Dates and Dancing part1…
Lily woke up, and started to change out of the pyjama's the room had provided, hoping against hope that James wouldn't chose this moment to wake. She had enjoyed the night, and didn't want to leave their luxurious sleeping quarters, though she knew that she had too. Classes started in an hour, and they still had to get to breakfast.
"James?" she whispered in his ear. James was wrapped up in blankets, and was snoring slightly, with a small smile peeking across his content face.
"James? Wake up…" She tried again, and his eyelids fluttered into life.
"Morning." She said, grinning. James smiled back.
"What time is it?' he asked groggily, sitting up slowly. Lily laughed.
"Afraid of missing the morning classes are you Potter?" she smirked, laughing, teasingly. James walloped her with his pillow.
"Seriously!" he said, laughing.
"We've got an hour." She answered at last. James got out of bed, and changed into his robes, and they started down to breakfast.
"Thanks for that." She said to him, before they entered the great hall.
"For what?" he asked, though he thought he knew the answer.
"For distracting me last night. I've been getting so worried, about Voldermort, and the stone, and everything, but last night, I actually had a lot of fun."
James grinned.
"Yes, well, I do make a wonderful distraction." He said. "Anytime you need distracting Evan's," James winked at Lily slyly, laughing. She too, cracked a smile at what would have once been an opportunity to scoff.
When they took their usual seats at the table, with their friends, they received the usual reprimands, and Sirius once again showed his remorse that they didn't take him on their little adventure. Lily could feel the little green book in her pocket, and smiled. She hadn't had a chance to read it yet, and it seemed to be begging her to do so, but Lily resisted. For some reason, she didn't want to bring it out in such a crowded place. She felt as though she shared some sort of a secret with the book.
"Sirius Black, you just stole my toast!" Dani said sternly, glaring at him across the table. Sirius was munching on a buttered slice of toast with a satisfied grin on his smug face.
"I couldn't be bothered to butter one myself!" he mumbled, his mouth full of food. Dani scowled.
"Well then you're going to butter mine for me!" she proclaimed. Sirius snorted. Dani glared at him even harder, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Fine." Sighed Sirius, and put a tiny dap of butter on a slice of bread, and handed it across the table to Dani, who proclaimed that it wasn't good enough for her, and he must do it again.
"They carried on in this fashion all through the meal, which was exhausting for their friends, who tried in vain to help the couple out, changing sides frequently as they became ruder and louder.
"Doyle! Why can't you give it a rest!" Screamed Sirius, standing on his seat, and glaring down at Dani. She stood to level with him.
"YOU STARTED IT!" she roared back. By now Lily, James, Ella and Remus found the entire fiasco quite comical, Dani and Sirius both red in the face from arguing. And all over a piece of toast.
"If I could have your attention." Came a loud, but calm voice from the teachers' table. Dani and Sirius stopped mid-yell, and the mass of heads in the hall turned to face the man who had spoken. Dumbledore was standing, and smiling down at the student, Dani and Sirius in particular. Dani was looking sorely embarrassed, and Sirius seemed proud, and waved jovially at the headmaster, who chuckled back.
"Now that that is sorted, "He continued, as Sirius and Dani took their seats once more, ignoring the sniggers of the other students, and teacher. "I would like to announce an event that is fast approaching." He scanned the hall, and his eyes seemed to linger on the marauders and the girls.
"On Halloween, we will, unfortunately, not be partaking in the traditional holiday feast…" there was an annoyed murmur from the crowd. The feast being cancelled? Lily and James exchanged nervous looks. They were both thinking the same thing. Could this have something to do with Voldermort?
Those whose eyes were on Dumbledore, however, knew that the reasoning behind the announcement was none that sinister. He was smiling serenely, and winked at a few horror struck students.
"We will," he rose his voice above the aggravated crowd, "Be holding a Halloween ball, on the Thirty first, which will include a banquet…" he continued, and a cheer erupted from the tables that filled the hall. Even Sirius and Dani temporarily forgot that they were at loggerheads, and smiled at each other. Dumbledore continued to talk, but James wasn't listening. He knew who he would like to invite. But he was much too scared to ask. Fancy that, he thought to himself. Me, afraid of a girl! But to James, Lily wasn't just any girl, and he was very nervous at the prospect of asking her to the ball. If she turned him down, then everything that he had worked on in the last couple on months would go down the drain, and it would be back to 'Potter' for him. No more James. He shivered at the thought.
"So, when are you gonna ask her?" asked Lupin, as he, James and Sirius walked to transfiguration that morning. James snorted.
"Ask who?" he said airily, smirking at Remus as Sirius snorted.
"Lily." Remus said simply, exchanging looks with Sirius.
James laughed.
"Who said that I was going to ask Lily? I don't even fancy her anymore Moony, I thought I might ask Ella." James said, and Remus stopped in his tracks, his face white. Sirius chuckled, and James laughed along, Lupin, meanwhile, remained stony.
"Joking Moony, I was kidding!" he said, and Lupin's features relaxed at once, his breathing regular again, as James and Sirius slapped him on the back and made him continue walking.
"At least we know who Remus is asking then, don't we Padfoot?" said James, and Lupin grinned.
"Halloween here we come!" Sirius screamed, and though they didn't ask him who he had on his mind, it was a little obvious who Sirius would be asking before long, no matter how hard he denied it now.
Lupin, however, looked even sicker than he had a moment earlier, and this time, it wasn't because of a joke. He groaned loudly, and punched a wall.
"Moony!" Exclaimed Sirius, and turned a groaning Lupin around to face them. James and Sirius were worried about their friend.
"Halloween! Don't you realise what's happening on Halloween?" he said in anguish, and it slowly dawned on the boys why Remus was so distressed. Halloween was a full moon. If Remus went to the ball then there would be a serious safety issue. James wished that there was some hope for his friend, but his and Lily's searches for the bloodstone were, so far, fruitless. Though they were both sure that they had heard the legend before, neither had a clue as to where.
That night, James watched Lily intently for a moment to ask her top the ball. He didn't want to ask her in front of Ella and Dani. If she turned him down brutally then Sirius and Remus would be sure to know the details. He had to find the opportune moment, and until that came along, he had to endure the endless amounts of boys who were attempting to beat him to it.
Lily was quite a popular girl. She was already being asked to the ball by a number of boys, and, to Sirius's horror, so was Dani. Remus was melancholy the entire day and night. When a Griffindore guys would approach Ella as they sat by the fire that night, his eyes would flash, but he couldn't do anything to stop her saying yes; he couldn't go to the ball, no matter what. Lily had worked out his predicament, and begged him to tell Ella the truth, to which Remus refused blatantly.
Sirius, on the other hand, wouldn't give any other guy a chance to get anywhere near Dani, considering the attention she and the other girls were getting, this was a mean feat. Anyone crossing the room to speak to her would find themselves temporarily bound together with invisible ropes, or their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. Others suddenly embarrassed themselves in ways that they didn't think possible, as if on their own accord. Only James and Remus seemed to realise that Sirius had his wand behind his back, or under a table, whispering the incantations to turn the victims robes into a clowns costume, or hair bright pink. Others found themselves wearing makeup, which Sirius was always first to point out.
By the time that a follow seventh year boy, Carl Watson, approached Lily, she was looking rather exhausted, and glanced longingly at James. She had been hoping, all night, that he would be the next to approach her, but knew that it would never happen. She had stressed the 'only friends' thing much too hard. It was up to her now, and she couldn't bring herself to admit to the world that she liked James Potter. It had been hard enough admitting it to herself.
"Um, sorry Carl, I cant, I, uh, sorry…" she trailed off, and James mouth curved upwards once more, as he breathed yet another sigh of relief.
"Why did you turn Carl down Lil? He's not bad to look at, and he's in our year! Better go with him than one of those first years earlier." Dani laughed. "Plus, if you keep on turning all of these perfectly fine guys down then everyone will think that there's something wrong with you!"
"No they wont!" said James abruptly, sitting up straight. Remus and Sirius groaned.
"What else could it be?" asked Dani. "Who, in their right mind, would turn down a date with Carl Watson?"
Sirius was interested now.
"I would!" he said stupidly glaring at Dani, and backing up his friend. Ella snorted, and Lupin almost cracked a smile too, before he caught Ella's eye, and stopped. He knew that she must have been expecting him to ask her to the ball, and he expected himself too as well, but he knew that he couldn't. If he were to go to the ball he would be a very furry, murderous date.
"Oh wow Sirius! Great! I'm glad that I asked! It's not like he'd ask you any way!" she said wildly. The argument was getting quite absurd.
"He's a prat Dani! That bloke spends half his life in front of the mirror! You don't have to share a dorm with the guy! He's horrible!" Sirius exclaimed. James was glad that the attention was off him, but he wished that Lily would stop looking at him. He could feel her emerald green eyes boring into the side of his head, as though trying to read the thoughts within.
"Well if I looked like him then I might spend my life in front of the mirror too!" said Dani, her voice getting dangerously loud.
"You're a thousand times better looking than that guy Dani! And you're a damn sight nicer, so that argument is stupid!" Sirius screamed, and then looked as though someone had clubbed him over the head. Dani wore a simular expression, and Lily and James dared not look at each other, for fear that they wouldn't be able to restrain their laughter.
"What?" Dani said, her voice much quieter now.
"I have no idea. What were we even arguing about in the first place?" Said Sirius, and didn't meet her eyes.
Ella was giggling quietly, and Remus had tears trickling down his face as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"Well, who are you going to go with then Lily?" asked Ella, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Um, I'm not sure…" Said Lily, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.
"Yeah, but if you're turning all these guys down then you must have someone in mind." Ella pushed, glancing at James quickly. James was examining the back of his right hand, trying to act uninterested.
"It's only just been announced Ella! We have two weeks, and besides, it's not like you haven't been knocking back offers all day! Does that mean that you're waiting for someone?" all the guys' heads popped up, looking at Lupin, who was determinedly looking away.
"I dunno, I guess I…" she trailed off, looking at the back of Lupin's head. She couldn't see the creases that covered his face in worry, or the frown that controlled his mouth.
"I guess that I'll accept the next guy, I just thought that…never mind…" Ella trailed off sadly, and Lily cursed herself for getting carried away with the argument. She had forgotten who she was talking to. Of course Remus wasn't going to ask her to the ball…
"Dani?" Lily said, turning the conversation around apologetically, "What about you? Who do you have your eye on? Carl?" Sirius snorted, and Dani, for once, didn't argue back.
"I dunno. I have no idea." She said sadly, trying not to look at Sirius. "But it's not as if they've been lining up to ask me, is it?" she said gloomily. Lily and Ella had been wondering about this too. They were probably the most popular girls in the seventh year. Why had she been left out?
The maunders, however, knew exactly why, and there was a rush to throw things at Sirius.
"Ow! OW! OWWW!" he said, as he was pelted from all directions with ink pellets, books and cushions. "What was that for!" he yelled at his friends, glaring at them warningly. Lily knew, but the marauders said nothing, silenced by Sirius' look.
Lily looked up to see a very pretty, very popular sixth year girl crossing the room, looking straight at James. Lily glanced quickly at Sirius, and then pointed her wand under the table…
"James! Are you wearing makeup!" screeched Lily, and amid all the laughter, James' horror, and the girl's disgust, Sirius shot Lily an appraising look, grinning.
A week passed, and the girls still hadn't accepted a date from any of their admirers and the marauders still hadn't taken it upon themselves to be one of those admirers. Many guys were now roaming the school with makeup-covered faces.
"Sirius, you have to stop it! Dani is getting really depressed!" Lily hissed, dragging him away from the others.
"Feisty little hypocrite," he laughed, and even Lily cracked a grin, but she stopped at the gloomy look on her Dani's face.
"Why don't you just ask her yourself?" she asked him, exasperated.
"Seriously Lily, it's not like she'd say yes! You've seen the way that she looks at me!" Sirius argued, and Lily had no retort.
"Well, at least don't make her go to the ball alone! She's getting really upset." Lily urged.
"Wont matter much, you and Ella don't have dates either!" He said. Lily looked away, back to the table where their friends sat, laughing.
"Well, I, I mean, I…" she trailed off. She sighed. It had been a week. If James was planning on asking her then he had had plenty of chances…
"Oi Carl!" she cried, and the seventh year crossed the common room to where Lily and Sirius stood.
"Hey." He said to Lily when he reached them, ignoring Sirius completely. He was standing, mouth opened.
"Hey, listen, I'm sorry about the other night, I needed to get something's sorted out, do you still want to go to the ball with me?" she asked Carl sweetly, smiling innocently, though Sirius could tell that it was faked. Her lips hardly moved when she talked.
"S, sure…" Carl spluttered. "See you then…" and he walked proudly back to his group of friends on the other side of the room.
"You had better remove his makeup for me before we have our date Sirius." Said Lily sadly, and Sirius gapped at her.
"What the ruddy hell did you do that for?" he hissed, pulling her closer and whispering.
"I was sick of waiting around for a date that was never going to come," she said, defiant. Sirius groaned.
"Well James has made an ass of himself, hasn't he!" he exclaimed.
"What's this about my ass?" came James voice from their group by the fire. Sirius and Lily joined them.
"Why are you smiling all creepy Lily?" asked Lupin when they sat down. He had been abnormally downhearted all week. Lily made a desperate effort to make her smile more realistic, though she could hardly remember ever feeling this hopeless.
"Nothing! Why do I seem creepy? I'm happy! I just got a date to the ball." James chocked on the butterbeer he was drinking, and spluttered it all over Dani.
"Ew! James, that is disgusting! And Lily! Oh my gosh! Who with?" she asked excitedly, kneeling up to get the low down on the gossip.
"Carl Watson." She said, letting down her guard and allowing the fake, sickly smile to slid right off her face.
"WHAT!" cried James, jumping from the chair. He glared at Sirius.
"Why didn't you stop her?" he hissed. Lily was too busy filling her friends in on details to notice.
"What was I meant to do? You did have the chance to ask her out you know? It's not that hard." Sirius argued, desperate for an excuse to stop James staring at him so accusingly.
"Not that hard? I'll just remember that the next time that I catch you staring at Dani then, shall I?" James asked quietly, making his friend go red.
"Well, not if…not if the next time is after the ball!" Sirius snapped back, desperate for a comeback. He looked disgusted in his choice, and slunk away into an armchair opposite James.
"So, when did he…when did he…uh…" James tried to ask Lily, but he couldn't seem to get the words out
"He didn't, I did." She said promptly.
"You WHAT?" James yelled.
"I-asked-him-out." She said back, staring into his eyes, trying to read him. He looked angry, yet, could it be…a little hurt?
"Bad move Lily, if you don't mind me saying." Said Remus, joining in the conversation and putting a comforting hand on James heaving shoulder. "Guys expect more from girls who do the asking."
"And what? You two think that I can't take care of myself? Trust me, I'll be fine, I'm not scared of Carl Watson. I think I'll go to bed now." She said, and started up the stairs, leaving everyone staring after her. She turned, and gave a flirtatious wave at Carl, who gestured back. James growled.
"What was she thinking?" he cried, leaning backwards in the chair in anguish.
"Well mate, I believe her exact words were- I'm sick of waiting for a date that's never going to come." Informed Sirius. James looked confused.
"Who could that be?" he asked. Everyone present groaned loudly.
"Men." Said Dani, "I don't think I'll ever understand them. Night." She got up off the heath rug and walked around the back of the chairs, kissing Sirius lightly on the top of the head as she went. His eyes widened, and Ella giggled.
"I think I'll head to bed too. Night guys!" and she walked off. Lupin looked for a moment as though he was hoping for a peck on the head himself, but he was sorely disappointed. The boys didn't stay in the common room much longer, Lupin was too depressed to do anymore homework, James was too blank, hopeless and confused, and Sirius's eyes remained in the same, bewildered stare that they had made when Dani had kissed him, confused thoughts still buoyant in his mind.
Lily lay awake for a long time that night, staring at the ceiling of her four-poster bed. She felt like crying, but knew that that was stupid. She had done this to herself, and, besides, Carl Watson wasn't so bad. As Sirius had said, he thought very highly of himself, but it was only one night, and she could ditch him if she got sick of it.
No, the thing that upset her most was the look on James face when he found out. He really did care, she could tell. But he hadn't asked her out…
"Why didn't you ask her out!" said Sirius loudly, the moment the boys reached the dormitory. James flopped backwards onto the bed, his hands over his eyes.
"I thought she'd say NO! I was too scared! I'm such an idiot!"
Sirius sat on the edge of his bed gingerly, still pondering the kiss, and Lupin looked simply hopeless. He had given up, and lay, curled up like a cat on his bed. The guys lay there until late in the night, when they finally fell asleep, and Sirius turned out the light.
Sirius, James and Lily headed across the school grounds towards the Care of Magical Creatures class. Nothing had been said of the night before, though Lily and James were oddly formal towards each other, and Sirius still seemed slightly dazed, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate at breakfast.
"What's Dumbledore doing there?" James asked, when they drew closer to the area outside Hagrid's hut. Hagrid, Professor Kettleby, and Dumbledore all stood around a tall perch, almost as high as the headmaster. They were laughing, and when they turned to greet the first students for the day, Lily, James and Sirius saw that Dumbledore had a magnificent golden red bird perched on his arm.
Lily's breath caught in her throat.
"That's a…is that a phoenix?" she gasped, and the boys, too, looked, stunned, at the brilliant, fire hued bird.
"I didn't know that Dumbledore had one!" said Sirius in hushed tones.
"Hello Mr Black, Mr Potter, Ms Evans." Said Dumbledore serenely, inclining his head to the three.
"How you three bin? Keepin' outa trouble?" said Hagrid. Professor Kettleby said nothing, just laughed at the awe filled expressions the students wore as they looked at the phoenix.
"I told you that they would appreciate her Albus." Said Professor Kettleby in delight. Dumbledore chuckled, and held his arm out to Lily's, so that she was eye to eye with the bird.
"This is Fawkes. Fawkes is a phoenix."
"Hello Fawkes." Said Lily quietly, and the Phoenix lowered its head. Lily looked into its deep orange eyes. They seemed to be yearning to tell her something. They looked as though they were filled with sadness, jubilation, fear and hope all at the same time. She wished that she could tell what those eyes were screaming at her. She felt like she had such a powerful connection with this bird that she couldn't bare to break the contact, and look away. Fawkes gave a low, gentle cry, and Lily felt her heart lurch. It was a sound like she had never heard before, though if it had had words then Lily knew she would somehow know all of them. The musical cry seemed to be her own thoughts, her sadness, her worry, her hope and her passion, all directed out of his curved, golden beak.
"I think he has taken a liking to you Miss Evans." Said Dumbledore, as the class gathered round and Kettleby explained the Phoenix to the gathering, how their tears had healing powers and they could carry amazing weight. How they burst into flame and were reborn from the ashes. Fawkes, however, had turned its attention to James. James was reluctant to look into the bird's eyes at first. He seemed scared, for some reason, of what he would see. The phoenix seemed to be calling out to him, and not just through the low, musical cry that it was emitting. James was scared of the strange bird, which seemed to know him better than he did himself.
When their eyes did, finally, meet, James couldn't look away. It was like the orange and yellow diamonds entranced him, dancing with colour and light. Fawkes seemed to see right through him, through all his lies and all of his fears to the truth within. This was a person who James had only ever let Lily, Sirius and Remus see, and he was not at all sure that he liked the idea of a bird knowing who he really was.
Fawkes seemed to be trying to tell him something. To let him know, silently, of a danger, of trouble that lay ahead. Like it was silently willing James to enter into its head and hear whatever it was saying, but all that it could do was let out more beautiful music. Though James could tell that the bird was worried for some reason, the sound that came through it's beak was pure, and seemed to signal hope, no matter how ill of fortune the message was that he wished to deliver.
James looked at Lily, and when their eyes met, they both knew what the other was thinking. They both had something in common with that Phoenix. They might not ever know what, but the three of them would meet again, and they knew it.
Throughout the lesson, Dumbledore amazed them a number of times, using Fawkes to transport him to the other side of the field in a flash of flame, and holding to his tail while he soared to the top of trees and back down again.
"That was a great lesson, wasn't it? I've never heard of Dumbledore giving students lessons before!" Sirius said, as they made their way back towards the castle.
"You wouldn't have. Didn't you hear his talking to Kettleby just now? This is the first time that he's ever done that. Said that he thought it would be important to our class…" she trailed off, and her eyes locked with James'. Had Dumbledore known what they had felt when they saw the phoenix.
It's just a bird, James reminded himself. But he couldn't help but think of Fawkes as much more than just a bird, and by the time they took their seats in a history of Magic that afternoon, he had moved him up from, just a bird, to something like a friend.
Lily and James, however, were becoming less and less like friends as the day wore on, and by the time that dinner came around, the seats that they normally took at the Griffindore table were sorely adjusted, so that they no longer sat opposite each other, but in opposite corners of the group, to avoid all conversation with each other.
Neither acted mad, or would be the first to admit that they were downhearted by the up coming ball, but when he was not laughing loudly at Sirius' jokes, or teasing Ella and Dani, James would get a sad, sullen look in his eyes, and whenever Lily caught sight of Carl, she felt a growing sense of shame and dread.
Lily, James, and Remus all went to bed early that night, leaving Ella, Sirius and Dani by the fire.
"What are we going to do about them hey?" said Ella, watching James and Lily go up to their dormitories. Sirius was hardly listening, but staring vaguely at Dani, who was doing her homework on the small table that they sat around.
"Mmmm, they're really, really…" he trailed off. It was obvious that his mind could not be further from the matter if he tried, "…stupid."
Ella grinned, and Dani snuck a peek at them. When she caught Sirius looking at her she blushed fiercely.
"So Girls!" he said, embarrassedly snapping out of his stupor. "Exciting news! First Quidditch match of the season! Griffindore versus Ravenclaw!" Sirius was a chaser, with James, on the Griffindore Quidditch team. The team was becoming something of Hogwarts legend, as James liked to say.
"You in with a chance?" teased Ella.
"A chance? We'll flatten them!" Sirius roared, making a couple of second years in the next chair jump. The girls laughed.
"You know what, I don't know if you will. I mean, you've got a good team and all, but I think Lily was right when she said that the brooms wont be able to carry your BIG HEADS." Said Ella, laughing all the same. "And besides, they've got a really good team this year, that Matt Carving guy, he's the new captain, he's put together a really good side."
For some reason, at these words, Dani looked extremely uncomfortable, and made to pack up her things and leave.
"Carving?" said Sirius, "I hate that bloke! He thinks he's so hot! And last Quidditch match, remember, he knocked me off my broom! If James hadn't swung under me then who knows what would have happened!"
"Um, he's not that bad," came a small voice. They both turned to look at Dani, who wouldn't look up from the ground, "Actually, I'm going to the ball with him…Night." And she went up the stairs before Sirius could run after her and pull her back. Not that he didn't try. He leapt over the back of his chair and sprinted to the door that led up to the girls' dormitory, sticking his head in.
"OI! Oi! DANI! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GOING WITH HIM? DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU'RE GOING WITH HIM?" There was no answer, and Sirius slumped over to his seat by the fire, groaning. Ella looked at him sympathetically.
"If it's any help, I'm not having much luck with that either." she said sadly.
"What aren't you having much luck with? Asking the girl that you're crazily in love with if she can stop hating you for one minute so that she can go to the ball?" he said, breathing deeply.
"Uh, wow. You really like her, don't you?" she asked. Sirius groaned.
"I hate this stupid ball! Now I have to find a date that will make her more jealous than I am right now! And I can't do that! Do you realise how jealous I am! What date could top this?"
Ella could hardly hold back a giggle. She felt sorry for Sirius, but, considering her own predicament, her sympathy was limited.
"If it helps Sirius, I think that she'll be jealous no matter who you bring, and I don't think that that's a good thing." She said sadly. She looked wistfully up towards the door to the boys' dormitory.
"Listen, do you know why…" she trailed off, "No, don't worry, I don't think that I want to know."
"Wait!" said Sirius, "Do you want to go to the ball with me? That way we go as friends, no body gets jealous, and, um…" he was about to say that Remus wouldn't have to worry about strange guys hitting on her, but he thought it best to leave Remus out of it.
Ella sighed.
"Sure! It's not like they're lining up to be with me anyway." She said, tired, "Thanks Sirius, listen, do you mind if I go to bed? I'm really tired." Sirius shook his head, and she went up the staircase.
Sirius opened the door to his dormitory, ignored the other, threw himself onto his bed, covered his face with a pillow and screamed at the top of his lungs. No one else in the dormitory moved an inch.
"You too eh Padfoot?" asked James when he was done, staring at the roof blankly.
The rest of the week passed in a frenzy of swapped dress robes and gossip. The news that the three prettiest Griffindore girls now had dates swept like an angry wave through the male population of the school, while the girls met it with elation. The marauders now found themselves followed down the corridors, by young witches who no longer feared that Lily Evan's would hex them, and James had jumped on the first date that he was offered, a seventh year Ravenclaw by the name of Rosie Clayton. Rosie was a tall, blond girl, with fair skin and quite a pretty face when it could be seen under the inches of makeup that she wore.