A/N: Oh. My. Gah. I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO sorry that it has taken me this long to upload this freaking chapter. I nearly forgot about this fic, truth be told. I've been really busy with school and planning vacation for summer and all that 'fun' stuff.
It's probably not even a good chapter, and you guys waited all this time for it... so... once again, I'm really sorry. I am. Feel free to throw rotten vegetables at me for taking so long, as long as you don't flame.

Side note: I don't know how, but one way or another, this fic caught on with a lot of my friends. And now many of them have asked me to put their OCs into it. Of course I can't put them all, but I did add another OC that belongs to meh buddy, Issa. xD I know, I know, waaaaaaaaay too many OCs in this story, but... that's what happens when you Roleplay this all out as a first draft.
And speaking of Roleplay... I'd like to thank another of meh buddies--Grease. Or Breanne. Whichever you'd like to callher. Brease, thanks for Roleplaying the majority of all this out with me, so as to keep me occupied when I was on the verge of infinite boredom!

Disclaimer: O-o If you don't already get the point that I don't own anything even remotely Harry Potter-related, other than my OC, Aerin, then you've got mushrooms growing on your brain.

Chapter 5

It hadn't taken very long for word of the New Year's Eve Ball to travel around. Soon, it was all anyone could talk about. Upon word of the Ball, many students quickly flocked back to Hogwarts with only a quick good-bye to their family. It was obvious everyone wanted to go ahead and ask someone before there was no one left to go with.

On the whole, a good majority of students were pretty quiet about who they actually planned to ask, though most gossip consisted of who was taking whom. Most students only informed their closest friends (who usually ended up telling more people, which was the reason for so much gossip) who they intended to ask. But of course there were always a few students who had absolutely no problem whatsoever with declaring to anything that breathed who they were positive that they would invite to the Ball. James Potter was one of these people.

Whenever he overheard anyone chattering about the New Year's Ball, he'd bound up to the group doing the talking, and proudly announce the name of the one and only girl he had in mind to ask—of course, that girl was none other than Lily Evans.

One of the more interesting events that happened shortly after most students had returned to Hogwarts occurred a few short days from when the Ball was scheduled to take place.

James had been proudly boasting to a group of Fifth Years about how Lily was certainly going to be going with him to the New Year's Eve Ball. Unfortunately, Lily happened to be passing by, and overheard the whole conversation.

Lily cleared her throat after a minute, when James seemed to not have noticed that she was there.

He turned around, spotting her and looking positively delighted. "Lily! Just the girl I've been needing to talk to!" he mused cheerfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Potter—" she began.

James cut her off, but not in a rude manner. "I'll get straight to the point—will you go to the Ball with me?"

She frowned, shaking her head slightly, long red waves bouncing this way and that. "I don't think so…" she remarked.

James's look turned to a somewhat pleading one. "Aw, c'mon, please?"

"I already said 'no'," she replied, attempting to walk away.

He deserted the Fifth Years to follow Lily. "When have I ever asked you for anything?" he whined.

"Right before winter break, you borrowed my quill, and you still haven't given it back," she retorted. "And then there was—"

James scratched his head. "Well, aside from that… pleeeaaasssee? Go to the New Year's Eve Ball with me?" he begged. It was obvious he was ready to get down on his knees at any point, if only to continue his pleading.

Lily sighed in frustration. "James, couldn't you just leave me alone?"

"No, not really!" he told her after thinking for a moment. "Just go to the Ball with me?" he requested again.

Lily smacked her forehead, groaning. He wasn't going to leave her alone. He just wouldn't let her be. He defiantly rebelled her right to privacy! And that only left her with one other option. "ALL RIGHT!" Yes, she relented, though she was looking none too happy about it.

"Lily, please, I'll—" James began again. Then he stopped, blinking in confusion. "Alright? Wait, you mean you'll go… with me?" he asked, looking totally lost by now.

"Don't you DARE make me repeat myself!"

Poor James didn't know what to say, or even think for that matter. "You're not… kidding? This isn't all some cruel joke?"

She shook her head. "No, Potter. No joke," she said simply. She finally was able to slide pas him and walk up to the girls' dormitory, seeing as James was in a state of complete disbelief.

James eventually managed to come back to reality, though he still seemed as though he didn't quite believe his ears. "I'll meet you down here before the Ball…" He spoke dazedly, hardly even realizing that Lily was no longer downstairs with him, and that he was instead speaking to the staircase.

---

It was now two days before the New Year's Eve Ball, and Remus J. Lupin still had no intention of asking anyone. He had always been friends with James and Sirius, but it was no secret that he was much more laid back than they were. The shy one… that was what Remus was and always had been. No, even Peter, clumsy loveable idiot that he was, was more outgoing than Remus. Remus doubted whether he would even go to the Ball at all. After all, if he had no intention of asking someone, what was the point? Of course his lack of enthusiasm only caused Sirius and James to be excited for him.

"C'mon mate, surely there's some girl you've got in mind to ask?" Sirius asked for about the fiftieth time that day, raising an eyebrow.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Do I really have to answer that… again?" he sighed frustratedly.

"Yes!" James and Sirius yelled at him simultaneously.

"No."

James paused. "Wait, 'no' what? 'No' you won't answer, or 'No' there's no girl you've got your eye on?"

"No, there is no girl I can think of to ask to the Ball," Remus restated, a bit slower that time.

"Aw, why not? Worried that your furry little problem would get in the way?" Sirius remarked huffily.

"You're a fine one to be talking about furry problems!" Remus retorted.

Sirius only looked proud. "Alright, so I'm a hypocrite. Sue me." He waited for a few minutes, and then frowned disappointedly. "Hello? Oy! Where's the usual smart alec response?"

Remus tore his eyes away from a girl that had sat down by herself at a table not very far from where the three boys were sitting. "Huh?" he asked Sirius.

James and Sirius looked first at the girl, then Remus, then each other. Their faces each broke out into cocky grins, which were then replaced by smirks that curled from their lips. They dropped their voices to hushed whispers before looking back at Remus.

"After careful consideration," Sirius began.

"And much debating!" James added.

"Mr. Potter and I have decided that we approve!" Sirius finished. By "we approve", they meant "go ahead and ask her to the Ball now, you twit!"

The girl looked a bit like Dia, with pale skin and dark hair, but there were a few differences. She was a lot taller than Dia, gangly in fact, though still slender. Her hair was also a bit more windblown, though not precisely tangled. Her eyes? They were like two turquoise orbs set evenly in her face. In all, she didn't have Dia's perfect little doll-like appearance (The boys were actually rather glad she didn't; it was doubtful whether they could stand another girl like Dia), but she definitely wouldn't be the sort of person that it would be embarrassing to go to the Ball with.

When Remus failed to make any move to go nearer to the Girl, the other two yanked him up by his arms. "Go over there and ask her, right now!" James hissed.

Remus blinked in confusion. "Wha—?" he stated disbelievingly.

Sirius and James finally dragged Remus over to the girl, promptly pushing him down into a chair. They stood there for a moment more as there was confused silence between Remus and the girl.

"We, erm… have to do something… over there!" James announced, pointing to the other side of the Common Room.

Sirius stared at James. "We do?" he asked.

James nodded. "Yeah… don't wanna keep any particular two people from starting up a conversation!" he replied, starting off towards where he'd been pointing. When he realized Sirius wasn't following, he marched back, grabbed Sirius by the ear, and yanked him away with him.

"Ow! JAMES! My ear! Let go!" Sirius whined as he was dragged.

Remus watched his two friends walk away in disbelief. As he turned back to the girl, he blushed. Those prats! They knew he was horribly shy around girls, yet what did they go and do? They shoved him in the direction of the nearest one, and made sure he was all by himself too!

"Erm… sorry about that," he mumbled, his face still flushed with mortification.

The girl smiled sheepishly. "Oh, it's okay. If you want, I can just…" she trailed off, but gathered up her stuff as she started to move off.

"No, wait!"

She gave him a confused look, but slowly sat down again.

Remus took a deep breath. Oh, he was going to hex those gits out of what small brains they still possessed for this. "My name's… uh... Remus. Remus Lupin," he introduced awkwardly.

"Bella Johnson," the girl named Bella nodded.

"Umm… you don't, by any chance, have someone… to go to the Ball with, do you?" Remus asked, his cheeks now rivaling the color of a ripe tomato. What the heck was wrong with him? He was just meeting this girl, and the next sentence out of his mouth had something to do with the Ball!

Bella momentarily twirled a strand of her hair around one of her fingers. "Not yet," she finally replied. "Any particular reason you ask?"

Remus nodded, looking slightly discomfited. "Well, you see… I was sort of wondering if you might like to go with me."

She blinked once or twice, letting go of the strands that she had been playing with. "Go with you… to the Ball?" she repeated. "Well, um… er… sure!" she blurted out, though appeared shy in the next instant. He seemed bashful like she was, which helped to give her a little more confidence… and the fact that he was cute also helped.

He perked up a little bit, the second that his brain registered her answer. "Really? Oh, well, I guess… I guess I'll meet you here about ten? You know, so we can go down together?"

Bella smiled cheerfully. "Okay! See you then, Remus!" she told him, before standing up and exiting the Common Room—she needed to return one of her books to the library.

Less than ten seconds after Bella had departed, James and Sirius both came bounding back to their friend.

"So?" Sirius prompted Remus, trying to get details out of him.

"How did it go?" James demanded to know.

Remus, though still furious with the both of them for leaving him by himself earlier, was still quite ecstatic about Bella's answer. "She said yes!" he told them, grinning ear-to-ear.

James and Sirius swapped satisfied looks momentarily. "See, mate? We knew that she was the one for you!"

Remus's excitement phased back to more annoyance with the two for their previous desertion of him. "Of course you did." His face twisted into a smirk. Standing up to go on to the boys' dormitory, he paused briefly, allowing a jet of water to splash each of them smartly in the face.

The two spat out the water that had made its way into their mouths, and started backing away from a group of girls that were now trying to rush over and assist them.

"Remus!" James whined, ducking as a girl made a swipe to help dry his hair.

---

Finally, it arrived. The day of the New Year's Eve Ball finally came, allowing some their feelings of being completely enamored—if they had managed to get a date to the dance that was. Yet for other students—mainly the ones who were going alone or skipping the Ball altogether—the perfect amount of sunlight bursting forth from the clouds and sparkling off of the crisp layer of snow was all too ironic.

Aerin was bitterly certain that it was ironic. Oh sure, she already had a date for the dance. And a handsome date at that. But she was nervous; every one of her nerve endings was on the brink. The auburn-headed teen didn't see how it was possible for other girls to make attending a ball look so simple. It was only too confusing for Aerin. There was the matter of the clothes, the hair, and the act of dancing itself! Aerin often scowled when she heard other girls discussing how they'd had their dresses ready from the first day they read the notice.

Partly, she scowled because she had only just purchased a dress this very day. But her main reason for scowling was because she loathed the idea of having to wear a dress in the first place. Frills and satin and lace just didn't appeal to her near as much as a simple pair of worn-in jeans, or her school robes.

Still—it had been hard to reject a dress like the one she had found. Aerin had been reading the Daily Prophet the previous morning (she had signed up to receive it shortly after her first few days at Hogwarts) and had seen an ad for Madam Malkin's Robe Shop, advertising a handful of fine quality dresses that had no doubt been put there specifically for girls shopping for the New Year's Eve Ball.

One dress in particular had caught Aerin's eye. It was at a reasonable price, too. Of course, the price didn't matter much to Aerin. What was the worst that could happen if she spent too much? Her muggle legal guardians would scold her for spending too much wizard money? That was unlikely. So, she'd gone on ahead and bought the dress, regardless.

Aerin gave a sigh after a momentary glance out of the window. The Ball was set to begin at ten-thirty that night, and already the sun's last rays were making a dazzling exit as they danced carelessly over the gleaming snow.

As the hours continued to move along ever-slowly, some students finally adjourned to the dormitories to prepare themselves for the Ball. Aerin's stomach lurched and her nerves screamed again as she stood up and trudged up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

Meanwhile, the boys were already getting changed into their dress robes. As Sirius slipped his arm through one sleeve, he thumped James in the back of the head with his free hand.

"Ow!" James yelped, rubbing his head and giving his friend a what-the-heck-was-that-for sort of look.

Sirius pulled his other arm through the other sleeve. "That was for STILL not telling any of us who you're going with!"

"How many times do I have to say it? You'll find out when we go downstairs!"

Sirius proceeded to button up his robes, shooting James a stare of mock anger. "Know what I think?" A smirk broke out on his handsome face. "I think maybe you don't even have a date!" he laughed.

The look on James's face was absolutely priceless. "Cocky, are we, all because you're going with Aerin?" he shot back.

Sirius's face reddened, so it was fortunate that Remus came out from the lavatory, already clothed in his dress robes. The robes were plain, but not embarrassing. They were dark red in coloring as well. "Please, if you two feel the urge to kill one another, don't do so tonight. There's a Ball remember?" He spoke softly. Peter had come down with sudden fever, and wouldn't be able to attend the Ball, so he didn't want to sadden his friend.

Sirius and James stuck their tongues out at one another, but otherwise relented. James glanced at Remus for a moment. "Lookin' good!" he snickered jokingly, giving a low wolf-whistle.

"Our little Remmiekins is growing up so fast!" Sirius chimed in, sniffling as a proud mother would.

James busted out laughing. "Remmiekins? Oh, that's a good one!" he shouted, holding to the bed-post to keep from falling to the floor in his fits of laughter.

Remus gave them both a scowl that plainly stated how he'd love to strangle them now.

James finally managed to end his laughter, though was still grinning broadly. He took a quick observation of Sirius in his midnight-blue dress robes and gave a sulky sigh. "Merlin, Black! Do you have to look so good?"

"I don't strive for perfection!" Sirius scowled. He cocked his head to one side. "Besides, you don't look so bad yourself!" he replied.

It was true. James did look rather dashing in his jet-black robes. They matched his hair perfectly.

James made his way to a mirror hanging on the wall, ruffling his hair not from front to back as the rest of the world did, but from back to front, making it, if this was even possible, more untidy than before.

Sirius and Remus stared for a moment. "I swear, Potter, you wake up with your hair neater than it is now!" Sirius snickered.

"That's because chicks dig the bed-head look," James replied, fumbling with his hair a little longer.

"Riiiigght." The two boys both snorted and shook their heads disbelievingly.

Finally, James turned to look back at the other two. He sighed heavily, the only sign of nervousness he'd shown at all that night. "Well… shall we go on downstairs?"

The other two nodded each silently praying in advance that they didn't step on anyone's feet when dancing.

When the boys came downstairs, one of the three girls—Lily, actually—was already down there.

James's jaw dropped. Okay… perhaps he shouldn't have given Sirius such a hard time about drooling earlier in the year.

Lily was clad in a dress identical in color to her emerald-green eyes. Her red hair was done in perfect ringlets that fell just below her shoulders. Resting snugly on her wrist was a bracelet just a shade darker than the dress. Upon seeing the boys enter, she scowled slightly, trying to remember why on Earth she'd agreed to go.

Sirius turned to James and smirked. "James? You might want to wipe your mouth."

James blinked, hardly having heard a word that Sirius said. He merely shrugged and went back to looking at Lily.

Remus walked a few steps over towards her. "Who ARE you going with?" he asked suspiciously. He knew Lily normally didn't go to balls unless she was going with a small group of her friends, but he didn't see any of them around.

Lily raised an eyebrow at James, ignoring Remus for a minute or so. Hmm… she'd been certain he would've spread the news that she was going to the Ball with him to anything that moved or breathed in a three mile radius. She sighed heavily. "Him," she muttered to Remus, pointing a finger in James's direction.

Remus and Sirius stopped, positive that they'd heard her wrong. "Come again?" Sirius asked blankly.

"Soap in your ears, Black?" she snapped.

Sirius grinned. "Sorry Evans, I can't hear you. I've got soap in my ears."

James laughed, shoving his best friend. "Oh, c'mon, you know you heard her! She said she's going with me!" he told them again, face glowing with pride; he was nearly beside himself with excitement.

"Well, I've got to admit that I never thought I'd see the day…" Remus remarked, shaking his head disbelievingly.

James raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! It's just, well… Lily's always…" he trailed off, grateful for the sudden footsteps he'd just heard on the stairway to the girls' dormitory.

Both Sirius and Remus turned to see who was coming down and James seized the chance to whap Remus over the head for having doubted that Lily would ever say yes to one of James's pleas.

Yet Remus only acknowledged him by absentmindedly swatting his hand back at him, without even looking. He was a bit busy looking at the girls… well, mainly looking at Bella.

There really was only one word for Bella's dress—lovely. Lavender in color, the sleeves proceeded half-way down her arms, a layer of gauzy fabric stitched on top of them. Tipples of fabric gracefully flowed downwards, once past the waistline. Her hair was done up in a partial bun, the rest in a sort of ponytail, and a few wispy strands that had managed to escape framed her face.

Sirius hardly even took into account that Bella had also come downstairs. He was marveling at the girl who had come down with her.

She was hardly recognizable as Aerin, save for the slight scowl plastered onto her face at the fact that she was here in a dress. The dress was a marvel, and certainly nothing she'd ever wear as her everyday attire. It was golden through and through, the sort of dress that could frame one's body just right. The sleeves puffed out just a little at the shoulders, the whole dress shimmering in the light the merry fire provided the Common Room with. Yet in contrast to the dazzling dress, Aerin's hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. It was her silent, defiant message that her being in a dress was NOT going to be a constant sight.

She blushed considerably once she saw Sirius. Yes, she of all people, was nervous now. "Hey!" she told him, her voice higher pitched than usual.

Sirius smirked, grinning cockily. A golden dress on a girl with reddish-tinted hair… she was obviously a Gryffindor, through and through.

Aerin had to stifle the urge to groan. Here Sirius was, quite the most handsome boy in the entire school—and then here she was, looking like, in her own opinion, some idiotic form of Barbie doll.

Bella timidly walked over to Remus, who by this point was very red in the face. "Hullo there!"

In return, Remus swallowed, attempting to find his voice again, for it seemed to have wandered off. "H-hi," he stuttered out, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

James turned to Lily, giving her a polite bow that she responded to by rolling her eyes. When he extended his arm and she didn't take it, he sighed. "Time to go on to the Ball?" he asked the others.

Each of them nodded in return. The first to go through the portrait hole were James and Lily, Lily only barely staying within James's range of sight. Bella and Remus were next, with Bella shyly taking Remus's hand and walking with him to go to the Great Hall. Finally, Sirius extended an arm to Aerin as James had done to Lily. Unlike Lily though, Aerin held his arm gratefully. She found it difficult to swallow; her heart felt as though it was lodged in her throat.

By the time Sirius and Aerin reached the Great Hall, the four others were already there. The Hall had been decorated beautifully. Statues of stars and snowflakes were levitating up near the ceiling, which was showing a crystal-clear night-time sky. White glitter and confetti continuously fell from places at random in the Hall, scattering all along the floor and even the walls. Many people were already dancing, since the tune of the song that was playing was cheerful and upbeat.

Sirius grinned at Aerin, helping to relieve some of her nervousness. He took a quick glance around before bowing charmingly—just for the heck of it.

Aerin smiled, rubbing her head nervously. "I feel like a ruddy git in this dress…" she mumbled.

He laughed his usual bark-like laugh. "It's not that bad!"

"You're not the one having to wear it!"

Sirius merely shrugged. "That's because guys don't wear dresses. Well… only Snivellus," he corrected himself. He looked around once more before smiling. "Now before you can complain about your dress anymore… would you like to dance?"

There was a moment of silence, and the question seemed to hang in the air between them. Finally, she nodded. Why was she so afraid? What could possibly go wrong? Why did she always so desperately try to avoid having someone… like her? Aerin wished to know.

She took his hand, and they began to walk. The song was just coming to an end as they set foot onto the dance floor, replace by a steadier, slower song. Aerin bit her lip to keep from groaning. Someone seemed to be doing all in their power to make her as uncomfortable as possible.

Meanwhile, James hadn't ventured more than five feet away from Lily. He had been hoping that she might get the hint that he wanted to dance, but if she did, she sure wasn't showing it.

He sighed heavily. "Lily?"

"What?" she asked, not bothering to look up at him.

"Do you want to dance?" James questioned.

"Of course."

"He blinked before grinning excitedly. "Great! C'mon, let's go!" he replied. When she made no move to get up, he scratched his head in confusion. "I thought you said you wanted to dance…"

Lily raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I did. I never said I wanted to dance with YOU." At the sight of the discouraged look on his face, she really did feel a little guilty. But… she didn't want him getting cocky. She didn't want him to get the idea she actually liked him. Yet the more she thought about it… DID she like him? Why else would she have agreed to go to the Ball with him? It couldn't all be because he was bugging her; her will was too strong for that. So… why had she agreed to go?

At the same time, Bella was tugging at Remus's arm. "Oh, come on! Dancing's fun!" she smiled.

Remus shook his head. "It's not that I don't think it's fun! It's just that… I can't dance," he admitted awkwardly.

This did nothing to cease Bella's efforts. "Is that all?" She laughed a little. "It's not that hard! Just give it a try!"

"If I look like an absolute moron, you'll know why." He walked out to the dance floor with her, his face reddening as he hesitantly put his hands on her waist. For a moment or two, he wondered if he would be slapped. Nah… he'd been reading too many romantic comedy novels. The two stepped forwards and back again, easily keeping up with the slow rhythm of the music. Somehow or other, Bella's head eventually came to rest on Remus's shoulder.

When he noticed this, he smiled. Perhaps dancing wasn't as hard as he'd assumed.

Aerin wasn't near so happy as Remus or Bella. She could feel the red-hot sting of her own reluctance seeming to burn through her flesh as she rested her hands upon Sirius's shoulders. When he placed his hands on her waist, her nervousness only grew.

This should have been bliss. It should have been ecstasy. This single dance with Sirius Black should have been moments of paradise to be forever remembered. Yet the currents of constant questions flowing about in her mind only deprived Aerin of her happiness.

Both faces inclined slightly, moving in for a kiss. The whole world appeared to go in slow motion in front of Aerin. But the questions never ceased. As she gazed up into the face of the only boy that had ever managed to charm her, to make her feel like she wasn't a nuisance or problem, she actually felt like crying on what should have been one of her happiest nights.

Just before their lips met, hesitancy took over. She pushed away from Sirius, taking off at a run. She shoved her way through the crowds of students, finally making it to the doors. A new song was playing, but all that she could hear was the beat of the drums going hand in hand with her heartbeat.

Sirius stared for a minute, mouth agape. Had he done something wrong? Without stopping to ponder the matter anymore, he shook his head and ran after her.

A/N: Oh, I'm evil again. But this kind of evil I don't mind. (: Leaving you all at a cliffhanger is my kind of evil.
But I WILL try to update soon! I really shall.

Please Read and Review!