"And so concludes this pack meeting," said Mathew White as he drew the meeting to a close.

Sitting at a nearby table Luka was impressed at how most of the new wolves had seemed to assimilate. Despite still looking slightly malnourished they were better dressed and had found jobs due to pack contacts. Quite a few were now employed as dispatch riders. Jim and Mike had also followed Luka's advice and come clean about their magical abilities. Fortunately Mathew was more curious than angry as he seemed quite intrigued about Muggle werewolves being able to use magic. Was it just them? Or was it an ability all weres possessed? In an attempt to examine this issue further he had ordered that all weres were to be tested using the brothers' wands under the direction of Lupin who had yielded to pressure to get him to teach in a deal that would mean that he didn't have to join the pack, although Luka was sure it was just a way of trying to get him in through the back door. For her part she had introduced herself and her role to the new weres making sure they knew that if they wished to remain in polite society they would have to obey certain conventions which now included taking the Wolfsbane potion that Luka would now be brewing in far greater quantity. Despite grumblings about their 'medication' they accepted her quietly. As they were leaving Lupin caught up with Luka.

"How've you been?" he asked as he looped an arm around hers.

"Busy, Dumbledore's making sure we all do our part to make Hogwarts as beautiful as possible for Christmas," replied Luka who had been on icicle duty for most evenings as well as patrols.

"I heard about the Yule Ball from Sirius, he was disappointed that Harry can't come home for Christmas but Harry does have to open the ball with the other champions. Do you know if he's found a suitable partner yet?"

"I haven't heard anything just that Minerva's been putting on compulsory dance lessons so that the current Gryffindors don't drag the house's reputation down. Apparently she made Ron her first demonstration partner," Luka smiled, the Weasley twins had practically shouted that nugget of information from the rooftops.

"Poor lad, I bet he was mortified. It's a pity that people outside the schools and tournament can't attend, I would have liked to have accompanied you," added Lupin wistfully.

"It's alright, I haven't danced in a while so I'll just be sticking to the wall watching to make sure no trouble breaks out," replied Luka.

"When did you dance last?"

"About a year ago. Sebastian makes Ciel brush up on his social skills once every couple of years and since ball room dancing is becoming more popular again Sebastian made me be Ciel's partner. Once I'd gotten used to the steps Ciel was quite happy. He usually complains that Sebastian is too tall to act as the woman," explained Luka

Lupin chuckled as he imagined the two demons bickering like two old women arguing over who had gotten the steps wrong.

"Have you given any thought on what you'll wear?"

"Oh I'll throw something together, I've got a good collection of corsets and skirts," replied Luka as the two walked through the exit of the Funtom bar unaware that a certain demon was listening in.

XXX

The next Friday Luka awoke to a text message saying that a package had been left at Lupin's and Black's flat. She would pick it up after work, there would be no time beforehand.

"What do you think it is?" asked Lupin as Luka walked back to the flat with him.

"I don't know, my address is listed as Hogwarts or at my mum's for my driving licence. The only people who know about us and wouldn't deliver to either of the other places would be the pack, Sebastian or Ciel," replied Luka.

Sebastian eh? Why did that name always fill him with gloom? Once they were inside they found Black looking over wallpaper swatches for his own room, the old slap and tack job of pin ups and motorcycles pictures needed replacing quite soon. Next to him on the floor was the package even larger than Lupin had described. It was a cream and black striped three feet cubed box with a large bow holding the upper and lower portions together. Eying it suspiciously Luka picked up the seemingly blank tag connected to the bow. As she looked at it a message appeared in flowing ink;

'Here is your outfit for the Yule ball. Since you neglected to tell me that you would be requiring a ball gown this was all I gather in such short notice.

Fondest regards,

Sebastian.'

"So, you're basically Sebastian's doll to dress up as he pleases?" asked Black who had been craning his neck over her shoulder.

"Pretty much," said Luka truthfully as she undid the bow oblivious to Lupin testily shifting from foot to foot.

Opening the box Luka stared at the contents for a second trying to decipher what the mass of fabric was until it hit her. Sebastian had been most amused to relay a tale of when Ciel had to dress as a girl in a pink dress. The candyfloss coloured mass in front of her must be that dress, or at least something very similar for the original would no doubt now be lost as well as a little too small. No, knowing Sebastian and his whims this would no doubt be a replica that would fit her perfectly. Carefully picking the dress up she noted that voluminous skirt consisted of gathered pink silk over a cream layer. Placing the dress on the settee Luka turned back to the box and the reason for its large size soon became apparent. To have the dress was not enough, one required all the undergarments as well. A small, and mercifully breathable, overbust corset, a chemise to go under that, a bustle pad, an underpetticoat, five normal petticoats and an overpetticoat to fill out the dress to its fullest diameter. How in the name of hell was she going to move in all of this? No wonder Ciel had collapsed. To add insult to injury at the bottom of the pile next to the high heeled brogues and black velvet gloves was a pair of cream coloured knickerbockers. Raising the offending article of clothing aloft Luka turned to the sniggering wizards who had gone from put out to amused as she had continued to pull items from the seemingly endless pile.

"What, pray tell, is so funny?" she asked menacingly, seeing that they were too occupied with the effort from not laughing Luka continued, "Sebastian will pay dearly for this,"

"Will I now?" purred the demon as he emerged from the shadows.

Luka settled for narrowing her eyes as Black reached for his wand. Remus had told him that Sebastian could move through shadows too but he had never expected him to turn up in his living room.

"What are you doing here? Have you no respect for people's property?" barked Black indignantly.

"Of course I have respect for property, it is my property that I have come to see," smiled Sebastian.

"Why have you insisted that I wear this lot? I was going to go in an ensemble of my own," growled Luka.

Letting out a sigh as if she had said something deeply offensive Sebastian replied, "Luka you simply can't attend a prestigious ball in your informal attire. Young women must attend balls in a flattering dress not a leather skirt and brocaded corset. Besides, you will be quite a vision in that gown,"

As Luka snorted Sebastian clicked his fingers and her maid outfit was switched for the multilayer ensemble. Looking down at herself Luka narrowed her eyes. She looked ridiculous! Pale pink had never been her colour and how was she supposed to sit down for the meal? The horse hair crinoline petticoats were so bulky but, perhaps this was the lesser of the two evils compared to a cage crinoline of sprung steel.

"There, as pretty as a picture," said Sebastian as he brushed some of Luka's hairs away from her face before leaning into to kiss her on the forehead, "have fun at the ball my doll,"

As she scrubbed at her forehead with her now gloved hand Sebastian cast one last smirk at the wizards before disappearing.

"So can he just turn up anywhere?" asked Black angrily as Lupin forced himself to stop staring at Luka. Even after seeing her in all her court outfits this was the gown that complemented her the most. The shiny black attire she wore for court always looked seductive but severe, it was nice to see her in something softly feminine.

"He can turn up anywhere there's a shadow. To block him you would need wards on par with those at Hogwarts but if I were present he would still be able to come in. He'd probably been lurking there since the end of my shift to see how I would react to the dress," replied Luka as she tried to move in the cumbersome frock.

"But why did he have it delivered here and not Hogwarts?" continued Black.

"He wanted his gift to be seen Sirius. He wanted me to know that he still has a hold over Luka, isn't that correct?" said Lupin turning to Luka, his irritation with the demon's behaviour returning.

"That is correct,"

"So you really are just his property then," concluded Black.

"As stated by the contract, once his end was held up he was to have my soul but since Sebastian wanted to keep me alive my entire being is his until he takes my soul," replied Luka.

"What was his end? You haven't had your vengeance, most of the people you despise in the Ministry are still alive," retorted Black.

Luka smiled sadly, "In my haste I didn't word my part of the contract as well as I could have. Instead of asking that Sebastian aid me in destroying the foul organisation that had captured me I merely asked him to help me gain the power to destroy the Ministry myself. He trained me in the ways of non-magical and magical combat. When the time came that I was powerful enough to kill all those who came to capture us his part of the contract was fulfilled and the servant became the master as it were," she said as she turned to pick up the box and leave.

Deciding that it would be easier to transport the ensemble on her person Luka followed her master into the shadows, she would just have to make sure that once in the school she went straight to her quarters. Snape was vitriolic in his remarks at the best of times.

Watching her go Black turned to his a friend with a sigh.

"Remus, I know you care for her but how much do you know about those two?"

"To be honest, not much. I just know that the two made a contract in haste to escape the Ministry and at one point the came to care for each other, or at least Luka cared for Sebastian, I've never been sure about him. Then somehow Sebastian's father ordered them to end it and Luka's feelings faded from passion to friendship," replied Lupin.

"I just think you should know more before you go any further,"

XXX

The night before the ball Luka was collecting together the ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion. When she had just been making for Lupin it had been fine to collect all she needed from one shop now she had to gather the materials from quite a few apothecaries. After all it would raise eyebrows to buy such materials in bulk. She had also asked Snape if he had made any refinements to the potion which she could use. His answer to that was to cease being lazy and read around the subject. Typical. Regardless, she would have to prepare the potion soon as the full moon was only a couple of days after Boxing Day. It would probably be best to start tonight. Setting up shop in the small dungeon room that had become her office she deposited Mel on the desk in his nest of Slytherin and Bulgarian scarves whilst Elise made herself comfortable on the back of the chair. Pulling out her equipment and premeasured masses of ingredients Luka set to work however she was less than ten minutes in when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she barked in irritation, she despised being interrupted in the midst of her work.

Sensing her ire the intruder opened the door slowly to reveal Harry and Ron, the latter of the two seemed to be holding an old, faded curtain.

"What can I do for you?" asked Luka trying to inject friendliness into her tone as she set the glass rod to stir the potion via telekinesis, Black must have told Harry where to find her if he ever needed help.

"Can you help with this?" asked Ron with a pleading expression as he walked up to the desk holding out the curtain.

Wait, those weren't curtains, the cut was wrong. Coming around the desk Luka plucked the fabric from his grasp. Dress robes, of the most unspeakable calibre. The hideous velvet was probably originally a deep red but was now a pasty salmon pink and the once white lace was tattered and yellow. Why did the Weasleys have so many children when they couldn't afford to clothe them all properly? Her stream of mental scorn was interrupted by a distressed squawk emitted by Ron as he noticed Mel. Why were all Gryffindors so afraid of snakes? In serpent terms royal pythons like Mel were nothing but minnows.

"Mr Potter, Mr Weasley meet Mel and Elise. Mel, Elise meet Mr Potter and Mr Weasley," said Luka finishing the sentence in Parseltongue as Mel waggled his tail in what he hoped was a decent imitation of a wave, "Mel's harmless so you can stop your horrified gawking. Is there anything specific that you want me to do with this?"

"Anything, just change it,"

Now, Sebastian could have undoubtedly changed this moth's dinner into something stunning but she lacked his skill. Starting with discoloured lace Luka neatly severed the fabric making sure not to leave any loose threads whilst still flicking glances at the potion. Once that was done it was just a case of changing the colour. Unfortunately she didn't have sufficient Transfiguration knowledge to change the fabric itself so it would be a colour change by force to a nice deep black, hopefully that would be enough to mask the velvet texture. At least from a distance. Once she was finished she handed back the less offensive article. Ron looked over the robes and sighed with relief. The robes still looked old but at least people wouldn't be staring at him anymore. Thanking the teaching assistant they left Luka to continue in peace. Fortunately the potion hadn't been ruined by the interruption, those ingredients were expensive.

XXX

On Christmas day Luka woke up to find her presents at the foot of the bed. From her mum and nan were the usual toiletries and scented sundries they always exchanged. Lupin had given her the standard book of spells for her third year, she hoped he had enjoyed the chocolates she had sent him which of course reminded her to send off Elise with the potion. That left the final small box that was probably from Sebastian. Plucking up the small box with trepidation she opened it to find a small silver choker.

'You can borrow this for tonight.

Sebastian.'

Moving to the mirror Luka fiddled with the necklace. It was a tight fit as it should have been but fortunately not asphyxiating.

An hour before the ball was to begin Luka finished laying out the various articles of clothing. No doubt with all the layers to assemble dressing would take ages and then there was the make-up. Growing more disgruntled and overheated by the minute as she tossed on petticoat after petticoat she was finally finished. Surveying herself in the mirror Luka decided to go for light make-up, the dress was attention grabbing enough. After one last check that everything was securely attached she headed to the living room.

"Well, if it isn't Cinderella?"

"Shut up Severus, at least I made an effort," retorted Luka as the Potions master in his usual garb looked her over with distaste, "do you require any assistance with the Slytherins?"

"No,"

Well, in that case she would be off. Although not before charming the professor's hair so that the usual grease shone like an oil slick. Cinderella indeed, the sarcastic grump. Once she had got to the Entrance Hall she smiled to McGonagall who was wearing a wreath around her hat before making her way into the Great Hall to take her position by the staff table. As soon as the doors had been thrown open the students milled in. Once they had sat down the champions and their partners entered to applause. Poor Harry looked like a prize bull that was being led around the show ring as one of the Patil twins walked him to the head table. When the champions were seated the headmaster demonstrated the night's menu system. Luka watched Hermione nervously twitter to Krum, hopefully she wouldn't try to bring up SPEW. Whilst it was a good cause a feast was hardly the time to talk about it. As soon as the decadent meal had been consumed it was time for the first dance. Unfortunately for Harry it was clear to everyone that McGonagall's dancing lessons hadn't paid off as he was dragged around in a tight circle by his partner. Apparently Ciel's first waltz lesson now had competition for lack of finesse. Fortunately other dancers soon took to the floor and the boy was able to camouflage himself in a sea of robes before making a break for it when the song ended. By this time Luka had situated herself near one of the Christmas trees so that she could observe the proceedings without having to involve herself. Alas, she hadn't gone unnoticed. One of the boys from Durmstrang who had been one of her most eager duelling club pupils was making his way over.

"My my, it looks like you have a suitor," purred Snape.

Luka glared at her flat mate, there was no way in hell she would dance with the lad! She'd feel like a pervert. However, there were alternatives. With telekinesis she made Snape offer his hand.

"Why Severus! I never thought you'd ask me to dance," cooed Luka with a fake beam as she scuttled over to take his hand, physical contact would make controlling his body much easier.

"What are you doing?" hissed Snape as he tried in vain to pull his body away.

"Throwing you under the metaphorical bus," replied Luka as she glanced at the lad, fortunately he had turned away to look at females in his age range.

"Was it not bad enough that you charmed my hair?" continued Snape as Luka continued to forcibly steer him in time to the music.

Ah, he had finally noticed.

"Didn't you like it? I thought you looked rather fetching, besides. Did you really think I was going to let that Cinderella jibe go?" asked Luka with a smile, genuine this time.

Snape snorted, "No, I suppose I did misjudge you in that. If you were to be a Disney character I would imagine you'd be Belle considering your taste in men-,"

"Be careful what you say Severus," replied Luka as velvet clad hands tightened their grip.

In stony silence the par concluded their dance. Luka released the Potions master so she could continue her vigil. This time she would have to use a notice me not spell. From her position she watched as Snape's departure was followed by Karkaroff's. The pair had seemed to have been engaged in a battle of cat and mouse for weeks. She would have followed just to see what was going on but her attention was arrested by the vociferous argument between Hermione and Ron. It was curious that the boy was so riled up over such a trifle as Hermione's dance partner but Luka had never understood the minds of teenagers. Hopefully the dance would be over soon, the brogues had narrower heels than she was used to.

Once the night was finally over Luka returned to her room, on opening the door she was surprised to see Lupin standing pensively by her desk.

"Remus, I didn't expect to see you here. How did you get in?"

"I'm a Marauder andI wanted to see you in that dress again. Also," Lupin shifted nervously, "I wanted to ask you something,"

"Ask me what?" enquired Luka, given Lupin's demeanour she didn't know whether what would be coming would be good or bad.

"I want to ask you to marry me… but I need to know the whole story of you and Sebastian,"

"Oh," she hadn't seen that coming, "well, um, it sort of started off like this…"

Damn, for such a small chapter that took an inordinate time to write. Please read and review