The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were running rampant about the castle in dizzying excitement. Why, you may ask? Because Professor Dumbledore had decided that the school was to have a Christmas dance, the first one ever held. And what's more? It was to be a "Witch's Ask" dance. The name of this in the Muggle world was called a "Saddie Hawkins" dance which is when the girls ask the boys to accompany them to the festivities. And all the girls, even the first years, were aflutter with the imaginings of budding romance on the dance floor.
The boys? They were just worrying about if they were going to be picked or not. But one group of boys that had already been asked over 520 times collectively even though the announcement of the dance had just been the night before?
The Marauders. Or as the school knew them, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
James and Sirius were obvious. With their good looks and charms along with their cocky attitude, the girls of the school practically were fainting when they walked by. One girl walked up to Sirius and opened her mouth about to say something before shutting her mouth and walking away, her cheeks pink. James just ignored all the girls because there was only one girl he wanted. Evans. Lily Evans.
Remus was the sweet one that every girl secretly adored but he already had a girlfriend so he was politely declining the girls with looks of anxiousness in his light blue eyes, hating that he was hurting the feelings of so many people.
And Peter? Well, he had been asked by Rebecca Bulstrode and goodness knows that if you wanted to be mocked the rest of your life, you'd go to the dance with her. And Peter did have somewhat of a reputation hanging out James, Remus and Sirius so he wanted to keep that in tact.
The four walked down corridors with girls parting as they passed, girls who whispered to their friends the moment after the four were out of earshot.
This is going to be a good week, thought Sirius with a chuckle as he grinned at some fourth year girl who had waved at him.
And this one actually did faint.
"Come on, Lily! Who are you asking?"
Lily Evans rolled her eyes at her friend Sarah Brookes as they walked along the edge of the Black Lake. The snow crunched beneath their boots and caressed each foot lovingly before it was lifted, leaving a trail of their footprints. Snow was falling lightly and the sun shone behind the thin covering of gray clouds so that it was slightly blurred when one looked up into the sky.
"I know who you're asking," Sarah chirped before Lily could say anything. "Potter! You're going to ask James Potter to the Christmas dance, aren't you?"
Again, Lily rolled her eyes and tucked her chin further into her black peacoat, nuzzling it into the warm wrap that was her Gryffindor house scarf that wound its way around her neck.
"Sarah, for the last time, Potter and I are just friends. There's no use pretending any different," Lily responded, the first words she had been able to say in about a half hour since Sarah had been rambling so.
"It didn't look like he and you were just friends when he caught up with you the other week with the boys and took your hand," Sarah pointed out with a wink.
Those words made Lily stop in her tracks and she bit her lower lip as she thought. Her startlingly green eyes looked over to the frozen surface of the Black Lake as if she was remembering something. But she shook her head to clear the thought and her locks of wavy hair, the hair that was the colour of rust, danced down her back.
"Come off it, Lily. I know you like him."
"You're barking, Sarah," laughed Lily as they began to walk again. "Potter took my hand the other day because he… he was being reassuring…"
"Oh, sure," was Sarah's comeback. "Very reassuring, indeed. I bet you he'd be so reassuring that he would have taken you into his arms if you had let him."
"Sarah!" Lily whispered in a hiss, sounding panicked. For a moment, she had felt as if Potter had been right behind her. "Not so loud."
"Lily, we're over by the Black Lake," her friend pointed out with a laugh. "We're alone. The nearest person is about the length of two Quidditch pitches away."
"That doesn't matter… one shouldn't say such things," Lily chided and she began to walk a little faster.
"Oh, so sorry, Mum," joked Sarah. "Terribly sorry. Shall I go watch out my mouth with soap?"
"Yes," chimed in Lily, starting to giggle. "And for extra measure, you have to make out with Peter Pettigrew afterwards."
The two friends dissolved into peels of laughter and linked arms, turning in one fluid motion to start heading back to the castle. Heads nestled close together, they whispered secrets about whom their sixteen year old hearts desired and if the boy could not refuse, whom they would take to the dance.
"Now, children, this lesson is to teach you all how to waltz," said the projected but soothing voice of Professor Dumbledore. His voice reverberated off the stony walls of the Great Hall and made the people who had still been chattering go silent.
The house tables had disappeared and the students who were in their sixth year at Hogwarts now filled the Great Hall. Girls stood on one side and boys the other.
"The waltz," began Professor McGonagall, coming up to the Headmaster's side at the front of the room. "-is the most popular form of dancing. It is a dance that is easy to do-"
There were sighs of relief from the whole room as the teens relaxed. They hated looking stupid.
"-it's romantic-" McGonagall continued.
Here, there were coos of delight from the girls and moans from the boys. A single catcall was heard from a brave male student though and that made everyone laugh.
"-and it's slow," McGonagall concluded. "So again, none of you should have a problem with it. Professor Dumbledore and I will teach you the basic steps for that is all you will need. Mr. Filch, if you please."
Filch, who still had most of his hair, was standing in a corner of the Great Hall besides an immense gramophone. He placed a record on the flat turntable and placed the needle on the record. Soft music started up, flowing freely from the bell of the gramophone.
"Now, a waltz can be counted out in threes," said Dumbledore as he took McGonagall's hand and led her down the steps so that he could dance with her on the same floor as the students. "And all you do is move in a circle, counting to three with each step. Like so-"
He took McGonagall's waist lightly and the teens watched in awe as the two began to count to three over and over again aloud, matching the beats of the music. And then… they danced. Just in a circle, over and over again, no spins, twirls, nothing. Just in a circle.
When the song ended a minute later, McGonagall turned from facing Dumbledore to face the students.
"That's all you have to do," she said with a smile. "You may add spins if you want to… just go with the flow of the music and you'll know when to do them. Now if we can have a brave girl and boy to come together to demonstrate their knowledge of the waltz?"
The quiet murmuring of voices that had been going on while she had been talking now went silent. McGonagall found that the students were staring at her, wide-eyed.
"Very well, then. Professor Dumbledore, will you pick the young woman and I the young man? Good." With that, the two professors separated and walked over to either side of the room.
"Ms. Evans, if you'd please," said Professor Dumbledore, holding out his hand to Lily who stepped forward immediately and took it, smiling.
"Mr. Snape, if you would care to join me?" came McGonagall's voice and Lily's smile disappeared as McGonagall took Severus' arm and led him to the middle of the room. Dumbledore led Lily over immediately after.
"Now, Ms. Evans, please place your right hand on Mr. Snape's left shoulder and Mr. Snape, will you please take Ms. Evan's left hand with your right and place your left hand on her waist?" McGonagall asked although it was more of instruction.
The two teens grudgingly did so to the catcalls and jeers of many of their peers, including a "You look luscious, Lils!" from Siris, Remus and James in unison. She smiled over at them before she returned to staring blankly at Severus.
There was stil a foot of space between them.
"Come on, you two. No need to be afraid of one another," said Dumbledore with a slight chuckle as he tried to ease the tension. But it would not be eased. Lily's green eyes continued to glare into Severus' black.
"Mr. Filch, if you would," said Professor McGonagall again. Filch lifted the needle, flipped the record and placed the needle back down. "Now.. One, two, three. One, two, three-"
Severus and Lily started to waltz, she following his lead. He, placing slight pressure on the small of her waist, was able to make her step backwards and so they moved quite fluidly and beautifully even though they weren't even looking at one another.
"Children, the waltz is romantic," quipped McGonagall. "At least, for the love of Merlin, look at each other!"
But the two would not look into each other's eyes.
All the more luck for me, thought James with a smile.