Chapter Five: Trip to Hogsmeade
The dormitory of the sixth-year girls looked like a war zone. Clothes had been thrown over every available surface. The five girls in the room were frantically trying to figure out what they were going to wear. Could they borrow this shirt or that skirt? Hair was not cooperating and time was slipping away before they needed to get down to the Entrance Hall. Alice and Lily weren't the only ones who were going on dates today. Actually, the only girl in the room without a date was Marlene who had resigned herself to spending the day with Remus and James.
"Lily, wear the green sweater! The V-neck with the cables!" Marlene was attempting to tame her curly blonde hair.
Lily was standing in the green sweater but couldn't decide what pants she wanted to wear with it. She was holding two pairs of blue jeans, one slightly darker than the other. The red-head held them up for the blonde to pick. Marlene pointed to the darker pair and Lily shimmed into them. Alice had four dresses laid out on her bed. Marlene walked over and pointed at the navy dress with the flared skirt. Beatrice and Mary had both changed at least three times before deciding on their outfits.
"Alice, can you help me with my makeup? I look like a clown every time I do it myself," Beatrice, like Lily, was muggle-born. Alice sat down opposite from her on the bed and tilted her head to each side before deciding on her plan of action.
Marlene plopped down on Lily's bed, "You going to let Colin snog you today or what?"
Lily's date with Colin had been the talk of the school. No one had been able to get Lily to go on a date since the third year and not for lack of wanting. Sirius Black and James Potter had made it their duty to prevent any eligible male from asking Lily on a date. Word had spread like wildfire that Lily was going to Hogsmeade with Colin Smith and James Potter wasn't doing a thing to stop them. Bets had been made on how long it took for one of the two boys to ruin the date.
"Maybe? I don't know. I want to take things slow. I like Colin, a lot, but I just," Lily blushed furiously. Marlene was the most experienced with boys and never had issue with expressing her feelings or what she wanted. She also happened to be the oldest, her seventeenth birthday would be in a little over a month.
"Slow is good." Marlene smiled at her. "Slow is smart."
The Great Hall was buzzing. Every student third year and up was excited for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. The second years were a little put off that they were not yet old enough to go, first years were still trying to learn their way around the castle and were not concerned with a trip to the magical village. Plenty of students, boys and girls alike, would be going on first dates today which added another layer of excitement to the day. Lily and her roommates made it to the entrance of the hall when Lily stopped dead in front of them.
"I can't do this!" The panicking Lily turned to run when Marlene caught her by the arm.
"Oh no! I don't think so, Lil. You will not do this. You will go in there and go to Hogsmeade with Colin." Marlene motioned to Alice to grab Lily's other arm and together they marched her into the Great Hall.
"But what if he wants to snog me?" Lily hissed to Marlene, "I don't know what to do!"
"I promise you," Marlene's smirk could have rivaled the one on Sirius Black's face. "You'll figure it out. It's really not that hard."
Sirius watched the trio of girls march by. He actually enjoyed the horror on Lily's face in a dark, twisted way only Sirius Black could. He was a little proud of the smirk on Marlene's face and would have admitted to it if he didn't dislike the blonde as much as he did. Alice had more spunk than he'd given her credit for. Sirius turned back to the table where James and Remus were discussing something from Charms. Peter was sulking because he wasn't going to Hogsmeade today. He had gotten caught sneaking down to the kitchens earlier in the week and had received detention.
"Tough luck, Pete." James was trying to cheer up his friend with promise that they would pull a prank soon. "Padfoot, what are your plans for the day?"
"Yes, what poor girl has agreed to spend the day with you?" Remus had pulled out a Herbology book.
"If you must know, I have the pleasure of escorting Ms. Anna Henry of Ravenclaw this fine September day." Sirius stole a piece of bacon off Remus's plate. "So I will spend my afternoon snogging while you two spend yours with McKinnon. I think I've got the better end of it."
"Sirius, why is it you don't like Marlene again?" Remus had never understood why the two had never gotten on. She got on well enough with James and himself. Mostly with James because his mum was good friends with her granny and they'd known each since they had been toddlers.
Sirius huffed, "She told me my hair wasn't pretty." The flair for dramatics never ceased to amaze the boys.
Remus accepted that this was quite possibly the truth. Sirius was very – protective – of his hair and would let know one insult his 'luscious locks'. Deep down Remus knew that Sirius had friendly feelings towards McKinnon. They were a little like James and Lily in that regard. Though if anyone tried to convince either pair of teenagers about these feelings they would surely be hexed into next week.
The four boys ignored the whispers racing around the Great Hall. Marlene and Alice, with Lily still pinned between them, marched between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables to near the front of the hall where Frank and Aiden were sitting. Colin wasn't with them. The girls sat down opposite the two boys. Marlene generously filled Lily's plate with food even though her friend looked a little green at the prospect of going on a date today. The whispers grew louder and became more of a buzz as Colin came strolling down the tables. James barely lifted his head as the older boy walked past him and his friends. He could almost feel the annoyance radiating from Sirius.
"Yeuch – he gave her a lily? Really? That's so cliché. Everyone knows Lily hates lilies – which is kind of ironic," Remus gave Sirius the shut-up look. The boy responded with the utmost maturity and stuck his tongue out.
Lily wasn't a fan of lilies. Which her mother thought incredibly funny. Of course, Petunia loved petunias, making Lily's dislike even more humorous to her mother. She accepted the flower from the boy, her mother had raised her with manners and though she did not like lilies she appreciated the gesture.
"It's a tiger lily." Colin was beaming as a smile stretched across Lily's face. Lily's mind had jumped to Peter Pan and Tiger Lily and Wendy and getting to ride the train into London over the summer and time spent with good friends. She had completely missed Colin's explanation as to why he had gotten her a tiger lily but it didn't seem to matter much. Lily was still feeling a little nervous but she knew that her friends would never steer her in the wrong direction on purpose.
James sat with his back to the door of the Three Broomsticks. Remus and Marlene sat across from him engaged in a conversation that James had completely zoned out from. It hadn't taken long for Marlene to tell James off for moping about Lily on her date even though he had tried to hide it. In all his maturity James had stuck his tongue out at her and tried to get Madam Rosmerta to let him order firewhiskey. She had returned to their table with three butterbeers.
"Merlin, Remus! You can't be serious!" Marlene exclaimed exasperated by Remus's take on how the Ministry was handling the rise of the Dark Lord.
"Marlene, I'm not saying I agree with what they're doing. All I'm saying is that I understand why." The sandy-haired boy took a sip of butterbeer. "They're scared. There's no precedence to tell them how to handle all the goings on."
James was a little impressed with his friend. "Ever thought of a career in law, Moony?" Remus glared at James across the table. The number of times he had explained to his friend that no one in their right mind would hire a werewolf - let alone the Ministry of Magic. The bespectacled boy put his hands up in surrender. The blonde girl muttered something under her breath that neither boy caught.
A gust of wind blew from the just opened door to James's back and ruffled his disordered hair. He didn't look to see who it was, the musical laugh told him exactly who it was. James slumped a little more down in his seat. Both Marlene and Remus gave him sympathetic looks. Marlene waved at her best friend and Remus grimaced a smile out of kindness. James glared across the table again as Lily and Colin walked over to say hello.
Colin, ever the gentleman, politely said hello to all three students. Lily smiled brightly at Marlene and Remus. She glanced at James who looked like he was falling apart. Something tugged inside of her. She didn't understand the feeling. When she had first seen the trio, she had been intent on just ignoring James and pretending he wasn't with Marlene and Remus. Instead she greeted him with a curt nod, neither warm nor cold, "Potter."
James looked up at her. Confusion in his hazel eyes. He nodded back in the same manner, "Evans."
The couple went to find their own table. Marlene exhaled the breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. If someone had asked her how she thought James would react when Lily brought her date over to his table that is not how she would have responded. "I'm proud of you, James."
He looked across the table at her. A terrible mixture of sadness, confusion, annoyance, and a little bit of anger boiled in his eyes, reflecting what was inside his heart. "I apologized to her after Transfiguration on Monday."
Marlene was a little surprised by this. She knew James had started to mature a little bit over the summer. She figured that Lily had finally kicked him to the point where he wasn't going to get back up. Especially since he had stopped communicating with her, or rather trying to communicate by sending one-sided letters, with her over the summer. "She didn't tell me that."
"I asked if we could turn a new leaf, that I was sorry for being an arse all this time," James looked absolutely miserable. "She said no. That I was only going to continue being arrogant."
The look James gave to his two friends begged for help. He needed them to help him figure out how to fix this mess that he had made. Marlene was caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, she had known James the longest and he was practically her brother, on the other Lily was her best friend in the whole world. Remus wasn't sure what to say to James either. He didn't want to give him false hope that Lily and Colin wouldn't work out but at the same time he didn't want James to give up. Both Remus and Marlene had a feeling the James was right, that he and Lily were soulmates. Lily just needed to realize it.
"I think you should continue showing Lily that you've changed, that you're not the kid who dangled Snape upside down by the lake last June." Remus knew that this was really the only advice that he could give to him.
"I second that," Marlene watched as James seemed to sink lower. "Lily is never going to give you a chance if she doesn't think you've matured."
James sighed and peered around Marlene's shoulder. Lily and Colin were sitting at a table in the corner. The redhead threw her head back and laughed. Colin looked pleased with himself. James's eyes lingered for a moment longer and he caught a glance from Colin. Lily was still laughing and missed the silent exchange between the two boys. Colin gave James the smallest of gloating smirks before he turned back to his date.
The sixth-year inhaled sharply. That was it. He was going to be so incredibly kind that Lily would be forced to acknowledge him. He knew that he couldn't mess with Colin, that was completely out of the question. Lily would never forgive him for messing up the relationship she clearly desired with Colin. There was only one thing that James could do. "I'm going to kill him with kindness."
Marlene and Remus were baffled. James stood up abruptly, smiled at them and said goodbye as he grabbed his coat and left. They looked at each other and turned around. Lily and Colin were sitting far back in a corner. The two had gotten pretty cozy and were snuggled up next to each other at the table.
"Should we maybe go after him?" Remus asked, James wasn't behaving how anyone expected him to these days.
"You don't think he'd do something stupid, do you?" While Marlene had known James for the past sixteen years she hadn't quite figured out how his brain worked yet.
The two Gryffindors scrambled up from the table and grabbed their coats. They were slinging them on as they raced out the door. Marlene very nearly missed punching a third-year Hufflepuff girl in the face as she slid her left arm into the fall jacket. Some of the older students snickered as they watched the two race out the door. While they were an odd pairing, bets were placed on where they'd be caught snogging later.
Remus and Marlene ran into Sirius and Anna as they were leaving the village in pursuit of James. The urgency of Marlene and Remus made Sirius pause to hear them out. It wasn't even a question, Sirius dropped Anna's hand and started sprinting towards the castle. Remus chased after him unsure of which direction Sirius would urge him to act in. Marlene shrugged an apologetic look at the Ravenclaw and sprinted off after the boys.
Marlene was the last to enter the Gryffindor Common Room. She scanned the room for the three Marauders. Not a single one of them was there. A handful of first-years were trying to play exploding snap by the fire. "Oy! Where'd Potter, Lupin, and Black go?" The first-years looked at her blankly, terrified that a sixth-year was addressing them. One of the boys pointed to the stairs that led up to the boys' dormitory. The blonde girl dashed up the stairs and through the open door to the sixth-year boys' room.
"Merlin! It's only been three weeks! How can this room look and smell so disgusting!" Marlene looked around the room in awe. There were four claimed beds in the room and an empty fifth bed. Three fifths of the room were an absolute monstrosity. The other two-fifths were Remus's side of the room.
James, Remus, and Sirius all looked up at her. Remus pulled a face that said, 'trust me it gets a lot worse'. A cork board had been set up between James's bed and Sirius's. The two black-headed boys turned back to said board and whatever argument was being had before Marlene barged in. Remus walked over to her and informed her that James had decided that he was going to create 'objectives' and a 'timeline' for Lily seeing how mature he had become. He added that James and Sirius were arguing over what the objectives should be and what order they needed to be put in.
"James, you're off your rocker." Marlene marched over and scanned over the board. There were lists and pictures and other bits of parchment posted to it. One list was titled 'Lily's favourites.' "Now this is just wrong, James." Marlene snatched the parchment from the wall and danced away from James.
She snatched a pre-inked quill off of the nearest desk and scratched items of the list. She wrote in new ones. Marlene looked up at James shrewdly, as if trying to assess how intent he was on changing. She handed the parchment back to him and grabbed a new piece off the desk. She scribbled a few things down on it and looked at Remus. He guessed she wanted his opinion on what she was writing. When he looked down he burst out laughing and took the quill from her and added a few items of his own. Remus handed this second piece of parchment to Sirius for a third opinion. The boy barked a laugh and pinned the parchment to the board.
"Knowing Lily's favourite things is great, Prongs, but you're going to need to know what not to do too." Remus was laughing and Marlene had a triumphant look on her face. James smiled a true smile. He certainly had some of the best friends in the entire world. Together the four students worked on James's 'plan' until Peter entered the dorm. The short boy couldn't decide if he was more confused at Marlene's presence in their dorm room, that Marlene and Sirius were cooperating with each other, or that Sirius had clearly ditched his date to come back and do something in the dorm room.
Colin and Lily walked up the path from the gates towards the castle. It was nearing dinner time and there were only a few stragglers still on their way back from the village. Although the day had been warm with the sun, it was breezy. The wind picked up and swirled Lily's vibrant hair around her face. When she finally managed to get her hair under control, Colin was standing very close to her. Lily looked into his grey eyes and bit her lower lip ever so slightly. Colin leaned in and pressed his lips gently to Lily's. Her hand pressed gently against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. When they broke apart Lily smiled shyly at Colin and blushed.
"It's not quite time for supper," Colin grabbed Lily's hand and took a step off the path slowly. His face held a question. Lily stepped off the path after him. She followed him down towards the lake and a large oak tree. They sat on the other side of the tree to keep from being seen by straggling students.
Colin sat down first and pulled Lily down beside him. He leaned in for another kiss and placed his hand at the back of Lily's neck. Lily thought he was being quite gentle. He wasn't a bad kisser either. Colin didn't push Lily to go too fast. He made no attempt at putting his hand up her sweater or down her pants. Lily was content. This is what being sixteen was. Snogging a nice boy down by the lake. For no reason at all, the face of James Potter appeared in her head. Lily pulled back from Colin quickly.
"I'm sorry, Lily." She assured him that he hadn't done anything wrong. "You're a good kisser." Lily threw her hand over her mouth mortified. She scrambled up off the ground and stuttered something about needing to change before dinner. Lily took off at a run towards the castle, leaving Colin sitting beneath the tree by himself.
While Lily was mortified, Colin was smiling. He watched the girl all the way up to the castle before he stood up and dusted himself off. Lily Evans had snogged him and he was the only boy in all of Hogwarts that got to say that. He whistled a tune as he found his way back up to the castle.