Chapter Five

Boxing day turned into new years, new years turned into start of term when Remus had to go and see his sick grandmother and the start of term turned into the beginning of February.

Things were still no better with Severus after a month had passed. In every class they sat on opposite sides and when they were forced to work together in Potions they kept contact and chatter to a bare minimum.

On the morning of February first each house awoke to find a new notice on their notice board:

On Friday 17th of February

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Will be holding

A Valentines Ball

In the Great Hall

For the 5th year and up

Melody and Tess, who were the first to spot the little notice in the middle of the board, started jumping up in the air and squealed with delight. "They're putting on a Valentines Ball!"

Most of the boys groaned at the thought.

For a split second Tara wondered what robes Severus would be wearing to the ball, and would it go with the robes that he had bought her. But he won't be asking you… a voice inside her head taunted her… He's probably going to go with that Slytherin girl… Erin Harker… After all she does like him… He certainly won't be asking you…

Severus tried to block all the chatter out during his Transfiguration lesson, all the girls in the class still seemed to be babbling on about the Valentines Day dance, there was only a week to go. But every time he managed to do so his thoughts instead of being on changing the book into a bird, wandered to Tara. Who would she go with?

Stop it, he told himself, when he caught himself pondering the question for the fifth time in as many minutes. She's a Gryffindor and a Mudblood, why should I care?

She hadn't so much looked at him since they'd been partnered in Potions.

They probably laugh at me in Gryffindor Tower, he thought. All of them, Potter, Black and all that lot.

A group of girls giggled in the corner.

What is it with girls and dances? Why do they all have to giggle every single time a boy approaches them? And why do they all have to go around in packs? It just makes it harder for us to ask them. I'll be going alone. Most of the sixth and seventh year girls in Slytherin have boyfriends and the girls in the other houses… I don't even want to think about asking them…

Except… maybe… No, I refuse to ask her… I won't ask her… I won't even think about asking her…

Doing a great job of it too, aren't I?

"Tara," said Sirius. "Can I have a word?"

Tara looked up from her Charms book and smiled at him warmly. "Sure," and she put a bookmark in the page that she was reading.

He held out his hand and led her up to the girls' dormitories.

"So…" said Tara, not knowing what else to say. She'd never been alone with Sirius, unless they were searching for things for the Map, but that was different because it was the library.

"So… I was wondering… you can say no… I just thought it might be a good idea…" said Sirius, apparently a little nervous.

"What?" she asked, starting to feel a little concerned. "I promise I won't bite your head off… unless you splat me with another custard pie…"

Sirius gave her a smirk. The joke had obviously done something to put him a little more at ease.

"I was wondering if you would go to the ball with me, as a friend."

Tara raised her eyebrows.

"Not a date, just as friends, nothing more. Neither of us have a date, and we might as well go with someone that we know that we'll have fun with. You don't even have to dance with me, I'm sure there are plenty… not that I… And if Severus comes to his senses…"

Tara smiled bitterly. "I doubt he will, he's had enough time."

"So…"

"Yes, I'll go with you."

"I still don't see what's so special about the game," said Tara, taking a bite of buttered toast.

"You don't see…?" asked Sirius, obviously a little put out.

"It's a bunch of people riding around on brooms hitting, catching or throwing various balls," said Tara, smiling at Sirius' reaction.

"It's more than that!" said Peter, jumping up and almost shouting, he quickly sat down looking self-conscious when half the hall turned to look at him.

"He's right, it's the beauty of all the brooms weaving in and out of each other. The nuances…" said Sirius, his expression growing dreamy.

"Any way…" said Lily rolling her eyes at Sirius. "Gryffindor is playing Ravenclaw today, if we win we're almost certain to get into the final… if we lose…"

"We won't lose," said James, banishing any such thoughts away. "Our team is too good."

"I'll be commentating so I won't be able to sit with you," said Remus looking up from the Daily Prophet that he was reading. "And Peter will be sitting with Lily, getting the circulation to his hands cut off every time her Jamsie makes a quick dive for the Quaffle." He ducked to avoid a bread roll that Lily aimed at his head.

"How's your grandmother," Tara asked Remus who'd just returned after a three day trip. Like the last time after he'd returned he'd looked a little drained.

"Er, she's fine," said Remus looking uncomfortable. Tara looked at the other three boys who all had the same uncomfortable look on their faces.

"Anyway," said James, subtly changing the subject and kissing Lily on the cheek. "We have to go, Gates wants to give us the usual pep talk before the game, I think she's out there already."

"It's round three of the Quidditch Cup!" said Remus from the commentators box, his voice enhanced by a magical microphone. "Today Gryffindor and Ravenclaw face off!"

Tara spotted one of the teams coming out of the changing rooms.

"And first we have the Ravenclaw team, Jameson, Masters, Hansen, Jacobs, Lane, Sloan… AAANNND… STEEL!"

The Ravenclaw stands cheered loudly, along with the Slytherins, who just wanted Gryffindor to lose.

"And their opponents, the Gryffindor team! Gates, Potter, Atwood, Black, Bryant, Leroy… ANNNND MCKENNA!"

This time Tara screamed as loud as she could, the feeling that she was getting somehow familiar. Everyone quieted as soon as they saw Madam Hooch step into the pitch with the Quaffle.

The team captains shook hands and Madam Hooch tossed the red ball into the air.

"And Gates has the Quaffle! She passes it to Potter who shoots towards the Ravenclaw goal posts and throws the Quaffle to Atwood, but it is intercepted by Masters, who dodges a Bludger sent his way by Black. Masters passes to Hansen, Hansen to Jameson. Jameson shoots to the Gryffindor goal, but the Quaffle is caught by the gorgeous sixth-year Gryffindor Keeper, Bonnie…"

"Lupin… I warned you last game," came Professor McGonagall's voice over the microphone.

"Sorry Professor."

"Now Atwood catches the Quaffle from Leroy and slides between the two Ravenclaw Chasers barrelling down on her, oooh, Atwood is riding her broom upside down! She drops the Quaffle to Gates who is flying directly underneath her and rights herself in time to avoid the Bludger aimed at Gates. Gates gets to the half way line, her path blocked by two Ravenclaws, she passes the Quaffle to Potter. Potter scores against Steel 10-0 to Gryffindor. OUCH that has to hurt. Gates was just smacked in the mouth with a Beaters club. Lane moved to intercept a Bludger heading for Hansen and accidentally got Gates! Accidental, unlike last match when Nott smacked Potter round the head with his club."

"Lupin!"

"And back to the match! Penalty to Gryffindor. Gates sent to Madam Pomfrey who is waiting on the sidelines. This'll just take a few moments… Madam Pomfrey is the finest mediwizard that Hogwarts has to offer."

"Lupin. Stick to the match commentary."

"Just trying to fill in the time Professor. Seekers McKenna and Steel are still searching the skies for the Snitch ready to go after it at a seconds notice. Look, Gates is back, ready to take her penalty. Is fourth year Sloan any match for Gates? Gates lines herself up with the posts and shoots. Sloan makes a grab for the Quaffle, his fingers brush the ball, he fails to catch it, and it goes in 20-0 to Gryffindor."

After an hour Tara was really into the game, Peter had been right, there was more to it than she'd said. She'd witnessed Ravenclaw get twelve goals while Gryffindor were only able to get another four, something having inspired the team. The crowds had sighted the Snitch no fewer than eight times and even more by the two Seekers.

"What's this? Has Ravenclaw's Steel spotted the Snitch?" she heard Remus say from the commentators box. The Ravenclaw Seeker was diving steeply, Oliver McKenna following closely behind. Steel was two meters from the ground when she pulled up. McKenna followed suit. "What a great Wronski Feint! But Steel will have to get up earlier in the morning to pull the wool over McKenna's eyes!"

"McKenna has recovered quickly and is already speeding off in search of the Snitch on his Swiftstick 1500, Steel struggling to keep up on her Nimbus 1000."

"What's that? Near the Ravenclaw goal posts? Is that the Snitch?"

Tara quickly turned her head from the exciting Chaser play directly above her to where Remus had directed the attention of almost everyone in the stands. Sure enough she spotted a flash of gold but it was gone almost as soon and she had seen it. She looked over at the two Seekers who were chasing after the small ball.

"Go Harry!" she shouted up to the Gryffindor Seeker, jumping up.

Lily pulled her back down to her seat. "Who's Harry?"

Tara looked at Lily, puzzled, "What?"

"You just shouted Go Harry! The Seekers name is Oliver, Oliver McKenna."

There was a roar all around them and everyone was jumping up and down screaming. Tara looked at the pitch, Oliver had got the Snitch!

"How do I look?" asked Lily twirling around in her emerald green dress robes that matched the colour of her eyes perfectly.

Tara finished applying her eye shadow and looked at Lily's reflection in the mirror. "James won't know what hit him," she answered with a smile. She saw Lily stop twirling and walk up behind her.

"Those robes that Snape picked look stunning on you. Now what can we do with this?" Lily asked, picking up a lock of Tara's hair and dropping it.

Tara sighed. She'd tried Lily's mousse which had just made her hair clumpy. They couldn't put her hair up because it looked like she'd piled a bush onto her head.

"Maybe we should a spell," she said, frustrated that they weren't having any luck.

"And have it undone the first time someone shouts Finite Incantatum?"

There was a shriek from the other side of the room as one girls' hairstyle came undone.

"See?"

"Err… excuse me," said a second year, Ellie, nervously approaching Tara. "Err, I – I think I might have something my… my mum made it, she has frizzy hair, kind of like yours, and…" she held out a tub for Tara to take.

"Mum takes a blob the size of a Knut a rubs it in and then she brushes it through."

"Thanks," she said taking the tub gently from the girl and opening it.

"Let me do it," said Lily, dipping her hand into the tub and taking a lump of the gel.

Lily rubbed the gel in and took a brush to Lily's hair.

"Better, but maybe we need to use a little more than a Knut size blob," she said, dipping her hand back into the tub.

Lily gelled and brushed Tara's hair several times before she was satisfied, "there, now we can do something with it. Anyone got a curling iron?"

"Here," said a fifth-year holding up a magical curling iron for Lily to take. "Glitter too if you want it."

Half an hour later, Lily was done, she'd curled, added glitter and piled Tara's hair on top of her head.

"Done, Sirius'll love it."

"We're just friends."

"Then Snape'll love it."

"He's an idiot."

The room was silent when the girls entered, Tara first. It seemed to her that all the boys had stopped what they were doing.

Remus, his date Bonnie and Peter were sitting on a sofa near the window watching James thrash Sirius at a game of chess, there was another group of boys playing Muggle cards, the exploding variety to dangerous to play with in their dress robes.

"Wow," said both James and Sirius as Tara and Lily approached them.

"You look beautiful," said Sirius, looking at Tara.

Tara blushed.

"What happened to "just going as friends?"" James asked Sirius.

Sirius swatted James's arm, "doesn't mean I can't give her a compliment."

"Suuuure."

"What time is it?" Tara asked, wanting to get the subject away from herself and Sirius.

"Half an hour before we need to go," said James looking at his watch.

Peter took out his wand and started twirling it around. "Wingardium Leviosa," and he levitated a box of Sugar quills over into his lap.

Thalia, one of the first-years cats hopped onto the arm of his chair, it's tail swishing in his face.

"AHHH-AHHH CHOOO!" Peter sneezed, causing magic sparks to fly out of his wand.

The cat hopped off the chair and Peter looked up, his eyes growing wide.

"Pete?"

"Her robes…" said Peter, pointing at Tara.

Tara looked down to see smoke rising up the front of her dress.

"Fire!" shouted James, taking out his wand, "aquosus,"

But it was too late Tara's robes were ruined.

Severus sat at a table in the Great Hall, with a few other Slytherins, thoroughly bored out of his skull. The way he saw it he could either listen to girls comment on the decorations and snip at what the other (prettier) girls were wearing or he could listen to Lucius go on about his heritage and how Potter was ruining the Pureblood name by dating "that Mudblood Lily Evans". He decided on the latter, making a few comments and nodding in all the right places.

Finally when he'd had enough of Lucius' prattle and held his hand out to his date, Erin, and asked her if she wanted to dance. Normally he hated it, but anything was preferable to listening to Lucius when he was like that, even dancing. It wasn't as if he couldn't dance. No, his parents had made sure that he knew how to act at any social gathering, and that had included a year of dance lessons. Well, it won't do for a Snape to be caught not knowing how to dance of all things.

So he twirled his partner around and around the hall, Erin enjoying the attention of being seen with a Snape, and him just glad to be away from Lucius.

Then he saw her. Dancing in another mans' arms.

Her hair was up in a curly mass, a few tendrils loose, framing her face.

Her robes… they're…

Instead of the periwinkle blue robes that he had expected to see her in she was wearing dark purple ones.

I wonder what she did with them… use them to heat Gryffindor common room on Christmas day?

He watched as her date spun her around. Severus' heart almost stopped when he looked at the man's smiling face and gasped. Sirius Black.

A myriad of emotions and thoughts went through his brain. Confusion. Pain, heartbreak… anger.

But it's not like she's your girlfriend, said the voice in his head. In fact, you all but pushed her into his arms.

Tara sat at the table watching as Severus left the hall, his arm linked with that of his date, feeling incredibly jealous.

The ball, beautiful as it had been, had done nothing to distract her from her thoughts of Severus. She had gazed at him frequently and even thought that he might have been watching her on one or two occasions, but each time she had dismissed it as wishful thinking.

The ball was slowly winding down, the band were packing up and most of the students had left, either to go to their common rooms or to somewhere more private to go.

I wonder which one Severus and Erin went to do, she thought idly, but mentally kicked herself. He's not your boy friend. He doesn't even like you.

Sirius got up to go back to the common room and held his arm out for her. "Ready to go?"

She smiled gratefully at him.

They got to the portrait hole, to find the Fat Lady being kissed by a man dressed in 16th century clothing.

"Pmmhwrr?" came the muffled voice of the portrait.

"Cupid's arrow."

Tara stepped through the portrait hole, but when she looked up she wasn't in the Gryffindor common room and Sirius wasn't with her.