His Final Year

Chapter Eighteen: Dresses, Dances, and Drama

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god the dance!" Alex jumped from Mel and Lily, freaking out completely. Mel and Lily groaned loudly, Lily grabbing Alex and throwing her to the ground as she approached her.

"Man…dating Sirius Black sure has changed her. She's never been like this about a guy before." Mel just laughed and threw a pillow at Alex. Alex stood up, threw the pillow back at Mel, and sat on Lily's bed.

"I'm really nervous. I mean, Sirius is so great and I'm worried that I'm going to do something stupid at the dance and screw everything up." She sighed and looked down. "I really, really like him. More than I've ever liked anyone else. He's so great, and I don't want to lose him." Mel and Lily looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Mel got up and sat next to Alex on Lily's bed. "Alex, you're great and Sirius has liked you for quiet some time. You and him are going to have a wonderful time at the dance."

Lily nodded. "Just be yourself…you already know he likes that." Alex hugged both her friends and laughed. They all took their time getting out of bed, but after they all showered they became dedicated to getting ready. They started with hair first, doing one at a time. Alex was first; Lily and Mel decided to have it straight and down. To add a romantic affect, Lily ran outside and picked a flower that matched her dress perfectly. She hurried into the room, stopping dead in her tracks after she shut the door.

"Ok, what are you two grinning at like that for?" Mel and Alex just turned to each other, winked, and nodded at Lily's bed. Lily walked over and grabbed a letter that was resting on a package. She opened the envelope and read the note out loud.

Here's to the girl of my dream, the thief of my heart, and the love of my life. I can't wait to see tonight, beautiful.

James

Mel scoffed. "Like he needed to sign it. We all knew it was him." Lily just smiled against her will. She read the note one more time…then one more time. Alex coughed, causing Mel to laugh. "Are you going to open the package Lily?" Lily jumped back into reality and looked down at the package. She slowly untied the bow, and even more slowly took off the lid. She gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh my god Lily…it's the dress!" Lily couldn't believe it; it was her dress! She slowly reached out and picked the dress up as though it would shatter if she weren't careful. Mel screamed and ran over, standing behind Lily and marveling at the dress. Alex just stood were she was, a smug little grin on his face.

"Well would you look at that! It's your dress…wonder how he know you wanted that one. Rather shocking guy, that James Potter is." Lily looked at her, shocked.

"You told him to get this?" Mel looked at Alex, just as shocked as Lily. Alex just laughed.

"Nope. Well, sort of. But not really. Ok you remember when we went shopping and James pulled me aside?" She paused, but neither Mel nor Lily said anything so she shrugged and continued. "Ok well, he told me to keep an eye for something you really liked Lily. So when you said you wouldn't get the dress, James gave me money and I went and bought it later the week."

Lily just stood there, her jaw dropped, staring at her friend. "I can't decide if I should hug you or murder you!" Mel and Alex both just laughed. Lily sent the dress down and gave Alex a big hug, careful to not mess up her hair. Alex just hugged her tight.

"He's the one for you Lily. He really is." Alex and Lily pulled away and motioned for Mel to join them and they all group hugged for a few moments. Lily laughed.

"Alright ladies time to finish getting ready!" Lily put the flower in Alex's hair and Alex began work on Mel's hair, pulling it up into a very elegant French twist. Mel loved it and after taking a few moments to admire it, she and Alex thought about what to do with Lily's hair. They finally settled on pulling half of it up with a few curls around her face. They moved onto make-up, each doing their own but getting tips from the others.

After they had only about fifteen minutes until the dance began, they helped each other put on their dresses. Mel put hers on first; it was a strapless one, starting as a darker pink with a lighter pink section at the end, and a white section beneath that. After adjusting it here and there, she was completely ready for the dance. Alex was next to put her dress on; she had also chosen a strapless one, only hers was dark blue with a light blue swirl through the middle. Finally, Alex and Mel turned to Lily, and helped her put her dress on. Looking even better the second time, the girls could barely wait to show their Marauder how great they looked.

The girls finally headed down as the dance was about to start, stopping on the stairwell leading to their guys. Even though Mel and Remus weren't officially going together, Remus was there waiting. He saw Mel first and gapped at her. She blushed and walked down the stairs as he approached her. He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently, looking up to meet her eyes. "You look beautiful." Mel blushed even harder. They turned and headed over to the side, waiting for their friends to join them, just as Sirius turned and saw Alex.

His jaw dropped, but he still managed to make it to her at the end of the stairs. He just stared at her for a while. Alex just stared at him, a little smile on her lips. "You…look…absolutely amazing." Alex laughed and kissed him. Sirius led her over to Remus and Mel, waiting on the last couple to join them.

Lily slowly made it down the stairs, stopping halfway there as James turned and saw her. He looked her up and down, amazed at how great she looked. He knew right when he saw her that the dress had been the greatest thing he had ever bought; it was a spaghetti strapped light green dress with small beads above her stomach. It waved out at the bottom, and the color brought her eyes out to an even more amazing glow. She slowly started walking down the stairs again, stopping as James ran up the stairs and pulled her into a kiss. They finally broke away, both smiling like mad. "You look seriously beautiful babe. Love the dress."

Lily chuckled. "You really didn't have to buy it. It was rather expensive and…" James cut her off with his laughter.

"Money's not really an issue in my family. And besides…" He laced his fingers through hers. "…I love you and I don't mind showing it sometimes." Lily blushed and followed James over to the others. James leaned over and gave Alex a kiss on the cheek, causing everyone to laugh. He turned to Lily and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before turning to the others. "Everyone ready?"

James and Lily led the way, the others close behind them. Upon entering the Great Hall, they all marveled at the great job James and Lily had done. The room was dark with strobe lights going and the decorations were great. The music was great and the food looked even better.

Everyone looked like they were having a great time, but one thing was missing; no one was dancing. Everyone was standing with his or her date and friends, but not one couple was dancing. James scoffed and grabbed Lily's hand leading her over to the dance floor. Lily got very nervous and tensed up. James just grinned at her and pulled her close to him, whispering into her ear. "Just relax beautiful."

James gently swayed with the music, and Lily was quickly amazed at how great a dancer James was. She slowly looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. "Where did you learn to dance so well?"

James just kept grinning. "My dad taught me when I was younger. We used to go to formal parties for their work so I had to learn." Lily just laughed and rested her head on his chest, completely content in his arms. All eyes were on them, but to James and Lily, they were the only two in the room.

As the song came to an end, James put a hand under her chin and led her lips to his. Everyone else watching, teachers included, started clapping as the couple broke all the tension in the room. By the time the next song was over, there were more couples dancing and by the song after that, barely anyone was just standing around. Sirius and Alex were laughing and dancing, as were Mel and Remus. James and Lily were nearby, James dipping Lily and twirling her around. Lily was laughing so hard she could barely breath.

They all headed over to a small table and sat, laughing and talking. Just as Sirius finished up his story involving James and him tricking Filch into thinking Snape had stolen Mrs. Norris, someone put their hand on Lily's shoulder. Lily, as well as everyone else, turned and saw none other than Lily's ex, Matthew Henderson.

"Hello Lily."

Lily smiled. "Hello Matthew. Is there anything I could help you with?"

Matthew just sort of chuckled. "Well I was wondering, if it's ok, could I have a dance? I mean, it's ok but if you don't mind, I'd love one."

Sirius, Remus, Mel, and Alex all turned and stared at James, who was surprisingly smiling. Lily turned and looked at him, hoping for some help. James leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Go ahead sweetheart." Lily grabbed him and kissed him on the lips, then headed off for a quick dance. Once Lily and Matthew were dancing, James ran his hand through his hair. "I hate that guy!"

Sirius and Remus were equally pissed. "Yeah…where does he get off asking Lily to dance?"

Alex just sighed. "Lily and him are still friends. She's not trying to cheat on James or anything."

Matthew cleared his throat. "You look very nice tonight by the way. The dress is really nice."

Lily smiled. "Thanks. James actually bought it for me." Matthew stopped smiling.

"So you and him are really together huh?" Lily just stared at him.

"Yeah we have been for a while now." Matthew sighed.

"He's not good enough for you. You deserve someone better…" He bent down next to her ear. "…like me."

Lily pushed him away. "Don't you ever talk about James not being good enough. And if you remember correctly, you broke up with me. You had your chance and you lost it."

Lily turned and hurried back to the table, not making it two steps before Matthew grabbed her and kissed her. She opened her eyes and tried to push him away but he was too strong for her. The only thing she could think about was James.

The next thing she knew, she was free. Matthew had suddenly been torn away from her when James completely tackled him. Remus rushed over and walked Lily over to a chair, checking her over to make sure she was ok, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from James.

Several punches later, Sirius finally managed to restrain James from completely killing Matthew, who was now sporting a swollen eye that was going to be pitch black tomorrow and a busted lip. James looked down at him, fury beyond anything in his eyes. "Stay away from her." With that, he broke from Sirius's grip and ran to Lily. He kneeled down in front of her and pushed a piece of hair away from her face. "Are you alright?"

Lily just looked at him, tears burning her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I-"

"What is going on here! Mr. Potter explain yourself now!" Professor McGonagall ran up, her hands on her hips.

Alex and Mel rushed to her. "It was Matthew. He was dancing with Lily and he kissed her and wouldn't let her go. She was trying to push him away but she couldn't so James went to help."

Mel was nodding the whole time. "He could've done worse if James hadn't done something!"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Alright…be that as it may, twenty points from Gryffindor for fighting. I'll deal with Mr. Henderson." Everyone turned their attention back to James and Lily, who looked as they hadn't heard a word.

James leaned over and whispered in Lily's ear. "You want to take a walk with me?" Lily just nodded, hoping she could explain this.

James stood up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They headed out onto the grounds and just walked in silence for a moment. Lily finally stopped. "James, I'm so sorry. We were just dancing then he started saying you weren't good enough for and I said that was stupid so I tried to leave but he just grabbed me and he was too strong…" She couldn't fight it anymore; the tears just started falling, and she couldn't control them.

James took off his jacket and put it around Lily. He reached over and wrapped his arms around her as she just clung to him. He slowly rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "It's ok babe. I saw what happened. It's alright…. it's alright…" Lily shook her head against his chest.

"I love you so much James." James just smiled and pulled away, cupping her face and kissing her gently on the lips. Lily smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. They finally pulled away, and James hugged her again.

"I love you too Lily. More than you know."

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this took so long! Every time I tried to write something can up. Apologizes a plenty! I hope you liked it. I tried to put as much lily and James romance in as I could, so I hope it makes up for the long wait!