"I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox."
-Woody Allen

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Joey was now in her dark dormitory, leaning up against the inside of the heavy door. She could hear Lily's deep, gentle breathing a few feet away from her. It was a great contrast against Joey's fast-paced erratic heartbeat. She still hadn't caught her breath from sprinting all the way up the stone steps in a pair of flannel socks. Her mind was racing over what she had just heard.

Sirius was clearly upset about the fact that she and Amos were back together, but why hadn't he tried to stop her from getting back with him in the first place? Joey put her hand to her head, trying to take it all in. And boys say girls are hard to understand!

Sirius had practically just told his friends that he was in love with her. And what was with Remus' question? His words were still ringing in her ears: "You still love her, don't you?" Joey was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. It was hard for her to believe Amos if he told her that he loved her, but if Sirius had ever said it to her . . . that would be a completely different story.

Joey crawled back to her bed and tried to go to sleep. She could feel Flam curl up next to her, his soft feathers tickling her ear. Giggling quietly as the drunken bird cooed gently in her ear, she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Breathing deeply, she could still smell Sirius' crisp essence clinging to Flam's down feathers. She cuddled up to her soft owl and allowed herself to be lulled by the fresh aroma into a deep sleep.

The next month went by all too slowly. Diggory had practically been stepping on eggshells around Joey to try and get her to start trusting him, and Lily and James were starting to get back into a mode of fighting. The tension in the air was easily blamed on the fact that everyone was nervously anticipating the upcoming masquerade ball. No matter how many people tried to coax Dumbledore into telling them about it, he would simply just shake his head and smile brightly. "You'll find out soon enough!" he would exclaim, "lemon drop?"

One Thursday morning, right before the day of Halloween, Joey and her friends were sitting around the Gryffindor breakfast table, coming up with logical ideas that Dumbledore might have had planned to find everyone a date for the ball.

"Maybe he's going to pick lots!" Lily exclaimed.

"Lily," James laughed, "that is such a muggle thing to say!"

"Well what do you think he had planned?" Lily shot back, looking rather offended.

"He's going to do the 'pick and stick' thing. You know . . .where he just grabs random people who walk in the door and force them to dance together!"

"Oh, please!" Joey said, rolling her large eyes. "I think that Dumbledore is going to carefully analyze the situation and match people together based on whose personalities fit together best!"

"But then we'd get stuck with just the people we hang out with every day!" Peter chimed in.

"What would be wrong with that?" Sirius asked bewildered. "I'd much rather be paired with Joey or Lily than someone like . . . Suzy Pudgiegutt!" Sirius ended with a dramatic shiver, as if the thought disgusted him to even think about it.

"What's wrong with Suzy Pudgiegutt?" Peter asked, seeming a little offended.

"Besides the fact that it'd be hard to get both arms around her?" James asked, making Sirius burst out laughing. "Be a bit like hugging a tree trunk, me thinks." Both boys started howling. Remus just rolled his eyes along with Lily and Joey.

"You don't even know her!" Peter roared, blushing a little when he realized he overreacted.

"Oh . . . sorry, mate." Sirius said, sobering up immediately. James was still laughing, of course. Lily made sure to punch him hard in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"We didn't mean any offense. Was just trying to make a point, is all." Sirius glanced around the group with a sheepish look on his face. A moment of silence passed as everyone was trying so hard to hide the smiles that were creeping across their faces. It was now very obvious who Peter had been hoping to go to the ball with.

"So, Remus, how do you think Dumbledore is going to do it?" Joey asked, desperately trying to change the subject from Suzy or her Pudgiegutt.

"Oh, I don't know . . . well, maybe he would use the- . . .no, too risky." By now everyone was looking over at him curiously.

"Well you aren't just planning on getting us at the edge of our seats and leavin' us there, do ya?" Sirius asked with a displeased look on his face.

"Well, I was just going to suggest that maybe he would use the truth serum . . . Joey, you know . . . the one we learned about on our first day of potions?" Remus looked up hopefully. James started laughing nervously.

"You mean that you think Dumbledore would use a truth serum to figure out who to pair with who to go to the ball together?" James enquired. Remus nodded.

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" Sirius mocked.

"And why is it stupid?" Remus wondered aloud, insulted by the notion that any idea of his could be considered stupid.

"Because," Sirius explained. "If Dumbledore did that, and actually went by what people truly, deep down in the bottom of their hearts, wanted, then about three quarters of the female population would be going to the ball with Amos Diggory!" The whole group, including Remus, started laughing.

"Well, it would've worked besides that!" Remus laughed.

"Whatever you say, Moony," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, really!" Remus was sounding impatient and had lost all hint of laughter in his voice. "If you guys could really just see how ignorant you act to each other's feelings, then I wouldn't be jerked back and forth having to see one of you guys hurting and the other one confused . . .then the next day, the other one of you hurting while the other one is confused . . . it makes me sick!" And with that, Remus stood up and marched his way out of the dining hall.

The group sat in silence for a few minutes before Peter broke in. "Well, I wonder what that was all about!" James and Sirius exchanged looks while Joey and Lily did, too.

Laughing nervously, James said, "Well, Remus must be worried about who he's going to be stuck with! Must have had a bad nightmare or something where he got paired to go to the ball with Snape!" Everyone laughed and headed out of the dining hall to first period.

By the looks of it, it seemed like Dumbledore didn't have anything planned, considering Halloween had already snuck up on them and nobody knew what was going on. By mid-afternoon, however, there was rumor spreading around the school that Dumbledore had arranged a meeting with all of the male sixth and seventh years. They were to meet right after dinner, in the dining hall. Under no circumstances, however, were they to disclose any important information to anyone about what Dumbledore was going to talk to them about.

Everyone practically inhaled their dinners in hopes to find out some information as soon as possible. Before they knew it, Joey, Lily, and the rest of Hogwarts population, that didn't include the sixth and seventh year males, were being shoved out of the dining hall, back to their common rooms. Rather huffily, Lily and Joey proceeded into Gryffindor tower, plopped themselves down on the floor in front of the hot fire, and started up a game of wizard's chess.

The game had just finished (With Lily as the victor), when the four marauders and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth/seventh year boys came walking happily into the common room. The boys all seemed to have a little extra spring in their steps as they dispersed into their own directions (dorm rooms, homework benches, etc.). The marauders however, silently made their way over to where the girls were sitting, and calmly joined them. There was an almost smug look across all four boys' faces, and it was very clear to Joey and Lily that they had some very juicy information that they were keeping from them.

"Well?" Lily asked expectantly, as James took a seat next to her on the floor. He leaned back against the couch behind him, sprawled his legs out in front of him, and heaved a deep sigh, acting like he hadn't heard a peep out of pretty red-head next to him.

"Ummm. . .hello? James Potter, don't you dare ignore me!" Joey was getting a little edgy now, too. "Did you guys learn anything new!" James just looked over at both girls and gave them a cheesy smile.

"We're not at liberty to say," James said with a very complacent look across his face. The other boys snickered. This was obviously not alright with Lily, however. She exchanged an evil look with Joey, and turned back to James.

She leaned over towards him and placed her delicate hand on top of his leg, just above his kneecap. James blushed lightly. She then slid her hand up his quad, so that her palm was now resting on his upper thy, and her fingers dangled dangerously close to his . . . ahemm . . . crotch. James pupils turned the size of large, black marbles, and it was suddenly impossible to see any of the sapphire blue that had been emitting from them just a few seconds before. Lily leaned her face in so that her cherry-red lips were merely inches from his face, and gave him seductive smirk. In an extremely provocative tone, she tried again.

"So," she whispered in his ear. "are you 'sure' there isn't anything you want to . . . share, with me?" James gulped loud enough to wake up people sleeping in their dorms upstairs.

"Well, I uhhh. . . I uhhh . . .uhhh" James couldn't seem to take his eyes away from the hand that was pleasantly invading his personal space. Lily's fingers were now impatiently playing with the seam that ran up the inner side of his pant leg. Lily was obviously pushing every single button on James Potters' body. He was biting his lip so hard, that all of his friends were worried that he might even chew a hole through it.

"Jesus! Go easy on him Lil!" Remus laughed, sitting on the chair closest to the fire. Lily giggled seductively into James ear, but did not take her hand away. She was enjoying watching James squirm. James cleared his throat loudly.

"Well . . . ummm . . .I guess we can tell you a few things." Everyone in the group's ears perked up, including the other boys'. "I'll just say that it's a pretty. . . well, primitive thing that Dumbledore has us doing," James managed to croak out. Lily leaned in even further so that her moist lips brushed past his silky hair as she spoke into his ear.

"Is that all you can tell me?" she practically whimpered.

"Uhhh . . .well, yeah kind of. But, I can say that you girls will most likely enjoy it!" James managed to force out the sentence in an entire breath. He sighed deeply. Without taking her hand away, Lily looked over at Joey and nodded. Lily leaned over and gave James a big, wet kiss on the side of his face. Both girls stood up (Lily using the hand on James' leg to help her up), and both of them walked over to the girls' dormitory stairs. The girls were in pieces by the time they reached them, and huge, wet tears were rolling down their faces as they clambered up towards their room.

James, on the other hand, was still breathing erratically, and he just sat there, staring, unblinkingly into the fire. Sirius scooted over and sat right next to him. He looked over and asked, while trying to stifle a laugh, "You alright, mate?"

"Yeah," James managed to squeak out. Remus began laughing heartily.

"Damn, she sure played you!" The three boys started roaring with laughter and slapping hands as James just sat there, still staring at the fire, with one hand placed on his face where Lily had kissed him.

A review would be greatly appreciated! Love, SJ