Event: Rowing: Coxed 8
Prompt: (Setting) Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour
Character: James Potter
Chocolate Frog: Silver - Dexter Fortescue - Challenge - Use the location of Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in your story
Word Count: 612
Cream of Destruction
James Potter sat at one of the tables outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and glanced at his watch. If McKinnon had given Sirius the correct information— and he was almost certain that she had since she'd had the hots for him for the last two years— Evans would be arriving in Diagon Alley in the next five minutes.
He had a perfect plan and it was the one that he knew would finally win her heart. And Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour would forever be known as the place the greatest love story of our time finally began.
After all, a great man—okay Sirius—once said, "The way to a woman's heart is through ice cream."
He saw a flash of flaming red hair and jumped to his feet.
"Evans," he called, giving a signal to Florean Fortescue to start bringing out the ice cream before chasing her down the street and grasping her by the hand.
"Get your hands off me, Potter!" Lily exclaimed, hitting him on the arm.
James ignored her and carried on tugging her in the direction of the ice cream parlour. Once he reached the table that was now half full of bowls of ice cream, he pushed Lily gently on the shoulders until she sat down, before taking a seat opposite her
"Potter, what is this?" Lily snapped.
"These are for you, my sweet Lily," James said with a smile.
"I'm lactose intolerant, you moron," Lily hissed across the table at the irritating seventeen year old. "Once again, the great James Potter proves what an imbecile he is."
"Huh?" James asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's Lasto intolerant?"
Lily sighed. "It means that I can't have anything with dairy in it like, for example, ice cream," she explained, nodding her head at the bowls in front of her. "And it's lactose, not lasto."
Lily pushed her chair away from the table and started to stand up until James reached his hand out and grabbed her wrist.
"No, wait," he said quickly. "Sit back down."
James pulled the ice cream that had been set in front of Lily towards him and dug the spoon in, heaping as much onto it as possible.
"I will eat all this ice cream for you; I won't let any of it touch you, I swear," he declared, pushing the spoon full of ice cream into his mouth. "Oh, so cold! So, so cold"
Lily sat back in her chair with an amused expression on her face as James started to make his way through the second bowl of ice cream.
"What exactly are you trying to achieve?" she asked.
"Roanicgeser," James said, swallowing some strawberry ice cream.
"Come again?" Lily laughed.
"I'm making a romantic gesture, Evans," James told her. "I'm saving you from sure and certain death by eating all this cream of destruction."
Lily stifled a laugh.
"James lactose intolerance can't kill you," she informed him as he continued to wolf down the ice cream. "It just causes—undesirable reactions. A lot like you do."
"I can imagine anything undesirable coming from you," James answered flirtatiously.
"Anyway, I can't say this has been as unpleasant as it usually is being in your company, but I have places to be, Potter," Lily told him, standing up. "Next time you want to make a romantic gesture, here's a little bit of advice—don't listen to Sirius. Enjoy your 'cream of destruction'."
James dropped the spoon back into the dish and as she walked away from him only two things were running through his mind:
How did she know he was following Sirius' advice? And why did his head hurt so much?
