With the ball approaching, the entire castle was in an uproar. Boys were asking girls last minute, girls were trying desperately to get dates and sort out wardrobe malfunctions, and the teachers were constantly trying to keep their students' attention. One girl in particular, Loraina Parker, was trying desperately to make sure her entire night would run perfect smoothly.
Her mask went to just above her eyebrows and then down to the middle of her cheekbones. It was gorgeous, shimmery silver that matched part of her dress, and she put it on in front of the mirror the day before, checking that it looked absolutely perfect. She then tried on her teal, satin, strapped heels and made sure that they fit perfectly, to avoid tripping and other embarrassing accidents.
"Is that your mask for the ball, Parker?" a snooty voice asked. Loraina turned, gasping. She had thought she was alone...
"Oh, um, yes," she said feebly. The girl in front of her flipped her dark blonde hair behind her and furrowed her brow.
"I don't like it."
"Um...thank you?"
"No, like it's really, really bad."
"Okay," Loraina said, getting fed up. "Amber, go rain on someone else's parade, yeah?"
Amber Fredrick rolled her eyes and walked out of the dorm. Loraina looked at herself self-consciously in the mirror as her dorm mate left.
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Lily and James sat comfortably in their common room, playing chess, and occasionally laughing at each other's bad moves and misfortunes.
"I love this," Lily said suddenly. "Just relaxing with you, and not having to worry about what I'm gonna say so I don't look stupid."
"You always look stupid," James said dumbly. Lily looked at him, appalled, and he laughed. "Just kidding, Snapdragon."
"That nickname is just so odd," Lily giggled, poking him on the nose. "I don't have one for you. How about...Jamie?"
"No."
"Will...Jay, work?"
"That's fine," James said, standing up and sitting on the couch. He beckoned her to join him, and when she did, he pulled her into a laying position beside him.
"What are we gonna do until you have practice?" Lily asked, a twinkle in her eyes.
"I can think of something," James replied with his trademark grin before lowering his lips to hers.
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Sirius and Remus were walking to the Quidditch pitch to get in some extra practice before official practice began when Sirius noticed it.
"Remus, mate, you're looking pale."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You're not looking to good, Moony."
"The full moon isn't until next week, though," Remus said, his brow furrowed.
"Good thing, too," Sirius chuckled. "The ball is tomorrow. Could you imagine a werewolf, terrorizing the entire school?"
Remus laughed as well. "I wouldn't mind setting good old Moony on Orion."
"I don't think any of us would," Sirius agreed. "He's been staying away from Delilah a little bit more lately. Ever since the attack."
"Do you think he planned it?" Remus asked, his brow furrowed.
"I doubt it."
"I'm not sure. He does seem to hate most of the school population. And did you notice that all of the Slytherins went up to the castle early?" Remus pressed.
"Good point. I take it back. I bet he did it."
"I hope not. That only shows how much he's capable of."
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"Delilah," a voice hissed as she walked the halls. She turned to find none other then Orion himself. She had been planning on joining Remus and Sirius for some extra practice. The halls were otherwise empty, and she cursed herself for not bringing her wand.
"Hello, Professor."
"You can call me Orion here, you know."
"No thank you, sir."
"You look hot when you're angry," he said. "Especially in that Quidditch uniform."
"And you look like a sleaze," she fired back. "Especially when you're hitting on girls four years younger than you."
"You never complained before," Orion said.
"You had me brainwashed and you know it," Delilah hissed.
"Brainwashed?" Orion said incredulously.
"You had me convinced for two years that you loved me, and that what we were doing was fine. You're a lying, abusing bastard, Orion Black!"
"It's Orion now, is it?" he smirked.
Without thinking about it, Delilah slapped him across the face, determined to get that stupid smirk off of his face. She went to pull her hand back to her own side when he captured her wrist and threw her to the floor.
"I thought I taught you to never hit back," Orion laughed cruelly. She stood up and glared at him.
"You mean like this?" she retaliated before kneeing him in the stomach. He doubled over for a moment before straightening up and grabbing her by the upper arms and slamming her against the wall. He shook her a few times before slapping her once for emphasis and storming off.
Delilah slumped to the floor. The feelings inside of her were so familiar. As a tear slipped down her soft cheek, she closed her blue eyes as she felt her body begin to ache. This time, it hurt even more. She had just been hit by the Cruciactus curse two weeks and some odd days before. Her body just wasn't ready for that kind of abuse.
"Delilah?" a surprised voice asked. She looked up to see James Potter racing toward her, concern on his face. Delilah did the only thing she could think of; she got up and ran.
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Delilah finally showed up to the real Quidditch practice five minutes late, and James pulled her aside as soon as she arrived on the pitch. The rest of the team presumed he was telling her off for being late, but he had something else in mind.
"Delilah, are you okay?"
"What are you talking about?" Delilah asked, feigning ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Cut the bullshit," James growled. Delilah stepped back at his anger. "What did he do to you?"
"He didn't do anything," Delilah lied through her teeth. She knew that whatever she said to James would get back to Sirius and that would mean Sirius attacking Orion, and most likely losing.
"I know that you're lying to me, Delilah, so 'fess up!"
"He just threw me around a little, James," Delilah said, shaking her head as she put her hair up. "It's nothing I can't handle."
"You don't have to handle it! If you would just let us help you..."
"I don't need your help, James."
With that, Delilah walked back onto the pitch, giving James no other choice but to follow her.
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Lily and Loraina sat in Lily's bedroom and painted their nails. Lily was putting a sheer, light gold on her nails, while Loraina put on a shimmering teal.
"I'm so excited for the ball," Lily gushed. "It's going to be amazing."
"I know! I really, really hope that Remus will ask me to be his girlfriend."
"I'm sure he will," Lily reassured her nervous friend. "Remus totally likes you."
"I hope he likes me as much as people say he does. Sirius told me that he's really, really into me, but he doesn't always act like it," Loraina mused as she examined the paint on her nails, shaking her head and removing it before beginning again.
"Everyone can see it, Raina," Lily replied. "You'll be just fine. Plus, you're gonna knock him out tomorrow night. You look gorgeous in that dress and you know it."
Loraina blushed, and hoped against hope that Lily was right.
Author's Note: I am so excited to write the next chapter. The ball might be two chapters long, but I think it's just gonna be one. Check out the website (the link is in my profile) to see pictures of the dresses. I'll put them up when I'm done with the next chapter. I know some people hate it when people do that, and I'm really going to try and do the dresses justice in my descriptions, but I'm not sure if I can .
