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A/N Well, this is the meeting, and the end of the first part of the story. I originally wrote this differently, with a completely different plot in mind, but it got too clichéd, so I dumped it in favour of the upcoming four chapters. However, if you do want the second ending of this chapter, feel free to email me, and I'll send it to you. Hope you like this, and please R/R! Thankyou so much for all the reviews I've got so far!
~Stef
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Lily glanced at herself in the mirror, happy with the final touches of her outfit. Her dress was a green that brought out her eyes perfectly; it was, after all, why she had chosen it. It was strapless, and close fitting down to her waist, where a belt of fire separated it from the skirt that spread elegantly out.
A cloud of mist obscured her head, all except her green eyes. The mist had sparks of fire in it that flashed every few seconds, to go with her theme, which was fire. Her shoes were green, threaded with gold, and at her neck was a thin gold chain. At the end of the chain, a teardrop of solid fire shimmered. Both her belt and her necklace were of real fire, but without heat. She didn't want to set fire to Hogwarts or to any of her dance partners, particularly Fork.
Lily waved her hand across her face, and suddenly the mist was gone. Her face was made up with only a touch of make-up; Lily had never been into the face-paint that some girls put on (she was thinking of Daisy, the Slytherin 7th year that was commonly referred to as 'the cow'). Instead, she had light gold glitter across her eyelids, and a lip-gloss that wouldn't ever rub off. Magic was useful in so many ways!
Lily passed her hand across her face again, and the mist returned. Then she snapped her fingers. Immediately, all the fire and the mist disappeared, leaving her with silver jewellery, a silver teardrop on the end of her silver chain. Her shoes were threaded with silver, and the shade of her dress lightened from a vibrant green to a pastel shade. Lily smiled. She was confidant that no-one watching as she stood watch would be able to recognise her in her masquerade dress.
Then, without snapping her fingers and resuming her outfit, she left to the hall. She had first duty with James.
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James himself looked pretty good, in plain black dress robes and a black cloak. He smiled at her as she came into the hall. The other prefects were also there, and, like Lily, they weren't in masks. Dave, the other Hufflepuff 6th in charge of the ball didn't say much. He reminded them of the order that they would be on duty, told them yet again that the unmasking would be at half past midnight, and then said they could go. The other prefects went off to open the door, and put on their masks.
Lily didn't bother, but she went and took up a position next to the door where she could watch everything and not get it the way of the dancers or the food. James came and stood next to her.
"You don't mind, do you?" he asked.
"Not at all. I don't have anyone to talk to, everyone's out dancing." Lily smiled at him, and scanned the dance floor, trying to see if she could spot Fork. She couldn't.
"I guess you took part in the letter sending thing we set up, then?" James asked. Lily took her attention away from the dance floor and focused on James. She would have all night to find Fork.
"Yes, I did. I came off quite luckily, actually. Some of my friends were annoyed. In fact, Lisa found out that her correspondent was Sirius."
James grinned broadly. "I tried to talk him out of it!" he said. "I guess she was pretty pissed, huh?" Lily smiled.
"Just slightly. What were those green things?"
"I don't know. Sirius put them in envelope, with some sort of spell on them so they'd stick to whoever-opened-it's face."
"It worked. She couldn't get them off for an hour! When she found out it was Sirius, I had a hard job convincing her not to… well."
James laughed. They chatted for most of the rest of the hour, and Lily found herself warming to him. She had thought he was a bit of an idiot, academically brilliant, but not caring about anything apart from his pranks, before she got to know him a little bit better through the prefect stuff. Now the half hour flew by, and soon she was going outside to change her clothes into their masquerade aspect. Soon, she'd find out who Fork was! She closed the door of the Great Hall behind her, and then snapped her fingers. Lily gave it a minute, and then returned to the Great Hall.
It was just after half past eight, and there was at least another three hours before she had to find Fork. She went over to the food and drink, and poured herself some water. Then she sat, looking around to see if there was anyone she might recognise.
A short way away there was a girl sitting alone like Lily was, and from the way she held herself Lily guessed her to be Sharyn, another of the Gryffindor 7th year girls. Lily got along with her, but she wasn't one of her close friends. Still, it wouldn't hurt to talk to her for a bit.
Lily stood up to go over to her, when she felt a tap on her should. She spun, to find herself face to face with someone. He wore black trousers and a white shirt. She was about to say something when he raised his finger to where his lips would be, hidden under a black hood. As he did so, she noticed the cufflinks on his long-sleeved shirt; they were in the shape of forks. Lily grinned, although he couldn't see it under the mist. He bowed, and, grinning again, Lily curtseyed in reply. His brown eyes were the only part of his face she could see. His eyes crinkled as he smiled and held out his hand, obviously asking her to dance, and she took it, smiling herself.
She danced with Fork three times before she was whisked away by someone in midnight blue dress robes. She only danced with Fork once more after that, and then she left the dance floor to get another drink.
Lily ate a little of the food, ignoring the plate of green crisps that hadn't been there a few hours before. It was, no doubt, a prank of the Marauders, or Marauder-wannabes. Sharyn was gone, but Lily moved to sit on the seats that were at the sides. As she did so, the 6th-year Hufflepuff prefects stood on the table that the professors usually ate at. Lily smiled, but the girl was talking.
"This is the end of our masquerade ball." She smiled at everyone, and the boy took over.
"We will have one last dance, and then a bell chime will signal the unmasking!"
There was a smattering of applause, and Lily put aside her drink, looking around for Fork. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and found him right next to her. Lily allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor. Fork had perfect timing, in a second the music started. It was a slow song, and Lily enjoyed it immensely. She found herself looking into his brown eyes, wondering if she knew anyone with eyes of that shade. Fork was looking into her eyes, too, and Lily wondered if he was trying to guess who she was.
He was tall, but not a lot taller than Lily. She thought again, but nobody came to mind. But she would find out soon, now it was time to just enjoy the dance. Soon, (too soon, Lily found herself thinking) the dance was over. Then a great chime sounded throughout the hall. Lily let go of Fork's hand, and passed her own hand over her face, her hand movement simultaneous with that of… James Potter.
Lily couldn't help it, she gasped. But she was smiling. James was also smiling, and he said, "Should go outside and find someplace to talk?"
Lily nodded, and she led James out of the Hall. When they got outside, she hesitated.
"The lake, perhaps?" James suggested.
"Yes." The walked there side by side, not saying anything. Lily found everything clicking into place, and she felt her smile surge again. Then they reached the lake. The grass was wet with dew, and Lily, despite wanting to talk to James, had absolutely no desire to ruin her dress. But James was ahead of her in his thoughts. He summoned something from his room, and immediately a blanket came down and settled on the grass. Lily smiled gratefully, and sat on it, as did he.
"So." James said.
"You're Fork, then."
"And you're Fire," James smiled. "What's the significance to your name?"
"Oh, it's… well, fiery hair and fiery temper. And my father, he calls me 'Fire Lily.' 'Water' didn't seem to suit. My friends do too, occasionally. What about your name?"
James smiled slightly. "My friends call me 'Prongs,' it's just a nickname they gave me. That's a long story in itself, that I might tell you some other time. But forks have prongs. It just struck me as funny at the time."
Lily grinned. "I never would've figured it out. Never. Did you have any idea who I was?"
"None whatsoever. Tonight, when I first saw you, no, when I first saw you in your masquerade clothes, I knew your eyes, I just couldn't place them. How did you change clothes so quickly?"
Lily snapped her fingers, to show him.
"Ah, clever. I had an illusion going." James told her. He took out his wand and muttered something under his breath. Immediately he was as she had seen him before, in black robes with a black cloak. "Here." James took her hand up to the neckline of his robes. Where it looked like she was touching the edge of his robe, she felt a collar.
James smiled, and banished the illusion. Lily moved her hand hastily. "Good job!" she said, suitably awed. "That must have taken you some time to perfect!
"It did. Little things are ok, but something this big was hard, especially to hold on to for an hour or so."
"I know; that's why I chose not to go for illusion. I found it easier to charm my dress."
"You would." James said, but he was smiling. Lily shivered; it was cold. Early spring at Hogwarts could be quite warm in the daytime, but at night it was cold. She drew her wand and hastily performed a heating charm.
"Are you cold?" Lily asked, but James shook his head. They sat there in silence for a moment. It was for about a minute, and then James laughed softly.
"Hmm?" Lily asked, staring out at the lake, watching the moonlight reflect off the ripples.
"It's just you know more about me than most of my friends, except maybe Sirius, and yet we're not talking."
"Talking is superficial," Lily murmured, more to herself than to James. Then she snapped out of it and grinned at him. "I'm sorry. Moonlight does funny things to my mind." She glanced up at the moon, and blanched.
James followed her look and gasped. "I forgot! We've got to go!"
Lily was already standing up. James stood, and Lily snatched the blanket and ran. They sprinted for the door to Hogwarts, thinking only of the full moon. Dumbledore had warned the school only the week before that there was a loose werewolf in the area, and on full moons they should not be out on Hogwarts grounds, just in case.
Lily sprinted to the door, James close on her heels. Finally, they reached it, and went inside. Dumbledore was standing there, eyes twinkling.
"You forgot my warning, didn't you?" He asked them.
"Well…" Lily started, feeling scared still.
"Actually, the werewolf problem has been dealt with, otherwise the door wouldn't have opened for you. I was just coming in search of the pair of you, actually, to tell you that and to ask you to address the rest of the school in the morning." He eyed the blanket. "Cold outside?" He enquired evilly. James openly glared at him, but Lily blushed and told him about the letter project.
"Ah, I see. Well, perhaps you would like to retire to your dorms soon?"
It was all the hint they needed. They took their leave, and returned to their rooms.
"Typical Dumbledore," James muttered, but he was smiling. "Are you doing anything tomorrow? Because the Marauders and I are going down to Hogsmeade, and I'm sure they'll all want to quiz you about that last Snape prank you caused." James shook his head, smiling. "No wonder!"
Lily grinned at him. "I'll come, I don't have any other plans. See you!"
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A/N And here's the end of part one! The next four chapters are after Hogwarts, where they get a job, and… well, we'll see the rest. Don't forget: review!