Alice Prewett loved her red-haired friend very much. Granted, said friend could be described as being much too quiet and at other times simply confusing, but Alice loved her all the same.
Being a pureblood herself, Alice grew up in a world full of lies and deception. If she had a sickle for every single time she overheard a pureblood bragging about how far they could date back their family or just simply how pure their line was, well suffice to say she could even surpass the Potter wealth. Purebloods were trained in their expressions and manners. By the time she had entered Hogwarts, Alice was used to the lack of sincerity and feigned politeness that came with being a Pureblood.
It was probably why Alice was so drawn to the shy underclassman who stumbled into the Great Hall when she was just a tiny first year. Every expression she made was genuine and portrayed exactly what she felt. While the younger girl was still shy as ever even 5 years after, she still managed to avoid the general sense of fakeness that seemed to radiate from nearly every student by the time they reach their later years.
Alice loved her friend, but said friend also had a tendency to concern her.
Just like now, all Alice could do was stare at a the massive stack of clothes on the floor in confusion. While Lily was not overly organized, it wasn't like her to be so terribly messy. She had come to see how Lily was doing since NEWTs and her prefect duties had really kept her away from her shy friend. Before she could call out for her, a bundle of red hair suddenly burst out from the mountain of clothes, eliciting a shocked squeal from Alice.
"Lily? Is that you? Good Godric, what are you doing under there you silly girl. Aishh sometimes I wonder if I should permanently just move in here to take care of your silly behind..." She continued to rant as she pulled her blushing friend out who only looked at the ground. Her shoulders were slumped down and her faced seemed even more pale than usual . Alice quickly took notice of it and gently lifted her head.
"What's wrong sweetheart? You look like you've seen a ghost. Come on tell me" Lily finally gazed up at her face and shrugged sheepishly before falling rather ungracefully to the bed.
" Um... you know Benjy Fenwick from your year?" Lily asked in a small voice. Alice thought of the charming opinionated boy from her year and nodded her head.
"Uh well you see, heinvitedmetoslughorn'spartyandidon'tknowwhattowear", She spoke the last words so fast Alice was lucky to have caught the gist of it. A second passed before she quickly realised what her friend just said and jumped onto Lily's bed squealing as she did so.
"Lily you little minx! How dare you not tell me before that a hot hunk was taking you on a date! Oh my merlin the party is in nearly two hours and you're still wearing your pajamas." Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinised Lily's cheap shorts and shirt which were covered in tiny little otters. " Well I suppose it would have been better if I had more time, but I think I can manage. Wait here!" she bolted out of the room before Lily could blink. Thunderous footsteps indicated her return, this time with a beautiful green dress, which was quickly thrust into her arms before Alice shoved her into the bathroom.
"Be out quick darling. Mama has got a lot of work to do."
Two hours quickly rolled by. Much of the time consisted of Lily staying stiff as a statue, while Alice pampered her with makeup she had always been dying to try out on her pretty friend.
Lily's internal hyperventilating was put to halt when she heard her friend squeal with joy.
"Oh Lily look at you! You look a wood nymph! Benjy is hardly going to keep his eyes off you."
A gasp escaped her once she finally looked at herself in the mirror. Alice had truly outdone herself. Her hair was done in a French braid pulled let loose allowing several strands to escape. Combined with a low bun, the style gave her a delicate yet exotic look at the same time. The green dress was floor length with no straps, her pale shoulders were clearly exposed, and the dress hugged tight around the waist and was emphasised with a black lace belt.
The makeup was kept simple, only a light blush and pink lipstick was applied. Alice felt there really was no need to accentuate Lily's looks as she already was stunning, but since she always preferred to hide behind her curtain of red hair it was hard for anyone to notice.
So bewildered was she by her appearance, that Lily did not seem to register a knock on the door until Alice went to open it revealing a timid first year, who quickly exchanged a few words with Alice before leaving.
"Eeep! He's here! Now shoo! Your- er what do they say in those muggle fairytales? Ah right! Your prince charming awaits," With her arm around Lily's waist, Alice walked-well more like pulled- Lily along with her down the stairs.
Benjy Fenwick was near the entrance of the common room, glancing at his watch every once in a while. A movement on his right caused him to look up and he abruptly froze at the sight he saw. He always knew Lily was a pretty bird, but he couldn't equate the bookworm image she always presented to the breathtaking siren in front of him. Suddenly feeling his pants start to tighten, he dramatically bowed and offered his arm to her.
"May we mademoiselle?," his wide but harmless grin helped to ease the tension in Lily's forever beating heart and with a small grin she linked her right arm through his left arm. Before leaving the common room she looked back once more see Alice who winked at her before mouthing a silent 'good luck'.
Benjy somehow managed to further alleviate any further tension by asking about Lily's interests and, to Lily's surprise, not find them boring. So engrossed were they in their conversation about the novel Animal Farm, and it's parallels to the wizarding world, that they barely recognized they had reached the entrance of the party.
" The Minister would rather get pulverised by a dragon before he would even stop to- ," he was quickly interrupted by Slughorn's loud bellowing voice.
"Ahh Mr. Fenwick! I was beginning to think you were not going to make it! And who is this lovely little lady here?" His wide eyes stared curiously at the tiny girl on his arm.
"Lily Evan sir," she meekly replied.
"Miss Evans? My you certainly clean up nice my dear! I see you've finally accepted my invitation. Now come in you two, the party is already bustling!"
Indeed the room was full of people Lily spent most of her time staying away from. Never having once been to Slughorn's party despite his constant pestering, Lily was completely enamoured by the dramatic lights and decorations in the room. Her awe came to rather abrupt end when she heard a familiar sour kind of voice.
"Another mudblood? I see Sluggy has let down his standards once again. How many more do you think he'll invite until this entire room is infested?," said Mulciber in a rather loud and atrocious manner. Lily was rather surprised to find him here considering his less than stellar grades.
Benjy quickly pushed Lily gently behind him and stood threateningly in front of the smirking pureblood. The noise around them suddenly fell and Lily only wished she could take all the hair out of her bun to hide her face as she was normally used to.
"Although I don't think I mind this new addition. Definitely one of the more fuckable ones eh boys?," His beady eyes trailed down Lily's frozen form and licked his lips. Before Benjy could growl out a warning, he was cut off by a rather deep voice that sent shivers down Lily's spine.
"Kindly fuck off to your little inbred nest Mulciber. It would do us all sane individuals here a favour," said James Potter who came to stand alongside Benjy along with the rest of his crew. Although their faces seemed relaxed their intimidating stance and the slight edge in his voice caused even Mulciber to take a step back. Everyone watched the scene with wide eyes save for Slughorn who was chattering away with one of the students in the back.
Mulciber opened his mouth to counter back, but one glance at Potter's tightly clenched fists he quickly realised that the decision would most probably end with heavily abused face and ego, he quickly thought against it and simply scowled before turning back and motioning the rest of his gang to follow him.
The party quickly resumed, this time with girls openly gushing about the 'Saviors of Hogwarts'. Lily thought they were being a bit ridiculous, but considering she was the one they had saved, she didn't think she should really be the one to complain. Benjy turned to face James with a wide smile.
"You know I should really complain about how I had it all covered, but it's nice to Mulciber taken down a pedestal without even having to try to do anything. Thanks Potter"
James merely smirked. Lily was beginning to think that smirk was permanently part of Potter's face. She didn't think she had ever seen him smile before. He waved his hand dismissively as if to say it was nothing.
"It's nothing mate, besides I owe you for saving me from that bludger last week, and I'm always ready to bash Mulciber's face. It's one of my favourite hobbies, right after bashing Snivellus", he chuckled.
Benjy smiled and made to leave before suddenly remembering something. "Oh mates I don't think you've met my date yet have you?" He turned and gently tugged Lily forward. " You've probably heard of her nickname, the 'Brightest Witch of Her Age', well here she is in flesh- Lily Evans!," he wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and grinned proudly.
Lily flushed under his praising and turned to the rather intimidating group to stutter out a "H-hello!".
The previously relaxed expression on Potter's face suddenly turned blank and Lily had a great urge to turn around to see if Mulciber or any of the Slytherins were behind her. Besides him Sirius also froze while the other two looked on worriedly. Weirdly too, she felt the back of neck start to heat up and sweat slightly under his gaze. A feeling of light headiness suddenly hit and her 'flight' instinct which was usually high was now breaking previous records. Potter 's eyes darkened with a knowing look and Lily could not help but let out a breathe of relief when Benjy started to guide Lily to another part of the room, thankfully not having noticed the sudden tension between the petite red head and the tall bespectacled boy.
"Well see you guys later. This is Lily's first Slug Club party so I want to make sure she sees everything" he cheerfully said.
As the party wore on, Lily began to slowly ease up and began to question why she never came to one these events before. Benjy helped a lot in this and Lily was able to finally come out of her shell with his comforting presence by her side. That's not to say, that she was entirely comfortable. Oh no. Throughout the party, she could feel a pair of eyes scanning her every move and she could feel them trailing down her form like a lover's kiss. The itching sensation on the back of her neck also never left her and she could feel her hands starting to sweat as well. The party was nearly about to end soon and although Lily had greatly enjoyed her time, she couldn't wait to jump out of her dress and straight into her pjs, safely nestled away in her dorm and away from the blazing dark eyes that were causing shivers down her spine.
They were just about to leave when Slughorn came bustling through the crowd and straight to Benjy.
"Benjy my boy! So sorry to interrupt your lovely date, but there seems to be a rather nasty fight in the hallways between some third year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Be a good lad and sort it will you!" He said before rapidly turning away. Benjy simply rolled his eyes dramatically and Lily couldn't help but slightly giggle at his annoyed expression.
"Ugh wait here a second, I'll be right back," he said and walked out of the party.
Lily moved to standby a nearby table and fiddled with her drink. She looked around the room and absentmindedly rubbed the back of neck. The twinkling lights of the room was becoming slightly hazy the longer she looked at them and the voices around her became more and more blurred. Her skin still felt sweaty and despite the amount of drinks she had, she still felt slightly dehydrated. She looked towards the entrance of the party, praying Benjy would come sooner so she could eventually sleep through her discomfort.
"Alright there Evans?"
Lily jumped at the sound of a deep voice and whirled around to see an amused James Potter. His eyes held that mischievous twinkle as it always did, but there was also something else there, something she couldn't name. He was also leaning uncomfortably close allowing Lily to smell his cologne . She felt her neck start to sweat more profusely and quickly placed her hand on it to ease the sudden heat she felt. Quickly moving back from his near proximity, she saw his smirk grow even wider and easily closed up the space she created.
"Not feeling well are you little mouse? Past your bedtime isn't it. Come, I'll get you back to your dorm"
She shook her head quickly and moved back from him again. "Uh n-no um Benjy must be coming soon but thank you for the offer" she smiled hesitantly at him.
The expression on his face abruptly darkened as soon as she mention Benjy's name and Lily was eerily reminded of the same boy who was always two seconds away from punching someone who pissed him off. Looking around Lily quickly realised that the corner they were in was quite dark and secluded, making them very unnoticeable to the rest of the party.
"He'll take a while. I'm sure he won't mind if I do it instead." He stepped closer and wrapped his hands possessively around her wrist and tugged her closer. If possible, the near closeness caused Lily's brain cells to go even more haywire and she felt a sudden urge to bare her neck to man in front of her and unconsciously did so.
His eyes gleamed at her vulnerable position and he leaned forward to place his lips near her neck.
"Yes that's it my sweet, sweet girl..." His lips kissed over the burning area on her neck and lightly sucked on it.
Gazing breathlessly up at the ceiling, all Lily could think was about was how safe and just right it felt to be in his arms. Although she could vaguely hear her inner self yelling at her to run away from this dangerous man, a more powerful voice was whispering at her to stay... alpha...alpha ...stay. And although Lily had no idea what that meant she felt obliged to listen to it.
Abruptly James sunk his teeth into her neck, and Lily never thought pain could feel this good.
The last thing Lily remembered was the sound of angry voices and the dark hazel eyes that gazed at her with dark promises before everything going dark.