"Don't cry." A soft voice said. Jacob's head shot up quickly, wiping his face and looking for the owner of the voice. Alexis sat in the chair behind him, smiling softly.

"I thought I was alone." He whispered, covering his mouth. Alexis left her seat to walk over and sit in the chair Anthony had been in. Jacob tried to avoid eye contact, but her presence made him turn to her.

"Do you want to be?" She asked, staring cautiously into his eyes. Jacob thought for a minute, but then shook his head.

"No." He barely said. He sniffled and rubbed his nose, as Alexis scooted her chair closer to him.

"Look at me." She said, grabbing his hands. Jacob's eyes quickly darted up to meet hers, and noticed that Alexis was smiling softly.

"Something funny?" He whispered, wondering how awful his tear streaked face looked. No one but his mother had ever seen him cry, and now, the girl he's been infatuated with since the second year was staring at his still falling tears.

"Nothing funny at all." She moved her chair ask close as possible to him, and she squeezed his hands. He felt his ears heat up as he noticed how close they were. "You're not really mad at Anthony."

Jacob's eyes burned at the mention of his brother, but he knew she was right.

"No, I'm not. He said the truth. I'm not as tough as people think." He said softly, ashamed.

"You're as tough as you need to be." Alexis said, letting go of his hands and putting hers on his shoulders. "And I like the way you are."

"Really?" He asked, looking up at her. She nodded, and leaned towards him so that their noses touched. Jacob knew what was about to happen, and he couldn't help the burning of his ears and cheeks.

"Really." And she kissed him, softly at first. Her arms moved towards his neck, and Jacob's unconsciously moved around her waist, not knowing what else to do with them.

They stood up, still kissing, and not even realizing they were standing up. Neither of them had ever been kissed before, but they had always been known to be quick learners.

Taylor reached the fourth year boys' dormitories, and Anthony was nowhere in sight. She knew that she couldn't enter without getting in trouble, but she didn't want to wait until morning to talk to him.

She was about to head up to open the boys' dorm, when a hand grabbed her wrist. Taylor spun around, and saw Anthony standing by her side, smiling weakly.

"Where did you come from?" She whispered, pulling him close. Anthony shook his head and pulled out his wand; voices could be heard coming up the stairs.

"Invisocorpus." He whispered. Taylor felt her body shake softly, and she looked at Anthony. The Gryffindors that were coming up the stairs passed them, all talking about the fight animatedly, heading towards their dorms. They closed to doors, without a second look at the two.

"What happened?" Taylor whispered, and she felt her body shake again. Anthony rubbed his head and began to head down the stairs, but he only went down a few steps before he sat. Taylor soon joined him, leaning into his shoulder.

"That charm, I found it in the restricted section of the library. It turns a person invisible for the amount of seconds that correlates with their age. It's how Jacob and I get away with all of our pranks." He smiled shyly as Taylor stared in amazement.

"Awesome, Anthony. Now, talk to me. Silencio." She whispered, causing the entire stairway to fall silent.

Anthony gave an annoyed sigh and he turned to stare at the ground in front of him. Taylor slipped her arm under his and pulled him close.

"He really hates me, doesn't he?" He said softly, turning towards her. "I mean, I should've told the Sorting Hat that I wanted to be in Ravenclaw, Jake's right."

"No. Anthony, he was just mad. You know, it's normal for siblings to fight." She said soothingly. He shrugged and continued to stare at the ground.

"I guess I am a bit irritating." He laughed softly, though he really didn't find it funny. Taylor squeezed his arm and shook her head.

"Oh, stop it Anthony. If you were sorted into Ravenclaw, your brother would have been miserable and because he was miserable, the Quidditch team would be horrible, and if the Quidditch team was horrible, that means the Slytherins would win every year, and then we'd all be living a nightmare." She said very quickly, a blush creeping on her cheeks as she saw a smile sliding onto Anthony's face.

"I guess. So…you really think he'd be miserable?" He asked, turning towards Taylor.

"I'd be miserable." She whispered.

A blush grew on his cheeks as he leaned forward, knocking their foreheads.

They just stared into each other's eyes, rubbing their noses. He smiled softly and then brought her into a tight hug.

"I think you're the reason I was put into Gryffindor." Anthony breathed into her ear. He smiled and kissed her cheek. Taylor giggled softly, but then pushed him away.

"Maybe I'm a reason, but so is your brother, and you do have to go and talk to him."

"Aw, right now?" He whined, standing up and putting his hand out to her. Taylor took his hand and nodded as she stood up.

"Yes! It'll only get worse if you wait, come on, I'll even walk you down there." Reluctantly, Anthony followed her down the stairs, trying to think of what he would say to his brother.

"Just say sorry." Taylor said, giving him a sideways hug. Anthony shrugged and the two turned the final corner. "It'll be al---oh!" She whispered, turning away.

Anthony stared into the common room, eyes wide with either amusement or shock.

Jacob and Alexis were kissing deeply, neither noticing the two onlookers. He had his arms around Alexis' waist and she was barely sitting on the table, her arms around his neck. He held her close, as if not wanting to let go. Anthony noticed the smile that his twin's face seemed to have as he continued to kiss Alexis, and he could only imagine what was racing through his mind.

"We've never kissed like that." Taylor whispered, smiling slyly. Anthony winked at her, but shook his head.

"Come on, Mum said we couldn't date until sixth year, but she never said anything about Jacob." He laughed softly and started back up the stairs. Taylor pouted, but laughed as well, squeezing Anthony's hand.

Jacob crept into the dormitory about ten minutes after Anthony had. He slunk to his brother's bed and pulled the curtain open. He wasn't surprised to find his brother sitting up and reading a book, his wand his source of light.

Anthony simply looked up at his twin, his face emotionless. Jacob stared at him as well, and then he quickly punched Anthony in the arm. He closed the curtains, and jumped into his bed.

Anthony rubbed his arm and smiled. His brother had forgiven him.

On Saturday, Hogwarts was very lively, for it was Valentine's Day and the excitement of the ball was in the air.

Jacob strolled into the Great Hall, a huge grin on his face. He had never felt so alive and the two bouquets of roses he had behind his back was the final piece of his happiness. Alexis was going to glow with delight, and she was going to kiss him, and they were going to be happy and happy and happy…

Anthony followed his brother, laughing silently. He too had a gift for his girl, although his came in the shape of a white teddy bear. In his other hand, he held a similar bear, although this one was a brown.

The twins didn't even feel embarrassed for carrying such objects; the Great Hall was filled with boys waiting for their valentines to show up. It seemed as if the entire female population of Hogwarts had taken control of the school and was plotting something up in their dorms. Even the female teachers hadn't shown up, and only a few of the male teachers sat at the head table.

Jacob slid into onto the bench next to James Lupin, who smiled brightly at his friend.

James wore a deep crimson sweater with a 'J' on it; Grandma Weasley had fallen for the boy's charm when he visited over the summer. He had a single rose on the table in front of him; he had finally collected enough of his Gryffindor courage to ask Lilly to be his valentine.

"Oy, what a ruckus, you would think these boys have never seen a girl before." James said, taking a sip of his tea. "I bet Rebecca is going nuts. You know, she never told me who asked her to the dance."

"Oh, you know that Ravenclaw, Daniel Martin? He did." Jacob said, not really caring. He was making sure that the flowers were perfect. James slammed his goblet down, ready to go kill the fourth year Ravenclaw who stood only ten feet away from him. But, he decided against it.

"Not worth giving Rebecca a reason for revenge…" He muttered. The twins shared a laugh, and as it died down, girls started to come into the Great Hall.

Jacob rolled his eyes as squeals were heard all over especially from Bridget Hagrid, who received a rather strange looking cat from a very tiny Hufflepuff named Darwin. She literally picked him up and swung him around, performing what was known as 'Bridget's Hug.'

Emily skipped down the aisle towards her brothers, and squeezed between the two, handing them each a tiny box of chocolates. She always made her brothers special valentines, but never did she expect this…

She received a kiss on both cheeks at the same time from the twins, and she stared oddly at them.

"What was that for?" Emily laughed, completely confused. The boys had never been too keen on Valentine's Day. Anthony smiled at his little sister and handed her the brown teddy bear.

"Happy Valentine's Day, little sister." He said, giving her another kiss on the cheek. Emily giggled in delight and hugged the bear closely. When her grip on the bear wasn't as tight, Jacob handed her one of the bouquets. Emily nearly melted.

"You guys are the best brothers ever!" She squealed, hugging them both around the necks at the same time. The siblings all laughed and played with the bear, until someone shoved Anthony. He looked up, and Taylor stood by him, smiling brightly.

"Here you go, love." She said sweetly, handing him a red book. He looked at the cover and read the title,

"A Thousand and One Charms for the Young Wizard's Soul. This is great! Thank you Taylor! Here, this is for you." He handed her the white teddy bear, and the blonde girl tried to contain the squeal that was rising up her throat.

"It's adorable!" She finally squealed, sitting down next to him and planting a big kiss on his cheeks. Anthony blushed furiously and gave her a sideways hug as Taylor began to make the bear dance on the table.

"Blimey, where's Alexis?" Jacob groaned, pushing away from the table and getting up to go and look for her. Quickly, Taylor put down the bear, and stood in front of her friend.

"No! Er…she's coming, she just wants to look extra pretty." The blonde said, as she stayed in front of Jacob. He stared at her oddly, and they danced around each other, until Jacob spun her around and into Anthony.

"I'll surprise her in the common room then!" He shouted back at her, though the blonde still tried to stop him.

"Jake! I really wouldn't surprise her…" She called, although he was already at the doors of the Great Hall.

Jacob walked briskly down the eerily empty corridors of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There was a slight skip in his walk, and he whistled happily.

As he passed Professor McGonnagal (who always kept an eye out for the young teen), he pulled one of the roses out of Alexis' bouquet and he handed it to her, bowing down slightly. The Professor couldn't help but smile as she thanked him (although she did check for any charms on the flower).

The red head was about to turn into the hallway that led to the portrait of the Fat Lady, when he heard a voice.

"The ball? Me? Oh, I'd love to!" A horrifyingly familiar voice sang happily. Jacob stopped dead in his tracks as he finally saw who was down the hallway.

Alexis was standing by a window, tossing her hair over her shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. In front of her, actually, almost on top of her, was a sixth year Gryffindor by the name of Ryan Mitchell. He too was smiling brightly, his blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. He was the captain of the Quidditch team, and used to be Jacob's idol.

Jacob literally felt his chest tighten and he coughed, because it hurt. It hurt a lot. Alexis turned at his cough and her face paled. Ryan also turned, but he just smiled and waved to Jacob.

"Oy! Hey Jacob, have the festivities started in the Great Hall yet?" He asked, clearly not feeling the tension.

The red head nodded his head as his blue eyes bore holes into Alexis. She was obviously avoiding eye contact and had managed to hide herself behind Ryan.

"You okay man?" Ryan said, tilting his head. "You look sick."

Jacob felt a twinge in his eyes and he started pass the two, shoving past Ryan. He threw the flowers to Alexis' feet, and he turned around, smiling smugly at them.

Alexis' eyes were wider than they've ever been, and Ryan was just confused. The red head continued to walk backwards towards the Fat Lady's portrait.

"I've never felt like this before. Complete. Unbearable. Pain." He nodded knowingly at Alexis, and then turned to the Fat Lady.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." She said soothingly, realizing the situation. Jacob just forced a smile, tears at his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Mandrakes." And he swept into the Gryffindor tower.

"Are you ever going to come out?" Anthony groaned, peeking into the curtains of his brother's bed. It was about ten minutes before the ball was to start, and Anthony was getting worried about his brother. He saw that Jacob was sitting in the center of his bed, hexing a tiny red-cloaked Quidditch player to smack into the post of his bed.

"Not tonight." The angry twin growled. Anthony sighed and crawled onto his brother's bed, not feeling right for leaving him.

"You want to see something funny?" Anthony said, reaching into his pocket. Jacob looked up slightly, although his face was still emotionless. Anthony pulled out a rounded box and flipped it open, revealing a pair of wire rim glasses. He put them on his face, and waited for Jacob's comments.

"You look stupid." His twin said simply, turning back to the Quidditch player, this time, sending it through his curtain and out the window. It didn't come back.

"Thanks. Madame Pomfrey just conjured them up for me." Anthony said, smoothing out his dress robes. They were a shade of navy blue that brought out the young boy's light eyes, even if they were behind his new spectacles. Jacob's robes, which were gold, had been thrown under his bed.

"Nice. Why are you here? Don't you have to go and pick up Taylor?" Jacob said bitterly, looking up at his brother.

"She's always late. Anyway, I was hoping you'd go." Anthony said, cringing at the though of his brother attacking him at that moment.

"Are you mad? It'll be mortifying. She'll be there." He moaned, lying back on his bed. Jacob took in a deep breath. "Why do you reckon' she did it?" He asked quietly, his mood clearly shown in his voice. Anthony couldn't recall his brother speaking so softly and sadly.

The fair-haired twin shrugged his shoulders and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Maybe that was the baggage Taylor was talking about?" He suggested. Jacob sighed.

"Maybe. She didn't seem like the sort, did she?"

"Like a strumpet? Absolutely not." Anthony said, standing up. "I really think you should go, it'll be fun, and you know there will be some girls asking you to dance."

Jacob just moaned again and put his pillow over his face.

"Who says 'strumpet' nowadays?" He mumbled.

Anthony sighed and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

He waited until the sounds of his brother's footsteps diminished, and then Jacob opened his curtains to the empty room. He stared at the floor; angry at the golden robes he would not be able to wear. One of his sleeves was visible, and Jacob pulled at it with his foot.

It was a shame to let them go to waste, but how could he go down there? It was embarrassing enough that he had walked around these past few days telling everyone he was going with Alexis, but to go down there by himself while she danced with some idiot? That was impossible. Plus, it would hurt too much.

Jacob felt as if his heart had been torn apart. His first kiss was to a girl that completely ripped him to pieces. Why did she accept his offer? Was it some sick game? Why did she help him after the fight with Anthony? Nothing made sense, and really, Jacob didn't want to know. He was going to ignore her for the rest of their time at Hogwarts. She was not going to make him blush or stutter anymore, he was going to be a changed man.

"I can't let her win." He mumbled to himself. Jacob reached down and pulled his robes out from under his bed. He stood up, and realized they were very wrinkled. He took his wand out of his pocket and muttered some charms, and soon the robes looked as good as new.

In about ten minutes, Jacob was admiring himself in the mirror. His mother had done a good job choosing robes for him.

"I look good." He whispered, smiling softly.

"Yes! You do! Go get em' tiger!" The mirror said in response. Jacob blushed furiously and swept out of the dormitory.

He entered the common room, and was shocked to see a very pretty girl in blue dancing by herself in the common room. Jacob recognized her as Soledad Diego, a girl in his year. He watched her for a few moments; very amused at the way she seemed to be floating on air.

"Mi amor con el pelo rojo brillante… ¿Cuándo seré bastante valiente decirle cómo me siento?" He heard her whisper. Jacob tried to stifle a sneeze, and she spun around to face him, blushing furiously.

"You're a wonderful dancer." Jacob said, walking over and sitting on the arm of the sofa. Soledad smiled, still red, and pushed her curly brown hair out of her face. She sat down in the middle of the couch, clearly embarrassed.

Jacob had never really talked to her, because, well, she never talked to the rest of the Gryffindors. All he knew was that she was one of the few students that didn't live in England, but in Madrid, Spain.

"Gracias…er…thank you." She blushed even more, embarrassed of her Spanish accent.

For the first time in four years, Jacob noticed that she was extremely pretty. Her eyes were a hazel color, a mix of green, brown, and yellow. Though still curly, her hair wasn't the messy patch of straw it normally was. It was loose around her head, in perfect curls, and glitter sparkled throughout it.

"Why were you dancing? Shouldn't you be at the ball?" He asked. Soledad turned away and sighed softly.

"Promise not to tell?" She asked, looking back at him shyly. He nodded. "¿Prometo?"

Jacob smiled and nodded again "Prometo." Soledad giggled slightly and tossed some of her hair over her shoulder.

"I don't have a date. No one asked me, and my mama bought these beautiful robes for me. I couldn't tell her that I didn't have a date…she would have been afligido…heartbroken. I was going to take some pictures of me dancing, and send them to her…" She turned to Jacob, ready for him to laugh at her. But, he didn't.

"I'm dateless too." Jacob said simply. He slid onto the couch, making Soledad bounce slightly.

"You weren't always." Soledad said softly, turning to look at Jacob. He smirked as he continued to stare into the fire.

"Yeah. Hey…want to go with me?" Jacob said quickly, turning to her and smiling. Soledad's eyes widened. "I'll get someone to take pictures for your mother. Nothing serious, just a friend doing a friend a favor."

"I didn't know I was your friend." She said softly. Jacob smirked, realizing that he really had ignored her during their time as classmates.

"All Gryffindors are friends, but if that's not enough, let's become friends. I promise, this won't be just a one night thing." He smiled, hoping that she would believe him, because he was telling the truth.

She too smiled, and nodded. Jacob stood up and put his arm out for her,

"The ball awaits, señorita." He bowed slightly as she stood and put her arm through his.

"¡Ay, el venir de mi sueño verdad! Let's go make an entrance." They laughed, and Jacob held the portrait door open for the lovely brunette, wondering what she was saying, and praying that he wouldn't regret his decision to go.