“All right, you two,” said Madam Pomfrey nearly a week later. James and Lily were sitting facing each other on their beds. “I know you haven’t enjoyed being in here, but…”
“Really Madam Pomfrey,” started James, “I think”for once”I preferred being in here than out there.” He gestured to the door behind him. “There’s no better place to be when in pain than in the hospital wing under such excellent care.”
“Oh, James, you flatterer!” A slight blush rose in the matron’s cheeks, showing that she appreciated it. “Well, I think you two can leave today”if you feel up for it?” They both nodded. “Good. I am sorry, Lily, that there will be a scar.”
Lily’s face fell slightly, and Madam Pomfrey started to pull her wand from her pocket. “You can use a Concealment charm”or a form of it… Would you like me to show it to you?” she asked, hopefully.
Lily shook her head. “No thanks, ma’am. It’ll be fine. I can live with it; I’ll bear it proudly.”
“And James, you’re feeling better? Not it so much pain? Good. I’m glad that horrible curse wore off.” She sighed, and began bustling around the two beds, twitching the bedclothes. “You both will have to come back to me every day for a bit of potion and to get your bandages changed. Now, I’m sure your friends will be somewhere near.” Her eyes twinkled as she turned and walked back to her office.
James and Lily rose off their beds, and James took her in his arms. After a few moments, he pulled away enough to see her face. He smiled and bent slightly to kiss her. Lily clung to him, weaving her fingers through his hair. As the kiss became deeper than any of their previous kisses, a loud shout sounded through the wing.
James and Lily broke apart, and Lily glared over James’s shoulder. He chuckled and turned around, assuming who it was that had shouted. Sure enough, Sirius stood there, leaning against the door.
“Did you have to do that?” asked James.
“Of course.” Sirius tried to smirk, but both Heads got the feeling that he wasn’t putting his full self into it. “The others are outside in the courtyard.” He walked into the wing and sat down next to Nikeia.
The nurse had decided that her cuts were cursed, and Nikeia tossed in her sleep if she didn’t have any Dreamless Sleep potion. Her breathing was shallow and soft, and the bandages always faintly tinged red.
As James would discover in the following days, Sirius hardly left her side, except for the necessities: meals, lavatory, sleep, and classes. He even studied there; grabbed a few books from the library if he needed them and conjured a desk right next to Nikeia’s still body. When the others came to visit during breaks, Sirius was quiet, and James admitted to himself that he felt irked.
“I’m really beginning to think that he definitely has feelings for her,” whispered James. Lily nodded, and started walking with James’s arm around her waist, toward the doors.
As they exited the large school for the first time in a week, Josey, Remus, Frank and Alice met them in the courtyard. Josey and Alice rushed forward and hugged Lily. Remus and Frank just clapped James’s shoulder.
“Oh Lils! How are you? Does your back still hurt?” asked Josey.
“Yeah; it’ll sting every once in a while.”
“Is it really going to scar?”
“Yup. It already has. Madam Pomfrey offered to show me a charm to cover it up, but I said no.”
“Are you crazy!?” cried Josey.
“I guess I am. But Josey, honestly, I have more to care about than low-cut dresses.” Lily squeezed Josey’s arm before cuddling into James’s embrace.
He kissed her hair as Josey looked shocked at Lily’s words. She turned to Remus for help. He merely looked at her, a kind smile on his lips. Josey stared open-mouthed before she noticed Remus’s struggle to fight the laughter. She shoved his shoulder, and he lost the battle. Bursting out in laughter, Remus fell into the snow. Everyone joined into the laughter, and not long after, Josey joined as well. Lily found this occasion almost like a déjà vu; the same conversation had occurred the day they woke up in the Hospital Wing. She shrugged it off, and turned to gaze at her friends. Three members of their group were gone”Sirius and Nikeia were both in the Hospital Wing, of course. And Peter… Peter was like a puzzle piece that didn’t perfectly match, but filled the gap. He was off studying for some class or other.
Lily sighed happily. A warm chest at her back, comforting arms around her, and dear friends by her side; what more could she ask for? She, and everyone else, felt cool, calm, and collected; as if the past really was in the past.
Frank sighed and squeezed Alice closer. “Well, I have to say, that this has definitely been one of the weirder school years.”
Everyone else gave a hesitant chuckle. It had been a weird start of the year, and who knew what would happen during the rest of the year?
And yet, it seemed that after that was said, November passed quietly. Monday turned to Tuesday, Wednesday to Thursday, Friday to Saturday, and Sunday right back to Monday. The weeks went by, full of homework, studying and comfortable silence. Sirius was still not back with them, and it was really starting to affect James. He missed the person who had been beside him for so long. No pranks were played and laughter rang softer.
Everyone around them had heard about Nikeia. They only knew that she had been attacked Halloween night, but no one knew the real reason. People came up to the small group with words of comfort and apology, only to turn around and laugh with their friends. James admired them; they were able to keep moving despite the hurt girl in Madam Pomfrey’s care. But then again, James reasoned with himself, Lily, Josey and Nikeia hadn’t been the most popular people before they befriended the Marauders. Everybody seemed to miss Sirius more; the fun-loving, loud, young man of Gryffindor Tower. He was silent during classes and actually took notes. Professor McGonagall didn’t know whether to be happy or absolutely shell-shocked. She was the latter the first few days, then overjoyed that he was paying closer attention. Not long after that, she started to have a rather worried look on her face that he was doing something so out of habit.
As James watched this all happening, he came to the conclusion that Sirius really did have strong feelings for Nikeia, maybe he even loved her. It was the only reasonable conclusion that James could make.
It worried him.
Sirius had never shown this much attention to a girl, and James hoped that their friendship wouldn’t be tainted afterward.
As soon as he thought that, James hated himself. Here he was, with Lily at his side, and he had the audacity to think that Sirius shouldn’t fall in love. When his mind reasoned that that wasn’t what James had actually thought, he shouted back at it that it was close enough.
A little over a fortnight had passed from the attacks when Dumbledore stood up one night at dinner. He looked as old, wise, kind, and regal as ever in maroon robes with silver trim. The entire Great Hall was quieted nearly instantaneously, and Dumbledore began talking.
“In a bit less than a month, the Christmas Break will be upon us, and we will all have to say goodbye for a short while. During a staff meeting, your teachers and I have come to the conclusion that a ball of sorts should be held, in order to say goodbye to this year. After all, it never hurts to say goodbye to those things that have troubled you.”
Here, the Marauders”Sirius included”Lily, Josey, Frank and Alice looked at each other with expressions that they all understood perfectly.
“I will ask our prefects and Heads to organize this festivity and give us a memorable way to end this year. We, the staff and I, have also planned a Hogsmeade weekend for you. It will be two days before the ball, and the day after will be a day of no classes”as a special Christmas treat for everyone. While you are in Hogsmeade, you may purchase anything you will need. I trust that our prefects and Heads can have the theme established before the week is out, so that you may know what to buy. Thank you, and goodnight.” Dumbledore sat down and turned to Professor McGonagall.
“Oh, a ball!” cried Josey. “What a wonderful idea!”
Lily rolled her eyes at James and Remus.
“Of course you’d be the one to start gushing,” teased Remus. Josey stuck her tongue out at the man, and continued to smile giddily.
“But, really! When was the last time Hogwarts has had a ball?” Without waiting for a response, Josey continued, “Oh! So exciting! Dancing and food and romance.” She sighed, propping her head on her hands and staring off into space.
Lily smacked her own forehead lightly, letting her head rest on her palm. James chuckled.
“Why, my dear girl!” said a rather disembodied voice from behind Josey. She jumped, and turned.
Nearly Headless Nick”Sir Nicolas de Mimsy Porpington to the more educated and refined people”was standing (floating) behind the group. His theatre-like costume and large ruff labeled him a very old ghost.
“The last ball was only a decade ago! Professor Dumbledore had the sudden desire for a ball. I remember it wonderfully. The hall was decorated to such splendor, and the food…” He sighed longingly.
“What would you know about the food?” asked James, one hand in the air in a questioning gesture.
Nick glared at him. “Well, naturally I could not partake, but it looked divine.”
He floated off, his head high in the air.
“Oh, James,” sighed Lily.
“Well…”
“Just, don’t say anything else,” Lily instructed, holding up a hand.
“Fine. But, really. We might as well get this planning over with,” he said to Lily and Remus. “Let’s plan a meeting tomorrow night, or even tonight. The sooner, the better, I say.”
“I agree. I think it should be tonight.” Remus cast a meaningful glance up at the sky and the nearly full moon (which Lily pretended to ignore, as Remus still didn’t know that she knew about the significance of the full moon for him). James caught on and nodded.
“Well then, why don’t we go around and get everyone together now?” James rose from his spot, Lily and Remus doing the same.
After a few minutes, all the prefects were standing in front of James and Lily in the foyer. They all looked happy at the prospect, even the Slytherin prefects, who actually were quite respectable. Shocking; Lily knew.
“So any ideas about this dance?” asked Lily right before she realized that such an open question was not the best idea. She was right, as nearly everyone started talking at once. With a wave of her hands, she got them quiet again, and sighed. “Alright, first of all: should it be casual or formal?”
Hollie, a Hufflepuff, spoke up. “I think it should be formal. After all, it is the end of the year and Christmas!” Everyone else nodded.
“What type of formal wear? Muggle or wizard?” asked the Ravenclaw male sixth-year prefect, Patrick.
“I think they should be wizard wear,” sniffed one of the Slytherins. The other Slytherin, Henry, nodded.
“You know, Bernadette, Muggle dresses are actually quite pretty,” the female Ravenclaw said to the black-haired beauty. “They fit better, anyway, than plain wizard’s robes.”
The other girls nodded, and Bernadette seemed to be swayed. Lily figured that anything that would compliment Bernadette’s tall, slim”but shapely”figure would suit her fine.
“What about a theme? Masquerade, colonial, French Revolution, Medieval…” asked Lily to the group.
“Huh?” asked James and the others mimicked his bafflement. Apparently, they had not been educated in Muggle history.
“I swear they should make a course in Muggle History,” whispered Lily to herself.
“I think a medieval masquerade would be groovy,” said the half-Muggle Holly. “I just love the gowns from that era. And plus, there was quite a lot of magic during those times.” Everyone else nodded, understanding the term “medieval” from History of Magic, even if it did coincide with “witch-hunts”.
“Wait, what about a general masquerade? Any type of costume?” asked Patrick.
“That’s not a bad idea!” stated Kayla, the Gryffindor prefect. “That way we could choose any era we want, and it will be a bit more enjoyable.”
“That’ll work for me,” stated MaryAnn, the Ravenclaw.
“All right, so we all agree on a masquerade with clothing from any era?” asked James, looking around. Everyone nodded, but Gerald, a Hufflepuff, spoke up.
“As long as there are no animal-costumes or ridiculous clothing. Maybe we should state that it should be clothing from before the nineteen-hundreds. But what about the masks? I know it is fun sometime, but...” He gave an expression that denoted he was less than thrilled about the idea of wearing a mask.
“I agree. Masks make it a bit cliché. I think most people will enjoy just wearing fancy clothing,” admitted Bernadette. “Plus, they also are so hard to work around. I mean putting your hair up only to have to worry about a string, or if you put it on by magic, then you have to worry about your make-up smudging...or worse, not being seen.”
Lily figured there would be an ulterior motive.
“Yeah, no masks. Just costumes. But it shouldn’t be called a costume party; keep the ‘masquerade’ title,” said Remus, smiling.
“But,” spoke Henry, the Slytherin prefect, “where are we going to find these clothes? There are only shops in Hogsmeade for normal wizard robes.”
“Have none of you read the history of the Hogsmeade?” asked Lily, “It was written by the same person to write Hogwarts, a History and came out last year.” Everyone shook their heads and Lily gave a soft groan. “Well, there is a store that is rather out-of-the-way along the main road; it can actually become invisible at the owner’s bidding. He can enchant the store to sell whatever he wants. So all we have to do is have McGonagall talk to him, and he’ll change the shop to supply us with the right type of clothing for the masquerade.”
Everyone looked a Lily in awe.
“Jeez, James, you sure know how to pick them,” said Gerald. The other men nodded, and James smiled. Lily raised an eyebrow and James rolled his eyes.
“Lily, honey; it’s true!” James looked at Lily with a ‘you-can’t-deny-it’ type of look.
“Anyway, we can use that store,” Lily said, after rolling her eyes at James and Gerald. “Does anyone have a roll of parchment and a quill? We should write all of this down for the teachers.” Everyone, except James, shook their heads. They had all left their bags in their dormitories before coming down to dinner.
“Aren’t any of you wizards?” asked James exasperatedly. He pulled three coins from his pocket and transfigured them to a sheaf of parchment, a quill and a pot of ink. The prefects looked sheepish.
“Jeez, Lily, you sure know how to pick them,” said Kayla. Lily chuckled and started writing the requests for the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress. James smiled cockily at Kayla.
“Wait!” cried Remus. Lily looked up from the parchment. “Who’s going to be invited? Just the normal third through seventh years?”
Lily looked thoughtful, as did the other prefects.
“I think it should be for everyone,” said Patrick. “I mean, with You-Know-Who and everything that has been happening, we should include everyone.”
“Yeah, I like that,” put in Henry. “But maybe we could create a curfew. Like first and second years are allowed to be at the ball from six to nine, and everyone else can stay until twelve.”
“Good job, Pat, Henry. That’s a good idea. Do you think Dumbledore will agree to it?” asked James.
“I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem for him.” Lily started writing again. “Oh, what about a name? Though maybe we shouldn’t go through the trouble; it’s just going to be called ‘the Masquerade’ from now on, anyway.”
All the prefects laughed, and agreed.
The next morning at breakfast Dumbledore told the school about the ball, and everyone was in an uproar. The first, second and third years seemed quite surprised, really, that they were going to be allowed to attend. A few even started jumping in the aisles in happiness. The upperclassman just laughed. After James stopped laughing, he turned to Lily and wrapped his arms around her waist possessively.
“So, my dear Lils, are you going to this ball... thing?” asked James, leaning in close to her ear. She wiggled slightly at the funny feeling of his gentle breath, and turned as much as she could.
“I was thinking about it.”
“Well, do you know if you are going with someone yet?”
“Yes, I am. And I already know who it is.” James’s eyes widened for a moment, but then seeing the laughter in Lily’s, he smiled and kissed her sweetly.
She pulled away. “Hold on. Who ever said it were you?”
James looked at Lily surprised, then recovered and smirked. “I say it’s me because I wouldn’t let you go with anyone else.” He leaned forward again and captured Lily’s lips in a kiss.
“Oi, get a room, will ya?!” called out Sirius, throwing a balled-up napkin at the couple. Everyone but Sirius laughed as James and Lily continued to embrace.
Sirius looked evilly at James and kicked him under the table. James pulled away and returned the look to Sirius. He returned the kick as well.
“Why don’t you go and find someone to go to the ball with?” ordered James, more than asked, in an irritated voice. Sirius shrugged.
“Why should I?” he asked. “The only person I would have thought of going with is lying up in the hospital wing.”
“Oh, Sirius, I’m sorry,” apologized James, looking ashamed of himself. Sirius gave a shaky smile and shrugged again.
In an attempt to break the mood, Lily looked to Samuel. “So, Sam. Since you get to go, who are you going to ask?” Sam looked up at her as if she was wearing a pink feathered hat. Lily laughed at his dumbfounded reaction. “Haven’t you thought about it?”
He swallowed his hash, then said, “I don’t really care, really. It’s just a ball. I’d rather just go alone.”
“That’s possible,” Lily said, smiling at his matter-of-fact answer. “What about you, Monica?”
The girl was smiling happily as she turned from her other first year girlfriends. “I think we’ll just go as a group.”
“That’ll be fun,” chuckled Lily.
Before they could really say anything else, the morning post came. Though, really, not very many people paid attention to the swooping owls. Most everyone was too busy talking about the Masquerade.
Lily was one of those who actually read the Daily Prophet delivered every morning. Lily opened her post and as her green eyes moved onto the next page, a look of shock came over her face.
“Oh Merlin,” she whispered to the paper. James cut off his conversation to Sirius and looked over to Lily.
“What is it?” he asked. Wordlessly, she handed her paper to James. Remus read off the Prophet from James’s other side. Their expressions were identical as they read the paper.
“What is it?” repeated Sirius, actually putting down his fork and knife, when Remus and James continued to look shocked. He reached over the table to grab the paper from James.
Soon, there were four identical expressions.
“What in the world is it?” asked Josey, getting fed up. She grabbed the paper and read it as well. She dropped her spoon into her oatmeal, and gasped.
Peter took the paper next and nearly tipped over his glass of milk when he jerked in surprise at the article. Sam and Monica looked from one upperclassmen to the next, then to each other, and then to Frank and Alice who they were sitting between. The latter grabbed the newspaper from Peter and the other three looked over onto it.
It was a small article, taking up two square inches, but it was rather devastating.
Three wizards found dead
Late last night, two Aurors came across three bodies in an alleyway, the Dark Mark floating above their bodies. One of the victims wore the Mark, and they all wore dark robes and masks. The Auror Department can only assume these are followers of He Who Must Not Be Named who went wrong on an order. Their identities are: Janis Mitite, 36, Harold Respore, 49, and Stacey Wilson, 17.
“That wasn’t that American who disappeared a while ago, was it?” asked the attentive Monica
.
Everyone nodded, their faces identical; their mouths were slightly open, their eyes unbelieving.
“She became a Death Eater?” asked Samuel, aghast.
When everyone nodded dumbly again, he shook his head. “Well, that was a stupid move!”