"Laura Potter, where do you think you're going?" Remus demanded through a mouthful of oatmeal as I left the Gryffindor table. "You're supposed to wait here for Lily because she wants you to get ready for the dance with her."

"I know, Moon Moon," I sighed as I came to a halt. "But Sirius's birthday present has came in and I need to go check on it. Besides, the dance doesn't start until 6 tonight. We will have plenty of time to get ready."

"What did you get me?" Sirius asked.

Smirking, I said, "I'm not telling you."

He pouted but didn't object. He knew better than to argue with me on the subject of gifts.

"Can I come with you?" James asked.

"Of course," I told him. "Remus, will you tell Lily where I went when she gets down here?"

"Yes, dear."

James stood up and together we left the Great Hall. A comfortable silence enveloped us as the doors shut. I'm pretty sure the last time that James and I had a moment alone (without the other marauders) was the day before Remus and Sirius came to our house.

He gave me a confused look as we exited the castle but didn't question it. I've had to hide Sirius's presents in some pretty weird places in the past years so he wouldn't find them. Halfway to our destination, James spoke up.

"What's going to happen with you and Sirius after tonight?" Are you going to start dating or will things just go back to how they've always been?"

"I honestly don't know," I told him. "I mean, if he wants to date then of course I'll be more than happy to." James cringed slightly. "But if he wants to remain friends, it'll hurt but I can live with that."

Before I could hear what he had to say about it, we reached our destination: Hagrid's house.

"Why are we here?" James whisper asked me as I knocked on the front door.

"Sirius hardly ever comes here." I replied.

At that moment, the front door swung open.

"If it isn't my favorite Potters!" Hagrid boomed, grinning broadly and pulling both of us into a bone crushing hug. Releasing us, he continued, "Sirius's gift is in the back yard. Put it there myself as soon as it came in."

"Great. Thanks, Hagrid." I said, taking James's hand and dragging him through the "house" and out the back door.

I giggled as James's jaw dropped and eyes widened in shock when they landed on Sirius's present.

"You bought him that?" He asked in awe.

"Yep," I replied, popping the p.

Since Sirius was turning sixteen, I had bought him the best gift that money could buy a sixteen year old. In the middle of Hagrid's vegetable garden sat a gleaming (bad ass) black motorcycle.

"Do you think he'll like it?" I asked James once he had recovered from his initial shock.

"Laura. Sirius is going to love it," he answered in tone that said duh.

Sticking a giant red bow on the motorcycle, I sighed in content at another job well done.

****

Liiiiily!" I whined like a three year old. "You're hurting my head."

She had been attacking my hair with a brush for the past half hour. Her hair and makeup was already finished (thanks to me) so it was my turn to get ready.

"Well if you didn't have such messy hair, this wouldn't be a problem." She snapped.

For some reason, Lily had been on edge all day. In fact, most of the girls going to the Halloween dance were. Personally, I didn't see what the big deal was.

Sighing in defeat, Lily threw the hairbrush onto the bathroom sink. "I give up. Are you fine with leaving your hair down?"

"That's what I had originally planned on doing," I told her, smiling in what I hoped was a reassuring way.

"Now onto your face," she declared. "Since you're already insanely gorgeous, I'm just adding a light layer of eye shadow, lipstick, and mascara." As an afterthought, she added, "And maybe a little blush."

"Aww, thanks, Lily. Just do whatever you think is best," I said. "Who are you going to the dance with?" I asked as I closed my eyes so she could apply my makeup.

"Sev and I are going together as friends." She answered.

After applying my lipstick, Lily stepped back and admired her handiwork. She slipped my necklace and earrings on me before putting hers on as well.

Glancing at the clock behind me, she said, "It's 5:45. Go get your dress and heels on."

I quickly ran to the dorm while Lily stayed in the bathroom to change. After eight minutes of struggling, I successfully had my dress and (dangerously) high heels on. A few seconds later, Lily stepped out of the bathroom. She looked absolutely stunning.

"You do realize that you are going to make my brother fall deeper in love with you, right?" I asked her.

Smiling, she said, "That's his problem." Linking her arm through mine, she continued, "Now let's go down to the common room so Sirius can fall head over heels in love with you."

Being the uncoordinated person that I am (I can literally trip over air and fall up stairs), I held onto Lily tightly as we walked down the stairs so I wouldn't fall.

****Sirius's POV****

I paced up and down the common room floor nervously. A million doubts were running through my mind.

What if she changes her mind about going with me? What if she decides not to go to the dance at all? What if

"Sirius," Remus's voice interrupted my train of thought. "Calm down. Everything will be perfect tonight. There is nothing for you to worry about."

"Yeah," James agreed. "Remus is-" His voice trailed off as his gaze landed on something  behind me.

Turning around, I looked for what he was gaping at. My jaw dropped as my gaze landed on Laura. She looked even more beautiful than usual (I hadn't known that was even possible).

****Laura's POV****

I blushed slightly as I noticed Sirius staring at me. I let go of Lily's arm and slowly walked over to him. Distantly, as if we were in separate rooms, I heard James's muffled voice as he flirted with Lily.

"You look beautiful, Princess," Sirius said, snapping out of his trance as I reached him.

"You cleaned nicely yourself, Prince," I joked.

Smiling, he held out his arm and asked, "Shall we?"

"We shall."

We entered the Great Hall, arm in arm, with Lily, Severus, James, Peter, and Remus trailing behind us. Unsurprisingly, it seemed as though we were the last to arrive. Looking around, I gasped in awe. There were the usual floating pumpkins. But instead of the four House tables taking up the majority of the hall, there were multiple small round tables covered in orange table cloths and food around the outskirts of the Hall. The middle of the Great Hall was cleared for what I assumed was going to be the dance floor. I couldn't tell where exactly it was coming from bit music was floating throughout the room.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Remus asked.

"Yes it is," I agreed.

At that moment, the song ended and my favorite Weird Sisters song (which ironically happened to be a slow song) began to play. Sirius turned towards me, bowing slightly.

"May I have this dance?" He asked, holding his hand out.

"You may," I answered, curtsying and taking his hand.

A goofy grin spread across his face as he led me to the center of the room where the other couples were dancing. Surprisingly, some of the professors were dancing together as well, including Dumbledore and McGonagall. Sirius placed one hand on my waist while holding onto my other hand. I placed my other hand on his shoulder and we danced.

All of my doubts and worries left my head. Getting lost in his stormy gray eyes, I focused on this perfect moment with Sirius Black.

The song ended way too soon. A faster, more upbeat, unfamiliar song took its place.

"Want to go sit down?" I asked him, dropping my hand from his shoulder. "My feet are killing me."

Chuckling softly he said, "Sure."

I took his hand and lead him to where James, Remus, and Peter were sitting at a nearby table. I plopped down next to Remus as Sirius sat on my other side. James was glaring daggers at Severus, who was currently dancing with Lily, and hadn't noticed our arrival. Peter was stuffing his face with food and merely nodded in our direction.

"Done dancing so soon?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "Laura said her feet were hurting so we decided to take a break.

I yanked my uncomfortable heels off and sighed in content as cool air washed over my feet. I had had my shoes on for less than an hour and I could already feel a blister forming.

Sipping on a cup of pumpkin juice, I watched the other couples dance. So far, no one had ran out of the room sobbing so that was a good thing.

After a couple of songs and an intense quidditch discussion had passed, I grabbed Sirius's hand and guided him back to the dance floor.

As we began to dance again, he said, "I thought the guy was supposed to lead the girl. Not the other way around."

"Since when have we ever followed the rules?" I asked.

"Touché."

We danced through the next few songs without saying a word, both of us lost in the moment.

Just when I felt as though I couldn't dance any longer, Sirius asked, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

"You read my mind," I told him.

Weaving our way through the throngs of students, we exited the Great Hall.

"Do you want to walk through the castle or outside?" Sirius asked.

"Outside," I decided. "If that's okay with you."

"Sounds perfect."

We left the castle and followed the familiar, worn path leading to the Black Lake. Keeping my hand entwined with Sirius's, I admired the beautiful nature scenery that surrounded us. The crescent moon shined bright enough to light our way. Thousands of stars (including the brightest star, Sirius) were visible in the clear night sky.

We soon reached the Black Lake. The night sky was reflected in its peaceful waters. Not quite sure what to do with myself, I looked everywhere but at Sirius.

Quite suddenly, Sirius spun me around, causing my dress to twirl beautifully, and pulled me into him. Pressed up against his chest, I looked up into the handsome face of Sirius Black.

Smiling slightly, he brushed a strand of hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. He moved to bend his head down but hesitated. When I didn't move or back away, he swooped down and our lips met.

Unlike some of my past experiences (that I would rather not talk about), this kiss was soft and tender. It wasn't filled with lust. It was filled with love.

It was perfect.