A.N—REVIEW.
Disclaimer—I own nothing.
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Chapter Ten
Snowflakes
Belle handed Remus another plate, which he wiped and put away neatly. "You really don't have to help, you know."
"I want to. Besides, I'd feel bad if I didn't. Your family fed me, the least I can do is help with cleaning up." he replied, smiling slightly. She raised her eyebrows but said nothing, bending down to put a stack of cups into the cupboard. Remus snuck a cheeky glance at her arse, appreciating the view and looking away quickly when she straightened up.
The light trill of the piano made Belle look around, astonishment on her face. Remus frowned.
"What?"
She didn't answer, just throwing the tea towel down and walking from the room and towards the sound of the music. Her brother Adrian was at the instrument, playing with an expertise that Belle could only dream of. She hadn't heard him play since before her father had gotten sick and she had missed it.
"A family of talent, I see." Harley whispered, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her waist, kissing her neck lightly before sighing.
"Shut up." she muttered and he laughed. Adrian changed tunes to something faster and jazzier, and Mr Potter pulled his wife closer, whisking her around the room. James rolled his eyes, smiling all the same. Harley grabbed Belle's hand and spun her about before dipping her back, making her laugh.
"Okay, break it up you two love birds." Toby called, only half joking. Belle straightened up and grinned, pecking Harley on the cheek before returning to the kitchen to finish her chores, bringing her boyfriend and the Marauders with her, much to her dismay.
"So, my parents are having a New Year's Eve party. A Masquerade Ball." James started. "You wanna come?"
Belle raised an eyebrow at him. "What's the catch?"
He smirked. "No catch."
She continued to stare at him with a hard expression and Harley chuckled.
"Okay, there is a catch." James allowed and Harley coughed to cover up his laugh. "You can come if—"
"If I bring Lily?" Belle asked dryly. Sirius barked out a laugh and Remus rolled his eyes, smiling fondly.
"Pretty much." James stated.
"Does the invitation extend to my family?"
"Yep." James replied. "And you can even bring your boyfriend here."
"His name is Harley." she said, leaning up to put a wineglass away. James shrugged.
"Whatever." he said dismissively and Harley crossed his arms. "Do we have a deal?"
Belle pursed her lips and glanced at Harley who winked at her. She blushed lightly and then took James's offered hand, shaking it once before letting it drop.
Lily was going to kill her.
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"So, how much do you want to bet that Grey actually comes through?" Sirius asked, gazing about the room from behind his gold coloured mask.
The ballroom was vast with white and red hangings draped from the ceiling, connected to the crystal chandelier that hung over the dance floor. Round tables were clustered at the edges of the dance floor, and a bar was next to the double doors that led outside to the massive garden that seemed to stretch for miles.
Next to him, James shifted uncomfortably in his tux and blue mask. A group of girls was giggling in the corner, pointing at the four Marauders. Remus and Peter were there as well, both looking unhappy and bored.
"My money's on Belle." Remus said with a sigh. "She's a Gryffindor. She makes a promise, she keeps it."
"You've got it real bad, mate." Sirius chuckled, downing his glass of Firewhiskey. Remus rolled his golden eyes from behind the black mask he wore, his eyes still scanning the crowd for even a glimpse of Belle.
"There." James breathed, his voice barely audible. Remus whipped around and his jaw dropped. Lily and Belle stood side by side, looking equally as beautiful. Lily looked stunning in a mint-green sleeveless dress that had a skirt that fell to her knees. Remus could see from where he stood that she hadn't worn a mask, but had instead painted gold, green and light orange leaves around her eyes, little silver jewels sparking under the lights.
Belle, however, was what drew Remus's attention and made him suck in a breath. She looked radiant in a white halterneck dress that had a low neckline. It clung to her chest and ribcage before flaring out at her waist. Her mask was also white, and it was a series of white vines. It covered half of the right side of her face, but her left side was let bare except for the eye, which had a thin rim of the white mask around it. Her hair was curled and half pinned up, looking elegant and shiny.
She said something to Lily before making her way over to them, tucking a stubborn strand of hair behind her ear. She came to a halt in front of them, sighing.
"I kept up my end of the bargain." she said dully. "And Lily will probably never speak to me again for it."
"Erm, thanks?" James said awkwardly and Belle's lip twitched, but she didn't smile.
"You all look nice." she said. "What are you supposed to be?"
"We just came as ourselves." Remus replied.
"What are you?" Sirius asked curiously.
"A snowflake." Belle replied. "Lily's a dryad."
"A what?" Sirius asked.
"A tree spirit." Remus told him and Sirius nodded in understanding. "You look wonderful, by the way."
Belle blinked, surprised by the compliment. "Thank you." she mumbled.
"So, where is lover boy?" James winked and Belle looked mad.
"He stood me up."
Remus blanched. "He what?"
"Mmm." she hummed, crossing her arms. James and Sirius wandered off to flirt with girls, Peter went to attack the refreshments and Remus put his hands in his pockets.
"Would asking you to dance be acceptable as gentlemanly behaviour?" Remus asked her suddenly and in her surprise, she blurted out a quick yes. He grinned and took her hand, leading her onto the dance floor.
"I didn't know you could dance." she said as he led her around the floor.
"My grandmother was a Muggle and she owned a small club in Spain where people would dance until the sun rose. She taught me every trick in the book." he beamed and she looked at the band as they began a different song. A lot of couples pooled onto the floor as the faster, slightly more energetic song came on.
"Every trick?" she smirked slyly and Remus raised an eyebrow at her.
"Is that a challenge?" he asked, realising that he was shamelessly flirting with her.
"Are you game?" she laughed.
Remus smirked and pulled her closer, so they were chest to chest and moving in time to the music, a spicy little tango that had them both laughing and sweating in no time. The old spark seemed to ignite between them each time they turned or touched and it was growing steadily more and more electric with each passing moment. When he finally dipped her low, so far her hair brushed the floor, the whole assembly had gathered and were watching with rapt attention. They applauded thunderously and Belle blushed magnificently.
"You were amazing." he whispered, his breathing heavy. She nodded.
"Uh, you too." she muttered before slipping her hand out of his and disappearing into the crowd. Remus muttered a curse under his breath. Next time she wouldn't get away so easily.
A loud bang made Remus spin around, his wand drawn and his gaze darting in every direction. Something black was flying through the air above them, jets of red light spinning in every direction. More and more of the figures in black were appearing now, and somewhere a woman began screaming.
Death Eaters.
"Belle." he muttered. The crowd began to disperse and people were Apparating everywhere. Women were screaming and children were crying. Teenagers were huddled together next to the fireplace and were shoving each other through, fear in their eyes. He saw James and Sirius grab Lily, ushering her out and heard the a faint CRACK of disapparation. Thank Merlin Sirius had passed his test.
He saw her then, firing spells at the Death Eaters, her dress torn and the corner of her mouth bleeding. He pushed through the crowd, not caring about his own safety. He just had to get to her, he had to make sure she was alright.
"Stupefy!" He shouted, shoving people aside and running as fast as his legs would carry him. Belle dodged to the side just as a curse shot past her. Remus grabbed her wrist and they disappeared with a CRACK. Both of them couldn't breathe for a moment, before they landed with a thud in the middle of a park in London. Belle looked mad.
"How dare you!" she cried, her purple eyes blazing from behind her white mask.
"I think a thank you is in order, actually." Remus replied, catching his breath. "I just saved your life."
"I can take care of myself." she replied, stalking past him and walking along the pathways, mumbling things under her breath. He groaned and shook his head. He should at least make sure she made it home safely. She stopped suddenly and flung out her wand arm. There was a bang like a gunshot and a triple decker purple bus appeared in front of them.
"Hello there, Belle." the conductor smiled. "You look nice tonight."
"Thanks Eddie." she grinned. He blushed and nodded at Remus curtly before tapping on the glass.
"Take her away, Ernie." he said as Belle grasped the railing in front of her tightly. She noticed that Remus wasn't holding on and was standing next to her, his hands in his pockets. She smirked and said nothing.
The bus launched forwards and Remus flew backwards into the back of the bus, his head cracking against the glass painfully and he slid down the wall comically. She giggled, biting her lip when he got up and glared, stumbling over to her again.
"You could've warned me." he grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head and she shrugged.
"Oopsie daisy." she chimed happily, giggling again. He muttered some words under his breath that made her raise her eyebrows before the bus stopped again, and they got off, hurrying up the street to her house. She pulled off her mask and threw her shoes off, tearing into the living room. James, Sirius and Lily were there too, all of them holding glasses of pumpkin juice, not talking to each other. Her brothers were unharmed but were pale and solemn looking. Her mother was sitting in my father's old arm chair, rocking back and forth as she cried into a handkerchief.
"No." Belle whispered, shaking her head. "No, not...not dad." she mumbled and Toby nodded, swallowing thickly. The Adrian began to cry and went over to Mrs Grey and hugged her, both of them sharing their grief.
Lily had jumped off the counter and had slowly approached Belle, unsure of what to do. Belle had her back facing them and her shoulders were shaking. She suddenly turned around and threw her arms around the person closest to her and cried onto their shoulder. That person happened to be Remus and he embraced her tightly, running a hand through her hair and rocking her from side to side comfortingly, mourning not because of her father's death, but mourning the fact that the first time he could hold her this close, she was grieving.