She Said What?

Chapter 62: I Help Further the Dance Plans

A/N: Okay...so I've been doing some outline re-arranging and this is what I've come up with.

This chapter and the next are filler-ish. I'm sorry, but that's the truth of it, and I like them as they are. I've been throwing some heavy stuff at you and two easy chapters are definitely in order. I've got a prefect meeting here and next chapter is some purely light-hearted Marauder fun, plus an introduction to the last "big development" of the story. We spend the subsequent three chapters dealing with the various shades of the "big development." Then, we have the big dance, graduation, a last transition-filler with narrative summary, and then an ending. And there you go, the story is over.

So...yes, I'm cutting the fluff originally intended to be in this chapter. But don't worry. You're getting a lot more fluff – and better fluff! – later on instead.

So please your cheerful, happy filler, guys. I think you need it – some of you have informed me that I've made you cry and while that's kind of cool (in a totally non-morbid way), I want to make you smile again.

Cheers!

May 1

Today at the prefect meeting...

JAMES: So...it's nice to see everyone here today! Hi!

EVERYBODY: Hi!

JAMES: Are we missing someone?

KATE: Will. He had to run to Pomfrey's and couldn't make it.

JAMES: Right. Well, that's fine. So...erm...I understand that you all had different jobs to complete to prepare for this dance. Why don't we talk about what we want to do to decorate the hall? Lily and I don't know what your plans are. What do you want to do?

ME: Have you got everything figured out yet?

ANNIE: Oh, of course we have. (pushes her glasses further up her nose and extracts a stack of pictures from her bag) Here are photographs of the things we wanted to put up in the Great Hall.

ABIGAIL: Our theme is night on the town, so we wanted to have live fairies floating around the Great Hall. And Annie somehow got hold of Celestina Warbeck – she's a little pricey, but she would be great. She can do faster and slower songs.

ME: Celestina Warbeck? Really?

ANNIE: (blushes) She is my aunt's first cousin.

JAMES: I love Celestina Warbeck!

EVERYONE: (stares at James)

JAMES: What? My mum has all her albums and she's all I'm allowed to listen to when I'm at home. You grow to love it after the millionth time you've heard it.

ME: James's musical tastes aside, I think Celestina Warbeck sounds brilliant. But are you sure she'd be able to work out the faster songs? I don't think we'll be slow-dancing all evening.

MAVIS: Yeah, she should be fine. If not, I mean, we can have her on intermittently, between recorded music.

JAMES: Sirius has plenty I'm sure he can donate, if necessary.

ME: Isn't it a little rude to invite a live singer, and then make them dawdle while you play them intermittently?

MICHAEL: If so, we've been snubbing my Uncle Tom for years now.

ABIGAIL: (giggles)

ME: So...do you think we should ask her if that's okay? I mean, we can just borrow Sirius's collection if she says no.

ANNIE: We ought to ask her. Or, I mean, I can have her in for the last hour or so of the dance – before then, we can do a recording mix.

MICHAEL: Can Abby and I make the mix?