Disclaimer: I am not JKR. Unless you'd like to believe otherwise, which is perfectly fine by me.
A Holiday Special
This dance was being more of a problem that he was willing to put up with. He spent a fortune trying to find a mask; that was his fault, not the dance's. He knew about this dance for a while but that didn't make him remember to get a mask any better, as a matter of fact, it made him forget faster. Why did he forget? James' joke was that Sirius either had a short attention span or short term memory loss but Sirius knew that he wasn't too worried about the dance, until he remembered that he still had those fancy dress robes that his mum had gotten him a few years back and he still fit in. Thos robes were really nice looking, despite the fact that his mum had bought them; normally his mum didn't buy anything nice for him unless it reflected upon her. Sirius knew that he wouldn't need dress robes in his fifth year, so he stored them away and forgot about them in the black hole that was his trunk. Sirius spent two hours looking for those robes so he could look them over to try and get an idea of what kind of mask he needed to get for it. The robes were pure black, which was normally what colour his mum got him, she always said that the Black family should always wear a very handsome and formal colour when something special was happening, and unfortunately, Sirius couldn't wear a white pair of dress robes because he always found a way to ruin them with a bad stain or something else that would cause someone to throw away a perfectly good pair of robes so Sirius had black. Sirius spent two Hogsmeade visits and went through half of the people he knew in Diagon Alley before he finally found a plain black mask. Sirius bought the mask two weeks ago and it finally came in this morning. Sirius made sure that it was the mask he wanted but saw that it wasn't so he began to make due with what he had. He had ordered a plain black cotton mask, and instead he got a mask that seemed to be attached to really weird looking hat. Sirius spent two hours with a pair of scissors he had borrowed from Lily to detach the mask from the hat, throw the hat into the fireplace to burn, and fixed up the black mask to make it look like it was ordered without the hat. Sirius spent the next fifteen minutes fighting the dress robes on before he slipped the mask over his face. He made sure that the mask fit on his face comfortably without showing any part of his face before he made adjustments on his robes so that they were at least a small bit more comfortable than they were already. Sirius sighed before he head down to the common room to see if any of his friends were down stairs, but if they were, he doubted he would recognize them until Midnight. Sirius looked around the common room at the other people with highly colourful masks or very brightly decorated with gems, colourful dots, or some form of streaks on the mask. Sirius couldn't see anyone's full face, only from their mouth to where their robes or dresses started, or their eyes. Other than that, Sirius saw no one he knew.
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December 31, 5:26 pm
Diary,
New Years' Eve. Ball starts at 9:00. I
must get ready! Tell you about it later!
Lily
This was the most recent entry in the little, brown, leather bound journal that sat on a nightstand in the seventh year girls' dormitory. I suppose you would like me to elaborate on this a little, wouldn't you? What ball? Well, none other than the New Years' Eve Masquerade Ball of course! If you are one who sits there wracking your brain and asking 'What in the world is this lady rambling on about?' I will explain it just for you. Don't you feel special? Of course you do. Anyways, back to the ball. As you may (hopefully) know, a ball is basically a dance. Well-mannered frivolity is the Maggie Smith way to put it. The masquerade part of it has to do with, drum roll please… MASKS! Yes, masks. But not scary monster masks, no. For the ball, the masks I am describing are those that rest on the bridge of your nose and go around your eyes, covering a good portion of your face. Some are decorative; some are plain black or white. You can choose. This is a formal dress occasion so that means…DRESS ROBES! Yes, dress robes. So, what have we learned so far, class? 'A masquerade ball is a formal occasion with masks.' Very good! So, why are the disguises so important? Here's why: No one will know who is under the mask until the stroke of midnight. Why? Well, once the clock strikes twelve (and no sooner) everyone will take off their disguises and be revealed. This could mean that you might dance with your worst enemy and not even know it. So, what are we waiting for? The ball will begin once all of the characters have arrived.
"Oh that's such a cute dress!" The exclamation echoed through the seventh year girls' dormitories. The rustle of tissue paper could be heard as the second parcel was torn open. "And matching shoes!" another voice proclaimed as a slight gasp escaped a few pairs of lips. The third package was the smallest, and many of the girls had already guessed (from what was in the other two gifts) what was in the neatly wrapped box. "This is beautiful!" a third voice chimed as she pulled a shimmering green mask out of the carefully folded packaging paper. "Oi! Lily! Your parents send you the prettiest things!" one of her roommates said with an awe-struck look on her face. "Surely not." the redhead defended smiling. "What about your dresses?" she inquired while holding the gown up to her body and was looking at herself in the full-length mirror. "Try it on!" one of her fellow Gryffindors said. "Yeah Lily!" another chimed in. "No!" the seventeen year old said, shaking her head embarrassedly.
The conversation had taken place a few days prior to the day of the ball. Lily had received three packages via owl that morning and had been waiting to get back to the dorms to see what was inside. Now, though, she was nearly ready for the formal occasion that night. "Just a few more adjustments…" she mumbled as she flicked her wand at the seams of her gown. The waistline moved in about an inch so it was not loose, but rather form fitting against her frame.
The giggles and excited whispers could be heard echoing down from the seventh year girls' dormitories. The Gryffindors were nearly ready. Their masks were fit to their faces, with the help of a spell or two, and clung onto each girl's cheekbones. It had been a lot of fun getting ready for the ball, and the time had paid off. The final zips of dresses and snaps of shoe clasps were muffled slightly by the closed door. One girl stood in front of a full-length mirror as she fixed the glittery green flower that was clipped in her auburn-red hair. Her mask was a sparkly emerald green with a bright green stud on the outside edge of each eye. Her hair was pulled back tightly into an elegant bun. A single, silky strand framed the soft edge of her face. Her dress was a warm forest green, the sleeves going off the shoulder. The upper portion of the gown was tight, but not overly so, holding her torso gracefully. The bottom of her robes was slightly bigger, as is flared out into a near circular shape. The lighter, olive green ruffles around the middle contrasted sweetly with the emerald in her mask. Though her shoes weren't visible, they were a nice shade of emerald that nearly matched the mask. The redhead turned around, making sure that her dorm mates were ready to go. "Are you almost ready?" Lily inquired, anxious to go down to the common room. There they would meet with the other seventh year Gryffindors (their escorts) and head down to the ball together. And then, upon arriving, they would share at least one dance with their partners before they could leave the floor.
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To be continued, if I ever remember.