The Curtain Call
Chapter Nine: An Unexpected Invitation
Lily stood in the alcove just before James Potter’s front door. She stepped onto their doormat and took in every detail, wondering why, exactly, she was standing there.
She walked past an antique rocking chair sitting in the corner of the porch. We’re just supposed to practice my lines… Lily’s hand hovered directly in front of the door. She hesitated, frowning. Why is he always trying to change our rehearsals! Lily thought sourly, noticing a solid gold doorknocker at eye level on the door. And why does everything have to be a bloody surprise…
Lily stared for a moment at the doorknocker, slightly intrigued. It was a three-inch replica of the head of a lion. Unable to hold herself back, Lily grabbed the doorknocker and knocked three times.
She watched the lion with great interest as a pair of footsteps rushed around behind the door. For an instant, Lily could have sworn the eyes of the lion turned a scarlet color and began to move, as if they were able to see her.
Then the door flew open.
But James was not standing in the doorway.
“Ah, dear.” The dark-haired woman smiled kindly. “There you are.”
Lily immediately recognized this woman as the one that she had met several weeks ago when she had first come to James’ house to apologize.
“Uh “ hello,” Lily stuttered, in awe of the woman’s beauty, despite her age. She started to feel her throat go dry like it had the last time she had seen this woman. “I’m looking for James…?”
Lily stood on her toes, trying to peer over the woman’s shoulder for James, but he was nowhere to be found.
“He’s upstairs,” the woman said with a nod. She reached out and took Lily’s hand, gently pulling her inside and closing the door behind her.
“Oh “ alright, then,” Lily said, clutching onto her green bag. She was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable standing in James’ house “ without James.
The woman started up the steps toward, Lily assumed, James’ bedroom, but stopped when she noticed that Lily was not following.
“Well, come on,” she spoke in her sweet voice. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Oh,” Lily muttered, embarrassed. She had not realized that this woman wanted her to follow her up to James’ room. Quickly, Lily jumped up several steps at a time, now walking directly behind the beautiful woman.
“Right this way.” The woman pointed to the first of many doors in the hallway at the top of the stairs. “In here.”
Lily obediently followed. She watched as the woman turned the handle of the door and pushed it open.
Lily raised an eyebrow.
From what she could see, the entire room was white. The walls, the carpet, the bed, and even the desk and chair in the corner were a spotless, pearly white.
“Come in, dear.” The woman grinned kindly. She took Lily’s hand for the second time and pulled her into the room with a great deal of excitement that she was now having difficulties hiding.
Lily stepped cautiously into the room. She glanced down at her ripped jeans and dirty t-shirt, feeling extremely out of place in this room. She tentatively held up one of her tennis shoes with a broken shoe lace, praying that she had not stepped in any mud before walking into this spotless room.
Lily had no idea what was going on any longer. James was nowhere to be seen in this very large room. She was standing in James Potter’s house, and had yet to see James himself!
“Over here,” a voice behind Lily spoke up. Lily turned and found that she and the dark-haired woman were not the only ones in the room. A short, disheveled-looking woman was standing with one hip jutted out to the side and an impatient look etched permanently onto her face. Behind her was a large, oak wardrobe.
Lily did not respond to the woman. She had no time to. Before she could process what was happening, the dark-haired woman had already pulled Lily toward the shorter woman.
“Uh “ hi,” Lily said softly to the short woman, feeling her face heat up. The woman did not smile back; she merely pointed to a circular stool for Lily to stand on.
The beautiful woman ushered Lily towards the large stool, helping her up with a great smile.
“What a mess,” the short woman muttered under her breath, looking Lily up and down. She circled the stool, making faces and clicking her tongue as she did so. And then, as if in a sudden decision, she immediately started to pull on Lily’s clothing.
Lily clung to her green bag, unnerved by the woman’s behavior. What was she doing? Lily threw a glance over her shoulder at the kind, dark-haired woman to see what her reaction was. She just smiled.
“Let go of this “ horrendous bag,” the short woman croaked with a frown, tugging at the ratty, green bag with a great amount of effort. “It won’t match anything you chose to wear “ give it here!”
Lily’s breathing sped up, finally snatching her bag out of the woman’s grip, and holding it out of reach. “I beg your pardon?” she asked in a louder, much more defensive voice than she had intended. But she was not worried about the volume of her voice; two strange women had taken Lily to a place that she was unfamiliar with, and she was frightened!
“Your gown,” the woman said very quickly, annoyed that Lily seemed to be wasting her time. She took a step forward and managed to slip the old, green bag from Lily’s hands, throwing it carelessly onto the floor behind her. “The bag won’t match.” The short woman stepped onto the platform beside Lily and started to pull Lily’s old t-shirt up, over her head.
“What’s going on?” Lily finally shouted, leaping off of the platform. She tightened the hold she had on her shirt, making sure that it did not leave her stomach. She looked frantically back and forth between the nice woman and the short woman. “Who are you “ and what are you doing?”
The nicer woman stepped forward, looking genuinely concerned; Lily did not back away. “We’re getting you measured for a gown, dear,” she said sweetly. “For the Ministry Ball.”
Lily’s eyes doubled in size, instantly forgetting her fear. “Ministry Ball?” she nearly shrieked at the top of her lungs. She quickly swallowed and blinked several times, letting the statement sink in.
Lily had certainly heard about these so-called Ministry Balls; prominent wizards across the world were invited to the Ministry for one of the largest parties in all of Britain. Only the highest ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic were invited to this annual party. Lily mentally sorted through a list of well-known people in the magical world, including the Minister of Magic himself. She felt her knees begin to shake at the thought. “I’m “ I’m going to a Ministry Ball?”
“Of course,” the woman responded with a smile. She soon frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. “What was it that James told you that you were doing?”
“Well “ nothing,” Lily spluttered, very confused that this was the reason that she had been brought to James’ house. “He just said to meet him here “ that’s all.”
The woman’s mouth formed the shape of an “O”. She pushed Lily back onto the circular stool with a knowing look in her eyes. “To be completely honest with you, dear, I’m quite surprised that you showed up at all when James hardly explained himself. His other friends “ ” she waved her hand, clearly referring to the Marauders “ “ have learned by now that they should get more information before doing what James asks of them.” She leaned in with a smirk and lowered her voice. “But I think he just likes to create an element of surprise.”
“You’d think I’d have learned that by now,” Lily muttered under her breath. She glanced at the woman, wondering if she had heard Lily’s comment. When the dark-haired woman smiled discreetly, Lily realized that she had.
“I’m sorry “ we haven’t been properly introduced.” She held out a hand. “I’m Avelynn “ but everyone calls me Lynn.” She smirked. “I’m James’ mother.”
“Ah.” Lily nodded. She watched with amusement as the smile that spread over the woman’s face nearly replicated James’ trademark grin, confirming her thoughts that this woman was, indeed, James’ mother.
Lily took Mrs. Potter’s hand. “I’m Lily “ Evans.”
“I know,” Mrs. Potter answered softly with a smile. “James already told me all about you.”
This one statement launched thousands of questions in Lily’s mind. All about me? How much is that, exactly? Everything he knows about me? The good characteristics “ or the bad ones?
“And this,” Mrs. Potter introduced, gesturing toward the other woman, “is Madame Biddle. We hired her to make a dress specifically for you.”
Lily’s eyebrows shot up. “Well “ I have plenty at home that I could have brought,” Lily stammered, floored by the generosity. “I can Apparate home right now and grab one.” She moved to step down from the stool.
“No need, dear,” Mrs. Potter assured her, gently resting a hand on Lily’s arm in order to keep her in place on the circular podium. “I insist that we make you a dress.”
“Well “ thank you!” Lily smiled gratefully. She was becoming more and more at ease the longer that she was around James’ mother.
“Certainly,” Mrs. Potter beamed. She suddenly turned professional, squinting at Lily. She leaned down and whispered something into Madame Biddle’s ear and the short woman nodded.
“Alright, undress,” Madame Biddle demanded.
Lily followed their instructions this time. She hesitantly stripped off her jeans and pulled her t-shirt over her head, throwing both onto the floor next to her green bag. She wrapped both of her arms protectively over her chest, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature.
The two women had their backs turned on Lily and were rifling through the oak wardrobe, which Lily now saw was overflowing with many different colors of dress robes.
The longer that the two women stood at the wardrobe, the more self-conscious Lily became about standing half-naked in the center of the room. She threw several looks over her shoulder at the door leading to the hallway before finally raising the question.
“Mrs. Potter?” she asked in a tiny voice. “Did you lock the door?”
“Don’t worry, dear,” she said in a soothing tone without bothering to turn around. “James is in his own room.”
Lily did not ask why Mrs. Potter had assumed it was James that Lily was worried about, but she accepted the answer all the same.
“Here it is.” Madame Biddle sighed in relief once she had found the dress that she was looking for. “It may need to be taken in just a bit around the middle, but it should fit rather well…”
Lily gasped the minute she saw it, forgetting all about the strangeness of the situation that she was in. Within seconds, Lily had managed to slip easily into the dress. She turned around to stare at herself in the mirror.
I love it. Lily instantly grew attached to the dress, almost surprised that she liked it as much as she did. She lifted the lower portion of her dress and twirled, grinning as the fabric spun outward, away from her legs. I’ll do anything to keep this dress.
“Look at the hair,” Mrs. Potter spoke to Madame Biddle pointing up at Lily’s face. “And her eyes… Just look at the combination.”
Lily instinctively felt her hand reach for her auburn hair, tugging at the particularly long strands that curled well past her shoulders. She leaned slightly forward on her stool, trying to look closer into the mirror. She didn’t see anything wrong with the outfit… What were they talking about?
“Yes,” Madame Biddle agreed, nodding. She circled Lily, scowling at every inch of the outfit.
“What “ what is it?” Lily asked frantically. She started turning this way and that, struggling to find the problem. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Wrong?” Mrs. Potter asked, puzzled. Then she smiled and lowered her voice, taking Lily’s free hands up in her own. “No, dear,” she whispered. “Your hair, your eyes “ with the dress “ ” she pointed to each, sighing wistfully. “You look gorgeous.”
*
“Lynn!” Mr. Potter called from the bottom of the stairs. He finished adjusting his tie and shouted again. “We’ll be late if we don’t hurry!”
“We’re coming! Just “ wait!”
Mr. Potter sighed and dropped his head onto his chest, looking defeated. “What is it,” he asked to no one in particular, “with women and clothing?”
“They have to look perfect,” James supplied, meandering down the steps at his own pace. He did not look concerned that he was walking at a slow rate, when he knew that Lily and his mother would spend several more minutes preparing for the Ministry Ball.
“I shouldn’t have let you invite a friend,” Mr. Potter grumbled, starting to shake his head back and forth. “And a girl, at that.”
“Dad,” James immediately tried to cut off his father’s rant. “I already told you that you can’t say things like that to Lily.” He lowered his voice. “I mean “ she’s not a guy, Dad, you can’t just fool around with her “ she’s not a Marauder.”
“Right.” Mr. Potter winked sarcastically at his son. “Marauder “ that secret club of yours…”
James’ face flamed. Secret club? It is most definitely not a secret club…
“Avelynn?” Mr. Potter tried again. “Are you three almost finished up there?”
His wife’s voice rang out through the spacious front hall. “Just give us two minutes, Ben!”
Mr. Potter lazily waved his wand, making two chairs appear in the air. The wooden chairs dropped silently to the floor and the two boys sat still in them for several minutes. James reached up tentatively to touch his hair. He had spent nearly half an hour in his room earlier, trying to get his black hair to lay down flat on his head. Finally resolving to a mixture of water and several weak spells, James had managed to split his hair down the side and smoothed the loose ends. Occasionally a stray piece of hair would pop up, but James would hastily rub his hand over the spot several times, straightening it once more.
The silence droned on. For a minute, Mr. Potter started to tap his foot, listening to the echo bounce off of the walls. Finally, he spoke again.
“Why couldn’t you just bring Sirius?”
“Dad!” James shouted, eyes flashing. He lowered his voice, raising an eyebrow. “Do you have any idea how much damage Sirius could cause at a party like this?” He leaned towards his father. “You have heard Sirius’ latest detention count, haven’t you? You know “ ” James widened his eyes meaningfully “ “ the one he’s so proud of?”
Mr. Potter looked like he was about to throw a tantrum. “But all he would have to do is throw on a simple dress robe that he already owns! Not specially request some designer to make a visit to your house at the last minute so they can rummage through a closet full of clothes that they don’t “ need!”
“Dad, could you just knock it off “ please?” James pleaded with his father. “At least “ please don’t embarrass me tonight, alright?”
Mr. Potter smirked. He looked at his son out of the corner of his eye and nodded. “Yeah, alright, fine.”
“Are you boys ready?”
Mr. Potter eagerly jumped up from his chair at the sound of his wife’s voice. “Oh, you ladies are done? Fantastic “ ready to go, then?”
“No, no, no,” Mrs. Potter quickly chided her husband with a secretive smile. She put both hands to her sparkling, black dress and pulled it up past her ankles, revealing tall, black heels. She started down their front staircase as fast as her shoes could manage. Once she reached the bottom, she dropped the hem of her dress and reached out for her husband’s hand. “Alright!” Mrs. Potter beamed, speaking in a very loud voice. “You can come down now, Lily!”
James stood from his chair at the base of the steps, eager to see Lily’s outfit, but he could not spot her. He heard the door at the top of the steps open and close with a series of soft clicks. But he still could not see Lily.
James shuffled to the side in order to get a better view than his parents had of the top of the steps. And with a sharp gasp, Lily stepped out from the shadows and spotted James, the only person that she could see.
James’ eyes eagerly roamed her body, taking in every detail, following every curve. She was wrapped snugly inside of a cream, sleeveless gown. The bottom of her dress hovered a fraction of an inch above the floor, hiding Lily’s shoes and making it look as if she was walking on air.
Lily started to slowly descend the stairs, taking her time with each step. As she moved, James could just barely spot a glimmer of something on her dress catching in the light. He looked closer at the outfit and could just barely make out the trace of several very small flowers that he never would have seen if she hadn’t have moved underneath the light.
She was blushing furiously.
“Well?” Lily asked with a hesitant smile as she reached James. She carefully flipped her curled hair over her shoulder, revealing a pair of Mrs. Potter’s finest diamond earrings. “How does it look?”
James took her hand and held it high above her head, spinning her slowly around in a circle so that he could examine the other side of the dress. He noticed the back of her gown fall just below her shoulder blades. As Lily turned back around, James eyes followed the fabric, mesmerized, as it trailed beneath her arms and back up to her neck, attached to a decorative collar. This, James realized, was what was holding up the dress.
He looked back up into Lily’s eyes to see that they were wide, eyeing him with curiosity. She was clearly waiting for James’ response.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing happened. James cleared his throat, blinking quickly, and swallowed several times; all that came out was a whisper. “You look beautiful, Lily.”
Lily took his stunned expression as a compliment and blushed even further, staring at the floor.
“Now, now, dear, don’t slouch,” Mrs. Potter said softly under her breath, tapping Lily’s bare shoulders.
“Oh, uh “ yes, thank you, Mrs. Potter.” Lily smiled appreciatively, realigning her head to sit directly on top of her spine.
But James wasted no time in sending a meaningful look towards his mother, hinting for her not to bother Lily.
James escorted Lily away from his parents by gently touching the lower portion of her back. His mother rushed around the room to find her purse while his father waited with an impatient tapping toe, giving James plenty of room to speak to Lily before they departed for the Ministry. But as James attempted to speak normally to Lily, just like he had for the past month, he was suddenly finding it increasingly difficult when his mind could no longer concentrate on what to say, and could think of nothing more than what he was seeing. He cleared his throat once more, and tried to talk to Lily as if it were any normal day at Bennett Theater.
“So,” James said with his trademark grin, puffing out his chest proudly. “How do I look?”
“Adorable,” Lily said with a grin, scanning his simple black and white dress robes. She did have to admit that he certainly cleaned up nicer than she ever could have expected.
“Adorable?” James repeated with a look of sheer horror. “I tell you that you’re beautiful, and all I get is adorable?” He stuck his right shoe out in front of her, moving it around so that the light caught the shiny surface and bounced off of it, into their eyes. “I bought new shoes for this thing “ and I’m only adorable?”
Lily giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “You have beautiful shoes, James,” she said, trying her best to sound completely serious.
“Thank you.”
Lily’s eyes wandered up to James’ hair, smiling. “I never thought it possible…”
“What?” James asked, his eyes widening as he tried to figure out what Lily was talking about.
“Your hair,” she said in a soft, stunned voice, “is actually under control.”
“Oh “ yeah.” James grinned, automatically reaching a hand up to smooth his hair once more, just to be safe. “It took me awhile, but I finally got it to stay put.”
Lily nodded. She then smiled as if she were about to laugh, but spoke instead. “It looks nice,” she agreed, “but if you don’t mind…” Slowly, she reached a hand up to his hair and ran her fingers through it, making his black hair return to its natural state, falling wherever it pleased. She slowly pulled her hand away and looked back into James’ eyes, as if unsure whether or not she had done the right thing. “I think I like it better this way.”
James smiled.
“Are you lot ready to go, yet?”
“Relax, Ben,” Mrs. Potter said in a soft voice, hitting him lightly on the arm. She started digging through her purse, looking for an invitation. “You know that there’s going to be a line to get inside anyway; we might as well show up late “ aha!” James’ mother held up the invitation between her two long fingernails, grinning. “I knew it was in here somewhere!”
“Alright “ now can we go?” Mr. Potter said, checking the time on his watch.
Mrs. Potter glanced at the two teenagers and made a show of rolling her eyes at her husband’s persistence to arrive at the Ministry Ball on time, but went along with her husband’s request anyway. “Fine,” she cooed, cuddling up next to him. “Let’s go.”
Before Lily had gotten a chance to wonder why James’ mother was standing so close to her husband “ instead of walking out of the front door “ the couple Disapparated with a pop.
Lily almost jumped backwards into James, startled. Apparating was a completely normal thing in the wizarding world, and she now felt extremely foolish to not have been expecting it.
“You alright, there?” James asked with a smile and a soft chuckle. She had stepped on his foot without realizing it. James squinted his eyes as his smile spread even further. “Were you scared?”
“Not scared,” Lily muttered, rather embarrassed now. “Just surprised. That’s all.” She quickly tried to get them off of the topic. “Are we going or not?”
James stopped making fun of Lily, but kept his smile firmly in place. He snaked his left arm around Lily’s waist and pulled lightly, urging her to stand closer to him. And without any hesitance, she pressed herself into James’ chest and wrapped her arms around his middle.
For a moment, Lily felt at peace with the world, completely relaxed. She wished that nothing could interrupt them. She even let out an inaudible sigh and closed her eyes.
She found that she was so at ease in James’ arms, that she was inches from laying her head down on James’ shoulder, but the instant Lily’s eyes flickered open again, she realized, all too soon, that they had already Apparated.
“Lily?” James asked in a soft voice that only Lily could hear. “We’re here, now.”
“Right.” Lily nodded. She quickly pushed away from James, and scanned the area that they were standing in with her arms folded protectively across her chest. With two feet of distance put between them, she asked, “Are we inside the Ministry?”
“Yep,” James said with a nod. He threw a sidelong glance at Lily and then looked forward again, pointing towards a long line winding outside of a very large doorway. “That’s where we’re going.”
“James “ honey, we’re over here!” Mrs. Potter beamed, waving her hand a bit overenthusiastically. Lily noticed a woman with a dress made entirely of multi-colored feathers standing behind Mr. and Mrs. Potter in line, trying to move her head from side to side in an attempt to dodge Mrs. Potter’s hand. Her large, cone-shaped hat, also made of the same, colorful feathers, started to tip to the side as she moved her head away from the Potters a bit too quickly. She lifted her hands to her hat and properly adjusted it, glaring at James and Lily, as if it were their fault.
James turned toward Lily and noticed a smile growing on her face. “I believe,” James said in a soft, amused tone, “that my mother is calling me…” He gazed down into Lily’s glowing expression and slowly extended his hand toward her. “Shall we?”
She took his hand.
“I was worried you might have Apparated to the wrong spot,” Mrs. Potter said, speaking in a fast, hushed tone as James and Lily approached them at the back of the long line. “I mean “ you’ve only had your license for so long…” James’ mother stepped out of the line, towards the teenagers, and, in the process, accidentally knocked into the feathered woman behind her.
“Oh “ I’m terribly sorry,” Mrs. Potter apologized as two red and three green feathers floated to the ground and the woman’s large hat was knocked askew once again. Mrs. Potter’s attention, however, did not stray from Lily and James for long; she immediately turned back to Lily and started to rearrange her hair, brushing it over her shoulders just so, and then checking to make sure that no strands of hair were sticking out.
“Absolutely breathtaking, dear,” Mrs. Potter beamed, putting her hands firmly on Lily’s shoulders and looking into her sparkling, green eyes. She smiled and hugged Lily, closing her eyes. “Oh, I wish I had a daughter of my own.” She sighed. And then, opening her eyes, she noticed James, standing awkwardly behind Lily with his hands stuffed into his pockets.
“James Winston,” Mrs. Potter scolded him, pulling out of her hug with Lily. James started to turn very red at the mention of his middle name. “I thought you had fixed your hair “ what happened to it?”
“Oh…” He blushed even further, smirking discreetly at Lily. “It didn’t stick.” He shrugged casually, joining his father in the long line as it started to move forward. “I tried my best, Mum.”
“Tried your best…” His mother pursed her lips and shook her head. “Somehow I doubt that.”
James could not hide his smile. And, surprisingly, neither could his mother. Their happiness was contagious.
Stepping into the line, Lily stood beside James, directly behind his parents. She started to grin slyly.
“Winston?”
“Don’t you ever tell Sirius,” James hissed, holding up a finger warningly. Lily started to laugh at his serious look.
“Why not?” she teased him with a lofty voice and a smile. “I think the name Winston is adorable.”
Even James could not help but crack a smile.
The line started to move again, and James leaned over to speak into Lily’s ear.
“Don’t look now,” he whispered, “but the woman behind us is the French Minister of Magic.”
Lily was sorely tempted to turn and look over her shoulders that very second, but was held back by James’ previous comment. “That woman covered in feathers?” she whispered back.
James nodded with a broad grin. He bit his lip, trying very hard not to laugh at Lily’s choice of words. “That’s the one,” he confirmed. “She’s always wearing something a little “ extreme.”
“Always?” Lily repeated, interested. “How many years, exactly, have you come to the Ministry Ball?”
James’ eyes fell to the floor and he started to think. “Five or six years, I think.” He shrugged. “Right after my dad was promoted to the head of his department, we started to get invitations. And two years ago,” James added, “my mum became one of the head Healers at St. Mungo’s, so she started to get invitations, as well. Of course, she had already been going because my dad brought her, you know “ but it’s a great honor to be invited, just the same.”
Lily nodded, smiling at James’ words. Unlike most kids, he sounded proud of his parents and their accomplishments; Lily was reminded of several weeks ago when James had confessed to her that he wanted to be just like his dad someday.
“Sometimes I wish my parents were magical,” Lily said with a small, wistful sigh. “I’ve always wondered how different my life would have been if I had grown up with magic, instead of just being thrown in without any advance warning.”
“But isn’t it more of an adventure?” James asked, his eyes lighting up. He started to frown as he thought through his words. “Honestly,” he admitted truthfully, “what I’ve always wondered is what it would have been like to be a Muggle-born.”
“Really?” Lily was shocked. She never would have guessed that James would want anything but the pureblood life that he had grown up with.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” he said as if it were obvious. “I mean “ come on.” He lowered his voice so that his parents couldn’t overhear his conversation with Lily. “How many times, when you were a child, did you ever wish that something big would happen that would change your life?” He held up a hand, gesturing around the Ministry of Magic. “Such as finding out that you’re magical?”
Lily looked away and grinned. She had always dreamed of having an unpredictable future; she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Growing up in a wizard family,” James explained, “I’ve always known that I would go to Hogwarts. There wasn’t this big secret about the magical world that was revealed to me like there was for you.” He started to kick absentmindedly at the tile floor, looking like he was deep in thought. He then looked back up at Lily with a grin. “I bet it was amazing.”
Lily studied James’ face. She had thought that she had seen every side of James by now, but, as was his custom, he had surprised her and revealed yet another side that Lily had never expected. “It was,” Lily nodded, answering James’ question. “A shocker, of course,” she added with a smile, “but a dream come true, all the same.”
“Lily “ you’ll need your wand out soon.”
Lily jumped, startled at the sound of a voice other than James’. She had isolated her conversation with James from the rest of the room and had almost forgotten where they were about to go.
“Safety precaution,” James muttered to Lily underneath his breath. “Considering the most important people are going into the next room, the Ministry doesn’t exactly want just anyone to walk in, right?”
“Yeah “ right,” Lily said with a nod, feeling stupid that she had not thought of this herself. Of course there would be some sort of boundary that they had to get past before entering the Ministry Ball.
Mr. Potter was the first in their group to reach the doors. He handed over his wand and their invitation to a very large man. The man turned to a thin, metal platform, hovering just beside him in the middle of the air. He delicately placed the wand into a small groove, cut to hold the wand in one spot so that it would not roll off of the floating platform. The minute he removed his hand, a green light started to glow around it, as if it were scanning the wand.
After several silent seconds, the glowing light disappeared and the large man at the door handed the wand back to James’ father, nodding.
“Good evening, Mr. Potter,” he said with a pleasant smile. “It’s just through these doors and down the hallway to your right.”
“Thank you.” Mr. Potter nodded appreciatively. He stepped aside momentarily, waiting for his wife to go through the same process.
“Mrs. Potter,” the large man said, smiling again. He repeated his directions to get to the desired room, and James’ parents took off, waving over their shoulders at James and Lily.
“Ma’am?” the large man spoke, holding out his hand for Lily’s wand.
Lily hesitantly handed it over. This man could read her wand with that machine! He knew the Potters’ names, and Lily was certain that it wasn’t because this man had met them before; this device that he was using to read their wands must have had some way to recognize the owner of the wand.
A horrible thought made Lily sweat. What if I can’t go in? I’m not a Potter, after all “ this man will know that after he reads my wand. But I don’t want to be kicked out! What do I do then? I can’t make James stay with “
“Thank you, Miss Evans,” the man interrupted her thoughts with a smile. “Through the doors and down the hallway to the right.”
“Oh “ thank you,” Lily mumbled, blushing. Once again, she had gotten herself worked up for nothing. Lily graciously accepted her wand, stuffing it into a small pocket within the folds of her dress, unnoticeable to others.
She stepped through the doors and walked into the thin, dimly lit hallway, waiting patiently for James. She spent several seconds smoothing out her dress and realigning her posture so that her head was held as tall and confident as she could manage “ just like Mrs. Potter had told her.
Lily was feeling much more self-conscious, now. She was about to be in the presence of the top witches and wizards of the century! She shuddered at the thought of making the smallest error, embarrassing herself in front of, not only, the most powerful people in the world, but James.
A hand pressed into the middle of her back; Lily jumped.
“Ready to go?” James asked with his trademark grin. He started to usher Lily down the hallway “ in the same direction that the man had told them to go “ but Lily stopped, digging her heels into the floor.
“No,” she whispered urgently. Lily wobbled dangerously on her high heels as her knees started to shake nervously. She clung to both of James’ forearms, facing him straight-on with a terrified look in her eyes.
“No?” James repeated, stunned. “What do you mean ‘no’?”
“I mean I - ”
Lily broke off at the sound of footsteps. She peeked around James and found that the French Minister of Magic had already passed through the inspection and was headed their way. Lily gently touched James’ shoulder, motioning for them to move to the side of the hallway, letting the woman brush past. Pressing herself up against the wall, Lily smiled shyly at the domineering woman and a small man trailing behind her. However, the feathered woman merely swept past them without so much as a nod of acknowledgment. She walked briskly to the end of the hall and into a lit room while the small man struggled to keep up with the woman’s long strides.
Once they were out of earshot, Lily started up again.
“What if I do something wrong?” she whispered frantically, maintaining a strong hold on James’ arms. Her intense, green eyes revealed Lily to be much more flustered than she normally appeared to be. “I haven’t been to these parties as often as you have! I don’t know anything more than what I’ve been told today. And given your need to keep everything a secret,” Lily added, sticking an accusatory finger into James’ chest, “that’s not much!”
“Lily, just - ”
Lily cleared her throat pointedly. James glanced over his shoulder, noticing a silent couple glide gracefully through their hallway.
“How do you do?” the sophisticated man spoke with a very heavy German accent as they passed, forcing a smile on his face at the two teenagers that appeared to be up to no good.
“Fine, thanks,” James mumbled, trying, but failing, to remember the man’s name. Once the man stepped out of the hallway and into the room at the end of the corridor, James waited for Lily’s eyes to swing back to his before he continued speaking.
“Don’t be afraid,” he assured her. “I’ve seen more adults at these parties make fools of themselves more than Sirius ever has.”
Lily seriously doubted this information, but felt calmed by it nonetheless.
She waited once more for a family of four to walk past them, uncomfortably aware that they had broken up a conversation.
“Trust me,” James cut in before Lily could retaliate. He held the palm of his hand face up, waiting for Lily to grasp it. “I promise “ I’d never let you be embarrassed.”
With a skip of her heart, Lily took James’ hand and willingly placed all of her trust in him.
Before another group had a chance to pass Lily and James, they walked down the dimly lit hallway and made it to their final destination.
Lily seemed surprised by the room that they were now standing in; it was not a ballroom, like she had been expecting. There were only two men dressed in formal black and white dress robes instead of several hundred Ministry officials, socializing. It looked like it was another waiting room.
“Names,” a scratchy voice squawked into their ears upon arrival.
“James Potter and Lily Evans,” James stated, sounding as if he had rehearsed this once before.
The man scribbled something down onto a piece of paper without looking up and asked, “Miss or Missis?”
“Miss,” Lily corrected the man much more quickly than she had intended to. “I mean “ we’re not married. Just friends.”
The man did not care. He just handed the slip of paper to James and told him to deliver it to another man at the top of the staircase.
“Staircase?” Lily asked softly after they stepped far enough away. “There aren’t any stairs in this room…”
James simply smiled.
He led them to a different doorway on the opposite end of the room; it was the only other location in the room that they had not already gone.
The other man was here, dressed in the same, uniform robe. He grinned at them and held out his hand for the sheet of paper, accepting it.
Just after giving away the paper, James held out his arm for Lily. She gently placed her hand on top of his in a ladylike manner, and then promptly began to blush, having never been this formal with anyone before.
They stepped through the doorway, and Lily suddenly realized that they were standing at the top of a grand staircase “ the very one that the man had told them to go to. Lily gasped, letting her lips part slightly, in awe of the scene that she could see below them.
Hundreds of people were gathered at the bottom of the steps, pleasantly conversing with one another. Several of the more outspoken in the bunch laughed boisterously at a joke they made or enthusiastically waved their glasses around as the sweet, dulcet tones of a small orchestra in the corner of the room easily played over the noise.
Lily felt her insides clench; she was having second thoughts, again. So many people were watching them, just waiting for them to descend the stairs, nearly two stories up from the ballroom floor. What if she tripped? What if she stepped on the hem of her beautiful dress and broke every bone in her body after falling down this extravagant, marble staircase?
Lily took a step backwards without realizing that she had done it. It wasn’t until James spoke up that she knew he could sense her discomfort.
“Don’t worry,” James reassured her, knowing exactly what she was thinking, having gone through the same doubts at his first Ministry Ball. He put his free hand on top of hers, meeting her eyes with his own.
“Trust me, Lily.”
Lily nodded, wanting to hold his gaze for days. For a moment, she almost thought that she would, but James broke away, looking out at the crowd of people with a small smile.
Lily took a deep breath, holding her head high and trying to appear confident, just like Mrs. Potter had taught her.
James stepped forward to the topmost stair with Lily attached firmly to his arm. She felt a sudden calmness come over her, realizing that, even if she had managed to lose her footing or accidentally tripped on her dress, James would not let her fall.
All of the faces below them looked up expectantly, waiting for something to happen.
Lily heard that something. A loud voice behind them spoke with a great, majestic boom, filling the ballroom with the sound from floor to ceiling. Lily realized that it must have been the man that they had given the slip of paper to; he was using a Sonorus spell to increase the volume of his voice for all to hear.
“Mr. James Potter, accompanied by Miss Lily Evans.”
Lily felt her heart start pounding twice as fast at the mention of her name. Though James showed no sign of having any nerves, Lily could have sworn her fingers felt the pulse at his wrist steadily increase.
The crowd “ if they had not all been watching by now “ gazed up at them and started to applaud, nearly equally as loud as the man’s voice had been when announcing their names to the entire room.
Lily started to relax. She did not feel scared or nervous any longer. James had glanced over in her direction and gave Lily a small, reassuring smile that was meant for only her to see; it belonged to no one but Lily and Lily alone.
Her insides melted.
For the first time since the start of the play, Lily actually knew what it felt like to be a princess.