Harry Potter Stories

That Night at the Dance P1 (M/E)

Summary:

It's eighth year for the Marauders, and James is still pining after the beautiful - yet unavailable- Lily Evans. Fed up with James' lovesick moping, the rest of the Marauders stage a Halloween dance where any available person who wants to win James' affection is to attend. 

James becomes entranced with an alluring boy he dances with that night at the ball. The boy disappears after that night. James is desperate to find him, so he announces a school-wide search for the man he fell in love with.

StarChaser told as Cinderella. 

Ships:

StarChaser

WolfStar

MaryLily

Dorlene

RoseKiller

_____

Lily lays her head on Mary's arm and smiles up at her. James' heart twinges at the sight. It's been two years since Mary and Lily came out, even longer since they first got together, and James is still hung up on Lily.

James never had a chance with the girl of his dreams. He's known it for a long time but could never admit it. Lily is friendly, beautiful, and intelligent. She's a fantastic woman, and James is lucky to be in her life, even if it's just as a friend.

She doesn't deserve how James treated her for the first six years of them knowing each other: the incessant flirting, never taking "no" for an answer, or using her as a distraction.

A distraction from the boys James was starting to notice in a different light.

James had never questioned his sexuality before coming to Hogwarts. He doesn't have a problem with gay people and never has. Still, a sexuality crisis can be a scary thing. James had already convinced himself that he was totally in love with Lily. In his mind, he had no reason to worry about his sexuality if he would marry a girl, Lily specifically.

It wasn't until James' eyes started lingering on Remus when he was changing, or on Sirius when he swept his curls into a messy bun, or on Peter when he smiled every time James looked his way that James realized his sexuality might be a more significant part of him than he realized.

It wasn't until Remus and Sirius finally got their heads out of their asses and started dating that James felt comfortable enough to tell his roommates about his attraction to boys, girls, and everyone between and outside the binary.

It wasn't until Lily and Mary came out as a lesbian couple at the beginning of their sixth year that James came out to the rest of Hogwarts.

He caused a big spectacle, as expected of a Marauder, and created a spell that would cause a rainbow to appear over his head every time someone said his name, first or last, for an entire day. The professors were so exasperated they were almost willing to allow Filch to string the four up by their toenails in the dungeons at the end of the day.

James is comfortable with his sexuality but regrets making it public knowledge.

He hasn't had a moment's peace in years. Every day, more and more people throw themselves at his feet, literally and metaphorically. Just yesterday, a second-year boy knelt at James' feet and begged him for a date. James was so uncomfortable he went to ask McGonagall if she would ban the boy from being near him.

It doesn't matter who begs James for his attention; he only has eyes for one person... or two if he's honest with himself.

Lily was James' first love, and he will never forget her, but he has noticed someone else lately—someone off-limits.