To Hogsmeade We Go
After five days of classes, word had gotten out that James and Lily were together again. James had to walk around with Lily everywhere she went, to protect her from the packs of girls that now wanted to wring her neck and claw her to pieces. Now, though, they sat together on a couch close to the roaring fire in the safety of the Heads common room.
James draped his arm around Lily's shoulder and she leaned on him. "How scary are those girls, eh?" he said, laughing.
Lily laughed heartily; James felt her shoulders shaking against him and marveled at how easily he made her laugh. "Pretty scary." Lily smiled, scooted up so she was sitting taller, and kissed James's cheek.
"James Potter, Protector Against the Seventh Year Girls," James mused. "Catchy, don't you think?"
Lily laughed again. "Very."
"You know, I wonder why Sirius doesn't have to guard Shayna everywhere she goes. I mean, at least half of the girl population in Hogwarts are in love with him! Wouldn't they want to get Shayna out of the picture, too?"
Lily smacked his chest playfully. "Shayna never did anything to them! Except go out with Sirius…anyway, he told all the girls in Gryffindor that if they did anything to her, he'd hex them. Word got around."
"How do you know?"
"I was there, in the Gryffindor common room. It was quite funny, actually."
Lily smiled to herself and leaned her head against James's shoulder, snaking an arm around his waist. James's arm was still around her shoulders. They sat like that for a while, silently staring at the fireplace, until James cleared his throat. "You know, Lily," he said quietly in her ear, "The Hogsmeade trip's tomorrow…Valentine's Day, and…Do you want to go with me?" Even though he had been with Lily everywhere for the past five days, not to mention that they shared living quarters and everything together, even though he could tell Lily he loved her, he was still shy to ask her out on a date. It was as if the seventh year had never happened, and James was still unsure of her answer.
Lily laughed at the blush that had crept up onto James's cheeks. "Of course."
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The next day, Lily and James walked into the Great Hall to find Shayna sitting by herself, poking the yolk of her egg with a fork vaguely and staring up at the ceiling above her. The ceiling perfectly mimicked the sky outside; it was a mild, soft gray that was customary for February. Lily sat down next to Shayna and pulled James down next to her. "Good morning, Shayna," Lily said tentatively, looking at her friend with concern.
"Sirius isn't up yet," she said in way of greeting, nodding in James's direction. She made to pick up the yolk on her fork, but it slipped and landed in her lap. She seemed not to notice.
"Shayna, are you okay?" Lily asked nervously. Shayna was always attentive. This was the first time anyone had ever seen her in the state she was in. She looked distinctly disheveled; her wavy hair was tangled and matted, her clothes were wrinkled, and she had bags under her eyes. Shayna only nodded in response.
Just then the Great Hall doors burst open and Sirius strutted in with a flower in his hand. "SHA-SHA," he called from across the room, "THIS IS FOR YOU, ALONG WITH A POEM!" He walked proudly over to where Shayna was sitting.
She stared at him blankly, and blinked slowly. Sirius didn't seem to notice, because he was on one knee and reading a piece of paper. Everyone in the room became silent. Even the professors were watching Sirius with countenances ranging from pity to anger to amusement to exasperation.
"Here is your poem, Shayna. I wrote it myself:
Your hair is like Swiss cheese with the holes filled in,
Your nose is perfect, along with your chin.
You are straight as an arrow, tall as a tree,
And you're good-looking, just like me!
So Shayna, ponder this, while eating your breakfast dish.
I wonder, will you be a genie and grant my wish?
Come to Hogsmeade with me, today on Valentine's Day,
And even if you say no, I'll drag you along anyway!"
Sirius stood up and took a bow. Gradually the chatter started in the Great Hall again, with much laughter and quotations of Sirius's poem. "So, Shayna, did you like it?" he asked Shayna, looking at her with expectant eyes as he sat down beside her. Shayna shrugged her shoulders and said, "I dunno. Wasn't paying attention," before turning back to her second yolk and stabbing it ferociously.
James motioned for Sirius to sit next to him, which he did. "Sirius, is Shayna okay?" James asked quietly, watching her continue to stab her yolk. Lily was talking to her animatedly, but Shayna wasn't paying attention.
"I think," Sirius said, shoving bacon onto his plate with his hands and licking his fingers. "She's just worried. She came into the dorm last night…It's only Remus, Peter, and me now of course…well, anyway, she came into the dorm last night really late. I think it must've been three in the morning or something. She said she was in the library…and then she crawled into my bed—no, Prongs, not THAT way—and fell asleep. She kept muttering something about Voldemort in her sleep. I think she's worried about getting attacked. Last time someone went to Hogsmeade, it was you and Lily, and we all know what happened then."
"Maybe you should stay here with her," Lily said quietly. "She probably needs to just relax. She's been pretty distant lately…Why don't you just sit with her in the library?"
Sirius choked on his pumpkin juice he had been about to drink and sprayed it everywhere. "The library?" Sirius asked in a panicked whisper, looking at Lily as though she were insane. "Are you really that thick? There isn't a library here!"
Lily's eyebrows furrowed down in confusion. "No," she said, returning Sirius's shocked stare. "The library's a perfectly fine place to—"
"ARE YOU DAFT?" Sirius exclaimed, slamming down his goblet and drenching the table in pumpkin juice. "There is no library…Unless, of course, you're Remus. Then there is…"
"Take her to the Room of Requirement, then," James said, trying hard not to laugh at his best mate's behavior.
Lily, who had finished eating, put her hand on James's shoulder. "Let's go?"
James stood up and so did Lily. "Have fun today," James said, nodding at Sirius. "Oh, and don't let Remus get too down on himself." James put his arms around Lily and steered her out of the Great Hall before pulling open the great oak doors that lead outside. A gust of wind blew and whipped Lily's hair around her face, and James laughed at how she squinted to keep the wind out of her eyes.
They started down the dirt path leading to Hogsmeade, hand in hand. Lily's nose and cheeks turned a delicate pink from the cold, and their breaths were coming out in clouds. They walked in content silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until finally Lily spoke. "What did Jocelyn do to Remus?" she asked quietly, afraid to talk loudly and disrupt the silent peace that they were currently walking through.
James sighed. "Nobody told you?" He stopped walking and looked back up at the castle; at its many turrets and towers and windows that loomed over the Black Lake. Lily shook her head as another gust of wind blew her hair out of her face gracefully. "Let's go to the Shrieking Shack, and I'll tell you there. Nobody's going to be there."
They veered off the path leading towards the main streets of Hogsmeade and up a steeper path that was less worn. "Isn't the Shrieking Shack haunted?" Lily asked apprehensively. She had never been up to the Shack for fear of the "violent ghosts" that she heard people talk about. She hadn't had a problem with the school ghosts, but these ghosts could be different from them.
"Yeah," James said, "about as haunted as my underwear! Remus goes there to deal with his…um…furry little problem." The light grew dimmer as they walked through a path of trees.
Lily nodded. "I assumed he had to go somewhere…I just never knew where."
They walked on the dirt path in silence for a while, neither sure of what to say. The path was laden with many leaves left over from autumn, and snow littered the ground in patches where there was little sun. James and Lily frequently stubbed their toes on the roots protruding from the ground. Finally, they arrived at the barb-wired fence surrounding the house.
"So," James said, rubbing his cold hands together and blowing on them.
"So," Lily repeated, staring out at the dreary house. Its windows were boarded up, its paint was chipping from weather and neglect, and the roof was missing several shingles. The sky was a pale gray, and the village behind the house seemed ghostly, with several black splotches where there were Hogwarts students wandering about in the old-fashioned, cobblestone streets. "What happened with Remus and Jocelyn?" she asked finally, breaking the awkward silence.
"Moony didn't tell Jocelyn that he's…well, he didn't tell her what he is. One night Sirius blabbed something, so Moony had to tell Jocelyn about him. So he said it nicely and all that, but Jocelyn figured out that he had been lying to her about his sick mother—that's the lie he told us before we figured out about his furry little problem. She got really mad, and broke up with him." James didn't dare to look at Lily; he didn't want to see her reaction to what her friend had done.
"Wow," Lily breathed, frowning. "That's—That's—that's just—wow. I mean, I always knew that Jocelyn blew things up out of proportion, but this is too much. They were perfect! I'll talk to her."
They stood in silence for a few more awkward moments, neither sure what to say to the other. This was the first time they had been truly alone together since the Death Eaters had attacked the Three Broomsticks. Lily inched closer to James and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Dance with me?" James said suddenly in Lily's ear as she leaned her head on his chest.
Lily laughed. "James, there's no music!"
James shrugged. "So?"
"You can't dance without music," Lily said. "It's too hard."
"No, it's not. I'll show you." James placed one of Lily's hands on his shoulder and took the other in his own. "Now, just follow me." He put his two feet together, then moved his left forward. Lily did the opposite, placing her right foot behind her. Then he put his right foot by his left, far apart from it. Lily again did the opposite. He put his feet together again. So did Lily. Then he did what Lily did, and she the opposite. Before long they had fallen into rhythm and were dancing in the clearing by the Shrieking Shack. Snow had started fluttering down lightly on their hair, giving the place an enchanted look. Lily sighed, content to be in James's arms. James spun her around, and dipped her expertly, before pulling her up and twirling her around, her feet lifting off the ground and her hair whipping around gracefully behind her. He put her down gently and she kissed him on the cheek.
"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Lily asked curiously.
"My mum signed me up for etiquette classes," James said, grimacing. "I never knew they would come in handy one day!" He paused, looking into Lily's brilliant emerald-green eyes. "I missed you so much," he whispered quietly, sorrowfully.
"Me too," Lily said, standing on her tiptoes. "Too much." She put her lips against his and closed her eyes, kissing him softly. She pulled away after a moment and smiled at him. "Too, too much."
A/N: yay for long chapters! This, personally, is one of my favorites in the whole story. I really like it. Anyways, THANK YOU FOR THE 225 REVIEWS! Let's get it to 250, shall we? Only 25 more! Review, please!