7. The Irish Arrival

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the characters that I made up (i.e Serena, Reemi, Penny, Alaine...) Everything else belongs to the most amazing author in the world, JK Rowling!

Authors Note: Hello again! I can't remember how long it's been since I last posted, I am sorry. I've been spending most of my time writing the thing. I've already written about ten chapters. It comes to something like 25,000 words. I'm quite proud of myself really. I've never written that much on a story before. Again I want to thank everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me! Please keep reviewing, it keeps me writing. Special thank you's to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, they are:

Shayla: Hiya! This chapter is longer than the last one I think, so you should be happy! lol. The ball is in this chapter, so you can see exactly what happens with Narcissa and Sirius, lets just say it doesn't exactly go to plan...Thanx for reviewin!! Love ya!

InvisibleInk: Hey hunni! I don't know what you mean!! She doesn't remind me of anyone! (cough cough) Omg! I just remembered I haven't reviewed your Cho chapter, sorry!!!!! I'll do it in a bit. I'm considering letting you read my story before anybody else you know, so you can sorta Beta read it. It's a shame u aint in my IT class, we cudda dun it then, lol. Not like there's anything else we do at school is there? Anyway thanx for reviewin hunni!! See ya!!

Caytebelle: Hiya babez!! You are Irish? That is sooooo cool, I might not have the take on Ireland very well but I tried. I tried to use traditional Irish names, I wasn't good at thinkin of em though, it took me ages! There is a lil bit o romance in this chapter, just a lil bit though. I am evil, I like to keep you people in suspense. I have added Remus in with someone in later chapters but I did it a while ago, so her name isn't Catebelle, sorry!! We can just pretend she's you, what colour hair do you have, she originally had Black curly hair but I could change that if you want, lol. Anyway, keep reviewin!!

Mrs Grim: Hey!!!! Love the review, it was cool. I think that's my aim, 100 reviews, but I think I have the same problem as you, I tend to forget to post my chapters up. It's a very bad habit, I mean I can't expect to get loads of reviews if I don't keep writing the story!! I hate to disappoint everyone but it may be a while before Sirius and Serena get a bit romantic :( I aint sayin they will go out tho!!!!! I aint givin anythin away!!! I'm just sayin, some more tension on both sides will do them both the world of good. Make them want each other more! Anyway I'm off see ya!

HERACLAS: God you have as many guy problems as I do!! I mean, for example, there is this lad from another school, and I met him at this house party. I said he was nice lookin, so one of my friends tried to set me up with him. But stupid old me goes and plays hard to get!!!! Anyway, by the end of the night he was goin back out with his ex girlfriend( I wasn't too bothered at the time, I still liked my ex) Anyway, a month or so later, he added me on msn messanger. I was talkin to him and that and we got onto the subject of him wantin to go out wit me( he and his girlfriend had split up) I was again playing hard to get, it's a really bad habit don't start it honestly, who ever said treat em mean keep em keen was a fool. Anyway, we lost touch again and we only spoke every now and then on msn. Then one day I heard that our school was playin a football(soccer) game against his school at our school, so I decided to go along. They have some very fine lads at this school, so naturally it was an occasion I did not want to miss. Anyway, the teams came out, and my friend Sammy sed to me, phwoar he's nice isn't he, and I looked up, and he was there (lets just say his name is Dave,lol) lookin absolutely FINE. Anyway, i was talkin to him later on msn , and the first thing he sed to me on msn was "you looked well fine at the match", and me, realising that I soooooooo want him says you didn't look so bad your self either. Anyway, then I proceeded to tell him that i fancy him rotten, then he drops the bomb shell "I have a new girlfriend"!!!!!!!! BUT he says to me, I really like you (i was happy:) ) Anyway he invited me to this party, so i'm gonna go lookin gorgeous, better than his girlfriend(hee hee hee) All his mates have told me i'm prettier than her anyway (blush blush). And one of his mates sez he likes me, and he is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy fine as well, I mite go with him at the party( if in america you dont use that sayin, it means like have a date with them) Anyway I have rambled, see ya hun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Princess Gin-Gin: OMG!!! A work of brilliance, i love it! lol. I thought Serena needed something to help her confidence along, so i thought what about singing infront of her whole house!!!!! (how evil am i?) God I've just been on the sun bed and im ded itchy, lol. Sorry bout tellin you that, I just couldn't help myself. Thanx for the review, you do write lovely reviews for me, thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement, the Hogwarts students had been informed a week earlier, that the students from Ireland were going to arrive on the 30th of September, and tonight was the 30th.

"So what are they going to do, sort them into houses?" Lily asked Remus, who seemed to be very interested in the subject, "I mean they might be here for a while, they are going to have to sort them."

"They don't have to sort them Lily, they could just have their lessons together all year, couldn't they?" Remus said.

"I hope they do get sorted, then we'll be able to pull more pranks on the Slytherins," Sirius said happily, "It would be good to meet some new people as well, I haven't met many witches and wizards from different countries, I could see if they had any international pranks to pull on the Slytherins."

"God, Sirius, is that all you think about?" Serena asked him, "Narcissa wouldn't be happy if she could hear what you were saying. She'd probably blame it on me though, 'your poisoning his mind you nasty cow' she does crack me up."

Sirius became very quiet at this, he didn't like to open discussions about Narcissa with Serena, they would usually end up with him in the hospital wing, so he answered her first question.

"Actually it isn't all I think about, food is high on my list of priorities as well, oh yeah and girls," he gave Serena a small wink. Serena raised her eyebrows and went into a discussion with Remus about the Irish students. She couldn't help the but let a small smile sneak onto her face, she hated the effect he had on her.

After some time of waiting the Headmaster stood up from behind the head table and the Hall became silent.

"Good Evening ladies and gentlemen," Serena looked at Sirius and he looked back at her, they laughed silently, "Tonight is a very important night in the history of Hogwarts. Tonight we will be welcoming our one hundred and forty guests from Murphy's Academy of Magic. I myself am very excited about this arrival, it is a chance for all of us to meet new people and learn about different traditions and pastimes. I hope you will all take full advantage of what we have in store for the next year or so.

"I know that many of you have been wondering how the students will be taught, where they will live and of course, which tables they will sit at. I myself have chosen the tradition of the sorting hat, I believe that friendships must be made in this time of sorrow and grief, and the closer the two schools become the stronger our bond will be. Now without further ado, Professor McGonagall please could you bring out the Sorting Hat."

She placed the stool in the middle of the stage, and placed the hat carefully on top, she then went to the back of the Great Hall and lead the students to the stage. As they walked, a round of applause greeted them. It was so wonderful to see their faces, it was like watching the first years when they were getting sorted. Their eyes were wide with excitement, darting from the magnificent ceiling to the long tables, from the Hogwarts crest at the high table to the shiny golden plates in front of the Hogwarts students, when the hall became silent Professor McGonagall spoke.

"The hat has not had sufficient time to make up a song so sadly we are going to have to do without," she didn't look sad at all, a very long parchment unfolded from her hands.

After a very long ceremony the students were sorted. Five 5th years had been sorted into Gryffindor, two girls, Lorraine and Rose, and three boys, Aiden, Roy and Ryan. They were all typical Gryffindors, all ready to pull some stunts on the Slytherins, to Sirius' joy.

"So what was your school like?" Penny asked Lorraine, Lorraine had long black hair and pale skin, she also had very dark eyes.

"Ohh, it was no where near as big as this one, neither was it as beautiful," she said looking at the enchanted ceiling, watching the stars glimmering brightly, "It was still a lovely school though, it's such a shame what happened. Our headmistress was killed in the castle you know."

Serena felt a powerful twang of guilt. She knew it wasn't her fault, but it didn't stop her from feeling ashamed, ashamed to be part of a man who was so evil and unjust.

"Did you take any different subjects in Ireland?" Serena asked Aiden, he was a very handsome boy, he had black hair and he was very tanned. Serena couldn't help noticing how similar he looked to Sirius.

"Yes, we did a subject on protective amulets and one on Magical Music. Your headmaster has said we will do them here as well, with you," he said, he looked at her blushed, then turned away, he seemed to like her.

"Are you looking forward to the ball tomorrow? I am, I just bought some new dress robes. It's going to be really great," she said to him, she was genuinely excited, even though she didn't have a date.

"It sounds like fun, I don't have a date though. I sort of like someone but they are going with someone else," he said.

"Same with me, I don't have a date cause someone I like never got round to asking me." It hurt her to think that he was going with Narcissa.

"We should go together, we may as well. If we don't we won't have anyone to dance with," he said this very quickly, "It would be good to make friends as well, one of the main points of us being put into your houses is to make friends."

"Sure, why not, like you say we'll only be on our own if we don't go together," Serena glanced at Sirius, she knew that although she found Aiden attractive, Sirius was who she cared for, but as she saw it, it was only a dance. What was the harm? "So who do you like then?"

"I like Rose, but she's going with Kian. It may sound big headed, but I think she would have gone with me if I'd asked first," he looked crest fallen. Rose was very pretty, she had short wavy blonde hair and a petit figure. She had rosy cheeks and blue eyes, "Who do you like?"

"Sirius, but he's going with Narcissa. She's this really nasty piece of work in Slytherin. She hates all Gryffindors except Sirius, she has a thing for him. He can't see how nasty she really is because she's all sweetness and niceties with him, it makes me sick I'll show them though, I'm gonna make myself look really great for the ball, she'll be insanely jealous."

After a large feast the Gryffindors went to their common room, to relax, and tell the Irish students what it is like in Hogwarts. Serena didn't join in the conversation though, she went upstairs to talk to her cat Forna about the nights events and about Sirius. Forna gave her some advice, to show Sirius what she was made of, and to show him that she was better than Narcissa any day.

Everyone was so excited the next day, their potions class was scheduled to take their emotion potion but they couldn't because Professor McGonagall insisted that there was to be no scenes made at the dance. Most teachers gave up on teaching them, they were too excited to do anything except talk about the ball. The girls were constantly talking about their clothes, hair and make-up and the boys were talking about who they were taking with them. Serena was quiet in these discussions, she was determined not to tell anyone what she was wearing for the dance.

The word had spread and it seemed that everyone knew who Serena was going with to the dance, everyone was so jealous, the feeling was mutual when they found out who Aiden was going with. Sirius kept throwing Aiden dirty looks at every possible chance even though speaking face to face, they found that they got on with each other perfectly well. Aiden was always talking about how perfect Serena was to Sirius. This was an idea to make Sirius realise what he was missing.

That night the 5th years split into there different dorms and got ready for the Dance, about two hours later the boys were found in the common room waiting for the girls to come down, so they could walk with them to the Great Hall.

Alaine and Reemi came down first, Alaine was wearing a midnight blue gown with silver jewellery the gown had a square cut front, it made the gown look very Elizabethan, the blue set off her Jet Black hair perfectly. Reemi wore a yellow gown of flowing silks, with a chiffon overlay, the dress had shoe string straps, making her look very summery.

Penny came down next, she was wearing a pink gown, which was shorter at the front than it was at the back, so you could see her baby pink sandals. Her blond hair had been artfully curled into tight ringlets.

Lily followed her shortly afterwards, she was wearing a white dress that flowed as if she were outside in the breeze.

"You look like an angel!" James gasped. Lily blushed at this remark, so did James. After Lily, the Irish girls came down the stairs, they were wearing a variety of different shades of green.

Serena then came down the stairs, holding herself like a model. She was wearing a tightly fitting gown of red satin, which was low cut with a corseted bodice (like the red one that Satine wears in the Moulin Rouge). Her hair was piled on her head, which flattered her beautiful face, a black rose was pinned near her right ear. Her brown/blond hair was shimmering like gold.

"What do you think?" Serena asked Aiden, he smiled widely.

"You look irresistible, Sirius won't be able to forgive himself," Aiden said happily, holding his arm out to her, so he could escort her to the main hall.

"Speaking of Sirius, where is he? I didn't see him in the common room. I wanted him to see my grand entrance." Serena said.

"I think he went to meet Narcissa in the entrance hall, it doesn't matter though, you can make an entrance when you walk into the great hall," Aiden said.

"You know what, I think that's quite a good idea. I can have a conversation with Narcissa, while flirting with Sirius!" laughed Serena, "She'll love that one."

"I don't think that's such a good idea you know," said Aiden cautiously, "From what you've told me about this Narcissa she isn't one to be crossed. She'll get you back if you pull a stunt like that."

"I don't care, I'm gonna show her exactly how much damage I can cause to her pretty little set-up of a life," Serena laughed.

As Aiden and Serena approached the main hall, Serena began to get butterflies in her stomach. On the outside she looked strong and confident, but on the inside she was a nervous wreck. She was anxious about what people would say, especially Sirius. She didn't know why, but she felt that she had to live up to Narcissa, even though, inside she knew that she was a better person than her.

The hall was a riot of colour. Greens, reds, blues and yellows were splashed all around the room, the stars were glinting brighter than ever and almost everyone looked happy to be there.

Serena saw Narcissa and Sirius on the other side of the room. Narcissa was wearing a purple gown with lilac edging around the hems. Serena told Aiden to follow her, then with her head held high she walked up to Narcissa and tapped her on the back.

"Hi!" Serena said, Narcissa looked shock beyond belief, Sirius looked just as surprised, but in a good way. He gawked at her as though he had never seen a pretty girl before.

"Hi Narcissa, I love your Dress Robes. Bit tight mind aren't they, do you like my dress?" Serena felt like laughing, but she knew it wasn't the time.

"No actually," she touched the silky material or Serena's dress, then looked at her face thoughtfully, "I was wondering, why have you all of a sudden turned into a tart?" Narcissa looked smug and satisfied.

"Excuse me, you are calling me a tart? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. At least I have the decency to buy a dress that fits, yours looks about two sizes too small, who were you trying to impress?" Narcissa's face began to change into a look of murder, Sirius noticed that she was going to pounce.

"Look, I'm sure you can sort out your differences somewhere else, maybe where there aren't as many people watching," said Sirius. Serena noticed that he was right, crowds were gathering around where they were stood.

"Shut up, Sirius!" Narcissa shouted angrily, "This has nothing to do with you!" Sirius looked very taken aback, he hadn't seen Narcissa being so angry, Serena seemed to read his mind.

"Don't be so surprised Sirius, she is a Slytherin after all!" Serena spat angrily. This seemed to make up Narcissa's mind, she slung her hand into the air ready to hit Serena, but at the last second Sirius jumped in the way.

SMACK!

"Oh my gosh! Sirius, are you okay?" Serena asked as he got up from the floor, "You're bleeding!"

"Why did you jump in the way? I was going to teach her a lesson! She was getting way too big for her boots," Narcissa said angrily

"Don't you dare get mad at him, you should be sorry! You nearly knocked him out. What were you playing at?" Lily screeched from behind Serena .

"Shut it Mudblood!" Narcissa shouted, after this remark she promptly walked over to the Slytherins and began laughing loudly.

"Why you ever decided to go to the dance with that cow I will never know," Lily said, "She's poison, I don't know why you never saw it before, everyone else did. Do you realise how badly she would have hurt Serena if you hadn't have stood in the way? I'm just glad there weren't any teachers around, McGonagall would have went spare!" Sirius was trying to respond but Lily kept on talking, she was in lecture mode.

"Do you want me to help you get cleaned up," Serena asked, his head was trickling with blood.

"No it's okay, I can manage. I'll be back in a bit," and with that he hurried off to the toilets.

"So....are all the balls at Hogwarts like this, or is this a one off?" said Aiden who didn't know whether to laugh or keep a straight face.

"I can assure you that the balls aren't all like this," said Remus, "It's just Narcissa, she manages to ruin everything. In fact it's not just Narcissa, it's the Slytherins as a whole. I wouldn't get on the bad side of any of them, as you can see it usually ends up with someone getting hurt."

Rose walked up to Aiden, it seemed that her dance partner Kian, had gone off to comfort Narcissa. She stood in front of him for a moment fidgeting her fingers and then she looked up at him.

"Err...would you like to...er...dance?" she said.

"If it's okay with Serena, I mean I am supposed to be going with her," he looked at Serena hopefully. Serena laughed.

"Course you can, it's not as if we're going out or anything," she said, "have a good time!"

Everyone had a partner and was dancing happily, Serena felt slightly out of place, so she sat down on a table at the side of the hall. How come it always ended up bad for her? Tonight she had succeeded in making a scene in front of everybody, getting her crush a slap, and loosing her dance partner. As she sat deep in her thoughts Sirius came and sat beside her.

"Hi," she said glumly.

"What's the matter with you. I was gonna say you looked like a wet weekend, but you look stunning, so I suppose I'll have to say you look forlorn," he said, Serena felt ready to crumble. He was using the old Sirius Black charm.

"I do have a right to look "forlorn", this night has been a disaster so far. I have made a scene, my worst enemy wants to kill me, more than she already did. I got you a punch, and my dance partner is dancing with someone else, and guess what? We have only been here for half an hour, it can't get any worse."

"I bet I can sort out all of them problems for you right now," said Sirius in a I-am-superior-tone of voice.

"Go on then, try it"

"Well firstly, everyone you made a scene in front of was on your side, except the Slytherins, and you weren't the one who started shouting her head off, that was Narcissa. Secondly, who cares if Narcissa doesn't like you. What's she gonna do to you, you have too many friends for anything to happen to you. Thirdly, it'll take more than a slap from a girl to get me annoyed at you. And finally, Aiden doesn't know what he's missing out on, which is why we are going to show him."

Sirius stood up and held his hand out to Serena, "Would you like to dance?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Of course I would," said Serena with a smile, her heart was going ten to the dozen.

"It's good to see you smiling again, I told you I could make everything right," he said as he lead he to the dance floor.

"So you did," Serena said, "So you did."

The two of them moved slowly in time with the music, Serena felt as though she was on cloud nine. Nothing could stop her feeling so happy, what started out as one of the worst nights Serena had ever had, was turning out to be one of the best. She rested her head on Sirius' shoulder. A thought came to her, a year ago this would have all seemed like some stupid dream, but now it was real. Sirius took notice of her now, she was pretty Serena, the one who everyone wanted to know. She felt happy for once in her life.

It seemed like the dance had only gone on for a few moments when Professor Dumbledore informed them that they had been dancing for four hours and the Dance was finished. Serena and Sirius began to walk back to the Gryffindor tower.

"Thank you for being my partner Sirius, it was really sweet of you. I would have been dancing on my own otherwise," Serena said kindly.

"It isn't as if it was a chore Serena. I enjoyed tonight, and I think we should do it again soon," Sirius said meaningfully.

"That would be really nice, I would like that," Serena said, trying to hide her smile. She couldn't believe it Sirius was asking her out on a date.

Sirius went quiet for a moment, as they stood in the common room. Serena knew that he gearing himself up to kiss her. Realising this, she kissed him on the cheek and thanked him for a wonderful night. She had never kissed a boy before, but she didn't want Sirius to know that. As she climbed the stairs to her dormitories, she felt scared. She had never kissed a boy before, and she really didn't know what to do. What if she bit his tongue? What if she did it all wrong? She was too tired to ponder this for too long though, and as soon as she got into bed her head hit the pillow and she was fast asleep.