Julia smiled. Ah, Sapphire, always the enthusiast! "Alright, hold one, let me just--" but before she could finish her sentence, she heard footsteps descending the staircase. At the foot of the steps appeared the handsome angel. It was him.

Thank Merlin part of her face was covered with the mask and her cheeks were tainted with some make up or else it would have been way to obvious that she was blushing. Why did he have to be so...so...him?! So mischievous and cunning and troublesome and yet so divine-looking.

Relax yourself, Julia. Yes, the mind was the safest way to think [and talk to yourself without people thinking you were mad]. The angel spoke and she couldn't help but smile. You're smiling. you're SMILING! She quickly turned the smile into a smirk and countered "Was that supposed to be funny, Black, or are you just as good with puns as you are with homework?"

"Only over half?!" Sirius retorted cheekily, a playful smile dwindling on his lips as he observed her subtle yet obvious to him (he was a male, after all) gestures. She seemed to be leaning towards him more and more, directing her movements to match his, as if she was a satellite orbiting her planet. His male pride was lightly teased by her attentions and yet he had promised himself that he would make the most of this evening - and that couldn't mean going exclusive with anyone, could it?

Being poked out of his musings, Sirius arched an eyebrow in mock curiosity. "But if there is to be no thinking tonight, it would mean I won't be allowed to think of how beautiful you all look... do you really want that?" He snorted inwardly at the mention of white. Why the world not? He could surely be 'Mr. White' for one evening.

"No, indeed. I think heaven actually encourages it," he laughed at her remark in true angelic style. He turned his eyes from his fellow Marauder, who seemed to silently observe his antiques with the girls, and looked down at his companion again. His eyes sparkled gleefuly, but his answer was, as customary, cryptic. "Ah, an angel never tells," Sirius replied, slowly forgetting all about the Peter incident and beginning to enjoy himself again.

Before Tess could tickle his ego further, Sirius heard another of the prettily-clad ladies speak out, this time much less admiratively. He turned his grey eyes on her and watched her silently for a quick moment. Yes, of course, Julia. Who didn't act all bashful and shy like most of his fangirls and who seemed to have opted for a Lily Evans approach of sorts. Sirius, who enjoyed a good game, rather liked toying around with her, as she did with him, never once a direct word spoken on either side. Yet he knew, his male instinct told him that Julia certainly fancied him, perhaps more than some of the more straightforward, attention-seeking ladies. And he was determined to make her break, whether for the fun or challenge of it, or for another reason, he wasn't quite sure. But determined he sure was.

"Hello to you too," he gave her a small nod of his head, "I was imagining that at least on this special occasion we would force ourselves to be on first name terms, what do you think?" His expression was between serious and amused, having not quite decided yet on what he wished to convey. "As for homework..." he gave an exasperated little puff, "no, I can't say I've ever been good at that. But have no doubts about it, there are oh, other things that I am good at." His eyes waited for her reaction to that ambiguous line, their little sparkle back for good.

Gladys was so patient today. Waiting...waiting..waiting..for him..very patiently surprisingly. Her eyes were darting around the main door often..very often ...to get his glimps first.

She felt something strange in her stomach as the time was ticking away. She looked at Blair and Regulus..who were engaged in some serious talks. She sighed..and gently seated one of the chairs..around the large..rounded tables.

Come on Sirius..Do you hear me?!


Chris: Matt, where is your charrie? Cause Sirius is in the Gryff Common Room XD

Bwahaha...OmG..Chris..I'm so silly..and was lazy to figure out the location..*is roftling* zomg...okay..I changed my post.. Sorry Zyra<3

Her heart but stopped when he finally met her gaze. It was a good thing she was used to keeping her expression vacant when that happened. Although he looked even more handsome tonight. Those gray eyes always had that spark of mischief that suited him oh so well. Julia, he's speaking to you.

Julia brought her delicate index finger near her soft lips, pretending to ponder. "Hmm. Yes, it is a special occasion...although I have grown accustomed to calling you by your surname." She paused a moment, trying to interpret his reaction. "I'll consider your suggestion, Black, but I'm not making any promises." Mysterious. Take that, Black!

Crups, that was a pretty good argument. Think of something better. "You mean like getting into trouble and losing points? Yes, that's your expertise." she shook her head at him disapprovingly. "Be thankful the Headmaster hasn't thrown you out of the school yet."

Tess made no kind of attempt to move away from Sirius. She was having far too much fun by his side, which, to be honest, was nothing that new for her since he was always too unpredictable for a girl like her not to be amused. Unfortunately, this one time wasn't exactly like the afternoons in the grounds or the evenings by the fire, for she was extremely aware of how beautiful all the other girls in that room were and of how likely it was for them to tackle the more-handsome-than-ever-before-Sirius. He'd like it, of course. He always did. This meant, obviously, that she was bound to be on her own for a great amount of time with his fangirls who'd be waiting for the right moment to tackle him and take him to the middle of the dancefloor. She sighed mentally. That evening was definitely going to be busy, busy, busy.

Not allowing her thoughts to darken her joyful expression for more than a few seconds, she chuckled at him. "What? Don't tell me you want Snivellus and his mates to love you as well." Ah, now wouldn't that be quite a sight? A disturbing one, mind you, but it was bound to leave her breathless with laughter. Or not.

At his next words, her beam turned into a smirk for the tiniest of seconds. Indeed, she'd rather if he didn't notice what everyone looked like, but when would such prayers be heard? It was Sirius Black she was talking about, was it not? "I wouldn't mind much, to be honest," She replied, moving her head away to look properly up at him and straightening herself.

And again, she chuckled. "Oh, I'm not so certain about that. I was always told that angels told the truth, not that they concealed it," She grinned.

Those were the last words Tess directed to him for the time being, for suddenly she found that his attention had been stolen by another female. She sighed inwardly. It looked like her few moments alone with him were over. Ah well, they had been good while they had lasted. Besides, she wasn't going to let go of him yet. It wasn't as if he had showed any inclination to be freed from her. Quite on the contrary, for as far as she was aware, he had looked quite amused by her side.

Finally turning her head to see who had been the thief of his attention, her lips cracked into a smile as she saw who it had been. Julia. Ah well, it was lucky it had been her. It was obvious that that girl too was head over heels over Sirius, but at least she didn't show like the others did.

Sirius felt like rolling his eyes. Consider your suggestion?! What were they, business associates? Hmmph. He was now more determined than ever to win this little game that they were both playing. "Well, if it's such a big deal, no matter. You can call me anything you want, Julia," he finished his sentence on a lower tone, knowing for a fact that any girl would have swooned at the sound of her name uttered so softly by Sirius Black.

Sirius laughed. "Indeed that's my expertise, but I wasn't referring to that. I have many talents, one of which is dancing," he grinned, turning to Tess, who was still holding on to him, and twirling her on the spot, quite more gracefully than was expected in the circumstances.


"No, no, I'm well enough without any Slytherin love," he replied quite amusedly. Snivellus... just the mention of him was enough to set Sirius off. Was it too much to ask to have one enjoyable evening without seeing his sour, greasy face? Surely not. Sirius hoped that no Slytherin would mar his evening. And if they'd try, he would see to it that they get what they deserve.

"Well then, this gentleman angel will remain silent on the topic," Sirius clarified with a grin to match her own. His eyes moved from Tess' face to Julia's, as he pondered what the outcome of the evening was going to be. Surely at least one catfight was in order; he just didn't know who were going to be the contenders.

Julia allowed her lips to curve into a smile. It was amusing to see this reaction of almost silent anger from him. Of course that next sentence caught her a bit off guard. Damn you, Sirius Black. Damn you and your good looks and your sparkling eyes and your sweet voice. Her jaw clenched before she spoke again. "That's Miss Lisette to you, Black. Or Miss Julia, whatever suits your fancy, but never forget that Miss." Julia exhaled slowly. The was he said her name...she played it back over and over again in her head and she doubt she'd forget it.

Surprisingly, Julia never doubted that Sirius' dancing abilities. Pureblood families like the Blacks sent their children to etiquette classes and there had to be dancing involved. She smiled as Sirius tried to show off as he twirled Tess around. "Maybe. But it's usually the girls who make the boys look good." she countered. "For example, right now, Tess there is dressed up like a flamenco dancer and I happen to know she's a very good dancer. You just twirled her and she made it look pretty." Julia couldn't help but giggle. At least that was somewhat true.

As Sirius and Julia spoke to one another, Teresa kept her lips tightly shut, amusing herself with their conversation. Who'd win that little fght, she didn't know but she was quite certain that neither would give up that easily. Hopefully, though, the discussion wouldn't be long enough for them to miss the ball. She might not enjoy the idea of seeing Sirius dancing with half of the female population of Hogwarts in one night, but standing there was bound to tire her. Besides, if she had gotten that dress then she was going to make good use of it.

Sooner than she had predicted, she made use of it. Eyes widening slightly as she felt him move beside her, she suddenly found herself twirling, his hand guiding her. It was lucky she hadn't fallen for she had been surprised enough for it to happen. Wait, had it been luck or -?

Sliding her hand back into its previous place, she blinked quickly before moving her head up to shoot a smile up at him and then at Julia. "Actually, Julie, I think you're wrong this time," She told her apologetically, before turning back to Sirius. "And you, sir, are very lucky that you know how to dance or I'd have fallen on top of you right there," She said playfully. "I wasn't expecting that little twirl before we were downstairs."

Snickering inwardly at his reply about the Slytherin love, she grinned. "Poor Slytherins. They'll be devastated," She sighed with mocking disappointment. "And this angel will have to tell me his answer when he turns back into his non-angel self," She winked at him.

Peter could hear voices, only STAIRS away!!! Why was no one coming to the poor monkey's aid???

"HEEEEELLLLPPP MEEEEE!!!!!" he bellowed, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear him.

He couldn't believe it, the boys he called his best friends had just left him here, in pain, tied up, and bleeding. He was sure to lose the bet if no one came to his aid...

Wiggling more, Peter felt something sharp, and started wiggling even more, rubbing the ropes near his shoulders on the sharp doorframe. It was progressing, ever so slightly, but he still hoped that someone would come and rescue him. Perhaps a female would, and he'd get some pity points?

Julia shook her head and sighed. "Really, Tess do you have to agree with him all the time?" she asked disapprovingly. "He could be completely mental and thrown into an asylum and you'd still side with him." She tried picturing Sirius at St. Mungo's with a straight jacket on, cackling maniacally. Of course that was interrupted by the thought of him saying her name again. Stupid silky voice.

Suddenly, from somewhere upstairs, there was a loud cry for help. The voice sounded so familiar. Like it was always the one screaming in pain. Julia's eye quickly darted to Sirius' face. "Black! What in the name of Merlin did you do to Pettigrew?!" she demanded, sounding alarmed. "Are you and your mates running a torture device or system up there or what?"

"I shall call you Miss when you start calling me Sirius. That sounds like a fair deal to me, wouldn't you say?" He retorted, observing her reactions closely. Oh, she could try and conceal it as much as she wanted; Sirius had no doubts. She revelled in hearing her name uttered by him.

"That I never questioned," Sirius replied languidly. "And as you sing your friend's praises in so astute a manner, I shall have to see for myself then," he eyed Tess as if trying to mentally judge her dancing abilities.

Smiling good-naturedly at her, he laughed at her last statement. "Always expect the unexpected from me - that's the first lesson they teach in school," Sirius said emphatically. He cast a glance around the room. "Speaking of downstairs, where are all the others? Or should we just head down regardless?" Knowing quite well what the answer would be, Sirius waited patiently for it, a look of feigned innocence on his features.

"And I'm afraid that shan't be possible. Is it that difficult to believe that maybe I've reformed?" He grinned, his expression a tad too un-angelic.

Sirius was abruptly taken out from his reveries by Julia's neverending comebacks. He looked down at Tess, who seemed as eager as ever to be on his side, then at Julia, whose face was the picture of defiance. He thought of letting the remark go, but that was where Sirius' greatest fault came into play. His temper. Try as he might, he could never control it completely.

"And that's where you and her are different," he replied composedly yet a tad more coldly than before. It bothered him a little, especially since it wasn't wholly true. Tess didn't always agree with him - it looked more like Julia was getting jealous.

Sirius had heard Peter's wretched cries and was about to head upstairs to release him. Since James was taking his time arranging his hairstyle or whatever it was that he was doing. He even disentangled himself from Tess, getting ready to make a run for the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Then Julia's little speech of outrage came like a blow.

"I did nothing. Perhaps the question you should be asking is, what did he do to himself?" The sparkle in his eyes had by this time altogether disappeared. The shaky mood which had been brought about by Peter's stupidity in their room had returned in full force.

Decidedly, he turned towards Tess again and this time took her hand in his, clutching it a bit too tightly, though. With a look of perfect clarity, he eyed Julia straight in the face, and said: "Why don't you go see for yourself what we run up there? I reckon you've been wanting to do that for some time."

That being said, Sirius quickly bowed his head down towards Tess, asking: "Shall we?" His eyes had a peculiar, focused quality about them that rather carried the point across. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Tess's eyebrows shot up the mere instant she heard Julia's comment. She? Always siding with Sirius? Goodness gracious, half of the times she disagreed with him. When had Julia put such an idea on her head? Geesh. "No, I don't," She blinked, before her friend's next words made her lips curl into a sly smile. "Now with that I agree. Well, sort of," She shrugged one of her shoulders. Well, if that happened, she'd visit him every week or day or.. er, perhaps it was better not to finish that thought before she started to think of herself one of his fangirls. Ahem.

Suddenly hearing him say something about her dancing abilities, she turned her head towards him quickly and rose her brows yet again, a smile of enjoyment already on her face. "What? You doubt of it?," She asked. "Give me the first dance and I'll prove it to you that I do know how to move."

Soon enough she was chuckling yet again. "Unfortunately, that's the kind of lesson that never sticks to my head," She said truthfully. Once he switched the topic, she furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully and gave a long look around. "I've got no idea," She sighed. "Perhaps they've already went to the Great Hall?," She suggested as she looked back at him. "I suppose we should go then, though...," She shot a look at the stairs behind them. "Did James come down?"

And they were back to angel Sirius. This time, she let out a mixture of a snort and a laugh. "Yes, it is, Mr Angel," She gently poked his chest with her fan. "The day you reform, the Slytherins will tapdance."

It seemed like in that moment, her brows were set on being as high in her forehead as possible, for they went up again when he let go of her. Letting her arm fall by her side, she watched him silently as she tried to understand exactly what was going on. The sound of cries and Julia's words made her realize what was up. It was hard for her not to groan. Bloody Peter! Couldn't he just stop being silly and just behave his age for once? And in that daaay! Merlin! He really needed to stop needing a babysitter.

Before she was unable to curse outloud for what had happened, Tess found her focus being stolen by Sirius. Again. Her hand in his, she moved her head up to look into his eyes and was she not used to seeing them twenty four seven, she'd have had to blink and would have possibly swooned. Of course that that didn't mean she didn't feel her heart beating quicker or her breathing stopping for a moment or two.

Apparently her tongue had stopped moving too, for she was unable to stutter a proper, coherent answer. Instead, she merely nodded and breathed out a 'yes' accompanied by a small smile and a gentle blush.

Peter was losing energy, and too much blood was running to his head from the angle he was laying at. He was becoming a bit more than slightly incapacitated as each minute passed. By now, his nose had stopped bleeding, and the blood was dried. The snot coming out of his nose had dried as well, to make him look like a very large 5 year old who refused to let his mother clean him up after a sobbing fit. He was red in the face, his eyes were bloodshot a little, and he was still tied up and writhing about, trying to get the rope off by rubbing it on the doorframe.

Merlin. The boy was a good debater. No wonder he got away with almost anything. "Fine," Julia said as emotionless as possible. "But don't count on hearing me speak your name any time soon."

Julia blinked. "Wow, big words, Black." she teased, "I have to say I'm a little impressed that you actually used 'astute' correctly."

"There!" she pointed out to Tess. "You just agreed with him again." That was really odd and sort of confusing. Agreeing that they both didn't agree all the time. This conversation was turning heated.

Julia smirked. Ha, yeah right, Sirius Black reformed? When gnomes sprout dragon wings and mermaid fins--that'll be the day! She held back a giggle then softy muttered "Sorry, I think I might be coming down with something." Julia then faked a cough then bit her lip. Sirius Black reformed. Ha ha.

Julia smiled smugly. "I don't know if you've noticed but I like being different." She was more than sure that she was the only one dressed up as a phoenix at this ball. Really, there would be a ton of girls going as princesses and swans and butterflies but only one phoenix.

Julia's brow furrowed. Was Peter that clumsy that he could actually be fighting against himself? At that comment, Julia's jaw tightened. "Me? Run up to the boy's dormitory?1 Are you completely mad? The travesty!" she said defiantly. All the while, jealous of the two hand in hand. "Aren't you at least going to check up on your friend up there?"

Now sitting next to Regulus, Severus and Gladys in the Great Hall, the 'head' Slytherins were amusing themselves with random talk and conversations before the actual ball started. Although she was discussing politics with Regulus, she couldn't wait to get onto the dance floor with the man that she had recently began to view as more than a friend. However, she wasn't sure if he felt the same or if he just wanted to have her on his arm.

Either way, she would conduct herself like the true Slytherin she was, and would not embarass herself in any way. However, she had been invited by Regulus, so he had better be aware that they were going to dance. Especially the slower dances where she could gain some images for later fantasies. That was, of course, assuming he could dance.

[[We don't seem to have a Regulus or a Severus....]]

ooc: Tori, you're back! I'll try to get Regulus & Snape to show up ^^

"One less thing to count on, then," Sirius replied coolly. By the looks of it, he had managed to get to her - it didn't matter how. What mattered is that he had. But Sirius was, of course, not satisfied with just that. The best part was yet to come.

Sirius was close - sooo close! - to asking "Is it jealousy?" - but somehow he abstained from it. Either way, he needn't have asked. It was pretty much obvious.

"A trait of this House, I suppose," Sirius replied with a shrug, not caring to directly answer her question.

Sirius smiled briefly and a little insincerely. "If you insist," he spoke emotionlessly, then he turned to give Tess an apologetic look. "I'll be right back," he told her before releasing her hand and walking in the direction of the staircase, no trace of hurry in his steps.

The sight of Peter was even worse than he had imagined. With a disgusted expression, he approached him, taking out his wand. "Stop doing that, you'll hurt yourself even more than you already have. What is James up to anyway? You'd think he'd have untied you by now..." Sirius glanced in the direction of their bedroom, but James was nowhere in sight. Not wanting to intrude on whatever conversation James was surely having with his mirror, Sirius decided to deal with Peter for now. James would follow when he felt like it. He was probably making sure that his costume was in perfect shape - the vanity of it all, thought Sirius with a smile.

With three brusque swishes of his wand, he had untied Peter. "Wipe that mess off your face quickly and come downstairs. I believe there's someone waiting for you. A girl." Sirius grinned to himself. "Dressed as a phoenix."

The deed being done, Sirius turned his back on Peter and returned to his own date of sorts. From a distance, he had an opportunity to observe Tess more closely, and she really did look glowing that evening. Then again, Julia looked great too. Darned girls and their beauty.

"Ready, m'lady," he told Tess with a smile as he resumed control of her hand. He led her towards the entrance to the Common Room, then with his head half turned, he told Julia: "Oh, by the way, after helping him out, I told Peter you're waiting for him downstairs. I thought it was the right thing to do, you know, since you both don't have a date and such..." Sirius offered his most sympathetic smile. "No need to thank me, you can consider it a friendly gesture."

Julia returned his seemingly uninterested look. She thought about his remark on Gryffindors. "Yes, I suppose Gryffindors have always been a bunch of oddballs. Although you, Black, is by far the most devious oddball I've ever met." This was true. But then just because something was odd doesn't really mean it was bad. Mischievous maybe, but not entirely bad, right?

As they watched Sirius disappear upstairs, she turned to Tess and the others. "We really should be going downstairs. The Great Hall must be filling up by now." And a few moments after she finished her sentence Sirius had reappeared.

Julia froze, shocked by what this...this..THING! had told her. "Black! You ghastly abominable nuisance!" she yelled, absolutely frustrated. "You just take so much pleasure in ruining my life, don't you?" she avoided a small flashback that was bound to happen if she didn't leave that instant. I can't begin to reason as to why I like you. And with that last thought, she turned her back on the 'angel' took both her friends [Lily and Sapphire] and marched off towards the porthole.

Sirius, who hadn't yet deserted the Common Room, as he was still waiting for her reaction, shrugged. "Won't argue with that," he said leisurely, thinking that she had meant it as an insult of sorts.

"Here we go!" Sirius exclaimed merrily, as the insults started rolling. He well knew it would get to that; he just wasn't sure when. Most people cracked earlier than Julia did. Sirius felt satisfied that he had managed to stir her somehow, even if in a negative manner. This way he could capitalize on her emotions to get what he wanted, which was victory. And by her reaction, he was well sure that he was bound to obtain it. When hadn't he, after all?

"Ruining your life would give me no pleasure. However, if only this means ruining your life..." He sighed. "Well, then I guess there isn't much to ruin, after all," he added in a small voice, looking up just in time to see her outraged reaction. For a second, he thought she would march over to him and give him a good slap, but no such thing happened.

'Hmmph, more in control than I thought,' Sirius told himself, as he watched Julia and the others head off towards the portrait hole.

"Peter will be disappointed, you know! And he's already had an awful day... I didn't think you were as cruel as to make it worse!" Sirius finished off his performance, grinning. Ah, he was having so much fun. He turned to look at Tess, and in that moment, felt the weight of his white wings shift along with him.

Oops! He had forgotten about his little costume.

'Right, angel... heaven... act angelic. In whichever order. All set. Starting... now!' Sirius mused, giving Tess one of his most sincere smiles.

If she had been all smiles and beams before, then all of them faded when Julia made Sirius get away from the Common Room. Pouting, she followed him with her eyes, eventually letting a long sigh escape her lips when she couldn't see him anymore. Great, she had waited all of that time for him and when she managed to get him he had to go away for Peter. Goodness, for Peter! If it was for James, heck, she'd understand, but for Peteeer? Sigh. Someone should get him a babysitter or teach him out to stop being a baby.

"Yes, I suppose we should," She heaved, her eyes still stuck on the empty stairs. She didn't want to go without him. After all, some random girl would surely get his hand and beckon him to dance with that said girl instead of Teresa herself! She did not want that. At all. The first dance was hers. But if she stood there forever to wait for him... Well, wouldn't she look like a fangirl of his instead of a friend? Blegh.

Turning to face Julia, Tess gave a single step towards her friend before she heard Sirius's voice again. At once, a grin spread across her face as she moved her head to meet his eyes. "Took you long," She commented, curling her fingers around his hand. "What did Peter get himself into this time? Lost his shoes or something?"

Her gleeful mood, however, didn't last for much longer, for once Sirius and Julia started their little discussion, she raised her brows, her smile faded, and she moved her head from one side to the other as if she was watching a tennis match. Only did she stop when the girl departed from the Common Room, leaving her as alone as she could be with Sirius.

"Weeeeell, that was something," She frowned, before turning to look at him. Once she did, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and let her lips crack into a smile. "Right, Sirius, as if that face could ever work with me," She shook her head slightly. "And really, you shouldn't have said that to Julie," She sighed, poking his chest gently with her closed fan. "You know how hard it can be to get her happy sometimes and really, Peter?," She clapped her tongue. "Couldn't you have gotten a Slytherin for him or... ah, I know, Fay, you could've told him Fay was waiting for him instead," She smirked at the idea. Ah yes, how had she never seen it before? Those two nuisances had been made for each other.

Peter glared at Sirius as hard as he could, but when he was freed, he couldn't help but smile, even tho he was still very angry at Sirius for leaving him in the first place. "I don't know where James is, he hasn't been answering to my desperate cries for help," he said, saying that last bit a little loudly so if James was indeed still in the Dorm, which he should be, because he didn't see him leave, then James would be able to hear as well.

When Sirius spoke, Peter's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. A GIRL!?! Waiting for HIM!??!1 Whoever could this be, he wondered, and quickly got untangled from himself.

As soon as Sirius left, Peter scrambled around and dug his wand out from underneath the bed, where it had fallen, and cleaned himself off, episkey-ing the blood and pain from his nose.

He straightened himself out, hid his wand in the inside of his jacket, and straightened out his tail, which was drooping sadly behind him with no signs of life anymore at all. Not even the ones he'd had McGonagall help teach him how to place on it to make it twitch like an adorable monkey tail. Sighing, Peter didn't want to waste any time, so he put on his hat, which had his mask attached, and fought with his gloves for a while before the cymbal bearing gloves fit. But, what if he'd need to hold a girl's hand? He couldn't do that with cymbals on his hands...

With a few quick readjustments, Peter had swapped the gloves around so that the cymbals were on the back of his hands, so he could still clap them together like those little stuffed monkeys if he really wanted to, and now he had full range of movement in his hand. Just for grins, he waddle quickly over to Sirius' end table and searched through the drawer, finding his cologne. With a few small sprays here and there, (and a bit on the tip of the tail so that it would waft up and woo the girls whenever he turned around), Peter was hoping that smelling like his handsome friend would perhaps gain him a date.

With one last look in the mirror, he took a few deep breaths and decided that he looked pretty good, for an overweight clumsy oaf like he was. With that thought, and a mask to hide the dorkiest smile he'd ever worn, he headed out of the dorm and down the stairs, one at a time, carefully carefully, and stepped out into the common room, searching for that Phoenix-Female that Sirius had said was waiting for him.

Julia was so angry and heated. If she didn't have enough self control she would have let out her inner lioness and scratched Sirius' face. "Please, you wouldn't even begin to comprehend." she said acidly. "Bet you don't even remember that first encounter." she said as they walked away.

The portrait hole swung open and she heard his stupid last words. "Oh, screw Pettigrew, the bloody clutz, and to hell with you, Black!" she screamed before the portrait hole finally closed behind them.

She felt like crying, not because she was sad, but because she was simply outraged. Her and Peter Pettigrew?! Oh yuck. It was a mystery why the Marauders, or anyone else for that matter, put up with the little scumbag. Julia thought that if she would get any angrier her phoenix costume would burst into flames and what was left of her would just be a pile of ashes. She stood there ignoring her friends' concerned looks. "I despise him. Him and his fake angelic face and his stupid comebacks and that thing he does with his eyes to try and get with all the girls in this school." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Let's just go, okay?"

....................

ooc: since no one else is starting up at the Great Hall, I might as well! xD

As they reached the first floor the halls were already filled with chitter chatter, hustling and bustling, giggles, guffaws, people in colorful costumes, and marvelous decorations.

Julia entered the Great Hall her head down, not really paying attention to anything and unfortunately didn't notice the beautiful scene before her. She was still too upset. The nerve of that guy dressing up as an angel and yet filled with evil. Stupid Sirius Black. She didn't even think of looking around at what costumes her other friends wore from other houses. Although if she had, she would have been right about her prediction--only she was in a phoenix costume.

Sirius listened to her outraged remarks patiently. After all, he had had his fun; it was time now to sit back and enjoy the ride. As expected, he had managed to stir her well enough. Probably to the point of hatred. Sirius was well accustomed to that. After all, most girls in Hogwarts either adored him or despised him. There were few in-between.

"What first encounter?" he turned towards Tess with an inquisitive look, wondering if she knew what Julia was on about.

With an all-knowing smile on his face, Sirius shook his head. "It seems your friend wishes me to go to hell. Might she have missed the meaning of the costume? I thought it was pretty obvious..." He grinned at Tess, pointing at his white garments.

Seconds after Julia and the others had deserted the Common Room, Peter appeared, looking quite intent on finding his 'date.' Sirius arched his eyebrows at him. His costume looked worse than he remembered it to be. But then who was Sirius to judge?

"Hey Wormtail, your date said she'd meet you in the Great Hall. Understandably, she got tired of waiting. If you hurry, she might just forgive you for being late!" He winked at him in a conspiratory manner, so as to show that he wasn't joking.

"I wasn't long gone," Sirius said, squeezing her hand briefly. He laughed at her remark about Peter. More like lost his brain... but of course he wasn't going to say that in front of her. Act angelic, remember? He was having serious trouble with that. "Eh... something like that... and I've no idea what's taking James so long, but I guess we can just look for him later."

"It's not?" Sirius asked on the same playful tone, referring to her comment about his innocent-looking face. He shrugged at her next remark. Of course she was going to stand up for Julia, they were friends. Plus the female loyalty was also to account for. "Well, Pete here can make anyone happy, can't you, Pete?" Sirius retaliated, putting his hand round Wormtail's shoulders. "I really was doing Julia a favour, she should thank me," he continued on the same mildly offended tone. "And Fay? Why would I say that? I don't know where she is, and bottom line is, Peter's single, Julia's single. What more do you want? You go get her, tiger!" Sirius went on encouraging his friend. He shot Tess a beaming smile, then leading her to the portrait hole, motioned for Peter to come along.


Sirius Edit: I won't be on SS for the next 10 days or so. Will be away, so hopefully you guys won't let this RP die its second death. Hopefully. XD

James' eyes were extremely red from looking in the mirror for sooooooooooo long. His hair was PERFECT, his outfit was PERFECT and FINALLY he was ready to go. OH! Everyone seemed to be making their way out of the common room and....OOOPS!

"Sorry for leaving you tied up all this time, Smelly Pete," he snickered walking...wherever everyone was going....hopefully to the Great Hall. He was ready to see the beautiful Lily Evans and see if she recognized him. He placed his mask on his face and smiled.