Title: Twice Rejected
Characters: James Potter, Sirius Black and Lily Evans.
Prompts: Write about rejection. Minimum 300 words, maximum 3, 500.
AN: Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments). Assignment #9, 2018 Mythology- The Twelve Labours of Hercules, Task #7 Cretan Bull: Write about rejection.
Word Count: 905
"I'm going to do it."
James Potter ran his fingers through his raven-black hair. Sirius knew before he looked up from his book about Transfiguration that his best friend was looking at a certain redhead further down the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. His brown hair was pushed back into a bun to keep the hair out of his grey eyes and he leaned his cheek against his hand and gave James a tired smile.
"What are you going to do Prongs?"
The target of his attention was fifteen years old and fitter than most teenagers. He was definitely fitter than Sirius whom could be described as slim. James' smile grew as he rubbed the palm of his hands together and nodded sideways towards Lily Evans. Her red hair was pushed back into a ponytail, occasionally she would smile at something her friends said and her green eyes shimmered in different ways depending on how the light would hit them when she leaned back and laughed loudly. A parchment laid forgotten in front of her with scribbles which Sirius couldn't read from where he sat further down.
"I'm going to ask her on a date."
Sirius nodded. James had been on plenty of dates before but he had never asked Lily Evans out on one. Not for lack of interest from his part. No, James thought that the young girl was beautiful, intelligent and it was clear to most people that he wouldn't mind taking her out on a date. Maybe that knowledge was just the spark that had been needed to ignite the rumour, which had turned into a truth, that James had asked her at least once every year since he was eleven. Sirius knew that was definitely not the case. But that didn't stop the rest of the school from believing that James was a lovestruck puppy whose entire existence consisted of coming up with new ways to get Lily Evans to go out with him.
"Good luck with that, mate." Sirius said and nodded as James stood up. Before turning around James winked at him and then he started walking towards the end of the table.
Rumours rarely worked in someone's favour. That had certainly been the case with James Potter even if most people would claim otherwise. Only the closest friends of the Gryffindor quidditch-player would know that he was nothing like the rumours portrayed him. It was true that he occasionally liked to act and it was also true that he was good at it. But not everything was game and James Potter wasn't as relentlessly stubborn as most people thought that he was. Not really. Sirius could tell that he wasn't the only one watching James as he sauntered up to Lily. Nor was he the only one who looked long enough to see her shake her head. Then he saw his best friend turn around and wander back to his previous seat.
"She wasn't up for it."
Sirius shrugged. "Sorry mate, are you going to ask her some other time?"
"Nah," James looked down the table in the opposite direction of where Lily sat. "She said that she wouldn't date me even if we were the last two people alive. Personally, I would have settled with a no."
"Can't say that I disagree, Prongs."
James nodded as he ran his fingers through his hair once more and looked at Sirius with a smirk on his face which made him look as if he was truly up to no good. That however could mean a lot of things. Sirius knew that better than anyone. So, he closed his book with his fingers resting on the page that he had read last.
"Say, Pads, do you want to go on a date with me?"
Sirius shook his head with laugh. "I'm going out with Penny."
"She asked you out?"
"She asked me out!"
James nodded and reached over the table to clap his friend on the shoulder. "Good on you, mate."
Then his eyes caught something further down the corridor and when Sirius turned around to look in that direction he saw Peter and Remus come walking. When they were only a few meters away from their two friends James stood on the bench and held his arms stretched out towards them. Remus had sandy blond hair and green eyes. His appearance wasn't dramatic in any way and the kind boy often got lost or managed to hide behind his more dramatic and louder friends. Unlike Peter Pettigrew, however, he didn't try. Peter's hair colour was hard to define but bordered between dark blond and a light brown. His eyes were dark brown and he was a skinny boy whom could easily melt in with his surroundings.
"Remus Lupin, will you go on a date with me? I've already been rejected twice today so please, don't break my heart."
The blond boy laughed as Peter nudged him. "Sure Prongs!"
Both boys came to sit next to their friends as James lowered himself into his seat. Remus sat down next to Sirius whom winked at him and Peter sat down next to James. The latter turned to his raven-haired friend. "What would you have done if he said no?"
"Accepted it because no means no," James responded with a shrug. Soon a smirk appeared on his face. "And then I would have asked if you were up for it!"
The end
