A Lily By Any Other Name

Act VIII: Lily

Lily made a note to herself to never, under any circumstances, ask Marlene to do anything for her ever again.

She paced around her little spot in the library, clutching her copy of Romeo and Juliet like a lifeline. Which was ironic considering it was the very thing she needed to be saved from. Not long after, Potter entered, looking more than a little disheveled. Lily wondered if he owned a comb. Or a mirror.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could tell him all about how she was doing this purely for Marlene, he took the words right out of her mouth.

"Evans, thank you. So much. I know you're only doing this for Marlene's sake, but thank you. You're really saving all of us." He looked a bit out of breath as he said this and Lily was surprised at how sincere he sounded.

It had been five months since the Hogsmeade apology and their two friend groups had grown a lot closer since then. Still, hearing him being so genuine and kind caught her off-guard every once in awhile.

"You're welcome. And I just want to warn you, I'm no star actress. I know the lines, but the lines are only half of it. I'll do my best, but don't expect much." Lily admitted honestly.

Her words didn't dim his hopeful smile. "Not a problem. We're all amateur actors. At the end of the day, it's all about doing what we can. Just have fun and the audience will feel it."

Whatever she expected him to reply with, that certainly was not that. She suddenly felt a bit guilty for not being as good of an actress as Marlene, and she felt an ember of sheer determination in her spark to life as they began rehearsing. She was a woman of her word, and she was going to give it her all.

It wasn't long until they encountered their first obstacle: Act 1, Scene 5.

James was the first to address it. "Don't worry, we're not actually going to be kissing anywhere in the play. If I hold your face with my hands like this," he cupped her face and she prayed he couldn't feel the blood rushing to her cheeks underneath his fingertips. "I can just lean in without making any lip contact. To everyone else from a distance, it'll look real enough."

He let go of her face, leaning away once more. He reopened his script to the page they were on and continued his lines nonchalantly.

Lily was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly snapped out of it to continue the scene. She tried not to think about how close they were just then. And how much closer she wished they were.

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Showtime.

Despite the nerves of everyone, the play was going absolutely wonderfully. The use of magic helped out a lot in terms of special effects, lighting, and set changes, so it wasn't exactly like how muggle students would be doing it, but it was close enough. It definitely kept the student-production vibes and both the faculty and student body loved how homemade it felt.

Lily found that the casting couldn't have been more perfect. Amongst the list was Sirius as Mercutio, Remus as Benvolio, Peter as Friar Laurence, Mary as Juliet's Nurse, Frank as Tybalt, etc. Everyone was amazing in their roles and although she had only been an official part of the show for a week, she felt extremely proud of them. If she had to pick a star though, it would definitely have to be James as Romeo. He somehow managed to pull off the breeches, looking nothing less than dashing in his blue and silver costume that emphasized his charm and boldness. And despite him being an "amateur actor," it truly felt like he was Romeo. Well, he was certainly smarter than Romeo, of course. Lily chuckled to herself as she watched a scene from the wings. The characters in this play did not have the most common sense, but it was adorable. It made for some great content.