"You'll never guess what I've found." Pippa nearly shouted as she plopped down into the chair Remus had held open for her. She gave him a grin but waited for a reaction.
Her friends looked at her in various stages of interest. Remus was gazing at her completely while Caroline looked moderately bored. Sirius and James had stopped whatever conversation they had had prior to her entrance and were waiting. Lily was smiling at her, encouraging her. Peter looked outright bored.
"Well?" Caroline prompted, seeing that Pippa wanted some form of persuasion to tell what she had found.
The seven friends were sitting around a table in Hogsmeade, enjoying bottles of butterbeer and warming up as snow fell down around them. It was the first weeks of January, their first trip out in the New Year.
"A perfectly lovely and completely livable flat right here!" She beamed. "I've been searching for ages for something and now I've found one!" She paused. "Want to hear the best bit?"
"Yes, we do." Caroline smiled at her friend's joy.
"I can afford it alone! I needn't have a roommate!" Pippa cried. "I've lived with someone for so long, whether it's family or here—though I do love you girls—it'll be lovely to have a space of my own."
Lily grinned at her. "I'm sooo happy for you, Pip. Can we see it?"
Pippa nodded. "Yes! As soon as we're done here, in fact. I've found my flat and no one else can have it but I want you all to have a look at it before I buy it. You've got to tell me if it's delightful or not."
"It'll be great, Pip." Remus said. "If it's got you this excited, I'm sure it'll be amazing."
Pippa's enthusiasm could barely be contained as she waited for them to drink their butterbeers. She sat there, her legs bouncing, with a wide smile upon her pretty face. Her curly blonde hair had been recently lengthened through the use of a potion (but don't tell anyone) and dyed a deep brown with the occasional blonde highlight. She had naturally been a brunette but dyed it when she turned fourteen. It was funny how completely random her thoughts were as she waited.
"Okay Pippa, we're finished. Show us your castle," James said with a teasing smile. He slipped his hand into Lily's after he helped her up. With his free hand he tossed a few coins on the table. "Drinks on me. Now let's put Pippa out of her torture."
Pippa shot him a very grateful look as they all stood to leave. Grabbing jackets, pushing in chairs, a few clumsy movements all took much longer than Pippa had ever thought possible.
When every scarf was tied around each neck and each hat upon head, Pippa set off with her friends, leading the way around the small and curving streets of Hogsmeade. Along the way Lily recognized the small toy-store in which she had bought Catharine the doll and the clothing store Catharine's sister demanded a dress from.
"Here it is," Pippa said, stopping before a small building. It had brick walls and one black wrought-iron balcony with extremely intricate designs. Pippa pointed to it. "That'll be mine," she said with pride. The design on that was a galloping horse out of iron, beautifully made.
"Shall we?" Sirius asked gallantly, offering Caroline his arm. James followed in suit.
"May I?" Remus smiled at Pippa.
"Of course." The two led the way up a circular staircase, all the way up to the third floor.
She stopped outside the door, fishing out a key from under a small potted plant. "The landlord told me about it earlier when I saw it. I told her earlier that I wanted to show my friends."
Her friends nodded, staring at the door. It was thick wood, dark and elegant. The walls of the stairs were lit with candle-like lamps that glimmered elegantly.
The door opened and Pippa let out with a "Here it is!"
Everyone walked in together, holding their breath for the apartment Pippa had obviously fallen in love with.
It was a small flat, more of a studio apartment. There was one room with small alcoves acting as partitions. The only thing separate was the bathroom. The view from the balcony was upon the river that flowed across the road. It was a small balcony but one Pippa had great hopes for.
"This is the kitchen area," Pippa said with a huge smile. She pulled herself up onto the countertop to sit and watch her friends.
There had been added a small stove and icebox, painted white with lovely flowers stenciled onto it. Shelves were built by hand, empty and waiting for her books. There was a black wrought iron bed placed in a corner, covered with a gorgeous yellow comforter with white pillows. The walls were painted pale blue and in the center of the floor, beneath the wooden table was a beautiful circular rug with colors that mimicked of the room. It was a beautiful place.
"I love it, Pip." Lily enthused, "It's brilliant."
Caroline echoed the sentiment. "It's gorgeous, absolutely."
"It's a bit too girly for my taste but I can see why you like it," James said with a smile.
"Very nice," Sirius pronounced.
Even Peter had something to say about it. "Lovely," he was rewarded with a smile.
Pippa waited anxiously for Remus's opinion. He hadn't said anything, only stood in the center of the room as if he were taking it all in. She waited for a moment to see if he'd say anything. When he didn't, she knew it was time to jump in and ask.
"So what do you say, Remus? Love it or hate it?" She asked, trying not to be nervous.
Remus looked at her and spoke seriously. "Do you think I could hate this place? It's screaming 'Pippa' all over!" He grinned at her. "It's great."
Pippa didn't know she had been holding her breath until she let it out after his reply. "I'm glad you like it," she smiled.
"It's wonderful," Caroline said, "but I've got to get on to the shops. I have a whole slew of things I'm to buy for lessons."
Sirius nodded. "And I'm to follow the lady, hold the bags and the like. You know me, bag boy."
Pippa walked over and hugged them both tightly. They left quickly and, when the balcony doors were swung open, their laughter could be heard.
"I'm going to go post some letters," Peter said with a small smile. "My mum wants me to write."
"Thanks for coming, Peter." Pippa bit back any mean feelings she harbored for him and gave him a hug. She was surprised to feel how tense he was but didn't give it a second though. She turned to James. "Ready?" She asked.
"For what?" Lily looked at him curiously.
"Pippa asked me ages ago to speak with a landlord if and when she found a place to rent. She said she's terribly shy. You don't mind, do you love?" James placed his arms around her.
"No problem. Me and Remus can chat." Lily grinned at Remus over James's shoulder.
"Okay Nut, I love you." James kissed her goodbye before leaving with Pippa.
Lily flopped down upon a chair. "So you don't mind having to talk to me, do you?" She asked with a wicked smile.
"I mind very much so," Remus answered teasingly. "I've nothing to talk to you about!"
Lily laughed. "I can think of quite a few things."
"Such as?"
"Miss Lee-lee Parker."
Remus sighed. "There's not much to say about that one, Lily. It was over before it really began."
"Really? Why?"
"Well you know she's back in America now, don't you?"
Lily nodded. "She went home after Christmas to start training for the Quidditch team, right?"
"Yeah. She went back. She owled me a few times but nothing major. I mean, it just wasn't meant to be. We went to the ball together but we weren't a couple."
"Did you guys do anything?" Lily asked curiously.
Remus turned red. "Uh…"
"I'm sorry! That's so prying. You don't have to tell me," Lily backtracked. "I'm sorry Remus."
"Don't worry about it, Lily. But to answer your question, yes we did."
"What'd you do?" She asked before she could help herself.
"Er… um… the whole nine yards…" Remus trailed off.
Lily covered her mouth with her hand in an effort to both make Remus laugh and to curb any spontaneous questions her mouth may ask before her mind processed it.
Any awkwardness that may have resulted from Lily's questioning was halted by the arrival of Pippa and James.
The foursome exited the flat after some happy, meaningless chatter.
Author's Note: This is the first one I've written and I feel like a beggar writing it but honestly, it's seriously disenchanting to have 1760 hits but only 41 reviews (most of which are written by people who reviewed more than once—whom I so love!!!). I don't think I'll post a few chapters for a couple of days after this. Maybe if I can get some more reviews… haha wow I'm not good at this asking thing! P
Cuban Sombrero Gal: I completely appreciate your review and I took a lot of it to heart. I tried to ease back into the descriptions… I hope I did it well!
ReadingRobyn: Keep reading and you'll see! P
Lexie-H: Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm definitely keeping the Mary-Sue element in mind and definitely trying to broaden her out. I've got a few ideas but I want to let a few chapters pass before putting them in. Regarding Caroline's last name, no I didn't want to do it following the canon. I chose it and didn't really remember the connection. I'm over in Europe without my books so I haven't had any chances to look anything up. The Teen-Movie-ish thing I'm assuming was about Pippa in France. Well the thing with that is that I took a bit from my own recent experiences there (all up to the motorcycle bit basically) and embellished. Lily exposing Remus is also something I put in there not to make her seem mean but to have her be open with her parents. She never told them while they were alive to keep from exposing him but now since they're dead and the letters aren't going to be sent, there was nothing really stopping her. I know this is enormously long but I wanted to reply to the questions you had and thank you so, so, so much for both reviewing so many times and making me feel like I actually had something worth writing. You're good at motivating people!
Padfootatheart: You convinced me to save Lee-lee. I was seriously considering ending her somehow (a death, since I'm a murderer P) but I decided not to. I have banished her for a while but not forever, I promise. Frog's legs, Anna
Interestofthemind: Lee-lee won't be a Mary-Sue, I promise. Oh and the South Carolina reference is somewhat of a joke and kind of not. I was in Paris a few weeks ago and I was talking to a lot of people. I told them where I was from (SC) and they asked where it was. When I mentioned Florida or Georgia or Virginia, they had no idea. I said the first thing that came to mind geographically, which was Mexico, as being close. I'm sorry it made you stop reading my story but I promise I'm not dumb. Neither were those I was talking to (in their defense I have to say they're all students at the Sorbonne).
goth hamster: Nah, I wanted it to say Evans. She's not married to him, or even engaged, no matter how besotted she is with him.
Thank you to all of my reviewers. You guys are all amazing and actually make me want to write my story.