Chapter 5: Faces in the Shadow

The light from outside almost blinded Lily; she squinted her eyes and tried to make out faces in the shadow. At last the doors were closed again and she could see clearly. She took a deep breathe and prepared to survey the scene.

He's not there.

She let out a sigh of relief. Andrew didn't come.

Professor McGonagall said, "I was under the impression that your party would be ten altogether? Perhaps I was misinformed as I can only count five."

"You were informed correctly. The rest will be arriving soon. They will be joined by the Minister for Magic," was the reply from a woman.

Lily's heart sank at the words of Madame Ranee, headmistress of Soleil Academy. Andrew might still arrive. No sooner had she realized this when the doors opened for a second time.

This time, there was no mistaking Andrew's 6'2" frame. His black hair was shorter than she remembered, but it still looked as soft as before. His eyes rounded the hall until he caught hers. Lily was determined to look away, but his eyes held her captive. He could still affect her so much, and he knew it. Andrew was the first to break contact. Lily bowed her head and didn't look up until it was time to go. She didn't even notice how often Andrew's eyes would dart back to her.

As was planned before, there would be a ball that night to honor the guests. But before that, a tour of the main areas of the castle and grounds is in order. Madame Ranee's good memory and keen eyes found Lily standing with the group of Hogwarts prefects. Lily's attendance and good performance in her school earned her the honor of guiding the tour. As much as she would like to, Lily couldn't say no.

Halfway through the tour, Madame Ranee expressed her tiredness. She wanted to rest, but did not want her students to miss the tour because of her. The Minister for Magic, and Professor Dumbledore thought it best to take a break as well. This left Lily in charge of nine students: five girls and four boys. She was surprised and annoyed, but she was a professional. She took the reigns like nothing happened, and she was about to move on when Madame Ranee gave her the third surprise for the day.

"Miss Evans, before you take off to explore the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts, let one of my prefects assist you in handling my students," she said.

"I beg you pardon Madame, but I am sure that your students will be quite as lovely as they have been with you."

"Nonsense! Now, let's see…Andrew, yes. Please move to the front and assist Miss Evans."

Andrew mumbled a "Yes, Madame," and did as he was told.

While the tour was on-going, there was no occasion for talking. Lily and Andrew walked on without saying a word to each other the whole time: Lily, because she did not know what to say without referring to the past; and Andrew, because he did not know what to say about the past.

As a tour cannot be spent in talking and walking only, awkward pauses must interrupt it. During those pauses, the tension was great. Once or twice, Lily or Andrew tried to bring up a subject for discourse. They answered each other politely and formally. The tension was great, but nobody else seemed to notice.

After the tour, they parted ways. Lily went up to her dormitory in search of relief and found only Cassie sitting in her bed. This is just great. First Andrew and now Cassie? Who's next? Nat?

No sooner had she thought this when Nat came through the door. She stopped short of Lily. Lily now had Cassie to her right and Nat to her left. She didn't want to face either, but she had to make a choice. She picked Cassie. She figured that Nat's her best friend and that they would make up soon. While Cassie's a distant roommate, there was no telling how long she could stay mad.

Lily took one long look at Nat and took a step towards Cassie. Cassie stood up and left the room silently. Lily looked at Nat.

"Sorry," she said.

"Your sorry isn't going to do much good when the person it is ofr isn't here anymore." Lily's shoulders dropped. She knew Nat had a point. "Oh, Lily! Why did you have to say such awful things to her? What has she done to you?"

"I don't know, I don't know! It's just, there was Andrew, and then there was Potter and then……" tears ran down Lily's cheeks as Nat pulled her into a hug.

All Lily could remember after that was being woken up from sleep by Jess and Nat.

"Lils, you have to get ready for the feast, remember?" Nat said as she tried to pull Lily up.

"We know you don't want go, but you have to. There's not much time left, and we still need to fix you up. You have to look gorgeous. Make Andrew regret what he did to you," was Jess's comment.

Part of Lily didn't want to get even, but another part of her wanted him to feel how much he hurt her. This bigger part of her that wanted revenge let herself be dragged to the bathroom and, and Jess would say, 'fixed up'.

Half an hour's labor and love produced a stunning effect. Though she was still wearing her school robes, Lily's hair had been made up by Jess, and Nat took care of her make-up. When she entered the Great Hall and saw Andrew's face, she felt contented to see him gaping in admiration.

Lily's attention was so focused on Andrew that she did not notice the many looks she received from James Potter. In fact, she was so engrossed by Andrew, that she failed to notice a lot of things, including Andrew's girlfriend, Tami.

The feast went beautifully and peacefully. Lily even managed to talk to Andrew about their friends who were left at Soleil. Tami wasn't a jealous girl and she talked with Lily in the best possible way.

Something from Absurd Insanity:

Ha! There! Chapter five is up and chapter six is almost done! So review people. And for those who already did: Yay! Your reviews are always welcome.