DISCLAIMER: See first chapter.
A/N: Thanks again to HPFanFicLuvr and to all my reviewers.
Pistol: Thank's so much for reviewing! I think Ron was scared that they'd be angry. But you're right, I guess he would actually have.
Lauren Booth, HarryGryffinGirl: Thank you soo much for taking the time to review, it really means a lot!
James was nervous. He had a reason to be nervous, too. Today was D-day. Today was the day he asked Hermione to the ball. It would be a wonderful ball, he was sure of that. He would take Hermione up to the Astronomy Tower and declare his love for her. She would lean in and kiss him, and tell him he was the only person she had felt this way about. If only she said yes. He had gone brooding for about a week, gathering courage to go and ask her. Funny, he thought, how much easier it is to face an angry McGonagall than to ask a friend to a ball.
He figured she'd be in the library, with that Evans girl, Lily. He didn't know anything about Lily, except that she was Hermione's friend, and that Ron, Remus and Neville seemed to think she was pretty alright. He smiled when he thought of his friends. Never had he thought that there could be more than four Marauders. But Ron had proved him wrong. Ron was every ounce a Marauder.
He walked down the corridor. He saw Snape in a corner, and resisted the urge to hex him. He knew Hermione and Snape were friends. He would never have thought that he could fancy a girl who befriended Severus Snape. He snorted. Hermione was indeed special. Nobody else would dream of being with both the Marauders and Snape.
Amelia Diggory skipped along the hall. He smiled.
"Hello, Diggory. Is Hermione in the library?"
She stopped and looked at him with big eyes. He sighed.
"I won't curse or hex you. Is Hermione in the library?"
Diggory nodded and walked away, still keeping her eyes on James.
"Oh for goodness sake," he snapped. "I said I'm not going t hex you."
She gave a small smile before saying; "You never know. You are after all you."
He smiled appreciatively. Maybe she wasn't such a twit after all.
"Who are you going to the ball with?" Hermione asked Lily in the library. They were currently working on their History of Magic.
"I don't know," replied the latter. "Nobody has asked me." She sighed. "I guess I'll go dateless, and dance with nobody."
"Don't be silly."
"It's true. Nobody would dance with a know-it-all."
"Lily, I'm a know-it-all too, are you implying that I'll go dateless too?"
Lily blushed.
"Well you're popular. You're not on Nora Perks's bad side."
"Yet," Hermione corrected. "I'm not on Nora Perks's bas side yet."
They smiled knowingly at each other. Hermione didn't like Nora Perks and made no attempt at hiding it.
"Well, you'll probably end up with Potter. He likes you," Lily told her best friend.
"I'll bet ten Galleons that you'll end up with James, Lily," a voice said from behind them. "You'll probably marry him or something and have a son."
Lily caught the glare Hermione sent Ron.
"Ron," she said warningly.
Ron gave a goofy grin.
"Sorry," he said nervously. He did not want to be on the receiving end of her temper. Lily smirked. It was fun to see how much power Hermione had over the boys.
"How do you get them to do as you say?" she asked her friend, an amused smile playing on her lips as she curled up the essay.
"Oh, it's easy. Threaten them that you won't help them with their homework enough times, and you'll have them wrapped around your little finger."
"I'll have to try that."
James entered the library. He looked around and spotted them. His walk seemed anxious, and he looked uneasy.
"I'm betting two Galleons he'll ask you to the ball," whispered Lily. Hermione giggled.
"Do you really think so?" But she knew she had to decline. She had to nip James's little crush in the bud before the consequences got serious. But a part of her was flattered that he, James Potter, the most popular guy in the school, actually liked her.
"Erm, Hermione," he started, blushed, and trailed off. "Her-Hermione," he started again, "I-I was wondering… Yuwangoballwime?"
"Didn't quite catch that, I'm afraid," Hermione smiled.
"I asked weather you'd go to the ball with me?" he managed to get forth.
Lily nudged Hermione knowingly.
"Two Galleons to me," Lily teased.
James blushed an even deeper shade of red.
"You had a bet?"
Hermione glared at Lily.
"She had, not me. Sorry James, but Neville and I are going. It's like a brother-sister thing."
"Oh," he said, feeling crushed. "I see."
He had waited to long.
"I guess I'll ask Fiona Shelley, then," he said, naming one of Nora Perks's side-kicks.
"You can ask," he heard a voice behind him, "but you won't get her."
James turned around. Amos Diggory flashed his white, perfect teeth at him.
"She's going with me. And Camilla North is going with Andy. It appears all the girls worth having are taken, doesn't it?"
James cursed.
"It appears the great James Potter might have to go to the ball without a date, doesn't it?" Diggory gloated.
"No he won't."
The two boys stopped glaring at each other and turned their to the girls.
"He's going with me."
James stared at her, just as shocked as Diggory.
"Lily?" he asked incredulously. "You want to go to the ball with me?"
She turned the same shade of red that James had been a few moments earlier.
"I mean, you're dateless, and so am I, so why don't we go together? As friends?"
James sneered at Diggory. "You were saying?"
Diggory made a grimace and left.
"Thanks Lily," said James. He sat down next to her. "You really want to go to the ball with me? You don't think I'm an air headed bully?"
Lily rolled her eyes.
"If I didn't want to, would I be asking? And, yes, I do think you're an air headed bully, but since Hermione came, you haven't been as bad as usual."
They started chatting, and soon forgot all about Hermione, who was leaning back, a satisfied smile on her face.
Mission impossible is now Mission accomplished, she thought smugly. Whoever thought that Lily would willingly go to the ball with James?
Amelia sighed. Everywhere she went there was talk about this ball, and she couldn't go. It was only for fourth-years and up, and she was a lousy second-year. Not that anyone would want to go to me, even if I was old enough.
She looked at a group of fourth year boys at the Gryffindor table. She edged closer to hear what they were saying.
"Sirius is going with Nora," one voice said.
"Figures," replied another. "They're the hottest couple in the school."
"But have you heard this?" asked a black-haired boy. "James is going with Lily!"
Gasps were heard around the table. Amelia resisted the urge to do the same. Beautiful Lily with those fantastic eyes was going with her worst tormentor! But then she remembered the incident earlier in the corridor. She couldn't believe she had half insulted him, and he had only smiled. She guessed it had something to do with Hermione and Lily.
"I was sure he'd go with Fiona or Camilla!" one of the boys exclaimed.
"Oh we all know who they're going with," said the black-haired with a dark look towards the Hufflepuff table.
"Oh yes. Golden Boy Diggory and his cronies," said the first voice contemptuously. Amelia felt personally insulted. Golden Boy Diggory was her brother! Even though he was sometimes arrogant, and even mean, he had been there all her life. Even though he never acnowledged her at school, he had always been there to comfort her. But when she looked at him, at the Hufflepuff table, showing of, all the old feelings of betrayal returned. He had made it very clear he wanted nothing to do with her during school term. She could never look at him without a pressing sense of dejection. Even her brother felt she was a twit! She had had no friends. Nobody befriended anyone after the Marauders had deemed him or her an outcast and pranking material. Until Hermione and Lily came. Hermione and Lily. Yes, they were the only ones to go against the Marauders' unwritten law. And the funny thing was, they weren't punished. In fact, Potter and Black seemed to admire them.
The boys had been continuing their discussion while Amelia was deep in thought. Suddenly one of them exclaimed:
"Look, the little Hufflepuff geek has been spying on us!"
The horror spread through Amelia like a cold wind turning her blood to ice. She found herself shaking.
"It's Diggory's little sister," said another. "Amy or something. She'll probably go blabbing to big brother Amos. Guys, I think this demands a punishment."
Amelia regained the control of her legs, and sped out of the hall. She knocked right into Black. Of all the people I could run over, it just had to be Black, she cursed.
"Watch it, Diggory!" he snapped. "If it wasn't for the fact that Lily is just behind, you'd be sorry you ever were born."
She stared at him and sped on.
"We did it!" Remus was startled by Hermione's cry as she entered the common room and saw Ron and Neville. "Theyu're going!"
Remus didn't know what she was talking about. They? Going where? Ron and Neville, however, seemed to know exactly what was going on.
"That's great! But tell me, Hermione, how? Do you perform miracles? I mean, he'd probably never go with her willingly."
She laughed.
"I did it with a little help from Amos Diggory."
Ron sent her a questioning frown.
"He didn't know he was helping me,. of course."
They smirked.
"Glad to hear Golden Boy can have some uses," Neville joked.
After a silence they started talking about dates to the ball. Remus was going with a Gryffindor fourth year, Mirabelle.
"She's really sweet and caring. A bit of an outsider."
He was surprised when Hermione and Neville told them they were going.
"But you're siblings!"
Hermione and Neville had predicted this sort of reaction, so they had coughed up a story ready to tell.
"Well, before our first Yule Ball, Neville found me crying because I hadn't managed to get a date. He told me he'd escort me , since his role as a brother was to act a chaperone when needed."
"The ball was a smash," Neville broke in, "and we decided to do it again. We weren't bound by our dates, see. We could dance with others too, without having a bad conscience because of jealous partners."
"Of course, when I find the right one, it'll be bye bye Neville, hello date."
Ron was going with a Ravenclaw girl, Anne. Sirius was, of course, going with Nora Perks.
"I don't know why he hangs out with her," Ron told the others. "She's not nice to anyone."
"Honestly Ron, are you that stupid?" Hermione snapped. "She's popular. She's hot. Sirius is the envy of the entire school when he's her boyfriend."
"Well, I don't care about popularity," said a voice behind them.
"Prongs!" exclaimed Remus. "Fancy seeing you here! Who are you going with?"
"Lily," replied all time-travellers at once. James gave them a funny look.
"How did you know?"
"Hermione, could you help me with my potions assignment?" asked Neville at once.
James shook his head.
"Why do I have a feeling that they're hiding something big?" he asked incredulously.
Remus's mind was working overtime. What was it Hermione had said? 'We did it! They're going!' That meant that they must want Lily and James to fall in love which meant …. Harry! He had to speak with them!