CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVEN
"Hey, Hensworth! Great game!"
"Thank you!" Jane said, spinning around to try and see who'd said it, but she was surrounded by a sea of people in the common room, and whoever had congratulated her could have been any one of them.
Jane shrugged, pushing her way through the crowd with more people congratulating her along the way. She wasn't used to all the attention, and she had to admit that she kind of loved it; she couldn't stop smiling. Usually it was James or Will or Brenton or somebody else on the team getting all of the attention; she had never been the "MVP" before.
This had definitely been her best game so far, scoring more points than James or Jarod combined, which she thought was something that she'd never do. She was extremely proud of herself; it was a great way to kick-start the season.
"Letting the attention go to your head I see," Sirius said, pouring her a cup of Firewhiskey as she approached him and the rest of the boys.
"Mm," Jane said, taking the cup and sitting down between him and James. "I'm starting to see why you love being in the spotlight so much."
"Cheers to the spotlight," Sirius said, smirking and holding up his own cup.
Jane laughed and tapped her cup against his before taking a sip. She wiggled around a bit, sinking deeper into the squashy couch, resting her head on James' shoulder. She smiled when she spotted Violet at a table not too far away, winning at a game of Exploding Snap against a couple of boys in her own year. Obviously, James and Remus had taught her how to really play. Jane, who had still never won a single game in her life, had no business teaching anyone how to play the game.
"I'm gonna pretend that you're not drinking in the common room," came Lily's voice, "as I always do at these parties."
Jane looked up and saw Lily leaning over the back of the couch, peering down at her.
"Maybe you should have some," James said, holding out his cup.
"Not a chance, Potter."
Lily bent down so that her head was between Sirius and Jane.
"Guess who's looking for you," she whispered in a sing-song voice, and Jane grinned.
"Who?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but wanted Lily to say it anyway.
"A certain team captain that you're familiar with," she said.
Sirius scowled a little, and James perked up a bit.
"How familiar?" he asked.
Jane and Lily both rolled their eyes simultaneously. Lily turned her attention back to Jane, excitement in her voice when she said:
"I think this it, Jane. I think he's gonna ask you out."
Jane giggled in the most girlish way, butterflies filling her stomach.
"You think so?" she asked, and Lily nodded enthusiastically.
Jane exhaled, trying to calm the butterflies, and she giggled a bit more.
"Could you be all girly somewhere else?" Sirius said, but she ignored him.
Jane stood up, trying to straighten her robes, and taking her hair out of its ponytail just to put it back up again.
"How do I look?" she asked Lily.
"Like you just finished playing a Quidditch match. But hey, knowing MacGregor, he probably finds it attractive," Lily told her.
"If he gets too handsy, you just let me know," James said; then, he stood up. "Better yet, I should just come with you."
Jane smiled a fake sweet smile, and brushed the crumbs from the crisps he was eating off of his Quidditch robes.
"James, I love dearly, but I will kill you in a heartbeat if you mess this up for me. Besides, I thought you liked Will," she said.
"I do, but just remember: go for the groin if he tries anything," James said.
Jane shot Lily a look, and Lily sighed.
"I'll take care of it," she said. "Potter! Me. You. Exploding Snap. If I win I get two Sickles."
"And if you lose, do I get to pick my prize?" James asked hopefully, successfully forgetting about Jane and Will.
"Only if you want me to kick you in your groin, Potter."
"Two Sickles it is," Jane heard James say as she walked off to find Will.
Lily dealt out the cards, sitting across the coffee table from where James and Sirius were on the couch. She gave Sirius a weird look when she noticed him scowling at nothing in particular. She glanced at Remus who was sitting in the armchair beside hers.
"What's Black's problem?" she asked looking back at her cards.
Sirius looked up, and in turn the rest of the boys looked at him.
"I don't have a problem."
"He thinks that Jane shouldn't date the team captain," Peter piped up, and everyone looked at him.
He threw his hands up a bit.
"What? I remember things you guys say," he said defensively.
"Afraid he'll show favouritism?" Lily asked.
Sirius let out a caustic laugh.
"He already does."
"Yeah, but, mate, that favouritism has saved our arses a few times," James reminded him, studying his cards intently.
"And if they break up?" Sirius asked rhetorically. "I don't fancy losing our winning streak because their relationship fell apart."
"You wanna know what I think?" Lily asked, discarding one of her cards.
"Not really. No," Sirius said irritably, swirling his drink around.
"I think you're jealous," she said, waiting for James to take his turn.
Sirius scoffed a bit in disbelief.
"Jealous? Of MacGregor? He can have her, if that's what he's in to."
Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I was actually gonna say of Jane because she found someone that makes her happy, and with your track record, you can't seem to do that. I win," Lily said, laying down her cards, and watching James' explode in his hands. "Pay up, Potter."
"Well, that was the fastest game I've ever seen," Remus commented.
"What? Just because Jane sucks at it, doesn't mean all Muggle-borns do."
"Whatever," Sirius mumbled, brushing Lily off and downing the rest of his drink before standing up. "I'm gonna go find some real party entertainment."
Meanwhile, Jane and Will had found a nice little spot to sit and talk, away from the hustle and bustle of the party.
"So, Lily said you were looking for me. I assume you wanted to talk to me about something," Jane pressed.
Will ran his hand through his sandy hair.
"Yeah, yeah," he said quickly, "I wanted to say great job out on the pitch today. You were amazing."
"Oh," Jane said, but she was really thinking:
Are you fucking kidding me?
Jane shook out of her thoughts.
"I mean, thank you. Thank you," she repeated, with just a twinge of bitterness in her voice.
"Also—"
"Yes?" Jane interrupted hopefully.
Will laughed nervously.
"Um, well, next weekend, since there's a Hogsmeade trip and all, I was wondering if maybe I could take you out. Like on a date," he added a bit awkwardly.
"I'd love that," Jane said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Really?" he asked, looking as though a ton of weight just fell off his shoulders.
"More than anything," she replied.
"Thank Merlin."
"I'm telling you that this is what you need to wear," Marlene said, holding up the dress.
"Yeah, if she wants to freeze to death," Mary butted in, causing yet another petty argument between the two.
Thinking about it, Jane didn't know how she'd missed that they were together. They argued like a married couple already.
"Guys, she could show up in her pyjamas, and MacGregor would still be thrilled to see her," Alice said, laying on her stomach on her bed, turning the page of her Witch Weekly magazine.
"I don't see what's wrong with what she's got on now," Lily added.
"You can't wear jeans on your first date," Marlene said.
Mary scoffed.
"Says who?"
"Anybody with a fashion sense."
Jane rolled her eyes and fell back onto her bed.
"Guys, I think I might just wear, like, a nice sweater or something. And maybe some bellbottoms?"
However, she did not end up wearing bellbottoms and a sweater. She had finally worn what Mary and Marlene come to a compromise on: Long green skirt, white button-up tucked in, and a grey cardigan sweater on top. Plus, some boots of Mary's that they had forced her to cram her feet into.
"It'd be so cute if she had a hat to go with it," Marlene said.
Jane rolled her eyes as she fastened her belt around the skirt, thinking that she needed to get out of there before Mary or Marlene changed their minds about the whole outfit in general because no one had a hat to "pull the look together." Will wasn't going to care if she was wearing a bloody hat. He sure as hell wasn't going to know or care that her toes were already going numb just for the sake of looking cute for their date. Jane just figured she shouldn't try too hard.
"You look gorgeous, Jane," Lily said.
Jane smiled grabbing up her purse.
"Wish me luck," she said before walking out of the dorm.
"Wait!" Alice called, discarding her magazine, jumping up from her bed, and rummaging through Jane's trunk.
"What?" Jane asked, poking her head back in the doorway. "Did I forget something?"
"Um, yeah? Documentation," Alice said, holding up Jane's camera.
Jane smiled a bit and walked back into the room, allowing Alice to snap a couple of pictures of her. Then, they all wished her a good date, and Jane nearly fell over herself trying to get down to the common room.
Will was already waiting on her, and she hastily checked her wristwatch to make sure she hadn't kept him waiting too long.
When Will saw Jane, he smiled, causing her to giggle despite herself. Jane looked over at the couch in front of the fireplace to see James peering over it. He held up his bundled-up Invisibility Cloak and pointed between it and himself, suggesting that he could follow them if Jane wanted.
Jane shook her head ever so slightly and mouthed the words: I will kill you.
James scowled, but then actually smiled a bit, before mouthing back: Have fun.
Jane smiled as Will led her out of the common room.
The entire walk to Hogsmeade, the two talked and laughed. Jane couldn't seem to stop giggling nervously. And while she found the involuntary outbursts totally embarrassing, Will found them cute for some odd reason. Of course, when he told her this, Jane giggled even more, turning a little pink in the face.
"So, where exactly are you taking me?" Jane asked once she'd gotten a grip on herself and the village started to come into view.
"Uh, it's some tea shop. Madam Puddifoot's?" Will said sounding unsure of the name. "Ever heard of it?"
Jane nodded a bit.
"Yeah," she said. "I've never been in there before though."
"Me either," Will admitted. "But I hear it's 'the place to go' if you're on a date, so I figured I'd give it a go."
"Sounds delightful," Jane said, linking her arm with his as they walked down the High Street.
However, the two only ended up staying in the tea shop for a little less than fifteen minutes. The place was cramped with too many tables and snogging couples. The windows were all steamed up and the decorations were overly frilly and just plain out tacky. Jane had finally ended up laughing at the blatantly uncomfortable look that Will had on his face before saying:
"You wanna just go to the Three Broomsticks?"
Will had exhaled in relief before replying:
"Oh, thank god. I thought I was gonna have to ask it."
The rest of their date went pretty well. They talked and laughed and hit it off really well as they drank their Butterbeers and ate their food. After that, they took a walk, leaving the village behind and venturing out towards the rolling hills where little thatched cottages were spread far and wide.
When they got to the old Lyles' cottage, Jane stopped and stared at it. Will stood beside her, frowning at the ruins of the house.
"It's terrible to think about," Will said. "That night the Death Eaters attacked, you know? Makes you kind of wonder about the people that used to live here and what kind of people they were and why something like this had to happen to them."
"Their names were Thomas and Margaret Lyles," Jane said quietly, still staring at the house.
"You knew them?" Will asked.
Jane shook her head.
"Not personally. I saw them around a lot though," she said. "Perfect little family; they had the cutest little boy. Lucas. He'd be about five now, if he's still alive. Thomas was the only one confirmed dead. Margaret and Lucas went missing.
"If they were ever found, it wasn't in the Prophet," Jane continued, "I checked all the time. I still check occasionally every now and then. But you know, sometimes after this long you just kinda lose hope in things like that."
"But hey, miracles still happen every day, right?" Will said, hugging her to his side before looking down at her. "Or at least, I believe they do."
Jane looked up at him and smiled.
The two stayed out pretty late, having to sneak back into the castle after curfew, only running into Remus, who luckily had prefect duties that night. And only after they were in the safety of their common room did Will give Jane a sweet and small goodnight kiss before going up to his dorm.
"Well, that's something I wish I could un-see," drawled a voice from near the fireplace.
Jane rolled her eyes at Sirius who was sitting in one of the armchairs.
"Now, what d'you want?" Jane asked.
"Shush," he said. "You'll wake up, Prongs."
Jane walked over and peered over the couch to see James sprawled out over it, sleeping soundly. She smiled.
"Waiting for me to get back?" Jane asked, taking off the cardigan she was wearing and draping it over James.
"James was. I was just bored," Sirius said.
"Yeah, well, I'm tired. So, goodnight."
"And what happened on this date to make you so terribly exhausted?" Sirius asked.
"Nothing that you're thinking of," Jane said.
"So, if nothing good happened, then why are you dating him?"
Jane clicked her tongue in annoyance. Ever since Will had asked her out, Sirius was trying to offhandedly convince her that she shouldn't be dating the team captain. It got pretty annoying.
Sirius held his hands up as she glared at him.
"But hey, you already know my opinion on the whole thing."
"Yeah, and it's a stupid one," she countered.
"It is a legitimate concern, for not only my dear friend, but the team as well," Sirius said.
Jane rolled her eyes.
"Couldn't you just try and be a good friend for, I don't know, two seconds? You know, maybe ask me if I had fun on my date? Something other than trying to rain on my parade for some stupid reason?" Jane said.
Sirius let out a humourless laugh. Jane huffed and spun around, walking towards the girls' staircase. She had just reached the bottom step when Sirius said:
"Hey, Janie?"
"What?" she asked, stopping, but not turning to look at him.
"Did you have fun?" he asked seriously, and Jane had to turn and look at him to make sure he was actually being serious.
"Yeah, I did."
Sirius nodded a bit.
"I'm happy for you," he said.
And Jane smiled at him that beautiful smile she inherited from her mother before walking up to her dorm.