Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise. If I did, you would be reading this in a book and the plot wouldn't be a film.
A Cinderella Story
By Araidel
Halloween Ball
The Great Hall had been decorated so much which meant that the hall that the students usually ate in was unrecognisable. Pumpkins floated in the air and cobwebs hung from the rafters and windows. There was a skeleton band playing the music, which stood at one end of the hall and was being charmed by Lucy. Lucy was wearing her usual bright pink strap-top and bright orange skirt, with long striped socks.
The people in the hall were all dressed in costumes. There was a defined line that the costumes were one either side of - a costume that had nothing to do with Halloween or something that a Muggle would wear on the holiday. There were muggle ghosts, witches (like the one Lily tried on in Gladrag's Wizard Wear), vampires and bad imitations of monsters. On the other extreme, there were angels, fairies, heroes and people who had dressed up as their friends.
On one side of the hall stood a drinks table that was laid with various bowls of punch the glowed eerily in the light the was coming from the charmed muggle disco ball, suspended in the middle of the hall and hovering over the dance floor. Standing by the drinks table, alone, were James, Sirius and Remus.
"Why didn't you come as an Auror, James?" Sirius demanded. He and Remus were both wearing an old-style costume. They had large bloomers, tunics, hats with feathers and swords. James, however, was wearing a costume that had come out of a fairy tale story; he wore long white trousers, a smart blue jacket with a small neckerchief over the top of the neckline.
James shrugged and continued to look around the hall. His gaze passed over some fourth years who were bouncing to the music to the centre of the dance floor. It was completely devoid of waiting students. And a waiting student in the middle of the dance floor was exactly what James was looking for.
The doors swung open and every face turned to look at the arrival. The doors had been set on a raised platform so that there were stairs leading from the entrance to the main dancing area. Three figures walked down the stairs, dressed in very revealing angel costumes. All of the boys' eyes but James widened as Rosanna, Noël and Natasha flicked their hips suggestively and winked at various boys in the crowd. They were wearing a boob tube and hot pants that had been charmed pink and fluffy. Over their underwear, Noël and Natasha wore a long fluffy, pink coat while Rosanna wore a boa. As they passed James, Sirius and Remus, the girls glared at James while flicking their hips again. Sirius looked the girls up and down, like most of the boys, while Remus rolled his eyes and turned back to James.
"What time is she suppose to be coming, James?"
"Eleven o'clock." James replied. He looked at his watch and saw the minute hand slowly move from ten-to-eleven to nearer the hour mark.
The doors swung open and Rosanna, Noël and Natasha walked inside. Conveniently, they left the doors wide open, meaning that any people in the Entrance Hall who waned to enter without being noticed were able to follow the girls into the Hall. This left the hall empty.
A fairy fluttered into the entrance to Hogwarts Castle from outside, where a grotto had been made and fairies had been places to make it shimmer and shine. She looked up and saw two people come hurrying down the Marble Staircase. The fairy watched as they stopped by the doors, argue for a moment and they look around the deserted lobby. Their eyes flicked towards the door and the fairy sped out, leaving a gold trail of dust behind her.
The boy turned back to his companion. "No one is in the Entrance Hall, Lily. Take it off."
"No." Lily said forcefully. She had taken Joseph's Zorro cloak and wrapped herself in it to prevent her costume being seen.
"Lily you look fine. No, wait." Joseph paused and then nodded his head, "You look better than fine. And it is ten-to-eleven. Prongs will be waiting there and you do not want to stand him up."
Lily sighed and said "I guess not. But, Jo, not the cloak-"
But Joseph had taken the cloak and physically ripped it from her grasp. He swung it round his own shoulders and smiled innocently at his best friend. "It is part of my costume, Lily. And," he said, looking Lily's outfit up and down, "It isn't part of yours. Come on, your Prince Charming awaits." He took her hand and led her to the doors to the Great Hall.
They had swung shut again and Joseph pushed one open, being careful not to make a large noise. He snuck in and beckoned behind him for Lily to follow. Joseph ran down the steps and stopped. Every eye was turned his way. Joseph froze, thinking that he had made a noise with the door to attract everyone's attention, but he then noticed that their gazes were towards the top of the stairs, where Lily was standing.
Lily waited at the top of the stairs and looked around the room. The strapless top was low enough to be seen as a dress, but high enough to be decent. The thin cut design of the top half heavily accented her curves. The bottom half reached the floor and spread out, fluttering, as Lily swayed slowly fro side to side. She moved her hand to her face to rub her nose, embarrassed, and touched the end of the golden mask that covered her eyes. The gold netting that was draped over the mask, giving her eyes a gold shimmer, was the same style as on the skirt part of the dress. Her hair was curled slightly and it fell down her back in elegant curls.
Joseph, seeing his friend's embarrassment, ran back up the stairs and held out his arms for Lily to take. She rolled her emerald eyes, through the gold netting on the mask, and he smiled sweetly. Lucy turned away from the pair on the stairs and flicked her wand, restarting the music and everybody who had been staring at the new-comer began to dance again.
Joseph checked his watch and said "You have got five minutes, Lily. And remember, you need to be back for twelve. Why don't you set your alarms, and put it in your purse?"
Lily nodded and bent down to unclasp her small, blue purse from her ankle. She opened it and shuffled the letters from Prongs that he had written to her about the ball until she found her watch. Lily set her alarm for eleven fifty-five, leaving five minutes to get back to the library, and replaced the purse on her ankle.
Joseph led Lily to the bottom of the stairs and over to the long drinks table. From the opposite end, James watched Lily with a transfixed expression on his face. He had stared at the girl, just like all of the other boys in the hall, but James had felt something go through him as he looked at her for the first time; as if she was DMLEgirl.
Rosanna also had watched the entrance of Lily. However, she had said something to Noël, unlike everyone else in the hall, who was transfixed. "I love her dress." she said and Noël nodded. "But I hate her."
Joseph looked around the hall and then back at his watch. "You'd better go, Lily." he said and he looked up at her, smiling. "Good Luck."
Lily hugged him fiercely and muttered "Thanks." to her best friend. She took a deep breath and walked into the crowd on the dance floor.
She stopped directly underneath the disco ball and waited. Groups of friends were dancing around her. Lily looked around for a sign of someone moving towards her. Then she heard a voice coming from directly behind her.
"You are standing in the very centre of the dance floor."
Lily's heart began to race. 'Was this Prongs? Her secret admirer? Lily smiled with excitement and slowly turned around. Standing before her, a smile on his face, was Marcus Ilan. He was wearing a long black cloak that was covering a black robe that touched the floor. His face was painted white, but it looked like he had a fight with the paint brush because some of the paint was darker than others.
"Marcus?" she asked incredulously. "You're Prongs?"
Marcus seemed to hesitate but he nodded and said "Yes, that is me. Prongs. Your secret admirer."
Lily's smile dropped like a stone in air. Marcus Ilan, the boy who tried to communicate with other races, was Prongs? Suddenly, she wished she was back in the library, scrubbing the floors for Linda. Thinking of Linda, Lily looked away from Marcus for the signs of her step sisters. She spotted them, not far away, wearing a cat costume. The only problem was that Petunia had decided to charm the costumes as one, so they were joined at the hip. For where she was standing, Lily could hear Rose complaining about the costume to Petunia.
Lily looked back at Marcus and smiled delicately. Marcus seemed to take it as a cue to go on so, even when Lily looked away from him again, he began to dance around her. He was swirling his cloak around and flapping his arms like a bat. Many people started to stare at him and he continued to gallop round Lily. Lily stood stock still and tried to walk away from Marcus but he grabbed her, without warning, and dipped her.
"Marcus," Lily said slowly. Marcus was dipping her lower and lower and if he did not stand her up soon, she would it the floor. "Please can you not dip me so low?"
Marcus complied and raised her again. "I will be back, my fair." he said with an exaggerated bow. "I will fetch us some light beverages." He swept off, the students clearing a large path for him to go.
Lily watched Marcus leave her in the middle of the dance floor, alone. Her spirits were low; she wanted to find Joseph and leave. Prongs had been Marcus. Prongs, the man who could cheer her up whenever she felt down, was Marcus, the boy who regularly was told to visit St Mungos.
Lily looked above the heads of the students who had carried on dancing, forgetting Marcus, for a sign of her Zorro clad friend. However, once again, a voice sounded from behind her.
"DMLEgirl?"
Lily stopped looking and turned around again. There was no smile on her face this time, only a slight frown. Unlike Marcus, this new competitor had used her name in the owl-room. This had raised her hopes slightly, but if this was another joke…
Her heart stopped. Standing directly in front of her was James Potter. He was smiling slightly and was looking at Lily with a curious expression on his face.
"James Potter?" she breathed in shock. Lily tried again, a little louder. "James Potter? You are Prongs?"
James must have heard the disbelieving note in her voice because he stepped closer to her and said "Yes. I am. And this is not a joke or a con, I really am him."
Lily could not really tell if James was telling the truth. James Potter was known for being a prankster and could play jokes on anyone at any time. Lily couldn't fully trust him, yet she had a feeling in her gut that James was telling the truth.
"If, you really are Prongs, what did you say in your first letter to me?" Lily asked. Realising that she hadn't actually checked if Marcus was Prongs, Lily was taking no chances.
James smiled and began to recited. "I remember that letter so well, DMLEgirl. 'Dear DMLEgirl. I know you probably think it is strange to receive a letter from a total stranger. Thoughts are probably going through your mind. Is one of them, Who the hell is this dude? Well, I am not a strange lunatic or a teenage boy out for sex. I am, however, a teenage boy. And many thoughts are now running through your head - well, I guess as I'm not telekinetic. Is one, he is probably lying.? Well, I promise you that I am not, and …"
Lily's hearing tuned out as she listened to James' first letter to her. She could remember the day and letter clearly too.
Flashback
It was the very first day of the new term in her seventh year and Lily had just sat down at the Ravenclaw table with Joseph when a small barn owl flew towards her. It landed on her shoulder and she took of the parchment a confused look at Joseph.
Dear DMLEgirl,
Lily's eyes widened at the addressee. She had recently been on the Ministry's owl-room and had left her address as 'DMLEgirl'. Her first thought was 'This must be someone from the Ministry.' Lily looked back at the letter.
Dear DMLEgirl,
I know you probably think it is strange to receive a letter from a total stranger. Thoughts are probably going through your mind. Is one of them, Who the hell is this dude?
Well, I am not a strange lunatic or a teenage boy out for sex. I am, however, a teenage boy. And many thoughts are now running through your head - well, I guess as I'm not telekinetic. Is one, he is probably lying.? Well, I promise you that I am not lying.
Anther thing going through your mind may be, How does he know all of this stuff? It is what is said on Muggle programs. Well, I take Muggle Studies and saw a documentary there on a BT. As you can probably guess, I am a pureblood.
To tell you the truth, I don't even know is you are a girl. But I have a feeling. And feelings are most of the time, correct. Anyway … enough with my random babbling, I wanted to say that we have more in common for two anonymous people than everybody else on the owl-room member's board.
So, to be blunt, want to be owl buddies?
Lots of love and hundreds of hugs
Prongs 42
Lily looked up in shock and handed the letter to Joseph. He read through it and muttered "A secret admirer, impressive Lily." before handing it back. She took the letter and immediately dived under the table for ink, a quill and parchment to write a reply.
Halloween Ball
Lily laid a hand on James' arm and he stopped talking. She was smiling and she nodded.
"I believe you, Prongs." she said.
James also smiled and then said cheekily "And, dearest DMLEgirl, did you say in the first line of your reply?"
Lily flushed and muttered "'You are definitely a pureblood if you take Muggle Studies and don't know that the thing you saw the documentary on was a TV'. Sorry about that, James."
James shook his head to dismiss the apology and held out his arm, in the same way as Joseph had earlier, for Lily to take. She accepted in and James led Lily off the dance floor and towards the stairs.
And announcement was made over the music. "Tonight, teachers will be patrolling the dance floor to rate costumes. There will be two winners; one boy and one girl. So look you best and smile!" Lucy said before she struck up a new song with her wand.
James looked at Lily and said "Well, I made no effort to hide my face and you did, so I should have the right to know who you are."
Lily smiled and shrugged. Once she knew that James was Prongs, Lily felt a lot more comfortable with him. "Do you mean twenty questions?" she asked innocently.
James considered for a moment before saying "More like ten."
Lily nodded and said "Fire away then."
"Before we start," James said delicately, "Do you want to go outside?" He gestured to the Entrance Hall.
Lily nodded and smiled at James. They walked out of the Great Hall and into the Entrance Hall, leaving through the open doors as they walked into the grotto. Professor McGonagall spotted them leaving the room; she smiled and marked something on the clipboard under her arm and walked off to inspect the other costumes.
Joseph followed Lily leave the Great Hall with a boy. He realised that his best friend must have found Prongs and had left to talk to him properly. Smiling at Lily's fortune, Joseph turned to look around the hall himself.
He was standing by the bar in the same place that Lily had left him. He looked down the table and saw Sirius and Remus talking in low voices about something. On his right, down the other end of the bar, was Rosanna, Noël and Natasha. They were also talking in low voices but kept sending disgusted looks towards Sirius and Remus.
As Joseph watched Rosanna, he saw Noël and Natasha leave their friend to dance with someone or pour a drink. As Rosanna stood alone waiting for Natasha to return with a drink, Joseph saw a boy approach her. He was dressed in a green cape and was wearing a similar style of old-fashion dress as Sirius and Remus but his costume, like the cape he wore, was all green. Even the feather plume on his large hat was a deep green.
He walked up to Rosanna and said, in a hissing voice, "Alone Rosie?"
Joseph recognised it immediately as Severus Snape. Snape was a Slytherin and hated by James, Sirius and Remus. So for Snape to be hitting on Rosanna, Joseph thought, he must really want to get back at James or Sirius for something.
Rosanna gave Snape a reproachful look and turned away to look for Natasha. However, Snape grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him. Joseph, not liking the way Snape was treating his crush and moved towards the pair.
"How about you and me go outside for a bit of cosy talk?" Snape asked.
"No." Rosanna said. She struggled a bit against Snape's hold. "Let me go."
Joseph reached the pair just and Snape laughed and pulled her closer to him. Joseph, feeling a sense of braveness in front of Rosanna, physically pulled the two apart. He stepped in front of Rosanna protectively and said in a low voice, "She said to leave her alone, Snape."
"Well, Miller." Snape replied. Now Joseph was up close, he could see that Snape was also wearing a Slytherin green band around his hand that completed the look of him as a very tall leprechaun. "I wasn't talking to you."
He made to push Joseph aside but Joseph unsheathed his sword and brandished it imperiously at Snape. Snape sighed loudly and pulled out his own sword.
Joseph began waving the sword in his enemy's face and hit Snape in the hand to try and lower the sword. Apparently, this hit far too hard for Snape's liking because he then swung his won sword at Joseph's in a fit of anger.
Joseph watched as Snape's sword clashed with his own and the three people (Joseph, Snape and Rosanna) stared at it with amazement as the 'blade' fell to pieces. Joseph was left, red faced, holding just a hilt.
Joseph and Snape met eyes for a moment before Joseph threw the broken hilt at Snape and ran for in. Snape growled angrily and chased after him, Rosanna delicately running behind her protector and captor.
Joseph jumped onto the end of the drinks table which curled round into a circle. He ran along it, disturbing many bowls and glasses of punch as he ran along its length, while Snape ran round the outside. Joseph foolishly jumped into the middle of the circle as Snape look a swipe at his legs with his sword. Joseph looked around him and realised what had happened; he was trapped inside the circle at the end of the drinks table, with a very angry Snape standing directly in front of the flap exit.
Lily had let go of James' arm when they had walked out of the castle and down a path in the grotto. They were walking side by side, talking quietly.
"So," James said suddenly, cutting off their conversation. "My first question …"
Lily waited patiently. James thought for a moment before asking "You do go to Hogwarts, right? You haven't just come for the disco and will leave after …"
Lily shook her head to James' second question. "I do go to Hogwarts, James. Don't worry."
James nodded and smiled. "Ok, second question. If you had to choose a meal would it be half a salad from the Three Broomsticks or a hamburger meal from Fast Food Charms?"
"Hamburger meal from Fast Food Charms." Lily answered promptly.
"You do realise that that cuts down half the girls in seventh year, don't you." James said smiling at Lily.
Lily nodded and they turned down a path. This path was surrounded with rose bushes and the fairies fluttered around the red flowers. James regarded Lily for a moment before posing his third question.
"If Gryffindor and Slytherin were having a duel, who would you go vote for?"
Lily blinked at the strangeness of the question. But, she thought, she did know Prongs could come out with random comments and James was Prongs.
"Gryffindor."
"So, you are not a Slytherin. Excellent."
"You could have just asked straight out, you know."
"I know that."
Joseph looked around the circular end of the table. All of the people round it were watching him. Snape was standing right in front of him and the flap door. He caught Rosanna's eye and she smiled suggestively at him.
Joseph then, feeling braver, turned to face Snape. Looking at the flap, he was struck with a memory.
"Have you ever been to see the muggle show Pirates of Penzance?" he asked conversationally.
Snape glared at him. "As if I would every want to watch something to do with filth like that." he snarled.
Joseph nodded and then said "Well, I stared as an extra in it for three months this summer and last summer. Welcome to Act 2, Scene 4."
Without another word, Joseph swung the flap upwards and it hit Snape in the chin, who was leaning over it. Snape went flying backwards and hit the wall. With a thud, he slid to the floor his eyes dreamy as if he was stunned.
Joseph smiled proudly at Snape and walked out of the circle. The rest of the people had carried on talking and Joseph brushed himself off, preparing to walk away from the circle.
However, he felt a hand on his arm, stopping him. Joseph turned around and saw Rosanna standing next to him, still smiling flirtatiously. Joseph blinked at Rosanna and one thought ran through his head; Rosanna is finally taking notice in me!
Rosanna pulled Joseph towards her and pressed her lips onto his.
While he had been asking the next six questions, James had led Lily down the rose path and into a clearing. The clearing had been filled with chairs for a concert of some sort and the band was at the end of a small path, preparing their instruments.
James steered Lily down the path and up to the band. They walked passed the men, smiling as they did so, and saw a raised platform behind the men. Once again, James held out his hand for Lily to take and he stepped up onto the stage.
Lily looked around the platform. Once the couple were on it, they could see it was charmed to have vines twirling upwards, supported by air. James dropped Lily's hand and picked one of the flowers. He passed of a moment, putting the flower to his lips and giving it a slight kiss.
He turned back to Lily and asked his ninth question. "Were you disappointed when you found out it was me as Prongs."
James handed Lily the flower and she held it carefully in her hands before answering his question. "I'll let you know."
James then looked over towards the band. "For my final question, DMLEgirl." he said. "Would you like to dance?"
Lily looked at James with a puzzled expression. "There isn't any music."
As Lily spoke her words, the band began to play a slow tune. They were looking at Lily and James with happy faces and Lily laughed slightly. James held out his hands and placed one on Lily's waist. Lily put her hand in his and her other one on James' shoulders. They began to dance gracefully, James leading as Lily knew he would. He twirled her around gracefully and dipped her like Marcus had. However, James dipped Lily carefully and pulled her upright soon.
James let go of Lily and moved his hands to her face. They travelled up towards her eyes and, therefore, her mask. He touched it delicately and moved to pull it off. However, just as it began to move, Lily's watch began to ring. Lily jerked away and reached down to her purse to turn of the beeping noise of her alarm.
Lily looked back at James who was watching her with mild curiosity. "I have to go." she said quietly.
James blinked and said "What? Why? Where are you going?"
His words stopped Lily in her tracks as she stepped of the platform. "I'm late." she explained.
"For what?" he asked, puzzled.
"Reality."
Without another look back at James, Lily ran back to Hogwarts castle. James stood, leaning on a floating vine, watching her go. He looked behind him at the band, who had stopped playing, and they nodded at him. James then ran off after Lily.
AN: Please don't get to violent but the ball is no over! If I had carried on with the ball, the next two chapters would have been tiny. Well the second one more tiny than the next. And I have decided that I am only going to edit this chapter, when the DVD decides to come out in England, if I need to - so tell me. (Smiles Widely at everyone)
CaramelD: What are you confused about? I mean, the first chapter is Harry in his seventh year reading the first chapter of Lily's diary and the next chapters is 'the diary'. Like a pensive but not. And once Lily and James' story is finished it will flick back to Harry finishing the diary. Simple? Or still confused?