Putting The 'M' in Mystery~ Hinny/Jily

What Goes On Behind Punch Bowl

Lily wasn't having a particularly good time at the ball that night. Although their presence together was required, James hadn't really shown much interest in her, shrugging if she asked a question and not initiating any conversation. She'd spent a lot of time with Joseph, but he'd started to get clingy, talking non-stop and refusing to leave her side. Alice had been ignoring all of her 'Help Me!' signals, being far too busy gazing starry eyed at her boyfriend, Frank.

"Great," she thought dully, "I'm stuck with a Ravenclaw with the personality of an ant in a coma, James Potter is ignoring me, and Alice has given up being sane. Nice to know I put so much work into this stupid ball for a good reason."

"Lily?" asked Joseph anxiously, "Are you alright?"

Lily forced a smile. "I'm great thanks, you?"

Joseph looked slightly confused, and went back to prattling about his Muggles Studies NEWT.

"He should just bloody well go and live with Pet and dear Vernon, they're about as muggle-ish as they get."

She was thinking of her sister's baboon-like fiancé when she felt a light tap on her shoulder, and saw James Potter standing behind her. He gestured with his head vaguely at the other side of the hall.

"Potter wants to talk to us. Head business."

Lily pretended to look apologetically at Joseph, and hurried off with James.

"What did he want to see us about?"

James grinned,

"He didn't. I just thought you looked bored out of your mind over there with Hallburn, he isn't a bundle of laughs, is he?"

Lily glared at him,

"Not everyone has to be funny, Potter," but she relented after a brief pause, "But, alright, he was driving me insane. Always going on about how fascinating Muggles are. Stupid git, it didn't occur to him that I'm Muggle Born and know bloody everything there is to know about muggles,"

James laughed at the grumpy expression on her face, and she laughed too, knowing that he wasn't laughing out of malice.

"Oh, I completely sympathise. He once cornered me and Remus and spent an hour telling us about Arithmancy, even though we've been top of that class forever."

He wasn't bragging, just showing that he empathized with her.

"But seriously, d'you fancy a chat with Potter and Weasley? They're really good fun."

The two head students shoved their way through the thronging masses to the small table where the two teachers sat, Butterbeers in hand, apparently deep in conversation. As they came closer, they could hear their casual chit chat easily.

"But 'Mione's just like that, isn't she? I mean, she's in touch with her emotions and all that crap, but she's obviously in denial."

"Probably annoyed that she fell for my stupid brother instead of some Order of Merlin candidate."

"Ron has an Order of Merlin, remember?"

"Yup, and I still don't know how he managed it."

"I could say the same for you."

"Oh, my job was easy enough,"

"Yeah, right. Does 'seventy nine stunned and bound Death Eaters' ring any bells?"

"A few, but they aren't very loud, and for some odd reason they seem to be ringing in the tune of 'Night Fever'."

Lily saw James grin beside her as Harry cried in mock tenderness.