Just thought I'd clear something up. --------------- means a setting/POV change. --------------- means a time change. Disclaimer: I do not own the song.
Ch.12, Dawn of a New Year
When Lily got in that night, she was exhausted. After mailing her letter to her parents, she spent the afternoon with James. After that, nothing seemed to be able to ruin James' mood, even when Sirius got a picture of Lily and James accidentally caught under the mistletoe. He was escorting her the long ten strides to the girl's staircase, when the magically enchanted mistletoe stopped them in their tracks. Blushing, Lily quickly kissed James' cheek, and skipped up the stairs, leaving him stunned. She heard a distant 'whoop' as the fact sunk in for James.
The fact that she, Lily Evans, had agreed to go to the New Year's Ball with none other than James Potter! Imagine what James' fan club would say! All the bimbo girls always spoke about how James was going to give up on Lily any moment and come running after one of them.
Ha! I was right! You said yes before you even thought about it!
I didn't need to think of it! I knew I wanted to go out with him.
That doesn't stop the fact that I was right and that James is currently jumping up and down like an idiot, and Sirius has a picture. Now why don't you write to Jane and Vera about this new thing?
Because I want to keep them in suspense. Now, onto more important matters...
Which are?
snore snore
Hmph.
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Before they were really sisters again, Vera took Jane to meet Remus. She wanted Jane to apologize before they got too close again.
Remus was waiting at the top of the mountain, as per the usual. He and Jane faced each other awkwardly, while Vera sat and had a discussion with a snow rabbit.
Jane cleared her throat. "Listen, Remus, I can tell that you really care about Vera. I shouldn't have meddled, and it doesn't matter that your a werewolf. I'm sorry, and I won't tell anyone about your condition." Jane apologized, and offered her hand to Remus, who gladly shook it. Vera had a smile on her face.
"So, Vera, you were going to show me how you always sneak out of the house?" Jane asked several minutes later.
"Oh yeah!" Vera remembered. She enlarged a very big leaf, enough for all three of them. They clambered on.
"So, no one can see us, right?" Jane asked from behind Remus, who was behind Vera.
"Rightio." Vera said. Then, she smiled as she could tell that neither Remus nor Jane was used to such a great height, so she put on an extra burst of speed and dived. Jane screamed shrilly, and Remus had enough sense to put a nonverbal (he was rather green) silencing charm on the three of them.
Soon they reached the Parker residence. Mark Parker was out on the lawn, doing something or another. Vera quickly showed Jane the flat landing, and decided to take a closer look at what her father was doing. She almost laughed out loud. He was attempting to get a barbecue going. Surprising both Jane and Remus, she parked the leaf on the landing, and they got off. She quietly whispered her plan to the others, and Remus had to take another silencing charm to keep from laughing.
Jane edged her way to the edge of the landing, and peered over. He was just about to get the coals underneath the barbecue going, when, all of a sudden, a small sprinkle of water poured them out.
"What the...?" he muttered, and tried again. This time, a larger sprinkle of water put it out, accompanied by one of the coals jumping out at him. Coal does come from underground, after all. Then, while small bits of coal were pelting him, and a sprinkle of water shooting at him from nowhere, and soon the burgers he was about to barbecue started levitating and slapping him in the face!
Jane and Vera, along with Remus, had used their powers, and wands respectively and were now laughing their heads off. Mark ran off to the house, yelling.
"So," Vera started,"who should we prank first?"
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The day after the faithful Christmas of 1978, Lily woke up in her dorm with a smile on her face as the events of the previous night came back to her. (No, not those kind of events!)She had agreed to go out with James! She practically skipped out of bed, got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Where she met James.
When she came down the stairs, James stood up and grinned.
"Shall we, milady?" he asked in a mock Elizabethan accent.
"Yes we shall, kind sir." Lily answered, playing along. But her giggles spoiled it a little. But not as much as Sirius did.
When the young couple reached the great hall, there were at least fifty owls waiting on the table. It would seem Sirius had mailed a copy of his pictures to each and every one of James' fan club members. The other teachers looked quite flustered, the Ravenclaws scared, and Dumbledore, rather amused.
The moment that Lily and James stepped into the room, 40 owls flew at Lily, while another ten flew at James.
They barely made it over to the table, and there was no room on it for 50 owls. But did that stop them? No.
"Who are all these letters from?" Lily shouted over the hub-ub to James.
"Er, yeah, um, I think my fan club is a little angry?" James said sheepishly.
"Fan club?" Lily asked through gritted teeth.
So, they started to open all the letters, because that was the only way that the owls would leave.
After spending a half hour opening letters, Lily came to her last one. Just as she opened it however, a puff of smoke erupted from it, covering her face in purple. The letter said 'See if he'll want you like this!'
So, James took Lily, who was hiding her face in embarrassment from everyone there, up to the hospital wing, where it was deduced that there had been acne powder in the letter.
After half an hour of assuring Lily that he still liked her, James left the hospital wing for one of his favourite sports. Sirius slaying.
---------------
After Mark had gone running off into the house, babbling of ghosts, the three sneaked into Jane and Vera's room.
Now, Vera was not USUALLY snoopy, but she was thinking it had something to do with the 'new her'. Now that she and Jane were friends again, she sensed something wrong with her sister. Not physically, but mentally. Whenever she and Remus spoke of returning to Hogwarts soon, Jane showed (but tried to hide it) two very strange emotions. Extreme excitement and guilt. That could only be if she was doing something behind Vera's back, and knew that Vera would be hurt, displeased, disapproving, ect.
But a sharp knock at the door made all three people jump. Unceremoniously, Vera stuffed Remus out the window and onto the platform, while Jane took a long time to get to the door.
"Yes?" Jane answered at the door. In came their mother
"Oh good, you're both here." Claire said, noticing her youngest (by 5 seconds, as Vera would insist) daughter standing by the window.
"What's up?" Jane asked.
"I just wanted to let the both of you know that I'm here to talk, about anything at any time. I won't judge you, and if you would want it to be, it'll stay just between us. Absolutely anything at all. Good night." Claire said, leaving three very stunned people. (Remus was listening in)
Jane was still staring at the spot her mother had been at when Vera and Remus were talking about her mother's sudden, suspicious, actions.
"Do you think she knows?" Vera asked Jane, bringing her sister into the conscious world.
"She can't. We've been to careful." Jane muttered, forgetting that Vera and Remus were there. She had actually been thinking of something else entirely.
"Actually, we haven't." Vera said to her sister.
Jane broke out of her daze. "Huh?"
"Exactly what I said. Mum suspects something, maybe she thinks we can do wandless magic or something. Remember when you put the rain cloud on dad? And at the dinner table? And just now?" Vera reminded her, studying Jane's facial expressions closely.
She tried to hide exactly what Vera was afraid of: fear, sheepishness and guilt.
Her sister was hiding something.
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---------------
"Liiiiiiiiillllllllyyyyyyyy." whined someone from her right.
"Liiiiiiiiillllllllyyyyyyyy." whined someone from her left.
Said person rolled her eyes at the two 'men' on either side of her. They were acting like four year olds.
"Are we done yet Lily? We've been here for hours." Sirius complained.
"No we haven't, right?" she said threateningly.
James cringed under Lily's glare. "Er..yeah!" he said with false enthusiasm.
"Whipped." Sirius hissed under his breath at his friend.
"Well, if you're that bored, you can hold Amour for me." Lily said, taking Amour off her shoulder and held him out to Sirius, who backed away, terrified of the cat.
"I'm not holding that... that thing! He has it out for me!" Sirius protested. Indeed, the small, cute kitten was playfully swiping his claws at Sirius.
Neither Lily or James could help it. They fell to the floor laughing. Lily dropped Amour, who was worried about his new mistress and licked her face to make sure she was all right. This made Lily stop laughing and pick him up, and started to tickle his tummy. This made James laugh even more, seeing that his friend was afraid of this harmless, cute, and ticklish kitten.
"So much for Gryffindor bravery, huh Padfoot?" James asked once he had stopped laughing and joined in on mercilessly tickling the life out of a poor, but very ticklish, kitty.
The trio was in Hogsmead, as Lily had panicked the day before, after getting out of the hospital wing. It was December 27, 1978. Counting today, there was 6 days, including New Years, to the New Years ball. Lily had panicked after finding that Amour had a bad tendency to chew up Lily's shoes, which she had bought specifically for the ball. Needless to say, Lily was furious with her kitten for about ten seconds, until Amour gave the best puppy dog eyes that a kitten could. (Has anybody seen Shrek 2? If so, just imagine the eyes that Puss 'n Boots gives the soldiers near the end) So, Lily forgave him, and James, being the ever nice guy that he was, decided to accompany Lily on her shopping for company. And of course, Sirius followed James.
"Ah ha!"
"What what? Are we done yet?" said both Sirius and James simultaneously.
Lily glared. Both boys fell into sheepish expressions, especially James.
"No, I'm not done. But neither of you boys had to follow me, you know." Lily said. She really was done, but wanted to bug them.
Twenty minutes later of pointless waiting
"Okay, now I'm done." Lily announced. Two moans of complete boredom answered her.
"You know, you didn't have to follow me, guys." she said as she paid for her shoes.
"How could we let such a nice lady go out all alone and get lonely?" James tried. Truthfully he just wanted to spend time with her.
"Flattery get's you no where." Lily said. But she still had a smile.
"Stubbornness get's you no where." he countered.
So, those two started playfully bickering over which had it's uses. Flattery, or being stubborn? Lily was stubborn on Stubbornness, while James was all for flattery. James was just about to open his mouth, when - SMACK!
It would seem like Sirius had thrown a snowball at him, and now James had a mouthful of snow!
"Oh, it is on, Padfoot." James threatened playfully and grabbed some snow.
So, it turned out to be a all out snow ball fight, and somehow turned to be James and Sirius vs Lily and Amour.
But this was no fair for them, as Amour seemed to have a strange affliction with the large compact spheres of frozen water. He would always eat them before they had a chance at hitting Lily. Who, soon had the 'brave, fearless Marauders' running back to the castle in terror! Lily walked calmly back, stroking Amour, who was purring in content.
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"Jane! Vera!"
Said girls looked at where their names were being called from.
It was the morning of the ball - Mark had allowed, after a ton of pleading from his two daughters, them to go to Hogwarts early. So it was now that an extremely excited red head was now strangling her two best friends in a hug.
"We missed you too Lilsy!" Vera said excitedly, practically seeing Lily scowl.
"How are you two?" Lily asked, ignoring the stupid nickname.
"Argument over!" Jane announced happily!
Lily squealed very un-Lily like, and hugged them again.
---------------
Later that night, the girls dormitory was the site of a TON of talking, gossiping, or, in the case of Lily, Jane and Vera, catching up.
"Aww, Lilsy he's so cute!" Jane cooed at her sister and Amour, who were having a nice chat. Vera was bursting out into giggles every so often.
Jane was trying to give her sister warnings. Here's how it is: Vera knows their powers, Lily knows their powers, Jane knows their powers but thinks that Lily doesn't know about Vera. Jane thought that Vera would be blowing her cover if she continued this.
Conscience was telling Lily this, and Lily caught Vera's eye. Vera winked, and gestured to Jane, who was chatting about something. They decided to play a trick on her.
"so, Lily, did you know I can talk to animals?" Vera asked 'innocently' as Jane shot her a glare.
"Really? And why is that?" Lily asked in the same tone. Jane was desperately trying to catch her twin's eye.
"Well, that's because - " Vera started.
"Er... NOTHING!" Jane said nervously, causing her to shout.
Vera burst out laughing. "Oh relax Jane, Lily figured it out a while ago!"
Jane stared at her two laughing roommates. "Wha- hey wait, that means I'm the last?"
"You bet, Jane!" Lily said.
After Jane stopped sulking, the twins described their holidays. Then, they waited patiently for Lily.
But Lily was reluctant to let them out of suspense so soon. But that was all put to a stop when Jane swiped something up and off of Lily's dresser.
"What's this?" Jane teased, and held up the picture frame above Lily's head. Vera saw the picture, of James and her decorating the tree, (the James in the picture was holding Lily in his arms) and burst out giggling.
"Give it to me!" Lily cried, lunging for the picture. She got up and chased Jane around the room, jumping over beds, people, dressers, trunks, pets, papers and anything else you can imagine.
Finally, Lily had Jane cornered, and just as she was about to grab the picture, a gust of air came through the open window. Jane looked over to see her sister practicing something that she had thought of. It was really hard, and Vera had her eyes closed in concentration. The wind was whipping around and blowing hair in all the girl's face.
In front of the two surprised and awed girls, the gust turned into a miniature tornado, which plucked the picture out of Jane's hands, and, while whipping papers and quills everywhere, returned to Vera and placed the picture frame into her outstretched hands. The other two stared.
The understatement of the century would be to say that after that little stunt, Vera was tired. Because it was indoors, it had been a lot harder to summon that very small tornado. The room was a mess, and Vera almost lost consciousness from that small thing. And the window was open, supplying a huge amount of air for her to work with.
Lily and Jane rushed to Vera's side, though after seeing her friend was just tired, Lily plucked the picture of her and James decorating the Christmas tree out of Vera's tired hands and put it back on the dresser.
"What was that?" Lily asked Vera.
"I figured it could end up helpful if I knew how to manipulate air into such a strong and compact gust that I could actually move objects with it. I've been trying little things for a while, and you, Jane, and Remus are the only ones that know. I thought that it would be very nice to practice it now." Vera explained tiredly.
"Now, you are going to take a nap now." Jane instructed.
"No! I want to hear about Lilsy's holidays!" Vera whined like a little girl. Jane rolled her eyes.
"Fine. So, Lily, when did James ask you out?" Jane asked slyly.
Lily blushed. She started explaining her entire holidays from day one, pausing to allow squeals (Jane) and 'aww's (Vera). Especially when they heard about all the times he was so close to kissing her. Lily herself seemed to be in like a dreamlike state, as if she were on cloud 9.
"And let me get this straight. Not once did you think that we would like to know about this?" Jane asked, gesturing to herself and Vera.
"I wanted to keep you in suspense." Lily answered, then set off running around the dorm. But they soon stopped trying to tickle their friend, and went to bed, as Vera could barely keep her eyes open, having used so much of her energy to practice.
Meanwhile, Remus was being harassed by Sirius and James to tell them about his holidays.
"Well, Vera's dad found out about my condition." Remus said. Sirius conjured a bag of popcorn, as Remus continued to tell them about how Vera's dad has shouted his secret for the whole world to hear, about how he had run away before Vera could reject him. About her letter, and her not caring. James and Sirius sniggered as they saw that Remus had a slightly glazed look in his eyes, and it would seem that he was completely smitten and in love with her.
"Laugh as you will, but James still hasn't talked about Lily." Remus countered. James looked up at Lily's name. Sirius and Remus laughed at him.
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Jane was walking on a path that she vaguely recognized from the mountain that Vera could normally be found on during the summers. She heard screams. People were running, up the mountain, and away from something. Jane could barely make out the reflecting light of floodwater.
Since it was a dream, Jane could go faster than the screaming people. She also recognized this as one of her vision dreams. She reached the young couple that was leading the rest of the town away from the water and up the mountain.
Her heart stopped. There was Remus Lupin, helping Vera up a stone. And huddled to Vera's chest was a bundle of blankets, screaming shrilly. To make sure that that was her sister, she took a look at her hand. Her Element ring was there, but it was different. It had the leaf, and gold band. But the leaf was twisted into a whirlwind. But there was something else on her sister's hand, that Jane didn't recognize. while her twin murmured comfortingly to the bundle in her arms, Jane realized it was a child. Remus kept looking behind his back, and urging people on.
Just as Jane was about to get a good look at the second ring on Vera's hand, the screams intensified. The Dark Mark got shot up in the air.
Jane ran to where the waters were slowly coming up, to see them swimming with Inferi. There was Lily, at the water's edge with a boulder-sized fireball in her hands. Jane saw what she was trying to do. Scare off the Inferi, while evaporating the water. But it wasn't working. Death Eaters were terrorizing people from brooms.
"Jane? Hello, world of reality to Jane, wake up!"
Jane's eyes bolted open. Lily and Vera were standing over her, looking concerned.
"What happened?" she asked groggily, trying to remember her dream.
"You must have been having a nightmare...or something." Vera said.
"You were crying in you're sleep. What did you dream about?" Lily asked.
Jane hesitated. She had a feeling that if she told them what lies in the future, they might screw up the timelines in more ways than one.
"I can't remember." she lied.
"Then don't worry about it. It's New Years!" Vera announced happily.
Jane sat up right away. "The Ball?"
"Yup!" Lily and Vera exclaimed in unison.
Lily and Vera were slightly curious throughout the day. Jane had never, absolutely never, acted this excited about anything formal. But they put it in the back of their minds, because they too had to get ready.
Vera was slightly worried. If her father saw her there with Remus, and caused a scene, Remus would be in no end of trouble. They would just have to make sure that he didn't see them.
But Vera didn't have time to worry, as the girls were just going down. Even with endless teasing, Lily had refused to tell them who her date was. And Vera had subtly hinted to Jane that she knew she had a date, and was trying to get the name. But Jane wouldn't budge.
Vera was the second to get done. She headed down, and saw Remus.
"Hey sweetie." he said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Hey yourself." she answered sarcastically.
"You look beautiful, you know." Remus said, taking her hand. And he was right. Vera had dressed in simple yet elegant yellow dress, her little potion vial hanging from her neck. She and Remus led the way out of the common room, to where the carriages were waiting.
James was very nervous. What if she decided she didn't like him? What if something went wrong? what if-
Shut up! You're making me dizzy trying to keep track of your thoughts!
But what if she hat-
Zip it! No more what if's ! Now go, and ENJOY YOURSELF!
Yes Ma'am.
So James broke out of his revere just in time to see Lily come down. He didn't even notice the fact that his jaw had dropped. Lily was gorgeous. She wore a gorgeous silver gown, with sparkles and sequins all over. She had actually charmed it to glow when it turned midnight. Her hair was in a pile on her head and a few locks trailed down to her face. Around her neck was the necklace that James gave her.
Lily giggled, very un-Lily like, and shut his mouth with one finger.
"Um...ah...uh...er..." James stuttered. He was still staring at her.
"Oh my, the famous James Potter, stuttering! What has the world come to?" Lily teased.
"Uh...You look beautiful Lily." James finally managed to get out.
"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself." Lily teased. Even though James' tie was upside down. She fixed it for him.
So those two left. But Lily couldn't stay too long to see Jane come down. Or who she went to.
There were golden carriages waiting to take them into Hogsmead. Four to a carriage. James, Lily, Remus and Vera got in one, and Jane was left with another.
The dance hall in Hogsmead was beautiful. It was decorated in every muggle way possible. What made it interesting was the fact that the dance floor was outside, while the dining area was inside. The group headed inside, and got a table for four, the last kind left. When they sat down, there were gold-trimmed menus on the gold plates. As it was a ministry-sponsored event, all the food was free.
James and Remus both ordered steak. Lily wanted some stew, and Vera got an egg-white omelet.
Lily scowled at her stew. It wasn't hot enough. So, making sure everyone was occupied, she discretely pointed her finger at it and it started to steam. Vera caught Lily's eye and they both giggled.
The Minister for Magic stepped up, dressed in a muggle suit, and made a speech all about how this was signifying the end of Muggle Appreciation Time and a bunch of other stuff. The Marauders just wanted to eat.
After they were done eating, finishing with Double Chocolate Mountain Cake, James asked Lily to dance.
Remus and Vera decided to just sit and talk for a while, until Vera gasped.
"Remus, we have to get outside, now." she ordered, and began getting up.
"What's the matter?" Remus asked, confused. But he got up all the same.
"My parents just got here." she said, and began weaving through the crowd to the outside doors. Remus paled and followed her, knowing they would be safe outside.
They made it just in time. Mark looked over at where Claire was looking just as the couple slipped out the doorway.
Remus and Vera breathed a sigh of relief as they reached outside and Vera turned them invisible.
Remus listened to the music playing. He got an idea. "Vera, we can still dance when we're invisible, right?"
Vera smiled at him. "I don't see why not." she said and they started dancing, with nobody aware of their presence.
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James and Lily were both having a marvelous time. James was so polite to Lily, she wondered whether he'd always been like that. Conscience was off bugging someone else, James was wonderful, no sign of trouble, it was a clear night, and she was quickly falling for the man sitting in front of her. What could be better? Only one thing. If he asked her to dance.
James, on the other hand, was terrified. He was scared of making her run away from him, so he tried to make everything perfect. Now, if only he could gather his Gryffindor courage to ask her to dance, his wonderful daydream would be complete. He heard the song outside end. It was now or never.
"Er...Lily? Would you like to dance?"
Lily smiled at him. This couldn't get better. "Yes James, I'd love to."
Once they got to the dance floor, the next song started up. It was a fast one - they danced and danced.
Soon, after about 5 songs, a slower one came on. Lily cuddled into James and together they just swayed to the music. Daydream complete, James thought.
You and I must make a pact
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love
I'll be there
I'll reach out my hand to you
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name
And I'll be there
And oh, woah,
I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
I'm so glad I found you yeah,
I'll be there with a love so strong
I'll be your strength
You know I'll keep holdin on
Let me fill you heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well it's all i'm after
Just call my name
And I'll be there
I'll be there to protect you,(yeah baby)
With an unselfish love that respects you
Just call my name
And I'll be there
And oh woah
I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
You know i'm so glad I found you yeah (so glad baby)
I'll be there with a love so strong
I'll be your strength
You know I'll keep holdin on
If you should ever find someone new
I know she better be good to you
'Cos if she dosoen't, then I'll be there
Don't you know baby, yeah yeah
I'll be there
I'll be there, yeah
Just call my name and I'll be there
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'll be there baby
You know I'll be there, yeah
Just call my name
And I'll be there
Just call my name
And I'll be there
Lily listened to the words of the song playing - they were beautiful. She decided then and there that this would be their song. Little did she know, James was thinking the same thing.
The night couldn't get better.
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"Ok," Vera huffed, as she and Remus hid behind a tree, "lesson learned. I need concentration to remain invisible."
Their night had been ruined. Vera lost her concentration during a particularity nice dance, and they became visible. Her parents saw them, and Mark was making his way over. Vera was just thankful that he had not cause a scene like at home, and that he had not shot a spell at Remus.
They could hear Mark was still looking for them. He neared their hiding spot. "Come on," Remus said, taking hold of her arm, "Can you turn us invisible?"
"I've already tried, I can't concentrate." Vera whispered back.
"Well then we have got to move, or else he'll see us." Remus said, and they started to creep away.
They made it out of Mark's visual range, without incident, and rounded a corner. And came face to face with Claire.
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Remus and Vera weren't the only ones avoiding Mark and Claire. Jane and her date were hiding around the corner from where Claire was. Jane was mortified that she would be caught. Of course, it was better that Claire, who was raised as a muggle find them than Mark, who was raised with the prejudices against her date.
She and the man had been going out since the beginning of the school year. He had been one of the many to try and flirt with her in Diagon Alley, and they found that they were to be in the same year. She was really happy with him, but thought that if someone, especially her family saw her with him, they would think that she was just as bad as her. He kept trying to convince her, that with all that she had told him, that they would not mind they were dating and had been for a while.
AN: whoever can guess correctly who Jane's long time lover is, gets a virtual cookie! Reviewers cower and bow before author who holds large silver tray of double chocolate brownie cookies, with chocolate icing drizzled on top!
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James twirled Lily around on the dance floor. All the other couples had gone inside, as a light snow had started, but the two didn't care. They were in their own world, not caring if they'd be sick in bed for a week after this. Even the musicians had gone in, but it was love at...seventh dance. They didn't need music. Besides, with Lily's gown swirling, they took up a lot of the dance floor, just whirling by everyone and everything. They were in a world of their own.
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--------------- ( a few seconds later)
Vera gulped, well aware of the fact that she and Remus were still holding hands. "Mum," she stuttered out nervously.
Remus had paled immensely. All he could hope for is that Vera's natural shyness didn't overcome her, and that she wouldn't listen to her mother.
"Hello Vera." Claire said in a neutral voice. She was unsure of what to do. She couldn't betray Mark - she loved him. But she couldn't stop her daughter, her daughter, from being happy with the one she so obviously loved.
Vera was clueless as well. How come she hasn't started yelling for Father?
Duh, she's confused!
Huh?
You're her daughter Vera! She wants you to be happy at all costs, but she doesn't want to betray you're father!
So what do I do?
Hello, has you're brain turned off? Make a distraction! You're Third!
Oh, right!
Vera focused all her energy on the large pitcher of water behind her mother. Without closing her eyes, she began to work her magic.
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Claire halted her idea as she saw a determined spark in her daughter's eye. Claire just got the distinct glance of something glowing on her daughter's hand. But then, an unnatural and obviously magical wind picked up.
People gasped and shrieked as a small tornado-like gust of wind rose at the outdoor refreshment table.
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Jane gasped as she recognized the type of magic used for the commotion at the punch table. Looking around, knowing Vera was in trouble, she saw that their mother, Claire, was looking around in surprise. And behind her, was the source of the wind. Vera was summoning her power to lift the object. Why, Jane didn't know. Maybe to distract her mother as, she was with Remus. She could see Remus creeping away, almost carrying Vera.
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Lily and James were still in a little world of their own. They didn't realize anything else was happening, and kept on dancing as if they hadn't a care in the world. There was still no music playing - the young couple couldn't care less.
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Vera felt her energy wavering. She wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. The pitcher of water was very heavy. Maybe she should have aimed for something less dense. She was now running on pure adrenaline, from the fear of getting caught. She couldn't waste concentration on invisibility at this point.
The wind was whipping around. It destroyed her hair, and it flew around her. Remus was practically carrying her away into some nearby trees. Finally, Vera accomplished her goal. The pitcher was dumped on her mother, but not the glass. She of course, didn't wish to seriously injure her mom - just distract her, and ice cold water would do that. The pitcher moved away slightly before it fell and shattered. The trees, sensing their need to hide, grew and tightened once they were away. Remus set her down on a convenient bed of leaves, because she had fainted in his arms.
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Jane ran. Her date thought she was going after her mother, who was now shivering. But he was wrong. She ran right past her mom without a second thought, and straight to the trees. The trees parted for her, telling that she was worried about Vera.
"What happened?" she asked when she saw Remus setting her down on a bed of leaves.
"We ran into you're mother. Vera didn't know what to do, so she used her air powers to lift a pitcher of water and dump it on your mom as a distraction so we could get away. But she used so much energy, she couldn't walk. I carried her. She's asleep now, I think." Remus explained.
"We can't stay here for long," Jane said, looking over her shoulder, "dad's looking around here suspiciously. I think i can make a distraction."
"Do whatever you can. I can carry her back to the carriages." Remus ordered.
Jane nodded. Vera wasn't the only one who had been concentrating on new abilities. Summoning her power, she concentrated on making the temperature colder. She really hated to do this, but it was necessary.
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Claire was freezing. She had gotten distracted once the water was dropped on her head, and Remus and her daughter disappeared. Now she was being led inside by a bunch of fussy witches, who had dried her off and conjured blankets. Now that he was sure she was all right, Mark was looking around suspiciously, standing in the puddle of water from the pitcher. He had a feeling one or both of his daughters were involved in this.
He saw a movement near a group of trees. He tried to move - but the water had frozen to his shoes, and he couldn't move. Grumbling, he took out his wand and melted the ice, but it was slow work.
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All of a sudden, just as James was twirling Lily, her dress shot up fireworks. Bells chimed, people cheered, clocks thundered. It was midnight.
"Happy New Years Lily." James said, slightly breathless from all the dancing.
"Happy New Years James." Lily sighed in the same breathless tone.
He bent his head and kissed her. That was when their fates were sealed, when they became completely in love. It was still early for Lily, but she knew there was no one else for her.
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The few minutes it took Mark to completely melt the ice was enough time for Remus, carrying Vera, and Jane to make it to the safety of one of the carriages. Jane herself was exhausted - she wasn't used to working from long distances.
The last thing Jane remembered seeing before she herself took a nap, was Vera's ring. It was sparkling. Something was happening to it.
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Oh noooooooo! i have both a math + french test coming up at the end of this week! When i've finished this chapter it's December 13th 2006. My holidays start on the 22nd. So that's when this will be posted. I'll put that on my profile in the morning, it is 10:15 now and i have to go soon.
Now, i know it's a little early, but here is an update for what my next story will be. I'm going to take a break from James/Lily stories, and go to Harry/Ginny. The marvelous stories If You Can Help Her by witowsmp , the Harry Potter and the Twist of Fate series by seritha , HARRY TAKES CHARGE by GiGiFanFic , The Fated Harry Potter by ladymedic , Harry Potter and the Power of Devotion by Phoenix Arcanum , Harry Potter and the Twists of Fate by benperez31 are my inspiration for returning to Harry/Ginny, as by last attempt wasn't too good, i admit.
Okay, listen up folks! I am still working on chapter 13, and i doubt i'll be able to post tomorrow, but I'm working on it as much as possible! I was re-reading this chapie and got some more inspiration for the next chapter, but i'm going to have to work on it. plz don't kill me! anyone who REVIEWs and doesn't threaten to kill me gets a cookie of their choice! i'm going to make a special section in my Author's Blurb for cookie requests, so make some! but the only way u can do that is to REVIEW!
P.S. Happy New Year every1! Welcome to 2007!