Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any extra characters I may add...

A/N: All the pureblooded families mentioned are from Harry Potter wiki, confirmed by JK. I didn't make up any families for this!

Thanks to Maria Binger for being such an awesome beta!

Chances...

To Lord Sirius Orion Black III,

This coming Saturday Lord Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has invited you to attend the great welcoming ball in honour of his great granddaughter Lady Hermione Isabella Dumbledore. The ball will take place within the castle of Hogwarts and will start at exactly 20:00 in the afternoon.

Your presence will be most welcome.

Formal attire necessary.

You may bring along a guest/date...

Sincerely Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore...

Sirius stared at the crème paper invitation with calculating eyes. Not even a week had passed since he visited the castle along with the rest of the Marauders and now Albus suddenly decided to throw a ball in her honour?

He tapped the invitation to his thigh as he thought carefully what to do... He heard his shower but gave no other notice. Melinda will soon be another notch on his bed post. He was feeling rather... gloom last night and needed a distraction. Said distraction came in the form of a tall, slim blond goddess with a generous chest area. He was at a local pub all alone, since James was at home with Lils, Moony was busy and Peter... well he probably was home alone.

He saw her checking him out from the moment he stepped into the pub but he decided to let her come to him. He after all never hit on girls. They always came to him, drooling, begging for just a few moments of his attention. He knew he was incredible handsome and he used it to his full advantage. And with his surname -meaning his title as the Grand Duke of the Ancient House of Black and of course his huge fortune- girls practically fell at his feet.

So it was not his fault that they always ended heart broken. He made absolutely clear from their first second together that whatever happened between them, it will only be temporarily. He was not the relationship type. His longer relationship was with Emily and it lasted only four weeks. And he wasn't exactly faithful...

Truth be told he only saw seriously one girl... Dorcas Meadowes... She was one year older than him and a Gryffindor to the core. She was also an Auror and one of the best in the field. She was a natural beauty with long auburn hair and vivid blue eyes. She was quite the prankster too! But unfortunately she only viewed him as her little brother and nothing more. After he spent a good three years panting after her he decided that it will never happen(the one year she was his girl, she treated him more like her little brother than her boyfriend! They only ever kissed when he surprised her and stole a kiss) and started accepting other girls' offers. As far as he knew she was now dating another talented wizard Caradoc Dearborn and they were quite happy together.

His grey orbs lifted when he heard the bathroom door open. Melinda stepped out dripping water all over his floor, carefully towelling her long tresses. She was beautiful but he felt nothing more than momentary lust for her.

Such a pity...he mentally sighed. James kept badgering him to find a good girl and settle in like he did with Lily but he didn't want to! He loved his bachelorhood thank you very much!

He had spent the first sixteen years of his life with a crazy, pureblood fanatic family that tried to control every single aspect of his life. They had even chosen his wife before he was born for Merlin's sake! The best day of his life was when he finally got the courage to gather his things and leave the depressing house of the Black Family. He could hear his mother screeching at him about what a disgrace he was and that he was Black no more... He honestly didn't give a crap!

He was free at last!

His thoughts interrupted by the girl currently in his home.

"Um... Sorry but do you know where my bra is?" she asked unashamed. His wolfish grin made her flush though.

"Over there love" he purred and pointed to one of his bed posts. She nodded and he turned back to the envelope.

So old Dumbly throws a party for his granddaughter... That sure sounds promising... unconsciously his eyes landed on that day's Daily Prophet. As always the paper was well informed and the front page was dedicated to Lady Dumbledore. The photo was from her fourteen birthday and she was the only one in it. She was dressed in her school uniform, blue satin robes tight fitting and her hair tied to a loose ponytail. The only jewel was a heart pendant and her smile was radiant. She seemed immensely pleased about something he didn't know about and her eyes were sparkling.

His fingers slowly trailed the line of her face. The article was about her time in Beauxbatons, her life in France and of course her personal tragedy, ending with the announcement of the Welcoming Ball her grandfather will be hosting for her and her two friends this coming Saturday.

Sirius had a strange feeling taking place within his stomach. Lady Dumbledore's eyes held so much warmth and kindness in their depths that made her youthful face shine with beauty. But she was just a child in the picture. She was now an adult and she just lost her whole family. He was curious about her eyes. Will they hold the same warmth? Will she appear as kind as she did in that picture?

No of course not! He mentally scoffed. She will probably be all miserable and pathetic like all pureblooded women tended to be. She was the perfect Princess and according to the paper she was raised with luxury by two adoring parents and two families as her personal servants. Sure he explained to Lily that this kind of devotion was common in the pureblood circles but he never approved it. The girl was bound to disabuse her power over her two friends at some point and they will have no choice but obey. If there was one thing he dreaded except loosing his loved ones that would be the loss of his free will.

He opened his eyes -he wasn't aware he closed them- and stood up. He was a Black but that didn't mean he would behave like one. And judging a complete stranger, based on her parentage and the way she grew up was something his mother would do. Thus strongly unacceptable for him. He would give her the chance to prove to him the kind of individual she was and then he will make his judgement...

No matter that his gut was practically screaming at him that things were about to turn ten times worse for him.

88888

Peter stared at himself in his full length mirror. He wasn't ugly was he?

He was tall, almost six feet and admittedly a little chubby around his waist. His blond hair was short at the back with long fringes and his baby blue eyes were watery. No he wasn't bad looking. But he wasn't handsome either. He was as always mediocre. And when compared to the Sirius Black he was paling in comparison. Sirius had everything he ever wished for. He was coming from an ancient, wealthy pureblood family; he was brilliant, funny and incredibly handsome. Witches and Muggles were literally falling on his feet. And they never cared that he will never called them back or that the only thing he wanted was a shag... No they totally forgot any significant other they may had if Sirius winked at them.

Peter will never forget the pain he felt when the girl he was in love with back at his Hogwarts days never wanted him. She acknowledged him and then asked him if Sirius was single. Every girlfriend he had would always check his supposed best mate out when he would introduce them and Sirius would always smirk and tell him that they weren't good enough for him if they wanted another. What Sirius couldn't understand was that no girl will ever look twice at him when he was around.

His beady eyes fell on the newspaper. Dumbledore's granddaughter will be making her official appearance this coming Saturday. Only two more days to go. If she was half as beautiful as her younger self then she would be breathtaking. And being Albus' family she of course will be a freaking genius.

He signed vehemently. He really hoped Sirius would just disappear. At least for the ball...

If he managed to catch Miss Dumbledore's eye then he would become powerful. He wanted that. He wanted power. His need to prove to his supposed friends he was as good as them, maybe better overwhelmed him.

Always the underdog, the loser, the fourth best, and the one they had to drag through classes...

He would prove to them, to him, how much better he was. And he would not allow Sirius to take his chance away. Hermione Dumbledore was his key to achieve his goals. And he would be damn if he lost it...

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"A ball? A ball? Are you freaking kidding me?" Hermione's screeching could be heard despite the thick walls of the office. She was officially released from the medical wing the day after Alphard's visit and she just found out -from the paper no less- that her dear old gramps decided that what she needed after the tragic events back at France was what else? A grand ball for all crazy, pureblooded bigotry to welcome her to their social circles. The Black's, the Malfoy's, the Potter's, the LeStrange's, the Parkinson's, the Crabbe's, the Goyle's, the Greengrass', the Prewett's, the Weasley's, the Brown's and every other respectable wizard family, not including the Muggleborns and halfbloods were invited. The guest list was over two hundred people. She felt dizzy.

"After everything we've been through, he honestly thinks I want to attend a stupid ball!" she shrieked.

"Well, to be precise it is your welcome and presentation ball! You'll be the hostess!" Neville was trying and failing miserably to hide his rather amused grin that threatened to spread on his face. He and Luna were sitting on the long red sofa he had conjured while Hermione was pacing the room. She was dressed in a simple white sundress and her long tresses were held back from falling all over her face with a white hair band. Her face was flushed and her lips pursed.

"Shut up!" she snapped but Luna's giggle made her huff.

"Hermione, don't you think you exaggerate?" the blond asked her smiling, her eyes as always unreadable.

"No!" she yelled but Luna simply shrugged her slender shoulders and returned to her magazine. Hermione glared at her but she sat down on a high back chair, scoffing.

"Mya, a presentation ball is kind of a tradition for purebloods when a family member comes back after a long period of absence. You wouldn't know but even when a child came back from his studies, if he was away for more than a year then his family would throw a welcome ball. It shows the family's wealth and helps upholding their status and place amongst all the others." Neville explained passively.

"Utter nonsense!" Hermione sighed heavily. Luna surprisingly nodded agreeing.

"I believe that too." her dreamy voice held surrender. "Problem is that all the others don't."

"Fine, fine I will come willingly." she crossed her arms and again huffed.

"You do know you must have a date right?" Neville asked, innocently sipping his hot cocoa. Hermione spluttered and he laughed. "I'm only joking! As the hostess you will have to interact with your attendees though. And dance with all the males. It's tradition..."

"And don't be surprised if someone offers you a marriage proposal." Luna cut in and Hermione's eyes bulged. A marriage proposal?

"Oh honestly Hermione, you must be aware that you are quite the catch! The last descendant of the most ancient house of Dumbledore, heiress of their fortune and title and also a member of the Lysander's through your mothers side of the family, beautiful, ingeniously smart, well mannered (most of the time that is!), and young and fertile! You are the perfect wife! Every pureblood wizard with obsession over blood purity will be thrilled to get you as his trophy wife" Neville waved a dismissive hand.

"Great, just great!" she mumbled. "Now I have to worry about wannabe grooms? That's the worst thing. At least I'll be rest assured that nothing worse will happen."

"Uh huh" Luna clipped her fingers." You shouldn't have said that! It's bad luck!"

"How worse can the situation get?" Hermione demanded and as if he waited for this cue Albus waltzed in the room smiling radiantly, his eyes twinkling.

"Are you ready, children?" he asked. Hermione's eyebrows shot to her hairline.

"Ready for what?"

"Dear, the ball is less then a week away! You, Luna and Neville need appropriate attires! We are going shopping!"

Hermione turned to her two friends who were rolling with laughter.

"And that answers my question!"

A/N:Thanks to all lovely people who read/alerted/favoured/reviewed this story! Remember telling me your opinion not only helps me write more but makes me better. If you have any ideas I'm happy to hear them...