Third Time's the Charm

Chapter Eighteen-Slugclub

"Lily, when's Slughorn's party again?" I ask her as we head into the common room.

"Seven. And remember we duck out early and get back here by nine." She reminds me sternly and I nod.

"I remember. Help me choose a dress now?" I ask and she nods.

"Yeah, you two have fun with that." James waves us away as the boys collapse on the couch. Our eyes roll as we head up the stairs. Lily already has five dresses set out, but I decide instantly.

"The red one. Definitely. Were you wearing that one?" I pick it up and glance at her. She shakes her head and picks up a deep green dress.

"Oh good, I wanted to wear this one." The dress is pretty and I can already tell it's going to look beautiful on her. Ends at her upper thigh, a bit of cinching under the breasts, a deep v in the front and back, but my favorite part are the long sleeves that are sheer and flowy. I choose the deep red one. Thick straps will fall over my shoulders and the dress ends just above the knee. It fits snugly to my hips, then flares just a little bit and has little, black, cloth buttons going down the middle. "Are you excited?" Lily asks as I hang up my dress and she puts the rest of hers away.

"I am, weirdly enough. Everyone talks about how weird the parties are, but a party is a party."

"And we've got another one tonight." She reminds me and I smile.

"I really hope you didn't go to much trouble, Lily."

"Oh stop it. There was only so much effort I could put into it with just a week. I just hope you like it." Her voice is nervous and it's endearing.

"Lils, I almost cried at Potter's old uniform. I'm sure you did great." She laughs lightly and nods.

"Yeah, you're probably right." We keep talking until its time to change and Marlene helps us both out.

"But you have so many dead ends. I'm the best at razor spells, ask anyone!" Marlene insists and I glance over at a grinning Lily. She shrugs and nods.

"It's true. She cut my hair just last year." I look back at Marlene and sigh.

"A trim. Just the dead ends!" She hops up and down with victory while I shut my eyes with fear.

"Christ, you'd think I was a dementor." She huffs and I can't help but laugh at her. Marlene and the other girls were some of the only ones who didn't give a shit about the incident and thank god. I think I'd have killed them if they were staring at me all the time. There's just the sound of razors in the air and her whispering spells for a few minutes before she's done. "Open your eyes, Arell." She instructs and I know she's rolling her eyes before I even open my eyes. I look in the mirror in front of me and my eyes widen.

My kinky curls are tighter than before and bounce when I turn my head this way and that. Marlene had done my eyeliner and my eyes pop from the dark color, along with the dash of gold eyeshadow. The final touch was a dark red lipstick that matches my dress. "It's perfect, Marlene, thank you." My hands card through my healthy curls happily.

"I know. You're welcome. Now get going!" She shoos both Lily and I out. Lily looks amazing too with her tint of pink lipstick and shoulder-length red hair curled up like a rose on the back of her head. We reflexively lock elbows as we walk out of the dorm, down the hall, then down the stairs. I find Sirius' black head of hair on the couch along with the other boys and my nerves reach a new high. Remus in the spare red chair just to the left of the couch spots us first and his eyes get big as saucers.

"Wow." He mutters and the other boys look up to him, then follow his line of sight to us. My lips can't help but curl up at their wide eyes and dropped jaws. No doubt Lily feels similarly.