No, sir."

"Tell me if you do," he said, then walked out of the door, looking more troubled than ever.

"What was that all about?" Evelyn asked confusedly.

"Complex and uninteresting things," Lily muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Evans!"

"Professor?" Lily asked groggily, trying to put Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, and Dumbledore into focus.

"Remember your dreams tonight. They should be of great significance," Dumbledore said.

"What?"

"Your dreams, Miss Evans…"

Lily didn't hear the rest, as she fell asleep.

*~*~*~*~*

"Take Harry and go! Go, Lily, go!" A man's voice.

"No! I'm staying with you!" A woman's voice.

She clung to a small bundle tightly. "Hurry and run! I'll hold him off!"

"No! I'm staying with you!"

"Go! Don't worry about me! Just go! Hurry and run! Take Harry!"

"I'm staying with you!" the woman said insistently.

"At what expense? Your life? Run, Lily, run!"

"No! I want to stay with you!"

"Go, Lily! Now! Take Harry and run!" there was an edgy urgency in his voice now.

"But-"

"Go! Take Harry and run!"

"I-"

"Go now!"

The woman took the bundle and gave her husband (Brother? Friend?) a tight hug. "Good-bye, James."

"Good-bye, Lily."

She then ran. Behind her, she heard a soft thump to the ground as a flash of green and laughter filled the air.

"No! Not my son! Please! No!"

"Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside."

"No! Take me instead! Please, take me!"

"You had your chance years ago. Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside."

"No! Please, not Harry! Please! Not Harry!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No! Please-" she dropped to the ground.

Lily woke up in the hospital with a start. In his dorm, James did the same.

*~*~*~*~*

"I had the weirdest dream last night, Moony," James said in detention the next morning. (Filch had "caught" them "defacing" the girls' bathrooms)

"What about?" Remus asked, as he grimly put on thick, dragon skin gloves.

"I can't remember it all… Lots of green. Two people and a baby named Harry, I think," James continued, as he picked up a small blue toothbrush and joined Remus and the others for their detention experience.

"Hmm… You could get Sybil to interpret it all for you, you know. She'd be more than willing," Remus suggested, taking red toothbrush and crouching down to the cold, stone floor of the owlry.

"You're kidding, right? She'll probably make it out into some sort of dramatic death I'm going to suffer," James said, carefully stepping to another end of the room.

Sirius picked up his toothbrush. You're kidding me, right? Are you saying that dying from the toxic wastes of owl droppings isn't dramatic enough for you? Didn't know you turned into that Hufflepuff, Lockhart."

James laughed; their detention had been to clean the owlry of any, er… wastes left by the owls with tiny toothbrushes, with no magical assistance. It included the wall, the owl cages, the floor, and the ceiling (don't even ask how it got up there.)

"I wouldn't say that, Sirius. But, yes, I require a much more dramatic death," James said, with an exaggerated haughtiness in his voice. "I wish for lights, cameras, action, and, alas, owl droppings." He looked in distaste as one of the owls left one on his shoulder.

"Manual labor. Ugh. Take the picture now, Peter. Evans wanted proof," James said, quite sure that Lily would value a picture of him on his hands and knees with owl droppings on his shirt. "Perhaps she'd like it framed."

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Pretty long, I guess that may be a bit bad, unless you like long stories and chapters. Hmm. Perspective works in funny ways. I made major changes from my manuscript here, but for the better.

To Come: Lily's reaction to her dream, Dumbledore has a rather odd conversation with Lily about James, and the prefects begin a project that is most interesting. (Guess who's Lily's partner? Starts with a J, ends with an S, and rhymes with 'names')