The Ball

All of the lights the group saw on the outside of Malfoy Manor came from the extravagant ballroom. Candelabras and twin black iron chandeliers twinkled with dim candlelight. Green and silver banners, rugs, and table runners decorated the room. The fireplace was crackling with a warm fire, normally a fire like that is most welcome on an autumn evening but seemed foreboding in this setting. The Marauders and Lily were huddled together in a corner, hoping no one would notice them yet.

"Sirius, this is the last time you pick our disguises!" Remus whispered. "We will all stand out even more now!"

"How was I supposed to know the dress code was to wear black?! Do you think I would have gone with the dress code if I knew what it was?" Sirius muttered, flailing his arms to dramatically bring their attention to his fashion crisis.

"It's alright, we can still do this." James calmed his friends. He handed his cloak to Remus. "Here, Moony. Take this and browse Malfoy's library upstairs. Maybe he's been doing research for his master."

Remus nodded. "I'd be happy too. Good luck, my friends." The shabby young man said with a smile as he vanished under the invisibility cloak.

"What about me, Prongs? I stick out too much." Peter whined as he motioned to his all-white robes.

"Would you rather sneak around as a rat?" James offered as an option.

"Well…" Peter thought out loud.

"It's your choice Wormtail, but we need to find a way to eavesdrop on some of their conversations." James added.

"Plenty of conversations to listen to over there. If anyone needs me, I'll be at the bar." Sirius waved as he strode towards the dark oak bar in the corner of the ballroom.

"Go easy on the alcohol, Padfoot. We have a job to do." James shouted at his best friend, but he knew Sirius probably didn't hear him.

Lily glanced around at the guests. The green in her dress made her feel less out of place, but there was no way she could possibly mimic the portrayal of wealth and narcissism she saw in the ballroom. She looked at the dancers and saw how their eyes judged each other based on how well they had mastered the archaic steps. Lucius Malfoy was dancing with his wife Narcissa, her dress elegantly fanned out, like a black wave covered and dispersed across the ballroom floor. The gothic, traditional music that played only made her feel more uneasy than she already was. Lily, being a Muggle-Born, wasn't trained in traditional wizard customs like this. Then, she felt a chill run up her spine. She saw Bellatrix Lestrange. Though her wicked face was hidden behind a skull mask, her curly, wild hair was enough to give her away. Bellatrix wore black dress robes with touches of black lace that looked like spider webs and her shoes looked uncomfortable. Lily could feel her heart beating faster in fear as she noticed the heinous woman was walking their way. It was well known that Bellatrix Lestrange was Lord Voldemort's right-hand woman. "James." Lily quickly alerted her husband. "It's her."

James's eyes aligned to where his concerned wife was staring. When he saw the dark witch, he instinctively stepped in between Bellatrix and Lily. The last thing he wanted was for the love of his life to be anywhere near that woman. Bellatrix smiled, but James knew it was for appearances and that smile was anything but warm. "Ah, Mr. Potter, welcome to Malfoy Manor." Bellatrix said, her wild eyes behind the skull mask betrayed her formal composure.

James knew what was at stake, he couldn't let their hard work go to waste because of Bellatrix Lestrange. He decided to play along. "Thank you, Bellatrix. You look like you're enjoying yourself." He responded politely.

Bellatrix cackled. "Oh, I most certainly am! I'm spending time with the most prestigious, noble families in our world. Not a Mudblood in sight! Wonderful!" Lily suppressed a gasp and hid behind her husband. James's hand curled into a fist. He hated that word. He hated that word, he hated the dark arts, and he hated witched and wizards like Bellatrix, who thought they were better than everyone because of their bloodline. Bellatrix noticed Lily and tilted her head to get a better look at the young red-haired woman. "And just who might you be, my dear?" Bellatrix asked, her voice went higher, like she was talking to a small child.

Lily's green eyes reluctantly met Bellatrix's shadowy eyes. "I'm Lily Potter. James is my husband."

Bellatrix smiled sinisterly. "How sweet, a date night!" Her eyes scanned Lily from head to toe. "What was your maiden name, deary?"

James knew where that was going to lead, so he tried to change the subject. "Bellatrix, I heard a little rumor about the true intentions of this party," The young man started, "and I'm interested." He lied.

While James was keeping Lestrange occupied, Sirius was already sipping a drink at the bar. The young wizard, wearing black and red , was not a fan of Elf-made wine because he remembered how fond his family was of it, but he needed to blend in for this plan to work. That reminded him, Sirius turned to face the guests in the room. Although everyone was wearing masks, he felt that he could recognize his little brother if he saw him. Regulus did not seem to be at the ball though, which Sirius found odd, but thought it would be foolish to take a thorough look. Black sighed, spun back towards the bar, and swirled his wind glass thoughtfully. He heard a voice from beside him. "I'm curious, why did you choose red?" Sirius turned the face the man addressing him. The dark wizard wore a skull mask, all black robes, with a dark green tie. It started to make sense, all of the Death Eaters were wearing skull masquerade masks.

Sirius smirked. "Because it represents the blood of my enemies, of course." Then he raised his wine glass to his lips and drank the rest of its contents in a smooth shot.

Peter clumsily staggered out of the ballroom and shakily walked down a long hallway. He knew that this was important, but his nerves were getting the better of him. Peter thought if he took a walk, he might feel better. However, soon he began to realize the hallway might have made his anxiety worse. The dark corridor was only lit by the moonlight peeking in from the outside. The dark oak floorboards creaked with every step the mousy wizard took. Beads of sweat began to drip down Pettigrew's face behind his mask.

While the guests were preoccupied downstairs, Remus Lupin made his way up the grand staircase to the Malfoy's repository. The room was unlocked, so the werewolf had no trouble entering the study. After he closed the door, Remus removed the invisibility cloak and placed it on one of the velvet chairs. The moonlight poured into the study, providing sufficient light to read the spines of the collections of books. Lupin sighed in relief. The Moon's phase was Waning Gibbous, the next phase after a Full Moon. Remus relaxed. Dumbledore was considerate enough to plan this operation after the Full Moon. Remus still felt exhausted and some of the scratches were still healing from his last transformation, but he was well enough to be able to help his friends. He removed his wolf mask and began scanning the spines of the books with his focused, green eyes. There were books on ancient runes, advanced charms, dark creatures, and potions recipe books. Nothing too out of the ordinary, the young werewolf thought. He decided to check the main desk in the study. He saw some Ministry of Magic official paperwork on the desk, the subject appeared to be about centaurs. Maybe something to note, but not exactly an issue for the moment, Lupin thought.

Remus searched the drawers and found more paperwork. He started shifting the papers gently and found a book buried underneath them. Remus picked it up the black leather-bound book and looked at the cover and spine. No title, no author, no identifying markings on the outside. "A journal?" Remus thought out loud. The young shabby-haired wizard flipped through the hand-written contents and thick parchment pages. The pages were filled with research on the Dark Arts. Research on advanced curses, poisons, more dark creatures and how they can be used to benefit Lord Voldemort and, something that concerned Remus the most, intense research on memory charms. One of Voldemort's favorite things to do was penetrate his victims' minds and drive them insane. Many of the spells look unfamiliar or experimental, which was a major red flag. Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small leather journal of his own and a pencil. Unlike Lucius's journal, his was brown, tattered and, as James put it, 'well loved'. Remus hastily scribbled as much information as he could fit into the journal's quaint pages.

Bellatrix's smile widened. "Interested in what, Mr. Potter?" She teased.

James raised an eyebrow behind his golden stag masquerade mask. "Oh? Not recruiting? Well then, if you'll excuse me, I would like to share a dance with my wife." Lily took James's arm and they swiftly, and respectfully, the couple excused themselves from Bellatrix's presence.

"That was close, James." Lily whispered.

"It's alright, Lily. I had everything under control. I would never let anything happen to you." James spoke softly. They made their way to the dance floor and enjoyed some quiet time together, a rare luxury for them.