Title: Four
Author: Laramie Violet
Dedication: To my friends at Past Lumos and to Selan P
Four
The pudgy boy in plain, black robes searched the crowd, peering through gaps between groups of giggling girls. The other Marauders wouldn't be hard to find; they were popular; they were magnets. They were everything he was not.
He found James beside the punch bowl at the far end of the Great Hall, talking to a girl he didn't know and didn't care to know. She was extremely short, but slim, probably a sixth or seventh year. Her eyes were blue. She wore a slinky, red dress and her hair up in a fanciful bun. James smiled at him and stepped forward. The girl stepped off.
"Peter!" James greeted the heavier, shorter boy. "Found a girl yet? Or are you going to keep that rose all to yourself?" The smile on his face showed that James Potter was only teasing, but it struck a chord in Peter's heart that Peter had not wanted struck that night. Peter was sensitive. Peter was awkward around girls. Perhaps their perfume made him lose his head? Perhaps the feminine mystique mystified him more than it did other males? Maybe he was overly selfconscious and lacked self esteem? Whatever it was, Peter hated the fact that the ladies flocked to James, Sirius, and Remus, his best friends, and not him. Jealousy was a snake inside his lion's heart.
"No, I haven't found a girl yet." Peter replied, the ice of his tone melting quickly into a puddle of obvious insecurity. He raised his watery, pale eyes to meet the other boy's. "I don't think I will find anyone either. What if nobody wants to dance with me? Why would anyone want to? I'm such a loser! No one will dance with me if they're sane!"
"I'm sure somebody will!" James laughed, placing a strong but slender arm around Peter's shoulders. "I guarantee you! You'll dance tonight! Any girl out there," He motioned with his free arm towards the mob of Hogwarts students amassed on the dance floor. "Pick one. With my charm and your dangerous good looks? You'll have a date for sure!"
Peter smiled half-heartedly. Him? 'Dangerous good looks'? He didn't think so. He was overweight and short. His eyes, though blue, were not sparkling and gorgeous. His hair was poorly cut, stringy, and dirty blonde. His nose was long and upturned. He resembled a rat. James gave Peter another encouraging smile and winked one of his dark eyes. Even behind glass his eyes were astounding. James removed his hand from his blonde friend's shoulder and waved to a group of third year girls who were admiring him from the other side of the punch bowl. They turned quickly away, blushing. "Just you wait, Peter. Tonight is going to be great!"
"Tonight is going to be a blast!" the familiar, gruff voice of Sirius Black confirmed with enthusiasm. Unlike James and Peter, he wore dressier robes, black, with his family's crest on the left side of his chest and decorative embroidery along the collar. He and James began to chuckle. Were they sharing another private joke?
Peter watched the two boys who were his idols. Sirius Black and James Potter, together with Remus Lupin were the dream team. There was no need for a fourth Marauder. Why on earth did they allow him to tag along! The other three were dashing and glamorous! They were courageous and funny! Peter felt like an idiot standing next to James and Sirius. It must have shown on his face, because Sirius suddenly turned to Peter.
"Wormtail!" he cried, shoving a large glass of butterbeer into the boy's hands. "Do you know the plan for tonight?"
"N-n-no!" Peter answered, startled by the suddeness of Sirius' actions.
"Well!" the taller, dark haired boy began, lowering his voice to a whisper. "James and I have concocted the absolute best prank for tonight! At exactly midnight, when the ball ends, our roses are going to spew butterbeer all over the girls we've given them to, setting off a chain reaction, causing every rose in the place to explode. While everyone else is wiping butterbeer off their robes, we'll be walking out the doors unharmed because we'll have already conjured umbrellas!"
Peter looked down at the red rose in his hand. Every boy entering the Great Hall that night had been given one. All the girls had recieved golden bracelets that glowed like fire. The boys, Peter supposed, were supposed to give the roses to their dates. James snatched the flower from Peter's hand and withdrew his wand. He muttered a spell, put his wand back into his pocket, and gave the rose back to Peter.
"Now your rose will start the reaction too." Sirius explained.
Peter remained skeptical. "But how are you going to make all of the roses react?"
"Simple." James replied. "While the house elves were setting up, I snuck downstairs, worked alittle magic on the roses, and boy were there a lot of roses! I worked alittle magic on the roses and ta da! Every rose the house elves at the door give out is hexed!"
Peter grinned. The plan might actually work this time! He felt like a Marauder now. He'd been let in on the secret. He felt mischevious. "Can I tell Moony?" he asked.
"Sure." Sirius said and looked over his shoulder towards the carved doors leading into the Great Hall. "If he ever shows up."
The girl with whom James had been talking with before returned, carrying a glass of punch, which she set down on the table beside Sirius. Her cheeks, Peter noticed, were flushed. Excitement? Embarressment? "Sirius..." she cooed. She had a pretty, flirty voice. "James said that you wanted to ask me something?" The girl moved closer to Sirius and batted the long lashes that framed her cerulean irises.
Sirius looked quizically at James, a look that said "What the hell is going on?" and "You bastard!" at the the same time. James knew that Sirius thought the girl was cute, but Sirius had never expected her to approach him! James nodded and grinned at his best friend, then mouthed the words, "Do it."
Sirius gave a nervous chortle. "Ha...umm...yes! Yes, umm, Gabrielle! I was wondering if, perhaps...maybe... you'd like to be my date for tonight." He stepped backward and coughed into his fist, regaining his composture, trying to act like he'd planned it all along. He took her hand, kissed it, and placed his enchanted rose between her fingers. Gabrielle blushed deeply; James and Peter stifled laughs.
"I'd love to!" Gabrielle gushed, admiring the rose, then looking at Sirius with eyes full of excited cotton candy and little red hearts. Sirius offered his arm to the tiny brunette. He nodded his appreciation to James and led his date onto the dance floor.
The Great Hall was lovely tonight. The bewitched ceiling showed a nighttime sky, clear, with a thousand stars twinkling. On each of the four walls was hung an enormous tapestry portraying the crest of each of the Hogwarts houses. One hundred candles hovered over the heads of the students and faculty. Opposite the enormous wooden doors at the entrance was a refreshment table. At the center of the Hall, a large, circular stage had been set up. Four wizards wearing green half masks provided the music for the evening. They played a slow song now.
"You look lovely tonight." Sirius commented, wrapping his arms around Gabrielle's waist as they swayed to and fro.
Gabrielle blushed again and leaned her head against the boy's chest. "Thank you."
They were silent for a minute, basking in the heat of one another, happy, filled with sunshine. Gabrielle spoke again. "You know, I think Lily Evans has a crush on James Potter."
"Lily? Have a crush on James?" Sirius asked incredulously. "After the library incident last year? Impossible!"
"I'm serious!"
"There's no way. Why would she have a crush on James?"
"I know James likes her. It's obvious. They've been eyeing eachother across the Hall all night." She smiled and pointed behind Sirius's back. "See? She's watching him right now!"
Sirius turned his head, and sure enough, Lily Evans, a fourth year Ravenclaw girl with red hair and viridian eyes, was standing there. He followed her line of sight. She really was looking at James! "Well I'll be!"
Gabrielle giggled. "Told you."
The song wound down to a close and Sirius and Gabrielle stepped apart. "You should ask her to dance."
"Ask Lily? I thought I was dancing with you!"
"Not with you! With James!"
Sirius smirked.
"He did it to you." Gabreille said and Sirius' countence conveyed his dismay. He said not a word, and so Gabrielle continued. "It's all right." she said. "You were probably just too shy to ask me to dance yourself."
She wasn't upset. Sirius smiled.
"And James is probably the same way!"
"True." he agreed, a sly smile creeping across his lips.