Prelude to Destiny

Chapter Nine

Before She Thrice Defied Him

All done up in her lovely red gown and black shoes and shawl, Lily paced in her living room. The wait was excruciating. She refused to sit and wrinkle the dress, but at the same time Lily felt like yelling at the makers of the Courteously Cushioned Shoes Cushions: magically sealed to perfection. They were liars. Those stupid shoemakers were just plain old liars. Her feet already ached and she had not even left her home yet.

When she heard a soft knock on the front door, Lily glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed, unexpectedly nervous. He was perfectly on time. As always. She took two steps toward the door-- toward this Ball that she did not want to attend-- when Mrs. Evans rushed past her to answer the door before her daughter.

"Hello, hello, hello. Aren't you the picture of a prince?" said Faith Evans as she ushered Christian inside. Lily felt even more nauseous, like she might have a headache at any moment. Her mother was acting so embarrassing. In fact-- Oh good grief! Her mother was crying as she looked back and forth between Lily and Christian. She could not have been more horrified in her entire life. Can you image?

"Mum," moaned Lily, her face lighting up to match the colour of her hair. "Stop."

"Sorry, dear, but you look so grown up. You aren't my little baby anymore," said her mother, taking Christian by the hand and leading him into the living room, indicating that Lily ought to follow. "Your father's trying to work out how to use the camera. Just sit here and I'll find him."

And so, as quickly as she had arrived, Mrs. Faith Evans was gone. In her wake stood an uncomfortable Lily and an anxious Christian Knowles.

"Thank you for escorting me to the Ball," Christian began. She looked over at him and couldn't help but notice that he looked amazing. Painfully amazing. So utterly perfectly amazing. Why, oh why, could he have been enough for her?

"My friends said this Ball was a very big ordeal," replied Lily.

"It is. Only the most prominent people in the wizarding world attend. The Minister of Magic was invited, but he had business in France." His distant tone made Lily cringe, but she was saved from responding when Faith bustled in, her husband and elder daughter in tow.

Petunia said nothing as she looked at Lily and Christian, though disapproval was evident in her face. Lily resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at her sister. She was above that sort of behaviour. Almost.

"This is such a big day for our Lily," replied Faith, wiping away what seemed to be another tear.

"I'm ready," called out Mr. Evans from behind the large, awkward camera. Lily remembered the compact cameras of the magical world, ones that required no technological breakthroughs to work.

"Before we take pictures," said Christian, turning to Lily and extending his wand towards her, "I'd like to offer Lily a bouquet."

A bunch of red flower sprouted from the end of his wand, lightly decorated with white ferns. As Faith and Petunia gave off shouts of surprise and then murmurs of delight, Lily felt embarrassment for them. That particular spell was not even taught at school, it was so basic. Her family was so easily impressed.

She took the flowers with a small smile and then stood beside Christian for many minutes as her father's camera flashed and flashed and flashed, leaving her dazed and blinking rapidly to rid herself of the spots that clouded her vision. But soon the flashing ended and Lily hugged her parents before Christian took her hand and led her out the front door.

"We aren't flooing, are we?" asked Lily as she took her hand out of his, placing the bouquet in her left in order to discourage further contact.

"No," he said. "We'll ride in my father's car."

"Are your parents driving?" pressed Lily. She remembered the way Ian had only half-jokingly explained the purpose of traffic lights to Christian. If that was the extent of his knowledge of the road, Lily did not want to get in the car that waited for them at the end of her walkway, even if it was a limo. A really nice black limo. A really nice, really large, luxurious limo.

"The car drives itself," explained Christian, opening the door in the back and motioning for Lily to climb in. The car was even larger on the inside, fitting with couches and a bar on the side. Lily's eyes widened, but she did not go in.

"What do you mean, the car drives itself?" she asked.

"We tell it where to go and it takes us there."

"The Knightbus has a driver," protested Lily.

"The Knightbus isn't really on the same level as this car. I promise it's safe," said Christian, placing his hand on the small of Lily's back and leading her into the car. He followed a moment later. Once inside he walked (yes, walked, because the ceiling was high) to a couch beside the bar and settled in. Lily felt the car begin to move and sat down on the first available seat.

The windows allowed Lily to watch the landscape of houses and roads flash past at impossible speeds. But while the outside was busy moving, Lily and Christian remained stagnant inside, void of dialogue and camaraderie. By the time the car began slowing to a stop, twenty minutes had crept by at a pace akin to forever and Lily's stomach was in knots. Why had she agreed to come to this thing anyway?

"We're here," Christian said, standing and walking over to open the door for Lily. When she left the car, feelings of insecurity washed over her and she was glad to remember that her wand was in her purse.

"Where, exactly, is this?" asked Lily. "It looks like a dark, deserted alley."

"The only way into or out of the Crystal Ball is by Portkey. This is where guests receive their Portkey. It's hidden from all but invited guests and those they choose to share the information with. That's why there aren't photographers here," explained Christian in what Lily considered to be a condescending tone. Lily, who was growing more and more annoyed by her lack of knowledge, never paused to consider the fact that Ian and she had spent the majority of the summer laughing at Christian's ignorance about all things Muggle.

A blue mist fell upon the alley and Lily instinctively reached out for Christian's hand, only for him to drag her further into the mist. Lily followed behind his echoing footsteps, followed though her senses told her it was a mistake.

Even as the warning bells in her head rang out, Lily ignored them. This was Christian, the boy from the supermarket wondering about plastic wraps. He was the boy who lied about liking dogs in order to spend time with Lily. He was the boy she had kissed so wonderfully during her holidays. She hoped she was a good enough judge of character to be able to trust, at least, in Christian.

When Christian's footsteps stopped, so did the mist. As the blue haze dissipated, the form of a tall, regal gentleman formed in front of Lily. Wearing black dress robes, he stood with grace and posture that made Lily envious. After too many lessons with her mother to count, Lily still managed to slouch more than stand properly. Still, there was something not right about the way this man looked. His eyes seemed vacant, as though he wasn't quite real.

"Mr. Christian Knowles and guest," announced Christian. His loud voice did not echo. Instead, it grew and grew around them. What was happening?

"Two for table twenty-seven," replied the man, inclining his head toward them both. Even though his voice was normal and his manner natural, Lily could not shake her initial fear. Her wand rested in her purse, but was there really a cause to fear? Christian didn't seem to think so. Why should she? But when something materialized in the hand of the stranger, Lily took out her wand and pointed it at him.

"Lily, put your wand away," said Christian, sounding mortified.

"It's all right, sir. I can assure you the Auror director was far faster with her wand than your guest," replied the man, smiling. Christian reached over and lowered Lily's wand for her as she had not bothered to lower it yet. But she knew (knew in the place in her heart that she listened to during magical laser tag) that the dull, unintelligence hiding in this man's eyes was not normal.

"It's our Portkey, Lily," explained Christian, picking the materialized object out of the man's hands. It was a red, long-stemmed rose

"It's set for seven thirty and takes fifteen minutes to recharge, as is custom," the man elaborated. The rose hardly mattered. What mattered was the way the man could not focus on Lily's eyes, never met her gaze.

"Place your hand on the rose please, Lily," implored Christian. Lily did so, even as she continued looking at the man out of the corner of her eye. The abrupt pull behind Lily's naval and disappearance of the alley was unpleasant, unexpected, and wholly unwanted. As was the even more abrupt landing and new scenery, including bright lights that forced Lily's eyes to adjust. In fact, the only pleasant thing about the trip was the warm voice that greeted them.

"Welcome to the Crystal Ball, Mr. Knowles, Miss Evans." When her eyes adjusted to the light, Lily saw before her a pretty witch in black dress robes that matched those of the man who gave them the Portkey. But this woman's eyes weren't oddly unfocused. In fact, the blue in them sparkled. "Please follow me to your table."

As they manoeuvred through the room, Lily let her eyes wander. This was supposed to be one of the most famous parties of the year, or so Tracy and Sam and Christine claimed. The decorations should be spectacular, they had assured her. The Crystal Ball did not disappoint. It was exquisite.

Near the high ceiling, pixies and faeries flew overhead, leaving trails of sparking golden light in their wake. Those trails fell gently from their lofty position, moving like fallen stars as they illuminated the room. Only after a few minutes, when the trails fell to the height of the tallest guest, did the light fade. There were more than a thousand of those creatures, circling in their magically confined space not even a metre from the ceiling, Above them, the roof was black, setting the tone for the colouring of the party.

The tables-- of which they were nearly fifty-- were covered with black cloth and golden plates, goblets, silverware, and even golden flowers. Even the black cloth, Lily realised as she inspected one, glittered faintly with gold. The golden dance floor lay near the Portkey landing area while the large podium sat in the middle of long wall. At their table (one on the far left side, if the wall with the podium was the front), four elder guests already sat, chatting.

As Lily took her seat, she looked around the room and took note of the guests. Only half the seats were taken, though she and Christian had arrived thirty minutes late. She briefly wondered if anyone else would attend, but quickly answered her own question. Of course the rest of the guests would come to the largest social gathering of the year, they merely wanted to arrive fashionably late and be seen arriving at the party.

"Is there anything you'd like to drink?" Christian asked.

"A water, please," replied Lily. Whatever she expected Christian to do-- stand and find a waiter, call out to someone across the room at the hidden bar-- she certainly did not think he would look at his plate and say, "water," though that's exactly what he did. About to tell him she thought he was insane, Lily watched in wonder as her goblet filled itself with water in front of her.

"Fabulous," Lily gasped. Then, remembering years of manners and unsure how else to use them, she directed her voice at the plate and said, "Thank you."

The adults at the table laughed, but Lily would not be ashamed. Their reactions made her feel out of place, but she knew that she had done rightly. Lily would never be ashamed of thanking someone, so she smiled at the table and took a slip of water.

"Don't mind their reactions, dear. Your good manners only highlight our own shortcomings," said the woman to Lily's left. Lily turned to direct herself at the gracious stranger. She was middle aged, maybe, with soft brown hair in a polite up-do. Her black gown was conservative, falling to the floor. Her golden gloves ended just about the elbow. She perfectly matched the colour scheme.

"Are the plates enchanted?" Lily asked, but instead of the woman who had spoken answering, the man to her left did.

"No. It's the work of house elves."

"Like at Hogwarts," Lily said, making the connection. They both nodded.

"Is that where you studied?" asked the woman.

"It's where I'm still studying."

"Forgive me, you looked older than seventeen," said the woman, her eyes wide and disbelieving. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"No, just seventeen years old."

"What I wouldn't give to be just seventeen years old again," sighed the woman. The man laughed, loudly. "What?"

"You hated being seventeen, Cordelia. You were too young to boss everyone around," teased the man. Lily smiled.

"I do not boss people around." As their play fight (at least Lily hoped it was a play) continued, Lily turned her attention back to Christian. In this sparkling light, looking at his profile as he stared at the podium, Lily wondered why his beautiful face and kind personality were not enough to make her happy. Why wasn't that good enough for Lily? Why had she felt like she needed something more than to date this kind boy? Why, when she thought of dating a boy, was the face she imagined not Christian's? Instead, it was the boy who sat quietly in the library every Wednesday night.

"Do you mind?" Christian asked her. Lily mentally shook herself, what was he asking? Would she mind what? Then she saw the pretty girl standing next to Christian, looking at her with barely hidden resentment. "Do you mind if I dance with Charlotte?"

"No. Of course not," replied Lily. When the two left the table, Lily sat watching them.

"If my husband had asked my permission to dance with another woman, I would have hit him over the head with my purse," quipped the woman to Lily's left. Lily looked over and noticed that the man was no longer there.

"Well, Christian's not my husband."

"If my husband had asked me to allow him to dance with another girl when we were seventeen and not yet married, I would have hit him in the head with my purse twice," replied the woman. Lily laughed.

"Well, he's not my husband or even my boyfriend. I have no relationship with him really. It's complicated."

"Always is."

Lily stole a look at the name card on the table. Each seat had a golden card set above the plates on the table that noted the name of the seat's owner in crafted black script. The woman's read: Madam Amanda Weston, Director of Magical Transportation Division.

"You work in the Ministry?" asked Lily, nodding toward the card. The woman followed with her eyes and shook her head, chucking.

"Oh no. I don't work for the Ministry. I can't even imagine how terrible I'd be with directing the Floo Network or Apparation points. I'd probably destroy the entrance to Diagon Alley on my first day at work," the woman responded.

"Your name card's wrong?"

"No. My card's perfect, it just happens to be in front of the seat I'm supposed to sit in, the one that requires me to be surrounded by dull politicians," replied the woman, pointing to the table situated directly in front of the podium.

Not knowing how to respond politely, Lily recited a phrase she'd heard her father often say at his own dinner parties: "There's no more certain way to end polite conversation than to talk about religion or politics."

"Or You-Know-Who, these days," said Ms No-name, and though her voice was light, Lily wondered at the phrase she used, you know who. Lily, for one, did not know who.

"And now we've breached two of three," Lily said. "Why not round it off. What are you beliefs concerning God?" The woman laughed and Lily smiled, glad she hadn't offended the woman.

"What a pair we make, ignoring our duties in this party in favour of laughter."

"I have no duty here," said Lily.

"What about to the family of whom you are a guest, Miss Evans?" asked the woman reading Lily's own name card, showing her as Miss Lily Evans, Guest of Knowles Family Heir.

"I have no duties to them that I know of, except to escort my friend Christian to this Ball, and he is dancing with a friend--"

"The French Minister's daughter," interrupted the woman.

"He's dancing with the French Minister's daughter," Lily amended, "and I am having a wonderful conversation with you."

"Polite, aren't you?"

"No. I merely know how to sound charming for a moment or two. Endears people to me who otherwise might run away," Lily replied with a flip of her hand.

"Well, you've certainly charmed me."

"Well, you know what they say about charming people," Lily said.

"No. What do they say?"

"Well, nothing really, but I was hoping you wouldn't ask. Thanks a lot." The woman laughed.

"Miss Lily Evans, I am Cordelia Crouch, and I'm letting you know that I find you perfectly amusing," Cordelia Crouch announced, smiling. Lily preened.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lily thought a moment. "You said your name is Crouch? That's sounds familiar."

"You might know of my husband, Bartemous Crouch," Mrs. Crouch replied. At Lily's shake of her head, she said, "Or my son, by that same name, at Hogwarts."

"That's it! Is he here?"

"No, I spare him the tedium of Balls, where his father works when he's not supposed to and I sneak away to speak with strangers," explained Mrs. Crouch.

"My mates were jealous of my invitation," Lily said, picking up her fork and tapping it rhythmically against the table. "They considered this a great honour."

"And where are these mates of yours?" Mrs. Crouch asked, picking up the glass in front of her and taking a sip.

"At a party with nearly the whole school, shooting off fireworks, throwing steamers at one another, setting off poppers, and just generally having a great time." Lily stopped tapping the fork and set it down, bored with the activity.

"Exactly." Something in her tone, the way she said the word as if it truly did confirm a fact in her mind, made Lily wonder if this brown-haired, highly composed woman truly understood.

"I don't suppose your friends are at a party like that?" Lily asked.

"I don't have any friends." Lily laughed as the woman winked. "But my husband is at our assigned table."

Lily looked over once more at the table positioned in the middle of the room, obviously central to the Ball. Looking at them, taking in the expense of their robes, the importance of their table, the prestige of their positions, Lily decided that the way she was talking to Mrs. Crouch was contrary to all socially acceptable behaviours. This woman came from a different class, a higher class. Lily couldn't bring herself to care. If she was willing to speak with her, Lily was not about to stop the one conversation that might salvage the night for her.

"Is he among the men with backs so stiff you'd think they're frozen?" Lily asked.

"You are outspoken, aren't you?" laughed Mrs. Crouch.

"Only because we're, you know, best friends." The exaggeration received a laugh from Mrs. Crouch, who knew that they were strangers, knew they would probably never speak again, were not supposed to be speaking even now.

"Best friends?"

"Oh, yes," Lily said, sipping her own water. "You're even invited to my next sleep-over."

"Sleep over?" questioned Mrs. Crouch, folding her hands on the table in front of her.

"Probably a Muggle thing." Lily set down the water and crossed her legs.

"No. A child thing."

"As we have already established, I'm only seventeen and you want to be seventeen, so a sleepover is appropriate. Besides, as best friends, we'll make it work." The woman laughed and Lily sat up straighter. This was her forte: she could control a room and the people in it if she tried. Their laughter fuelled her, gave her energy, pushed her forward. She could read a person within a moment of their introduction.

She knew, for instance, that the man who sat beside Mrs. Crouch at the beginning of the evening would laugh with Mrs. Crouch but never with Lily. He looked too condescendingly at her when she spoke, while Mrs. Crouch's laughter grew each time Lily spoke. Lily loved it, the attention, the giggles, the appreciation of her own dry sense of humour. It was a relief from the oppressive party atmosphere-- one she willingly accepted.

"How many of these Balls have you attended?" Lily asked, changing gears.

"Too many."

"Are they always like this?"

"Boring?" Mrs. Crouch asked, laughing. "Yes, but the food is delicious, the decorations breathtaking, and the prestige unequalled."

"So long as the food is good." Lily replied, smirking as she remembered the way she built small castles out of the food in the prefect meetings.

~*~*~

A large majority of the guests had not arrived even by the time Christian managed to drag Lily away from Mrs. Crouch and toward the dance floor on the opposite side of the room. Not that Mrs. Crouch minded. She rose and moved back to her own table, sighting Lily as the only reason she stayed there as long as she had.

"Why are people making such a fuss over arriving fashionably late?" Lily asked Christian as he continued pulling her by the hand.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nearly nine already, the food is being eaten, and still many seats are unoccupied. In fact, no one has arrive in nearly an hour," Lily said.

"You're right," said Christian as they arrived on the dance floor. "It is strange."

But as the music floated (tangibly in the form of golden notes) over their heads and dancing couples pulled them into the rhythm of the floor, it was hard to care about the missing guests. Instead, even though Lily reminded herself that she did not want to lead Christian on, she let him place one hand on her back and wrap the other around her hand.

~*~*~

When the dancing began to tire her, Lily recognized her aching feet and heart, and politely asked if they could return to their table. Christian nodded and led her back through the crowds of people. Even after the hour they had spent dancing-- it was nearing ten at night-- the final guests were nowhere to be seen. Just as she made note of this to Christian, a couple appeared on the apparation site and made Lily look terribly silly in Christian's eyes. "Never mind."

"Here we are," Christian said, pointing to their table. "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with a friend of mine at table thirty."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Lily asked.

"No. It's work related." What work? Lily wondered, but said nothing as Christian walked away. She would have taken her seat and sat, bored, until his return, if she had not let her eyes wander of the room and spotted Mrs. Crouch looking terribly bored as she spoke to an elderly man. She picked up her purse and walked right over, but once there, she stood awkwardly behind the man (in plain view of Mrs. Crouch), wondering if she ought to interrupt. Mrs. Crouch decided for her.

"Hello Lily," she greeted her, a look of relief covering her face. The man turned and looked at Lily with a mixture of amusement and disdain. "Charles, this is Miss Lily Evans. She attends Hogwarts with my son."

"Charmed," said Charles, inclining his head toward her. Lily assumed, from the lack of introduction, that she ought to know who he was. She didn't. Before she had the opportunity to ask, the sudden appearance of a dozen men in white masks and black robes distracted her.

~*~*~

A flurry of colours lit the room- red and black and yellow spells shot out from all around Lily, aimed for the men in black who sent there own spells back.

Men and women ran, screaming as they rushed to claim Portkeys, disappearing too quickly to take many with them. A woman lost her shoe in front of Lily. The robed men walked between tables, herding the guests into the corners, sending dangerous spells at them. Terror filled Lily; she couldn't even scream. All she could do was work on instincts built in the safety of the game she and her friends played: she grabbed her wand and cast a Shield Charm. She pushed Mrs. Crouch with her free hand towards her table.

Her shield caught the attention of the spell casters and Lily was quickly assaulted with curses and hexes. On the third spell, it broke. The fourth sent her flying backward, into a table-- cracking it in two.

Black inched into her vision; pain shot through the back of her head, left leg and shoulder; she felt as though she had been stabbed and couldn't breathe even as she felt a pull behind her navel. She was floating, airless and breathless as the pain in her body overwhelming her senses. She was not even aware of the moment when the ground appeared beneath her once more. Lily tried to see what was happening, tried to stop the tears on her face from flowing, tried to ignore the pain, tried to breath without feeling sharp pains in her chest.

Popping sounds echoed around the area as people arrived. Someone grabbed Lily's arm. Crying out in pain and scrambling to escape, Lily tried to crawl away. Her useless left arm and throbbing leg halted her movement. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't make a sound.

"This girl needs attention!" yelled a man above Lily, trying to make her stand.

"She's in shock," said a voice beside that one. A spell was muttered and Lily found herself floating. Lights flashed as blood seeped out of Lily. Then there was only darkness.