A/N: Sorry. It's been difficult. But it's here, isn't it?

Chapter Six

Remus' POV

The Christmas ball was nothing short of amazing.

I entered the Great Hall while waiting anxiously for Charlie, and my nerves immediately went away when I saw the decorations. Candles frozen in levitating ice crystals and transfigured lamp posts adorned the room and casted a bright light over the winter wonderland. The Ravenclaw prefects charmed the ceiling, letting snowflakes fall gracefully over the area. Charlie and I did an awesome job with the entertainment as well, I must say – snowmen and enlarged toy soldiers danced around the room, even with some of the students who were having a good laugh. An old record player belted out jazzy Christmas songs, which some students were already dancing to with glasses of pumpkin juice in their hands.

All in all, I thought everyone was having a good time. And when everything was going smoothly, that meant Lily and James were both quite happy.

"Don't you look dashing," said a voice from behind me, and I turned around to smile broadly at my date. Charlie looked gorgeous; she was clad in a white Muggle gown that ballooned past her waist and reached her knees. Her strawberry blonde hair was styled in an up-do, pulled back by a crystal clip. Tendrils framed her heart-shaped face, and I couldn't help but pull her into my arms when she beamed at me.

"You've outdone yourself this time, Miss Fawcett," I replied with a chuckle, twirling her around. "You are definitely going to attract the best men here."

Charlie winked at me and linked my arm through hers. I escorted her towards one of the tables, scanning the room for my three best friends. Peter was obviously by the refreshment table, nibbling on cheese like the amusing little rat he is. Somehow, I couldn't find James or Sirius. "The place looks remarkable," said Charlie, settling down on a seat and looking up at the ceiling in awe. "It's like we're in a fantasy wonderland."

"Have you seen James or Sirius anywhere?" I questioned distractedly, sitting down as well. I had completely forgotten about the full moon coming up, and my head was starting to ache from the acuteness of my ears. My eyes had practically zoned over the room, and I still hadn't found them. "Bloody hell, it's quite loud in here, isn't it?"

"Not really." Charlie looked at me in confusion, before twisting her head around to look around the room. "Oh, I see James… with Lily!"

I snapped my head around to where Charlie was looking, and surely enough James Potter and Lily Evans were engaged in a conversation. They looked beautiful in matching black robes, and I could have sworn that Lily's cheeks were flushed – and it wasn't because of the weather, I could tell you that. "This ball is doing wonders, isn't it?" I mused. I turned to smile at Charlie. She nodded thoughtfully, resting her chin on her palm.

"I wonder where Portia went," she answered. "I left the dorms before she did, so I don't know if she's here or not. Isn't Sirius her date?"

For some reason, my throat tightened. I adjusted my tie slowly, threading my fingers slowly through my hair. "Uh, I don't know. I haven't seen Sirius either. Been looking for him since a while ago."

Charlie laughed, placing a hand on mine. "I was surprised. Knowing the two of you, you would have gone down together. You are both attached at the hip. If I knew any better, I suppose you would have asked him to go to the ball instead of me."

"Nonsense, Charlie, he's a boy." Where the hell did that come from?

"And so? If you did happen to be gay, Remus, I wouldn't mind if it were Sirius." Charlie smirked at me. "But enough of all this joking, would you like to enjoy this ball and dance with me?"

I let out a forced laugh and stood up, outstretching my hand. "I'd be delighted, Miss Fawcett." Her words had distracted me. Would she really accept me if I were gay? And an even better question, would Sirius actually be gay to like someone like me?

That was definitely nonsense. Sirius was one of the straightest men I knew. He most likely had sexual intercourse with half the women here at Hogwarts, and he was quite the flirt. Sure, he was intelligent, charming, and incredibly attractive –

I should probably stop this train of thought. This was my best friend I was thinking about. He would most definitely hate me if I was gay. I mean, being a werewolf was enough, but a gay werewolf? Besides, I wasn't even so sure if I was gay, never even fancied the thought –

"Oh, there they are!" Charlie tilted her head and waved towards the entrance, and I followed her gaze to look at Portia and Sirius. My breath caught slightly in my throat.

Sirius looked beautiful. His slightly long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and he actually shaved the stubble on his chin. His lips were curled slightly upward in an obviously bored smirk, and his stormy grey eyes scanned the room until they met mine. And if it really wasn't my imagination, his cheeks flushed slightly pink, and his lips parted slightly.

I felt extremely self-conscious. "Let's go say hi," persisted Charlie, tugging at my hand and dragging me away from the dance floor. I stumbled slightly on my feet, and my eyes immediately darted over to Sirius. He grinned slightly in amusement, inclining his head at me. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, and I fiddled with the hem of my dress robes until the couple, Charlie and I were finally within talking proximity. "You two look good together."

"Quite a match, if I say so myself," said Portia arrogantly, and the two girls began to chat as if they weren't roommates for the past six years of their lives. I chuckled slightly and awkwardly met Sirius's eyes. His own were freely roaming over my form, and I didn't know it was possible to blush even harder.

"You look good," I managed to say, trying to break the silence between Sirius and me. He shrugged casually.

"Since when did I not, eh?" he joked. I rolled my eyes at him, and an awkward silence overcame us once more. "So, how've you been? Feels like it's been ages, hasn't it?"

His tone seemed mildly distant, and it bothered me. "Yeah, it feels like it. I've missed you," I admitted. My eyes widened immediately afterward, surprised that something like that actually escaped my mouth. Sirius raised an eyebrow in amusement, but he seemed obviously pleased with the way his lips quirked upward.

"I've missed you, too." He leaned over and moved his lips close to my ear. "How you feeling? The full moon's coming up soon."

"You know how it is," I managed to reply. I suddenly felt all hot and bothered with Sirius leaning so close to me. My senses were tingling really strongly; I smelled soap, water and just the essence of Sirius all over me. It was overwhelming, and it tingled in areas where – well, where it really was not supposed to tingle.

I hated my hormones.

"Let's dance, Sirius." Portia tugged at Sirius's hand, and I smiled wryly as Sirius pulled away from me. As Portia dragged him to the dance floor, he waved his hands at me wildly to save him. I let out a laugh and waved a hand dismissively at him. Gesturing obscenely at me, Sirius turned around and let Portia throw herself at him. It was disgusting, but also extremely amusing.

"Well, Portia seems to be into him," said Charlie lightly, and I let out a laugh at how amusing this all really was.

The rest of the ball was pretty much a blur. Charlie and I spent half of it dancing away with our enchanted snowmen, toy soldiers and even Lily and James, and then spent the other half sitting down and talking. Turns out that Charlie and I had a lot more in common than I thought – she was scared of the moon, of course for different reasons. Her brother used to joke that the monster under her bed fed on the moon's rays to become stronger, and a shiver still runs up her spine from the thought. Funny how in some cases, the situation actually implied that I was a monster in that sense. The wolf in me fed off the rays of the moon to become stronger – and it hurt, knowing that it was true.

Portia had amusingly convinced Sirius to dance almost all night, so when Sirius approached Charlie and me at the table he was exhausted. "It's like the woman can't bloody stop," he groaned, collapsing beside me on a chair.

"Funny, thought that was how you liked your women," commented Charlie, and I let out a laugh. Sirius looked up wearily from his arms and cast a glare at my direction. I winked at him lightly, and even if he kept frowning, he seemed more relaxed.

"It's exhausting. She's still out there!" Sirius pointed to the dance floor, where Portia was dancing with a couple of Hufflepuff girls who went together as a group. "It's crazy!"

"It's quite hilarious, actually." I patted Sirius on the back, and he responded by pulling my hand closer and lacing our fingers together. He crossed his arms and rested his head between them, leaving me to awkwardly dangle my arm near him. I felt myself turn red, and Charlie winked at me in response, mouthing 'cute couple' at me. I rolled my eyes at her in response.

Sirius's hand felt good against mine, especially with his fingers laced together like that. As weird as it sounded, it felt like it was meant to be that way – his larger hand covering mine, entwining his smooth fingers with my calloused, rough ones. It was awkward, but it actually felt really nice. I felt myself shiver slightly in response.

This was ridiculous. Really.

"It's time for the last dance!" said Lily from the Professor's table, and Charlie and I watched her get swept away by James onto the dance floor. I smiled in content, watching James bow to Lily like any proper gentleman should. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and they began to dance.

"They look beautiful together," said Charlie softly. I murmured my agreement, before standing up and gesturing my hand to her. She giggled and took my hand, before we left Sirius fast asleep on the table. It didn't take long before he was back out there with Portia, who immediately pressed her body up against his for the slow dance.

I laughed and bowed to Charlie, who took my hand and started waltzing with me around the place. "I had fun tonight," she said, sliding her arms around my neck. I grinned and nodded my head in amusement. "You weren't as boring as I thought you were."

"I resent that!" I complained. She grinned and winked playfully at me, before kissing my cheek and resting her head on my shoulder. I sighed and looked up, spotting Sirius just nearby. His eyes met mine, and I felt like I couldn't look away. Although he was dancing with someone else, his eyes were trained onto me, as if he was memorizing my form, my face and the scars that damaged it. He bit his lip lightly, before shooting me a slow half-smile.

And that's when I knew – I think I like my best friend. That goddamn smile drove me crazy, and when Charlie leaned up to kiss me, I didn't feel a thing.