The First Date
You can do this I told myself firmly, pulling a wide-toothed comb through the waves in my just-showered hair and trying to psych myself up for the day ahead.
I had been looking forward to our school trip to Hogsmeade for ages.
McGonagall's frank warning about my academic failures had had the desired effect, and I'd been spending practically every spare minute in the library in an effort to boost my grades.
The trip to Hogsmeade gave me the perfect excuse to take a well-earned break.
Finally the day had arrived, but the excitement that had filled my belly had somehow been replaced with a fluttering, nervous sensation.
The reason for this sudden change?
My Defense Against the Dark Arts seating partner, Jesse, had reminded me just yesterday that we were supposed to be meeting up for a drink in The Three Broomsticks.
What with everything else going on I'd forgotten he'd even asked me.
Despite the fact I'd warned McGonagall about the substitute DADA teacher's Muggle-hating ways, he was still somehow clinging to his role, making the lesson as miserable as possible. And this unfortunately also meant Jesse and I were still stuck together, unable to talk so forced to just sit in awkward silence through the entire lesson.
So perhaps Jesse was right. It would be good for us to get to know one another considering the circumstances. And had it been anyone else, I probably wouldn't have felt like someone had released an entire butterfly farm into my stomach at the prospect.
But it was Jesse Mederos. Handsome, lots of friends, and most importantly, a seemingly nice person.
All of these things just served to make our meeting, just the two of us, ten times more nerve-racking.
And then there was the fact that I wasn't even sure if it was actually a date.
Even though I'd tried not to let Marlene's outpouring in the Great Hall affect me, the fact that she told me I should stick with someone who would be grateful of my attention had really got under my skin - probably because it echoed what I already felt about myself anyway.
I knew the girls Jesse had gone out with before. People like Olivia-May Banks and Millie Palmer. Beautiful, popular, normal girls. Basically, nothing like me.
It's probably not even a date, I assured myself.
It's just one little drink to get to know your seating partner…who just so happens to look like a hunky lead from a telenovela.
"What are you muttering?" Mary asked me, a look on her face like she was sniffing a hundred dirty socks at once.
I moved just my eyes to see her in the mirror behind me, not realising I had been talking out loud.
"Nothing," I said impatiently, pulling my towel further up my chest.
Mary seemed to have mastered the knack of always being there when I least felt like dealing with her crap.
"So, have you spoken to Ant yet like I asked?" she asked, refusing to take the not-so-subtle hint that I didn't want to talk to her.
I rolled my eyes internally. I thought she had forgotten about it.
"I don't really want to, Mary, to be honest," I said, wishing she would drop it, "not after what happened last time. The way he left me to be torn to shreds by a massive black dog and die horrifically on my own and all..."
He didn't know it was just Sirius being a prat.
Mary pulled a face like I was exaggerating.
"Ant was just scared," she said, "anyone would have been."
"Not sure I would've run off and left him to face it on his own though," I snapped, putting my comb down on the dark wooden cabinet attached to the mirror.
I got up and walked over to my wardrobe, hoping she would take the hint and go away.
"If you see him just try and find out what's been wrong with him lately, okay?" she pressed.
It sounded suspiciously like an order.
Rather than respond to it, I instead delved a hand into my over-packed hanging rail and fished out a pretty floral tea-dress that I'd already planned on wearing.
Happy with my choice in clothing, I started the elusive pursuit for a pair of thick black tights that didn't have a thousand and one ladders in.
Suddenly Mary was right up next to me.
"Cheryl, I know we don't get along, I get that, but I'm asking you to do thisone thing because I'm really worried about him."
I turned to face her in surprise, still holding out the rather limp pair of tights I had been examining.
She glanced at them before looking at me imploringly. "All I want you to do is talk to him and see if you can get something out of him. He hasn't been himself for ages now. Please," she added.
I felt myself wither a little inside at her pitiful desperation; she was making it extremely hard to say no.
"What exactly is wrong with him?" I asked.
"I told you this already," she stated, getting strangely irritated over my inability to remember our previous conversations. "It's as if he's not listening whenever I talk to him. Like there's something going on in his mind, or he's going through something, but he won't tell me what it is. I thought it was just a phase, but it's getting worse if anything. Then he said something really weird the other day…"
She stopped talking, as if she wasn't sure whether to tell me.
I stared back at her in silence, waiting for her to continue.
"He said he thinks he's been losing time," she said in a quieter voice. Her blue eyes, which were already quite prominent, were now as wide as dinner plates.
"What does that mean?" I asked her, confused.
She shook her head. "I don't know. That's all he'll tell me. I just thought maybe he might open up to someone who isn't as close to him as I am."
She looked at me helplessly and I could tell I was her last resort.
I released a breath.
"Alright, if I see him, I'll talk to him," I promised reluctantly.
Her face relaxed, though she couldn't quite bring herself to smile. "Thank you," she muttered.
I would just have to pray that I didn't see him.
.oOo.
"What time's your date with the Latino lover-boy?" Marlene asked as we headed away from the carriages up into the main thoroughfare of Hogsmeade town centre.
I gave the top of my tights a surreptitious yank upwards through the fabric of my dress. I had managed to find a pair that hadn't been worn yet, but they seemed to be a size too large.
I made a repulsed face at her. "Please don't say that again." I checked my watch. "About an hour's time."
Sally laughed. "Are you excited?" she asked, nudging me and raising her eyebrow suggestively.
"I don't even know if it's definitely a date," I said. "Jesse might genuinely just want to get to know me, considering we're stuck sitting next to one another in DADA pretty much every day."
"Urgh," Marlene grunted in disgust, "I hate Professor Saunderson so much. 'Don't talk, don't look at one another, don't breathe'," she mimicked the substitute teacher's deep, barking voice, pointing her finger for effect.
"Where are we meeting Lily?" Dorcas asked, casting her eyes up the hill at the crowds of witches and wizards bustling about on the cobbles.
Buildings started to loom over us from both sides; brightly coloured shop fronts with animated stock in the windows inviting customers to come in and part with their galleons.
"In the pub," I replied, trying to keep the sense of dread out of my voice. She had travelled to Hogsmeade with James, and where James was…
The thought of meeting Jesse with the Marauders and all of my friends nearby was enough to give anyone nightmares, let alone a girl who'd never been on a proper date.
Sally seemed to sense my discomfort and rubbed my arm. "It'll be fine, Chel. It's just a quick drink with him and then you can come back to us. You never know, you might even enjoy yourself!"
"You could invite him over to sit with us if you wanted to," Marlene said hopefully, sensing an opportunity for fresh blood. "We'd do all the talking for you."
I shook my head at her wordlessly.
She would probably tell Jesse my whole life story before we'd even had chance to finish our first Butterbeer.
.o.
I had just started to push open the large, black wooden door to the pub when a breeze of red jogged toward us out of nowhere.
"Change of plans," Lily said, slightly out of breath.
I paused with my hand still on the door, all of us looking at her questioningly.
"I need to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies first," she explained. "We've got time before your date, right, Chel?" she asked me.
Ignoring the squirm I felt at the fact she called it a date, I said an uncertain, "Yeah, about an hour…"
"What for?" Marlene asked her suspiciously, putting a hand on her hip.
Lily's face flushed, and not just from the wind grazing our cheeks.
"James is there, isn't he?" Sally said with a knowing smirk.
"Okay, fine," Lily relented. "It just doesn't feel right being by myself when James is with his friends," she admitted. "Don't get me wrong, they're actually not as bad as you'd think, and Remus is really lovely about it all, but it always feels like I'm intruding or something."
"Aw, Lil. We'll come and keep you company," Dorcas said kindly. She looked pointedly at the rest of us.
Sally and Marlene both said that of course they would go with her, all she had to do was ask.
"I'll meet you all back in the pub I think…get us a table," I offered, trying to make it seem like I was doing them a favour by not coming along.
The girls all looked at me dubiously.
Despite my brief meeting with James outside McGonagall's office, I had done a good job of avoiding the Marauders since the shameful Great Hall incident, all thanks to my now constant study-schedule.
Though it was embarrassing to admit, I had even gone so far as to time my meals for when I knew they would've already finished, or were going to turn up late.
"You'll have to face them at some point," Sally said.
"I know that," I said, not bothering to carry on with my 'finding a table' lie when they obviously knew exactly why I didn't want to come along.
"It's alright," Lily said understandingly. "Don't worry about it. We'll see you back at the pub in about half an hour."
Thanking her silently with my eyes, I watched as they started to head back up the road in the direction of the Quidditch shop.
"The boys will probably be with us when we get back," Marlene threatened, "Better be ready, Mori!"
.o.
The chime above the door tinkled as I stepped forward into The Three Broomsticks. The darkened interior was reassuringly empty, with no sign of any recognisable faces.
Choosing the area at the side of the pub underneath the windows, I settled into one of the largest booths they had. I would be able to watch all the people pass by while I waited.
Wanting to keep busy, I started to sort through the contents of my bag, scrunching up old pieces of parchment that I didn't need and putting the lid back on pens that had become separated in the jumble of my things.
I had become used to using ordinary biro pens during my time away from Hogwarts, and I liked to keep a few around to make quick notes, just as long as they wouldn't be seen by any teacher. Quills were kind of a pain in the backside.
I don't know what made me look up at that precise moment, but I was just scanning through some old, out of date notes I'd used to finish a piece of homework when my gaze flitted upward in time to see Sirius walk through the pub door.
Shit.
Trying to make myself invisible, I looked down and pretended to still be focused on the insides of my bag.
In the corner of my eye I was able to pinpoint the very second he spotted me, his scanning eyes drawing back to my location.
Shit. Shit.
I carried on moving things pointlessly around inside my bag so I didn't have to look up.
In my peripheral vision I could see him just stood in front of the pub's entrance. If I didn't know any better, it was almost as if he was debating whether or not to actually come over to me.
Was he going to pretend he hadn't seen me and just go over to the bar?
I didn't know whether to be ecstatic or really insulted by the idea.
My heart faltered when I saw him eventually make his decision and take the short walk over to me.
He came to a standstill at the side of my table, forcing me to finally acknowledge he was there. I had forgotten how good he smelt as it surrounded the area.
"Hi," he said simply, his hands plunged inside the pockets of his black jeans. Just his thumbs were sticking out, and it was as if they were pointing to a particular area of his crotch. I peered resolutely up into his face to avoid the temptation to look.
It felt like an age since the last time I'd properly seen him, and it was as if I was looking at him with fresh eyes.
"Hi," I replied, noticing how his expression looked softer than I had remembered it. Less haughty and scornful, more… I wasn't sure. I couldn't put my finger on it. His hair seemed longer, too.
An unexpected feeling came over me – was it possible I had missed him?
"Mind if I sit with you?" he asked.
"No," I replied, surprised that he'd bothered to ask.
Taking off his coat, he tossed it underarm onto the seat opposite me.
"I'm getting a drink," he said. "What are you having?"
"Lemonade," I answered on instinct alone, despite the usual thrum of my pulse that superseded our interactions.
Giving a nod, he headed straight over to the bar to place our order.
I muttered yet another expletive under my breath, annoyed that I hadn't just gone with Lily when I'd had the chance.
I had just enough time to get my money out of my bag before Sirius was already heading back with our drinks. The barmaid, Madame Rosmerta, was not one to be caught sleeping on the job, it seemed. Particularly where one of her favourite customers was concerned.
Setting the tray on the table he picked up my cloudy, fizzing lemonade and placed it in front of me.
"Thanks," I muttered.
Taking the seat opposite next to his coat, he pulled his own Butterbeer towards him.
I held two sickles out to him across the table, but he shook his head.
"Don't worry about it," he said.
I pushed my outstretched palm closer towards him, "Please, just take it?"
"We're 'friends', right?" he reminded me of what I'd said to him the last time we spoken. "Well this is something I would do for a friend."
To confirm his point, he pushed my hand away from him, simultaneously closing my fingers over my money. His touch felt like an electric current passing through my skin and I recoiled as if I had been burnt.
Sirius seemed to notice it too, examining his affected hand briefly.
"So, where are your friends?" he asked me, wrapping his hand around the cool pint glass of his drink.
"Coming soon," I replied distractedly, dropping the unwanted coins blindly into the depths of my bag.
Please, please let them be coming soon.
"How about you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual. I had already noticed there were three extra drinks on the tray waiting for them.
"They're on their way," he confirmed. "They stopped off in the Quidditch shop. I stayed long enough to hear Prongs go on about the latest Quaffle design and had to get out. I mean who can hold their hand on heart and say they really give a stuff about Quaffles?"
He exhaled a slightly awkward chuckle.
"Lily mentioned something about heading there to meet them," I admitted. "Surprised you didn't run into her."
Sirius glanced out of the window, putting his glass to his lips briefly. "Yeah, I did now you mention it."
He seemed a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden.
Did the girls tell him I would be there?
No. If that was the case he would've stayed well away; he would've wanted to avoid the awkwardness of being alone together just as much as I did.
I thought again of the last time we were sat together. Marlene basically telling everyone I was a virgin loser.
I hadn't dared to look at Sirius's reaction at the time, and it seemed he wasn't going to be the one to bring it up now.
It was like having a pink elephant dancing furiously at the corner of our table with both of us adamantly refusing to look at it.
There was a brief gap of silence before we both started to speak at once.
'Listen, I-" he said.
"About the other day-" I started.
"You go first." We said it in awkward unison.
When I wouldn't relent, he said, "Fine. I suppose I wanted to say that no matter what you think of me, all that stuff Marlene said the other week was out of order. It had nothing to do with me or what I think, and I would've told you that sooner if you hadn't been doing your best to avoid us."
There was a vaguely accusatory tone in the way he pointed out my avoidance of them.
"So you and James have never talked about how inexperienced I am behind my back?" I asked wryly.
He didn't answer, and I felt a strange sense of disappointment come over me that he couldn't deny it, even though he'd pretty much said it all to my face in the past.
"Alright, yeah, probably," he finally admitted. "Back when you first started this year. But it's different now," he shrugged, as if he couldn't really explain it himself. "Things have changed. I mean, haven't they?"
His eyes poured into me, willing me to say something. I just wasn't really sure what.
"Marlene likes you," I said instead. "That was why she said all that stuff that day."
He frowned, but I wasn't sure if it was because I had ignored his question or because of what I had chosen to say instead.
"I don't understand," he said finally.
I felt embarrassed saying it out loud.
"She's got it in her head that you've got a thing for me. That you want us to date or something, I don't know."
I tried to shrug it off to let him know how ridiculous I found it.
"She's jealous?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
I took a sip of the lemonade he had bought for me. It tasted pleasantly sweet and tangy.
"I think her words were something like, 'admit you fancy him or get out of the way and let someone else have a chance'," I said.
"And what did you say to her?" he asked, his voice betraying only the faintest hint of curiosity.
I raised my shoulder.
"I told her it was ridiculous. If you really wanted to go out with me you would've just asked me out by now. I mean you're not exactly shy, are you?"
His jaw clenched and he lifted his drink to take another swig before putting it back down on the table.
"Besides, can you even imagine the two of us together?" I asked, feeling like I needed to save face for some reason. "We'd probably kill each other in less than a week. Probably a day, to be fair. We couldn't be more different."
I was rambling, and Sirius was just surveying me in silence while I did it.
A bell rang, sounding faint and faraway. I turned to see James, Remus and Peter enter the pub.
"Hey," James greeted, noticing us sitting together and shooting a questioning glance at his friend.
"Alright, Prongs?" Sirius asked as nonchalantly as ever while I was still busy sweating in the background.
I wasn't sure if I was relieved or unnerved by their added presence.
James sat down in our booth next to Sirius, who had moved up to allow just enough space for two of the boys.
Noticing this, Peter rushed forward on his short legs to sit next to Potter before Remus could get there.
I edged along in my seat and gave Remus a small smile to let him know it was fine to sit next to me.
"Hi," he said as he climbed in next to me.
Following the lead of the other two, he took his drink from the tray.
"This is different, eh?" he muttered near my ear as he leaned across.
I raised my eyebrows in agreement. It wasn't exactly an everyday thing to find myself sitting alone with the four boys.
"Had fun ogling all of those amazing Quidditch supplies?" Sirius asked James facetiously.
"Probably not as much fun as you've had ogling Ch-" James's comeback was cut off by Sirius's elbow being thrust into his side.
"Go easy!" James exclaimed, leaning away from him and rubbing his now bruised ribs. "No need for that."
"Where're Lily and the others?" I asked Remus, starting to feel like something was going to be said in a minute that I might not want to hear.
"Flitwick stopped them on our way down to the pub," he replied. "Something about helping him levitate glassware to the carriages for his next Scourgify class, I think. Didn't trust us lot around fragile goods for some reason." He gave me a faint smile.
So all this was Flitwick's fault.
"You know, I've been thinking-" I heard James start in the background.
"A dangerous hobby," Sirius observed.
"- if someone had told me at the beginning of school I'd be dating a Prefect, I'd have told them they needed their head checked."
"It's not just any prefect though, is it, Prongs?" Remus commented. "It's Lily."
James acknowledged him with a slow smile. He was clearly thinking how lucky he was, it was almost sweet.
"Besides, you know what they say," Sirius said.
Both the boys and I all looked at him, waiting to hear what it was 'they' say.
"Opposites attract," he stated like it was obvious.
James thought about it for a second. "S'pose it's true when you think about it," he agreed. "For me and Lily, at least."
"Wouldn't be much fun spending your life with someone exactly like yourself, would it really?" Sirius observed.
Though he didn't so much as glance at me when he said it, it made me think back to what I'd been saying earlier about us being completely incompatible because we were so different.
"Of course, not everyone has a choice," he continued. "Petey's probably glad of what he can get, opposite or not." He grinned roguishly at Peter and the smaller boy laughed along.
"I'm sure there're plenty of girls who would be happy to date Peter," I stated, feeling annoyed that Sirius was treating Peter in the same way as Marlene had treated me; like he deserved less just because he wasn't as confident. "We're not all looking for the same things."
James gawped at me before bursting out laughing.
"Careful, Chezza. You'll get Pete's hopes up, make him think he's got a chance," he said. "If Marlene had her way you'd already be coupled up."
I could've sworn I saw Sirius roll his eyes.
I shot a very red-faced Peter an apologetic look that James had managed to turn my defence into yet another insult, but he refused to meet my gaze.
"That reminds me," James said, looking at me, "well done on putting Marl in her place the other day. What was it you called her?" he asked himself.
"An untrustworthy loudmouth," Sirius answered, finishing the remains of his drink.
"…Who can't keep her trap shut for more than 30 seconds," James finished with a chuckle. "That's the one."
I raised my eyebrows at their ability to recount what I'd said nearly verbatim.
"Merlin, that was priceless," James continued. "You managed to impress even Padfoot and me, which is no small feat it has to be said. We didn't know you had it in you, did we, mate?"
I glanced at Sirius but he was too busy lazily examining the dregs of his drink to give his friend a response.
"Have you managed to clear the air with her yet?" Remus asked me.
"Yeah, we've spoken," I told him, unable to resist another glance at Sirius.
The bell to the pub's entrance rang again, and this time four more familiar faces entered.
"Hey," I greeted, looking to Lily and the girls.
Lily looked at me apologetically when she saw I was the filling in what appeared to be a Marauder sandwich – practically surrounded by them.
I gave her a resigned look; it kind of served me right having to face them in this way after the way I had been working so hard to avoid them.
She gave James a pretty smile in greeting.
The corner of his mouth lifted up in reply, his eyes saying more to her than words ever could. Not for the first time, I felt a pang of jealousy seeing them so ardent and loving towards one another.
From behind Lily's right shoulder, I noticed Sally trying to shoot me a meaningful look, following her small nod up to the clock.
At first I didn't know what she was trying to say, and then it hit me.
I ended up standing up so abruptly that I hit the fronts of my thighs against the table. It rocked forward a little from the assault, and Sirius's hands sprang out reflexively to steady it.
"Sorry, can I just get out a sec?" I asked Remus, trying not to show my panic and failing miserably. He duly moved out to let me pass, looking concerned.
I had forgotten all about my date with Jesse. There was now just over 5 minutes before we were due to meet.
"I'm popping to the loo," I told my friends, wanting to quickly check how I looked in case there was something that desperately needed fixing.
"We'll come with you," Dorcas said, the girls all huddling around me as they realised what was going on.
We all promptly hurried off to the ladies room together.
"Well, that was weird," I heard James casually observe in the background.
"What do you think it is they do in there?" Peter's higher voice added, sounding somewhat unnerved.
.o.
Five minutes later, we all trooped back out of the bathroom together.
I smoothed down the skirt of my dress, although the girls had already busied themselves in making sure I didn't have a hair or a fabric fold out of place.
My heart was practically playing the maracas and I put a hand to my stomach, feeling like it was performing the cha-cha-cha to the beat.
"Is that him?" Dorcas asked, gesturing helpfully over to a boy sitting alone on a stool at the bar.
She didn't need to, I had already spotted him.
From our angle I could just make out Jesse's tanned hands resting casually on the bar top at the end of his jacket sleeve cuffs. His dark hair lay in soft, short curls on his head. It gave me a sudden urge to run my fingers through it.
"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin," I breathed. Seeing him made it feel all the more real. "I can't do this."
I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. My breath had started to get harder to take at the idea of actually going over to him.
I looked around and found the Marauders still seated where we had left them. Why couldn't they just leave?
"Why did I even agree to this?" I asked myself.
"You'll be fine, Chel," Sally said, trying to calm me down.
I shook my head vigorously. "I won't," I told her earnestly. "I can't do it. I don't know why I thought I could. I'm going to head back to the carriages," I said, focusing my eye-line securely on the exit, "I'll just have to make an excuse or something the next time I see him."
If I left there and then, Jesse probably wouldn't see me. I could just say that I got caught up doing something else and forgot the time.
Yes, I decided, that is what I would say. With that, I made a few determined steps to exit the pub.
Marlene caught hold of my forearm and pulled me back in.
"Let me go," I hissed, trying to tug away from her without causing a scene that would attract Jesse's attention.
Marlene held me firmly on either side of my arms.
"Relax and just listen to me," she said.
I looked at her like a captured wild animal.
"Forget anything I've said to you about only sticking with boys who will be easy to handle," she said. "I was being a jealous bitch, I admit it, okay? Jesse, or any boy, would be lucky to have you."
I tried to focus my mind on what she was saying, but her words just sounded jumbled as I waited for her to let me go so I could run away.
"What you really need to ask yourself, is do you actually like him?" Sally said from next to her. "Because if you don't, there's not much point in forcing yourself to go."
My eyes moved over to where Jesse was sat and I calmed my breathing, trying to compose myself for long enough to answer her question.
His good-naturedness and positivity had made the now awful Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons with Professor Military more bearable than they ever would have been normally.
And though he may not have had the ability to make my stomach gambol like a certain other person could, perhaps having your insides somersault every time you so much as looked at someone wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"Yes," I realised, "I do."
"Oh, Cheryl," Lily said gently, "If you can learn anything from James and I, it should be how important it is to just give things a chance."
"If you don't, you'll never know what might've been," Dorcas added. "How happy you could've been."
"Besides, you can't just not turn up," Marlene said, "Imagine how you would feel if he did that to you."
"It wouldn't be fair," Lily agreed.
I looked at them in shock. Since when did they all become so insightful?
I knew they were right though. For once, I had to be brave when it came to the opposite sex. If I didn't, then I really would end up old and alone… though the 20 cats Marlene had mentioned would've been a bonus if you asked me.
"Do you want me to walk you over there?" Lily offered.
"We can all walk you over there," Marlene added quickly.
"No," I replied. "If I'm going at all, then I'm going on my own. He'll think we're odd if we all go over."
"Well, he'd be right," Sally shrugged.
Taking a calming breath and mustering up all of my courage, I started to walk over to Jesse's back, leaving my friends behind. I purposefully avoided looking over at the Marauders to see if they had noticed what was going on.
The closer I got to him the more blank my mind went, as if it was some kind of protective mechanism; my brain wouldn't let me imagine all the ways our meeting could go wrong anymore. There was just nothing. Nothing except the sound of my own footsteps treading on the slightly sticky floor.
When I reached his side, I got up onto my tiptoes briefly to slide onto the weathered dragon's hide bar stool next to his.
"Hi," I greeted, parting my lips in what I hoped looked like a confident, easy smile.
He turned to look at me and I made sure to make eye contact with his warm brown eyes. I found I couldn't keep it up for long, looking down under the pretence of shifting my weight on the stool.
I couldn't believe I was actually doing this.
"You're here," he said, a gradual smile appearing on his face.
"You sound surprised."
He tilted his head. "If I am honest? I wasn't really sure you would come."
"Why?" I asked curiously. How did he know?
He just smiled amiably, as if he didn't want to answer.
"You look really nice," he said instead, his gaze moving around my face and down to my dress.
"Thanks," I replied automatically, "You do too."
He grinned at the compliment. "I try," he said modestly.
His focus moved to an area just over my shoulder and he looked confused.
"Are they your friends by any chance?" he asked.
I whipped my head around and saw Marlene bare her teeth at me innocently. Sally was clearly trying to keep a straight face.
They were stood in front of the Marauders table, obscuring them helpfully from view.
"What were they doing?" I asked instantly.
Jesse gave a small laugh. "Just looking over at us," he said, as if to reassure me. "I take it they know about our date?"
My stomach fluttered gently. So it was a date.
"Yeah," I said, trying to act calmer than I felt. "Think they were probably more excited than I was."
He raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying you weren't excited?"
I breathed a laugh, glancing at his mock-offended expression. "Of course not, it's the highlight of my week," I joked.
He nodded appreciatively. "As it should be, as it should be."
"I mean, the rest of my week has been mainly lessons and homework..."
Jesse chuckled. "Wow. So I am the best of a bad lot. That is… quite cheeky."
He beckoned to Madam Rosmerta, "Can I have a Butterbeer, please?" He turned to me expectantly.
"I'll have the same, please."
She cocked an eyebrow at me – this was the second time today she had seen me accept a drink from a boy. Merlin only knew what she must've thought of me.
Jesse nodded. "Two Butterbeers."
Though I didn't really want another drink, I knew it would be rude not to considering it was the very reason we were meeting up.
Rosmerta took the order and seconds later handed us two glasses of caramel coloured liquid with a layer of marshmallow-like foam resting on top.
"Here's to the hope of Professor Saunderson being kicked out of Hogwarts and Professor Mison's quick return," Jesse said, lifting his glass towards me.
"I'll definitely drink to that," I said, clinking his glass gently.
He took a sip and swallowed. "Do you want to know the one good thing about the substitute teacher?"
"What?" I said, surprised that he could find any good things about the Muggle-hating Professor Military.
"His choice in seating plan," he replied, flashing me a grin and taking another drink.
I hid my smile behind my Butterbeer.
We started to carry on the conversation we'd started when Military had first sat us together; reminiscing about our first day at Hogwarts and the boat ride over to the castle.
"It felt like a dream," Jesse remembered, "Holding the lantern across the Great Lake and watching the castle come into view. All of the windows lit up in the distance. I had never seen anything like it."
"Me, either," I confessed. "Hogwarts is actually a pretty amazing place. I'm only really starting to appreciate it now."
He frowned a little. "Why only now?"
I thought of the Marauders bullying that had made my previous years kind of miserable.
"I dunno," I lied, not wanting to put a downer on everything, "I guess sometimes you only really appreciate something when it's coming to an end. We leave in less than two years; the time feels like it's going really fast."
"Do you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" he asked, raising his glass to his mouth again but keeping his eyes on me.
I pushed away the very real idea of failing all of my exams and ending up jobless, and thought about what I'd like to do if I had the chance.
"I think maybe I'd like to work in a school," I said, having never even thought about it before. "A teacher or councillor, maybe? I wouldn't even mind if it was for Muggles."
If I could help other kids realise that life wouldn't always be as rubbish as it might've currently felt, then that would be a pretty worthwhile job.
"I think you would be good at it," he said genuinely. "I, for one, would have given my right foot to have had someone like you to talk to when I first arrived at this school."
"Your right foot, huh?" I grinned at him.
"It's my best one," he quipped.
I stopped to consider what he had said.
"Were you unhappy when you first got here, then?" I asked carefully.
He shook his head.
"No," he assured me. "A bit lonely, maybe. I had always been home-schooled up until Hogwarts. It was a bit of a shock when I received my letter and learnt I would have to actually sleep here."
I nodded.
He lifted the glass to his mouth again and finished the dregs of his Butterbeer in one go.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked. "I know a path around the back of the town. It's quiet. I go there often to get away from the crowds."
"That would be nice," I realised.
He got down from his stool and steadied my elbow in a very gentlemanly way as I climbed down from mine.
I took a quick intake of breath when I placed both feet on the floor and found that he was holding his hand out for me to take.
Slowly, uncertainly, I reached to place my hand in his. There was no shot of electricity like there had been when Sirius and I had touched, but his hand felt warm and dry against mine. It felt nice.
I couldn't think of any other time I had held a boy's hand like this since early childhood.
Unable to resist, I allowed myself one quick look over to my friends table.
My worst fears were confirmed, the girls had since taken their seat and all eyes were squarely on us. I had to give it to them, the minute I made eye contact, Lily and Dorcas quickly pretended not to be looking.
When my attention moved to Sirius, I saw that he was surveying Jesse carefully. I noticed his scrutiny move briefly down to our entwined hands, before he looked away, apparently bored.
For some unknown reason, I'd had to fight the urge to yank our hands apart.
I really needed to take my own advice; if Sirius had been genuinely interested in me, he would've just asked me out by now. There was absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be touching another boy, I didn't owe him anything.
As Jesse and I headed out of the doors with the chime tinkling faintly in the background, I felt someone tall and well-built brushed past me in the opposite direction.
It took me a split second to realise that it was Anthony. I thought instantly of my promise to Mary- telling her that if I saw him I would try and find out why he had been acting so differently lately.
Would it really be so bad if I just pretended that I hadn't noticed him?
I'll admit that it wasn't my finest moment letting Ant walk away from me and into the pub. I had no real excuse other than I didn't want to cause a scene, not with Jesse around.
It was a decision that I would unfortunately later come to regret.
.o.
Jesse and I made our way around the outside of the building, heading down an alley that led towards the back entrance of the pub. When we emerged out on the other side, he led me up the hill to the right.
He hadn't been exaggerating when he said we could avoid the crowds that way, it really was secluded there, not a single person in sight.
The stone path we were following was a little muddy, but I felt secure with Jesse holding tightly on to my hand.
We talked all the way up the hill, and while I know it may have sounded cliché, it genuinely felt like I had known him longer than just a few weeks.
We managed to find an old wooden bench to sit on underneath a silver birch tree, and spent some time sharing stories about our childhood and laughing about what felt like nothing.
It turned out Jesse was half-blood too, and had many of the same memories of growing up in the sometimes surreal realms of a mixed magic/Muggle household.
"My mom couldn't believe it when she first saw a Bowtruckle in our backgarden," I grinned, "she thought she'd had too much caffeine and threw all our coffee and teabags in the bin."
Jesse laughed.
"They should probably hold classes for the Muggles who marry into magic, to be fair," he said, "Help to teach them that having tiny stickmen running around your lawn is actually quite normal."
The bell in the tall clock tower just outside of town gave a few dull bongs in the distance.
"Wow," I muttered, working out the time.
"Time goes quickly, doesn't it?" he observed.
It had been over an hour since we had left the pub.
"I think I'd better get back to my friends," I said.
Jesse nodded as if he had expected it.
We both stood up, my legs feeling a bit stiff from sitting on the cold, hard bench so long.
"I have really enjoyed spending time with you, Cheryl."
His voice sounded somehow lower than it had before, standing just a few inches away from me.
"We will do this again, I hope?" he asked in the same way that made it increasingly hard to focus.
"I'd like that," I said softly.
He smiled, looking strangely apprehensive.
A weighted pause passed between us.
"I better get going," I said again, unsure what might happen if I hung around any longer.
"Right," he agreed, taking a step back. "I'm heading back up that way, anyway." He pointed in the direction of the carriages.
"I'll probably go back to the pub," I said. "See if my friends are still in there." Though I very much doubted they would be.
"I suppose I'll see you in lesson, then?" he said.
I gave a brief laugh. "Yep."
He shot me a sheepish smile that made his white teeth contrast handsomely against the darkness of his skin, and turned to walk in the direction he had said.
A soft warmth lit me up from the inside out, radiating its way through my body. It felt like there was a hidden squeal waiting to release itself from my chest.
Forcing it back down, I started my journey towards The Three Broomsticks in a bit of a daze.
.o.
It was around half one now, and the streets were quieter than usual as everyone had swarmed to secure their table for lunch.
I had just reached the uneven stone path outside of the booksellers' Flourish and Blott's, less than a quarter mile away from The Three Broomsticks, when a familiar face caught the corner of my eye on the opposite side of the narrow road.
"Regulus," I whispered under my breath.
Sirius's brother looked extremely shifty.
Only serving to magnify his shiftiness, was the fact he was flanked by his two massive Slytherin cronies I had seen lurking around the castle every so often. They were the ones that were the size of a baby elephant, looking as though they'd smack you in the face just for breathing in their general direction.
All three of them seemed to be talking in hushed voices, muttering their words as if to stave off potential lip-readers.
Though I was aware that even McGonagall had thought I was imagining things, I was pretty sure the three boys hadn't come all the way out to Hogsmeade for a nice cream tea in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
Seeing them murmuring conspiratorially together the way they were, there was just no way they weren't up to something profoundly untoward.
I knew that it could be my one chance to find out what, if anything, had really gone on that day between Regulus and Professor Mison. I might even be able to find out why the Professor was no longer teaching us.
Without really thinking it through, I started to cross the small road, coming to a standstill in front of Scrivenshaft's, around two shops fronts away from them. I glazed over the array of magical stationary in the shop window aimlessly, trying to fine tune my ears to their conversation.
Before I could catch a single word, though, I felt two unbelievably strong arms wrap around my waist.
I cried out as I was lifted up from behind, but my effort was cut off by the sheer force of the bodiless arms squeezing against my chest, effectively knocking the air from my lungs.
When whoever it was started to carry me away from the shops, I began to thrash as hard as I could in blind panic.
My right leg swung violently forwards and backwards, trying desperately to hook my foot into the perpetrator's crotch, but I couldn't seem to get a good enough momentum to do any real damage.
I heard barrelling laughter come from behind me and turned my head as far as I could to find Regulus and his friends laughing openly at me.
But if both of his elephantine friends were still over there finding my terror hilarious, then just who the hell was currently carrying me out of Hogsmeade?
"Help!" I started shouting at the top of my lungs. "Help me! I'm being-"
I stopped. Kidnapped? Really?