The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Accompany Me to the Yule Ball

Accompany Me to the Yule Ball

Lily hid around the corner in the corridor from the Transfiguration classroom the next day, huddled in the corner by the suit of armor, hugging her textbook to her chest. She could hear the boys down the hall, laughing and talking about stupid boy rubbish, and even the sound of James Potter's voice made her face burn with anguish. She had dreamed of him all bloody night long - and not in the way that she'd come accustomed to over the past year. No, this was an entirely different sort of dream and it made her flesh turn to goose pimples even thinking of it.

She heard the door open, heard Sirius greeting Albus Dumbledore, who was teaching the classes while Minerva McGonagall was away, and she clutched her books even tighter. She so dreaded facing James Potter (not only that, but sitting next to him!) that she stood there, considering simply not going to class. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, wishing she could just disappear.

"Miss. Evans."

She jumped in surprise and blinked to find Albus Dumbledore himself standing beside her, smiling that benign little smirk he often did that was so unsettling -- was he amused or upset? Impossible to tell!

"Won't you please come along and join us for class?" he requested gently.

Lily nodded and, feeling as though she had a great weight upon her chest, she walked down the corridor to the Transfiguration room. She made her way to her chair, her head down, and her stomach turning. She saw James glanced at her, saw his face flush across his nose, and he turned away quickly. She could feel Sirius Black's eyes upon her, could hear Remus whispering leave it Sirius under his breath. She could feel the tension radiating off James...

"Good morning!" Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Isn't it though?" Sirius asked, turning 'round to face the Headmaster. He grinned up at him. "I can't bare how absolutely spiffing this day is. Can you, James? Can you bare it?"

James mumbled, "Yeah, brilliant."

Sirius looked quite pleased with himself and Remus shook his head.

Lily wanted to crawl into a hole.

Dumbledore started in with the lesson, reading from the book through his half-moon glasses, which sat at the very tip of his nose, and Lily stared very hard at her copy, which lay upon the desk as she took notes. James reached for his ink pot and his hand brushed hers and she shivered at the contact and looked up at him and he looked at her and his glasses slid down and he pushed them up, quickly turning away, even more red than before.

That day, every class was like that, too.

And it seemed like the gods were messing about, torturing her, because not once - not even twice - but three times she ran directly into James Potter in the portrait hole - one going out just as the other was coming in or vice versa. Fate - and Sirius Black, whose jokes were a near constant stream - was cruel. Lily thought for sure she would simply die if she had to look at him even once more by the time the evening came and it was time for studying with the first years. Sure it was a coincidence (after all, Sirius couldn't see her mind), but halfway through studying More Than a Feeling came onto Sirius's stereo and all Lily could picture was James Potter on the stairwell and she excused herself to her bedroom, claiming a headache.

Lily leaned against her bedroom door, holding it shut, as though the embarrassment was a physical being she could shut out. "Oh gods," she moaned and she slid down the door to the floor and hugged her knees.