Hermione woke up with agonising cramps. She'd started her period a month before, and Andromeda had given her Muggle drugs, because they were more effective. But she had run out, and Andromeda was out with Ted for the whole day before the ball. So Hermione rose, dressed and met her boys at the bottom of the girls staircase.
"Morning Mione!" Avery smiled, and Regulus grunted in greeting, his nose in the paper.
"Morning boys. Breakfast?"
The three made their way to the Great Hall, but when Hermione's eyes caught Lily's fiery hair at the Gryffindor table she was distracted. She excused herself, and made her way over to Gryffindors, only action that drew Regulus's attention from the Prophet, and he gaped as she walked over there confidently.
She ended up in front of Lily, a girl with sleek blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes and a smaller girl with large brown eyes and was practically drowning in freckles.
"Evans, can I borrow you for a moment? It'll be quick" she said, and Lily smiled and nodded, in comparison to Marlene McKinnon and Alice Fortescue, who looked positively shocked.
"Oh come on Evans! Her? First Snivellous, now her? Do you speak to the people you know will intentionally hurt me?" James shouted down the table.
"Not everything revolves around you Potter. Deflate that ego of yours and perhaps you'll be able to see that. C'mon Mione" Lily replied, linking her arm through hers and pulling her out of the room.
Once they were safely away from the hubbub of breakfast, Hermione blushed slightly "You don't have any Muggle drugs for cramps do you, Evans? I only ask as I'm going to the Seventh Year Ball tonight and I can't dance if I have an aching stomach"
Lily grinned "Sure, follow me up to Gryffindor tower, I'll grab them for you."
The pair walked together through the halls in an awkward silence, before Lily filled it, asking "So what are you wearing?"
"Well I found this gown, it's black, and strapless, and along the top are red flowers. At the waist, it explodes in tulle for the skirt, it's perfect for dancing in. The skirt has red flowers embroidered in, and I'll spell them in my hair and on to my black masquerade 's kind of a Persephone look"
"Wow that sounds lovely. I've never been to one before, Muggles don't do that sort of thing. So if you're going to be Persephone, who'll be your Hades?" Lily wriggled her eyebrows, laughing.
"I convinced Regulus to. It was awfully hard though, and trust me, it's not going to be as romantic as that story is. We're just friends" Hermione felt her cheeks prickle with incoming heat, so she changed the subject "You can come if you want. Snape is, I'm surprised he didn't invite you. He speaks the world of you, Evans"
Now it was Lily's turn to blush "Oh. Well… I don't think I have the robes for it..."
"Oh don't be silly, between myself and Narcissa we can find you something I'm sure of it. And I have some spare masks, as Regulus and Avery entrusted me to make theirs as well. It'll be fun."
"If you insist" Lily grinned and muttered the password for entry to the tower "Wait here. I'll get the pills and my finest robes just incase you can't fit anything to my size"
A few moments after Lily left, Sirius exited the portrait hole and almost crashed into Hermione.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, and Hermione was surprised by the lack of animosity in his confused voice.
"Just waiting for Lily."
"Evans? Since when are you friends with Evans?" Sirius leant against the wall, surveying her.
"Since she helped me save Avery from you four. But she's just doing me a favour, and I'll repay her tonight with something"
"And what's that?"
"A secret. But while I have you, Meda says she needs to talk to you about something. Without your entourage. It's important"
"Important?" at Hermione's nod, Sirius scoffed"If you know it can't possibly be important"
"If you value your cousin's life, you'll take what I'm saying seriously. Without .The. Entourage"
The portrait hole swung open again. Lily stepped through with a large bundle in her arms and a box swaying precariously on top.
"Is Black bothering you Mione?" she asked, glaring at him.
"Nope, let's go Lily" Hermione replied, and Lily smiled to herself at the sound of her first name.
Sirius stepped in front of them so they had to stop "Wait what are you doing with all that?"
"Well Black, this is my favour" Hermione waved the box of drugs "and these are how I'm repaying Lily. Simple. Now if you could move? I need to get Cinderella ready for the ball "
Sirius raised a brow but moved anyway, questions rushing through his head. What's in the box? Where are they going? Why on Earth was Evans drowning in clothes?
The pair had reached the dungeons and they were standing outside the portrait hole, Hermione preparing Lily for the Snake Pit.
"Avoid eye contact, let me do the talking, do not speak to Snape if he's here and if he says anything offensive ignore it until you two are alone."
"Why the Sev rule?"
"I'll tell you when we get to my dorm it's a long story" Hermione sighed and pushed open the portrait hole.
Lily watched a few fish swim by the window, and marvelled at the green flames in the fireplace. She did, however, keep her eyes away from the snarling Slytherins.
Hermione thought they were home free, until Rabastan and Lucius appeared in front of them.
"Hermione love, what're you doing bringing a mudblood in here?" Rabastan said, looking at Lily as if she was water in a desert.
She stamped on Lily's foot to remind her of the rules, before smiling sweetly at the boys. "Oh Stanny, you know how I hate that word. It such a low blow when I know you have such a large vocabulary, a smart boy like you must have"
Rabastan rubbed the back of his neck, but Lucius intervened. "She's friends with Lupin and your swine of a brother, no? How do we know the mud… muggleborn isn't helping them with those pranks?"
Inside, Hermione twitched with annoyance, but instead she plastered a doll smile on. "Oh Lucius do you truly mistrust my judgement, and Severus's? Evans is quite good friends with him. And we're staying in my dormitory under Cissa's supervision. I'm sure you trust your soon to be fiancé ?"
Malfoy's features flickered at the mention of Narcissa, and stepped out of the way without a word.
When they reached Hermione's dorm room, Lily let out a massive breath she most definitely knew she was holding. She sat down on Hermione's bed, and Hermione started to sort through the clothes she brought and take a tablet.
"So. The Sev story?"
"Well. Being a halfblood around here is difficult, as you'd guess. But being one who's so publicly friends with a Muggleborn is even worse. Snape isn't exactly treated kindly around here, sometimes it's name calling, other times it's hexes. So really, it's the Marauders out there and the Slytherins in here"
Lily looked distraught. "Oh Sev…" she said, not knowing what to do. She knew his pride wouldn't allow her to help.
"Now, let me go get Cissa and we'll get you ready." Hermione changed the subject smoothly.
"But it's only 9 o'clock… the ball starts at 8" Lily raised a brow.
"Exactly. It'll be pulling it close"
When Hermione returned with Narcissa, Lily was extremely tense. She knew the Blacks were not exactly accepting of Muggleborns notoriously, and she was already mad about Rabastan and Malfoy. However the only comment she made was something about the Blacks adoption company.
Narcissa shuffled through the piles of clothes Lily had brought, and had Lily stand in front of her so she could see how they looked and then tell her what was wrong with all of them.
"Hmmm, this shape would look lovely, but the colour clashes with your hair." she would say, before dying it a more complimentary colour but still throwing it into the pile because it wasn't ball worthy. Or she would comment about length or the neckline, make an edit and leave it. By the time Narcissa was done, Lily had a whole new set of dresses, modernised and looking like high fashion.
"Wow, thanks Narcissa, I'd never have the money for dresses like these" Lily said, admiring a newly dyed sky blue gown.
"A friend of Nita's is a friend of mine, it was really no trouble. Now, this hair of yours, would go perfectly with a dress of mine, but I'll have to alter it a bit. One second" She left the room with a flip of her hair, and Hermione went to her wardrobe and pulled out her dress she was talking about earlier.
She pulled it on, and turned around for Lily to zip her up. Narcissa walked in with a bundle of fabric in her arms and gasped at Hermione.
"Gosh Hermione, now I know how badly you needed to be Perspehone! Well this nicely sets up Evans's outfit"
She passed Lily a grey dress and sent her into the en suite bathroom to change. It's fabric was pulled together at the waist and it had a sweetheart neckline
"The grey's for Athena. With your beauty, you could be Aphrodite Evans, but I've heard you're one of the most intelligent in your year?" Narcissa called through the door as Hermione started to search for grey themed makeup products.
Lily emerged blushing "I work hard" she said, fiddling with the tulle skirt.
Narcissa waved her wand around, and the bust shrank to fit, as well as the waist. She then brought out these metal plates that looked like wings and started fiddling with them so they fit her shoulders.
"Athena's animal was an Owl, so that's the story behind all your accessories" Hermione explained.
"Alright it fits now. I'd go and tell your friends you won't have time for whatever plans you've made so they don't get worried Nita's murdered you or something" Narcissa said as she stood. "I'll escort you out, wait until you're done and then come and bring you back."
Lily was back in her casual clothes and she was sitting on an armchair in Gryffindor tower as her friends interrogated her. The Marauders were nearby and eavesdropping, like they usually did when Lily was around.
"Where were you, Lils? We looked everywhere" Marlene asked, biting her lip in anticipation for some sort of gossip.
" In the Slytherin's dungeons." She tried to reply nonchalantly, but James's shriek and the Marauders surrounding her like she was their mother telling them a story, stopped her from continuing.
"You went there with mini Potter didn't you? Did she do anything to you Evans?" Sirius asked, mainly to see James's reaction. And it did not disappoint.
He went a deep red and went to stand, but Remus grabbed his arm and shushed him. "Continue Lily, or I fear they'll never let this go"
"She asked me for some Ibuprofen" she paused at her friends confused looks before clarifying "Muggle medicine, and to 'repay her debt' she invited me to the Seventh Year Masquerade. I went down there to try on a dress Narcissa offered me. I'm going back in a minute, I only came to say you won't see me for the rest of the day."
"The Seventh Year Ball?! Oh Lils you're so lucky!" Marlene squealed and Alice nodded grinning.
"How'd she get in? Who's going?" Peter asked enviously.
"Regulus, Avery, Bellatrix, Narcissa, Lestranges, Malfoy, Sev…"
"Snivellous is going?" James exclaimed, Sirius equally shocked.
"Stop calling him that" Lily snapped. "And Peter, Mione got in because she's like a sister to Andromeda. The Seventh Years can invite whoever they please. It's a shame you didn't get one Sirius, it sounds a whole lot of fun"
"It sounds dangerous Lilypad, do you need an escort?" James asked hopefully.
"No, Potter, I'm sure your sister could easily protect me from them better than you. You know Rabastan Lestrange? He called me a mudblood, and all she had to do was say Stanny and scold him and he was ashamed!"
"Really?" Alice gasped, but the boys were more focused on how Lestrange had called Lily the obscene word in the first place.
"And get this, Malfoy even refrained in front of her! Even Narcissa Black is letting me borrow a whole outfit, and she updated my wardrobe. The Slytherins truly aren't as bad as you make out. Well, they're human anyway"
Peter shook his head pityingly at Lily, as if she was suffering from a mental illness, but she ignored him and stood to leave.
"Show us pictures when you get back!" Marlene called to Lily's retreating back.
When Lily and Narcissa returned, Hermione had finished her makeup, minus the lipstick. She'd also laid out the makeup for Lily, and gestured for her to lay on her bed so she could get started. As Hermione started the primer, Narcissa came over from speaking to someone at the door.
"Reg and Avery are at the bottom of the stairs, can they come up?"
"Yeah sure, let me just put my dressing gown on, I'm not letting them see my outfit until tonight" Hermione's voice was muffled from the brush in her mouth, but Narcissa understood. "The Slytherins found out about the counter enchantment centuries ago. My boys ask if they can come up first anyway, I've installed manners into them" she explained to Lily's raised eyebrows.
A rap at the door announced the arrival of Hermione's best friends, and when they entered they were shocked to see Lily on her bed. Avery however, looked passed it, and knelt down next to Hermione,watching her in amazement.
"What're you doing to her face? Can I watch?" he asked, dragging a chair without waiting for an answer.
"If Lily doesn't mind" Hermione said absentmindedly, focusing on matching the right foundations.
At Lily's slight nod, he started to peer at products and watch how Hermione blended with ease.
"Reggie? Can we borrow.. Look up Lils… Kreacher for lunch? Or can one of you two fetch it for us? Because we can't afford… fish face… to waste time" Hermione asked, not looking up from the highlighter she was applying on Lily's cheekbones and nose.
Regulus rolled his eyes and laid down on Frannie Bulstrode's bed, making sure to wipe his shoes on them after she called Hermione a blood traitor a few days ago. "Kreacher, Avery and I are not your slaves Potter. And you need to be nice to me, I'm doing you a bloody favour letting you pick my clothes for this ball"
"Mmm yes… but you're still going to do it, Black, so I don't know why you're pretending to be all testosteroney. Is it because we have a guest?"
"Oh sod off Nita" Regulus huffed, before applying itching powder to Bulstrode's mattress to make it easier to remove and moving to lay on the next bed
"So, A, with blush, you need to apply it to the apples of Lily's face…" Hermione continued on with her tutorial to a snickering Avery, as if she hadn't heard Regulus.
"So how did Potter react when he knew you were mixing with our lot?" Regulus asked Lily, now laying on the bed next to hers.
Lily rolled her eyes, causing Avery to wince with the anticipation of Hermione messing up Lily's silver eyeshadow, but she was steady.
"Black and Potter thought Mione had done something to me, as if she had a watch and hypnotised me down here. Pettigrew was shocked you could get in and seemed quite jealous, but they all seemed quite fixated on the fact Sev was coming"
Regulus snorted "Maybe because he has a massive crush on you, as does Potter. You have them fighting over you like mountain trolls and it's only your third year"
"Reggie!" Hermione gasped, and he only just dodged a smack.
"Sev does not have a crush on me" Lily snickered, and looked up as Hermione brought out the mascara and eyelash curler and started explaining it to Avery, who had dubbed them as a torture devices.
Avery laughed at her obliviousness. The whole school knew the real reason behind the Marauders/Snape feud. "Just ignore Reg, Evans, he's too bitter and observant for his own good."
"Bitter? I resent that"
While Hermione started to do her eyeliner, Lily asked her "How do you have all of Slytherin House wrapped around your little finger Mione?"
"I don't know what you mean" she replied, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she focused on keeping a straight line.
"Well when Lestrange called me the m word and you said something about it, he looked almost ashamed. He usually uses that word as flippantly as ever"
Regulus rolled his eyes again. "She just has to bat her eyelashes and speak like a little princess. She has the whole house whipped, they all dote on her. They treat her like their own child. Nita has everyone at her beck and call around here, even A. All except me of course, I don't fall for her manipulative tricks"
Lily peeked at Hermione, who whispered in her ear "he's the worst of all of them"
She straightened up and handed Lily a nude lipstick "Here's the lipstick, but I'd apply it at the end. Aves remind me why"
"To avoid smudges and stains" Avery recited back, smiling smugly at his newfound knowledge.
"Now boys shoo. We want to change. And don't come back without lunch"
"Yes ma'am!" Avery saluted, and Regulus mocked him, instead of raising two fingers, he raised his middle one and bowed out.
"So Lily, now those prats are gone, foot bath? Yours are going to be sore if you dance as hard as we will, so they need preparing."
Hermione bustled around the bathroom before coming back, holding two scolding tubs of a purpley liquid in her arms. She set them down in front of them and turned to Lily expectantly.
After a few moments of soaking their feet in the lavender scented water, Hermione asked "So if you despise my brother and Snapes not an option, who do you like?"
"Well… Lupin's not entirely insufferable" Lily blushed "But he's too loyal to Potter for anything to happen I think"
Hermione considered it for a moment "If James saw it truly made Remus happy, he wouldn't stand in the way. Lupin would probably feel guilty though and you'd have to be around the gang more often than usual. I think you should go for the Ravenclaw who was watching you in the corridor earlier. Ask him to Hogsmeade."
"One date won't hurt" Lily nodded and smiled.
"Just please do it in front of James. It might sound vindictive, but I think it'll help him get over you quicker if he just sees how uninterested you are, so he can't lie to himself any longer. And it's a plus because he's mean"
Lily paused and looked at Hermione, contemplating her next words. "I think you should give James a chance. In the future, when he's mature enough to realise how much of an idiot he's being. I have a sister similar to him, Petunia. And I'm going to wait and see if she lets me down when she's mature enough to see how she treats me"
Hermione shook her head "I'm not sure I'll be able to do that Evans. I don't forgive so easily, and James… I just don't know. But I'll pass on your advice to Reg, he might need it"
Lily sighed but nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to get past this wall now. Luckily for her, the boys were back with sandwiches.
"We didn't know what you liked Evans, so we got salmon because you look like a salmon person" Regulus said as he kicked open the door, his arms filled with trays.
"You couldn't help A?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow, as Lily thanked Regulus for assuming her favourite sandwich was indeed her favourite, and asking what about her gave it away.
"I'm too pretty to hold trays Mione, you know that… you did foot baths without me?!"
Hermione placed the camera in the air, and stood with Lily as they took photos together, two of each so they could have their own copies. Back to back, cross eyed, arms in the air etc.
"At the Masquerade, there will be camera people who will take candid shots, and you can bring money to buy them at the end of the night. There'll be all sorts of deals and you'll be able to get them in loads of different formats" Hermione explained to Lily as she counted her galleons. "I think there will even be Muggle camera users there, so you can buy those too"
"What does the money go to?" Lily asked, accio ing her own galleons from her room.
"Dumbledore's beard maintenance products" Hermione deadpanned, and Lily cracked up at the thought.
Soon it was time for them to leave for the Great Hall, and Hermione cast an Invisibility Charm on Lily so they could leave the Common Room without hassle. Of course, things aren't usually so easy.
"You look ravishing, Potter. Spare me a dance tonight?" Dolohov drawled , stepping into their path.
"I'll have to see if my feet aren't too tired by the time you get there Antonin. I know how you like to be late" Hermione gritted her teeth while Lily held her breath.
"Maybe I can escort you? You shouldn't walk alone, princess, what with scum like your brother out in the halls "
"No, no, I'll be fine.Regulus and your cousin are meeting me, but thank you Antonin for your offer"
The boy sent her a toe curling wink and left without further comment, and Lily and Hermione rushed from the common room, eager to get away.
"Do you have to deal with that all the time?" Lily asked quietly.
"Not when A and Reg are with me, which is hardly ever" Hermione replied, her eyes downcast.
The pair walked in silence, and when they reached the Great Hall, Hermione pulled Lily to the side. "We need to walk in separately and a few minutes late. It'll put all the attention on us and we'll easily look like some of the best dressed here"