Chapter Thirteen: The Hogmanay Highland Fling

With the first round of the tournament over, the school headed deeper into December still in the midst of the grey and drizzle which had characterised much of the previous month, that was - until one morning about a week before the end of term, - when the grey skies suddenly turned a blinding, opaline white. By the afternoon, soft flakes were drifting downward, bumping into window panes and landing on the ground, dusting the lawn. By tea time there was a thick carpet of white spreading from the castle to the forest and, that night, the delicate flakes became powdery snitches hailing from the sky.

The following morning, the snow was four feet deep, and the international students had to use their wands to melt channels into the snow so they could travel to and from the castle. The Quidditch village itself looked like the sort of Santa's grotto muggles would build for their children to visit at Christmastime - with the huts as the elves' houses, under a thick layer of white on their roofs and with icicles dangling from the windows (though the Ukrainian Ironbellies were, perhaps, a little less festive than a paddock of reindeer). The Castelobruxo treehouse looked particularly cosy, perched at the top of its rubber plant (though no one was sorry it was not them that had to scale those dizzying heights in the snow) and the portholes of the Durmstrang ship were frozen over, its mast coated in ice.

Those students who had travelled from warmer climes shivered in their thin robes and seemed torn between horror and delight at the world of white which now engulfed them… But by break time, everyone was outside, hurling snowballs at each other, building snowmen and having a marvellous time (although for Snape - who ended up in the Hospital Wing with a large snowball shoved up his left nostril, the joy of the day palled considerably).

With their having History of Magic after lunch, and despite Remus's being a prefect, the boys decided that it was time to crack out the sledge, bunk off lessons and celebrate having hospitalised Snivellus by doing their level best to end up in the Infirmary themselves.

Once everyone else was safely back in lessons, they trudged their way up to the top of the mountain until they reached the highest spot, all jumped onboard the sledge and then whizzed down the hill, feeling like they were flying, the powdery snow spraying up at either side leaving them in a tunnel of white with nothing but the smudge of the Forbidden Forest ahead.

They reached the bottom and fell off, crying with laughter, and then - with tingling toes and frozen noses - started the long climb back up the mountain.

Just before the bell for Herbology, they did a quick sweep for Big Macca creeping about (or any tabby cats with spectacle markings) and then whipped their todgers out, for old time's sake, and wrote their names in the snow (Sirius complaining loudly that he would get frostbite, as his name had an extra letter).

Inside the castle, the House Elves were outdoing themselves in their cooking, sending up a variety of warming savoury stews and puddings and, all the while, their preparations for the upcoming holiday feasts permeated the air with the delicious scents of gingerbread, and melted sugar, spiced fruit, cloves and freshly baked mince pies. The closer to Christmas it crept, the further these smells travelled until even the furthest reaches of the castle smelled of plum pudding and ginger wine.

Meanwhile, as prefects, Lily and Remus were expected to help Filch decorate the whole school - which was no mean feat, Remus told his friends, when Peeves had hold of the other end of the tinsel and was busy strangling you with it.

And the Hogwarts staff seemed determined to outdo themselves for decorations this year, and make sure the castle shone. The banisters on every staircase were frosted along their surface, while everlasting icicles dripped down beneath. The inside of the Great Hall had been enchanted so that snow fell gently from the rafters - vanishing before it hit the tables; the twelve Christmas trees were decked out more fabulously than usual - with real live fairies, and tiny, golden owls, strings of multicoloured bubbles which never popped and silver candles which never went out; the suits of armour had been charmed to serenade passersby with Christmas carols (though they did not know half the words, and Peeves had a habit of climbing inside one and filling in the blanks with made up, very rude indeed, lyrics of his own). Wreaths of holly adorned the doors, boughs of it were draped across the walls, pine scented fires blazed merrily in every fireplace, and shining baubles hovered near the ceiling in the Charms corridor.

Unfortunately, the level of work the fifth years were being given was not abating and it appeared as if, much to James' disgust, much of the Christmas break would be taken up with wading through a mound of homework. But this was not all Remus had to worry about, as the night before the last day of term was the December full moon and, as always, his bones and his head were aching.

'I know you feel rubbish now,' Sirius said, breaking off from dictating a Muggle Studies essay on how the Post Office worked to Peter, who was scribbling it down in Remus's handwriting. 'But the night itself will be great - just like last time.'

Remus bit his lip, he had recovered so much more quickly than usual last month but at the same time: 'I don't want you to get into trouble… I don't want me getting into trouble. Maybe it's safer if you… stay here?'

But Sirius would not hear of it and even James and Peter agreed that there was not much point in them spending three years becoming animagi, enduring all those months with mandrake leaves beneath their tongues, and risking Azkaban for having broken the law, if they weren't going to do the thing they had become animagi for in the first place anyway.

'It's too late now, Moony,' James told us. 'From here on out, we're always going to be there when you deal with your furry little problem, helping you out.'

And though he still worried about them getting caught, Remus had trouble hiding how pleased he was by this.

There was a slight complication, on the night itself, when the boys sneaked down the marble staircase, covered by the invisibility cloak, only to see Professor Carnarvon leaving the castle, despite the dark and the cold. However, having followed her for a short while (Sirius would have preferred to go straight to Remus, but James was insistent that they investigate - and Peter sided with James) they discovered that, rather then being up to anything suspicious, she was just headed to the Quidditch village, and the Zarr Sagal tents, where their Eid celebration was in full swing.

'We should keep an eye out for anything happening while she's "busy",' James whispered. 'Like last time… I bet there's another explosion.'

But Sirius refused to wait around and find out, so they made their way through the snow, Peter transformed and pressed the knot, and they vanished down the opening at the base of the Whomping Willow without Professor Carnarvon, the students of Zarr Sagal, or anyone else for that matter, being any the wiser.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch; Sirius transformed first and climbed into the shack to subdue Moony, as he had done the month before and, once it was safe, James and Peter joined them. They romped until an hour or so before dawn, when they settled down to sleep and then, when Remus was himself again, Sirius carried the unconscious boy to bed.

Madam Pomfrey was once again surprised to find Remus sleeping and relatively unscathed when she arrived in the morning, and took him back to the Hospital Wing more out of habit than need. While Remus rested up in the infirmary, the other three boys dragged themselves - yawning and exhausted - to Herbology, before they bunked off History of Magic and went back up to the dorm for a quick kip.

Despite feeling far fitter than was usual, the day after the full moon, Remus opted to stay in the Hospital Wing for the full day - as he doubted any of his teachers would be letting them do fun Christmas activities no matter if it was the last day of term (he had Transfiguration on Friday afternoons and knew for a fact Big Macca kept them nose to the grindstone until the final bell) - and so he returned to Gryffindor Tower once school was finished, to find a festive and celebratory atmosphere had settled on the common room, and all the younger years were packing to return home the next day.

…

The next week or so proved to be one of the happiest times Remus had ever had known, and one of the most fun Christmases he had ever had… and it was a time he knew he would always look back on with fond memories; a perfect blend of feasts and friends and snowball fights; sledging down the mountain, sneaking out to The Three Broomsticks for a Christmas Eve butterbeer, late night turkey sandwiches, ice skating on the frozen lake; presents, and more sweets than he could possibly eat, and Dr. Filibuster Fireworks in the common room every evening.

The Gryffindors stayed up past midnight every night and slept until mid morning the next day; they roasted chestnuts on the open fire and played hide and seek around the castle. Although the younger students had gone home, everyone from fourth to seventh year had remained at school and so there was a general partyish atmosphere all day every day, when they all banded together to play tricks on the Slytherins, or Filch, and went on raiding parties to the kitchens.

A couple of days after Christmas, while wallowing in a contented mince pie induced fug, James hit upon the idea for a new game. Suddenly remembering that boys could not climb the stairs up to the girls' dorm, he thought it would be a rather great jape to see how close he could get to the top before the staircase sensed a male intruder and sent him packing.

Taking it perhaps rather more seriously than necessary, he limbered up with a few stretches, windmilled his arms and rolled his neck and then - on Sirius's count of three - he made a mad dash for the first step. But barely had his first foot made contact, when a sound like a klaxon went off, the stairs smoothed out into a slide beneath him and he tumbled back out into the common room, landing splayed out at Lily's feet.

'Honestly, Potter - what if one of the girls wants to go to the loo or something? You can't just commandeer our staircase like this.'

But James rallied all the boys to his cause and, one by one, they warmed up and then made their own mad dash for the top. Despite his Quidditch prowess and status as a star athlete, James proved to be comically bad at the game, never managing to get above the second step.

'The stairs can sense you're up to no good,' Sirius told him sagely, (he could manage to get to the fifth step if he really pushed himself - which was rather better than average).

'Why me? How come the stairs don't kick you off the moment you touch them?'

Sirius only took a swig of his butterbeer and shrugged, but said nothing. He kept his eyes on Remus who - spurred on by a cheering crowd of boys - had just hit the sixth step (the record, so far) before the klaxon sounded and the stairs smoothed out beneath his feet, sending him sliding back down.

'I don't get it,' James said petulantly. Determined not to be beaten, he stepped up for another go once Remus, laughing and flushed, had got back to his feet - but once again, the klaxon sounded the minute James took his first step and he landed flat on his face a second later.

'Definitely up to no good,' Sirius said.

…

While the Gryffindors might be having their best Christmas ever, and enjoying a sense of house camaraderie that they rarely felt outside of Quidditch matches, down in the Slytherin dungeon, Snape was less than impressed with the way his holiday was going.

Unlike most students, Severus chose to stay at Hogwarts for every Christmas - and had done so since his second year - because he would not choose to return to Cokeworth and his worthless muggle father unless he absolutely had to (he detested the summer holidays precisely because staying in the castle was not an option). He had spent every Christmas since he was twelve completely alone, in the dank and gloomy Slytherin common room - with little in the way of presents, because his parents could not afford them - and barely aware that the rest of the country, muggle and magical alike, was celebrating. He spent the time studying and spellcrafting and did not feel sorry for himself once, as it was better to be alone at Hogwarts than trapped in a small house with the violent and angry Mr. Snape.

The food was good, the peace was welcome and Sev had got some of his best work done over the festive period; following in the Dark Lord's footsteps, pushing the boundaries of magic and creating new ways to curse and jinx.

All this was ruined this year, however, by the fact that the common room remained heaving with all the older students, lounging around, playing chess, drinking wine they had stolen from their parents' drinks cabinets, and showing off their many presents. There was no peace to be had, no quiet, no seclusion which he could use to study … and this was especially irritating as he had big plans.

He had had great success already with Levicorpus (not necessarily at casting it himself, he had been caught out by it as often as he had used it and he was yet to get the loathsome Potter with it - but its creation was a feat to be proud of). He had designed that spell specifically to humiliate (and specifically to humiliate Potter) but now he wanted to go further, wanted to craft a curse which would hurt more than feelings, leave scars… kill , if necessary. And he had wanted to spend the holidays working on it, use his free time wisely to further the cause of magic.

But he could not. The dungeon was too full. And though there were times when he enjoyed the wine and the chess and the lounging around discussing how things would be when they joined the Dark Lord and ruled the muggles with an iron wand, it still grated on him that he could not study as much as he wanted to.

The only consolation he could find in being surrounded by his fellow Slytherins at a time when he craved seclusion, was that there was safety in numbers. Back in second year, his first Christmas spent at Hogwarts, Potter and Black had stayed behind too. Almost the only students left in the entire castle, the two bullying toerags had spent every night creeping into the Slytherin dungeon, hexing Sev, and stashing him in increasingly awkward places around the school.

It seemed, though, that - with half of Slytherin house still in residence - the gruesome twosome were too cowardly to come back and try it again. Sev slept safely and soundly in a dorm filled with other boys, and only had to worry about the Gryffindors if he encountered them in the corridors. And then he would always have his wand ready and drawn, ready to hex first and ask questions later, to get the jump on anyone who rounded a corner too quickly.

It felt good, getting into these skirmishes, casting a jinx and then running away before the teachers could find them at the scene of the crime… But the cowardice of Potter and friends, that they would only face him when he was alone (and asleep!) still made him seethe. It made him itch to perfect the new spell he had in mind for them… and so the presence of his fellow Slytherins, their comparing of presents and their causing noise when he wanted quiet, continued to frustrate him.

…

Sev was not the only one wanting to study illicit things, that holiday, however. Despite spending much of their days ice skating and snowballing and roasting chestnuts in the common room, Lily and her friends were still finding time to sneak off to the library and rifle through the books, looking for something with which they could pay back Mulciber and Avery for what they had done to Mary.

Using all of her charm (and a fair bit of cheek) Lily had persuaded Slughorn to give her a note that allowed her to peruse the books in the Restricted Section and, though her doting Potions Master thought she was looking through Potions books in readiness for her OWLs, the four of them were in fact rifling through the books on the nastiest curses they could find.

'We could curse his nose off,' Petra suggested. 'Vanish it.'

'Pomfrey would fix him in a moment,' Lily shook her head. 'I want something that will last.'

'Dragon pox?' Mandy said.

'Not something that might kill him.'

'It needs to be something that will hurt,' Mary said. 'I don't mean physically - like Lils says, Madam Pomfrey will fix any hex we cast on him in about a second, it has to be something that will really shake him up - scare him.' But as to what that something might be, the girls were - for the time being - stymied.

It wasn't until Boxing Day afternoon - after a snowball fight but before turkey sandwiches and fireworks in the common room - that they came across something that fit Mary's bill, in a very ancient textbook called Crafty Curses for Cunning Casters by Sidero Savage.

Ye Moste Terrible Bindinge Spelle

Lily read, with an increasing feeling that this was really it:

There are many types of constipation

The book informed her

Eache more uncomfortable than the laste. But there is only one that will freeze a proud wizard's heart in horror…

and, with a more and more satisfied smirk, she read until the end of the passage and then showed the others.

'That will kill him!' Mary said with glee, when she too reached the end. 'But it's complicated… might be difficult to pull off.'

'We've got time,' Lily told her. 'I don't think now is the time to perform it anyway. If we want to really hurt him, we should leave it a bit.'

'Leave it until when?' Mandy asked her.

Lily looked positively evil as she said, 'until his OWLs.'

…

In the middle of the holidays, as Christmas receded into the past and New Year's Eve began to grow ever closer, a fresh wave of anticipation surged through the castle, as all eyes and every conversation turned to the Hogmanay Highland Fling, the dance which was to take place on New Year's Eve Night.

The girls in particular had a lot to say on the matter, and could often be found huddled in small groups, discussing their robes or their dates or their hopes for the evening. But the boys were by no means immune. On overhearing Lily and Petra discussing how they were going to meet up with Diego and Hassan in the entrance hall before the dance began, Peter could not contain himself from informing his friends that he too would be meeting his date by the great, oak front doors before they headed into the Hall for the night.

This made James frown, and wander off to have a quick discussion with Mary about the fact they would just meet up in the common room, and Sirius frown and mutter something about 'Traitors, the lot of them.'

New Year's Eve happened to fall on a Tuesday that year; the snow was still thick on the ground and the temperatures well below freezing. The boys spent the day much as they had every other one of the holidays so far, throwing snowballs, building snowmen and sledging down the mountain - staying outside until their fingers were tingling and they were soaked through. The girls, however, disappeared part way through the afternoon and were not seen again.

'Why have they gone inside?' James asked, when he noticed that the entire castle grounds had been abandoned by everyone of the female sex. 'The dance isn't for hours yet. What can they possibly be doing between then and now?'

The answer, of course, was the girls had vanished back to their dorms in order to primp and pamper and spend meticulous hours getting ready. Wrapped in their dressing gowns, they powdered and painted and perfumed, buffed their nails and curled their hair and giggled and gossipped as they readied themselves for the night. In Lily's dorm the girls had attempted to transfigure pumpkin juice into Champagne and, though the result was only very weak, the bubbles still tickled their noses and they told themselves they were starting to feel pleasantly muzzy.

The boys did not go inside until it was getting dark; their skin was chapped and raw from the cold, they were out of breath and sweaty beneath their robes from toiling up the mountain. 'I think I need a shower before I get changed,' James puffed and panted, but when he reached the bathrooms it was to find that almost every other boy in Gryffindor had had the exact same idea at the exact same time and so the queue was out of the door and snaking down the stairs.

He tried to pull rank by insisting that he jump to the head of the line as he was on the Quidditch team and needed to start the dancing, 'I can't be late,' he said tapping the shoulder of the boy in front of him. But all the other boys did not want to be late either (did not dare let their dates down, truth be told) and so - much to his chagrin - James had to wait his turn like everybody else.

Up in the dorm, Sirius pulled his all too familiar, all too detested, dress robes over his head and then scrutinised himself in the mirror, unhappily. 'I look like a knob,' he said, tugging at his frilly little collar and - though Remus did not wish to be cruel - he had to concede that the robes would be better without the lace.

'And they're maroon,' Sirius said glumly. 'Hideous colour. I think my mum picked them precisely to make me look as big a knob as possible.'

'It's not too bad,' Remus said, comfortingly - but Sirius did not want to be comforted.

'It's alright for you to say - yours don't have a dodgy collar and cuffs, and they're pale blue. You look nice.'

Despite himself, Remus blushed. 'They've got patches on the elbows, and the material is scuffed in places.'

'I'm in maroon velvet and lace… no one is going to notice your elbow patches.'

And, as if to prove his point, James bounded into the room, fresh from his shower - looked at Sirius - grinned in wicked delight, and then complimented him on his frills. Sirius glowered darkly.

Meanwhile, Peter was arranging his own grey silk robes with the utmost care, and combing his hair so that his parting was just so. Sirius (who had not even bothered with a hair brush but whose hair was still falling into his eyes with a casual elegance) watched him for a moment, askance, and then muttered, 'Pete's got big plans for the evening.'

It was Peter's turn to blush (though he could not deny that his hopes were high and he wanted to look his best).

After towelling dry, James pulled on his own bright red robes, messed up his hair so it looked like he had just got off a broom and then grinned around at his friends. 'Shall we go then, men?'

…

Mary was waiting for James (a tad impatiently) down in the common room. She frowned when she saw his red robes, and glanced down at her own pale pink ones - as if contemplating just how hideously the pair of them would clash. 'They're an unusual colour,' she said, fighting to hide her displeasure.

'That's what Madam Malkin said, but I wanted red, for Gryffindor.'

'Well…' she tore her eyes away and seemed to swallow down her disappointment. 'Let's go then,' and she held out her arm which, after a moment of baffled bemusement, James realised she expected him to take. He did so, but very self consciously and while trying not to look at Sirius, who he was sure would be laughing at him.

'So - er - where did everyone else get to?' he asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, as they made their way from the common room downstairs towards the Great Hall. Mary tutted, looking annoyed that he seemed to be hankering after Lily while on a date with her - but it wasn't like she was any better, James thought indignantly. Mary kept casting wistful glances at Sirius, who was a few steps ahead, strolling along with Remus - the pair of them chatting and laughing as easily as always… James was beginning to suspect that perhaps Sirius was right, and that the boys would have had a better time if they had stuck together rather than trying to get dates.

Everyone else turned out to be already down in the entrance hall, where they were meeting their own partners, and Mary led James towards them, weaving her way through the throng of gathering students. Mandy, dressed in pale lilac robes of the latest cut, was meeting Theo Bibbins of Ravenclaw; Petra was wearing very stiff looking dress robes in emerald green, that had flared sleeves and a high collar, but she looked very well next to Hassan Mostafa who was wearing gold (indeed, they complemented each other far better than Mary and James did) and Lily … Lily looked lovelier than James had ever seen her. Her dress robes were cream with golden embroidery that brought out the golden hints in her dark red hair, which had been curled and now cascaded over one shoulder.

Diego Di Marco, her date from Ilvermorny, looked dazzled by her presence and like he couldn't quite believe his luck and - with nowhere near the embarrassment or clumsiness that James had displayed - he took Lily's arm eagerly and began to lead her towards his own teammates.

'Smarmy git,' James muttered to himself. His eyes followed them… until his gaze came to rest on Snivellus, who was also watching Lily and looking like he was choking on his own jealousy. Sniv's own partner, Leticia Zabini, looked very beautiful, as always, but did not look best pleased with his preoccupation.

'Blimey,' Pete whispered to James in an undertone, 'how did Snivellus get a stone cold fox like that?'

'Maybe she likes grease?' James whispered back, but he knew it did not matter - as Snivellus clearly did not like her .

Peter had met up with Mawu Orou, and was looking very pleased with himself as he held onto her arm. It appeared he had been right about one thing, though, as Remus and Sirius seemed to be the only people there not meeting dates or coupled up. Although he had not wanted to ask anyone out (and shuddered at the thought) Remus still felt uncomfortable surrounded by all these pairs, while he was alone. 'Maybe we should have asked someone…' he mumbled.

But Sirius was adamant. 'Nope. We'll have the best time. You'll see.'

…

Big Macca suddenly appeared as if from nowhere, the boys goggled at the vivid tartan she was wearing, paired with a very ugly wreath wrapped around her hat, but she paid them no mind. 'Team members and their dance partners will wait out in the entrance for a moment longer,' she announced. 'Everyone else - you may enter the Great Hall in an orderly fashion.'

Giving their fellow Gryffindor fifth years a wave, Remus and Sirius, along with Mandy and Theo, left the others behind and headed inside. Their jaws dropped, as they crossed the threshold. Although the Great Hall had been decorated for Christmas with even more vigour than usual this year, tonight it was changed yet again and beyond anything the boys had ever seen. It looked as if the whole place had been frosted, a dazzling silver, like a shining palace of ice. Large snowflakes hung in the air, shimmering like crystals, silver candles burned away in elaborate candelabras; the usual house tables had been vanished and replaced with smaller, round tables - the golden plates shone against the whiteness of the pristine table clothes and set with a sprig of holly alongside the knives and forks (of which each plate had several); the chairs appeared to be solid gold, and silver vines, on which bright Christmas roses bloomed, were twined around the pillars.

Remus and Sirius took their seats, along with the rest of the school, among much chatter and noise and excited buzz until suddenly, as if on some unheard signal, the whole Hall fell quiet and all eyes turned to the doors. These were pushed open with great ceremony and then Filch appeared, wearing a tartan which clashed horribly with his purple, pouchy face and clutching an ancient set of bagpipes. He processed down the Hall, solemnly playing the bagpipes, while the Quidditch teams and their partners followed behind him - streaming out like a parade.

James was easily visible, in his bright red robes, and his cheeks were flushed to match - as he waved and grinned at everyone he passed with great enthusiasm (Sirius earned himself a reproving look from Big Macca for whooping and wolf whistling at him as he walked by Sirius's table). James, at least, seemed to have got over his disappointment of seeing Lily with another boy (for now) in all the excitement of getting to show off in public, but - hidden away at the back of his own table - Sev still wore a very angry expression, and his eyes were hard as they flicked between Lily and Diego, arm and in arm and making eyes at each other, and James - waving and beaming like the newly elected mayor of Hogwarts. It was hard to say which sight was making Severus more furious, but either way it was clear he was not having a good time, already, and that he was unlikely to prove a satisfactory date for poor Leticia Zabini.

Once the teams had taken their seats at their own tables, Filch returned to the centre of the Hall and tapped his heels together smartly. The doors opened once more, and this time it was the troop of dancing skeletons, from the Hallowe'en feast, who processed inside, tonight wearing Great Kilts in clan tartan. Each skeleton took up a position and then, after an introductory blow on the bagpipes by Filch, and with a great deal of rattling, they launched into dancing a bone shaking Highland Fling.

'Blimey,' James muttered to Mary, as he watched the skeletons leap and clatter and clank around the Hall, kicking their femurs and waving around their ulnas so hard that their toe and finger bones seemed in danger of flying off. 'I hope we're not expected to do this when we start off the dancing. I - er - I haven't practised any steps.'

Mary shushed him, the song (thankfully) reached its mournful conclusion and - with a few rib cages still rattling and reverberating from the aftershock - the skeletons took a bow and then went to stand around the edge of the room, amid a great deal of applause - led by Dumbledore.

Once the clapping and cheering had died down, the Headmaster looked around at the gathered students, welcomed them to what he hoped would be a delightful and memorable evening and then said, simply, 'And now - to eat.'

He took his seat once more, picked up a little golden menu which was sitting beside his plate and then said, clearly and distinctly, 'Lamb chops.' A moment later, the food appeared right in front of him and, getting the idea, everyone grabbed their own menu and followed suit.

'Grub's good,' James said cheerfully, to Mary, as he chowed down on beef brisket. 'Though someone might want to tell Snivellus that, he looks like he's chewing his own tongue.'

Mary glanced over at where the fifth year Slytherins were sitting, and shuddered. 'I don't like looking at them,' she murmured. 'Mulciber… he creeps me out.'

'I'm not surprised. He should have been expelled - at least - chucked in Azkaban after what he did to you.'

'We're going to get our own back,' Mary told him. 'Take our own revenge - we have something planned.'

James grinned, 'Well - if you need any extra wands, just let us know. We'll all be only too happy to help.'

…

Meanwhile, Petra and Lily were enjoying getting to know their own - rather more exotic than James - partners, and were discussing the differences between their respective schools.

'We have one of the biggest libraries in the Wizarding World at Zarr Sagal,' Hassan Mostafa was telling Petra. 'It's shaped like a star, and each point contains the books of the five different branches of magic we study. There's not much on Quidditch, though. It's got a great intellectual reputation as a school - it has the only Wizarding university there is - but that's not much use for people like me who just want to fly around on broomsticks all day.'

'I think Quodpot has simpler rules than Quidditch,' Diego Di Marco was telling Lily. 'There's only one ball for starters - the Quod - but it explodes after a set amount of time. You score by getting it into the scoring pot.'

'It sounds more like muggle games - like netball,' Lily said. 'Apart from the exploding part… What's funny?' she asked, as Diego began to laugh.

'It's just the word "muggle" that you guys use for non-magical people. It sounds funny to me.'

'Well, what do you call them, then?' she wrinkled her nose.

'No Maj.'

'That's… Very literal. Like calling horse riding "horseback riding"... where else are you going to ride on it? Or calling a pavement a "sidewalk".'

Diego laughed again. 'Well, don't blame me for too literal American-English. My family speaks Spanish at home.'

…

Sitting at a table with the Uagadou team, Peter was listening with polite concentration as Mawu Orou explained the lengthy and difficult process of becoming an animagus. 'You have to carry the leaf of a mandrake beneath your tongue for an entire month,' she told him.

'That sounds terrible.'

'It makes talking and eating very difficult.'

'I can only imagine.'

'And then you must get up at sunrise every day and repeat an incantation, while placing your right hand over your heart.'

'Your wand,' Peter corrected, without thinking. 'You point your wand at your heart…' he caught sight of Mawu's surprised face. 'Er - I mean - we learned about the process in Transfiguration, back in third year. Had to do a project… Not that that compares with what you … I mean… You were saying?'

'We do not use wands at Uagadou. They are a European invention.'

'Oh… what do you do then?'

'Wandless magic - gestures and rituals, sometimes we use a magic gourd.'

Oh - and does that work well?'

She laughed. 'We get by. We have done for thousands of years.'

Peter blushed.

…

Crowded in with the rest of the school, Remus and Sirius spent the meal having great fun judging everyone's (but mostly the Slytherins') dates. 'You see that girl Regulus Bowel Movements is with?' Sirius said, pointing at his brother, who was sitting up at the team table with James and Petra.

'She's quite a bit taller than him.'

'That's because she's quite a bit older than him. That's our second cousin, Belvina Black - related to us through our great great grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black.'

'And Reg is dating her… I wonder how many toes their offspring will have?'

'We are a very inbred people, Remus, and proudly so.' They both snorted into their stew.

'Is it me, or does Mulciber's date seem very young?'

Sirius craned his neck to get a better look. 'Third year - she's a Travers. He's with her because she's one of the Sacred 28. Git.'

'Yes - I think from the looks she's giving him, Leticia Zabini would have rather have gone with him than Snape, but Mulciber's obviously gone for blood purity not looks.'

'And left the half blood to go out with the other, greasy half blood. Double git.'

'Er - do you think we should have got dates, if even Snape did?' Remus asked again, still feeling awkward about the whole business.

But Sirius shook his head, remaining adamant. 'Nah - look at him, he's miserable. And so is she. So is Chadwick over there,' (he waved a hand to where the Ilvermorny captain was struggling to make polite conversation with Daisy Wilcock, up on the team table), 'Reg is bored with Belvina, James would rather not be with Mary… Everyone's just scrabbled for a date because everyone else was getting one. Because it was the thing to do. But us? We don't do what's expected of us - we're mavericks.'

He stared at Remus so hard and for so long that Remus felt himself start to blush. And then he said, 'Believe me, Moony, you and me - we're having the best time of anybody here. I know it.' And, despite himself, Remus began to smile.

…

As soon as pudding was over and the crumbs had vanished, leaving the plates sparkling clean once again, an expectant hush settled over the Great Hall. This anticipatory silence was then cut through by the sound of Filch's bagpipes, and the dancing skeletons - who had been waiting patiently along the edge of the room - clattered their way back to the centre, each holding what appeared to be a long chain. They stood in a line, stamped their right feet as if standing to attention, and then - to the amazement and alarm of the watching students - the ends of the chains burst into flames.

The skeletons wheeled around in formation, swinging the now blazing fireballs around their heads in time to Filch's bagpipes. Some of the students sitting closest shrank back as the flames crackled and hissed as they whizzed through the air.

They moved so fast they were like a blur, and Remus was not sure how the skeletons managed not to hit each other. They began to leap and jump, swinging the fireballs faster and faster in a frenzied fire dance until Filch's tune changed and they fell back into line before marching out, still swinging their fireballs until the very end, and leaving a stunned silence behind them.

The moment of quiet was broken by Dumbledore beginning to clap, and everyone came to their senses and soon joined in with great enthusiasm. Once all was still again, the headmaster got to his feet and said: 'And now, if our teams would be so kind as to start the dancing…'

With a lurch of his stomach, James felt himself dragged to his feet by Mary and had stumbled his way to the dancefloor, blinking and dazed, before he quite realised what he was about to do. He stood there rather awkwardly until Mary hissed, 'James, take my waist,' through gritted teeth.

'What?'

'My waist.' And she grabbed his right hand in her left, and used her right hand to guide his left to the desired position. He tried not to panic.

Just over Mary's shoulder, he could see Diego Di Marco, the great slick git, already set and ready to go, with his smarmy hands all over Evans (who seemed not to mind at all).

While they had been eating, Royston Idlewind and the Dissimulators had set themselves up on the dais, and now the band struck up a slow waltz which, after a quick shove from Mary, James realised he was supposed to start moving his feet to.

It wasn't really so bad, he reflected to himself, as he revolved slowly on the dance floor - Mary doing all of the steering - though he did feel like he was being put through his paces, like a Kneazle in the type of show his old Aunt Zephyrine liked to display her prize winning pets in. From over in the crowd, he could hear Sirius wolf whistling once more and - daring a glance in his best friend's direction - caught sight of him blowing kisses at him and laughing his head off. He fought down a blush and looked in the other direction, only to see Lily and Diego sweeping elegantly around the room, staring intently into each other's eyes. Slick git.

Peter and Mawu were dancing near the edge of the dancefloor. Pete seemed keen and over eager to please, while Mawu was trying not to wince every time he stepped on her toes. James got so lost in watching them that he almost stumbled when Mary suddenly swung him the opposite direction. Hidden in the crowd, Sirius whooped and then cackled. James blushed again. He could now see Regulus dancing with his partner, who towered a good four inches above him - giving the unshakable impression of a little boy dancing with his mum. Behind Regulus, James could see the seated Slytherins - and could see that Snivellus's eyes had not left Lily once.

After a few minutes, Dumbledore led Madam Jadu onto the dance floor; McGonagall waltzed slightly out of time with Jacob Scrabble, and Filch had abandoned his bagpipes and was now clutching Mrs Norris, swaying along in time to the music. Taking their cue from the Headmaster, the other couples around the room began to head out onto the floor and spin around in their pairs, which greatly relieved some of James' embarrassment but left Remus - now one of very few people not dancing - feeling even more awkward than ever.

Finally, the slow waltz came to an end, and the band struck up a far faster and funkier tune, which made some of the girls squeal as they recognised it from the wireless. James gladly dropped Mary's waist, as there was no need to hold onto her anymore, and grooved along to the music (though he could not help but notice that Peter and Mawu and, far more annoyingly, Lily and Diego kept their arms wrapped around each other).

Sitting on the sidelines, watching the uncoupled shimmying and flailing of limbs which had now taken over the dancefloor, Sirius turned to Remus, and made him choke on his butterbeer by asking, 'So… Do you wanna dance?'

Remus spluttered, splooshed some of his drink down his robes, tried to cover the moment (and dab his robe front with a napkin) and then, with his eyes still watering, coughed: 'Er - yes… Yes, I suppose so.'

'Good. Let's go.'

They pushed their chairs back and made their way to the edge of the dancefloor, where they began to sway awkwardly in time to the music. James spotted them and fought his way over, through the crowds (Mary followed, looking slightly put out that she had been abandoned without a second thought). Peter remained firmly in Mawu's arms.

They danced, and yelled into each other's ears over the noise of the music and the crowd, and laughed and danced some more for the next five songs… and then the band struck up another slow dance. Immediately everyone seemed to couple up again, and Sirius and Remus retreated from the floor. James followed them. Mary narrowed her eyes and then - with nothing else to do - began to follow after. But she was interrupted in her flight after James by the solid bulk of Lev Zograf, the Durmstrang keeper, whom she bumped straight into. He turned around, looked at her, seemed to like what he saw, and gave her a stiff, little bow. She came to a stop.

'I am sorry to get in your way,' he said to her.

'I'm sorry I bumped into you.'

'I am not.' He smiled. 'My partner is sitting out. Could I haf your arm for this dance?'

Mary cast a glance towards James, who was now seated with Sirius and Remus, locked in conversation and seemingly oblivious to the fact he had lost her. She smiled back at Zograf. 'Arm - leg - I'm yours.'

…

Not realising that Mary was gone, or stopping to wonder what had happened to her, James sat with Sirius and Remus, grazing on the mince pies and shortbread fingers which had been left out, heaped up on platters, and drinking butterbeer (it turned out the eight hundred barrels of mulled mead, which the students had promised each other, was a false rumour and butterbeer was the best they were getting). They laughed and talked and teased, danced to the faster songs, sat out at the slower ones and had just as good a time as Sirius promised they would. Peter, however, was nowhere to be seen as he was proving to be a far more attentive date than James had been.

As Royston Idelewind and the Dissimulators began to play yet another, soppy, sappy, slow dancing tune which left almost everyone else wrapped in each other's arms and gazing into each other's eyes, the three boys decided to head outside and take a look at the promised ice sculptures which were said to be dotted through the grounds.

'We should have brought our cloaks for this,' Sirius complained, blowing on his hands, as they crunched through the snow. 'It's blood freezing, and my poncy dancing shoes were not made for this weather.'

'Wait… you have poncy dancing shoes?' James hauled them all to a stop and goggled at Sirius. 'You're not just wearing your normal shoes?'

Sirius blushed. 'You mean… You two have just got your school shoes on?'

'Well, yeah?'

'What else would we wear?'

'Er - well, it's proper to wear dress shoes with dress robes.'

'Show us!'

And blushing even more furiously than ever, Sirius lifted his robes to reveal soft, velvet slippers in matching maroon. James nearly fell over from laughing so hard.

'Piss off,' Sirius said, though he was grinning. 'They're soaked through. I'm probably going to lose a toe to frostbite.'

They wandered around the side of the greenhouses until they found the ice sculptures - which shone in the starlight, like dazzling glass - centaurs, and goblins, and hippogriffs, and a rather terrifying ice acromantula, which towered eight feet high and seemed to hold malign intent in its crystal pincers. They could see through the windows into the Great Hall, which was brightly lit and brilliant from out in the dark, and could see all the happy couples snogging on the dance floor. A rustling in the bushes, and a high pitched giggle, told Remus that not every snogging couple had stayed inside.

As they walked further along, they saw a shadowy figure slip outside from a side door, as if wanting to be unseen… but then they cast Lumos, and the sudden flare of their wand sparks revealed them to be none other than Professor Carnarvon.

James threw out his arm, forcing the others to a stop, and they watched - unnoticed - as their Defence professor made her way - silent and suspicious - through the grounds, while everyone else was celebrating. 'What is she doing?' James hissed, and - brooking no argument - he made the other two follow along after her, keeping at a distance so she would not spot them.

She made her way back towards the greenhouses, and the boys trailed behind her, ducking behind a bush as she came to a stop and then - with a quick glance around - she used her wand to break Professor Sprout's locks. She slipped inside, the boys peered over the top of their bush.

After a few moments, the inside of the greenhouse began to glow - and they saw the same eerie, crackling light that they had witnessed outside the Slytherin common room a few months before.

'Whatever she's up to - she's at it again,' James whispered. 'And mark my words - she's up to no good.'

In front of them, the bush rustled - and giggled - and Remus frowned as he realised they were now squatting directly behind another happy couple.

The crunch of footsteps in the snow told them someone else was out there - and that they too seemed to be headed towards the greenhouses, perhaps drawn by the strange and arcane lights which glimmered there.

They caught sight of a pair of dusty, steel capped boots, standing in the snow just the other side of their bush, seemingly unaware they were being observed (and choosing to ignore the cavorting couple) but seeming to be keen to observe Carnarvon. 'Someone else didn't get the memo about dress shoes,' James whispered to the others, snorting as he said it and pointing at the boots.

'I bet his feet aren't freezing,' Sirius said darkly, 'I can't feel my toes.'

The lights died away inside the greenhouse, the door opened, and Professor Carnarvon came out - though she froze when she saw somebody standing there, as if waiting for her.

'You're not as secretive as you think,' they heard Jacob Scrabble's voice say. Carnarvon went stiff. 'People are onto you.'

'Is that a fact?' Carnarvon asked coldly.

'More like a friendly warning. What you're trying to do - you could just walk away, eh?'

'That would not serve my purpose, or help the one whose direction I am working under.'

'It could save you getting into a lot of trouble.'

She drew herself up to her full height and sneered. 'I can take care of myself.' And, with a swish of her silk cloak, she stalked away - leaving the footprints of her dress shoes in the snow. A moment later, the boots, and Scrabble, crunched after her.

Hidden behind their bush, the boys stared at each other, in surprise. 'What - in Merlin's name - was that all about?'

…

With this new mystery to ponder, and the cold closing in on them and snapping at their extremities, the boys headed back inside - just as the candles were dimmed and Dumbledore announced that midnight was upon them.

He took out his watch - with its twelve hands and moving stars and no numbers - and led them all in a countdown, where the anticipation grew with every number.

'Ten, nine, eight…' people were grinning, eyes were shining, 'seven, six, five…' voices got louder as the numbers got smaller. 'Four, three, two…' There was a final, expectant moment, as they said goodbye to the old year and readied themselves to greet the new - and then, ' one HAPPY NEW YEAR!' everyone cried. Above their heads, magnificent fireworks lit up the enchanted ceiling, and Filch struck up his bagpipes once again and everyone began to sing:

'Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…'

But amidst the jollity and hand shaking, James felt his stomach lurch, as he spotted - right the way across the Hall - Lily Evans locked in a passionate embrace with Diego Di Marco - kissing as if their lives depended upon it.

'For Auld Lang Syne, my dear, for Auld Lang Syne…'

His hands uncrossed and fell from Sirius's and Remus's - breaking the chain, though he was far more aware of his breaking heart.

Just beyond Lily and Diego, he could see Snivellus Snape staring at the pair, equally thunderstruck, his face twisted in jealousy. As if feeling James' eyes upon him, Snape's own pulled away from Lily and the two boys stared at each other and - in what proved to be the worst moment of the night so far - for just the briefest whisper of time, James and Snape found themselves sharing a sickeningly disappointed moment of commiserating camaraderie.

'We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for the sake of Auld Lang Syne…'

'Happy bloody New Year,' James muttered to himself.