NOX° SIRIUS BLACK

Chapter Nine

        Calypso loved Valentine's Day and she especially loved it this year since someone had been leaving pumpkin pasties and fudge flies in her dorm since the beginning of February. Dorcas would always joke that she had a secret admirer, but Calypso had no idea who it could possibly be. The only thing that put a slight damper on her spirits were when her thoughts would drift back to the letter her mother sent her. Whenever she thought about it, her entire body would tense up and she would feel as if the air in the room was getting thinner. She didn't know what to do about it or if she should tell anyone what it said, so she pushed it to the back of her mind and plastered a smile on her face.

         The night came when Slughorn's Valentine's Day Ball was occurring and everyone spent the day getting ready. Sirius pulled out the dress robes that his mother had forced him to pack as he got ready for the party. James sprawled across his bed and shared a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans with Peter while Remus worked on his homework.

         ''Don't you look spiffing,'' James teased while Peter took out one of the beans. They all silently watched as Peter slowly chewed before he spit it out. The three boys gave him questioning looks.

         ''Cat hair.'' He said.

        Sirius chuckled before glancing out the window outside. There was supposed to be a full moon tonight which explained why Remus had been sulking around all day.

        "When are you going down?" Sirius asked, turning to look at Remus. Remus sighed miserably.

         "Soon, I guess." Remus said. His friends flashed him sad looks, wishing that there was something they could do to help him. He turned to James. "Why aren't you going to the party?"

          "I have to meet with Professor McGonagall for detention." James rolled his eyes. "I got caught pranking one of the first years right in front of her."

           Sirius messed with his collar anxiously.

          "I'm going to go see if Calypso's ready." Sirius announced. The three boys nodded and he left their room to find his friend. As Sirius descended the stairs, he could hear Calypso's laugh echo throughout the common room. Calypso stood beside Lily, dressed in a red dress with flare sleeves while her hands messed with the locket he had given her for Christmas. Her hair was styled in soft and bouncy girls that framed her face in a way that would make Farrah Fawcett jealous.

          Sirius swallowed when Calypso turned her gaze to him, a teasing smile on her face. A part of him was too scared that if he spoke he would end up saying something stupid.

           ''You look . . .'' Sirius trailed off. There was a gleam in Calypso's eyes when he started off that completely threw him off track. There were so many adjectives sitting on the tip of his tongue that he wanted to use to describe how she looked at that moment, but none of them felt right. He settled for, ''. . . nice.''

            Calypso's eyes dimmed a bit. The word bounced around in her head and she glanced down at the dress that she carefully picked out last week. 

             Nice. Nice. Nice.

            ''Well, uh, I think you look lovely, Sirius.'' She said. Sirius smiled bashfully at her before holding out his elbow for her.

           ''Ready, Krane?''

          ''Let's do this, Black.''

           She grabbed his arm and he escorted her to the Great Hall. It was decorated with tiny cherubs flying around over their heads and pink and red streamers. There was a table dedicated to the Valentine's Day food that the house-elves had spent the evening preparing. Calypso's stomach grumbled at the sight of strawberry jam tarts, raspberry millefeuilles, and heart-shaped treacle tarts.