~*Lily's POV*~

Me, Natalie and the three Marauders sat under the willow tree for awhile, talking about classes, Quidditch, and Hogsmeade. I tried to bring up the dance, but the boys were reluctant to talk about it, as was Natalie. Neither Sirius nor Kara came back from their talk. I suspected they were off kissing somewhere. I was happy for Kara. She really liked Sirius. She hadn't stopped smiling since he had asked her to the dance.

"We're going to find Sirius," James announced suddenly, and the Marauders left the quiet secrecy of the willows branches.

"Isn't Sirius with Kara?" Natalie asked me, puzzled.

"I thought so," I replied.

"The guys must be jealous that he's with her instead of planning their latest prank." Nat nodded in agreement.

"Well, I've got to go. Charms Club starts in 20 minutes." She hopped up and headed for the castle.

I lay down on the ground, enjoying the silence. I couldn't believe I'd spent over an hour in James Potter's company without him doing or saying something that made me want to hex him or feed him to the Giant Squid. He'd been nice to talk to. I sighed, and got up. Too bad he's not always like that, I thought as I brushed dirt off of the backs of my legs. I might consider going out with him if he was... I was halfway to the common room when I heard someone say my name.

"Lily!" I turned to see Richard, a 6th year Ravenclaw, behind me.

"Hi, Richard," I said.

"Hey, Lily. I was wondering if you had a date for the Halloween Ball." I looked at him. He was short, not much taller than me, and his blond hair was neatly combed. So unlike James' messy black mop. Richard was just an acquaintance. He was too quiet to spend too much time with before I felt awkward.

"No, Richard, I don't have a date," I told him truthfully.

"Oh. Would you like to go with me, then?" I considered. It's not like there was anyone else I wanted to go with. 'Except James'. 'Shut up.' Another conversation between Lily and Lily, I thought.

"Sure, I'll go with you." He smiled, nodded, and walked away. Not even a 'great', or a 'thanks, I'll see you in class'.

I could only imagine what James would do if I accepted one of his myriad of offers. He'd probably jump up and down and yell through the halls that he'd FINALLY gotten me to say yes. I wondered why he hadn't asked me to the dance, or Hogsmeade, when he normally asked me out to every possible function within the first five minutes we knew about it. And again within the first 20. And again an hour later. 'Oh well. It's not like you would have said yes anyway.' That was enough of logical Lily for today. The other part of me said that if James had asked first, the maybe, just maybe, I would have agreed. All thoughts of James were pushed out of my mind, however, when I reached the common room.

Kara was there, in her favorite armchair by the window, with tears falling silently down her face.

"Kara!" I exclaimed, making my way over to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just made a mistake."

"What? What kind of mistake? What happened?" I hugged her. She looked so beaten down. She waited, and then whispered one word,

"Sirius." She didn't have to say anything else. I knew he'd dumped her. I wanted to punch him. How could he do this to Kara? It took her so long to trust someone. He'd finally earned that, and he broke it.

"It's ok, Kar." I soothed. "He doesn't deserve you or your tears." Ooh! That was good. And true, too.

"I was so sure he did," she said, more to herself than to you. "I was so sure he did." It broke my heart to see her this way. She was usually so happy. She always told you she didn't see the point in letting the little stuff get to her. I were the one that always needed cheering up. She DID the cheering. She really must have liked him. Again, I felt an overwhelming urge to hit Sirius.

"Let's go up to our room, k?" I didn't want the guys to see her like this. All four Marauders disgusted me. I had just been talking to them, and none of them said anything. THAT was why they didn't want to talk about the Ball. Obviously they knew. I led Kara up the stairs. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Lil. I'm okay now." She did look better, but I knew that Sirius wouldn't be safe within 100 feet of her for a long time. I heard the portrait open to let someone in, the Marauders, I expected, just as I closed the door to our dorm.

~*Kara's POV*~

Lily ushered me up the steps and into the dorm. I told her you were okay, and it was mostly true. I felt a lot better. So what if Sirius dumped me? At least he'd done it before I'd given too much of my time and trust to him. I went into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. My eyes were puffy and my nose was red. A mess, and all because of a guy! Screw him! I told myrself. And I meant it. I was done with Sirius Black. For good. I splashed my face with the freezing tap water, cleansing myself of all ties to Sirius. I smiled at my reflection, and joined Lily on her bed.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Lil. I'm just gonna go for a walk." I got up and left. I saw Sirius and his friends in the common room, but didn't acknowledge them as I exited the Tower. Once outside the school, I saw that it was almost dark out. What a crappy day. Oh well, almost over! Looking around to make sure no one was around, I changed into my Animagus form, a large Huskie. My marking was a furry white heart shape on my chest, symbolizing a favorite necklace of mine. I began to run around the Hogwarts grounds.

Being a dog always calmed me, making my problems seem far away. Panting slightly, I slowed down to a fast walk. It was now completely dark. I entered the Quidditch stadium, and sat on the bottom row of the bleachers. Was it really only a couple days ago that Sirius had fallen off his broom during practice? I'd been so worried. I willed myself to stop thinking about Sirius. Instead, I turned my mind to my decision to become an Animagus (illegally, of course.)

It had been my brother, Mike's, idea. I had just finished my fourth year of school, and he his sixth. He convinced me it would be fun. The two of us worked night and day all summer to get it right. Finally, in the last week of August, we were ready. I'd chosen a Huskie, my favorite dog, while Mike had opted for a hawk. Since then, I'd enjoyed my animal form, and the fact that no one knew but Mike. It helped to have something to retreat into all alone.

It was late now. I changed back into human form, running to make curfew. The days passed, and it was time to go to Hogsmeade for dresses. Lily had told Richard she couldn't go with him, and Natalie had turned down her offers from almost every boy in Charms Club. The three of us were 'dates' for the night. We arrived in Hogsmeade laughing at a joke Nat had told. (Did you hear the one about the hag and the Muggle?) It was quite a good joke.

We went straight to Madam Rosalinda's Clothing Store for Young Ladies. Normally I wouldn't have set foot inside. Everything was so...not me, in all my Quidditch captain, tom boyishness. But I needed a dress so there was no way around it. Lily and Natalie pulled multiple garments off the racks, and pulled me towards the dressing rooms. I browsed slowly. Everything was so pink. I walked farther into the store, and the dresses became less pink and more like something I'd wear. I picked up a dark green dress with spaghetti straps and a rhinestone hem, as well as a gray/silver one, with criss crossed straps. I tried on the green one first, which came to just below my knees. It was alright, but nothing special.

The gray one was different. I put it on, and loved it instantly. It was long, just brushing the floor of the dressing room. I stepped out of the dressing room, and Nat and Lily expressed the same sentiments as me.

"Oh, Kar, it's great!"

"Yeah, let's go find shoes!" I couldn't help but laugh. They never stopped. Lily had picked out a strapless emerald dress, and Natalie was holding a red gown. When we finished purchasing our outfits, we stopped into The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.

We giggled and gossiped, until Sirius, James, and Remus stepped into the store about 5 minutes later. Sirius looked at me, but I just looked away. I still couldn't believe him. And, since what one did, they all did, I hadn't talked to Remus or James, who were my good friends since I had started Hogwarts, at all.

I stayed with Lily and Natalie until it was time to go back to the castle, stopping into Honeydukes quickly for some chocolate. Lessons passed as slowly as ever, and before I knew it, it was Halloween morning.

It was Friday, which meant Double Potions. Then I had the afternoon to get ready for the Ball, or rather read a book while Nat and Lily ran around like crazy people trying to perfect their looks. I normally started to prepare an hour before. It was enough time to look presentable. Potions was as enjoyable as usual. Professor Stonewell breathed down my neck as I concocted a Truth Potion. I handed in a vial of my potion at the end, confident I'd done well. On your way out of the dungeons, I bumped straight into Sirius.

"Kara," he began, but I muttered a hurried

"Sorry," and left him standing looking crestfallen. I arrived in Gryffindor Tower, ready for the games to begin.