Disclaimer: Still not mine and won't EVER be mine.
Chapter 11—It Begins
By the next day—November 2—everybody at Hogwarts knew about Miss Cinderella.
Flyers were up in every nook and cranny, and each proclaimed this message:
HAVE YOU SEEN MISS CINDERELLA?
IF SO, CONTACT JAMES POTTER—GRYFFINDOR TOWER.
Most people—including girls—were very interested in this and the fact that James Potter was the boy made it even better.
"I am soo the Miss Cinderella." Girls gushed all afternoon. "The minute James sees me, he'll instantly recognize me."
--
"Well, what do you know?" Tessa remarked, looking at the flyers. "Seems like Mr. Potter is really getting into the swing of finding you Lils."
Lily groaned and buried her face in her hands. "This really stinks."
"No," Tessa contradicted, "You have it good. At least Mitchell Braden's not following you around!"
Erica snickered.
"It's NOT funny! I hate that pervert!"
"We're sure." Erica said sarcastically.
A few moments later, Kellie, Morgan and Marissa came strutting down the hallway.
Lily, Erica and Tessa jumped out of the way. Ever since James broke up with Kellie, she had been ten times nastier than usual.
Kellie took one look at one poster, pointed her wand and muttered a spell.
The flyer tore from the wall and ripped into shreds.
Kellie smirked and kicked a fragment of paper. "Now you see girls," she turned to her best friends, "This is what I'd like to do to that 'Miss Cinderella.' When I get my hands on her..."
Kellie left the threat open but everybody knew what she would do.
"I'm dead." Lily moaned the minute the Barbies were out of earshot. "I'm dead, dead, dead."
"No, you're not." Erica insisted. "She can't do anything to you if James finds out who you are. He'll protect you."
"Speaking of which, why are all the girls going haywire about Miss Cinderella?" Tessa asked.
"From what I could pick up, Sirius and Remus are holding 'auditions' to find the real girl."
"I'm definitely not going." Lily said firmly.
Erica and Tessa gaped at her. "But you have to!" Erica cried. "At least James would know who his Cinderella is!"
Lily groaned miserably. "Guys, I don't want James to know who I really am."
"What?"
"Why?"
"It's very simple," Lily said, feeling tears well up into her eyes. "James is one of the most popular boys at Hogwarts. I am one of the shyest and nobody really talks to me. How do you think James would react if I told him that I was the girl he danced with all night?"
Tessa and Erica thought for a moment before realization dawned on their faces.
"He would laugh." Erica whispered.
Lily nodded. "Exactly. Now you see why I can't tell? I don't want to be publicly humiliated."
There was a pregnant pause and then, a truly evil grin split across Tessa's face.
"Why don't we go see who your competition is Lils? God forbid I could have a few laughs."
--
"Where are you guys taking me?" James asked blindly.
"You'll see." Sirius replied smoothly.
It was Sunday, November 2 and Sirius was taking James (blindfolded, mind you) to the auditions in the Room of Requirement.
Remus was already there with the girls, waiting for the guest of honor to be present.
"Goddamnit Sirius, where the hell are you taking me?"
"You'll see." Sirius pressed as they walked seven times back and forth.
"Sirius?"
"Yes, James?"
"Are we going into the Room of Requirement?"
Sirius scowled. Damn, this boy was good.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Like I said for the last time, YOU'LL SEE—ahh, finally."
A door appeared and Sirius opened it. Shoving James inside, he shut the door with a snap.
"Can I take off my blindfold now?"
Sirius looked at Remus who gave him the a-okay.
"Yes."
James took off his blindfold and looked around the room.
His eyes widened.
"Holy shit."
--
The room was crowded with girls.
He saw girls in line, girls sitting in chairs, girls fixing their make up and so on and so forth.
"What's going on?" He gasped.
Sirius waved his hand with a flourish. "Meet the candidates for Miss Cinderella!"
James groaned. "Oh you've got to be kidding."
"Nope," said a voice.
James turned to see one of the Monterey twins sitting in one of the armchairs along with Lily Evans and the other twin.
"Monterey twin?" James gaped.
"It's Tessa." She snapped. "I have black hair. Erica has light brown. It's not that hard."
"You think you're Miss Cinderella?" James asked disbelief etched onto his face.
Tessa laughed. "Hell no. I'm here for the laughs."
"Then leave." A fat girl said her pudgy hands on her pudgy waist. "This is only for the contestants."
Tessa eyed her. "Easy Tubby."
"Are the other two girls here to audition?" Remus asked Tessa.
Tessa shook her head, but gave Lily a discreet glare. "Nope."
"Alright then," Sirius clapped his hands. "James—sit."
James was thrust into a chair.
"Let's start off with contestant number one." Sirius announced in a game show host. "Maria-Anna Dubai."
A short girl with brown hair stepped forward.
"Hi James." She said in a high-pitched voice.
James shook his head.
"NEXT!" Sirius called.
Maria-Anna ran out of the room, crying.
Tessa rolled her eyes while Lily chewed her lip.
"Contestant number two—Leslie Hannah!"
The chunky girl stepped forward.
"Definitely not!" Jeered Tessa.
"Tessa." Erica snapped.
James shook his head. "Nope."
Leslie scowled. "You don't know what your missing James," she snarled. "You could have all this." She ran her hands down her body.
Tessa howled with laughter.
James felt his eyes break. "Good bye."
"James," Remus whispered. "Use the mask."
"That mask would never fit that fat girl's face! Besides, she's scaring me!"
"No! I mean, don't ask to hear their voice. Ask them to try on the mask!"
"Oh."
"Contestant numero three!" Sirius said a magical microphone suddenly appeared in his hands. "Miss Meghan Rolland!"
A red-haired, blue-eyed girl stepped forward and James held out the mask.
"Instead of me asking who you are and whatnot, I want you try on the mask."
Meghan was happy to oblige but there was one problem.
The mask didn't fit.
No matter how hard she tried to make it fit on her face, it would not.
Finally, with a sigh, Meghan gave the mask back to James and said miserably, "It doesn't fit."
She walked out.
Sirius looked at Meghan. "I like her."
"Sirius," Remus warned. "Aren't you going out with Annie Swanson?"
"I broke up with her yesterday. She was boring."
"Just continue Black." Tessa called.
"Fine, fine," Sirius looked at his list again, "Annie Swanson," his eyes went wide and then he smirked.
"Next."
Annie stamped her foot, scowled, and left the room.
Sirius smirked. "Well, that was easy."
"Padfoot," Remus hissed. "You weren't supposed to do that. That could have been Miss Cinderella."
"I highly doubt it," James replied. "The girl I was dancing with didn't have Annie's color hair and she's too—endowed. My Cinderella was flatter."
Lily made a noise of protest that James caught.
"What was that Lily?" James asked her.
Lily blushed and averted her eyes. "Just a cough." She whispered.
"What?"
"She said, just a cough." Erica said.
"Oh," James didn't look convinced and stared at Lily for a few more moments until Remus said sharply, "James!"
James stopped looking at Lily and turned to Remus. "What?"
"What color was her hair color?"
"Uhh," James looked thoughtful and began to think.
While he thought, nobody noticed Lily slip out of the Room of Requirement, her face bright red, her heart pounding.
"I really don't remember. It was dark in the room but I could tell it was bright hair."
"So, that eliminates brunettes and girls with black hair." Sirius muttered.
"Wait," Remus stopped Sirius again and said, "Do you think she dyed her hair?"
There was a strangled, "Ha!"
Everybody turned towards Tessa.
"Now what is it?" James asked, slightly annoyed that Tessa could not shut up.
"Why would Miss Cinderella dye her hair?" Tessa argued. "Wouldn't she want James to find her if she didn't? Dyeing her hair basically means she doesn't want him to find her!"
"Maybe it was part of her costume." Remus suggested. "A wig."
"I highly doubt it." Tessa contradicted.
"You seem to know a lot about Miss Cinderella," James said suspiciously, "Do you know who she is?"
Erica discreetly elbowed her sister in the ribs while Tessa racked her brains.
"Of course I don't. I'm just stating facts. Besides, her hair looked too real to be a fake. Did you see the way she had her hair up? Definitely not a wig."
The Marauder boys looked at Tessa in amazement while Sirius remarked, "Well, I guess we can eliminate the brunettes and black-haired girls."
Girls threw Tessa nasty looks as they exited the room because they obviously had brown or black hair.
"Bitch." One girl hissed. "You ruined my chance with James!"
"Anytime," Tessa said, looking at her black painted nails.
The remaining girls had blonde hair and red hair or a mixture in between.
James breathed a sigh of relief. There were only about thirty girls left instead of that huge line that had been brunettes and black-haired girls.
"Uhh," Sirius looked at the chart. "Since we eliminated a lot of girls, I think I lost track of names."
"Then I'll go next." A snobby voice proclaimed.
James' eyes widened. He knew that voice.
"Kellie?"
--
Lily shut the door quietly and sped-walked out of the area.
She had panicked once she heard Remus ask about Miss Cinderella's hair color. If James had said, 'Red' that would have eliminated the blondes and there were only two redheads in that room. Some girl named Jasmine Veski and Lily Evans.
Thankfully, she left before things got out of hand.
It's not that she didn't want James to find her—she really wanted him too—except she was just afraid about how he would react when he realized that his Cinderella was the shy Lily Evans or the Human Christmas Tree.
Lily soon made it out onto the grounds and breathed a sigh of relief.
She was safe.
For now.
--
James couldn't believe it.
Kellie Crosby—his ex-girlfriend—was standing in front of him—arms crossed, her eyes flashing.
"What are you doing here?" James sputtered. "You're not the Cinderella."
"No," Kellie remarked. "I know. I'm just here to see how you guys are trying to 'prove' how some girl is the real Cinderella."
Sirius picked up the green mask. "By this."
Kellie took the mask and James' heart started to pound. If Kellie broke it, then James would never find the real Cinderella.
She snorted. "This stupid mask could fit any number of girls! I bet it will fit me!"
She tried to put the mask on her face but realized that it didn't fit.
"Huh?" Kellie withdrew the mask. "It doesn't fit me?"
"Next." Sirius rang out.
"What kind of mask is this?" Kellie snorted. "A one of a kind that only fits one person? Who made this mask anyway? Definitely not Maxima or Costumes R Us."
Kellie looked closely at the mask and snorted.
"Figures."
She tossed the mask and started to leave the room but when she reached the door handle, she turned around to say,
"James—you'll regret ever leaving me. That Cinderella may not be who you hope it is."
With that, Kellie left.
The wheels in Remus' head started to spin.
--
"So," Harry said quickly, before Ginny could say anything, "That was interesting."
"I bet Remus will find out that Lily is Miss Cinderella." Ginny said, flipping the page.
Harry shook his head. "Nah. Remus may be smart but he's not that smart."
Ginny tossed her red hair and looked straight into Harry's green eyes. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Well then. I believe a little wager is in account." Ginny said. "Let's see—four Galleons, three Sickles and five Knuts if Remus figures it out."
Harry smirked. "Six Galleons, ten Sickles and nine Knuts," he said, pooling his money, "If Remus doesn't know who Miss Cinderella is."
Ginny smirked and wrote it down on a slip of paper.
"Prepare to go down Potter."
--
Well, Chapter 11.
Done.
Okay, I have some questions. People have been saying that the flyer part sounds like what Chad did. I would like to say, who in the world is Chad? Is that from the movie 'A Cinderella Story?' If it is, then I have never seen that movie before. If there are any other similarities, please, feel free to tell me.
Until next week!
--Greekchic