Hello, my wonderful readers! I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it's been with this chapter. It's been done for a while, but the internet has not been in agreement with me and my editor. But here it is (finally)! I really hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 8

The Saturday before the ball, Brooke stormed into our room and slammed the door behind her. I jumped at the noise, definitely not expecting it from Brooke of all people. She was always so calm, quiet, and level headed. But now, she was breathing heavily, mouth turned downwards in a frown, and a spark in her eyes that promised hell to anyone who dared cross her.

"Um…Brooke?" I tentatively said.

She whirled around and stared for a moment, obviously having been unaware that she wasn't alone.

"You okay?" I continued.

"I'm fine," she answered.

I remembered Remus's mocking tone. "She's fine."

Yeah. All right.

"You sure about that?" I challenged.

Her face fell the slightest bit. She crossed her arms over her chest protectively and sat on her bed. "Remus is angry with me."

"I heard about that." Well, at least that's what I had assumed. "What happened?"

Brooke swallowed thickly and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

I studied her face, saw the pain in her eyes and how close to tears she was, so I let it go. "Okay."

She nodded, then got up and locked herself in the bathroom. I hoped that this wasn't anything she and Remus couldn't work through.

o0o0o0o

The night of the ball was pure, unadulterated chaos.

All five of us girls were running around trying to get ready, bumping into each other and doing our best not to drop whatever we were holding and making a mess of everything.

I had just finished Lily's makeup with a swipe of mascara when I was suddenly yanked backwards and forced into a chair. I yelped as Marlene, with a fierce look in her eye, wordlessly got to work on my hair.

"What are you doing?!" I cried, wincing as she dragged a brush through my mass of curls.

"What do you think?" she retorted. "Helping you."

"I don't need help, Marlene."

She scoffed. "Oh, please. Just what were you planning on doing with your hair, then?"

I started to speak, but stopped short when I realized that I really didn't have a plan for that. I hadn't even begun to think about it. Though in the end, I probably would have ended up pulling the top portion of my hair into a ponytail and sticking a sparkly clip I'd borrowed from Lily through it.

"That's what I thought," said Marlene, taking my silence as her answer. "I bet you would have ended up pulling it back with Lily's silver clip."

Curse her for being right!

So I sulked as Marlene tugged and pulled at my hair. A couple times I gasped at the pain and tears– actual tears!– sprang to my eyes. Ugh, this is torture.

I looked around the room. Lily was smoothing out the wrinkles in her strapless purple dress, her hair curled (courtesy of yours truly) and hanging over her shoulder. Alice was frantically searching her trunk for a pair of heels. Brooke was nowhere to be found, but I heard the shower in the bathroom running and knew it would only be a matter of time before she joined the chaos.

Marlene yanked on my hair again, eliciting another yelp and a round of cursing on my part. She began twisting and braiding strands of hair, jabbing pins into my head when and wherever she deemed necessary. I grumbled and Lily merely laughed from the other side of the room.

Brooke came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and hair plastered to her skin. She bit her lip and stared almost fearfully at the dress laid out on her bed.

"What's wrong, Brooke?" Alice asked, emerging from her trunk with shoes in hand.

Brooke opened and closed her mouth several times before answering. I raised an eyebrow at her when her eyes met mine in the mirror. Finally she shook her head. "I don't think I can do this," she said. "Maybe I just won't go–"

"WHAT!" Lily and Alice both screeched. Shocked, both at Brooke's bold statement and the two banshees in the room, Marlene tugged too forcefully on my hair.

"Bloody freaking OW!" I cried, eyes stinging.

Marlene ignored my pain. "But– but weren't you supposed to go with Remus?"

My mind immediately went to the day Remus asked Brooke to the ball, before their fight. There were flowers and candles, which in most cases I found to be cheesy, but somehow Remus had pulled it off and it was actually pretty sweet. Of course, I didn't actually see it… More like I'd pulled the details out of Brooke later with only a little pain.

Brooke winced and averted her eyes. "I was… but after that argument we had last week…"

"Wait, back up and hold it there," Alice said, waving her arms around wildly. "You two fought? But– but you two are the perfect couple! It's not possible for you to get into a fight!"

"That's not exactly logical, Alice. Everyone argues now and then," Lily pointed out.

"We are not a couple!" Brooke protested, her cheeks flushing.

I rolled my eyes, shoved Marlene's still-working hands away, and turned around to pin Brooke with a hard glare. "First of all, that's not the point. Second: Alice–" I looked at her next. "–yes, they argued. No, we don't know why or what said argument entailed, as our dear Miss Moore has kept sufficiently silent about the matter. Third, you–" I turned back to glare at Brooke. She visibly shrank under my stare, but I didn't back down. "–are going to that ball whether you like it or not. I'll be damned if I let you hole up in here and avoid having a good time with a wonderful guy just because you're scared."

Brooke drew herself up with all the dignity she could muster while dripping wet and covered only by a towel. Her mouth pressed into a firm line and she was obviously trying to keep her cool. "I– I. Am. Not. Scared."

"Prove it," I shot back.

Okay, maybe it was an immature move. But I prided myself in knowing how she ticked now, knowing how to get under her skin and, with the right amount of prodding, getting her to bend to my will.

Brooke let out what sounded like a growl and took her dress to the bathroom, letting the door shut loudly behind her.

I smirked as I turned back around in my sit to allow Marlene to keep working. For another moment or two, the girls remained silent, as they had been during my banter with Brooke.

"Well." Lily broke the silence first. She gave me an exasperated look. "Congratulations. You managed to piss her off."

"That was the entire point," I remarked. "She may not seem like it all the time, but Brooke is just like us. If you insult her pride, she will go out of her way just to prove you wrong."

Marlene tugged at my hair again, getting back to work with a vengeance. "You're a terrible person."

"I know." I smirked, then yelped when she stuck another pin into my hair, scraping my scalp. I grumbled my irritation, but kept still as Marlene continued to torture me.

o0o0o0o

The entrance hall was a crowded mass of colors by the time we made it down. Our dates were waiting for us, which I both appreciated and hated at the same time. It gave me some time to calm my nerves before seeing Adam, but at the same time, the longer I walked the more my hands seemed to sweat. I had to resist the urge to run my palms down my dress as I walked down the corridor, so instead I just kept rubbing them together.

Brooke seemed to be having the same dilemma. She wrung her hands together and kept glancing back over her shoulder, as though wondering how far she could get before someone chased her and tackled her to the ground in order to keep her from hiding away in the dormitory.

I nervously reached up to touch my hair, so meticulously twisted into an updo, but Marlene slapped my hands away.

"If you mess it up," she growled, "I will end you."

"I was just checking–"

"Alyssa, I used and entire package of pins and more hairspray than should normally be allowed. Your hair isn't going anywhere. Unless you touch it, in which case you are digging your own grave, so stop it!"

I grumbled, but the scowl was wiped off my face when the staircase came into sight. A multitude of voices echoed in the large entryway, and the hall was already at the point of knocking elbows with everyone around you. As we walked, I kept glancing all over the hall looking for Adam. My heart thudded when I didn't see him the first time.

Stay calm, I told myself. It's crowded, and it's totally possible that you just didn't see him at first.

He stood me up! the irrational part of my mind wailed.

No, he didn't. Shut up.

I realized that while I had been internally panicking, my friends had dispersed. I now stood alone at the base of the stairs, still scanning the crowd for my date.

"Good evening, my lady."

I jumped at the voice and whirled around. Adam stood there, trying to hold back his laughter and failing. I rolled my eyes but grinned anyway.

"Trying to be classy, are we?" I said.

He shrugged. "It never hurts to try." He drew closer and we locked eyes, a smile still touching his lips when he said, "You look beautiful."

I felt heat rushing to my cheeks, but I refused to drop his gaze. I cleared my throat and said, with only a slight waver, "You don't look too shabby yourself."

An awkward silence fell over us, and we stood there for a moment with nothing left to say. But thankfully, the silence didn't last long. The doors to the Great Hall soon opened, and the crowd moved forward.

Adam held out his arm to me. "Shall we?"

I nodded and placed my hand in the crook of his arm, thankful for something to do.

As we slowly moved inside the Great Hall, I skimmed the crowd again, looking for my friends. I spotted Marlene with her date, a Hufflepuff boy I didn't know. There was Alice with Frank Longbottom, both wearing ear-to-ear grins. I couldn't see Lily anywhere, but I wasn't really concerned about her. No, I wanted to know if Brooke had swallowed her pride and found Remus.

Finally, I saw her. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I realized that Remus was with her, and they were both smiling genuinely. Brooke suddenly blushed at something Remus said, but she maintained her grin.

My focus was brought back to my date when Adam pulled out a seat for me, and I realized that he had been leading me toward a table the entire time. Slowly, other couples joined us, and Adam seemed to know them all. He chatted and laughed with them while I sat there in silence, and for a few minutes I was worried that this would be how the entire night would go.

"Are these seats taken?" a new voice asked.

I looked over and to my complete and utter relief, it was Lily and her date, another Ravenclaw boy named Thomas… who, apparently, was also friends with Adam.

"All yours, mate," said Adam to the new arrivals.

Lily sat next to me, and we shared a look that conveyed out relief to be together in this one.

So we ate, talked, and occasionally the kind-of-stuffy Ravenclaw boys got a few laughs out of us. And then came the dancing.

As soon as the first song struck up, chairs screeched against the floor of the Great hall and everyone moved toward the dance floor. Adam held out his hand with a charming smile. "May I have this dance?"

I smiled back and took it. "You may."

As it turned out, Adam was a surprisingly good dancer. I, however, was not. I fumbled with my footsteps a few times and embarrassed myself, but bless him, Adam took it in stride and coached me through the steps. Every now and then he would whisper to me, "All right, now I'm going to twirl you around. Ready? Good. Step back, side, and back out…"

And so it went on. Even including my screw ups, I had an amazing time. When he wasn't telling me what steps to take next, Adam talked and joked with me.

By the time the fast-paced music began, it was well into the night. We were both exhausted, so Adam gestured to the doors. "Want to step out and get some fresh air?"

I nodded, and he took my hand and led me outside. For a few minutes the cold December air was refreshing, a pleasant change from the stifling heat of the Great Hall.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Adam asked as we walked.

"I am," I assured him, then hung my head and laughed. "Sorry for stepping on your foot all night."

Adam laughed as well. "Don't worry about it. If it means I get to dance with you, you can step on my feet all you like."

I bit my lip and could feel my face heating up. A gust of wind suddenly blew through the grounds, and I shivered at the cold.

"Here." Adam made quick work of taking off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

"Thanks." I looked up and his face was a lot closer than I had initially believed. My breath hitched.

Adam's hands hadn't left my shoulders, but now one hand moved up to tuck a stray curl behind my ear. I held my breath as he came closer, ever closer, and my eyes fluttered closed as he closed the gap between us…

…

Kissing is weird.

It was weird and nothing like everyone said it was. It was just… flesh touching flesh. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

When Adam pulled away, he was smiling. I didn't want him to think that I didn't like it, so I smiled back.

He took my hand again, so I gripped it tighter than before. Suddenly everything about me felt awkward. Did he notice my hands were sweating? Should I be saying something? Was the silence comfortable or cold? I wasn't looking at him; was I supposed to be? What was I supposed to say?

He led me back to the entrance hall. Now the silence had been going on for far too long.

I decided to speak. "Adam–"

Unfortunately, he'd had the same idea. "You–"

We both stopped and smiled. "You first," I insisted, since I still had no idea what I was going to say.

"I just wanted to remind you that you look beautiful tonight." Was I blushing again? "And I wanted to ask you–"

He was cut off by the reverberating sound of a slap.

I whirled around, and there by the staircase was Lily, valiantly trying to hold back tears. Her jaw was clenched, chin held high, and hand still raised as though she would slap him again. But it wasn't Thomas that she had slapped. It was Snape. He raised his fingers to touch the quickly reddening mark on his cheek.

Lily spat something to him that I couldn't hear and fled up the staircase.

"Damn it," I hissed. I turned to Adam. "I have to go. I'm sorry." His eyes were full of understanding, but I didn't wait for him to respond. I ran toward to stairs, hoping Lily hadn't gone too far. I just barely caught the sight of the hem of her purple gown disappearing into one of the girls' bathrooms.

"Lily!" I pushed the door open and saw her hunched over the sink, crying as hard as she had back in October. She was clutching her arms, desperately hugging herself as though she might fall apart. I swallowed before I spoke, trying to keep my anger from bubbling over.

"Lils?" I couldn't even tell if she had heard me. "Lily, what did he say?" I pushed her tangled curls over her shoulder and put my arms around her. She buried her face into my shoulder, and I felt the spot quickly becoming wet with her tears.

She took a few minutes to pull herself together to respond. When she did, she looked up and I saw that her makeup had smeared, eyes red. I grabbed a towel and began wiping away the mess while she spoke.

"He–he said–" Lily swallowed thickly. "–he told me that Thomas looks a lot like Ian. He said that… obviously I have a 'type.'"

I sucked in a breath through my teeth, pausing and putting the towel down. "Bastard."

She took a shuddering breath in. "Right?"

"So what did you say? I mean, other than the clear message your palm left on his face," I let out a laugh to lighten the mood.

She smiled weakly at me. "Using a few expletives, I told him exactly where his arse could spend eternity."

My eyebrows went up. "Well done, Lils, I'm impressed! I was going to offer to kill him for you, but you seem to have things under control."

Lily rolled her eyes, still sniffling. "Oh yes, you see how well I am handling myself."

I turned my head, putting on a contemplative look as I studied her face. "You know, I think the puffy eyes look might be coming back in."

Lily laughed, stronger this time. "Tell me." She reached for another towel to wipe her face. "How were you planning on killing Severus if I so ordered you?"

I considered for a moment. "I think I could make it look like he simply slipped off the Astronomy Tower. Probably would have to involve the Potter and Black for that, though."

Lily smiled at me. "You would put up with Potter and Black for me?"

I began laughing in earnest. "That seems the greater sacrifice than committing murder for you?" She gave me a look. "Yeah, you're probably right,"

She turned and smiled again. "Thanks."

I hugged her tightly. "I'd do anything for you."

We left the bathroom arm-in-arm, and when we got back to the dormitory we lay on her bed and talked about our nights. Lily was asleep before Alice and Marlene got back, so I shushed them and pulled my covers over my head.

I let out a long breath. It was nights like this when I really wondered about the future. Not necessarily about mine, but Lily's. After Ian died…well, I got worried that she might not be able to love someone like that again. As I drifted off, I wished that Lily would end up with another man willing to die for her, and I prayed that this time he wouldn't have to.

Please let me know what you think and leave a comment below! :)

An update might actually be on time next week! I'm not going to make promises, because it never works out the way I want it to, but I'm at a really good place right now and I'm officially on Christmas break, so there's a good chance. :)

See you guys later!

~AMQ