A/N: Sorry people, I've been having a writers block. Siriusly. (Excuse my pun) CURSE THE WRITER'S BLOCK! But yay for another chappie! :)
A/N: The most important and probably most dodgy chapter! You know, the title should be starting to make sense. Oh, and there's different POVs for this chappie.
When James woke up, it was with a certain excited vigor. Excited for what, he didn't know.
He tried to flatten his hair as he looked into the mirror that Halloween morning. Of course, the stubborn hair wouldn't move, so he left it.
James put on his glasses and looked back into the mirror and jumped. His face was as white as a ghost, and his eyes had dark circles under them. He looked extremely drained.
James shook his head and changed.
He passed a picture of his family, and glanced at it. Right then and there he almost broke down.
The past summer had brought death to the Potter family. Although his grandparents were old, they didn't deserve to be tortured, nor killed by the Avada Kedavra curse. Nor did James, and his parents deserve to witness it happen during a dinner party.
James took a deep breath and turned the picture around, before striding out confidently (or, at least, he hoped).
The preparations for the Halloween Ball were almost complete, and Lily felt as though she could dance. She was as excited as the Prefects and students. She felt especially excited as she had been asked to the ball by Gilderoy.
Woo! Party time!
Well, not yet, but either way, Lily couldn't concentrate on her lessons as her mind wandered up towards her Halloween ball gown, hidden in her wardrobe.
"Evans!"
McGonagall's crisp voice broke Lily's speculation as to whether gold hoop earrings would suit her dress.
"Yes, Professor?"
Lily looked around. The class had left and there were scribbles on her page that resembled jewellery and hair accessories. Then she spotted James sitting in the back row, his face growing impatient. Whether it was because of Lily or because whatever McGonagall had to say was running into their lunch time, Lily wasn't sure.
"The Halloween Ball will commence at 8 o'clock, as I am sure that you two Head's are well aware, and as a Hogwarts tradition, the Head Boy and Girl open the dance by waltz. Together."
The Professor paused here, knowing that something was to be said. James sat there, his jaw slack, and Lily looked affronted.
"You mean that I have to dance with him?" asked Lily.
"For the first dance. After that, you can go off and do whatever you like. Within the rules, of course," McGonagall peered at her two students.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" asked James indignantly.
"I was busy with things not concerning you," said McGonagall briskly, a faint tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks.
James snorted and Lily glared at him.
KayCee rushed around, wailing.
"I have nothing to wear!" she complained to Bridget.
"What about this?" asked Bridget, pulling out a nice, clingy floor-length midnight blue dress from KayCee's closet.
"When I mean I have nothing to wear, I literally mean I have nothing to wear!" cried KayCee hysterically, pointing to her admittedly small bulge. (Though, in KayCee's point of view, it seemed huge)
"Oh..." said Bridget, twisting the side of her mouth. Then, she got an idea.
"Okay, well, we are magical, so maybe – Aha!"
After a combination of tricky charms and minor Transfiguration spells, the midnight blue dress was now a knee length bubble dress. KayCee stared at the dress for a moment, before squealing in gratitude and delight.
"And my bulge could pass as a part of the dress! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" squealed KayCee, hugging Bridget before dashing into the bathroom.
Chuckling, Bridget reapplied her olive green eye shadow.
Her dress was an olive colour and it was slightly stiff, but made of a soft feeling velvet. It framed her body perfectly, and Bridget charmed her hair to be soft curls, and she slipped in an olive beret, tucking her left side of her hair behind her ear. Bridget slipped her feet into ballet slippers made out of the same material as her custom made dress.
Bridget's sparkling blue eyes complemented her lip gloss, and suited her whole colour scheme.
KayCee dashed back out, quickly charmed her soft, barely there make-up on, and charmed her hair into a messy bun. Her bubble dress had strips of soft, silky waves down to her silver high-heeled feet.
There was a tap on the door.
"Ladies?" asked a male voice, sounding as though he was in the common room. KayCee and Bridget grinned.
"Ready!"
Bridget and KayCee giggled as they opened the door. What they didn't expect was Lionel looking casual in a tuxedo, leaning against the door frame of the Girls Dormitories.
"How did you get up here?" asked KayCee.
"Yes, how did you get up here?" repeated Bridget, for Lionel didn't answer the first time.
"I clung onto the railing and shimmed up here." He said. KayCee and Bridget glanced at each other and shrugged, although KayCee was sure that there was more to that story.
Lionel offered his arms to Bridget and KayCee, who accepted. They hurried off to the Heads Quarters, where they would find a glum Lily in a sweater and baggy jeans.
As Lily was moping on the couch, not believing her luck, James whistled away in his room, adjusting his tie. The theme was Formal or Costume, and James really didn't want to highlight himself in the crowd, so he settled for a formal Muggle suit.
Although he was somewhat regretting the choice (after all, that Zombie Merlin costume he spotted in Hogsmeade a week earlier on an illegal trip was just priceless) he wanted to seem mature and grown-up. Especially for Lily. And he was sure that wearing that Zombie Merlin costume didn't seem very mature.
He waited in his room so as not to bump into Lily if she was frantically pacing around, as she tended to do before a big event, like a date or a party. In a way, this ball was both.
James waited and waited for the familiar sound of the portrait door closing, but he didn't hear it. Puzzled, he took a peek outside his door. It was empty.
She must've left. He speculated. James didn't want to seem too eager to dance with Lily. In fact, part of the reason why James was wearing this stupid get-up was for Lily. After all, James had a perfectly good Wizarding dress robe in his wardrobe.
He vowed to get over Lily during the year. Obviously, that vow hadn't started yet.
James glanced at his reflection, and sighed, dejected.
Nope. Still not over her.
Lily lay hidden into the folds of the couch when a sudden bang met her ears.
"Oi, Lily! Time to GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
KayCee grinned and waved madly at Lily. Then her smile faded, Bridget gasped in horror and Lionel shook his head in exasperation.
"I can't believe it! What's wrong, Lily?" asked KayCee, hurrying to her side. Bridget and Lionel followed.
"I have to open the ball with Potter! By dancing the waltz!"
KayCee, Bridget, and Lionel shared a look and a raised eyebrow.
"That's it?" asked Bridget in disbelief.
"Yes! This is the worst day ever!" wailed Lily.
"Er... I think you might be overreacting a little. After all, dancing with us guys isn't so bad... is it?" added Lionel, adorably self-conscious.
"Of course not," said KayCee soothingly, patting his shoulder. Lionel brightened considerably (a fact that neither Bridget or Lily failed to notice. But, as usual, KayCee missed all the signs. A/N: Insert exasperated sigh here .)
"Anyway, what am I going to do?" asked Lily desperately. All her friends deadpanned at once, and said in unison;
"Just freaking dance with the guy."
Lily turned over and mumbled, "Thanks for the support, guys."
"What about Gilderoy? He's going to be wanting to see his beautiful date," said Bridget.
Lily sat bolt upright, tossed her throw rug onto the ground and dragged Bridget and KayCee into her room.
"HELP ME GET READY!"
Bridget and KayCee smirked at each other as they helped their mood swinging friend out.
Gilderoy Lockhart stood impatiently at the Great Hall doors, checking his silver watch every few seconds.
He just hoped that that gullible little Mudblood would come. Gilderoy didn't enjoy being stood up, and certainly not by a Mudblood.
Sure enough, the red head reached the top of the stairs.
Gilderoy's breath caught, before he remembered his plan, Snape's plan, and the whole of Slytherins plan. (Actually, the plans were the exact same.)
The sides of Lily's dark red hair was slightly curled and pinned back. Her white dress was made of silk, and a silver coloured sash had a rolled hem, giving it a unique wavy look. The dress was knee length, and slightly puffed out at the bottom. Black lace was underneath the dress. The same type of lace served as a head band.
Her face wasn't caked with make-up, but it had enough to make her look stunning. She was wearing a necklace which had been given to her anonymously. It had a silver chain, and a real pearl was tucked into a metallic leaf. She had silver hoop earrings.
Her feet were covered by high heels, which had white, silver and black leather strips.
All eyes turned to her, and even Lucius didn't seem to care to much about blood status.
Gilderoy had a smug look on his face as Lily made her way over to him.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Gilderoy!" she apologized.
He gave her a charming smile and said with a wave of his hand,
"Your appearance makes up for it. You look absolutely gorgeous." And he bent and kissed her hand. Lily looked absolutely flattered, and out of the corner of his eye, Gilderoy saw James seething.
Gilderoy resisted the urge to snicker as Sirius Black held James back from presumably attacking Gilderoy.
Lily chatted with Gilderoy for a bit, a goofy smile on her face.
Then, McGonagall ruined it when she called out her name and James' name.
As Lily made her way over to her Professor, she couldn't help but notice the amount of great costumes about the place.
Her eyes fell upon James and she stared. He looks... great, Lily admitted to herself, before mentally slapping herself.
Is that a tuxedo? Wondered Lily. She assumed that he would be wearing a costume, or dress robes, but a Muggle tuxedo?
It suits him perfectly. Shut up, Lily! You're scaring yourself!
And indeed, Lily was a teensy bit scared. Her attention snapped to McGonagall.
"You will lead the crowd into these doors, Potter's hand over your hand, Evans. No, it is not hand holding, your hand will be up to your left eye, and Potter's right hand on top of your hand," said McGonagall, when she spotted Lily's frown.
"When the music starts, you will get into position, and waltz until the song finishes. When the waltz ends, Potter will bow and kiss your left hand. Don't make that face, Evans, it's proper etiquette. Evans will have to bend into a curtsey and nod to Potter. Afterwards, you may find your dates and act like a grown man and woman. After all, you are role models, especially for our third years attending the ball."
She gave a stern look to the two Heads and whipped around, facing the rest of the students.
"Students, please follow your Head students into the Great Hall and be seated." McGonagall announced. Excited murmurs rang through the crowd as they shuffled forward, eager to get inside.
Taking a deep breath, Lily glanced at James and nodded. Together, they opened the doors and the crowd gasped as one.
The walls were the colour of a pumpkin, and the candles were wrapped with something resembling a mummy's bandages. Creepy jack-o-lanterns lined the walls, with black cobwebs climbing over their surface. Bloodstained empty suits of armour haphazardly wandered around with a bloodstained weapon and red dyed drinks. They would serve the seventh years Firewiskey (and other drinks) but the younger students weren't allowed to touch them.
The lighting was somewhat dark and ghosts flitted through the walls at regular intervals, trying to be as creepy as they could. Ivy slowly inched up the right wall, and the banners were ripped and dipped in silver.
There were small, round glass tables with bronze seats, decorated and carved as though you were sitting in a monster's clenched hand. Several black candles with orange flames sat around a head of a beheaded person. When someone sat down, the eyes would open, and in a low hissing whisper, the head would tell a completely scary story.
Three grim reapers and three mummies wandered around, hanging around a particular person menacingly for five minutes.
The food table had fake apparitions crawling around the silk covered, rectangular table. The apparitions included many tarantulas and bugs. A few random grotesque statues stood by a tight doorway. They would leap into action, cackling and moaning as they opened the creaky door leading into a dark hallway, filled with horror items and other sorts of spooky items and effects, including a beheaded woman emitting a bloodcurdling scream as she held her head under her arm. And unexpected stairs, which seemed to lead to nowhere...
The students eyed things warily as they sat down, and an uncomfortable looking Ravenclaw had a grim reaper breathing in his ear.
A third year girl screamed as she spotted the head turning towards her, and opening its eyes. However, the head said nothing and merely stared at her for a few moments.
The Weird Sisters played a slow song, one that suited the waltz. Immediately, James led Lily, using the strange hand recommendation McGonagall set them, towards the black, orange and red dance floor in the middle of all this.
Lily placed a hand on his shoulder, and James held her waist and they used the weird hand technique again.
"Don't you dare move your hand any lower, Potter," Murmured Lily menacingly as they swiftly used the space. He chuckled and murmured back,
"Never even thought about that. Besides, I'm over you, Evans."
Lily raised an eyebrow, not really expecting this.
"Oh? Then why don't you have a girlfriend?"
"Who says I don't?"
Lily stayed quiet for a moment. She didn't know where the heck this random conversation came from, but for some reason, she enjoyed it.
When the song faded, James bowed and kissed her hand, as instructed. Lily curtseyed and nodded, also as instructed.
Then, they quickly dispersed, James into a crowd of adoring fan girls, and Lily into her group of friends.
As the evening grew, Lily felt that Gilderoy was losing interest in her, and she also started to lose interest. Why, the way he blabbed on and on about himself, who wouldn't lose interest?
Finally, Lily said something along the lines of, "I don't think this will work, I'm sorry," and off she searched for her friends.
She found KayCee leaning her head against the shoulder of Sean Argent, the father of KayCee's child. What totally ruined the romantic moment, in Lily's opinion, was two grim reapers breathing into the couple's ears.
Quietly tiptoeing away, Lily quickly found Bridget dancing. Uh oh...
Some boys were doing stupid stunts, trying to impress her. Lily tapped Bridget on the shoulder.
"Huh?" she swivelled around, and the boys groaned.
"Maybe you should try a different dancing routine. Like something other than the traditional Veela dances!"
Lily jerked her thumb over towards the boys, who were murmuring angrily and pointing at Lily. Bridget grinned.
"Sorry, Lils. I didn't worry about their safety," she said before dancing again. The boys quickly lost interest and mysteriously melted into the crowd.
For the rest of the evening, Lily danced, ate, drank and just generally enjoyed herself.
When, at midnight, the crowd started to go towards the doors, pushing and shoving (some mildly drunk), and Lily joined the throng, she felt satisfied and tired.
Ahh, today is officially Saturday! Yay!
Lily finally made it back into the Heads Quarters and slipped off her shoes, rubbing her feet. She plonked herself ungracefully onto the couch and felt her eyelids grow heavy.
James slipped off his tie and brought down the ashes once more.
His grandparents had given it to him a short time before their deaths, and had told him that the stories of different dimensions, and worlds, were real. They told him that for him to reach his hearts deepest desire, he would have to light it and watch the pixies for as long as it took. Along the way, the people he cared about would get their hearts desire.
"Ok, Jamsie boy, let's do this one more time..."
And it was lit. The familiar dance routine, song and pixies was like receiving a hug from his grandparents again. A tear slid down his cheek as he yearned for his grandparents love once more.
Again, the female pixie held out her hand, and before they had a chance to disappear, James reached out and took it.
She felt like fire and ice, love and hatred, hard and soft, a perfect balance. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of white light, so bright that James squeezed his eyes shut...
Smoke unfurled at her feet as she fell into the scarlet and golden common room, shared by both the Head Boy and Girl, who both belonged to Gryffindor house.
"Where am I?"