Chapter 1 - The Spring Ball

The sun peeped silently over the mountains surrounding Hogwarts caslte, drenching the dewy grounds in a warm glowing orange light. The 6th year boys dormitory in Gryffindor tower, was silent, in 3 inhabitants sleeping soundlessly.

The door creaked open, an inch...then another inch. Suddenly it closed and two boys of the age of 15 appeared out of nowhere.

"Phew, looks like no ones awake yet," said the first, his dark hair falling neatly over his handsome face.

"Yeah," whispered the next, who rumpled his untidy black while peering round the silent dormiotory. These two boys were the best of friends, Sirius Black and James Potter. They had just returned from the girls dormitory, which they had just visited under Jamess' invisibilty cloak.

"To bad about Lilly,James." said siruis sitting down on the end of his bed and pulling off his shoes.

"Yeah I know...But maybe I didn't start it off to well by getting off with Patricia Spinnet!!" said James grinning,

They both let out yells of laughter, "Shhh" hissed James "We'll be heard!", and sure enough someone had stirred in the bed next to James. James and Sirius's other best friend Remus Lupin had just sat up in bed rubbing his eyes.

"W-w-what are you two doing up," he yawned running a hand through his soft mousy hair.

"Oh, you know just the usual...sleeping over in the girls dormintory!!" said James lying down on his bed, and now kicking of his shoes too.

"You should have come Remus," Sirius grinned "Misty Moonherm, was asking for you! Me and james told her you were just across the common room and that we would happily give her James's cloak so she could come suprise you!!" Remus frowned.

"Oh, yeah and we woke up some girl called Valentin...?" said James prodding his pillows with his wand so they fluffed up to the size of small boulders.

"Valentin....Valentin Collet??" Said Remus his eyes now alight.

"Yeah, why you know her?" said Sirius

"I think he knows her...uh...shall I say, very well" James laughed "She was damn georgous!! I wouldn't mind a bit of-"

"-Don't talk about Valentin that way-" Say remus, sitting further up in bed.

"-So Padfoot he does know her...." said james,

"W-were just in the same muggle studies class...." said Remus reddening "I worked on a "Why Muggles use Toasters" project with her," He bowed his head in his trunk and pretended to look for a pair of socks. He could feel his face getting hot. James was just about to say something when someone drew back their hangings from across the room. It was little Peter Pettigrew, his round pink face protruding from the hangings. Their fellow Gryffindors followed suit, and soon the dormitory was full of the sound of 5 boys rumaging around getting ready for another day at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardy.

*

Once down in the great hall, Sirius,James,Remus and Peter picked out their favourite seats and had eagerly started eating. Sirius and James were talking over who they thought would win the Quidditch Cup this year, and how James thought that he should have got picked of captain this year, Remus had pulled a book called The first British Wizards and their Triumphs from his bag and was now deeply imersed, nibbling on the edge of a piece of dry toast he had forgotten to butter while reading. Peter sat quietly sipping some milk.

None of them a pretty blonde girl edging her way down the Gryffindor table handing out flyers, soon she had reached Remus,Sirius,James and Peter, none of whom looked up.

"Remus...er Remus, hi!" She said smily sweetly.

"Wha...Oh, Valentin, hi!" Remus grinned up at her, his cheeks turning pink.

"Guess what?" she beamed at the four of them. James, Sirius and Peter were now all listening too.

"What?" said Sirius putting on a fake grin, but Valentin hadn't noticed.

"This year Hogwarts is having a Spring Ball! For all 6th and 7th years! Here you go..." she pased them four highly decorated pink flyers,

HOGWARTS SPING BALL

April 17th - Great Hall

food provided, 6th and 7th years ONLY!

although 6/7th years can bring someone

of a lower year if they wish.

Everyone attending if prefered to have a parter,

Boys ask Girls.

"It says here boys ask girls, So Valentin wanna go?" said James biting into his toast.

"Uhm...No." said Valentin blanky "You have to go with Lilly it's obvious you both like each other! And anyway...." she gave Remus a meaningful look "I was hoping someone else was going to ask me...."

"uhhrr..." Remus looked at her blankly. Before anything else could be said a pretty girl with dazzling green eyes and tumbling red hair bounded up to Valentin.

"I handed out all mine to the Hufflepuffs, I think loads of them want to come!" She grinned at Valentin but then turned to James and her grin faded, "What are you looking at?" she snapped at James.

"Well, just you dazzling beauty, Lilly" he charmed, giving her a confident smile

"Oh shut up" she said trying to frown, but her cheeks were turning pink and she couldn't help grinning slightly.

"So," James persisted "Will you go to this Spring thing with me?"

"It's a spring ball! and...you...ohhhh....." she looked at him "Fine. But you better look good! and...and..."

"Yes?" said James looking positivly thrilled.

"OH! nothing..." and with a swish of her robes she had grabbed Valentin's robes and marched off to the Ravenclaw table.

"Good one mate," said Sirius, he turned to Remus "Not so good one,"

"What?" asked Lupin, taking a large bite out of his toast.

"She wanted you to ask her stupid!!" said James, as though this was common knowledge.

Remus was now packing away his The first British Wizards and their Triumphs book, and looking around at them all as though they were mad "Well, if she wanted me to ask her, she should have made it more obvious..."

"What like jumping naked in front of you waving a "please ask me to the Spring Ball" banner in front of you?" said Sirius, he hit Remus around the head.

"OW!" yelled Remus, his piece of toast flopping onto the floor, "Well fine, maybe I'll ask her later...I mean I have Muggle Studies first period...so..." Still rubbing his head, Remus stood up, swung his heavy bag over his shoulder and walked out of the great hall.

"Well don't really think we got through to the great oaf did we?" said James cracking the top off his egg and ignoring the fact that people were standing up to go to their first lessons all arouind him, "So...Sirius who are you going to ask to this Spring Fling thing?"

"Well, you know want to keep my options open...But then again i want to get in there right now otherwise all the pretty ones'll be gone." said Sirius in a matter-of-fact kind of way, as though talking of buying lemons at the supermarket, "I would like to go with Patricia Spinnet although I think we had enough of each other this morning to last us a lifetime" he grinned at James, Peter was still sat quietly sipping the dregs of milk from his cereal bowl, "Hmm...theres a pretty girl on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team - chaser I think....although I can't remember her name-"

"-Charlotte Brown!?" piped up Peter rather suddenly,

"Yeah-yeah thats her! Look there she is now..." Sirius pointed down the table to a very pretty brown haired girl surrounded by a group of girls who were giggling hard.

Sirius stood up, and letting his dark hair fall elegantly over his handsome face he said "Okay, James see you later...In transfiguration right?" James and Peter looked blankly at him, but a second later his plan became all to clear. Sirius turned on his heal and gently bumped into Charlotte Brown, knocking the Spring Ball flyer she was holding to the floor.

"Oh, don't worry," said Sirius stooping down to retrieve the flyer "Ohhh...the Spring Ball! Yeah, I remember hearing something about this!" By this point Charlotte was blushing furiously "So, been asked yet to go yet with anyone yet?" asked Sirius casualy, now all Charlotte's friends were giggling madly.

"Uh...no...not yet" she mummbled giving Sirius a sweet smile.

"Not Yet?!?" cried Sirius "A pretty girl like you?" this caused Charlotte to blush even more "Well, I can't have you going alone! Why not come with me..?" A blonde friend of Charlotte's let out a snort of laughter, Sirius ignored her.

"Ooh...uh...Yeah okay, sure!!" Charlotte said smiling widly, at this Sirius bent down took her hand a gave it a little kiss, causing more blushing from Charlotte and a fresh wave of giggles from her friends.

"See, you April 17th!" called Sirius as Charlotte and her friends hurried out of the hall laughing. James turned to his toast shaking his head with a grin.

"Smooth, Sirius....Smooth" said James thickly through a mouthful of toast.

"Wow....amazing" said Peter looking at Sirius with awed amazement.

"Hmm...yeah, I think we should probally go to Muggle Studies...." said Sirius gazing around at the now deserted hall "NOW!"

*

Remus arrived at the Muggles Studies classroom ten minutes early, and dicided that as the corridor was already boiling hot, he would wait in the cool classroom and read through his Why Muggles Need Telephones Essay one more time. But as he pushed open the door he found that the classroom was not deserted, but one desk at the very front of the room was occupied by-

"Valentin?" said Remus uncertainly,

"Wha-! Ohh...Remus, hello...I-" sure enough Valentin turned round, but her face looked different, her eyes were all blotchy and red, and she was dabbing madly at them with a tissue. Remus felt a sharp stab of guilt as her watched her dabb her eyes some more. Was it true what James and Sirius had said back in the great hall? Did Valentin really want him to ask her to the Ball?

"Oh, Valentin....whats wrong?" said Remus gently, Sitting down next to her and putting his arm around her.

"I just," she rubbed her eyes with the damp tissue "I just, oh nothing...worried about exams thats all! You know orangising the ball...and everything..." She turned and burried her head in her bag. Remus shifted uneasily in his seat, "Do, just do it" he thought "Just ask her! NOW!" he turned to Valentin,

"Hey Valentin...Want to go to the ball with me?!" He looked shocked at what he had just done. Valentin pulled head out of her bag, a small smile forming across her face.

"Ohh, Remus!" she grinned "I thought you'd never ask, I'd LOVE to!!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. Remus patted her gingerly on the back, feeling himself go red. She let go of him and was just saying something about dress robes when the rest of the class including Professor Phidoll, the Muggle studies teacher filed into the classroom.

"Remus Lupin, I am glad to see you came early to class for once, but that is not where you sit...back of the class, your usual seat is waiting for you." Phidoll chirped rumaging in his desk draws at the same time flicking his wand absentmindedly at the board, which now held chalk white letters about an essay they were to write this lesson. Remus jumped up grabbed his bag and gave Valentin a fleeting grin before retreating to the back of the room, feeling happier than he had all week.