Disclaimer: Already mentioned in Chapter 1 :)

The next day James could be found in the Gryffindor Common Room, his prized Nimbus 1500 on his lap as he pulled out his Broomstick Servicing Kit. As he pulled out what slightly resembled a pair of muggle scissors and began to clip away some stray, damaged twigs, the back of the Fat Lady's portrait swung open and one Remus clambered in, carrying, (as was the norm,) a large, musty looking book. James looked up for a mere second and flashed him a smile, before returning to his precise work. Remus curled up on a cosy armchair beside the blazing fire, and sighed as he gazed out of the window. Thick snowflakes were beginning to fall, for it was rapidly nearing Christmas; even now darkness was falling outside. He blew some dust away from the cover of the bejewelled book and opened it - however, he couldn't concentrate, and after a moment snapped it shut so loudly that James looked up quickly and managed to snap an extra twig.

"Damnit!" He looked positively crestfallen, even though the missing piece of wood was probably only noticable to him. Reproachfully his brown eyes looked at Lupin, who hastily decided to cut to the point.

"Y'know, there are some signs up in the Great Hall...." James watched with growing interest.... "A week today theres gonna be a ball."

Lupin's words had the desired effect, for James replaced the clippers hastily and shut the Servicing Kit, before lowering his broomstick to the floor in a maternal manner, and turning to face Remus with rapt attention, urging him to tell more. Remus, however, made as though to re-open his book, and James spoke with haste.

"Really? Cool." He said, nodding his approval. Nonchalantly, he enquired, "Anyone your planning to ask?"

Lupin paused thoughtfully, eyes glazing over. "Hmm....dunno yet. I think I'll just see how it goes. You?"

James frowned. He knew who he wanted to ask, but he didn't know if he could muster up the courage to do so. He didn't really intend on sharing his feelings, so instead he muttered, "Same here."

Lupin went on to tell James all about the planned ball - it would be taking place on Christmas Eve, lasting from 7 onwards, and it was rumoured Dumbledore would have live reindeer in the hall and that the Skeleton Sisters would be playing. Also, they didn't have to wear dress robes; for this special occasion, muggle wear was allowed, and fourth to seventh year were permitted to go. The pair sat in silence, James picking up his broomstick once more and polishing the smooth handle, Remus immersing himself in his book. A few moments later, the portrait's hinges creaked once more.

"Hey Prongs, Moony!" Came a cheerful voice, and Sirius strode in. Lupin looked up from his book and winked - the signal for Sirius to press on. "Heard about the dance?"

James discarded his Nimbus again. "Remus was telling me about it. Any ideas who your asking, Si?"

Lupin chortled. "Forget him asking, hes already had about 20 invitations!" Even then as two pretty fifth years came down from their dorms and head for the exit they giggled and blushed as they passed Sirius.

Sirius shrugged. "So?" Apparently this wasn't too important to him; James frowned. Normally Sirius wouldn't be half as humble. "I still don't know who to go with...."

He slumped onto an armchair, exhausted, and watched his two best friends. Lost in his own thoughts, he snapped out of his daze when James heaved himself to his feet.

"I'm gonna go down to the Quidditch Pitch; don't wait up, I dunno how long I'll be down there." With that he departed and left Remus and Sirius alone.

When he was gone Remus shot Sirius an anxious look. "You know he only goes there when he needs to think....do you think he suspects?"

Sirius shook his head regally, his flowing locks tumbling around his shoulders. "Not at all....hes just worried about who to ask."

And the two silenced at that, Remus finally being able to read his book uninterrupted, and Sirius entertaining himself with some amusing tricks involving the fireplace with his wand.

~*~

Meanwhile up in the Girl's Dormitories Lily Evans was silently rocking back and forth on her four poster bed, already in her pyjamas after having a long, hot bath. She was nervous, and it was startingly obvious, especially to her best friend Fiore; Fiore brushed her long raven locks and then turned around to face Lily, glad of the emptiness of the dormitory.

"Whats up?" she said, genuine concern in her voice. Lily had been acting in a strange manner all day, however it only seemed to Fiore that this had happened after she had read the sign announcing the Christmas Eve Ball.

Lily gave a short sigh and look up, meeting Fiore's dark brown eyes as the chocolate hues clashed with her own startling green ones. "Nothing....I just dunno who to go to the dance with."

Fiore instantly translated it, for she knew her companion too well to believe that. "You wanna go with James, don't you?"

Lily smiled slightly. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if he'll ask, or even if he would say yes - I mean, I don't want to wait around for him forever. Remus said he liked me but now I'm not so sure its true....wouldn't he have done something by now?"

Fiore ponded the matter carefully. "S'pose so....don't worry about it. Anyways, I'm sure you'll get plenty of offers, and, lets face it, you can do better."

Feeling slightly more cheerful Lily gave her friend a large smile. "Thanks. Maybe we could double-date then?" Without even waiting for an answer Lily gave a long yawn. "Time for an early night, I think."

And with that she snuggled down underneath her covers and closed her eyes, not entirely convinced that she would rather go with someone else over James.

~*~*~*~

The following Sunday Sirius awoke with a grin on his face. Full of energy he leapt to his feet and looked around at his sleeping friends - he had stayed up until about midnight but James hadn't returned, and was now sleeping like a log. Peter too hadn't been around when he turned in - weird. Something was definitely wrong with that boy lately - Sirius, however, had more pressing matters at hand. He still didn't know who to ask to the dance; he knew who Remus wanted him to ask, and he had to admit it was a very good idea, but he didn't know if he wanted to hurt James. Still, it needed to be done. He checked the clock by his bedside - 6:30! He groaned. It would be a while before he would be able to raise anyone to chat with. Dressed in no more than a pair of tight boxers Sirius combed his hair and trotted down to the dormitory, thinking vaguely of having a rifle through that chunky book Remus had borrowed, entitled 'A Guide to Werewolves and Their Habits.'

However, Sirius got a shock on his way down. Someone was already sitting in a chair by the fire, staring into the hearth and gently stoking the large chunks of coal. He would recognise that flaming red hair anywhere; smiling he softly said, "Morning, Evans. Bit early for you, is it not?"

Lily spun around, startled, emerald eyes glinting as her eyes fell upon Sirius. He couldn't help but grin as he noticed her staring a little longer than was necessary at his toned stomach and muscular legs; however, she kept her calm and inclined her head gently to the chair opposite her, before stoking the fire a bit more and replying in her distinctive husky toned. "Hey Padfoot." Lily was a good friend of the Marauders, and familiar with their nicknames - however, she didn't have one of her own, so they merely called her Evans. "Restless night, otherwise I wouldn't be up."

Sirius sunk into the chair gladly, yawning slightly and rubbing his bleary eyes. He ran a hand through his long tresses and ruffled them up slightly, knowing fine well many girls favoured the messy look. Mind you, he thought, Lily probably wasn't looking at his hair; not many girls got the chance to see Sirius Black in his boxers.... "Whats up?"

Lily frowned. She knew Sirius well, but she wasn't sure if she was comfortable telling him that she couldn't sleep for fretting over his best friend and how much she fancied him. She decided to do it in a sort of code, but her eyes failed to meet his. "Just this dance, y'know. I dunno if anyone will ask me."

Sirius paused. How thick could a person get? Lily was gorgeous, everyone knew that - her hair was longer than Sirius' and always gleamed, she had captivating green eyes and delicate, feminine features; however, her personality was more rough-and-tumble than her looks would incline, and many guys in their year and even the years above had a thing for Lily.

"Who are you kidding, Evans? All the guys fancy you; you'll get a date in no time, don't worry about it."

Lily smiled; though Fiore had basically told her the same thing, it was a lot more reassuring to hear it from a male - that practically confirmed things. However, she couldn't shake off the feeling that Sirius, as one of her closest guy friends, was only trying to be nice. "Really?"

Sirius swallowed. It was now or never. "Really. In fact..." he gulped... "I was wondering if you would maybe like to go with me."

Lily grinned with disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Sirius returned the smile. "Look, Lily, I know you've got the hots for James." Lily's jaw dropped. "Don't look so surprised, you told me, remember?" She frowned and then nodded gently, remembering. "Now, I know you don't fancy me, and I also happen to know," his voice dropped to an undertone and he leaned forward to make sure no-one could hear him, "James has a huge crush on you."

Lily's bright eyes gleamed and widened, her heart soaring. "Really?!?!" she said, breathlessly happy. "But why...?"

Sirius could practically read her mind. "Hes not sure if you like him, but thats not the point. Anyways, Moony and I were thinking that the only way to get him to tell you how he feels is to majorly piss him off and get the green-eyed monster into gear."

Lily nodded, but her brows furrowed. "You mean if we go out then we can get James all worked up and jealous?"

Sirius returned a nod. "Precisely. So just act like you really like me, have a great time together, hold hands whenever hes near and generally make everyone think we're really a couple."

"Wait a sec..." said Lily. "Will there be kissing involved?"

For the first time ever Lily seen Sirius blush. "If you feel it will help...."

Lily nodded, for she wouldn't mind at all. If she had to go out with Sirius, after all, it made sense to have every girl in the year envy her. That would make it all the more fun.

Grinning wickedly, Lily held out a hand and Sirius shook it. This was gonna be soooo much fun....

Notes: I'm sorry, I couldn't wait to get reviews, I'm enjoying writing this story :) Thanks for the review Marissa03!!! More soon.