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Lily was uncharacteristically excited for the Slug Club gathering. She had picked out a new dress for herself by mail-order, through an advertisement which had been in Witch Weekly. It was a simple green dress, with a slight shimmer at the hems. On the model, the neck dipped flatteringly, but not so low that Lily wrinkled her nose at it. Lily had mailed the price, a receipt arrived, and it was to arrive the morning of the Slug Club gathering.
When the long-awaited green dress finally arrived along with the morning post, Lily accepted the parcel from the large owl who delivered it to her and allowed the bird to finish her leftover breakfast. She ran to go deposit the package on her bed, then rushed to her next class. She couldn’t wait to try her new dress on.
It was about thirty minutes before Lily had to leave. She had wanted more time to get ready, but she had wanted to grab a quick supper in the Great Hall, and her last class of the day had run fifteen minutes over. It had been a hard day for Lily, because she hadn’t slept well the previous night, had a hard time in Transfiguration, had to resolve multiple conflicts between students, given out three detentions, and hadn’t had time to chat with her friends. By the time 7:00 rolled around, Lily was exhausted and nearly in tears.
When Lily unwrapped her dress, the floodgates finally shattered and broke.
The dress was one shade too blue to match her eyes perfectly.
Lily threw the dress onto her four-poster bed and sobbed in her tank top and shorts, twenty-seven minutes before she had to leave for a party.
She sobbed as if her heart would break.
Mary, her roommate and one of her best friends, burst into the common room. “Hi, do you need any help with… Oh, Lily, what’s wrong?”
She quickly wrapped an arm around Lily’s shoulders.
“M-my d-dress is… the wr-wrong colourrr!” Lily choked on her tears.
“Aw, Lils, it’s alright! Lilykins, look, watch - “ and Mary pointed her wand at the dress. Its colour shifted ever so slightly, becoming the exact emerald shade of Lily’s eyes. Her eyes wide, her cheeks tearstained and flushed, she gave a shaky sigh and smiled sheepishly at Mary.
“Thanks, love. You saved me.” Mary smiled and handed the dress to Lily. “Go on then, try it on! You still need to do your hair, so hurry.”
The now perfectly coloured dress looked stunning on Lily. She was thinner than the model in the advertisement, but nonetheless the dress looked good. Mary, with skillful waves and flicks of her wand, slimmed the dress, remarking, “I’m glad you didn’t get the smaller size, though.”
After the dress was sufficiently altered, Lily entered the bathroom, and looking in the mirror, combed her hair and twisted the front part of it into a clip at the back of her head. She dabbed on a tad bit of lip gloss and some mascara, and then it was two minutes before she had to leave.
Lily slid her feet into her trusty, golden, sparkly flats. She grabbed her purse (magically expanded to accommodate her wand) and, with a wave to Mary, departed. Marlene, who had a stomach bug, woke just as Lily was stepping out. “Ravishing dress, Lilykins.” Lily smiled and went on her way. As she headed out of the portrait hole, a large, warm hand on her back helped her through.
“Alright, Evans?”
After they exited the Gryffindor common room and entered the hallway, James grinned lopsidedly at Lily and offered her his arm. Lily felt herself inexplicably warm as she took it. They walked at a smart pace.
“Potter, may I ask, did you actually receive an invitation?” James smirked. “I was sick the day the invites went round. I dunno.” Lily rolled her eyes.
Together, they traipsed down to Slughorn’s office. They stopped by the door. James turned to face Lily, looking her up and down. “You look beautiful, Evans.” Lily blushed, realizing that her colour wasn’t from embarrassment, but rather it was from… pleasure?
“So do… so do you! Erm, not beautiful - I mean, not that you’re not beautiful - I mean -"
James grinned, making Lily’s heart flip.
Ugh, her stupid, stupid heart! Why on earth was she like this around James - Potter? When did she start thinking of him as beautiful - wait, no, not beautiful, handsome - she thought he was handsome? And when did he become James, instead of Potter?
As Lily’s thoughts were swirling through her head, James led her through the door.
They were greeted by an onslaught of noise, lights, and colour. It seemed so much louder and so much more overwhelming than usual. James must’ve read the expression on her face, because he took the lead, sliding his hand down to Lily’s and enveloping it, and parted the sea of people to get in. He released her hand to snatch two goblets of clear, bubbly liquid from a floating tray. He handed one to Lily, who took a sip and made a face. “James - Potter - I don’t drink. This stuff is disgusting.” James downed his own cup before taking Lily’s.
“This isn’t alcohol - it’s just icky sparkling water. I think it’s a fad or something.” He drank Lily’s ‘icky sparkling water’,. Lily noticed that his mouth was on the place on the rim of the cup where hers had just been. She wasn’t sure whether it was intentional.
She and James ambled around the crowded room, stopping to speak with a few (slightly tipsy) students and adults, including a wiry man who James informed her was some famous Quidditch player. They spent a while wasting their time before Lily said in James’ ear, “I need some air. It’s stifling in here.” James nodded.
They were standing side-by-side on the balcony Slughorn had somehow added to his office. Only a few scattered students were standing about quietly. James was chattering pleasantly of something, Lily didn’t know what. She was too focused on the disconcertment of her recent revelations.
Number one: She blushed when he complimented her.
Number two: She thought he was beautiful (handsome).
Number three: She liked the sound of his voice, when he wasn’t being an obnoxious, annoying prat.
Number four: She didn’t think he was a prat all the time.
Number five: She liked being around him.
She actually liked him as a person.
Lily only snapped out of her thoughts when James clicked his fingers in her face. “Evans? Oi, earth to Lily Evans!”
“Sorry, sorry, James - Potter!”
James’ mouth quirked. “Lily, you can call me James if you like. We’re friends now - and it’s better than ‘James - Potter’ at any rate.” His face suddenly looks anxious. “We are friends, right?” Lily nods quickly. “Yes, of course!”
The party was supposed to end at 10:00, but it was still going strong by 10:30. Lily had wiled the time away by talking with James and various other students. She had had her new dress complimented by many people, both female and male. Finally, she waved to her new friend (a lovely seventh-year Slytherin) and made to leave. James caught up with her as she entered the corridor.
“Alright, Evans? Leaving already?” Lily cocked an eyebrow at him. “I think you’re the one who’s leaving early. Only thirty minutes after the party’s ended?” James laughed, infectiously making her grin. They meandered slowly down the halls. It felt like much more fun to be alone with James than in a crowded, noisy, hot room with a bunch of strangers.
When they were probably halfway back to the Gryffindor common room, James halted suddenly and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Lily, I can’t do this… I can’t just keep being your friend… without asking you something. And… please, please promise me you’ll not let me ruin what we already have.”
In the back of her mind, Lily was pretty sure she knew where this was going, but her brain didn’t seem to let her really think of it.
“Please be nice about this - I think it’d literally break my heart if you weren’t. I just…”
Lily saw his face, serious, hopeful, terrified, his brow crinkled. She didn’t know what made her do it, but she reached out and smoothed his forehead with her fingers. James’ eyes popped open. He took her small, cool, creamy-white hand in both of his large, warm, tanned ones.
“Lily, d’you… do you think… you could ever love me as more than just a friend? Or have I made it impossible at this point?”
Lily wrapped her fingers around his.
“James… it would be unfair - for both me and you - if I answered that right now. I, you know, we haven’t really been friends even for that long yet. I just… need a bit more time to figure it out.”
James looked torn between relief and crestfallen disappointment. Lily couldn’t just stand there, watching him. She pulled him into a hug. As he sighed and curled his arms around her, Lily felt how small she was. She felt how nice and lovely and big and warm he was. Lily pulled away. She looked up into his eyes.
“I think - I think you have a good chance, though.”
James’ hazel eyes sparkled. He smiled at her softly, making her heart twist.
“For now, Lily Evans, that’s enough for me.”
His arm found its way around her shoulders. They walked back to the common room together. Lily waved and smiled before heading upstairs.
Just as James was about to lose sight of her, he called, “By the way, Lily, I like your dress.” Lily grinned and curtsied before heading up.
When she reached her room, Mary and Marlene were sitting in Lily’s bed.
“How was it?” Marlene cried.
“Did people compliment your dress?” Mary asked.
“Who was there?”
“Was James there?”
“Did you knock about?”
“Did you snog?!”
Lily held her hands up and laughed. “Too much! To answer your many questions: It was good, yes I got a lot of compliments, a lot of people were there, I dunno who, yes James was there, yes we hung out, NO we didn’t snog, Marlene!”
Marlene looked disappointed.
Lily started peeling off her dress and rummaged in her trunk for her pyjamas. “I think,” she said more quietly, “I think we’re really friends now, though. I really like James.”
Her friends looked giddy. “I won’t even give you grief or make you eat your words, Lils,” Marlene grinned.
After they had all gone to bed, Lily lay awake thinking. She remembered James’ confession - why did she call it that? - and her own words.
I really like James.
And it was true.
Yeah, he was a prat sometimes, but… he had really matured. He seemed to channel the energy he used to put into pranks, by tutoring struggling Transfiguration students, and being an unofficial assistant Prefect to Lily and Remus, and just generally being amazing and hilarious and awesome.
James had a better chance than he - and she - thought, Lily supposed.