Cruel Summer - Lily and James Potter

Chapter 16 - The Sheerness of Beauty

The Halloween Ball was planned for the Saturday coming and it was Wednesday already. Lily was fretting over whether she had chosen the correct colour decorations, or picked out the right candles that would set off the appropriate mood for the Hall. In the last couple of days, things had been very hectic and the pressure was definitely affecting her...not that she would admit it of course...

James had graciously offered to help her again, but - with her pride speaking for her - she declined. But now, most of the things had been arranged and the decisions had been made. And Lily couldn't help worrying if her decisions had been the right ones.

'But what if people hate it?' she whined, 'I'll be a complete laughing stock.'

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes for the 5 thousandth time in the Muggle Studies class. Lily had thrown her quill down onto the blank parchment, and was now staring at her friend with a look of pure horror. She had decided that trying to calm this girl was like...

...trying to get Malfoy to date a Hufflepuff...

Lily's eyes dilated as she watched her best friend stifle a loud laugh, 'What?!'

'Oh...nothing...' Rachel smiled, thinking of the prospect.

That is so funny!

Seeing Lily turn back to her shopping centre research with a little 'hmph!', Rachel looked at her and patted her arm.

'Look...don't worry ok? What you've decided will be fine. Everyone will love it I'm sure!'

The Head Girl sighed. Will it be ok? I hope so. Lily didn't know what she had to prove to people, but it was like a need she had to fulfil. Maybe it was with her obsession for everything to be perfect...maybe that she had to live up to what everyone expected of her...maybe...maybe there was a million reasons.

Rubbing her temples slightly, she looked down at the assignment. The Professor had informed them that in a week they would be going on their first school trip to a real Muggle Shopping Centre. Whereas most of the students - Rachel included - had delighted at the fact of this information, Lily thought the trip would only be just like a normal shopping experience. Although, she did wonder what the uninformed Purebloods would wear to a Muggle shopping centre...that should be amusing.

Picking up her quill again, she started to write down some random notes on the blank sheet. This was the last class of the day, she was thankful of, and just wanted to go and sit in the common room and relax. It wasn't just physical tiredness she felt from the whole 'planning the upcoming ball', but mental tiredness as well...the cause of which she didn't know.

Hmm...maybe I'll have a bath...nothing more relaxing than that.

Lily was still staring into space when Rachel nudged her with her elbow. The class had ended and Rachel was packing up her things into her small bag. Following her quickly, the two girls walked out of the classroom and into the corridor. Deciding to meet up at dinner, Lily left her at the stairs and made her way up to the Head Common Room.

The Common Room seemed to be absent of James, as she walked into it and chucked her bag onto the table. She decided it was odd that she felt indifferent at this fact, but soon forgot when she walked into her bedroom and flopped down onto her bed. The soft mattress succumbed to her body, and she melted into the luxury of it.

Sighing after a couple of minutes, she pulled herself away from the mattress and walked over the dividing wall, separating the bathroom. Twisting the knob quietly, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The bathroom was immaculate as always, and seemed to give an extra kind of sheen than what she was used to in the normal bathrooms around the school. Walking to the large bath - that took up most of the room at the corner - she brought out her wand and tapped on the small mermaid statue twice. The water immediately started to pour out from the urn that she was holding, and it was at the temperature that Lily liked.