Disclaimer: Nothing to do with Harry Potter belongs to me. Hope that’s clear enough.
Lily’s two friends gaped at her, Janice mouthing, Wow, and Alena finally summoning the words, “Are you serious?”
Before Lily could answer, a different voice said, “She isn't, but I am. Sirius Black at your service, ladies,” Sirius said with a bow. “Would you like your schedules?”
“Yes, thank you, good sir,” Lily gushed, and, laughing, passed out the week’s schedules to Janice and Alena. Alena joined in, but Janice’s eyes followed Sirius across the Hall, and she said dreamily, “Sirius is pretty hot, you know.”
Lily nodded absent-mindedly, then exclaimed, “Whoa!”
“What is it?” the girls asked anxiously.
“Have you looked at our schedules?” Lily asked in return.
Janice rolled her eyes. “Normally we wait until after breakfast to look, Oh Intelligent One. But what’s new?”
“‘9:00-10:00”Ballroom Dancing Class, Transfiguration Room.’ And that’s all we have today,” Lily said, astonished.
“Interesting,” Alena mused. “Wonder what that class is for?”
“It must be some sort of extra-curricular activity,” Janice guessed. “Maybe we’ll learn a dance today, and decide whether or not we want to continue.”
“Maybe, but why would they wait until now?” Lily asked. “There are only two months of school left!”
The girls paused, and then Alena whispered, “Are there really only two more months of Hogwarts for us?”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Lily answered. “Our time here has flown by.”
The three sat in silence for a moment, until Janice finally muttered, “Guess we’d better head off to the Transfiguration Room, shouldn’t we?”
The other two nodded in agreement, then walked out of the Great Hall thinking about how little time they had left as seventh-years.
“May I have your attention, please?”
Professor McGonagall’s voice startled Lily out of her thoughts, and she sat up to listen.
“I’m sure many of you are wondering why we are taking a ballroom dancing class. Am I correct?”
There were many murmurs and nods throughout the room, and Professor McGonagall continued.
“Every year, at the end of the school year, the seventh-years take part in a special formal dance. Only seventh-years are permitted (unless given permission from Professor Dumbledore), and it will take place the night before school ends, as a celebration for completing your N.E.W.T.s and all of your years at Hogwarts.”
She paused, and then continued.
“Today, we will be learning the waltz. I am going to assign you a partner for the rest of today’s lesson, but you will have to find your own partner for the formal.
“Zachary Reynolds, Jennifer Tyle; Ashton Davis, Monica Lord; Jonathan Mendel…”
Professor McGonagall continued on down the list, and finally came to, “…James Potter, Alena Littlefield; Sirius Black, Lily Evans; Remus Lupin, Janice Ackerman; and Peter Pettigrew, Elisha Veliere. Gentlemen, please find your partners and escort them to a position on the dance floor.”
All the boys’ eyes searched the room for their partners, and offered their right arms to their assigned girl. Sirius made his way over to Lily, bowed, and kissed her hand lightly.
“Now, now, none of that, Mr. Black,” Professor McGonagall reproved. “Now, if the gentlemen would extend their left arms to their sides, and place their right hands at the ladies’ waists. Not that far down, Mr. Nimmons!” she barked, and continued on. “Ladies, please put your right hand in your partner’s left, and place your left hand gently on his shoulder. Now don’t lean on him!” she said quickly, as she saw many boys begin to sag with the girls’ weight. “That’s something to always remember: never lean on your partner.
“Now, I’m going to start the music. Just let your feet lead.”
A slow song echoed throughout the room, and every Gryffindor began to dance”amazingly”flawlessly. After a few moments of awkward silence, many couples began to converse with one another. Sirius asked with wonder, “How is it that we know this dance?”
Lily laughed. “It’s a spell Professor McGonagall used. We immediately learned it and know it.”
Sirius’s eyes widened. “That’s cool.”
The two were silent for a minute, then he asked, “So…have you ever seen anyone do this dance before?”
“Yes, actually,” Lily replied. “My parents.”
“Really?” Sirius asked with surprise.
“Well, yes,” she answered. “Why? Have your parents waltzed before?”
Sirius laughed bitterly. “I highly doubt that,” he said. “My parents would never dance.”
Lily looked puzzled. “How come?”
“Well…” Sirius sighed. “My parents have never really loved each other. The only reason they married was to continue a pure-blooded family.”
“So they didn’t marry for love,” Lily concluded.
“Right. All they care about are people who have ‘true wizarding blood’ in their veins. What about your parents though?”
Lily smiled. “We have a tradition at my house that we still keep. Every Christmas Eve, the four of us”Mum, Dad, me, and Petunia”will set up and decorate the Christmas tree and enjoy cookies, milk, and other treats. Then, around 11:30, Mum and Dad will send us two girls to bed, but not go to bed themselves. When I was five, I stayed up a little later than usual, and when the clock struck twelve, I heard slow, soft music start playing. I tip-toed out to the hallway, and found Petunia there, too.
“‘What’s going on?’ she asked sleepily, and we crept over to the stairwell. We looked down, and saw Mum and Dad waltzing. And they danced and danced until the clock struck one, when Dad stopped the music, kissed Mum passionately, and led her to bed.
“That happened every Christmas night. The two of us would sneak over to the stairwell to watch. Then, one night, right after the two kissed, Petunia sneezed, and they heard us. Eventually we told them that we had been watching them every Christmas night. Then Dad took us into his arms and told us it was okay to watch from the stairwell, and that one day, when we’re married, we can have our own waltzes at Christmas. Then he kissed us lightly and tucked us in.”
Sirius asked, “Do you still watch them?”
“Yes,” Lily answered, “but it’s not quite the same. Petunia sits far away from me now because she’s not that happy about my being a witch, and for the past few years she hasn’t stayed up at all.”
Sirius determined to make light of things, and joked, “Do you hope you’ll someday waltz with James?”
Lily caught on, but said, “Yes, actually.”
Sirius almost stopped in his tracks. “You want to dance with James?”
Lily tightened her grip on his hand. “Can you swear not to tell him or anyone else what I’m about to tell you.”
Sirius grinned. “You have a Marauder’s word! ‘I solemnly swear!’”
Lily laughed and relaxed her grip. She then whispered, “I love James more than any guy I know, besides Dad. He’s a great guy at times, and many nights I’ll dream that we’re together. But…” She repeated what she had said to Janice and Alena. “To sum it up, I love him, but I can’t let him have me. Do you get that?”
Sirius looked amazed. “Well, tell him that! Tell him why you can’t be with him!”
“But I can’t!” Lily said, almost too loudly. “I want him to find out for himself. I don’t want it to be like, ‘If you do this and this and this, I’ll let you win.’ I don’t want it to be a bribe, in other words. I want””
“Mr. Black! Miss Evans! Do you not realize that the dance is over?”
Professor McGonagall and the other Gryffindors were staring at the two of them, and they quickly let go and walked away, Sirius to the other Marauders, and Lily to her friends, plus Elisha Veliere (Peter’s partner and their roommate).
“Come on,” Lily muttered, “let’s go outside for awhile before lunch,” and the four of them left the room.
A/N Hey, how’d you guys like it? I know it’s a lot more serious(/Sirius), and you may be wondering why the two of them are suddenly friends, but trust me, it'll be worth it. I’ll definitely post another chapter as soon as I can, and reviews would be great! Thanks!