Without Warning

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Firewhiskey and Much Ado About Nothing

They gasped slightly as they entered the Great Hall. Seeing it in all its festive glory many times, they had thought it would be dressed in the usual manner.

How wrong they had been.

It had been completely transformed into a sort of wonderland one would think to see in dreams. Prfessor Flitwick's charmwork could be recognised on every mantle, every surface top. The ceiling had been bewitched to look like an absolutely perfect clear night sky. Lily saw that many students were looking up at it; pointing to constellations they had learnt of whilst in Astronomy classes. She was very grateful that the teachers had gone for decorations that reflected the season. Spring was her favourite, after all.

James was also marvelling at the beauty of the Great Hall. However, it could never rival the beauty of the person whose arm currently rested in his. He couldn't believe that he was at such an event with Lily Evans. At the same time, he was trying to think how on earth they would be able to levitate the Zonko's products into the air without anyone seeing them - everyone seemed to have their gaze fixed on the enchanted ceiling. Damn.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," Lily breathed in amazement.

"Yeah...I love Spring."

Lily looked at James quickly, wondering if he'd somehow found out about her love for the season. But he still had his head tilted upwards, eyes intensely scanning the enchanted ceiling. Lily smiled to herself and took a moment to watch him without him knowing. She looked around to find some familiar faces - all the house tables had been swapped for smaller, round tables.

"Ind, where's Peter?"

Indigo, who had also been scanning the room, froze in mid motion and gave Lily a meaningful look.

"I'm sure he'll show himself sooner or later," she said casually. "Punch? Yes, I think I'll get some punch." With one more meaningful glare in Lily's direction, Indigo stalked off.

Lily grinned at her best friend's displeasure and scanned the room for other people she knew. She spotted Grace happily chatting away as she danced with a bemused looking Frank Longbottom. Gilderoy Lockhart was prancing around with his date Bertha Jorkins clinging to his arm for dear life. Most people seemed to be just milling around, sipping punch and chatting amongst themselves. Lily noted, however, that none of them seemed to be going outside the comfort of their own houses. She wondered if anyone had even partnered with someone from an opposing house.

As if her question was being divinely answered, Sirius Black entered the Hall with a bored looking Alice Fletcher floating beside him. She was wearing blood-red robes, which dramatically clashed with her longish blonde hair. Her lips and nails matched the tone of her attire and stood out against her pale complexion. Lily decided that she was awfully pretty. Maybe she was even part Veela - she was certainly having an odd effect on Sirius. Lily had never seen him act like a bumbling fool before.

"James, Lily, this is Alice."

"Hey," they said in unison. Alice smiled in return.

"Right...Well er, would you like some punch, Alice? I could get you some...er, if you wanted some?"

"Well, yes okay - but not too much. I don't want to feel bloated."

Lily frowned oddly at Alice. She certainly thought rather highly of herself. Lily decided it must be because she had so many guys after her.

"Of course. I uh...I won't be a second."

James gaped as Sirius walked by in a bedraggled sort of way. He grinned when Sirius gave him a sheepish wink, before setting off towards the punch bowl.

Alice sat down and rested her head in her hand. Lily searched for something to say. She hardly knew Alice at all. Silence made her slightly nervous. She was in the middle of opening her mouth when Remus saved her with his arrival.

"Hey guys," Remus smiled with Andromeda Black on his arm. Thank Merlin - at least she was in some of Lily's classes.

They chatted for a while amongst themselves. Sirius returned and soon after, Indigo showed up with a slightly stifled-looking Peter. Many assumptions could have been made about their late arrival and his dishevelled appearance, but by the look on Indigo's face, they hadn't been doing anything...sinful.

"Prongs, can I have a word?" Remus muttered to James.

"Yeah, sure. Lily, I'll get you some punch." He smiled as she nodded her head at him and continued her discussion with Andromeda. They were talking about a muggle contraption called a fellytone or something.

"Sirius informed me of what you're doing tonight," said Remus as they walked.

"Look, before you get all 'prefecty' on me, I just -"

"No, I agree with you Prongs. Bellatrix deserves everything she gets. I just wanted to confirm your signal."

"Oh, right. Okay well I'll just stretch my arm up in the air as if I'm yawning or something."

"That's what Sirius said."

"Yeah, well. You know what they say, Moony."

"That you always double check anything Sirius tells you?" Remus grinned as James quirked an amused eyebrow.

"I was going to say 'great minds think alike', but yeah, that too."

*******

Tink tink tink!

The murmur that had been dancing in the hall came to a halt as Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table. A muffle of scrapping chair legs could be heard as the students turned to face him.

"Welcome, welcome to the Hogwarts Celebratory Ball! I trust you're all finding the evening rather relaxed and pleasant with your exams finally over for the year." A sound of agreement rang through the student masses. "Good, good. Now, perhaps you're wondering why such a ball is taking place and why it has such a name. You may also have noticed there are no house tables in attendance tonight. The Celebratory Ball is an occasion for all of Hogwarts to come together. It is not a time for competition or rivalry between the houses. It is a time to celebrate and embrace our differences, to unite under one roof. Now more than ever, I fear, we need to celebrate who we were, who we are, who will become. We need to stand strong or we shall crumble from within. Times are growing increasingly dark for many of us, but if we can celebrate and honour our friendships; our loves, then that is something to be truly happy for. Enjoy your evening." Dumbledore smiled with that familiar twinkle in his eye and sat back down.

The room was drenched in silence as everyone absorbed the speech Dumbledore had given. Slowly, applause built and rang out through the Great Hall.

Lily sat in her chair staring at Dumbledore. He'd always had the capability to move her. And now was such a time. She didn't know if it was the drop of Firewhiskey Sirius had allegedly added to their punch or the fact that she was constantly worried for her family's well-being in such a time, but in that second she felt truly touched. She vowed never to take anyone for granted again.

"C'mon, you owe me a dance." James grabbed her hand and grinned.

She opened her mouth to protest, but just as quickly clamped it back shut again. She felt her cheeks flush as she rose to her feet and clung onto his clammy hand.

"Well, I don't know about owing you anything Potter, but okay," she said, returning his grin.

He twirled her onto the dance floor with ease and slung an arm around her waist. They danced for a while until he chanced a look into her eyes. He was surprised to see her looking right back at him, slightly startled by their closeness.

"I do believe you're blushing, Potter."

James smiled and let out a deep sigh, pulling her in more tightly to him as they danced. "How many times have I told you? Call me James."

Lily chuckled softly. "And if I don't?"

James looked stubbornly into her eyes and felt the need to kiss her again. He leant in, but veered off towards her ear, resting his chin against her cheek. "I'll step on your toes."

Lily's face, which had been momentarily stunned by James' actions, broke into a grin. "Fair enough James, fair enough."

********

Indigo sighed deeply as she made her way out to the courtyard. No way in Hell was she about to dance with Peter Pettigrew. Among the many things he was known for, dancing was not one of them and she was not about to take any chances.

Lily seemed to be enjoying herself. Indigo was happy for her - it was about time Lily felt relaxed, what with her constant worrying of her family and the like. Not the Petunia was worth worrying about. From what Indigo had seen and heard, she was a right little tart. But never mind that now.

She had decided Lily and James were definitely getting together. They had to. They just had to. It was written in the stars.

She scowled at herself for thinking of something so clichéd.

The Ball wasn't exactly going to plan. She hadn't seen anyone she found in the least bit desirable - not that that was her ultimate goal. It was just that if she was going to make the effort to dress up like a drag queen, she thought she might as well get some action while she was at it. But the make-up and the dress didn't seem to be fulfilling her evening and the time had come for her secret weapon.

Firewhiskey.

A sure-fire way to have a great evening, no pun intended. She made her way to a suitable bush that would conceal her as she hitched up her robes and retrieved the hip flask strapped to her thigh.

Slowly, she untwisted the shiny metal lid, cold against her warm hand. She raised the flask to her lips, made sure no one was looking and took a great gulp. Wincing, she swallowed as fast as she could, then let out a loud splutter in response to the burning sensation trickling down her throat.

She felt a little light headed, but not by far enough to do anything mischievous. Screwing up her nose, she guzzled some more down and let out a large burp.

"Oh Firewhiskey, how I've missed you."

"Tends to have that sort of effect, doesn't it?"

Indigo, startled at the new voice, swivelled around and in the process lost her balance. It had nothing to do with the alcohol.

"Hmm yes, and that sort of effect as well."

She looked up at a smirking Sirius Black, perching on top of a low, cobbled wall and groaned.

"Please tell me you haven't been watching this whole time?"

"Yes," he said casually as he jumped down and stood before her. "But if it's any consolation, you only really got my attention when you hitched up your robes." He grinned and held out his hand to pull her to her feet.

She took it and groaned again. "Oh yes, that makes me feel so much better. Anyway, where's the goddess of all your worship?"

Sirius' face fell into a dark, sulky expression. "Off dancing with that tosser Longbottom."

"Oh come now, one dance doesn't hurt!"

"Try five. And counting." He pulled out his own hipflask from a pocket and started unscrewing the lid. "Cheers to us and our abysmal Celebratory Ball."

"How do you know I'm having an abysmal time?"

"You came with Peter."

"You made me!"

"Just drink woman, would you?!"

Indigo stared stubbornly at him and stiffly raised her flask. "To all the sulky men in the world. Sulky because their friend is dancing with their cousin and their date has run off with the head boy. To sulking!" She smirked and slurped some more of her spicy liquor.

Sirius slurped his own and frowned. "I'm not sulking."

"Yes you are."

"I'm not I'm just...hurt."

"I call it sulking."

"I don't really care what you ruddy well call it, McKinnon!"

"Has anyone ever told you you're an angry drunk?"

"Yes."

*******

Grace watched as Alice laughed hysterically at something Frank whispered in her ear. They'd been dancing for the last half hour at least, leaving Grace sitting at a table all alone. Frank hadn't even looked in her direction. She watched as he stroked the back of Alice's back, and she tickled the length of his arm. She watched as he whispered in her ear, making her grin. She watched as he lead her out into the courtyard and back in again, dodging their way around people and out into the entrance hall.

That should have been her running off with him.

Great huge tears welled up in her eyes. Frank was supposed to be her date. He had asked her. But now he'd gone off with Alice Fletcher. She had no chance. In a flurry of hot tears spilling down her cheeks, she ran from the Great Hall, escaping her misery.

*******

"Sickening," scowled Phoebe, eyeing Snape for approval. They were sitting at a table overlooking the dance floor, watching the utter fool that was James Potter dance the chicken dance around a laughing Lily Evans.

Snape grunted in response.

He hadn't asked Phoebe to dance all night, much to her immense disappointment. He seemed to be rather on edge, actually - he kept glancing around the hall nervously. She was sure he'd slipped something into his own drink, as well - he reeked of alcohol.

"Look, I need to get away from all these repulsive cretins." Snape stood up abruptly, scraping his chair back against the floor.

"Okay," agreed Phoebe instantaneously, jumping to her feet. "I'll come with you."

"Whatever, Parker...Come on, then." Snape swirled his cloak about him as he turned hastily towards to exit. Phoebe trotted along behind him with her head held high, looking for her sister in order to silently gloat in her direction. She halted in mid-step as she spotted Longbottom dancing with...Alice Fletcher!? But then where was Grace? Surely he hadn't ditched her after asking her to the ball himself! Snapes eyes on her produced a reality check and she sniffed as she realised she didn't care what had happened to her twin. With her nose in the air, she strutted out of the Entrance Hall behind Severus.

"Awful ball, isn't it?" She was desperately trying to win the approval of Snape.

"It's the least of my worries," muttered Snape as he rummaged through his robes. "Aha, here it is. Do you want some?"

Phoebe eyed the silver flask wearily. He'd already begun unscrewing the lid.

"What is it?"

"Firewhiskey."

"Firewhiskey?"

Snape looked up at her and smirked. "Did you expect me to come to something like this completely sober?" He tilted his head back and gulped the liquid down.

"Oh...well, of course not." She watched as he screwed his face up and swallowed. "Pass it here, then."

The shiny metal was cold on her hands. She gingerly lifted it to her lips and surveyed Severus over the lid.

"It's not nitric acid, Parker."

"I know that, I just - "

"Look, if you don't want any pass it back. I should've known. You're a Gryffindor after all."

Well if Phoebe Parker needed anymore convincing, that was it. She took a big gulp of the stuff, which immediately started tingling her mouth. She swallowed it quickly and grimaced as the liquid trickled down her throat, burning a path as it went.

It certainly was an acquired taste.

She quickly handed it back to Severus who was watching her amusedly.

"Eurgh, it's disgusting."

"It's a sophisticated taste, Parker." Snape was already downing more of the stuff. He swayed slightly as he held the flask vertically above his mouth.

"Just as well I'm sophisticated then." She held out her hand to retrieve the flask again. Yes, it was harsh drinking, but also surprisingly... addictive. This time she swirled the contents around her mouth, through her teeth, until every nerve ending felt the fire of the whiskey. It seemed her head was starting to feel the effects, too.

She swayed as she handed it back to Severus and frowned. "So, why is the Ball the least of your worries?"

Snape looked at Phoebe hard. She was either too curious for her own good -a mark of a true Gryffindor - or had a marginally low tolerance to alcohol. He decided it was probably the latter as he watched her sink into a sitting position next to the Beech tree by the lake.

"Because it's a shtupid Ball," Snape heard himself say. He drank the last of the firewhiskey and leant against the nearby Beech tree.

Phoebe was looking up at him sceptically. Or perhaps just drunkenly.

"What?"

"There musht be a reason why it's so stupid."

Something came over Snape. Maybe it was just the firewhiskey, but he suddenly felt the need to confide in someone. Besides, she'd never remember in the morning - she was far too drunk. He slid down the tree trunk and plonked himself down on the ground beside her.

"Wellll?"

"I can...feel stuff," he said hesitantly.

She laughed. "We can all feel stuff, Sevruss!"

Before he knew what was happening, he was spilling out everything to her. Everything that he used to keep bottled up, to remain mysterious. He was leaking everything to Phoebe.

"No. I mean I can feel things that are going to happen...that haven't happened yet."

"You mean you're a Seer? Well everyone knows dat." Her eyes were wide and staring straight into his.

"Not exactly. But anyway, I know sduffabout your dear friend Lily Evans."

Phoebe scoffed. "She's no friend of mine."

"Well then, you'll be pleased to know that that twit she came wiff tonight will be her downfall."

"Who - James Potter? Isee gonna kill her?"

"No. He's going to love her. And she's going to love him."

"What? I don't under - "

"Ssh! Did you hear that?" Snape got to his feet and looked up towards the castle. "Come on, we better go before a teacher catches us with this." He shoved the flask deeply back into his robes and started stalking off. Phoebe jumped to her feet, stumbled, then totted after him.

Had they looked around the place properly, they would have discovered that indeed someone was there, but definitely not a teacher.

Grace Parker sat on the other side of the Beech tree. However, she was no longer sobbing. Her eyes were wide and full of confused fright. Her red, splotchy cheeks had been stretched taut as she gaped in silence, illuminated by the crescent moon.

If James and Lily's union would mean their eventual downfall, there was only one thing for it.

She had to warn Lily.