When I woke up the next morning I was not in my room.
That meant that I banged my head against the wall and swore at the sudden pain, before remembering the circumstances concerning me sleeping on the sofa of the Heads office. After smiling at the sight of a large avocado perched on the Round Table, I stood up and conjured a reflective charm upon the tiled wall. Screwing my face up at my looks, I attempted to fix my hair and performed a few freshening spells before grabbing the avocado off the bench and slicing it open with a quick Severing Charm and peeling the skin off. "Yo Evans!"
A quick assessment of the room showed me that I was not alone. "Potter. You weren't watching me sleep were you?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Definitely not." He gave a grin.
"So what are you doing here?" I asked with a frown.
"I thought that it would be an appropriate time for you to begin your school year skipping." Potter smiled.
"Skipping?" I asked incredulously. "Potter last night does not make us friends." I stuck my wand against his throat threateningly, although from the chuckle that emitted from him I wasn't very intimidating.
"Wouldn't dream of it Evans." Potter shook his head. "Besides, skipping never hurt anyone."
"Oh aside from the fact that kid in secound year last year got that Howler from their mum and ended up in the Hospital Wing for an entire week and nearly had to repeat." I gave him a frown, as he handed me a mug of coffee. "How did you know?"
"You were talking about coffee in your sleep when I got here." He shrugged, grabbing his bag off the Round Table.
"You were watching me in my sleep?" I asked.
"No. I walked in to make you coffee, and you were talking about it." Potter said.
"But that completely goes against I just said." I screwed my nose up.
"Let's go now, or the day is going to end quickly." Potter chucked me an apple.
"What?" I asked. "But it's just the beginning of the day."
"Actually it's about five eighths through Transfiguration." He shrugged. "Now you could go . . ."
"Where are my books?" I screamed. "Where are my shoes - my goddamn shoes!"
"Woah why's there a crazy psycho lady in this room?" He asked. "And even if you somehow make it to class on time you're going to have to deal with McGonagall. And then we have lunch. So in reality you have plenty of time."
"Time for what?" I asked.
"To come with me," He grinned, "To come with me to Hogsmeade."
"Hogsmeade?" I gasped. "It's a weekday."
"And?" He asked, unlocking the door and walking out.
"We're not allowed to go to Hogsmeade except on the designated weekends!" I gasped, following him out of the door.
"We're also not allowed to set other peoples hair on fire." Potter said sarcastically, walking down a flight of stairs, and pulling me out a trick one casually.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"Well, since when has that stopped me?" He asked.
"Point." I nodded my head, following him through a twist of tunnels deep inside the castle.
"So are you stalking me or are you just coming with?" He raised his eyebrow at me, undoubtedly mocking me.
"This is a rather . . . interesting establishment." I bent my head to fit under doorframe. Yes I had to bend my head. Potter basically had to crawl.
"What is this pace?" I frowned.
"A bar." He shrugged.
"A bar?" I asked incredulously. "You made me skip school so that we could go to a bar?"
"This is a very nice bar." Potter looked offended.
"Are you seeing through prescribed glasses or are they just from the chemists?" I asked him.
The bar we were currently in was a dingy, dark, grotty establishment, which had no class whatsoever and a large amount of somewhat questionable characters as patrons.
"We need to get out of here now." I hissed in his ear as he led me through the establishment, smiling at wicked looking man, clothed in robes dark with stains, with a nasty long knife at his waist and a couple short of a set of stained yellow teeth.
"But the fun's just started!" He said mockingly, leading me to the actual bar, a long piece of wood, covered in stains I was sure weren't all beer.
"Hey Rosie." He grinned at a little girl, who was swinging her legs back and forth under the table. "Watcha doing?"
"Mama's gone mad." She sighed, placing her head on her chin. "She's cleaning the place three times over, insisting that it's absolutely filthy and asking how she is meant to have a wedding reception there."
"So you come here?" I asked incredulously. "To a bar?"
"Why wouldn't I?" She asked confused. "Who are you?"
"I'm Lily and I really think that maybe it's time you-" My mouth was suddenly covered by Potters hand.
"Evans, she's safer here than anywhere else. Just sit down and relax." He muttered in my ear.
I let out a stiff nod, before wrenching his hand off me and sitting down. "So how old are you? Is Rosie your name?"
"My name is Rosmerta, after my grandmother." She nodded solemnly, her dark eyes wide. "I'm five."
"Wow! Five!" I exclaimed in fake enthusiasm. "That's nearly Hogwarts age."
"Mama says only girls who eat their vegetables go to Hogwarts - is that true?" She asked me, cocking her head to the side.
"Absolutely." I nodded just as seriously as her. "I ate so many vegetables to get in - my Mum almost went broke buying teem all!"
"Really?" Her eyes went wide and sparkly. "What house are you in?"
"I'm in Gryffindor - like Po - James." I gave a smile.
"Mama says I'm going to be in Huff-Huff-Huffelypuff. But only nice girls go there and Marianne said I was nasty." She dragged the 'y' out.
"Whose Marianne? Your sister?" I asked. At her nod I continued. "Well, sisters can be nasty and untrue - I think that you will are very nice!"
"She says stuff like that all the time!" Rosie comically threw her hands up.
"You wanna know a secret?" I bent down close to her. "My sister does too."
"Really?" Her eyes went even wider. "But you're so pretty and nice! And you have orange hair!"
I found myself blushing red. "Well yeah . . ." I trailed off. "But the point is don't listen to what your sister says."
"But she tells Mama lies and Mama gets mad!" She exclaimed, her red lips pouting.
"Well . . ." I looked over at Potter for a secound before leaning down to her ear level and whispering in her ear. Seeing her eyes go wide I bent back and pressed a finger to my lips, a smile shared between the both of us.
"Well as exciting as this has been Rosie my dear, it's time for Lily and I to go meet our guest that is eagerly awaiting us in the back rooms." He stood up, and ruffled her head, while I told her goodbye.
"So where to next?" I asked as we walked away from Rosie.
"The back rooms." He said cheerfully, walking to the large door which had 'Lounges' written in black permanent marker. Classy place.
"Why?" I asked, as I hurried after him.
"I told you." He frowned, opening the door and walking though, past groups of smoking witches.
"A crazy story about meeting someone, which we are not doing because I'm in my uniform!" I squeaked, flushing red at the thought of meeting a complete stranger like this.
"Relax she doesn't care about you missing school." He rolled his eyes and pushed the curtain aside, revealing a woman clad in a shimmering, gold, sparkling dress, that looked like it belonged in the twenties. A ruby choker encircled her throughout and a pair of matching bracelets had attached themselves to her wrists.
"Miss Dorcas." He grinned boyishly, bending down to kiss her cheek as she took a drag of her cigar.
"Mr James." She kissed his cheek back. "You're looking roguish today."
"Right back at you." He grinned.
"And who is this delightful specimen of woman?" She raked her eyes over me and I could feel her judging me.
"Lillian Evans ma'am." I felt myself heating up at the situation.
"My you're amusing." She shook her head, her jet black hair fanning out behind her as she raised her chest provocatively. "Dorcas Meadowes love." She offered Potter the cigar, which he chuckled and shook his head at. "My you're good recently."
"Dor-Dorcas Meadowes?" I gasped.
The Dorcas Meadowes who sung heartbreaking songs about love and war and peace and living in the old city? The Dorcas Meadowes who famously shot a man in the middle of a duel? The Dorcas Meadowes who was undisputedly the most booked magical entertainer?
"What were you expecting Farrah Fawcett?" She let out a deep, throaty laughing, raising her hand in the air, her rings glittering like a sword flashing through the air towards a head.
"You're the Dorcas Meadowes?" I gasped.
"Well who did you expect to be?" She raised an eyebrow. "Now, we have business talk. Sit my dear." She patted the lounge beside her.
"Business talk?" I asked as I sat next to her and Potter sat opposite.
"James you promised me you would tell her!" She rolled her eyes, turning back to me. "You are a talented witch yes?" She held out a martini to me, causing me to raise my eyes widely.
"She is." Potter filled in for me, as it became apparent I wasn't going to answer.
"And you agree with what this Voldemort says?" She continued to raise an eyebrow, causing me to gasp.
"Definitely not!" I shook my head. "It's down right terrorism and the Ministry s only making it worse by pretending that if they ignore it the problem is just going to go away!" I frowned at her.
"You were right." Dorcas turned to Potter, a smirk on her dark lips. "She's perfect."
"Of course I was." He rolled his eyes.
"So are you in girl?" Dorcas asked me.
"In what?" I asked, confused even for Lily.
"The protest?" She grinned.
"The what?" I exclaimed.
"There is a protest in a few weeks." She said informally.
"Umm, can I talk to you a minute?" I asked Potter, gesturing to the corner.
"Sure." He shrugged and walked over to the corner with me.
"What the hell is all of this?" I yelled.
"Evans! What if there is small children around?" Potter attempted to look scandalised.
"Look, I have to go now - this was utterly ridiculous and I have homework." I rolled my eyes and walked out, turning dramatically on my heel.