The night of the ball came around and I have to admit that I was slightly nervous and your mother could tell. She knew that I was… smitten with Sirius and she now figured that I was so nervous about the night ahead of us.
"I honestly don't understand what you see in that Sirius Black, Nikolett. He's arrogant and seedy and…" She stopped when she saw me smiling. "And he flirts with every girl in Gryffindor Tower." She was trying to throw me off, because she knew I had feelings for him, but it wouldn't work. My mind was already made up.
"I know he does, but that's just because he wants attention… No, there's something about him that I don't even think he knows about."
"And only you can see it? I don't think that's a good think, Niki." That made the both of us giggle. "But, I guess you can't help your feelings, can you?"
I shook my head. "Didn't you feel the same way when you first saw James?" She let out a loud scoff.
"No! When I first met James, I thought he was arrogant and seedy and…" She trailed off when she realized that it was the same way that she had described Sirius; something I knew she would do. "All right, I guess I get your point."
*~An Hour Later~*
The time that we had to meet our dates came quicker than I had imagined and I was beginning to get even more nervous as I thought this would be the worst night of my life.
So I wouldn't be too embarrassed when I walked into view, Lily had walked into the common room first and told them that I was finishing getting ready. She told me that James was speechless about the way she looked, which was definitely a first. James was the talkative one of the group. The three of them waited for me as I carefully walked down the dormitory staircase.
I saw Sirius' eyes go wide when he first saw me, which made me smile. My hair wasn't as long as it is now, but it was still very long, so I had it wrapped in a tight bun and the rest of my hair came through the middle of the bun and hung down to just below my shoulders. "You look wonderful." He said, breathlessly.
"Thanks. So do you." I said, meekly. I wasn't used to people staring at me and Sirius wasn't the only one. I noticed a few sixth-years staring at me as they went to go get their dates. I blushed slightly from getting so much attention.
"Well, shall we go?" James asked, leading Lily toward the portrait hole. Sirius held out his arm to me and I linked mine into his. We headed out of the portrait hole and made our way to the Great Hall.
*~In The Great Hall~*
I hadn't realized how many people there were at Hogwarts until I walked into the Great Hall to see how many had actually stayed over the Christmas holiday. There were students lined up against every wall, with only a few dancing in the center of the room.
I saw Lily drag James out onto the dance floor, where he reluctantly followed her. Sirius and I chuckled loudly as we saw his face turn four shades of red. "Man, I really wish I had a dungbomb…" I heard Sirius mutter.
"Well, if you did, you'd have to pay me ten Galleons." I said.
"Oh, you heard that, did you?" I nodded with a smile on my face.
"Of course, if you want to get this over with, you can just pay me now." I held out a flat hand and waited for him to slip the Galleons into my hand, but he never did. Instead, he slipped his own hand into mine.
"How about a dance?" He asked, leading me toward the dance floor. I laughed as he changed the subject.
We didn't say another word about our bet, until hours after we had first arrived. We figured that it was time to get some air, for it was beginning to get quite stuffy inside the hall. So, we walked out to the courtyard where there were more couples in less than flattering situations. But, we just ignored them and sat on the steps.
"You surprise me, Sirius Black." I said. He looked at me in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I honestly didn't think you'd be able to control yourself when there were so many people in the Great Hall."
"Want to know a secret?" He asked. I just nodded as an answer. "Neither did I and it honestly doesn't bother me. I feel like I could be a new man; one who doesn't play tricks on his fellow students, but helps them…" He paused as if he was thinking. This was making me laugh, because I knew he would never be able to do it. "…Nah!" He said as he finished. "But, I have to admit that I am having a good time."
"Me too." I said, looking up at the sky and admiring the stars.
*~Hours Later~*
The night quickly drew to an end. Sirius and I walked back to the dormitory before any of the other students started to file out of the hall. We weren't the only ones in the dormitory, though. There were others who hadn't even bothered to go to the party and there were those who had come up early from the party because they found it to be a bore. At least, that's what I was told.
Sirius was kind enough to walk me to the girls dormitory staircase which is where we said goodnight. "Well, you did it. You managed not to play a prank on anyone tonight."
"Yeah, I know. Can you believe it?" He asked. I just laughed slightly as he took a hold of my hands and placed a light kiss on each of them.
"I'll pay you tomorrow at breakfast." I said, blushing slightly, but I don't think he noticed. He nodded, though it seemed as though he wasn't really interested in the money.
"How about I make you a deal?" I gave him an inquisitorial look. "You don't have to pay me the money if… you promised not to slap me." I gave him a curious look.
"For what?" I was laughing slightly because I didn't have any clue of what he was thinking.
"For this." He then pulled me to him and kissed me.
