"Is it just me, or does it feel all we do is go to meeting after meeting and there's no action?" Sirius Black asked, taking a sip of coffee and looking across the table at his best friend.
"What kind of action can there be right now, Padfoot? It's a waiting game, isn't it?" replied James Potter, using an old school nickname for his friend.
"I thought we'd be fighting, Prongs, I thought we'd be in the middle of the war." Sirius said impatiently.
The two young men were sitting in a booth in an out-of-the-way diner in London. Although they looked like any of the other patrons, these two men were different from the others in the diner. They were wizards and recent graduates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After graduation both Sirius and James had been approached by their former headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, to join his organization, the Order of the Phoenix, and fight against the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters.
The Wizarding world was at war. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were trying to take over. They thrived on death and pain and torture. The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's underground organization, was fighting against them, trying to keep the world safe for wizards and muggles, nonmagical people, alike. Sirius and James had been excited at the prospect of taking on dark wizards, expecting exciting raids and fights to occupy their time. Instead, they spent their time in meeting after meeting, while the older members discussed what they knew, what they didn't know, and what they desperately needed to find out.
"More coffee, sir?" asked the attractive muggle waitress, coffee pot in hand.
"Sure thing, darling," replied Sirius, holding out his cup, his eyes looking her up and down. "Not bad, eh?," he asked his friend, his eyes watching the waitress walk away.
"Maybe I should leave you to her," James said, pulling out a gold watch. "I need to get home. Lily's probably home from the Longbottoms' by now."
Lily was James' girlfriend and also a member of the Order. She had gone over to a friend's house after the meeting. James and Lily had just recently moved into a flat. Living together was still a novelty to them.
"Keep you on a short leash, doesn't she, Prongs?" Sirius teased, reverting to James' old nickname.
"Maybe . . . " agreed James, "but I like it that way," he said and laughed.
James had pursued Lily for six years, from almost the first moment he met her at Hogwarts. Finally, in their last year at school she agreed to go out with him. They had been inseparable ever since. Sirius fully expected them to get married soon.
James stood up from the table, said good bye to his friend and then left the diner. Sirius was left behind with the handful of muggles sitting at a couple of other tables. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, his grey eyes sparkling as the waitress walked back up to the table. Her short blond hair curled around her face and her bright blue eyes flashed as they glanced around the diner. She was cute, not the drop-dead gorgeous kind of girl that usually caught Sirius's eye, but, looking at her low-cut top which clung to her curves, and her short skirt which showed off her legs, she had definitely knew how to catch a man's eye. According to her name tag, her name was Ella.
"Your friend leave?" she asked.
"Yup. Left me all by myself," Sirius replied.
"You want anything else, or are you ready for the check?" she prodded him.
Sirius gave her his most charming smile, the one that usually got him what he wanted with a girl. He was good looking, and he knew how to use it to his advantage.
"How about you join me?" He asked. His smile changing to a grin.
"Uh, if you didn't notice I'm working." She said, with a sigh of exasperation. If he only knew how many of the customers tried hitting on her. She laid his check down and walked away. Sirius leaned back and enjoyed watching her walk away. He counted out a few pounds and set the money at the edge of the table, waiting of her to come back.
"You want change?" she asked, thinking he wasn't much of a tipper.
"No, just want to know what time you get out of here."
"I'm working all night," she said, picking up the pound notes and walking away. "Have a good night," she called over her shoulder.
Sirius knew when to call it a lost cause. He got up from the table, flashed her another of his smiles and called, "Until next time, Ella," and walked out of the diner.
Ella rolled her eyes, and wiped the empty table down with a rag. He was better looking than most of the guys who hit on her while she was working. Actually, she thought, he was too good looking. "Nothing but trouble," she muttered to herself.
Sirius left the diner and headed to the pub across the street. He hit on the waitress there, who happily brought him a few pints and flirted with him. As she laughed at his stupid joke, he knew that all he had to do was give the word and she would invite him home. But he didn't give the word. His mind kept going back to Ella, the waitress across the street. He shook his head, muttering, "Give it up, Padfoot, and go home." He threw a hefty tip on the table and strolled out of the pub.
As he walked out onto the street, his eyes darted to the diner across the street. "Was she still there?" he wondered. Feeling like a stalker, he strode across the street. He glanced at his watch. It was close to three in the morning. As he got to the front window, he saw her with her coat on, walking to the door. Feeling even more like a stalker, he didn't want her to catch him hanging at the front window staring after her. Turning on the spot, he disapparated, disappearing from the street and reappearing inside his apartment.
Sirius wasn't used to getting blown off by women. Usually the right smile, a little bit of charm, and they were his for the taking. He'd never had someone shoot him down like Ella had. He couldn't stop thinking about her, her blond hair and the deep blue of her eyes. The tight top clinging to her curves, which, he thought with a smile, looked delicious. "That's it, I'm done" he said out loud and flipped over in his bed and forced himself to fall asleep.
The next day, as always, Sirius headed over to James and Lily's flat. James immediately began digging into him. Lily was serving pancakes to both of them. James's were delivered with a kiss.
Lily's long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her green eyes flashed as she said, "Shot down? You're kidding? I didn't think there was a woman alive who could resist Mr. Black."
Sirius glared at them both, but James laughed harder.
"You'd like this muggle, Lil, she took nothing off him. His power-smile got him nowhere," joked James.
"Ha ha, I wasn't even trying," bluffed Sirius.
"Not trying? Come on, Padfoot. You wanted her, you know you did. And she shot you down. Accept it and move on."
"C'mon, James. Just because I gave you years of practice in rejection doesn't mean everyone is so well versed. Give the guy a break," laughed Lily. James frowned at her, but Sirius's barking laugh filled the room.
"That's right Lil, put him in his place. I knew I liked you for a reason," said Sirius, shoving a forkful of pancake in his mouth. "Hey, let's go to the diner for lunch and see if she's working."
James quit laughing and looked at his best friend, "You really do have it bad, don't you?"
"Come on, admit it, she was gorgeous. I can't let her get away without a fight. Maybe if Lil comes with us it'll give me some credibility. You're too scruffy, Prongs. You don't project the right image. I blame you for my failure last night."
The three friends laughed over their breakfast, but agreed to go with Sirius to the diner for lunch. Lily wanted to see the girl who was tormenting Sirius so. He had always been the love em and leave em type. For him to be intrigued following the initial meeting was something new.
Lily, James and Sirius were joined by another close friend, Remus Lupin. Remus's hair was sandy blond, and his face was scarred but kind looking. For someone so young, not yet twenty, he looked older than his years. He was happy to be along with his old school friends, and anxious to meet 'the one that got away.'
Ella couldn't believe it when she saw the four people crammed into the booth. He was back, and this time he had brought friends. Ella rolled her eyes, and steeled herself as she walked over to take their order. She decided to act like nothing had happened last night and like she'd never seen any of them before.
"Anyone figured out what they want?" she asked, walking up to the booth.
Quickly, she took their orders, determined to not even look at the handsome, dark-haired man who seemed just as determined to catch her eye. As she walked away toward the kitchen, she heard the table break into quick and quiet chatter.
"Sirius, she's lovely, but she's not giving you an inch," whispered Lily.
"Padfoot, I think it's a lost cause," said James, "Give it up while you still have some dignity left."
"Oh you're a fine one to talk, James Potter," said Remus, always the voice of reason. "How many years did you pester Lily?"
"Yeah, but that obviously wasn't a lost cause!" James reasoned.
"Knock it off, all of you," said Sirius. "You're here to give me some credibility, but if you keep giggling and making stupid faces, you're not doing me any good."
"Sorry, Padfoot," said James, "Stupid me, I thought we were here for lunch."
Just then Ella walked back and delivered their drinks. As she went to set down Sirius's soda, he reached for it at the same time. As his fingers touched hers, she jumped, dropping the glass, but Sirius caught it just before it shattered. She looked into his eyes and smiled with relief.
"Oh thank god," she said, breathless with relief. "That would have been my fifth broken dish this week. My boss said that if I broke anymore, he'd take it out of my tips."
And suddenly the ice was broken.
"Glad to help you out, Ella," Sirius said, enjoying the first true smile he'd seen her give. The fact that it was directed at him made it all the better.
"You have me at a disadvantage," she said, looking at him, her blue-eyed gaze locking with his grey one.
"Uh -" he stammered, "Oh, James, Lily and Remus," he said, gesturing to each of his friends in turn. "I'm Sirius."
"You are? As in the Dog Star or do you really mean it?" She asked, her eyes twinkling.
Sirius couldn't reply at first. He wasn't sure if he was more surprised by her knowledge of astronomy or that she was giving him a hard time. Girls usually fluctuated between giggling, blushing and just agreeing with him. "Dog Star," he said mildly as Lily, and James and Remus laughed at him.
"Sorry," she said with a slightly apologetic tone. "I just can't help myself sometimes."
She looked like she was going to say more, but just then a deep, angry voice called, "Ella!" from the kitchen.
"Oh crap," she said.
And with that she was gone from their table. As the four friends enjoyed their lunch, Ella bustled around the diner, seeing to the needs of all of the customers. She checked back with them frequently, but was far too busy to chat.
"There goes Sirius, always playing the hero," joked James.
"Yeah, who'd have thought all you had to do was save a glass in distress," said Remus.
"Shut it, both of you!" glowered Sirius. He may have acted upset with his friends, but he was glad to finally be making some headway with the aloof 'hot muggle waitress.'
"I like her," said Lily simply. "She's got spunk."
"I think this is an extraordinary amount of work for one of your one night wonders, Padfoot," James said, but his smile quickly faded as he caught Lily's eye.
Remus burst out laughing, "yeah, one night and then they 'wonder why he doesn't call, wonder why he doesn't write, wonder why he wasn't here when I woke up.' Poor things."
By the time they had finished their meal most of the diner had cleared out. Ella made her way over to the table. Pushing her short hair behind her ears, she asked, "Everything all right?" They all quickly agreed. "Good," she said, "Anything else I can get for you?"
Sirius decided to try again, "How about you let me get you a drink when you get off work?"
Almost immediately the look in Ella's eyes changed. "Too much, mate," whispered Remus. All of the headway Sirius had made earlier was slipping away.
"No, really," he said quickly, "I uh - rescued your glass . . . don't you owe me something for that? I just want to buy you one pint. That's all."
Ella gave a sigh and then looked at him. She looked around the table at James and Lily and Remus, all of them gazing back at her, and then she smiled at Sirius.
"Ok. Fine. You did save my," she paused with a smirk, "glass. Besides, I'm starting to get the feeling that you're just going to keep showing up here until I finally agree."
"Yeah he is," laughed James. Then he jumped as Lily kicked him under the table.
"Meet me here tonight. At five," she said as she turned and walked away.