Ana sighed. "I'm fine!"

"At least brush your hair," tutted Ivy, tilting her head and making her brown curls slip over her eyes dramatically.

"No," said Ana stubbornly. "It's casual, Ive!"

"Or maybe wear- I dunno- something more fancy?" suggested Sage in a motherly voice.

"It's a casual party with my casual friends, Sage!" said Ana.

Ivy and Sage exchanged an evil grin.

"Oh my Helga!" groaned Ana. "Why does everyone think I'm dating Remus?"

"I didn't say Remus," said Ivy with a raised eyebrow.

Ana blushed and threw herself onto her bed.

"I hate this," she muttered from under her pillow.

"Well, it's a date, An, you have to wear something nice!" tutted Sage.

"It's not a date!"

"He was the one asking you, wasn't he?" asked Ivy.

"Yeah, but he only asked me 'cause he knows all my friends are gonna be there- REMUS INCLUDED AS A FRIEND!" 

"For now..."

"SAGE!"

"I said nothing!"

In the end, Sage and Ivy managed to convince Ana to at least brush her hair.

Ivy also donated her red and black plaid cotton dress to Ana, who didn't mind it much, seeing as it was comfortable.

Ana grinned evilly at Sage.

"No," said Sage loudly. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare, An-"

Ana picked up her yellow Hufflepuff beanie and pulled it onto her hair.

Sage and Ivy groaned in unison. 

"I like it," said a familiar voice from the doorway. "Very Ana-esqe."

"Hi Marlene," said the three Hufflepuff girls in unison.

"You sound like robots, Godric," sighed Marlene. "Let's go, An, I'm not trusting you with the Gryffindor common room password, who knows what you'll do with it..."

Ivy stifled a giggle. "See, she agrees too!"

"Of course I do!" said Marlene. "Remus is practically pining for her in the common room right now. 'Oh, I can't wait till Ana gets here! We'll read some more books together!'"

"I need better friends," sighed Ana. "See you, Ive, Sage!"

"Bye! Have fun!"

Marlene dragged Ana out of the Hufflepuff common room.

"How'd you get into our common room?" asked Ana suspiciously, running to catch up with Marlene.

"Remus has memory superpowers," said Marlene simply.

"Makes sense," said Ana, skipping along the corridors.

"I like your beanie," said Marlene kindly.

"Thanks," said Ana with a grin. "I- er- like your shoes?"

Marlene's shoes were a neon purple... not the kind of thing you typically saw in a wizarding school in 1975. 

Marlene grinned. "They're painted. They didn't come like this. I hate purple, but Potter and Black always have little schemes brewing up in their little minds."

"Tergeo," said Ana confidently, pointing at Marlene's shoes.

"Tried it," said Marlene, clicking her tongue in exasperation. "Once they accidentally started to repeatedly flash neon lights."

Ana scrunched up her eyebrows. "I give up. Your shoes are a hopeless case."

Marlene grinned and the two girls skipped all the way to the Gryffindor common room.

"Neo purpura!" Marlene said to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

A/n: just for fun, look that up in latin to english on google translate...

The Fat Lady's portrait swung open.

Ana and Marlene stepped inside quickly.

It was very unlike Gryffindor's other parties.

It was quiet and filled with calm Christmas music.

Couples slow-danced and laughed quietly.

The snack table was filled with pie and pastries and little clumps of mistletoe hung around the whole common room ceiling.

"I'm assuming this party wasn't organized by James and Sirius?" Ana muttered to Marlene.

"You assumed right," said Marlene amusedly. "It was that seventh year, Daniel Markowitz. The Head Boy."

Ana raised an eyebrow. "The Head Boy organized a party?"

"Well," said Marlene. "It was originally as bad as James and Sirius'... but then the Head Girl caught him and made him fix it."

"Good on Cassie," muttered Ana. "She's a nice person. Just very strict."

"An, you're here, hi!" said Lily, striding up to them. "We were all waiting, come on!"

Ana and Marlene walked over to the couch, where all the four Marauders were curled up. James, Sirius, and Peter were chatting about pranks and Remus was reading How to Kill a Mockingbird.

On the other couch, Alice was laying on her stomach, drawing on a piece of scrap parchment.

Lily and Marlene shared a wide armchair and Ana stood up and crossed her hands.

"Well?" she said.

"What?" everyone replied in unison.

"This is a party! Are none of you gonna dance?" tutted Ana.

"She's right," said Lily.

James' eyes glinted with expectancy.

"Alice, come on, let's dance together," Lily continued.

The glint disappeared from James' eyes. "Nevermind," he muttered to himself.

"Come on, Jamie-boy," said Sirius, patting his shoulders. "We can dance."

James grinned. "Heck yeah, we can!"

The two boys started disco dancing in the middle of the common room, earning odd glances from the crowd, until everybody started to join in.

"Are they disco dancing to waltzes?" asked Remus uncertainly.

"I think so," said Ana, scrunching up her nose.

Peter had already gone to dance with a friend of his.

Lily, Alice, and Marlene were all having a total dance fight.

Remus and Ana, however, were curled up on the couch, reading.

"I thought you said you wanted to dance?" asked Remus amusedly.

"Yeah," sighed Ana. "But I'm tired. Turn the page."

"Well," said Remus, closing the book and getting up. "We'll be dancing, because that book is on a cliffhanger, and I'd like to read it on my own with no nosy Ana lurking in the corner creepily."

"I'm not creepy," said Ana. "And I'm not getting up from this couch."

"Ana..."

"Nope."

Remus grabbed her hand and pulled her off the couch.

"I also don't know how to dance," noted Remus, as Ana hissed at him and angrily brushed off her dress.

Ana squinted at him and then sighed. "Disco dance?"

"Nope."

"Fine," sighed Ana. "I'll teach you how to waltz. First step, place your hand... here." Ana took Remus' hand and placed it on her shoulder. "Then I put my hand on your shoulder. Now take my other hand."

Remus held her roughened hand.

"Now lift it to our head-level," instructed Ana, bringing their clutched hands to their heads. "And now your feet. Left foot first. Front, 2, 3, back, 2, 3," she counted in time to the swaying waltz music. 

Remus held Ana's hand gently as he stepped front and back.

"There, you're getting the hang of it," Ana said softly, looking down at their slowly moving feet.

Remus looked up at Ana's bright and gentle face. 

He noticed a little dimple on the right side of her face. He'd never noticed it before, but right now it was strikingly noticeable.

"RANA FOR LIFE!" shrieked Sirius from the corner. "Wait, that sounds too much like rat... I'll work on it!"

Remus and Ana glanced at each other in amusement.

"This'll never end, will it?" asked Ana, laughing quietly.

"Never," said Remus.

They danced for some more time and then went to grab a snack from the snack table.

Ana checked her watch. "Well, Ivy and Sage are gonna murder me for getting back late, so I better head back right now. See ya."

"Wait," said Remus.

Ana turned back. "What's up?"

"You want me to come with you?" asked Remus. "I'll be able to make a good excuse as to why we're out after curfew."

Ana nodded brightly. "That'd be great, thanks."

Ana waved to all her friends and swung open the portrait to step out of it along with Remus.

They tip-toed upstairs quickly and managed to evade Filch.

Then they reached the Hufflepuff common room entrance.

"Well," said Remus. "See you later!"

"Bye, Rem," said Ana, smiling. She tip-toed and pressed a light kiss to Remus' cheek.

She tapped on the vinegar barrels and left.

Remus stood in front of the common room entrance for a second.

Then he walked back to his dorm quickly.

This was NOT happening.

A/n: lol I love leaving you guys on cliffhangers :)

Thanks for all the reads everyone, see you later!

- Jui W.