Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters and the wizarding world belong to J. .
Authors Note: I just want to thank everyone that has read my story. I know I'm not the best writer but it is my passions and I enjoying being able to share it with people.
I'm also sorry I'm not able to regularly update. I'm very busy and between my other hobbies I don't always have much time to write.
Please enjoy this chapter.
Elizabeth had reluctantly accepted Murphy's date offer after much convincing on Lily's part. The issue of George Murphy had created some tension amongst the girls. Marlene was adamant that Elizabeth reject the date, while Lily argued that she should accept it, or as Lily had phrased it, "He's fit, your fit and you two get on. What's the worst that could happen." In the end, because of what Sirius and Lily had said, she'd accepted the date.
Elizabeth found herself waiting for George at the entrance to the Great Hall. He had asked that they walk down to Hogsmeade together. Liz played with the cuffs of her sleeves as she waited, her stomach uneasy. She was scared to look up if she came face to face with either Marlene, Remus or both. "Liz!" George shouted as he came barrelling down the stairs towards her, the poor boy almost tripped over. "Jesus, George, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" George laughed, "Sorry, sorry." Elizabeth smiled at him, "Should we get going?" George nodded, and the two made their way out of the castle. Elizabeth had expected the walk to be somewhat awkward. Surprisingly, that was not the case. George was incredibly talkative, and he had Liz in stitches as he told her various stories; he'd even managed to get a snort out of her. In no time, the two had made their way into the village.
"So, what's the plan?" She asked, leaning against the wall outside the Three Broomsticks. The sound of chatter could be heard from outside the pub's walls. George beamed at her, taking the spot next to her, and scooting rather close to her, "Well, I was thinking maybe we could have a drink in there, then after go to Honeydukes, then I guess we just sit down somewhere." Liz raised her eyebrow at him. She'd been 100% sure that she was going to find herself in Madam Puddifoot's. So was relieved that she wouldn't have to sit in the obnoxiously romantic tea room. "Sounds great." George beamed at her, throwing his arm over her shoulder, catching her a little off-guard.
The two quickly entered the pub. "Could you grab us a table while I get the drinks?" Elizabeth nodded. She found a free table nestled in the corner on the second floor. Elizabeth knew the Marauders and Marlene wouldn't see her if they came in. She fell into the seat, letting out a big sigh, "You can do this, O'Leary.". "What was that?" Elizabeth jumped out of her seat as George stood there, two giant jugs of butterbeer in hand. "It was nothing. Thanks for the butterbeer." Elizabeth took a sip, neither one of them spoke. The walk down had seemed so easy, but now that they were at a table together, the atmosphere had changed. Elizabeth cleared her throat to speak but was interrupted by George, "Can I ask, why did you say yes to this date? To be honest, I wasn't really sure you'd want to". Elizabeth chewed on her lip; he was looking at her expectantly. She didn't know what to say to him. If she told him that the only reason she accepted it was because her friends told her to, she'd hurt his feelings. "I guess because you asked me. I thought that it might be nice to go on a date. Get to know you, you know?".
"Ok. Why do you think I asked you out?" He asked her, leaning in closer to her, "What's with the 20 questions?". She sat back, moving away from him, "I guess, I just want to know more about you and understand you. You're pretty hard to read sometimes." She took a swig of her drink, taking time to think about his question, "Because you think I'm fun?" She answered, George let out a bark of laughter, "It's because I think you're interesting…and very beautiful." Elizabeth hadn't expected the blush that rose on her cheeks. George had noticed it two, a wicked grin formed on his face. "Your turn." She thought for a second, "Ok, Murphy, Why do you think I'm interesting?". She had expected him to take him time in answering, but he didn't need time.
"You act so differently sometimes. Like I know you're aggressive when it comes to Quidditch. It's both exciting and terrifying. You're fiercely loyal to your friends. You basically threatened to bash someone's skull in with your bat. And you're very silly and clumsy. I always see you joking around with Marlene. You two always seem like you're in your own world.
"All in all. You're very charming and I find that very attractive." He scooted over in his chair to come closer to her. Her heart was beating fast; she was very flattered but also felt like she wanted to run away. It all felt a little intense for her. "Hey, I'm just going to pop to the loo." She swiftly exited out of her chair and walked down the stairs towards the loo.
When she got there, she slammed the door shut, taking a deep breath. "Having fun?" Marlene stood in front of her, drying her hands. She jumped. "I am, thank you." She gave Marlene a curt smile before heading into the cubicle. She closed the toilet lid down and sat on it, her head in her hands. This whole date felt a little bit too much for her. George was charming, but she also found him a little intense at times. She sat there for a minute before gathering the strength to leave. She'd hoped that Marlene would've gone, but that was not the case; instead, she was leaning against the sinks. "You know, you shouldn't have accepted the date you don't even like him." Elizabeth scoffed. This was neither the time nor the place for this conversation. "Oh, cop on Mars. Why are you being so fucking dramatic." Marlene got off the sink, "You're not interested in Murphy. What you're doing is wrong to both him and Remus." Elizabeth was getting frustrated now, "How is this unfair to Remus. He hasn't made a move on me, and I'm certainly not going to make one on him."
Marlene walked right up to her, "That's bullshit, and we both know it. He likes you, and you like him too.". Elizabeth pushed Marlene out of the way, "Whatever. I'm not doing this with you, and for what it's worth, George is sweet, and he likes me, and he's willing to make that known.". She made her way back to George, who was nursing his drink. "Oh, you're back.". "Sorry about that. I ran into Marlene." She grabbed her butterbeer and chugged the rest of it, "You ready to go?" "Eh, yeah, sure." He downed the remnants of his drink, and the two of them made a swift exit.
The rest of the date had been ok. Elizabeth was still a little annoyed from her altercation with Marlene, "Hey, you ok?" George asked, pulling her arm back to get her to stop walking. I'm fine, just tired. We did a lot of walking." She smiled at him, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. He wasn't convinced, "Seriously, Liz, you can tell me.". Elizabeth looked at him, debating where to tell him. "Marlene and I are sort of fighting. When I went to the bathroom, we got into another argument. I'm sorry if my mood ruined the date". He placed a hand on her cheek, taking her surprise, "Not at all. It's getting pretty late. We should head back." The walk back to the castle had been quieter than the one down, but it was still comfortable. After telling him about her run-in with Marlene, she felt a lot lighter than earlier. They came to a stop outside the gates. "I had a great time with you, Liz. Maybe one of the best dates I've ever had." Elizabeth looked at George and smiled, her cheeks tinted red, "Me too.". Elizabeth leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She knew she would give him the wrong impression, but she had enjoyed the date and felt like doing it. Georges face lit up; he leaned in a pressed a quick peck on her lips, then walked away.
Elizabeth was on autopilot as she made her way back to the dorm. When she got there, she saw neither the marauders nor Marlene, "Lily, we need to talk.". She didn't give Lily a chance to protest or accept before she dragged the redhead up the stairs to their room. She shut the door and looked at Lily with wild eyes. "Murphy kissed me!", "What? HE KISSED YOU?" Elizabeth nodded slowly, her face bright red, "How? Why? What was it like?". Elizabeth explained what had happened, the fight, her kiss on the cheek, and then him kissing her.
"Did you like it, the kiss, I mean?". Elizabeth thought hard for a while. She didn't hate it honestly, It felt nice. Sweet and short, but she also felt a little uncomfortable because she didn't really feel the same way that he felt. She couldn't deny that he did make her heart flutter. Then she thought of Remus and felt conflicted again. "I did. It was sweet and short…Lily, what do I do?". Lily looked at her, pulling her close to her, "The way I see it, it does seem like there's a possibility that something could happen between you guys. So I think you should accept if he asks you out again. At the end of the day, it's your life, and we can't make your decisions for you. You've got to it that yourself." The two girls then chatted for the rest of the night.
The next day found Elizabeth holed up in the library. She wanted to get some reading done but felt like she couldn't stay in the Common Room as Marlene was burning holes in the back of her head. It felt nice to get out of the room and away from everyone. She was deep in her favourite novel when the chair across from her was pulled out. She looked up to see Remus sitting there, a book in hand and a smile on his face, "Hi Lizzie. Mind if I join you?", "Remus. What book are you reading?". Remus held up his copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. She'd never read it before but had heard of it, "You can borrow it when I'm done." The two fell into a comfortable silence for the next couple of hours. Elizabeth liked spending time with Remus. It never really felt uncomfortable.
After some time, the books they had been reading lay abandoned on the table. The two got thrown out after Remus had told her a story about Peter and the black lake during their second year. That had them in fit's of laughter as tears streamed down both their face. The two had tried their best to contain the laughter but couldn't. They had been escorted out by Madam Pince, and the look on her face as she berated the two sent them into a bigger fit of laughter. Once the two were outside, they tried to stop the laughter, Elizabeth's sides were in so much pain from laughing, and Remus couldn't stop crying. This was perhaps the most the two of them had laughed together. Once the two had calmed down, Elizabeth had handed him a tissue to dry his eyes. Remus still chuckled occasionally. As she watched him, she was reminded of their time together as children. Elizabeth didn't notice that Remus had caught her staring at him, "What? Is there something on my face?" Elizabeth smiled, "Actually, there is.". She reached over and brushed off the piece of tissue that had stuck to his face when he was wiping his eyes. The two sat down on the stairs near the library, "This is nice." Remus commented, a grin on his face. Elizabeth hummed in agreement. The two sat there for a while; neither spoke much; they were just enjoying each other's company as they watched the students around them.
"Oh, I mean to ask. How was your date yesterday?" Remus smiled at her, "It was Good. Murphy's a great guy.". "Do you think you'll go on another date?" Elizabeth looked at Remus, "Honestly. I don't know. I had fun, and George is sweet…but I just don't know if I really feel attracted to him the way I probably should.". Remus didn't say anything after she answered. He just sat there, a pensive look on his face. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his stomach, "Let's head down for dinner." Remus hauled himself up. He offered Elizabeth his hand, which she graciously took. The two walked down together; Remus threw his arm over her shoulders. The two entered the Great Hall deep in conversation, and without much thought, the two made their way to where Sirius, James and Peter were sitting. The two sat down, Remus pilling food onto both their plates, "Long time no see Liz." James said. Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him before pulling him into a bear hug. "I know I haven't hung out much, I'm sorry." Sirius ruffled her hair from across the table, "Don't worry about it, we've missed you very much." She swatted away his hand but laughed. They were then joined by Marlene. Neither girl had talked to each other since the conversation in the three broomsticks.
Marlene chose to ignore Elizabeth throughout dinner, preferring to talk to Peter and James. Everyone at the table had picked up on the tension between the two girls. Nobody fully understood what had happened except for Sirius, who had helped play a part in all the arguing. Everything at dinner seemed almost perfect, that was until a paper plane landed in front of Elizabeth.
She had grabbed the paper plane before anyone else had a chance to take it. She knew what Sirius was like. If she'd left it there a fraction of a second longer, he'd have had his hands on it. She turned around to read it privately.
Liz,
Meet me tomorrow at 9:30 in the alcove on the left. I want to talk to you. See you later.
George
"Is that from Murphy?" James asked; Elizabeth saw Marlene's face turn sour, "" Well, I've lost my appetite." And with that, she got up and walked out. Elizabeth felt like she couldn't hold off talking to Marlene any longer, "I'll go talk to her." She reluctantly got up to follow Marlene. "Marlene!" She called, jogging to catch up with her, "Marlene, look at me." Marlene swung around, "WHAT?" Elizabeth took a step back, "Can we please talk?" Marlene turned her back and started to stalk off again. Elizabeth grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Marlene, why are you so angry about this Murphy thing?". Marlene's shoulders slumped slightly, his face looking less angry and sadder.
"You don't like him. Yet you went on a date with him. That's not fair to him." It was a broken record with Marlene. "You like someone else, yet you went on a date with him!" Marlene was now shouting, tears started forming in her eyes, and Elizabeth didn't know what to do. "Marlene, I've told you. I'm happy being friends with Remus. I don't want anything more."
Marlene put her head in her hands and started crying. Elizabeth instinctively went to hold her. She hadn't seen Marlene like this. "Mars, please tell me what this is really about." Elizabeth was brushing Marlene's hair out of her face. All the angry Elizabeth had felt was dissipating as she looked at her best friend.
"You could have Remus if you wanted. You know he'd accept. Yet you're choosing not to go for him. I….I… .it's just not fair." That was when it clicked. Marlene would never be able to date Julia. Julia wasn't gay, and Marlene would never come out for fear she was killed. Elizabeth could have what Marlene wanted. She'd never even thought about how that must've felt. Then Elizabeth started crying, "Oh god, I'm so sorry, Mars. I didn't even think for a second that I was rubbing this in your face." Marlene sniffed, rubbing her nose on her jumper, "You have no idea how jealous I sometimes get. You know, sometimes I wish I liked boys. Then maybe I would feel loved." Elizabeth used the sleeve of her cloak to wipe Marlene's tears. "I'm really sorry, Mars."
The two sat where they were for around an hour, talking about Marlene's feelings and what had happened during the date. The two girls finally returned to Gryffindor tower hand in hand, "Finally." Lily smiled, giving the two girls a hug. "Finally, order has been restored," Sirius commented, which earned a slap across the head from Marlene. It seemed all was well.