Chapter Eighteen: Missing Mates and Dashing Dates

It was the week before Easter Break at Hogwarts and it was a rather exhausting time.

Teachers started to pile on loads of work to prepare the students for their upcoming N.E.W.T.'s and it was driving Lily insane.

"How am I supposed to get all of this done over break?" She wanted to know. "I'm going to be at home, helping out with The Monstrosity."

The Monstrosity was Lily's code name for her elder sister Petunia's wedding to Vernon Dursley ("The pig," Lily would always add after she said his name).

Lily, luckily and miraculously, was not a bridesmaid, due to the fact that Petunia didn't want her to be (but her mother would've made her have Lily as a bridesmaid anyway.) However, Lily was at Hogwarts and would've been unable to perform any bridesmaid "duties" so she was off the hook.

Thank Merlin too, the red headed witch reflected, for her bridesmaid gowns are a god-awful PINK mess of taffeta and bows and scratchy stuff!

She read over the letter (that came along with an invitation) that her mother had sent to her by way of Andromeda.

Lily raised an eyebrow while reading this and Alice demanded to know what was so amusing.

"Mum wants me to bring a date," she said nonchalantly. "Hmph. She wants to know if I'm bringing that nice Will boy I told her about."

"Are you?" Alice asked, an eyebrow now raised.

Lily shook her head. "Can't. He's going out with someone else—I'm sure that Arabella would not appreciate it if I paraded her boyfriend around as mine."

"Well who are you going to take?" Alice asked.

Lily sighed. "I have no idea."

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She really didn't, either. I mean, who was there to take? Will was out of the question.

Remus, maybe? She knew Selene wouldn't mind that much. Remus was the only male friend she had (besides Will) who would act respectably around her parents. Besides, she and Remus could just go as friends anyway.

Or maybe not… her annoying cousin Shannon was going to be there. Shannon was the embodiment of all the Evans girls: blonde hair, brown eyes, perfect smile and perfectly tanned skin. Lily looked like her mother's Irish side: red hair, green eyes, and fair skin. Out of appearance alone, Lily felt like an outsider at the Evans' family gatherings. Not to mention Shannon showed off everything she had to Lily every chance she got. It was perfectly infuriating.

And Lily knew that Shannon would have her latest flavor of the week with her. If Lily showed up dateless, how pathetic would that make her look? Well, it would be more pathetic if she had a guy pretend to be her boyfriend… but, making up her mind, Lily decided that she would just have a guy go as her friend. Her friend. Nothing more.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Lily debated. Should she ask Remus (asking Selene first, of course,) if he wanted to come as her "date"?

Just as she sought him out, she frowned. He was awfully pale and tired looking… oh dear lord. It was "that time of the month".

Lily sighed. Well, that was out of the question. But who else was there?

If she took Peter Pettigrew, well, that would be okay, but he was rather small and skittish and he was nice enough, but if Shannon saw him…

Lily, dear, remember when you brought that little Peter boy to Petunia's wedding? He certainly wasn't a looker, was he? Or a talker, or a dancer or a….

And then there was Sirius. Well, Sirius fit the bill as a perfect (looking) boyfriend, but she suspected that Sirius, upon seeing/meeting Shannon, would instantly forget about Lily, and that would be pathetic as well. Shannon would gloat over it for years.

Lily, darling, remember when your brought your scrummy friend Sirius to Petunia's wedding? And he and I ended up hitting it off better than you and he ever did?

There was no one left.

There is someone…that annoying voice in her brain said in a sing-song voice.

He doesn't count! Things are already odd between us as it is. This wedding would only make it worse. And besides… what if he met Shannon and liked her over me?

Why would you care? Mocked the voice. Platonic friends shouldn't care.

It's the principle of the damn matter! Lily argued, then stopped. She must be going insane if she was arguing with herself.

Just keep him in mind, dearie, the voice said smugly before disappearing all together.

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There was another issue, though, that was more important than Lily's quest for a wedding date.

"Lily," Selene asked one day as the two walked back from dinner. Alice had Quidditch practice that night and Estella, oddly enough, was nowhere to be found, as was the case recently. "Do you know what's wrong with Remus? He's so pale and tired… I mean, he's been this way before; he's awfully sickly, but I don't know… it scares me."

Oh, dear. Moment of truth. Should she tell Selene? No… no, that was none of her business. But what could she tell her?

"Well… I mean, it is spring, Selene. Perhaps Remus has allergies." Yes, that was it. Allergies.

Selene brightened. "Yes, perhaps that's it! I'll go see if I can get some tea for him."

Lily sighed in relief. Well, she was going to go talk to Remus anyway—he needed to tell Selene sooner or later.

"Remus," Lily found him at the library, studying with Peter and James. "We need to talk."

Peter looked up quickly and back down again, but James kept his eyes on the two, interested.

"About what?" Remus asked, frowning.

Lily was about to drag him off but she saw the suspicious look on James's face and decided it was better just to say it there.

"It's about Selene," Lily whispered. "She's… she's getting suspicious about your… illness."

Peter's head immediately shot up and he and James intently listened in. "She's worried about you, Remus," Lily continued, "and I can't keep lying to her. I told her you have horrible allergies."

Remus looked relieved. "Thanks, Lily," he said gratefully. "But I don't know if I can tell her… what if she hates me?"

"Haven't I told you this already?" Lily hissed. "How can you think so low of Selene? It's not like she's normal herself! She of all people will understand, Remus! Just trust her!"

Remus sighed. "It's not that easy."

"Well, if you're really serious about her, you can't keep secrets from her! And if you don't tell her by the end of the year, Remus," she looked him dead in the eye, "I will."

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After politely asking Lily if she wanted to study with them, James turned to Remus after she had left to gather her books. "You need to tell Selene."

"What!" Remus asked incredulously and then lowered his voice. "Fine," he said, defeated, "but only if you tell Lily you're an animagi."

"Why should I?" James asked coolly. "Lily and I are just friends. If I was as serious about her as you are about Selene, then I would tell her."

Remus shook his head, disgusted. "James, you've been serious about Lily since fifth year. Drop the bullshit act, will you?"

James glared at him. "Fine. If Lily and I are seriously and officially romantically involved, then I will tell her. But as we are not, I won't."

Remus was about to say something else, but Lily appeared again and the four got back to work.

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About an hour later, Alice suddenly appeared behind Lily. "Hey, guys," she said a bit breathlessly as she sat down at the crowded table.

"What's with you?" James raised an eyebrow. "Have a good snogging session with Frank?"

With a flush, Alice glared at him. "No. For your information, Mr. Potter, I've been looking for Estella." She turned her attention to Lily. "Have you seen her? I wanted to ask her about something."

Lily frowned, thinking. "No, I haven't. Seems like I haven't seen her all week."

James suddenly had a revelation. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Sirius in a while either…"

The five friends looked at each other. "Maybe…?" Remus trailed off.

They all shook their heads. "Nah."

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Somewhere, in a forgotten stairwell, two seventh year Gryffindors were busy snogging the heck out of the other.

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"So Lily," Alice asked a few moments later with a sly look on her face, "have you found a date yet?"

All three boys' heads snapped up from their books. "A date?" James asked, eyebrows raised.

"For what?" Remus wanted to know.

After shooting a heated glare at Alice, Lily composed herself and said, "My sister's wedding. It's over Easter Break and my mum wants me to bring a date."

"Will is out of the question," Alice promptly put in, "as he's now going with Arabella Figg. And Lily isn't good friends with any other boys besides you four." She looked at the three boys, "So fellas… anyone interested?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her."

"Oh please; let's go over your options, Lily," Alice said, "Remus here is out… although, probably would've been your best option, considering."

"Considering what?" James asked, eyes narrowed.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't get all snippety with me, James. I was just implying that Remus is the most gentleman-like out of you lot." Remus put on a smug grin.

"Unfortunately," Alice continued, "Remus is taken, damn Selene. Have you thought about Sirius?" She asked, turning to Lily.

"Yup," Lily said, causing James to look at her oddly. "But my cousin Shannon's going to be there, and you know both of them, Alice."

"Ah, yes," Alice said grimly. "Shannon the Slut. And you know Sirius, the former Slut. Not good."

"Precisely," Lily agreed.

Alice got a feral look on her face. "So that leaves James and Peter," she finished, snickering.

James rolled his eyes towards Peter. "Don't you just love it when they talk about us as if we aren't here?"

Peter grinned.

Lily threw her hands up. "Well I can't just decide between the two of you," she said. "That would be mean." With a sigh, "Just fight it out amongst yourselves."

Now, James's brain was in overdrive. Should he volunteer? But that would make him seem eager. But… he couldn't let Peter go. This was an opportune time to spend with Lily! And he'd get to meet her parents! Okay, not so good… but hey, he'd get to see Lily in a dress… definite plus.

James inwardly sighed. It would have to depend on what Peter said.

"So, Pete, you got plans?" James asked, trying to be nonchalant.

Peter nodded, squeaking out, "Remember, James? I always go home and help my mum out with her spring cleaning."

"Well," Alice said, clapping her hands together, "That's settled. James, would you mind taking Lily to her sister's wedding?"

"Not at all," James said, waiting just long enough to answer, so he wouldn't seem eager or hesitant. "It would be my pleasure."

Lily flushed at the way he looked at her. "Are you sure, James? My family… my sister… Shannon… are you sure you'll be able to handle them all?"

James grinned at her. "With you there, babe, I should be fine."

"All right," Lily said, with a knowing smile. "But James?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"Don't ever call me 'babe' again."

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A/N: Okay, so it's not 10 pages long, but it is about 7! Don't worry; next chapter will be at least 10 pages long!

Preview: Lily and James go to Lily's house for Easter Break where they encounter awful siblings, jealous cousins, and we meet Lily's parents.

Comment: There is a scene in this chapter that basically started this entire story! It suddenly popped into my head and I was like "This can't be a one-shot, it must be a story!" So ta-da! Watch out for it!

Well, imagine my surprise the day after posting this when I found 10 reviews already waiting for me! Thank you so much! I got some constructive criticism, and although some of it was kind of hard to read, it was still great…

J.K. Rowling: Yes, I'm aware this is no Beverly Hills or Melrose (that's what you meant, correct?) Place, but please note that I myself am no "J.K. Rowling". Also, these are Harry's parents, not Harry himself, so if you're expecting huge battles with Voldemort and such, this is the wrong story for you. (Please note that it is a Romance/Drama story, as well, not Action/Adventure.) Thanks.

Ali: Yes, I see exactly what you mean about Death Eaters on school grounds. I suppose I overlooked that detail, but in my defense, I decided it would make a nice twist on the dance. And, Hermione keeps droning about apparation on Hogwarts Grounds, not about Death Eaters on campus. Hello, Lucius Malfoy has been there like loads of times. Lol. … And Dumbledore not sending students to fight. Yes, I suppose you're right about that as well, but it was kind of vital to the chapter. Sorry. As for Dippet being Headmaster, I could have sworn that was only in Tom Riddle's time period. In the flashback of Snape's pensieve, it never mentioned who was headmaster, if I remember correctly. And if I prove to be wrong, sorry, it was vital to the story again. Thanks so much for catching my mistakes!

Mishy Cat: Hmm… I'm slightly confused. If you could find some examples as to where their age may be confusing, that would be great. And Lily isn't staying in the main dorms. She and James just hang out in the Gryffindor Common Room a lot, since their friends aren't allowed in their Common Room. And I never said their common room was near the Gryffindor Tower OR Dumbledore's Office. I believe I never gave any specifics, just what their portrait door was. They did, however, meet in Dumbledore's office to DISCUSS their sleeping arrangements.