The One That Got Away| Sirius Black

007| The Halloween Ball

Halloween 1974

"My parents aren't invited to my wedding, that's it," Victoria grumbles as she messes with the neckline of her dress.

"You mean your wedding with Bartemius?" Isabella teases sticking her tongue out at her friend.

"It's really not funny," Victoria deadpans turning around to face Isabella, Aurora, and Jackie.

"Maybe not to you," Aurora shrugs going to help Victoria with her dress. "But I happen to find it hilarious."

"Well you're going with Anthony Goyle, sure he may be missing a few brain cells but he's not half as bad as Barty," Victoria shudders as she says his name. "Plus he's a literal child!"

"At least you're not going with Elliot," Jackie offers.

"Ugh don't put that image in my head," Isabella winces trying not to think of one of her friends dating her brother.

The girls go back and forth like that for a while. They tease each other about their dates and gossip about who's going with who. Eventually, they're all ready to head down to the common room.

Aurora was wearing a pale yellow dress that fell to the floor. It had little frills for sleeves and some yellow flowers at her sternum. It was delicate which matched her personality fairly well. Jackie was wearing a yellow dress as well but hers was more of a mustard color. It clung tightly to her curves and had a low v-neckline and long sleeves. Then there was Victoria who was wearing a baby blue dress her parents had sent her. It had spaghetti straps and a frill that ran from the bust down the entire length of the dress. Despite that, Victoria's dress was rather plain and too bright for her mysterious personality.

Finally, there was Isabella's dress. Her dress was one she had for a while and asked her parents to send her when she found out Hogwarts was hosting a dance. It was a burnt orange color and fell just at her ankles. It was flowy and had t-shirt sleeves. It was a simple dress with lace detailing at the hem, but it made Isabella feel beautiful. For a girl who was insecure in her own skin, this was a major win.

The girls make their way down to the common room which is bustling with noise. This was a stark contrast to the usual intense silence of the Slytherin common room. There were girls everywhere taking pictures and doing last-minute touch-ups to their hair and makeup. Then the boys were huddled up together talking low or rolling their eyes at their dates.

"I feel like I just stepped into a hormonal apocalypse," Victoria shudders as she scrunches her nose at the crowd. "Ugh and there's Barty."

Sure enough, the boy was standing at the edge of the room with Regulus. Barty was beaming as he gawked at the girls despite him having a date to the dance. Regulus was brooding as per usual. His skin seemed paler and the dark circles under his eyes had deepened. Isabella wondered what was going on with the boy.

"Well, we'll see you guys at the dance," Victoria sighs and links her arm with Isabella's.

"Bye guys," Isabella waves with her free hand before she is dragged away by her best friend.

"Let's get this over with," Isabella says with a pinched smile right before they reach Barty and Regulus.

Barty glances at Victoria and gives her a smile. "Looking good Vicky!" he says reaching forward to grab her waist. She swats his hand and a loud smacking sound reverberates through the room. A few curious heads turn towards the group, but most people ignore them.

"Keep your hands off of me," Victoria growls.

"Will do... geez," Barty grumbles rubbing his hand which was growing redder by the second.