The grounds were soft and wet. February, as it seemed, had brought more rain that was thought to be possible. Students, who had just been chatting about in the courtyard, ran inside, trying to avoid the quaffle-sized raindrops that made their way down from the sky. Meanwhile, something just as peculiar was happening inside the castle.
"He's looking at you" said Lily, as Demi laughed.
"I don't even know his name. We've talked and what not, but he isn't interested, if he was he'd come here and talk to me" said Demi.
"Well, I think he's interested because he's coming over," said Alice, who looked at the other girls before they all stood up and left Demi at the library table on her own.
A young boy approached her. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a little smile. He was a mix of Caucasian and Indian. He wasn't much older than Demi herself, either. "Hey Demitria, mind if I take a seat?" he asked.
"Sure, make yourself comfortable," she replied.
He pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. The two were in complete silence until, "weather's nice, isn't it?" he said sarcastically, looking up at her from his Transfiguration work.
Demi looked up, and bushed a piece of her surly hair behind her ear, "er-yeah. That is, if your definition of 'nice' is depressing, gloomy, or just plain horrible."
He threw his head back and laughed.
"I'm sorry for how rude this might sound, but I don't know your name. You've mentioned it before, but I've forgotten," she blushed furiously.
"Jeremiah. Jeremiah Golde" he said. "No need for me to ask you. You're quite memorable."
"What?" she said, taken by surprise.
"We played against each other twice. I'm the Ravenclaw seeker. You and I got into a bit of a tussle remember?" he said.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, Jamie Sykes told you to do whatever it takes to bring me down. You did put up a good fight" she said, as she remembered the game from the previous year.
"Yeah, but then again, you are pretty good from what I've seen," he pointed out.
"Thanks. You too. I don't think I've had to try as hard as I did with you," she replied.
"What are you working on?" he asked, leaning over the desk and peering at her paper.
"Oh, just some Charms stuff. It's bloody ridiculous. It's not hard, but it is tedious" she replied.
Jeremiah looked at the work, and back at her. He was quiet but two seconds later, he was being shushed by Madan Pince for laughing too loudly.
"What is it?" Demi asked, looking back over her work to see her mistake.
"No, no. It's just" he looked back in her eyes, "you pull an amazing and complicated prank on the entire Slytherin house, yet you have trouble with this small piece of work? It's hilarious."
"Well, I did have help for that last one" she replied.
"Really? I didn't think Pettigrew, Black, and Potter were all that brainy."
"Hey," she said, swatting his arm playfully, "they are smart. But they didn't help with the spells. That was Remus and I. But it was Black and I who came up with the prank itself. He and Potter, however, had too much detention to serve, and couldn't help out with most of it. Actually," Demi said, scratching her head, "I had detention with them."
"Well, they pulled one over on you" Jeremiah pointed out.
"Nah, they've always been like that. Especially Sirius. He's ready to prank me, even though we had a deal. James and I have one as well, but he broke it a million times at home during the summer."
"You live with Potter?" asked Jeremiah.
"Well, yes. I mean, he's like a brother to me. We're very close like that."
"Oh, and what-what about-er- Black?" Jeremiah asked trying to sound nonchalant.
Demi surveyed Jeremiah, who had begun to turn red, fidget, and look back at his work. "We're friends. Best friends."
"So you two aren't . . ." he trailed off.
"No. We. Are. Not" she hissed. Jeremiah looked down, as Demi sighed. "I didn't mean to get angry. It's just . . . I'm tired of people seeing Sirius and I like that even though we aren't. We are far from it."
"Oh," said Jeremiah, looking up smiling. "Well then, I guess you won't have a reason not to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"
"Are you asking me out?" Demi asked, somewhat bemused.
"Well, yes in a manner of speaking" Jeremiah replied.
"Well then, seeing as you've pointed out that I cannot turn you down, not that I would have a reason to anyway, then yes I will go with you" she said.
"Thank God. I've been trying to gather up the courage to ask you for the better part of a month," he replied happily.
"Really?" Demi said, putting her quill down and giving him all her attention.
"Well, actually, it was since you and Lockhart broke up. When you were walking back to your table I was going to ask you to dance, but Black beat me to it," he admitted.
"That is probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," she smiled. She picked up her quill, looked back at her work, and back at him. "Now that you've got what you wanted, do you mind helping me with this?" she said.
"Sure" he replied, coming over and sitting in the seat next to her.
The pair spent almost three hours in the library sitting side by side, working away and getting to know one another better. Demi was having a blast. Jeremiah was funny, smart, and he was very good looking. Jeremiah thought the exact same.
Later on that night . . .
"Where were you?" said Sirius, as Demi crawled through the portrait-hole.
"Oh, I was in the library" she replied, sitting down in the armchair by the fire. "Where is everyone?"
"James and Peter are in detention, Remus is- well, you know" Demi nodded her head as Sirius went on, "Frank is with Mary McDonald and a bunch of his other cousins, Kiaria and Alice are sleeping, and I love, am here talking to you" he finished.
"Oh, I was wondering. Alice and Kiaria were with me at the library a while ago" she said.
"Wait, they came back like 4 hours ago." He jumped out of his seat and pointed at her, "YOU'VE BEEN IN THE LIBRARY FOR OVER FOUR HOURS?" he screeched.
Everyone in the common room went quiet. "She was probably planning another prank," suggested Andrew. Everyone laughed, and went back to their work.
"Were you planning a prank?" Sirius asked, sitting back down.
"No, I was with Jeremiah Golde," Sirius looked confused, "you know, the Ravenclaw seeker?" she added.
"Wait, is it that tall, tanned mate? The fourth year?" he asked.
"Yeah, him. He sat with me, we got to talking and he asked me if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend," she said.
"Wait, he asked you out? What did you say?" ordered Sirius.
"I said yes, Sirius" she said, standing up and grabbing her books.
"I don't think you should go" Sirius said, standing up and blocking her path to the staircase.
"And why is that?" she asked mockingly.
"Because, he's- he's a guy," said Sirius looking pleased with his answer.
"I'm well aware of his gender Sirius," said Demi, trying to get past him.
"What if he likes you?" said Sirius.
"I would hope so, otherwise this would be a lost cause" she admitted.
"I'll fix this," Sirius replied, pulling out his wand.
"Wait, what are you going to do?" asked Demi, sounding somewhat worried.
"I'm going to tell him that you don't want to go out with him," Sirius replied, as if that was obvious.
"Why would you do that!" Demi said.
"Because I don't-" began Sirius.
"Expelliarmus," said Demi, causing Sirius' wand to fly through the air and into her outstretched hand. "You will do nothing of the sort. You've been kind enough to give me some advice, now let me give you some. Lesson one: when a girl tells you something, she doesn't want you to fix her. She wants you to shut up and listen." With that, Demi tossed Sirius' wand at him, and strode over to the staircase, she looked back "goodnight, idiot."
Sirius stood there with his wand dangling out of his hand, his mouth wide open. He just noticed that the entire common room was quiet. Andrew stood up and walked over to him, throwing an arm over Sirius' shoulder. "She's one feisty witch. Wouldn't mess with her."
Meanwhile . . .
"I've just heard that someone got asked out by Jeremiah" stated Lily, as she entered the girl's dormitory.
"Who?' asked Kiaria and Alice who were sitting on their beds talking before Lily had entered.
"Take a wild guess" said Lily, looking towards Demi's empty bed. The girl was in the washroom taking a quick shower.
"NO!" said the two girls, looking at Lily, who nodded.
"No what?" said a voice. The three girls looked at the doorway of the washroom, where Demi was standing, drying her hair with a towel.
The three girls looked at her, "Lily's just told us" said Alice.
"Told you what?" asked Demi, looking lost.
"About Jeremiah, of course" said Kiaria, who was shaking her head at her friend's behaviour.
"Really Lils? Well, I guess everyone would've found out anyway, no secrets in Hogwarts, but really?" said Demi.
"I don't think me telling two people in front of you is as bad as how I found out," said Lily, raising an eyebrow at Demi as she sat down on her bed.
"What do you mean?" asked Demi tentatively.
"Well, Sirius is raging about it in the common room, to Peter and James. I dunno where Remus is though," said Lily thoughtfully, tapping her chin.
"I knew he wouldn't be able to keep his damn mouth shut" said Demi. She threw the soaking wet towel onto her bed, and grabbed a tank top and a pair of shorts. She quickly pulled them on her body, picked up her wand, and ran through the door, her hair still damp.
"She's going to get sick like that," said Alice, shaking her head.
The other two girls looked back at her and said, "I think her getting sick is the least of our problems right now."
In the common room . . .
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Demi screamed as she came down the staircase, her wand out. Everyone in the room went quiet and looked towards the fire, where the three boys were sitting. She marched over to the sofas, stood infront of Sirius and pulled him up by the neck of his robes, "you complete idiot. Did you ignore everything I told you not to do?!"
"Well, I thought that your brother ought to know," said Sirius, looking at James, who went red and tried to hide his face.
"This is none of his business. And it isn't your business either. Honestly, you can't keep a secret to save your goddamn life, can you?"
Actually, there's a pretty big one I've been hiding and so far, it seems like I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps, thought Sirius. He looked at Demi and said, "Well I'm sorry that I was being a good friend to you, and letting your other friend's know." Sirius looked straight into her eyes which were slowly going from brown to red. Her pupils began to show the deepest and darkest secrets Sirius had. His fears were playing out right in front of him. It was with great effort that he managed to wrench his glare away from hers.
Demi laughed sarcastically, "You know what? I am sick and tired of you thinking that you're a good friend of mine. You do the complete opposite of everything I tell you, you drag me into your messes on a regular basis, you are completely childish, you mess up everything that goes right in my life, and then have the audacity to blame me for whatever went wrong. You are the complete opposite of a friend. You make me SICK!" With that, she turned around and went right back up the stairs.
"Jesus, she didn't even give me a chance to explain," said Sirius, sitting back down.
"Mate, you were being a bit of a git. I mean, she has a bit of a point" said Peter. James and Sirius looked at him. "Oh, and I would be a little concerned for my own wellbeing if I were you. She's going to kill you if you do anything else to annoy her."
"Really Sirius? I mean, she has a right to be angry at you" said Remus. He'd just come back from the Whomping willow and was being filled in by Peter and James, with the occasional interruption by Sirius.
"What? Remus, whose side are you on?" asked Sirius, his temper beginning to flare.
"I'm not on anyone's side. She's one of my closest friends, as are you. Choosing sides wouldn't be wise."
"What about you guys" said Sirius, turning away from Remus and looking Peter and James.
"Well, I'm not picking. You're my best mate, and she's my sister" said James, as he began to pull on his robes.
"I dunno. I'm still a little confused" Peter admitted, causing Sirius to shake his head.
In Potion's class . . .
"I have taken the liberty of making your pairs for you, so as to reduce any hassle and concerns," Professor Slughorn announced to the class, who sighed heavily. "The names are on the board, and the recipe for the Babbling Beverage is on page 12 of your books. Good luck" with that he stood up and went to his desk, to prepare for the next lesson.
Sirius walked up to the board, "damn" he mumbled, turning around. He walked over to Demi, "we're partners."
She nodded her head, and they moved over to a cauldron, where they silently began preparing their potion.
"Still mad at me" asked Sirius, not looking up from where he was gingerly adding the asphodel.
Demi sighed and nodded, "yes I am." She added a little bit of rat spleen.
"Will you forgive me?" he asked.
"Will you stop being an idiot?" she replied, smiling.
"I think we know the answer to that. And I will try to be a better friend, honestly, I will" he said, looking up at her.
"Alright, I'm not mad anymore. But if you screw up one more time, then I swear, I will kick your arse" she said, laughing.
"Seems reasonable," Sirius replied.
"Have you decided what to wear?" asked Alice, who was watching Demi with interest. The girl had a date in less than an hour and was sitting on her bed, listening to music with Sirius' enchanted gramophone he'd gotten her for her birthday, in jeans and a Gryffindor Quidditch shirt.
"Huh?" replied Demi, who was flipping through a book Remus had gotten her.
"You realize you have to get ready for your date, right?" said Lily, who'd walked into the room, and noticed Demi's lack of appropriate clothing.
"Yeah, I'll get dressed give me a moment" Demi said, picking up the book and disappearing behind it. They waited ten minutes, before Kiaria walked over and took the book out of Demi's hands.
"Ass in the shower, now" said Kiaria, tossing the girl a towel. Demi stood up and walked into the bathroom, mumbling about timewatchers. Kiaria turned back to the other two girls, "she hasn't any sense of time." They all nodded, and opened Demi's trunk, trying to pick an outfit for her.
A few minutes passed and Demi walked out of the washroom. She navigated her way through the room and picked up a pair of black jeans and a burgundy sweater from the mess on the floor. She pulled the articles of clothing on, grabbed her black boots and her wand, "colligo." The clothing that was strewn over the floor instantly flew back into her trunk. She quickly undid her bun and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She turned and looked at the girls, "Okay, see you later." She stood up and walked down the girl's staircase.
In the common room . . .
"You lot haven't left yet?" asked Demi, as she walked up to the five Gryffindor guys, who were sitting on the sofa.
"Yeah, we were just- wait, where are you going?" asked Remus, turning around and looking at Demi. "Where are the girls?"
"They are upstairs, and I'm going with someone," she explained.
"Who, who" said Remus, his eyes opening wide.
"Jeremiah Golde. He's a fourth year" said Demi, and she ran across the room and out of the portrait.
"Damn, she's fast" said Peter, as the door closed.
"That's why she's our seeker" said Andrew, and the Gryffindors cheered.
"Bet that's what Jeremiah's doing" mumbled Sirius, as he and the others got up and left the common room.
-*-"Hey, sorry I took a while" said Demi, as she walked to Jeremiah who was in the foyer.
"Nah, you look great," he replied.
"You too. Should we get going?" she asked.
"Yeah, let's go."