Chapter 18: *Congo line* we are havin' a par-tay!

"Okay, shall we begin the lessons?"

Professor Lupin rubbed his hands together excitedly, grinning at the four slightly apprehensive teens standing before him.

"Oh, come on, you guys!" he cried exasperatedly when no one answered, throwing up his hands. Hermione cleared her throat loudly, distaste and disapproval laced blatantly in the action. Remus rolled his eyes. "Sorry. And *girls*. Listen, it's not that bad. Ask Shelbie. She's an Animagi. She'll tell you it wasn't hard. Tell 'em, Shelbie."

"He's…wrong. It was *damn* hard," Shelbie added, glancing furtively at her partner-in-crime, who was currently giving her 'The Look of I'm-Gonna-Kill- You-When-They're-Not-Here' look.

"Yeah, you're a *real* big help," Remus remarked sarcastically. Shelbie grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, fantastic!" Melissa exclaimed. "That's it. I'm outta here." Having said this, she turned and began hurrying towards the door. She reached the door and was heading out when a pair of arms grabbed her around the waist and carried her back into the room.

"Hey! Put me down!" she shrieked. "Remus, stop it! This isn't funny! You guys, make him put me down!" she pleaded to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "Stop laughing; this isn't funny!" she added. The original Gryffindor trio was paralyzed with laughter; tears of mirth streaming down their faces, all three holding their stomachs from laughing so hard.

"Thanks, everybody," Melissa huffed, resting her chin in her hands and her elbows on Remus's back.

"Sorry, Mel," Hermione choked out.

"But it really is funny," Ron added. At the murderous look on Melissa's face, all three fifth-years exploded with laughter. After the peals of laughter died down and Melissa was standing up straight, Shelbie turned to face them.

"Okay, so, first, you need to close your ears and eyes and open your mind," she instructed. "You're going to need to empty your mind of everything."

"Sounds like Occlumency last year," Harry mumbled.

"Shut up, Harry," Hermione told him absentmindedly.

"Thank you, Hermione," Shelbie said graciously. Hermione tipped her head in a 'you're welcome' gesture. "Now, picture in your mind the animal which you are to become…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that day...the four Gryffindor sixth year girls began to get ready for the party that would be going on while the first years were at a flying lesson and the second and third years were at a dueling lesson.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, so we'll see if Harry can play the music," Parvati ventured, scrutinizing her face as to what lip-gloss to apply.

"Done," Lavender replied absentmindedly as she adjusted the revealing three- quarter-sleeve top she was wearing. The other three Gryffindor girls turned and gaped at Lavender. "What?"

"You...what?" Hermione whispered, wide-eyed.

"I asked him if he would DJ for a party in the next month or two," Lavender explained. "Don't worry. Very vague. He has *no idea*."

Parvati, Hermione, and Melissa breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to their respective mirrors. Melissa gazed into her mirror and touched up her mascara. She was sporting a deep red and black miniskirt with a strapless deep red shirt that cut into show her navel. Her masses of red curls were caught up stylishly, dotted here and there with rhinestones. She bent down to fix the strappy black backless sandals she was wearing and picked up the light bronze lip color that had rolled onto the floor. Hermione was wearing a stylish Superman tank top that left her shoulders bare and encircled her neck with beaded cuffs around her upper arms and a chocker around her neck. She was wearing a short, black miniskirt with a high slit up the side and high, strappy black heels to complete the outfit. She has to be forced into this outfit by Melissa, Parvati, and Lavender, convincing her by saying Ron was going to drool himself dry over her. Lavender was wearing a low-cut black and blue-spotted three-quarter sleeve top with tight-fitting black pants to match. On her feet were cute dark blue open-toed heels. She had styled her hair in a messy bun with locks falling around her face. Parvati had on a black, side-slit miniskirt with flames dancing across the bottom, accompanied by a matching black-with-fire strapless top. She was also wearing high, black lace-up heels on her feet. They turned and walked to the center of the room and each made sure the others looked fabulous. They all grinned gave a thumbs-up, and headed downstairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They reached the abandoned common room (the rest of the Gryffindors were at a Slytherin/Ravenclaw Quidditch game.) and began to examine their work.

"Anything we need to fix?" Melissa asked, looking around.

"Yes," Parvati stated. She looked at Hermione, who grinned and waved her wand. The lights dimmed and fluorescent lights skimmed over the floor.

"Great. Now—" Lavender began.

"The school is coming back up!" Parvati exclaimed from her position by the window. Melissa, Lavender, and Hermione rushed over to the window and peered out, their breath misting on the glass. They could see crowds of students slowly making their way through the fluffy snow to the castle. Melissa and Hermione drew back a bit.

"Mel, are you going to ask him to dance?" Hermione whispered.

"I think so, yeah," Melissa replied softly.

"Excellent. Are you going to sing, as well? 'Coz you've got an incredible voice," Hermione reminded. Melissa had a voice to rival that of Christina Aguilara and Mariah Carey.

"I don't know," Melissa answered uncertainly.

"You've *got* to!" Hermione persisted.

"Okay, okay, I'll sing!" Melissa agreed with a laugh as Hermione cornered her. Suddenly, the portrait guardian was thrown open and, as the girls whirled around, they could hear the Fat Lady screeching at whoever was entering in such a hurry.

"—blow me off my hinges! Is that what you're—excuse me! Don't you close that door! Hey—!" A slam echoed throughout the hallway to the common room and Harry appeared as he raced into the room, face flushed from running and the cold. He stopped short and gaped at the four girls in front of him, his mouth hanging open.

"By the way, I might have asked Harry to come immediately after the game," Lavender mused meekly turning away to fix a hanging thing.

"Thanks for telling us now," Hermione replied wryly. She glanced at Harry. "Hello? Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh. You girls look...fantastic," Harry complemented, the gift of speech flowing back to him.

"Thank you." In the next five minutes, Melissa and Hermione quickly showed Harry where the CDs were and how to work the CD player while Parvati and Lavender made some finishing touches on the room. The two girls had hooked up a couple of loudspeakers to the player to amplify the sound. They all finished just in time as the portrait swung open again and the excited voices of the Gryffindor upper years floated into the room. Ron, Neville, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Fred, and George (the twins keep returning for all the Quidditch games; they had been invited back to the common room to hang out for awhile) were at the head of the crowd of Gryffindors. The stopped dead, staring, when they caught sight of the four girls standing and grinning smugly and Harry grinning and leaning on the DJ table. People behind were bumping into them, unable to see what the hold up was.

"What the...?" Ron began to ask.

"Welcome to the party," Melissa greeted, flashing a grin at the students. That was Harry's cue to start up the music. Sure enough, SClub Party blared through the loudspeakers. The four girls began dancing into the crowd and pulling people into the common room. Hermione grabbed Ron, who grinned and twirled her around while Parvati enticed Seamus to come dance with her. Lavender spun around and grabbed a seventh year onto the dance floor as everyone else dropped their cloaks and robes and hurried in. Melissa took a deep breath and weaved her way over to her choice for a dance partner.

"Hey," she greeted. "Want to dance?"

"The boy she was speaking to turned around and when he saw who it was, his eyes lit up.

"Sure! I'd love to," Fred Weasley replied, grinning. He offered his arm, which she accepted, and guided her onto the floor. They began dancing to the vocals of SClub7*.

"SClub..."

"Ain't no party like an SClub party..."

"Gonna show you how..."

"Everybody get down tonight..."

A few minutes later, SClub7 ended and Avril Lavigne# was turned on.

"He was a boi; she was a girl; can I make it any more obvious? He was a punk; she did ballet; what more can I say? He wanted her; she'd never tell, but secretly, she wanted him, as well. But all of her friends stuck up their nose; they had a problem with his baggy clothes.

"He was a sk8r boi; she said 'see ya, later, boi'. He wasn't good enough for her. She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space. She needed to come back down to earth..."

Melissa and her friends were having the time of their lives. She couldn't believe they hadn't thought of it before; then again, she'd only figured out how to work the Muggle CD player a week ago. Sk8er Boi ended then and a slower song came on.

"You're a song, written by the hands of God. Don't get me wrong, cause this might sound to you a bit odd...~ "

Melissa hesitated, wondering she should walk away or continue dancing with her crush of several months. She didn't need to wonder about it though, because Fred held out his arms in an invitation. Melissa's heart fluttered as she and Fred settled into a comfortable rhythm.

"Underneath your clothes, there's an endless story. There's the man I chose; there's my territory…"

Melissa relaxed as Fred guided her in the dance. She glanced over at Hermione and Ron and saw them grinning like mad at her. Feeling a telltale blush creep up her cheeks, she turned back and buried her face in Fred's shoulder.

"I didn't see you at the match today," Fred remarked.

"Hermione, Parvati, Lavender, and I were setting up for the party," Melissa mumbled, willing her blush away so she could look up.

"Which, by the way, you did a fantastic job on," Fred complemented grinning. He pulled away and studied Melissa's outfit with an approving eye. He smiled slightly and pulled her close again. "You look…amazing," he murmured. Melissa felt her cheeks flush again as she heard the comment. They were silent for the rest of the dance, each reveling in the presence of the other. 'Underneath Your Clothes' ended, and Harry got on the microphone Hermione had transfigured out of a quill for him.

"Can Melissa come up here and sing something for us?" he asked, eyes glinting like mischievous emeralds. Melissa was dumbstruck. Finally, she found her voice.

"Uh...n—no, I, uh, I don't think..." she faltered off as everyone was chanting her name. She turned to Fred, who gave her an encouraging grin. She smiled and nodded before turning and walking over to Harry.

"I'm sooooooooo gonna hurt you after this party is over," Melissa hissed as she snatched the mic out of Harry's hand, the smile still plastered on her face.

"I know," Harry replied, grinning. Melissa sighed.

"Wait, what am I singing?" she asked, turning back to her brother. Harry grinned and pressed a couple of buttons on the player while tapping it and whispering a few choice words. 'Get The Party Started'^ began blaring through the speakers, except the words were missing. Harry had charmed the song so only the music could be heard, but not the lyrics. Melissa grinned back and turned on the mic, all tension forgotten.

" 'I'm comin' up so your better get this party started'," Melissa sang, recalling the words from her memory. " 'I'm comin' up so you better get this party started! Get this party started on a Saturday night. Everybody's waitin' for me to arrive. Sendin' out the message to all of my friends, we'll be lookin' flashy in my Mercedes Benz.' "

Melissa finished the first verse of the song and made her way down into the crowd.

" 'I got lots of style; check my gold diamond rings..." she sang. She went through the song, dancing with various people in the room. When it ended, she leapt up to the DJ table where Harry was and gave a deep bow, grinning at the wild cheers she was receiving. She handed the mic back to Harry and skipped down into the crowd.

"Hold it, Mel!" Harry shouted. "Now, you gotta sing a slower for everyone to dance to." Melissa gaped at him. "Come on! We'll even get a stool for you to sit on. Dean, grab the stool behind you." Dean scrambled around and picked up the stool, lifting it over his head. He walked onto the little platform where Harry was and placed the stool down. Melissa was forced to the table once more. She was shoved into the chair and the mic pressed into her hand. She looked around, a startled look in her green eyes.

" 'A Moment Like This'," Hermione whispered, wriggling to the front. Melissa made a sarcastic face and whipped around as the soft chords came floating through the speakers.

"Come on, Mel," Harry urged. Melissa shot him a Look before turning back to the expectant students assembled before her.

" 'What if I told you it was all meant to be? Would you believe me? Would you agree? It's almost that feeling that we may be fools. So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy when I tell you love has come here and now'," Melissa sang, starting out soft and unsure, but slowly gaining strength and confidence. Everyone in front of her was gravitating to each other. Everyone, that is, except Fred. He was standing there, staring at her with something more than just a teeny crush. Melissa shook it off as she continued her song. " 'A moment like this. Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this. Some people search forever for that one special kiss. Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me. Some people wait a lifetime for a moment...like this…' "

A few minutes later, she finished her song to tumultuous applause. She grinned modestly and hopped back down into the crowd. Throughout the rest of the party, she sang various songs and to each received wild cheers and hoots. She danced the night away to both slow and fast songs with Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and others. She honestly didn't care about anything else at the moment.

*SClub Party~ by SClub7

#Sk8er Boi~ by Avril Lavigne (one of my fav artists)

~Underneath Your Clothes~ by Shakira (shut up about the freakin' lyrics, Aeshna! lol)

^Get the Party Started~ by Pink

A Moment Like This~ by Kelly Clarkson

A/N: Okay, this chapter came out okay. I can't believe I've only gotten one review for chapter 18 (thanks, !). That's so disappointing. OMG, did anyone see TRL on MTV on Oct. 22? Daniel Radcliffe was on!!! For those that don't know, I have a MAJOR thing for him. Anyway, gotta go. Big surprise next chappie! And in the spring: something so insane and completely unexpected (and part of it totally brilliant, I might add) I'm still shocked I though of it! Buh-bye, lovelies!