Disclaimer: Unless I'm getting a huge birthday present, Harry Potter isn't mine.
Chapter 4—The Telling of the Ball
The rest of the day passed smoothly for Lily. She earned twenty points for Gryffindor in Defense Against the Dark Arts class by answering two questions (ten points each obviously) and earned another ten in Transfiguration.
Right now, it was almost time for dinner and Lily was in the Gryffindor Common Room with Tessa and Erica.
"I just don't bloody get it!" Tessa snapped throwing her quill down. "Why is Transfiguration so hard?"
"It's not so hard." Erica said soothingly. Transfiguration was one thing she was good at. She was ranked fourth in her class (after Lily and James tying for first, then Remus, then Sirius) and this stuff came easily to her.
Tessa glared at her sister and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. "Easy for you to say—little sister."
Erica scowled. She hated being reminded that she was five minutes younger than Tessa.
Lily groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. She really hated the whole 'sibling rivalry.' Worse of all, Lily had to play 'Mother' and resolve the fights.
"Guys, please shut up." Lily muttered. "Who cares if Tessa is older?"
"I do." Tessa smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Since I'm oldest, she has to listen to me."
"Yeah? Well, at least I'll stay younger longer!"
"We're identical twins stupid. We'll age at the exact same time!"
"GUYS!"
Tessa and Erica stopped their bickering and turned towards Lily. "What?"
"Please—shut up."
The twins obeyed and for another five minutes, they worked in silence until Tessa, stuck on one part of the essay groaned in frustration and said, "You know what? I think it's time for dinner, don't you?"
Erica nodded and patted her rumbling stomach. "I agree."
Tessa turned towards Lily. "Lils?"
"I guess I have no choice now do I?" Lily said, a small smile forming on her lips. "C'mon you savage beasts—let's go to dinner."
--
"Prongs, are you sure you don't want that soup?"
James glared at his friend and looked down at the second bowl of tomato soup he had reached for.
"Yes, I'm sure. Why do you ask?"
"Because, you've been staring at it for the past ten minutes and twirling it without eating. That's a waste of food mate."
"Yeah, and we all know the Human Trash Can eats everything in sight." An annoying, yet familiar voice said.
Sirius groaned and turned around to see the Ice Queen standing there with Morgan and Marissa behind her.
"Do you always have to be so bitchy?" Sirius asked Kellie in an annoyed tone.
"Siri!" Morgan squealed and latched herself onto her boyfriend. "We haven't seen each other in like, three minutes!"
"Oh wow." Sirius said sarcastically. "That's SUCH a long time."
Morgan didn't pick up on Sirius' sarcasm.
"Oh, I know." She said, giving Sirius a puppy dog look. "We shouldn't be parted for more than two seconds."
Kellie smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, her blue eyes glittering like ice.
Marissa looked upset. "Where's MY boyfriend?" She whimpered tugging on her highlighted blonde-brown hair.
"Maybe in the library," Kellie snapped, "Have you thought of that?"
Marissa opened her mouth to argue but shut it.
Without another word, Marissa scurried out of the Great Hall in search for her boyfriend.
"Mean enough Kel?" James asked annoyed that his girlfriend was so cruel to her friends.
Kellie shrugged and sat down next to James and picked a piece of bread up.
"How many calories do you think this has?" She asked Morgan.
Morgan shrugged. "What kind of bread?"
"Wheat." Kellie replied, surveying the bread critically.
"A lot." Morgan replied automatically.
Kellie scrunched up her button nose and threw the piece of bread towards a first year. "Ew, I'll become fat."
Morgan shrugged and returned to eating.
Kellie glared and made a clearing noise in her throat.
"Oh!" Realization dawned on Morgan's face as she instantly replied. "Kel, you're super skinny. You'll NEVER become fat."
Kellie examined her tiny waist. "You're right. I'll have half of this bread."
James watched his girlfriend tear the bread apart and eat a small piece and restrained himself from saying something he might regret later.
A few moments later, Marissa appeared again on the arm of Remus.
"Remy is here!" She squealed.
James fought the urge to roll his eyes. It seemed when Kellie gave James his nickname of 'Jamie' (he hated it too. He wanted to punch anybody who called him that. Sirius, on the other hand, took great pleasure in calling him that) Morgan and Marissa came up with nicknames for their boyfriends.
"Where were you Moony?" Sirius asked.
"Library," James finished a twinkle in his hazel eyes.
"I was finishing up on an important assignment!" Remus argued.
--
After the dessert plates were wiped away, Professor Dumbledore stood up.
Talking ceased instantly as the headmaster surveyed the Great Hall.
Lily smiled as the old man stood up. Professor Dumbledore was very nice, funny and quite wise. He was also one of the smartest wizard's in London—and probably the world.
"Attention," Dumbledore called. "May I have your attention please?"
Lily never knew why Dumbledore bothered to say that. He always had the students' complete and undivided attention.
"That includes you, Mr. Black." Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.
Sirius, who had been flinging peas at the Slytherins, gave Dumbledore a cheeky grin, which made the entire female population (including Erica Monterey) sigh dreamily.
Tessa gave her sister a dirty look. "You're disgusting."
"I have a very important announcement." Dumbledore went on. "As you all know, Halloween is approaching—"
"YAY FOR CANDY!" Sirius shouted as the Gryffindor table erupted in laughter.
Instead of Dumbledore scolding Sirius, he smiled. "No Mr. Black, I'm afraid we won't be trick-or-treating this year. We had a complaint about two Gryffindor boys who kept stealing everybody else's candy..."
"James." Sirius coughed.
"Sirius." James coughed.
Dumbledore smiled again as he held up a hand to silence the laughter. "Instead, this year, we have planned out a Halloween Ball—and yes, Mr. Black, there will be candy."
Sirius looked smug. "I'm planning on getting sugar high." He muttered to his friends.
"Oh no, Siri." Morgan pleaded. "Not again."
Whispering broke out in the Great Hall.
"Yes, a Halloween Ball. You must be in full costume—"
Professor McGonagall interrupted Dumbledore for a moment.
"And when we mean 'full costume' we mean full costume. There will be NO inappropriate clothing and they must all be a decent length. This means that you cannot show up as a stripper or mermaid." McGonagall glared at the Hufflepuff table where Mary Ann Verski, the school's most revealing girl with clothes sat.
Mary Ann smirked and stood up quickly to raise her skirt another three inches so that it was almost as short as a triple X mini skirt.
"Anyway," Professor Dumbledore continued, pretending as if McGonagall never interrupted him. "You must be in full costume—however, there is a catch."
Every student leaned forward eagerly to hear what Dumbledore had to say about the catch.
"This catch is that you must wear a mask or something that covers your face."
Murmurs broke through the silence as one Ravenclaw student shouted, "Well, when can we reveal ourselves?"
"At the end of the ball, Mr. Blake." Dumbledore replied. "I trust all of you not to reveal yourselves before that."
"What's the age limit?" A fourth year Gryffindor asked.
The younger students (third year and below) groaned and glared at the Gryffindor.
"Fourth year and above." Dumbledore said. "However, if a younger student is asked, then they may attend."
Some of the prettier and handsomer third years straightened up importantly and looked around.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"When day is the ball?" Sirius asked.
Everybody laughed at Sirius' stupidity.
"Halloween, Mr. Black." Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "That's why they call it a 'Halloween Ball.' It will on October 31, starting at eight o'clock and will end at around midnight."
"Four hours?" Somebody yelled.
"Yes, four hours."
"Boo!" That same person yelled.
McGonagall stood up again. "Rivera! Five points from Ravenclaw!"
The person named Rivera didn't say another word.
"Now," Dumbledore said clapping his hands. "You are dismissed."
There was a sound of stampeding bulls as the entire Great Hall emptied to go to their dorms.
"Are you staying in the Heads Room tonight?" Erica asked Lily.
Since Lily was Head Girl, (James Potter was Head Boy) they had private quarters that had a common room and dormitories. However, Lily felt more comfortable in the dorm she spent for the last six years so she seldom stayed in the Heads Room.
Lily shook her head. "Nope. Not tonight."
"Can you believe it?" Erica replied excitedly. "A Halloween Ball!"
"I'm still slightly confused," Tessa said pulling on a strand of jet-black hair. "What if we ask someone to the ball? How can we reveal ourselves then?"
"I don't know." Lily admitted. "Maybe this is the whole point—not to ask anybody and meet new people."
"But what about the little third years?" Tessa fought back. "How will people ask them if they won't know?"
"I honestly don't know." Lily said as the trio walked down the hall with other Gryffindors.
"You're supposed to know all the answers." Tessa teased.
Lily shook her head. "Not always."
"I got a great idea!" Erica exclaimed bouncing on the soles of her feet. "Why don't we go shopping for dresses at our next Hogsmeade trip?"
"I don't know..." Tessa said uncertainly. She hated shopping.
"Oh come on," Erica begged. "It'll be fun."
Lily was warming up to the idea of a shopping spree for dresses.
"I'm agreeing with Erica." Lily said. "C'mon Tess. One shopping spree. We haven't gone shopping in a long time."
Tessa crossed her arms. "No."
"Please?" The two girls begged.
Tessa looked away. "No."
Lily and Erica looked at each other. Time for Plan B.
"Pretty please with sugar on top?" The two girls begged.
"NO!"
The two girls scowled and then resorted to the puppy dog pout.
"Tess?"
Tessa turned around to see her sister and best friend making the puppy dog pout.
"Aww, crap." Tessa groaned. "Guys, you know I can't withstand this."
Which was a good reason to continue.
"Argh!" Tessa cried throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Fine, we'll go!"
"Yay!" The two girls squealed.
--
Harry Potter stared at the chapter ending and snorted.
"Girls." He scoffed. "Always wanting to go shopping." He said the word 'shopping' in a higher voice and batted his eyelashes.
Ginny looked up from the book and glared at Harry. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Harry replied, not knowing that he was in danger of being hit with the Bat Boogey Hex. "Girls always want to go shopping, talk about boys, paint their nails and read 'Witch Weekly.'"
Ginny was discreetly fingering her wand lovingly. "Now tell me," she said sweetly. "Are all girls like this?"
Harry nodded ignorantly, unaware that Ginny was getting angrier.
"Well," Ginny said raising her wand slightly. "I'll have to change your opinion of that."
Muttering a curse quickly, Harry was blown backwards and when the debris cleared, Harry was dressed in a pink dress, his jet-black hair was set in long curls and he was wearing make up and earrings.
Harry looked down at what he was wearing and gaped. He tried to yell but instead of a low manly yell, there was a higher, feminine squeal.
"What did you do?" Harry asked in shock.
Ginny smirked and pocketed her wand. "Just a simple little charm."
"Turn me back!" Harry squealed.
"Not until you take back everything that you say!" Ginny said.
Harry sighed. "Fine. I take back everything that I said about girls. Not all girls are shopping-hungry maniacs." He glared at Ginny.
"Satisfied?"
Ginny nodded sweetly.
"Now, can you take the charm off me?"
"But it's so much fun seeing you dressed as a girl!" Ginny clapped her hands in amusement.
"Ginny!"
"Okay, okay," Ginny said, waving her wand so that Harry was a boy again.
"Thank you," Harry said, brushing himself off. "Don't ever turn me into a girl again!"
"Whatever you say—Harriett."
--
There. I think that was a record. 1-2 days! Better than a week!
Yes, I had to add some Harry/Ginny crap because it seemed right.
So yeah, I think I'll cut this author's note short cause it's 12:30 a.m. and I'm v. tired.
Until next week!
--Greekchic