A few weeks later, the exceptional eight were in the great hall, having an exceptionally noisy breakfast, when Professor Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. The hall fell silent immediately, and he began to speak.
"I am here to announce that, because a large number of the school were unable to attend the masquerade ball at Christmas." With this his twinkling eyes passed over the marauders and the marauderettes. "We are going to have an end of year ball instead. Thank you, you may now resume your gorging."
"What did he look at us for?" Jenny asked indignantly. "How did we do anything?"
"When you fell off the sleigh." Remus began, " A large crowd of your admirers assembled outside the hospital wing. It was all Sirius could do to get them to bugger off before you came out. With the aid of some rather nasty hexes, I might add."
"But I did it with a smile!" Sirius added, plastering a large cheesy grin on his face.
"Sirius, don't do that, it makes you look like…" Lily started.
"Remus on the rampage." James continued.
"I'd hate to think that, even in my werewolf form, I look anything like that imbecilic piece of shit who is giving us a demonstration of dentistry."
"Remus, what have we told you about long words in the mornings?" Asked Em, lifting her golden head off of the table, where it had dropped the minute before.
"Yeah Remus." Jenny teased. "Having lived with the marauders for 6 years, you of all people should know that their early morning vocabulary consists of…"
"Slytherin-bad, food-good." Lily broke in.
"I object!" James said to his girlfriend in a standoffish voice. "Everyone knows that it also includes pranks-funny."
"And fireworks-pranks." Added Sirius.
"Don't forget homework-boring." Peter put in.
"Anyway, however boring homework may be, you guys have mountains of it, so Library, now!" Remus finished.
And with that, the marauders dragged themselves away from the table, following Remus, each muttering something like 'homework Nazi' under their breath. Moments later, however, they were back.
"What did you do to Remus?" asked Em, once again rearing her head.
"Cursed him, stupefied him, and stuck him to the wall." Sirius promptly replied.
"Are you serious?" Lily queried.
"And you say Remus doesn't know us?"
Later that day, the girl's, minus Em, as she had Divination, were walking to transfiguration, when Lily realised that she'd left her books in the dorm. The girls quickly sprinted up the stairs to get them, because their transfiguration class was 5th floor, and Gryffindor tower on 7th. Lily mumbled the password to the fat lady, and her and Jenny, being quicker than Jess, threw themselves up the stairs, Jess having just entered the portrait hole. Lily threw open the trunk at the base of her bed, and a foul smelling liquid sprayed out, coating Jenny and Lily completely, and even splashing Jess, who stood by the door. Then, once the shower had stopped, a notice popped out. It said; 'Give us back our Potter!' Jess was the first to break the silence.
"You guys need to change, and go to the hospital wing, to check if it's anything nasty. We should be back for half of Transfig."
"Rightyo, Parche." Jenny replied, drying her robes at the same time. Suddenly, green hair began to pop up on Lily and Jenny's faces.
"Lucky I know the counter curse, huh?" commented Jenny. "Ninesae Vospetua." The green hair disappeared, but Jess's face began to go red with rage.
"I am sick and tired of these stupid love sick girls playing tricks on us the whole time. I call a gang meeting. Something has to be done!"
Later that night, in the room of requirement all the gang sat round. It was normally James or Sirius who called these meetings, but this time Jess had the floor.
"I am sick and tired of these love sick bitch and gits trying to kill us the whole time! Therefore, we need a plan of action. Agreed?"
"Agreed." The others chorused.
"Does anyone have a plan?"
"I do!" Said Lily, standing up to take the floor from Jess. "If we pretend to break up in the great hall tomorrow, then they'll leave us alone, and then, we go to the ball with other people, so our fans are happy, and your fans are happy. It doesn't mean we can't do coupley things, it just means we should do them in secret."
"Well said!" Jumped up Sirius and began clapping.
"I second that motion!" Jenny also rose, and clapped along.
"In that case," Jess began, "Motion carried!"
At around nine o'clock the same evening, the gang were sitting in their respective couples, planning tomorrow's break-ups. They were all having fun, but Sirius and Jenny went a bit overboard. They were actually scripting theirs!
"I think at this part, I should say, you ungrateful bitch!" Sirius commented to Jenny, who was holding the paper.
"Only if I get to say, well you treated me like an old carpet!"
"O.k. then, I don't know how you treat someone like an old carpet, but anyway."
Remus and Jess watched from the shadowy armchair from where they were curled up.
"I can't wait," Remus started, "Tomorrow is going to be hilarious!"
The next morning, Remus awoke to find everyone around him already up. Quickly, he dressed and went down to breakfast. The sight that met his eyes when he entered the great hall was enough to make his sides split with laughter. Sirius and Jenny had the floor, and were standing opposite each other, screaming gat the tops of their voices. James and Lily sat at Gryffindor table, back to back. Remus guessed that they had already done their part. Suddenly, Sirius began shouting what Remus had heard them scripting last night.
"You ungrateful bitch!" At this, Jenny came closer and slapped him round the face.
"How dare you call me that when you treated me like an old carpet!?"
"You know what, I don't need this juvenile argument!"
"Look who's talking, Mr Teen Immaturity! Anyway, I think it's pretty clear, what comes next. Bye!"
And with that, she stalked over to Lily, grabbed her arm, and marched her out of the hall. A moment later, Sirius repeated that gesture exactly, except in a mockery of his girlfriend. Remus was about to follow them, when he noticed everyone staring.
"What?" He said, in his best stroppy voice.
Outside the great hall, he found everyone doubled up, laughing his or her head off. He shepherded them to the room of requirement, as their next period was free, and joined them. After about five minutes, the laughter subsided, but then Lily remarked,
"Do you remember? Treat me like an old carpet!" And everyone fell back into giggles.
After this hilarious incident, the fan clubs pretty much left the eight alone, although they did get asked out rather a lot. However, they needed dates for the ball, so they pretty much decided on the spot. Lily ended up going with a cute, but brainless, Hufflepuff, named Eric Swanson. Jenny had ensnared a handsome, but mean, Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy by name. It was a mystery why she decided to say yes to him, but she said it was because he was the only intelligent boy who asked her. This could have been partly due to the fact that the boys of the school didn't want to enrage Sirius, who was capable of some not nice things. Sirius was going with a Ravenclaw called Sabrina Widdershins, who happened to be one of Amy Liasson's friends, and James with Dinah, but strictly as friends. On the night of the ball, all the 5 girls were in their dorms, making final preparations. Lily's dress was a long, flowing and one shouldered, cream silk. Her hair was swept up elegantly, with a few wavy tendrils framing her face. She also wore a simple tiara, inset with pearls. As the outfit flowed down her body, it showed off her subtle curves to perfection, and also made her look a few inches taller. Jenny wore a dark red satin off the shoulder gown, which kicked out at the bottom, showing the pink silk lining. The dress clung to her curves and would have made any boy in his right mind keel over. Her hair was layered around her face, and the tips dyed bright red. Her porcelain skin was made to look almost ivory, and she had never looked more angelic. Around her neck, she wore a gold chain, on which hung a tiny red heart. It had been her Christmas present from Sirius. Jess wore a spaghetti strap midnight blue number, with silver and blue sequins dotted all over it. Her hair too, was up, but in an elegant half and half, tied with a midnight velvet ribbon. The silver chain around her neck, coupled with the silver eyeshadow, made her look something like the night sky would, if viewed through a frosty window. Em wore a beautiful strapless dress of pale pink, and with her hair straightened to loose ringlets, she looked something like Glenda in the wizard of Oz, what with the silver tiara. Dinah's change was the most surprising. Instead of the normal two plaits, her black hair was in two French plaits braided together at the base of her neck. Her green silk strapless showed off curves that the girls never knew she had, and her tanned, clear skin made a perfect contrast. Her hazel eyes glittered in anticipation, and she was the most beautiful the girls had ever seen her. All five walked down the stairs carefully, trying not to rip their dresses. The girl's dates and the Gryffindor boys, who were waiting outside the portrait hole, gazed at them in amazement. Sirius even had his mouth hanging open. As Jenny glided past him, she whispered in his ear.
"You could catch flies like that." At her warm breath, a shiver ran down Sirius's spine. How much could he stand of his girl dancing with that prat Malfoy? Not much, his brain answered. Malfoy and Jenny took the lead, Malfoy refusing to be seen with the marauders. The others followed, dawdling slightly, talking amongst themselves at Jenny's choice of date. With Jenny and Malfoy, however, things were taking an altogether different course to what the others suspected.
"Jennifer, my dear, you look enchanting tonight!"
"Thank you Lucius. You don't look so bad yourself. Tell me, what do your Slytherin minions think of you attending the ball with me?"
"Beautiful and sharp witted. She is indeed a finer woman than I believed at first. My kind of girl, if only her evil streak were a bit more pronounced." Lucius thought to himself, though to Jenny he said,
"As you are a pure blood and moat of your family were in Slytherin, they have no objection. You didn't ask to be in Gryffindor, did you?" Malfoy neglected to mention that he had threatened everybody in his house with death if they even attempted to take the piss.
"Actually…" Jenny naughtily replied, but she never finished because at that moment the couple entered the hall. It was amazing. Everything had somehow been transformed into a rose garden like courtyard. The quiet chatter suddenly ceased too, at the site of who they thought was Sirius's ex, at the ball with Lucius Malfoy. In a minute or two the quiet chatter rose again, and a slow waltz started.
"May I have this dance?" Malfoy asked, his silky, yet not slimy voice ringing with confidence.
"Of course." Jenny replied courteously, but a little preoccupied. She had just remembered something that Sirius had told her.
"Lucius, was it you tipping the sleigh when Sirius and I were on it at Christmas?" She asked, as her date walked her to the dance floor.
"I was, but I did not bet on that idiot being scared of heights. I only did it because he was on the sleigh anyway. I never intended you to fall." Was the silky reply.
Jenny was quiet for a moment, turning things over in her mind, and decided it would be better to change the subject.
"Your father, he is Lord Vladimir Malfoy is he not?" Jenny asked, although she already knew the answer perfectly well.
"Yes, he is indeed." Malfoy replied, knowing that this meant she was getting bored.
"Lucius, would you mind if I sat down for a little while?"
"No. Sit to your heart's content."
Jenny left his arms and walked across the dancefloor to where Lily was sitting.
"Just managed to get away from your date too huh?" Lily asked, sympathetically.
"Yep. God, he's so boring. All he does is insult Sirius 24:7, I wish I'd gone with David Molloy." Jenny moaned.
"Hello ladies! Thoroughly bored yet?" Sirius queried as he walked over to them.
"How did you guess?" Jenny said, sarcasm becoming prominent.
"May I have this dance?"
"Of course."
Malfoy watched this exchange from where he was dancing with Narcissa Black, a fellow Slytherin, and Sirius's cousin. He felt jealousy boil in his blood. How could he, Lucius Malfoy, lose his date to her ex-boyfriend, and that idiot Black of all people! He would just have to go and reclaim her! He let Narcissa go, and stalked over to where Elissa Everton, another Slytherin, was sitting. He whispered something in her ear, and she smiled cruelly and nodded. The next song that came on was the Wizarding waltz, a fast dance which included plenty of partner swapping. Malfoy stood up with Elissa, and began the lively dance.
Jenny and Sirius also quickened their pace when the new music began. Both being purebloods, they had been taught the dance in early infancy. Jenny never really understood the point of this dance, seeing as it was incredibly complicated and long. Maybe it was intended for a social mixer. Her thoughts stopped there however, as all her thoughts had to be concentrated on moving her feet. As the first partner swap imposed, Malfoy and Elissa approached Sirius and Jenny. Each bowed to the other, and Malfoy whisked Jenny away.
It wasn't that he was a bad dancer, Jenny reasoned, but she just didn't feel right in his arms. Sure he was her date and everything, but she really would have preferred dancing with James or Sirius, as the partnering had previously been arranged. Suddenly, it occurred to Jenny that Malfoy was leading her very far away from the crowd of dancers.
"Lucius," She began, "Don't you think we should move a bit closer to the crowd? It's almost time for the next partner swap."
Sirius had also noticed that Malfoy was leading Jenny away, but was helpless, as Elissa was steadfastly steering him. Luckily, James spotted his peril and him and Lily came over to him.
"Eye on Jenny." Sirius whispered in James' left ear.
"Righto chum." James grimly replied. He hated going near Malfoy. Him and Lily suddenly began dancing very quickly over to near Malfoy and Jenny.
"My dear, I think we should take a breath of fresh air." Lucius replied, and pulled her quickly out onto one of the balconies that had been set up specially. Malfoy sat down, pulled Jenny down too, and began to lean in for a kiss.
His lips were about to meet hers when Jenny's instincts came into play. She pulled back form Malfoy, and slapped him around the face.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Asked Jenny, her voice fiery like Lily's.
"Bu…but…"
"You know something, I don't want to know what you have to say Malfoy! Silencio. Now, Herensa Arania!"
Just as Malfoy's face began to blister out into purple pustules, James and Lily rushed in. James grabbed Malfoy's long pale hair, and punched him in the face.
"Er, Jay?" Lily asked. "Could you stop pummelling Malfoy so we can hear the story?"
"He brought me out here, and was about to kiss me, when I slapped him round the face and cursed him, as you can see."
"Well then, James, stop hitting Malfoy. He's had enough punishment." Lily remarked to her other half.
"But this is for Sirius!"
"All right then."
After that exchange however, James put Malfoy down, and followed the girls back into the Great Hall. Jenny made a beeline for Elissa and Sirius, and requested,
"May I cut in?"
"Where's your date gone?"
"He's unconscious on that balcony. Maybe you'd like to take a look."
And with that comment, Elissa ran towards the balcony, in an obvious panic. Jenny took her place, and they began waltzing again, as the wizard's waltz still hadn't finished. Jenny looked up at Sirius, and said, eyes twinkling like crazy,
"Sam, I've got the feeling that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
And mirroring the conversation of many years before perfectly, Sirius answered
"Huh?"
And in true Jenny style, she replied,
"Muggle Film reference."
"I am here to announce that, because a large number of the school were unable to attend the masquerade ball at Christmas." With this his twinkling eyes passed over the marauders and the marauderettes. "We are going to have an end of year ball instead. Thank you, you may now resume your gorging."
"What did he look at us for?" Jenny asked indignantly. "How did we do anything?"
"When you fell off the sleigh." Remus began, " A large crowd of your admirers assembled outside the hospital wing. It was all Sirius could do to get them to bugger off before you came out. With the aid of some rather nasty hexes, I might add."
"But I did it with a smile!" Sirius added, plastering a large cheesy grin on his face.
"Sirius, don't do that, it makes you look like…" Lily started.
"Remus on the rampage." James continued.
"I'd hate to think that, even in my werewolf form, I look anything like that imbecilic piece of shit who is giving us a demonstration of dentistry."
"Remus, what have we told you about long words in the mornings?" Asked Em, lifting her golden head off of the table, where it had dropped the minute before.
"Yeah Remus." Jenny teased. "Having lived with the marauders for 6 years, you of all people should know that their early morning vocabulary consists of…"
"Slytherin-bad, food-good." Lily broke in.
"I object!" James said to his girlfriend in a standoffish voice. "Everyone knows that it also includes pranks-funny."
"And fireworks-pranks." Added Sirius.
"Don't forget homework-boring." Peter put in.
"Anyway, however boring homework may be, you guys have mountains of it, so Library, now!" Remus finished.
And with that, the marauders dragged themselves away from the table, following Remus, each muttering something like 'homework Nazi' under their breath. Moments later, however, they were back.
"What did you do to Remus?" asked Em, once again rearing her head.
"Cursed him, stupefied him, and stuck him to the wall." Sirius promptly replied.
"Are you serious?" Lily queried.
"And you say Remus doesn't know us?"
Later that day, the girl's, minus Em, as she had Divination, were walking to transfiguration, when Lily realised that she'd left her books in the dorm. The girls quickly sprinted up the stairs to get them, because their transfiguration class was 5th floor, and Gryffindor tower on 7th. Lily mumbled the password to the fat lady, and her and Jenny, being quicker than Jess, threw themselves up the stairs, Jess having just entered the portrait hole. Lily threw open the trunk at the base of her bed, and a foul smelling liquid sprayed out, coating Jenny and Lily completely, and even splashing Jess, who stood by the door. Then, once the shower had stopped, a notice popped out. It said; 'Give us back our Potter!' Jess was the first to break the silence.
"You guys need to change, and go to the hospital wing, to check if it's anything nasty. We should be back for half of Transfig."
"Rightyo, Parche." Jenny replied, drying her robes at the same time. Suddenly, green hair began to pop up on Lily and Jenny's faces.
"Lucky I know the counter curse, huh?" commented Jenny. "Ninesae Vospetua." The green hair disappeared, but Jess's face began to go red with rage.
"I am sick and tired of these stupid love sick girls playing tricks on us the whole time. I call a gang meeting. Something has to be done!"
Later that night, in the room of requirement all the gang sat round. It was normally James or Sirius who called these meetings, but this time Jess had the floor.
"I am sick and tired of these love sick bitch and gits trying to kill us the whole time! Therefore, we need a plan of action. Agreed?"
"Agreed." The others chorused.
"Does anyone have a plan?"
"I do!" Said Lily, standing up to take the floor from Jess. "If we pretend to break up in the great hall tomorrow, then they'll leave us alone, and then, we go to the ball with other people, so our fans are happy, and your fans are happy. It doesn't mean we can't do coupley things, it just means we should do them in secret."
"Well said!" Jumped up Sirius and began clapping.
"I second that motion!" Jenny also rose, and clapped along.
"In that case," Jess began, "Motion carried!"
At around nine o'clock the same evening, the gang were sitting in their respective couples, planning tomorrow's break-ups. They were all having fun, but Sirius and Jenny went a bit overboard. They were actually scripting theirs!
"I think at this part, I should say, you ungrateful bitch!" Sirius commented to Jenny, who was holding the paper.
"Only if I get to say, well you treated me like an old carpet!"
"O.k. then, I don't know how you treat someone like an old carpet, but anyway."
Remus and Jess watched from the shadowy armchair from where they were curled up.
"I can't wait," Remus started, "Tomorrow is going to be hilarious!"
The next morning, Remus awoke to find everyone around him already up. Quickly, he dressed and went down to breakfast. The sight that met his eyes when he entered the great hall was enough to make his sides split with laughter. Sirius and Jenny had the floor, and were standing opposite each other, screaming gat the tops of their voices. James and Lily sat at Gryffindor table, back to back. Remus guessed that they had already done their part. Suddenly, Sirius began shouting what Remus had heard them scripting last night.
"You ungrateful bitch!" At this, Jenny came closer and slapped him round the face.
"How dare you call me that when you treated me like an old carpet!?"
"You know what, I don't need this juvenile argument!"
"Look who's talking, Mr Teen Immaturity! Anyway, I think it's pretty clear, what comes next. Bye!"
And with that, she stalked over to Lily, grabbed her arm, and marched her out of the hall. A moment later, Sirius repeated that gesture exactly, except in a mockery of his girlfriend. Remus was about to follow them, when he noticed everyone staring.
"What?" He said, in his best stroppy voice.
Outside the great hall, he found everyone doubled up, laughing his or her head off. He shepherded them to the room of requirement, as their next period was free, and joined them. After about five minutes, the laughter subsided, but then Lily remarked,
"Do you remember? Treat me like an old carpet!" And everyone fell back into giggles.
After this hilarious incident, the fan clubs pretty much left the eight alone, although they did get asked out rather a lot. However, they needed dates for the ball, so they pretty much decided on the spot. Lily ended up going with a cute, but brainless, Hufflepuff, named Eric Swanson. Jenny had ensnared a handsome, but mean, Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy by name. It was a mystery why she decided to say yes to him, but she said it was because he was the only intelligent boy who asked her. This could have been partly due to the fact that the boys of the school didn't want to enrage Sirius, who was capable of some not nice things. Sirius was going with a Ravenclaw called Sabrina Widdershins, who happened to be one of Amy Liasson's friends, and James with Dinah, but strictly as friends. On the night of the ball, all the 5 girls were in their dorms, making final preparations. Lily's dress was a long, flowing and one shouldered, cream silk. Her hair was swept up elegantly, with a few wavy tendrils framing her face. She also wore a simple tiara, inset with pearls. As the outfit flowed down her body, it showed off her subtle curves to perfection, and also made her look a few inches taller. Jenny wore a dark red satin off the shoulder gown, which kicked out at the bottom, showing the pink silk lining. The dress clung to her curves and would have made any boy in his right mind keel over. Her hair was layered around her face, and the tips dyed bright red. Her porcelain skin was made to look almost ivory, and she had never looked more angelic. Around her neck, she wore a gold chain, on which hung a tiny red heart. It had been her Christmas present from Sirius. Jess wore a spaghetti strap midnight blue number, with silver and blue sequins dotted all over it. Her hair too, was up, but in an elegant half and half, tied with a midnight velvet ribbon. The silver chain around her neck, coupled with the silver eyeshadow, made her look something like the night sky would, if viewed through a frosty window. Em wore a beautiful strapless dress of pale pink, and with her hair straightened to loose ringlets, she looked something like Glenda in the wizard of Oz, what with the silver tiara. Dinah's change was the most surprising. Instead of the normal two plaits, her black hair was in two French plaits braided together at the base of her neck. Her green silk strapless showed off curves that the girls never knew she had, and her tanned, clear skin made a perfect contrast. Her hazel eyes glittered in anticipation, and she was the most beautiful the girls had ever seen her. All five walked down the stairs carefully, trying not to rip their dresses. The girl's dates and the Gryffindor boys, who were waiting outside the portrait hole, gazed at them in amazement. Sirius even had his mouth hanging open. As Jenny glided past him, she whispered in his ear.
"You could catch flies like that." At her warm breath, a shiver ran down Sirius's spine. How much could he stand of his girl dancing with that prat Malfoy? Not much, his brain answered. Malfoy and Jenny took the lead, Malfoy refusing to be seen with the marauders. The others followed, dawdling slightly, talking amongst themselves at Jenny's choice of date. With Jenny and Malfoy, however, things were taking an altogether different course to what the others suspected.
"Jennifer, my dear, you look enchanting tonight!"
"Thank you Lucius. You don't look so bad yourself. Tell me, what do your Slytherin minions think of you attending the ball with me?"
"Beautiful and sharp witted. She is indeed a finer woman than I believed at first. My kind of girl, if only her evil streak were a bit more pronounced." Lucius thought to himself, though to Jenny he said,
"As you are a pure blood and moat of your family were in Slytherin, they have no objection. You didn't ask to be in Gryffindor, did you?" Malfoy neglected to mention that he had threatened everybody in his house with death if they even attempted to take the piss.
"Actually…" Jenny naughtily replied, but she never finished because at that moment the couple entered the hall. It was amazing. Everything had somehow been transformed into a rose garden like courtyard. The quiet chatter suddenly ceased too, at the site of who they thought was Sirius's ex, at the ball with Lucius Malfoy. In a minute or two the quiet chatter rose again, and a slow waltz started.
"May I have this dance?" Malfoy asked, his silky, yet not slimy voice ringing with confidence.
"Of course." Jenny replied courteously, but a little preoccupied. She had just remembered something that Sirius had told her.
"Lucius, was it you tipping the sleigh when Sirius and I were on it at Christmas?" She asked, as her date walked her to the dance floor.
"I was, but I did not bet on that idiot being scared of heights. I only did it because he was on the sleigh anyway. I never intended you to fall." Was the silky reply.
Jenny was quiet for a moment, turning things over in her mind, and decided it would be better to change the subject.
"Your father, he is Lord Vladimir Malfoy is he not?" Jenny asked, although she already knew the answer perfectly well.
"Yes, he is indeed." Malfoy replied, knowing that this meant she was getting bored.
"Lucius, would you mind if I sat down for a little while?"
"No. Sit to your heart's content."
Jenny left his arms and walked across the dancefloor to where Lily was sitting.
"Just managed to get away from your date too huh?" Lily asked, sympathetically.
"Yep. God, he's so boring. All he does is insult Sirius 24:7, I wish I'd gone with David Molloy." Jenny moaned.
"Hello ladies! Thoroughly bored yet?" Sirius queried as he walked over to them.
"How did you guess?" Jenny said, sarcasm becoming prominent.
"May I have this dance?"
"Of course."
Malfoy watched this exchange from where he was dancing with Narcissa Black, a fellow Slytherin, and Sirius's cousin. He felt jealousy boil in his blood. How could he, Lucius Malfoy, lose his date to her ex-boyfriend, and that idiot Black of all people! He would just have to go and reclaim her! He let Narcissa go, and stalked over to where Elissa Everton, another Slytherin, was sitting. He whispered something in her ear, and she smiled cruelly and nodded. The next song that came on was the Wizarding waltz, a fast dance which included plenty of partner swapping. Malfoy stood up with Elissa, and began the lively dance.
Jenny and Sirius also quickened their pace when the new music began. Both being purebloods, they had been taught the dance in early infancy. Jenny never really understood the point of this dance, seeing as it was incredibly complicated and long. Maybe it was intended for a social mixer. Her thoughts stopped there however, as all her thoughts had to be concentrated on moving her feet. As the first partner swap imposed, Malfoy and Elissa approached Sirius and Jenny. Each bowed to the other, and Malfoy whisked Jenny away.
It wasn't that he was a bad dancer, Jenny reasoned, but she just didn't feel right in his arms. Sure he was her date and everything, but she really would have preferred dancing with James or Sirius, as the partnering had previously been arranged. Suddenly, it occurred to Jenny that Malfoy was leading her very far away from the crowd of dancers.
"Lucius," She began, "Don't you think we should move a bit closer to the crowd? It's almost time for the next partner swap."
Sirius had also noticed that Malfoy was leading Jenny away, but was helpless, as Elissa was steadfastly steering him. Luckily, James spotted his peril and him and Lily came over to him.
"Eye on Jenny." Sirius whispered in James' left ear.
"Righto chum." James grimly replied. He hated going near Malfoy. Him and Lily suddenly began dancing very quickly over to near Malfoy and Jenny.
"My dear, I think we should take a breath of fresh air." Lucius replied, and pulled her quickly out onto one of the balconies that had been set up specially. Malfoy sat down, pulled Jenny down too, and began to lean in for a kiss.
His lips were about to meet hers when Jenny's instincts came into play. She pulled back form Malfoy, and slapped him around the face.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Asked Jenny, her voice fiery like Lily's.
"Bu…but…"
"You know something, I don't want to know what you have to say Malfoy! Silencio. Now, Herensa Arania!"
Just as Malfoy's face began to blister out into purple pustules, James and Lily rushed in. James grabbed Malfoy's long pale hair, and punched him in the face.
"Er, Jay?" Lily asked. "Could you stop pummelling Malfoy so we can hear the story?"
"He brought me out here, and was about to kiss me, when I slapped him round the face and cursed him, as you can see."
"Well then, James, stop hitting Malfoy. He's had enough punishment." Lily remarked to her other half.
"But this is for Sirius!"
"All right then."
After that exchange however, James put Malfoy down, and followed the girls back into the Great Hall. Jenny made a beeline for Elissa and Sirius, and requested,
"May I cut in?"
"Where's your date gone?"
"He's unconscious on that balcony. Maybe you'd like to take a look."
And with that comment, Elissa ran towards the balcony, in an obvious panic. Jenny took her place, and they began waltzing again, as the wizard's waltz still hadn't finished. Jenny looked up at Sirius, and said, eyes twinkling like crazy,
"Sam, I've got the feeling that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
And mirroring the conversation of many years before perfectly, Sirius answered
"Huh?"
And in true Jenny style, she replied,
"Muggle Film reference."