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Lily entered the empty common room and stared blindly at the walls for a few minutes, still standing in front of the portrait hole. It was lunchtime and after a quick bite of her ham sandwich she had decided she didn't want to sit through the meal with everyone around her musing about the ball tomorrow. She sighed deeply and now fixed her gaze on her toes.

She jumped when James called to her from across the room, "Lily, a good idea would be to move before someone comes in through the portrait hole and knocks you down." she had thought she was alone. Lily walked over to the chair he occupied.

"Hey James." Lily uttered feebly, sinking miserably into a pouf across from him. James, who was reading a book looked up at her and frowned.

"What's wrong? What are you doing here anyway, shouldn't you be at lunch?" he asked, concerned.

"No appetite…" she answered, in the same pitiful way. She sighed, "What about you?"

"Already ate, thought I'd hurry it up a bit so I could do some research." he answered, frowning. James waited for her to say something in vain.

"So what's wrong, why do you look so depressed?" he inquired, closing his book with a snap, sitting up in his chair to stare her down. 

"James? Research? That's a quidditch book isn't it?" she said, snorting.

"As a matter of fact, you're wrong. I am doing research, don't ask me what because I'll just ignore you. Answer my question." he answered seriously.

"I'm just tired." she said, glancing at him, "Can't you see the bags under my eyes?"

"No," he answered, peering exaggeratedly at them and making her smile, "I don't see them because they aren't there… which is probably because you aren't  tired."

She rolled her eyes, "How would you know?"

"Because it is the day before the anniversary ball, the first and probably only ball we're having before graduation and being the delicate lady that you are," she smirked at him, "if you were tired and had bags under your eyes, I'm sure you would not sit here and sulk about them, you would run up to your dormitory, apply toner or whatever-"

"Concealer"

"Sorry, concealer and worry about looking as great as you can for tomorrow night, right?" he finished, smirking knowingly.

"Yes James, you're right, I am that shallow." she laughed.

James leaned back in his chair "No you're not. If you were shallow, you wouldn't have agreed to go with Peter to the ball would you? And I bet that's why you're down right now."

"Yes Mr. Potter, right again. How do you do it?" she said sarcastically.

"Face it, I'm brilliant," he grinned. He walked over to another pouf, dragged it over to where Lily was, and sank into it so that he was at eye level with her. She sank deeper into hers as he openly searched her face, making her squirm uncomfortably. He sighed, "Lily, listen. Going with Peter won't be as bad as you think. You don't necessarily have to only dance with your partner at the ball so you'll be with other people too. When you guys aren't dancing, you can sit at a table and I'm sure one of us will be there and at dinner we'll all be at the same table so it'll be just like going as a group or something. It won't be so bad." he said comfortingly.

"Yeah, I guess… I can't help but think…. if anyone else was even going to ask me though…" Lily muttered, sighing deeply. To her surprise, James laughed.

"Oh my god, Lily. You make yourself sound as repulsive as a Manticore," he said, rolling his eyes.

"What? Peter asked me two days ago and everyone I knew already had dates by then… it's a valid concern you know." she said, glancing at him. "I can't help but think if Peter was the only person left…"

"You know that if I hadn't asked Charisma I would probably have asked you. And you also know that if Peter hadn't asked you, and word had gotten out that you didn't have a date yet, guys would be lining up for you and now you would be sitting here heart-broken over how many guys you have to reject."

"Yes I guess…" she muttered, not at all convinced. "One more problem though"

"What?"

"I fear this shall be the hardest to answer," she took a deep breath "How James, how does a girl dance a slow dance with a guy four inches shorter than her?" she wasn't surprised when James started laughing hysterically.

"Sorry, I was just imagining it in my head," he said when he had calmed down  "C'mon" he said as he stood up.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking at him puzzled as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Nowhere. You're going to practice slow-dancing with a guy four inches shorter than you." he answered, wrapping her arm around his neck and his around her waist and at the same time holding her left hand in his.

"You're forgetting that you're taller than me, James." she smirked, an amused expression on her face.

"Hmm…" he looked thoughtful. "How about this?" he said, bending his knees a bit

"You're still taller." she laughed as he bent further.

"How about this?"

"A little more…" she answered, looking thoughtful.

"Now?" he asked, crinkling his brow.

"Now you're down to an inch shorter than me…." she answered implying that it was not enough.

"Lily, I can't bend my knees any further without kneeling…." James said, now about three inches shorter than her.

"Kneel then!" she exclaimed, smiling, a glint in her eye. He glared at her.

"Okay, okay…. hmm…." she thought about it for a minute. Then, suddenly grinning she said, "Hunch!"

"What?" he answered, bewildered at her command.

"You know… bend your back forward, like you have a hump…" she clarified, moving her hand to his upper back and gently pushing it down.

"Lily!! You're not practicing dancing with a cripple!" he complained, now about six inches shorter than her, knees and back bent.

"Don't be silly, you look fine." She said, delighted at seeing him like this. He glared at her, not convinced.

"Now I'm too short, let me get up a bit." he pleaded.

"What's wrong with being too short, you're teaching me to dance with someone who is shorter than me, aren't you?"

"I can't stand like this for long…."

"That's not a problem, just conjure up a cane."

"Clearly you're having too much fun with this…" he muttered.

"Wait! Stand there just like that, I want to look at you!" she said brightly, letting go of him and backing away into the chair he had occupied before. She giggled as she took a good look at him. He glared at her at first but then, realizing that this was an opportunity to be prime entertainer, a role he took on as often as possible, and also a way to cheer up his friend, he began striking poses, as though Lily was a photographer. He started out with just blowing kisses in his crippled state, enough to make Lily laugh, and progressed to doing a kind of uncoordinated tap-dance, sucking his lips into his mouth as though he had no teeth and squinting through his glasses, howling "I lost my teeth!" and "I'm a cripple!" alternately.

"Having fun?" Charisma smiled, materializing suddenly out of the shadows and walking towards James, her eyes on Lily who was now crying with uncontrollable laughter on her armchair, it was obvious she was trying desperately to stop. James stopped as soon as she had spoken and his face broke into a – from Lily's point of view – a sickening grin.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, swooping down to give her a light kiss as she arrived at his side, smiling.

"I was wondering where you were! I thought you said you'd be at the library, returning a book…?" she narrowed her eyes at him, smiling as Lily managed to compose herself.

"I was, I came in here to find it and I thought I'd look up on last thing before I returned it," he pointed to the book, that was now lying on the floor, "then Lily came in all depressed about her date for tomorrow, you know – with Peter, and I thought I'd cheer her up."  He bent down to pick up the book and didn't notice the glare Charisma threw at Lily.

"Oh yes poor Lily, you're going with Peter! Well, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Anyway, who you take to the ball will make no difference. You can sit with James and I when he annoys you." she said, clearly by her glare, not meaning a word of it as James beamed.

"Why thank you Charisma, James was just saying that I could sit with you and the rest of our group when I feel like it." Lily replied politely as James smiled.

"That was an amusing way to cheer our friend up." she commented to James, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and sliding hers around his waist, ignoring Lily completely and making her seethe enough to want to tackle the shorter and smaller girl and stomp her to death. She resisted the urge.

"I was actually trying to teach her how to dance with someone shorter than her," James chuckled, "but of course Lily here had to make me bend my back and my knees so I could be the right height and then of course she started laughing hysterically so-"

"I know, I was watching," Charisma interrupted, "that was a cruel thing to have my boyfriend stoop to, Lily, no?" she said, as an icy sneer crossed her face that looked like a jesting smile from James' aerial point of view.

"I'm sure he enjoyed himself," she sneered back at her. James frowned at her, wondering why she was being less than friendly to his more than friendly girlfriend. Lily stood up, "Well, I have to get going, I have to return a book to the library. I'll see you guys later, thanks James." she said, walking towards the portrait hole as quick as she could, and pulling a small book out of her pocket.

"Wait, Lily, since you're going there anyway, can you return this for me?" he threw his book and she caught it, muttered "Sure," and made her way through the scattered poufs.

Charisma called after her, "Lily, darling, why are you in such a hurry? Wait. I'd like to accompany you." she said, smiling broadly, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not, I'd be delighted." Lily retorted with an equally sweet smile plastered to her face. James was watching this, confused at their formalities.

"Bye then." he called to them, settling into a chair by the fireplace and pulling something out of his pocket.

"Bye James!" the girls chorused and then quickly turned to each other, identical glares pasted on their faces, both looking like they could kill each other just for saying goodbye to James. They climbed out of the portrait and turned the corner, still glaring at each other, neither of them speaking.

"So Lily," Charisma stopped in front of the library and turned around, "Think its that easy to giggle your way into James' heart, huh?" she sneered scornfully, dangerously blocking Lily's way into the vast rows of knowledge, after their tense, silent walk from the common room.

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