A few days passed and things went back to normal.
So when Lucy woke up on a Friday morning with, what felt like, two large and annoying butterflies dancing in her stomach, she didn't understand her feelings of anxiety. She rubbed her eyes and checked her watch: 8.30. She groaned-she was late for breakfast. Again.
Yawning, she pulled the curtains surrounding her bed and stuffed her feet into her fluffy slippers. It got quite draughty in the castle. Lucy was idly wondering whether to put her hair up or to leave it down, when the source of her discomfort became clear. A large enchanted heart was tacked to the wall. Its pink surface glittered ominously and every few minutes, a squeaky voice would say "Mrs. Lucy Pattin."
Suddenly all of the reasons for her nerves came rushing back. Tomorrow was a Hogsmeade trip and she was going on a date. The date was with Shane Pattin. She knew that Sirius, Peter, Remus and James were planning something. James and Sirius still hadn't gotten their revenge on her, so she was dreading it. While normally Lucy wouldn't have been worried about the third reason, she knew that they could do practically anything to embarrass her. Best friends they may be but none of them ever passed up a chance to maraud, least of all Lucy!
Add Lucy's lack of experience to the equation, and a humiliating situation looked inevitable! She wasn't exactly Marlene when it came to dating. Sure, she'd had kisses and little flings with two or three boys. But nothing serious. No proper relationships, which was why she was nervous about the date. What if she had nothing to talk about? Or what if Shane expected her to go to that horrible Madam Puddifoots? She shivered at the thought. Sylvie's loud voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Lucy. You have been staring at that for about five minutes! What are you doing, picturing your wedding day?"
Lucy fought back a grin. She was pretending to be angry with the girls in her dorm, who had made a massive fuss over her date with Shane. She threw a sock at her friend and managed to hit her on the head. Smiling, Lucy held up her hands in surrender before Sylvie could retaliate.
"Ah Sylvie, you deserved it!"
Smirking impishly, Sylvie nodded. "I suppose so. C'mon lets go eat."
The two girls walked down to the hall together. When they reached the table, they were both surprised to see Lily sitting between James and Peter. A truce had been brokered between them since Lily had been told about Remus' lupine tendencies. At first, James had been very angry with her, but he had quickly forgiven Lily when she apologized.
But, Lucy hadn't realized that they were friendly enough for Lily to even consider sitting beside James.
The two girls parted then, Sylvie drifting to the far end of the table, and Lucy forcing her way in between Sirius and Remus. She grinned cheekily when the two boys began to complain loudly about her invading their "personal space." They proceeded to continue their conversation around Lucy's head.
She noticed Peter forlornly eating his toast while Lily and James talked. "Hey Pete. You up to anything tomorrow?" He immediately brightened when Lucy started talking to him. "Nah, not much, just…." He paused and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "Just going to Hogsmeade with Steph." Lucy smiled. "That's going well then?"
"Yeah, she's so nice. It just seems like she gets me, y'know?" He finished eating his toast and stood up, brushing the crumbs off himself. "Actually, I'm going to Muggle studies with her now. See you later." She nodded and waved goodbye.
While she had been talking to him, the two boys had left, but James and Lily were still sitting across from her. She watched as Lily blushed at something James had said. She muttered something in response and James laughed loudly, a proper belly laugh.
Lucy took this in with surprise. Could the great Lily Evans possibly fancy the 'arrogant' James Potter?
Smiling, Lily got up and walked away, James looking wistfully after her. He noticed Lucy watching him and grinned. "Looking good Luce, isn't it!" He laughed. "I knew she couldn't resist me for long."
Lucy laughed dryly. "Oh yeah Prongs, only took two years." She smiled at him. "A few weeks back she hated you. With a passion. Now, she's all blushing and giggling! You haven't slipped her some love potion have you?" Lily teased him.
"Well, I had considered it!" He laughed.
They both got up and walked to Defense. On their way they walked past Shane. He winked at Lucy and she smiled back, but they kept walking. James saw the expression on Lucy's face change when she saw Shane. "I never really realized that you actually fancied him!" he said accusingly.
Lucy scoffed. "What, I just agreed to go out with him for the fun of it?"
James grimaced slightly. "Well, let's face it; it's what I'd do."
"True, you are a little man whore." Lucy smiled at the indignation on his face.
"But, seriously Luce, you don't have to worry about any pranks tomorrow. I promise."
She thanked him gratefully. James always kept his promises. It was one less thing to worry about. Now all she had to do was decide what to wear and it would all be okay.
Hopefully.
thanks so much for all the nice reviews left for the last chapter :) Sorry for the update delay, I've exams coming up. In fact I shouldn't even be writing this now! So I probly wont be able to update this until after Christmas. :( Happy Christmas in advance!!
Lotsa love and cookies :) please read and review xD