Chapter 4: Lily In The Moonlight

"Lily! James! Are we allowed back in now?" yelled Sirius from outside the door. Lily's mind snapped back to reality and said, "James, I also wanted to tell you that I am being released tonight. Also, our friends are waiting for us, so we'd better go." James nodded in agreement. He helped Lily out of the bed and they grabbed her clothes and walked out of the room, hand in hand. They reached the door and opened it to find their friends locking lips.

"Um, Artemys?" said Lily. James laughed as Sirius and Artemys stopped kissing. Artemys blushed and then a look of realization came onto her face.

"Sirius! Double date, remember?" she said urgently.

"Yeah…Come on James, we have to get ready." said Sirius. Sirius and James took off down the Charms corridor.

"Come on, Lily. We got to get ready for our date tonight." said Artemys. Then she and Lily ran to the common room.

When they arrived, the common room was deserted. All of the other students went to Hogsmeade. Lily and Artemys went upstairs to change into their dress robes. They hurriedly slipped them on, put on their make up, and did each other's hair. They slid on their shoes, grabbed their purses, and ran down the stairs. They entered the common room and climbed out of the portrait hole.

Lily looked stunning. She was wearing white dress robes, black eyeliner, and clear lip gloss. Her shoes were white and they sparkled. Her hair was left down with a white headband. Artemys wore a blue gown with her hair up in an elegant bun and loads of jewelry and make up.

They walked down the stairs, through the Great Hall, and out the door. They stepped out onto the path. They shined in the moonlight as they made their way to Hogsmeade village.

Hogsmeade had many stores, restaurants, and shops. The little village was beautiful, even in the dark. Young couples were holding each other's hands, kissing, walking together, laughing and talking. Lily felt her heart rise as she entered. She hadn't been to Hogsmeade in months, because of her many piles of homework. Eventually, she and Artemys made it to the restaurant, Roses And Wine, and entered. Artemys approached the maitre'd.

"Do you have a reservation?" said the maitre'd.

"Of course. Bones, party of four." said Artemys. The maitre'd scanned the book and spoke once more.

"Very well, I shall take you to your table." Lily and Artemys followed the maitre'd to table 17, where two people were already seated. One of them was a young man with grey eyes and long, black hair. The other one sitting next to him was…

"James?" said Lily in surprise.

"L-Lily?" James sputtered. Lily smiled and took her seat next to James, who was blushing uncontrollably. Sirius held in a laugh. Artemys sat down next to Sirius and kissed him on the cheek. James turned to Lily and said, "You look beautiful tonight, Lily."

She smiled. "Thank you, James. You look great, too." She then smiled and picked up her menu.

Sirius wasn't paying them or anyone else that much attention. He was staring at the menu with a hungry look on his face. What should I order? He thought to himself, or better yet, what shouldn't I order? Let's see…clams…eww, squid…eww…chocolate cake…yummy…pork chops…not as eww as clams but still eww…

Artemys had her hands folded into her lap, waiting for the rest to decide on what they were going to eat. She was bored, so she started to tear the napkin. Jeez, this dress is uncomfortable. I can't wait to get out of it, thought Artemys.

I can't wait till I get to help Artemys out of that dress…thought Sirius. He grinned to himself and decided that now was as good a time as any to spark a conversation.

"So, what's been happening, people? I've been stuck up in the Great Hall, and these little first years are all crowding around me and stuff. Did you ever notice that the younger students stare at the older ones as they pass by? I swear, they look at me as if I was an alien or something." said Sirius quickly. James looked as if he was about to laugh. Lily looked at Sirius with an incredulous look on her face. Artemys just laughed.

"You can't blame me, it was too quiet. I couldn't stand it!" said Sirius. He paused and waited a few seconds. They all stared at him.

"WHAT!" said Sirius loudly. The entire restaurant looked at him. Then he settled down and spoke again.

"Artemys, love, do I look like a pork chop?" said Sirius quietly.

"No…..why?" said Artemys.

"Then why is everyone in the bleeding restaurant STARING AT ME!" Sirius said so loudly that it made several of the customers jump. Just then, a waitress came towards their table. She had red hair and brown eyes. She was in her mid-30's, and she was pregnant. She took out a quill and some parchment and began taking their orders.

"Good evening, I am Molly, and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I get you anything." She peered around the table inquiringly.

"I'll have a Sierra Mist." said Artemys. The waitress called Molly nodded and looked at Lily.

"Iced tea for me, please. No lemon." said Lily. Molly then looked over to James and spoke.

"James Potter?" she said inquiringly.

"Yes?" he said pleasantly.

"Oh my God! I haven't seen you since you started Hogwarts! What are you now, like, 17?"

"Actually, I won't be 17 for a few months. I remember that you're 36! How can you not remember my age?" said James incredulously. Molly hushed him and said, "To anyone who asks, I'm 29!" She then smiled and took their orders. She collected the menus and left the table.

"I think that this will be a very pleasant evening." said Lily. Artemys smiled. Sirius laughed. James muttered to himself, "Baby, you don't even know the half of it." Molly came back with their drinks and told them that their meals would be ready shortly.

Lily stared out the window into the night sky. She looked into the stars and her eyes sparkled, the moon illuminating her porcelain skin.

A/N It wasn't posted sooner b/c I had lots of H/W to do. My teachers are evil. EVIL! Oh, yeah. Plz review.