Disclaimer: I don't own the Marauders, but I sure wouldn't mind if I did. ;P They belong to J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own Leah Matthews and the other OCs. Don't steal, please!
Girl of His Dreams
Chapter Nine: Welcome to the Masquerade
Leah was never fond of dresses- completely impractical, they were. All they did was restrict movement. And high heels? They were just a pair of death traps waiting to happen. Call her over-dramatic if you wish, but Leah just couldn't understand the use of shoes that were designed to physically impair you. Lily was happy, of course, to supply her with the textbook answer.
"You see, Leah, high heels are useful for many things: for one, they accentuate your curves. They lift up your rump, and make you stand straight with your chest puffed out. They give you a few inches of extra height, too, and make your legs look longer." Lily twirled in her tiny black heels, looking at her legs in one of the several small mirrors that had been placed around the shoe store.
"All these shoes do is lie," Leah grumbled. "They either make me look bigger, better, or taller. I shouldn't be forced to wear lies. Especially not lies with bows on them."
"Well, I'm not going to let you wear your worn-out flats with a nice dress," Lily told her. "Doesn't even a small bit of you want to dress up and look like a princess? Sirius Black could be your Prince Charming."
"I'd rather be the dragon in that particular story," Leah confessed, sighing romantically. "Ahh, to be a dragon... Dragons don't have to wear dresses." Lily rolled her jade-colored eyes, and Leah folded her arms across her chest, an accusatory glare on her face. "You know, I was under the distinct impression that you didn't like Sirius, Lily... or James, for that matter. What changed?"
"I don't know what you're talking about! I can't stand that toe-rag," she huffed. "And Sirius may be an immature git, but he's less of a moron when he's with you. I think you're cute together."
Leah rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Lily."
"What color do you want to wear?" She asked, peering at the assorted colors the store offered. "Purple? You looked really good in that sweater I let you borrow forever ago."
Leah shuddered at the memory. "Umm... how about blue?
"To match your eyes? What a great idea!" Lily tossed her a pair of navy blue shoes. "Here, try these on!"
Moments later... "My toes are being squished together."
"Would you stop being a baby about this?"
"... I have sensitive toes."
"I cannot believe you right now," Lily muttered, shaking her head. "Are you being serious?"
"No, I'm being Leah," she replied. "Sirius is probably having much, much more fun at the moment."
Several hours and a few arguments later (for Lily didn't even like that pun), Lily bought herself an outfit, and Leah somehow managed to find both a dress and a pair of shoes that she could stand. Buying their dresses at the last minute was risky, as most of the good dresses had been bought already, but Lily refused to go shopping without Leah, and Leah was prolonging the inevitable for as long as she could. It wasn't long after they left the tailor that the icy winds picked up, and they wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade, enduring it with the rest of the students. Once they made it back to the castle- without frostbite, much to Leah's relief- they dragged their bags up to the common room and lay their dresses out on their beds.
"I'm so excited," Lily gushed, picking up her brush and running it repeatedly through her hair. "I'm kind of nervous, too, though. Are you nervous?"
"About what?"
"Oh, you know... dancing with Sirius?"
"Why is that something to be nervous about? It's just Sirius." Leah was surprised her false bravado wasn't found out immediately- her stomach was so full of butterflies she thought she could probably puke up a whole lot of them, but truthfully, she didn't want to find out.
Such an interesting experiment it would be, Leah thought to herself. Lily sighed heavily, pulling Leah from her thoughts.
"I guess you're right. Yeah!" Lily stomped her foot. "I don't need to be nervous! It's just Potter, after all. I don't know what I was thinking! Thanks, Leah."
I may have been lying to myself, Leah lamented, but at least it helped someone else.
"I'm going to go downstairs," Leah called, as Lily hopped into the shower. "I'll get in after you."
"Alright! Be out in a jiff!"
"Hello, Leah." Remus greeted her warmly as she descended the stairway, and Leah realized he was already in his dress robes. They were a deep maroon color, and his white, lacy undershirt matched him perfectly to the Victorian Era-theme of the Ball. His golden hair was tied back at the nape of his neck in a short ponytail, and Leah thought he looked rather like a vampire, not a werewolf.
"You look positively dashing," Leah exclaimed, faking a British accent. Remus laughed.
"The others are still in Hogsmeade, buying Firewhiskey. Don't drink the punch," he hinted conspiratorially, glancing up at the clock. Leah chuckled, and Remus was able to tell instantly that she was a nervous wreck. "Would it help if I reminded you that it was only Sirius?"
"I've been telling myself that all day," she muttered, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "I even told Lily that, only about James. Cheered her right up, but me... I'm still feeling like I swallowed a thousand rabid butterflies."
"Rabid butterflies...?" Remus scratched his chin in thought. "Those can't be that dangerous..."
"But they are," she whined pitifully. "They fly down into your stomach and eat out your insides until you're nothing but a gutless coward."
"I think," he said knowingly, "that once you two actually meet tonight, you'll fall right into your usual selves. He's been fairly nervous as well."
"Has he?" Leah smiled. "At least I'm not the only one. Do you know when he's going to be back?"
As if on cue, the Portrait swung open and the Marauders- minus Remus- clambered in, laughing and joking about their plans to crash the Ball. Sirius shivered, rubbing his arms for warmth.
"Blimey, I hate the cold..."
"You're not the only one," Leah called to him. Sirius brightened at the sight of his date.
"How can you hate the cold?" He asked jokingly. "You moved here from Alaska. Didn't you, like... live in an igloo?"
"Oh, haha! Like I haven't heard that one before..." (A/N: I really do get that question all the time. It's quite annoying.)
He plopped onto the couch beside her with a grin. "Did you get your dress?"
"I did. I think it's pretty, as far as dresses go," she replied sheepishly. "Did you get your dress robes?"
"Dress robes? Um, no. Have you seen those things?" He shuddered. "Lace is for girls. I got a tux."
"Lace isn't just for girls," Remus protested, looking down at his robes with a frown. "Leah said I looked dashing." Leah tuned out their impending argument and imagined Sirius in an old black tuxedo, his hair tied at the nape of his neck and pulled over his shoulder to fall casually down his chest- she could already imagine the way his eyes would sparkle at her from behind his mysterious mask. It was truly a sight to behold.
"Um... Leah?"
"Hm?"
"You've, uh..." Remus pointed to his lip. "You've got a bit o' drool there."
James grinned. "You were picturing ol' Padfoot in a tux, weren't you?"
"Absolutely not," she lied, hastily wiping her mouth.
"Oi, what color is your dress, anyway?" Sirius tilted his head. "I want my tie to match your dress."
"That's so bloody cuuute," James simpered. "LEAH AND SIRIUS SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"Not this again," Leah grumbled, her blush darkening as other Gryffindors in the common room turned to see what the commotion was about. Remus jumped in as soon as James was finished, and they threw their arms around each other, bellowing as loud as they could in a horrible duet.
"First comes love," Remus sang.
"Then comes MARRIAGE," James shouted.
"Then comes a baby in a baby carriage," they finished together. The room was full of both applause and laughter, and Leah covered her face with her hands.
"Words cannot describe how much I hate you two right now," she growled. She turned to Sirius. "It's dark blue."
"Leah! Um, you should probably get up here! Now," Lily called from the dormitory doorway. Leah headed up the stairs to see what the fuss was about.
"I'll see you all at the Ball, you guys!"
"I'll be the best-looking guy there," Sirius called back. James and Remus dove right into that argument, each proclaiming their own studliness to be greater than the other two's. Leah rolled her eyes and entered her room, her gaze falling immediately to the dress she had laid out on her bed. The navy blue gown that was now, despite all logical reasoning, a dreadfully bright shade of pink. Lily laughed nervously.
"It was like this when I got out of the shower, I swear!"
Leah stared at it in horror. She was not wearing that to the Ball, and it was beyond too late to get a new one.
"What... the hell... happened to my dress?" She ran over to it and inspected it closely, but there was no sign of it being moved or switched out. This was the exact dress she had bought- it was just suddenly, inexplicably, a different color. A worse color. Leah folded her arms stubbornly. "I'm not wearing this."
"Alright, calm down," Lily soothed. "Let's just try charming it back to it's original color, okay?"
In the end, every color-changing charm known to man- err, wizard- wasn't enough to full restore it to it's regal blue color. Much to Leah's outrage, the blue mixed with the pink, and after what seemed like hours, it finally settled for a dark, majestic purple. Lily charmed Leah's shoes black in order to match, and overall, the combination looked good on her- but that wasn't point.
"When I find out who did this," Leah scowled, folding her bare arms across her chest, "I'm going to raise Hell on Earth! I swear I will!"
"I don't doubt it," Lily assured her, lifting her roomate's blonde locks up into fancy curls on top of her head. She pinned it with a thin barrette and started on another one. "It had to be one of the girls in our room."
"Melaina," Leah hissed instantly. "That little bitch!" She knew sharing a room with that skank was a bad idea.
"Leah! You don't know that it was Melaina for sure," Lily scolded. "Here, hold this for me... Thank you. That was the last one! What do you think?"
Leah turned to look at herself in the mirror, and was surprised by the beautiful young woman she saw in her own reflection. She stared at it suspiciously.
"That's really what I look like?" She asked. "You didn't charm the mirror?"
"Nope. That's all you," Lily replied happily, studying her friend's reaction. Leah's hair was done up in a high ponytail, and then strands of it had been twisted and pinned into place to create a sort of messy bun that was made of several spirals of hair. Her bangs were the same as usual, except for two long chunks that were left out of the bun and curled into ringlets to frame her face.
"It looks amazing, Lily, thank you so much." Leah was still pissed about the dress, but even though it was purple, it looked great. It was strapless and layered, and Leah had given it her own personal touch in order to give it a more gothic appearance. Some black netting to cover the skirts, and a large black ribbon that was tied around her waist with a loose bow in the back. She slipped on her black gloves, stretching them just past her elbows. Leah laughed, lifting her leg to admire the short black heels and the lacy black hem of her dress.
"I look creepy," she said, snapping open her feathery black fan. "I like it."
"You look like some sort of witch," Lily agreed jokingly. Her own dress was as vivid green as her eyes, and was just a simple satin gown that blossomed from the hips into a cascade of lacey layers. Two strips of her fiery red hair had been pulled back to encompass the rest, which flowed in elegant waves down her bare back. Lily slipped her emerald mask on, charming it temporarily to her face. "How do I look?"
"Stunning," Leah told her, giggling. She settled her own black mask into place. "Shall we?"
"We shall," Lily agreed, moving to the door. "Let's go knock over some Marauders!"
When they arrived at the Great Hall, Leah immediately spotted Melaina by the door. Melaina looked up as she passed, a mock pout on her face as she examined Leah's dress.
"Aw, what's the matter?" She asked snobbishly. "You didn't like the shade of pink I worked so hard to make for you?"
"I hope you didn't work too hard," Leah shot back venomously, as Lily dragged her away. "It was truly the ugliest thing I'd ever seen. You have absolutely no taste!"
"Save it for after the dance," Lily advised quietly. "We're here to have fun, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Leah peered through the crowds, but couldn't see anyone wearing a tux. Crimson robes and golden hair flashed by the corner of her eye, and she turned to see Remus by the punch bowl. She dashed- well, as much as anyone can dash in a dress- over to meet him. "Remus!"
"Merlin, is that you, Leah?" Remus grinned, looking her up and down. "I could hardly tell. And I thought you weren't a fan of purple..."
"Yeah, well, I'm not a fan of dresses, either," she replied grumpily. "I decided to make this experience as unpleasant as possible. Is Sirius here, yet?"
"Right behind you," a voice murmured in her ear. Leah squeaked and turned around, and was happy to see that Sirius looked exactly as she'd pictured him. She grinned.
"You clean up very well," she complimented. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
"And you," he replied huskily, "are the most beautiful thing in this room. I thought you said your dress was blue." He glanced down at his navy blue tie and quickly changed it to a color that was relatively close to lavender.
"It was," she replied, giggling as Sirius spun her into his arms and swept her out onto the dance floor. "You and Melaina must have been a match made in Heaven."
"What does that have to do with your dress?" He asked, gripping her waist firmly with one hand and taking one of her gloved hands in his other. "I thoroughly deny that statement by the way."
"It seems she likes playing pranks as well," Leah retorted bitterly. "She turned it the ugliest shade of pink I'd ever seen. Both Lily and I together couldn't get it back to its original color."
"I'm not sorry at all to hear it," he confessed. "You look amazing."
"Thanks." She blushed as he they swayed to the music, each twirl bringing them closer and closer together. The hours passed slowly, much to Leah's relief. She never wanted this night to end- Sirius was being uncharacteristically romantic, as though he were truly trying to woo her. During one of their breaks from dancing, he conjured a deep red rose from thin air and handed it to her.
"For you."
"Why thank you," she replied, taking it and bringing it up to her nose. It smelled wonderful. He held his hand out once more, and she took it, smiling. "Another dance?"
"Another dance," he agreed, swinging her backwards into a dip, his lips just inches from hers. His smile broadened into a grin so wide it reminded Leah of the Cheshire cat. "What?"
"You're wearing strawberry lip gloss," he told her. "I can smell it."
"What about it?"
He pulled her back up into his arms. "You know how much I love strawberries," he murmured, his voice practically a purr.
Leah blushed crimson. Truthfully, she had not been thinking of that when she put it on, but now...
Sirius chuckled. "As if I wasn't going to have a hard enough time resisting."
"Then give in," she breathed coyly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She didn't know what she was doing, but she liked her sudden swell of courage. Sirius lowered his head without a second thought, and the meeting of their lips sent jolts down Leah's spine. It was... well, magical. She tangled her hands in his hair as he pulled her impossibly closer to his body, his fingers digging into her hips.
"Miss Matthews! Mister Black, stop this innappropriate display at once," a shrill voice demanded. Leah and Sirius broke apart reluctantly, still gazing raptly into each other's eyes. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Miss Matthews, we need to talk. Let's go to my office."
"What?" Leah's entire being felt fuzzy, and she shook herself out of her reverie. "Why?"
"It'd be better if we talked alone," she replied, glancing pointedly at Sirius. He nodded, his eyes still on Leah's.
"I'll, uh... go get some punch then," he said breathlessly. Leah nodded, moving to follow McGonagall as she headed briskly toward the door.
"I'll be right back," she assured him, smiling. Despite the fact that McGonagall's face was more serious than she'd ever seen it, Leah was on Cloud Nine. She felt like she was levitating herself behind McGonagall, and Leah wondered just what this meeting could be about. She hoped it was thoroughly worth ending that kiss. Had she failed one of her exams? No, that definitely wasn't it.
"Miss Matthews," McGonagall started, "I'm afraid I have some bad news." Leah looked back the way they had come. They had barely made it ten yards out of the Great Hall- she could still see Sirius and Remus, who were both looking at her. Leah turned back to McGonagall.
"Bad news," she echoed, "What bad news? What's happened?"
She handed Leah a torn, wrinkled envelope. "It's Miss Jenkins... I'm afraid she's- she's no longer with us."
"That can't be." Leah took the letter with shaking hands, unable to believe the words coming out of her Professor's mouth. It was written sloppily, with smudged ink and tear stains. Leah's heart began to race within her chest, pounding so painfully against her ribs she feared they might break. "No, this isn't possible. How did you-?"
"I'm sorry to have ruined your evening with such tragic news," McGonagall said, encasing her in a brief hug. Even the elder woman's voice shook with sorrow. "I thought it best to tell you as soon as possible."
"No," Leah sobbed, breaking out of the embrace. Tears streaked down her face, and no matter how many times she wiped her eyes, they always came back. "No, no, NO!"
"Leah!" Sirius had left the party to check on her. "Wh-What's wrong? What happened?"
"Heather," Leah moaned, clenching the letter in her fist. She shook her head and ran, skirts in hand. She pushed past the great wooden doors that led out into the night, and kept running despite the way the air threatened to freeze her solid. There was snow fluttering all around her, speckling her hair and shoulders- it would have been beautiful, if Leah wasn't so broken. She sobbed hoarsely and felt her toes go numb in the few inches of snow that already littered the ground.
"Why?" She cried, collapsing to her knees. "Why wasn't I there? Why wasn't I there?" The guilt was overwhelming, like Death himself had his hand around her heart and was crushing it in his fist with excruciating slowness.
"Leah!" Sirius stumbled out into the snow behind her, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. They felt like fire on her already icy skin as he brushed away the snowflakes. "Leah, sweetheart, tell me what's wrong. Please?"
"Leave me alone," she murmured, staring up at the moon, which was just a tiny sliver in the sky. She could barely even see it through the clouds. "It's all my fault."
"What is? What happened?"
"She's dead, Sirius..." Her voice was hollow. "Heather's dead."
A/N: (3500 words) I know, I'm a horrible person. Some of you may call it murder... but I call it plot! The title is based off of a song with the same name, by Thousand Foot Krutch. Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! (Every review will help give me the power to summon the Necronomicon, so that we can bring Heather back to life! lulz)