Chapter 12- Dates
"Geez, what is that? Is she a goddess, a muse, or merely a perfect girl?" Sirius said as he stared at a tall girl coming towards them.
"Sirius, it's Alex," James informed him, his mouth slightly open.
"Oy, boys! Come on! We're going to miss the train, if we don't hurry up," Alex said as she got to where they were.
"Wow, Alex! Apparently Nice did good to you. You've arrived more...beautiful," Sirius said, smiling at her.
"Thank you, Sirius. You look pretty hot yourself. In fact, all of you do."
"Stop it, Alex, you're making me blush," Sirius said, pretending to blush.(A/N: I know, I know! But that's my favorite line!)
"Hey, Alex!" Lily said as she walked towards them.
"Hey!"
"Is it really September 1st, or is it Beautiful Girls Day?" Remus asked, as he looked over Lily's shoulder to where the twins and Carrie were coming.
"Why, thank you, Remus," Lily said, and kissed his cheek. Remus blushed a little, and Lily laughed.
"What's so funny?" Carrie asked them. Sirius gawked at her, and Lily laughed even harder. Lily hadn't noticed that James was gawking at her, too.
"I would take that back, Remus, look who's getting here," James motioned towards where Bellatrix and her gang were talking.
"Would someone care to explain what's going on here?" asked Carrie.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that Remus asked if it was Beautiful Girls Day, and Lily kissed him on the cheek, and he blushed, and Lily thought that was funny, but then James told Remus to take that back because he saw the Slytherin girls," Alex explained.
"Oh, okay."
The girls left the boys at the gate where they were waiting for Peter, and went to find a compartment. Throughout the trip to Hogwarts they caught on the gossip, and ate sweets. Alex was feeling a little depressed because a lot of people in her family were going into hiding, but she put it all behind her when the girls consoled her.
The Welcome Feast was a success, although Lily noticed that there wasn't as many students as there usually was.
"Probably after the attack at Hogsmeade," Esther mused as they made their way to their dormitories.
"Yeah, probably," Lily replied, shuddering at the memory.
"So, James, when are you going to check out one of our fellow Gryffindor girls?" Sirius asked, grinning in a maniac way as he watched the girls disappear upstairs.
"Dunno. Who should I start with?" James replied, grinning widely also.
"Earth to James and Sirius! Just because they're hot doesn't mean they aren't human! Are you actually saying that you're going to use them then trade them for one of their friends?" Remus said indignantly.
"Yeah, pretty much," Sirius said, his smile becoming even more maniac.
"Oh, so when it comes to Alex, what are you going to do?"
"Er, dunno."
"You two are hopeless! I do hope that the girls have more sense than normal girls and they don't fall for you two," and with that Remus stomped to his dormitory.
"What do you think got him?" James asked with a bewildered expression.
"Dunno. It is quite close to full moon, do you suppose there's something like Pre-full moon temper?"
The next morning Lily and the twins had to begin 'Operation Waking Up Alex and Carrie.' Ellen fetched the four buckets of ice cold water(two buckets for each), Lily looked up a few quick spells, and Esther got the trumpet she had bought especially for the occasion. Ellen and Esther quickly dropped the cold water on top of the girls, who merely mumbled something incoherent, then Esther got her trumpet and played this awful music right next to their ears. Alex and Carrie only grunted. Then Lily muttered, "Sonorus!" and began:
"Goooood moooorning ladies! Today we are facing an awfully cold weather and a terribly bleak day, but that will not stop us from WAKING UP, right ladies?" The pillows began flying across the room, and a giggling Lily dodged them, "Is that a yes I hear?" Lily paused, and Carrie grumbled, "Yes, I do believe this bleak weather or whatever you said is going to stop me from waking up, so please give up." Alex then grumbled what seemed to be "agreed," but they weren't sure because at that exact instant Ellen and Esther had realised that this wasn't working, and had to resort to their last alternative; pulling them out of bed. First they grabbed them by the feet, then the sleepyheads responded by holding on to the bed, very strongly. Then Lily would start tickling Carrie, who would let go, and wake up. Then Carrie helped Esther and Ellen by pulling at one of Alex's foot, and Lily would tickle her. Alex would throw everything near her bed at them, and surprisingly, she usually hit them. Alex would give in to them, run after the girls for a while, then race them to the showers.
When the girls finally finished dressing up, the boys nearly fell of their chairs. Not because of their stunning beauty, but at the amount of bruises and scratches and black eyes. The girls would mutely point at Alex, who would grin sheepishly, and sit down with the Marauders.
"Hello girls!" said a cheerful voice from behind them.
"Hullo Hestia!" Lily said as she recognized the Gryffindor's sixth year's voice.
"How are you doing?"
"Fine, thank you. And you?"
"I'm great! Here, McGonagall asked me to give these to you," Hestia Jones (A/N: I don't think Hestia is married, so...) handed them their schedules and everyone groaned when they saw their first class; Potions, with the Slytherins.
"Why do they submit us to torture every year?" James complained.
"You didn't think Hogwarts was torture a few years back. As I recall, the first thing you did when you received your letter was to run from your house to mine," Alex said sourly. James stuck his tongue out at her, and Lily muttered, "Oh, that's mature!"
"Oh, yeah, Evans, do you by any chance know when is the next Hogsmeade weekend?" James asked, oblivious to Lily's last comment.
"No, why?" Lily said rudely.
"Because I was meaning to ask you out. Wanna go to Hogsmeade with me?" James said, smiling at Lily, who stared at him.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you're an idiotic, stupid, arrongant, pompous, undesciplined prat. Does that cover a good reason?"
"I am not an idiotic, stupid, arrodant, pompous, undesciplined prat!"
"Oh, you're right! I forgot ignorant and-"
"Okay, okay, I get your point! But do you still want to go out with me?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Lily shrieked at him and stomped off the room, slamming the door very hard behind her.
"Wow, that beats Alex's temper tantrums. But then, redheads are supposed to be more bad tempered," Sirius said, grinning from ear to ear. Alex threw her pumpkin juice at his face, and followed Lily. Remus stared at the boys with an angry expression, and Peter went back to eating.
Alex reached Lily after only a few minutes, since Lily was no Marauder, therefore didn't know any hidden places. Which was good, come to think of it, otherwise no one would be able to find her.
"Hey, Lil," Alex said when she found Lily, sitting next the greenhouses.
"Hey."
"We do have Potions first, you know, and it is quite far from here," Alex pointed out.
"Whatever."
"Remember during our first year when you first got really pissed off at James? And you came here, and fumed for a while and then I came here to tell you he wasn't that bad?"
"Yeah. Do you still think he's not so bad."
"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. He's just an attention seeking prat, that's all. And since most of the boys qualify you as very pretty, he probably thought he'd become more popular, or something."
"Alex, I know he's been your friend, for like, forever, but he simply isn't my friend, so saying things like that won't make me dislike him less."
"Oh, well, I guess I tried. At least throwing pumpking juice at Sirius was worth it."
"You threw pumpkin juice at Sirius? Why?"
"Because he made a stupid remark about redheads, and I happen to be best-friends with one, and no one messes with my best-friends."
The two burst out laughing at that, and suddenly they realised that if they didn't hurry up they would be late for Potions, which wasn't a good idea. The two girls ran the whole way to the dungeons, and arrived right in time for class.
"Good morning, class, and we meet again. Today we will be brewing Wit- Sharpening Potion, which some of the students might need," Prof. Pryde looked pointedly at Peter, who whimpered and all of the Slytherins laughed, "The ingredients are on the board, and questions, ask me, not your classmates. You may begin."
The students groaned, but began their potion. Clearly Prof. Pryde had chosen the most difficult potion for them.
The rest of the day went surprisingly well, except for the fact that James kept bugging Lily. The Gryffindors strongly suspected that James would not take a no for an answer, and that Lily would have to give in soon. She, however wasn't the only one that was being bugged.
"Please, Alex? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Sirius said on his knees, in front of everyone, in the Entrance Hall. Snickering could be heard from all over.
"Sirius Black, either you get a grip and shut up, or I will shout out your middle name to everyone here, right now," Alex hissed, her face flushed.
"But why won't you go out with me?"
"Attention, everyone. I would like to inform you that Sirius's middle name is-"
"Okay, I get the picture. Just don't, for God's sake, tell my middle name in front of Snivelly, okay?"
"Very good, Sirius. Now stop grovelling, I want to eat dinner."
Sirius stood up, extended his arm to Alex, who giggling at Sirius, shook her head. When both were making their way to the Great Hall, someone huffed past Alex. Alex's face brightened, and she shouted:
"Hey, Jake, wait up!" Jake stopped, and stiffly turned around, missing by a few seconds Sirius's imitations of him.
"Yeah?'
"Are you mad at me, Jake?" Alex asked sharply.
"Why should I be?"
"How should I know? I only saw you now. I couldn't find you yesterday and I couldn't find you today, so what happened?"
"Er, Alex, I'll get going okay?" Sirius interrupted, running into the Great Hall.
"Well, okay. I was angry at you."
"Why?"
"Because you are constantly hanging out with the so-called Marauders, and sometimes you don't even look twice at me."
"I always talk to you. That is, when I can find you."
"I saw you at the train, and you walked right past me," Jake said, lowering his head.
"Oh. I must have missed you. I'm sorry. Hmm, you are aware of how silly this is, aren't you?"
"Yep. But it's okay to be silly once in a while. So tell me, are you dating Black?"
"You mean Sirius? No way, absolutely not. I would never date Sirius, not that he's ugly. It's just that I've know him for ages, so..."
"Great, because I was wondering if you wanted to...you know, be my girlfriend?"
"Oh. Oh. Er, okay," Alex blushed, and became instantly furious at herself. She had never blushed before, why blush now?
"Er...right. next Hogsmeade weekend is on Halloween, would you mind going there with me? You know, after the attack, nobody goes there anymore."
"That would be nice. See you later." Alex left the entrance hall, and hurried to the Great Hall.
"Lily, Carrie, Esther, Ellen, you will never guess what happened!" Alex said, once she sat down. Lily gave her a puzzled look, and Carrie, Esther, and Ellen smiled.
"Jake Perry just asked me to be his girlfriend!"
"Oh, Alex, you're soooo lucky. I mean, he's so cute," Ellen said.
"Why is Alex lucky?" James asked them. The Marauders 'happened' to be near the girls.
"Because Jake wants her to be his girlfriend," Carrie informed.
"WHAT?" The Marauders said at the same time.
"Alexandra Owens, I absolutely forbid you of going out with him," Remus said, in an outraged voice.
"Well said, Remus. She cannot go out with him," Peter said.
"I cannot believe you traded that me for that...that little idiot, Alex," Sirius said, looking offended.
"Well said, Remus. She cannot go out with him," Peter said.
"Alexandra, you will not got out with scum like that, and you are grounded for the rest of your life," James said, looking just like an angry father.
"Excuse me, but since when does any of you have an control over my life? I will go out with Jake, and it won't be you guys who will stop me."
"That's it, Alexandra. Go directly to your room!" James said.
"AHHHHH! Guys, stop it!! I'll go out with anyone I want, okay? Just leave me alone, will you?" And with that Alex stomped off the Great Hall.
The next few months were almost unbearable for the girls. Lily was constantly being harrassed by James, Alex was constantly fighting with the Marauders, Carrie and the twins had now become center of attention(something they did not appreaciate), since no one dared get close to Lily(for fear of James's vengeance) or Alex(for fear of Jake's and the Marauder's vengeance; it was widely known now of the Marauder's overprotectiveness and that Alex was dating Jake). One day, Alex actually got to the point of not speaking to the Marauders for weeks, and crying every single day at night.
Finally, the dreaded Halloween by some, and welcomed by others, visit to Hogsmeade arrived. Alex was the first to leave the Gryffindor Tower and meet Jake. Then Ellen left with Remus, not because they were dating or anything, but because Remus had offered to go with her so that boys wouldn't look too much at her. Esther then left to meet her date, Victor Bones. Lily and Carrie then left. They were alone, but didn't mind much. Sirius was out with his fifth date that year, and James with his sixth. Peter was, surprisingly, with a dorky Hufflepuff girl, Selene Knowles.
The Gryffindors all went to the Three Broomsticks, and sat far apart from each other. The visit turned out quite well and the girls all, except for Carrie and Lily, had a feeling of bliss when they went back to the castle. The boys were congratulating each other for their hot dates, except for Peter, who's date was anything but hot. Remus had a glazed look on his face, and kept whispering "Ellen" every few minutes.
Finally Christmas break arrived, and Lily was feeling very happy. For the past few months she had been receiving anonymous notes, and she knew it wasn't Potter's because they were romantic. Every note had a little poem in the end, and whenever Lily showed them to the girls, they all giggled and sighed, wishing their boyfriends were as romantic. Alex was still dating Jake, Ellen had begun dating Remus, Carrie was dating a Ravenclaw fifth year, and Esther was still dating Victor Bones. Lily's last note said that he wanted to meet her by the lake, at midnight on Christmas Eve.
The only person who wasn't liking that at all was James. Everytime he saw the girls giggling, he groaned and went after Alex to ask what was going on. Alex, who was still angry at the boys for their overprotectiveness, rarely answered, and when she did, it was always cryptic. That left James even more frustrated, and when Lily received her last letter, he was snapping at everyone. His latest girlfriend, Faye Madison, a futile Hufflepuff, ran crying from James's arm one day, and he fumed even more.
When Christmas Eve arrived, Lily refused to leave her room, so that the girls were forced to bring her food throughout the day. However, their effort was worth it. Lily was looking stunning by ten o'clock, and the girls all clapped when she was ready. Lily then read for the next hour and a half, and by eleven thirty she left the common room.
Lily shivered in her cloak, but hardly noticed it because of her excitement. Finally, at a quarter to midnight, she arrived at the lake, and waited. When her watch gave a little beep telling her it was midnight, she jumped up and looked around. A hand touched her shoulder, and she smiled. Behind her was Hayden Clark, a Gryffindor fifthe year. He had black hair and piercing blue eyes, and he was quite tall. They spent a few hours talking, and before they left, Hayden kissed her.
Meanwhile, at the Whomping Willow, the Marauders and Alex were having the time of their life. James had just announced he had seen a stag while he was meditating, and everyone was making fun of him. Suddenly, Sirius fell of the couch, and said he had seen a dog right that instant, and everyone was now teasing him.
"Oh deer, now I have a dog friend," Alex said, smirking at the boys.
"Shut up, Alex," James said feeling grumpy.
"It's just that it's strange that you would be a stag and Sirius a dog."
"Well, what are you?" Remus asked.
"I think it's a hawk, I'm not sure, Moony."
"You know what I was thinking? That since Moony has a nickname, all of us should have one too, when we become Animagi," James said.
"That is, if you become. C'mon, guys, it's dangerous, something could go seriously wrong, no pun intended, and we could all land in Azkaban," Remus argued with them.
"Since when has danger been a problem Moony? We will continue with this, so give up," Sirius said, grinning.