This chapter is dedicated to our realtor Pat, who told me that she loved my new blue/periwinkle room today when she came over. And this is a big deal because my whole house is either brown or grey or some shade or tint of that. My family thinks it's nutso that I have my room the colors it is, but Pat likes it. So there. :P

Disclaimer: I own only the plot and hot pink hair and rotten lemon jackets.

Brown eyes scanning the pages as she curled up on the couch, her back against the arm and her toes barely touching Remus' thigh as he, James, Sirius, Fred and George talked, varying from Quidditch to Puffskeins. Peter was sitting with his back to the fire, writing a letter to his mum while Lily, Marlene and Alice were up in the girls' dorms and preparing for preparing for the ball or party or whatever Slughorn called it.

She was only read a quarter of the time. The rest of the time was spent: listening to the boys talk, panicking about that night, or wondering why her heart kept pumping into overdrive every time she accidentally poked Remus with her toes when she shifted. She frowned and glanced at them as Fred and James argued on Quidditch teams. She returned to her book before glancing back and snorting in surprised amusement.

"What?" Fred asked, completely oblivious to the fact that he now had bright hot pink hair.

"Nothing," she answered with a shrug, "Just saw a good part in the book is all. Continue."

George's eyes crinkled at her as his clasped hands hid his smile. Sirius smiled at her as well as Remus nudged her feet with his leg, a smile on his face as well. She mentally cursed him and groaned as her heart gave a jolt, her toes curled and her face got the tiniest of blushes.

"Hermione!" Lily called as she walked down the stairs, stopping against the back of the couch with her palms placed on it, "We're ready for you!"

"I've decided I'm not going," she said, curling into herself tighter and staring resolutely at her book.

"Why?" Lily sighed.

"I'll look like an idiot," she told them.

"You didn't look like an idiot when you walked in with a certain Bulgarian boy on your arm," Fred smirked at her, making Lily arch an eyebrow at him before blinking quickly at his hair.

"Shut up," Hermione hissed as Fred and George grinned at her.

"How old were you when that seventh year asked you out?" George asked, "Fourteen, right?"

"I said shut up!" she growled, gripping her book tighter.

"Seventh year?" the group echoed, looking at her incredulously. She blushed and hid her face with her book.

"Yeah, the star of the school asked our little sister out," Fred grinned.

"And she looked lovely," George told them, "As she always does. Probably why he asked her out, right Gred?"

"I do believe so, Forge. Why, just imagine what she'll look like tonight! She isn't fourteen anymore, you know."

George sighed, putting a hand to his heart and looking at his twin sadly, "Right you are, Fred, she just grew up too fast."

"It seems like only yesterday when she – "

"Alright, I'll go!" she exclaimed, standing up and throwing her book on the couch, "Just shut up!" She huffed and walked up the staircase, Lily following behind before she whirled around. "Oh, and Freddie, I just love what you've done with your hair!"

"You're dead, Potter!" was all she heard before Lily shut the door behind her.

"Girls take forever getting ready," Sirius huffed as he inspected his shoes from their perch on the coffee table. All of the seventh year boys were waiting patiently for the other girls, whether they were their dates or not. They were all dressed similarly as well, dressed in black dress pants, a white button up shirt, and varying shades of jackets. Fred's was a rusty orange while George's was a dark purple, Frank's was resembling a rotten lemon (although nobody felt the need to tell him that), Sirius' a black and James' a dark blue. Remus wasn't wearing a jacket at all – he'd "forgotten" it at home and didn't feel it was important to owl his parents to send it.

Alice came bounding down the stairs, her pale orange dress cut in quarter sleeves and floating an inch or two above her knees, a white shawl draped around her elbows as she fixed a pale orange flower to her headband, her short brown hair rather spiky at the ends and flaring out a bit. Frank grinned at her before pecking her temple as she grinned back.

"You look fantastic," he told her.

"Thanks," she smiled before turning to the other boys, "They said to go ahead and go down – Hermione's hair wasn't cooperating as much as Marlene had hoped."

Fred and George grinned at that before they all headed downstairs.

Slughorn had found a large spare room in the castle, fitting it with fairy lights and potted plants to try to distract the fact that the walls looked a little worse for the wear. On the far wall was a long table with every food imaginable, from pumpkin pasties to butterbeer to chocolate frogs. Tables were surrounding the dance floor, chairs positioned at them. The music was something that teens actually wanted to dance to, instead of the classically boring type.

"I feel incredibly stupid without a bird," Sirius told Remus and James after Alice and Frank left and Fred and George went to go put some type of prank into the food. Remus snorted at him and rolled his eyes.

"I will not be without one for long," James grinned maniacally – a look that Sirius, Remus and Peter had all not trusted since they first saw it, no matter how close they were to the man. "For you see, I will get Lily Evans to dance with me at least once!"

"Alright," they shrugged.

He deflated a bit, looking between them, "Aren't you going to ask how?"

"No."

He frowned at them and opened his mouth to tell them off at what terrible friends they were being before somebody tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around with Sirius and Remus doing the same, smiling at Marlene. She had tacked her hair up with a dark red feather sticking out, matching her long floor length dark red dress, which was strapless so it left room to show off her black velvet choker.

"Hullo boys," she grinned, showing off her nearly-purple-it-was-such-a-dark-red lipstick.

"Hi Marlene," they chorused.

"You look great," Sirius told her.

She wrinkled her nose a little, arching an eyebrow at him, "Honestly, Black, I thought you would know that men should never tell women they look 'great' or 'nice' or 'pretty' or 'okay.' But, whatever, I'll take it."

"A 'thank you,' would've been better, McKinnon," he frowned.

She ignored that, "Anyway, I came to show you Lily and Hermione – both of which have been my best work yet, if I kindly may say so myself." She then walked away a bit before tugging a skeptic redhead behind.

Lily had left her hair down, her dark blue dress bearing elbow length sleeves, skimming the ground as well. She stared resolutely at the ground, determined to act as if she didn't care what they – or more specifically James – thought.

"Gorgeous," James beamed at her.

"You look awesome, Lily," Remus smiled.

"What he said," Sirius said, still frowning at Marlene.

"Thanks," she said before inching away a little as Marlene turned back around and left to go get Hermione. She came back with her in a white dress that was just long enough to be allowed in school, the sleeves made of a sheer fabric, off the shoulder and long enough to tie to her middle and ring fingers, which they were. The dress – and her – were covered in sparkles, her hair in sideways ringlets aside from her bangs, which had been straightened and swept across her forehead. She was staring bashfully down at the ground, wanting to shrink away and into a wall.

"Hermione!" Fred and George appeared before the others could get a word in, George wrapping her in a hug first, "You look wicked!"

"Wicked is good," Hermione assured Marlene, who looked as if she didn't know whether to look offended or proud.

"Let me look at you," Fred said, taking her hand and pulling her away from his twin, spinning her around before she landed in his arms, "Yup – brilliant."

"Thanks, guys," she grinned before pulling away from him and starting off, before a hand around her wrist pulled her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sirius asked as he dragged her back, "You didn't let us give our opinion!"

"I don't think I want it," she smiled warily at him.

"You look brilliant, Hermione," James smiled at her.

"Thank you, James."

"Sexy," Sirius winked at her before she tried to kick him, having him jump away and hide behind James, his eyes peeking out from behind his shoulder.

"You look perfect," Remus smiled warmly at her, making her beam a little at him. Nearly everybody gave glances to somebody else – James to Lily, Lily to James; Sirius to Marlene, Marlene to Sirius; Fred to George, George to Fred.

"We had a little trouble with the glitter," Marlene said, "It got everywhere."

"I'll say," Lily said before giving a loud sneeze, recovering with a groan, "It's everywhere in the dorm. But we'll clean it later."

"And now I'm leaving," Hermione gave a short curtsy before walking away, tucking a curl behind her ear with her eyes trained on the ground.

"Oi, Forge, I see a few wallflowers over there," Fred grinned as he towed his twin away, "See you!"

"Stay away from the pumpkin pasties!" George called back.

"Aww, but I wanted one," Marlene pouted before turning to Lily, "Whelp, I'm going to go. Have fun with these two!" And with that, she and Sirius walked off arm-in-arm, earning confused gazes.

"What just happened?" Remus finally asked.

"I…I think they're each other's date," Lily said, "Which makes no sense because – "

" – She said she was going with Terry," James finished for her, "But where the bloody hell is Terry?"

"Terry's sick," a little redhead Ravenclaw girl told them, possibly a fourth year, "He's all gross and pale and snotted up."

"Err – thanks for that visual," Lily winced as she grinned and walked away.

"So…" Remus said slowly, "I'm going to go and keep Mione company – no, no, you're fine where you are, Lily, you can go and have fun." She quickly shut her mouth from her attempt at a protest as he walked off without another word, grinning to himself.

"Err…" James winced, "I…can't really think of anything else to say now."

Lily was silent for a few seconds before looking up at him, "Want to dance?"

He blinked at her, "What?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Err – sure. Yeah. 'Course."

"There you are," Remus said as he dropped down in the seat next to Hermione, watching as she pulled her gaze away from the window and on to him, "What are you doing all the way back here?"

She shrugged, turning back to the window, "I like it back here."

Remus hummed as he looked out the window too, seeing the stars reflected against the fresh snow, before he turned back to her, examining her a little more closely. Glitter was even in her hair, he noticed with a grin, and on her eyelashes as they threatened to fall with every blink. His gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips, which were a moderately dark pink shade. A fleck of glitter was even there, practically mocking him as his hand ached to brush it away for her.

No, he thought, that is not a good thought to have on a friend. No matter how pretty that friend is. Or nice…or smart… or – shut up, Remus!

"Having fun?" she asked, making him blink at her.

"Meh," he shrugged, looking back out the window, "Going good so far."

She hummed now, smiling at him as one of her hands crept up to play with a curl. They were silent for a few moments before Remus leaned towards her, speaking so low that only she could hear him.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked.

"Where?" she dropped the hand, turning to him.

"Anywhere," he answered.

She thought about it for a minute or two before smiling at him, "Lead the way."

They wandered through the halls, talking as they slowly made their way up to the Astronomy tower. Once there, they sat on opposite sides of the archway, sharing Chocolate Frogs they accioed from the party.

"I never really did like the live ones," Remus commented as yet another live Chocolate Frog squirmed out of his hand and off the balcony, falling to its death.

She giggled, grinning at him, "That's the fifth time you've said that."

"I know," he sighed as he grabbed another, "I wish they'd quit moving."

She smiled as he carefully peeked open the package, checking to see if it would move or not, and upon finding it immobile stuck it halfway in his mouth – like a weird deformed cigarette made entirely of chocolate without tobacco – and peered at the card in intense fascination, determined not to acknowledge the fact that she was grinning at him and trying not to laugh.

"Do you think they'll miss us?" she asked.

"Nah," he shrugged, tossing the card away in another pile they'd set aside for them, "Sirius has Marlene, Frank's got Alice, and James and Lily were left with each other last I knew of."

"What about Peter?"

"Peter, actually, chose to go to the library," he saw her upraised eyebrows, "I know, right? Usually it's either you, me, or Lily going."

"Wish I had gone," she sighed, stretching her legs out and closing her eyes out to the wind.

"Oh come on," he smiled, stretching his own legs out to bump his foot against hers, "I'm pretty fun."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him, her head still turned, "Yes, you are." She then gave a violent shudder, her hands flying up to her forearms for her thumbs to rub circles into her skin.

"Come here," he told her after a minute, extending his arm out to her, propping a knee up, "Come sit with me."

She crawled over to him and sat down next to him, only for him to reach over and tug her in his lap, crossing his legs around her and dropping his chin to her shoulder and closing his eyes, his arms already wrapped around her to keep her warm. Or maybe because he liked hugging her, we'll never know. She rested her forehead against the juncture of his neck and jaw, her arms propped up on either side of them before they relaxed.

"Hey, Hermione," he whispered to her.

"Mmhmm?" she hummed as her eyelids lowered.

"Look up."

She pulled back a little and frowned at him, but his gaze was directed up at a little plant hanging from the top of the archway. She froze once she recognized it as mistletoe.

"We can just ignore it," she told him. "Nobody's here – we don't have to."

"Not with Hogwarts mistletoe," he said, reaching his arm out, only for the tips of his fingers to flatten as if he had touched a wall. Hermione reached out and did the same, finding the same results. But she could still see out into the darkness illuminated by the moon, see the little portraits on the Chocolate Frog cards, see the door all the way over there.

"J-just a peck then?" she stuttered a bit before he nodded solemnly, reaching forward and placing a peck to her lips. Even this made her heart jump up. Once he pulled back he reached over, but still his fingertips flattened against the invisible wall. Her already thumping heart thumped louder – so loud it was a wonder he couldn't hear it.

"I don't think a peck will work," he hummed calmly as he looked up at the plant, as if it was merely asking what two plus two was. He readjusted her so that she was perpendicular to him on his lap, pulling her closer so his breath tickled her face. She wanted to squeak and run and melt into the wall and hide there until nobody knew her name.

"Ready?" he whispered to her, his fingers trailing up her spine.

She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and nodded. Her heartbeat kept getting louder and louder to the point where it very well could drive her mad. She remembered the narrator in the Telltale Heart and wondered vaguely if she would be that crazy.

His lips brushed hers lightly, and her heart finally stopped its insane volume and pace, and the situation allowed her enough brainpower to wrap her arms around his neck. Remus pressed his lips more firmly against hers; his other hand trailing up into her hair, and her mind finally went blank.

"Hermione, c'mon, wake up," he said groggily, making her open her eyes and see that her forehead was still against his neck, and they had been in their original position. His hands were nowhere near her back, instead resting at her sides, and her arms had been brought in and placed on his ankles instead of around his neck.

"C'mon, Mione, wake up," he said again, blinking slowly and stretching his back out, "C'mon, I think we fell asleep."

She rose up and found that her neck hurt, but she stood up anyway and stretched her arms up above her head. She kept her eyes closed before she looked up and saw that there was no mistletoe.

"C'mon – I think the party's nearly over, I can barely hear the music now, and it's really slow," he said as he stood up before stopping and looking over at her now, smiling and reaching his hand out to her.

She blinked at it and looked from it to him.

"Want to dance?" he asked.

She smiled a little, "I can't hear the music."

"Just trust me," he held the hand out to her still.

She bit her lip before taking it, allowing him to pull her closer. He placed both hands on her waist as she placed her hands on his shoulder, frowning at how tall he was. She'd worn flats instead of heels, finding them uncomfortable to walk in, and now wished she'd had the added height. He grinned back at her and started to move to the music that only he could hear, whispering things to her that made her laugh and place her forehead on his shoulder.

The party ended at twelve thirty. The music stopped at twelve. They kept dancing 'til two.

…Umm…I can't really find anything to say here about the last bit. But whenever I was typing James' compliment to Lily, I accidentally hit the capslock, so he was like yelling to her that she was gorgeous. :D If that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will, huh?

Review, please, because I'm faintly proud of this chapter. Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it. DO IT FOR CAP'N JACK! (Reason why I shouldn't type an ending author's note while watching Pirates of the Carribean, At World's End...Jack's ship is gone and he just slapped this one dude for no reason...ending of the movie too. "That's my peanut!" is my favorite repeated line, and I can't figure out why.)