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Chapter 9
The morning of the first Hogsmeade visit dawned bright and cold on the castle, the first layer of snow had fallen and Sirius had spent most of the morning complaining that they wouldn't be able to stage an epic snowball fight on the grounds. Winter was Sirius' favourite time of year, mostly because he had the opportunity to pelt unsuspecting people with cold lumps of ice.
"We can have a snowball fight when we get back" Remus placated him as the four Marauders walked to breakfast that morning.
"All the little first year brats will have used all the good snow by then" Sirius complained, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning at passers-by as if they had done him a personal insult.
James rolled his eyes but decided not to comment, trying to argue with Sirius was like trying to force water to flow uphill. He didn't feel like dealing with the hassle, and he was experiencing some nerves of his own. He had decided to ask Daisy Hookum, a pretty fifth year Hufflepuff with red hair and brown eyes, to accompany him to village.
He hadn't really wanted to, but he'd always thought Daisy was pretty and when she'd walked past him one morning it had just slipped out. He thought she had gone into shock at first, never in the history of Hogwarts had James Potter asked anyone but Lily Evans on a date to the village.
But Lily Evans had told him she just wanted to be friends, and everything seemed to be going well so he didn't want to rock the boat. He just thought that if there was any way he could show her he was serious about it, it would be with a date.
He might even enjoy himself.
"You never told me who you decided to go with in the end, Sirius" James commented, thoughts of his own date bringing him to wonder about Sirius'. "Did Felicity win out?"
Sirius Black was renowned for being the best looking boy at Hogwarts. Everyone knew it and no one even bothered to deny it anymore. He wasn't just good looking, with the perfectly swept hair and the easy smile, but he was charming and charismatic. All those things together created the killer cocktail that was Sirius Black and no girl in a twenty mile radius stood a chance.
So that phenomenon was the reason Sirius had managed to land himself three dates to the Hogsmeade trip that weekend. Not that James was surprised; Sirius always had a date to the village and to his knowledge, had never asked a girl to go with him.
A very bold fourth year Hufflepuff girl with pretty blue eyes had asked him at break last week, and as far as James could tell Sirius had let her down as gently as possible. That hadn't stopped her from bursting into tears and disappearing into the girls toilets just after.
It had vastly improved as the week went on. Marlene McKinnon had asked him to go with her after Charms on Monday afternoon. Marlene was considered to be the most beautiful girl in their year. She was tall, with long tanned legs and tons of soft, brunette hair. Her eyes were huge and brown and she had a beautiful smile that crinkled her eyes and nose. James admitted that she was pretty, in a conventional sort of way, but nowhere near as beautiful as Lily Evans. Sirius hadn't answered; he'd only told her he'd think about it.
James figured he would have said yes, if it hadn't been for Felicity Jones.
Felicity was a seventh year Ravenclaw who also happened to be Head Girl. James wasn't even going to pretend she wasn't the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on. She had long, curly blonde hair and huge aquamarine eyes, her lips were pouty and Peter had told them more than once that he was sure she had to be part Veela. She was perfect, all five foot seven inches of her, right down to her perfectly pedicured toenails.
James was sure if there was any girl Sirius wouldn't be able to say to no to, it would be Felicity Jones.
"Well as you brought it up, would you mind if I spoke to you about that?" Sirius asked, throwing a shifty look at Remus before stopping just outside the entrance to the Great Hall.
"Sure" James said, raising his eyebrows as Remus and Peter walked into the Great Hall without them.
"I'm not going to Hogsmeade with a date" Sirius said quickly.
"W-What?" James stuttered, he was sure he had to have heard wrong. Sirius Black was passing up an opportunity to brag about getting a date with the most beautiful girl in the school. Sirius Black was going to Hogsmeade without a date. This was unheard of. The world had to have flipped on its axis; it was the only explanation for everyone's strange behaviour.
"You said no to Felicity?" he clarified.
Sirius shrugged, "She only asked me to go with her as her end of year dare."
"How do you know that?"
"Her best mate Jenny Hastings told me" Sirius shoved one shoulder against the wall, "We were snogging in a broom closet the night before last."
"Classy" James snorted, "She could just be jealous."
"I don't care" Sirius said simply, "I already told Lily I'd go with her."
"You're going with Evans?" James demanded.
"Well, Lily and Moony" Sirius explained a little defensively, "I didn't want her to have to go by herself, not after Peter asked Mary and Marlene agreed to go with Benjy."
"So you and Moony decided to come to her rescue" James mocked, he tried his best to keep the bitterness out of his tone but couldn't help it. He'd been asking Lily to go to Hogsmeade with him for two years and she'd never once said yes.
"I thought you'd be happy!" Sirius exploded, scaring three skittish looking second year girls on their way into the Great Hall. "You could have asked her if you wanted to, but you asked that Hookham girl instead."
"Lily keeps telling me she wants to be friends" James pointed out, "And you keep telling me to give her some space."
"Just don't get mad at me for asking her!" Sirius defended himself, "Marlene takes herself too seriously, and Felicity only wants to go with me because we'll look good together." Sirius let out an irritated sigh and shoved his fingers through his unkempt hair, "She's better company than both of them and you know we're only friends."
"I know" James agreed, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down. "I'm sorry, I get a little defensive when it comes to Evans."
"Prongs, you're my best friend" Sirius pointed out, shoving his arm as they both moved into the Great Hall together, "I know exactly how you get about Lily Evans."
James didn't reply to this as they moved down the Gryffindor table together. He knew he drove his friends crazy when it came to his feelings about Lily, but he thought he'd been better at controlling himself recently. They'd been getting along so well and he didn't want to ruin it by making her feel uncomfortable.
James spotted Remus and Peter sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table, and noticed that they were not alone. Both Lily and Mary had joined them, Lily was laughing at something Remus had said while Mary and Peter were talking quietly together.
Lily had pushed Peter to ask Mary to accompany him to Hogsmeade last week, and she had shocked all of them by saying yes. James had to guess that Lily had talked her friend into it, he liked Peter a lot but he wasn't exactly gifted when it came to talking to girls. He had to marvel again at Lily's inexhaustible kindness, and that she always managed to think of others before herself.
"Looking forward to your date, Pete?" Sirius asked loudly, effectively announcing their arrival as he took the seat beside Lily.
Peter blushed beetroot and Mary cut him a glare, "Shut it, Black" she hissed.
"What's wrong, McDonald?" Sirius asked, grinning as he helped himself to a couple of sausages. "Afraid he doesn't know how to treat a lady?"
"Shall we go, Mary?" Peter asked quietly.
Mary nodded but turned to throw Sirius one last scowl before they departed together.
James rolled his eyes as he took Peter's empty seat, "You can be a prat when you want to be, Padfoot" he said, helping himself to some toast.
"He's right, Sirius" Lily said, shaking her head. "You're so insensitive."
"Go on, Ginge" he said, ignoring her comment and turning to grin at her. "How'd you convince Mary to say yes?"
Lily blushed pink and mumbled something into her toast.
"Sorry?"
Lily sighed, "I told her I'd do her Charms homework for a month."
"You didn't!" Remus gasped, looking scandalised.
"Peter is really nice; I just wanted her to give him a chance!" Lily defending, pulling on the arms of her bright blue sweater, "You won't tell him, will you?"
Sirius shook his head as he turned back to his breakfast, "Never!" he swore, holding his hand against his chest. "Then we'd have to admit to Peter that he was the first ever Marauder to get Lily Evans to break a school rule."
Lily rolled her eyes but smiled as she turned to look at James, "I heard you have date aswell, Potter" she said grinning and pulling a face, "Poor girl."
"I'll have you know some girls are falling over themselves to go on a date with me" James grinned, ruffling the back of his hair.
"Really?" Lily asked, glancing around the Great Hall as if she was looking for someone. "Where?"
Sirius and Remus both burst out laughing and James stuck his tongue out at her. He was still struggling to get used to this new Lily Evans. Of course he had seen her tease Sirius and Remus countless times, and he knew there was absolutely no malice in her words; he just wasn't used to her playfulness being directed at him.
He quite liked it.
"Be nice, Lily" Remus joked from beside her, "Prongs is a little nervous."
"Aw, I'm sorry" Lily grinned, her eyes big and green. "You look lovely, I'm sure she'll have the time of her life."
"Thanks" James muttered, trying to hide the blush round his neck by busying himself with his toast.
"Shall we go anyway?" Sirius suggested, standing up and holding out his hand to help Lily up from her seat. "I want to get to Zonkos before all the wretched third years nick all the good stuff."
"I'll come with you" James said, standing up. "I told Daisy I'd meet her in the Entrance Hall."
James fell in step with Lily as they followed Remus and Sirius out of the great oak doors.
"So, what do you have planned for your date?" she asked him.
James shrugged, in all honesty he hadn't put much thought into it and he was regretting it now. He realised just how little he really knew about Daisy, and was beginning to wonder what they would talk about.
"I'm not really sure" he admitted.
"Well, if you're free around lunchtime me and the boys were going to pop into the Three Broomsticks" she smiled at him, "If you think Daisy can be subjected to Sirius and Remus together."
James laughed.
"Come on, Lil!" Sirius called from the doorway, he and Remus had both turned to see what was taking Lily so long.
"Have fun" Lily threw him one last parting grin before running across the Entrance Hall to catch up with the others.
James turned and spotted Daisy stood awkwardly at the other side of the Entrance Hall, she looked pretty in a pink floral jumper and her red hair was pulled up off her face. The problem was he just couldn't seem to get his mind off another red head that had just walked through the doors.
He removed all thoughts of Lily Evans as he made his way over to where Daisy was standing.
"Hi" she said shyly as soon as he reached her.
"Hello" he said cheerfully, "You look lovely."
"Thank you" she said, flushing crimson.
"Shall we go?" he asked, motioning towards the doors.
She nodded enthusiastically and they both set off into the snowy November grounds together. An awkward silence settled between the two of them and James found himself struggling to think of anything to say.
"So, how are you finding fifth year?" he asked in an attempt to break the silence, "O.W.L. year is pretty difficult."
"Oh yes" Daisy agreed, nodding mildly. "But I have to say, I'm finding muggle studies awfully fascinating."
"Really?" James said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh yes" Daisy said, glancing up at him. "Don't you take it?"
"Yeah I do" said James, a little defensively. A lot of people assumed that because he was a pureblood he wouldn't be interested in Muggle Studies, probably because most wizards were ignorant to muggles. If he was being honest, he was a little ignorant, he'd only chosen Muggle Studies in third year in the hope it would help him to better understand Lily Evans.
Not that he would ever admit to that.
Only he had discovered that he did quite enjoy it. He wouldn't say it was exactly his favourite subject, but he didn't dread it like he dreaded Potions.
"Don't you think the whole concept of public services is amazing?" Daisy said, her eyes widening as they made their way into the village. "Could you imagine having to send a letter just to have a group of people come and put out a fire for you?"
"Well no" James agreed, "But they don't send letters, do they?"
"You're right!" Daisy agreed gleefully, "The whole concept of telephones baffles me."
James nodded in agreement and they spent the next few minutes discussing the possibilities is wizards had such contraptions. Of course he thought it was brilliant, being able to pick up the telephone must be a lot quicker than writing a letter. But then, he and Sirius had a pair of two way mirrors that they used to communicate with each other, and he guessed if a message was that urgent a wizard could always just apparate.
As they arrived into the village James looked around, Hogsmeade always looked the most beautiful in winter, with the snow covered roofs. He couldn't see many students milling around and he had to guess most had chosen the warmth of Honeydukes or the Three Broomsticks over the bitter wind outdoors.
"Where shall we go?" he asked Daisy, turning to see her pull her scarf up over her ears.
"She we go to Madame Puddifoot's?" she suggested, "We could get warm with some coffee."
He nodded in agreement and allowed her to lead him up one of the little side streets.
He had never been to Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop before, but he had heard a lot about it from Sirius who had more often than not been dragged inside on one of his various dates. From what Sirius said he gathered that the place was only enjoyable if your date was good enough to distract you from the various snogging couples and frilly decorations.
Daisy opened the door and as he stepped inside behind her a bell over the door tinkled to announce their arrival. The room was full of small, round tables decorated with lacy napkins and china sugar bowls and the shop was so cramped James had to wonder how anyone moved around without bumping into something. Daisy led him to a small corner by the window which was steamed up and most of the surrounding tables were taken up by other students holding hands and kissing over their mugs. He spotted Marlene McKinnon and Benjy Fenwick holding hands on the table behind them and was inwardly glad Sirius had decided not to come with her.
A waitress appeared at their table wearing a pink, frilly apron and her blonde hair scraped into a bun on top of her head, "What can I get you, dears?" she asked.
"Two coffees please" Daisy requested smiling, "Haven't you always wondered if muggle coffee tastes different to ours?" She asked James as the waitress disappeared to fetch their drinks.
"I'm sure some things are the same" James said firmly.
"Maybe, but it would be interesting to find out, wouldn't it?"
James hummed in agreement as the blonde haired waitress returned and placed two mugs of steaming coffee between them.
"I heard you tried out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team" said James, desperate to steer the conversation towards something other than muggles.
"Yes" Daisy agreed mildly, "I wanted to be seeker."
"It's a shame Dirk Cresswell got it" said James, thinking the exact opposite. Dirk Cresswell was a seventh year, he was really gifted at History of Magic but not so great at Quidditch. He'd only tried out for a dare and James had to wonder how he'd gotten onto the team. "I'm sure you would have been great."
Daisy shrugged, "Practice clashed with my Muggle Appreciation Society meetings" she said simply.
James took a drink of his coffee for something to do and cleared his throat, "Listen, I don't know what you have planned for later this afternoon, but Lily Evans invited us to the Three Broomsticks around lunchtime."
Daisy's eyebrows knitted together, "You agreed to meet with Lily Evans when you were supposed to be on a date with me?" she demanded.
"No!" James said defensively, "She said she'd be in there with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, do you know-"
"I might be a fifth year Hufflepuff, but I'm not blind James" Daisy said, rolling her eyes. "Everybody knows who the Marauders are."
"Right" James agreed, "Well they're my friends so you could meet them."
"I suppose" she agreed slowly.
"Plus, Lily is a muggleborn" James continued, trying to placate her. "You could ask her about what it's like to grow up as a muggle."
Her eyes lit up at this idea and they finished their coffee quickly before leaving a couple of sickles on the table and exiting the shop.
As they walked through the village together James wondered if he should reach out and hold her hand. He was trying desperately not to think of what he might do if he was here with Lily, but he just couldn't help himself. He was sure he'd reach out to take hold of her hand, he'd do silly things to make her laugh and make sure they went everywhere she wanted to go.
With Daisy everything seemed awkward and he was finding it difficult to keep up a constant stream of conversation about muggles. He wasn't sure if it was because he just didn't know her very well, or because he was too busy thinking about someone else.
After they'd stopped to buy Daisy a new quill and he'd graciously offered to pay for her bag of Pumpkin Fizz in Honeydukes Sweetshop they both agreed to make their way over to the Three Broomsticks.
"Do you think Lily will mind me asking her about muggles?" Daisy asked conversationally, popping a sweet into her mouth. "Some people in my house find it uncomfortable."
"I'm sure she won't" James said firmly, though now he thought about it he was beginning to worry. Lily's parents were a touchy subject with her and talking about that world was bound to set off some of her memories, he didn't want to upset her but he was just so desperate to get to the Three Broomsticks.
He had decided that trips to Hogsmeade with the other Marauders were so much more enjoyable than with dates.
He was saved at that moment by a girl with long brown hair sticking her head out of Gladrags Wizardwear and yelling, "Hey, Daisy!"
Daisy turned to look at the girl and smiled, "Hello Gemma" she said mildly before adding, "This is James Potter."
James opened his mouth to say hello before Gemma waved her hand impatiently, "Yeah, I know who he is" she said, rolling her eyes. "Katie is in here trying on dresses for her dads third wedding, she wants your opinion."
Daisy looked momentarily torn, "I'm on a date, Gemma" she pointed out.
"That's okay!" James interrupted, "You go and help your friend, and then you can all meet us in the Three Broomsticks, okay?"
Daisy looked like she wanted to argue but her friend interrupted, "Will Sirius Black be there?" she wanted to know.
James rolled his eyes, "Yeah" he sighed.
Gemma squealed gleefully before disappearing back into the shop. Daisy turned back to James, "I'm sorry about her."
"Not to worry" he said, smiling. "I'll see you later."
She nodded in agreement and watched him turn to head towards the Three Broomsticks before she followed her friend inside the shop. Inside he was elated and practically skipped towards the pub. Now he had the chance to spend some time alone with his friends, and warn Lily that she was possibly about to receive the grilling of her life.
Plus he wouldn't have to spend any more awkward alone time with Daisy.
He grinned as he opened the door to the pub. It didn't take him long to spot his friends, they were sat at a table in the far corner, easily making the most noise. Lily and Peter were both sat across from each other building separate pyramids out of decks of cards, their table was littered with half of Honeydukes Sweetshop and empty Butterbeer glasses. He made his way over to where Sirius and Remus were stood at a slight distance from the table.
"Alright, Potter!" Lily yelled, despite her obvious concentration on what she was building she was the first to spot him. "You're about to witness me take all of Peter's Choco-Loco away from him."
"That's where you are wrong, Evans" Peter retaliated, his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. "That tower of yours is about to explode any minute."
They were obviously making card stacks out of decks of exploding snap cards. It wasn't that much different from a normal deck of cards, except the possibility of the pyramid exploding at any given moment without warning.
"Give it up, Wormtail" Sirius grinned, shaking his head. "She already conned me out of my chocolate cauldrons."
"And my big bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate" Remus put in, "Face it, she's a hustler."
"You lot are just jealous of my superior pyramid building skills" Lily said easily, adding another card to her already teetering pile.
"What is going on here?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.
"We got bored waiting so decided to have a little completion" Sirius said easily.
"It's a good job Lily only wanted chocolate or we'd all be skint" Remus said, laughing as Peter's card tower exploded in his face.
Lily crowed triumphantly as Peter turned to look at them all, his eyebrows slightly singed.
"You got any sweets you're willing to bet, Potter?" she asked, turning her green eyes on him.
"No thanks, Evans" he smiled as he sat at the stool next to her. "I like my eyebrows just the way they are."
"Wimp" she said, sticking out her tongue. "Is it my round?" she asked.
"No, it's mine!" Peter cut in before disappearing off to the bar.
"You've already had one too many" Remus said, pointing his finger disapprovingly at Lily as he took the seat beside her.
"Don't be such a fun sponge, Moony" Sirius said, pushing his hair out of his eyes and taking the final seat at the table.
"Where's Mary?" James asked.
Sirius pulled a face, "She told him she had Potions homework to catch up on and went back to the castle."
"She is really behind" Lily defended, "But I'm not doing her Charms homework for her now."
"Just don't mention it, yeah?" Remus said quietly, "He seemed really upset when he arrived."
"That's why I suggested the game" Lily sighed, "I thought it might cheer him up."
"I think it worked Evans" Sirius grinned, "I haven't seen him so giddy for ages."
"I feel so guilty" Lily confessed, pulling on her hair distractedly. "It's all my fault for meddling."
None of them had the chance to contradict her because Peter arrived back at their table with the drinks. He passed Lily the first glass and smiled at her, when she smiled back a faint blush covered his face and James couldn't help but think that Lily had gained another admirer.
Lily Evans had every single one of the infamous Marauders wrapped around her little finger.
"Where's your date, Prongs?" Sirius asked.
"She just bumped into some friends outside Gladrags but she said she'd meet me here" he answered, taking a drink. "I feel like should warn you."
Lily raised her eyebrows when he looked at her, "She's not jealous, is she?"
James laughed, "No" he said, "She's just obsessed with muggles, I think I've set you up for a big fall."
"Oh" Lily said, her brow furrowed.
"That's a bit insensitive, Prongs" Remus chastised.
"No, it's okay!" Lily cut in.
"Well her friend fancies you, Padfoot" James said, turning away from Lily to face his friend.
Sirius shrugged and seemed unconcerned by this; he was probably too used to being told this to be bothered by it now. He shifted his stool unconsciously closer to Lily's and she subtly shook her head and grinned at him when he lowered his eyebrows.
James wondered when they had started communicating without speaking.
"What are you two-" he started.
"Hey Prongs, is that her?" Peter interrupted, gesturing towards the door.
James turned to see Daisy stood in the doorway; she was flanked by her two friends. One was Gemma, the pushy brunette wearing a leather jacket and searching around the tables, obviously looking for them. Her other friend had shocking black hair contrasted against her pale skin, her eyes were electric blue and she wore a floaty blue shirt, James guessed that had to be Katie.
He raised his hand to wave them over, "Everyone" he turned to face the table, "This is Daisy and her friends Gemma and Katie."
The girls all smiled and looked a little awkward, "Would you like a drink?" he asked.
They all nodded and he disappeared to get three more Butterbeers, by the time he returned Daisy had taken his seat beside Lily, Gemma was at Sirius' other side and Katie was sat beside Peter. He passed the Butterbeer out as Daisy chattered none stop.
"So what do televisions actually do?" she was asking, "And where does you ticket go when the machine swallows in at the train station? And what exactly is the function of a Piggybank?"
Lily looked a little overwhelmed as she opened her mouth to answer, "Well-"
"No one actually cares about that, Daisy" her friend Gemma interrupted, rolling her eyes. "What I really want to know is what's so special about Daisy that she managed to get a date with you over Lily Evans?"
There was an awkward pause in which Sirius said rudely, "I came with Lily."
"Oh" Gemma looked a little shocked, "Really?"
"Do you have a problem with that?" Lily asked, looking a little offended.
"Well no offense, honey" she said patronisingly, waving her shocking pink nails across the table. "But you're not exactly his type."
"What is my type then?" Sirius asked loudly, "As you know me so well."
"Sirius" Remus chastised.
"Well, you know" Gemma said, suddenly looking uncomfortable and throwing her friends a glance. Daisy was staring resolutely at her drink and was feigning deafness, while Katie had started up a separate conversation with Peter. "You like pretty girls" she said simply, "And you are a pureblood so…"
"He shouldn't be with a mudblood like me" Lily said harshly, her eyes were hard as stones as she glared down at the table.
"Don't you dare call yourself that" James said, reaching out to take hold of her arm. She pulled it from under him before he had the chance to touch her.
"I'm not trying to hurt your feelings" Gemma said quietly, "That's just the way things are."
"Well as I'm so unworthy, I suppose I should leave you all alone" she whispered, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. She pulled her bag from under the table and disappeared before anyone could try to stop her.
"Gemma!" Daisy admonished, "Why do you always have to be so cruel?"
"What?" Gemma defended herself, suddenly looking haughty. "Sirius is from one of the oldest wizarding families around."
"Yeah I am" Sirius agreed quietly, standing up slowly and fixing Gemma with a burning stare that had even James flinching away from him. "And I'd rather be with Lily Evans than any of you, she'd kind, funny and considerate and no matter what family she comes from, she's worth ten of you."
With that Sirius turned and stormed from the pub, leaving three stunned girls in his wake and James to clear up the mess.
He didn't arrange to meet up with Daisy again and walked back up to the castle with Remus and Peter. There was no sign of Sirius or Lily when they returned to the common room and Sirius still hadn't returned to the room until long after James had fallen asleep.