The Lion and the Lamb


Lily Evans squinted at her reflection in the mirror in the Gryffindor common room, not liking what she saw there. For one thing, she was dressed as a lamb, of all things. Her dress robes were snowy white and patterned to simulate the wool of a new spring lamb. Her red hair was decorated with green spring-like ribbons and clover garland, and though they offset her green eyes quite nicely, she was never into such decorations. It was ridiculous. She couldn’t help but wonder who had decided it would be fun to have a Spring formal and to vote for two students to be the dance’s Lion and Lamb of March. Whoever it was, they were at the top of Lily’s ‘hex list’. The very next on her list would be the people who voted for the dance’s lion…

“It is quite ridiculous, isn’t it?” Sirius Black commented, straightening his lion’s mane cape and the green garland on his dress robes.

Not realizing she had spoken those words aloud, Lily turned her green glare to the speaker, her date for the dance. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” she grumbled. The boy looked majestic and she was sure he knew it. Mentally she added him to the hex list.

“Well, I’m the one whose best mate wants to curse him for going to this thing with his girlfriend!” Sirius complained, but looked not at all worried. “This green tie is too Slytherin for my taste,” he added, as he joined Lily by the mirror and covered the tie with lion’s fur.

Lily grudgingly made room at the mirror for him. The ‘best mate’ in question wasn’t happy at all when he heard the results of the voting. But since James hadn’t seen fit to ask her to dance at that point, Lily saw it as his just reward for inaction.

As though he knew he was being spoken about, James appeared in the common room. “That’s quite a new look for you, mate,” he joked, though Lily could hear a slight edge to the boy’s tone. James was wearing leaf green dress robes (as all were required to do for the dance) and on his arm, Katy (or was it Jen?) looked lovely in pale green. He deliberately avoided Lily’s green eyes and ruffled his hair as was his habit. The hex list just got longer, Lily thought.

“It’s itchy,” Sirius scowled but continued his preening. “But we all must make sacrifices,” he sighed. “It’s not my fault half the girls in the school voted for me,” he added and Lily knew he was making a point.

“It was likely more then half,” James laughed.

“Well, I hate to brag,” Sirius winked, “I think that Tina girl voted more then once.”

Lily snorted indelicately, she knew for a fact that this was true, the girl was obsessed. She opened her mouth to comment, but was interrupted by a very strange sight.

Peter Pettigrew had entered the room, and he seemed to have taken the green spring theme to heart. The boy was wearing green from head to toe, even his hair and his skin had a faint greenish hue. On his head was a large hat with a buckle and hit feet sported a pair of buckled shoes.

“What are you dressed as Peter?” Lily had to ask, aghast.

“Well I be a leprechaun, dontcha’ know?” he drawled in an Irish accent and sprinkled clover on them.

Sirius and James’ laughter was anything but innocent, and Lily turned to them angrily, “what did you do to him?” she accused.

“Well, he was awfully sad about not getting a date to the dance,” James replied.

“And he’s so much happier this way,” Sirius laughed as Peter started whistling the ‘Irish Spring’ song.

“So you put a spell on him to make him think he’s a leprechaun?” Lily shook her head, her green bows fluttering.

“Well, it’s reversible, though I kinda like it,” Sirius replied as Peter started to do a jig. “Shall we get going?” he extended his arm to Lily.

“Oh yes!” Peter cried enthusiastically, “there be gold at the end of this rainbow!” and he tossed a bar of soap.

“Where is Remus?” Lily asked, looking around.

“Oh, we’ll meet him there,” Sirius replied, “he’s picking up his date over at Ravenclaw tower.”


The Great Hall was sea of green. Green decorations fluttered from the ceiling, the walls were enchanted to look like rolling hills and fields, and beneath their feet was green grass and clover. The tables nearly groaned with the weight of green food (though oddly enough, the cupcakes were bright pink). All of the students and the staff wore green as well, in various different hues. At the front of the hall sat what looked to be a real living lion and lamb, with Hagrid tending to them. There was also a band of musicians dressed as leprechauns who played a merry song. Peter clicked his heels in excitement and ran to join them.

“’Tis good to see a fellow leprechaun!” he enthused.

Across the hall, Lily caught sight of Severus Snape in deep emerald green. Surprisingly, he had not one, but two dates. On his arms were Jan, who seemed to be singing, and Kris who wore a set of bagpipes.

“I knew it!” Sirius growled beside Lily.

“Oh no you don’t,” she replied through gritted teeth, “you are not starting that again, this is going to be bad enough.”

“As you wish, my lamb,” Sirius drawled and bowed to her, though Lily could almost see him filing away his thoughts of vengeance for later.

“And I promise I will hex you if you call me that one more time!” she hissed.

“What, am I not your lion?” he asked loudly in mock horror and a number of girls nearby turned to look at Lily accusingly.

Lily raised her wand threateningly and Sirius grinned back at her, though he did stop teasing.

“The cupcakes should be green!” a voice hissed nearby and Lily saw Lissy raise her wand, and the cupcakes changed color. Seconds later, however, they were bright pink again.

Confused, Lily looked around and finally spotted Erin, on Remus’ arm lowering her wand with a smile, “I am in charge of the cupcakes and what I say goes.”

“I think they look nice pink,” Remus agreed, though the cupcakes had already turned green again.

“Green!” cried Lissy.

“Pink!” Erin replied. Lily had a feeling the two would keep it up all night.

The evening went pretty much as Lily expected. The formal kicked off with the lion and lamb sharing the first dance. It was over quickly, to Lily’s relief, and Sirius was soon free to dance with the girls who voted for him (Tina managed to capture him seventeen times and Nazneen almost as many). James had his share of partners as well, and Lily made sure to accept as many invitations as she could. She’d dance with Snape out of spite if she could, but Jan and Kris kept a firm grip on the Slytherin, not that he had many offers. Only Remus and Erin seemed to stay together and Lily soon noticed that the cupcakes stayed green more then pink as the evening went on.

Lily was about to call it a night and sneak back to the Gryffindor common room when she felt herself swept up by Sirius once again. “So why aren’t you dancing with him?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied casually as she ducked under some green streamers.

“Face it, you want to dance with him and he wants to dance with you, so get over it,” Sirius pursued.

Lily pursed her lips and would have argued, but Sirius drew them close to where James and Katy were dancing and looking unhappy. Smoothly he cut between the couple and twirled the now smiling Katy away, leaving Lily in her place.

Lily would have strode off at that moment, but something in James eyes’ made her pause and the angry words to melt before she said them. They spoke but rarely the rest of the night and soon the melody of the bagpipes, the flashing pink and green cupcakes, and the clovers being thrown by Peter faded away and Lily didn’t want to dance with anyone else.


Cassirin's dare:

*In honor of March, you must have a lion and a lamb.
*I want loads and loads of green/green items mentioned.
*Someone erroneously (wrongly) believes they are a leprechaun.
*There is a fight over pink vs. green cupcakes.
*A female character must be the main focus.

Due: March 2, 2006