Party Games

Chapter 6: Would You Rather

"Would you rather date James or Amos Diggory?" Mary twiddled her thumbs - scarily enough for Lily (and everyone else in the common room), she was bored. And wehn Mary Macdonald was bored, things got nasty around there.

"Ugh! Is that even a question?" Lily scrunched up her face. "Potter, of course. I dislike him, but dating Diggory would just be weird. He's twenty."

"Yes, I thought as much." Mary smiled and settled herself in front of the fire, ignoring odd looks as she absently poked it with - well, a poker. "Would you rather date Sirius or James, then?"

"Personally, I'd choose Sirius," said Sirius, looking mildly amused. "He's the handsomer."

"But James is the smarter," James added from the sofa where he lay. Several first years looked upset that he was taking the whole of it. "So I would most prefer him. The rascal," he added for good measure.

Mary snorted in delight as Lily rolled her eyes and languidly stretched out in her seat.

"I'd choose Sirius," Lily said, mostly for the amusing effect on James's face. "Potter, your face will get stuck like that, hasn't your mum told you?"

"Only about six million times."

"Wwell," Sirius challenged, "would you rather eat a spider or a snake?"

"Snake," Lily said just as the other two said, "Spider."

"Ew - eat a snake! They're slimy!"

"Actually, Macdonald, they're not," said James with a mock-studious air. "They're scaly but smooth."

"Never touched one."

"Would you rather die of old age or by murder?" Lily asked.

"Old age - you can't feel much pain," Mary said.

Sirius raised a brow. "Murder - you get in the paper, and people try to avenge you!"

Lily glanced at James, who shrugged amiably. "I'm going to go with murder, myself. Would you rather have an O in History of Magic or an E in Advanced Potions?"

"James - no one gets an O in History of Magic." Sirius smiled. "No one even takes it to NEWT level."

"Just answer the question."

Everyone chose Potions, needless to say - it was a far more interesting class.

"Would you rather" - Mary paused, contemplating - "Hold hands with Severus Snape, or drown?"

"Drown."

"Drown."

"Hold hands."

"What?" That was Potter again, his face no longer scrunched up, but instead surprised looking, as if the only choice anyone could possibly make was to drown. "Why? I mean- ugh - you'd probably get grease on your hand!"

"First of all, Potter," Lily said, "it wouldn't be so bad because I would immediately let go. Second of all, I'd like to live, thank you. Third of all, Severus's hands are not greasy, nor is he. The only thing I have against him is his excruciatingly poor choice of friends."

James sniffed. "But then what do you have against me?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. Anything I feel towards you, however, is completely platonic, and so I find it pointless to consider pursuing a romantic relationship with you."

"Lily," Mary said warningly. "Please. English."

"Or French," Sirius added helpfully. "Je suis -"

Lily cleared her throat. "Point being, I wouldn't date you if it was a choice between you and, say, Hagrid's deceased father. Would you rather feel rejected now and crawl back up into your dormitory with Sirius at your heels, or stick it out until tomorrow?"

"I'll stick it out," James said. "But thanks for asking."

"Atta boy, Prongs."

"You know," said Mary, "Lily is pretty good at rejecting people."

"Yep," she said casually. "Lot of practice. James should know."

"That was number 17," he said helpfully.

"17? I thought it was 14!"

"Sirius, there were a few times I didn't tell you about."

"Why?"

"Pretty embarrassing."

"Wait - you've been keeping track?" Lily cried.

"Yep." James pulled a sheet of parchment from his pocket. "I actually have a running tally. Twice in third year, five times in fourth year, five times in fifth, twice in sixth year, and this was the third time this year." He made a little mark on the page as if in afterthought.

"That's...kind of creepy," Mary said.

"Kind of?" Lily said -though she was more amused than put off. It was kind of funny to think that James kept a tally of something like that in his pocket. Of course, he always struck her as the Type A personality; he probably kept a list for everything.

"Well, I want to know what times you didn't tell me about," Sirius demanded.

"Erm..." James turned pink, drawing giggles from the girls."There was the time on the Astronomy Tower -"

Lily made an indiscernable noise.

"What?"

"It was at midnight," she said flatly. "Wednesdays, when we stargaze. Fourth year."

"And I brought her a flower from the greenhouse, and -"

"- it bit me."

Mary's eyes bulged out of her head as she shrieked with laughter. Lily, looking quite affronted, did not show everyone the scar as per James's request.

"It poked quite a hole in my ego," he said tenderly. The redhead of the group only glared.

"Would you rather it poked a hole in your hand?"

There was a pause as everyone took in the wit of the statement. Then,

"Evans," James said seriously, "would you rather I snog you right now, or would you prefer later?"

"Later - much later."