James fidgeted and wiped his sweaty palms on the seat of the pub they were in. It was crowded and hot and smelled horribly like alcohol. The music playing so loud he could feel the vibrations in his chest, the people around him had to yell so they could be heard. Most of the people were dancing though, they all formed a tight group in the middle of the room with little to no space between each person. A blinding light flashed to the beat of the music. The food didn't taste so bad he supposed. It probably would have tasted better had it not been tainted by the smell of hot bodies and the vodka that had been spilt on the table.

They shouldn't have gotten in and wouldn't have had Josephine Archer not been so desperate that night. Maybe it was partially his fault too; Eilidh had wanted to let Marlene take over and had he not been so adamant about treating Josephine's condition like Sirius's, she would have put her foot down and they would not be here. So, technically it was Eilidh's fault for them being here - she trusted him too much. That wasn't why he was glowering in her direction. Nor was it the reason why tonight sucked.

That fault could only be placed in Lily Evans. Of course, it was Lily Evans! It was always Lily Evans. If the sky fell and the world ended it would be because of Lily Evans.

He couldn't really blame her for this either. She had no ties to him, she could do as she pleased. But she deserved better. The mere fact that she was allowing herself to be lied to and manipulated and that everyone else just sat around and smiled and laughed while their 'best friend' went through this was the reason why he was glowering at Eilidh, all curled up in a corner with Sirius.

"James!" Josephine Archer clambered over in heels she was too clumsy to wear while sober let alone drunk on one muggle beer. She stumbled into his lap and he caught her before she could fall. Her smile was wider than he had ever seen of her and for once in four years she looked carefree. Had it been anyone else with her tonight, anyone slightly more gossipy, she would be a Hogwarts legend by now. "Come dance with me."

"Why?" he asked. She had already been dancing with the bloke that bought her the beer and seemed to be having a great time.

"Because you're the only one without a girl and it's sad," she pouted, running her hands through his hair. He looked around; Remus was having an enriching discussion with Mary, Peter was dancing with Lily, Sirius was laughing with Eilidh, their legs entangled together. Still, he refused to be pitied.

"You were already dancing with someone," he said, gently taking her wrist to stop her from touching him.

"Come on! If it weren't for you I'd be locked in my dormitory being screamed at and crying and being forced to talk about how shitty my life is," she scoffed and stared off blankly into the far corner.

"Why don't we just get out of here instead?" he suggested. It was too stuffy. The fresh air would probably be good for her. Getting away from Lily for a spell would be good for his head. "They know their way home."

She looked at him with a look that could only be described as deviant, laughed, and said, "okay."

He didn't really know what all of that meant but he was glad to be rid of this place, so he got up, took Josephine Archer's hand, and walked her out, making sure Sirius saw him so they wouldn't worry.

"So what's got you in a mood anyway?" Josie asked, shivering and huddling closer to him.

"I'm not in a mood," he said, wrapping his arm around her. He would have given her his jumper had he been wearing something underneath it. Note to self: wear layers around girls.

"You are so in a mood. You're a grump. You're not even doing your smirk thing," Josie said.

"My smirk thing?" James laughed.

"Yeah, the thing that makes you look all confident and Potter-y. Without it, you just look grumpy. That's why no one asked you to dance," Josie informed him.

"Got it. I'll make sure to keep up my smirk thing then," James nodded seriously.

They walked down the street in the muggle city Eilidh had taken them to for Sirius's birthday. If he wasn't mistaken that joke shop wasn't too far from here. Things were so much simpler then.

"Lily's really going to the ball with Snape?" James asked, not bothering to keep the malice out of his voice.

"Just as friends. I don't think she's really interested in dating anyone right now. And Severus…" Josie trailed off.

"Who in their right mind would go out with Severus Snape?" James finished for her. Josie chuckled.

"They really are just friends," Josie said. "And even with that, I don't think they're as close as they seem."

"What do you mean?" James asked with a flicker of hope. Maybe Lily had some form of sanity left. She could get anyone at Hogwarts. Why she would choose Severus Snape was beyond him.

"Let's stop talking about Lily," Josie proposed, pulling him into the park. "You're too good to be pining after someone who has zero interest in you."

"I'm not pining. I just think she could do better. And there's something off about Snape," James said, examining the row of ice sculptures they were walking past. He remembered vaguely seeing something like this in Godric's Hollow; ice dragons that could move, reindeer that pulled a sleigh around the square. He was suddenly very homesick and longing for Christmas.

"James," Josie said, stopping in front of him. "You're a good bloke. Despite you're annoying tendencies. And if Lily can't see that then it's her loss. Find someone that likes you."

"I am," James told her. "I've got a date tomorrow."

"Oh, right. Eilidh told us about that. Apparently, you don't even know her," Josie said, condescendingly. He supposed it was a good thing that she was getting back to her usual self. He didn't know what to say so he just shrugged.

Josie, unsatisfied with this remark, rolled her eyes and pulled him towards the fountain in the middle of the square. The water had been shut off but he was sure that it would have been pretty in its proper season.

"James," Josie said, "sit."

So he sat. He liked the way the street lamps reflected off the ice sculptures. There were a few other couples in the park as well, all red-nosed and shivering as they huddled together to fight off the cold. A vendor selling hot drinks began to pack up his truck. He wondered if any of them had ever seen magic or if they really were as oblivious about the world around them as everyone said.

"James," Josie said, bringing his attention back to her. Her hand was suddenly on his thigh, he found it strange. "You know what I mean about finding someone that likes you, someone that you know?"

"Erm, yeah, I think so." He fidgeted a little and bounced his knee, anything that would casually let her hand fall. It stayed firmly in place.

"Good, 'cause I've always kinda liked you and-"

"Er… you're drunk! And not in a good place right now," James said, by way of an excuse. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that he just wasn't interested. He, as inconspicuous as he could, jumped to his feet.

"See! That's what I'm talking about. You're an amazing person and deserve someone who's really interested in you," Josie said, taking his arm in hers.

"Thank you," James said because he couldn't think of anything else to say. His mind had jumped into warp speed and he couldn't translate the jumbled mess that was his thoughts at the moment.

"I'll be better tomorrow," Josie said, with a promising smile.

"I have a date tomorrow," James reminded, beginning to turn them back in the direction of the pub or the club or whatever it was; it was the safety of a very public place however stuffy.

"It's just a date. You're not exclusive," Josie argued.

James laughed nervously, "we'll see how the date goes. We should probably head back though. Some of us have Quidditch practice in the morning."

"I'm getting tired anyway," Josie shrugged.

James turned their stroll into a brisk walk back, practically pulled Sirius to his feet, and corralled the rest of his friends, who were having way too much fun, together before announcing that it was time to head back. He ranted in an uncharacteristic manner about how they were likely to get caught at this point, they had been gone for far too long. It was stupid, their presence or lack thereof would not be noticed by anyone who cared too much about where they were. For some reason, he just really didn't want anyone to know about him and Josie.

"Mate, we'll be fine," Sirius assured him with a none too subtle worried look.

"Yeah, I know," James said, confidently, shrugging Sirius hand off his shoulder. That only made him squint at him. "But I've got Quidditch practice in the morning. Unlike some people who skive it off so much you're about to get kicked off the team."

"Why are you skiving off practices?" Eilidh asked. Sirius glared at him. James shrugged apologetically but didn't feel too bad about it, this way he'd be too busy arguing with Eilidh to look at him all worriedly.

"This was fun. We should do this more often," Mary said, stretching.

"Oh!" Eilidh skipped away from Sirius to Mary's side.

"Oi, we were in the middle of an argument," Sirius protested.

"No, you were in the middle of an argument. I don't see how there could possibly be any valid point for your side and therefore there's no need to have an argument," Eilidh told him. Sirius scoffed at her but only because he didn't have a rebuttal. "Go away this is girl talk."

"Fine," Sirius said. "Last one to Hogsmeade has to touch Snape's hair!" Sirius announced, lurching forward.

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed, disapprovingly. James merely laughed. It felt good to run, it cleared his head.

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