Italics in this chapter emphasize flashbacks.

Chapter Seven: Before the Ball

(POV of both… or no one… take your pick)

"What about this one?" James asked Remus, pulling a costume of a magician out of the rack.

"I think it'd look nice," Remus admitted.

"And who can resist a man in a muggle tux?" James grinned. "What about you? Have you found one yet?

"Nah," Remus smiled bitterly. "Too bad Halloween wasn't on a full moon. Then I could come as a—" He stopped, hearing familiar girl voices.

"What about this one Lils?" They heard the smooth and clear voice of Selene say.

"Hmmm, no thanks," they heard Lily reply with that feminine and unconsciously flirty voice. "I was a princess way too many times as a kid."

"Lily," James said, coming over, but concealing his costume, "fancy meeting you here." He realized that was the first time in two months (well… five if you counted summer) that he said the words "fancy" and "you" in the same sentence to her.

"Hello James," she smiled at him and Remus. "You two doing last minute costume shopping as well?" This was a rhetorical question—she already knew they were because Remus said they would at their last… meeting.

"Yup," James answered. "Though Remus hasn't picked a costume yet."

"And neither have I," Lily admitted.

"I'll go help Remus," Selene offered. "James, maybe you can help Lily. She's turned down everything I offered."

James shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

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"Hmmm," Selene held up a costume. "What do you think?"

It was a vampire costume. Remus wrinkled his nose. "I'll have to charm my hair black and greasy like Snivellus'."

Selene tilted her head. "No necessarily," she said, "you don't have to dye it black or slick it back (hey, that rhymed!). You can leave it as it is, and you'll have to gel it a little," she took a single curl and put it on his forehead. "That'll make you look sexy," she said without thinking and then blushed.

Remus blushed as well and then said, after a long uncomfortable moment, "Well… I was wondering… if maybe… you'd want to go to the Halloween Party with me… you know, just as friends."

Selene grinned. "I'd love to."

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It seemed like eons. James went through rack after rack. Man was Lily picky. No wonder Selene gave up on her.

And then, he saw something that caught his eye. It was a dark green color, which reminded him very much of Lily's eyes. He pulled it out. It was a fairy costume. It was a short dress that was cut unevenly—intentionally of course—and there were beautiful, life-like wings. (A/N: invision Tinkerbell costume but a darker green.)

"What do you have there?" Lily asked, coming up behind James and leaning into him. James kept himself from shuddering at the feel of her pressed up against him.

"Oh, James, it's perfect!" She breathed in awe into his ear, her hot breath sending tingles up and down his spine.

Good god Lily, don't you know what you're doing to me?

Apparently she didn't. She took the costume from him, brushing his hands with hers for a moment. She didn't appear startled, but that electricity went through her again…

"Oh, this is brilliant!" She said again. "I could charm the wings so they would flap at times… and… oh it's perfect!"

"Won't you be cold though?" James almost hit himself. There was an invitation to see his crush skimpily dressed and he just gave her a certified reason not to.

"No," she answered to his relief, "I can perform a heating charm on the costume. Although I imagine it will be fairly warm in the Great Hall."

"Go try it on," he urged.

Lily grinned at him—almost seductively? "No, I don't want anyone to see me in it until Halloween night." She pressed up against him (not seductively—at least that wasn't her intention) and kissed his cheek, causing him to close his eyes. "Thank you for helping me find it though," she whispered and when he opened his eyes, she was gone.

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It was the day before the ball and James was quite nervous. You see, he was contemplating whether or not he should ask Lily to the ball.

It would be just as friends, of course, but still… what if she said no? Now that they were friends, James thought that rejection would be much more bitter… although he couldn't quite figure out why.

Once again, he consulted Remus.

"I think you should just ask her," Remus told him. "I hear she doesn't have a date. Say you don't either and just go as friends. Say you… hey!" He snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

"What?" James asked eagerly.

"You two could go with Selene and me—it could be a big group thing." Remus said. "That way, it wouldn't be awkward or anything."

"It's bloody brilliant!" James exclaimed but then… "You're going with Selene?" A sly grin crept onto his face. "Remus you dog."

Remus grinned sheepishly but replied, "You mean, Remus you werewolf."

James threw back his head and laughed. "You snagged a veela. Good for you."

Remus said sharply, "She's not just a veela. She's a person, James."

James' face took on a soft, knowing look. "I know. I'm glad you do too."

Remus was a bit confused.

"You two go well together," James continued. "I'm glad, Remus. You deserve some happiness."

Remus smiled, pleased. But then the smile faded. "I just hope I can hang onto it."

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"Er… Lily?" It was at the end of the prefect meeting. Remus had assured James right before it started that Lily still didn't have a date. He heard that she was planning on going solo. Apparently, no one had asked her.

"Every bloody male in this school must be completely blind not to ask her," James told Remus, shaking his head.

Remus laughed. "Oh they can see. They just want to keep their heads in tact."

James frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They know if they ask her they'd be facing your wrath."

James shook his head. "But… we're friends. That's it."

Remus' gaze softened. "True. But it's still apparent that you want more."

"Yes?" Lily didn't look up from the stack of papers she was collecting. They were the only ones in the meeting room now, James thought as he looked around the room.

"I was wondering…" His hands were beginning to sweat. "If you wanted to go to the Halloween ball with me?"

Lily paused from her work, looking up slowly, meeting his nervous hazel eyes.

He added hastily, "Just as friends of course. We'd go with Remus and Selene… like a group thing. I mean, if you say yes—which you don't have to! I'd understand if you didn't. I mean, we'd only be going as friends so it wouldn't be a big deal or anything and—"

Lily put her hand on his mouth to silence him. She smiled. "You're rambling."

James ceased to breath as he let the warm body heat of her hand seep into him. "Sorry," he exhaled as her hand left his face.

Lily, her head down, fumbled with her hands, and bit her lip—a sure sign she was nervous. "We'd only be going as friends, right?"

James nodded vehemently, though she couldn't see it. "Friends. Nothing more."

Lily lifted her gaze to his and then smiled. "All right then. I'll go to the ball with you."

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They agreed that James would go meet Lily in the Gryffindor Common room—she wanted to dress with her friends—at about seven.

When the school gossip, Rita Skeeter, got wind that James and Lily were going together (she completely disregarded the whole "group thing" with Remus and Selene,) it spread like wildfire.

People were constantly going up to James and Lily, asking things such as:

"How'd you get her, James? Tell me! If it got her, it must work on even the most resistant girls!"

"Lily! How did James ask you? Did he take you on a romantic picnic with roses and strawberries?"

"Lily! Did he go down on one knee asking you?"

"James, lucky dog! I can only imagine what you two will be doing after the ball…" this got a hex from an angry James.

"Don't you dare degrade her like that," he growled.

Lily, unfortunately, was there to witness it.

"James, what are you doing?" She asked sharply. She thought he had given up that habit of hexing people for the fun of it.

The fifth year squeaked, "I'm sorry James—I'll never call her easy again," and he ran away.

"What?" Lily was confused, her eyes widening. He had been defending someone. "Who did he call easy?"

"You," James said, not looking at her.

To his amazement, Lily smiled at him. "Thank you," she told him quietly, pleasantly surprised. She would've kissed him on the cheek, but there were too many people watching. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Lily cleared her throat. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," James said, gulping. "Later."

He watched her walk off, her fitting robes swishing as she turned the corner. Merlin, was she gorgeous. He could never get enough of her beauty and wit.

But if he thought she was stunning in regular black robes, there is no adjective to describe what he thought of her in her costume.

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Author's Note: And so the sexual tension begins. I had to check my rating for a minute… I forgot if I put it at G. But no, luckily it's PG-13… not that I'm planning anything… clears throat nervously mature, but I do want to emphasize that these kids do have hormones.

And I just realized that I haven't put a disclaimer on this story AT ALL. So I'm adding one at the very very beginning as a separate chapter to be a disclaimer for the entire story… slaps head stupid stupid…

Anyway, the next chapter will be the ball. I'm hoping it'll be around 7 word document pages… it'll be my holiday present to you. Until then…