"Is this it?" Lily asked.
"Is this what?"
"IT? We just do our exams and go home and that's it? We don't even get a party?"
"We should have a prom," Mia spoke up.
"A what?" James and Sirius asked.
"A ball. A party."
"We've had a party,"
"But that was just for Gryffindors. We should have a big party like Halloween for all the seventh years," replied Lily suddenly warming up to the idea.
"So it's going to be like Halloween all over again?" James asked uncertainly, remembering how stressed Lily had been.
"Yeah, it'll be great! People loved it last time!"
"Can't wait," he replied rolling his eyes.
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Lily came bubbling into the Heads Rooms a few hours later practically bursting with excitement.
"Dumbledore said yes! But we have to invite everyone who's leaving-including any fifth and sixth years,"
"So we're actually doing this?" James asked. "Again?!"
"Yeah," Lily replied looking happy.
"I blame you for this," he whispered to Mia. She smiled in apology and turned back to Lily. "If I actually thought she was listening I wouldn't have said anything!" she hissed back.
"But, we only have a week so you all have to help me ok?" Lily asked and bounced back out the room. As soon as she left all eyes narrowed and turned to Mia.
"I'm sorry!" she squeaked.
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"Costume party,"
"You can't have a costume party on the last day,"
"A prom,"
"A ball,"
"A prom,"
"WHAT THE HELL IS A PROM?"
"A muggle thing. I think it's American. Students have a party when they leave school,"
"WELL I'M AN ENGLISH WIZARD, HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?"
"Sirius will you please stop shouting?"
"Yes Lily. Sorry Lily."
"ANYONE GOT ANY GOOD IDEAS?"
"Now you're shouting!"
"I'm not, I'm just making myself heard!"
"YOU'RE SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS!"
"LOOK WHO'S TALKING!"
"Lily! Sirius! Calm down! Ciara's trying to say something,"
"Can't we just have the one we had at Halloween?"
"No! You can't re-use a party,"
"But we already know what to do,"
"So you think we should have pumpkins and cats and scary things dotted around the hall do you?"
"I've got a cat you could borrow,"
"NO! WE'RE NOT USING A CAT, WE'RE NOT DOING A HALLOWEEN PARTY IN JUNE AND UNLESS MIA WANTS TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF A PROM TO THE ENTIRE SCHOOL, WE ARE NOT HAVING A PROM EITHER!"
"Good luck with her James!"
"Sirius, unless you have anything useful to say shut up!"
"Yes PROFESSOR!"
"I'm just trying to get something done. We don't even have a week to get this sorted out,"
"THAT WASN'T USEFUL BUT YOU STILL GOT TO TALK!"
"WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A PROM? THE ONLY DIFFERENCE TO A BALL IS THAT IT HAS A DIFFERENT NAME!"
"WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THE HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS BUT WE COULD JUST HAVE THE SAME MUSIC AND THEMES AND STUFF,"
"HOW COME EVERYONE ELSE IS YELLING BUT YOU'RE ONLY HAVING A GO AT ME? STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES!"
"I GIVE UP! JUST GO! Lets face it, none of you really want to be here, just go and I'll sort everything out. Really it's fine. James, Sirius go play Quidditch and Belle go cheer them; Remus go teach Pete something; Ciara go play with your spells and Ellis go do Mia's nails. Now go. GO!"
"Are you sure-"
"Leave or I will have to hurt you,"
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"Before you all dash off to your lessons, as I am sure you are all eager to do," Dumbledore said at breakfast a few days later, his eyes twinkling. "I would like to inform you that there will be a dance held in the Great Hall for all seventh years and those in the fifth and sixth years who will also be leaving us at the end of term. I am told that it will be in the Great Hall and that it will be commencing at 7.45,"
"You actually sorted it out on your own?"
"Did you have to sound quite so surprised?"
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"How am I supposed to know what to wear?" Ellis asked the day before the planned party. "When we don't even know what's happening?"
"Just wear…." Lily started to say but was interrupted by a puff of smoke form Ciara's wand, "Just wear what ever you want,"
"But what….Ciara do you think you could do that a bit quieter?"
"Sorry!" she called back, and drew the curtains around her bed in an effort to try and muffle the noise.
"But what kind of thing?" Ellis continued.
"Whatever you want,"
"That doesn't……. DON!" she screamed as a particularly loud bang sounded.
"I'm trying!" Ciara yelled back.
"You'll see what it's like when you get there," Lily replied smiling at her friend's impatience.
Ellis was about to reply when something bigger than a puff of smoke, something bigger than a bang echoed through the girls' dormitories.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Don? DON? CIARA?" Ellis yelled running over to her bed. Clouds of smoke were now pouring out from inside the curtains.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" James and Sirius shouted from downstairs, frustrated at not being able to climb up and see what was happening.
"Ciara was playing around," Mia offered as an explanation.
"Is she alright? Are you lot ok?"
"Yeah we're fine, but……" Ellis trailed off.
"Bring her down, we'll take her up," James decided.
James carried the unconscious Ciara up to the Hospital Wing and they all waited for Madam Pomfrey to finish. Mia had run off to find Remus but the others were waiting in silence. James was twitchy because he was in the hospital; Lily and Ellis were afraid that they would cry if they opened their mouths; and Sirius was lost in thought. He was feeling guilty and not at all liking this new sensation.
"Apart from a mild concussion she'll be fine," Madam Pomfrey told them, and smiled at the audible sigh of relief. "Do you know how it happened?"
"A spell backfired, I think,"
"Is she awake?"
"Yes. Ten minutes and that's all!" she called out after them.
They skidded to a halt just at the edge of her bed.
"Hi," she said brightly grinning at the all.
"Why do you look so happy, you almost killed yourself,"
"Simple accident. But I'm fine so it doesn't really matter does it?"
"That depends. Have you finally had enough of messing around with spells?" Lily asked.
"It was just an accident. But I know what I did wrong so I can change it. See what I was saying was…."
"You're not actually carrying on with this are you?" Ellis asked. "It must be the concussion talking! You could so easily have ended up with much worse than a 'mild concussion' and you're here talking about trying it again!"
"Alright, alright! I won't do it again. Do you know when I can leave here?"
"Either later today or tomorrow,"
"I still get to go to your party?"
"If you don't kill yourself before then, yes,"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ciara was released early the next morning, and made a beeline down to the Common Room, and was greeted with:
"Oh….still breathing then,"
"JAMES!"
"Hurry up Ciara, you're late,"
Ciara was about to blurt out an apology when James saved her.
"Why do you need so much time? I mean you look great at the end so it must be worth it, but why do you have to waste so much time?" His question was met by five icy stares.
"Well….perhaps you'd like to go to the dance with a group of hags, just as long as we're saving time," Lily snapped. There was only eight hours left and her patience was wearing thin.
"Note for the future mate, do not EVER mess with girls when they are trying to get ready," Sirius advised. "Amusing, but not worth the hassle,"
"You've taught him well," Ellis remarked to Isabelle.
"I'd listen to him James, because in about five minutes time you are going to make a stupid remark, Elle will make a catty one back then I'll get stressed and start shouting so….. I'm saving time," Lily emphasised the last three words and smiled slightly.
"Sorry…are you kicking me out of my own room?" James asked.
"Yes. Ball starts at 7.45."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Will you stop? You're making me nervous too!" Despite her calm front, James knew Lily was uneasy, whether it was the slight tremor in her voice when she spoke or that he could feel her hand shake as he held it. "You did it before and it was great, you can do it again,"
The earlier differences had been settled by a simple combination of compliments ("You look ….wow!") and kiss-arseing. ("I'm so sorry I said it was a waste of time. Only nine hours? Worth every second!"). Probably helped by the fact that the boys turned up early, compared to their custom of arriving ten minutes late with the excuse 'I thought you'd want to make an entrance.' They reasoned that it would be the last dance they'd be dragged to; they might as well pretend to make an effort.
James and Sirius were taking Lily and Isabelle naturally. Despite their recent rows, Remus had, albeit grudgingly, agreed to take Ciara. Peter was going alone, his old infatuation with Mia seemed to have restarted, who, unfortunately for her, was also going by herself. Having a boyfriend out of Hogwarts didn't seem concern her as she made a bet with Ellis- four hours to pull as many boys as possible and counting the same boy more than once. Ellis's previous record was seven and they were both determined to beat it. Peter, however, seemed to take it as a sign. They were both going alone and as soon as he heard that Mia was planning to pull as many boys as she could, became convinced that he was destined to be one of them.
"For gods sake relax!" James told her for what seemed like the fifteenth time that night.
"But I didn't have much time to prepare anything. What if people hate it? What if they're bored? What if…."
"It'll be fine, come on,"
The only question that seemed to steady Lily was Sirius's- Why does it start at such a weird time? Her answer was a secret smile and a mysterious 'You'll see,'
As they walked in together the realisation that it would be the one of the last times they were in the Great Hall together seemed to dawn on them. They'd be back for breakfast tomorrow, and after that…… well they'd think about that later.
It wasn't elaborately decorated like the last time. There was no theme and the decorations wouldn't change every few minutes but it seemed more fitting somehow. The decorations were simpler, chains of fairy lights strung around the walls, unlit candles hiding in the corners and the traditional balloons. Thick curtains hung over the windows adding to the atmosphere; the only light in the hall came from the sky above them.
"Why does it have to be so dark?"
"Don't ask questions. Have a little faith," Lily smiled at him and walked over to the windows.
"Here goes!" she sighed before calling out to everyone who immediately stopped talking and turned around to listen. When the cheers had died down, helped by James and Isabelle, she pulled open the curtains and Sirius got the answer to his question.
Orange sunlight poured in through the windows as the sun set over the grounds. That, everyone had to agree, was better than any decoration they could think of. From the Hall they could see right over the grass, the lake and the forest. Everything had taken on a golden colour, and looked far more dramatic than it usually did.
They had spent years eating, talking, laughing, listening in the bustling centre of school, but wasn't how they'd remember it. When they thought back, it wasn't crowded, dark or noisy. It was silent, with everyone just standing, watching the swirl of colours out the window.
But it didn't last long enough; a while later it was dark outside, the candles had been lit and the fairy lights turned on. Much to James and Sirius's disappointment there was no food this time, though their faces brightened when they found the drinks.
"Where did you manage to find a band at such short notice?"
"God knows. Still…..they're not too bad," Lily answered. "Good enough to DANCE TO,"
James was staring determinedly in the opposite direction.
"You're so lucky you brought someone. Now you have someone to DANCE WITH," Mia smiled back.
At this point James decided that his plan wasn't working and that he was going to have to dance, whether he liked it or not.
"Care to dance?" he asked in his best 'jolly good' voice.
"I though you'd never ask," which was half true. Lily had wondered when, if ever, he was going to give in and just ask her to dance.
Sirius however had more important things to do than dance. While Isabelle was off finding them something to drink, he'd noticed that Peter was staring at Mia and was muttering to himself.
"Why don't you go up to her?" Sirius asked.
"I do! But it's not working,"
Sirius shook his head slowly and began to speak as though he was talking to a small child.
"She's playing hard-to-get,"
"She keeps walking off,"
"That's the point, go after her,"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. When a girl keeps walking away from you to means you're in with a chance," Sirius looked around and added in a whisper "She likes to be pursued,"
Peter seemed to cheer up and grinned at his friend. "Thank you Sirius!"
"No problem," he replied, barely concealing a smirk as the other boy walked away, going through Sirius's advice in his head. How anyone could be so stupid was beyond Sirius.
"You stirring again?" a voice whispered in his ear.
"Who? Me?" he asked giving her a look of pure innocence.
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"Oy Black! Over here. I want a word with you!" Mia hissed looking murderous. "I am THIS CLOSE to loosing ten Galleons and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"Er…….why?"
"You told that twitchy little creep to follow me around, DIDN'T YOU?!"
"That…….maybe true,"
"STOP HIM OR YOU'LL OWE ME 10 GALLEONS!"
"But you've got to admit it is funny,"
Mia glared at him.
"Just one dance, that's all the poor sod wants. Two minutes of your life that's all,"
"Just one and then he'll leave me alone all night?" Mia asked thinking about it.
"Would I lie to you?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Meanwhile, Lily was attempting to start a serious conversation with James. However James was in one of his quiet moods and was barely talking.
"We leave tomorrow,"
"I know,"
"Are you still serious about…. living together?"
"Course,"
"Don't you think we should…. What?" she asked as he stood up and held his hand out to her.
"We're dancing," he offered as an explanation.
"But you can hardly hear the music out here,"
James smiled slightly.
"You're not getting out of this conversation,"
James rolled his eyes. Why did girls always want to talk?
"I mean am I moving or are you moving or are we both moving. Do you want to move straight away or wait a while? Where to? Do you want to stay in London, or do you want to move out to the country?"
James shrugged.
"We don't have much time left, so PICK SOMETHING!" she growled.
Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to avoid talking either, he sighed.
"We'll live at the parents' for a month to give ourselves time to get things sorted out. We'll both move, don't know where to yet, but we'll both move. Are we done yet?"
She obviously wasn't going to get any further-
"Yeah, we're done,"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Please?"
"NO!"
"Please James!"
"No."
"Come on!"
"NO!"
"But I am so close! Mia is beating me by, like, three blokes. Come on! One little peck, that's all,"
"One- there must be three blokes in here who aren't with anyone already, and two- you're bet is to pull someone, not a little peck,"
"But-"
"Ellis, no!"
"Fine!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What you doing?" Mia asked as Peter stepped towards her.
"Dancing?" he said, suddenly unsure.
"Oh no one dances like that anymore," she replied stepped back and swinging her arms around madly. She'd agreed to dance with him, but that didn't mean she had to touch him.
They danced like that for a while until the music slowed and all the couples automatically moved together. Sirius had promised to rescue her after a dance but he was nowhere to be seen.
Faking a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes, they started to dance- Mia grimacing every time he stepped on her feet. Fortunately Sirius appeared out of nowhere and had swept her across to the other side of the Hall before Peter realised anything had happened.
He was a much better dancer than Peter, she had to hand him that. He moved slowly but not clumsily and surprisingly lightly, never stepping on her feet.
"As nice as this is, shouldn't you be doing this with Isabelle, not me?"
"Are you that desperate to get rid of me?" Sirius joked.
"No, stop fishing for compliments," Mia scolded laughing. "I was just wondering why you aren't dancing with your current girlfriend,"
"I'm not allowed to dance with a friend?"
"I suppose. Anyway….. thanks for that," she muttered.
"Any time,"
"There will never be another time,"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Shouldn't that be you?" Lily asked watching Mia and Sirius dance.
"What? They're friends,"
"He's YOUR boyfriend!"
"So? Aren't friends allowed to dance?"
"That's not dancing! There's barely an inch between them!" Lily pointed out.
"Come on, I'll dance with you Belle," Since Isabelle was now looking very worried, James decided to end the conversation before Lily managed to get her completely paranoid.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Please?"
"Piss off Quinn."
"Believe me, I really don't want to be asking you of all people, but please? I'm drawing with Mia, one bloke and I can win!"
"Do I really look like I care?"
"One kiss- that's all,"
"Why would I possibly want to do that? Anyway, Isabelle is standing just over there,"
"No she's not- she's dancing with James. Please? She'll never know,"
"My god you're a bitch."
"Fine! I didn't know you were so well trained,"
"Well trained? I'm not a…. What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Come on- we're always talking about it. Isabelle's always saying that she's got you wrapped around her little finger; you'll jump to her every whim. I always thought she was exaggerating, but……"
"Just go find a desperate geek and use him,"
"I do have some standards….. albeit not many, but some,"
Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh.
Smiling Ellis carried on, "Please? Don't pretend you're 'so in love' with Isabelle you never even consider anyone else, you were dancing with Mia a second ago,"
"That's different. She's a mate,"
"And an ex…. And it was a very slow dance……."
"Belle's dancing with James, but you don't see me getting jealous because they're friends,"
"Then think of it as doing a favour to a mate,"
"You're not a mate."
"Alright then don't. Please I'm begging you! I'll owe you a favour. You'll have one over me...." she added watching Sirius's brain beginning to tick. "One second, that's all I'm asking,"
Then without saying another word, he snaked a hand round the back of her neck and pulled her into a rough kiss. Barely a second later he pushed her away making dramatic expressions of disgust.
"You breathe a word of that…." He hissed. Ellis made a face.
"Trust me, I won't even think about it. You don't have to look quite so repulsed, it didn't bother you a few years ago," she reminded him sweetly.
"Yeah well, kids are stupid."
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"Do you think people enjoyed it?" Lily asked as she danced with James. The fact that it was near the end of the night seemed to be sinking into the other students- the Hall had quietened down from the loud roar of voices and laughter there was at the beginning of the evening to a gentle murmur.
"Looks like it,"
"What's the time?"
"Five to twelve, why?"
"Just wondered," she paused and looked up as though she was waiting for something.
"Seriously….what is it?"
"In five minutes it's all over,"
"Stop feeling sorry of yourself,"
"I'm not!" she said indignant. James snorted and didn't reply. It looked as though he had finally found something to say when an explosion rocked the Hall around them. Golden sparks like minute stars fell down form the ceiling disappearing just above their heads.
"The grand finale?" James asked with a smile. Even the murmur of voices had disappeared as everyone stood watching the fireworks above then.
"Well……you didn't expect us to walk away quietly did you?".
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Its almost over 1 more chapter left… This took me forever- my computer decided to pack up halfway through and now only half my keys work- very frustrating especially as the enter and full stop keys dont work i have to cut and aste everytime i want a new ine or full stop or comma ITS DRIVING ME MAD!
Thank you to-cilverblood (do you honestly expect me to tell you? Good you like him but i have to say i love SiriusThat girlsounds like a bitch- if she was only out for a few seconds you need to TRY HARDER!); sissy-6 (Thanks! i really am trying to write the next bit but imalso trying to write four other stories and a years worth of coursework so it may take some time!); quick thanks to-crazi4jamez BiBiGunGuRL shan secludeddark and BurningIce22…