I know what you're thinking: "Hey, you! Where have you been all my life?" To which I really have no good answer, other than the fact that I've started at college, and things have been a tad busier than usual… You should be glad to note, though, that I've really been wanting to write more, I just haven't had time. But I made time today!
So, here you have it: Chapter 12 of The Man Behind the Mask, which should catch us up to Chapter 1. Plus, it's kind of long-ish! Isn't that exciting? Well, I hope so. I'll just let you read it, and you can decide for yourselves. Here you go!
- Lorraine
CHAPTER 12
Half an hour later, Lily, Lucy and the Marauders—along with about half of the Hogwarts student body—had entered the Great Hall. In the foyer, the girls had endured the obligatory wolf-whistles from James and Sirius, soft compliments from Remus, and cheeky winks from Peter. Now, though, the masks had been donned, effectively masking everyone's identities.
Lucy stood with Lily near the refreshments, speaking with Remus—he wasn't particularly enthused by the idea of keeping his identity a secret, as he had to do just that every day of his life—and admiring everyone's attire. While there were a few peculiar (and entertaining) choices in the fashion department—including a few people who had bewitched their masks to be faces of other people, such as the caretaker, Argus Filch—and some girls were wearing fewer clothes than they should have been, but in general the crowd was well dressed. Surprisingly, there were quite a few boys in Muggle tuxedos, though Lily was sure none of them could pull it off as well as James. That said, she couldn't actually find James at the moment, so perhaps she was wrong.
Over the next few hours, nothing particularly memorable happened. Both girls had danced with Remus and Peter, as well as a few other unknown boys, but none of their masked suitors had been especially alluring. Sirius and James had thoroughly embarrassed themselves (and loved every minute of it) when they belted out The Beatles' "Oh! Darling" to each other. Not surprisingly, they both knew all the words—after all, James loved to brag that George Harrison was a distant Squib cousin of the Potters. Sirius alternated between air-drumming and head-banging, while James was doing some odd sort of pirouette dance.
Sirius took it even further when he accosted some girl and began to serenade her with "I Want You"—fortunately for him, the maid in question seemed to enjoy his attentions. Lucy rolled her eyes at this show of vulgarity, saying, "How can he live with himself? Honestly, it's like Black is just a big, tall ego that walks and talks." Lily laughed, agreeing with Lucy but still entertained by the boy's antics. "I'm not sure who's worse, him or Potter. Where did the illustrious Head Boy get to anyways?"
Lily shrugged, scanning the room for James and not finding him. "He's probably off harassing some girl with his singular rendition of 'Let's Get It On.'"
"Now that's something I'd like to see. Lucky for me, he'll probably be over here delivering such a ballad pretty soon." Lily looked at her friend questioningly. "Oh, come off it, Lils," said Lucy. "You know he wouldn't romantically accost anyone but you! Why, I bet that in his mind, that's already your song." She grinned at the annoyed redhead.
"Really, Luce, don't you think James has gotten a bit less rude than that?" Lily said, refilling her glass with pumpkin juice. "Let's give him a bit of credit." Lucy forced herself not to fist pump the air. She also figured an 'I told you so' wouldn't be welcome at this stage of the game; I'll save it for when they're snogging each other's faces off, she promised herself.
At that moment, Remus came over to dance with Lucy again, leaving Lily alone with her thoughts. She didn't have long to contemplate what she'd just said about James, though—why, she'd practically complimented the bloke!—because a tall tuxedoed boy came over and offered her his arm. She looked at him strangely: he hadn't really asked her to dance, since he hadn't spoken a word, and yet she was oddly inclined to accept him. The mystery man raised his eyebrows at her—they were dark and shapely, she noted—as if to say "Well? Are you coming?" She mentally shrugged, thinking: This is what a Masquerade Ball is about, after all. What could it hurt?
She looped her arm through his, and he led her towards the center of the dance floor. As he grasped her hand in one of his, and slid his spare arm around her waist, Lily noticed that the song playing was one of her favorites: "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole. It reminded her of her father: they had danced to it at her sister's wedding the year before. She opened her mouth to voice her thoughts to this stranger, but when she met his eyes she was struck dumb. He was looking at her with such intensity—and yet such gentleness—that she completely lost her train of thought.
The eyes in question were a gorgeous, sparkling hazel, and they seemed somehow familiar to Lily. She berated herself for trying to identify her partner—after all, the name of the game tonight was Mystery. The pair gently swayed to the lilting tones of Nat King Cole, the boy never taking his eyes off Lily's. For her part, Lily quickly stopped trying to make conversation, as her thoughts got muddled every time she met his gaze.
With no talk to distract her, Lily had the opportunity to revel in the feel of dancing with this man. He was just about the perfect height, falling on the tall side of the spectrum, but not so tall that she had to crane her neck to make eye contact. His shoulders were broad, his arms strong, and his hands large—her own petite one was completely enveloped in his warm grasp. He was an excellent dancer, easily guiding her in an improvised box step. Though much of his face was obscured by his black mask, Lily noticed his strong chin and full, dusky rose lips. For the most part he was looking at her seriously, only smiling slightly, but she was sure his full-blown grin would be dazzling. On top of his physical appearance, the masked man smelled delicious. Like his eyes, the boy's enticing scent was familiar to Lily, but she couldn't place where she'd smelled it before.
All in all, Lily had a very pleasant time dancing with her mystery partner, and she was so entranced by him that she didn't even notice when the first song ended and led into a second, and then a third; nor did she notice Lucy, Sirius, Remus, and Peter at the back of the room, wearing identical satisfied smirks as they watched the pair.
Finally, when she heard the opening notes of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," Lily realized that they'd been dancing for quite a while. Somehow she and the young man had moved closer together, so that their torsos were almost touching. As the song was ending, she looked up into those hazel eyes and gave a small smile, trying to move away, but the boy held her fast looked searchingly at her. Not really knowing what he was searching for, Lily just smiled a little wider. The stranger gave her a half-smile in return, and slowly began leaning in towards her. The smirks from the back of the room broadened.
Strangely, Lily didn't panic. In the back of her mind, she knew she wasn't the kind of girl to share a kiss with an unidentified boy to whom she'd never spoken. In the front of her mind, though, she knew that she was impossibly comfortable around this tall, handsome youth. Perhaps she would find out who he was, or perhaps his identity would remain a secret forever; either way, Lily was entirely sure that she wanted to kiss the man behind the mask.
And so, as her suitor leaned down, Lily Evans leaned towards him, and their lips met. His were even softer than she'd anticipated, and, if possible, he smelled better at this closer proximity. His hand dropped hers and joined its mate at her waist, drawing her further towards him, allowing her to twine her arms around his neck. His tongue slipped out to wet her bottom lip, and she willingly opened her mouth to him. He tasted even better than he smelled. She sighed, and melted into his embrace, standing on tiptoe to give him better access. As they kissed, time seemed to stand still.
Yeehaw, I did it! I caught the story up to itself, FINALLY. Let me know what you think!
