Hermione had a great time getting ready for the Halloween Dance in the girls' dorm. She had come to enjoy each of her new friends immensely, but it did make her long for Ginny's sassy influence. All of them had dates, except for Alice, who honestly didn't seem too upset to be going solar with her diamond engagement ring on her finger. She'd planned to go as a pixie, which Hermione thought suited her perfectly. Mary was going with a nice sixth year Ravenclaw and was going to be a black cat, wearing a daring jumpsuit and furry ears. Even Peter was going with a fifth year Hufflepuff.
Marlene looked incredibly self-satisfied with herself, adjusting the red hood over her curled blonde hair. Hermione had no idea how the girl had managed to convince Remus to go as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, but she thought it might have something to do with her plump, red lips. And really, Marlene looked quite fetching with her tight black and red dress and heels.
Hermione opted to go as a peacock. She'd selected a tight blue dress and black tights. But, she was mostly pleased with the realistic looking plumage she'd charmed for herself. Mary helped with her makeup, giving her a dramatic eye. Hermione was surprised. She never thought about wearing purple, green and blue eyeshadow, but she actually thought it was quite nice for a Halloween costume. Lily had helped with her hair, charming feathers and curls into an updo. It was really brilliant charms work.
Although the redhead looked stunning in her nude colored dress, with charmed foliage running up and down her body, little blooms here and there, Hermione could tell that Lily was still unhappy. Not to mention Harry still wasn't completely solid. She needed James and Lily to kiss tonight, no matter what, or else she couldn't leave.
"Lily, what's the matter? Aren't you excited to go to the Ball with James?" she asked gently.
Lily sighed, before plopping down on the bed next to Hermione while the rest of the girls were engrossed in a Witch Weekly. "I am just worried. James said that we should go to the Ball as Head Students so we didn't leave our dates high and dry, because we are going to have so many extra duties," she said softly.
Hermione was confused. "Are you worried that you will be too busy to enjoy the dance? I know I am not a Prefect, but I can help out, too. Just because you are Head Girl doesn't mean that you can't enjoy yourself, too," she said with a smile, trying to remember to save that advice for herself. She'd heard her own friends tell her the same with some variations for so long, but she'd never taken it to heart.
"No, it's just that...what if he only asked me because I am Head Girl? He probably had some other date he would have preferred to take and...I am just annoyed that I might have lost my chance with him," Lily said, her eyes welling up with tears. She gave Hermione a bitter smile. "I guess what Mary and Marlene have always said is true. He wasn't going to wait for me forever...and I just kept pushing him away."
Hermione tried not to giggle while her friend was so obviously upset. "Honestly, Lily, I am sure he only asked you that way because he was afraid that you'd say no otherwise. He probably thinks he was so clever, tricking you into going with him," Hermione said.
"You really think so?" she asked, with a nervous smile.
"Yes, I do," Hermione promised, putting her arm around Lily's shoulders. "Now, let's dry your eyes - we don't want to ruin all of Mary's hard work - and go show James what a sexy wood nymph you are," she proclaimed, standing and holding her arm out to her new friend.
When the five girls came down the stairs, they were met with the faces of three very surprised Gryffindor boys. Remus looked a combination of sheepish and excited; he hadn't really put a lot of effort into his costume, finding it too close to home. He was still very impressed with Marlene's look and they met in a kiss.
James was speechless, his bow and arrow hanging limply in his arm. Hermione wasn't really sure what James had decided to go as, but she supposed that SIrius's assessment of Apollo and Daphne wasn't far off. "Wow, Lily. You look absolutely gorgeous," he said, dumbfounded.
Lily had an embarrassed smile on her face, but seemed genuinely pleased. "Thank you, James. You look quite dashing yourself," she said, shyly. "Shall we walk down together?"
"You guys go ahead, we'll catch up," Sirius said, before taking Hermione's hand and pulling her into the alcove where she'd first told him about her brilliant plan to get James and Lily together.
Hermione looked him over. He was dressed in a sort of safari outfit, binoculars hanging around his neck. "And just what are you masquerading as Mister Black?" she asked, amused.
"Why, I am a bird watcher. Get it?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows at her. Hermione giggled, but when her laughter died, his face went serious. "I wanted to give you something," he said, placing a small green velvet box in her hand.
Hermione's heart leapt to her throat. It couldn't possibly be a ring. After all, Sirius was the eternal bachelor. But, it still seemed like jewelry.
Cautiously, she opened the box and found two square cut emerald earrings inside, clustered with tiny diamonds. They were gorgeous. "Sirius," she said, on the verge of tears when she thought about what she was about to do to him. Suddenly, the little beaded bag with the undetectable extension charm that held all of her belongings felt heavy around her neck, as if it were choking the life out of her. "It's too much. I can't possibly take them," she insisted, shoving the box back into his hand.
"Please. They were my great-great however many greats great-Aunt Isla's. She got blasted off the tree just like I did - and Uncle Alphard. They were in his vault," he explained.
Hermione still shook her head. These were not just any earrings, then, they were a family heirloom and obviously something he'd put a lot of thought into. Oh, how could she leave him when he was so perfect?
"And anyway, I didn't get you a present for your birthday. I want you to have them," he argued.
"But Sirius..." she whined.
He was already taking them out of their spots, nestled into the velvet. "Come on. Plus, they match your costume. Please, wear them?"
She finally relented, taking the posts and putting them into her ears. When they were secured, she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, they are beautiful," she breathed out.
Sirius planted a huge kiss on her lips. "Alright then, kitten. Should we go dance now?" he asked, offering her his arm. The pair walked down to the Great Hall together.
When they arrived, they were shocked at how well it was decorated. There were jack-o-lanterns everywhere and huge bowls of candy corn floated in the air. Everyone had taken their costumes quite seriously. The charmed ceiling was foggy, but you could see the faint glimmer of the moon behind the clouds. Outside, a thunderstorm was rolling in.
When they found their friends, it seemed that Severus Snape had just approached them. "Lily, you look splendid this evening," he said curtly to the red headed witch, who seemed uncomfortable with his compliment.
James wrapped a protective arm around her waist.
It seemed that Snape hadn't made any effort to dress up and Hermione couldn't decide if she should feel bad for him or be annoyed with him.
"Although, I don't know why you'd choose to show up with this buffoon. Are you sure he didn't imperius you?"
Lily just glared at Snape, but didn't say anything in response. It hurt to have her old friend treat her this way. She knew that he claimed to love her, but now she didn't see it. She wondered if it was just some kind of possession thing…wanting whatever it was that James Potter wanted.
"Really, Lupin, the Big Bad Wolf?" Snape asked with a sneer, turning to the weary boy. Despite being taller than Snape, Remus tried to make himself shrink and disappear. "Isn't that a little bit too close for comfort?"
Marlene was blissfully unaware of the context, but James and Sirius were not. "Oh yes, Snape, Remus is very wolfish. He knows how to leave a woman asking for more. Not that you'd understand," she said icily. Remus was very embarrassed at her words, not exactly proud to have his business announced to the whole class.
"Yes, well, just make sure that he doesn't bite you," Severus snapped back. Marlene was clueless about what he meant, but Sirius and James decided to put an end to this before she could ask any more questions.
Sirius shoved Hermione behind him. "Alright, Snivellus, we won't have you maligning our friend."
"Well, you should do something about him, he's dangerous and he shouldn't be around normal people." Snape looked at Lily again, a pleading, longing look on his face. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her towards him. "Please Lily, just let me check you over for stray spells," he begged. His voice was so pitiful, but his grip on Lily's arm was tight. Hermione could see where his fingers were digging into the flesh of her upper arm.
"Please let me go Severus," Lily begged quietly, desperate for this interlude to be over.
Severus sighed, pulling her closer to him. "You don't understand Lily...Lupin is really dangerous-"
"You take your hands off of her!" James shouted.
Before Snape could continue his tirade and cause any more trouble for Remus or Lily, James reared his hand back and punched Snape right in the nose, breaking it. So that's why it was crooked in her time, Hermione thought with a smirk.
Blood began to spill down his face, and James shook his first in pain.
"Are you okay, James?" Lily asked, grabbing his hand and looking it over with true and honest concern, not sparing a second thought to the bleeding Snape.
Snape looked stricken and trudged off, presumably to get his nose mended.
James grimaced. "I am sorry Lily, I just couldn't stand to see him hurting you...and, I know he's your friend and…but, I just couldn't have him talking about Remus that way," he explained, deflated. James was positive that he had blown it once and for all with the lovely Lily.
"I know," Lily told him with a smile. It was clear that Severus had instigated the fight.
"But, you don't understand, Remus is…" he trailed off, not wanting to give away his friend's secret. His eyes were wide, realizing this was something he couldn't share with her.
"I know," Lily repeated a knowing look in her eyes.
"What? How long?" James was incredulous, surprised, and over the moon.
Lily smirked. "About second year, I think." James was shocked. Lily had known that Remus was a werewolf this whole time and she'd never said anything about it? Damn, she was a better friend than he was.
Before he could stop himself, or think about the resounding slap that was sure to follow, James grabbed Lily's face in his hands and pushed his lips against hers. It felt like they fit together perfectly, despite their noses constantly bumping into each other and despite the fact that his lips were a little bit chapped. And, to James's great surprise, Lily didn't try to get away at all. Instead, she melted into his arms and returned the kiss with more gusto than he expected.
Marlene was awwing in the background and Remus was just happy the attention was off of him. Sirius was over the moon for his friend…getting to punch Snape and kiss the girl of his dreams all in one night. What was this world coming to? Hermione was just looking down at her locket, with a fully formed Harry inside, waving excitedly at her. It felt like he was welcoming her back. Oh, she couldn't wait to see him when she got back to the future. She'd love sharing all these quirky wonderful stories with him.
Hermione felt tears in her eyes again, and gently tried to hide her sniffles. She just hoped that Harry wouldn't hate her for not trying to change his fate. That she didn't even try to save his parents. But time was a fickle thing and even her just being there was undoubtedly causing ripples she wouldn't understand until she returned home.
"Come on, kitten, shall we go for a swing around the dance floor?" Sirius had his hand out and pulled her to the center of the room when she accepted. He twirled her around and around until she was laughing and dizzy. He made her so happy, she never wanted to let him go.
Deciding then that she wanted to be with him, at least once, she stood on the tips of her toes before whispering in his ear. "Sirius, do you, maybe, wanna get out of her for a while?" she asked, biting her lip. The clock said it was almost ten o'clock, so they had about two more hours together. She wanted to make it count.
Sirius just gave her a surprised look before nodding and letting her lead him from the Great Hall.