Christmas was coming quickly and Lily had spoken to James or Sirius for the last few weeks. James had been hanging out with Peter while Sirius had Remus to keep him company. Lily had decided it wasn't right to talk to either of them so she had found herself talking to Severus Snape more and more often just like when they were children. Severus had asked her questions about the incident in between James and Sirius but usually she would change the subject or ignored him. Since Christmas was coming that meant that the Christmas ball was in a few days. Lily had no one to go with since the boys that usually bugged her about going with her were either angry with her or thought she was a tramp that was merely playing with James, Sirius and Severus. The large tree was in the great hall and decorations were going up all over the castle. This only caused her to be more depressed and in less of a cheery mood.
"So Lily…" Snape's voice broke her train of thought. They were both sitting in the library doing some research for defense against the dark arts. He coughed nervously and stared over at her. Lily raised one eyebrow at him and sighed. "You heard about the ball right?"
Lily actually found herself laughing a bit, what a ridiculous question.
"Of course."
"So…er…are you going with anyone yet?" Severus questioned and Lily's body stiffened. She hadn't even thought about going with Snape. He was always nice to her, they had been friends for forever. So why not? Lily shook her head with a slight smile. "Do you…do you want to go with me then?"
"That would be nice." She saw Sirius walk in the library and she found herself pulling Severus in and she started to kiss him. He couldn't compare to Sirius's kissing but he wasn't that bad. She could see out of the corner of her eye Sirius slamming a book down on a table when he saw them and he stomped out of the library. Had she just used Severus to make Sirius jealous? She pulled back and Snape was looking at her with an astonished expression. She bit her lip nervously and shrugged. Severus regular pasty complexion was now beet red.
"I'll see you on Friday then." Lily stuttered as she began to gather up her books. Severus nodded and sat there still as red as a cherry. She walked out of the library with her books underneath her arm. She found herself holding her breath when all of sudden Sirius Black appeared right in front of her and she let out a deep breath almost directly in his face.
"What the bloody hell was that about?" Sirius exclaimed. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or sad. Lily stared at him wide eyed her mouth open but she had nothing to say. "Do you just go around snogging people you don't have feelings for?"
Lily knew what Sirius was talking about. After snogging him he probably had assumed that they would go to the ball together. But she had spoken or looked at him for the past two weeks. Her mouth closed and opened several times before she spoke.
"Who says I don't have feelings for him?" Lily snapped back.
"Oh please Evans. I know for a fact that you don't have feelings for Snivelly!" Sirius scoffed and stared angrily at her. Lily felt herself flush not sure if it was with anger or embarrassment since this was true.
"Well who I go to the ball with isn't really your concern is it?" Lily put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.
"It is now! Like I said Evans, watch your back!" Sirius told her and brushed past her quickly and past the library where Severus was still sitting looking embarrassed and happy.
Lily wished she could've have hexed Sirius right then and there.
How dare he speak to me like that!
She thought angrily as she made her way back up to Gryffindor common room. When she entered through the portrait she saw James sitting on the couch staring at the fire angrily. She had found out earlier that he was going to the ball with a Ravenclaw named Hannah Olefort. James merely glanced over at her and then turned his attention back to the fire.
Lily shook her head and headed up the steps to the girl's dormitory. She searched through her trunk until she found the dress that she had been planning to wear to the ball. She looked at it lovingly and also angrily. It was maroon, her eyes scrutinized every lace bow, button and zipper. It really was a beautiful dress but she knew she was wearing it for the wrong person. She collapsed down onto her pillow and cried herself to sleep.
Throughout the next couple of days girls and boys began to talk more and more about the ball. Lily was talking to almost no one except for Severus and Alice on occasion. On the night of the ball Lily stood in the dormitory staring at herself in the mirror. The dress reached all the way to the ground and it hung off her shoulders a bit. She thought it made her chest look a little too big. She was wearing a emerald necklace and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. It was tight around the middle and then flowed off into a mixture of maroon and gold patterns. There was a large golden bow at the back that really pulled it all together.
Alice walked in wearing a pale blue dress that was rather boring actually. Her jaw dropped when she saw Lily.
"You look great Lily!"
Lily smiled, "Thanks. So do you." Lily and Alice talked for a little bit; Alice had ended up going to the ball with Remus. Lily pulled on her long golden gloves and then they headed down to the great hall that had been transformed into what looked like a giant Christmas ornament.
When Lily walked down the stairs the first person that caught her eye was Sirius. He looked handsome; he might have actually combed his long black hair. He was staring at her with his jaw open and then quickly looked away when he saw her looking at him.
A hand touched her arm softly and she turned to see Severus standing there. He was wearing a black dress coat with a black tie. They didn't match very well but it didn't matter.
"You look beautiful." Severus gasped as he looked at Lily and she flushed.
"Thank you. You look handsome as well." He didn't look as handsome as Sirius did but he was still fairly good looking instead of his regular greasy appearance.
The first hour of the dance was fine they would dance, they would rest and then they would dance again. She could usually see James and Sirius out of the corner of her eye not enjoying themselves. Though she would occasionally see Sirius snogging his date when she got bored as well. This made her flush with anger.
He's such a hypocriteShe thought to herself.
Severus and Lily were sitting down hand in hand when suddenly the lights went out. There were screams of confusion of terror and she heard some student's light their wands.
Suddenly there was a flash and the dark mark appeared in the ceiling of the great hall. People screamed and the professors started shouting and gathering up students. Lily stood there astonished as Severus tried to pull on her hand.
"Let's get out of here Lily. Lily?" he pleaded but his voice seemed far away. The giant skull and snake mesmerized her as it slithered above her head. The great hall was an eerie green color as students filed out of the room.
Soon the only students that were left were Lily, Severus, Alice, Remus, James and Sirius. The doors slammed shut and this brought Lily back to reality. They were trapped in the great hall with the dark mark circling over their heads. She saw a shadow come out of the corner. She looked no older than she did. Bellatrix Black.
The young deatheater put on her mask slowly.
"Time to die cousin Sirius." She hissed coldly. Other deatheaters began to appear around them. Lily turned her head towards Sirius he was staring at Bellatrix angrily he didn't even look scared.
"What are you doing here Bell?" he exclaimed with determination. Lily could not see the expression on Bellatrix's face but she knew that Sirius's cousin was smirking.
"The dark lord has sent me."
"Why?" Lily exclaimed covering her mouth after she spoke. Bellatrix looked over at her eyes in slits. Lily hadn't even realized that it had been her that had spoken until after she had said it.
"Its none of you're business you mudblood!" Bellatrix spat. Sirius and James fist clenched.
"Leave her alone!" Sirius yelled, Bellatrix looked from Sirius to Lily and then smirked.
"So she's the girl that you fancy Sirius?" Bellatrix questioned and grabbed Lily's arm. Lily fumbled for her wand but once she got it out it flew out of her hands once one of the other deatheaters had flicked his wand.
"Don't touch her!" James and Sirius both screamed at her at the same time.
Bellatrix put her wand to Lily's throat. "You move and she dies!"
Lily was shaking she looked over at Sirius and James, she didn't want to die. Her hands were clammy and her arm was starting to hurt from the tight grip of Bellatrix's hand.
"What do you want?" Alice asked her voice shaking.
"The dark lord needed a favor, he needs a student to find the room of requirement for him. I chose you, cousin Sirius." Bellatrix snarled. Sirius eyes shifted to the deatheaters around them. They were completely surrounded by wizards that knew magic that they have never dreamed about.
"How come you can't find it?" James asked.
"Because I have been kicked out of this school. I can't really just go roaming the hallways when everyone here knows I am a deatheater." Bellatrix snapped and turned her attention back to Sirius. "So cousin, what's your choice?" She pushed her wand closer to Lily's throat.
"Don't listen to her Sirius! Don't help her!" Lily called out on impulse. Bellatrix shot her a glare.
"Crucio!"
There was a red flash and Lily was in sudden excruciating pain. She called out as she fell to her knees and Bellatrix let go of her. She had never even seen an unforgivable curse let alone been hit by one. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I will kill her Sirius. I will kill all of your friends. And then I will kill you. You can prevent all of this, make your choice!"
The deatheaters suddenly disappeared in puffs of black smoke. The dark mark was gone and the lights came back on just as Dumbledore broke down the door. The last thing Lily saw was Sirius's face before all went black.
