AN: Hello, fanfiction and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!

Can You Take the Jump?

Chapter 28

Flouncy and elegant classical music played throughout the Great Hall in strict 28 bars per minute. Along with it, the sounds of relatively coordinated steps echoed on the floor along with the beat as students learned to waltz, with the guidance of McGonagall's strict teaching.

Hermione watched as the girls get twirled and dipped by the boys. In fairness, the class in general immensely improved since the first hour of their lesson. As expected, the muggleborns were the ones who struggled the most, as ballroom dancing wasn't exactly a necessary part of early childhood education for many of them. On the other hand, the purebloods moved quite effortlessly, but some were incredibly uncooperative when it came to dance partners that weren't pure of blood.

Despite the disastrous mess in the first hour, it was evidently clear that the students were starting to get a hang of it. Fewer toes were being stepped on, people know which direction to turn the partners, where they were supposed to place their hands, and which partner to turn to.

"Again!" McGonagall shouted. "From the top!"

The students grumbled as the girls and boys lined up.

"Good! Now turn to your partners, and boys you will bow, girls you will curtsey." McGonagall instructed. "Step, step, turn and step! Good! Step, step, turn! Step, step, turn and turn into a new partner on your left!"

"Ow!" A girl in the back had been in the middle of her turn when she tripped and fell onto the floor. "Professor! Davenport didn't hold me during the turn!" she accused.

Davenport, a typical 5th year Slytherin shrugged his shoulders, not denying the accusation.

It was the 4th incident that day where the Slytherins' inability to get over their blood purist ways, interrupted the class, prolonging the ending more than it needed to.

As if she was thinking the same thing, McGonagall audibly sighed.

"The rest of the students take 10 minutes break. Semi-finalists, finalists, and champion, grab your partners, today will be the first and last rehearsal before the Ball."

Hermione blinked at the shift in attention. Everyone turned to the six people in the room, waiting for them to take a stand. For James it was simple, he reached for Sofia López's hand, and the two made his way towards McGonagall. Similar to James, Tanner took his date to the Ball and stood in front of their professor, waiting for the other four semi-finalists.

In the corner of her eyes, Hermione saw Sirius walk towards her. Despite their kiss and even though Hermione had verbally agreed to go to the Ball with him, the idea of dancing with one of the school's most popular boys while everyone watched suddenly became very daunting.

"Remus!" Without looking, Hermione called out to the boy loudly, just before Sirius reached her. "Be my partner?"

Sirius stopped in his tracks, but instead of looking offended, he laughed. When Hermione looked over to see why he was laughing, she saw her sister pulling Remus to the front.

Oh right, Lily's boyfriend was older. They didn't have this class together.

Sirius continued his way over to her with that devilish grin on his face. Hermione frowned and sent him a pleading look to go the other way, look for someone else, but it was no use. The crowd whispered when Sirius stood in front of her, with his hand out.

"Well?" He prompted, shaking his hand slightly, as he was waving a treat tantalizingly in front of her face. "Come on, partner."

She sighed, but took his hand, causing gasps to echo across the Hall. His hands were large and warm, while hers were small and cold. They were fire and ice, as opposite as two people could get. It shouldn't have made her feel the way it did, but the warmth felt good. Comforting and welcoming.

Lily glanced suspiciously between the two of them, wondering when this development happened. She turned to ask James, but McGonagall clapped her hands for their attention.

"Our champions and the Heads of the student body will be dancing to a different waltz on your own, then joined in by the rest of the school body to dance the normal waltz," McGonagall explained. "The dance that you will be doing is called the Viennese Waltz, it is one of the oldest ballroom dances, dating all the way back to the 18th century…"

"Are you avoiding me?" Sirius whispered when they bowed and curtseyed to each other. She could hear the smile in his voice.

Hermione glanced at their peers, feeling some very angry glares from some very upset-looking girls.

"Yes." She admitted honestly.

Sirius bit his lips to prevent himself from laughing. He mockingly gasped at her, "Are you ashamed of me?"

"Shut up, I'm trying to listen to the instructions." Hermione shushed him.

"I know all this," Sirius told her. "I'm leading the dance. All you have to do is follow me and trust me."

To be honest, Hermione knew the Viennese Waltz as well. Although it'd been years since she last danced, she'd been to enough high-class events while working for the Ministry, where she was forced to dance with various politicians and leaders of other countries. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be able to lead the dance, as well as Sirius, could.

Sirius repositioned their joint hands, and then placed his left on the appropriate place on her back. It was appropriate and followed etiquette, but for some reason Hermione needed to push down the urge to blush by thinking of something disgusting, like Ron barfing up slugs back in 1992, to counter the weird ticklish feeling in her stomach.

"Hermione?" Sirius looked down, noticing her weird expression.

"It's nothing." Hermione tried to shake it off, "now hush, the music's about to start."

The fast pace ¾ time music started. As she predicted, when she allowed her body to move as her memory dictated, she moved in perfect unison with Sirius and the music.

"You know how to dance." Sirius's slacked jaw immediately turned into a smile. "Is there anything you can't do? How many other ways are you going to surprise me, Hermione Evans?"

She ignored his question and focused on the dance. When Sirius led her to a turn, she was secretly glad that she switched partners to James since she was struggling not to smile at the very adorable way Sirius was looking at her.

James looked down at her feet and expressed the same amount of shock as Sirius did about her dancing.

"Wow Evans," He seemed impressed. "Attended a ball or two in your lifetime?"

"Nope," She denied, knowing that there was no way she could get away with saying yes. "But I learned to dance from someone."

She thought back to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who'd booked her ballroom dance lessons for her and Ron. He knew how important events like the Ministry's Charity Ball were for her political career. The couple had both grumbled about attending these lessons but ended up enjoying them much more than they'd anticipated. After all, practicing the Tango at home resulted in their daughter Rose's conception.

She switched partners, only to be holding the hands of Anton Mulciber. They wore the same disgusted expression as they immediately separated, ruining the flow of the entire group.

"Professor McGonagall, I think the six of us have shown that we are proficient dancers," Hermione spoke up, refusing to dance with Mulciber.

"Yeah, I think we're done." Sirius sided with Hermione, glaring at the Slytherin.

McGonagall observed the tension in the group, contemplating what she needed to do. At the Yule Ball, Ministry officials were going to attend. As an educator who shaped the minds of the future generation, she felt the need to show those pompous Ministry officials that Hogwarts was making a difference to the younger generation. That tolerance was mandated, and prejudice would not stand.

"I will decide when we are done," she told them strictly. "Mr. Mulciber and Miss Evans, you will dance, or you will get detention for interrupting and refusing to participate in a mandatory class."

"Mandatory?" Hermione questioned. She opened her mouth to question why in the world this ridiculous class was mandatory, who this was supposed to benefit, and how stupid did the school think the Ministry was to be fooled into this whole façade of happy dancing students?

"Hermione, don't." Sirius gripped Hermione's shoulder, urging her to relax. However, it wasn't Sirius's words or his touch that caused her to calm down. It was her professor's tired expression. The older woman looked as if she'd aged 5 years in the past 50 minutes.

Hermione sighed, but returned to her position in their dancing position, putting her arms in the air, as if Mulciber was there.

"Well?" She asked expectantly at the staring students and their professor. "Let's get this over with."

Mulciber didn't join her but rather decided to stand on the sides as the music started to play once more. He rejoined the group once when his partner was someone he considered pure enough to dare touch his hands. This meant Lily was also excluded from having a partner for a small part of the dance.

"Thank you for… most of your cooperation," McGonagall told them as they were dismissed. "Mr. Mulciber, you will be joining me for detention after dinner tonight."

Lily leaned over to Hermione, "What good will detention do if he refuses to dance with us during the actual thing?" She whispered.

Hermione shrugged, "That's a 'them' problem, not an 'us' problem." She linked her arms with her sister and exited the Great Hall without another glance at the Slytherin.

…

Lily grunted as she shifted the weight of the pile of dresses growing in her arms. She watched wistfully as her friends picked out their dresses for the upcoming Ball. If only Hermione had come with her to buy her own dress, Lily wouldn't be here having to look through every single item at Madame Gladrags', trying to imagine her sister in each of them.

"Would you like me to set up a fitting room for you darling?" Madame Gladrags appeared behind her and gently took the clothes off her arm. "You've got quite the choices."

"I'm also shopping for my sister." Lily smiled with gratitude, "She couldn't be here today."

"Oh," the shop owner gave her a look of concern, "is she alright?"

"Yes!" Lily immediately realized how her words might have sounded to an unknowing person. "She's just not a huge shopping person."

Madame Gladrags smiled, "Oh, anyone can be a shopping person, if they just know how to shop. She should come by the shop sometime. I will show her how my clothes can make her feel like a princess."

Lily smiled, trying to imagine Hermione as a princess. If her sister were to ever appear in a children's story, she knew instinctively that Hermione would be no princess, in fact, it was more fitting that she be the witch that tricked the princess into becoming an independent woman who didn't need a prince to save her.

"Tell me what she's like," Gladrags encouraged. She picked up a sparkling dress. "Maybe I can help you narrow down your choices."

"Well…" Lily looked at the large pile and nodded, accepting any help she could possibly get. "She's my twin sister."

"But they're nothing alike." Lyana chimed in, stepping around a rack.

"She's serious and calm," Mary added.

"Very much a no-nonsense person," Marlene commented.

"She's probably more mature than most of the adults I've met in my life," Alice told her.

Gladrags turned her head to the girls, then back at the sparkly bright-colored dress in her hands. "Okay, maybe not this."

…

Sirius hid behind a building, away from the main streets of Hogsmeade, trying his very best to avoid an annoying 4th year Ravenclaw that seemed to have somehow convinced herself that she was in love with him.

"If only I could hex her to go away." He muttered to himself, as he pitied his own situation.

James was out with Lopez, spending most of the afternoon with her doing Merlin knows what, Peter wanted to sleep in before coming down to Hogsmeade, and Remus was seduced away by the stuffy smell of books at Tomes and Scrolls. He tried to wait for Remus in the shop, but there was no pulling Remus away from a book once he sat down, so Sirius had decided to head out to Zonko's for some necessities when the 4th year accosted him. He'd barely made it out of her clutches, and now here he was, hiding. From a 4th year.

He stared out into space, wondering what he'd gotten himself into when he saw a familiar head of red hair in through the window of a shop. He looked at the sign on the storefront; Gladrags Wizardware.

A smile formed on his lips as he raced to the shop. If he was going to avoid someone, might as well spend his time wisely by shopping for some robes for the Yule Ball.

The bells on the door jingled when he stepped in.

"My word! Lord Black!" Madame Gladrags dropped clothes in her hands at the sound of the door. "Welcome, sir!" She greeted enthusiastically.

"Sirius?" the other customers turned their heads. Sirius couldn't help but be disappointed that the head of red hair belonged to Lily Evans, but he'd expected it. Hermione didn't come to Hogsmeade.

"Hey ladies." He greeted. "Here to do your dress shopping?"

Lily wore a strapless deep burgundy dress that stuck to Lily's figure like a second skin. Not that it looked terrible on her, but it simply didn't match Lily and her normal style.

"Are you going to wear that dress to the Ball?" Sirius asked, clearly disapproving of the dress.

Lily huffed in offense, "Why, what's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, if you want to look like a fool." Sirius tsked, "It clashes with your hair, does nothing for your figure and it doesn't suit your personal style at all."

Lily scowled, "It's not for me, it's for Hermione. YOUR date."

"WHAT?" The girls collectively shouted as they looked at him with shock.

Lily covered her mouth in shock, unknowingly giving up her sister's secret that she had told her in confidence. The trade-off was that she'd go dress shopping on her own if Hermione would tell her what the dance practice was all about.

"So the dance practice wasn't just that one time?! You and Hermione are really going to the ball together?" Mary leaned towards Sirius, her big blue eyes sparkling with excitement at the latest possible gossip.

"Actually, I think I'll go shopping later." Sirius turned on the spot and attempted to leave the shop, but Marlene stepped in front of the door, preventing any means of escape.

"Where do you think you're going?" She smirked, knowing that she had him trapped.

"McKinnon, move."

"I don't think so."

"Sirius, stay." Alice encouraged. "We're trying to pick a dress for Hermione since she couldn't come down to the village. You should help us."

"I don't know anything about dresses."

The girls looked down at Sirius's expensive and well-coordinated attire.

"You clearly know something about fashion, so come on," Lyana pulled him back. "Add your input. She's going to be your date, after all."

Sirius allowed himself to be dragged back into the shop and forcefully settled down onto the couch. As if on cue, Madame Gladrags appeared next to him with a champagne glass of sparkling pumpkin juice.

"T-thank you?" Sirius took the glass from the awaiting woman's hands, unsure of what he'd gotten himself into.

Mary had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she pushed the girls to the changing stalls.

"Oh, and while you're at it, give us your opinion on our dresses too!"

…

"No. No. No and no!" Sirius denied it again.

All of the girls' dresses were picked, all except Hermione's.

"Sirius, you can't keep saying no to everything!" Lily complained, tired of shopping. She'd been really hoping to drop by Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop to buy a special pot of ink, but with Sirius being unable to make a decision on her sister's clothing, the group was stuck.

Lily nudged Mary on the side, "You're the one who invited him to stay, so you get him to stop being such an indecisive prick so we can get out of here."

"Oi!" Sirius shouted. "I can hear you!"

"Well, if you heard me, then make a decision! Black, just choose. Hermione doesn't even care what she wears to this thing." Lily sounded exasperated. It'd been nearly two hours since they've been in the shop, and Sirius had definitely seen nearly every single item in the small store.

"Well, she should care. The entire ministry and everyone else will be there. She's the champion of the Dueling Championship. She's the entire purpose that the ball is being held."

"Hermione has a great figure, and skin tone is the same as Lily's so something deep and rich in color, any gemstone color will work." Alice pitched in, trying to be of help, but every dress set in front of Sirius had been rejected. Even Madame Gladrags had given up trying to appease the picky boy.

"What's wrong with this?" Lily asked, lifting a dress, only for him to immediately shake his head.

"Merlin Evans, do you even love your sister?"

Lily clenched her jaw and took a deep breath. "Do you even know what you're looking for?"

In all honesty, he didn't, but now that he'd gotten involved in the process of choosing Hermione's dress, it seemed wrong to settle for anything that didn't feel right. Especially since Hermione wasn't here to make her decision, he felt greater pressure in making sure the one he chose was something that would make her look amazing.

"Ugh!" Lily threw the dress in her hands onto Sirius's lap and slumped onto the sofa. She kicked Sirius off the furniture, and yelled, "You go find something!"

Sirius got off from the floor, all the while glaring at Lily. He grumbled something about redheads and their temper while he searched the racks for something Hermione could wear.

All the dresses that were inspired by muggle fashion were too flashy with colors that didn't seem to match that elegance that Hermione exuded. Some dresses were too sparkly and over the top while some were too bright. He felt like these dresses tried to make themselves shine, but not the wearer themselves.

Sirius was looking for something classic and elegant, something that would help accentuate Hermione.

"Madame Gladrags, there must be something you haven't shown us." Sirius turned to the shopkeeper.

"Well…" The shopkeeper looked back and forth between the girls and Sirius, clearly conflicted. "There are a few shipments in the back from my cousin who runs a boutique in France. But the boxes haven't even been opened yet."

"I'll help you open them and organize them as long as we get to have a first look." Sirius offered.

Agreeing to Sirius's offer, she ushered him and the girls to the back of the shop where there were 8 large crates, presumably filled with clothes.

Sirius turned to the girls with his most charming smile, "Time to roll up our sleeves and get digging."

Lyana placed her bag and purchases on the floor and sighed, "I hope you know, Black, we're never shopping with you ever again."

"Deal."

Madame Gladrags used her wand to levitate the boxes down while Sirius cracked open the lid with a crowbar.

The group looked through the newest pile of dresses in front of them. The girls quickly forgot about the objective and started going through the clothes and placing some of the articles against their own bodies and looking at the mirror.

Sirius aimlessly flipped through the clothes, he started feeling more and more disappointed, wondering if he had to go as far as Diagonalley to find a suitable dress for Hermione.

Just as he was about to give up, he felt it.

The satin felt like butter under his fingertips. When he pulled it out of the pile, he knew this was it. The satin mermaid-style black dress was floor length. It covered the front modestly, revealing no cleavage or collarbone as it was a blunt cut just below the neck with long sleeves, but the back showed much of the skin, right down to what would be the dimples of Hermione's lower back. Gold chains hung on little rings in the back, zig-zagging diagonally and asymmetrically, decorating the dress and forming leading lines to trail down the back.

"Wow."

It was Lily who broke the silence.

"See?" Sirius turned to the gawking girl with a prideful smile. "I told you. Now can you see your sister wearing anything other than this dress?"

"No," Lily shook her head, unable to deny that Hermione would look absolutely perfect in that dress. "Damn it."

"We'll take it!" Sirius gleamed. "And because you allowed us to look at unopened boxes, I'll pay double your normal price."

"Sirius!" Lily clutched the coin purse in her bag with concern, then back at the dress. She dragged Sirius to the corner and whispered frantically about the financial limitations she had, but he wasn't even listening.

"Lily, relax." Sirius shrugged. "I'll pay for it."

"I can't ask you to do that." Lily refused.

"You didn't." Sirius reassured, "Madame Gladrags, the bill please."

"Sirius!"

"Certainly Mr. Black!"

"Sirius, you have no idea how much that will come out to! You don't even know what Gladrags was going to price it at, let alone doubling it!"

Sirius laughed at Lily's jaw hanging to the floor, "Lily," He comforted, "I'm a Black. My family is a bunch of prejudiced crazy murderers, but at least they're filthy rich."

"B-but—"

"Let's not tell Hermione, yeah?"

…

"First round is on me!" Lily claimed as the group found a spot at the crowded Three Broomsticks pub.

"Woo!" Lyana and Marlene whooped.

"And I'll be buying Sirius's drinks for the rest of the night."

"Don't fret Evans, it wasn't even that much." Sirius waved the offer.

Lily shook her head, wondering for the first time how wealthy Sirius really was if 400 Galleons for a dress wasn't a lot of money.

"Shut up, I'm buying your drinks tonight, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Sirius barked out a laugh, "Well alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." He turned to Rosmerta, the busty and beautiful woman at the bar, and winked. "10 butterbeers please!"

With two rounds of drinks ordered at once, the girls and Sirius settled into their seats. Mary started the conversation by telling them a story about her date last Hogsmeade trip.

"The guy was a dud," Sirius concluded when Mary finished her story.

"But he's so cute." Mary pouted.

"It's the first date, and he asks you to follow him up to the Astronomy tower?" Sirius shook his head. "Dud."

"So, you've never asked a girl on the first date to have sex with you?" Marlene asked with disbelief.

"I'm not saying that, but if I ask a girl to have sex with me on the first date, then they know that I'm looking for sex. I don't lead them on through a maze of never-ending flattery just to give false ideas."

Mary piqued, interested in seeing a guy's point of view. "What about girls making the first move?"

Sirius paused, thinking about the kiss that Hermione and he shared, "Abso-fucking-lutely."

The girls took turns asking Sirius about various situations they found themselves in when it came to dating and boys; curious to see what Hogwarts' biggest Casanova had to say about their relationships. And in return, Sirius asked questions about the things that he didn't understand about girls.

At some point, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter joined them, but most of them didn't even bother to look up, too focused on the topic at hand to care.

"Hey," Lily greeted when James took off his coat to slide into the seat next to her. He glanced at the intense look of concentration at the conversation.

"The single people are asking advice on the opposite sex." She explained.

James opened his mouth and let out an "ah" and nodded in understanding. "Why aren't you adding to the conversation? You're the only other person in the group that's in a relationship other than Alice."

"Amos and I don't have their problems."

James raised his brow, "I see, the perfect couple."

Lily frowned, "No, I didn't say that. We just have different problems."

"You're having problems?" James asked, suddenly serious. "What is it?"

Lily was taken aback by the serious expression on James's face. She tried to appease him with a smile, "All couples have problems, don't you have problems with Sofia?"

"Of course, but they're silly problems, like the ones they're talking about." James gestured toward the congregation of single people at the table. "If those aren't your problems, then maybe you should talk about it."

Lily hesitated, but the sincerity on his face made her want to talk. His eyes were telling her that he could help her and that he wanted to. He cared in a way that others didn't, and while it was nice, it felt dangerous.

"I—"

"Enough!" Peter banged on the table stopping all conversation. He looked angry and frustrated.

"Yeah," Sirius put his arms around Peter's shoulders, "Who needs dates when we've got this," he gestured to the group sitting around the table. "To friendship!" He shouted, then lifted his glass and chugged the butterbeer in one go.

Peter, who seemed to be mollified by Sirius's cheesy words, pulled a bottle with amber liquid out of his pocket. "How about we make this a bit more interesting?"

…

Snow crunched under Remus's feet as he walked over to Three Broomsticks. The fluctuating temperature had melted the snow, then froze it again, causing an uneven ground of nearly frozen slush. Everyone walked with their eyes on the floor to ensure they wouldn't wipe out on the cobblestone. Remus, like everyone else, watched carefully where he stepped when he noticed a splash of color against the white, grey, and muddy streets of Hogsmeade village.

Roses. Red roses with a blue-ribbon tie lay on the floor in the center of the main square. It was always there, a fresh bouquet every time the old one withered away or got trampled on. No one knew who put them there, but at the same time, no one really questioned it.

Remus stared curiously at the flowers, a glaring juxtaposition against the frozen ground. He crouched down and picked up the bouquet. They were perfect roses, each one was in full bloom when picked. The blue ribbon was high-quality silk as it wrapped around the base of the stem several times to hold the flowers together.

"You notice the flowers mijo."

Remus turned to face a small Latin-American woman. She was old but had aged gracefully. She had a slight accent, but her English was flawless.

"Uh, yes."

"They come from my shop." She pointed to the storefront adjacent to Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop, there was no store sign, but it was the only flower shop in the village. It was old, yet well maintained, just like its owner.

"Do you know who puts them out here?" He asked, the delicate petals were bruised from the weather.

"Why do you care?" She asked, her elegant brow raised.

"The flowers are always perfectly placed here on the square. I've seen students mess around with the bouquet several times, but never the villagers. In fact, I've seen the villagers yell at students for playing with it. Every time it's damaged, a new one is placed in its stead. Whoever is doing this clearly cares, since they're putting a considerable amount of time, money, and effort." He paused, his finger tracing the quality ribbon. "Whatever it's for, I think it's important."

"Come, mijo." She gestured, walking towards her shop, not bothering to wait for him. Remus had to jog to catch up to her.

"I am Senora Moreno." She placed a hot cup of tea in front of him. "I don't recognize you, so you've never come to my shop. No chica for you?"

Being interrogated about his relationship status by an old woman he just met was not exactly what Remus had anticipated when he picked up the small bouquet in the main square.

"No…uh…no chica."

"But you are an older student." She narrowed her eyes. "Why today, all of a sudden, you need to know who put the roses there? Years, you've ignored it."

The question made Remus think. He had passed by that exact square and seen those flowers many times, yet never stopped to question why they were there and who it was that put them there. What changed today?

"I have…I have a secret admirer. I get chocolates from them, all the time. In abundance, enough to share with my entire dorm for weeks before they run out."

"Very generous."

"Yes, exactly. And for 5 years, I have been receiving these generous gifts, yet I've never been able to show my gratitude because I have no clue who they are. I guess I want to know who put the flowers in the square because I want to understand why someone would do something so kind and spend so much time and effort without receiving any recognition."

"Who says it went unrecognized?"

"Huh?"

"You are searching for your secret admirer, no? You are searching for the person who puts the roses in the square, no? You are not the only one who has come to ask about the flowers. Other students and some of your teachers come to me and ask the exact same question."

"But, the majority of people don't—"

"They don't matter. They never put in a second of time to think of its importance, so they don't matter. The people who recognize the dedication and applaud the effort, they matter."

"So, does that mean I get to know who puts the roses in the square?"

Senora Moreno smiled. "No one in the village knows. No one has seen the person's face, just the back of their head, with their hair and face covered by the hood of their robe."

"But—" she raised her hand to stop him.

"The villagers and I call her the Night Shopper," she explained.

"She's a she?"

Senora Moreno shrugged, "We assume. She is shorter and slimmer than an average man, but we've never seen or heard her, so it's just a guess. She comes at random times, there's never a pattern. She breaks into our shops in the dead of night to buy all she needs and then leaves the money on the counter."

"And the shopkeepers are okay with this?"

"Oh, no." Senora Moreno shook her head. "At first we all went crazy looking for the culprit. Everyone increased their security, doing anything and everything we could other than blood wards and the Fidelus charms to keep her out. It was all useless. The Night Shopper just broke in and left before the alarms even went off."

Senora Moreno sipped her tea, then warmed her fingers against the ceramic mug.

"We were all scared at first, the shopkeepers and I, but none of us knew how to stop it."

"Haven't you tried reporting it to the authorities?"

"And say what? Someone broke into our shops, never vandalized anything, and never took more than she paid for?" She shook her head. "If we call the aurors, they will investigate everyone in the small village, then turn to the students. It's bad for business. We are a small village that depends on you kids for our economy."

"But you don't know if she'll always remain so…lawful."

"Many of the others thought the same as you, but I told them it was impossible."

Remus frowned, confused. "How is it impossible, she's clearly okay with breaking the rules, there's no guarantee that she'll remain so ethical."

"I cannot explain it, but I trust her." She told him. "You said so yourself, the roses are perfect. They're beautiful and the bouquet is made with extreme care. I've been a florist for 25 years, but the only time I ever put that much effort into a bouquet is for two occasions. A wedding and a funeral." The older woman tucked a stray strand of her long curly dark hair behind her ears and leaned forward, "Do those flowers look like they're for a wedding?"

"You're saying the purpose of the flowers is for a funeral?"

"To honor the dead."

"Someone died in Hogsmeade Square? When?"

"As far as I'm concerned, none, before and since the flowers started being placed there."

"Wait, how long has it been since those flowers have been placed there?"

"It's been around 5 years now."

"And no flowers or a mysterious Night Shopper before then?"

Senora Moreno shook her head.

"That's…" Remus pondered on this new information, but his eyes lit up when his brain started connecting some unlikely dots.

"Thank you so much for your time, Senora Moreno!"

He ran towards Three Broomsticks where he knew his friends would be waiting. He entered the rowdy pub and searched for a familiar head of messy hair.

"James!" Remus shouted but was drowned out by the noise of everyone inside. He plowed through the crowd to the cubicle of seats that his friends had managed to find only to stop dead on his tracks.

"What the hell happened here?"

…