A/N: Just for the record, I want to say: Omg you all are so adorable. Every time I open my inbox and see a review, I get so excited. I have the BEST readers and I just want to thank you for being so cute and sweet!!! When I see how excited you are about something I wrote, I get all energized to keep going. Thank you thank you thank you and keep up the awesome reviews.
I know this chapter is a bit short, but bear with me, the next one is on its way!
Chapter Seventeen: Yule Ball
The night was crisp and cool, but rain clouds were forming in the sky, and showers looked imminent. Lily was just glad to be inside. She huddled tighter under her blanket, turning her gaze from the window back to the beautiful gown draped lovingly over the end of her bed. Sirius was going to meet her soon, so she figured she'd better get dressed.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but it didn't do all that much. "What am I thinking?" she mumbled to Rue who was perched happily on her desk chair. Lily was thrilled to note the surprise he'd left her right on top of her parchment stack.
The door burst open suddenly, Charlotte, Florence, and Helen scurrying inside. They ran past Lily, scrambling for the bathroom door. "I'm first!" Charlotte ripped at Florence's hair. "It's not like you can do anything with that mane anyway!"
Florence screeched and stumbled backwards. Helen took the opportunity to slip through the door and slam it shut.
Charlotte screamed in frustration and stamped her feet. "Just hurry, will you? David is meeting me in an hour!"
"Well you should have thought of that two hours ago, shouldn't you have?" Helen's voice carried through the door.
Charlotte looked mortally offended. Lily was surprised at the insubordination, but didn't think much more of it. Charlotte turned her cat eyes to Lily. "Why are you not ready? Sirius is never going to sleep with you if you look like that!"
Lily scoffed. "I am not sleeping with Black."
"Well, Lily," Charlotte said matter-of-factly with an air of annoyance, "You're going to have to make James jealous somehow, and the opportunity is, hello, standing right in front of you! Don't be stupid. Seize the day."
"I'm not seizing anything of Black's," Lily grumbled, gathering up her dress robes. It was clear she'd never make it into her own bathroom, so she was resorting to the prefect bathrooms where she would meet Mila.
Relieved to be out of her dormitory, Lily scuttled into the bathroom. Mila was waiting for her, elegantly draped in shimmering light blue silk. She looked amazing. Lily, however…
"Um…did you bathe this morning?" Mila frowned.
Lily glared. "Of course I did!" She dropped the black bag with her dress inside onto the floor and peered at her reflection. "AH!" She shrieked. Her hair was an electric frizz ball, and her eyes were red and puffy from tears and lack of sleep.
Mila took a steadying breath. "Okay. This will be fine…I'll just fix you right up."
Mila spent a good forty minutes just combing out Lily's ratted mane and slathering it with serum. With one final pat of powder to Lily's cheeks, Mila stepped back and sucked in her breath. "There," she smiled. "I think that'll do."
When she moved aside, Lily caught her own reflection and had to do a double take. "Is that me?" She looked like a porcelain doll, and once Mila had zipped her up into her sweeping gown, she felt like one too. It was a bit snug, and there were bits of her popping out all over. "Er…" she placed a hand over her chest. "You don't think it's a bit low?"
"Absolutely not. Your boobs look fantastic," Mila grinned. "James is going to die."
Lily stepped gingerly into a pair of satin crème shoes to match the trim of her dress, and took a deep breath. "Well…here goes nothing."
---
Though there was no swirling staircase entrance or parting of the crowd, Sirius' eyes glazed over just the same when he caught a glimpse of her. He grinned so handsomely that Lily blushed. He had brushed his shaggy black locks out of his face, and looked absolutely dapper in his suit, his gray eyes twinkling.
He tipped his head like a gentleman and offered her his hand. She took it gingerly, and he pulled her toward him, slipping his other hand around her waist.
"Lily…" he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. "You look…" he trailed off, at a loss for words.
She bit her lower lip and tried not to blush any deeper. She was probably already darker than a beet.
Sirius escorted her happily through the double doors, many of the girls giving her looks of mixed jealousy and admiration. Sirius didn't wait for the music to start. He took Lily's hand and spun her skillfully into his chest and began to dance. Immediately the chatter died away, and the band began to play.
Lily twirled and dipped and spun around the dance floor with her partner. Sirius was an amazing dancer, and she was really enjoying herself. Finally, a slow song made its debut, and Sirius grinned down at her, dancing with her like a true gentleman.
"Sirius…" she said, "I've had so much fun tonight. It's the best dance I've ever been to!"
Sirius grinned a bit sheepishly. "I'm glad. It's my aim to please you." He dropped a hand to the small of her back and pulled her closer. "But I think there's someone else here who might want more desperately to please you."
Lily followed Sirius' eyes across the room. Her heart sank. There was James, dancing just as closely with that dark-haired girl. She spun around, her thick dark locks tumbling down to her waist. Lily caught the girl's face and gasped. She knew that face- Edith Baldric, the Slytherin Head Girl. Lily's insides clenched. Edith was beautiful- very beautiful- and James was clearly admiring that. James laughed and spun her again, and they she began giggling about something.
Lily lifted her eyes back to Sirius. "I could care less what he wants."
"Really." He eyed her with a smirk. "All right then."
Lily laid her head against Sirius' chest and rocked to the music, trying to forget James and Edith and enjoy the night.
The next dance started up and Sirius spun her away from him once again, only this time, a different pair of hands caught her waist and latched on, twirling her about.
Lily glared. James had kindly cut in. What the bloody hell did he want?
"Having a good time?" he said tersely as they moved to the music.
"Quite," Lily responded, her voice equally tight. "You?"
James twirled her and brought her back into him hard, the front of her body slamming into his. "The best." His eyes were alight with malice.
"That's lovely, James," Lily said, shoving him away from her. "I hope Edith is wonderful company." With that, she stormed off across the room, forcing her way through the sea of dancers and swishing dress robes.
She was searching for Mila, but was having no luck. Instead, she made her way out into the halls toward the bathroom. She was staring at her reflection sullenly when she overheard two girls chattering. James' name popped up, and she lingered a moment, pretending to fiddle with her hair.
"-I know, aren't they a gorgeous couple?"
"So true. But can you believe it? James Potter and Edith Baldric- engaged! I mean-"
The girl continued talking, but Lily was no longer listening. Her head began to pound and her vision blurred as fresh tears sprung into her eyes. The girls sauntered past her, so she whipped on the faucet and bent her head down to hide the sparkling tears.
When the door clattered shut with an echo, Lily took a shaky breath and examined her reflection. She dabbed the makeup back into place, and pushed her way out the door and back into the Great Hall.
She spotted Sirius, chattering with some seventh-years in a corner, sipping something from a flask. Among them was Eric MacLean, the Head Boy. They were having a discussion on Quidditch, it seemed. She, like MacLean, ignored the fact that the boys had obviously smuggled in some sort of paraphernalia.
When she approached, their eyes lingered on her. She was aware that her face was flaming- not from embarrassment, but rather something more like rage.
Sirius was just turning to greet her when she caught his lips with hers. The shock must have passed through Sirius rather quickly, because almost instantly he responded deeply to the kiss. He pulled her up against his body tightly, oblivious -or uncaring- of the small spectacle they were making.
Lily didn't care. Let James see.
But she didn't have to worry much about that last part, because when she pulled away, Lily spotted James frozen to the spot by the drink table.
She kept her gaze steady on Sirius, but saw James storm away out the corner of her eye.
Sirius grinned at her and brushed a stray hair from her forehead. "That was fantastic, Lily," he said, a sparkle in his eye, "but I don't think I'm the one you really want."
Lily let out a strained laugh. "What are you talking about?" But she knew he wasn't stupid.
He ran a hand through his feathery hair. "Go on, but the next time you need to make someone jealous, just remember what a fine job I did here tonight." Sirius winked.
"Well, thanks." Lily smiled. "I'll remember that."
"And by the way," Sirius added, taking another liberal swig from his flask. "Your boobs look fantastic."
Lily frowned. "I'm going to ignore that last comment, and remember only the chivalry of the evening." But she didn't hesitate further. She ran out the door she saw James use and wandered out into the courtyard, her shoes tapping lightly on the stone.
Rain was drizzling from the overhang, cleansing the tangled climbing roses wrapped around the pillars. There was James, his face lit by the moon, gazing into the distance.
He barely registered Lily's entrance. "What?"
Frowning, Lily reached for his arm, but he snaked it out of her grasp.
"James," she scolded.
He snorted and shook his head. "I should have known this would happen. I've been a complete idiot."
"No," Lily shook her head, "you haven't. Don't let this-"
"What? Get in the way? Change things?" He whirled around to face her suddenly. "Because as I recall, you made it perfectly clear you want nothing to do with me."
Her jaw clenched and her eyes became slits. "Me? I've seen you with Edith! I saw you kissing her!"
"So?" James glared. "You kissed my best mate."
"That was…was…to make you jealous."
"Well it worked."
"Good!" Lily exclaimed.
James watched the rain patter in the courtyard.
"You're engaged, James," Lily breathed. "Why didn't you say something?"
Silence.
"James."
He shook his head reluctantly. "I... made a deal. With my parents…"
"That you would marry her?" Lily asked incredulously. "Why?"
"The marriage has been arranged since birth. It's what we do- well, the Potters, anyway," he scoffed. "It's tradition in pureblood families."
"I see."
"No," he said, stepping towards her. "You don't. I promised my mum and dad I would finally go along with it, as long as…"
"As long as what, James?" Lily said hesitantly, quite sure she would not like the answer.
He heaved a sigh. "As long as they made a donation to keep you in school."
Lily's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Look, forget it, all right?"
"Why would you do that for me? Allow yourself to be forced into a marriage?" she shook her head. "I can't let you do that. I can own up to the consequences, James. I'm a big girl."
"It doesn't matter. It's already done."
She was silent, gazing down at her beautiful crème satin shoes. A façade, really. She wasn't some glamorous doll, and she'd done it all to anger James, but here he had gone and given up his freedom for her sake, whether she'd asked for it or not. "I'm sorry."
"Please," he scoffed, staring back into the distance. "It would have happened one way or another." He laughed suddenly, but it was a dark, hollow laugh. "Just tell me something- did you ever want to be with me?"
She couldn't take her eyes off the ground. The rain trickled down the pillars and dripped rhythmically from the rose leaves.
Her entire body was jerked to attention when James suddenly took hold of her shoulders. "Look at me, Lily." He shook her slightly and she lifted her gaze to meet his hesitantly. Something softened in James' eyes as he breathed, nearly inaudible, "I wish you knew what it was like…to want you this badly…"
"James, I…" she was at a loss for words. There was nothing she could say.
He looked at her expectantly, leaning closer. Lily could feel his breath light on her forehead as his lips brushed her skin. She swallowed hard, her lips parting subconsciously. His lips brushed hers so faintly, she wasn't sure they'd even touched.
But she pushed him away. "I don't think it matters much at all what I want anymore."
James gave her a burning stare, but Lily simply turned and left, pressing through the doors. She ran straight back to her room and tore off the dress. She curled up in her bed and buried her face in her pillow, waiting silently for sleep to consume her.
---
"Lily?" A soft voice interrupted her sleep. A hand nudged her shoulder timidly.
She blinked her eyes open and was met with a pair of thick, round spectacles. "Madeline!" she sat up straight.
"I was just…" she suddenly looked quite sheepish. "You didn't look so well. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Lily sighed and forced a small smile. "Yeah, I'm…fine." She pulled herself out of bed, perfectly aware that she probably looked like a clown with all her smudged make-up.
"Well…this came for you." Madeline held out a small scroll. "Your owl was at the window so I let him in."
"Oh…" Lily took it gratefully and glanced around the room. "The others didn't come home yet?"
Madeline shook her head. "They did. They've just all gone down to breakfast. You…slept in rather long."
Lily flushed. "It was a long night."
She nodded. "Er…also, I just think you might want to know… Sirius Black has been downstairs shouting your name for the past hour."
Lily's expression froze. "What?" She dropped the scroll on her bed and ran to the door, whipping it open.
Sure enough, there was Sirius' voice, booming up the staircase. It was sounding a tad hoarse. "EVANS!"
Throwing a cloak over her pajamas, she stormed down the stairs to find him still wearing his suit from the dance. "LIL- oh. There you are, love."
"Sirius!" she hissed, "What the bloody hell are you doing?"
"Lily!" he said again, broadly, throwing an arm over her shoulder.
She frowned, noticing that his yelling had completely cleared out the common room. "Have you been drinking?"
He grinned, faint shadows beneath his eyes. "'Course not. Well…just a tad."
"Sirius, please."
Eyes glimmering, he bent down and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry about James. And I know you'll probably say no, but I need to ask you a favor."
Lily's fierce glare softened. Amazingly, he had been a wonderful date, and a complete gentleman- until she snogged him in the middle of the Ball, of course. But that wasn't his fault. "What is it?"
"Every year, James' family has this…Christmas thing."
She wasn't sure if she liked where this was going. "Er…right…he mentioned that."
"And, see, here's the thing- I need a date."
Lily stared dumbly. "You want to take me to James' family Christmas?"
Sirius could sense the panic in her voice, so he tightened his grip on her shoulders. "Please, Lily."
"Sirius! You could go with any girl you wanted. Why on earth would you ask me of all people?"
"Because…" he looked sheepish, "You're a good girl."
She wasn't sure if that was a compliment. "Er…"
"Look, I need to get out of my house. Really, I do. I can't take the damn place any longer! I'm going to ask if I can move in with James, but I want to make a good impression." He looked so sincere. "You're the perfect one to do that with…Please?"
Lily sighed. She truly was torn. Sirius had been good to her and she kind of owed him. Then again, being in the same vicinity as James Potter and his Slytherin bride didn't thrill her by any means. "…All right. I'll go."
Sirius heaved a sigh. "Really? Thank you, Lily!" He wrapped her in a bear hug and kissed her forehead. "We leave tonight. Go pack."
"Wait. Pack?"
"Right. We'll be staying with them for three days."
"Excuse me?" Lily blanched. "No…I'm am not staying in James Potter's house for three days."
"Lily, come on. I promise it will be fine. The mansion is so enormous, you'll probably never even run into him!"
"…Mansion?"
"Yeah, it'll be great. You'll be back right on time for Christmas Eve."
"Well…"
"Great," he shot her his winning grin and shook the hair from his glittering gray eyes. "You won't regret it."