There weren't many options for dating venues at Hogwarts and none that would help avoid that dreadful awkward moment that is so common on a first date. There was the kitchen but the constant stream of busy yet accommodating house elves did not create a romantic atmosphere. The astronomy tower was perhaps the most common unless it was winter and unfortunately it was. Then the Great Hall for a romantic night of laying under the enchanted ceiling, it was perfect until the prefects were told to pay special attention to it on their evening rounds. So really, what were his options? Put her in the middle of a chaotic kitchen, take her to the astronomy tower so she could freeze, or put her in detention?

Of only Pevensie had thought of this, set up the date for a Hogsmeade weekend, or gave him something to work with. James had yet to meet this girl. His picture of her was based solely on Pevensie's loose description of dark hair, dark eyes, and… well, that part wasn't worth repeating. He didn't know anything about her. Was she smart? Funny? He hoped she wasn't stupid. What if she was as lame as a troll. And just as pretty for that matter. It all depended on how much he trusted Pevensie…. He didn't know how much he trusted Pevensie.

That wasn't to say that Pevensie wasn't his friend, James would even say that he'd trust Gabe Pevensie with his life. And what did he really have to lose? If she wasn't smart then he'd look like a genius in her eyes. And if she wasn't funny… he hoped that she would have enough of a sense of humour to find him funny.

And if it didn't work out they could always go back to their original idea of not going to the dance at all… except for Sirius, of course. The man himself walked beside James with a determined look in his eye and a stubbornly set jaw.

"What?" James asked, knowing his friend well enough to know that Sirius was biting his tongue.

"Sorry?" Sirius said, whether his innocent look was feigned James couldn't tell.

"You're not saying something. Say it," James requested. Sirius sighed and his jaw muscles relaxed.

"What was her name again?" he asked.

"Who?" James quirked his eyebrow.

"This - this girl," Sirius gestured toward the abandoned Charms classroom to which they were headed. "Your date," he clarified, a drop of humour in his tone.

James started to answer, he opened his mouth and stuttered out a syllable, before realising he couldn't. What was her name? He had been so consumed with the girls name the day Pevensie had told him about her he was sure he would never forget it. Had so much really happened since then? It hadn't felt like it.

Sirius snorted and clasped his hands behind his back, something he did when he was being smug, something he did to purposely annoy James. "That is an excellent way to start your relationship. A beautiful love story, really. It'll put all others -"

"You said it yourself that I need to get over Lily," James interrupted, humorlessly. Sirius glanced at him sideways, giving a half smile and a quirked brow - a look that said so? "So, this is getting over her. I'd like your support."

"You have my support," Sirius nodded, sounding earnest. "You'd have even more of it if you did this yourself. Find a girl you actually like. And preferably know the name of."

"Well, unless you have another Eilidh in your back pocket…" James smirked. Sirius spun around and stopped. "You know what I mean!" He hoped he did. James was a firm believer in all good relationships starting with friendship. Eilidh was his friend. One he wasn't attracted to but it fit the concept.

"You're not…." Sirius got all squinty eyed. His chest puffed up and his shoulders tensed.

"Mate," James said, seriously, placing his hand on Sirius's shoulder to stress this point; "No."

"Okay," Sirius nodded and they continued walking. "You could t-"

"It's not a problem. It will never be a problem," James said. Sirius nodded again. "She's cool. That's all I meant."

"Yeah. I'm sure - you know, Pevensie picked her out so, whoever she is, she's got to be cool. Right?" Sirius smiled, trying to be reassuring even though James knew he was expecting the worst.

"Exactly," James nodded.

They came to a stop at exactly the same time in the exact same position with their feet shoulder width apart and their hands clasped behind their backs. They faced the Charms' classroom door both momentarily immobilized by their nerves. James was late but James was always late. Still, it made a bad first impression.

"I need to go in by myself," James said, finally.

"Probably for the best," Sirius agreed, knowing that it wasn't time for him to move yet. James waited to actually say goodbye before he got his nerves under control. Then James hugged him because he knew Sirius wouldn't mind and because he actually needed it.

"Good luck," Sirius said, pulling away. "Not that you'll need it."

"Keep up the sweet talk Black and I might have to date you," James grinned.

Sirius gave a rude hand gesture before running off. James waited until he rounded the corner before facing the door again.

Don't think about it, just do it. That had become his mantra recently. It resulted in both bad and good, regardless it got things done. It didn't fail him that night. If he had thought of it he would have spent the night in that corridor thinking of all the ways this could go wrong, he wouldn't have put his hand on the door, he wouldn't have turned the handle, and he wouldn't have walked in. All with his eyes closed.

He didn't open them until he shut the door. For a second he thought he might not have. He had walked into pitch blackness. Even the light emitting from the tip of his wand did little to dispel the darkness, all he could see was his hand clasped around his wand handle. He wished that he hadn't sent Sirius away, wished that they had come up with a contingency plan, some word he could mutter into their two-way mirrors and he'd come flying to James's rescue but James hadn't brought the mirror. He hadn't brought the map so he didn't know who if anyone was in the room with him. He hadn't brought his cloak though he didn't think there was much the cloak could do to help him in this situation. It was most likely that his enemies if there were any, couldn't see him. They had to know that he was still by the door. And at this, though he took a step forward. Something pressed into his trousers, threatening to thinly slice into his leg, like at tightly drawn wire. He took a step back, heard the wire twinge, and the room burst into flames. The heat of it blew through his hair, the sudden burst of light blinding him even further. He blinked until his eyes became accustomed to the candlelit room.

The desks were all pushed up against the walls, the blackboard was tucked in the corner, all other trace of academia gone. In the center was table holding two candles, food that smelled wonderful (chicken and bread rolls for sure,) and roses. Beside the table sat two chairs, one empty, the other holding someone with dark hair and dark eyes. He glared at James, his mouth sneering around the muzzle stuffed into it. James's stomach dropped, he felt the blood drain from his face. He didn't think he was actually there. Then the door burst open bringing James back to reality with a jolt.

Surprise!" Gabe Pevensie sang. There were at least two others behind him, sniggering in the dark corridor. Anger flooded James allowing him to feel his muscles again though he couldn't find his tongue. "We knew how much you two liked each other and thought since it wasn't working out with the girls that you should try a bloke. You're welcome," Pevensie grinned and paused like he actually expected a thank you. "Have a good night you too. And remember to use protection." A loud chortle echoed through the empty corridor before Pevensie shut the door.

James didn't think it was locked but he didn't try it. He thought about it; it would be somewhat satisfying to leave Snape tied to a chair in a well-lit room for someone else to find. But that wouldn't relieve the agonising need to release the tension in his muscles. He ripped the gag out of Snape's mouth and cut through the ropes around his wrists. James waited until he was standing before punching him. Snape bringing the table down with him, blood dribbled from his cut lip. The tension had left James's muscles leaving an ache in its wake, his knuckles pulsed with pain where his fists made contact.

"This obviously wasn't my idea," Snape said. James could hear his sneer. He used the turned over table to help himself up. James charged him and backed him into a corner. He didn't really know what he was doing when he used his forearm to hold him against the wall, he knew it hurt Snape or at the very least made him very uncomfortable. He didn't care, a part of him liked it though he refused to acknowledge it.

"If anyone finds out about this Snivellus -"

"Why would I tell anyone?" Snape hissed. This had to be just as humiliating for Snape as it was for James. So he let him go. Maybe it was because James had hit him, maybe it was because he had backed him into a corner, or maybe it was just because they were James Potter and Severus Snape and this is what they did, but Snape took out his wand. James saw this, and being as quick as he was, ripped the wand out of his hand before he was able to utter a spell. Snape blinked in surprise then froze as James's wand came to hover over his Adam's apple. It bobbed slightly which was the only sign of fear Snape showed.

"I know the spells they used to seal the door," Snape explained, calmly.

"They sealed the door?" James asked, truly surprised though at this point he should have known.

"Don't you know your friends at all?" Snape asked. James sneered at him and threw his wand across the room. His anger wasn't at all dispelled, in fact, he thought about kicking Snape while he was bent over picking up his wand. He kicked one of the chairs instead which wasn't half as satisfying, especially when none of the wood splintered.

Snape made fast work of unlocking the door. James tried not to be impressed, he was sure he could have done the same just as easily, if not more so.

"To finish your previous threat, if anyone finds out about this, my friends and I will finish what we started," Snape said, calmly, which was somehow more chilling. How was he not seething with anger? Why wasn't he kicking chairs and throwing punches? Surely the greasy git had just as much to be angry about as James did.

"I'm not afraid of you and your… friends? I didn't think you had any friends," James said, trying to match Snape's coolly detached demeanour.

Snape's lips twitch, almost sneering. He was struggling to control himself just as much as James was. Good. Snape started to rebuttal.

"Ah, ah, ah," James held up a hand to silence him. Colour rose to Snape's pallid face. "There's no need to fight. We're both victims here."

"You're right," Snape nodded. "For once we're equals. We should part as equals. You hit me. It's only fair that I get to hit you."

James couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Snape couldn't actually think that James would let him hit him no matter the circumstances. It was almost laughable.

"It's only fair," James nodded. "However, my friends think I'm on a date right now and if I come back with a bruise, then…"

He didn't get to finish his excuse. Snape's fist went straight for his gut. He was surprisingly strong for someone so spindly. The wind was knocked out of him as he doubled over, seeing stars.

"I would wait a little longer before heading back. Date's tend to last a bit longer than this," Snape told him, trying to pretend as if his hand wasn't killing him by subtly shanking it out as he shoved it in his pocket.

"What would you know about dates, Snivellus?" James laughed and pretended it didn't hurt.

"Ask Lily," Snape whispered. He paused for a moment to revel in whatever emotion James's expression portrayed.

James sunk to the floor, using the wall for support. The emptiness in his chest hurting more than his bruised abdomen and protesting knuckles did. The thought of Lily going out with Snape was enough to distract him from how much he wanted to beat Gabe Pevensie bloody. He wasn't necessarily angry about it. He wouldn't call it sadness either. It was just shock. Maybe. Most probably.

He had tried as best he could to win Lily over. He had thought, just as Sirius had said, that Lily would come to her senses and see Snape for what he was.

Snape had to be lying. Or he was delusional.

He didn't know how long he waited before heading back. His friends were still awake and active. Evidently, it was enough time for them not to worry about his appearance.

"How'd it go?" Peter asked.

"Fine," James shrugged, noting how monotonous his voice sounded, knowing his friends would probably take that as a cue to worry. He got into bed anyway and closed the curtains around him. He didn't sleep though. He was reminded that Gabe Pevensie was just a few steps away by a rowdy noise coming from the hall and was reminded about Lily by the sound of a girl laughing. He festered in his anger and disappointment and let it carry him through the night until finally, well after the other three fell asleep, his drifted close and blissful unconsciousness overtook him.

***Jane Turnleaf, yes to everything you just said (a week ago, ha.)

****Love Fiction 2018, thank you :)

***So, I've been thinking a lot about Eilidh's character. She was originally supposed to be just a small secondary character but I fell in love with her and let her run a little wild. Anyway, stuff happens when you spend a great deal of time thinking about oc's. For instance, you might even think about writing an original work based on this character. And then you feel super bad about it because you know that it will take time away from your already scant time to write this fanfiction... What I'm trying to say is, I MIGHT be posting less often. MIGHT. We'll see. I'm actually kind of excited. Not about posting less but about this other thing, whatever it may be... We'll see.

Thanks for reading.

All rights reserved.

Until next time,

XO.