A/N:This is a test to see if my posting has come back! I've been having trouble getting this chapter uploaded since Sunday morning. I've tried SO many times. But it's not showing up for some reason. I can see it on the FF app on my phone, but my readers are telling me that when they try to access it through the email alert it shows up as an error. So I'm trying again. If for some reason you ARE able to see this, please send me a message and let me know! Thank you! I'm really getting frustrated and sad. XOXO
Chapter 5: Halloween
One week before Halloween, at dinner, Headmistress McGonagall stepped up to make a special announcement. Lily had been engrossed in reading about a new potion she was working on with Willoughby during their private sessions and hadn't noticed the hush that had spread over the Great Hall until Julianne nudged her with her elbow.
"What's she doing?" Lily asked, glancing up towards the headmistress.
"Special announcement," Julianne said.
The girls quieted and watched curiously as the headmistress began to speak. It was rare to hear directly from the headmistress. Apart from the welcome speech at the beginning of term and the closing speech at the end of term, Headmistress McGonagall only spoke on holidays or to announce the end of year house cup winners.
"In one week's time, as you all know, it will be Halloween and time for our annual Halloween feast," she said. There was a murmur of acknowledgement throughout the room. "This year, however, we will be doing things a little differently."
Lily's interest was engaged.
"Afternoon classes will be cancelled, and the banquet will be held at six o'clock. Formal attire is encouraged for the evening," she said. The room momentarily broke into cheers. She quieted them and continued. "For the evening, there will be no house tables. You will be allowed to sit anywhere you like and are encouraged to familiarize yourself with houses and students with whom you are not acquainted."
Another murmur broke out, this one a bit louder. From the Slytherin table in particular, Lily heard words of protest. No one seemed particularly keen on mingling outside their own house at the banquet, however, she saw it as a great opportunity to spend time with her family for the night.
Leaning towards Julianne, Lily whispered: "We can sit with Leona and Louis! This will be great!"
Julianne seemed less interested in who she'd be sitting with and responded with: "We can wear whatever we want! We must start planning our outfits."
Lily smiled at her friend's eagerness. Though Lily wasn't quite as interested in clothing and fashion as Julianne, having grown up under the opinionated guidance of Victoire and Louis, Lily wasn't completely daft about it all either.
"We'll get it all sorted this weekend," Lily assured her friend.
The rest of dinner was full of excited chatter. Even those who weren't thrilled to mingle with other houses could appreciate the opportunity to have classes cancelled, dress nice and have a fancy dinner. The girls left the table soon after the announcement, and Lily knew the rest of her evening would be filled with Julianne's outfit planning.
Before leaving the Great Hall, Lily and Julianne made a detour by the Ravenclaw table to meet up with Leona. She had finished her food and so stood to leave with the girls. The three of them retreated outside to have a walk in the cool evening before going to their own rooms.
"What are you going to wear?" Julianne asked Leona almost the moment they had stepped outside.
Leona and Lily both laughed a little at the desperation in Julianne's voice.
"I'm not sure yet," Leona said. "I didn't bring many fancy things with to school."
Julianne frowned for a moment, but then she smiled and shrugged. "Don't worry. I'll look through all our clothes and figure out the best option for all of us!" She linked one arm with Lily and one with Leona and led the girls in a walk around the Black Lake as had become their custom when having serious discussions or needing a break from studying.
"Lil, how are your private lessons coming along?" Leona asked as they walked. "Have you learned anything thrilling?"
"Well, after that first night when I made the antidote for him, like I told you, he tried hard to find me challenging potions to work on," Lily said. "So last week we started working on undetectable poisons, which has been loads of fun because he's really giving me the freedom to create it how I want. He's given me the basic perimeters for a standard poison and what is required to make it work, but he's having me do my research and decide on the ingredients and methods to create it however I like…under his guidance of course."
"That sounds brilliant!" Leona said.
Julianne rolled her eyes. "Sure if you like a roommate who constantly has her nose in a book and is always bringing around weird herbs and things to stink up the room…" she said.
Lily laughed. "I do not always have my nose in a book," she said. "And I've only brought ingredients into the room one time. I needed to keep the bloodroot petals appropriately moist all night."
"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you bringing poisonous petals into our room…" Julianne said.
"They're only poisonous if you ingest them," Lily said.
"Well, I think it's great that you're so excited about Potions and this opportunity you have with Professor Willoughby," Leona said. "It's a real honor for him to have singled you out like that."
Lily smiled at her friend's genuine compliment. She hadn't exactly thought about her lessons as an "honor" in the way Leona said, but she was having fun, and she was very appreciate that her professor had recognized her interest and talent for the subject.
Julianne continued to grumble under her breath for a moment about poisonous toxins, which Lily and Leona chose to ignore as the three finished their walk and then headed back to the castle, still arm in arm, and finally bid goodnight at the foot of the main staircase with hugs and promises to meet the next day to let Julianne plan their outfits.
…
Halloween finally arrived, and after struggling to concentrate throughout morning lessons, the girls finally escaped after lunch to prep for the evening's festivities.
While Lily wanted to take a nap during their afternoon freedom, due to having stayed up too late the previous night working on notes for her new potion, Julianne insisted that both girls shower and take time getting ready for the dinner. Lily insisted that four hours was too much time to get ready and finally convinced Julianne to let her take a short nap, but only after promising that she'd allow Julianne to put some makeup on her for dinner.
When she finally did wake almost two hours later and wandered into the girls' adjoining bathroom, Julianne had already showered, fixed her own sandy hair into a high bun, with every piece perfectly in place, and had started on her makeup in front of the mirror.
"I thought you were going to sleep through dinner," Julianne said, glancing at Lily in the mirror, but not turning to look at her.
Lily laughed. "You wouldn't have let me miss dinner!" She said.
"Get in the shower, and be quick. Your hair is going to take ages to get under control," Julianne said directly.
Lily stuck her tongue out at the back of her friend's head, but Julianne saw her in the mirror and rolled her eyes. Lily did as she was told and took a shower, while Julianne continued to lecture from her place at the mirror, raising her voice to be heard over the water.
"You've been extra tired lately," Julianne said. "I'm not used to waking up before you in the mornings."
"That happened one time this week!" Lily said, also raising her voice above the shower.
"Yes, but it's still unusual," Julianne said.
"There's a lot going on right now," Lily said. "I'm still adjusting to all the new quidditch hours, and now these lessons with Willoughby and the extra homework I have for that…"
"Just make sure you're not wearing yourself out," Julianne said. "Your first game is in just a couple weeks!"
Lily appreciated that her friend had memorized her quidditch schedule even though Julianne was not a fan of the game. She finished her shower quickly and wrapped herself in a towel before joining Julianne at the mirror.
"Where are the other girls? Cassie and Nicolette?" Lily asked, not eager to share the bathroom with either of the girls.
"They stopped by earlier, but decided to go and get ready with the third year girls," Julianne said.
Lily nodded at that decision, knowing that Cassie had become good friends with a couple of the older girls, and pleased that they wouldn't have to share bathroom space at that time.
"So what do I do first?" Lily asked, leaving herself entirely in her friend's hands.
"Brush your hair, and then use that charm thing you do to dry it, and then I'll style it for you," Julianne said, still working on her makeup and barely glancing at Lily as she spoke.
Lily worked on her hair obediently, knowing better than to argue with Julianne once she had set her mind to something, particularly regarding style.
Over an hour later, Julianne finally sat back to admire the work she had done on Lily's hair and makeup; Lily had sat as patiently as possible while her friend did as she pleased. Though Julianne had begun wearing makeup daily since returning for second year, Lily still hadn't quite seen the point of it. During the summer when the cousins had all been gathered for a weekend at the Burrow to stay with their grandparents, Victoire and had managed to convince Lily to let her do a makeover for fun, but that was so far the extent of Lily's experience with being made up.
Looking in the mirror now to inspect herself, Lily gasped. She didn't look too incredibly different, but what she saw surprised her. Julianne had done a great job using light makeup to simply accent Lily's natural beauty, so that the changes were subtle, but Lily felt that she somehow looked significantly more grown up than she had only an hour previously.
"Wow!" She said. "I look…"
"Stunning," Julianne said, smiling proudly at Lily in the mirror. "I know."
Her hair had been left down, at Lily's request, but Julianne had added curls throughout and braided the front parts around in a sort of halo on top of her head.
"You really do have a talent for this sort of thing," Lily said. "Even Victoire would be impressed."
Julianne beamed. She had heard enough of Victoire's beauty and style skills from both Lily and Louis to know that it was high praise for Lily to say so.
"Let's get dressed now, so we can go and meet Leona!" Julianne said.
The girls hurried into the closet to pull down the dresses they had chosen to wear for the night. While they were dressing, Kenny joined them and hurriedly changed into a pair of dark denim trousers and a black sweater. She had her hair pulled into two plaits as usual. She smiled at them as they all got dressed and began chatting away about how hungry she was and how she hoped they had pudding and cake for dessert like the previous year. Lily and Julianne exchanged understanding smiles as they listened to Kenny prattle on.
"Alright, see you down there!" Kenny said, finished with her dressing and eager to eat.
"Come sit with us if you want," Lily said, calling over her shoulder as Kenny was already leaving the closet and heading towards the bedroom door.
"I don't think Kenny will likely sit apart from Slytherin," Julianne said.
"But you will, right?" Lily asked. "You're going to be okay sitting with my family?"
Julianne shrugged. "It's not like you'll give me a choice," she said.
Lily frowned at the answer.
Julianne sighed and motioned for Lily to turn around so Julianne could zip up the back of her black dress. "It's fine, Lil. I'll sit wherever you want to sit."
Lily smiled and hugged Julianne quickly.
The girls finished dressing and putting on their shoes, then inspected themselves in the floor length mirror in the bathroom. Lily and to admit that Julianne had done well helping her get ready for the dinner. The black dress she wore was simple but fancy in a way that Lily wasn't used to. She had borrowed it from Julianne, whose mother had made sure she came to school with half a dozen fancy dresses, though Julianne doubted she would need many of them throughout the year. The neck was high but wide so it was cut to the outside of her shoulders, the tight sleeves reached her elbows, and the dress cinched at the waist and then flared out to just a couple inches above her knees. Following Julianne's directions, she paired the dress with her green suede lace-up boots that Aunt Fleur had helped her pick out that summer on one of their shopping trips before school.
"Do you need jewelry?" Julianne asked, scrunching up her nose as she analyzed Lily's final appearance.
"Please no, Jules," Lily said. "I'm already feeling fancier than I ever have in my life! I feel silly."
"Well, you look smashing," Julianne said. She was wearing a dark green velvet dress that clung to her willowy body all the way down to the floor; it had capped sleeves and buttons that fastened all the way up the back to the high neck. She knelt down to adjust one of the laces on Lily's boot. "We definitely look older than only twelve." She smiled as she stood up and gave them one more glance in the mirror.
"Is that a good thing?" Lily asked. "Do we want to look older?"
"Of course we do," Julianne said. "Doesn't everyone?"
Lily shrugged. She wasn't sure. She had often heard Rose reminding people that she was only a few months younger than James, Dominque, and Roxie, even though they were a year apart at school. And when they were younger, Victoire used to borrow her mum's makeup without permission and then tell people she was two years older than she actually was. Lily started to wonder if she was the only girl who wasn't in a hurry to grow up.
"Well we definitely look nice," Lily said, deciding to just enjoy herself tonight and not worry about any of the confusing emotions she was experiencing. "Thank you for helping me get ready!"
Julianne smiled, clearly pleased with herself. The girls headed upstairs, excited to begin the feast. They met up with Leona outside the Great Hall as they had planned. Her deep blue dress had a square neckline, long sleeves and reached just below her knees. Leona's mum had bought her the dress for her twelfth birthday, but she had borrowed white heeled boots and a dainty pearl necklace from Julianne. Her long golden hair was down straight around her shoulders. Lily noticed she was not wearing any makeup.
The girls greeted each other with hugs before entering the Great Hall arm in arm. Upon entering, all three stopped briefly to take in their surroundings. The Professors, along with help from the elves, had spent the afternoon transforming the Hall, and the result was magnificent. As usual, the ceiling reflected the outdoors, but tonight it had been enchanted with more twinkling stars than Lily had ever seen; also there were occasionally shooting stars that soared across the ceiling leaving trails of twinkling stardust behind. Candles of all sizes floated above their heads, and all around the walls were pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, glowing with magical illumination.
"Oh, it's lovely!" Lily said, a little breathlessly as she took in everything she could see.
The four long house tables had been moved, as the Headmistress had warned them, so that they formed a square in the center of the room, end to end, with an empty space in the middle of them where a large enchanted fire was roaring with flames that flickered golden orange.
"Where should we sit?" Julianne asked.
The tables were a little more than halfway full already. Like the girls, everyone looked their best, dressed in a mixture of dress robes, pretty dresses, or nice trousers and shirts for the guys. Lily liked seeing everyone dressed up. It was a fun change from their normal uniforms. Despite the headmistress's plea to mingle with other houses that night, Lily noticed that most students still seemed to choose to group together with their own. To the left, the Slytherins sat resolutely as a group, while directly in front of them, Lily saw most of the Hufflepuffs grouped together. The Ravenclaws sat mostly together at the table nearest the large door, and the Gryffindors occupied the table to the right.
"We could sit with Kenny," Julianne said, pointing towards the Slytherin side where Kenny sat with Ian, William, and a couple third year girls Lily didn't know well.
Lily huffed. "No, absolutely not. Tonight is special. Tonight we can sit anywhere we want! I am not going to pass up this chance to sit with my family."
"Fine," Julianne sighed, giving up her one last attempt to get Lily to sit with the Slytherins. "There's Louis," she said, pointing towards the right.
Lily smiled in the direction her friend was pointing and led the girls that direction. Louis was sitting next to Hugo and Daniel Thomas and another boy Lily didn't know. There were a few empty chairs still across from Louis and his friends, which Lily, Julianne, and Leona took.
"Hi!" Lily said brightly.
"Hey Lils!" Louis and Hugo greeted her together.
"You guys look really nice," Louis said.
"Thank you," Julianne said. Though she clearly wasn't thrilled to be sitting with mostly Gryffindors, she was also obviously proud of the work she had done helping Lily and Leona prepare for the night, particularly when complimented by Louis, whom everyone knew had overwhelming Veela tendencies with style and elegance.
"It was all Jules," Lily said. "She fixed us up like her little dolls." She smiled at her friend who shrugged, but didn't disagree with Lily giving her all the credit. "Have you seen Al or James?"
Louis glanced around, up and down the table, and then shrugged. "Al and Rose were doing some revising in the library earlier and James is probably…well…" he hesitated.
"Well?" Lily asked.
"He's probably around," Louis said.
Lily noticed a brief glance between Hugo and Daniel.
"What's that supposed to mean? Around where?" Lily asked.
"He'll be here soon," Louis said. "Want to save him a seat?"
"Lou, where do you think he is? Why are you being so…odd?" Lily asked.
"He's probably with Bea," Louis said.
"Who's Bea?"
"Beatrice Maxwell," Daniel answered.
"Okay, who's Beatrice Maxwell?" Lily asked.
"James' girlfriend," Louis said.
Lily frowned. "I didn't know James had a girlfriend," she said.
"Yeah, I'm not sure he's told your parents. It's a not secret or anything, especially around the Gryffindors, but I think he just doesn't want your mum to make a big deal, you know?" Louis said.
"Sure, yeah, I get it," Lily said. She didn't get it at all. She briefly wondered if she would tell her parents when she finally started dating one day, and she couldn't at all imagine why she wouldn't. She told her parents everything! James used to, too.
While they waited for the Headmistress to officially welcome the students and signal the start of the feast, the tables were still empty of the much-anticipated dinner, but tea cups and pots of tea had appeared on the table along with plates of biscuits and scones. The boys began devouring the biscuits and Lily stood to pour out tea for each of them.
Before she sat again, she glanced towards the door to see if her brother or any of her other cousins had arrived yet. Instead she saw Scorpius walking in with Geoff and Leo. She caught his eye and waved habitually. Expecting him to return the wave and go on his way to the Slytherin table, she was surprised when he walked toward her instead. Geoff and Leo went the other direction.
"Hi," she said as he approached. She refused to look towards her cousin at that moment, but she had a strong feeling about what his expression might be.
"Hey," Scorpius said. He offered a smile to Julianne and Leona. "You look smashing," he said, looking directly at Lily.
"Oh, thank you," she said, blushing slightly. "Umm, did you want to sit with us?" She wasn't sure why she had offered, but the words were out of her mouth before she could think it through.
Scorpius eyed the empty seat next to Lily and shrugged. "You really think your Gryffindor people would be okay with that?"
"Well sure, I mean tonight's supposed to be about mixing it up, right?" She said.
Before he had a chance to respond, they were interrupted by an angry sort of growl followed by some rather loud cursing.
"Oy Malfoy! What the bloody hell are you doing over here?" James' voice carried down the length of the Gryffindor table, and nearly every eye turned toward the commotion.
Lily took a quick step forward, unintentionally moving closer to Scorpius. Julianne briefly touched her arm as though to stop her, but Lily ignored her friend.
"Just being friendly, mate," Scorpius said, turning to face James boldly.
Though James was a year older than Scorpius, they were even in height, and both equally fit from Quidditch training. Lily noticed the way her brother's usually calm face was reddening and how dark his amber eyes were as he scowled at the Slytherin. She saw that he was clenching his hands into fists, so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and the veins on the back of his hands were protruding. She didn't like to see him like that; she knew that his temper was too short to be trusted.
"James, tonight's supposed to be about inter-house connection…" Lily said, trying to keep her voice sweet and calm as she stepped casually between her brother and Scorpius.
"Not with him," James said. His voice was anything but calm.
"James, Scorpius is my…" Lily's voice failed her.
"Your what?" James asked, his voice turning dangerously quiet.
Lily didn't know why she looked to Scorpius at that moment as though he would have any suggestion for helping in this situation, but when she saw him standing there, smirking, she rolled her eyes. She didn't know why she risked so much with her brothers just to appease that cocky nitwit.
"He's my housemate," she said. "That's all."
"Then he should go and sit with the rest of your housemates," James said. He turned his angry eyes towards Scorpius. "Sod off, Malfoy. You're not welcome here."
Lily felt an uncomfortable ache inside her chest at her brother's words. She glanced briefly at Scorpius, but his expression was unreadable. He nodded at her briefly and walked across the room to join Geoff and Leo. Even though she wasn't at all surprised by her brother's hostility towards Scorpius, she felt angry about it.
Once Scorpius was gone, she turned to James, scowling. "What about me?" She asked. "Am I welcome here or should I join my housemates too?"
"What?" James asked, his voice and eyes softer now. "Of course not! You're family." He glanced behind her and noticed Leona and Julianne. He smiled at them both. "You're always welcome here." Then he lowered his voice slightly to Lily. "But we do not associate with Malfoys. You know that."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I know. He was just being nice…"
"No," James said. "Malfoys aren't nice. He was just trying to get a rise out of me. Malfoys always have an ulterior motive."
"Whatever," Lily said, finally over the conversation and just wanting to sit in silence and try to enjoy dinner. When she sat she noticed Louis staring at her, but she glared at him and he didn't say anything. She appreciated that even though she knew he had his opinions about her Slytherin mates, he wisely kept silent most of the time.
"How're classes going?" Julianne asked the boys, trying to take attention off of the tense confrontation that had just occurred.
"Oh, you know, pretty boring," Daniel said. He seemed equally eager to move on from the moment.
Lily sipped her tea quietly, trying to heal her bad mood while her friends carried on their conversation. A moment later she felt movement to her left and glanced sideways to see James slipping into the seat next to her. She continued drinking her tea.
"Lils…" He said. "I'm sorry if I upset you, or embarrassed you or whatever."
"No you're not," she said.
He sighed. "No, I'm not. I hate that git. Why'd you let him come over here? Why were you even talking to him?"
"He's not as bad as you make him out to be," she said.
"Yes he is," James said. "I've known him longer. I know how awful he can be."
"James, he's not awful…" Lily said.
James glowered and she stopped.
"Maybe he's different to other houses," she said, deciding to try and stop the conversation.
"Anyway, let's not waste any more breath on him," James said. "Here, I want to introduce you to someone." He glanced up suddenly and beckoned to someone.
Lily followed his gaze and saw a short dark haired girl walking towards them. She looked sweet and she smiled at James in an adoring and eager way as she came closer.
"Bea, this is my sister Lily," he said. He took Bea's hand and pulled her onto the bench beside himself.
"Hi Lily," Bea said.
Lily smiled. "Hi."
"I've heard all about you," she said. "It's really too awful you had to be put in Slytherin like that."
Lily's smile faltered. "Oh, yeah, well, you know, it's okay…" she didn't know why she was struggling to find words. She hadn't expected that sort of introduction to James' girlfriend.
"You don't have to pretend," Bea said. Her voice was strong but a little giggly. "I bet it's just dreadful down in the dungeons. Are you always cold? Is it very dark?"
Lily felt her irritation rising. "It's quite nice actually," she said, forcing her voice to stay calm.
"Our rooms are so warm and cozy," Bea said. She didn't seem like she was trying to be mean exactly, but there was something in her tone of voice that angered Lily.
"Ours are brilliant," she said. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
James raised an eyebrow as he stared at his little sister, but she just smiled and returned her attention to her friends.
Soon the Headmistress stood up and welcomed everyone, commending those who had chosen to sit apart from their houses, which was not many. Then the tea things vanished and the dinner food appeared on the tables. Lily was not disappointed. The variety of food was overwhelming, but everyone tucked in excitedly and conversation temporarily ceased.
A few minutes after they started, Albus and Rose scurried in and took the empty seats on the other side of Leona.
"Where have you two been?" Lily asked, leaning across her friends to interrogate her brother and cousin.
"Library," Rose said.
Lily frowned. "You hate the library."
"I do," Rose agreed. "Albus, however, is quite fond of it, and he is currently working on an essay about the history of Quidditch, and since I know more about Quidditch than he does…" She shrugged. "It's hard being best friends with your family. You get trapped into doing stupid homework assignments in the library on Halloween."
Lily smiled. Despite their many differences, Rose and Albus had always had a bond. It was similar to the bond Louis and Lily shared.
Albus leaned around Leona and smiled at his sister. "It's nice having you here," he said.
"Thank you," Lily said.
He grinned at Leona and Julianne. "You guys too."
The banquet went smoothly for Lily and her friends, and for the most part Lily felt happy. She chose to put the standoff between James and Scorpius behind her and enjoy the meal with her family. Fred had stopped by to give her a hug before moving down to sit with the other fifth year Gryffindors and two of his friends from Ravenclaw, and even Roxie and Dominique came and sat with James and Bea and made an effort to converse with Lily; they even commended her on joining the Quidditch team and asked her how practices were going.
And then Payne arrived.
The banquet was almost over. Lily was halfway through her sticky pudding when she felt someone lurking over her shoulder. When James stopped speaking and his body noticeably tensed, she knew they were no longer alone.
Turning her head slowly, she spotted Payne standing directly behind her. Scorpius, Leo and Geoff stood behind him.
"Potter," he said, his tone casual but in control as usual.
"Hey Payne," she said. She felt James fidgeting in his seat next to her, but he didn't say anything.
"Happy Halloween," he said.
"You too," she said.
"You look totally lush in that getup, by the way," he said.
Lily blushed. No one had ever said something like that about her before and she wasn't quite sure what to think or feel about it. Though she did know that she wished her brothers were far far away at that moment.
"So when you're done here, we're having a little party in the common room," Payne said.
"A party?" Lily asked. "We didn't hear anything about a party." She glanced to Julianne for confirmation and her friend shook her head.
"Yeah, well, it's a particular kind of party. We don't exactly spread it around," he said. "We have it every year, but usually it's only for third years or above."
"Then why are you telling me about it?" She asked.
"You're on the team now," he said. "Teammates get special privileges, special invites." His deep eyes shifted towards Julianne. "Sorry…I can't technically invite you."
Julianne shrugged, though Lily knew they'd be discussing this snub later.
"So anyway, in the common room, it starts like now, wicked party, alright?" Payne said.
Lily didn't know what to say so she just nodded and Payne seemed satisfied with the answer and left. Leo and Geoff nodded briefly at Lily and followed Payne. Scorpius seemed prepared to say something to her, but one glance at James seemed to make him reconsider. Without even a second glance in Lily's direction, he turned and followed the others.
Julianne quickly turned on her best friend. "Well! That's exciting!" She said.
"Really? Exciting?" Lily asked. "You're not livid he didn't ask you?"
Julianne shrugged. "I'd have been chuffed to be invited, of course, but I'll go next year when we're third years. Until then, you will go, and you will return and tell me all about it!"
"Jules…" Lily said. She hadn't actually thought for one moment she would go to the party, especially not alone, but before she had a chance to say as much, her brother spoke.
"You are not going to that party," he said. He didn't sound angry or even a little upset, but there was something so definitive in his tone it made Lily's blood begin to boil.
"I'm not?" She asked.
"Absolutely not!" He said.
"And please tell me why not?" She asked.
"I know all about parties like that," he said.
Lily was silent, waiting for him to explain.
"Gryffindors have parties too, you know," he said. "Ours aren't exactly tame, but I'm pretty sure they're angelic compared with the Snakes." He shook his head. "And you are sure as hell not going to one of those parties."
"James, they're my housemates. My teammates," she said. "I'm sure the party will be fine."
"You are not going to this party," James said, sounding more firm and a little angry now. "I will not allow my sister to go to some wanker's party."
"Payne is not a wanker!" Lily said, gasping slightly. "He's nice."
"He's sixteen," James said.
"His age is irrelevant," Lily said.
"Trust me, I know sixteen year olds," James said.
"You're only fourteen," she reminded him.
"Yeah, well I'll be fifteen next month and that's close enough," he said.
"Look. Payne is my captain and my friend. You don't know him," she said.
James stared at her. "Lily, please don't be daft. Don't go to that party."
Lily turned her back on James and finished the rest of her dessert in slightly grumpy silence. The pudding did not taste quite as delicious anymore. She was frustrated with James' opinions and that he thought he had any say in what she chose to do or not do in her life, with her housemates. She did not appreciate being bossed around like a child.
Julianne seemed able to sense her friend's mood. "Ready to go, Lil?" She asked after a few moments of tense silence.
Lily smiled at her friend gratefully. "Yes, let's go." The Slytherin girls stood from the table. "Do you want to come with us?" Lily asked Leona.
"I'm going to go meet up with Ly and Lor," she said. "I'll see you two tomorrow."
The three girls hugged as a group and then Leona frolicked off to find her brothers.
"Goodnight," Lily said to the table in front of her. "Thanks for letting us sit with you." She reached her hand out to Louis and he squeezed it three times in their special way. Then she bent over to give Albus a hug. He kissed her on the cheek and returned the hug happily. She looked to James, but his face was hard and he did not make a move to bid her goodnight.
Rose stood quickly and caught Lily in a hug. "Happy Halloween, Lils," she said. "Make good choices."
Lily would have felt frustrated with her cousin if she hadn't known that Rose meant it in a kind way. She had begun to think of Rose as one of her only allies amongst the cousins, and Louis of course. Lily and Julianne left the Great Hall and headed directly back to their common room.
"So about this party," Julianne started.
"You don't think I should actually go, do you?" Lily asked.
"Of course I do!" She said. "You're the only one that's invited, so you have to go and enjoy it for both of us."
"Well, sure, that makes sense," Lily said. "I don't know…I'll be the youngest one there. You know I don't like big crowds like that…"
"It could be lots of fun, and the whole team will likely be there so you won't be alone," Julianne said. "Though if you're worried about what your brother said…"
"I'm not," Lily said quickly. "I don't care about what James said."
"Okay," Julianne said.
"I don't," she said again. "I'm just not sure it's a good idea…"
They reached the door space for their common room and Julianne spoke the password. The moment the door opened, the girls were overtaken by loud music and raucous voices. Lily took it all in with a glance. There were more people in the common room than she had ever seen at one time. The large table in the corner was covered with drinks and snacks, and candles had been enchanted to float around the ceiling just like in the Great Hall. She couldn't figure out where the music was being amplified from, but it was upbeat and filled the whole room.
"Yeah…I don't think this is for me," Lily said. She pushed Julianne a little in the direction of their corridor and started walking that way.
Julianne didn't argue. Lily, however, didn't quite make it all the way to the corridor before she was spotted and stopped.
"Potter! You made it!" Payne said in a booming voice. He reached the girls and draped a heavy arm around Lily's shoulders. "Come on, let's get you a drink."
Lily sent a desperate look towards Julianne as Payne began leading her away towards the refreshments table. Julianne looked slightly uncertain, but finally gave Lily a little wave and a shrug and headed to their room.
"Payne, I'm not sure I'm going to stay…" Lily said.
"Nonsense, of course you're staying," he said. He still had his arm firmly around her shoulders. It felt friendly enough, but the way his fingers pushed into her shoulder slightly and he pulled her tight to himself also felt a little demanding in a way Lily wasn't sure she liked. "You're one of the team now, Potter. You belong here with us."
Though she still wished he would remove his arm, Lily had to admit it sounded nice to hear she belonged. She tried to smile as he started talking to an unfamiliar older guy who was pouring himself a drink from a dark bottle.
"Hey, get one for Potter here," Payne said to the guy.
The guy glanced briefly at Lily, smirked, shook his head, then handed her a cup of something that made Lily's nose tickle. Payne took one for himself and took a drink.
"Come on Potter! It's a party. Enjoy yourself." He said.
Lily had a strong feeling that what was in her cup was not something she was supposed to drink, and definitely not something her brother James should ever know about, but she took a drink. The drink burned her throat as it went down and made her head momentarily feel like it was on fire. She knew her face must have contorted slightly because Payne was laughing.
"First taste of Firewhisky?" He asked.
Lily nodded.
"You get used to the burn," he said.
Lily wasn't sure she wanted to get used to the burn, but she just tried to smile. Payne removed his arm from her suddenly, his eyes focused somewhere across the room.
"See you later, Potter. Have fun!" He took off suddenly, and Lily watched him walk directly to Regina Zabini who was across the room talking with a few other sixth year girls.
Finding herself suddenly alone, Lily felt her uneasiness return. Her throat was still slightly warm from the drink but she took another sip. Standing there drinking something made her feel at least that she belonged a little better as everyone else seemed to be holding cups of things as well. After a couple sips of the Firewhisky, Lily started feeling a bit more courageous despite the intimidating surroundings and found herself willing to give the party a chance.
She looked around for someone familiar and spotted Kenny in the middle of a crowd of people, talking loudly, and laughing in the intense way she did. Everyone around her seemed to be laughing too. Lily envied Kenny's natural way of fitting into any situation. She never hesitated around large crowds or strangers. She saw Geoff and Leo dancing, somewhat awkwardly, with a couple older girls Lily didn't know. She didn't see Scorpius anywhere. Then she paused and wondered why she had been looking for him. Finn Nott was standing against the wall near the fireplace, his arms folded in front of himself as his dark eyes surveyed the party scene. Finn had always been friendly to Lily, though she wouldn't exactly call them friends, but she decided to say hi so she wouldn't have to stand alone. She noticed he didn't have a drink in his hands like everyone else so she thought she could bring him something.
As she glanced at the drink table, trying to remember which bottle had been the Firewhisky, she felt overwhelmed by all the unfamiliar bottles there.
"Need some help?"
Lily turned to the new voice quickly. It belonged to a tall boy with sandy brown hair and dark hazel eyes. He had the faint shadow of stubble along his chin line. She guessed him to be a seventh year, but didn't know who he was. She smiled slightly.
"You looked a bit confused," he said.
"Oh, yes, there's just a lot of options," she said, trying to make it sound like she just couldn't make up her mind; she didn't know why she didn't want this older boy to know that she had no clue what she was looking at.
"Might I make a suggestion?" He said.
She nodded. He picked up a bottle and poured out a cup of a dark colored liquid and handed it to her. He poured himself one as well.
"Cheers," he said, tipped his cup towards her and started to drink.
She tried her drink warily. It didn't burn her throat the way the Firewhisky had, but it was strong and made her scrunch up her nose.
"What do you think?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's good."
He laughed a little. "You're Potter, yeah? Aren't you a little young for this party?"
Lily felt embarrassed. "Payne invited me. He said that the team was invited."
"Ah, you're on the team now are you?" He asked.
She nodded.
"That's good," he said. "I'll have to start coming to games."
She felt herself blushing under his unwavering gaze. He took a step towards her and she felt a desire to take a step backwards. He took another sip of his drink and encouraged her to do the same. Suddenly he put his drink down, took hers and put it down as well, then took her hand and started pulling her to the center of the room where furniture had been moved out of the way to make space for dancing.
"Dance with me," he said, not entirely asking.
Lily had never danced with a boy before, apart from her brothers or cousins at family parties, and she didn't have any interest in doing so now.
"I don't really dance…" she said.
He held tightly to her hand and pulled her in close putting his other hand around her waist.
"Everyone dances," he said.
Lily didn't know how to tactfully extricate herself from the situation she was in so she let this strange boy dance with her to the end of the current song and then tried to move away.
"Thanks for the dance," she said, "but I think I'm going to go now…"
"We're just getting started!" He said, still holding her tightly.
She wanted nothing more than to be away from him, and so she started to wriggle out of his arms.
"Come on little Potter," he said. "Let yourself have some fun."
She did not appreciate being called little. "I'd like to go now," she said, trying to sound more firm.
"Fine, no more dancing, let's get another drink," he said.
Lily frowned and started to argue, but he put his arm around her waist and led her back towards the drinks. He poured her a new cup of the strong drink.
"Tell me about yourself, Potter," he said.
"I'm really not that interesting," she said.
"I'm sure that's not true," he said. "You're the first of your entire family line to be put in Slytherin. That makes you very interesting."
His hand was still around her waist, and she desperately wanted to find Julianne. She didn't like his hand there, and his fingers touching her stomach. She'd never been held that way before by a boy, especially a stranger, and it was making her skin itch.
"I know your cousin, Lucy," he said suddenly.
"Oh? You do?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, she's fun," he said. There was something about his smirk as he said it that made Lily feel angry, but she couldn't explain why. "Are you as fun as she is?"
Lily definitely didn't like his smirk now. "No," she said, "I don't think I am." She started pulling away from him, but felt his fingers tighten on her stomach.
Before she could say anything else she was aware of another body standing on her other side and she momentarily felt overly panicked.
"Quintin," the new arrival said in a smooth but certain tone.
Lily was surprised how her entire body seemed to relax when she heard Scorpius' voice beside her.
"Malfoy," the taller boy said calmly.
Scorpius was standing closer to Lily than normal. She could feel his arm against hers and had a strange sudden desire to grasp his hand.
"Goodbye Quintin," Malfoy said directly.
Lily felt the seventh year's fingers remove themselves from her body and he left abruptly. Lily had suspected before that Scorpius held a certain air of authority over the Slytherins. She didn't entirely understand it, but this moment had certainly proved it.
"I didn't think you'd come," Scorpius said when it was just the two of them.
"I wasn't going to," she told him honestly. "Payne sort of dragged me into it."
"Yeah, he does that," Scorpius said. "Payne's a good guy. He means well, but he doesn't always consider his actions and how they effect anyone but himself." He looked hard at Lily for a minute. "Do you know Quintin?"
She shook her head. "I didn't even know his name."
"Philmore Quintin. I saw you dancing with him, so I just sort of assumed…"
"I didn't want to," she said. "He was being a bit…demanding."
"Yeah, he's a tosser," Scorpius said. Then apologized quickly, seeming to rethink his word choice.
She looked down at the drink in her hand feeling suddenly embarrassed about the whole night. "I don't think I should be here."
Scorpius shrugged. "Probably not," he said. "These parties are kind of…grown up."
Lily didn't like the way his words implied she couldn't handle herself, but she couldn't help but agree with him. He took the cup out of her hand suddenly, sniffed it, and took a sip. He shook his head.
"Come on," he said, nodding towards the table. "Let's get you a nice drink, not one like this."
"It wasn't that awful," she said.
He smirked. "Sure. Was it your first Scotch?"
"Is that what it was?" She asked.
He nodded. "Quintin's family makes it. The label has been in their family for generations. It's good stuff, but very strong and not for kids." He laughed.
"I'm not a kid!" She said.
He didn't answer. At the table he found a bottle of Butterbeer and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she said, taking the familiar drink happily.
"Lily, I think it's great that you're part of the team, truly," he said, breaking into the conversation suddenly and deliberately like he was trying to speak before losing his nerve. "You're a brilliant seeker and you're going to help us win this year."
"Thank you…" she said.
"But you shouldn't feel pressure to be a part of the team in this way, you know?" He said. "Don't let Payne or any of these other blokes make you feel like you've got to prove yourself somehow to be on the team, or even to be a Slytherin."
Lily blushed.
"To be honest, even a lot of third years don't come to these parties, even though they're allowed," he said.
"You're here," she said.
"Yeah, I heard you had showed."
"You're here for me?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Finn told me Quintin had found you. It made me uncomfortable," he said. He didn't make eye contact with her and she wondered if he was embarrassed for telling her that. "Quint's got a reputation. Mostly these parties are just an excuse for older students to get completely pissed and snog."
Lily blushed and found herself needing to look anywhere but at Scorpius at that moment. Looking away from him though led her to look towards Payne and Regina who were in fact snogging at that moment across the room. Glancing around briefly, she noticed quite a few couples had begun this same act and she felt more determined to be anywhere but there at the moment.
"Well, I think I should probably just go to my room now," she said.
"Probably the best plan," Scorpius said. "Want me to walk you?"
"To my room?" Lily asked.
Scorpius shrugged.
"I'm good," she said. She turned back to the table and picked up another bottle of Butterbeer.
"For me?" He asked.
She frowned. "No, for Julianne." She said.
"Oh, right," he said, "Of course. See you tomorrow."
Lily smiled briefly and hurried to her room.
Julianne was waiting up, predictably, in bed reading her Charms book. "So?" She asked the moment Lily arrived.
Lily glanced at the other beds and saw Nicolette and Cassie both had their canopies shut, meaning they were most likely asleep. She climbed onto Julianne's bed and handed her friend the bottle of Butterbeer.
"It was a disaster, Jules," she said. "It was a terrible idea to go."
"Well, to be fair, it wasn't entirely your idea. Payne sort of kidnapped you into it," Julianne said.
"True," Lily said.
"So why was it so terrible?"
"I didn't belong there," Lily said.
"But you're part of the team," Julianne said.
"Yeah, well I know that I was invited, but I did not feel like I belonged," she said. "Everyone was so grown up and mature and doing more mature things…"
Julianne stared at her blankly, waiting for more.
"There was drinking," Lily said. "And I don't mean Butterbeer," Lily said.
"That explains your breath," Julianne said.
Lily gasped and covered her mouth. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Julianne said. "You smell terrible."
"I only had a few sips!" Lily said.
"How was it?" Julianne asked. "I've never had anything stronger than Butterbeer."
"Not particularly tasty," Lily said.
Julianne nodded as though that was exactly what she had expected. "So besides the drinking, what else was wrong?"
"I don't know, it just felt wrong," Lily said. "I felt so young and like everyone was doing such grown up things and…I don't know…"
"Lils, you're being kind of vague," Julianne said.
Lily sighed and knew she'd have to use specific details to satisfy her friend. "There's this seventh year, Quintin, and he danced with me."
"You danced with a seventh year?" Julianne asked.
"Yeah, but it wasn't fun. It was really kind of uncomfortable," Lily said.
"Oh," Julianne said. "Then I'm sorry."
"Yeah, and Payne and Quintin both gave me drinks and everyone was coupling off and you know…doing couple things," Lily said. "It was just so…I don't know. I just didn't belong there."
Julianne shrugged. "You know, it might not be too long before we start dating."
"Do you really think you could date sometime soon?" Lily asked.
"Yes I do," Julianne said. "If the right guy asked, sure."
"I don't think I'll date until I'm out of school." Lily said.
Julianne stared at her friend for a moment without speaking.
"What?" Lily asked.
"You really believe that?" Julianne asked. "You're not going to date until you're out of school?"
"Well, I don't know for sure of course," Lily said, "but I have no interest in dating anyone right now. That's for sure."
Julianne stared at her again.
"What?" Lily asked. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"I need to ask you something and I feel like it's going to make you mad," Julianne said.
"You're my best friend. Nothing you say would make me mad," Lily said.
"Alright, hear me out," Julianne said. "You always say that you don't think about dating or boys or anything like that, but can you honestly say that if someone special asked to kiss you, you would say no?"
"Someone special?" Lily asked.
Julianne hesitated briefly. "Like Scorpius Malfoy."
Lily gasped and shook her head furiously. "I do not consider Malfoy as someone special!"
"Really?" Julianne asked.
"Seriously," Lily said. "We're just friends…if even that. Honestly there is no one in this school I'd be less inclined to snog than Scorpius Malfoy!"
Julianne shrugged.
"Seriously Jules," Lily said.
"Whatever," Julianne said.
"I'm going to bed," Lily said. She climbed out of Julianne's bed and headed towards the bathroom to change. She thought her friend was being absolutely ridiculous. Dating was for much older people. Snogging was for much older people. The entire idea was ridiculous. Lily took her pajamas to the bathroom, deciding to take a shower to erase the events of the night from her mind.