𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀 | 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

✧ chapter 23 ✧

1976

"You came in late last night." Lily stated to Aurora over breakfast. As usual, they were the first two up, Aurora insisting on being woken by Lily and dragged down to breakfast so there would not be another repeat of Monday. This meant that on that particular morning however, Aurora was simply exhausted.

"I needed to think." Was all she replied with, earning a raised eyebrow from Lily.

"I know you were with Sirius. We went down to ask Pete if he knew where you'd gone as you left he and Mary in such a hurry and he said we'd just missed Sirius on his way to join you in the Astronomy tower." Lily replied, buttering another piece of toast.

"So, what robes are you wearing tonight?" Aurora replied, desperately trying to change the subject.

"You know full well what robes I'm wearing tonight you git." Lily almost snapped. It was true, Aurora had helped her pick out the gold satin robes she was wearing to the ball. They were quite striking; fitted to the waist then opening to a rather full, pleated skirt reminiscent of a French renaissance gown. When she moved, the pleats opened to reveal a crimson lining, which matched the red buttons on the bodice and sleeves. While trying the robes on Aurora joked that Lily could be Gryffindor's Quidditch mascot in her gown, which made her blush profusely. It was then that Aurora realised she chose red and gold on purpose; she was trying to win James over, not that she would ever admit that to herself or anyone else.

"What the hell happened last night?" Lily demanded, smacking a croissant out of Aurora's hand in an attempt to force her to make eye contact. Aurora didn't even need to reply verbally; the blush spreading across her cheeks spoke volumes in Lily's book.

"Rory! You didn't?!"

Once again, Rory didn't reply with words, rather she scrunched her nose up and pulled a sheepish face, avoiding eye contact.

"Where?!"

"In a broom closet."

"Aurora Faulkner tell me you did not shag Sirius Black in a broom closet!" Lily hissed, her voice raising in decibels with each syllable.

"For Merlin's sake, do you want everyone in the whole castle to know! Keep it down!" Aurora hissed back, glancing around the Great Hall to see if anyone was looking at them.

"What possessed you to do such a foolish thing Rory? If Marlene finds out she'll be crushed. I know she hasn't been that friendly towards you recently but if this was out of spite I must say I'm disappointed." Lily began lecturing, only to be cut off by a swift kick to the shin from Aurora as they were joined by James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

"What foolish thing has Rory done now?" Sirius questioned, sitting down beside Aurora and acting as if nothing had happened.

"Where to begin." Lily shot Aurora a pointed look.

"Very funny, Lily." Aurora shot back sarcastically.

"Am I missing something?" Remus questioned, all of the boys glancing between the two girls staring each other down.

"Nope. Nothing. Oh, would you look at the time, better hurry don't want to be late for potions." Aurora rambled, grabbing another croissant and making a swift exit from the Great Hall.

✧✧✧    

The rest of the day Aurora avoided Lily and Marlene, and Sirius acted as if nothing had ever happened. By the time classes were finished the matter was all but forgotten as everyone bustled about getting ready for the ball later that evening. Marlene had finally given up on Sirius asking her to the ball and accepted an offer from a seventh year Ravenclaw boy. Lily had also given up on waiting for James and said yes to a sixth year on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Once again Aurora was the only one going alone, but she didn't mind.

The girls all excitedly got into their dress robes, chattering about the ball and what they thought might happen.

Unlike Marlene and Lily's lavish dress robes, Mary had opted for a more understated look, naturally, wearing robes of a soft powder blue with a gathered turtleneck collar and long loose fitting chiffon sleeves which were cinched in thrice at the bicep, elbow and wrist to create an ethereal, floaty outline which suited her tiny frame perfectly. The rest of the robes' silhouette mirrored that of a muggle shift dress, falling in one continuous, billowing line to her feet. After slipping into her robes, Mary opted for minimal makeup and a very loose, delicate updo to match her dress.

Like Mary, Lily decided the dress was the focal point and thus went for minimal makeup. She did however, spend several painstaking minutes taming her hair into a French twist and securing it with ruby encrusted hair pins. Marlene, on the other hand, had painted her lips the same red as her dress and styled her hair in 1950's finger waves.

The last to be ready, as usual, was Aurora. Her dress robes were far more simple in comparison to the other girls, as was usually the case since she sewed hers by hand. This year hers were dusty rose in colour and made of chiffon, with a wide, off the shoulder neckline. The sleeves were long and fitted to the elbow, where they began tapering off into a large bell shape and the bodice cinched in at the waist before melting into a floaty, floor length skirt. Aurora, not really all that accustomed to the art of makeup, simply applied some shimmery pink blush to her cheekbones and a small amount of mascara. She then curled her hair, letting it hang loose and placing small pink and white flowers arbitrarily throughout.

By the time Aurora was finished the others had already left to meet their dates. Mary offered to wait as Peter was only waiting down the stairs, but Aurora insisted she was fine and Mary shouldn't keep Peter waiting.

When Aurora descended the stairs to the common room, it was all but deserted, save for three garishly dressed figures huddled by one of the fireplaces.

"What in the name of Merlin's starry robe are you lot planning?" Aurora asked, approaching Sirius, Remus and James. Once she was stood directly in front of the three suspicious looking boys, she got a good look at their outlandish choice of dress. All three were in matching, elaborately over the top dress robes which contained so many layers, buttons, fastenings and decorative ties that Aurora estimated it took them at least half an hour each to wrestle them on. The most eye catching feature of the robes by far though was the boy's choice of colour and pattern; namely all the boys were decked out head to toe in sequined and bedazzled fabrics. James's were a brilliant Gryffindor red complete with gold trimmings and a large animated lion embroidered on the back which roared silently at any and every movement. Remus was dressed head to toe in silver with purple stars and moons spaced evenly all over. Finally, Sirius's robes were blindingly gold and his tie was monogrammed with small, black 'SB's at least two dozen times.

Aurora stared silently at all the boys with wide eyes for a minute or so, taking in each bold fashion choice.

"You lot look like disco balls on acid." Was the first thing that came out of her mouth once she had fully comprehended what the boys were wearing.

"Thank you." James beamed back, all three standing up straighter and showing off their flamboyant robes.

"Why?" Aurora asked, still flabbergasted and honestly unsure what to make of the sight in front of her.

"Why not?" Sirius countered, all of the boys smiling even wider.

"Amidst all of this confusion I do believe we have all overlooked how exquisite Aurora looks gentlemen. Frankly I am appalled at our behaviour." Remus interjected, causing the other two to fake gasp in horror.

"Please do forgive us!" James cried, bowing deeply.

"You look absolutely ravishing! Words cannot express just how flawless you are." Sirius followed James' lead, also bowing.

"Dear lady, you are a vision in pink." Remus also bowed while Aurora stared blankly at all three boys with a slightly raised eyebrow and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Shut up you glitzy prats. We're late.

a/n i'm super excite for the next couple of chapters bc halloween ball. stay tuned gang xo