Disclaimer: I do not own anything that belongs to JK Rowling. Anything here that you don't recognize belongs to me.

~DanniBannani~ Okay guys, I have decided for sure that I am ONE HUNDRED PERCENT PURE EVIL (not really, of course…but not too far from it). Anyways, I am evil because I have come up with another case of LWS (Lazy writer's syndrome). I was supposed to update about a month and a half ago…but as you know…I…er….didn't. Then, suddenly I got a bazillion reviews from my friend's sis (and one from her friend) and I decided that I really shouldn't keep you people waiting any longer. So…

On with the story…

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"Wait a minute," Lily said after a long pause. "What do you mean we have to be announced? What type of announcement are you talking about?"

"Umm…the type where we're to be announced in pairs, descend the stairs and shake hands with the important people," answered James with a guilty smile on his face.

"James?" asked Robyn quietly. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"Truthfully, I didn't think it would matter," said a timid James.

"What kind of a fool are you?" shrieked Lily.

"Well, I can't do anything about it now, can I? We need to get going. We should be walking into the ballroom in five minutes."

"Five minutes?" asked Remus calmly, "But won't we need to know our pairs by then?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so." James bluntly agreed. "How about this:  Remus, you go with Robyn; Peter with Arabella; Sirius, you get Melanie; and I'll be with…"

"No way. No. I am not going in with you, Potter," Lily whined.

"But we need to go. It'll only take five minutes to walk in! I promise you, I'm not too happy about this arrangement either."

"So change it!" cried an annoyed Lily.

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because…I can't! Now let's go." James hooked his arm around Lily's and dragged her out of his bedroom. His other friends followed suit.

James, like he had been doing before, took the lead and led his friends and Lily through many hallways and up a staircase. Eventually, the group reached a large set of mahogany double doors. James turned the golden doorknobs and opened the doors to reveal the upper staircase to an extravagant ballroom. The stairs were made of white marble with pearly grays and ivory streaks swirling together in a lovely pattern. The marble on the stairs continued onto the floor where a sea of people awaited the Minister's son.

"Alright," James whispered, "Peter, Arabella, you two go first. Then Remus and Robyn. After them, Sirius and Melanie. And finally, me and…her."

"Okay," said the majority of the group.

At that point, a trumpet sounded and a loud voice boomed inside the room, "May I announce to you Mr. Peter Pettigrew and Miss Arabella Figg." Peter and Arabella nervously descended the stairs and shook some peoples' hands with only a few minor mishaps.

In the order that James suggested, the friends descended the stairs until it was time for Lily and James to go down as the final couple.

"And now I announce to all, the Minister's son, Mr. James Potter who is accompanied by the lovely Miss Lily Evans."

Lily and James pasted on smiles and descended the stairs arm in arm as if they were royalty. Once they reached the bottom, they shook hands of the Heads of several Ministry Departments.

After they had finished acquainting themselves with the employees of James' father, Lily and James set out to find their friends. It wasn't long before they spotted them near the punch bowls.

"I still think we should leave," said Sirius, arms crossed.

"But it's so pretty and fun here!" argued Arabella.

"I agree with Sirius, this is horrible," said Peter.

"I have to admit, this isn't what I though it'd be," said Robyn with a nod.

"Well, what did you expect it to be?" demanded Arabella.

"I dunno…a little more…Cinderella?" piped Robyn.

"Who?"

Lily decided it was a perfect time to step in, "She's just a character out of a Muggle story."

"So the Loooooovely Lily and the Great James have finally decided to make their appearance," said Sirius with a smirk. "Was it just me or did that announcer favor James and Lily more than the rest of us? I didn't hear any of us getting called lovely!"

"Oh, be quiet," scolded James, "and what's this I hear about you wanting to leave early?"

"Well, it's just so booooooooring!" moaned Sirius.

"Well, what are we supposed to do instead?" inquired James.

"Truth or dare, of course!" stated Sirius.

"Well, okay," James reluctantly agreed, "It's not as if it's the last ball my parents will be throwing. But we can't leave before 9:30."

"Why not?" asked Melanie, who had been relatively quiet.

"Because, before then everyone will realize we've gone. However, the adults seem to get a bit drunk after 9 o'clock, so I figure that's the best chance we've got at escaping."

"Okay, that's fine with me, I guess," said Arabella a bit grimly, "I just wanted to dance a bit before we left."

"And dance we will," said James, grabbing her hand and sweeping her off onto the dance floor.

"Lily, may I have the pleasure of this dance?" asked Sirius with a low bow.

"Why, of course kind sir," she replied, curtsying.

Soon after, everyone was swooping and twirling around the dance floor. Every so often, they would exchange dance partners (though all the friends were trying their best to keep Lily and James separate). However, on their last dance of the night, Lily and James found themselves to be the only available partners. So, they grudgingly stepped towards one another. Lily grabbed James' mirroring hand and James put his hand lightly on Lily's waist. They began to dance—standing about an arm's length from each other. They soon found this position to be a most uncomfortable one to dance in, so they gradually inched a foot closer to each other. Though more comfortable, they still found their position to be awkward. Therefore, they discreetly inched towards each other once more, leaving only a few inches between them.

Before they could get any closer, the song ended with a final beat. James and Lily separated like oil and water and went in search of their friends (who they would be scolding for leaving them to dance with each other). Once again, they were found standing by the punch bowls.

Their friends spotted Lily and James, noted their angry faces, turned, and ran out of the ballroom like there was no tomorrow. James turned to Lily.

"Bloody cowards!" he said, "Stupid, also. They should know there's a quicker way to my room than that, especially Sirius. He's been here more than any of the others. Anyways, Evans, follow me."

Lily was going to ask how James knew they were going to his bedroom when James turned around and headed for a staircase opposite the one they had entered on. Not wanting to be left all alone, Lily followed James, dodging several tipsy Ministry workers on the way. After climbing the stairs, James led Lily through a single hallway and down a single staircase before they were in the hallway of James' room. James ran up to the door and put his ear to it, "No one's there. Let's go in and hide."

"But they may not be going to your ro—"

"Hurry up, Evans, I think I hear them coming!"

And to Lily's disappointment, she did too. "Oh, fine."

James grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her into his room, shutting the door soundlessly behind them. He pulled her into his closet just as the door to his room was opening.

"Phew!" said the voice of Sirius, "If they'd have caught us, we'd be dead."

"But luckily Lily was there," whispered Arabella. "She would have never thought we'd go straight to James' room. The obvious never occurs to her until the last minute." Lily grunted at that comment, but James shushed her.

"Did you hear something?" asked Robyn in a hushed tone.

"Nope, you're imagining things," assured Sirius.

"Yeah, you're right," Peter said, "James would never be able to get here quicker than you, Sirius. Why, I bet you know his house even better than he does." It was James' turn to grunt.

"Are you sure you didn't hear anything?" asked Remus.

"No. You're just being paranoid," said Arabella.

"Yeah, James and Lily are probably snogging in some closet," said an amused Sirius.

James and Lily had both had enough and decided they'd make an appearance. Lily grabbed the doorknob and James kicked the door open.

"So, is that what friends do? Talk behind our backs?" yelled James.

"N-no James, I'd never do such a thing," Peter blubbered.

"If I recall correctly, you were just doing it," James muttered through clenched teeth.

Sirius, deciding he would stand up for Peter, said to James, "Leave him alone! I'm sure he didn't mean anything by—wait a minute! Did you and Lily just come from a closet?"

"Yeah, so?" asked Lily.

"I was right!"

"Right about what?" inquired James.

"You and Lily were snogging in the closet, weren't you?"

Lily was infuriated. "Sirius Lee Black, if I had my wand with me I would hex you to Hades! But since it's still in James' bathroom I will have to settle for the next-best thing."

"Which is?" asked a nervous Sirius.

Lily got an evil glint in her eye, "we continue this truth or dare game you lot started earlier. Whenever it's your turn, Sirius, you cannot back out. If you do, well, how does Hades sound?"

Sirius gulped.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," squeaked Sirius.

"Good."

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~DanniBannani~ I again apologize for the mega long wait. I will try to update ASAP, but up until Dec. 12th I have end of term exams. So, I will be doing some MAJOR studying. Thanks to all who've reviewed and I PROMISE that next chapter will have the TRUTH or DARE game…continued.

Please Review! :P