February 12 – Peter
Write your morning.
When I woke up, my head was pounding, my mouth was dry, and I felt just about ready to vomit. I smiled, remembering the night before.
We were in the Common Room, which was awash with the glow of Sirius-Black-provided-fireworks. Slytherin had just lost to Hufflepuff, which meant that if we beat Hufflepuff next month, and Ravenclaw managed to also beat Slytherin, then we would be playing Ravenclaw for the Cup – and we always flattened Ravenclaw.
"But why is that better?" Lily asked. The girl actually knew less about Quidditch than Remus, which was pretty impossible. James and Sirius were exchanging sorrowful looks as she continued to ask, "What's the difference between playing Slytherin and playing Ravenclaw?"
"We're prepared now to beat Ravencaw," explained Benjy Fenwick, leaning close to Lily in a way that made James, sitting on my left, stiffen horribly. "If we have to play Slytherin that means that we have to change all our strategies. They fly very differently."
Lily nodded. "Gotcha." Then after a pause, "But why all the fireworks? You're not guaranteed to play Ravenclaw at all right now."
Sirius shrugged. "We just like fireworks," I told her. Surprisingly, she smiled.
"They're nice," she told me, and I smiled back without meaning to.
Of course, parties hosted by the Gryffindor Quidditch team, thanks again to the singular Sirius Black, always included Firewhisky. And two hours later, even Lily was drunk.
"I don't think you've ever smiled at me," I informed her, prompting a crinkle between her brows.
"I must have," she said.
"Well," I amended. "I'm sure you have. It was just a very nice smile."
She smiled again. "Thank you. You're really nice Peter. How come you're so nice, hanging out with Black when he's so mean to you sometimes?"
She was a lot drunker than I (lacking the tolerance which came from years of being a Marauder, I was sure) and so I was cogent enough to find her question amusing. "I just am. Remus is the smart one and Sirius is charming and James is heroic and I'm just nice. It sucks," I sighed, hoping I didn't sound too lame.
She laughed. She had a pretty laugh. The more I got to know her, actually, the more I understood what James saw in her. It was weird. "There's nothing wrong with being nice Peter. People still think I'm a stuck up bitch because I was friends with Sev and I always raise my hand in class."
"James doesn't think that," I told her.
She rolled her eyes, still smiling. "I can't believe he hasn't grown out of that yet."
"Me either," I said, watching as I sloshed around my drink. "But since it hasn't happened by now, I'm pretty sure it won't. He's stubborn like that."
When I looked up I was surprised by the wistful expression on her face. She caught my eye and shrugged.
"Stubborn can be good, right?"
