Forever
Year Five
Part Five
Subtitled: In which Anna and Sirius force their friends into action.
The Old Charms Room
Thursday, 5:30 PM
"Any questions?" Mary McGreggor, the head girl asked as she was about to call the prefects meeting to an end.
"I do." Lily said from her seat directly across from Mary.
"Alright then." Mary said sighing. After all, she was ready to leave. She had a date tonight.
"It's about the invitations to the Christmas Ball. When did we decide that you have to have a date to get in?" She asked, hoping it was a mistake.
"We didn't, I did. Head Girl's prerogative. Any other questions?" She paused a moment. "Alright then, see you Tuesday."
Everyone gathered their things and filed out the door of the old Charms classroom. Lily sighed again as she headed to her dorm to get ready for dinner. "What a stupid rule." Lily thought. "Who on earth, besides Mary, would require a date to the dance?" She raked her brain for perspective dates. There was of course Remus, whom had always been her friend. Or she could just go with Sirius. Since he was her cousin its not like there would be a lot of pressure. Her thoughts rested lightly on Peter before stopping at Snape. Not for the first time in the last week, she wished she knew why he had broken up with her.
Lily was halfway to the Gryffindor Tower when she was stopped by a particularly good looking fourth year.
"Hello." He said cheerfully."
"Hello." Said Lily.
"You're Lily Evans right?" he asked. She nodded. "Well I expect you've heard of me, I'm Gilderoy Lockhart."
Lily raised her eyebrows. "Sorry, no."
Lockhart didn't look put out in the least and continued on. "Course you have." He said dismissively as though Lily had just told him that the sky wasn't actually blue or something equally ridiculous" Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the ball with me. Got to have a partner you know." He asked with a grin so gorgeous that Lily was willing to forget his pomp.
Lily, unable to take her eyes away form his smile, nodded.
"Great." He said. "See you then." He turned to leave but thought the better of it and turned back again. "Oh," he added sincerely. "You needn't worry about looking as good as I do, nobody could do that." He flounced off leaving Lily staring.
She stood there for over a minute before bursting out laughing. The funniest part of the whole scenario was that he had been entirely serious about her looking as good as him. It took her another full minute for her to realize that she had just agreed to go to he ball with this egomaniac. For no apparent at all reason Lily started laughing at the irony of it all. Well, at least she had a date now.
Fifth Year Girls Dorm
Thursday, 6:30 PM
Lily walked sometime later into the dorm after hanging about in the common room for the better part of an hour. She hummed quietly to herself and pushed the door open softly.
"Hey guys." Lily smiled at Roslyn who was playing cards with Katie and Lessie on Katie's bed.
"LILY!" Roslyn cried jumping up. "Guess who asked me to the dance."
Lily giggled. "Who?" she asked a smile playing on her lips.
"Sirius." She said proudly with a grin.
Lily's smile faltered. "Sirius?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "but what about Anna?"
Now it was Roslyn's turn to stop smiling. "Oh I forgot." She said softly, biting her lip. "DO you think she'll care a lot? I mean, she did turn him down and its not like I like him or anything, he'd just be a really fun date."
Lily sighed and shrugged. "I dunno just don't make a big deal out of it or anything."
"Make a big deal out of what?" Anna asked as she walked through the door.
"Nothing." Roslyn said a little too quickly.
Anna gave her a rather strange look and shrugged. "Well I have a date for the dance." Anna smiled.
"Oh who?" Lessie demanded eagerly. She always loved a good intrigue and this Anna/Roslyn/Sirius love triangle was really starting to get interesting.
"Harry." She said and set her books and her bed. "He asked me after potions."
Roslyn and Lily exchanged relieved looks.
"Well that's good because Roslyn has a date too." Katie said, grinning evilly.
"Oh really Ros? Who?" She asked curiously as she changed out of her school robes for dinner.
"It's no one really." Roslyn said nervously and began to creep towards the door.
"Oh Roslyn, don't be humble, I'm sure you couldn't find one girl in this school, with the exception of Lily of course, who would agree with that assessment of Sirius Black being no one. " Katie said casually as she exchanged grins with Lessie. "Gin." She said and laid her cards down triumphantly.
"You always win." Lessie whined, scowling. "Play again?"
Katie grinned. "Sure." She said and dealt the cards.
Meanwhile, Anna had frozen in front of her closet, suddenly seeming to have forgotten which robe she had wanted to wear. Lily and Roslyn watched her unmoving form nervously. What little color Anna had in the middle of winter drained form her face and she clutched her closet door for support. Things had gone terribly wrong. He wasn't supposed to go out with one of her friends! He was supposed to go out with some bimbo, have a terrible time, and come running back to her claiming to be a changed man. She sighed and turned slowly around.
"Well that'll be fun, Roslyn." She said managing a weak smile. "And who are you going with Lily?"
"Gilderoy Lockhart." She said sighing as she fingered her bed spread.
"Gilderoy?" Lessie asked, barely containing her laughter. "You and Sirius really do have a lot in common. When the person you like slips through your fingers, you resort to bimbos."
"Well." Roslyn said coolly. "I suppose you would be the foremost authority on what its like to be dated for your low IQ, and high cup number."
Lessie opened her mouth to insult her when Lily interrupted, "Wait, What are you talking about Lessie?"
Katie smiled with satisfaction as she looked her nails approvingly. "OH, didn't you know?" she looked up in w would-be pitying way. James Potter is taking Maggie Boots to the dance?" Roslyn and Anna turned their nervous attention to Lily as they waited for her reaction.
That's when Lily decided she had had enough of this conversation.
"See you." She said and decided to head to Drama Club early.
Gryffindor Boys Dorm/Common Room
5:45 PM, Friday
"Well I must say, we all look good!" Sirius said with a grin as they started down the stairs.
James smiled. "Well Peter, Remus and I better get going. Wouldn't want to be late for your date would you Pete? Plus Hufflepuff it twice as far away as ravenclaw." James asked grinning. He winked at his friend and they started for the portrait Peter blushing furiously.
"Do I look Okay prongs?" Peter asked nervously.
James nodded. "Oh Yeah, you look great!" he laughed and they stepped out of the Gryffindor Common Room.
The Fifth Year Girls Dorm
5:45 PM, Friday
"Do you think green was the right choice?" Lily asked as she stared at her reflection. She really was dressed in green. Besides her robes her red-gold hair was tied in a matching ribbon she had red lip gloss on as well.
"Well you can't wear red so its not like there's a whole lot of choices, are there?" Roslyn said as she stared at her own red image.
"I guess it would be a little too much red wouldn't it?" Lily sighed as she fingered her red curls. (She had curled them earlier) "You look nice Anna." Lily smiled at her friend. Anna's thick brown hair was tied in a mixture of red and green ribbons. Her robe was both green and red with yellow sparkles over it.
Anna smiled shyly at her reflection. "Well I couldn't decide on green or red, so I chose both."
They smiled one last time and headed down.
"Well I'd better go, I said I'd meet Harry in the library." Anna said smiling as she slipped through the portrait hole.
"There's Sirius." Roslyn said as she smoothed her robe and walked as confidently as she could manage.
"Lily!" Gilderoy cried and walked over from where he had been sitting. "You look nice, not quite as nice as me but that's not your fault of course." He smiled just as Lily was about to frown, and she instantly forgave him.
"Want to go down?" Lily asked gesturing toward the portrait.
"Wait for us!" Her cousin Sirius called and he and Roslyn ran to catch up with them.
"Shall we?" Sirius asked charmingly.
Roslyn giggled. "We shall."
Dance
8:45 PM
Lily had admit, this was one of the most boring dances she had ever been to. Her table was nice enough, she supposed. James and his date Maggie sat at the end. Remus and Annabelle or Belle sat next to them. Lily really liked Annabelle, they had, after all, been dorm mates and housemates at one time. Next to them was Peter and a very nice Hufflepuff by the name of Sarah Abbot. Then came Anna and Harry. Then Lily and Gilderoy and last Roslyn and Sirius.
At least their table would have been nice if all her friends hadn't deserted her. Sirius was whirling Roslyn around the dance floor and in her fury, Anna had asked Harry to dance. So now Sirius and Anna were trying to out do each other on the dance floor, while making eyes at each other the whole time.
James was chatting with Maggie at the refreshments table with Peter and Sarah. Both couples seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Remus and Belle, at least, hadn't left her but they were so caught up in a discussion of Herbology, a subject Lily hated, that they barely knew anyone else was alive let alone in dire need of their help at their own table.
Meanwhile Lily was bored out of her mind with Gilderoy. Sure he was good looking but that's about how deep his attraction went. They only topic of conversation, it seemed, that he was capable of, was himself. Lily didn't like to be critical but this was getting ridiculous. Frankly, she didn't care how many times he had saved his dorm mates from certain death. How She wondered had things gotten so messed up. Anna and Sirius for example. They're a mess. Look at them. He's so jealous he can't see straight and if Roslyn's not careful she's going to her head bitten off by Anna pretty soon. This is not how its supposed to be. She thought and sighed aloud.
Gilderoy, taking her sigh as a sigh of fright not boredom, continued with even more fever.
The Refreshments Table
8:45 PM
James smiled charmingly at Maggie but only barely managed it. He looked to his friends and suppressed a smile. Anna and Sirius were dancing their partners into the ground to prove to each other that they didn't care. Peter was quite caught up in conversation with his date, and, not surprisingly, so was Remus. Lily, however, looked bored out of her mind. He turned back his attention to Maggie.
"Wanna dance?" he asked.
She smiled. "Sure." And they headed tot he dance floor.
The Dance Floor.
9:00 PM
Anna scowled furiously at Sirius and then even more furiously at Roslyn. Oh of all the nerve! She thought crossly. Why do you care if they're having a good time? A nasty little voice in her head asked. I don't she thought but even as she thought it she didn't believe it.
Roslyn watched her friends with growing alarm before coming to a decision. "Why don't we all get something to drink?" She asked loudly.
"Okay." Said Sirius, glaring at Harry as he walked past them.
"We'll come too." Anna said dragging a very confused Harry after them.
"Can I have some punch Sirius?" Anna asked as he was ladling it.
"Why don't you ask your date?" he asked coolly, letting jealously get the best of him.
"What is WRONG with you tonight?" she asked, losing her temper.
"ME?" he asked disbelievingly. "What about you? You've been PMSing all night." He cried.
Roslyn watched her friends scream and she watched the growing crowd gather. Now Anna was getting her own punch and suddenly an idea hit her.
"Harry," she whispered.
"Yeah?" he asked never taking his eyes off them.
"Follow me. I've got an idea. We've got to find Lily."
"Oh punch all over his robes." Harry commented. "All right." He said and reluctantly tore his eyes off the feuding couple.
Lily POV
9:05 PM
"Whoa!" Lily cried and ran to her friends. By now James was trying to break them up and Roslyn was no where in sight. Peter and Remus had joined the growing circle and were trying to control Sirius while Maggie, Sarah and Belle tried to get the icing our of Anna's hair. He must have thrown some cake at her. Lily giggled at the idea of anyone throwing cake. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm. Lily whirled around to find Roslyn gripping her arm. She whispered something in Lily's ear and Lily grinned.
"I'll take care of it." She said. "But be sure you tell James, Roslyn.
Roslyn smiled. "Harry's doing it now." Roslyn said and pointed to James, who was sure enough getting whispered to by Harry. James nodded and smiled.
"All rightbut I'd better help Anna with this mess first." Lily said, feeling a lot like a secret agent.
Lily grabbed Anna. "You're coming with me." Lily said in that imperious best-friend-knows-best way.
Anna allowed herself to be pulled away but couldn't help asking. "Where are we going?"
"To pack, we're leaving first thing in the morning. Remember, you're coming home with me." Lily sighed as she looked at her friend. "You're a mess." And she was. Her hair was covered in icing and her face was flushed from screaming so loudly.
"Thanks," Anna said wryly. "Listen Lily, maybe its not such a good idea to go with you, I mean you'll be with Sirius and I think we both know that's not a good idea for me."
"You'll hardly see him!" Lily said waving her hand, but there was something in her eyes that made Anna not trust her entirely.
"Come on." Lily said as she pulled her into the bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Back at the Dance
9:07 PM
"Show's over, move along!" James called as he dragged Sirius back to the dorm, trying to work his way through the crowd. Sirius was really a sight to see. He had gone with the less traditional white robes and boy was that a mistake because after Anna had thrown her cup of punch at him and after he had smushed his cake into her hair, she had taken the entire bowl and poured it over his head. He was now dripping with tropical punch.
"What about our dates." Sirius asked, dully, not really caring. Things had not gone as he had planned. He had made Anna jealous, which was what he wanted. He had not, however, wanted to get in a fight in front of the entire school over punch.
"I talked with them. Maggie's going to hang with her friends Marta, and Jenny and their dates and Roslyn's spending the rest of the dance with Anna's date Harry."
Sirius nodded miserably.
"Hey man, what happened?" James asked as they reached their dorm and Sirius started to change.
"I wouldn't pour her any punch." He muttered.
James stared at him incredulous. "First of all, why? And second of all, how did this make her pour punch on her head."
"Um, I was kinda jealous, and I didn't just not offer punch I kinda made a comment or two about PMS."
James shook his head. "Yeah that'll get you slapped." He said. "Or covered in punch." He added thoughtfully. "SO you like her?"
"Yeah, and I ruined everything, its going to be a really long two weeks!" Sirius moaned and headed for the bathroom.
James just smiled secretly.
"Well I'd better take a shower. Don't hold it against me if I drowned." He said, and on that happy note stepped into he bathroom and shut the door.
The Portrait of the Fat Lady
11:15 PM
"Well um, I know we didn't go together, but it was really nice talking with you." Roslyn said smiling shyly at Harry who had walked her back.
Harry grinned. "Yeah. So I guess I'll see you around?"
"Yeah." Roslyn said.
"Cool." He smiled. "Well… bye." He said and reluctantly turned to leave.
"Bye." Roslyn whispered the password and jumped inside. "OH….MY…GOD." she cried and started giggling madly.
The Entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room
11: 15 PM
"I had a lot of fun Remus." Belle said smiling.
"Me too."
There was a rather awkward pause.
"So I'll write you over break?" Remus asked rather quickly.
"Yeah."
"Okay then." Remus said and kissed before she could stop him. He then turned and bolted down the hallway.
Belle glided into her common room before doing a victory dance. "YES YES YES!!!!"
Sirius/Lily/James' House
Sunday, 8:15 AM
The morning after the dance, the gang boarded the Hogwarts Express. They rode the train all day and, after the substantial ride home, ate a quick dinner and went to bed.
"Hey James." Lily smiled at her friend as he sleepily made his way to the table. "You're up early."
James blinked a couple times as he adjusted to the light of the room and reached for the plate of pancakes. "Yeah, didn't sleep that well. My room was in the tower last night."
Lily smiled sympathetically. Sirius' house was a very cool, large house, however, the rooms had a tendency to play magical rooms in the night and if you were unlucky enough to find your room in the tower on a given night, you would be come very dizzy. "Well, I must say that ride home was probably the most awkward ever." Lily said grimly as she remembered the uneasy silence between Anna and Sirius.
"Shall we do it after they eat then?" James asked thickly through his breakfast.
Lily nodded. "Yeah, my aunt and uncle went to London and won't be back til tomorrow. Some kind of conference. Are you sure you can handle this? It might be a little weird."
"Sure I mean what else can we do? I have to, Sirius is at least admitting his feelings and even if he weren't we couldn't use this plan with him, I mean you're his cousin." James' face contorted with disgust. "Nope, the sooner she stops playing those stupid games, the better."
"She's scared James." Lily said quietly, her eyes becoming fixed on her plate. "I mean, Sirius isn't exactly known for having long term relationships is he?"
"Well he's never liked anyone seriously before."
"Its not just that. I mean they're really good friends, she's kinda afraid they'll mess things up. After all, look at us." Lily was nearly whispering at this point.
James creased his brow in thought. "We're friends." He said softly.
"Yeah, but it took awhile, okay a long while. Besides James, let's be honest, its not the same."
James sighed and shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I guess not." He admitted finally. Suddenly he smiled brightly. "How did Roslyn come up with this anyway?" he asked grinning. "When Harry told me, I couldn't help thinking how brilliant it is."
Lily shrugged, thankful for the subject change. "Desperation I guess. We're all pretty sick of their little games and they ruined the dance too."
"I'm sorry it turned out that way Lily. I know you worked really hard to get it ready." James said seriously.
Lily shrugged again and sighed. "Well, it happens." She said tiredly.
"What happens?" Anna asked as she entered the room and took the seat opposite Lily.
"Sarah and Cruis leaving us alone over night." James filled in quickly, not feeling like blaming the loss of all Lily's hard work on Anna at that point, besides, it fit in too perfectly with the scheme.
"Really? Wow, they're trusting, my parents would never do that." Anna said shaking her head.
"Well we're not really alone." Lily said. "The house elves are here and my dad's just a couple halls down and he can jump portraits you know."
"Yeah, how's it going with that. You're dad I mean." Anna asked curiously.
"Pretty good, we talk a lot and he's actually a really cool guy." Lily smiled at the thought of her dad.
"That's cool." Anna said. "SO what are you guys doing today?"
Lily and James exchanged smiles. "I'm going flying." James said casually. "Want to come?"
"I dunno, maybe, what are you doing Lily?" she asked.
"I was going to hang out with Sirius and work on some Charms homework that he's having trouble with."
Anna's head nearly flew at James. "I'm in." she said quickly.
James chuckled. Perfect, absolutely perfect.
To Be Continued
A/N - okay I'm sorry it took so long but its pretty long and in my defense I've been going to see prep schools over a thousand miles away so I've been kinda busy. Haha. Thanks to everyone who reviewed I'll try to get the next part up really soon.
Miriam - I always look forward to your reviews, they always say A LOT and you don't mince words, do you? Hehe James didn't know about the dates being required for the dance because he a) hadn't opened his mail at that point and b) the prefects hadn't decided on that, the head girl had added it with out the prefect's knowledge. The invitations were sent out to all fourth years and above form the prefects. I'm SOOOOO glad you like Snape, I do too, and I tried to make him seem like a good guy at heart. Peter will get more involved soon and I'm going to continue all the way to when Peter gets to the Weasleys.
Ashleigh - Thanks! I know my friends wanted her to dump him too but the story works better if Snape dumps lily, not the other way around! J
Sophie - Actually the Sirius/cousin thing took ME by surprise too. One day I was laying in a bed trying to think of ways to make my story original and it just came to me. I'm so glad you like it, I do too. I always thought Sirius would make a great big brother but that's been done so I thought, why can't he big brother Lily?
Valicity - Aww I think that's the best compliment I've gotten in a LONG time. This is your favorite story? Thanks! I'm glad you like the whole dance thing, I hope you still like it when you read about it!
Clarissa - thank you! I'm sorry this was so late. I'll try to do better next time. Hehe J
Roo - Just read through your story! Very cool, I left some reviews so check them out!
Chind - Chan - Ahh another convert ::sigh:: Life is good! Sorry this took so long to get up.
Mfstrbrfly - Thanks and I'm glad you like the Case of the Muggle Witch its one of my favs!
Wolfeyes - ::giggle:: haha I loved the NOOOOOOOOs they were really funny!
Ginny - you are one of my oldest reviewers, did you know that? Haha I love your reviews thanks A LOT! Happy belated holidays
Mandy - ::grin:: I really liked the Remus/Lily stuff too.
LaurenV - Thanks ! J
Brittanie - haha thanks! It may seem like a lot but keep in mind that its like 30 some chapters ! J
Dayna - Thanks I know this isnt up that quickly but the next chapter should be quicker
