We all know it's been a very long time. Thank you to those who left reviews. Hope the next chapter is some-what acceptable for the wait.
Disclaimer: Keith and Lily's friends are mine, and everyone's words are mine. That's basically it...
Previously:
"…let's go on a date. A real one, next weekend on the Hogsmeade trip.
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I'm tired of sneaking around all the time, trying to hid this."
"Then it's a date," Sandy finalized.
qp
"Where's Potter?" Keith asked.
"Why does he have to be with me all the time?" Lily snapped.
"Well, a girl as pretty as you could be getting seduced by some other sleaze bag who wants a go at her," Keith said quietly while leaning towards her.
"Are you a sleaze bag trying to seduce me, Keith?" Lily asked, equally as quiet, but not moving towards him.
"Nope." He moved a couple more inches forward.
"You're not trying to seduce me?"
"Yes."
qp
James carried some books over to Lily's desk, he noticed a snow globe on the ground.
"I collect snow globes."
qp
Sirius and Sandy froze. Thinking quickly, he rubbed his face and neck really hard and then stepped out.
"Prongs? Did you see Filtch?"
"Is that why you were in the alcove?" James asked, his face twisted in confusion.
"Yeah. I was…getting food…not thinking my loud noises-"
"Okay. You have to come back with me! Lily and her friends challenged us in the game "Battle of the Sexes!" We can't loose!" James cried with a smile.
"Um…alright, I think that I dropped…something," Sirius lied.
"Here. How 'bout some light Lumous!" James said as Sirius cried "No!"
When the two looked in, no one was there. Only a lone piece of paper lay in the now lighted alcove.
James bent down, picked up the blank sheet of paper and then handed it to Sirius with a puzzled look.
Sirius gave a nervous laugh. "Made ya' look."
qp
Chapter Seven: Day 38
Hogsmeade weekend had finally arrived and James was really looking forward to spending time with Lily— alone. Thinking back on their relationship, James had to chuckle a little. Sure they held hands, and cuddled and kissed in public, but James really just enjoyed spending time talking with Lily. She was an interesting person who had a lot of interesting things to say. Just thinking about her made a smile come up on his face. James didn't know what it was; just…there was something about Lily Evans.
Lily descended the stairs with Karen and Ronnie behind her.
"Hey Lils! Ready to get going?" he asked her as she flew by.
Without breaking stride Lily snapped, "Ask those two."
James looked at Lily's roommates for answers.
"We're taking Lily for the day. Sorry. We have to go dress shopping for the dance. You should understand," Karen apathetically said.
"Wait…what? No, this is Lily's and my day! You can't have her!" James cried, following the girls out of the Common Room.
"Sorry Potter, but we're already late. Maybe catch you at dinner? See ya," Ronnie said as Lily and Karen walked around the corner.
"But—! Women," James mumbled as he headed back towards the common room. Sirius quickly walked past James in that moment.
"Where are you going?" James cried.
"Um…I have a date. See you later," Sirius said, ignoring James.
"Are you serious?! With who?! Padfoot!"
"Guess it's the three of us, eh James?" Peter said as he clasped James on the shoulder.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Sirius briskly walked to the front entrance of Hogwarts. Whether Sandy was going to show up or not, didn't matter to Sirius because if she was, he didn't want to be late. He kept checking his breath and armpits, making sure he was as clean and fresh as possible. He only stood around for five minutes when he noticed Sandy walking down the stairs in a long sleeved shirt and long blue-jeaned skirt on.
"You look, lovely," Sirius said with a smile, offering his arm.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Sirius," she answered, taking his arm.
"I got us the best carriage waiting out front," Sirius replied, leading the two out the door. During the duration of their ride to Hogsmeade, they did not talk about much, just about the weather and how fast this year was actually going. They were dropped off in front of Hogsmeade. After helping her down, Sirius and Sandy started their walk down the busy wizarding street.
"Where did you want to go?" Sirius asked.
"No where in particular. I mean, is there anything you have to get done today?" Sandy questioned.
"It's all about you today, babe." He flashed her a grin.
Sandy blushed and looked away. "James never said things like that to me."
"What a jerk," Sirius muttered.
"Tell me about it."
Knowing his friends would be in the Three Broomsticks, he opted to going to Madame Pudfoots, knowing that you had to be of the Y chromosome to hate that place.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Alright Lily, where do you want to start?" Ronnie asked as the girls entered the town.
"Not talking to you," she stiffly said.
"Oh, don't be upset with us, Lily. One day away from James won't hurt you," Ronnie teased.
"Besides, we never get to spend time with you and you always get to spend time with James. It's not fair. We should be shared equally," Karen reasoned.
Lily stuck her tongue out at them. "I'm not mad because I don't get to spend the day with James, I'm mad because I got kidnapped!"
"You'll get over it."
The girls wandered down Hogsmeade until they came upon Gwen's Gown's.
"Good afternoon ladies! I'm Gwen; is there anything I can help you with?" A short, tiny, brunette woman asked.
"Um…just looking around thanks," Karen said as the three girls walked to the back of the room. "Alright, I'll start here, Lily you go over there," she said pointing to her left, "and Ronnie, you go back to the front." The three girls split up and started searching through the dresses.
Lily walked to the other side of the shop and searched through the gowns. There were some really expensive dresses that Lily knew she couldn't afford. She felt completely lost as the prices went higher up and it didn't help that Lily didn't even know what kind of a dress she wanted to wear. V-neck, strapless, halter top, no back, strapped back, big dress, little dress, short dress, long dress and everything in between was staring back at her.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Where do you think the girls are?" James asked.
"Where do you think Sirius is?" Peter questioned.
"Maybe they're all together," Remus joked.
"You think?" James seriously asked.
"Why don't we get a Butterbeer instead of just meandering around," Remus suggested.
The three boys shuffled into the Three Broomsticks and sat down at a table. There was a new waitress added to the Broomsticks staff and she quickly came over to the boys. She had blue hair in two pigtails and her legs seemed to be the width of a broomstick. She was very lanky and awkward.
"What can I get you?" she asked with wide eyes.
"Three Butterbeers, please," James asked with a smile.
"Of course," she nervously replied. She turned around and almost sprinted away.
James laughed to himself. "I love doing that to people."
"You're disgusting."
After the nervous witch delivered their drinks and the consumption began, James started to ease up and forgot that his girlfriend had abandoned him.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Okay Lily, here's the problem…nothing in this store is green!" Karen cried. "I've found yellow and orange and red—which could work…but still…I don't know what we're going to do."
Ronnie and Lily were sitting in the chairs placed in front of the dressing rooms while Karen paced back and forth, ripping her hair out.
"You can't go to the dance, Lil. Simple as that," Ronnie said, deep in thought.
"Alright, you both are crazy. Why don't we each just find our own dresses? I am capable of finding my own clothes you know," Lily tried to reason.
"Yes, but you are the only one out of the three of us to actually have a date. Ronnie and I are just going and we'll meet someone there. But you…you've got to keep James wanting more!"
Too bad things are gonna be done after the dance, Lily thought.
"Alright, everyone better meet back here in half and hour with at least ten dresses, alright? I think I'm going to be optimistic and find a color other than green and black," Lily stated as she started walking to the front of the dress store.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Wow…that's all I can say right now," Sandy said with awe as the two walked into the little eatery.
"Mr. Black…and his date—follow me, please," a beautiful yet surly witch said as she lead the couple to Sirius' favorite place to dine, the booth in the back by the fireplace. Sirius lead Sandy to the seat that looked at the fireplace, knowing that the mood would be better set this way. After placing their drink orders Sandy asked, "Do you come here often?" This question shook Sirius because none of his other dates had every asked him that before. As if the timing couldn't have been more perfect, one of the million of the heart butterflies flew around the two's head's while red dust fell on their table. He blinked stupidly at her and then said, "I've been here a few times, why?"
"Well, it's just that the woman knew your name and I've never been here but…well…I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Sandy said as she shrugged it off. Sirius made to grab for her hands but she pulled them away.
"You're the only person who's mattered that I've brought here," he honestly said. Sandy made to say something but there waitress came back and set down their drinks.
"What will you two be having this evening?"
"Um…I'll be having whatever this is right here," Sandy said while pointing on the menu. "I think it's a burger."
"I'll have the same thing," Sirius said without taking another glance at his menu.
"Your food will be out shortly."
Once the waitress was out of ear-shot, Sandy said, "I think I'm allergic to the fairy dust!"
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
After half an hour, all Lily could find was a deep purple dress with a gold trim and criss-cross straps and a royal blue dress, no straps but a criss-cross back.
"Alright, you two go first, because I've got nothing," Lily said when the other two showed up.
"Okay, that statement didn't even make any sense. Shouldn't you go first since you have the least amount?" Ronnie asked.
Lily sighed, knowing what she said was logical and slowly walked into the dressing room. After she put the purple dress on, she quickly took it off while shouting, "Absolutely not!" to her friends outside.
"Aw, let us just see it!" Karen begged.
"I've already got it off and the other one half on," Lily lied. After zipping up the dress, she looked at herself in the mirror. She spun around slowly, looking at all the angles. It didn't look as bad as Lily had though; she actually kind of liked it. She took her hair out of the ponytail that it was in and combed her fingers through her hair a couple of times.
"Alright, you better not laugh," she warned as she exited the dressing room.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Around noon, James started to suffer from not having his drug in so long and he went on the prowl for Lily. After searching each shop twice James decided that she had either hid in the bathroom from him or gone back to the castle.
"James, the day is not even over yet. We can't go back," Peter tried to reason.
"Yeah, but I've got to at least see if she is there.. I mean, that's like my job, right?" he tried to reason.
"Do you think Lily would appreciate you following her around all the time?" Remus asked.
"No but that doesn't really matter," James said.
"Why don't you just try to enjoy yourself today, please? I mean, it's a day to be boys, and I'll let you get away with things you probably shouldn't do," Remus begged.
"You know what, I've found a new reason to stay here; we're going to find Sirius and see who he's on a date with," James said while holding a triumphing finger in the air.
"James, I am beginning to think you feel the need to ruin others people's days since yours is," Remus said even though James was already heading to the beginning of Hogsmeade in pursuit of his best friend.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
After their food was delivered, there were no more awkward moments during lunch between Sandy and Sirius. Like real couples, they talked about things like school work and their hobbies. Even though there were no "house" problems between Slytherins and Ravenclaws, Sandy expressed just as much hatred towards them as Sirius did. She had, however, met Sirius younger brother before, who she wasn't very fond of, but could see the resemblance.
"Okay, I am nothing like my brother…or rather he is nothing like me. We come from different parents, which in pureblood families is not unheard of," Sirius pointed out. Sandy chuckled.
"No, you have too many of the same features to be from different parents. He wasn't unpleasant or anything, he seemed to be trying really hard to impress me.
"Yeah, that's what he's like when he's sucking up to our mother. She even crazier than Regulus is," Sirius said as he pointed his fork as her. She laughed again.
After lunch, Sirius paid the bill and the two left to walk towards the end of the street where it was a little less crowded.
"You know, this area has a nice variety of shops and what not's, but it really isn't all that beautiful, you know? I mean, there aren't like fountains or scenery for people to look at. The shrieking shack is about all we've got," Sandy said as she pointed at the dilapidated building in front of her.
"Yeah, you'd think they'd build a…a Quidditch stadium or something," Sirius said while staring at the building.
Sandy slapped his arm with a laugh. "That's not what I meant."
Sirius smiled down at her and she smiled back at him, but in a shy way. Sirius' eyes reached hers and he started to lean in. Sandy backed away while putting a finger to his lips.
"Not yet," she murmured.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"That boy sure knows how to make himself scare when he wants to," James muttered as the guys walked down the strip of Hogsmeade for the second time.
"James, my fingers are cold," Peter complained.
"Don't care," James answered.
"Seriously though, this is quite pathetic. Maybe they don't want to be found. We should just enjoy this time together. I mean, does it really suck that bad when you hang out with Pete and I?" Remus asked.
"Remus, don't try to guilt trip me," James said while he pointed his finger.
"We should go Christmas shopping since this is the last opportunity we'll have before break," Remus suggested.
"That is such a stup— " James stopped short. Sitting in the window of one of the shops was a snow globe. On a silver base was a skating pond. There were many people skating on the pond, but they were boring due to their gray-scaled garb and monotonous due to the two colored skaters who skated around the gray ones until they met in the middle, after making a heart, for a kiss. A light snow fall was happening in the globe and in front of the globe stood a silver band that read "Bliss."
"Wanna make a stop?" Remus asked.
"Um…no that's fine. Let's keep going," James said without moving from his spot.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
All three girls came out of the dress shop with their pockets a little lighter. The dresses would be sent, by eagle of course, within the next two weeks. A light snow fall came, freezing the previously trampled ground, making the sidewalks slick. The girls moved with caution.
"Okay, it's really cold out here," Ronnie complained.
"Yeah, I think we should go get some butter beer," Karen agreed.
"I second that motion," Lily said with a smile.
The three girls quickly shuffled down the street when Lily slipped on some ice. She flailed her arms around and ended up smacking down on the street.
"Merlin, Lily you okay?" Ronnie cried as she offered a hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lily grumbled as she found her footing and stood up. Sitting in front of her was a beautifully crafted. "Hey guys, look at this," Lily said as she staired at the beautiful display.
"That snow globe? Don't you have that one?" Karen asked.
"No…mine's…different," Lily mumbled as she got lost in the scene. Without her knowledge, she started to move towards the door of the shop. She entered and made her way to the desk. "Excuse me sir. That snow globe…the one on display…"
The cashier looked up. "Ah, the one in the front. Sorry miss but you're too late. It has already been bought. It was one of a kind I will say that and the person who bought that, well lets just say luck is on his side," the guy said with a wink.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Keith walked down the street. He turned into a little shop; a light from the display out front shinned in his face.
"I'm here to pick up a purchase."
"Of course, sir. One moment, my assistant is preparing another package, then he will take care of yours."
As Keith exit the store, purchase in hand, the snow globe titled "Bliss" no longer sparkled on display.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
By five the sun had set on Hogsmeade and by six the lights in the Quidditch stadium had gone up. Even with the weather so low and the wind chill mild, James was out on the pitch making countless circles in the sky. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but today was miserable. He didn't get to spend it with his girlfriend, his best friend was on a secret date….it just wasn't the same. And then there was Lily. She confused James that was for sure. When she was around he felt comfortable, like hanging out with one of the guys, and that scared him. Shouldn't he feel better more complete or something like that, when he was with Lily? Instead, it was like hanging out with a best friend. James wasn't used to those emotions with a girl. But what scared him more was the way he felt when Lily wasn't around. What did this all even mean?
After an hour out flying James was sure he'd be in the hospital wing getting his fingers and toes chopped off. He took a long shower in the locker room and headed up the stairs for the dorm. As he was walking, he heard some laughter and squeaking shoes.
'Love birds out after dark?' James thought. He smiled deviously and quietly went to investigate. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. Sirius Black, his best friend was pushing some girl against the wall, snogging her like no tomorrow. She turned her head away from him to give access to her neck and James saw her face: Sandy. Every thing in his body seemed to stop. He couldn't move, blink, breath….nothing. He just stood there like an idiot. James quickly retracted his steps and took off in a run towards the opposite direction. After, he'd run up seven flights of steps, he needed time to catch his breath. He doubled over with his hands on his knees. This day just proved to get worse and worse.
"Holy shit."
Please Review if you liked it. Review if you didn't like it...I won't freak out like I did on that other chapter....
:D