Flavor of the Week

Author's Note: Okay, haven't written in a long time. I wanted to get this chapter out a week after the first, but I got a little distracted and then I went on vacation and then the rest is history. But it's finally here, and that's what counts! Right? I'm so excited! I just got the sixth Harry Potter and can't wait to keep finish. I haven't gotten that far, so I don't know if my story does or doesn't follow JK Rowling's. And you know what? I don't really care. I just hope that you like it.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I am not J.K. Rowling. Therefore, according to my brilliant deductions, I did not write Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Chapter Two: Alexander Whitney

Hogsmeade weekend was quickly approaching and the Marauders still hadn't found dates. It wasn't that none of the girls at Hogwarts wanted to go with them, because there were plenty.

Nobody seemed quite that interesting in Peter. He was rather shy. It was rare that he could even muster up the courage to ask someone out. And if by some chance, the girl agreed to a date with him, it definitely was not because of his looks.

Remus was not that concerned with finding a date, even though many would have willing given up their own dates to go with him. Besides he would have much rather spend the day with his mates.

Girls swarmed the roguishly handsome, Sirius who gladly basked in all the attention. He had quite a selection of girls to choose from, only which one to choose? He quickly eliminated the girls that talked too much, the ones that did not talk at all, the ones that had a peculiar smell about them, and the ones that he did not find particularly attractive. That narrowed it down a bit, but he still had a few decisions to make.

James, however, knew exactly who he wanted to take...Lily Evans, the striking Gryffindor, whom he had pursued since their fourth year. He found something very unique in Lily. He couldn't quite pin-point it, but it was there. She was beautiful, friendly, and intelligent, unlike many of the girls James had previously dated. He needed to ask her...and quick. Hogsmeade was only two days away. There was only one problem. Lily despised James.

Ever since they had met, Lily had felt a certain hate towards James. In her opinion, they were complete opposites...as different as light and dark, black and white, left and right, sweet and sour…well you get the picture. She was quiet and reserved; he was loud and obnoxious. She was mature, and James was childish. She was bookish, while he was athletic. She had never seen him even open a schoolbook before. Sure, they had quite a number of similarities, but she had failed to see them...or rather refused to. The differences were so much more significant to Lily.

It was a little more than a week until the trip to Hogsmeade, and James decided that he would ask Lily that day. But how? He had tried countless times before, all turned out to be unsuccessful. So he would use the standard way: just walk up and ask her at the opportune moment. He found the best opportunity during Potions class. They were working on a revival remedy, and James had just run out of liverwort leaf. James walked up to Lily's table, where Lily was writing something in her book and her partner, Julianne Hoeffler, was adding bat's breath to their potion. James took a deep breath and said, "Hey Jul, hey Lily."

"I had wondered when you would ask me," Lily said as she kept her eyes on the dragon's skin that she was carefully slicing. "And the answer is the same. No."

James, now with a slightly bruised ego, replied, "Actually…I wanted to borrow some of you liverwort. We had to start over. Peter added a little too much to the potion and it kind of overfilled. Now we don't have enough."

"Here's some, James," Julianne handed a few leaves.

"Thanks." And with that he walked back to his cauldron, trying not to show how rejected he felt. He scolded himself. He should have known that she still would have said no to him.

Much to Lily's dismay, she had Defense Against the Dark Arts class next, which meant she had to sit next to James Potter for a whole fifty-three minutes. Professor Live was the most callous teacher at Hogwarts. Lily could not help to feel more than a little contempt towards the man. She was convinced, along with the rest of the student body, that he sat down and thought of ways to torment his students. As if his class wasn't enough torture, he had made sure to it that Lily had to suffer with Potter's antics, as well. After the particularly grueling class, Lily set off for the Great Hall rather hastily to get away from James as quickly as possible and more importantly to avoid Professor Live, who she knew would have surely held her back to tell her how dreadful her shield spell had been.

In her rush to get away, Lily ran right into someone, a very tall someone. She was able to keep herself from falling, but all of her books fell to the floor. Lily swore under her breath. The person who she had run into chuckled a little before he bent down to help her. It was Alexander Whitney.

Alexander Whitney: the seventh year, Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, and to top all of that off one of the best looking guys at Hogwarts (besides the Marauders, of course). "Oh I'm terribly sorry. I was in a bit of a rush. Here, I think you dropped this." He flashed Lily a wide smile, as he handed her the book. Several girls close to Lily sighed at the sight of Whitney. His blond hair, blue eyes, and overall model-like appearance made girls go crazy for him. Alexander was what Lily regarded as the epitome of class and decorum. He was proper and romantic, honest and fair, not to mention absolutely gorgeous.

Alexander continued on to his table with a few of his friends. Lily, still a little bewildered from her run-in, sat down in-between Jackie and Grace. The food looked especially appetizing, but Lily couldn't eat all that much.

Lily and Jackie left dinner early to get a head start on a Charms essay, in hopes that they would have a little peace and quiet before everyone returned from dinner. James and Remus were the first ones to return to the common room. They sat at the table behind the couch where Lily and Jackie were working. Soon after their arrival, many satisfied students flocked to the common room. "He's staring at us, isn't he?" whispered Lily.

Jackie did not need to ask twice about who 'he' was. She looked at James who blushed and quickly inverted his gaze to the book that was in his hand. She smiled. "No…not us"

Lily gave a sigh of relief. "Good, the last thing I need now is Potter in my face."

"Actually, it's more like he's looking at you rather than at both of us,"

"Swell, just swell."

"I don't see why you can't just…"

"Not you too, Grace said…"

As if on cue, Grace ran into towards the girls yelling, "LILY! LILY!"

"Whoa, slow down. You just ate half of everything that was on the Gryffindor table," laughed Sara Lee, who was in their dorm.

"Guess what!" said Grace. "You'll never guess!" gasped Grace who was completely out of breath. She paused a bit to catch her breath before continuing, "Anyways, Sara heard from Cindy, who heard from Lisa, who found out from Maria…who was told by Allison, who heard it from her best friend, Samantha King, that seventh year Ravenclaw, who heard it through her boyfriend, Benjamin, who's roommates with Christopher Butler, who told him that Alexander Whitney wants to take you to Hogsmeade!" Grace finished, again out of breath.

"Isn't that great, Lily?" said Sara excitedly.

"You are going to go with him, aren't you?" Grace asked eagerly.

Lily, who was still processing everything Grace had just said, sat a little stunned, maybe overwhelmed, until she realized the true meaning of the news. "Of course, if he asks me!" Lily said barely able to contain her excitement. Sara, Grace, and Lily giggled and jumped up and down, while Jackie watched a crushed looking James get out of his chair and go to his dormitory.

"Hey, Prongs," said Sirius, who surprisingly was alone. "Dinner was good, huh? I nearly ate the whole chicken that was in front of me."

"You did, Sirius," James said downtrodden. "And then you went on to eat all twelve of the éclairs."

"Yeah, they were pretty good too…" he noticed that his friend was troubled and stopped. "What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"Alexander Whitney, that's what. That idiotic, narcissistic. . ."

"Pig-headed arse. I know," finished off Sirius.

"He wants to take Lily to Hogsmeade."

"Well, have you asked her yet?"

"Does that make a difference? She has already told me that she has no intention of even considering going with me. But we both know that she'll go with him if he asks because he's just 'perfect'. He'll ask her out, and she'll say yes. Then they'll start dating. . ."

"Then they'll fall in love and shortly after get engaged. Then they will get married and live happily ever after, leaving you alone and miserable for the rest of your life," supplied Sirius.

"You know, you're not making me feel any better."

As the days went by, Lily was beginning to feel as though Alexander was never going to ask her. But sure enough, when Lily walked out of Transfiguration, Alexander was there waiting there for her.

"Hey! Wait!" Lily turned around a bit to quickly and hit Alexander in the arm, dropping her Transfiguration book. "Sorry, it happens every time we met. It's Lily, right?"

"Yeah," she smiled shyly.

"So, what's your next class?"

"Herbology,"

"Ugh, I just finished up there. Professor Bean had us clean the whole greenhouse after a gnome got in last night and trashed the place. It was a mess," he laughed. "How on earth did a gnome get in, in the first place. They are quite the troublemakers." Lily could not help but to think that this was Potter's doing; but the thought was quickly brushed aside. "I have a free period now. Why don't I walk you there?" Lily nodded.

They were almost to the classroom, and Alexander still hadn't even mention Hogsmeade. He talked about how he had looked forward to meeting such a lovely girl. And Lily was flattered, but was a little disappointed. Just when she was about to lose hope, he asked her, "So, are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?"

"I was just going to go with my friends," she answered truthfully.

"Oh, if you already have plans then…"

Lily horrified at herself for almost missing her chance with Alexander quickly said, "It isn't official. I haven't decided yet."

"In that case, I would be delighted to have you join me tomorrow."

"I would very much like that,"

"Splendid! I'll see you around, then!" He put the books back in her arms and jogged away.