Be Here Now
Disclaimer: The amazing J.K. Rowling and her brilliant mind own Harry Potter, not me.
A/N: I got five reviews! Thank you! I update fast because I love writing and I truly couldn't live without it. :D
WrittenWords1779: Thanks!
peacock33: Thank you. Well, we can't always control who we love, can we? James loved Lily before she loved him and favored Snape over her. In my story, Lily is a sensible young woman, and I'm not going to let her wait forever as James tries to straighten out his life. I don't plan for them to get together FOREVER soon.
GryffindorGirl11: Thank you!
Laveycee: Thanks, and I think I will start one.
Eclare LJ and Percabeeth: Yes, I think I will! I think it'll be interesting to see how it turns out compared to what I like to read, ha-ha!
Smileyface Devil: Thank you on both points!
I've started a Draco/Hermione fanfic and it is titled "Fate", in case you wanted to check it out. I was also thinking of writing a one-shot, but we'll see! Also, I've started generating ideas for the arranged marriage fic. Just something about my other works. And now… chapter thirteen: THE BALL PART ONE!
x.o.x.o.x.
Dear Mr. and Miss Potter,
Please report to my office at the earliest possible.
Professor Dumbledore
Hilary finishes the letter and tosses it to James. For the first time in a very long time, the four Marauders and the four girls are hanging out together. Lily and James hadn't made much progress on their friendship, but they had become acquaintances, being civil to each other and not yelling at each other at ever corner. James and Maya's relationship was still going strong, to everyone's dismay. None of them could see what James saw in Maya, for her attitude and behavior were always bitchy. Naomi had (of course) bonded instantly with Maya and her best friend, Katie. Kate had joined the girls' group for a bit, but spent most of her time with a mixed group of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. All this had happened on the same day, and now they are quietly talking in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"I wonder why," James says, jolting Hilary out of her trance.
Hilary shrugs. "Maybe prefect or Head duties," she suggests.
Lily shakes her head, shooting down the idea right away. "I would have been called as well, and Remus," she points out.
Remus nods, agreeing with the Head Girl. "She's right."
"Have you pulled a prank alone?" Peter questions.
James shakes his head frantically. "No! It's in the Marauder Code of Honor that we must pull pranks together," he reminds them.
Hilary sniffs loftily. "So you can make good on the Marauder Code of Honor but not our pact?"
"Hils…"
Hilary cuts him off. "I know, James, I was just angry and I wanted to take it out on someone. Let's go see Dumbledore before curfew."
James nods, rising. "Bye, mates."
The Marauders nod at him, Marlene and Alice wave, and Lily inclines her head slightly.
The twins leave.
"I'm surprised Hilary forgave James so easily," Sirius confesses softly.
"I am too," Alice agrees, just as quietly. "She isn't one to hold grudges, but if it is someone she holds dearly close, she can get very angry."
Lily shakes her head slowly. "She isn't one to hold grudges. She forgave James very easily because of something he did. I have no idea what, but I can guarantee he did something to get her to forgive him. And that is a considerable feat."
Marlene nods, agreeing with Lily's statement. "Hilary can be vicious when it comes to loved ones, and being fiercely loyal and stubborn, she wouldn't have forgiven James if he hadn't done something considerable." While saying this, she shot a glance directly at Lily.
Lily gazes back at her shamelessly, but she knows what Marlene means. She may love James intensely, but she wouldn't wait around forever for James to straighten out the kinks in his troubled, messed up life.
x.o.x.o.x.
"Ah, Mr. and Miss Potter!" Dumbledore greets the sister and brother as they enter his office. However, his voice is void of any usual jovial tone, and his usually twinkling blue eyes solemn.
"Is something wrong, Professor?" James asks in concern, studying the headmaster's face while sitting across from him.
Hilary takes her seat silently, but she is slightly scared.
"Something has happened," Dumbledore begins.
"With our parents?" cries Hilary, shooting out of her chair.
"Yes, Miss Potter, with your parents," Dumbledore replies slowly.
"What happened?" demands Hilary, her heart thumping. She feels out of breath. Her parents were her constant advocates, two people that truly supported her and steered her in the right direction. If they were…
"They are not dead," Dumbledore clarifies quickly.
Hilary lets out a breath loudly in pure relief. "Thank Merlin," she whispers.
James had turned pale white. "There are things worse than death," he reminds his sister gently.
Now Hilary pales alarmingly.
"It is neither death nor worse," Dumbledore assures them. "The Death Eaters raided your home last night. The manor is almost completely demolished, and your parents are injured severely, but expected to make a full recovery."
Hilary bites her lip, holding back tears. "And Isabel?" she questions of their darling younger sister.
"Isabel Potter, thankfully, was not in the manor at the time of the attack. She was at your aunt's house," Dumbledore answers.
"How were they hurt?" James inquires.
"Spells, curses, hexes, and jinxes. Your father has a broken leg, and a concussion, but otherwise is fine. Your mother suffered the same injuries but a bit worse and in a sleep-induced coma," Dumbledore informs them.
Hilary leans back in her chair, covering her face. "Thank Merlin none of them are dead," she whispers.
Dumbledore smiles sadly at the young woman. Each of the girls and Marauders had suffered such bad events, especially Marlene and Lily and Hilary. He was proud of them, and would be divulging a certain piece of information quite soon to his most trusted students.
x.o.x.o.x.
Lily leaves the Gryffindor common room after hearing Hilary's story and consoling her. Saying the password, she enters the Head Common Room and flops onto the couch, realizing that James was across from her, staring into the fire blankly.
"I'm sorry, James. That's terrible," she says quietly.
James glances away from the fire and at her. "You have no idea how it feels," he snaps. His temper is short, because after receiving such a scare from your parents' health and wellbeing.
Now Lily is on the verge of losing her temper. It had already been cut short by the late hour. "Oh?" she snarls back, getting up.
"Lily!" James calls as she nears her door.
Lily turns around, her emerald green eyes alight with fire, and she echoes his words. "I'm not going to wait forever."
x.o.x.o.x.
After lunch on Saturday, the girls and the Marauders lounge under a lavender weeping willow, just relaxing in the late fall sunshine. It was warmer than usual.
Lily stares off into the grounds, where students milled around, and the older ones were waiting anxiously for the ball to begin. "There's Kate," she observes, jerking her chin toward the group of Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and one Gryffindor, Kate.
"She's not as vicious as her twin, but I'm sort of glad she decided to become friends so quickly with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. They're quite good influences, besides Maya and Naomi, of course. They could be cut out as Death Eaters," Hilary remarks scathingly.
"Watch it, sis, you're talking about my girlfriend there," James warns.
James and Lily, overnight, had become as enemy-like toward each other as before, even when it was one-sided (on Lily's). "I agree with Hilary," she snaps, before standing. "I've got to get to the Great Hall to see if everything is in order. See you girls in my dorm at four, okay?"
"Four? But the ball starts at six-thirty!" Sirius calls.
Lily laughs. "Girls need that long to primp. You blokes will be in the Head Common Room waiting, right?"
The Marauders minus James nod. Lily departs, heading for the Great Hall.
"What happened?" Marlene demands of James.
"Yeah, you and Lily-petal became enemies again overnight!" Sirius adds.
"That's quite impressive," jokes Remus.
"I lost my temper with her last night. She came in, offering me sympathy, and I snapped at her and said that she had no idea how it felt." James shrugs, obviously unknowing of the situation.
The group gasps collectively.
"What?" James asks defensively. "She doesn't! Her parents are alive and well, with no threat hanging over their heads at every turn."
Exchanging glances, it is decided that Alice would tell the tale. "James, Lily's… Lily's mum and dad are dead. They died in fourth year. Voldemort himself killed them both, first torturing them for information on Lily's personal strengths and weaknesses. When they wouldn't relent, he killed them instantly. Lily was just fourteen years old, and had to go into a dark, deserted alley that would serve as her home for the next three years. She never visited us during the summer holidays, staying in the alley all summer long. She never visited us before the deaths, either, opting to spend quality time with her parents. So her parents aren't alive and well, and if they were, they would probably have a larger threat hanging over their heads than the most respected Auror and his wife would."
James had fallen silent. "Oh Merlin," he says.
"Yep, you're in a heap of trouble," trills Hilary. "You're such an insensitive prick."
x.o.x.o.x.
Lily stands in the doorway of the Great Hall, admiring the decorations. It would be hard to step it up from this ball to the Christmas one. Suddenly, she is struck by a flashback of the last Christmas they spent together as a family.
Flashback
"Lily, dear, wake up! It's Christmas morning!" Mrs. Evans calls.
Lily, at thirteen, stumbles out of bed. "I'm kind of old for this, Mum," she jokes, entering the living room. She lets out a gasp. The tree is the most beautiful it had ever been.
"Good morning, Mum! Good morning, Dad! 'Morning, Lily!" Petunia Evans calls, also entering the living room. She smiles in approval at the Christmas tree.
Lily raises an eyebrow, taken aback. "No 'freak'?" she challenges her older sister.
Petunia shrugs. "It's Christmas," she answers simply.
End flashback
That had been one of the best Christmases in recent memory for Lily.
x.o.x.o.x.
"Done!" Hilary declares, stepping from Lily's huge walk-in closet. They had decided to dress and do makeup one by one.
The other three girls grin at Hilary. She looks stunning. Her jet-black hair is twisted elegantly into a loose but neat bun, and her tanned skin stands out beautifully from her white gown. The gown brushes the floor, covering the silver flats she wore on her feet. Her makeup consisted of eyeliner, mascara, blush, and eye shadow. No jewelry is worn.
"Done!" Alice declares next.
The girls nod approvingly. Alice wears a white dress that stopped at her knees and was low-cut at the neck. Around her neck is slung a gold locket, and her brown hair was up in a high ponytail. On her feet are white kitten heels. She wears no makeup.
"Done!" Marlene steps from the closet third.
She wears a black mini-dress with her brown hair wrapped in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Her feet are clad in black flat sandals, she wears no makeup, and her only jewelry is a bracelet.
When Lily steps from the closet, the girls gasp. All of them were stunning, but Lily was the most beautiful. Gone were any indications of a goody-goody and homework-loving Head Girl. She wears a black gown that hits the floor, is velvet, and fits tightly but not too tightly against her body, showing off every curve it could seek. Her red hair is magically curled to perfection, tumbling in beautiful waves down her back. Her eyes are flared with mascara and enhanced by a light coating of green eye shadow. Her lips are brushed with pearly pink gloss, and hanging in her ears are delicate swirls of silver. As she walks, her feet clack, showing that she is wearing strappy black heels.
x.o.x.o.x.
They decide to progress into the Head Common Room in the order that they dressed, so Hilary glides out of Lily's dorm first, hearing someone closing the door gently behind her. The Marauders plus Maya (dressed in the most slutty white dress Hilary had ever seen) and Frank are waiting.
Sirius smiles appreciatively at her. "Nice outfit, Hils," he compliments.
For the first time in a long time, Hilary smiles at Sirius Black. "Thank you, Sirius," she answers quietly.
"Brilliant, little sis. You look beautiful," James winks.
Hilary rolls her eyes. Another event (the raid) had brought the twins closer together, though they still weren't at the best of relationships. "I'm only twenty-seven minutes younger!"
They hear the door close again as Alice enters the room. Frank's jaw drops, and she smiles smugly. "Good evening, gentlemen, and… lady," she says, eyes raking over Maya and her tone clearly suggesting that Maya was anything but a proper lady.
Maya and Hilary catch this. Maya scowls ferociously and Hilary grins widely.
"Beautiful, Alice," murmurs Frank, walking over to join her.
Now the group (minus Maya, who was still scowling into the fire) faces Lily's dorm door. Marlene exits next.
The Marauders (minus Sirius) compliment her heartily as they had done to Alice and Hilary.
Marlene glances at Sirius nervously.
"Pretty," Sirius tells her finally, smiling. But no one could live up to the walking angel, Hilary Potter.
And they wait, with bated breath, for Lily's long-awaited entrance while Maya stares into the fire, wishing each and every one of the four girls would jump inside and burn to death.
x.o.x.o.x.
A/N: Whoa, Maya! Easy, girl! I agree with Hilary as well, Maya would make a good Death Eater. Too bad she isn't in Slytherin. And if she was, James wouldn't be dating her! Next time, it will be The Ball Part 2, plus Lily's entrance! This has been much longer than before, with twice as many pages as I started out with! Please review and tell me your thoughts! Have a fantastic week! Might be up Thursday or Friday! Until chapter fourteen…
~TrueLoveis4ever