You Always Know

𝔗𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔣𝔱𝔥 ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯

Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter were having lunch with their son and the guests were welcomed into their home.

It was somewhat peaceful, even quiet if I must add. That was, of course, until a letter arrived from a place they least expected.

"From where?" King Fleamont asked his advisor, the one who delivered the envelope.

"Hogwarts, sire."

"Hogwarts?" this question was from Euphemia, while everyone else had a mask of confusion on both their face and mind.

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's peculiar," Euphemia commented as her husband opened the letter. Both Gryffindor rulers read the letter from Hogwarts at the same time.

"Mom, what is it?" James asked.

"Hogwarts' ball is proceeding to return," Euphemia explained. "Starting with this year, the masquerade balls at Hogwarts are to return."

"They haven't done a ball since..." he wasn't sure if he should continue or not.

"Since Ravenclaw fell and isolated itself," continued the Queen of Ravenclaw for him.

"Yeah."

"Are we going to attend?" Alice asked.

"It is mandatory," Lily recalled all the times that she tried to escape from them and failed.

When she remembered the last ball Hogwarts has ever held, she was not the only one remembering such a moment. Let me tell you that a certain prince was also remembering those previous times...

"Come dance with me," Lily asked her ladies politely.

"We cannot," he heard the eldest of them say kindly. "It would seem like an outcast. It is meant for us to stick to the side."

"Traditions are meant to be broken," said Lily. "They aren't pasta or some sort of food you swallow in one go."

He smirked into his drink, trying to conceal his laughter in order to not be caught in the process of eavesdropping.

Yet, he was still caught.

"Laughing at what exactly, Potter?" asked a newcomer who stood beside the Prince of Gryffindor.

"Something that does not include you, Black," said the prince, briefly glancing at the heir of Slytherin.

"I bet I could guess," smirked Sirius as he watched James return to focusing on a certain princess who was enjoying the dance with her ladies.

And, of course, if Gryffindor got a letter, so did the other kingdoms. If it is sent to one, then it is certainly sent to all. And if it is mandatory, it is mandatory for all. 

That is the exact reason why Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were currently at Hogwarts. True, they arrived together and surprised the king, but they explained that Ravenclaw was on a visit when the king called for them. 

Lily Evans was examined in the room the king's sorceress had stated would be hers. The queen had personal issues that led her to check every nook and corner of the room. She did so simply so nothing explodes on her in the middle of the night.

She was busy checking that her ears almost did not pick up the footsteps of one of her ladies. 

"Amelia?" Lily asked, looking back and smiling when she turned out accurate. 

"I still need to understand how you know people by their footsteps."

"It's a talent, just like how people have different DNA or fingerprint patterns."