My first month at Hogwarts soon came to a close, and October was upon us. I was amazed at how much my life had changed in the past month. No longer was I the quiet, friendless English girl at a French boarding school. In just one month, I was more confident and surrounded in friends who actually seemed to like me.
Sirius and I’s plan to get Lily and James together was flowing wonderfully. James had made a remarkable improvement since I first met him. He was still the messy haired prankster that everyone loved, but he now seemed more mature than before. Even Lily was softening up a bit. She no longer started an argument with James at every chance, and it seemed that her well of dirty glares had gone dry. It wasn’t long before Lily and I would leave our table of friends and join the Marauders by their spot before the fireplace. By mid-October, all the girls of my dormitory had joined us, and we all talked and laughed together.
Classes were going…fairly smoothly. Although we had a mountain of homework almost every night, I managed to stay on top of almost everything. I doubt a that even a miracle will improve my Potions scores, but I guess that’s all right with me. I’ve noticed over the years that most people have places that they’re excellent in, and others where they fail dismally. Take Lily, for instance. Her Charms and Potions marks are almost always the best in the class, but stick her on a broomstick and she’s as good as dead. James is another really good example; he’s excellent at Transfiguration, and of course, Quidditch, but is fairly unsuccessful in the areas of Herbology and dealing with feelings for girls. The strange thing was, most people are good at things and bad at things, which is true, but I’ve noticed that I’m like a well-rounded pebble. I’m not excellent in any real areas, you could say that I have no real strong points, but I’m fairly decent at most things. I pass my classes with decent marks; even in Potions I get a passing grade, but not by much and I had made the Quidditch team, although not in the same way most people do. I’ll blame Tanaka on that one. This well-rounded pebble theory suits me fine though; it keeps me out of trouble (usually), and helps me stay in the good books of most of the teachers.
One evening, a few weeks into October, I was helping Aly Hazen, my Hufflepuff friend, in Transfiguration. We often sat by each other in classes, most of the time when I didn’t understand something, she did, and vice versa.
We were taking advantage of the empty classroom, and we had our Transfiguration books out. I had been a bit nervous about using the room, seeing as though we hadn’t asked, but James had assured me that he did it all the time, and the teachers didn’t care.
“Ok, what are we working on this evening?” I asked Aly as we sat down in one of the desks toward the back of the room.
Aly had a piece of her short brown hair in her mouth as she flipped through the book. “Um…well, I really didn’t understand this bit about human transformations that McGonagall talked about today…” She pointed to a paragraph.
I read it silently, sorting through my mind what it was supposed to mean. “Um…I think it’s saying that”“
I stopped as I heard the door creak loudly. Aly and I whipped our heads around, and there was Professor McGonagall, tall and prim looking. “Miss Jordan, Miss Hazen, what in Merlin’s name are the two of you up to?” she queried, peering down at us through her square spectacles.
“Um…well…” Aly stuttered. “I didn’t really understand what you were talking about in class today, and Amelia offered to help me with it…”
“James Potter said that you wouldn’t mind if we used this classroom, so we did.” I bit my lip, feeling bad for trusting James’s word on something like this. Surely the Professor was going to be angry with us for using her classroom without permission. “I’m really sorry, we should have asked.”
McGonagall offered me a small and rare smile. “No need to feel bad, Miss Jordan. James Potter would say something like that. He’s…oh what do they call themselves…a Marauder. It’s perfectly all right, I just came to check if there was anyone in here; Mr. Filch will be cleaning all the classrooms on this corridor this evening, and it wouldn’t be very wise to be caught. I suggest the two of you switch your session to another evening.” With that, the tall professor stepped out of the door.
I sighed with relief. We weren’t in trouble! I turned to Aly. “So…I guess we could maybe go to the library.”
Aly shook her head. “I tried to get a book for my N.E.W.T. History of Magic class before coming here, and Madame Pince had been unleashing her rage on some second years that were being too loud. She must have closed the library early because of that, because I heard some Ravenclaws in the corridor complaining about it.”
“Well, looks like we’ll just have to do this another day. How about on…Thursday?” I suggested.
“I’ve got Quidditch practice on Thursday.”
I forgot that Aly played Chaser for Hufflepuff! “I’ve got practice on Wednesday and Friday.”
“Hm…we could meet on Saturday, if you’re not busy; maybe in the morning or something.” Aly proposed.
“That sounds like a good idea,” I agreed. “We can meet here…at ten o’clock?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I’ll see you then!”
We headed to the door together, but went separate ways when we reached the end of the hallway. I made my way up to the Gryffindor Common room, thinking over what we were going to work on for our study session.
“Tainted cauldron,” I told the Fat Lady when I reached her portrait; the password had changed the week before. She swung open in her frame, and I entered the common room to find almost the entire Gryffindor house crowded around the message board.
I pushed through the crowd of students, searching for the faces of my friends. Sitting alone at our table was Micky. The strange thing about this was that her head was deep in a book. I took a seat next to her.
“Hey there, Amelia!” she greeted me enthusiastically, her brown eyes bright with excitement.
“Hi Micky,” I replied.
“I thought you were studying Transfiguration with Aly tonight.”
I shrugged. “Filch was cleaning the classrooms in that corridor and the library was closed, so we’re doing it another night.” I cocked my head to the side to read the title of her book: Knits and Knots: A Beginners Guide to Creating Your Own Magical Clothing. “What are you reading?”
“Oh, just a dressmaking book I got from the library this morning.” Micky shrugged. “I’m going to see if I can figure out how to make my own gown for the Ball.”
“Wait…what about a ball?” I demanded, mentally putting the pieces together. “Do you mean like, a dance?”
Micky nodded excitedly. “Yep, the Halloween Ball. That’s why everyone’s crowding around the notice board. It’s going to be on Halloween night, instead of the usual feast. Lily and Remus cooked the idea up, isn’t it exciting?”
I blinked several times, trying to register it all in my mind. For me, school dances meant evenings of uncomfortable dress robes and utter boredom. Beauxbatons had regular dances in which all older students were required to attend. Seeing as though I’ve never really dated before, and I didn’t have any real friends, I always went alone and sat in a corner with a book or something to do.
“Wow, you don’t look too enthusiastic, do you?” Micky stated, taking in the pained expression that was painted across my face. “Come on, it’s going to be fun! We get to wear old style ball gowns, and we get to have dates, and there’s going to be dancing and food, and it’s going to be amazing.”
“How about not. I don’t think I’m up for putting on an ancient ball gown and parading around the castle,” I said painfully.
Micky sighed in exasperation. “Well, you could buy an ancient ball gown from a secondhand shop, or you could just do what everyone else is going and go to Sylvia’s.”
“Go to where?”
“Sylvia’s Spellwork,” Micky explained. “It’s a new female clothing shop that recently opened in Hogsmeade. Haylie and I went there last year, and it’s really nice. They’ve supplied a special line of new, freshly made, and slightly modernized ball gowns. I think Dumbledore had something to do with this, though.”
I nodded, lacking enthusiasm. Micky may be enthralled by the thought of an evening dressed like a princess waltzing through the Great Hall in the arms of a handsome prince, but I’m not sure that it’s really my thing. Plus, I don’t know if I’m able to afford one of these ball gowns, and who would I go with? The only guys I know here at Hogwarts are my friends, and that would be weird going with one of them. At least I won’t have to wear a dress that smells like mold and mothballs. “Sounds extremely fascinating. Where is everyone?”
“Haylie’s out flying, and I think Leah is talking with Lily up in the dormitory,” Micky said, looking back to her book. “Will you tell Lily to come down here? I found this great pattern that would look wonderful on her figure.”
“Sure,” I mumbled before making my way up the stairs to the girl’s dormitories.
I found Lily and Leah sitting on Leah’s four-poster bed. Their heads were bent in concentration, talking quietly together, not noticing my entrance.
“So you think he’s attractive, big deal! That doesn’t mean that you have to go with him or anything,” Leah was saying to a worried-looking Lily.
“Ahem,” I coughed. Lily’s head shot up, and I was pleased to notice that she looked genuinely happy to see me. I could tell that she was relieved to be saved from her conversation with Leah.
“Amelia!” she said, scooting over so I could sit next to her. “Oh…you don’t look too happy. What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Just all the commotion downstairs was getting really annoying.”
“Oh, I take it how you heard about this Halloween Ball?” Leah commented.
I nodded, trying not to grimace at the mention of this dance.
“Well aren’t you excited!” Leah asked in a high pitched, false-cheery voice. She sounded almost like Hollie.
“Eh,” I paused. “I’m not really into dances. We had them at Beauxbatons, and they’re dreadful.”
Leah’s face fell, and she showed her true feelings about this Ball. “I KNOW. Everyone’s just gushing and gushing about it, and that’s all we’re going to hear about for the next month. Halloween Ball this, Halloween Ball that. I just hope that the teachers don’t feel the need to give us all dancing lessons.”
I shuddered, remembering all the bruised toes I had tended to over the years from all the clumsy boys stepping on my feet. “I HATED those.”
“But Leah,”Lily reasoned. “This could be your chance!”
“Chance for what?” Leah demanded, blushing slightly.
“Well, when I suggested we have a dance to a certain Head Boy, I could tell that there was a reason to why he agreed to do it,” Lily said slyly.
“Wait…you mean that YOU’RE behind all this?” Leah cried. “Lily, how could you do this? I’m going to be humiliated! I’ve liked Remus for three years, and he’s never going to ask me to this dance, and everyone knows it!”
“No, Leah,” Lily said seriously. “Everyone knows that you and Remus would make a great couple. The only one who thinks otherwise is yourself.”
“But Lily,” Leah protested, “I’m too…”
“Too what?” I piped in.
“Too plain,” Leah said, pulling her tan hair out of the tight bun. It fell around her face, highlighting her beautiful aqua colored eyes. “My hair is limp and pale, I’m so tall and bony, and I’m incredibly bossy! There’s no possible way he could find me even remotely attractive,” Leah wailed to herself.
I sat there, shocked beyond comprehension. Leah always seemed so composed and sophisticated, I had never thought about how hard she tried to be the way she was. She was always so confident! Who would have known about all the self-doubt that she concealed so skillfully from the world?
“But Leah,” I said, laying my hand on her shoulder. “Remus does like you. He’s just shy. I think that he likes you because you’re not as pretty as some girls.” I paused, the image of beautiful, blonde Hollie coming to mind. “Most girls try hard to be pretty and well-liked, myself included, but you never seem to care about what other people think. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, and that’s what makes you beautiful.”
Leah seemed to glow at these words. “Do you really think so?” she whispered quietly, as if asking herself.
I nodded firmly. “I know so.”
“Wow…nobody has ever said I was beautiful before.”
I smiled. “Well, I doubt I’m the only one who’s noticed your inner beauty, Leah. I’m sure that Remus would love to ask you to the Halloween Ball.”
“Leah, is that why you were so against the idea?” Lily asked softly.
Leah nodded. “I didn’t think he’d want me. But if what Amelia says is true, maybe I have a chance after all.”
We sat there in silence for several moments, and then began to talk. We didn’t really discuss anything important, but it was nice to sit down and just converse freely about whatever came to mind.
It wasn’t long before Haylie came bursting into the room, with Micky in tow. “Did you all hear?” Haylie sang as she spun around in circles. “This is it! This is my chance!”
I couldn’t help but smile. We all knew without even asking what Haylie meant by her statement. Haylie, like Leah, had liked the same guy for a long period of time. This struck me as odd. Leah: tall, mature, and bookish, and Haylie: short, mouthy, and athletic in the same situation.
“That’s great, Haylie!” Leah said happily, scrambling to her feet. “You’ll finally get Amos Diggory!”
Haylie grinned at Leah and grabbed her hands. They spun around in circles like little children. “And you’ll finally have a chance with Remus!”
“I know, this is too good to be true!” Leah laughed, falling breathlessly next to Lily and me on her bed.
“And we all get to wear lovely ball gowns, and our dates won’t be able to breathe when they see our beauty!” Micky gushed, clutching her dress-making book to her chest.
This went on for some time, and after much squealing and dancing about the room, we all finally settled down. We laid a blanket down on the stone floor and sat in a circle in the center of the dormitory. Everyone had changed into their pajamas, Micky was braiding Leah’s hair, and a plate of delicious sweets sat in the center of the group.
Everyone had demanded for Haylie to tell us where she gotten all the candy, but she simply shrugged and said, “The Marauders work in mysterious ways. I requested they get me some sweets, and that’s what they did.”
It was the first time we were untied as a group of girls. We were all so different, coming from such a diversity of families, yet all so alike. For the first time, we were Leah, Lily, Micky, Haylie, and Amelia: The Gryffindor Seventh Year Girls.
By the time my head hit the pillow that night, all my negative feelings about the Halloween Ball had passed. At Beauxbatons, I hated balls because they always meant that I would end up lonely. At Hogwarts, I had an amazing group of friends who would join me in the fun and dancing all night long. Even though I had no idea if I would be able to go with a date or not, I couldn’t wait for October 31st to come.
A Girl Like You by Lady Alanna
Chapter Notes: Here's chapter nine! I'd like to completely apologize ahead of time, these next four or five chapters are kind of clichéd... In my defense, I wrote the beginning outline for this story about a year and a half ago about a month into discovering fan fiction, so I didn't know about the whole cliché thing yet. Yet as always, I'm completely doing my best to make it original at the same time! Thanks so much to Kate, my awesome beta reader!
Chapter Endnotes: So... that's it! The next two chapters cover getting dates for the ball and a trip to Hogsmeade, and then there's the ball itself (with some surprises added). After that though, it's completely non-cliché (I hope). I'd just like to give a big thanks to everyone who have been reviewing, I've gotten a lot of reviews lately, and so if I actually knew you I'd be giving you all hugs! Keep it up, they totally make my day!