It was early in December and the Gryffindor seventh years were sitting in Transfiguration on Friday afternoon learning about how to become animagi. The marauders were all wearing strangely triumphant, mischievous smiles which no one could seem to interpret. Whilst the whole class was sitting reading something in silence a note came for Professor Mcgonagall.
She stood up, "Miss Evans, Mr Potter may you please go and see the headmaster in his office. Take your bags."
Lily and James shared a blank look before standing up and leaving the classroom with their stuff. "Do you have any idea what this is about?" James asked.
"Not a clue."
Before long they approached the gargoyle which asked them the password. "Umm…" James started to say before Lily cut in, "Liquorice allsorts."
The door opened whilst James turned to Lily and asked, "What are liquorice allsorts?"
She just sighed and rolled her eyes exasperatedly.
"Oh yeah."
As they entered Professor Dumbledore's office, the man himself greeted them and told them to take a seat.
"Now, I'm sure you were wondering why you are here?" They nodded their heads.
"As I am sure you are aware; the wizarding world is vast approaching a grave time and I do not want people to waste their time being miserable so I have decided that we should have a Christmas dance to bring a bit of happiness to the school. To do this I will need both of your help as you will have to be the ones to organise it. That is as long as you don't mind and it shall not interfere with your studies."
They both shook their heads.
"Normally, the head boy and girl would help me with the Christmas decorations, so if you could fit that into your schedules as well I would be extremely grateful. I understand that this is a lot for the two of you to take on so you can take on as many people as you need to help you, not just prefects. And there will be a lot more students about after I announce there is to be a dance."
"Professor is this dance for the whole school," Lily asked.
"I almost forgot. It's for fourth years up unless they want to invite someone in a younger year."
"Okay, will the dance actually be on Christmas day?" James asked.
"Yes it shall. Now I'm sure you will have plenty to be doing. There is no point in returning to your last class so carry on with your normal activities for now. I will be announcing the dance tonight at dinner."
James and Lily left the room talking, "We have a lot to do before Christmas don't we?" Lily said.
"Yeah, do you want to go back to the common room and discuss what we've got to do first?"
"Yeah, sure."
The next day was Saturday and it was a Hogsmeade trip so many people had gone to the village to buy new robes after hearing about the dance the previous evening. The hall had been positively brimming with excitement when Professor Dumbledore had announced it but many groans were audible from the younger students which was not unexpected.
Lily and James recruited as many helpers as they could to help them decorate the castle for Christmas and before long it was looking spectacular with the usual twelve trees in the hall delicately decorated with all the usual garments such as tinsel and pretty lights which were actually enlightened insects which were attracted to the smell of the trees. Along with small ringing bells which rang pleasant Christmas carols. The knight's armour was also looking rather spectacular after being polished several times by Filch after Peeves the Poltergeist kept throwing ink at them until the bloody baron told him off.
It was a week before the Christmas holidays and Lily, Lisa and Kiara were sitting in their dormitory talking.
"So who are you going with Kiara?" Lily asked her.
"I dunno yet. I want to ask that cute guy from Ravenclaw in sixth year but I'd don't know if he'd want to go with me."
"You mean Caradoc Dearborn. What are you talking about? Of course he'd want to go with you. Your gorgeous, just take a look in the mirror."
Kiara smiled appreciatively saying, "Thanks."
"I'm going with Remus," Lisa told them happily.
"Like we hadn't guessed," Kiara muttered. "So what about you Lily, who are you going with?"
"I don't know."
"Hasn't anyone asked you?"
"Well, they have but – well I don't know."
"Lily, why don't you want to go with them? Do you secretly want someone special to ask you?"
"No," she replied quickly.
"Yes you do," Kiara teased.
"No I do not! I'll prove it to you. The next guy that asks me I'll say yes to as long as it's not a slytherin."
"You've got yourself a deal."
The next day Lily was sitting eating breakfast happily in the great hall with Kiara and Lisa when a tall, dark and handsome sixth year Ravenclaw approached her. She new his name was Benjy Fenwick.
"Hi Lily," he said as he came closer.
"Hi Benjy," Lily replied normally.
"Um… listen Lily, I was wondering if… well if you wanted to go to the dance with me?" he asked with a hopeful smile.
Lily looked at Kiara and Lisa remembering their deal from the night before. Kiara raised her eyebrows, Lily contemplated it for a moment before replying, "Sure I'd love to." After all she could do a lot worse.
Then a sudden thought struck her as Benjy was leaving to go back to the Ravenclaw table Lily caught up with him and asked him quietly, "Could you get Caradoc to ask Kiara to the dance if he's not already going with someone else."
He looked at her for a moment before smiling and saying, "Yeah, actually he really wants to ask her but he didn't think she would want to go with him." As he smiled Lily couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was and how his eyes were so deep and perfect, a swirling blue like the oceans.
"Thank you," she said smiling herself before walking back to the Gryffindor table.
Back in the common room the marauders weren't having any less difficulty getting dates, Sirius was going with a pretty black haired girl in their year called Emmeline Vance, Remus was of course going with Lisa, Peter had had to go home for the holidays for some major family get together. But James wasn't sure who he wanted to go with, some girls had asked him and he had refused everyone so far. On the surface he had pretended he didn't know why but he really knew that he was still harbouring some feelings for Lily. He had wanted to ask her but thought that it could ruin his friendship with her and he did not want that to happen. His chance had run out now though because he had heard that day that she was now going with Benjy Fenwick from Ravenclaw. Normally James would have been jealous and maybe even tried to hex him but now he knew that that would get him no where so he would just try and be happy for her. She deserved someone like Benjy, he was a good guy.
But he really did need to find a date now as the dance was fast approaching. He pondered who he would like to ask but his mind drew a blank. He had never really thought about asking anyone else and he racked his brains to try and think of someone. The answer to his problems walked straight into him coming out of a classroom as he was walking down the corridor. A girl in fifth year bent down to pick up the books that had been dropped when she had bumped into him. James bent down to help her. As they came to the last book, they both placed a hand on it and looked at each other for the first time.
James was stunned, her eyes conveyed a beautiful and talented young girl but with some misery from her past that still showed in her look. She had dark brown hair which waved down her back, tanned skin and a smile that could light up the sky.
They both stood still for a moment before the girl said thank you and started to walk away. After she had gone a few paces James caught his breath and followed. He caught up quickly and asked, "Excuse me bu what's your name?"
She smiled at him before replying, "Rose Green."
"Well, I'm James Potter," he replied.
"Yeah I know."
"Oh." As she started walking away again James called out after her, "Rose, I realise I've only just met you but would you like to go to the dance with me?"
Once more she smiled that amazing smile and said, "Sure."
"Great. I'll talk to you soon. Bye."
"Bye."
James watched her walk away her long hair swishing as she went.
It was Christmas Eve and James, Lily and several others including the rest of the marauders, Lisa, Kiara, the prefects and even Caradoc, Benjy and Rose were helping put the finishing touches to the decorations in the great hall and organisation of the dance. They had booked a band and sorted out food and the dance floor. James had gotten to know Rose a bit more since their first meeting and he really enjoyed being in her company and had found out she was in Hufflepuff, but he felt like there was something missing which he couldn't place.
Lily had been spending a lot of time with Benjy as well since he had first asked her to the dance. She too really enjoyed his company but felt there was something missing. All the right things were there but something in her heart was telling her it was wrong. But she thought she could really like Benjy so she wanted to give it a proper go.
When they had all finished in the great hall they trudged exhaustedly back to their own dormitories and all fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows not wanting to wait any longer for Christmas to arrive.
"Get up! GET UP!"
James woke up to the sound of Sirius jumping on the end of his bed. "What time is it?" he groaned.
"Ow!" James screamed as Sirius landed rather hard on his leg but Sirius seemed pleased as it had obviously woken James up more. "Fine I'm up," he said. Then giving a mischievous grin he looked over at the only other occupied bed in the room and said, "Do you think we should give Moony a waking gift?"
"Absolutely," replied Sirius mischievously.
Sirius went into their bathroom and filled up a pot of water. What neither James nor Sirius knew though was that Remus was awake and was anticipating their every move. He had his only little prank to pull.
As Sirius came back in with the water as quietly as he could Remus smiled as he held his wand by his side at the ready. Just as Sirius was about to pour the water onto him Remus turned over and pointed his wand at Sirius who then tripped turned round chucking the pot of water at James who got absolutely drenched.
Sirius and Remus laughed but what Sirius didn't know was that there was still some water left in the pot and as Remus pointed his wand at Sirius once more he tripped, falling backwards and tipping the rest of the contents of the pot onto himself.
Now Remus was doubling over with laughter whilst James spluttered, "You got us this time Moony, but next time we'll be ready, you await our revenge."
Then he lit up in a smile and said, "Presents!"
They all sat around opening their presents before going down to the common room.
Christmas day was spent playing games, talking and generally having fun. At 3 o'clock the marauders, Lily, Kiara, Lisa, Caradoc, Benjy and Rose were all outside having a snowball fight which lasted an hour. At which point all the girls stood up saying, "Right, we've got to get ready."
James turned to all the other boys and said, "How long does it take girls to get ready? There's still 3 hours before the dance starts."
The others all shook there heads.
The boys headed in at about half past five.
At a quarter to seven the Gryffindor boys stood at the bottom of the girls stairway awaiting the arrival of the Gryffindor girls who they were to escort to the great hall because of their partners being in different houses.
The first girl to appear at the top of the stairs was Lisa, and Remus' mouth opened at the sight of her. She was wearing a sky blue strapless dress where one side stretched all the way down to her ankles whilst the other side just came down to her knees. It made her figure seem envious of many. She wore her strawberry blonde hair in a loose bun where the hair that came down was done in loose curls, and one strand on the right side of her round and elegant face was straightened and loose. She placed a hand on the banister and gently guided herself down the stairs. When she got to Remus she said jokingly, "Close you mouth honey, you look like a pig."
"Sorry, you – you look amazing!"
"Thank you. Should we get going? We'll see the rest of you there," she said offering her arm to Remus to take who did so and they both walked out of the common room together.
The next one to come down was Lily, this time it was James' turn for his mouth to drop open. Upon seeing her he was speechless, she wore a gorgeous white dress made from silk that had a v shaped neck to it which showed off her cleavage with sleeves that didn't go over the shoulder. The dress made her curves clear and gave her an amazing shape. The dress came down to her ankles where her feet were sporting silver strappy heels which topped off the outfit. Her hair was worn down and pretty ringlets surrounded her face.
She pushed a strand behind her ear as she too came down the stairs elegantly and took James outstretched arm. As she took it James smiled and said, "You look beautiful."
She smiled at him before saying, "Thank you."
They left together leaving Sirius waiting on his own for Kiara to come down. He had to be her escort because everyone else was taken and she was not liking it. He was becoming slightly impatient waiting for her to come down. He was the only one left in the common room and he really wanted to get to the great hall so the fun could begin.
After a couple more minutes Sirius looked up after hearing a noise which was Kiara coming out of a door at the top of the staircase. She was looking down trying to sort out her locket necklace. She looked up to see Sirius staring at her.
She was wearing a black dress with thin straps which was quite low cut but managed not to look slutty. The end of her dress was patterned in curves and it came down to just past her knees. She wore her black hair up with every strand straight and in place, which pulled back into a bun which suited her to no end. She had snowflake dangly earrings on which glistened in the light, and every aspect of her marvellous body including her lustrous tan was making Sirius goggle. A fact which she seemed to be enjoying. She took the opportunity to flaunt what he couldn't have in front of him until she tripped over her high heeled black shoes down the stairs and landed straight in Sirius' arms. He was too speechless to laugh though so instead what happened next neither of them ever thought could be possible.
She had landed straight in his arms and as she looked up into his eyes Sirius and Kiara seemed to be thinking the same thing. Sirius leaned in forwards very quickly and started kissing Kiara, she responded. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime but as they broke apart they realised what they'd done. They looked at each other guiltily until Kiara said, "We should be going, our dates will be waiting."
This brought Sirius back down to Earth but as he walked to the Great hall with Kiara at his side he wondered if during their kiss she had felt the same way as him. He had always just been a flirt with her really, he hadn't meant anything by it. No, that wasn't true. A part of him had always liked her. Especially how stubborn and determined she was, especially when it came to not succumbing to his charms. As they parted Kiara gave him a look and a small smile something she had never done before in any case but this time it seemed as though it was a smile that said, "I would rather go with you, but what can I do?"
Kiara had been thinking the same kind of thoughts, she had never thought she liked Sirius, Lisa and Lily always teased her about it but she didn't believe them. But she really felt as though Sirius had thought that their kiss had meant something to him. He had been quiet all the way to the Great hall lost in thought; they hadn't said a word to each other since they kissed. Neither of them knew what to do about it, all they had to go on was how they felt. But Kiara did think that when she had left him he had a look of longing in his eye.
Lily met Benjy at the entrance hall who commented on how beautiful she looked; as the doors opened they went in together and took a seat at one of the tables which were not the usual four house tables but smaller ones that seated ten people. The group all sat at one table, they were to eat before the band came on.
Professor Dumbledore stood up and welcomed everyone before saying, "Tuck in." Although no one knew what to do as instead of food appearing on the tables like it usually did there were menus along the table. Professor Dumbledore sat down, looked at his menu and said, "Steak and Kidney Pie." Which then appeared on his plate in front of him.
Everyone else followed suit and before long everyone was very full and ready for the proper dance to begin. As the band Lily and James had managed to get, the hobgoblins which were very popular on the wizarding wireless network, came on stage to massive applause, people soon started to fill up the dance floor.
Benjy was very gentlemen like and as a slow song came on he held out his hand to Lily, who took it and they both went onto the dance floor.
James did the same to Rose who looked amazing in a red rose dress and who had straightened her hair and was wearing it down. James thought she looked gorgeous. Pretty soon nearly every couple was on the dance floor.
As James was dancing with Rose he looked over her shoulder to see Lily looking so happy dancing with Benjy, which made James smile. Lily felt James' gaze and smiled at him before she felt a sharp pain in her side. Luckily it had only made her flinch so Benjy hadn't noticed but James had. But since he didn't want to ruin things for Lily he just wore a concerned expression for the rest of the song and decided to check on her when it had finished.
Sirius was dancing with Emmeline who he liked but after the kiss with Kiara he really didn't feel anything deeper than friendship for her. He wasn't sure but he thought he was catching the same kind of vibe from her. As though she would rather be here with someone else. Instead of paying a lot of attention to her he decided to see what Kiara was doing. She was on the dance floor with Caradoc but looking a little depressed.
As both couples left the dance floor to sit at their tables Sirius decided to take matters into his own hands. He turned to Emmeline and said, "I really like you, but I just don't think there's anything there and there's something I just have to do."
Emmeline smiled at him gratefully saying, "I can tell, you were somewhere else the entire time we were dancing."
He smiled appreciatively at her before going over to Caradoc and Kiara. He bowed, and, turning to Caradoc asked, "I beg your lady's hand at this dance?"
"Sure."
Kiara laughed lightly then took Sirius' hand and let him lead her on to the dance floor. He wrapped one arm around her hip and placed the other on her shoulder whilst she held him around the neck and they began to dance. Sirius spoke first, "Listen Kiara –"
But before he could say anymore she cut him off, "Do you have feelings for me?" she asked whilst gazing worriedly up into his eyes as though she was about to cry.
Sirius thought for a second before replying slowly, "Yes. I do."
Kiara smiled and said, "I never thought I'd say this but I have feelings for you too. Just promise me that you'll never hurt me," she said anxiously. "I've been hurt one too many times before and I do not want to feel like that again."
Sirius smiled at her before saying gently, "I would never hurt you." He then leaned down but when he was about an inch away he realised, "What about Caradoc?"
"Don't worry. I told him I just wanted to be friends. He seemed to want that to."
"Okay," Sirius said before leaning down, and this time he kissed her softly and gently and held her in his arms whilst they danced slowly to the rest of the song.
Lily and James had both been watching the proceedings over their partner's shoulders and were completely stunned. They then looked at each other and smiled, being happy that now their friends had gotten together. James continued to look at Lily and just before he was about to turn away she flinched again this time a bit more noticeably.
She had felt another pain in her side, this one more pronounced. "Are you alright?" Benjy asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine. I just need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me for a minute."
"Sure."
She ran out of the great hall as fast as she could go in her heels without drawing too much attention to herself still clutching her side. Every so often she would stop and lean forwards still holding on to herself. She ran outside and kept telling herself that with some fresh air everything would be alright.
James had seen this and excused himself from Rose as quickly as he could and then followed Lily outside. When he got there she was sitting on a bench crying.
"What's wrong Lily?"
"Nothing, I'm fine James. You can go back inside."
"You don't look fine. I saw you holding your side. What is it? I should take you to the hospital wing."
"No James, I don't want to go there on Christmas day. And I don't want to feel like this on Christmas day. I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." She stood up only to sway a little on her feet and fall faintly into James' arms.
"Lily?" he said softly. Then a little more loudly and worriedly, "Lily?"
A/N I am so sorry about the wait. I have been so busy. This is my longest chapter yet I am so proud. And itsmy first cliffhanger. I love keeping people on the edge.I shouldn't be as busy now so hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter to you quite quickly. So Kiara and Sirius got together this time I wonder what will happen next. Lol. Thank you once again to all my reviewers!