Lily emerged from the shower in her own personal bathroom at Netherfield. In about an hour, the ball would take place. It would take her about that long to get ready.
She was anxious �“ in both an excited and nervous way. She wrapped her wet flaming curls up in a towel as she applied her makeup. It was hard to concentrate; her lipstick ended up way outside the lines and the eye shadow gave the effect of a drug addict that hung out at Knockturn Alley. She cursed but tried not to get too worked up about it.
Finally, when she looked about as good as it would get, she let down her hair and used some of that Sleekeazy potion to get her hair all smoothed down and silky. But it just wouldn’t stay right. Lily nearly licked her lips, but realized that lips would get all smudged. Instead, she bit her tongue. Hard.
Lily felt all the blood rush to her face as she unpacked her vanilla-colored gown, even if no one was in the room with her. As she slipped it on, she prayed that it would hopefully still fit her. When she looked into the mirror, Lily finally seemed to let out all her breath. The sleeves felt slightly scratchy against her skin, but the dress nevertheless transformed her into a beautiful, graceful person.
Lily teased her hair a bit to give it a better look. Feeling ready, she walked out of her room and knocked on Katie’s door. Her friend emerged in her white and red gown and her hair up in an elegant knot on the back of her head. Her dark blue eyes seemed clearer than ever.
“Oh, Lils, you look awesome!” Katie exclaimed. She suddenly looked worried. “How do I look?”
“‘Awesome’,” Lily quoted. Katie laughed. “Ready to get SamLin, Allie, and Emily?” They both giggled and went around tapping on their friends’ doors. The two were surprised when they saw the others.
Emily had two thick strands of hair braided to hang down along the sides of her porcelain face. The rest of her hair flowed like a chocolate waterfall against the blue one of the dress. SamLin had left her wavy hair alone, except for a little Sleekeazy to smooth it out, but it looked better that way. Alice had her gold dress on and her dirty-blonde hair in a nice bun with two strands of hair hanging down along her face. They all looked exuberant. Lily hoped that was the same way she looked.
They all laughed, but nervously. Their eyes were scared. They needed one another. Clutching one another arm in arm, they tried their best to walk down the stairs with poise.
Lily heard the sound of classical music �“ violins, cellos, flutes, and clarinets. The music sounded purely muggle, but it was hard to notice with all the magic floating around in the air. All the rooms were done up nicely, obviously with the help of the house elves. The chandeliers sparkled, candles glowed, glass shone, and floor was clean enough to eat off of.
Lily could see some older wizards and witches, but they all looked up at the arrival of the female teenagers. Most of them smiled and whispered, but Lily could tell it was in a good way. The adults seemed to be reminiscing their times much like theirs.
Lily was starting to feel proud and confident, until she heard something. There was a catcall. Immediately, she recognized it from hearing it so much at school.
Just like she thought, Sirius Black appeared with a smile on his face. The other Marauders and Amos Diggory and Frank Longbottom also followed. Lily was surprised; they looked almost like...well...gentlemen in their impressive dress robes.
Then came Bellatrix Black and Willard. Bellatrix, Sirius’ cousin, was one year older than the little posse gathered here tonight. She had long, glossy black hair and always had a snotty expression on her face. Tonight, she wore a strapless, plain black gown that flowed to the floor. Bella appeared to be making her best impression, but Lily couldn’t figure out who or what it was for.
Willard wore a white dress robe that almost made Lily swoon. Immediately her friends’ wise words were forgotten.
Five boys �“ Frank, James, Sirius, Remus, and Amos �“ came forward. Emily had her seductive look on, but her other friends were plain confused.
“Ready to dance?” Frank asked Alice. Sirius held out his hand for SamLin, but she backed away. James and Remus smiled (well, James just looked) at Katie and Lily, but they both got wide-eyed.
“What?!” Alice asked, thunderstruck. Her friends had the same expressions, well, except for Emily.
“My dear, Allie--” Frank began, but was cut off by the tomboy Alice.
“Don’t call me ‘Allie’!” she snapped, then grabbed Emily and led her along with SamLin, Lily, and Katie to a secluded corner.
“What the �“?” Alice started, an evil spark flashing in her eyes.
“Its okay, Allie. Jeez, all I did was try and help you guys,” Emily explained. “I set you up with Longbottom; he seemed pretty happy. Sammie, Sirius is...well...seriously interested in dancing with you. Katie, you’re already friends with Remus �“ why not? And Lily, I do not know why James is with you. Did you finally give in?”
Lily finally remembered that she had willingly agreed to dance with James. But she remained silent so her friends wouldn’t tease her about it.
“Emily Rose Bennett!” Katie yelled in an indoor voice. She was cut off by SamLin before she could begin an actual rant.
“Katie! We’re going to have to live with it. Emily was trying to help us.” Emily looked happy when SamLin said this.
Alice, Katie, and Lily each took a deep breath. Finally, they all decided they could face the boys.
“Hi, Remus.”
“Hey, L �“ err, Frank.”
“Hello, Sirius.”
“Awesome outfit, Amos.”
“Um...well...Good evening, James.”
The boys now had cocky expressions on their handsome faces, but the girls weren’t enraged. Maybe it was the fact that they were at a ball or that they had to at least act like they were happy.
From there, hand in hand (much to their disgust), the couples walked into the ballroom. The adults were in the middle of dancing to classic piece. Lily chewed the inside of her gum. How bad was this going to go?
“Charles, look at James!”
Suddenly, Lily was snapped out of her daydream her right hand was being vigorously shaken by some tall, male wizard. “Hello. I’m James’ dad. And you are...?”
“Lily Evans,” she said, a little meekly.
“We’re so pleased to meet you,” a woman gushed. “James has never brought a girlfriend home.” She apparently was James’ mother.
Lily’s cheeks reddened. “N-no. I’m not his girlfriend. I’m just a...” Enemy? “A friend.”
Whoa. She said that?
Mrs. Potter looked doubtful, but she went along with Lily’s bad lie. “Be sure to try some of our treacle tarts!” she said and was whisked away by her husband onto the dance floor.
Lily sighed.
“You’re my friend?”
She looked up. “Well, P-err, James, I didn’t have anything else to say.”
“Oh.” He looked slightly hurt. Then he lit up as a new song came on. “Dance?”
She couldn’t say no. She had said she would dance with him and he looked so darn excited and desperate. “Sure. Why not?”
Immediately, he took her hand and led her onto the floor. Lily spotted SamLin and Sirius. Her friend was obviously trying to keep her cool, but Lily couldn’t help but notice Sirius’ eyes were on SamLin and nothing else. She tried to hide a smile.
James pushed her close. He spun her. Lily felt as if her heart was about to burst open. Instead, she ruined the moment by saying, “For someone who always goes tripping people, you actually are a good dancer.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he replied, with a hint of a smile. Lily looked up at him, forgetting about her warning. There were the beautiful hazel eyes. She felt her breath hitch.
Silence.
Lily gulped. “Well, James, I think you should say something. If I say something, then you ought to comment on how the night is going or something.”
“What would you like most to hear? My Quidditch moves? Infamous pranks? Please tell me.”
Lily could feel her feelings change from infatuation (was it?) to disgust. “Just as I thought,” she murmured.
“What?” James looked defensive.
“Here I am trying to make out your character...”
“And what have you discovered?”
“Not a lot. You’re just the same as ever. I wanted to see what was beyond the Wonder Wizard and his adventures of Quidditch.”
James looked shocked and hurt. Maybe she had gone too far.
The music continued, but they just stared at one another. Finally, James tried pulling her close so she was right up against him.
Lily was frantic; she was in her own little world. In the distance, she heard the last wavering notes of the song. She took her hands from her sides and placed them on his chest, pushing him away. Leaving James with yet another fury in his eyes, she stalked away.
She ran away from the party. She was able to slip out unnoticed and found a nice quiet, dark hallway. Lily leaned against one of the walls and let out all her breath she realized she’d been holding in since she first saw Potter.
Is it Pride or Prejudice? by Stormbringer
Chapter Notes: The ball seems to be going well until in one moment, Lily finds herself walking away yet again from that Potter.