"Don't you think so?"
"What?" Hallie dragged her eyes away from the offensively bright sign that proclaimed Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop in an incomprehensible cursive font to stare blankly into Garrett's eager eyes.
"I said I thought it was a charming place for a first date. Don't you think so?" Garrett wasn't put off by her obvious inattentiveness.
"Oh. I guess." She unenthusiastically flicked a rose petal off the table. Those things were everywhere.
Asha and Ben had just about died laughing once Hallie returned from patrols and told them about her truly cringe-worthy night with Garrett. Despite her pleading, they traitorously refused to interrupt her date with an "emergency" so she could leave early.
"This is what you get for not being able to say no," Asha had said smugly.
Well, she was definitely going to be saying no more often after this.
Garrett had met her at the carriages at 9:00 am sharp, ever punctual. Hallie had automatically headed towards Honeydukes and the Quidditch supply store but Garrett had other ideas.
"I've heard great reviews about this place." He ushered her inside and Hallie had to blink rapidly to adjust to all the pink assaulting her. Look, she loved flowers and a nice pink outfit sometimes but this was so over the top that she couldn't justify it.
And she'd tuned out again.
"Oh, look, it's snowing."
Merlin, they were reduced to talking about the weather. Hallie glanced out the window. It had indeed started snowing, adding to the few inches of snow from yesterday. She watched James Potter sneakily reach down to grab a handful of snow and toss it at Peter Pettigrew's head. Peter jumped in surprise and whirled around to throw some back at James. Remus Lupin, ever the grounded presence, positioned himself by a large tree for both cover and a good vantage point. Sirius stood wide open but instead of being a target, he was calling out suggestions for both Peter and James to attack.
Garrett was watching the same scene with a frown. "Everything's always a joke with those four," he commented.
"I hear classes with them are a riot," she said lightly, trying to ignore his bitter tone.
"I couldn't imagine it. The constant disruptions are disrespectful to other students."
"They're not that bad," Hallie said defensively. "They're all pretty smart, I think. Remus is a prefect too."
"Please, Hallie. All they do is pull immature pranks or start fights with Slytherins. I don't even know why Lupin's a prefect given the company he keeps." He shook his head solemnly. "Don't even get me started on Black—"
"James Potter's a nice guy! He helps the first years with Transfiguration homework. And Remus may not be perfect but he's responsible and at least he actually patrols even when he's sick. And you know the Slytherins almost always start it. At least they're standing up against blood supremacist comments when they fight with the Slytherins!"
Garrett looked startled at her outburst, his jaw hanging slightly ajar.
"And I like their pranks!" she snapped pettily. She only had a second to feel satisfied by the surprise on Garrett's face before she stalked out.
Hallie stomped through the heavy snow, too angry at having wasted her afternoon to pay attention to any of the faces she passed.
"Woah, hey—Jameson!"
So intent was she on getting away from that horridly flowery place that she didn't register her name being called until a heavy hand fell on her shoulder and spun her around.
"I called out like three times. What's your deal?" Hallie had to crane her neck back to fully look at Sirius. His long, dark hair was loose in the wind and with the snow swirling about him, he had a dark, aristocratic air about him. Sirius arched an eyebrow at her silent stare.
Bundled up in her heavy coat and scarf and her cheeks red from the cold, Hallie felt like a five year old next to the regal Sirius Black.
"Long story," she huffed out. He held her gaze for a contemplative moment.
"Butterbeer?" he offered. Hallie let out a puff of air and slumped her shoulders.
"Hell yes."
"And then I just wanted to get out of there so… I left." Hallie fiddled with the cap of her bottle. Sirius was probably laughing at her, not that she could blame her. After the silence stretched out, she peeked up.
"Hmm." Sirius seemed to be musing over her words. Hallie held her breath, wondering what insight he'd have.
"You really think our pranks are funny?"
She threw the bottle cap at him and he dodged it with a laugh.
"I'm sorry, I'm just kidding. Blake really lived up to his reputation, huh?" He shook his head ruefully. They sat in a contemplative silence and Hallie was glad for a moment to rest her thoughts.
"What do you say to splitting one of those?"
She looked up to see Sirius eyeing a slice of warm chocolate cake as a waiter set it down at the table next to theirs.
"Splitting? Absolutely not. I need my own."
"Correct answer as always, Ravenclaw," Sirius said approvingly. "Oy, we'll take two of those there, yeah?"
"So, where's the rest of your little gang?" Hallie asked once their plates were set down before them. Holy shit, the cake was even better than it looked.
They took a moment to savor their first bites and then Sirius swallowed.
"We were going to Zonko's until I saw your sunny face. Had to see what made you so happy, of course."
"Oh. Thanks. For, you know, checking in."
"Anytime," he replied easily, shoveling another forkful of cake in his mouth. "So, anything exciting going on this week to forget about your horrific date? Besides a weekly meeting with a handsome Gryffindor."
"I don't know about exciting but I do have detention next Saturday."
"Oh?" Sirius raised an eyebrow, apparently intrigued. "Who gave Little Miss Prefect a detention? I didn't peg you for the troublemaking type, no offense."
Hallie bit back a smile. Only a Marauder would think that calling someone a troublemaker was a compliment.
"I'm not," she admitted. "But someone stole my Ancient Runes homework and Professor Lanzetta doesn't really believe in excuses so…" She shrugged.
"Who stole your homework?" Sirius's brows creased.
"I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was Destiny Simmond. She was kind of lurking near me in the common room the night before. But probably because she was commanded by Charlotte Mueller," she said in disgust.
"Charlotte Mueller? Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure. It's definitely something she'd do. Why?"
"I just can't see that from her," he said with confusion. "She's always been so nice. Almost too nice honestly, like way too sweet. And Destiny's always been a bit dull to be honest but she seems harmless."
Hallie stared at him.
"What?" Sirius demanded.
"Charlotte Mueller is definitely the biggest bitch in Ravenclaw. Ask everyone," Hallie laughed. "And, um, I'm pretty sure why she's nice to you and not to someone like me."
She gave him an exaggerated once over like he'd done to her when they first met.
"Ah." Sirius scratched his head sheepishly. "Damn, I didn't realize she sucked too. Anyway, you may not have as much natural charisma as I do, of course, but have you tried to sweet talk Lanzetta to get out of detention? That's what I always do."
"Yeah, I know," she deadpanned. "You tried to flirt your way out of detention with me."
Sirius was unrepentant. "If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting. It's not my fault it didn't work on you." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Actually, why didn't it work on you? It always works."
"Probably because I'm not into egomaniacs who don't realize that sixth year Ravenclaws are the worst."
Hallie pretended not to notice as he continued to look at her thoughtfully.
Their waiter dropped off their bill as he passed by and Sirius scanned it.
"Oh here, let me—"
"My treat." He grinned at her. "You deserve one good date this weekend, Ravenclaw."
Hallie wandered the halls that Wednesday searching for Sirius. Thank Rowena, Garrett had avoided her early and rushed off to his patrols without a word. Sirius would definitely enjoy hearing about how Garrett was too scared to even look her in the eye.
After several minutes, she realized it would be easier to find him at the entrance to the lake. Hallie opened the heavy doors to take in the crisp air. Everything was still in the cloudy moonlight and Hallie decided to sit on the steps for a few moments. She'd already basically finished her patrols anyway; it couldn't hurt to wait a bit.
As she rested her head on the stone wall, a tall figure stepped out from underneath a tree by the lake into the open moonlight. Hallie smiled and stood up, ready to wave to catch Sirius's attention when he rolled his neck, stretched arms above his head, and shifted into a large black dog.