Memories
Chapter 7: A Night to Remember
DISCLAIMER: I do not own J.K. Rowling's work.
A/N: This chapter has been revised. Please review!
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General PoV
February fourteenth. Valentine's Day. The day for which all the girls in the castle get excited for weeks beforehand, holding up corridors to whisper and giggle at various boys.
This year, however, the normal bustle and excitement was rather heightened by the fact that Professor Dumbledore announced that there would be a formal dinner followed by a dance on the night of the fourteenth. Everyone needed to be dressed formally, whether in robes or Muggle attire, and they would be allowed to attend with a partner.
Of course, the four "most wanted" boys were James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Sirius, however, was out of the running because he had finally gotten the courage to ask Lyssa out "after ages of pretending to snog her in the mirror", according to James, and Peter had bashfully asked a fifth-year Gryffindor. The girls didn't get too disappointed after they remembered neither James nor Remus had dates yet.
The remaining two Marauders were mobbed every chance the girls got, much to the hilarity of Sirius and Peter. Eventually, they had to resort to secret passageways in order to get to classes on time.
"Whew! That was too close," James said, wiping the sweat off his forehead and leaning on the wall. "We almost let them catch us."
"This is getting insanely out of hand," said Remus tiredly. Wrinkling his forehead in thought, he muttered, "The only way to shake them off is to…" Suddenly, he snapped his head up and said, "James, I have an idea!" He grabbed James by the hand and dragged him out into the corridor where the excited group of girls surrounded them once more.
"Ladies! I have an announcement to make!" Remus shouted. Almost immediately, there was silence in the hallway. Smiling now, and clearing his voice, Remus continued, "James and I have decided who we will take to the dance."
Remus waited patiently for the next five minutes before continuing, waiting for the mob of girls to stop screaming in anticipation. "We've decided to go with the pattern our fellow Marauders have set and just take our Gryffindor girls to the formal. We're very sorry if we've disappointed you."
Quick as a flash, Remus and James shot down the corridor while the girls digested what had just happened.
Peter was climbing up the staircase to the fourth floor, wondering whether his fellow Marauders had finished their Arithmancy class, when a huge group of girls fled down the stairs, sobbing into their robes and blowing their noses loudly. James and Remus must have announced their dates…
scene change
General PoV
The next few days were rather uneventful, and were marred only by spiteful attacks on Lily, Lyssa, Brooke, and Krista (the shy fifth-year Peter was taking) by jealous girls. One day, Lily came to class and showed them her blistered fingers and the shiny burns on her cheek. She said that someone had sent her an anonymous envelope filled with dancing flames that had sparked all over her. James got furious and announced angrily in the hallway that the next person to attack Lily would wake up with an unpleasant surprise. The threat was taken very seriously for James' temper was legendary within Hogwarts; on the rare occasion that he got truly angry, people had been known to be sent to the Hospital Wing.
On the day of the formal, classes were ended early so the students could get ready for that night. The Gryffindors split up later that afternoon; the girls went straight up to their dormitories to start getting ready, while the boys lazed around in the common room playing Exploding Snap. Then, about fifteen minutes before the dinner was due to start, the boys went up the stairs to put on their clothing.
"Oy, Prongs, have you seen my vest?" yelled Sirius, digging frantically through the pile of clothes flung in one corner.
"Sorry, mate, haven't seen it," James said, desperately trying to flatten his hair with a wet comb.
"Might as well give up, James," said Remus amusedly as he pulled on his tall boots. "You're never going to get it to lie flat. Unless…"
"Unless what, Moony?" asked James eagerly, whipping around to face his friend. "Tell me!"
"Well, my mum had this charm to make her hair smooth down. Let's see if it'll work," said Remus with a shrug. Whipping out his wand, he shouted out an incantation and made an odd twisting motion with his wrist. Sirius turned from digging through clothes to look on with interest.
"I don't think it quite worked…" said Sirius with a snigger a moment later. James turned towards the mirror and leapt back with a feminine shriek. His hair was flat, all right. In fact, it was plastered to his head as if he had glued it there, making him look like a rather striking version of Snape.
"Change it back, change it back!" shouted James, dancing in hysteria around the room.
"Oy, Sirius! Is this your vest in the sink?" Peter's voice floated out of the bathroom.
"My vest! Peter, you saint!" shouted Sirius, rushing to get his precious clothing article.
Peter came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with his wand. Watching James dance around the room and Remus howling with laughter on his bed, he decided not to ask. When you were a Marauder, it was usually safer not to know.
scene change
General PoV
The four Marauders stood in a straight line at the bottom of the staircase, with their hands behind their backs, feet snapped sharply together, and gazes pointed expectantly at the girls' side of the staircase. A few minutes later, four girls came down, looking (in the boys' most admittedly biased opinion) as if they had descended from the heavens.
Lily was the first to walk down. As the theme for the formal was based on the literary wizard, Shakespeare, they had all dressed for the theme. In an antique clothing store, Lily had found a beautiful dress. It was wine-colored, with scatterings of silver leaves embroidered on the hemlines. The scooped neckline was ruffled with lace, and the puffy sleeves fell to reveal her pale shoulders. Slashed at the elbow, the sleeves allowed pale lace to peek through. Voluminous layers of fabric blossomed from the narrow waist of Lily's dress and just brushed against the floor. From underneath, two pale slippers appeared as the crowning touch. In addition, Lily had brushed on a little makeup to enhance her natural features and had swept up her curls on top of her head.
As James openly gawked at Lily, a pretty blush tinted her cheeks, making her look all the more fetching. By the time she had gotten to the bottom of the staircase, James had gotten his composure back.
"You look beautiful," he said sincerely, and gallantly offered her his arm.
Lily smiled up at him and said, "You don't look so bad, yourself." It was true. James had put on a dark blue doublet, with golden buttons and thread. A collared white dress shirt showed underneath. His long legs were covered by the traditional Shakespearean trousers and buckled shoes were on his feet. To complete the look, a long sweeping cloak hung from his shoulders.
As the couples each complimented their partners, they soon walked out of the Common Room. In a single file line, all swept elegantly into the Great Hall.
scene change
James' PoV
Wow.
I looked around at the Great Hall. I saw tiny lanterns everywhere, which were filled (I saw, as I closely examined one) with shimmering fairies. The dimly lighted hall had four long tables, as usual, but they were now decorated with beautiful place settings and ornate silverware. Soft music was playing in the background, and the whole atmosphere was of warmth.
This magnificent decorating, the result of the house-elves' hard work, however, was not what took my breath away. That honor is reserved for the most unattainable Miss Lily Evans. In all honesty, I never knew anyone could look that…beautiful, I suppose is the only word that can even come close. I know I must have looked like a fool in the common room, standing there with my mouth hanging open. But I just had never seen anything look so –
"James? Do you want to sit down?" the object of my constant thoughts spoke. Snapping out of my daze, I realized that we were the only ones still standing in the doorway.
"Yeah, sure, of course," I said hastily, guiding my date (I still couldn't even wrap my head around the fact that she had agreed to come with me) to the table.
Lily laughed a little as she sat in the chair I held out for her. Taking a seat to her right, I looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing, ready to make a short speech.
Turning his penetrating blue eyes upon us, Dumbledore spoke, "I hope you will all enjoy this evening and make lasting memories that you may look back fondly upon in harsh times. For as we hear of dark activities and see yet darker days ahead, each of you will need all the love and friendships you have formed here in Hogwarts. Use these as your strengths and you will see once more the light. Thank you, and enjoy your evening."
Dumbledore bowed his head slightly and stepped down from his small podium. Students looked uneasily at one another; no one had ever heard the usually cheerful Dumbledore speak so solemnly. Looking down, I saw that he was gripping the hand that had slipped into his during the speech. I hadn't even realized until that moment that Lily was holding his hand.
"What do you reckon Dumbledore's got into his head?" Sirius asked in amazement.
"I don't know, Padfoot, but I'm sure he's got a reason for it," responded Remus, expressing once more his never-receding faith in the man who had allowed him to attend Hogwarts.
"My dad says Dark wizards are stirring about, causing trouble," I said, thinking of all the things my father, the Head Auror in the Ministry, had told me.
"Well, let's just do what Dumbledore said and have a good evening," Lyssa said firmly.
"Cheers, Lyssa," I said, grinning and clinking my glass to hers.
"Let's make some memories!" Lily said, smiling softly.
I, for one, knew that this was one evening I wasn't bound to forget any time soon, and as it turned out, it was the night that changed my life.
end chapter
A/N: Sorry for the wait! Please review!
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