"We should tell the girls." Rafe decided finally. "There are an
odd number of girls and an odd number of boys. James will have a room to
himself, so we can plan all the better, and Lily must have a room to herself so
that special modifications can be done."
Munguldus and Ronan nodded, and Remus and Sirius grinned.
"I hereby call an emergency meeting of the Quidditch team and
their dates." Rafe announced. The entire train compartment looked up. James and
Lily were getting up with the rest.
"Not you two. You two are used to high society. We are not. We
need to go over etiquette." Rafe added quickly. James shrugged, and Lily went
back to her book.
"So, what are you wearing tonight?" James asked casually, trying
to make conversation.
"What, to the opera?" Lily asked. "Why?"
"Just want to scope out what would compliment whatever you're
wearing." He said in defense.
"Shall I read the description on the dress box?" She asked,
raising her eyebrows. Since when does James Potter care what anyone is wearing?
"Green would be out of the question tonight. I have three shades
of green for the balls." She chattered.
And I'm sure you've got coordinating accessories to each
dress. James thought.
"This stunning gown possesses an inheritance of poise. Precise
hourglass tailoring on the fitted bodice flow into voluminous lengths of
iridescent taffeta in several hues of bright yellow. Sixty inches to the hem. I
have a black opera coat to put over it." She said, looking up from the dress
box she had fetched. "Though I have no idea what to wear with that.
Accessories, I mean."
"Wow, Princess Lily doesn't know what to wear with a dress!"
James exclaimed with an air of playful sarcasm.
"It's not like you gave me much time to think! A week to find
five formal gowns! That nobody else is wearing! That gives me a whole lot of
time!" She said with fake disgust.
"I'll find you something." James said, picking up the book Lily
was reading and avoiding her eyes.
"And how on earth do you plan on doing that?" Lily asked with
raised eyebrows. She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a questioning
look.
"You can borrow a dress of my cousin's. She's about your size.
She lives in Godric's Hollow with my mum." James said, opening Lily's book and
reading it.
"And do you really think I could find something I liked? I
can't say I like my dress, or, I should say, the color of my dress." Lily
asked. James kept reading her book.
"Oh, you will." He said, trying to hold back a chuckle. He
failed.
"So my dress is going to revolve entirely around the accessory?"
Lily asked. Now she realized how annoying it was to have somebody reading and
avoiding your eyes.
"Certainly. It's not too much, or else the dress would look
plain. Lord forbid that! But I'm sure you'll like the accessory. It's not yours
to keep, mind." James said, closing her book and handing it to her.
"Rather boring book, I might add." He said. She was ready to
slap him about playfully when the Quidditch team filed in. Unbeknownst to Lily
and James, they were about to become the victims of a fantastic plan.
"Ohmigoodness, Tara! This dress is wonderful!" Lily exclaimed.
It was almost exactly like the one Lily had planned to wear, except this
one was a mix of brilliant blue and midnight blue, it was shiny, and it had a
matching wrap.
The yellow dress lay on Tara's magnificent four-poster. Tara
would definitely look better in it. Her hair was dark like James's, but hers
was, well, let's just say she definitely knew what a brush was.
Tara smiled. Never once had her cousin brought home such a
great girl. She was so charismatic, energetic- Jubilant. "I've got matching
high heels. But under that skirt, no one will notice them. You're so tiny,
Lily."
"I like being petite." Lily huffed with artificial distaste. "My
size is like a pixie's!"
Tara laughed. She was going to like this girl. "Jimmy-boy will
send over the jewelry, I'm presuming."
Lily laughed. "Jimmy-boy!?! Yes, I think so. Are you going
tonight?"
Tara looked taken aback. "No, but the Minister's son is my
escort to the balls."
"Too bad. I would have loved to hear you taunt James at the
opera."
Tara laughed again. Definitely Potter material.
Lily had everything. Her powder papers were tucked in the
white silk evening bag she had with the ornate gold closures, and her purse
mirror. She was just waiting in front of her floor-length mirror for the
jewelry to arrive.
She was surveying her pale-blue French manicure when a knock
at the door suddenly put her back into her senses.
"Come in." She said absentmindedly, hoping the glossy scarlet
stuff on her lips wasn't too much.
She didn't turn to see who it was, but the voice was
distinctively James's. "Close your eyes." He murmured.
The next thing Lily knew was that James stood behind her and was
slipping a piece of jewelry around her neck. She involuntarily flinched.
Normally jewelry was cold on her bare neck. But this was surprisingly warm.
"You can open them now." He said.
Lily gasped. It was a ruby-drop choker, that had a diamond
dropping from the center ruby. It was perfect for the dress. He was right. Her
hair was in a simple up-do (think Aubrey Hepburn with auburn hair, Breakfast at
Tiffany's, no tiara).
"I knew you would like it." He said. Lily didn't see the sort of
tender affection in his eyes, she was still staring at the necklace. Her
diamond studs were nothing compared to this. Thank goodness they were simple,
the choker and the dress took over her.
"You've always looked elegant, but now you look regal." He
whispered in her ear. He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Be down at
seven."
Lily finally recovered herself. "What, you're not going to
escort me down the stairs?" She joked.
"That, Princess, is for the Ministry of Magic balls." He said
with a teasing look in his eyes. "You look great. With or without the
necklace."
"Thanks." She murmured as he left her room, closing the door
softly behind him."
The opera was rather
funny. It was Cinderella, but with extra narration. Like with the overly grand
bibbity bobbity boo, the narrator added "Imagine if we did Transfiguration like
that! Minerva McGonagall would give me a detention!"
Lily laughed and took a peek at James, who had been staring at
her laugh. She turned her eyes back to the stage, though she knew she couldn't
see it that well without her opera glasses.
Lily and James were sitting in the two seats at the very front
of the opera box. James was high society, and this was Dumbledore's way of
recognizing the new royalty at Hogwarts. Lily knew that the dim little lights
in the opera box picked up on the necklace and gave a reddish, white glow on
those on stage. Even the narrator commented on that, in a very grand, soprano
voice. "It seems as if evil has risen, die! Die! Let thou takest the red glow
with the death!"
Lily laughed again.
James was wearing a sleek midnight blue tux with his own
alterations. The jacket with its three cobalt buttons was buttoned up, and
there was a filmy white ascot tucked into the collar of his shirt. His pants
were finely tailored and his shoes well-polished. He had seemed to control his
messy hair finally, and Lily smiled at this. He handed her into their carriage
and had Remus, Sirius, Missy and Jenny smirking in an I-told-you-so kind of
way. They were to have a late supper at the fine restaurant of their choice,
Dumbledore and James were such prestigious figures that they had everything on
the house.
"We are not eating Italian!" Lily insisted with a playful
squeak. "This dress is on loan!"
"Well," James joked, "Can you think of anything else?"
Sirius groaned. "You shouldn't have said that, James."
The girls (all six of them) came down into the hotel lobby in
their pajamas or athletic gear. Lily led them down and they found comfortable
positions on the big armchairs waiting for the boys to come down. They ordered
huge mugs of hot chocolate, turkey and cheese sandwiches and lots of
mayonnaise, and they just sat there, sipping hot chocolate until the boys came
down.
James got the gel out of his hair and it was messy once again. He
took off his glasses- He didn't really need them, except for reading (and in
tonight's case, struggling to watch the opera). He couldn't see what was so bad
about letting Lily choose what they were doing tonight.
He switched from the silk tux into his plaid flannel pajama
bottoms and a short-sleeved white shirt. His hair was messy again, but with the
three hours of struggle James put up with it, it was actually kind of cute.
He sort of hopped down the stairs, so boys following in suit,
but he stopped their chatter and their noise. "Remus, your camera."
Remus handed James the camera he always had with him. The girls were
without makeup, simply in their grungiest clothes, flopped in different
positions on huge armchairs, sipping hot chocolate. Their hair, though still
looking good, was very messy.
There was a sudden flash. James, glasses-less, brought the
camera down slowly with a slow grin. Lily got up with fake anger and rushed up
to him. He caught her and began spinning her around.
"You thought you were quick enough for James Potter?" He asked
as she was shrieking happily for him to put her down. He eventually got her
flipped over his shoulder, her butt in line with his ear. He held her by the
back of her knees, as she pounded lightly on his back with her tiny fists.
"So, what are we doing tonight, Princess?" He asked as he set
her down on the armrest of the chair he sat down in.
"Where am I supposed to sit?" She pouted, noticing each chair was
taken and ignoring his question.
"A lap is always nice." He said. She snorted.
"How do I know whether it is classy enough?" She asked with fake
snobbiness.
"How do you know whether I'll make copies of that picture?" He
asked with a really fake solemn look on his face.
"Fine, fine." She pretended to pout. "Bony, rather bony."
"Hey, like you'd be much better!" He really did pout. Sirius
stared at them.
"What did they put in that hot chocolate?" Sirius whispered to
Remus. Remus shrugged his shoulders.
"Let me ask again. What are we doing tonight, Princess?" James
said as he wrapped his arms around Lily's waist. She squirmed perkily.
"Well," She began, turning her head to face James. "I was
thinking someone could teach me to waltz."
James froze. Sirius nudged the guys to point it out, mouthing "I
told you so."
"James?"
"Princess?"
"Will you?"
"First we show them how not to waltz."
"Fine."
James forced his cheek against Lily's, making her mouth looking
like a rubber band, dirty on the floor. The group laughed. He also took her
into a bear hug so tight they exploded snorting and laughing. James managed to
say, "I've seen it happen."
And then James looked at the floor and Lily looked at the
ceiling. Their eyes, that is. It was rather funny to see rubber-band mouth girl
still squeezed cheek-to-cheek with open-mouthed drooling boy, and they were
looking opposite directions, Lily's arms limply by her side and James's so
tightly around her he looked like he was suffocating her.
The clerk chuckled. He put on a record- Minuet In G Minor. It
was rather amusing, because now James was instructing the proper way to ask for
a dance with just body language. They began to waltz in a small circle. They
were enclosed by the fireplace, the two couches, and a rather large coffee
table. They danced on the rug, looking very elegant, even though they were in
pajamas. To make it funnier, Lily's left pant leg was rolled up to her knee
when the other was down. Everybody was laughing.
"Lily put that down." James ordered. "Last time it would have
been funny. Now you are in a ball gown, waiting for your favorite song to come
on."
Sirius winced, hoping she wouldn't bite his head off.
Instead she obeyed meekly. They were quite a good dancing pair.
She loved this rush.
One by one, the couples began dancing in the tiny space. But
Lily and James were always center. The Gryffindor Quidditch team slowly began
to file out. Arabella whispered- "We'll be waiting in your room."
"I guess we should stop."
"I guess we should."
"Stop moving your feet, Lily."
"Right."
"Do you need me to walk you up to your room?"
"I'm not falling off a staircase again, Jimmy-boy."
"Oh, I am going to kill Tara!"
"Whatever you say, Jimmy-boy."
"So, did he kiss you?" Arabella said after Lily flopped herself
down onto her bed. Helen sat on the huge chair by the window, Missy and Jenny
were playing Gobstones on the foot rug. Jackie was tossing a little ball up in
the air, and Arabella was sitting on Lily's trunk.
"Ew, gross! Potter? Kissing me?" Lily said, this time truly
appalled. Or am I? Evans! You've got a mission!
"Well, did he?" Jackie persisted, taking up the way James cocked
up his left eyebrow.
"Oh, stop it, Jackie.. No, he didn't and he won't." Lily said
firmly. Missy giggled.
"You do realize the way he was looking at you when.." She began,
but Helen piped up.
"At the opera."
"In the carriage."
"On the train."
"Downstairs."
"When he came back from your room."
"When you came back from the Potter mansion."
"When he carried you down that staircase."
"When you came into the Common Room on Monday."
"Up in the top box."
"Enough, enough!!" She demanded. They were getting annoying.
"Not like she would ever have him." Arabella said.
"Why?" Jenny inquired.
"Yeah, why not?" Helen said, getting down from her chair.
"Lily, is it alright if I tell them?" Jackie asked meekly.
"Just do it in someone else's room. I can't stand going over
that again." She said quietly. "Plus, I have to decide on what dress to wear
tomorrow."
The girls slowly filed out of the room. They had heard part of
the story from ranting Rafe (as Missy called him) and didn't understand a word
("Of Ranting Rafe." "Shut up, Missy." "Just because you're his date, Helen..").
"You'd be proud of me, Claire." Lily murmured to herself as
she put the dress away. "I snagged a rich one." She still had her make-up on
for the night, and she cried herself silently to sleep. The mascara ran and the
blush was stained, but in this state, Lily had never been more beautiful. Revelation
is a slap in the face, but emerging was a new and better Lily. One that didn't
want to complete her mission to break James Potter's heart. One that wanted to
forget, just for a moment, that she was practically royalty. One that just seemed
to want to be normal.
A/N: I was weirding out with
some of the reviews, asking if I would complete this! I meant I wouldn't finish
the book, The Gilded Lily. I will certainly finish this series to the highest
extent that I can.