Today was Saturday, another Hogsmeade weekend, as well as two days before James proposed. Michelle and Anne, another one of Lily's good friends had dragged her out of bed, forcing her to get dressed. Lily was around 5"8' to 5"9', with semi-wavy red locks that hit the middle of here back. Her complexion was fair, easily burned and was cecceptable to freckles. She pulled on her uniform pleated skirt over black tights. Her fingers were almost to numb to do the buttons on her blouse. She loosely tied her tie, and slid her arms into a soft cream-colored sweater.
Unlike most girls attending from seventh year, she did not have a date. She was asked quite frequently, but always said no, in hopes that James might ask. In their first five years, James had been just as crazy about her as she was about him. He asked her out constantly, and showed off in front of her all the time. He would often pick on other students, sometimes being downright cruel. So every time he asked, she refused, hurting his pride every time. She didn't know why she liked him, she just did.
As she stepped into the common room, she knew why. He was sitting in one of the more comfy armchairs with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, laughing. He ran his hand through his already messy hair, causing all the girls to sigh. He didn't show off as much as he used to, and had stopped picking on other students, even the unpopular Severus Snape. As his voice grew louder, he realized that they were talking about his passion, Quidditch. As she watched Lucy slid onto his lap, then kissed him soulfully, he continued talking and she smirked a Lily. She hadn't always been so mean to Lily, they had been great friends at one point. They were both at the top of their classes, both muggleborn, and both had an extreme love of reading. The only difference was that Lucy had thought that lily should've gone out with James, no matter how much of a jerk he was. So in sixth year when he asked her out, it was no surprise she said yes, effectively ending their friendship. As Lucy began to run her fingers through his hair, Lily felt tears welling up in her eyes. Anne shot a dirty look at James and pulled Lily through the portrait door.
When they got to the Great Hall, Anne and Michelle protectively sat on either side of her. Even though James' proposal was supposed to be a surprise, everyone and their mother knew about it. A seventh year boy named John who had had a crush on Lily for some time now, came over to where she was seated. He asked Michelle and Anne if he could have a moment alone with Lily. "Hey, are you ok?" He asked solemnly. She nodded her head slowly. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with Hogsmeade with me today. I know I already asked, but I thought your answer might be different considering…" his voice faded away.
"Considering what?" She asked ignorantly.
"James' proposal. To Lucy."
"Oh, well…" She began. Even though James was off limits, she didn't want anyone but him, and it wouldn't be fair to lead a boy on. "No, sorry. I'm just not up for much today, I think I might be getting sick." She answered lamely.
"Oh, ok." He hung his head and walked off. Lily sat back down between her friends and began to cry again.
After they had eaten breakfast, they marched out into the cold, getting in line to leave the village and got to Hogsmeade. Lily's friends had been planning ways to keep her busy, to keep her mind off a certain someone. They had been secretly hoping that she would accept the date, because the had some business to attend to. Once they were in Hogsmeade they did the usual. First stop was the post office. Lily always liked to give the owls snacks. Next they went to Gladrags Wizard Wear, in search of the perfect ball gown, there was going to be a New Year's Ball, for the first time ever, and they wanted to look their best. After admiring the new gowns and making small talk with the shop owner, they went to Honeydukes, and bought twice the amount of sweets they normally bought. Knowing Lily was a bookworm, Anne began frantically point out the bookstore to Michelle behind Lily's back. "Hey Lily, you want to go to the bookstore?" Michelle asked suspiciously. Lily smiled before she replied.
"Yes, of course." Smiling her second genuine smile in days. They went into the bookstore, slamming the door behind them. The shopkeeper greeted Lily happily, knowing he was about to make a sale. Lily dawdled around, looking for a book that might suit her. In a half hour she had a huge stack of books, and was sitting at the table reading. Anne carefully began to speak.
"Oh look at the time. Lily, Michelle and I have to go meet someone in the Three Broomsticks, ok?" She paused nervously.
"Yeah, ok." She said distractedly, not looking up from her book. Michelle quietly high-fived Anne and they quickly walked across the street to the Three Broomsticks.
Once they were in the establishment, they sat down at an already overflowing table. The faces of Remus, Sirius, and Peter seemed the most prominent. "Sorry we're late," Michelle began quickly, "We had to get rid of Lily." Though most of the people there were seventh years, there were some younger students as well.
"Well?" Sirius said, "Shall we begin?"