A/N: I am so sorry guys, I haven't updated this in about a year. I could list a bunch of excuses, but neither of us want that, so without further ado here's the New Years Ball!

Whenever Salus dreamt, it was almost always something clear and concise, most often an important or painful memory. However, on the night before the New Years Ball, her dreams were a blurry haze of poorly shaped memories that were difficult to grasp, and even harder to remember afterwards.

The full moon shone down on the astronomy tower, bathing Salus in its cold light as her hands drifted across the parchment in her lap. She couldn't get her eyes to focus on what was drawn on the page, everything around her was blurry, but the full moon above was in a sharp clarity that normal eyes would never be able to see. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the beauty of it. Not even when something heavy and warm rested on her shoulder, and a pair of arms wrapped securely around her waist, banishing the block of ice in her chest. She could hear the person behind her speaking, but she couldn't make out the words or even who the voice belonged to. Wisps of warm air brushed against her cheek and throat, and in that moment she felt safer than ever before. Her eyes began to drift shut as she melted against the person behind her, but just as her sight filled with darkness, the person behind her disappeared. She felt herself jerked forward. When her eyes snapped open, she found the bright winter sun bearing down on her, making her flinch back in pain. It took Salus a moment before she could open her eyes again, but once she did she was confronted by a pair of bright yellow eyes.

Standing before her were the pack of baby hippogriffs that trotted and played amongst each other in the snow. Just like in the astronomy tower, everything seemed to be covered in a cloudy haze that was difficult to see through. What came to focus the most were the bright yellow and orange eyes of the adolescent creatures, and the long grey, brown, and black feathers of their flapping wings. Behind her she could hear someone laughing, but just like in the astronomy tower, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her. However, much like last time, the deep, happy voice brought her comfort even if she couldn't remember who it belonged to. She reached a hand out to brush it along the nearest hippogriff's back, but just as her hand came in contact with the soft feathers, she was jerked back once again.

Salus closed her eyes against the sudden and harsh pull against her navel. She felt a cold wind against her face, throwing her hair back behind her as she felt herself soar through the sky. She couldn't feel a broom beneath her, and she had never felt so in control of her movements in her life. The feeling was nearly incomprehensible, it was beyond bliss, and extraordinarily liberating. She could hear the harsh flapping of wings, and the fluttering of her heart in her chest. But such bliss cannot last forever, and within a moment she felt something collide with her in the midst of the clouds, and before she could understand what was happening she was plummeting towards the ground.

Like all things in life, Salus' dreams eventually came to an end as she was jerked awake from the terrifying sensation of falling. It wasn't the first time she experienced the dreaded lurch in her navel that came with falling from a great height, and it would not be the last. She felt winded as she remained laying in the cold comfort of her bed, trying to slow down her breathing, as she stared at the roof of the bed canopy. Today was going to be a very long day.

Salus wasn't given the chance to fall back asleep as she was swept up by an extremely frazzled Lily. Salus didn't understand why Lily insisted on waking up so early in the morning when there weren't classes for the day, and the New Years Ball wasn't until late in the evening. Salus thought her friend was being a tad ridiculous, so of course she had to respond by teasing and annoying her.

"Come on," Lily urged Salus by pulling on her wrists, "You still need to shower so we can work on your hair."

"At this ungodly hour? Merlin forbid. No." Salus groaned dramatically, "I'll just go like this, no one will notice."

"Everyone will notice! You can't show up with greasy hair, Salus," Lily nearly shrieked.

"Oh well, me and Severus will match. It'll be great, we'll look more like twins," Salus replied. When Lily doubled her efforts in trying to force Salus towards the bathroom, Salus let out a long drawn sigh, "Oh dear, gravity is increasing on me, I can't go any further," before promptly slumping down onto the floor.

"SALUS EILEEN SNAPE YOU WILL GET YOUR ARSE OFF THE FLOOR THIS INSTANT!" Lily's shouts could be heard all the way down to the Gryffindor common room, and up the other set of stairs to the boys dormitory.

"Our floor is filthy," Salus muttered, but didn't move to get up, "Whichever house elf was in charge of our dorm this week has done a shite job. Dust everywhere."

"Salus, please just get up and shower so we can start getting ready," Lily begged.

The door to their dorm room creaked open, and a tired and somewhat grumpy looking Jeremy entered, being shoved in by an impatient Alice.

"I heard shrieking, is Salus still alive?" Alice asked as she forced Jeremy to sit on the end of Salus' bed.

"Emotionally or physically?" Salus retorted from the floor.

"If you're awake enough to be cheeky, you're awake enough to start getting ready," Lily growled at the shorter girl before snapping, "How in Merlin's beard did you get Jeremy up the stairs?"

"Please," Alice scoffed with no further explanation.

Getting dressed and ready for the Ball with two erratic girls and one confused Jeremy was both terribly entertaining and horrifically intrusive. Although she was happy Jeremy was there because she didn't have to take the brunt of Lily and Alice's attention. The two girls went crazy with hair products and various cosmetics - both magical and muggle - and for the most part Salus and Jeremy just accepted whatever the girls insisted on. Although Salus and Jeremy both had a fit when Alice tried putting eyeliner on the young Hufflepuff, who insisted that he didn't want to be wearing any makeup, no matter how much it would make his eyes pop. Although Salus thought it would look amazing, she was worried her Hufflepuff would get his eye poked out in the girls' enthusiasm.

Eventually they were all ready for the Ball which, as it turned out against Salus' thoughts, did take most of the day. They had taken breaks to eat food summoned up by the house elves, during which Salus and Jeremy had tried - unsuccessfully - to sneak away. In the end, Salus had to agree that they all looked amazing. Lily had her vibrant hair braided up atop her head, and wore a pale purple dress with sleeves that dropped off her shoulders. Seeing Lily so well dressed made Salus a smidge envious of her best friend's more prominent curves and taller stature; she truly was a beautiful woman, and paired with her brains and fiery personality, she understood why James held so much affection for Lily. Alice looked just as amazing; her short hair was shiny and smooth, but still had a slight puff to it so it didn't appear to be flat. She wore a dark red, sleeveless dress that flared out at her hips with a gold shawl wrapped around her shoulders - a proud display of their house colours that complimented her skin tone well. Jeremy had his shaggy hair properly brushed back out of his face, and he wore a set of black and blue formal robes. Although he had more of a boyish appearance because of his age, Salus could tell he would grow up to be quite handsome.

Salus felt quite plain in comparison to the rest of them. Her black hair had been curled ever so slightly so as to fall down her back in loose waves, with her bangs tied back with a simple braid. Lily had managed to find them a brief moment of privacy in which they were able to charm and cover Salus' scarred ear and neck. Salus' dress fit her main criteria; it covered her arms and shoulders. However, her sleeves and the section of the dress that covered her chest and back was a layer of thin, dark blue lace. The actual black dress underneath was similar to Alice's in that it didn't have any sleeves and rested just at the top of her breasts. The dress was tight around her waist but flowed down from her hips loosely to her toes, which made the dip in her waist seem more pronounced than usual. Salus did admit she looked rather pretty, but she wasn't used to dressing so finely so it all felt a smidge uncomfortable.

"Can we please go now?" Jeremy asked for the tenth time, "We've been up here all day, even for lunch, which I personally think is insane."

"Yes, yes, we can go now," Lily waved him down the stairs, which he happily complied to, and was followed shortly after by Alice. The two other Gryffindor girls took a moment to themselves.

"I know I've kind of pressured you into going," Lily chuckled, a slight blush of embarrassment spreading on her cheeks, "But if you really are uncomfortable, you don't have to force yourself to go."

"No, I'm going," Salus sighed, looking at her reflection again just to feel the pure surrealness of it all, "It wouldn't be fair on Remus to cancel. Besides, maybe I'll have fun?"

"Well I'm glad," Lily smiled, looping her arm with her friends before descending into the Gryffindor common room. Most of Gryffindor was already there, in a similar state of formal dress, and chatting happily amongst one another. Three of four marauders were there as well, all in their dress robes, waiting for the two girls. The moment Lily was in sight, James practically launched off the common room couch to meet her at the bottom of the stairs. He immediately began rambling off compliments and words of affection, making Lily turn beet red from the attention.

"I may have made a grave mistake," Lily stage whispered to Salus, earning an eye role and playful shove from the shorter girl.

Remus came over to them, pink dusting his cheeks, "You look really nice."

"Thanks," Salus replied, her face burning as she brushed her hands across the skirt of her dress, "You look pretty handsome yourself."

Remus' head ducked at the compliment, but he moved past his brief embarrassment to offer his arm to the girl. The group of Gryffindors (and one Hufflepuff) made their way down to the Great Hall for the festivities. Salus listened to the others chat happily as they walked, but her mind was occupied with thoughts of Sirius. She felt sorry that he was still stuck in the Hospital Wing while his friends were on their way to have a night of partying.

"You okay?" Remus broke through Salus' thoughts, smiling down at the girl.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about Sirius," Salus admitted, her face heating in brief embarrassment, "This seems like something he'd like."

"A loud ball with music, dancing, and punch that's definitely going to get spiked?" James cut in, "I'll bet he finds a way to sneak out of the Hospital Wing within the hour."

The group voiced their agreements, laughing all the while, but Remus' expression had tensed and his laughter seemed half-hearted. Salus didn't pay him any mind, assuming he was apprehensive about the crowd that would surely be in the Great Hall. The group could hear the music traveling down the halls, which only raised their excitement. As Salus expected, the Great Hall was already crowded and continued to fill with well-dressed students. It was decorated beautifully; large shards of ice were suspended in the air above them, reflecting the light of the candles in every direction, and a long table had been set up covered in various food and refreshments.

The Gryffindors moved as a group straight onto the dance floor while Jeremy split off to look for his date. Salus didn't know how to dance, and she was pretty sure it showed, but it was easy to get swept into the excitement and eventually she stopped paying any mind. Her and Remus shared a fair amount of dancing, all of the songs were upbeat and didn't involve any intrucet waltzes that would leave Salus embarrassed and Remus with bruised feet.

Eventually their dancing came to an end, Salus voicing that she needed a break away from the crowd, and she found herself a spot against the far wall where she could hide away. Remus offered to get them both some of the hopefully un-spiked punch and left to find the buffet table.

It was ethereal, to watch the happenings of the New Year's Ball but to not participate. Salus stood, silently, and tucked away from everyone else to simply observe. Everyone was happy, and carefree, all of their troubles and concerns put to rest for now. Now was a time to celebrate and enjoy life. Music flowed through the Great Hall, swarms of faceless shapes moving to the steady rhythm, and she knew that within the mass of people were her friends, having the time of their lives. Although they weren't within her sights, she could imagine James and Lily dancing and laughing; Lily momentarily forgetting all of the reasons why James frustrated her, and James ecstatic that his crush since first year was actually dancing with him. She could imagine Peter and his date awkwardly dancing together, both of their faces beet red in embarrassment, Remus trying to make his way to the drinks table without accidentally knocking into anyone, and Jeremy trying to remain calm around Alton despite how ecstatic he actually felt. Salus smiled, and for a few moments she felt at peace knowing her friends were safe and happy. Even if the one she wanted to see most was nowhere near.

"Well well, who knew our little lioness was actually a queen," a voice chuckled behind her, breaking Salus from her trance. Leaning against the wall in disheveled dress robes with his black hair brushed back messily was none other than Sirius Black. His grey eyes lit up happily at the sight of Salus, and he smiled despite the pain that spread from his black eye and cracked ribs.

"Sirius!" Salus exclaimed happily, "What are you doing here!? You're supposed to be in the Hospital Wing, if McGonagall catches you-"

"What, and miss my chance to dance with the prettiest girl here?" Sirius scoffed, taking Salus' hand in his own and slowly leading her towards the dancing mass, "I think not. Besides, do you really think a little injury would stop me?"

Salus couldn't help the smile that broke across her face, even if she knew how cheesy his words were, and she shook her head at the black haired boy's antics, "Alright, one dance, but then you have to go back to the Hospital Wing."

"Of course, just one dance, that's all I ask for," Sirius replied, nodding along, but the shit-eating grin that tugged at the corner of his lips gave away that he would be staying for as long as possible.

Sirius placed one hand on Salus' hip and used the other to hold her hand, leading her in a proper dance. Salus was glad that Sirius was good at leading, his pureblood heritage coming through, as she had no idea what she was doing, and they easily joined in the sea of dancing students. She thankfully managed not to step on Sirius' feet, even if they were standing so close that their chests almost brushed with each step.

"I wanted to apologize," Sirius suddenly said, making Salus tilt her head back to look up at him, "I'm sorry for how… out of hand, I was at St Mungo's. All of those potions didn't leave a lot of room for judgment."

"And here I thought you had forgotten all that," Salus replied, an embarrassed flush spreading across her cheeks, her eyes momentarily flickering away from his.

Sirius chuckled and Salus could swear she felt it thrum through the air between them, "I may have been a bit delirious, but my memory was unaffected."

Sirius' grey eyes caught Salus' and he said with a tone that spoke of his sincerity, "But I don't regret saying it, and between the bits of hysteria, I really did mean everything I said."

"I know," Salus murmured.

Sirius leaned forward to say in a more hushed tone, his breath trailing across the side of her throat, "I'll take care of you, Salus, I'll never let anyone hurt you again, as long as I can help it," his lips brushed against her cheek in a featherlight kiss, "I promise."

"That's a very big promise to keep, Sirius," Salus replied, feeling her heart hammer against her chest and her cheeks heating even further.

"Well then I better not let you down," Sirius said, his somber expression disappearing as fast as it came, and he smiled goofily, "Now let's really dance."

Before Salus could question what he meant, Sirius immediately began spinning the small girl in a circle, before taking her hand once again and moving them around erratically. They must have looked so ridiculous, but at that moment Salus couldn't have cared less.

Remus and Salus walked hand-in-hand, chatting and laughing happily as they made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and recounted the evening. It had been rather eventful; the expected arrival of Sirius, the spiking of the punch which led to Peter's date throwing up on him, James and Lily actually getting along for the full evening, and finally Sirius getting dragged back by his ear to the Hospital Wing by a very disgruntled Professor McGonagall.

"Did you have fun?" Remus asked as they neared the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I actually did," Salus admitted, her lips tugging back in a grin, "I thought I was going to be miserable, but it was actually fun to sort of let loose for an evening."

"I'm glad. I had a lot of fun too," the young werewolf's grin matched hers, but his eyes were serious and unwavering from her own.

Breaking eye contact, Salus motioned towards the girls' dormitory stairs and murmured, "Well I better get to bed, it's late, and James scheduled Quidditch practice for tomorrow so I should probably get some sleep."

"Alright," Remus replied, but his hand hadn't let go of hers yet.

There was a pause between the two, and just as Salus was turning to leave Remus' lips descended upon her own. The sudden kiss took her by surprise, and that feeling of shock made her freeze up. Ice ran down her spine, filling her with a shock of adrenaline and panic. She didn't know what to do, and in her panic she took a step back, breaking the kiss and leaving Remus looking confused.

Salus started to sputter an explanation without having one, her face was flaming hot and at that moment she would have liked nothing more than to hide in her dorm room, "I- I'm sorry, I just- I didn't want, I mean, I just-"

"It's fine, I get it," Remus waved away her explanation, still smiling even though it looked forced, "I shouldn't have surprised you like that. Have a good night."

He turned and left before Salus had a chance to say anything else, and she was left standing alone in the common room with nothing but her thoughts. Her face was still flushed, mostly from shame and embarrassment, and her heart was hammering into her ribcage with abandon. She wasn't sure how long she stood there staring into space, but eventually she heard someone giving the password to the Fat Lady, so she scurried up the stairs to her dorm. None of the other girls were in their room yet, and the young witch was relieved. Salus got ready for bed quickly, removing her makeup roughly with a washcloth, leaving her skin pink, and carefully stored her gown away where she wouldn't have to see it. Crawling into bed and closing the drapes tightly behind her, she burrowed under her quilt and contemplated never leaving again. Her face still felt flushed as the image of Remus kissing her ran through her head on permanent repeat. She hadn't exactly been kissed by that many blokes in her life, but she knew that her reaction was the wrong one. Which led her to wondering if she even wanted to kiss Remus. Her mind swam with confusion, but the most prominent thought to cross her mind was, "I seriously fucked up."

A/N:Well I hope that was everything you were expecting. Let me know in the comments what you think so far, what direction you want this to go, and any other weird ideas that I could roll with! Seriously, I'm stuck in quarantine and would love the distraction.

Stay safe everyone!