A/N: Yes, I know…it has been over 2 months since I've updated. You guys can kill me later.
X The Christmas Ball
"You know, Moony," Sirius started, "you're a dreadful dancer.
"Well excuse me, twinkle toes," Remus snorted. "I'm trying to learn. Sorry if my parents didn't drag me to fancy dinner parties at a young age like yours."
"Don't be sorry. Be incredibly blessed that you didn't have a load of nutters like my parents drag you around to fancy fucking dinners and nearly beat you if you were to say, 'What's wrong with Muggles?'" Sirius said.
Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were relaxing in their dorm room. Peter was munching on something he stole from the kitchens the night before while James looked through a pile of books Remus had checked out yesterday afternoon (James and Sirius didn't dare walk in there together as long as Madame Pince was breathing) about Hogwarts. Finding a detailed map of Hogwarts was surprisingly difficult especially for their new goal: a map of Hogwarts for their personal use, full of secret passageways they've discovered over the years from their night-time escapades. It was an idea Peter had come up with a few weeks ago.
Another night, another time where one or more of the Marauders were waiting outside staff members office for something or another. It happened to be Sirius, James, and Peter that night waiting outside of Filch's office because they had charmed the suits of amour to wrestle, drawing a crowd of perhaps fifty students in the entrance hall.
"You know," Peter grumbled. "I wish there was some sort of way to find out when somebody…like a teacher or something…was coming towards us."
"What?" Sirius said, not really paying attention to what his blond companion was saying.
"What I mean is…how wicked would it be if we had like…say…a map or something of the school?" Peter started again. "And with it we could somehow know where the teachers were in the castle so we could pull off pranks without them noticing."
Peter obviously didn't notice the gleam behind James' glasses and Sirius' grey eyes when he continued with, "Um…I guess it's a stupid idea."
"No Peter…you're a genius!" James exclaimed.
Peter's face suddenly had a large smile on it. "A genius? ME?"
"Don't let it get to your head, your genius may break and spill all over the nice shiny floor. We wouldn't want that," Siurius said back. "I don't help clean up bodily fluids until the second date, mate." Peter's smile wilted.
"I need help with the Z formation, Sirius, not this bit," Remus complained.
"Sure thing, sweet cakes," Sirius chirped.
"Oh God, you aren't going to pinch his bum, are you?" James groaned, flipping quickly through the pages.
"You'd like to see that, wouldn't you, James?" Sirius chortled.
"Found a good one!" James shouted and the boys surrounded a tattered old book, which must have been over three hundred years old. "It has everything. Even a few of the passageways. This is wicked!"
"Remus is drawing it, right?" Peter asked.
"This is going to take me ages. AGES," Remus said. "I'll need to get so many ink wells, not to mention the perfect piece of parchment…and we'll need to brush up on some spells to protect it, and—"
"Slow down, Moony," Sirius snapped. "We'll be able to do it."
"But we'll probably have to go to the restricted section for a lot of it and I doubt Madame Pince will just—"
"What does that old hag have to do with anything? We'll sneak in using the cloak," James shrugged.
Remus sighed. "Fine…but this is still going to take ages…AGES."
"We'll be able to do it. We've done a lot harder things than make a map, Moony," James scoffed. "And when we finish it, just imagine what we could do with it."
"But James…a tracking system? We can't be too ambitious," Remus said reasonably.
"We'll figure it out, Moony, so don't get your little pink knickers in a twist," James groaned.
Sirius clapped his hands together once. "Now, Moony. From the top. We shall dance the night away!"
"As long as we don't start flamenco dancing, alright," Remus said.
"Damn. Peter, nix the dress," Sirius ordered.
"No, I think Remus in a dress would be dreadfully charming," said a female voice.
The boys' heads snapped towards the source of the voice and James saw a very amused-looking Lily Evans leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest. Her hair was a bit stringy and almost looked brown, suggesting that she had just taken a shower and hadn't bothered to dry her hair.
"What are you doing here, Evans?" Sirius said suavely. "Looking for someone to have fun with while Alexander is out and about at little Ravenclaw orgies? Because—"
"Excuse me? Orgies?" Lily shrieked.
"Sweet Merlin, Evans!" Sirius said in a surprised manner. "You've been at this school how long and you don't know about the ritualistic Ravenclaw orgies?"
"Can't say I do. And I'm going to have to go with no on your previous offer, Black," Lily said then turned to Remus. "Professor Dumbledore wants to talk to the prefects briefly."
"You know, you may want to knock next time, Evans. We could have been getting dressed or something. Just because you're prefect doesn't mean you can just barge into people's rooms like you own the place," James said.
"Something tells me you would be honoured if I caught sight of your bits, Potter," Lily said smoothly and walked out of the room. Remus merely looked back, shrugged, and walked after her.
James sighed and continued looking through a book.
"I don't know why you like her so much, mate," Sirius mumbled. "She can be a right foul bitch. She's been getting on my nerves more than usual."
The boys had received detention with Filch for the infamous carrot incident. He hardly thought they deserved such a punishment—during their meeting with Dumbledore, James had half-expected the headmaster to slip him a Galleon, thanking him for showing Jorkins a thing or two. The news of the incident had spread quickly, just like most news at Hogwarts did, and most of his, as Remus liked to call them, "admirers" congratulated him.
His newfound annoyance for Lily came in waves, however. Sirius believed James was a great tosser ("You have no bollocks," he said) for thinking so much about one girl despite him snogging another during his free time. James was starting to believe Sirius was right. Not about his lack of testicles, of course…
XXX
Severus hated spending long amounts of time maintaining his hair. He just got out of the shower and had a green towel around his waist as he tried to comb out the various tangles in his shoulder length hair. As he tried to remove a particularly difficult knot, Demetrius stormed into the bathroom already decked out in pristine wizarding robes of dark teal, shoved Severus aside, and checked himself out in the mirror.
"Excuse you," Severus snapped.
Demetrius ran his hand through his hair one last time before turning towards Severus and said, "So, who're you going with?"
"Nobody," Severus muttered.
Demetrius snickered. "You may find a girl there."
Severus snorted. "Sure. And I'm assuming you're taking Amelia?"
With a high pitched laugh, Demetrius managed to respond, "Of course not. She was just a short-term thing, Severus. We both got tired of each other I think. I chucked her this morning."
Severus thought Demetrius' treatment of Amelia rather cruel, but his pity for the girl didn't last longer than a second. Demetrius was certainly one to use people to get what he wants, and he usually always got it, and Demetrius knew it. It was, after all, one of the most common of Slytherin traits. Despite that characteristic, he was still a rather silly young man; spontaneous and somewhat immature.
"Have you practised your dance steps?" Demetrius asked.
"No, there was no point," Severus said.
"No point? You do know that Slughorn is expecting every Slytherin to dance for at least one song right?" Demetrius smirked, amused by the rarely seen dumbfounded look on Severus' pale face. "Well, best get to it. By the way, I can see one of your ribs, mate. Not that…I was…staring at your chest or anything…"
"Erm…"
Demetrius left and Severus calmly walked up to the closed door of the bathroom, took a deep breath, and banged his head against it…hard; neat hair became a long forgotten mission.
XXX
"Like shit."
"Oh shut up, Marlene."
"A pile of flaming shit."
"I'll turn you into a pile of flaming shit if you don't shut up. You look lovely, Marlene."
"Lies, Alice…lies!"
Lily lay on her four-poster bed in nothing but an old shirt and knickers due to the heat in their room. Apparently, the house-elves were instructed to make all of Gryffindor tower into a furnace, so the girls got dressed in the cool bathroom adjacent to their dorm. Alice and Marlene were bickering in the small space while Emmeline applied makeup to her face.
"I look like a chocolate cake with fluffy green icing!" Marlene cried. "Luminus will be appalled. I can see his face now…"
"Oh please. Stop seeing everything half-empty, Marlene," Alice chided.
"Lily! Get over here and tell me your opinion," Marlene barked. Alice sighed in frustration.
"You look really nice, Marlene," Lily said truthfully as she walked towards them. She honestly didn't know what Marlene was so concerned about. It was only Luminus. He probably wouldn't have cared if she wore a chicken costume. In fact, that might turn him on a bit, knowing Luminus—he was a strange one.
"Conspiracy, I tell you! Conspiracy!" Marlene said, pointing her index finger in the air. "I'm getting out of this room to get a real opinion that isn't sugar-coated!"
With that, Marlene stormed out of the room. As she opened the door, the loud sounds of giggling and panicked girls crowed across the Gryffindor girl's tower were clearly heard for a moment until the door slammed shut.
"The painters must be coming soon," Alice muttered. "Well, the bathroom is all yours, Lil."
Lily grabbed her dress from the wardrobe and rushed into the bathroom adjacent to their dorm. After struggling with the sleeves for a bit she took a good look at the robes once they were on her: an ocean-coloured, knee-length, thin-strapped dress. The garb cascaded into loose pleats from the hips down and had a printed organdie bodice. Though it would wrinkle easily, she knew her parents must have spent an awful lot of money for such a nice dress. After hearing a knock on the door resembling Alice's, she quickly magicked her hair into a bun.
Alice pounded on the door once more and Lily practically launched herself out of the door.
"Merlin, Alice," Lily mumbled as Alice and Emmeline gasped.
"Lily, you look fantastic!" Emmeline said excitedly. "Where ever did you get such a dress?"
"My parents got it for me after they found out I overlooked it on the list of things we needed for school. I was so stressed about my O.W.L.s that I must have forgotten it," Lily explained as she quickly made her way over to her trunk to fish out some makeup and applied it rather carelessly and she asked Alice to zip the back of her dress.
The other girls had on their dresses as well: Alice wore a classic black long-sleeved dress with soft pleats while Emmeline wore a blood-red dress with a lace front neckline and lace sleeves. They both looked fantastic in Lily's opinion, though Emmeline's made her even look even thinner and taller than usual.
"When is Alexander meeting you?" Emmeline asked
"I think he said seven-thirty," Lily said, putting on her high-heeled shoes that she had charmed to temporarily match the blue of her dress.
"Lily...it's seven-twenty-five," Alice said.
"Fancy that! Time flies, eh?" Lily giggled like a loon. She felt a little knot at the pit of her stomach as she stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm meeting him in the entrance hall. I'll see you lot later."
Alice and Emmeline wished Lily luck as she manoeuvred around giggling girls congregating on the stairs magicking their hair, visiting neighbouring rooms, and one who was looking into a hand mirror and pushing the nub of her nose up and down with her finger, as if trying to change its shape.
After managing to escape the cough-inducing hairspray and younger girls pouting about not being able to attend the ball, Lily made her way into the common room and out Gryffindor tower. Compared to her room, the corridors were cold and damp, though the decorations were still exquisite and she couldn't wait to see what the Great Hall looked like. The decorations even brought out romance in several Hogwarts students, notably the mistletoe in various places around the castle. Of course, it also brought unwanted company. She ran into several acquaintances from various houses who complimented her outfit and that little knot at the pit of her stomach lurched once more when she saw Alexander waiting in the crowded entrance hall surrounded by some other Ravenclaw boys and girls. Alexander looked up from who he was talking to and spotted her. Her heart leapt a little when she saw him walk towards her with a big smile on his face.
"Lily! Wow, you look…wow," he said, looking her up and down in a respectful manner.
Lily felt her ears burn but didn't look away from him. "You look nice, too." He wore rather expensive-looking black robes and brown trousers with shiny black shoes.
After a tongue-tied moment or two he bowed. "Well, would you like to enter?"
Lily took his hand and they entered the Great Hall. The sight of it caused Lily to gasp audibly. Amongst all the holly, the gigantic Christmas tree in the far corner of the room, and golden bells, the prefects' ideas were transformed into decorations far beyond their expectations. She looked up saw silver ornaments hanging weightlessly in the air and shimmering as light reflected off of them.
"You all worked really hard on the decoration ideas!" Alexander exclaimed, looking around the room. "My mum would have a fit. She's a party planner, you know."
After discussing the décor of the large room, they soon got settled at one of the many tables near the middle of the room but off to the side slightly (Alexander said he preferred the lighting in that section). Lily soon identified her roommates and Alexander, and invited them to sit. Alice and Emmeline joined her while Alexander introduced Lily to a few of his friends who seemed to take to Lily immediately. Marlene and Luminus were invited to sit as well but the former convinced Marlene to sit with his friends.
As Alice and Emmeline mingled with some Ravenclaw boys and girls, Lily suddenly noticed the Marauders were sitting at a table with their dates a mere table away. She caught sight of James staring at her rather overtly and seeming to ignore Florence, who was chatting a mile a minute. Her face felt warm as she quickly looked away.
"Something wrong?" Alexander asked Lily, noticing the flustered look.
"Oh!" Lily said. "No, nothing at all!"
Alexander grinned and smoothly wrapped his arm around her waist. She immediately felt a mixture of relief and panic spread from his hand on her waist to the rest of her body.
He suddenly bent his neck down and whispered, "Potter is staring at us."
Lily turned her head slightly and sure enough, he was still staring but quickly looked away this time and tinkered with the white tablecloth.
"Let him stare," Lily said finally. "Even Potter can't ruin this night for me. Unless he burns the place down or something…which I wouldn't put past him."
She then glanced over her shoulder once more but James wasn't looking this time. Instead, Sirius began waving wildly at her and to her horror, grabbed his date's hand and walked over.
"Evans, I know that I'm gorgeous, but you don't you think it's rude to keep staring at me while you're with your date?" Sirius simpered. He was obviously drunk. His date, a very thin blonde girl Lily didn't strongly recognize, was smiling like crazy and looked as though she was in heaven. "I don't want Alvia—"
"Its Olivia, Sirius," chirped girl, who didn't really seem as though she would care if he called her Bartholomew.
"Right. Don't want Olive to feel uncomfortable, do we?"
"Sirius, perform a sobering charm on yourself, please," Lily requested.
"Where's your holiday spirit, Evans?" Sirius chuckled; Olivia did too, like a little blonde parrot. The image of Sirius in a pirate outfit suddenly felt very appropriate.
"That girl ate it. I can see it in her stomach," Alexander whispered, tickling her ear and causing Lily to giggle.
"Sirius, how about I promise not to stare at you again for the rest of the night. Sound good?" Lily suggested.
"Perfect!" Sirius smiled.
"Great!" Alexander piped up. "Now leave."
Olivia gasped and muttered, "How rude!" to Sirius before he got bored and strode back to their table.
All of a sudden, the light music playing came to a halt and the chattering voices became silent. Seconds later, Dumbledore walked into the hall followed by many men and a few women dressed in smart robes. Scattered whispered broke through the crowd as Bartemius Crouch walked behind Dumbledore with his signature serious expression on his face, followed by a stout, tight-lipped woman who Lily knew to be the Minister of Magic.
The room quieted down when Dumbledore stood on a stage in the far front of the Great Hall. "Welcome to the Christmas ball, everyone," he said, and the hall broke out with applause and cat calls. "Before we get started with dinner and the fabulous activities we have planned, I'd like to introduce a couple of distinguished guests. We have many hard-working members of the Ministry of Magic here tonight!" Applause broke out once more and several Ministry officials stood up and bowed. "But with me here on stage none other than Bartemius Crouch who is devising new methods of keeping out world 'safe and secure' through the current chaos of the Wizarding community. These new methods should be made public by next year."
Another round of applause spread across the room until Dumbledore raised his hands to halt them. "And of course, we have our lovely Minister of Magic: Millicent Bagnold!"
The woman rose out of her chair and bowed as well, the stern look never leaving her face despite the clapping. "Millicent has taken time out of her very busy schedule to be here with us tonight!
"You may all be wondering why Hogwarts is hosting such an event. The idea was suggested by the Minister herself. She believed it would show the strength of the students and faculty and others of our world during these difficult times."
Lily noticed that Dumbledore didn't exactly look enthusiastic as he explained the reasons for the Minister's presence at the ball.
"And with that, choose your meal and enjoy!" Dumbledore announced as menus appeared on the table.
XXX
Regulus and his girlfriend were already kissing deeply before either of them started eating their dinner. Narcissa and Bellatrix were deep into conversation with one another while the rest of the sixth-year Slytherin boys and their dates started to eat the dinner that appeared in front of them at their command. He couldn't deny it: he felt like a great idiot being the only boy at the table without a date. Narcissa and Bellatrix's significant others were both already out of school, leaving both Blacks loyal to their significant others and without actual dates. But they didn't seem to care: Bellatrix was already very mature and a little older than most in her year and enjoyed having an older boyfriend, while Lucius made Narcissa feel more serious and less wanton.
There Severus was, eating his food rather slowly and not having a good time at all. He had known this would be a disaster, and the fact that the dancing was right after the dinner was even worse. Who the hell would he dance with? What would happen if he just…left?
After what seemed like forever, the main course was swiftly magicked away from the table and replaced with deserts. After eating a few sweets, the Slytherins males (sans Severus) suddenly got up with their dates and decided to dance while Bellatrix and Narcissa suddenly needed to reapply make-up. Severus began to read a small book he had brought with him. Unfortunately that didn't last long, as he was patted very hard on the back by a certain walrus-moustached professor.
"Severus, my boy!" exclaimed Slughorn who seemed to be taking a few minutes' break after talking to just about every Ministry official in the building. "Why aren't you dancing out there with the rest of the Slytherins?"
"No date," Severus answered blandly.
"No date?" Slughorn clarified.
"No date."
"Are you certain?"
"I'm rather certain, professor."
"I see."
About time, Severus thought.
"Well, you're just going to have to find one, my boy! Don't want to make Slytherin look bad, do you? Have you introduced yourself to any of the Ministry officials?"
"No, I haven't, Professor," Severus mumbled.
Slughorn gave a deep sigh and his moustache moved with the exhaling breath. "Remember what I said in the common room and many times before: Connections are very important! I expect to get a report back from one of them mentioning your name!"
Slughorn tottered away and Severus sighed and looked across the room in a bored manner until his eyes fell upon auburn hair in an elegant bun and he knew that it was Lily immediately. She seemed to be enjoying herself as she smiled and performed her minuet steps perfectly with her date, but what he noticed most of all wasn't her proper step.
"Evans looks good, eh?" Evan said when he appeared back at the table and took a quick sip from a hipflask. He could smell the whiskey on his breath he gave Severus a wide smile. He didn't respond but for once he agreed with him and he couldn't look away from her, nor did he wish to. Suddenly Amelia Bulstrode walked up to the boys' table and came to a stop when she stood next to Severus. She wore dress of royal purple and surprisingly wore little makeup, making her look clean and proper, which was a lot better than her usual appearance.
"Would you like to dance?" she asked.
Severus wasn't sure he had heard her properly. "I beg your pardon?"
"I said, would you like to dance?" she asked again through gritted teeth. Severus just looked at her with wide eyes. "I don't have time for this, Severus. I look like a sodding idiot not dancing with anyone!"
"Well why me? Why not…Evan? There has to be a catch," Severus sputtered.
"Just get your scrawny little arse out of that chair and dance with me," Amelia hissed and yanked on his arm and pulled him to the dance floor. She immediately started to lead and he was finding it difficult to find the right step. He had thought it a ridiculous waste of time to practise on his own time, due to his own ignorance and assumption that he wouldn't dance with anyone anyway. After a stumble or two he got the hang of it and managed to only step on Amelia's foot thrice. In one distracted moment he looked around him to see who else was dancing near him and he felt his heart leap into his throat when he noticed Lily and Alexander right over Amelia's shoulder, Lily facing him. Her eyebrows were raised as their eyes met for a quick second; she was obviously surprised that he was dancing with anyone.
After a while he got used to the dancing, he began to lead slightly which seemed to surprise Amelia. He couldn't ignore, however, the looks he got from the other Hogwarts students dancing. Even McGonagall's bespectacled eyes widened when she saw him (while she was dancing with Dumbledore). Was the sight of Severus making physical contact with someone of the female sex that extraordinary?
The music finally stopped and his body felt a bit tingly at the feel of perspiration on his forehead. It was probably the most exercise he got had in months. He walked back to his table with Amelia and flopped down on his chair.
"Well, that could have been worse," Amelia said with a slight smile on her face. "You aren't that horrid…a bit horrid at parts…but not that horrid."
"Thanks," Severus frowned.
XXX
James was sipping his water after an exhausting dance number with Florence but rather than relaxing he grew angry watching Lily and Alexander dancing together and being the centre of attention. He had stared at her too long earlier and Florence eventually caught him and wasn't very happy about it. She looked great in her long-sleeved white dress robes but she certainly couldn't surpass Lily's beauty. She really looked perfect: her ruby-red lipstick and the blush gracing the apples of her cheeks complimented her innocent freckles, and her dress showed off her nice frame. Alexander just killed it. James thought he was a giant pimple just waiting to be popped.
"—Don't you think?"
"Huh? What?" James snapped out of his trance.
"Jamesie, were you even listening to a single word I was saying?" Florence glared. He was almost positive she growled.
"Right…you were talking about how ugly Sarah's hair looked," James said uncertainly.
"That, Jamesie, was what I pointed out nearly ten minutes ago!" Florence said. Sirius laughed, still smashed, and his date still looked so excited that James thought she would wet herself any second. "I've moved on to discuss how ghastly Sadie's shoes are."
"Positively enthralling," James drawled and took another sip of water. He continued to watch Lily move across the floor. "Did you know that Evans claimed she has never done ballroom dancing of any nature? She must have been lying."
"Why do you say that?" Florence asked.
"I mean…look at her. It's like she does a waltz every bloody morning or something!" James said.
"Why are you looking at her, anyway?" Florence snapped. "You're supposed to be paying attention to me."
"He must have charmed his shoes. A great oaf like him couldn't possibly—"
"Jamesie…"
"And he's hardly handsome. Look at his ears! The fucking wanker is probably part elephant."
"Jamesie."
"And since when are his hands allowed to go there during a waltz?"
"Jamesie!"
"I bet he hasn't even got any—"
"JAMESIE!"
"WHATSIE?" James yelled back.
Florence simply glared at him again and threw down her napkin onto the table. "I need some fresh air." With that she nearly marched out of the Great Hall with her hands balled up in fists and the bun on the top of her head come loose; her stance alone made students and guests scurry out of her way.
"It must be that time of the month, eh?" James said to Remus and his date, Molly, stopping their long discussion on classic Muggle literature and its effect (or lack thereof, as Remus argued) on Wizarding society and why it should be relevant.
"Well, Potter, maybe it's the fact that you completely ignored her little rants about everyone's attire. Or maybe it was the fact that you were talking about Lily and her date when it, quite frankly, is none of your business and the fact that you're on a date with a girl who isn't Lily. No woman wants to hear about some other woman while on a date. That's just common sense, isn't it?" Molly asked matter-of-factly.
"Molly is right, James," Remus concurred.
"Stuff it, will you?" James snapped.
Sirius laughed again.
"You too," James added to Sirius.
Suddenly, Peter and Penelope came walking back towards the table (the latter limping due to Peter's lack of dancing know-how) with excited expressions.
"We just saw Stubby Boardman of the Hobgoblins!" Peter panted. "He looks absolutely wicked!"
"Yeah, and his band may start to set up soon!" Penelope said. "Stubby is so…tasty! His arms are so…amazing! Oh, oh! And his hair!"
Peter frowned slightly but quickly became pleased when he saw the deserts in the middle of the table and lunged for a chocolate sweet, and soon Penelope joined him.
Typical, James thought.
XXX
Dancing with Alexander ended up much better than dancing with Remus during that hour-long dancing lesson. He was a terribly good dancer and it felt like they were gliding across the floor. He didn't seem to look away from her face once. It was certainly romantic and she felt so feminine, yet so conscious of her face and what her lips and nostrils were doing. Before they knew it, the music ended and Alexander gave Lily a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed and excused herself to the bathroom.
The large bathroom was extremely crowded; not so much the stalls as the mirror space. There was one girl crying hysterically with her makeup running down her face while another group of girls were giggling and squealing over, apparently, running into the bassist of the Hobgoblins. A few fourth-years that Lily recognized were huddled in the corner lighting fags. She was about to say something about it when she was accidentally shoved along and decided to get out of there as soon as possible.
Lily found a vacant space in the mirror and tried to straighten out her bun when she saw a livid Florence reapplying her makeup next to her.
"Good evening, Florence," Lily said politely, but nearly took back the kind gesture when the girl with brown-blonde hair sighed obnoxiously.
"Why hello, Lily," Florence muttered.
"You look very nice," Lily said. "Gorgeous robes."
"Well, you look nice, too," Florence said jerkily as she fluttered her left eye a bit after she applied eyeliner to her bottom lid. She straightened up and glared at her reflection. "Everyone seems to think so. Especially a certain someone who shouldn't."
"Huh?" Lily said.
Florence didn't bother to respond and instead walked past Lily and out of the bathroom. Before she even had time to be concerned about Florence's behaviour, she smiled as she saw Alice enter the bathroom looking rather happy.
"'Lo, Lils!" Alice greeted her. "Guess who I just finished talking to?"
"Who?"
"The head of the Auror Department from the Ministry of Magic!" Alice exclaimed. Lily grinned: Alice had wanted to be an Auror for as long as she could remember.
"And guess who was also talking to him?" Alice said, practically jumping up and down.
"Who?"
"FRANK!" Alice screamed. Several girls in the bathroom stared at her; even the blubbering girl stopped her crying to see what the hubbub was about.
"Erm…let's discuss this outside, shall we?" Lily suggested. The girls stood in the chilly corridor as Alice continued.
"To make things short, apparently the head of the department is family friends of the Longbottoms."
"Where was Fairblossom?" Lily asked.
"Who cares? But I was walking by and Frank said, 'Actually, sir, Alice is a friend of mine who is brilliant in Defence Against the Dark Arts'. So then Frank introduced me and we started talking and the man seemed really interested in both of us and guess what the best part is?" Alice squealed again.
"Dunno, what?"
"He asked us if we wanted to go visit the training centre over break!" Alice said breathlessly. "That means me, spending an entire day with Frank Longbottom without…Fairblossom to ruin anything."
"That sounds great, Alice!" Lily said as the friends walked back into the busy Great Hall.
"Oh, and— Ah!" Alice gasped as she found herself face to face with white hair and a large belly.
"Lily, m'dear!"
Lily looked down to see Professor Slughorn right in front of her with Bartemius Crouch next to him. "Retrieve your date! I want you to meet my old friend and student Bartemius Crouch!"
"Yes, sir," Lily said. Alice promised she would continue her story later and Lily went to find Alexander. He was eating a small tart when she found him. Lily explained to him what Slughorn requested.
"Slughorn is obsessed with you," he pointed out and reached for her hand.
"Oh stop that. He's a grown man…and rather elderly at that." Lily grimaced as they walked closer to the pair. Slughorn spotted her and stood on the balls of his feet.
"Aha! So this is who you attended this ball with! Mister Jacobson!" Slughorn noticed.
"Hello, sir," Alexander said with a nod.
"This, as I'm sure you both know, is Bartemius Crouch," Slughorn announced. The stern raven-haired man shifted his head slightly and shook both of their hands. "Miss Evans here is one of the most gifted Potions pupils I've had in decades!"
Alexander gave Lily a quick squeeze of the hand as she looked down at the floor and blushed. "You give me too much credit, sir."
"Don't be so modest, Lily!" Slughorn tittered and turned to Crouch. "She is always so modest!"
"I see," Crouch said.
Slughorn continued to talk and brag to Crouch about Lily in every way possible until a loud guitar riff blared through the room.
"Lily, that must be the Hobgoblins!" Alexander said quickly.
"O ho! That must be that popular band. I suppose you'll want to dance with your date and—" Slughorn started but was interrupted by Lily.
"You're absolutely right, Professor! Nice to meat you, Mister Crouch!" And with that, Alexander and Lily headed towards the front stage as fast as they could (Lily complained about running in heeled shoes). More and more students surrounded the stage, dragging friends and dates. There was a large, silver and dark blue shimmering curtain in front of the band at the moment and Professor McGonagall walked on stage decked out in long-sleeved tartan robes, with her hair in a very tight bun. She pushed her glasses further up on her nose and read from a small piece of parchment and performed a voice-amplifying spell.
"Our lovely prefects and Head Girl and Boy have chosen the following band to perform at our event tonight and they happily accepted Hogwarts' invitation. Thus I am pleased—"
Suddenly a red rose flew on stage at McGonagall's feet followed by a very loud, "SHOW ME YOUR CLAWS, CAT WOMAN. MEOW!" and then a timid, "I don't think you should drink anymore firewhiskey tonight."
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Black," McGongall said sternly, looking at a very specific part of the crowd. "Anyway. Hogwarts is pleased to present…the Hobgoblins."
Lily's heart pounded in her chest. Everything was going exactly as planned…besides Sirius' outburst, of course. The curtains were pulled and there they were, the band decked out in the coolest and most trendy of popular wizard fashion: ripped robes and shirts and Muggle leather pants with long shaggy hair. For a Wizarding band, Lily actually enjoyed them. In some ways they sounded similar to some of Lily's favourite rock and pop bands. They had catchy songs, attractive members, and were fun to dance to.
A man with long black hair and a dazzling smile used his wand and made his voice echo across the room. "'Ello, I'm Stubby Boardman. And we're the Hobgoblins."
They hardly needed an introduction. Several girls were swooning and screaming. A pair of knickers even made their way up on one of the edge of the stage.
Before they knew it, the band began to play one of their newest songs that was constantly on the wireless. A few groups of adults and ministry employees left the Great Hall to escape the noise and drink tea and warm cider in the entrance hall. Guitars and basses hit perfect notes while trumpets and bagpipes blared as tambourines and other odd take-offs of Muggle instruments played. Wizards and Muggles really weren't extremely different when it came to dancing. Dates were dancing wildly with each other; dateless girls were pulling their friends onto the dance-floor. Wallflowers simply watched and pointed at different couples and many laughed, their figures dark through the multicoloured light that played across the dancing area. Girls let their hair out of restricting upsweeps and boys loosened their ties and yet those simple actions changed everyone from acting sophisticated and proper to behaving their own age and letting go.
Lily and Alexander were no exceptions; Lily took her hair out of her bun and began to move a little. Though she always felt a bit awkward when she started dancing, she always lost her shyness after a few seconds went by. She started with a simple sway of the hips, then her legs started to have a mind of their own. Her arms began to move with the rest of her body and her hands grabbed onto Alexander's and pulled him towards her. Their bodies were close. Certainly closer than they were during the minuet. They spun in circles and moved against each other in a way that would probably make McGonagall blush, but they were rather chaste compared to many of the other dancers. A few teachers actually began to split up couples when things became too provocative.
She waved her arms, moved her legs, pressed close against her partner; the multicoloured lights and hundreds of people surrounding her became blurs as the music sped up. She just couldn't seem to stop dancing as songs began and ended and began all over again. Did the music have a spell on her? Or was it Alexander's mere presence that caused her to have so much fun and dance like a loon? The fast-paced songs went on for over an hour until they finally stopped.
The students cheered, screamed, threw more articles of clothing and random items on stage…then they started playing again, but not their fun rock and roll songs. It was a slow song.
She felt sweaty and totally unromantic, but Alexander didn't seem to mind and swiftly put his arms around her waist as she put hers around his shoulders. Lily gave him a warm smile, which he returned and rested her head on his shoulder, admiring the lyrics of the slow song.
Your bated breath and bated mind
We were so beautifully intertwined
And now we're on this natural high
Oh that look you gave me made me die
Alexander felt so genuine…it felt so natural to be with him. What were the sudden feelings for Alexander, she wondered? They had hardly spoken outside of class anytime before. Her head was spinning. Was this just lust? Did she really feel something special for him that she had never felt with any other boys? Oh, she had had crushes in the past—as a little first- or second-year she always found herself attracted to the older students. But as she got older and as the other girls became more interested in boys, her urge to have a significant other dwindled. Schoolwork and platonic friends were her priority. It was terribly awkward when she became a teenager and found herself attracting people, especially boys, who she hardly knew or conversed with. Marlene, usually blunt in nature, said that it all started when she grew breasts and a bum. She was a popular girl; it would be silly not to admit that. Some said it was her intelligence and kindness, others said it was her looks, but whatever the reasons, Lily didn't understand.
When boys asked her out she usually politely turned them down either because she had no idea who they were or they seemed more interested in what she was wearing than what she had to offer. James Potter, of course, was entirely different. She had thought his constant begging and pleading was all a charade to grate her nerves. He was, after all, a Marauder. Now, she honestly had no idea what the boy felt for her. His behaviour baffled her to the point of exhaustion.
There was a sudden emptiness in her ears. The band played their final song and applause rang through the crowd. There was more screaming as girls tried to climb on stage and get an autograph…or rip off some part of Stubby's clothing or body.
She Alexander's hand clutch onto her waist slightly as they manoeuvred out of the crowded room, all the while greeting acquaintances and making small talk, until they finally reached the damp entrance hall. The cool air chilled her perspiration-covered neck and her messy hair.
"How about we go somewhere for a second?" Alexander suggested as they walked up the marble staircase, pulling her towards a vacant corridor fifty feet away from the commotion of students talking and returning to their common rooms.
"But the curfew…it's ten to twelve and all students must be in their respective common rooms by—" Lily started, but was shushed by Alexander's index finger covering her lips. She immediately stopped.
"We'll get back by then," he told her quietly. She slowly began to smile as she felt his hands grip her hips through the fabric of her now-wrinkled dress and he gently pushed her against the cold wall. She shivered as the stone touched her warm shoulder blades and the back of her calves.
One hand moved away from her waist to the side of her neck and she soon moved her hands to his back. Their faces were inches apart; both were breathing somewhat heavily in the dark, cold corridor. They could barely see each other's features; only simple outlines from the far-away torch illuminating a different part of the corridor.
Lily felt her brain become fuzzy and excited at the same time as she felt Alexander's face move closer to hers and he slowly tilted his head.
She was afraid to move for fear of bumping heads or poking his eye out with her nose, so she kept her head completely still as his soft lips gently pressed and puckered against hers. After a few seconds she began to pucker her lips back, hoping she was doing all right and wouldn't cause her date to pull his head up and walk away with a look of displeasure. She worried about how her breath smelled, her hair, how her nose was positioned, everything, until he pulled away.
He grinned and looked at his shoes nervously.
This time Lily gave Alexander a nervous kiss of her own. His lips began to move with hers and he even began to open his mouth slightly but not enough to startle her. She felt herself sigh as the kiss felt more natural and not as awkward. She didn't think about her breathing so much or what her eyes were doing or how her hands gripped his shoulders. She was lost in the kiss. Her first real kiss. And as their kisses became bolder and they became more audible, Lily realised that the Christmas ball was officially a success.
XXX
Though many Gryffindors were exhausted and retired to their own dorms after the ball, there were still some (notably the Marauders), who were far from tired. For them, the party was hardly over.
Sirius ran down the boys' staircase and into the common room with a box of firewhiskey that he claimed to have been "saving for the perfect opportunity". James knew that Sirius' goal was to get, if possible, even more shit-faced than he was during the ball…and he would most likely succeed.
Olivia wasn't, for the first time all night, all over Sirius like a cheap coat. Instead, she was in her room. Earlier, a Slytherin boy had vomited on her (the Slytherin claimed it was the shellfish) as she and Sirius were dancing during a slow song. Sirius, as he had been doing for most of the ball, laughed—which caused Olivia to burst into tears and leave the Great Hall. Sirius hardly seemed concerned.
James sighed and wondered where on Earth Lily was. It was past twelve o'clock and she wasn't in the common room. He tried to crane his neck around the crowded room as Florence kissed his neck. Apparently she had forgiven him, and had suggested a lovely snog in the common room. That was fine enough…snogging was snogging and it never hurts to snog an attractive woman either. He was male, after all. But as Florence was practically nibbling his neck off, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to more important things: Like how amazing Lily looked when she was dancing with elephant ears, or the way Lily smiled when elephant ears touched her, or what he would eat for dinner tomorrow once he got home.
"Jamesie," Florence moaned and began to kiss his lips. Yes, yes, pucker, tongue swirl, lip nibble, how predictable Florence was!
"How about we go back up to your room, eh?" she suggested as she cradled his cheek. "We'll have a party of our own."
Somehow, when he used that line to other girls, it sounded much better when it was said to others than when it was said to him. Now it sounded rather pathetic even by James' standards…which weren't very high to begin with.
"I don't know, Florence," James said as we took a swig of firewhiskey. "Not in the mood, to be honest."
"Come on! We'll have fun. Remember last night?" Florence said as she tickled James' thigh. Oh, he remembered last night. Every long, nearly disrobed moment of it.
"I'm pretty tired from the dancing, Florence," James tried to reason.
The sultry look on Florence's face turned into a frown as she quickly stood up, towering over James' sitting figure. She scoffed and shook her head. "I bet you wouldn't mind if I suddenly had dark red hair and green eyes, would you?"
"Pardon?" James chortled. "What are you talking about."
Florence suddenly grabbed James' hand and dragged him out of the warm (and soon to be full of drunkards) Gryffindor common room and into the brisk corridor and in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. She looked him straight in the eye and didn't blink once.
"I forgave you earlier for not paying attention to me when I was talking. I forgave you when you were raving on about Evans and her date. And I forgave you for being smart with me. I can't forgive you for this," she cried.
"What the fuck did I do?" James frowned.
"I'll ask you again, James. How about we go up to your room?" Florence said tightly.
"Florence…I'm honestly not in the mood," James insisted.
"I said, 'how about we go up to your room?'" she repeated.
He didn't answer.
Florence shook her head again and this time she smiled, albeit, it wasn't a friendly one.
"If you had to pick between me or Evans…who would you pick?" Florence asked him.
"Well, Florence," James started with a smile, hoping to lighten things up. "It all depends, doesn't it? Now, if there was a singing contest or something…now, little do many know, Evans isn't the best singer I've heard. Just being honest. Alas—"
"What I mean, Jamesie," Florence interrupted, "is, if you had to date me or Evans, who would you pick?"
"You, of course!" James lied.
"Be serious, James," Florence said.
"I'm in no mood to act like him…not that it would be very hard. I'd just have to be pissed…haha?" James attempted humour.
"Not Sirius Black, James!" Florence hissed.
"I already told you my answer, Florence. What do hell do you want from me?" James said, now becoming exasperated.
She sighed and faced away from him temporarily, then turned back to him. This time, a smirk crawled across her face.
"What was this, James?" she started slowly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…what do we have?"
"Erm…snogging?" James said.
"Exactly," Florence nodded. "You know…you really are a cute kid, James."
"Kid?" James said dramatically with his hand over his heart. "You're calling me a kid?"
"Well, you aren't an adult yet," Florence said.
"I will be legally in a few months!" James said.
"My point is…you were fun. You were fun to date for this past month or so," she said with a serious expression on her face. "But now…it's time for me to stop playing with kids and move onto men."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, James…that you're a bit of a prude," Florence said flatly.
James' mouth hung open. "A…prude? What do you mean prude? I practically saw your tits last night!"
Florence crossed her arms across her chest subconsciously and the Fat Lady gasped, "How dare you speak such language to a woman!"
"James, listen: I think its time that Florence Gregory started getting involved in real relationships."
"But…I still almost saw your—"
"You're a handsome bloke," she spoke over him. "Charming…good at Quidditch…fabulous kisser…lovely wandering hands…but to be quite honest I need something more that that. And I need somebody who isn't going to be distracted," Florence said.
"So…I guess this means…" James started.
"Yes: I'm dumping you," Florence stated. "It really is for the best."
"Erm…that's alright, I guess," James said and ran his hand through his hair. "But even though you may think I'm still a kid…you'd change your mind if you saw my—"
"Anyway," Florence chuckled. "Now, mind answering the question again? No hard feelings?"
"Erm, sure," James said.
"If you had to pick between me and Evans…who would you pick?" Florence repeated.
"…Evans," James said and a somewhat relieved smile, expecting an easygoing reaction from Florence.
Oh, Florence smiled as well, but that was after she swiftly kneed James hard in the groin.
"OH FUCKING MERLIN'S FLYING UNICORN, WOMAN!" James yelled as he writhed on the floor, cupping his privates. "What was that for? I thought everything was okay!"
"Oh, everything is splendid! Right as rain!" Florence said cheerfully, smoothly said the password, made to go into the portrait hole but turned her head as the door was closing and winked, "See you around, Jamesie."
XXX
Severus lay in bed ready to go to sleep as soon as the band ended. What a night it was! He eventually began to converse with the Black sisters after the minuet and through them, ended up talking to quite a few Ministry officials. The Blacks, being such a well knownwell-known and old family, had so many connections to the Ministry; Severus wouldn't have been surprised to discover that they owned the Minister of Magic herself. He could hardly remember the names or faces he met, but he didn't regret talking with them, though he doubted he would have a job at the Ministry. In fact, Severus still didn't know what he really wanted to do with himself once he officially left the castle next year.
He didn't dance, of course. Instead he sat with Narcissa, who didn't feel up to "dancing without her love". Though he nearly gagged, he talked civilly with Narcissa, what seemed like for once, about topics that didn't include the war or the Dark Lord. It was enjoyable and made the time surrounded by hormone-charged youth a little more bearable.
The mystery of Amelia's actions were explained in his conversation with Narcissa as well. Apparently, it was all a bet…a lousy bet. Not that he was necessarily disappointed, but the feeling of being used for something so trivial was what peeved him. Narcissa admitted that it was a lame trick and that he didn't deserve it, which made him feel slightly better.
He would be returning home tomorrow. His trunk was already packed and ready, but he certainly wasn't ready to go back to Spinner's End. He dreaded it, in fact. He didn't want to see his mother's lack of verve, he didn't want to see his father's constant look of displeasure, he didn't want to step foot in that excuse of a "home".
He pleaded nearly every year with his mother to allow him to stay at Hogwarts, but she always declined. Another year, another three weeks of Christmas hols spend at Spinner's End. Fan-fucking-tastic, Severus thought before shutting his eyes and slumbering.
A/N: Okay, important announcement. The title of my fic is going to be changed ONE LAST TIME to The Long and Winding Road. I know, this will be the third time this fic has changed its title since I started it nearly a year ago…
Anyway, as usual reviews are appreciated and encouraged :)