December 2nd: 'Tis The Season - Lake (Open)

[Arnie Peasegood]

As his girlfriend's cheeks reddened at his honest term of endearment, Arnie made a mental note to compliment her more. Dora had to know that's what she was, right? A beautiful person, inside and out? She had to know that...as much as she knew he would never stop, which his teasing quirk of a brow would tell her. "That's great! Yeah, I'm all right - had this to look forward to today, can't complain," he said, securing some hair that'd slipped out from under the hat, the wind picking up.

He had to let out a laugh at her remark, though, as her watching him try new things had, previously, led to him making a fool of himself at the pitch. But she was being sincere, or so he thought, and it was sweet of her...however much he failed or did well today, it wasn't as nerve wracking as finding out she'd wanted him to fly. Now he knew how he felt, could name it - even if he hadn't yet told her. And if this was how he was feeling...him falling face-first on the ice wouldn't be enough to make her leave him. Because if he was in love - well - hopefully she was on that track too. Arnie had been wondering if she knew that's where his heart was...wondering if she knows where your heart is? Jesus, man, when'd you become so sentimental?

"So he has," Arnie said with a wide grin. There was little more he loved than wordplay with this girl, and how goofy she really was. Oh yes, didn't you know? Dorcas Meadowes: Seeker of Gryffindor, assistant of the Hospital Wing, superb student, most beautiful girl at Hogwarts - and a total dork. Who he was lucky to love and be loved by. He was busy racking his mind for more deer-themed humor as they took their next steps forward and a blur of red dashed by to rescue Potter from himself, or so it seemed by the steaming hot chocolate she was carrying. Had he - and the school - missed something? The two Head Students were...getting along? If not more? Arnie hadn't bothered keeping up with the "drama," not really close with either, but it would be hard for any Hogwarts student to not be aware of some of the history between the two Gryffindors. He didn't blame Lily for not dating Potter - was more than a bit of a jerk, in his opinion - but was this her just being nice, or what? "Although I'm a bit surprised at this sudden fawning. Are you?"

[Admin]

Doe leaned into him as he attempted to fix her stray hairs that were flying out of her, well his, knit cap, barely even listening to his words. She knew they were sweet, but she and Arnie had always communicated better through their body language...so she was always more keen to take in the way his face lit up when they were together or whenever he spoke about a subject that was passionate to him. These were the things she adored about him...all of his theories and the way he made her feel, even if most of the compliments he paid her were far of course. The way he described her, it almost felt like he put her on some sort of a pedestal, believing that she was some beautiful goddess or at least something close to one...and while he couldn't be more wrong on that front, he was definitely making little bursts of joy happen within her stomach, and her heart with every word.

Not getting serious here, Dorcas. Remember not to get too invested.

The fact of the matter was, everyone had something that was wrong with them...it usually just took time to discover them. So, as perfect as Arnie Peasegood seemed to be, Dorcas knew that under the surface there was just something waiting to break free from him, and with the way his energy had been since they'd found each other tonight, it was entirely possible that whatever he had been hiding would come out, and that would be that. They would hopefully be able to part ways as friends.

She smiled up at her boyfriend, but far too soon her attention was being taken away from him by Lily helping James, of all people. Yes, everyone in the house knew that they had been getting closer over the past couple of months, and within the past couple weeks they had developed a close working relationship, and on more than one occasion she had seen them actually laughing together...but what she was seeing now was just surreal to her. At Arnie's words, Doe snapped her eyes to his once more and smirked at his little joke. She gave him a shrug, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Of course, that was an understatement when it had come to James and Lily...the two of them had been on the fence of something for years in her opinion, even if they didn't always see it. She looked back to the couple as she took a couple steps forward in line. There had been a brief period of time when Dorcas had led herself to believe that James was over her dormmate, but that had just been a silly phase of her life, and it hadn't taken long before it had become increasingly clear that she was not the girl he wanted.

Doe was snapped out of her thoughts by James calling her name cheerfully, and she smiled at him, steeping forward once more so that Arnie's arms fell from her shoulders. A rush of cold ran over her although she felt no wind, and she quickly pulled Arnie's arms around her middle from behind to keep herself warm. "Looks as if you two are keeping busy in this comfy little shack," she teased, smirking at James and then Lily.

[James Potter]

"Oi, only two!" James called after his mate, laughing as Lily’s name was stretched out by the other Marauder and trying to not look like his interest had been piqued too ridiculously easily. Even as he began scanning the grounds for her telltale red hair...but was she here already or not? He’d told her to leave this be and enjoy herself as she deserved, but she’d insisted on taking a shift and helping to clean up, so actually should be along soon...

And whatever Sirius’ sarcasm implied - they would have fun today, damn it. They’d had a heavy day yesterday, and had earned a spot of fun together. James would make sure of it, to make this day better for her than yesterday had been.

He kept up chatting with and giving skates to everyone who came to him, glad that there was such a large turn-out. With this James had the opportunity to check-in with many members of the student body he’d fallen out of touch with or hadn’t yet had one-on-one time with, and he was having a blast of it. So distracted was he by his current small talk - little Penny wanted to join the Gryffindor team next year, and would he help her practice? - that he was only brought out of it by Lily’s words.

"Catching on, I see," James returned with an easy grin as his co-Head Student did her best not to laugh as she joined him. With two cups of steaming cocoa, if he wasn’t mistaken, a noticing that warmed even his toes. He exaggeratedly gestured to the open side of the shack for her to use to join him inside and moved to make room, adjusting his bright hat after by feel until it was laying just so.

One could easily look a fool in this sort of thing, all right?

"Merlin - I can handle ice skates, Lily, not like I’m trying to tame a chimera over here on my own," he said, hazel eyes glittering with laughter of his own at her doubt in him. Passing over a pair of skates to Penny, he continued, "Find me in the common room soon and we’ll make some time to practice, all right?" He took up one of the cups after the girl had trotted off, his reddening fingers thankful for the warmth, and took a drink perhaps too exuberantly, judging by the stinging at the roof of his mouth. "Blast," he muttered, gingerly testing the damage with his tongue as he held the treacherous thing away from him...although he was soon going in for another taste, spirits unable to be dampened. For unlike most times when Lily doubted him, this was - right, it was still a bit insulting, but out of concern that he felt was honest. Had their time together yesterday meant so much to her that she was not only bringing him hot cocoa, but also - dare he think it - caring for his wellbeing?

But the earth hadn’t stopped moving, as Sirius had often warned it would if she ever returned his feelings. “So you see,” he’d say with a knowing air, “much better if she never does, eh?” To which James would remind him that the universe had much better things to do than pay attention to his love life. To which Sirius would return there was nothing more important, and begin listing off “Hogwarts’ Most Eligible Bachelorettes...”

Although he’d laugh and play along, James’ heart was never in the banter. He knew that, on some level, it was idiotic to still be holding on to his crush on Lily. But on another level, he knew it wasn’t just a crush. With a crush, you saw that person as perfect. She could do no wrong. Everything she did was amazing and adorable and the air was fresher and the snow sparkled like her eyes.

But James Potter knew, deep within himself, that this was, instead...

Love.

Unrequited, yes, but love nonetheless.

Because Lily wasn’t perfect, and he’d never held that delusion. She was honest, real, and made mistakes. She wasn’t adorable as she yelled at him - she was fighting back, strong, and he admired her for it. He’d seen Lily Evans yesterday as he never before had, because she had let him. He never wanted her to be filled with such anxiety again, although seeing her love for her family in that way was meaningful beyond words. And - well - yes, she’d nearly hexed him, but that honestly was an accident. But knowing her more, building on top of what he’d already observed, only made his feelings for her grow. This was terribly inconvenient, seeing as they’d agreed to be friends just a few months back, and he’d been doing so well on that front. Having her be so vulnerable before him, let him in as she had...

It was a miracle he hadn’t kissed her or done something else daft in the hopes of reassuring her that things would get better. James couldn’t appropriately articulate what the thing was that had made him love her, feeling it was more of an amalgamation of everything that made her who she was, but he...was stuck.

And yes, the snow around them was sparkling just as much as her glorious eyes when she looked at him like this - her cheeks flushed from the cold although he’d do anything for it to be from a reaction to a tease of his, a tease of her own quirking up red lips that were begging him to be kissed, the wind playing with her hair as he wanted to - but that was besides the point.

Lily was suddenly holding out something incredibly familiar to him with that tease, and his brows shot up. "Thanks! Wouldn’t want to miss out - reindeer games are the best sorts of games, after all - but..." James gratefully pulled on the gloves, stretching his freezing fingers in them as he eyed her playfully. "How’d you get these, Evans? Not spending your precious little free time holed up in my dorm, are you?" Because if that’s what you want to do - well - we’d have a lot more fun if I was up there with you...

Soon after, a familiar couple had reached the front of the line - a rather distracted couple, really.

“Do-e!” he’d finally had to say in sing-song to get her to notice, grabbing skates in her size and nodding to Lily to do the same for Peasegood from the racks below the countertop. Doe’s hands weren’t free to take the goods, though, as she was holding the Ravenclaw to her. Content as a niffler in a goldmine, by the looks of it.

As much as he held distaste for the bloke, James was f*cking hell, don’t admit that - jealous. Happy relationship with a great catch of a girl. Whereas he...she doesn’t hate you anymore, at least. So he gave his teammate a familiar look of teasing challenge, nodding. "What can I say? Have a good idea from time-to-time. This time led to a busy day - and yes, a comfy little shack. Need somewhere to run the operation out of, eh?"

[Charlotte Fudge]

...Sirius Black was staring at her.

Not just vaguely glancing in her direction.

Staring. Right. At. Her. And. Smirking.

It was almost enough for her to give up this misadventure before it began, but Daisy'd already spotted her and she would get an earful from her if she backed out of this now. So Charlotte gave her friend a small smile at the other's admission that she didn't know where her boyfriend was, trying to focus on her. "That's odd, figured he'd be out here with you, we'll keep our eyes peeled," Char replied, but no sooner were the words out than Sirius was directly addressing her, and seeing as they'd never exchanged a pair of words before, she was a bit perturbed at his being so nonchalant about Remus and herself. Her face went admittedly blank as he went on, anxiety settling in to her.

How much of public knowledge was her budding something with Remus? It wasn't a surprise that Sirius knew, he was such a good friend of Remus' and Peter's, and she assumed James was well aware as well. Which meant that four out of the five boys in that dorm room knew that there was something going on.

With the solitary fifth being her brother, Char wondered how much longer they could expect this to stay even moderately quiet.

So she was glad that Sirius' stopped speaking at the interruption of a talkative, cheerful looking girl. Char tried to look less nervous at the girl's introduction, glad that Daisy knew her even though she didn't, and quietly introduced herself before Willa and Sirius got to going back-and-forth. She was more than appreciative of Daisy's intervention, getting her out of this so quickly. She gave a halfhearted wave to the pair and went along with her friend, giving her an honest-to-Merlin worried look as she spoke quickly under her breath. "Daisy, what are we going to do? If he can just talk like that, there's no way Cole won't notice, and then everything will be ruined. And I know I've been making some progress with him, but..." The girl shrugged and watched their boots, feeling so incredibly out of her depth. She wasn't yet ready to confront her brother, but at the same point knew that Remus wouldn't wait forever. There hadn't been any sort of pressure from him, and it wasn't as if they were anything official, but it wasn't fair to keep him in limbo, just as it wasn't fair to herself.

But she just...couldn't. For as much, admittedly, as Cole was a bother, he was her only ally at home, and what he did there and here was out of love for her. A bit overzealous of action, a bit misguided, perhaps, but out of love nevertheless. Addressing this with him would have to be incredibly tactful and carefully done. Maybe over the holiday...

She looked up to see where Daisy was taking her, having been so relieved to leave the conversation before that she'd hardly heard her friend's suggestion, and in blinking against the sharp winter wind, saw they were headed...towards a bloke in a wolf sweater. Well - not exactly towards him, but as Remus was standing near the shed that the skates were being passed out from...close enough. Even with her worry, Charlotte found herself smiling as she saw him, a warmth defying the blasted cold burgeoning out from her middle. She gave him a small wave, all at once glad that Daisy's saying he would be here was right, and even more nervous at it.

[Remus Lupin]

James was giving him a hard time, and Remus rolled his eyes at his friend before accepting the skates, moving off to the side of the shack. While Charlotte and him were seeing each other, it wasn't as if they had really had a conversation about making anything official. Was she his girl? He'd never had a girlfriend before. But he wasn't against the idea of Charlotte being his girlfriend, she was sweet and amazing and he had been happier in this past month than he had really been in a while.

He spotted Charlotte approaching Daisy, and while he wanted to go over, the duo was currently talking to Sirius. While Sirius was one of his best mates, he wasn't keen on having a conversation with him right now, not when Sirius was obviously giving his girlfriend Charlotte a hard time. So instead he looked at the ground, kicking at the snow.

A few minutes later, he looked up to realize that the girls had left Sirius' company. He looked around, catching Charlotte's gaze as he found them approaching the line. He smiled as she waved, waving back before he gathered his thoughts and walked over. He stopped next to them and line, giving the girls a grin. "Hey Charlotte, glad you could make it."

[Willa Robbins]

The little blonde seemed put off by her, which, if she was being honest, confused the Hufflepuff. Usually people were more put at ease with her than the other way around, but at least the other girl introduced herself! As she did, Willa's smile grew - this was the Charlotte that Remus was interested in! Cole's sister! Her being there made all the sense in the world now, as she'd known the girl was a close friend of Daisy's and here they were, arm in arm. At Sirius' return, she let out a laugh before taking his hand and, in answer, turned to the pair of sixth years excitedly. "I hope you girls have a fantastic day, see you on the lake!"

Once she and her skating partner had started walking, she gave him a little tug in the direction of the skate stand, not having stopped there yet. "Don't think James will mind if I slip in to nab a pair, do you?" she said under her breath, eyeing the rather long line. "I do need to double check the timing of my shift with him too...should be all right?" After they'd come to an agreement, they were soon upon the stand, and Willa was surprised to see Lily in the little stand with James! Her look clearly gave away her pleasant surprise, and she gave the pair couple two a broad grin, letting go of Sirius' hand to edge into the stand with them and nab a pair of skates. "Evening," she said by way of greeting, ducking down to get some in her size. "I'll be back...six-thirty, right? And great sweater, James!" After receiving confirmation and giving Lily a teasing nudge - oh they were going to talk about this later- she let them be, rejoining her friend and heading towards the benches that had been put up at the lake's edge for convenience of changing footwear. "I swear that's the fifth reindeer sweater I've seen him in this term alone - what's the story there?" she asked with a laugh, truly curious. As they went through the snow, the girl realized that there really couldn't be a more perfect evening for this - sure, it was cold, but it was December, that was allowable. And, right, it was a bit chillier, with the wind, but it was fine. The sky was clear, the day's blue darkening, and the grounds were full with the chatter and laughter of the student body. Everything was good, and she was just happy to be sharing this with a friend.

[Deleted]

Lily returned his grin with a playful grimace. “Doesn’t mean I approve” mock displeasure meant to diminish the level of care she was showing. It was foolish to have first of all brought his gloves, and second of all have brought him cocoa. She was overly aware of the bulge in her pocket. The wheels started going on how to explain it away if he asked. But two cocoas? No that was a bullet she would have to bite. While he gestured for her to join him, Lily felt like making like her patronus and simply bolting in the opposite direction.

“Oh can you?” She had already said she would believe him, so why was she starting this charade now? Overcompensation. Definitely. She waved awkwardly to Penny. My, how she had grown up fast. It’s not like they knew each other very well but it was striking Lily that because of her impending graduation she wouldn’t be able to get to know her better in the future. James seemed to enjoy knowing a little piece of everybody no matter how deeply it was. Lily felt like she knew of people but never took to the time to go deeper. As Penny left Lily found herself appreciating that side of her… friend. She found herself watching him almost affectionately appreciatively.

She watched as if in slow motion as he brought the hot cocoa to his lips. “Careful its-“ Living up to its name. Lily shook her head as he let out an expletive. “I really don’t know how you’ve lived this – James!” he was going in for another sip of the scalding hot liquid. Lily blew on hers to hide the smirk.

 
That was James Potter. Always running before looking where he was going. Yesterday it had been a saving grace instead of a fault. Without that impulse Lily would have been left to rage through the halls of Hogwarts after Severus Snape. James had always stood in between them and Lily had always hated him for it. Yesterday was no different, except that yesterday he was right. It was out of care for her and not hatred for Severus that James had intervened. It was out of a goodness that Lily had not attributed to him until lately. A goodness that was working its way into her heart.

The night that he had helped her produce her patronus Lily knew things were changing direction. That platonic friendship would have to be something to work towards instead of something that just happened. These feelings, the ones she was having lately, were the norm. The ones of being drawn to him. The ones that drove her to clutch at his sweater. The ones that made his hand on her cheek take away the pain. The ones that caused the sparks she felt when he tucked her hair behind her ear.

They were why she had brought him his gloves. Not entirely just to save him from himself, but to condone a bit for the benefit of the doubt she hadn’t given him over the past years leading up to their new understanding. To their heart to heart, their party, their working together, their new intimacy. She owed it to him, just as much as he didn’t owe her anything but understanding. He had almost always given her that. Or at least he was giving it to her now.

“Somehow Potter I think you wouldn’t let anyone leave you out anyway. Red glowing hands or nose or not.” He certainly hadn’t let her leave him out for better now, but honestly for the very worst in the past. Now it seemed as if his mind was flitting back to those adolescent thoughts and Lily wasn’t sure why that was entirely a bad thing. She fought with herself for a second on whether or not to let those thoughts freely wander or to try to nip them in the butt. Or make things even more interesting… “Remus invited me up.” She said matter-of-factly. It wasn’t a lie and it wasn’t an attempt to clean his thoughts.

Doe and Arnie provided a welcome and lovely distraction. Lily loved the couple together. It was a joy to see Doe a happy as she was. Off-putting sometimes when her more flirtatious, feminine side came to the forefront, but Lily was happy for them. She held her breath a bit as she watched James though. She had been their stalwart supporter to the Gryffindore Quidditch Captain, but that didn’t mean that she knew where his mind on the subject landed nowadays. She was pulled out of those thoughts when Potter expected her to get Arnie’s skates. She looked around hectically, first trying to figure out Potter’s system then remembering that there was no way she could know Arnie’s shoe size just by looking at him.

“Hey Arnie, what size are you and can you read Potter’s mind on where those might be?” She shot over her shoulder while examining the skates. The search brought her closer to Potter and she tried not to let the catch in her breath show. It was in that moment that Doe decided to comment on the “comfyness” of the shack and of James and Lily keeping “busy” in it.

Before Lily could react much more than being frozen in shock, James had answered for the both of them. She hoped he wouldn’t make a habit of it. Lily grabbed the prescribed pair of skates as soon as she found them and whirled around replacing thoughtful scowl with a grin. “If only he could execute the skate organization in a more efficient manner.” She lifted an eyebrow at Doe in comradery. There were things that James could organize well like Quidditch and a good party, but these skates were out of line… literally. "Hope you two enjoy some coziness of your own out there."

Before she could recover from Doe's audacity another welcome distraction in the form of Willa Robinson entered the shack making it even more impossible to keep any kind of distance from James. She looked like the cat that ate the canary. There were two obvious reasons for this. The first being the tall, rugged, and roguish Gryffindor waiting outside the hut for Willa. The second being Lily’s proximity in more than just space to a tall, fit, and mischievous Gryffindor. As Willa came closer and closer to nab a pair of skates Lily couldn’t help but wonder how aware she was of having to nudge the two Head Students even closer to each other. The marauding tendencies of Willa’s surly skating partner may have simply rubbed off on her, so Lily decided to take a bit of a shot of her own.

“Yep. That’s what we worked out last ni-… last time we looked at the schedule.” Lily turned her attention to Sirius Black who was lurking right outside the hut. “Do try and fit in a sleigh ride before that if you can.” She flashed a smile and a wink at her best friend. “Unless of course you two prefer a more” seductive “beguiling atmosphere.” Lily met suggestive nudge with suggestive nudge to get Willa out the door and into Sirius’ waiting arms. Being with Willa was a side of Black that Lily had never seen and she was coming to like it. Sirius on his own Lily was not too keen on. Willa’s affection for him before Lily’s epiphanies about the marauders was not so great either. But all things considered, everything seemed to be coming together. If that included Willa and Sirius then so be it. They seemed as natural as… well as natural as James and herself. Lily smiled tenderly as she watched them go off, huddled together in the face of the elements.

Lily didn’t have far to turn to find James. A deep breath proceeded a question of her own. “So when do we get to have a bit of fun?”

[Arnie Peasegood]

Arnie's brows rose in a bit of shock at Dora calling what the Head Students had "true love" - they were in love while James Potter and Lily Evans usually bickering over something or another! But he hadn't long to think on it before Potter was essentially singing to his girlfriend as they reached the front of the line. Arnie gave a look of confusion that was, surprisingly, mirrored in the Head Girl as she was prompted to find him his skates. Dora pulled his arms around her as they waited, and he comfortably settled his chin atop the hat on her head, watching the two Gryffindors scurry around the unnecessarily tiny shack with ill-hidden amusement. After a few moments of looking, Lily looked at him over her shoulder, and he had to grin. He didn't know the girl well, but anyone who battled Potter was good in his book.

"Let's try a ten - and I've no idea, best of luck," he said with a laugh. A laugh that was soon continuing at the look on the girl's face when his Dora spoke. Lily was mortified, and that only got worse as James spoke for the pair of them. She was quick to put in her two Sickles after finding his skates, which he grabbed with a nod of thanks.

He shot the girl a grin at her next, though. Nice to know one of her friends doesn't hate me. "Thanks, Lily. Have a good one, yeah?" The two departed with their skates, hand-in-hand through the snow, and after a few slips on the way, made it to the benches set up at small distance from the lake's edge to change their footwear. If this went anything like the time she got him to fly, Arnie couldn't help but think, he'd soon be holding onto her for dear life as they slid around the ice. Not that there was much wrong with that - any excuse to get close to her - but it'd be grand if he wound up being good at something they did together besides make potions. A point proven even more to him as he sat and struggled with the skates - the laces weren't working properly, he knew he could fit -

[Daisy Hookum]

It would figure that Charlotte hadn't seen Peter, but Daisy simply gave a shrug. She was sure that her boyfriend would show up at some point, but right now her goal was to make sure Charlotte and Remus had a good time. And that meant getting her out of this conversation with Sirius. It was no secret that the boy could be a tad overbearing, and Charlotte wasn't yet equipped to handle his personality. Especially with her being so concerned over what would happen if Rufus was to find out exactly what she was doing.

"Breathe Char, it's going to be fine. I promise that Sirius doesn't talk about that kind of thing when Rufus is around," Daisy replied. While it was a rather empty promise, it would at least make Charlotte feel better. Daisy couldn't be around the boys all the time, so she had no idea what they discussed when they were alone. But she certainly hoped that Sirius was being more discreet when Rufus was in the dorm.

It wasn't long after Daisy had pointed out Remus that he was making his way over and she gave him a smile as he said hello to Charlotte. "I'll leave you guys alone, going to find Peter. Have fun!"

[Charlotte Fudge]

Char gave her friend a slightly doubtful look at her reassurance, hating herself for not absolutely believing Daisy, but this had been a worry of hers for a while now. The four boys were so close and Rufus already the odd man out, it'd be easy enough to forget themselves and chat while he was around minding his own business, wouldn't it? You should tell him, sooner rather than later - you don't know for sure that he'd get angry...The lie felt thin even to her, though, but the sixth year was momentarily relieved of her anxiety upon seeing Remus. He had grown to be a steadying presence for her - not that he didn't excite her, because he did, of course, but he helped to push her worries away.

He was, simply, more important than her worries.

So as the girls entered the line and he joined them, seemingly fresh from it himself from the pair of skates he was holding, Char's smile broadened at his greeting. "You too," she said quietly, "Daisy said you'd probably be around, I'm happy she convinced me to come." Her light blue eyes widened momentarily at her slip-up and she bit back a laugh, looking at her boots, but she was brought out of her self-made awkwardness at Daisy's departure. It's not the worst thing in the world if he knows you're here because he is, calm down.

For as her little redheaded friend abruptly trotted off in search of her boyfriend, Charlotte was left with a small bundle of panic in her stomach she was truly doing her best to contain. There was just so much to consider about this evening, so much she'd never had to think about before. True, the sky was darkening, so soon it'd be hard to tell one pair from another. And yes, the grounds were busy with many more exciting things and people to look at and take note of than herself and who she chose to spend her free time with. And the longer she was outside without seeing Rufus, the more Charlotte thought he was likely taking advantage of the pitch being free, since the whole of the student body seemed to be littering the rest of the grounds. Breathe, Char, she thought loudly, echoing Daisy's earlier sentiment. She just wished it was so easy! To stop worrying about Rufus' reaction and just really be in this moment with Remus. She didn't have this much trouble when they were in the library, but out and about here, the two of them, just felt like much more of a statement to make to everyone.

This doesn't include "everyone" - it's you and him, just you and him, she tried to reassure herself before stepping ahead in line as it moved. "Sorry you've got the line to go through again, have you been out long?" she asked by poor way of starting conversation, looking up at him with a small smile. Their silences usually didn't feel strange to her, but then again, they'd never been out together like this, and conversation seemed to be more necessary out here in the bigger world than when they were in their own little one. You'll learn - you can learn.

[Admin]

Doe let her eyes slowly drift back to the hut that James stood, and she smirked at him, freeing one of her hands to get the skates before wrapping the arm back around Arnie's waist. Well, he was much taller than her, so it with a little difficulty that she got it there in the first place, but he didn't seem to be complaining...and she was rather liking the act of having her arms so dangerously close to his bum. She turned her attention back to her Captain, "Oh, James, you have to give yourself more credit. You're full of lovely ideas - Lily, don't you think he's full of great ideas?" It wasn't often that she got the chance to do this sort of thing for him, but whenever she could, she played wingman for the bloke.

...And it seemed that Lily had the same idea for her and Arnie.

Dorcas' cheeks turned red, and shortly after a wave goodbye, the couple was on their way to the edge of the lake to put their skates on. She slipped hers on her feet and made quick work of the laces and she waited a couple moments, eyes lingering on those already skating around the ice. A bit of a groan pulled her concentration towards Arnie and she smirked, seeing all of the trouble he was having doing up his skates. "Here, babe, let me." Doe quickly got down on her knees in the snow in front of him and started tying up his laces. "See? You want to try lacing them loosely first, before you go through each row and tighten them," she said, as she tied his laces.

Two minutes later, his skates were properly done up to give him good support around the ankle, and her knees felt like they were frozen solid...she was only wearing tights under her skirt after all! Using his thighs for leverage she pushed herself up from the ground, and at the very last second gave him a searing kiss. He was just so adorable when he needed her help with things...the way he would pretend like he could do it on his own before she could step in...and it was one of the things she loved about him.

Well, not love love, just...it's really cool of him to let me help him out without becoming all wounded and acting like I've hurt his male pride.

Doe pulled back with a soft laugh, took his hands in hers and slowly started leading him onto the ice. A little bit of snow in the last night or so, but James or Dumbledore, or whoever had taken care of clearing the space for them had done a good job of taking care of it. A full blown smile rose on her face as she removed one of her hands from Arnie's so that she could skate forward with him. Tonight was going to be grand, she could feel it.

[Remus Lupin]

There was already a bunch of people out enjoying the cold weather, skating around on the ice. He was trying to keep the words Lily had told him on his mind, that no matter what everything was going to be okay. It didn't help, however, that he also had Sirius' words on his mind. The first kiss meant everything, and he was almost positive that he was going to screw that up. Especially after how Sirius "lesson" had gone. This day was doomed from the start. If Rufus showed up, that was it. He'd let himself get punched in the face by the other boy - no reason to make him suspicious of why Remus could easily take him on.

But he'd rather make it out of the day without any black eyes or awkward mistakes on his part.

So he was thankful that when he approached, Daisy was around. If he said anything weird, she would be sure to cover for him and laugh it off. Sure, Charlotte and him had spent all of their previous dates alone, but those had been simple. And not around people. To his dismay, however, Daisy was gone soon after he arrived, leaving him standing alone in line with Charlotte while everyone else was around and could easily see them.

But he would have to thank Daisy later, as it seemed it had been her doing that Charlotte was there. He gave her a grin at her words, happy that the thought of seeing him had made her decide to come out. He liked her more than he had originally thought it would, and it was difficult for him to put that into words. But he simply wanted to spend time with her and get to know her in a way he hadn't really experienced before.

Looking back at her when she spoke again, he shook his head. "Oh no, I just got out here. I wasn't sure if you were here yet or if you'd gotten skates or anything. Besides, I don't mind waiting with you." Although he was sure James was bound to make a snarky remark when the two of them got to the front of the line, but he'd deal with that situation when they got there. For now, he was happy just simply standing next to her and making conversation.

[Deleted]

Daisy's response made him grin, "Me? Wrinkles? What sort of potions have you been drinking?" He playfully lifted a hand to feel her forehead - the idea of this little Gryffindor being on any sort of hallucinogen potion was mad and probably not happening, but for her to think that he'd ever lose his rugged good looks? She had to be nutters. Sirius looked around with her, not spotting his best mate, and he shrugged again, "He'll turn up - can't see him missing this - James would have a tantrum if he blew it off."

A couple minutes later, he gave a quick salute as Daisy and Charlotte headed off to wait in line for their skates - he hoped that one day the youngest Fudge would give up this whole shy thing so that they could get to know each other. It wouldn't be right if he felt like the bird his best mate was dating was a stranger to him. Sirius made all of his friends a part of his self-constructed family and for someone so close to a brother of his it just didn't make sense to not have a real friendship with them.

The friendly hands of Willa Robbins tugged him out of his thoughts - and also towards the love shack that James and Evans were currently residing in. He didn't really fancy waiting around for her to get skates all over again, so he shrugged indifferently at her question, "Can't see why not - but look at you, I think I like this sneaky side that's coming out." For the better part of knowing her at Hogwarts, Sirius had never seen her try and manipulate any sort of situation. He didn't really care if she did - or if any one did, as long as they weren't trying to manipulate him - but it was a cool change. They came closer to the shack, and he stood outside as she went in, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them warm once she'd let go of his.

It wasn't the first time he had felt this...weird pull towards Robbins.

Was probably just the fun of having her around when it was only them doing it to him, but he'd been thinking on it ever since they'd taken their spontaneous road trip during the summer. Getting stuck together in the rain, back aching from sleeping on the floor of that muggle bed and breakfast so that she could take the bed, her pressed against his back tightly as they swerved around on his motorcycle.

Enough thinking on that -

He grinned as she came back out to him, shooting a couple of glares at the students groaning and complaining that it was unsure she got to cut in the line - Bloody berks, maybe if they were helping work on this event they could cut too, idiots - quickly throwing an arm around her when she got close enough. They started their route to the ice, dipping and avoiding the other students, the kissing couples, the mistletoe hanging from some branches - that could get messy real quick. Especially if James had put it up hoping to catch Evans underneath one of them. In fourth year they'd come up with a spell that would let them detain two individuals underneath it until some sort of kiss was exchanged. Took away the two people's free will when it came to kissing, but mistletoe was based on the idea of having many choices, now was it? "So, what d'you say, Robbins? Sleigh ride or skating first?"

[James Potter]

His laughter couldn't be contained as Lily teased him, and he rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to their younger housemate. "She doesn't trust me with anything," James whispered mock conspiratorially, "can you believe her?" The girl was soon off to catch up with her friends and James looked over to his difficult-to-describe-without-affection co-Head Student...who was eyeing him with an unusual look he'd not seen on her before. At least, not directed towards him. Friends, sure, but it was a soft look reserved only for those, he assumed, had endeared themselves to her in some way. His brows shot up playfully before he tried the hot chocolate she'd brought him, her warning too late to do him any good. He'd definitely burned the roof of his mouth, but now that that'd happened...it was good, regardless, and the damage was already done. He took a more careful sip over Lily's apparent exasperation - that previous moment lost - and grinned over at her after.

"Hot chocolate being hot isn't going to kill me, Evans, breathe - although the concern is touching, I'll admit." Probably shouldn't've said that...ah well. Thankfully, to cover that up - or perhaps because he was being too obvious about holding on to the cup for warmth - she was handing over his forgotten gloves. He gratefully put them on, fingers prickly as they started to warm back up, but had to give her a look at saying it was Remus who took her to their dorm. His friend hadn't said anything of the sort when he'd come by for his skates, that was something you would mention, right? "Sure sure, Remus took you up," he said while getting skates for their next eager customer. "I hope it wasn't too scarring, we leave out anything embarrassing?" If you ever want a proper tour...

Although the line was seeming never ending, James was still entertained by this little job. Guessing skate sizes was, apparently, not his strong suit, but most of their classmates took the momentary delay well, or at least humored him and Lily with some chit-chat. His method of organization didn't seem to make as much sense to Lily as it did to himself, but they were managing, and soon enough had Doe and Arnie to tend to. James grinned while ducking down to get Doe's skates, enjoying the banter between Lily and his mate's boyfriend more than he would have anticipated. Maybe it was just that it was good to see Lily and Doe getting on...while his friend was being a subtle little wing-woman. He resisted shooting her a thumb's up, but shot her a wink as he handed over the skates. Lily was trying to find a pair for the bloke, and in doing so was making him just want to get the skates for her and properly explain his method of organization, or get as cozy as Doe was implying in order to guide her to the skates. Because the girl was right on top of him in here, and it was difficult to ignore. He adjusted his beanie, trying to do just that, although his friend would likely be able to read his thoughts on his face. Luckily, the girl of his thoughts came back with a zinger at his organizational skills to pull him out of said delightful thoughts, and he feigned injury, hand over his heart as he staggered back into the wall of the shack. "She's found it - my actual sore spot - anything but my inability to organize ice skates!" He dropped the act and laughed good naturedly, fixing his beanie as he took the hot chocolate up again, waving Doe and Arnie away.

There was hardly a moment to think before he was suddenly being pushed towards Lily by a little brunette he wasn't expecting to see in the shack yet. Well - Willa wasn't pushing him, couldn't ever see her doing that, but in order to avoid her having to, he'd had to scoot over to the redhead's area of the shack. James Potter did not mind the proximity, she smelled as lovely as she looked. "Look at you, skate stealer," he said with a chuckle, nodding along to Lily's words...and giving her quite the look as she spoke like she was being just as much of a wingman as Doe. Curious, James looked about and saw Willa trotting over to Padfoot - he gave the bloke a wave, grinning, and in the newfound space they had again separated from the girl a bit. "Beguiling, eh?" He took a drink of cocoa, completely innocent here and not trying to get information out of her. There was a certain closeness that Sirius and the Hufflepuff had, something he hadn't really registered until this term, and if Lily knew something...like Willa wanting an intimate sleigh ride with his best mate...

That was just something he should know. So he could prod Sirius if the bloke wasn't already making moves James was unaware of.

He had to give her a grin at her question, because - "Evans, this isn't fun? Come now, don't deny it, you're having a great evening." He pulled back the sleeve of his sweater to check his watch. "The first round of prefects should be here in a couple minutes, if you really don't want to spend your night in the skate shack. What do you feel like doing?" The when-I-say-"you"-I-mean-"us" was obvious enough, in James' opinion, to clue her in - as if she had any doubt - that he wanted to be part of her plan for the night. At least some of it - they could go for a skate themselves, or out on a sleigh, meander through the winter wonderland that Hogwarts had been transformed into...winding up under sprigs of enchanted mistletoe...

The options were, truly, endless. And as long as James was involved, he would be fine with whatever she wanted to do.

[Willa Robbins]

Willa looked up at her friend with unhidden surprise, not wanting to be thought sneaky - that wasn't her, was it? "I just - I don't want you to have to wait again, the line's so long, just look at it..." It was a weak excuse and the badger knew it, and she belatedly realized she probably shouldn't have gestured toward everyone waiting - drawing attention to herself, and what sort of example was she setting? Cutting the line? Oh, you're allowed to be selfish every once and a while, aren't you? "All right," she said, a smile breaking out as she squeezed his hand, "maybe it's a little sneaky, don't tell anybody." Willa was just so glad to have spotted him today, and in just as much of a selfish move as getting her own skates, having him come along with her for a while. They hadn't been spending much time together this fall, which really was her doing, what with getting more involved with Benji, and this opportunity was just too perfect for her to pass up! They could have time to have some fun and catch up, and the sooner they could get going the better!

So, yes, Willa snuck into the shack, making room for herself in there where there really wasn't space. James had put this together himself, and must have done some charming to make all of the stacks of skates fit in the little space, but there wasn't enough standing room for three. She laughed at the new title she acquired from the Head Boy, giving her friend a look at her cutting her words of. You two were together last night? She and Lily sorely needed a proper chat - she'd been speaking more with Doe about how things were going with Benji, seeing as Doe's boyfriend was Benji's best friend and she knew him too, but really needed to make some time to catch Lily up! Skates in hand, she stood and shook her head, not sure what Lily was on about. She and Sirius in a "more beguiling atmosphere"? What was that supposed to mean? They were just friends! "Yes yes, we will, enjoy yourselves too!"

She had her skates - after some maneuvering had wormed her way out of the shack - she had her friend, and all was well. Besides the mutterings. Sirius' arm around her shoulders helped to alleviate the unpleasant downer that guilt was. She swung her arm around his back, happy for the easy closeness they'd had since becoming friends. It was just that - easy. No thinking, no overthinking, they could just be. She'd get to that point with Benji, wouldn't she? The two of them were different, growing closer and feeling like a relationship could blossom - with Sirius there'd been lots of flirtatious jokes thrown her way, and she'd had such a crush on him, but their friendship had developed and that had been that! No weirdness. Besides earlier this fall when he'd been sick and there had been that moment...but he was sleeping, not his fault, nothing he could control. So at his question she gave him a squeeze and a grin. "Both fantastic options, if I may say so, but let's see...just went through all this effort to go skating, but howabout we take a sleigh ride first?" That would give them time to enjoy themselves and chat - without risk of falling on the ice. If she got to keep his company for a while, they could take that risk next!