"Lily, what are these?" James called out as Lily slipped into a hunter green evening gown in her boudoir. He stood in her parlor with his hands behind his back, itching to touch the embroidered, leather-bound books that sat, open, on her desk.
"Hmmm?" She replied, pins in her mouth and hands on the difficult hooks on the back of her dress. She sighed as she finished, beginning to add the finishing touches to her hair.
"Olde Magik?" James continued with surprise. "I thought these were rare."
Lily, having sat down to adjust her shoes under her mermaid skirt, looked up in shock. "T-t-t-they are."
She opened the door of her boudoir with a guilty slam.
"Lovely!" James exclaimed, but returned to the book nonetheless, scanning the page. "Dimensional swaps, m'dear? Going to another Anti-Interference conference, love?"
Lily sheepishly avoided his eyes. "Well…"
James's eyes narrowed as he crossed the room. "Lily? Must we go into an 'I Love Lucy' sketch?"
Lily hated it when he referred to Muggle TV. It was quite an irresistible quirk of his. She let out a snort of vulnerability, but put on her game face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Lily! Are you toying with fate here?" James demanded, with a soft look in his eyes. "You know that trying to change the pass is very much frowned upon and extremely difficult!"
Lily's pride took a blow, and anxiously, she began to defend herself. "But James, I've done it! I've made our playboy, spoiled son into the humble, intelligent and all-around great guy we've always wanted him to be! I've made Libby yearn for the better things in life, the trouble is keeping her here!"
"Lily, we are not having this argument. You can't change fate! You make them go back this instant, from wherever they came from!" James insisted in an almost-squeaky voice.
"Oh, but it's far more dangerous that way, don't you see? Bringing them here was hard enough, but having them leave before they've made their decision could alter everything. We could have our Harry and their Libby or their Harry and our Libby, or even two perfect strangers! As of Sunday morning, the only four people who will know what's what are you, me, and them! But we can't have an entirely different pair try to readjust!" Lily argued in an almost-pleading voice. "Oh, James, they're so close. They're so close to being us… They're so close to being better and braver than we are!"
The Marauder curiosity in him suddenly kicked in. "What are they like?"
Lily smirked. "They're absolutely perfect. Harry's got a humility and a romanticism about him that is beyond his years… Something you got in about seventh year. He's practical, and politically correct. Libby is feisty, but she knows right from wrong and she's ambitious, and she's got a determination to get her way. Her one weakness… Is beginning to become Harry. If Harry can give her a good argument, she'll most likely fight for his issue 'til death! They're absolutely perfect, for the country and for each other!"
"Do they know it yet?" James asked worriedly, slipping an arm around his wife's bare shoulders.
"Did we?" She retorted, grabbing an emerald-beaded evening bag.
"Touché."
Libby sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, her eyes focused on Harry and her brother's game of chess, but not truly thinking about it. Her eyes were void of emotion, and a sinking feeling washed over her.
She was leaving this world in another four or five hours. This world of greasy pizza before extravagant balls, this world of at least one loving family member, tons of friends and a loving Harry, versus absolutely no one and nothing. She didn't know why she was leaving, but… Somehow she felt she had to. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she closed them, letting one fall. Her chin began to quiver and she swept out of the room, unable to take it anymore, and locking the door of McGonagall's empty room behind her.
Harry looked up a moment later to find that Libby had disappeared. Seeing as the portrait hole was closed and the girls were still all in a group near the fire, he decided to seek her out. "Ron, finish this game for me, will you?"
"But your Great Uncle Sir Alexander always scowls at me when I make a bad move!" Ron protested of the chess set that was modeled after the royal family.
Hermione rolled her eyes and offered to take over. "What a prat."
Harry chuckled half-heartedly as he made his way to McGonagall's room, tucked away underneath the girls' staircase. He withdrew his wand from his pocket.
"Alohomora." Harry murmured, opening the door ever so softly, slipping in and closing it.
Libby looked up, her face streaked with tears. "Go away."
"Come on, Libs. We've gone through too much for you to be this stand-offish." Harry reasoned, sitting down on McGonagall's bed next to her.
"Whatever." She whispered, turning away with her arms crossed.
"Mighty smooth, you know. I laid down underneath that carpet for two hours thinking about you. Of course, I'm the one who looked like a failed rapist." Harry joked, and Libby tried not to smile.
"Stop dancing around the subject." Libby muttered accusingly, inching away from him.
Harry looked taken aback. "Me, dancing around the subject? Libs, I can barely dance around you, yet alone this mysterious, nameless subject."
Libby, again tried not to smile and closed her eyes, a tear dripping off of her eyelashes. "Harry," She began in a quivering voice, "I'm leaving tonight."
Harry scooted back, his brow cinched in confusion and pain. "What?"
Libby swallowed the lump in her throat and continued in a harsh tone, "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I already told you that I can't stay here."
Harry took a deep breath, retorting in his own angry voice, "But that was before—I thought we—Libs, why?"
"You know why!" She
exclaimed in an upset tone, standing up and turning on her heel to face him. "I
can't do this, I can't be this person whose fate is completely mapped out for
her!"
"As opposed to what, Libs?" Harry
asked in a low pitch, his eyes darkening as he stood up. "Having no plans for
the future at all?"
"Oh my God! That just has to be your argument, huh? You want everything to be predictable and perfect! News flash, Harry, life isn't like that!" Libby shrieked, her fingers tightening into fists.
"Don't tell me about predictable and perfect! In case you don't remember, in this other world, BOTH of my parents are dead. FIVE times, someone has tried to kill me! This is new to me, too, but I kind of like having family, friends, and… You. I don't want to go back because there's no way… We could work out." Harry said, beginning harshly, but his tone and eyes softening. "Libs, I'm not trying to have everything perfect… I'm just trying to have one thing perfect. But it seems she won't have me."
He stepped forward, at first to hug her, but changed his mind. He took one of her loosened hands and brought it to his lips. "Bon voyage."
With that, he left and closed the door behind himself.
Libby's eyes, full of vulnerability and tears, could barely comprehend the empty space that had once held the only reason to go and which now formerly held the only reason to stay.
You've given me a true love
and every day I thank you love
For a feeling that's so new
So inviting, so exciting
And now he didn't want her. Of course a handsome, dashing prince, the number one most eligible bachelor in the world, wouldn't want the girl who had rejected him and instead her looser counterpart.
She thought all of this as she dejectedly walked up the stairs to her dormitory. The girls followed her example and Libby slipped out of her sweater and jeans and into a corset that Ginger began to lace. She held onto a bed post, compiling her thoughts.
She jerked as the image of his smile, lighting up his eyes and the rest of his face, played in front of her. She jerked as someone fastened her choker around her neck, reminding her that he could offer her a lifestyle and riches that were more than either of them could dream of in the other world.
Whenever you're near
I hear a symphony
A tender melody
Pulling me closer
Closer to your arms
She smiled at the thought of their senseless arguments, and frowned at the memory of their waltzing. How close and how fitting it had felt…
Then suddenly, I hear a symphony
Ooh, your lips are touching mine
A feeling so divine
'Till I leave the past behind
I'm lost in a world
Made for you and me
She was in her dress, her hair was curled and pulled up, and her friends were looking at her expectantly.
"I'll go get Harry." Ruby said all of a sudden, as if just remembering.
Libby forced a smile at her beautiful friends, dressed to the nines with wide eyes of innocent anticipation. "No, don't." She ordered gently. "We're… Meeting somewhere else."
A fit of giggles burned through the group like a wildfire.
"Let's go, girls." Hermione whispered.
"See you later." Libby managed to murmur after them, sitting down with a faint, false smile on her face.
Whenever you're near
I hear a symphony
Play sweet and tenderly
Every time your lips meet mine now baby
"Lady Black." A very exotic-looking woman said approvingly. "You look lovely."
"Thank you." Libby said breathily, descending down the stairs and forcing a smile.
She suddenly found herself yanked into another room.
As soon as a light came on, Libby could clearly see her redheaded godmother standing there with two books, one of Olde Magik, and the other, Lily's fifth year yearbook.
"Come on, honey." Lily whispered in a choked voice, offering her hand.
Libby swallowed a lump in her throat, not taking it.
"You haven't changed your mind, have you?" Lily asked hopefully.
Libby slipped her bare hand into Lily's gloved one.
Lily sighed. "Can't say I didn't offer."
Libby let her godmother lead her away, but Harry's face kept flashing in front of her eyes. His pleading words kept repeating themselves in her head, until they were in her own voice.
Baby, baby
You bring much joy within
Don't let this feeling end
Let it go on and on and on
Now baby, baby
Those tears that seem my eyes
I cry not for myself
But for those who never felt the joy we felt
Libby and Lily stood on the outskirts of the Hogwarts' grounds, in a circular break in the grove of trees, around a well-lit fairy fountain. Lily opened her book of Olde Magik to a dog-eared page.
"Once the person in question has made their decision, if to go back, they must have the enchanted object that brought them to the said dimension before them. Once the spell is uttered by the third party, it will take ten minutes of their dimension of origin's time for the complete transformation to be made. The object will float in front of them. However, if the object is touched by the dimensional traveler, the dimension he or she ends up in is undetermined. However, it will only be between the destination and the point of origin. Wherever they end up, they will be forced to stay. The porthole will be closed forever." Lily read in a monotone voice, though Libby swore she heard a sob in there. She looked up at Libby. "Do you understand?"
Libby shook her head sheepishly.
"It means that when you're traveling, if you touch the object in front of you, you might be sent back here. Forever." Lily explained in a low tone. "So keep your hands to yourself, okay?"
Libby nodded.
"Once the spell is uttered, the third party must leave, to avoid being sent to the other dimension as well." Lily continued, then looking up again. "I'll Apparate."
Libby nodded as Lily handed her the yearbook.
"Bon voyage." Lily whispered, hugging Libby tightly before withdrawing and getting her wand out.
Libby closed her eyes, and tried to block out Lily's voice. Suddenly, she found herself floating in a tube, music playing and the yearbook the only clear thing she could see.
Whenever you're near
I hear a symphony
Each time you speak to me
I hear a tender rhapsody of love now
Libby closed her eyes and covered her ears. "Stop it! Stop it!"
Love songs were the last things she needed to hear at the moment. As if this decision wasn't hard enough without dumb old Motown songs playing in her ear. Why not some rocker-chick's independence proclamation or some bitter bitch's mournful cry? Why not Meredith Brooks or whiny show tunes? This was getting annoying. Why couldn't she just be the jaded, spoiled and forgotten, poor little rich girl, unloved and unwanted?
Libby opened her eyes and let her hands fall to her sides. She knew why.
This world was where she belonged. Where she was wanted and loved, where dumb old Motown ballads made sense, as opposed to Meredith Brooks. If she left, who knows what kind of girl would take her place at Harry's side?
"Here goes." She murmured, slowly reaching out for the yearbook. She squeezed her eyes shut in hopes that she'd be where she should have stayed.
Baby, baby
As you stand holding me
Whispering how much you care
A thousand violins fill the air
Libby opened one eye cautiously, and looked down. She was still in her expensive evening gown near the beautifully lit fountain, the yearbook in her hand. She opened it and flipped through it. The pictures of Ruby, James, Ginger… Everyone was there.
She rolled her eyes heavenward. "Thanks."
Harry moved from partner to partner, knowing that soon, in a sharply tailored, low-cut and harsh-colored gown, this world's Libby would appear, teasing him and every other male at the party. She'd glare, she'd whine, and she'd be his fiancée.
His eyes were blank as Ruby began dancing with him, murmuring worriedly about how Libby was late and wasn't he supposed to escort her here?
"Spat." Harry muttered in reply. Ruby smirked and the music stopped temporarily in order for Aphrodite to make a completely false speech about how much she had loved working for Lily for the past few days. Harry's face was void of anything remotely similar to happy. The music began again, this time an old slow song, and he tried to make his way through the crowd towards the stairs to escape, looking at his feet.
Libby checked herself behind a shrub, and took a deep breath before walking in front of the fountain. The music that had been playing over and over in her head began in reality.
Harry looked up when the chattering crowd gasped in unison and fell into silence. There, at nearly the top of the stairs, stood Libby in full stance. Not in the sharply tailored, harsh-colored and low-cut slinky dress he was supposed to expect of this Libby, and not with a teasing smirk on dark lips and a coy look in darkly-rimmed eyes. Instead, she was in a soft-colored, elegant and sweet ball gown, light pink lips and a look of sweet, final surrender in her glimmering eyes.
"Isn't she lovely?" Someone murmured, and Harry nodded. He made his way up the stairs.
Now baby, baby
Don't let this moment end
Keep standing close to me
Ooh, so close to me, baby, baby
Baby, baby
I hear a symphony
A tender melody
He skipped up the last few steps to her side, offering his arm.
"Sorry I'm late." Libby whispered apologetically into his ear, and he smiled, knowing there was more she wanted to say, but felt she couldn't.
"Sorry you had to come in without a proper escort." He replied in a gentle tone, as if saying everything was alright.
"All forgiven." Libby murmured, in more of an inquisitive tone than a forgiving one.
"All forgiven." He repeated firmly.
Lily smiled from her position in James's arms. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present my son, Prince Harry James Potter, and his fiancée, the lovely Lady Liberty Isabella Black."
Libby placed her hand in the crook of Harry's arm firmly, finalizing her place there. She finalized her place in his heart, and his in hers. And they began to walk down the stairs.
A/N: Not the end if you don't want it to be, people! I Hear A Symphony belongs to the Supremes, Motown, Barry Gordy Jr., etc. Tell me if you want more.