By the time James woke up the next morning, Lily's side of the bed was empty. With a quiet curse, James put on his glasses and dressed, before hurrying downstairs to find the others.

It took little time for James to find the dining room where his friends were eating with Pascale Malfoy. Lily sat between Pascale and Cait, leaving James to sit next to Sirius, and when James sat down, Lily only gave him a small nod.

After the night before, he had dared to hope that perhaps she wanted things to go back to normal, but her chilly reception towards him this morning proved that it had been a stupid hope. He answered questions around the table shortly, without his usual good humour, and soon both Cait and Sirius were looking at him strangely. Only Pascale seemed unaffected by the tension around the breakfast table, monologuing about Paris this time of year and asking them question after question.

As the meal came to its awkward conclusion, James gathered his courage.

"Lily, can I talk to you for a moment?"

She hesitated, and he couldn't help thinking bitterly about how he had to ask to talk to Lily, when once it had been so easy; they would have just talked.

"Of course," Lily said, as if she hadn't just had to think about it.

"There are some lovely gardens out back," Pascale piped in.

James did his best to ignore the somewhat alarmed looks Sirius and Cait exchanged.

"Unless you want somewhere more private," Pascale added.

Really, James would have preferred somewhere more private, but he hardly wanted to say so in front of Pascale. He thanked her and then led the way towards the back of the manor, hoping that the gardens wouldn't be too hard to find.

He and Lily walked in silence until they reached a fairly secluded corner of the gardens.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

It was a chill day, and by now, the trees were mostly bare. A dead leaf fluttered down and caught in Lily's hair, and James's hand itched to pull it out, but based on this morning, he guessed she wouldn't appreciate it.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "You're really going to pretend that nothing happened?"

"Nothing did happen," she said evenly.

"That wasn't nothing," he said. "It wasn't."

Lily pressed her lips together. "You were in distress. I wanted to help you, like I would for any friend."

The word "friend" stung more than James would have expected, even though he knew that she'd meant friendship by "keeping their distance." Still, this was the first time she'd used that word to describe what they were now.

"So are you trying to tell me you'd hold hands and cuddle with Cait?" he asked.

"No!" Lily threw up her hands. "I don't know what I'm trying to say… but it meant nothing, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," James snapped. "You can't play with me like that. If you ever do something like that, it had better mean something, because it sure as hell does for me."

Her eyes grew bright, and suddenly James felt like the worst person in the world.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You're absolutely right."

There was a time when hearing those words from Lily Evans would have made James tease her ceaselessly. Once again, he was struck with disbelief by how wrong everything was, because hearing those words now felt like a punch to the gut.

"It won't happen again," she said.

She left the gardens, leaving James to watch her go, fighting the urge to chase after her.

The days before the ball passed slowly and painfully. James spent some time with Sirius, trying to pretend that things were normal, but he spent most of the time alone, often dodging Pascale, who seemed eager to give him relationship advice. He barely saw Lily, except at night. He had happened to mention to Pascale that Lily enjoyed potions, and now Lily was often hidden away in some room with a cauldron. He'd say that she was "happily" experimenting, but it would be a lie, because he thought that the only person whose misery might be able to compare to his own was Lily. Still, James hoped that the potions were at least giving her a good distraction.

The evening of the ball came. James once might have felt like a bit of an idiot dressed up for it, but by now he was used to the strange clothing in this time. Busy as she was, Pascale still came by to fuss over him; try as she might, she couldn't get his hair to stay flat.

Cait was a vision in red, and Sirius looked extremely grumpy with his hair in a hair ribbon.

"So, we'll stay at the ball for an hour or so, and when everyone is properly distracted, we'll slip up to the second floor and-"

"Yes, Cait, we know," Sirius said.

"One of us will have to keep watch," Cait continued, as if Sirius hadn't spoken.

"I can."

Lily's voice came from behind James. He turned to see her, and every coherent thought slipped out of his head. She was so beautiful. The dress she wore was a shimmering dark blue. Although it was fairly simple in design, lacking some of the bows and lace on Cait's dress, Lily dress had a swooping neckline, and it accentuated her waist, and everything about it just showed how stunning the woman inside it was. How could he help but love Lily, with her kind green eyes and her laugh, which always somehow sounded a bit surprised and so happy, even if he rarely heard it these days. James thought back to another night and another ball, when he had married Lily, and how he had dreamed of unlacing the back of her stunning dress and running his hands over her skin, and the same thoughts were running through his head now, and…

He tore his gaze away from Lily. How was it possible to simultaneously want her away from him and want her close to him? How was it possible to burn for her so much when being around her hurt?

They approached the ballroom.

"Apparently Pascale regularly hosts this sort of thing," Cait said. "According to Gustave, she likes to invite anyone interesting, and she finds it thrilling when people come who don't belong."

"We definitely don't belong," Sirius said.

Cait rolled her eyes. "I meant people who aren't invited."

They entered the ballroom. James had seen it before in his explorations of the manor, but it was one thing to see a vast, empty, ornate chamber, and another to see it filled with ornately dressed people. People were dancing, skirts swirling. A murmur of French mingled with other languages swelled over the elegant waltz music. Crystal wine glasses caught the light of a thousand candles, until the room seemed to sparkle.

"I definitely don't know those dance steps," Lily said nervously.

"It's easier for the girl," Sirius grumbled. "You can follow your partner. You can hide your feet under that dress. What am I supposed to do?"

"Make small talk with someone?" Lily suggested.

"We'll reconvene in an hour," Cait said. "In the meantime, we can play a game. How many minutes into the hour before someone kills Sirius for his bad conversation skills?"

Before he could respond, she had swept off to Gustave, leaving an affronted Sirius behind her.

Someone soon asked Lily to dance, leaving her to hide stumbling footsteps under her dress as Sirius had suggested. One man asked her to dance several times, and James couldn't help noticing that she was smiling more than she had for days.

"Why don't you ask her to dance?" Sirius said, sounding exasperated.

"She's made it clear she wouldn't want that," James said miserably.

"English! Finally!"

A tall man with an impressive moustache approached them with a look of relief.

"I could swear that they pretend they don't speak English on purpose," he said with a sniff. "I'm surprised to see some English wizards I don't know."

James hastily introduced himself and Sirius.

"My name is Archibald Wilkes," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet some pureblood wizards. The only thing worse than being French is being muggleborn, don't you agree?"

"No," James said coldly.

All at once, Archibald's expression shifted. "You're one of those wizards? Pity. I wouldn't expect such a thing from a Potter. Well, perhaps I should go find other company. I hear that Severus Prince is here, and-"

James's blood ran cold. "Severus Prince?"

"Oh, have you heard of him? Yes, the poor fellow. He was attacked by mudblood sympathizers and has only just recovered. I hear he's pursuing some lead for the cause here in Paris, and my brother convinced him to attend the party."

James pushed past Archibald, scanning the dancing couples for any sign of familiar red hair.

"Sirius, do you see Lily?" he asked, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

Sirius was very pale as he shook his head.

"Shit," James said.

Lily was certain an hour had passed, but last she had seen, Cait was dancing with Gustave, and Sirius and James were chatting in a corner. Trust Sirius and James to be late for something as important as this! Now she wasn't sure whether to go back in and keep dancing or to wait.

With a sigh, she sank down into a chair, wondering what the odds were of someone noticing if she took off her uncomfortable shoes. They were pretty, but she was sure she would have blisters tomorrow. Finally, she decided to take them off, and was just fiddling with the right one when she heard a voice.

"Well, well. Lily Potter."

It was a voice that had haunted her nightmares, one that she had hoped never to hear again. Her hands were not on her wand, they were on her shoe, and she reacted reflexively.

"OW!"

Severus Prince bent over, hand clutched to his eye, while Lily shoe bounced away on the marble floor. It gave her enough time to draw her wand, but he was just as quick. Breathing hard, she faced him, their wands pointed towards each other's throats.

"You're lovely, Mrs. Potter," Severus Prince said. "What a gorgeous colour on you."

Lily knew she would never wear this colour again.

"Don't you dare talk about how I look," Lily said, more calmly than she felt.

"It's bad manners to duel in someone's home, especially during a party. You would insult our hostess. You really should put your wand away, my dear. "

"After you."

He laughed quietly. "You don't trust my honour?"

"You have none. I know you're here to kill me-"

"To kill you?" he scoffed. "You certainly think highly of your own self-importance. Why would I come all this way to Paris just to kill a mudblood who I've already destroyed?"

He smiled. "Yes, I know I've won, mudblood. I've destroyed your life, haven't I? You think about me every day. Your pathetic husband can't satisfy you anymore, can he? Not now that I've-"

"If you don't stop speaking," Lily said. "I'm going to kill you. I swear I will."

He finally stopped speaking, but he didn't stop smiling.

"Why are you here, Severus Prince, if not to kill me?"

"I'm sure you can guess," he said.

"No, I can't."

His smile broadened. "It has to do with time."

Lily felt her heart stutter, but she kept her wand hand steady. He was probably waiting for an opening, waiting for her focus to slip.

"Lily!"

James sprinted out of the ballroom, his wand raised. Severus Prince took a step back, his wand drifting between Lily and James, as well as Sirius, who had appeared at James's side.

Pascale appeared behind them.

"No!" she said sharply. "Everyone, put your wands away. If anyone harms another guest under my roof, I will personally see to it that they go to prison."

Severus Prince grudgingly put his wand away, followed by Lily, James, and Sirius.

"You are my guests," she said. "I expect you to behave appropriately."

She waited with folded arms until all four had returned to the ballroom. By now, all thoughts of finding Pascale's study had disappeared from Lily's mind. Even as she walked to James and kept her gaze firmly away from Severus Prince, she could feel his presence, like you might feel an insect crawling on your bare skin.

"Are you alright?" James asked her quietly.

She nodded.

"The husband who can't satisfy," a deep voice said from behind them.

James stilled, his face turning red.

"Not after she's had better partners," Severus Prince continued. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Lily's own face was growing hot.

"Don't listen to him, James," she said. "He's trying to goad you."

"I certainly am," Severus Prince said. "But I suppose you aren't man enough to take the bait?"

James whirled around. "Name a time and place, and I'll meet you for a duel."

"James!" Lily hissed, grabbing his arm.

He ignored her.

"Tomorrow, dawn. We'll meet outside of Notre Dame and find a place where the mudbloods can't see us. Perhaps a corner of the catacombs."

"You're on," James said.

Severus Prince shot a grin at Lily, nodded at James, and left the ballroom.