Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Harry Potter. He and his story belong to J.K. Rowling. I am even less than an amateur compared to her.

Hey guys! Hope you're all having a lovely summer, because I sure am. Here's another chapter of Forever Young. It's more of a filler after the intense action. I needed to diffuse the tension a tiny bit. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to my reviewers, favouriters, and followers, specifically: LadyRainDancer, Lalina92, Daedalus13, CountessCzan, September And Summer, Ollivanders Shop, Me, DragonOwl, Eifie, KittyWolfM, Juni. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey.

"You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." ~You Are My Sunshine (Copeland)

Chapter 36

Morning beams of sunlight once again found its way through the frosted window of their flat. The three girls yawned in unison, and crawled lazily out of bed. They left their window open that night to prevent the endless hooting and clicking outside their windows. It was Christmas morning.

It wasn't as if they expected any presents; Hermione was simply desperate to receive her Christmas edition of The Daily Prophet, as she and Luna were planning to have a crossword battle. Ginny convinced them that she was keen on watching and manicuring her nails, partially because she hated crosswords, but partially because she was worried about Remus.

For once, she was quieter than usual.

She had written to Remus, inquiring whether or not he would be attending. He responded that he could come for the first bit, but if he were to feel any sicker than he was, he would force himself to leave.

The Winter Ball was to begin at six o'clock that evening, giving the two young ladies plenty of time to prepare. Luna had failed to mention her plans with Severus to her friends, so when they jumped out of bed to find a pile of presents on their table, Luna shifted uncomfortably.

"You two are going to the ball tonight, right?" Luna asked airily, clicking her tongue every once in a while.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged unsure glances, while rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. "Yeah, we are. Why, what's happening?" Hermione asked curiously, plopping down beside her friend, as she began to drag a brush through her tangled chocolate locks.

"Well, I've got plans today..."

"WHAT?" Ginny exclaimed in a hushed tone, covering her mouth. Her face seemed somewhat excited, but the shock was still evident.

"With Severus..."

"WHAT?"

"At eleven..."

"WHAT?" Ginny tutted disapprovingly, and shook her head. "You're going on a date with a young man and you don't tell either of us? You know how I react to these things; you know how excited I get!" the redhead whined like a six-year-old.

"Sometimes I wonder if that's the reason why I don't tell you." Luna grinned happily. She started prepping herself in front of the mirror, brushing out her luscious ivory locks. "You're as giggly as a naiad, and sometimes I wonder what sort you would be." She added thoughtfully, pausing to examine her friend. "There are wood and water ones, but I wonder if there are fire ones..." She marvelled, scratching her temple.

Ginny snorted, expression juiced with ridicule. "Are you only saying that because of my hair?"

"Hair and temper, I must admit myself." Hermione interjected slyly, winking at her friend.

"Sometimes I wonder if people ever mistake redheads for stop signs." Luna stated outwardly. Her two friends stared at her with appalled looks on their faces. Noticing the unpredicted amount of attention her comment got, Luna's eyes opened wider than ever. "I mean the red hair is the same colour as stop signs." She noted.

"I think quite on the contrary, redheads seem to have an appealing reputation. No one can resist." She giggled, flipping her gorgeous, yet mussed red hair.

After brushing their teeth, and making themselves look somewhat presentable, the three girls remained in their jumpers, and placed the waiting presents on one of the beds. The holidays always brought an enthusiastic cheer to everyone, especially when they received hearty presents from their friends.

Unravelling presents was probably the best experience in the world. Greedily, Ginny grabbed the first present in the pile and hugged it as if it were her only child. Knowing the Weasleys though, in the future Ginny was probably to have more than one child. There was something genetic about Weasleys: they all wanted to spread their roots and expand their population to the size of a small village.

Luna glanced at her friend and pointed out the neatly done wrapping. "That is probably Lily's. I can almost smell her perfume, and the present just carries a... her-type aura."

Her two friends snorted, and Hermione giggled girlishly. "Whatever do you mean, dear Luna?"

The blonde glared at them, as her two friends didn't seem too convinced. "You don't believe me?" She sputtered incredulously, and flipped her hair. "Fine. Tell me, what does it say on the tag?"

"To Hermione... From... Lily Evans..." Ginny muttered, a smug expression mounting her face, although she didn't seem too disappointed. "Well a cheeky little bugger you are Luna, I must admit. But we never doubted your abilities, to be honest, even though lately, you have been a little... Careless."

"Whatever do you mean? I've checked for wrackspurts every day under my bed. Maybe it's the nargles thought..." Luna marvelled, scratching her head with her wand.

To correct her friend, Hermione held back a laugh and sang in a sing-song voice. "Maybe it's something called lo-o-o-ve." She laughed, as she received a vicious glare from her friend. "What, am I wrong?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Love is not the word I'd like to use to describe this... Special friendship with Severus." Luna started thoughtfully. "I think it's more based on companionship, and amicability, as well as common interests."

Ginny snorted once more, "Don't you read any magazines except for The Quibbler? All those qualities of a 'friendship'," She placed air quotation marks around the word and mocked a know-it-all tone, "are the signs that you're in love with a boy."

Guffaws of laughter flew from Hermione and Luna. "I can't believe you spend so much of your time reading such nonsense, Ginny." Hermione rolled her eyes and squinted painfully. "If you didn't have anything to read, you could have asked me. I could've lended you some muggle classics."

"Do they have Quiddtich in them?" Ginny raised her eyebrow questionably.

Hermione gave Ginny the slow blink of death, letting her friend register how stupid the question was. "These are muggle books, Gin. Of course they don't."

"Then I'm not interested." The redhead flipped her hair dramatically, and turned away from her friend, who scoffed and was evidently planning to throw a rant. Luna took the perfect moment to seize the opportunity to suppress a blush. Who would've ever thought that she'd like someone so much, especially when it was their boring, monotone Potions teachers?

"As much as I'd love to encourage this argument and add the poisonous juices of my knowledge into this argument, I will be leaving in an hour or so, so if we want to have this cozy get-together, we should get on with it." Luna urged with a smile, separating her two companions, who were burning wholes in each other.

The witty brunette was the first to unwrap her gift, coming from Lily. Lily had given her a bracelet with two charms: a book and a mini lion, both representing her to the core. They eventually realized that they were sent the same present from Lily, only with different charms. The bracelets were beautiful, pure gold, and the chain was made of elegant, leaf-like pieces. Each of the bracelets had a lion charm, and an individual one as well. Ginny also had a snitch; Luna had a flower, with a gem in the center, changing colours. They all also received a container of home-made muggle sugar cookies.

They decided to open presents from the same sender at the same time. To their initial shock, they each received a parcel from Peter Pettigrew: a package of muggle chocolates. That was when their shock disappeared at the gift, as they did not expect anything grand or spontaneous.

Consecutively, to Ginny and Hermione's surprise, each of them got a green-silver package from Severus Snape. Although it was only Honeydukes candy, it was more than enough to prove his respect for the girls.

"What did you get him?" Luna questioned, raising her curious eyes to her friends.

As Ginny was the mistress of sassy comments at times, she snapped at her friend, "Why do you think we got him anything?" She raised her eyebrows innocently. Hermione was watching the exchange with immaculate amusement.

"Because I saw an extra present on your bed yesterday." Luna pointed out airily. "I am not daft, you should know that. I know and see everything. Well maybe not everything, sometimes my vision gets blocked by the nargles. Nasty things they are." She clicked her tongue, while examining her friends. She turned to Hermione with a kind smile on her face. "Hermione, you're the honest one, tell me, what did you send him?"

"What tells you she's the honest one?" Ginny interrupted once more, throwing the blonde a haughty glance. "She is dating a Marauder." For a moment, Hermione seemed somewhat dazed.

"Umm... Earth to Hermione..." Luna smirked, not bothering to conceal it. Hermione's eyes snapped up to see her friends' thoroughly amused faces, their eyes glinting with glee.

"When you see him next time, warn be because I want to be as far as possible. It's gonna be a total snog-fest I'm telling you." Ginny nudged Luna in the side, as she nodded in agreement. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Eventually, in a chorus of giggles and laughs, the girls unwrapped all of the owl-sent presents, gawking at the numerous amounts of presents they had received.

Luna was granted with a joke book about magical animals, herbs and species from James; The Proof of the Existence of Butterbeer Forests from Sirius (one of the most intriguing topics out of their discussions); and courtesy to Remus, a book called The Unknown Creatures of the Deep. That was when she beheld the last parcel in her grasp—one similar to the silvery green one Hermione and Ginny got.

The girls huddled in excitement around the parcel, refusing to incorporate the simple laws of Luna's personal space. She calmly unwrapped the present, folded the wrapping paper, and stated that they may need it in the future, and took out a deep navy velvety box, about the size of her hand.

Gasping, Luna opened it to see a beautiful daisy necklace, with exotic swirls of gold wire, and elegant chain-link leaves. It didn't seem expensive, but radiated a beauty only Luna would understand. Although many would consider the gift tacky and unprofessional, it was the exact style Luna preferred, and could not get over the fact that Severus chose it out for her.

She immediately asked for help from the girls to put it on. Excitement filled her heart and lungs, and she couldn't wait to see Severus' melting reaction when he saw his present already on her.

Next was Ginny to open her presents. It was typical that Ginny had no care on how much she shredded the wrapping, causing Hermione and Luna, the economical ones, to growl loudly. While the redhead was busy bathing in shreds of wrapping, Hermione was occupied collecting the little pieces and stacking them into one smile pile.

The two devious Marauders both sent her a magazine each. James took the responsible courtesy of sending a detailed Quidditch magazine, with the newest styles, formations, plays, popular players. On the other hand, Sirius decided to play the role of the immature teenage boy, and sent her a teenage witch magazine on the hottest Quidditch players of their day.

After dying of laughter and sounding like seals with intense seizure problems, Ginny fell into thought and muttered, barely moving her lips. "I can't believe that all of these super-hot guys were at least forty in our day... And that's not necessarily the most attractive thing ever..."

"People age, Ginny. That's life, unfortunately." Luna snorted, sounding to Pegasus-like, her friends had to turn to her to make sure that she was still in human-form.

"Plus you're one to talk." Hermione pitched in, raising her eyebrows knowingly. "Always going for the older men... Even when they're your professors—"

"Those are some very, very attractive exceptions." Ginny waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione threw her a pointed look. "Even founders who are nearly one thousand years older than you, and are actually your best friend's parents?"

"Well... Maybe that is a bit odd..." Ginny bit her lip unsurely, and received a playful nudge from her friend.

The last gift she unwrapped came from Remus. Why had all the boys gotten their girls jewellery so far? The box was small and ring like, the reason why Luna and Hermione started teasing her friend about what she would find inside. It was like that muggle movie when the heroine expected a ring, but instead got a pair of earrings.

Fortunately, this was the case. The expensive looking rubies played in the light, and Ginny seemed to have fallen in love with them instantly. All of the girls mentally remarked that James and Sirius must've helped split the price with Remus, which was a very gentlemanly thing to do.

"I am in no way planning to get married this early, my female companions. Mentally, I am only literally five years old, there'd be no way I could do something like that. Getting married also comes with giving birth to kids, and damn son that's not a responsibility I would like to take at the moment." The redhead stuck out her tongue.

"But you do know that many people get married once they leave Hogwarts right now?" Luna inquired playfully, dreamily listing off the amount of people they knew.

"And some people get knocked up without even getting married, yes, I know, thank you for that input." Ginny's blue eyes flashed gleefully. "I don't think I could handle getting knocked up, with all of the Quidditch I plan to be doing. Plus it would ruin my perfect bod." She liberally jumped up and started strutting across the room in nothing but her bra and panties, but returned to her previous cocoon-like position, due to the freezing cold of their flat.

Hermione was the last to reveal that contents of her presents, as she firstly withdrew The Official Handbook to Dating Sirius Orion Black from James. The three chorused in laughter and breezed through the books, noting chapters such as "Schedules", "Hygiene", "History", and many others. Next, she received a book on advanced Arithmancy from Remus, the subject which lead her to meet him.

That was when she unwrapped the last present on her bed. It was evidently from Sirius, but what did it contain. When she tore the paper with excitement, forgetting about her proper manors, her heart stopped in place. Before her lay the beautiful German ink set. The quill was of a Canadian white-tailed hawk. There was a collection of metal nibs of different shapes and sizes. The ink came in two colours: black and blue. This was the perfect Christmas present, and Hermione wanted to bounce around the room. The precious ink set she had laid her eye on so many months ago was all she needed to feel warmth spread through her body.

"Hermione, you're drooling." Ginny yawned nonchalantly. Hermione immediately slapper her hand on her chin, to realize that her friend had tricked her and was grinning deviously.

"Now, let us bring out the final presents." Luna uttered mysteriously in a French accent. They all dipped off the bed and swooped up two presents each, and exchanged them accordingly. This time, Hermione was the first one to open hers.

With an ecstatic grin on her face, she opened the presents closest to her. The three of them all wrapped using the same paper, so it was impossible to tell whose present was whose. But other than that, each had their own wrapping and cutting skills. The first package was pretty big, to Hermione's surprise, because inside it was an assortment of shampoos, conditioners and a makeup magazine. The magazine seemed to be for twelve year old about how to apply makeup properly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and slowly turned her head to glare at Ginny. "I do not have the artistic skills of a twelve year old." She grumbled inwardly.

The present Luna gave her contained a set of rare potions ingredients she managed to buy at Knockturn Alley the other night. Hermione grinned knowingly, because now she wouldn't have to restock her potions ingredients for at least a year. The second gift was a silvery pouch, similar to her beaded bag.

To Ginny's dismay, Hermione got her a muggle diary with a lock. And to her surprise and amazement, she also received a holiday themed makeup set. From Luna she received a rare wildflower perfume, and new broom polish, which made her squeal like one of Sirius' fangirls.

Lastly, Luna took to unwrapping her two presents, where she found dangly feather earrings, which she took a great liking for, and a box with a caution sign. Inside, she found 'flower bombs', which Hermione promised she would explain later, as they were running short on time, and soon Luna would have to leave on her date.

The last present opened came from Ginny and contained a hippy tie dye crop top, with dangling pieces of cotton hanging to the hip, a perfect Luna-like accessory. In addition to that, she opened the package to find the pair of wrackspurt glasses she had left behind in 1998. The three hugged and chattered until their souls were content.

They didn't even notice how fast the day went by. Luna left for her date, and Ginny and Hermione were left to get dressed. The beginning of this process consisted of the redhead slumping gracelessly and falling asleep on their bed.

~OoOoO~

Hours passed in what seemed like seconds. It was quarter to, and the two girls were adding finishing touches to their outfits, faces, and hair. It was a formal event, so everything applied, wore and styled had to be perfect. They strived to perfection, helping each other out, even when Ginny was the main stylist.

Both of their dresses were picked last minute. Ginny marvelled how well the dresses suited both of the girls, and claimed that it was a rare talent, which only she possessed. They both looked elegant, yet stylish at the same time.

Hermione argued and whined that her ivory dress made her look like she was getting married, and she was not ready for that step in her life. I can be the maid of honour. Ginny had joked.

Apart from the arguments and commentary, the brunette had a very nice dress. The sweetheart cut exposed her elegant shoulders. On the other hand, the corset, studded with diamonds, caused her to want to replace her lungs every time she took a breath.

But she had to admit, the gown made her curves stand out more than they usually did, which wasn't typical for a girl as tall as she. Near the bottom of the corset, the ball gown flared out to a ballerina skirt, made of soft velvet. She claimed it was impossible to dance in, let alone move. Ginny hung some of her jewellery on her, to bedazzle her and 'accentuate her features'. Hermione was astounded that she remembered to slip on her family ring, a gift from her Uncle Alphard.

For herself, Ginny dug out an emerald studded halter dress, which made her giggle endlessly. She found that sleeveless or strapless dresses were not made for balls, for she said they made her feel like her dress would come flying off. But this dress was secure; it was also tight to her waist and then flared out in a similar way to Hermione's. Her hair was up, secured by bobby pins, and accessorized by emerald gems.

Luna swore she looked a bit like a Christmas tree, which was partially fitting, since it was a Christmas ball. That was when Ginny snapped and went on a lecture about how Luna's analogies never made sense. She was trying to shake off the stress, because tonight she was to reveal to Remus about what she knew. Hopefully, he wouldn't have a heart attack.

But it seemed like the only thing that worried Ginny was whether or not they matched their dates. She was screeching and straining about how ridiculous they would look if they did not match.

The entire day, Hermione was once again paralyzed with Ginny's preparation skills. "You should really be a make-up artist, Gin." She tilted her head slightly to the side in front of the mirror, observing her hairdo.

"Is there really such a job?" Ginny's eyes lit up hopefully, as she stabbed a few more bobby pins into her friend's hair.

"In the muggle world." Her friend responded hesitantly, hoping that her friend wouldn't make the pins penetrate her scalp. Ginny nonchalantly shrugged and made a face.

"Unfortunately, or fortunately, we aren't in the muggle world." She muttered pointedly. "Even though the muggle world does have The Beatles, telyphones, ball-point pens, and attractive football players." She added with a raise of her eyebrows, just as Hermione was about to correct her pronunciation.

Three knocks sounded on the door. Hermione jumped up and swirled around, smoothening her dress, and giving Ginny a questioning brow. The other girl shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Both silently crept to the door, which unfortunately did not have a peephole. They looked at each other reassuringly. Maybe Luna decided to come home a bit earlier, but they doubted it.

With the least sound possible, they carefully twisted the handle of the door, and outside of it stood two charming young men, both dressed in sharp, formal dress robes, their hair tamed and endearing smiles on their perfect faces.

"Miss me, love?" Sirius winked cheekily, eying Hermione from top to bottom, a gesture which Remus was completing with Ginny. Their jaws dropped, when they finished their scout. "Because I certainly missed you. You both look gorgeous." He marvelled, crossing his arms over his chest and taking the opportunity to support himself against the doorframe with one hand, searching for a kiss from his girl, who avoided him teasingly.

"Ginny, you look amazing." Remus breathed, an astounded look crossing his face. "You too Hermione." He smiled curtly. Despite his weak smile and bags under his eyes, the werewolf maintained his composure, and looked as striking as ever. His amber eyes glowed with happiness, which made Ginny nearly cry.

She felt like she was in a fairy-tale, and instantly blushed. "You look amazing-er." She argued, smoothening her dress. The two eyed each other, and a silence overcame all of them, giving time for a deep breather. "And we match!" She exclaimed happily, clapping her hands like a little child. Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes.

All of the sudden, after thoughtfully overlooking both girls, Sirius cracked up, laughing and wheezing until he couldn't control himself. The three others looked at each other questioningly. "Sirius mate, did you take your medication this morning?" Remus joked, patting his friend on the back lightly. When the only response they received consisted of barks of laughter, Moony looked up and shrugged his shoulders.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do I look like a clown, Sirius? Say it to my face if something bothers you about me." Hermione urged him threateningly.

That was when his head snapped up, and eyes widened a bit, in slight fear. "It's not your look Hermione, because as I said, you look absolutely gorgeous, and a Marauder never lies," He exchanged looks with Remus who nodded briskly, "But you two are damn hilarious, it's driving me nuts!"

Another exchange of glances was made. The two girls put their hands on their hips in a predator like stance. "Sirius, what's wrong?" Ginny asked in a bored tone, taking every opportunity not to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, come on Padfoot, spit it out." Remus urged impatiently, tapping his foot and constantly checking his pocket-watch.

Sirius straightened up, leaning against the wall with his hand for support. "You two just decided to wear your true colours didn't you? Hermione White and Ginny Evergreen? I mean that's pretty witty, I must give it to you." He drew his breath once more and tried to hold a serious face.

Everyone else smiled in agreement, and shook their heads. "You're bloody hilarious, Sirius." Hermione replied dryly, tucking a look of hair behind her ear. Ginny glared at her, and muttered something about cursing her friend if she messed up her hairdo... Or Sirius for the matter.

"I don't appreciate this language." Sirius cleared his throat serenely, and puffed out his chest. "We came to pick up two lovely ladies, could you find them for us please? I wouldn't want my girlfriend to get jealous that I am flirting with such appealing young women." A smirk tugged at his lips.

"I think you must've gotten the wrong flat number then." Hermione answered instantly, nonchalantly inspecting her nails.

"I definitely hope not..." Sirius grinned cheekily. "Maybe I should dump my date and go with yourself, milady?"

"Oh but that would be an outrage." Hermione cooed, pretending to have a flustered splash of emotion upon her face. For the effect, she fanned herself quickly. "What would the neighbours say?"

Dramatically, Sirius descended onto one knee and grabbed her hand gently, smothering it with kisses. "They will not know," he uttered each word periodically after placing a kiss on a different place on her hand. "As I shall carry you into the night, and we shall elope into the rolling hills of Scotland, live in a mansion, start a family, and have twenty five children." He swooned wondrously, causing Hermione to snort out in laughter.

Remus and Ginny marvelled at the two from aside. Ginny was the one brave enough to comment. "I'm not sure that Hermione's uterus would be able to survive holding twenty five children."

"It's not like she'll be holding them all at the same time. Plus, we never know until we try." Sirius winked mischievously, causing Hermione to cry out blasphemously, and hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Sirius!" She shrieked, face burning with embarrassment. "My uterus does not appreciate these private discussions." He coolly flipped his hair and bent his head to cover her lips with his, indulging in a suave kiss. Hermione tried to argue indignantly, but her words were muffled by her boyfriend's lips.

"There we go. I was right." Remus shook his head in amusement.

Ginny turned to him with a laugh, then glanced at the couple, which was pinned against the wall, snogging fervently. "What were you right about, monsieur Lupin?" She added in a mock-serious tone. "You're right about many things, but please specify for me what witty comment you have confirmed this lovely evening."

He laughed at Ginny's tactics. "I told James that there'd be a total snog-fest when the two reunited." He answered absentmindedly, as Ginny's mouth fell open. Remus looked at her with a mysterious expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

Jaw still unhinged, Ginny squealed, "That is literally exactly what I said today!" The two of them high-fived, staring at each other in awe. "Well, they do say, great minds think alike." She winked, and Remus had a sudden urge to swoop his girl off her feet, but being a proper gentleman, he restrained himself to a peck on her lips.

As much as Ginny wanted to deepen the kiss, and carry on with the tingling sensation on her lips, the two slowly separated, their eyes longing for each other. "We'll get to that later." Remus laughed jubilantly, his eyes sparkling like the stars. "I mean imagine if a cleaning lady or someone happened to walk by and see two desperate couples snogging a hole in the wall?"

Ginny couldn't help but smile at Remus' logic. Containing her laughing she added, "I think we already scared an old couple, because I was dancing around the room half naked." Remus' eyes widened, as he let out a light chuckle.

"You ought to be careful, Ginevra. You never know what sketchy folk you'll meet around here." He shifted from leg to leg, recalling the discomforting memory, "One time when James, Sirius, Pete and I were staying here, we saw an old hag staring at us through the window; it was quite terrifying." He added with a withdrawn shudder. In a whisper he added, "I think she had a camera too."

"Imagine if it was a journalist?" Ginny raised her eyebrows a fraction of an inch, following Remus' befuddled gaze. He seemed to cringe at the idea.

"What kind of journalist?"

"Let's say..." Ginny rubbed her hands in a heated manner, fantasizing about her options. "An adult magazine about boys... For desperate females... Which you definitely would not be able to buy in Flourish and Blotts." She winked suggestively at her scarlet boyfriend.

"Merlin, Ginny, I'm never leaving my curtains open again." Remus moaned humorously, images filling his mind. "Thanks." He glared at his girlfriend, who praised him with a wide grin. They looked over at Hermione and Sirius, who didn't seem to be able to keep their hands off each other. "Godric, I didn't think they'd miss each other this bloody much."

"I wish I had a camera..." Ginny muttered exchanging a look with Remus, who came to a revelation. He had packed a mini-camera in his pocket. He whipped it out excitedly, causing Ginny to nearly die of laughter, and snapped a few shots. "Look how messed her hair is now." Ginny added unhappily, tilting her head to the side and scrutinizing what was once a piece of art. Hermione's hair still looked presentable, but it wasn't as perfect and sleek as before.

"Your work was beautiful." Remus argued in a serious tone. "Everything you do seems to be." He muttered, tucking a stray hair behind the redhead's ear. She looked up at his with a loss of words.

Her face flushed a crimson colour at the compliment. "You're a cheeky lad, aren't you?" She laughed softly, trying to look away. "Then why did it get ruined?" She suddenly found herself angrily, glancing at Hermione and Sirius in disapproval.

"All good things have their seasons' end." Remus sighed thoughtfully. He wasn't feeling well. He was hoping that he wouldn't regret going to the ball, but he couldn't let his beautiful girl down. A sense of protectiveness settled over him. He didn't want any other men putting their hands on her, unless they were trusted. It bothered him, seeing other guys look at her. "Anyway," he cleared his throat loud enough for Sirius and Hermione to stir. Finally, the girl pushed him away.

"Who do you think you are?" She growled at him, although she could not conceal her blush, nor her smile that had arisen on her somewhat swollen lips. They eyed each other lovingly.

"Now back to the serious," Remus continued slowly, relieved that the snog-fest was finally over. It wasn't the most comfortable activity to watch your best mate snogging his girl, even when it was Sirius. He couldn't help but groan at his friend's touchy behaviour at times.

"—yes?" Sirius interrupted with quite a bit of cheek, but was ignored at usual. The serious Sirius joke was overused.

"Why did you inform us you had a place to stay, when you stayed in the Leaky Cauldron?" Remus eyed the two girls suspiciously, who didn't seem in their shoes for a few split seconds. Sirius backed away and took his spot next to Remus, firmly supporting his point. He slapped his back to prove a point; instead, Remus closed his eyes painfully and tried to collect as much energy as possible.

"Because we did have somewhere to stay, it's not like we were begging on the streets or something." Ginny rolled her eyes knowingly. She fiddled with her earrings, as a sign of comfort and normality.

"We didn't want to cause any discomfort either." Hermione added in supportively.

"But I feel discomfort when you're not with me here." Sirius pouted longingly, his eyes flashing a captivating silvery grey. Who could ever resist Sirius Black and his beautiful godlike face? He seemed to look like an angel who had fallen off the clouds, if it wasn't for his arrogant and flirtatious personality. An angel on earth.

"Oh sod off Sirius." Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, still recovering from the blow to his back. Hopefully dancing wouldn't be so painful.

"I'd feel even more comfort with you by my side." Sirius corrected himself, glaring at Remus. Moony gave him an approving nod at the compromise he made. "Plus the Potters would be more than happy to take you in. We've told them a lot about you and they can't wait to meet you." Sirius nearly bit his tongue at that statement. Luckily, the girls didn't seem to notice, and his manliness had not been jeopardized.

"That's why you have James. He can be your cuddle buddy in the dark hopeless nights you have without me." Hermione teased, pulling at one of Sirius' messy locks. Even with gel, he seemed to have a way to mess it up in a Marauder-like fashion.

"James kicks in his sleeps." Sirius informed, frowning. He shuddered at the thought. "And shouts. Sometimes he sleep talks and mumbles like a drunk, that I can actually hear him through the wall. Another time actually he felt asleep on my lap and drooled a pool on my pants." He flinched at the memory, raising his eyebrows and shaking the feeling off. "It was revolting." He joked, earning a few chuckles.

"Sounds very attractive." Ginny snorted derisively. Then she smiled at Remus. "We should tell Lily about that."

"I'm sure she already knows." Remus laughed in return. That was when he got lost in Ginny's eyes, which led him to remember that they had to get to the ball as soon as possible, especially because James would kill them if they came late. Or worse... Publically put them out of place. "Ladies and gents, look at the time." He shook his head disapprovingly. "We get distracted too easily. Let us head out."

"Wait!" Hermione and Ginny sang in unison, as they had forgotten to strap on their holsters, fetch their belongings and cloaks. "We'll be a few seconds. I promise, Remmikins." Ginny promised him, pecking his lips, as the two of them darted inside the flat.

When the two males were left alone, Sirius snickered at the childish nickname. "Remmikins," He repeated, and earned himself a well-deserved punch in the stomach.

Sirius groaned weekly, clutching his stomach. "Careful, Moony. Don't let all that anger out quite yet, I still want to have kids." He winced and jumped and let his back rest on the wall while he returned to cradling his stomach. Remus chuckled and examined his knuckles.

"I'll have enough time to release my anger." He exchanged a look with Sirius, whose eyes flickered sadly. He approached his friend cautiously and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I can't come out today, mate." Sirius sighed audibly, pushing his hair back habitually. "It's just that if any more of us disappear tonight people may get suspicious. Plus I have to deal with dear relatives and friends of friends. James wanted to come out, but he's a host and it'd be impossible." Sirius justified sadly.

With a tinge of penitence in his voice, Remus shrugged heavily, "It's not your fault. I'll be fine. I understand perfectly. I can't always have you lads by my side. At one point or another I'll have to be doing this all by myself, and I know it. I just need to leave on time today to get further away." He muttered, running his fingers through his dirty-blond hair.

Sirius patted him two times on the arm in a brotherly gesture. At the same moment, their two partners jumped out of the room, locked it and brightly looked at the two boys.

"Ready?" Ginny smiled widely, looking from Remus to Sirius expectantly.

Letting out a small laugh, Remus extended his hand courteously, "Only when you are milady."

So that's that! Did y'all like the little interaction? I know Hermione was a little OOC for the last part, but what do you expect to happen to her after dating an irresistible Marauder? :P

Did you like the interaction between Remus and Ginny? If not, how should I improve it? How about Sirius and Hermione? Luna and Sev and James and Lily will hopefully be in the next chapter.

I hope you all will leave a review, because that will really help me out (; Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Disliked it? What should I improve on? Review and let your thoughts spill from your mind onto this brilliant website. Join the army and become my most favourite people in the entire world! Remus Lupin will cry if you don't.

Lots of love!

GirlxMarauder