A/N: Review EXPLOSION this week! Haha. Anyway, thanks very much to: DarlingILoveYou, I Love LJ, Evisawesome, Aen 06 (I update on Sundays, pretty much religiously, b/c I'm OCD like that), WobblyJelly, .forever2116, Silver Scorpion, EchoNightFall22, person who did not sign their review ;), Alice Demer, BrokenFaerie16, WanderHigher, stars-and-sons, existence555, MaryandMerlin, , SecretBlack, A La DarkAngel, theycallherkaush, aqualuck, and Sam-EvansBlue.
Several of you have asked how many chapters I think this story is going to be. Answer: I have no idea. Sorry. I'll let you know when I start to get a sense for where it's going to end. I mean, I can tell you that it'll be partway through their seventh year. But I'm not sure how long it will take me to get there ;)
Saw Deathly Hallows. For my unofficial review, see the A/N at the end (in case some of you haven't seen it yet).
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Parts of it seem forced. But I rather like the end ;)
Chapter 15: Feel It
I didn't see Potter until lunchtime the next day, when he finally dragged his more than slightly hungover self to the Great Hall.
"So, this is a more normal you after a party than the day after New Year's, huh?" I commented as he slouched down onto the bench across from me, beside Mary. Sirius sat down in a similar manner next to him, with Remus and Peter—looking more or less normal—settling down on my right.
James nodded, apparently unable to summon the strength to actually form words, and pulled the nearest dish of food—it happened to be sausages—towards him.
"I can't believe you can eat right now," Sirius moaned. He had poured himself a cup of coffee and was sipping it carefully.
"I can always eat," James replied.
"I know," Sirius grumbled. "And I sodding hate you for it."
"Well, congrats to the two of you for escaping the wrath of alcohol this time," I said, nodding to Remus and Peter.
"Yeah, I learned my lesson at New Year's," Remus said fervently. "That was bloody awful."
"No more drinking," Peter added resolutely.
"Come off it, Wormtail, you say that every time," Sirius scoffed.
"Well, this time I mean it."
"Right," Sirius said doubtfully. "As for you, Moony, well, I'm more apt to believe you'll stand by a no drinking resolution."
"I never said anything about not drinking again," Remus said mildly, surprising me and eliciting appreciative chuckles from James and Sirius.
"Speaking of resolutions," I said, rolling my eyes at Potter, "or bets, rather—here." I plunked five galleons in front of Potter, who looked confused for a moment before sitting up straight and shooting me a victorious grin, seeming miraculously cured of his hangover.
"Oh-my-God-he-asked-you-out?" Mary shrieked, running her words together in excitement. "Why didn't you tell me!" she added indignantly.
"Who asked Evans out?" Sirius inquired.
"I don't know; I guess it just slipped my mind," I said to Mary, ignoring Sirius's question.
"Ouch, Lily—maybe I'll take my offer back, then," a teasing voice said behind me.
Sometimes I wondered what I'd done in my past life to deserve such cruel treatment by fate.
I turned to look at A.J., feeling a flush creep into my cheeks. "I didn't—um, hi," I said lamely. I heard Potter snort behind me and did my best not to cringe.
A.J. just flashed me a smile and continued along the table to sit with the friends he'd apparently come down with.
I turned around again with a sigh. Potter was struggling hard not to laugh. "Smooth, Evans—you're lucky he did ask you out."
"Wait, who asked her out?" Peter asked.
"A.J.!" Sirius, James and Mary chorused in unison. I winced, sure the subject of our conversation must have heard that. And, indeed, when I glanced down the table, I found him looking over towards our group. Catching my eye, he winked before turning away. I winced again as I returned my focus to the conversation.
"Honestly, Wormtail, pay attention," James was saying.
"There must have at least been a Confundus Charm involved, though, right?" Sirius added as Potter laughed. "I thought McMillan had some taste, at least."
"You two are horrible," Remus chided his friends as I lobbed bits of toast at each of them.
"Aw, Evans knows were joking, don't you?" Potter asked me.
"If by that you're wondering whether I realize it's yours and Black's mission in life to annoy me until I blow your heads off in frustration, then yes."
"Maybe we should back down, mate—she sounded serious about that head explosion thing," Sirius said with mock apprehension.
"Nah, she wouldn't do it. We're friends now, remember?" Potter grinned cheekily at me.
"Until I regain my misplaced sanity," I muttered.
"Anyway," Mary said. "Back to more important topics—"
"My lost sanity is fairly important to me," I pointed out.
"As is whether or not my head remains attached to my neck," Sirius put in.
Mary ignored us both—a slightly more difficult feat in my case, as I was the one to whom she directed her next words, "How did he ask you?"
"What do you mean? He just asked me."
"No, what did he say, exactly?"
I thought back to our conversation and grinned in spite of myself. "It was actually kind of clever—"
I broke off abruptly as Potter let out another snort of laughter.
"And I'll tell you later in private," I said to Mary, resisting the urge to throw more food at Potter. "Let's eat, shall we?"
OOOOOOOO
"It's kind of weird, isn't it?" I asked Mary on the Saturday morning of my date with A.J. "To go out with someone I don't even know?"
Mary looked up in exasperation from my closet, where she was currently selecting my outfit. Even though I'd told her it didn't much matter, as I'd be wearing a coat anyway. "Lily, how many times do I have to tell you? You don't have to know someone to like them, or date them, or do pretty much anything with them! How do you think the term 'one night stand' got invented?"
"Okay, you have a point there. But it's weird for me, isn't it?"
Mary considered this for a moment. "Don't take this the wrong way, but since you've never actually dated anyone, there's no way of knowing what's weird for you to do, really."
Well, that's true. "Fair enough," I said, hopping off my bed to monitor Mary's sweater selection. We'd already agreed on a pair of jeans—they were my favorite, so it wasn't a hard decision.
"How about this one?" Mary asked, holding up a blue v-neck cashmere sweater.
I shrugged. "Looks good to me."
...
"Okay, have fun, and only laugh if he actually says something funny, because otherwise it looks like you're trying too hard, and remember not to let it show if you're nervous—"
"Mary," I interrupted to stop her babbling. "This is me, remember? Honestly, I think you're more nervous than I am."
"Sorry, I'm just excited for you! I'll want a fully detailed report as soon as you get back—even if you have to wake me up. No waiting until noon the next day!"
I smiled at her. "I promise."
"Good. Well, have fun!" she repeated as Andrew approached us in the Entrance Hall.
"Thanks—you too."
She and Andrew exited the front doors, and I tried not to concentrate on how hot I was in my coat, hat and mittens as I waited for A.J. I hadn't just been lying to Mary for her sake—I really wasn't that nervous. Maybe I should have been—weren't first dates supposed to be awkward?—but surely a lack of nerves was preferable.
Just when I was considering stepping out for a minute to cool off, A.J. appeared at the top of the marble staircase. He grinned as he reached the last stair. "Hey," he said, striding over to me. "Ready?"
"God yes—I'm boiling in here," I replied. Probably not information one usually shares on a first date, but oh well.
A.J. laughed and held the front door open for me. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Good to see you didn't melt or anything."
I sighed in contentment as the cool March air washed over us. Out of habit, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my coat, wondering a moment later whether I should have left them free. Would A.J. expect me to hold hands with him? Probably. But it would look strange if I suddenly took my hands back out of my pockets, right? Maybe this first date stuff was more complicated than I'd originally thought.
I glanced surreptitiously at A.J. and was relieved to see he'd put his hands in his pockets as well. I also noticed he wasn't wearing a hat, and, while I'd been hot inside the castle, I was definitely glad to have my ears covered now.
"Bit daring of you, going out with no hat in the middle of winter, isn't it?" I asked as we started down the road that would lead us to Hogsmeade.
A.J. shrugged. "I don't get cold very easily. And it's not exactly the middle of winter—we're almost halfway through March, after all."
"Well, I consider any day that there's snow on the ground the middle of winter," I replied, causing A.J. to laugh. "Though I'm a little jealous of the hat thing—my hair always gets all static-y whenever I wear one. Makes me look quite mad when I take it off."
A.J. raised his eyebrows. "Sounds exciting—I'll look forward to that."
As we entered the High Street, we paused.
"I'm assuming you're more of a Three Broomsticks girl than a Madame Puddifoot's girl?" A.J. asked with a grin.
I could have hugged him for saying that. I hadn't even thought about Madame Puddifoot's when I'd speculated about this date, but if I had, the prospect that he might want to take me there would have definitely caused a sufficient level of first-date nerves. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that," I said.
A.J.'s grin widened and we set off for the nearby pub. "I'm glad to be able to say it," he assured me. "Just the thought of that place makes me want to run back up to the castle and hide under my bed."
I laughed. "So, you've had some good experiences in there, huh?" I asked as we entered the Three Broomsticks and made for a booth in the back.
"You don't want to know," A.J. muttered.
"Well, now I definitely do," I said, sliding into the booth across from A.J.
A.J. shook his head. "I think past girlfriends are more of a second or third date topic," he informed me.
"Fine," I said, pretending to be disappointed and trying to ignore the way my stomach flipped excitedly at the mention of more dates. I pulled off my mittens and shrugged out of my coat, then paused with my hands halfway to my hat. "Now I'm self conscious about taking this off," I accused.
A.J. just grinned again, and I sighed as I removed my head covering. I quickly ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to flatten the static-y bits, and then raised my eyebrows at A.J.
"Did I get it all?"
"Nearly," he said, reaching out to tuck an errant strand behind my ear, brushing his fingers lightly along my jaw as he drew his hand back. I was sure the shiver that ran through me had nothing to do with any remaining chill I might have carried in from outside. "So," A.J. said, "fancy a butterbeer? Or firewhiskey—oh wait, you don't drink the hard stuff; that's right." He smirked.
I narrowed my eyes. "Are you mocking me?" I asked carefully.
"Not at all," he answered breezily. "I'll be right back."
But as I watched him join the end of the absurdly long line in front of the bar, I decided that was highly unlikely. After a minute or so, he'd barely moved forward two inches, and, abandoning our winter things in the booth to save our seats, I got up and joined him in line.
"Hi," I said. "Looks like you'll be here for a while, so I thought I'd keep you company."
A.J. leaned around the man in front of him to judge the distance to the bar. "Good idea," he said as he looked back at me. "So," he added, surveying me with those startlingly bright eyes.
"So . . ." I prompted when he didn't continue, trying not to squirm under his scrutiny.
"Tell me something I don't know about you," he requested.
I opened my mouth to answer, but shut it almost immediately. What I'd almost said was, 'I used to be friends with Severus Snape', but realized that was the last thing I should bring up on a first date, not to mention the last thing I wanted A.J. to know. Our friendship was a thing of the past, so there was no reason for A.J. to know that about me, right? Then why was it the first thing that came to mind as an answer to his question? part of my mind inquired. I deliberately ignored that part, not least because I didn't have an answer for it.
"Lily?" A.J. said, looking halfway between amused and concerned. "It's not that difficult of a question, is it?" he asked jokingly.
"No, I was just—" I stopped abruptly again, distracted this time as A.J. casually grasped my hand in his. "—t-trying to figure out what to tell you," I finished, stuttering slightly. I tried not to blush; for Merlin's sake, most of my peers had passed beyond holding hands with a boy in about second year. Clearing my throat, I said the first thing that came to mind—after the Snape thing, that is—"I hate mint."
A.J. looked amused. "Really?" He thought about it for a moment. "Actually, that is kind of strange. All mint? Not just peppermint or spearmint or something?"
"Nope, all mint," I confirmed.
"What do you use to brush your teeth?"
"Mint toothpaste—and I hate every minute of it," I said, wrinkling my nose.
"Well, I hate chocolate—not as strange, but—"
"What? 'Not as strange'—are you kidding me? That is way odder than hating mint! I didn't even know that was possible!"
"I didn't know hating mint was possible," A.J. countered.
We grinned at each other. "Fine—I guess we're even, then," I said.
OOOOOOOO
"So, what're the initials for?" I asked later, halfway through my second butterbeer.
"What initials?"
"Your name."
A.J. made a face. "I was afraid that's what you meant." He sighed. "And to think we've made it—" he checked his watch—"two hours without that coming up."
I raised an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"
"Angus Jennings," he said in answer.
I stared at him for a moment. "No, no one names their kid Angus. You're joking."
"Wish I was," A.J. said wearily, taking a sip of his butterbeer.
"That's—Merlin, that's horrible," I said, trying not to laugh for his sake. "Where did your parents even come up with that?"
A.J. shrugged. "Dunno. I think it's a family name or something. Either that, or they consulted the 'How to ensure that your child will loath you forever' version of the baby name book."
"At least you have initials that can be used as a name without sounding strange. I mean, they could have been T. M. or something."
"And what horrible thing would that stand for?"
"Er, Trout M—"
"'Trout' is not even a name," A.J. said, laughing.
"Neither is Angus," I retorted, smiling as well.
We finished our drinks and ventured back out into the wintery day. A.J. took my hand again as we started walking slowly down the street.
"So, where to next?" he asked.
"I don't care." We passed Zonko's joke shop, and I nodded towards it. "You're a regular in there, I assume?"
"I've been inside once or twice," A.J. replied modestly.
I rolled my eyes. "Right, sure."
"Well, I'm no Marauder, that's for certain," he said.
"And that's a very good thing, trust me."
"Come on, you have to admit their pranks are usually pretty impressive."
"Did Potter put you up to this?" I demanded teasingly. "Though, yes, I have generally been amazed by the talent and planning that obviously goes into their . . . shenanigans." I paused. "Merlin, I can't believe I just admitted that. Don't tell James."
A.J. smirked. "You know, there are an awful lot of things you've told me that you don't want him to know—maybe you really aren't friends, after all."
"No, we just have an . . . interesting relationship."
OOOOOOOO
A.J. and I returned to Hogwarts just before dinner. In the Entrance Hall, I felt a tug on my hand as A.J. came to a halt while I tried to continue up the marble staircase. I turned back to him questioningly.
"I'm meeting some mates for dinner," he explained, dropping my hand.
"Oh, okay," I said. "Well, I'll see you later, then." I didn't move, though, wondering where we were leaving things. I mean, did this imply we were dating now? Could I ask for clarification on that? I cringed inwardly, thinking about how awkward that would sound. Focusing back on A.J., I saw that he was looking at me oddly, similar to that appraising look he'd given me in the Three Broomsticks. "Er, thanks for—" I started, just to break the uncomfortable—well, uncomfortable for me, anyway—silence.
"Can I kiss you?" A.J. interrupted unexpectedly.
My heart suddenly felt like it was lodged in my throat, while my stomach had fallen to somewhere in the region of my feet. "W-what?" I stuttered.
"You heard me," A.J. said, looking at me steadily with a slight smile on his lips.
"I'm a rubbish kisser," I blurted out. "If that changes your mind."
"It doesn't. First, because there's no way that could be even remotely true, and second, because I've been wanting to kiss you all day."
"Oh," was all I could think to say to that. And, as it turned out, it was all I had time to say, because next second, A.J. had cupped one hand on my cheek, placed the other on my waist, and pressed his lips to mine.
I had no idea what to do with my lips or tongue, so I just sort of mirrored A.J.'s movements. And when we broke apart, I realized I hadn't done anything with my hands, just left them hanging stupidly at my sides. But A.J. just grinned at me, murmured, "Knew you wouldn't be rubbish," and turned into the Great Hall.
I'm not sure how long I stood there, staring after him, but I'm sure it was long enough to make me look like an idiot. When I finally remembered how to walk, I was glad to discover that the Entrance Hall was empty, meaning no one had witnessed the kiss or my embarrassing reaction. Starting up the stairs to the second floor, I was still distracted enough by recent events to miss the person emerging from behind a tapestry as I reached the landing. He didn't miss me, however.
"So, how was it, Evans?" Potter asked, falling into step beside me.
I jumped slightly at his sudden appearance. "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Back there," he answered, gesturing vaguely behind him.
I raised an eyebrow. "You weren't . . . waiting for me, or something creepy like that, were you?"
James rolled his eyes. "Yes, Evans, I like to stalk you in my free time. No, it was completely coincidental, I assure you. So?"
"What? Oh, my date. Um, it was . . . good."
Potter shot me an exasperated look. "Come on, that's all I get? No details?"
"Well, I—"
"We are friends, after all," Potter added.
"So you keep reminding me," I said dryly.
"And I don't think I should have to," he said, pretending to be hurt.
"Aw, come on, Potter, you know I'm joking, right?" I said, copying his tone from earlier that week.
James grinned at me. "Well played, Evans. However, you're still avoiding the question. From what you've said, I'm left to interpret that either the date was really bad, and you're just lying to cover it up, or it was really really good, and you just don't want to share."
I tried not to smile, but failed miserably.
"Aha! So, it's the second, then." He looked at me expectantly as we cleared the landing on the seventh floor and started for the Fat Lady's portrait.
I shook my head. "Honestly, I don't know why you want to know so badly," I paused to give the password—'Mandrakes'—to the Fat Lady. "I mean, you're not a girl—"
"Always the observant one, aren't you?"
"—but you're pestering me worse than Mary."
Potter looked like he was going to say something, but we had entered the common room by this point, and Mary—as if on cue—accosted me for a play-by-play of my date with A.J. As we started for the dormitory stairs, Potter called after me, "Wait, how come she gets to know, and I don't?"
I just smirked at him over my shoulder and continued to follow Mary up the stairs.
OOOOOOOO
The next day, I didn't really see A.J. at all, which I told myself was because I had a lot of homework to catch up on, having done none of it the day before. In reality, however, it was because I was sort of avoiding him. Okay, not sort of—completely avoiding him. The truth was, I didn't have any idea how I was supposed to act around him now. I mean, was he my boyfriend? Not that an answer to that question would help me much, either, because I'd never had a boyfriend and had no idea how to behave with one. Of course, Mary had assured me that we were, in fact, dating, and while I had to agree with her that A.J.'s implication of more dates and the kiss at the end of our first certainly pointed in that direction, I also knew that was a dangerous thing to just assume. What we needed was to have 'the talk', where we laid everything out and defined our relationship. In other words, hang on while I Avada Kedavra myself. I hated talking about feelings and things; I'd much rather just naturally come to a mutual, silent agreement about where we stood. But I knew that was just asking for disaster.
So, here I was, in the library avoiding the problem and working (attempting to, at least) on a Felix Felicis essay for Slughorn and polishing up my Patronus essay for Galbraithe. And wondering if I'd ever stop being so pathetic about everything.
...
A.J. finally cornered me in the Entrance Hall after breakfast on Monday—props to him for being able to wait that long, I thought.
"You're avoiding me," he stated bluntly, but he looked more amused by the fact than angry. Though I honestly wasn't sure which was worse.
"Er," I answered intelligently. How do you answer that kind of question, anyway?
"Why?"
"Well, you know," I started vaguely. A.J. just raised an eyebrow, and I sighed. "I—I just . . . didn't know whether—Are we dating?"
A.J. smirked. "I think that's the general idea, yes. At least, that was the motivation behind my asking you out—I thought it seemed logical enough, yeah?"
He was teasing me, and I told him as much. "And I don't appreciate it; I get enough of that from Potter."
"James," A.J. corrected, eyes shining with amusement.
"Oh, shut up," I muttered. "Well, anyway—good to know. With the dating thing, I mean." I sighed in frustration as A.J. laughed. "Okay, I know—I'm pathetic; I honestly don't know why you want to date me."
"That's why."
"Because I'm pathetic?" I asked skeptically.
"No, because I find your fumbling lack of experience endearing."
"Oh, now you're just patronizing me."
A.J. laughed again and prevented any further complaints on my part by kissing me—in a manner rather inappropriate for our current location, I might add. But hey, I wasn't going to object, although part of me knew I certainly didn't want to be caught in such a position by just anyone, especially not—
"Careful, Evans, or I might have to accuse you of hypocrisy," Potter commented all-too-pleasantly from my right.
A.J. and I broke apart, my face turning far redder than my hair while A.J., of course, looked completely unfazed. Prick. "Hey James," he greeted causally.
"Rookie," James replied, nodding at his Seeker. "Off to Defense, Evans? I'll walk with you—unless you've got some work to finish up first," he added with a smirk.
He's enjoying this far too much for his own good, I thought resentfully. Aloud, I said, "No, I'm—um—ready."
So the three of us—A.J. was on his way to Charms, and so had to pass by our DADA classroom anyway—started for the marble staircase, A.J. holding my right hand and James on my left—er, not holding my hand, though. I knew I shouldn't have felt as awkward as I did—after all, who cared if Potter had caught us kissing? We were dating, weren't we? (He didn't have to know I'd only just confirmed that myself.) Snogging was allowed. But his comment about hypocrisy was, unfortunately, right. It had been a very similar scene at the beginning of the year with Potter and Chloe where I'd made some comment about their amorous display being nausea-inducing.
I didn't have long to worry about that, however, because something—or rather, someone—arrived to make the situation worse: Severus.
He came towards us from the opposite direction—I had no idea why, because he had Defense now as well—and I could tell that James and I spotted him at the exact same moment. A.J. had been complaining about all the work they'd gotten from Flitwick over the weekend, and didn't notice as James's and my attention abruptly shifted to the pale, dark-haired boy nearing us.
Caught between the urge to look away and wondering what Sev's reaction would be to my current companions, I was still staring at him when Sev's eyes suddenly jumped to mine. I watched as a volley of emotions flashed across his face while his gaze flicked to James beside me and then to A.J.'s and my clasped hands. But he soon turned his eyes forward once more, and I breathed a small sigh of relief as we passed him.
Sometime during this brief exchange, A.J. must have noticed that he'd lost his audience, because he commented quietly, "Odd bloke, that Snape is, don't you think? Kind of creepy—but he is in Slytherin, so that's not too surprising."
Obviously, he'd assumed James and I had stopped paying attention to him because we'd been thinking the same thing, so I muttered a non-committal, "Mhmm." I heard Potter snort almost inaudibly beside me, and I glanced up to find him frowning at me. I shook my head slightly, and his frown only deepened as he glanced away.
A.J. and I parted at my classroom, pausing for a quick kiss and wishes for the other to have a good class—Potter just strode straight into the room. As A.J. started down the corridor, I hurried after James. He looked up as I sat beside him, an almost angry expression in his eyes.
"So, haven't told him about Snape yet?"
"We've barely been dating a day—it hasn't exactly come up!" I protested.
"Okay, so you're planning on telling him eventually." It wasn't a question.
I hesitated. I vaguely registered Mary, Sirius, Peter and Remus entering the classroom—they took one look at James's and my expressions and wisely sat down behind us without comment.
"Well?" James prompted sharply.
"I'm not—" I started, but was forced to fall silent as Galbraithe entered the room.
"Good morning," she said, and a few students repeated the greeting back to her. Unfazed by the class's less-than-enthusiastic response, she continued, "As I told you last week, today's lesson will solely comprise practicing the Patronus charm. So pair up, and get to it—I'll collect your essays at the end of class."
Glad for the short instructions, I turned to Potter again as each of us pulled out our wands.
"So, you two are pairing off, then?" Sirius asked with mixed sarcasm and amusement.
"I'm not going to purposely bring it up, since Sev and I aren't even friends anymore, if that's what you're asking," I said, continuing my conversation with James. Both of us ignored Sirius, who turned with a little huff to partner Mary.
"I wasn't asking anything," Potter replied. "I was assuming you're going to tell him, because that's what you should do!"
"Oh, is it? Really? And you're the expert on these things, are you? Because I was actually thinking there's no point in complicating things unnecessarily, which is exactly what telling A.J. about Sev would do!"
"Well, I hate to break it to you, Evans, but sometimes relationships are complicated! That's sort of the point, actually."
"Why do you even care?" I asked.
But before Potter could answer, Galbraithe called from the front of the room, "Mr. Potter, Miss Evans—less talking and more wandwork, please!"
"I'm sure you've already practiced doing a Patronus, haven't you?" Potter asked me, somewhat scathingly.
"Right, go ahead and mock me—not like you haven't done the exact same thing," I shot back.
We both turned haughtily away and declared determinedly in unison, "Expecto Patronum!"
I honestly didn't know what happy memory I could have been drawing on at the moment, but perhaps I produced a Patronus on sheer will-power, fueled by my anger at Potter. Anger which quickly faded, to be replaced by shock, when I saw the bright white forms that had burst out of our wands.
Mine was a doe, as I'd known, but standing gracefully beside it, bowing its antlered head slightly, was a silvery stag.
James and I looked at each other, our earlier argument suddenly forgotten. I expected him to smirk and make some sly comment, but all he said was, "Maybe you shouldn't tell A.J. about this, either."
We were mostly silent for the remainder of the lesson, and it was only as I packed up my bag to leave that I noticed Sev had never showed.
A/N: So, Deathly Hallows. On the whole, I liked it. I thought they did the best job with this book of keeping to the story and fitting in all the necessary parts (except explaining where the bit of Sirius's mirror came from….). I always have to laugh a little when they try to fit like seven different explanations into one small scene. Prime example: the Seven Potters scene. Enter Bill: "Oh hi, Harry, I'm Bill Weasley—I haven't even been mentioned yet, but you're all coming to my wedding so…..yeah. And, p.s. I was attacked by Greyback in that scene they cut from the last movie so they could blow up the Burrow instead. Because that was much better." Lupin: "Blah blah joke about rare steaks." Tonks: "Haha, husband (oh yeah, p.s. we're married) you're so funny. Oh, and guess what Harry? We're going to have—"
Moody: "Okay, let's go." (Aka, Tonks is totes preggers.) So there you go, four major plot points in about ten seconds.
Anyway, what else? Oh, the scene with Harry and Hermione dancing in the tent. What? I mean, I guess it was supposed to be a cute moment, but I mostly just laughed the whole time b/c Dan's dancing was HILARIOUS! And I'm pretty sure Harry would never do that. And they totally looked like they were going to kiss at the end…..but whatever, I guess.
Also, speaking of kissing, how about that NAKED KISS during the horcrux/locket scene? Again, what? Totally unnecessary. Thanks for making me feel violated, WB.
But yeah, other than that I liked it. The highlights for me were the scene in the Ministry and the Malfoy Manor scene with Hermione being tortured (Emma had a great performance here, I thought—her screaming was intense!) Plus, two-and-a-half hours went by really quickly! Can't believe I have to wait another six months now…no, wait, more like eight, isn't it? Sigh.