Chapter 36

Getting ready

Note from the Authors: So, another Christmas at Hogwarts. It's still amazes us at how much everyone enjoys the story, and we are so thankful to all of you. We know there's only a small comment about Krum and Lily flying together, but there is more to come, we just didn't want to overload this chapter. As always, thank you for your comments and likes, they mean the world to us!

Christmas day arrived, and as usual, the castle was brightly decorated, with music playing everywhere, and trees in every major part of the school. As Lily woke up, she was already excited for her date with Ginny, as well as spending Christmas with all her friends. Sirius and Remus were visiting, thanks to Dumbledore giving them permission, and as Lily opened her presents, she loved seeing the look on everyone's faces as she saw what she had been given.

From Ginny, she had been given a new dress. Hermione had gotten her three books; one on Potions, one on defensive spells, and one on offensive spells. Ron had brought her a box of chocolates.

Lavender, Parvati, and Padma had brought her a joint gift; a large makeup kit, full of different make up bits, including lipstick, blush, mascara, and nail polish. Sirius and Remus had brought her a few new games for her game boy (they had brought games for every member of the group,) a selection of new outfits, and a box of chocolates. Aunt Minnie had brought her a magical handbag and purse, which had been expanded with an undetectable expansion charm.

Lily had decided to share the massive box of chocolates from Hagrid with the group, and of course she had the traditional sweater from Mrs. Weasley, pink with a Hungarian Horntail on it.

Lily had brought a necklace for Ginny, who squealed with delight as she immediately put it on, a book of duelling strategies for Ron, who had taken to duelling like a duck to water, a collection of muggle story books for Hermione, new clothes for Sirius and Remus, make up for Parvati, and an art kit for Lavender, who loved it.

Dobby joined them for Christmas, with Lily getting him several pairs of socks, and mixing them up for Dobby (he loved odd socks), and Lily received a scarf decorated with snitches on a red background, made by Dobby himself.

Christmas dinner was filling, with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor joining the group for dinner, all of them talking about the ball, as well as the egg. Since the day of the task, Krum had spent time with them, and had been angry with Karkaroff for how poorly he had given points to the others. Nothing had changed with Karkaroff but having Krum with them gave Lily more hope that she'd get through the tournament intact.

The afternoon gave Lily one of the best days ever; Krum joined her for a game of Quidditch, the two of them flying and challenging one another. Krum taught her the Wronski Feint, which she managed to pick up in decent speed. When Krum said how impressed he was, Lily blushed deeply.

At five in the afternoon, Lily headed to the dorms with Lavender, Parvati, Fleur, Ginny, and Hermione, while Ron, Krum, and Cedric were all surprised at the idea of needing three hours to get ready. They had laughed at the looks on the boys faces before heading to get ready.

Lily spent an hour getting herself fully washed and ready, as well as having Parvati styling her hair. "Did your parents say much about the photos you sent them?" Lily asked.

"They've agreed that I can help during the summer holidays if I keep up the good work," Parvati beamed with pride as she carefully worked her magic on Lily's hair, with soft music playing in the background.

"That's amazing, Parvati," Hermione complimented as she was drying her hair. "I know this means a lot to you."

"I always thought it was amazing what my parents did, and all I wanted to do was be just like them," Parvati explained. "Thank you, Lily, for letting me do your hair, it's been giving me a lot of practice."

"You've helped me so much with my dysphoria. Without you, I'd still see a boy in the mirror," Lily replied, as she looked in the mirror, with her hair being curled slightly at the tips.

"It's been our pleasure, Lily. Like I said, you're one of the girls now, and you should always have been with us. I just wish you could have said something sooner," Lavender told her as she began to work on Lily's makeup. "And hey, the draught is working, you look more feminine now, you've got the right hips now, and your boobs are growing."

"I still can't believe this is really happening sometimes; it feels like a dream," Lily spoke carefully, as not to move her face, so she didn't disturb Lavender's work.

"Well, it's happening, so believe it sweetie," Lavender said. "And thanks for the suggestion for Ron's Christmas present. He loved it, and honestly, I love spending time with him."

"Do you think we're all really in love?" Parvati asked; she was dating Neville, who was a gentleman with her, although nervous still.

"I asked Uncle Sirius that question; he said we're teenagers, so it's always true love for us. Maybe we won't be together forever, or maybe we will, it's hard to say, but right now, we need to enjoy what time we have with one another," Lily said.

"That definitely makes sense," Parvati agreed, smiling. "Neville's a little clumsy at times, but he's just… so sweet."

"So's Ron. I almost started calling him Won-Won, but I know he would hate that," Lavender said, as she finished putting on Lily's eyeshadow. "He's sweeter than people give him credit for."

"You know, if you and Ron stay together, and Lily and Ginny stay together, you'll be in-laws eventually," Parvati pointed out. Lavender laughed, as did Lily, before Lavender rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Parvati, now I gotta clean up the mess I made with the lipstick," Lavender said, as she used her magic to remove the mess she had made, before starting to reapply the parts she had messed up.

"Sorry, but it's true," Parvati countered.

"Honestly, I'd love to have Lavender as a sister-in-law," Lily said. Lavender grinned.

"Thanks, Lily, that means a lot," Lavender said, looking at her friend. "Hermione, you're next with make-up. Are you going to tell us who you're going with?"

"Not really. You'll see when we get there, but I want it to be a surprise," Hermione said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"What she means is she's going with Viktor Krum," Lily said. Hermione gasped as she looked at Lily.

"Wait, how do you know?" Hermione asked. Lily giggled.

"Hermione, you're one of my best friends, and I see the looks you and Krum give each other," Lily said.

"Wait, but he's, like, three years older than you," Parvati said.

"Actually, he's only two years older, maybe a year and a half," Lily said. Hermione nodded softly.

"Wait, I'm confused," Parvati said. "How?"

"You remember what Hermione did last year? Going to all her classes?" Lily asked. Parvati nodded. Hermione had shared the truth with the group, and all of them had promised to keep it a secret between them. It had answered a lot of questions, and thankfully Hermione had dropped enough classes, so she didn't need to keep using the time turner.

"Yeah, she used a time turner," Parvati replied, as Lavender gasped.

"I never thought of that!" Lavender said. "You should be in the fifth or sixth year."

"Dumbledore asked me if I wanted to go ahead, but I wanted to stay here," Hermione said.

"I'm still lost," Parvati said.

"Parvati, last year, Hermione kept going back in time to take her classes. She kept aging normally, so she aged an extra year, or a year and a half," Lavender pointed out. Parvati gasped.

"Okay, I did not think of that," Parvati said. "I'm sorry Hermione, I mean… how do you feel about that?"

"Well, legally, my birthday is still the same, and I did not want to have to figure out exactly how much more time I used, just to get to class," Hermione said, sitting on Lily's bed next to her. "I just… I try not to think of it, but when Viktor and I spoke, he seemed to understand."

"How?" Lily asked, confused.

"Well, he said that they've studied time as a weapon at Durmstrang, which meant he had to understand temporal mechanics, as the muggles call it, which is better than the way the ministry describe it," Hermione said.

"What do they call it?" Lavender asked, frowning.

"Department of Time Mishaps," Hermione's voice dripped with disdain as she spoke. Lily understood why; people wanting to use time as a weapon wasn't a mishap, it was evil and wrong.

"Wow, they really don't have anyone good at naming things, do they? Muggles really aren't as bad as some people think, especially with the Super Nintendo, and the Game Boy. I have mine in my trunk, thanks to your uncle fixing it so I can play it here. I finally completed Link's Awakening last week," Lavender said.

"I loved that ending, but it did confuse me a little," Lily said, smiling as Lavender finished applying Lily's lipstick.

"Okay, now it's done, let me spray it so only magic will remove it," Lavender said. She sprayed a mist over Lily's face, which secured her make up. Lily grinned as she saw herself in the mirror.

"Lavender, this is amazing, thank you," Lily said happily.

"Anytime," Lavender said. Lily conjured up her changing area, blocking off an area so she could start getting dressed in her gown.

"You okay in there, Lily?" Hermione called out.

"I'm fine," Lily replied, using magic to pull up and zip up her dress.

"I know Ginny's going to love how you look," Parvati said. "What's it like, dating her?"

"Ginny? She's so sweet, smart, strong, and determined, to do anything she puts her mind to. I just… I still don't understand why she likes me, but…" Lily couldn't finish what she was saying as Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione burst out into laughter.

"Lily, we love you, but you can be such an idiot sometimes. You are sweet, kind, and caring. Ginny sees you the way you refuse to see yourself," Lavender said, smirking.

"I guess… I just don't feel like I'm deserving of anything good," Lily confessed.

"You might want to talk to Madam Pomfrey about that. I have to admit, I'm worried that you might have some form of depression," Hermione's voice was quaking as she spoke.

"I… wait, what?" Lily froze, confused.

"The way you are sometimes, I think you have what muggles call depression. Please, speak to Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked.

"If you don't, we'll drag you to her," Parvati said firmly. Lily smiled sadly as she finished pulling her gown on and putting in the breast forms that she had gotten when dress shopping.

"Alright, I'll speak to her in a few days," Lily agreed, stepping out from her changing area. Lavender, Hermione, and Parvati gasped as they saw Lily. Her emerald-green dress flowed to the ground and seemed to shimmer as she moved. She swayed her hips slightly, smiling shyly, with her heart necklace, a gift from Ginny, looking perfect against her neck.

"Lily… I… wow… you…" Parvati stammered.

"I think I might be turning lesbian," Lavender added, shocked. Lily blushed deeply.

"You really think I look okay?" Lily asked. All three girls nodded.

"Definitely," they said at the same time. Hermione quickly disappeared into her changing area.

"Do the boys have private changing areas?" Parvati asked.

"They do, but they don't use them often. They never care; I think it's a guy thing, but I can't be sure since I never understood it," Lily replied.

"That's because you were never a guy, sweetie," Lavender pointed out. "Don't worry, guys will never make sense to us, but they won't ever understand us either."

"True," Lily agreed, as Parvati and Lavender went to their changing areas. Lily sat on her bed, fiddling with her thumbs. "I just hope I get the dance moves right."

"Just trust yourself," Hermione called out. "Lily, you heard Cedric and Fleur, you're an amazing dancer, and the tutor Rita hired for us said the same. Honestly, you generally manage to succeed at anything you do, which is kinda awesome."

"So do you. Remember the class with Moody? You refused to stop until you threw off the Imperius curse," Lily pointed out.

"And you managed to help us get better at it," Lavender added.

"Okay, changing the subject, what do you think the boys are doing?" Parvati asked.

"Well, there's about an hour until the ball starts, so they're likely still out playing Quidditch. Speaking of which, Lily, I can't believe Krum considers you an equal in Quidditch!" Lavender said.

"I don't know about equal, but it was… really exciting, flying with him. He's so passionate about the game, and the way he taught me the Wronski Feint… he'd make a hell of a teacher. He said the best way to learn is by doing," Lily said.

"He's not wrong," Hermione agreed. "I hope he gets my name a little better, but at least he's not calling me Herm-own-ninny."

Lily, Lavender, and Parvati all snorted in laughter at that. "Yeah, don't let Ron hear him call you that, you'll never live it down," Lily warned her.

"I'm sure he'll get it," Lavender said. "Just make sure you have fun tonight."

"Who is Fleur going with?" Parvati asked.

"Roger Davis, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. I don't think she likes him likes him, but she's constantly got boys following her. She tries to keep her Veela heritage at bay, but you know what teenage boys are like; so hormonal and not able to think straight," Hermione said, before emerging from the changing room. Lily gasped at how beautiful Hermione looked.

"Hermione, you look… incredible," Lily complimented, just as Parvati and Lavender emerged. Hermione's dress was pink, with several ruffled layers, and covered her shoulders, flowing perfectly for Hermione. Parvati was wearing a dress that resembled a Sari, with a pink sash against her dark pink top, whilst Lavender was wearing a light purple dress that had a sash going over one shoulder, her other shoulder bare.

"We are going to knock them dead tonight," Parvati said. Lily grinned as all four girls walked out of the dorm room. She hoped Ginny would like her dress, and in that moment, the only think that matter was she was going to her first ball.