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

[Willa Robbins]

As they walked to the shack, Willa preparing for a time of orderliness in close-quarters with Dirk Cresswell, she was hardly reassured by Benji's joke, although she did let out a laugh. "Years of living together and his funny bone is still in hiding? What in the world!" She let out a smile, though, at the compliments, giving his hand a squeeze through their gloves. "I appreciate it, although I've never seemed to have any sort of effect on him. Was he any different when he and Doe were together?" That relationship hadn't made too much sense to Willa, to be honest, and she hoped that tensions weren't high in the Ravenclaw boys' dorm because of Dirk and Doe's history, and Arnie and Doe's present. But maybe she'd helped to unlock a more relaxed Dirk. Could there be someone else to set him up with?...

She gave Benji a nod, returning his smile, at his mention of the winter crop in his plot. He'd have to tell her all about how he'd managed that - their winters were pleasant enough, for things like snowball fights and hot chocolate. Not so nice in terms of giving plants a fighting chance. He had some sort of gift with them, to be sure! Willa took a breath, let go of his hand, and eased herself into the shack, smile in place as she was met with...Dirk. Who wasted no time in telling both her and Benji off.

After sending her date - Are we on a date now? In Dirk's company? - an apologetic look as his attempt at geniality was met with curtness, the Hufflepuff went the route of apology to her counterpart as well. "I'm sorry about the delay, Dirk, I didn't realize how late it'd gotten. But it looks phenomenal in here, and I'm ready to help. Did you reorganize?" 

[Arnie Peasegood]

"Shouldn't be a problem, Flan," Arnie assured his girlfriend. Not on my end, at least. His family would be flexible enough, surely; Hannukah would be over by then, so getting away for an evening only really required arranging for someone to Apparate with him. He hoped it wouldn't be too much of a battle for her to get James Potter to let him show up at his party, but Arnie wouldn't be surprised if it was. The last time he'd had a sizable interaction with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, the bloke had all but swung Dora over a shoulder and carried her back to the Tower in an effort to separate them. 

But maybe...James would be in a better mood, come Christmas. A very recognizable "Evans!" had just been called out across the ice, and Arnie looked with interest to see their Head Students skating together. (If you could call what James was doing 'skating.' (Apparently athleticism wasn't as transferrable a skill as Arnie had always assumed.)) As he'd heard from Tommy, James hadn't exactly been charitable to his friend during the start of term, what with Tommy's relationship with the redhead. But now that that was over and done with, Tommy was still being an idiot in not pursuing Sylvia again, maybe Lily was willing to give him the chance he obviously wanted? Or maybe having hope is enough...

"Er - yeah, have an older brother and sister," Arnie said, surprised by Sirius' sudden interest. Maybe there is an in for this party. "Both were in Hufflepuff, actually. But now Wes is working in Muggle Relations, and Gracie is at Mungo's. So, er - yeah, will be nice to have everybody together to swap stories. You have a brother too, right?"

Arnie chuckled, shaking his head as he skated forward with the still mute Dora. "Wow, you really know how to sell an experience. Can't wait." Thankfully they'd reached the carriages and could get out of the cold, but now they had the issue of...fitting. The carriages were obviously made for couples, not trios, but...Arnie didn't want to be that guy. So he climbed in and offered a hand to Dora to help her up, scooting himself to the far side of the carriage once she was inside. Although he wasn't broadly built, once Sirius was inside too it felt as though he had to scrunch his shoulders to help everyone fit. He wanted to wrap his arm around Dora's shoulders, but that would mean his hand would be on Sirius... "So, er - d'you think they'll do something of this caliber before every break now? Pretty wicked sendoff."

[Charlotte Fudge]

"It's on Christmas Day," Charlotte filled him in with a smile, buoyed up at the thought that perhaps he would be able to come. They'd still need to be careful, of course, what with her brother family being in attendance, but...Wouldn't it be nice to see each other over the holiday? The sixth year was growing pleasantly accustomed to spending time with Remus, and a few weeks without talking did not sound appealing. If the holiday party didn't work out, perhaps they could still see each other at a bookshop, or get tea...You're thinking like a girlfriend! He hasn't asked for that, you're letting your mind run away with you, certainly.

And so it was a helpful distraction indeed to hear about the Potter family from his perspective, and she was newly smiling at his taking of her hand. So, maybe...not getting too far ahead of yourself, Charlotte. "No, no - it makes sense," she assured. "It's more of...it's more of a feeling, it sounds like, than anything else. They make you feel like you belong. That's just wonderful to have found, honestly." She skated forwards with him, looking up at him curiously. "But Mr. Potter is adept at potions?" This is something I'm supposed to know? How? The pair was shortly at the head of the line, and Remus stepped into the carriage, helping her in afterwards. She was glad at the next segment of his story, giving a laugh as she tried not to think too much about where she sat. Just - just sit down. "They seem like the sort of people to just take that in stride," she commented, although she hoped that no family heirlooms or the like had been damaged by any shenanigans. She sat on the warm hay next to Remus, throat dry after her laughs ran out. She swallowed. She looked to him, and then ahead, very aware of their hands still intertwining between them.

You've been alone before. You've held hands before. Be normal!

"I usually don't care for winter," Charlotte said, to say something. "But this has been...really nice today. It is lovely out here, I will admit that."

[Benji Fenwick]

Benji's face screwed up in concentration, trying to remember a time when his roommate was any less of a stick in the mud. He shook his head. "No, not really. If he was more enjoyable, I certainly didn't notice." He had also momentarily forgotten that Dirk and Dorcas had dated; how he could was beyond him, though. Dorcas and Arnie were together now. He had to keep up with these things, something he had clearly been slacking on since kissing starting to spend more time with Willa. She was a beautiful distraction.

They arrived at the skate rental shack and...Dirk. He shot Willa a look. "No such luck today." he said under his breath as she passed him into the shed. There was an immediate instinct to punch his roommate in the face for speaking to Willa in such a condescending manner, but Willa, bless her, stopped him with her sweet apologies. She didn't need him starting tussles with other blokes. Besides, Dirk had to come back to the dorm eventually.

To the words addressed to him, in response to his very pleasant greeting, Benjamin's grin grew exponentially. "Nah, it'd be nicer if you were finally able to pull your wand out of your arse." Sh*t! Benji cursed himself to seven kinds of hell. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He didn't want to fight with Dirk while he had such a grand plan for Willa in motion. She didn't want to see them being jerks, he was sure; that would probably just make her uncomfortable. Benji forced a friendly smile, throwing a wink to Willa. "Only joking mate!" he said genially. "You're right, i'm in the way, here let me help." Benji turned away from Dirk and the urge to hurt him and began shuffling people about by gesturing about and shouting. "Rentals here." "Returns on this side." He didn't like the further away he got from Willa, but he did it, to keep busy and keep the peace. At the end of the two lines, he turned back to look at her, his heart in his throat. He was really going to do this. Right?

[Remus Lupin]

His heart sank at her words, and he hoped his face didn’t show it. What excuse are you going to use this time Remus? Can’t tell her the truth can you. He wasn’t good with being put on the spot like this, not when it came to covering for this secret. He could just tell her they’d have to wait and see, but there was no way he would able go. Have to give some sort of reason.

”My mum and I have a Christmas night tradition,” he mumbled out, directing his eyes down. Involving his mother in his lies was common, seeing as anyone he was lying to didn’t see her enough to question anything. “But maybe we can do something else over the holiday?”

Thankfully they had moved on from the subject, onto the topic of the Potters. He gave a small laugh, shaking his head at her response, “Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion - James’ dad created it. Charlus isn’t one to brag about it or anything, but Sirius hair isn’t naturally that beautiful.”

The conversation fell once they were in the carriage, situated on hay and under blankets. He gave a nod to words, smiling at her as he glanced over. “Today has been a nice day.” They were away from other people, this was going to be his only chance. Should he say something first? He didn’t even have a clue what he should say. But turning to look towards her, it seemed like his body was simply going to decide for him and within seconds his lips were gently on hers.

[Lily Potter]

"And ruin marshmallows for everyone?" Lily asked quietly with a smile. Apparently, her counterpart was more put out by the slight given to them by Cresswell than she was. The seventh year was finding it hard to stay annoyed at any one thing for too long lately, and found she could tolerate the younger boys overly eager personality better than the Head Boy. There would be no love lost when she was free from these walls and Dirk but for now, he was such a tiny hiccup in the day. Though, listening to James give the Ravenclaw a quick talking to was nice; she was glad in that moment that neither boy was paying attention to her, they would have both seen the completely sappy expression on her face. She cleared it up in a cinch when James joined her again and soon they were on their own, blades on their feet, hands in each others.

For her part, the red-head was trying not to feel too much at the contact and simply enjoy the time they were taking together, the conversation they were having. It seemed something they never lacked in recent weeks. They hadn't had the best start as co-Heads: she hadn't been confident in James, and still disliked him a great deal and he...had not liked her boyfriend and had very much been under a microscope for his surprise appointment of Head Boy. It made for a strained start to their seventh, definitely not what Lily had had in mind. There had been years of history and very real tension to overcome, but that seemed like ages ago now. Reality was it had been a scant three months before she was questioning if she would survive the year with James Potter by her side. Now, she was wondering if she ever could have made it so far without him.

James was always there to say that, 'Don't sell yourself short.' or something of the sort: to keep her going when she thought she wasn't cut out. He never wanted her to think herself anything other than perfectly capable, and Lily appreciated that always. She gave him a smile now for it now as she skated backwards, leading him along and blushing as he nearly called her out. She wanted to tell him that she did like him, a lot, more than she could have ever imagined possible, but she refrained. Instead she nodded to the second part of his statement, glancing up to find an admittedly organized line for skates, then looked back to him quickly at his last. Again her cheeks tinged a warmth she had never thought she would feel in regards to James.

It remained strange, and strangely attractive, the knowledge that James was an unregistered animagus, and that his form was a buck, of all things! Lily already loved Christmas jumpers and given her patronus being a doe -the connection between them there was not lost on her, the buck and the doe- did own a few deer themed sweaters. That she had chosen to wear one today because she had been thinking of him when she dressed would remain a secret unto herself because she said nothing, she was too busy grinning at the look on Potter's face as she released his hands. "Right back at ya, Prongs." she countered, pointing her chin at his own deer jumper and she slide away. Why didn't that sound more sassy?

Lily danced around, skating circles around her counterpart and randomly calling out pointers. "Straighten your legs a bit, that's it." and "Use you're arms for balance, see it's not so hard, like flying a broom." She laughed at that last bit, meeting his eye; she wasn't as talented as he in broom flying. But she could skate pretty fair, and she was getting more comfortable with it by the moment, even doing a few tricks. She landed a move she hadn't done since she was nine and faltered, nearly busting her bum. Immediately she looked for James, to see if he had seen her fluke and realizing he wasn't far at all, still wobbling along. Probably more focused on not falling than she was. She took pity on him and skated over, glancing over to a group of their friends that had gathered at the edge of the ice. "How about a break from the ice? The carriage line doesn't look too long..."

[Charlotte Fudge]

"Oh! Yes, of course, wouldn't want to intrude," Charlotte said quickly, pale cheeks coloring slightly as Remus belatedly muttered a reason as for why he wouldn't be able to attend the Ministry party. Was she being too forward, suggesting they see each other during the public event? Had he not told his family that they had been spending time together, and didn't yet want them to know? She supposed it was only fair, her family knew nothing of their budding something as she was too fearful of Rufus' reaction. Don't press him, the sixth year thought sternly, not wanting to push the bloke away from her with any sort of demands. And so instead of inquiring about the Christmas tradition he and his mum shared, or asking if his father would be in attendance at either the Ministry event or the one at home, Charlotte simply gave a nod at his offer. "That would be nice, I'm sure we can work something out." 

The girl still felt his sudden drop in mood strange, but maybe he, like her, held a sort of holiday stress. Going home never got easier, and as she wasn't close with her parents, and he and his father weren't exactly companions...You're overthinking this. He's likely just reluctant to go home. Nothing to do with you. Nevertheless, although she gave a laugh at the new knowledge that James Potter's father was the inventor of a popular hair product, she still felt rather off as the pair took their spots within the carriage. Talk was suddenly something of an impossibility as they got situated under the woolen blanket, and Char didn't know what it was that was keeping conversation away. Was it the previous awkwardness at his rejection of her proposal? Or something else entirely? A novice to relationship navigation - You're not even in a relationship. - Charlotte was feeling like a muggle ship lost at sea, the sky too cloudy to use the stars as guidance. Bumbling about the weather surely wasn't doing her any favors, even though Remus was in agreement, his voice softening somewhat as he replied. She turned to look at him at that tone, and found his eyes on her, so...intently. The girl had only a chance to blink before he had closed the space between them, meeting her lips in a careful but nonetheless tender kiss.

Thankfully, her body knew what to do on instinct it seemed, as her mind was drawing a complete blank. She smiled slowly, shyly, as they parted, light eyes darting to find his. While her heart was trying to escape from her chest, or so it felt, and her face was newly flushed, and words were still unattainable - Charlotte was shortly grinning. Because maybe her assumptions about the prior tension were incorrect, and their oddness had been because of them. Because he'd been gearing up to do that. She hadn't doubted what he was feeling for her, and had grown to like him differently than a friend in these last weeks, but the affirmation was...purely wonderful. Charlotte scooted herself closer to his side, leaning her head to his shoulder as the horse continued on as if nothing of significance had transpired in the carriage it pulled. "What should we do over break?" she asked, feeling as if there was no way they couldn't find a solution now. "If you feel like coming to my neck of the woods, I can show you the muggle bookstore in Sutton I've told you about."

[James Potter]

"Ouch," he whispered back, shooting her a sly grin at her unexpected zinger towards the incoming prefect. Thankfully they were shortly leaving Cresswell behind, and even though James was loathe to let the sixth year take charge in a very different leadership style than his own, going out onto the ice with Lily was a highlight he didn't want to miss. Their banter had been so easy lately that he nearly let everything slip, and the girl did not miss it, judging by the lovely tomato red she was turning. The slight embarrassment was overshadowed by her next, though...

Prongs?!

It wasn't so much that she'd complimented his sweater that had the bloke laughing so hard he was teetering on the skates, but she'd used his nickname - without prompting, without sarcasm, and with an undeniable fondness. Good Merlin, you're lost to her. He beamed over at Lily as she skated backwards away from him, giving him all the incentive needed to keep him putting one foot in front of the other. This wasn't proper skating form, evidently, as she was quick to shoot suggestions his way. He did his best to follow them without falling, but was altogether in much too distracted of a mindset to devote the necessary focus towards improving his skills immensely. Because it felt like the freak out he'd had last night with Padfoot about finally taking the next step with her, well - the more time they spent with each other today, the more it felt that she'd agree to go with him to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Not as Heads. But as a date. And as exhilarating as that prospect was, and as much as he knew he would man up and ask before they got back to the Tower tonight - last night, he'd been terrified to the bone that she'd reject him. And this time? This time, it would mean that he had no chance of ever being with her. When he'd asked in earlier years, well - she hadn't known him, and, to be fair, he hadn't known her as well as he thought. Now, though? Now they weren't classmates who bickered and competed against each other for pride and spite. The girl knew more of who he was after these months of forced cooperation, and he had a better handle on her as well. Now a "no" from her would actually be personal. And unrecoverable.

She wants you too. She does.

And he did, even as the redhead insisted on making ludicrous comparisons between this sport and his preferred one.

James laughed with her as he spread his arms out, looking up from the ice to catch her eye, and teased back, "Maybe that's why you still fly like a third year, Evans - this is nothing like real flying! I'll take you up one of these days, just you wait and see." His neck reddened at the thought of having her cozied up on his broom with him, to keep her from falling as he sped them through the air of course, and he tried to focus again on not losing his minimal footing. He didn't mind looking a fool in his slow progress, he was trying to implement her strategies, even if straightening his back made his balance go all wonky; much worse would be falling in front of her. Or would it be worse to be caught staring? Somehow the seventh year didn't think so, and watched as Lily flew farther from him, even leaving the ice for moments in graceful leaps as she got more comfortable. He smiled as she regained balance after a particularly tough one, feeling oddly proud of her, and held his hand out to her as she came back to him. James expected that they'd skate around a bit together, but as his gloved hand closed again on hers and she suggested going to the carriages? He had to work to keep his jaw from dropping, or from saying something stupid to screw this up.

"Race you," he joked, giving her hand a squeeze as he turned his skates in the general direction of the carriage line. His mind was racing, though; it was one thing for Lily to be offering help out here on the ice, for them to be seen holding hands. It was another entirely for them to disappear into a carriage together, wasn't it? His smile felt like a permanent fixture on his face, and James was so fine with it.

[Deleted]

His eyebrows rose. ”You’re coming to the Potters?” Sirius shouldn’t have been surprised with how long the two of them had been seeing each other - and it would be a lot better for her to come with someone instead of being alone. Especially after the catastrophe of last year’s party. ”Got dress robes to wear yet?” James would murder him if he knew that Sirius was offering the Ravenclaw any help with this, but the kid was about to descend into the home of one of the oldest Pureblood families around. Yeah, they were the nicest people in earth, besides Willa but that didn’t mean that all of the guests who were attending would be as well. He chose not to comment on the weird mention of dessert, even though it was confusing him - what was with these two!

At the sound of his brother’s voice he turned and grinned at the show that was befolding before them. ”C’mon Prongs!” He knew that things were moving forwards for the co-heads, and he still hoped his mate would score with Evans despite his own love life turning sour all in one fell swoop. Sirius’ smirk didn’t drop from his face as he turned back to the couple he was waiting in line with. His bad mood was shrinking, thoughts of Willa and the baby Ravenclaw falling from his mind not so easily - maybe Peasegood wasn’t so bad afterall, could even make a mate of him if -

”Yeah.” There wasn’t anything else to be said on Reg. Not when he’d thrown his life away for an evil son of a b*tch all before he’d even finished school. ”His name’s James - he’s the one making a fool of himself on the ice.” He turned back and pointed towards his mate, trying to find the peace that had been running through him only a few minutes before, but with no luck. The kid wasn’t going to understand him, he was sure of that, but this was one thing he was done talking about.

The Gryffindor skated forward with the pair of them, letting his mind drift to thoughts of where Remus might be. He hoped that his lesson the other night gave the bloke some confidence, even if he’d had to take one for the team for the sake of learning. ”It’s going to be shite, you may as well know now.” At least, it would be if Arnold turned out to have half the amount of problems in his love life as Sirius did. He hopped up on the carriage and sat as far away from Doe’s boyfriend as possible. Suddenly, his entire plan seemed pathetic. What if Willa was to see him doing this. She’d be disappointed in him, but wouldn’t it just show her that he couldn’t get a date for himself?

[Admin]

Instantly, her heart started beating faster as Arnie fully agreed to be her date. Now she would just need to convince her mother that it was a good idea. Sirius’ surprise was unwelcome, but she couldn’t really blame him for not expecting her to bring someone. After all, at the same party just the year before, she had ended things with his best friend. To say it had put a damper on the festivities was an understatement. ”I’m sure he has some robes tucked away somewhere.” He wasn’t from a fully muggle family, and he’d been at Hogwarts for six years! Even if they needed to be altered a bit, there was no reason for Sirius to mock him about it. Unless...was Sirius offering to help? ”Are you looking to get rid of a pair of yours or something?”

Dorcas had heard so much about Arnie’s family already, and the thought of one day meeting them sent her stomach into a bundle of nerves but it was always nice to see the light that sparked in his eyes when he brought them up. She couldn’t empathize with that love and that light, and she knew that Sirius couldn’t either, which is why she winced at her boyfriend’s last question. Doe swallowed, ”Come on you two, the carriages await!” She wasn’t going to let that conversation go any deeper than the surface. Lily and James had worked hard to make tonight special...a fight breaking out on the ice would ruin all of that, and would ensure that her friends never approved of her relationship.

She took Arnie’s hand and, once inside the carriage, gave it a quick kiss before letting go. It was a tight squeeze to get them all in, but luckily she was small and could fit between the two tall boys she got to spend her time with. ”It would be a missed opportunity if they didn’t continue it. James definitely had a stroke of genius.” She nudged her boyfriend playfully, ”You’ll have to put a word in with whoever becomes the new Head Boy and Girl.”

[Arnie Peasegood]

"Er - yeah, I think so," he said to Sirius' surprise, wondering how odd of a thing it really was. Dora had been to the party every year, it sounded like, and surely she'd brought whoever she was dating before. It was an odd think, really, knowing that he'd be there with her close friends and an ex and the ex's parents...but he loved her. Any chance to see her over this holiday break was one he should take, and they could get through the awkwardness he anticipated, right? But then Sirius brought up dress robes, and he shot a look to Dora. It's that fancy? He didn't know what to make of her response, seeing as she didn't seem to know what to make of Sirius'; the younger student chuckled offhandedly, shrugging. "Dunno if mine still fit, but Wes is bound to have something I can borrow. A black tie event then, eh? Anything else I should know about it?"

Speaking of the Potters, the Head Boy was certainly struggling, and Arnie had to grin in bemusement as the bloke waved excitedly to Sirius at the other's call. He had to admit that it was entertaining, seeing James like this; knocked him down a few pegs in one sense, and up a few in another. So he wasn't always the showing-off athlete, was willing to look like an idiot in front of the girl he liked, and put something like this together for the whole school to enjoy...While he couldn't wholly see why Dora had gone out with him, spying a similarity or two between himself and the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain was affirming, in a way. Swear I'm not into anyone else like he was, though...

While Arnie Peasegood wasn't the most perceptive person in the world, his emotional intelligence wasn't so lacking to miss seeing that he'd taken a misstep here with the Gryffindor bloke in asking about his family. Sirius' affect dropped measurably, and Arnie shifted uncomfortably in the queue as Dora, a bit too cheerful, urged them on. He just gave a nod to the other's answer, not knowing what to say; there was another Black at Hogwarts, Regulus. Had he been wrong in thinking the two were brothers? Were they cousins? The pureblood dynamics and family trees were befuddling, he very well could've gotten that wrong...At least the odd trio got a bit of a change in scenery shortly, piling into a carriage as if the affair were nothing but ordinary. Have got to tell Benj about all this, hopefully things are going better for him. 

Arnie met his girlfriend's eye with a smirk at her adorableness, finding her hand once they'd all settled in. Thankfully whatever had had her keeping to herself earlier seemed to be done, as she was willing to help with conversation now. Although Arnie could've done without the reminder that next year he'd still be here, while she and Sirius would be off in the world doing who knows what. But he just gave her a smile, nudging her back. "Oi, so certain already that I'll need to pass the message on? That it won't be me?" Just a tease, of course, as "Head Boy" would suit him perhaps even worse than it suited Potter. 

[Deleted]

Sirius was about to tell Doe that he was willing to help when her boyfriend cut in. Made sense that his older brother would have something for him to wear - he couldn’t count the times that he and James, or he and Regulus had done the same thing. He smiled, ”Gets pretty fancy, but it’s not as stuffy as the Pureblood events that Doe and I grew up going to.” Those days only brought back memories of scratchy suits and forced, awkward dancing with his ‘possible matches’. ”The Potter’s house elves make the best food, so come on an empty stomach.” Probably isn’t the best advice since you’re going to convincing him to drink a lot. The first couple of times he had gone, that kind of mistake had gotten him and the other Marauders in a ton of trouble.

Thankfully, before anymore questions could come from the Ravenclaw, Doe was leading them both towards the carriages, and Sirius was regretting his decision with every stroke of his skates against the ice. He didn’t know what he was trying to prove here, and if hating Peaselbody had been his objective, then he was slowly starting to figure out it wasn’t going to happen. Not yet, anyway. The bloke seemed decent, and clearly wasn’t taking advantage of Doe like all the rest of the gits she’d given her time to - with the exception of James. But he was too far along to turn back now. Into the carriage they went, and he tried to make himself comfortable in the cramped quarters. If they were all in first year this would never be an issue, but he was fully grown, and Arnold nearly was too - it was a blessing that Doe was the size she was or they’d have a big problem on their hands.

Sirius stored that compliment for his brother away for later, and nodded along. Was a shame that nobody had thought to do something like this before now! Wasn’t now the time to promote inclusivity - while they were all stuck together whether they liked it or not? The couple bantered back and forth and he rolled his eyes as the horse pulled them around the course of the lake. This was becoming just as awkward as the ride he had just taken with Willa. ”Never know, Peasegood - after the way they chose James this year, anything could happen.” Prankster Pete’s and sarcastic Susie’s alike were all in trouble of being chosen, now that Dumbledore was being kooky. ”He’s doing a wicked job of it - but you have to admit it strays from tradition.” And it kept the Slytherin’s out of controlling the school, so can’t be too bad of a thing.

[Admin]

She was happily surprised at how well Arnie and Sirius were getting on. In some way, she had always known that they were capable of finding similarities between themselves - they both liked pranking people, they both liked to use sarcasm whenever they could, and apparently, they were both going to enjoy their time at the Potter’s party. Doe shrugged lightly when Arnie sought out her eyes, not sure what to tell him. ”It’s not the sort of place that you’ll be judged for not wearing the right thing, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The last thing she needed was to have him worrying that he couldn’t fit in to her world.

Why do you even care about that if you’re going to break up with him after the holidays?

The thought was better left unanswered. There was no reason to overthink about her relationship with Arnie when they were having such a nice time out. She looked over and laughed as James flailed, really hoping that he and Lily could just figure out whatever was happening between them. It was obvious to everyone that the two of them should just get on with it, and she wished that the couple would hurry up. The sooner she could stop worrying about what to say or not to say in their presence, the better.

The boys followed her into the carriage, and after sitting down in between them, she just had to laugh at the things they were saying. James was doing an amazing job so far, and she believed he would only continue to succeed as the school year went on, but to imagine that Arnie would be chosen next? ”You don’t get into enough trouble, love, and I’m fairly certain that’s a prerequisite now.” She scooted a bit closer to her boyfriend to give him a kiss on the cheek. If Sirius weren’t there with them, then she would be doing a lot more to the Ravenclaw, and the look in her eye confirmed it.

[Remus Lupin]

He should have never asked her out, if he was being honest with himself. If he was going to continue to lie to her about whatwho he really was, there was no chance things could ever work out. While her reaction only a few weeks ago to a bigoted book on the subject had warmed his heart, telling his secret wasn’t so simple. It was one thing to think people like him deserved to be treated well, but it was another to expect her to want to be involved with one. Besides that, his condition was supposed to be a secret. He did trust Charlotte, as she hardly seemed like the type to spread a rumor, but could he really increase his chances of being discovered just because he had a crush on the girl? No.

And yet he was still here, spending time with her.

More than that, he was getting up the nerve to kiss her. It didn’t matter what rational he gave himself, he liked the way she made him feel. Even if sometimes it felt like he wanted to throw up because he was so nervous, and even if he constantly worried that he would say something totally foolish in front of her. It’s better this way, because at least you can see what you’re missing out on. He could learn for himself what the whole dating scene was all about, and that would be enough. Then he could end things between them.

But he hadn’t planned on the way his heart would rush, and the tingle on his lips that lingered after he pulled away. He hadn’t thought about how she would grin at him, and how he would smile back and laugh because he was feeling so giddy. Or how perfect it would seem when she scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, his arm around her shoulder as he smiled. “What about after Christmas? I could come and meet you in Sutton, if you would like that.”

[Deleted]

He had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes at his superior. ”Yes, I’ve got it, everyone is to have fun.” His voice could not have been more excited if he tried. No, really, it was the most effort he could put into it. Those lofty goals were good when you put them down on paper, but they were the opposite of what the human race needed to succeed. People needed to be pushed to be greater and organized to be under control! Even though James was telling him not to mess with these things that he had so call “created” in the air this evening, he knew that his Head Boy was secretly calling out for help from under the stress of it all. ”This place will be in tip top shape in no time.”

Even though Prefect Robbins had been tardy, there was no need to write her up for it. He too knew the power of being pulled toward someone, and she was ready to jump in without sassing him, which was something that could always be counted upon by a Hufflepuff. Unfortunately, the same was not to be said for his own housemate, who he gave a raise of his eyebrows to at his remarks.

”I shouldn’t have to remind you, Benjamin, that I am a Prefect, and that your tone is not welcome, even if it is a joke. Ten points from Ravenclaw.” He turned back to Wilhelmina with a roll of his eyes at the audacity. You would think after so many years of living with the other boy, he would know how to communicate properly. ”Prefect Robbins, you’ll find that the skates are organized by size from the higher shelf to the lower, and on the rental side the empty boxes are organized in the same fashion.” Dirk grinned happily, ”Which side of the shack do you prefer?”