Disclaimer: Ooooh, three wishes, one to fly to heavens, one to swim with fishes, one to own Harry Potter even though we know that it will never happen... (Song: 3 Wishes by the Pierces). We also do not own Barbie.
Ekaterina's Note: Hey, I'm going to speak on the behalf of everyone today seeing as one of us is out of town, one I'm too lazy to call up and ask to add a note, and the other one is busy. So, we apologize for the long time it took us to update, it was a hectic few weeks for us even though CSTs are over :P. OH. Good, news, due to the reviews of some loyal reviewers, we ARE continuing the story! Thank you to all that reviewed, it seriously warmed our hearts with joy. Okay, so enjoooy!
"Attention students!" Headmaster Dumbledore stood up magnificently. It was not often that he called attention to himself during breakfast, so the students took no notice. The chatter did not quiet one bit but, to the professors' irritation, seem to get louder.
"Attention!" he tried again.
Slughorn glared at the students angrily. "Shall I...?" he asked Dumbledore when a third try proved no better.
Dumbledore nodded briefly. Slughorn brought out his wand and with a sharp flick, the entire hall was silenced.
Students everywhere looked like goldfish out of water gulping for air.
"May I bring myself to attention?" This time, every eye was fixed on Dumbledore. "We will be having a ball-a masquerade, to be exact-next Saturday. You may choose to attend, if you wish, alone or with a partner. There will be drinks and refreshments. Thank you, students. Professor Slughorn can remove the silencio spell, now," he said with a brief nod.
Slughorn flicked his wand again, and the chatter was quickly back, this time about the masquerade-and about partners.
LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY ~ LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY ~ LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY
"So, are you and Sirius going to the ball then?" Lily questioned Lara as they staggered to Potions with an armload of books.
"No... Wait...he would ask me, right?" Lara said with a worried expression.
"Hey, right now he is probably dreaming about which dress you are going to wear. Besides, Sirius isn't the type to miss such a good chance to spend time with you," Lily reassured as the two entered the Potions classroom. Slughorn was not in-probably getting another can of crystalized pineapples from the kitchen.
"Yeah, I suppose...You and James are going, na?"
"Huh? Oh, well, no...but why would he ask me? I mean, he could ask any other girl..." Lily said in carefree voice but her slightly tinged cheeks didn't convince Lara.
"Yeah, yeah, right," Lara smirked and dropped her books onto her desk. "Look, there he comes now!" She pointed at a flushed James hurrying toward Lily. "I'll leave, have fun!" She rushed over to Alice and Nadia who were also entering the room, leading them back out so the class was only occupied by the two.
"Hey, Lily!" James said brightly.
"Hi..." Lily said, shooting him a small smile.
"Hey, I need to talk to you after Potions, okay?"
Lily grinned. "Do I really have a choice?"
"Nope!" James, smiled, his word popping on the "p".
"Okay, then! I guess I will."
LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY ~ LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY ~ LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY
After class Lily skipped down the hall to meet James, but came to a stop when she saw he wasn't there.
"Eh? But-" she was cut off when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.
"My dear Princess Lily, I am hoping that you will do me the honor of accompanying me to the upcoming ball? It would be such a pleasure..." he whispered, warm breath tickled her ear.
"Ah... Uh..." Lily stammered, she wasn't accustomed to this at all.
"Or," he leaned in closer, "should I try to persuade you..." this one was accompanied by a light kiss by her ear.
"Ah...alright, I'll go!" she managed to squeak before wriggling out of his arms and running down the hall, her face flushing and hot.
"He asked you, he asked you, didn't he?" Lara ran up to meet Lily, closely followed by Nadia and Alice looking with equal anticipation towards the answer.
Lily nodded briefly, but her face was glowing.
"Oooohhh! Lucky! How sweet~" cooed Nadia.
"I wonder if they will have mistletoe..." mused Alice as she twirled around the room. Lily and Lara exchanged knowing smirks, that definitely meant that Remus had already asked her and she had accepted.
"Nadia, you going?" Lily asked.
"Hmmm? Oh, yeah, but I won't have a partner...anyway, I'll be taking Death," Nadia answered, brushing back her hair.
"Oh, well maybe someone will ask you out?" Lara said mildly.
"ARGH! Are you serious? I don't want to have a partner. Really, I don't know what's gotten into all of, flirting with-"
"Excuse me? Flirting?" Lily said. "Really, Nadia," she said, laughing, "we aren't flirting...just experimenting with guys..." She burst into laughter.
"You make them sound like lab mice," Lara said, also laughing.
"Anyway, no. I am most certainly NOT getting a partner, I only want Death!" Nadia said defiantly.
"Whatever floats your space shuttle..." Alice answered, beginning to twirl around. "We're going to dance at the ball, right?"
"Yeah, if you wanna, I guess..." Lily answered. "If Remus asks you to, you should..."
Lara frowned. "Oh, you two are already worrying about dancing or not...I haven't even been asked to go to the ball!"
"Well, Lara, here comes your Prince Charming now~" Lily said in a sing-songy voice before rushing down the hallway, followed by Nadia and Alice.
"LILY!" It was a sharp, high voice.
Lily turned on her heels. Her face darkened as she saw who had called her. She motioned for Nadia and Alice to go on without her. They turned away reluctantly and went into the library.
"Shantall," Lily stated.
Shantall smirked. "Yes, that is my name, don't wear it out," she said, tossing her head haughtily. She had raven black hair and dark amythst eyes. She had long eyelashes, glistening dark red lips, and perfect skin. Today she wore a dangerously short skirt that exposed slender legs and a flowing silver robe. Everyone had to agree she was a gorgeous girl.
Lily shrugged. "It's already worn out enough by your fanboys," she said coolly. "What do you want?"
"I've told you this before, but you're probably so stupid you forgot already. Get off James Potter," she said her eyes flashing angrily.
Lily laughed. "Oh, how did I know you would order me to get off James? Oh, maybe because all you do is bat your fake eyelashes in his general direction and throw yourself at him when he already made it clear to stay away? Really, Shantall? Don't you have better things to do? Seriously, just find a new guy like you do every week."
Lily was exasperated. Shantall had been on her everyday of her life to get her off James Potter ever since fourth year or so when he remained the only boy who failed to fall for her during the three years at Hogwarts. And she hated Lily's guts because James was always "flirting" with Lily. It was a given widely known fact that Shantall had a deep grudge against Lily, and Lily couldn't deny that she didn't quite like Shantall either. She simply happened to be much more subtle and elegant about it.
"Well, apparently you have a really bad memory because you won't get off of my boy." Shantall shifted her weight, placing a hand on her hip.
"Excuse me? Your boy? You make it sound like your his mother or something..."
"Shut up, Evans! Don't you even talk to him. Don't you even lay a finger on him! I saw you just now! Hugging and kissing!" she said accusingly.
"What? I-"
"No, I see you every single moment of your stupid life with him! I know it, you know it!" she growled. "Do you really wanna piece of me?"
"No thanks. I really dunno what I would do with your leg or your arm..." Lily said, laughing. An image of holding the limbs of a Barbie doll that looked a lot like Shantall popped in her head.
"I am dead serious right now, you had better watch your mouth," Shantall glared at Lily.
Lily stopped laughing. Her eyes were flashing brilliantly. "The whole Hogwarts knows that you've been after Potter since we were in first year. Tsk, I wonder why he never fell for you when virtually every other boy was drooling over you! I wonder! Maybe because you're a s-"
"EXCUSE ME? Did you just call me-"
"And for your information, I was never all over him! He was the one who hugged me, who kissed me! You know why? Because likes me! And I would really appreciate you not stalking us, you know?"
"You really want to get on my nerves, don't you? Just get off my love!" Shantall declared, her voice rising.
"You know what? For a change, why don't you try getting off the only ******* person I have ever fallen hard on?" Lily retorted. "Stop chasing something that never was and never will be!"
"Filthy mudblood! Gold digger, I swear on my ancestor's pure graves that if Potter isn't mine then there will be some nasty consequences..." Shantall spat menacingly.
"Oh, really? I bet you ancestors are turning in their graves right now, having something like you spoiling their reputation!" Lily said, her voice was suddenly cold and devoid of any emotion. To her this was close to a life and death situation, she was not going to lose something that had taken her so long to find. She glared at the only person she hated more than her sister and Snape before turning on her heel and marching into the library.
"What happened?" Nadia asked, looking worriedly into Lily's flushed face.
"The usuals...get off James Potter..." Lily's voice was rather tired.
"It did look a little more than that..." Alice remarked.
"Oh, there comes Lara!" Lily said, looking up from a book about dress robes and pointing to Lara who was eagerly heading towards them with flushed cheeks and a glowing smile.
"Sirius definitely asked her out," commented Nadia.
"Or, maybe a hippogriff bit her. It looks like she has the symptoms," Alice added, stopping her dancing to look.
"Guys! Guess what?" Lara squealed.
"Oh, what? Sirius asked you out for the ball?" Lily said in an exaggerated bored voice.
"Well, yeah, but he also..." Lara's eyes were shining.
"What else?" Lily stood up. "What else? Did he kiss you, or-"
"Did he propose? Are we having a wedding?" Alice interrupted with interest and started to sing the Wedding March tune and twirled around and around earning glares from students who were studying.
"No way! I am not getting married! He gave me this!" Lara carefully brought out a necklace from under her robes. It was hanging beautifully on her neck. It was in the shape of a heart, decorated with red rubies and engraved with an intricate design.
"Ooh! Gorgeous!" Nadia said. "It would have been even better if it had black stones onto it!"
Lara ignored her. "It's beautiful. He asked me to wear it to the masquerade... he told me he loved me!"
"How romantic!" Lily said. "What else?"
"That's all but-"
"ARGH!" There was a scream and a boom!
Lily jumped about six feet in the air. Lara almost dropped her precious necklace. Nadia accidentally stepped on Death's tail as she started up, resulting in a yowl.
"What was that?" Lily asked, turning around. She gasped and burst into giggles at the sight. Alice was lying on the floor, books piling over her. Over her was an almost empty book shelf.
Nadia sighed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"
Alice smiled a little and got up. "Heh heh, I think the bookshelf ran into me..." She seemed a little zonked out.
"A bookshelf ran into you? More likely you were twilring and ran into it..." Lara said, suppressing giggles.
"No, that isn't possible..." Alice said seriously. "Let me try fixing this mess." She brought out her wand and with a sweep and a whisper, the books were wobbling up to the shelves.
LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY ~ LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY ~ LOST (PLEASE REPORT IF FOUND) : MY SANITY
The Gryfindor common dorm was bustling with anticipation and excitement. There were mirrors, counters piled with make-up, and dressing rooms all magically fitted into the room. The usual chairs and cushions were no where to be seen. It was the day of the masquerade.
"Lily, Lily! Look at my dress! How is it? Does it look alright?" Lara said, her face flushed and pink. She wore a magnificent lavender color dress, lined with black, intricate swirls on the bottom. It was long and flowy with a reasonably deep neckline that showed the necklace that Sirius had gotten for her. The dress showed off her slim figure and her hair was untied and curled, framing her face delicately.
"Oh, Lara," Lily said, her eyes widening. "It's beautiful!"
Lara smiled, and held up her mask. "What about this?" It was white with purple glittery designs that wove around it, with black feathers.
"It matches your eyes perfectly," Lily reassured, and then frowned. "What about my dress?"
Lara smiled. "Lily, you look gorgeous!" Lily wore a long strapless gown that swept across the floor. It was emerald with gold designs of flowers-lilies-woven onto it beautifully. Her mask was a pearly white with green swirls. There was a perfect lily placed delicately in her auburn hair which was cascading down her waist like ripples of a river.
"It really brings out your green eyes," Lara said.
"Okay, then, let's go," Lily said flashing a grin.
"Uh, actually, Sirius was supposed to meet me in front of the portrait and I-" Lara said fingering her necklace.
"Ohhh, I see... Shall I say no more? Sure, Lara, go ahead. I'll check on Nadia and Alice and then go, ok?" Lily smirked. She and James had agreed to meet in front of the ballroom.
"Thanks, Lily, see you at the ball!" Lara said with a mischievous grin and flowed away and out of the portrait.
Lily watched her go out, then took a final look of herself at the mirror, checking her hair and dress. "Nadia? Alice?"
Nadia emerged from behind a long mirror. "Hmm?" She was dressed morbidly, as Lily had to admit. Her black gown was pretty, but rather strange. It was a long black dress with thin straps that has a thin material flowing down her shoulders. The top was slightly puffy and it reached down into an elegant belt which had a silver rose on it and cascaded into a flowy skirt. In her hand she held a pearly back mask with silver designs and sparkles.
"Ready to go?" Lily asked, smiling.
"Yup!" came a voice as Alice floated dreamily out, too. She wore a pale pink dress-simple but suitable. It was covered with beads-silver and white-making intricate designs of flowers and butterflies. Her shoulders were draped with a matching shawl. From beneath her long dress were small, dainty dancing feet in Cinderella-style glass shoes.
"Aww~! Alice, you look adorable! Like a fairy!" Lily exclaimed.
Alice grinned, "Lily, you always look wonderful."
"A-hem," Nadia said frowning jokingly.
"Oh, but Nadia looks dashing every second of her life!" Lily said quickly, jabbing her with her elbow playfully.
"Haha Yeah right," Nadia said sarcastically, but she was smiling. "Where's Lara?"
"Having some 'alone time' with Sirius," Lily answered, grinning.
"Are you ready to have some of that 'alone time' with James?" Nadia countered.
"Huh? Wha...? YOU!"
"Hey, hey! I told you guys to stop playing with guys..." Nadia was cracking up. "And you, Alice?"
Alice nodded. "Remus will be waiting," she confirmed, dancing across the floor.
"See! No need to hide it! Is James waiting for you outside? Or better yet, is he going to dance with you? Ooooh, this is some majorly good stuff!" Nadia said, reaching down for Death and petting him.
"Enough! Enough!" Lily said, flushing, "Let's go!"
The three made their way carefully to the ballroom. There were guys in dress robes and tuxedos with their hair spiked up, and girls dressed in the usual fancy robes or sweeping ballgowns that were bound to clean up the entire school's floors.
"This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!" squealed Alice. "Come on! Let's go in!" She pulled Nadia and Lily to the doors.
"Uh, you two go in. I've got to meet James out here," Lily said, her reddening face concealed by her mask.
"See what I mean about flirting with guys?" Nadia said again, but let go of Lily's arm.
Okay, then, see you around." She walked into the room with Death on her heels and Alice practically leaping at her side.
"Now where is James Potter?" Lily said to herself as she fingered the mask on her face.
"Did you call?" James was beside Lily.
"Whoa, where did you come from?" Lily giggled in spite of herself.
"From your heart," James answered sweetly, winking.
"Blech!" Lily was laughing. "Can you tell I'm Lily even with the mask on?"
James threw his arms around her. "I can tell who's my Lily anywhere, anytime!"
Lily lightly tapped James' arm. "Come on, let's go in," she said.
"Okay." James offered Lily his hand. "May I escort Miss Lily to the ballroom?" he asked.
Lily brought her hand into his. "Yes." Under the safety of her mask, her face was reddening.
"Let us go, then." James led Lily through the door and into the maginficent room.
Lily gasped. It was beautiful, wondrous. "Oh, Merlin..."
The Great Hall had been magically transformed. Gone were the usual tables. Instead, there was a white marble floor that was so clean and bright that Lily could see her reflection. In the center of the room was the dancing floor. Couples were slow-dancing to a classical tune coming from a string quartet that was bewitched to play themselves. On the sides there were elegant cushioned chairs and tables covered with lacy tablecloths. There were piles of desserts: chocolate, fruits, pastries, cakes, pies, truffles, punch, and tea.
"Yep, this is going to be fun," she heard James mutter.