The Doe & The Stag {James Potter & Lily Evans}

Alleyway of the Unrefined

Sidebar: If you'd like to see Marlene's perspective on this chapter, visit my other story, Violet Hill.     

The following weekend was snowy and frigid, but gorgeous nonetheless. Snow glittered on the trees and ground, nearly blinding most of the students in Hogsmeade, including Lily, Marlene, and Doe. The sun shone bright and cold, and there were several snowball fights going on around the village.

However lovely the day was, the three girls had to agree it was too bright to continue being outdoors for a long time.

So, Lily followed her two friends inside Gladrags Wizardwear, where they were hoping to find dresses for the Christmas Ball. The store, usually carrying a wide variety of novelty socks, appeared to have been rearranged for the occasion. There were all sorts of dress robes and dresses on display, and adorned upon nearly every rack. There were women's accessories as well, toward the front of the store, including gloves, jewelry, hairpieces, and more.

However, their immediate focus was dresses. They dispersed, each in search of their own gown.

After about half an hour, each had found a good amount of dresses to try on, and headed for the dressing rooms. Upon arriving, they noticed Emmeline Vance leaving one of the rooms with a flashy gold gown in her arms.

Marlene stiffened and stared the girl down. Emmeline was a girl with strawberry blonde hair and light eyes that Lily could never tell the color of. They almost seemed to change. In some light, they appeared blue, while in others they appeared grey or green. Her eyes met Marlene's after a moment, and a little blonde Ravenclaw appeared by her side.

"That's disappointing, I was hoping I wouldn't run into any whores today." Marlene said nastily.

"And I was hoping not to run into Sirius's leftovers. But here we are." The Ravenclaw snarled.

Marlene's eyes flashed and she leapt up, stalking toward the Ravenclaw, causing Lily to jump up and hold her back. "Why don't you come a little closer and say that to my face, bitch?"

The blonde girl flinched back, suddenly looking scared, and Emmeline began dragging her friend out of sight. "I am so sorry," The girl with the chameleon eyes said, sounding sincere, as she disappeared.

"Yeah? GO FUCK YOURSELF, VANCE!" Marlene yelled, still struggling against Lily to go after the two of them. After a moment, though, she stopped, and Lily released her. Seeing Lily and Doe's eyes on her, she straightened out her jumper. "I was only going to throw a few punches, maybe leave a couple scars on that pretty little face."

Though Lily didn't approve of leaving scars, she knew saying so would only make her friend more upset. "That was such an ugly thing for her to say, Mar. I'm sorry we ran into them."

Marlene simply let out a huff of breath and sat down, seeming to regain her composure. "Whatever. Let's just get on."

Doe disappeared into the dressing room, and upon emerging, Marlene directed her attention back to shopping.

The first dress, like the following six, were discarded. Doe eventually found herself having to choose between two, though there were plenty more dresses she hadn't yet tried on. In the end, she decided on one that perfectly complimented her hair and eyes. It was a simple, elegant, empire-waisted dress. It was black, the sleeves capped, and the skirt riddled with subtle patterns of silver that caught the light. The gown made her grey eyes seem brighter and silver.

"Think Remus would like it?" She mused aloud, twirling slowly in the mirror to inspect all sides of the dress.

Lily wasn't sure how to feel about the two of them going to the Christmas Ball. She had no personal objections, but she wasn't sure how Mary would feel about it, seeing as she and Remus had almost had a romance before she was removed from school.