Day of the Ball
The day of the ball arrived, James and Lily were helping each other get prepared, every now and again, James would kiss Lily before telling her, “you look so beautiful, my love.”
“Thank you, my Prince,” she smiled, when she finished getting ready, she turned to him. “Do you know if Padfoot and Moony will be at the ball too?”
“Of course, they will be,” he told her. “According to them, Padfoot wanted to go so they could flirt with everyone they could and make Moony jealous.” He smiled to himself. “Moony in his words, will be with us, in case the people start swarming me.” The smile fell. “I would hope they wouldn’t do that, but we’ve never had people in the castle for anything like this, so we’ll find out soon, I guess.”
“If it does, Remus, Sirius and I will be there to stop it, alright?” Lily looked at her love. “We are there to protect you if you need it. Now, take a deep breath in,” Lily guided him with this, and he followed. “Now slowly release it.” She released a breath and he did as well. She looked down at what he was wearing, “you look dashing. I’m so proud of you and will continue to be, even if you don’t find anyone else.”
He smiled at her, “you always look beautiful, my angel. Tonight, you look stunning.”
There was a knock on the door and when Lily opened it, she revealed his blood brother, Sirius and their friend Remus.
“We weren’t going to let you go down alone,” Sirius told them. “Are you ready?”
Lily said, “yes,” at the same time James said “not quite.”
Lily was confused, “what do you mean? You look perfect.”
“I wasn’t talking about me, my love. I meant you, you may look stunning, but you forgot your shoes.” He smiled before he went over to the closet, pulling out a shoe box. “Sit on the bed. I’ll put them on you.”
She did as she was told as Sirius and Remus watched James take the shoes out as he knelt in front of her. He lifted one of her legs and placed it on his knee as he put her shoe on, kissing her knee, before she placed it back on the floor and he did the same with her other leg.
Once her feet were on the ground, he knelt before her, holding out his hand, “Will you please accompany me to the ball?”
She took it as he stood up, both of them turning to Sirius and Remus, taking a deep breath, before saying to the room as a whole, “let’s go.”
——————
You were so excited the whole day, you would get to go to the ball and maybe you would find a way to change your life. When time came, your stepmother told you that her and her daughters would be getting ready for the ball and to stay in your room.
You disappeared from their sight, not realising how she’d told you to stay in your room. So when you put the finishing touches on your outfit and you finished your hair and makeup, you made your way down the stairs.
“Wow,” you heard from one of your stepsisters. “That’s it. I can’t go. He won’t choose me.”
You smiled and asked politely, “do you like it? I don’t want to go for him, but I would like to make you proud. All of you. Maybe talk one of you up if I talk to him.”
However your stepmother got angry and slapped you, making tears form in your eyes as you fell back slightly as she screamed, “NO, YOU WON’T BE GOING!” With that, she ripped your sleeves, and your step sisters joined, ripping other parts of your outfit. Your stepmother then grabbed your collar and threw you in your room, locking the door. You went over to the window after you were able to get up, watching as they went off in their carriage.
It would take too long to fix your outfit in a way that would look as good as it had. And you certainly wouldn’t get it done in time to be able to get anyone to help you get to the palace.
You tried to pick the lock, even with it being on the other side, but it was no use. However, you heard the lock unclick and the door opening. You looked up, terrified, until you saw a beautiful blonde woman standing before you and she seemed to be glowing, now you were just confused. As she moved, you saw what looked like wings.
“Hello,” you almost whispered, your voice cracking after all the crying.
“Hello,” she sounded confident. “My name is Pandora. I’m your fairy godmother, though I’ve been watching over you for a while. I’m trying to be more of a guardian angel for you. Do you know anything about fairy godmothers or guardian angels?”
“A little, not very much as I’m not allowed to read very much,” you told her. “My stepmother thinks I’ll get ideas and rebel against her.”
“You already want to though, don’t you?”
You nodded.
“How would you like to go to the ball? I know your life will change if you do go.”
“How? My outfit is ruined and I have no way of getting there,” you almost started crying again.
She was thoughtful, “but you do want to go?”
“Of course,” you were frustrated, until you looked at her, calming down almost instantly and asked, “can you help me?”
“Yes,” she held out your hand and just before you disappeared from the room, you heard the door close and lock again.
When you reappeared, you were in the front yard, which was closed off from those outside by a huge fence, so no one could see in. Pandora let go of your hand and took a few steps back.
“Sweetheart,” Pandora said and you thought that her voice was so beautiful. It sounded so melodic. You could listen to it forever. “I’m going to use magic and create you a whole new outfit, but I need you to do something for me.”
Your voice was quiet as you asked, “what is it?”
“I need you to think of the most beautiful outfit you can think of,” she paused, letting you come up with it. “Have you got it?”
You nodded, hoping what you had would look as wonderful as you thought. You watched as she waved her hand and a gust of wind came up and wound around you. When it fell, you were wearing exactly what you wanted. The fabric was beautiful and soft to the touch. You had tears in your eyes, as you felt the material.
Pandora asked you, “would you like to see yourself?”
“Yes, please,” you whispered.
With that, she waved her hand again and a full length mirror turned up, you looked at yourself. You looked incredible. You felt incredible, but there was something missing. Shoes, you weren’t wearing any.
You looked up at Pandora who smiled, waved her hand and you didn’t feel the ground under your feet anymore. When you looked down, you saw really beautiful shoes that matched your outfit.
She waved her hand and a few matching pieces of jewellery appeared. One that you loved was a ring that appeared on your right hand. It was stunning. You hoped you could keep it when the night was over.
“You have until the strike of midnight,” Pandora told you. “When the clock strikes twelve, the magic will wear off. Right now, no one except the royals and people of nobility will recognise you. To everyone else, you will look like a noble person yourself.”
You smiled as she picked an apple off a tree nearby. She placed it on the ground before she took a step back. Again, she waved her hand and before you was a beautiful carriage. With another wave of her hand, two men appeared.
“These are two of my friends,” she said as she smiled. She introduced them to you, motioning to the dark haired one, “this is Regulus. He will be your footman.” He bowed to you, before Pandora motioned to the blond man. “This is Evan. He will be your driver.” He bowed to you and you smiled and waved at both of them, before turning back to Pandora. “Remember, the magic wears off at midnight. Now, go and have fun. Keep your mind open to all possibilities.”