Chapter 40: Halloween Ball
"I'm so looking forward for the Christmas break!!" Lily said tiredly as the group started walking back to the building from the quidditch pitch. The quidditch tryout was a month ago and Lily, Arabella and Stefanie had gotten into the house team. James had become the Keeper of the house because no one else was up to it besides him. Both Lily and Arabella became Chasers because Kenneth Bell had met with an accident in the summer break and fractured his right arm. Sirius and Remus remained as Beaters because there was no other position that interest them more than that. Stefanie had made it to become the Seeker because of her agility and skill on the broomstick.
"So do I. This is really killing us!!" James added, practically dragging his Laser broomstick due to the exhaustion. James, Sirus, Stefanie and Remus had gotten new broomsticks from their parents for being in the house team. They had asked for the Laser series while currently Lily and Arabella were using James' and Sirius' old broomsticks, the Thunderbolts.
"Hey guys, we've got to buck up!! We've three addition members and we're still far from our original standard." Andrew Spinnet told the six fourth-years. "We need to get the Quidditch cup this year as well as the House cup." Being the most experienced player and sixth-year, Andrew Spinnet had became the Captain of the team after Leo Jordon.
"We'll definitely get it." Sirius said confidently.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Andrew said pessimistically. "Hufflepuff had gotten their four exchanged students to play in their team this year. Do you know that they were invited to join the youth national team at the age of thirteen??"
"I've heard. But I believe we'll be just as good." James said. "Regardless in skill or broomsticks, we're not any lousier than them."
"Don't be too over confident. We've to train doubly hard nevertheless." Arabella pointed. After some long walk, they finally reached the Pink Lady at the seventh floor. Andrew said the password and they climbed into the common room.
"See you tomorrow."
"Good night."
The four boys and three girls went up to their dormitory slowly. Their weekdays were fully packed. Everyone Monday, Wednesday and Friday were quidditch training from six till ten. And for Tuesday and Thursday, they had their private practice sessions with Dumbledore and sometimes Professor McGonagall. Leaving only weekends for schoolwork and leisure.
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"I've an announcement to make before you start heading towards Hogsmeade today." Dumbledore stood up in front of the Great Hall. "There would be an upcoming Halloween Ball at the end of this month for the fourth years and above. Details can be obtained from the prefects. Younger students would not be allowed unless accompanied by the seniors." Cheers can be heard from the older students while the younger students groaned in unfairness.
"Wow. Finally we can attend a ball in Hogwarts!!" Lily exclaimed on a bright Saturday Hogsmeade weekend.
"Glad that they lower the limit this year to fourth-years. Last year Christmas Ball was only for fifth-year and above." Arabella added.
"We can do our shopping at Hogsmeade later. We only have three more weeks." Stefanie suggested.
"What do you all do in a Halloween Party??" Jennifer asked with interest.
"I don't know. We had a Christmas Ball last year, Valentine's Day Ball the year before and Homecoming Party when we were in first year. We were not allowed to attend as you've heard Dumbledore. There's an age limit." Lily explained and started eating her sausages and eggs more eagerly than before.
"It sounds interesting though. We barely have any official parties in school except the usual graduation party. We've trips to overseas though." Shannie explained.
"It would be nice if we can get dates and go together." Yvette suggested.
"Sounds nice. But who can we ask??"
"Wait for the right guy to ask."
"How we know which is the right guy??"
"Your heart will tell you that he's the one."
"Sounds like you're choosing a boyfriend and not a date."
"I agree. It's just a date to a ball."
"Well, perhaps to us a ball is much more special than just a normal party."
"I guess it's the different in culture and environment."
"I can see Amos Diggory, Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman coming our direction." Lily said grinning.
"Oh no. I hope they can't see us. Can you hide us please??" Jennifer and Yvette begged.
"It's too late."
"Hi girls." The three Hufflepuffs greeted the seven girls cheerfully.
"Jennifer, would you like to go to the Ball with me??" Amos asked.
"Yvette, would you like to go to the Ball with me??" Barty asked.
"Shannie, would you like to go to the Ball with me??" Ludo asked.
"Sorry, not interested." Jennifer answered on behalf of the four girls.
"We sincerely would love to go to the Ball with you." Amos replied. The two guys behind him nodded.
"We don't want to go with you. Please leave us alone." Yvette said bluntly.
"We rather go with girls than you." Shannie added.
"Alright then, if you all would change your minds about-" Amos said.
"Don't worry, we won't." Jennifer broke his sentence. The four guys looked dejected and headed back to their table.
"They appear persistent." Lily laughed.
"It's not funny, you know. They're so irritating." Jennifer said, pretending to pout.
"Why don't you date them??" Arabella asked, laughing at the scene before her. The four girls looked totally horrified.
"We rather die than to date those brainless guys." Yvette said.
"Are they that bad??" Stefanie said.
"They're not just bad. They're simply terrible!!" Shannie said dramatically.
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"Are we going to have dates to the Ball??" James asked the three Marauders a week later after the announcement. They were now hanging out at their dormitory after the Thursday practice with Dumbledore.
"Who can we ask??"
"The girls??"
"The Ravenclaws??"
"No, the Gryffindors??"
"Who??"
"Lils, Bell and Stef of course!!"
"Ok with me."
"Ask them tomorrow morning??"
"Ok."
"How about our Animagus stuffs??" Sirius asked after they climbed into each of their beds.
"I think we had did enough research, we can start with the practical part after the Halloween Ball." James replied sleepily.
"Thanks guys." Remus said. A soft and sleepy mutters of 'no problem' were heard from the three beds.
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"Don't we all look great??" Lily took off her new spectacles and said as the five girls looked in the mirror, admiring themselves and at one another. Lily had gotten shortsighted somewhere this year and Madam Pomfrey had insisted that she should wear spectacles. Most people had been teasing about James and Lily even more ever since she started wearing spectacles.
"Certainly. The guys will all be drooling tonight." Samantha said, adjusting a push-up bra to make her cleavage more obvious at her low v-neck black dress.
"I think we really should dress up together more often." Stefanie said, adjusting her strappy black heels.
"It's more fun to dress up together than doing it individually." Joey added, doing some last minute make-up magically. Her black halter-neck top with black skirt fitted her perfectly.
"Girls, are we ready to hit the Great Hall??" Arabella asked.
"YES!!" The four girls chorused, giving themselves one last look in the mirror. The mirror had repeated countless times that they looked gorgeous until it had gotten tired of talking.
The five third-year Gryffindors had arranged to dress up together for the Halloween Ball. They had gathered in the dormitory since three in the afternoon to prepare themselves. Once again, they did each other make-up and hairstyle, making them personalized and perfected to every detail.
"We don't want to be late, do we??" Lily said.
"We don't need thirty minutes to reach the Great Hall!!" Samantha joked.
"Don't forget we are wearing high heels. They aren't exactly easy to walk with." Stefanie reminded.
"Let's get going." Joey said as they finally left their dormitory.
"Hey James, you look great!!" Lily praised him. James was wearing a metallic dark green button down shirt with black pants and leather shoes. His hair had obviously been gelled and styled in a messy manner since his hair can never be tamed.
"You don't look too bad yourself either." James grinned at Lily. She was wearing a blue denim tied-back halter-neck dress, which was frayed at the bottom edge of the skirt that reached her mid-calf. She wore a ten-centimeter high denim strapped heels that matches her dress very well. Her auburn hair was piled up with alternate frizzy and straight side fringe. The simplicity of her outfit and hairdo with her naturally blended make-up suited her very well.
"Well, well, well, I almost couldn't recognize the infamous Sirius Black." Arabella joked. Sirius was wearing a plain metallic navy blue shirt and dark blue pants with leather shoes and had worn a smiley-faced tie to adopt a comical look. His hair was gelled and styled to achieve an Armani hairstyle.
"Aren't you a gorgeous little bell today??" Sirius commented, eyeing Arabella. She wore a black colored body hugging toga dress, which reached just above her knees. With matching black strappy heels, she appeared taller than Sirius for the evening. Her brownish blonde hair had added streaks of purple highlights for the night was piled up leaving a perfectly styled frizzy fringe.
"You look different today." Stefanie told Remus. He wore a brownish-beige shirt and black pants with brown leather shoes. His hair was gelled to secure his center parting hairstyle, which was neatly combed. The simplicity in his clothes brought out his personality well.
"You look like an angel." Remus complimented. Stefanie was wearing a white spaghetti strap dress, which reached up to her cream white heels. Her light pink manicure and pedicure with pink-based make-up brought out her angelic look once again. In fact, she looked like a typical angel except for the missing wings.
"Let's get going. Fifteen minutes more to the start." James instructed. Samantha and Joey had already left with Andrew Spinnet and Kenneth Bell while the six of them were chatting. Peter's date was Gracie Lockhart because no one from his year wanted to go with him.
"Besides we want to see what the rest of the girls are wearing." Lily said as she tried to walk a little faster. The six of them climbed out of their portrait and headed towards the Great Hall along with the rest of the students, chattering away happily.
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"May I have the first dance with you??" James stood up and asked Lily, slightly bowed with his right hand forward. Everyone had just finished their Halloween Feast and the Head Boy and Girl with the prefects started the dance.
"Sure. But I don't know how to dance." Lily laughed at the fourteen-year-old James, who behaved like a total gentleman.
"You can just follow me." James said, still slightly bowed with his hand in front.
"Alright then, don't blame me if I stepped on your feet." Lily joked.
"No problem. I can put a hardening charm on my shoes if you're stepping on me too much." James replied.
"Let's go then." Lily took James hand and they went towards the dance floor.
"Hey Stef, wanna go and dance??" Remus asked Stefanie and James and Lily left their little table.
"Sure." Stefanie replied happily and took Remus' hand and walked towards the dance floor. Even Peter had led Gracie to the dance floor, leaving Sirius and Arabella at their table.
"Do you want to go and dance or just want to sit here for the whole night??" Sirius asked Arabella.
"I'm waiting for people to ask me for a dance." Arabella replied coolly.
"Ok, you wanna dance??" Sirius asked.
"Why not??" Arabella replied.
"Let's go, girl." Sirius said and took Arabella with him.
Soon, most of the student population was dancing a slow dance at the dance floor, which was magically enlarged in the center of the Great Hall. The long house tables had became smaller round tables with pumpkin candles in the middle. These small tables for four to six students were aligned at the sides of the hall, forming a circumference around the dance floor in the center.
"What do you think of the Ball??" Lily asked James. They were dancing to the song I Have A Dream, swaying along with the music.
"I think it's ok. Nothing exciting happening yet." James replied, grinning.
"Oh no. What is going to happen??" Lily asked, rather horrified.
"Nothing." James replied and gave Lily the famous James' I-did-something look.
"What did you do??" Lily threatened jokingly.
"I didn't do anything yet. Look around. Any difference??" Lily looked around the Great Hall, the staffs were still at their table eating and being merry while most of the students were at the dance floor with some at the sideways chatting and mingling.
"I don't see anything wrong now doesn't mean there won't be anything wrong later." Lily said, knowingly. The Marauders sometimes used Potions or Charms to delay the effect.
"Seriously we didn't do anything." James said coolly. "How could we?? All these decorations are prepared by prefects and Head Girl and Head Boy, how can we do anything??"
"I'm sure you've your means to do something tonight if you really want." Lily said.
"Thanks for thinking so highly of me. I know I'm James the Great One."
"Like real." Lily said and stuck her tongue out.
"Wow!!"
"Cool!!"
"Look!!"
"Great Dancers!!"
"Look at Malcolm."
"I think Shannon is cuter."
"Look at their dance!!"
"Break dancing!!"
The four Hufflepuffs, namely Shannon, Lewell, Xavier and Malcolm were now in the middle of the dance floor, dancing to the next song Bye, Bye, Bye. They were doing complicated hand and leg movements and the rapport between the four guys were implicitly great. Everyone had stopped dancing to look at the four guys doing their hip-hop dance. The four guys had dressed slightly different from one another, but they definitely had the cool and mysterious look on them. Cheers could be heard from most of the girls in the Hall, which included Lily, Arabella and Stefanie nevertheless.
A next slow song, A Whole New World was played. The four guys approached some girls and asked for a dance.
"Wanna dance??" Shannon came up to Lily and asked. Most of the girls around Lily looked at her enviously. Shannon had seldom approached any girl; girls just threw themselves to him.
"O-ok." Lily stuttered, too shocked at the approach.
"Would you like to dance with me??" Lewell came up and asked the girl beside Lily.
"Sure." Stefanie replied, smiling at Lewell.
"Harlow Gorgeous, can I have the next dance with you??" Xavier asked Arabella. She took his outstretched hand and they walked towards the center of the dance floor.
"Hi pretty, a dance together??" Malcolm asked a stunned Jun. She regain her consciousness after awhile and allowed Malcolm to lead her to the dance floor.
"So what's your name??" Shannon asked Lily in a coarse, half-broken voice.
"Lily Evans."
"Mine is Shannon Daoming."
"I believe everyone knows."
"I'm not surprised."
"That was a really cool dance you guys had earlier." Lily complimented as they swayed with the music.
"Thanks. We like to be in the limelight."
"I've friends who are like you as well."
"Yes, I know. The Marauders."
"How did you know??"
"I've heard a lot about them. Not to mention we were their prank victims before."
"But I've heard that you guys had your revenge as well."
"We always do."
"So what brings you here to Hogwarts??"
"Shannie and her friends."
"You like Shannie??"
"No. But we want to escape from our school. It was boring. The girls there were mad."
"It's because you guys are the most eligible bachelors."
"Who cares?? Girls are just girls. Anyway when they said they were coming here for a year, we decided to follow."
"They didn't even know you guys are coming."
"We had a small conspiracy with the principal."
"How??"
"We've more power in school than the principal because our parents supported the school's well-being."
"I heard from Yvette they all that the four of you are the most obnoxious students there. Always breaking rules and skipping lessons."
"Yes, back there we're the school bullies if you call it."
"But down here, you guys seems to be nice and everything."
"It's because of Dumbledore. We made a deal with him after the fight with the Marauders."
"What happened??"
"He knew we started the fight. He's indeed the Greatest Wizard in history."
"What did he do??"
"That's our secret. But anyway we agreed that we won't do anything to the other students like the way we do in school."
"I've heard how you guys treat the other students in school. Sounds rather terrifying."
"Anyone who oppose us would quit school within a month by themselves."
"Yvette told me that. Shannie said she was a target of you guys before. Jennifer, on the other hand, had been a childhood friend with you all."
"I think you've already heard most of the stuffs about us from the girls."
"Yes. I must say that you guys are really unique."
"Thank you for the compliment. And thanks for the dance." With that the song ended. The two of them went their separate ways. Lily headed towards Arabella and Stefanie. The three girls looked at each other and grinned.
"Let's talk about that tonight."
"Look, Shannon is dancing with Samantha now and Lewell is dancing with Joey."
"It's gonna be interesting at our dorm tonight."
"I agree."
"Where are the guys??"
"Don't know??"
"I forgot all about them when the Flower Boys approached us."
"Anyway let just sit down for a drink." The three girls went to the table and get a fruit punch each and settled at the nearby table, watching the people at the dance floor.
"Hi Lily, can I have a dance with you??" Severus came up to the girls.
"What for?? Aren't we enemies??" Lily looked at Severus suspiciously.
"It's just a dance. And we're enemies with the Marauders and not you." Lily turned to Arabella and Stefanie who shook their heads.
"Sorry Severus. Another time perhaps." Lily said politely.
"It's alright then." Severus left the girls and went to join his gang of Slytherins.
"Why would Snape ask you for a dance??" Arabella asked.
"I don't know. He seems pretty ok when I partnered him for a few of the lessons before." Lily answered, taking a look over the Severus and his friends.
"Well, beware of him. Afterall, he's a Slytherin." Stefanie adviced.
"I will. Thanks." Lily said. "Are we going to wait here until we're approached??"
"Nope, the three of us are going to dance together." Arabella said.
"Hey, let's dance together now. This song is kinda nice." Stefanie said and the three girls left their table and walked towards the dance floor. The song being played now is Sometimes.
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"Can you believe the four Huffies??" Sirius said angrily. The four Hufflepuffs had just finished their dance and had asked their dates for the next dance.
"They merely danced."
"Who did they think they were??"
"Great dancers?"
"I'm totally pissed of with them."
"They didn't offend us that much."
"Sir, it's just you."
"But aren't you angry with them??"
"A little pissed off is the word."
"Let's not spoil our evening. We can approach someone else for a dance. Look, there're some girls from Ravenclaw there."
"Alright then. We must get back at them."
"Definitely."
"Don't forget that we gotta leave the hall at eleven fifty-five."
"How could we forget that??"
"We've two more hours till then."
"Let's dance." James said as they walked towards Eva, Mabel and Pepper, three Ravenclaws who were at the next table.