When You Wish Upon a Star

When You Wish Upon a Star
by Christabell

Chapter Twelve: Of Halloween and the Tango

“Lils, we need to go now!” James said, for the fourth time. “Dumbledore won’t be very happy if we’re late again.” Lily dropped her Charms book quickly.

“Why didn’t you tell me that we needed to go?” she asked. James shook his head, smiling.

“Four times isn’t enough?” he joked. Lily turned a bright red and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the portrait, and down several flights of stairs. With a “Chocolate Frog,” they entered the office, both breathing heavily.

“Just on time. Sit down,” Dumbledore said. “Now, I wanted to see you about Halloween. I have heard several students wondering whether there would be a ball like last year, and found myself thinking along the same lines. I would be open to anything you two want to do, so... any ideas?”

“A ball would be good,” Lily said slowly.

“Yeah, we could get the Prefects to help us plan and purchase all the supplies,” James agreed.

“Then it’s set. You can meet with the Prefects tomorrow during the meeting. And might I suggest that the ball be open to third years and above. Unless, of course, a first or second year is asked by an older student. That always seems to happen at least once.”

“That would be fine.”

“Now, Miss Evans. I wanted to inquire about your classes. How are your students doing?”

“They’re doing excellent so far. Quite willing to learn, it seems.”

“And they enjoy your classes?”

“Oh yes. Especially Arthur Weasley,” she smiled, thinking of the third year.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks before....

“Lily?” Arthur asked hesitantly. He was fairly tall for his age, with red hair, brighter than Lily’s, but he still possessed a childish face and figure.

“Yes Arthur?”

“I.... I wanted to tell you that I think your class is brilliant. You’re a really good teacher, you know,” he said blushing.

“Why thank you!” Lily exclaimed. She turned away and continued grading her papers. After a minute, she turned back around, noticing that the young boy hadn’t left the room yet. He seemed to be holding something behind his back, and his cheeks were a tomato red. “Was there something else you wanted to say?” she questioned, slightly confused.

“Umm... yes.” He brought his hands in front of him and presented her with a single lily. “Lily, will you be my girlfriend?” he asked nervously. She smiled kindly at him.

“I’m sorry Arthur, but right now I like someone else,” she said, her thoughts immediately jumping to James. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve noticed that Molly Cummings, one of the fourth years has been staring at you in class all year when she thinks no one is looking. You know her... the one with hair almost like mine, sits near the back with her friend Natalie. I think she might like you...” she hinted. Arthur looked at her hopefully.

“Do you mean it?”

“Yes, I do. Plus, whenever I make you guys work with partners, she always looks over at you before going with one of her friends.”

“Wow...” Arthur looked amazed. “Do you think that you could, you know... pair me up with her next time you chose our partners for us?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks so much, Lily! You’re definitely the best teacher ever!”

******

The next day....

“Now, today, you are going to attempt to read someone else’s future with tea leaves. Don’t expect results right away. In fact, I will be shocked if you actually see anything today. But I want you to try. You will be working with a partner, and before you even think about who you want to be with, you should know that I chose them,” Lily said, winking at Arthur. “Nick Patil, Natalie Bones. Frank Longbottom, Susan McKinnon. Arthur Weasley, Molly Cummings.”

The list continued, but Lily wasn’t paying much attention to the names she was reading. As she called the two redheads, she watched their interaction. Molly glanced over to Natalie, blushing and whispered something, smiling. Arthur walked over, and when Molly stood up, he linked arms with her, causing her to blush harder. Lily could see him talking rapidly with her, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Arthur brought Molly over to a seat, and pushed it in for her as she sat, the perfect little gentleman. He smiled at Lily, as if thanking her, and she smiled back. She was sure that by the next day, the two would be together.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily grinned at the memory. She enjoyed teaching her classes so much, and she had already gotten to know so many more students that she would have otherwise.

“But yeah, they all seem to love their class.”

“I glad things are going well for you, then. I must admit that I was worried at first that they wouldn’t respect you because you were still a student. But it’s good that it is working out. Well, I think that’s all for tonight. Remember to talk to the Prefects tomorrow.” Lily and James nodded, and walked out of the office, holding hands. Dumbledore just smiled. He had already known that they were back together, on account of a certain window.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, after their classes were finished, James and Lily hurried down to the Prefects meeting, which was being held in one of the unused classrooms. Much to their amazement, they were early, which, Lily insisted was a first. James had noticed that she had a habit of being perpetually late, and no matter how many times he reminded and nagged her, nothing could be done. The two sat there in a comfortable silence until Prefects from their respective houses trickled into the room.

“Alrighty then...” Lily began once everyone was seated. “James and I want to plan a ball for Halloween, but we can;t do it without your help. We’ll divide you by house, and have two people working on each part of the ball. Is that okay with everyone?” she asked. She received a murmur of agreement, and James took over.

“You two, see if you can go to Hogsmeade some time in the next week to purchase food. We’ll make a list of what you guys should buy. See Dumbledore about the funds for everything.” The two Slytherins nodded reluctantly. “You two,” James said pointing to the Gryffindors. “Come up with a list of all the decorations we need and once we okay them, get the money from Dumbledore as well.” The Hufflepuff Prefects were assigned to come up with some type of contest that anyone could participate in, and the Ravenclaws, the advertising, so that everyone knew exactly what was expected.

With that, the meeting slowed down considerably, with no other topics of interest. James and Lily finally agreed to let everyone go early. Even they were unwilling to sit there for anymore time. James and Lily returned to Gryffindor Tower, and Lily headed up to her dorm to begin her school work.

~~~~~~~~~

Remus looked around, searching the common room for his three best friends, two of them who would most likely be doing something with their respective girlfriends, and a frown appeared on his face.

“Oy, you lovebirds! James, Peter!” he called out. Arabella, Sirius, James and Peter glanced up, momentarily annoyed. “The Slytherins think that we’re growing soft. We haven’t pulled one prank on them yet this year!” Sirius looked up in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious...” he said, shaking his head.

“No, you are,” everyone replied. Sirius cracked up.

“It...” He was cut off by Arabella.

“We know, it gets you every time. We know,” she rolled her eyes, slightly exasperated.

“Well...” James mused aloud. “We could do something on Halloween. That gives us almost one week to plan something fabulous.” Remus nodded in agreement.

“Ooh! I have an idea!” Peter shouted. “Everyone knows that the Slytherins are practically famous for being incredibly un–spirited on every holiday. Let’s give them some Marauder spirit, and have it stay with them the whole day!”

“And what are you all up to?” Lily had just walked down the stairs, only to find the five huddled together, and she knew that they were planning something. “I’m hoping that I will be let in on the big secret. I’m sure you boys remember how easily I could prank you if provoked...” she said pointedly.

“Of course we’ll tell you, Lils,” James said, pulling her onto his lap. “There’s actually not much to tell yet. We’re gonna do something to the Slytherins on Halloween because they never have any spirit.”

“I might know something we could do...” Lily hinted.

“Well... are you going to tell us?” Sirius asked impatiently.

“Yup. It’s not a very good idea, but...” She whispered something to the group.

“You’re a genius!” Peter exclaimed. The rest of the afternoon was spent developing their brilliant plan, playing chess, Exploding Snap, and other things such as that which required no mention of school subjects.

~~~~~~~~~

The next day, signs for the dance were posted, and a crowd had gathered around each of them.

Hogwarts Halloween Ball!

• The ball will be opened to all third years and above.
  
  
• Younger students may attend only if they have a date with a third year student or older.
  
  
• Dress will be semi-formal, but dress robes are not required. Muggle clothing will also be acceptable.
  
  
• The ball will start at 8:00 pm and conclude at midnight.
  
  
• There will be a dance contest. Anyone is eligible to enter, but they must sign up prior to the dance with both the type of dance they chose, and a partner. See the Hufflepuff Prefects, Sarah Prewett and Michael McKinnon to sign up. Any genre of dance will be accepted.
  
• The winning couple for the contest will receive fifty house points each and a trophy to share and the runners up will receive twenty-five house point each. Anyone who participates will earn five house points each.
  

Lily glanced over at James.

“A dance contest, eh?” she remarked.

“You any good at dancing?” James asked before grabbing her by the waist and running off with her, in search of an empty classroom.

~~~~~~~~~

Near the Great Hall, Lucius Malfoy, along with Severus Snape, was also looking at the information about the dance.

“A dance contest? How dumb can they get?” Lucius scoffed. “I hope that no Slytherins enter this.”

“Same here,” Severus replied. “I bet all those noble Gryffindors will enter, just so they could win some points for their house.” Lucius smirked.

“Of course, we could just get a couple of Slytherins to enter so that we could beat everyone else. Let’s see... who can dance? You can, right?” he asked. Severus looked vaguely uncomfortable.

“I guess so...” he said hesitantly.

“Well, then it’s settled. You can enter the contest with.... Nott’s sister.... what’s her face... Oh well, you know who I mean. She’s a good dancer, with a very pretty face. Then again, the only time I saw her dance was that time when she was drunk and jumped up on a table in the common room and started dancing on it... But yeah. Go ask her to beat the Gryffindors so badly they’ll want to cry. I’m sure she’ll be in,” Lucius reasoned. Severus nodded unhappily, but set out to find the girl. He searched through his brain, hoping that he could remember her first name before he ran into her. ‘Ah!’ he thought. ‘Narcissia. That’s what it is.’ All things considered, he was exceptionally lucky in Lucius’ choice of his partner. She was by far the prettiest of all the Slytherins, with perfectly straight blond hair all the way down her back. She must have been part Veela or something, because not many boys had been able to resist her charms. He smiled to himself as he reached the Slytherin common, finding her sitting at on a couch, reading a book on different curses and hexes, surrounded by many of the younger Slytherins boys.

“And who would those be aimed toward?” Severus asked quietly, yet his voice was enough to intimidate the younger Slytherins so much that they trembled and fled the room.

“Oh, no one in particular. Probably some luck Gryffindor who manages to get on my bad side. I just stumbled across this book down here and, as I was very bored, began to read it,” she replied.

“Interesting. Well,I was talking with Lucius only a few minutes ago,” he started. The girl looked up excitedly.

“Did he want to ask me to the dance? Tell him that I say yes, and do hurry. I don’t want anyone else to ask him about it,” she said very quickly.

“But that’s not... I mean...” Severus stammered.

“I’ve been waiting for him to ask me to one of the balls since I first saw him. Please go tell him?” she begged. Severus smiled at her.

“Of course I will, Narcissia.” She kissed him quickly on the cheek before sending him off to find Lucius. He made his way back to the doors of the Great Hall, where Lucius had been before. He hadn’t moved. “Lucius?” he questioned.

“What is it, Severus?” he drawled.

“Well, I just talked with Narcissia, and she seemed to think that you wanted to take her to the ball. Apparently she’s liked you since we were first years.” Lucius looked relatively interested.

“Really? That would probably mean that I would be the one dancing in the contest with her, wouldn’t it... That really wouldn’t be so bad, I guess. She is very pretty. And she comes from a respectable family. I’ll do it,” Lucius decided.

“Good. I suggest you go talk to her yourself. I’m sure that she would appreciate it,” Severus suggested. Lucius nodded and strutted off. Severus sighed, happy to have gotten himself out of the dance contest, and getting rid of Lucius.

~~~~~~~~~

Lily and James eventually found an empty classroom and they both sat down on the floor.

“So are we entering?” Lily asked.

“Hell yeah. Wait... how good are you at dancing?”

“Well, I never really took lessons or anything, but I think I can pick it up pretty fast. I did take one class though, over the summer. We learned how to swing dance and tango. It was really fun.”

“Alright, so we should probably chose one of those. I know both, but would you want to swing dance? I think I like that the best.”

“Sure,” Lily grinned. James picked up his wand and transfigured a chair into boom box.

“I found a charm that makes muggle technology work here. It’s really helpful.”

“Yeah, that would be. It would be a bit hard to practice otherwise.”

“Do we have any music?” James questioned.

“I got a tape of the music from when I did that class. We could use that, I suppose.” James nodded.

“Yeah, that would be great!” Lily ducked as a CD came zooming into the room, via a summoning charm. She grabbed the CD out of the air, put it inside the boom box.

“Let’s just see how far we can get right now,” Lily suggested. James agreed, and pushed play, hurrying over to his position next to Lily. He grabbed one of her hands with his and wrapped his other arm around her waist. The music started, and the couple prepared themselves for their first steps. A fast paced big band jazz song came on, Lily and James threw themselves into the dance. Unexpectedly, James picked Lily up for a lift, which they managed to execute perfectly. As they spun around, the two established a rhythm, and found that they were excellent matched in both skill and enthusiasm. As the song came to an end, they stood slightly apart, breathing heavily.

“That was bloody brilliant,” James said, grinning. Lily nodded.

“We’ll be great for the contest. I know we will be.”

~~~~~~~~~~

While James and Lily were off practicing swing dancing, Sirius was trying to convince Arabella to enter the contest with him.

“Sirius, think about it. Why would you want to be in a dance contest? You can’t dance. The only coordination you have shows just when you play Quidditch.” Sirius looked hurt.

“I’m not that bad. I learned how to do the chicken dance when I was seven. I was the best out of James, Peter, Remus and I...” he trailed off, watching his girlfriend dissolve into a fit of giggles.

“That would be the funniest thing ever. You and I, up there in front of everyone, dancing the chicken dance,” Arabella laughed.

“I think we should do it. Please?” he begged. He flashed Arabella one of his killer smiles, and she found that she couldn’t resist.

“Fine, I’ll do it. But we can’t let anyone know. We’ll have to sign up and say that we’re doing something else.” Sirius looked at her thoughtfully.

“What do you wanna tell them?” he asked.

“Well, I’m not really sure. I guess we could just say that we were doing the tango...”

“Yeah, that would be fine.” Sirius grabbed her hand and the two ran off to sign up for the dance contest.

~~~~~~~~~

The day of the dance approached quickly, and Lily and James found themselves waiting in anticipation for 8:00 pm to get there. Sirius and Arabella also seemed to be excited about something, but refused to tell anyone, insisting that it needed to stay a secret until the dance. Breakfast that day, however, had been anything but exciting for the Slytherins. They entered the Great Hall, a sullen group, not at all pleased by the show of bats flying across the ceiling. As soon as every Slytherin had sat down and eaten their first bite of breakfast, tens of pumpkins replaced them, each of them spewing out Halloween candy, and the Hall burst into laughter. The marauders and the five 7th year Gryffindor girls high-fived each other, grinning widely.

“Thank you, Lily...” Peter muttered under his breath. After all, the prank had been her idea. A very good idea at that. A minute later, the Slytherins returned to their former state, though the annoyed faces became a bit more furious. Daphne Burns, the transfiguration professor walked over to the celebrating group.

“Hallo. I don’t suppose y’all would know about the prank that was played on the Slytherins, would you?” she asked sarcastically. “I must tell you that it was incredibly unacceptable.” Lily hung her head. Here she was, Head Girl, and James Head Boy, pulling pranks on other students. So much for setting a good example.

“But Daphne...” Sirius protested. Daphne silenced him and continued.

“How dare you play such a prank and not include Professor Sagen in it? Honestly, I’m sure he is feeling quite left out right now. Promise me you will never do that again?” Lily stared at her in shock. A professor was telling them to include other teachers in their pranks? Then again, Daphne was closer to their age than the age of the other professors. She was only 21, with a maturity level close to that of the Marauders at times. Daphne smiled at them before heading back up to her seat. She knew what it was like to be a kid. Besides, it wasn’t like the prank did any harm to Slytherins. They could deal with it.

~~~~~~~~

And finally, 8:00 arrived. The dance contest started right away, and Dumbledore, who happened to be one of the judges, stood up, magically increasing the volume of his voice.

“Welcome to the Hogwarts Halloween Ball! You can thank James Potter, Lily Evans, and all your prefects for their hard work to make this happen. We’re going to start off with the dance contest. Our DJ is Remus Lupin of Gryffindor, and our first couple will be from Slytherin. May I introduce.... Lucius Malfoy and Narcissia Nott, who will be dancing the mambo.” Cheers erupted from the Slytherin House, while a few members of the other houses clapped politely. The two looked spectacular as they danced.

“I guess Lucius was right...” Severus admitted. “Narcissia really can dance well.” One of his fellow Slytherins nodded, enthralled by the talent of his classmates. As they finished their dance, a Hufflepuff couple was called up, and they began to dance. They were decent, though Lucius and Narcissia had definitely outdone them. Next was a Ravenclaw duo, who attempted to square dance, and after them was Sirius and Arabella.

“And these two young talented students will be dancing the tango,” Dumbledore said. Sirius nodded at Remus, who began to play the CD Arabella had given him earlier that day. Arabella allowed Sirius to lead her out onto the dance floor, and gave him a smile. They had worked everything out the day before, so they were sure that their number would be a success.

As the music began to play, they noticed the other students glancing around, confused. Whatever was playing was definitely not the tango. Sirius and Arabella signaled each other, and at the same time, started dancing the chicken dance. Their enthusiasm was so apparent that soon everyone else, excluding, of course, the Slytherins, found themselves clapping along to the beat, laughing. As they concluded the song, Sirius and Arabella bowed before skipping off to the side.

“That was the funniest thing I have ever seen, you guys,” Peter said, chuckling. He was about to say more, but he was interrupted by Dumbledore.

“And now, our final couple in the contest, who will be swing dancing. May I introduce... James Potter and Lily Evans!”

The two entered the Hall, Lily wearing a tight tank top and a long skirt that ballooned out whenever she spun, and James in casual muggle clothing. Their music began to play, and Lily and James walked in time to the beat until the intro finished, their hands linked. The song picked up its pace, and suddenly James and Lily were everywhere, dancing in close circles, with one hand always on the others. Their footsteps light, yet rapid, they spun around the room. James flipped Lily over his arm with ease, then immediately spun her up into the air, catching her perfectly. They performed numerous lifts, leaps and twirls, and they were obviously enjoying every minute of it. Lily’s skirt pirouetted around her hips as she spiraled, and she laughed as James spun her in the opposite direction, her skirt whirling around. The song ended abruptly, with James dipping Lily, as she leaned back on his arm, showing her flexibility. Giving her his hand, James helped her up, and they were suddenly aware of the cheers and claps, echoing all around them.

“Well, Lils, I guess all that practice paid off. We did it.” He leaned in and kissed her deeply.

“Yes we did. Now let’s just see how well we did.” Still holding hands, Lily and James made their way back to their table, where Arabella promptly tackled them.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were so amazing? I didn’t know you could dance that well! Heck, I didn’t even know you either of you could dance!” she exclaimed.

“And what’s this I hear about you and a certain Sirius doing the chicken dance instead of the tango?” Lily laughed. “Best idea I’ve ever heard. Who came up with it?”

“You see, Sirius insisted that it was the only dance he knew, and that he had been better at it them Remus, Peter, and you, James. So I, jokingly, said that we should do that in the contest, and apparently he liked it.”

“Well, I doubt that you’ll be winning any major points with it, but it was absolutely worth it.”

“Besides, you and James probably got first yourselves. If not that, then second. We would have never won,” Arabella said. Dumbledore stood back up, and the noise died down to nothing.

“First, I would like to congratulate everyone who participated. It takes a lot of confidence to get up here in front of everyone and show off your skills. Each couple did extremely well, and the other judges and I had a hard time deciding who did the best. Sirius Black and Arabella of Gryffindor, for their very interesting rendition of the tango, get five points each,” Dumbledore said, chuckling. “Next, Sarah Prewett and Michael McKinnon of Hufflepuff, who each get five points as well. Sally Bowles and Charlie Elverson from Ravenclaw, five points. In second place...” Dumbledore paused in suspense. “Lucius Malfoy and Narcissia Nott of Slytherin! Twenty-five points each. Which leaves James Potter and Lily Evans of Gryffindor to receive first! You two, come on up here!”

“I can’t believe it!” Lily shrieked, and leaned into kiss James. The two raced up to the platform, beaming widely.

“So where did you guys learn to swing like that?” someone called out from the audience. Lily blushed, but began to speak.

“Well, I took one class form a couple of weeks two summers ago and I learned a bit of swing and the tango. But the rest came from us practicing like mad,” Lily admitted.

“I started taking lessons when I was eight. Not just swing, but all types of dance,” James said.

“Well, you two earned this,” Dumbledore said, presenting them with the trophy. “Fabulous job out there.”

“Professor Dumbledore? Do you think you could hold onto this until we leave? We wouldn’t want to lose it...” James asked. Dumbledore nodded, and placed the trophy down on the table next to him. “Thank you,” James added. Lily and him stepped down off the platform, and went to join their friends, who complimented them to no end. Slowly, their group dispersed into couples, and Melanie, Tiffany, Mari, Remus, and Peter were left. Peter shyly asked Melanie to dance, who accepted without so much of a bat of an eyelash. Mari was standing with Tiffany when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

“Hey, Mari...” She turned around, only to find Mike Corkian. “Would you like to dance? I know we don’t know each other very well, but I’d like to get to know you better, if you don’t mind,” he said nervously. Mari thought about it for a couple of seconds.

“Well, sure.” Mike took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Remus walked over to where Tiffany was now standing alone.

“Hey Tiff,” he said casually.

“Hey, Remus,” she said, smiling at him.

“I guess that this leaves us standing here like loners, doesn’t it?” he asked sadistically.

“Not if you wanna go dance with me,” Tiffany offered. Remus found himself grinning like an idiot.

“Of course.” Remus led Tiffany to the middle of the room to dance. “I was meaning to ask you to come with me here, you know. I was afraid that you wouldn’t want to.”

“Really?” Tiffany asked, suprised. “I thought you would have realized that I’ve liked you for almost a year. When you didn’t really pick up on all my flirting, I was about to give up, then decided to try one more time, tonight.”

“I’m glad that you did. I think my real problem lies in what I am. It’s not that I’m looking for your sympathy, certainly not. It’s just really difficult being a werewolf,” he admitted.

“I know it must be. And it’s something that you, of all people, do not deserve. But that’s not going to stop me from liking you. It’s just part of who you are, and I’ve accepted that.” Smiling at her, Remus tentatively leaned in, placing a light kiss on her lips.

“Thank you. Not many people would be that accepting of me.”

“Yes they would be. If they knew you, I don’t see how they couldn’t be.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Mari found herself enjoying her dance with Mike much more than she had expected. It was quite easy to talk to him, and she discovered that it was nice to get to know someone new.

“You know, I was really scared that you wouldn’t want to dance with me. I mean, here I am, a sixth year, and you, friends with the most popular people in the school,” Mike admitted.

“You shouldn’t have been. I didn’t even have any friends until this year when Lily came along. But I still don’t really fit in. I’m always afraid that they don’t really like me and it was all just some cruel joke.”

“Nah, they aren’t like that. I’ve known Sirius and James since I was a second year, when I made the Quidditch team. They would never pretend to like someone and then ditch them. Besides, you do fit in. All the girls in the group, including you, are smart, unique, pretty,” he said tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. Mari blushed.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing but the truth. Really, Mari, you need to have more confidence in yourself,” he said convincingly. “You’re a great person from what I can tell. And you look especially beautiful tonight.” She had taken extra care to look good tonight. After all, it was the first ball she had ever been to. She had removed the pink dye from her hair, leaving it a natural brownish-blond. From there, she had curled it and pinned it high on her head, with several curls falling down in an almost elegant fashion. She had opted for muggle clothing: a light pink t-shirt with jeans; while it was simple, she made it look sophisticated. At least, Mike seemed to think so. Somehow or other, the two ended up dancing the whole night away, and when they left the dance, they realized they had been holding hands since they stopped dancing.