The lighting in the Great Hall gave everyone in the giant room the appearance of an ethereal glow, and the stars that peppered the charmed celling seemed unusually bright as Remus walked in, Willow on his arm.

The tables were all gone now, save a few that were sitting against the far wall, a multitude of delicious looking foods and treats sitting on them.

The area was full of students, all standing around in their best, waiting for Dumbledore to make the final announcements so that the ball could finally begin.

Nervous amber eyes scanned the crowds of people, trying to find the object of his desires. He was almost afraid to see Sirius. He didn't know if he wanted to see the girl that would be with him, see the longing looks akin to his own, of other girls wishing they were the lucky one to be Sirius Black's date.

Willow gave Remus an almost knowing look, and tugged a bit on his arm with a smile.

Come on, lets get inside a bit more. Dumbledore should be starting the ball any minute now. She said, smirking and leading him quite knowingly to just a few paces from where Sirius stood.

It only took Remus a moment to notice his best friend standing so near, a tall, slender girl close to his side.
She was quite beautiful, Remus observed with a sinking feeling. Quite tall for a girl, and very shapely, with light, almost white colored long wispy hair, and Remus could just see her dark blue eyes, and high, prominent cheek bones. Remus knew she was a Ravenclaw girl, and also knew her name was Eve, but that's as far as his knowledge of the beauty went.

::I can never compare to that.:: He realized, giving a withdrawn sigh.

Remus glanced to Willow, and was startled to see her looking quite intensely over at Sirius and his date not unlike the way Remus had just a moment before.


Students of Hogwarts! Professor Dumbledore's booming voice interrupted Remus' musings, and everyone quieted and looked to their Headmaster.

It is time for relaxation, and good times. The winter season is now upon us, and just tomorrow, most of you will be leaving to spend your holidays with your family. His eyes twinkled as he looked at the sea of eager faces before him.

I am glad that the rest of the staff agreed with me in my thoughts that you students deserved a break this year. With the constant worry over You Know Who's uprising, this is a good way to relax. So please, leave your concerns at the door, and enjoy this rare gift of a ball. He motioned to Professor McGonagall, who quickly started up the music, and all the students let out a resounding whoop of joy before they all began to speak, and move off of the dance floor, just a few brave couples staying to start the dancing up.


James and Lily were standing by the tables of food, and Lily was a little impatient with James.

Look, this is a ball. Usually dancing occurs, James. She said, sounding a little irritated. James looked a bit nervous, and took her hand.

Oh, all right. He mumbled, leading her out to the floor. Peter was laughing at James' misfortune, until his date grabbed him and pulled a very unwilling animagi marauder to the dance floor also.

Through all of this, Sirius and his date were standing off to the side, obviously deep in a rather serious conversation. Remus noticed that Willow seemed to be more interested in what they were talking about than he was, and he bit his lip a little, nervous about what would be expected of him this evening.

Sirius turned his head, and scanned the crowd. His eyes met Remus', and the boy let out a small gasp. Sirius looked fantastic. His shoulder length hair had been left down today, and it looked, in short, amazing. Gone was the straggly unkempt look, which had been exchanged for an almost elegant appearance.

His hair was shining, glitter was visible above his eyes, and Remus detected a trace of make up. He licked his lips at the sight of the tight dress robes that clung to his frame.

::They make a good match.:: He observed with a heavy heart. Willow pulled him out of his thoughts with a gentle push to the dance floor.

Come on Remus, lets do some dancing. She said softly. If Remus didn't know better, he'd say Willow was trying to distract herself from someone too.



***


Much of the evening went on like this. Remus and Sirius meeting eyes across the room every once and a while. Something seemed to pass between them every time, and Remus didn't know when it happened, but he glanced to the clock to see that several hours had passed. The dance would be done in just shy of an hour now, and he felt relieved and saddened at once.

He was just preparing to go off by himself with the pretense of getting a drink for himself and Willow, when she took his arm.

Was all she said, just above a whisper. He could detect a sense of relief in her body language now, as if something she had been waiting for was finally coming to pass.

::Oh great...what does she have planned for me now?:: He wondered, fearing that she'd jump him or something equally as horrific. As much as he appreciated Willow's company and really liked her personality, the thought of anything more was... well, it just didn't seem right. And with good reason. Remus knew he was queer as a two dollar bill.


He reluctantly followed Willow, and they ended up in the middle of the dance floor. Willow stood to face Remus, and reached out slowly and gently, putting her hands over his eyes, and she gently closed them.

Keep them closed. She whispered, and Remus gave a faint nod.

Quickly she turned around and spotted what she was looking for. With a wave of her arm, they walked forward and took their positions.

Willow fell into willing arms and gladly received a kiss, before looking to the other person, a serious look in her eyes.

You owe me big time. She whispered to him jokingly, giving him a slap on the back, before she took the hand offered to her, and walked away with Eve, her fair-haired girlfriend, leaving Sirius Black to deal with the object of his own affections.


***


Oh I feel so evil right now. Just wait a bit everyone, what will Sirius do now? Such an evil boy, plotting like he was. lmao, thanks so much for the reviews everyone, they really make me want to write more sooner, so if you want the next chapter really fast, review even faster!! *huggles all readers* Until the next chappie, byes!