𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 || 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 26

Friday 10th December, 1976

For the rest of the week everyone talked about the dance non-stop. Whenever you passed any student in fifth year or over there would be talk about dates, dresses, dances, and anything else involving the Yule Ball.

Afternoon classes were cancelled and fifth, sixth, and seventh years were asked to meet at the Great Hall. When we arrived, we found the tables pushed to the side and a large empty space in the middle of the hall. There were also stands, where we were most likely supposed to sit.

I found the marauders on one end of the stand and sat with them, listening to them bully each other about who they were taking to the ball. Peter had been the first of them to get a date, surprisingly, and now Sirius and James were in a competition to see who would get a date first out of the two of them.

The problem with that, though, was that the girl James wanted to ask had rejected him so many times that he was scared to ask, not wanting to get rejected yet another time. Sirius on the other hand wanted to ask Remus, his best friend, but was too scared to because he didn't want to ruin their friendship and didn't think Remus would ever like him back.

So, they were both in a bit of a pickle, especially because their thoughts on the matter were completely wrong, because Lily actually liked James now, and Remus had been in love with Sirius since third year so no problem there.

"So Y/n," Sirius started. "Who will you be taking to the ball?"

The other boys looked on with interest, eager to hear my answer. I glared at all of them, not even deigning to speak.

"Will we have to scare whoever they are off, Padfoot?" James asked with a shit eating grin

"I think we will Prongs," Sirius answered solemnly.

I glared at both boys. "Don't you dare."

They grinned at one another, and McGonagall stood up, grabbing our attention. The other kids also quietened down, staring at McGonagall curiously.

"As you heard on Monday, you are all meant to attend dancing lessons for the Yule Ball," she said. "This is the lesson."

Everyone started whispering excitedly, choosing dancing partners and sending hopeful glances at their crushes. I resisted the urge to look at Regulus and stared straight ahead.

"I will be choosing your partners," McGonagall said, a collective groan coming from the students.

McGonagall paired people from their houses, careful to keep the Slytherins and Gryffindors apart, much to my disappointment. I was partnered with Remus though, which wasn't so bad.

James and Lily were paired together, something that James was ecstatic about. Lily hid her delight, but I could see a thrilled smile on her face as she followed James to the dancefloor. I couldn't help but notice that Regulus was paired with Selena Rowle, the girl Regulus had hung out with at Hogsmeade a while ago, and wondered if they were together. A stab of jealousy accompanied the thought and I quickly looked away.

When the music started Remus and I faced each other. He awkwardly put his hands on my waist, and I put my hands on his shoulder. We both smiled embarrassedly at each other, starting to sway to the beat as we watched the other students around us perform the dance perfectly.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready."

It only took 5 minutes for me to realise that I was a horrible dancer. I was severely uncoordinated, frighteningly so, and the height difference between Remus and I did nothing to help. We were making complete fools of ourselves while Regulus and Selena, I noted bitterly, were dancing elegantly, as if in a movie.