Fourth Year

"There you are," Lily said happily as she pulled her cloak out of the bottom of her trunk, shaking it open. The cloth was slightly wrinkled but still passable. She fastened it around her neck, turning toward the mirror to check her appearance. It was the first Friday of October and classes had finished for the afternoon. Lily's friends had suggested a walk around the Black Lake to celebrate the end of the school week and Lily was quick to agree to the plans. As studious as she was, she longed for a break from her schoolwork. However, one step outside of the castle sent her scurrying back to Gryffindor Tower for her forgotten cloak. It was still rather warm for October, but definitely not warm enough for her to go out without her cloak; she'd end up with a cold in no time. She'd sent her friends outside, promising to catch up with them after she found her cloak.

Satisfied with her appearance, Lily quickly brushed her hair and rubbed a light coat of lip gloss on before heading back down to the common room. She was surprised to hear someone murmuring in the room; it had been empty when she raced through it a few minutes earlier. It seemed everyone was eager to soak up the last warmth of the season before the autumn chill set in. Once the cold air set in, they wouldn't be able to shake it until April at least.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, she saw Peter Pettigrew pacing the room as he muttered to himself. It wasn't unusual to see Peter, they were in the same house after all, but it was strange to see him without his mates. Where one Marauder was, as they called themselves, the others weren't far behind.

"Alright, Peter?" she called to him as she walked toward the couches.

He looked up in surprise, nodding jerkily. "Hello Lily. I didn't think anyone was in here."

"I just ran in to get my cloak," Lily explained. "It's a bit cold outside. I didn't see you in here when I came in."

Peter sank onto the couch with a sigh, "I just came in a moment ago."

Lily frowned at his dejected expression, "Is everything alright, Peter?" she asked. "Can I help with anything?"

He shook his head, "I don't think anyone can help me. I'm a lost cause."

She sat down on the couch, unfastening her cloak. There was no way she would leave the boy with how upset he looked; her friends could wait a few more minutes. "You're not a lost cause," Lily replied kindly. "You never know, maybe I can help you."

Peter looked at her, biting his lip as he hesitated. He took a deep breath as Lily smiled encouragingly. "Next week is the first Hogsmeade weekend...and I was thinking of asking someone," he said quietly, his gaze focused on his shoes. "But the lads said she'd never go out with me."

"I assume you mean Potter and Black?" she answered dryly. As Peter nodded, Lily scoffed in disgust. "Don't listen to those gits; what do they know about girls anyways? They're absolute prats. You can get any girl you set your mind to."

"But the lads said-"

"To hell with what they said," Lily interrupted him, unwilling to let him speak ill about himself. "If you fancy this girl, you should ask her out; you're a great bloke, Peter. Tell me, what's her name?"

Peter blushed brightly, looking up at Lily before looking away again. "Amelia Goddard," he muttered.

Lily's expression brightened as she recognized the name. "Oh the Hufflepuff in our year? She's a wonderful girl."

He smiled slightly, "She is, isn't she? She's brilliant with Charms; she's helped me the past few classes. And she's got pretty eyes."

She nodded in agreement, "And I happen to know she isn't going with anyone to Hogsmeade next week. She was actually complaining to Marlene and I this week that no one had asked her and she wants someone to take her."

Peter jumped to his feet at her words, his eyes bright. "Really? She said that?" he asked excitedly.

"She did," Lily replied with a nod. "So there's no reason why you can't ask her to Hogsmeade. She'll probably be down by the lake like everyone else. Go out there and tell her what you told me. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to go with you."

He dashed toward the portrait hole, nearly tripping over an armchair in his haste. "Wish me luck!" he called over his shoulder.

"You don't need it!" Lily shouted encouragingly as Peter rushed out of the common room. Grabbing her cloak, she buttoned it on, walking out of the common room at a leisurely pace.

"Isn't that Wormy over there?" Sirius commented, looking over at a group of girls who stood closer to the lake's edge. Squinting slightly, he watched as Peter walked over to the group, drawing one of the girls aside to talk. Sirius, James, and Remus sat beneath one of the trees that were scattered near the lake. Their uniforms were all slightly disheveled: ties loosened, shirts untucked, robes tossed aside as they made themselves comfortable on the grass.

James released his Snitch, catching it again before it got too far. "Yeah, it is," he said as he inspected the group. "Looks like he's talking to that bird he was going on about earlier. The Hufflepuff girl."

"Which girl is that? I don't remember him mentioning anyone," Remus replied, his attention drawn away from the book on his lap.

"You'd stopped to chat with Evans this morning when he mentioned it," Sirius answered. "We told him not to ask her out; she's out of his league. Have you seen the legs on her?" He let out a wolf whistle, a grin on his lips. "And that arse. She might be out of my league."

Remus closed his book, taking a deep breath before he whacked Sirius in the back of the head with his book. "That's not something you say to your friend; you're supposed to support them. You support all of James's rejected attempts with Lily," he chastised him. "And from the looks of things, you were wrong anyway." He gestured over to Peter, watching as the grinning boy nodded vigorously to the girl before hurrying toward them. The girl was blushing as she hurried back to her own group of friends. "That does not look like a bloke who's been rejected."

"Guess who's taking Amelia to Hogsmeade next week," Peter announced proudly as he stood before the trio. His face was flushed with color, most likely from talking to Amelia.

"She said yes to you?" James said incredulously, earning a whack to the head from Remus's book. "Ow, Moony, that bloody hurt," he mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. "You know those textbooks are heavy."

Peter nodded as he sat down beside Remus, "No thanks to you and Padfoot. Lily convinced me to ask her out, said that she didn't have a date yet."

"Evans helped you get a date?" Sirius laughed. "The bird that's been rejecting James's dates since last year?"

"She's rather nice when you and James aren't around," Peter commented. "And thanks to her I've got a date."

Remus grinned, clapping a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Congrats, mate. Maybe we should have Lily give James some tips on asking her out."

Sirius snorted loudly, shaking his head. "Evans may be encouraging to Wormy, but I doubt she'll encourage Prongs to harass her more," he laughed, wincing as James threw the snitch at the side of his head. "Bloody hell, that hurt!"

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