Rhythm and Blues (Lily)

[JAMIE SEONA WOOD]

Click!

Jamie looked into the mirror in her dorm room she shared with a few other girls, and hardly recognized the person that was staring back at her with critical eyes. This person was clad in a light blue, full-length and strapless dress, that had silver applications and a bit of silver glitter on the bodice. Glitter… so girly! But at least the light blue color didn’t clash with her red hair, that wasn’t a tangly mess like usual, but went down to her shoulders in finely defined curls. That alone had taken some time, and Jamie was yet to be convinced the time was worth it. Why on earth was she being so… girly tonight?! What could she possibly gain from playing princess, a game she had always found annoying when younger. Princesses were so lame, they always needed to be saved, so the men looked the heroes. She also looked elegant in this robe, but Jamie knew that once she started moving, she probably would not be elegant at all and more resemble an ungraceful bug when lying on her back.

But this was the Masquerade, an event the students of all years had been talking about for months, ever since it had been announced. If that wasn’t peer pressure, then nothing was. And hadn’t she had the resolution to draw out the girl in her anyway? Just… this felt too much. Jamie wasn’t feeling at home in this at all, and she feared everyone would see it. She feared everyone would start pointing and laughing at her. She could even hear their voices in her head. ‘Look… there she is, the mute girl, trying so desperately to appear like she would belong, thinking the mask would hide her incapabilities…’ Jamie bit her lip and shook her head. No, of course it would not be like that! If she now started to feel sorry for herself, she would not only ruin the evening for herself, but possibly also for others. The long silver-and-blue earrings batted softly against the skin of her neck, as she shook her head, also a feeling she wasn’t used to at all.

Her fingers were fiddling with the mask, a wonderful, delicately crafted thing of silver and blue, adorned with a blue feather on the right side. Venetian style. She was really showing them tonight, wasn’t she? And she was NOT hiding behind that mask! As if to prove her thoughts, she put it on and looked back into the mirror. She looked even more foreign now, but also a little mysterious. Not so much like a pretender anymore… because all of it together actually gave a coherent picture. But that was not due to her own capability. No, Jamie knew very well that she had much to learn in that field, if she ever wanted to gain more profiency on it that was. But Lily, her dear friend, she was much better in the girly ways, without being an annoying chick. She had bought the dress together with Lily, and her friend had also had an eye on the right acessoirs to take. At least Jamie had wore high heels before… or else this evening would really end in a desaster.

Well, to get rid of her nervousness, Jamie would just have to focus on the thing she would look forward to tonight: dancing. It was one of the few things in life where words were completely unneeded, and body language and its understanding everything. Hopefully she would find someone to dance tonight, but even if not… she could also just dance with herself. Swaying a little, as if listening to a silent tune, Jamie began to do waltz steps in front of the mirror, a slight smile playing around her lips.

[LILY LUNA POTTER]

CLICK!

It wasn't easy sharing one bathroom with 5 girls. There were always a billion different sets of makeup, brushes, toothpaste, toothbrushes and random clutter around the sink. It was that very same clutter that Lily found herself wading through now, looking hopelessly for her pink lip gloss. It was her lucky one, her mother had given it to her, while the flavor was also very nice, (a tangy grapefruit), there was also a gold shimmer to it that Lily absolutely adored. She had begun to give up hope of finding it when her fingers came into contact with the smooth tube which she promptly pulled from the mess with a small squeal of delight. Lily quickly applied the gloss to her lips. Perfect. Her hair was down, cascading in a waterfall of curls down her back, ending just bellow her shoulder blades, and her makeup was simple, but pretty. Lily then placed her mask on her face. The butterflies wings covered the majority of her face as well as the mane of red hair, although that was a bit visible. Smiling to herself, she tottered out of the bathroom. The heels weren't all that high, but Lily had never been a very graceful person, (clumsy was what she was usually called), and even a small heel was a bit difficult to master.

As she entered the main room, her eyes landed on Jamie who was still fiddling around with her clothes, jewelry and hair. Rolling her eyes, she slipped her feet out of her shoes and walked over to where Jamie was sitting. Honestly, the girl wouldn't have seen that she was beautiful if it hit her up the side of the head with a bludger! The way Jamie was fretting you'd think Lily had forced her into some sort of idiotic dress! Jamie's dress was far from that, it was a beautiful blue that brought out the other redheads eyes, the shape of the dress also complimented her friends figure. In Lily's mind, Jamie had always been the elegant one, and the floor length, beaded dress really made that quality shine through. Okay, so maybe Jamie had been a bit hesitant about buying the dress, but it had been the right choice!

Although Lily like the dress on Jamie, she wouldn't have been able to pull it off herself. Instead, Lily had chosen a gold dress with a red and gold butterfly mask. The shoes themselves were polished, red being the main color with gold on the underside of the shoe. She'd completed the look by adding gold lion earrings and a red coral necklace she'd found in her jewelry box. She was going as a full Gryffindor Lion. Even if the red hair was a giveaway, she didn't want to end up dancing with some Slytherin! Since it was a masquerade ball Lily would have no idea who anyone was! Hence the full red and gold outfit, plus she didn't look half bad in red and gold, (at least in her opinion).

"Stop fretting, Jamie!" She scolded, stopping behind her friends chair and tightening the blue and silver mask. "You look really good! And no one will be able to tell it's you. The red hair is a bit of a giveaway, but all the Weasleys at the school have red hair as well, so they won't know whether or not you're you or a Weasley!" Lily babbled happily. This was going to be one of the best nights ever!

[JAMIE SEONA WOOD]

Suddenly Jamie wasn’t alone anymore, and she felt a bit sheepish to have been caught doing such a silly thing as twirling like a girly girl, but when she heard the voice she relaxed again. Ah, it was only Lily. Not ‘only’ in any derogative way, but just in the sense that Jamie didn’t feel much awkwardness around her best friend, since they were constantly getting up to some silliness or the other. At the same time, she felt a little guilty though, since she didn’t want Lily to think she was unhappy with the choices her friend had helped her with. She wasn’t unhappy, she was looking forward to this masquerade like the next girl… just maybe not quite that much, and she had always been a worrywart. Her brothers always told her she had that streak from her father, who had been a perfectionist. Only in Quidditch, though, but the point still stood firm. Jamie didn’t exactly wish to be ‘perfect’ either, as she was not looking to impress a certain someone tonight, but the tiny wish was nagging at the back of her head that she wanted to show a few people that she could be a star, that it wasn’t the loudest voice who was the winner.

Like it was so often with feelings, she couldn’t articulate them without serious circumstances to be considered and took into action, but it seemed like in this case – and many others, it just never ceased to surprise her! – Lily knew exactly what was going through Jamie’s head, as if they really were understanding each other without words. Lily put the finger right on it and sought to disperse her worries, however she could deem that exactly these had been her worries: Being picked out for who she was, being accused of adorning herself with borrowed plumes… even though the rational part of her brain told her that was complete rubbish – and Lily now told her as much.

She let her friend secure her mask, her hands falling kind of uselessly to her side, until Lily was done. Then she turned, giving a shrug, a lopsided smile and a hesitant nod, as if to say: I know…. But I just can’t help it. Then she took in her friend’s attire for the first time, noting how wonderful she looked in that splendid golden gown which worked perfectly with her red hair. Of course she knew what Lily had intended to create with this set of appearance, but actually seeing it was something completely else. Bowing her head in acknowledgment and praise, she then raised her right hand and made a claw gesture, baring her teeth with a hissing noise. You’re pretty! You’re the Lion!
The good thing about Lily was that she never made you feel jealous. She looked stunning and probably would be followed by many eyes tonight, but Jamie wholeheartedly granted this glory to her. It was only what she deserved, in Jamie’s eyes. Yes, Lily might be a horrible prankster, but it was hard to not acknowledge her heart of gold.