Saturday 25th October, 1976
It was a perfect day for Hogsmeade. There were no clouds in sight, the sun shining brightly against the startling blue sky as I entered the Great Hall, a skip in my step. I sat down next to the marauders, pouring myself a tall glass of orange juice and piling my plate with food I observed my friends. Or rather James.
He was sitting across from me, arms crossed as he moped, head drooping. I threw a grape at him and he jolted upright, glaring at me from across the table.
"I can't believe you're going on a date with Lily," he muttered, glaring at my already half eaten plate.
"Can't you?" I asked. "I certainly can."
James scowled at me, picking at his meal bitterly.
"Can you at least talk to Lily about me?" he tried half-heartedly.
"Of course," I said.
James's posture straightened, looking at me in wonder. Remus, Sirius, and Peter watched on in confusion, having not predicted my reaction.
"Really?" James breathed.
"Yeah, of course I'll tell her you still sleep with a stuffed rabbit," I answered.
James's expression turned to one of panic as I stood up, intending to leave.
"No! You can't tell her about Mr Cuddleton the Third," he pleaded desperately.
I laughed, waving goodbye, and continued walking, meeting Lily, Marlene, and Mary at the entrance of the Great Hall. With everyone there, we started on the walk to Hogsmeade, the conversations light and teasing.
The grass beneath our feet slowly turned icy, a thin layer of snow coating it as we got closer and closer to Hogsmeade, a village that was always snowing no matter the time of the month.
"Where do we want to go first?" Marlene asked, rubbing her arms as she shivered. "Preferably somewhere inside."
"Honeydukes?" I offered.
"Ooh, yes please," Mary agreed, linking her arms with me and Lily, who then linked arms with Marlene, directing us to the sweet shop.
The door opened with a jingle as we entered, and we all sighed as the blissful warmth of the shop washed over us. I looked around, noting the isles upon isles filled with every sweet ever known to wizard kind and the students filling the shop, buying all sorts of magical lollies.
I grabbed a bag and started piling it with sweets, making sure to grab some extra chocolate frogs for Remus just in case his own stash depleted too quickly. The last time Remus's chocolate stash emptied was a nightmare to say the least. I shivered at the thought.
"Quite a lot of sweets in there," Mary noted teasingly as she looked in my bag.
"I'm a girl of refined tastes," I replied, nose held high as I made my way to the cashier.
I could hear their snickers behind me as they followed, placing their own stashes on the counter next to mine. When everything was bought, we left the shop, our arms once again linked, and headed for The Three Broomsticks.
Just like last time, we all relished in the feeling of the shop's heat as we entered, making sure to get a booth near the fireplace as we bought drinks. I sat down next to Marlene, across from Mary and Lily, taking a sip of my butterbeer. I closed my eyes, savouring the taste of the drink, when I heard Mary snicker.
"Your stalker's here Lily," she said.
I opened my eyes when I heard Lily groan, significantly less frustratedly than I would have expected if she saw my brother. I sent her a look that she pointedly ignored and turned my head to find my brother.
Like Mary said, he was there, along with Sirius, Peter, and Remus, all four of them buying drinks, Peter's face tinged pink. I smirked, knowing all too well about his crush on Madam Rosmerta, and knew the boys would tease him relentlessly about it afterwards.
I watched as James turned around, drinks in hand, eyes scanning the room until they fell on us, or I should say, Lily. He strode over, puffing out his chest ever so slightly as he arrived. Lily and James were friends now, though that didn't mean James had stopped his pining.
"Girls," James greeted to Mary and Marlene, turning to Lily. "Lilyflower," he said dreamily, before finally looking at me. "Brat."
"Troll," I countered.
Remus snorted and I flashed him a smile. James flipped me off and I returned the gesture, the girls snickering. When they didn't leave after a moment of silence, I glared at my brother.
"You can go now," I said, dismissing them with a wave of my hand.
James looked about ready to strangle me and I flashed him a smile as Sirius and Remus dragged him away, Peter trailing behind eagerly.
"Your brother is certainly something," Marlene commented.
I snorted. "You have no idea."
I noticed Lily's gaze following James just a bit too long and fought back a smile. Was Lily finally falling for my brother, after all this time? I grimaced as I thought about how insufferable James would be if Lily started dating him. I wouldn't be surprised if he started wearing a shirt with the words plastered 'Lily Evan's boyfriend' on it.
We stayed there for a while, finishing our drinks and eyeing outside with disdain, not wanting to leave the warmth of the pub just yet. I found myself at a loss to why I didn't hang out with the girls more often; they were nice to be around, and having a break from the boys was definitely a relief.
Eventually we braved the outside, staying close to one another to produce body heat. We strolled around the village leisurely for a while, not really having a set place to go. It was only when I spotted Zonkos did we go inside once again, avoiding students in the packed shop.
Everywhere you looked, there were Hogwarts students smirking to one another, buying all sorts of products that would make Filch have a fit if he saw them. I smiled, ducking my head as a miniature flying fairy whizzed around, some second years chasing after it gleefully.
I looked around, trying to find some things to prank Regulus with. I didn't have any set ideas yet, but I wanted to be stocked up so I had the materials for any idea I might come up with. I knew the marauders had a large stash of Zonko products though, so I only bought what caught my eye.
"What's all this stuff for?" Lily asked as she observed my shopping bag that was gradually growing heavier the longer I stayed in the shop.
I shrugged. "Just for fun," I lied. I thought it best to have as little people as possible knowing about the prank war between Regulus and me, just in case it got out of hand and someone needed to be punished. Not that I thought Lily would rat me out; it was simply a precaution.
We exited the shop once I was satisfied I'd gotton everything I needed, casting a weight charm on the shopping bag so it didn't bother me. We continued walking, deciding to start heading back to the castle as the winds picked up, when I noticed someone.
Regulus Black was wearing a black jumper and black jeans, the only piece of colour on him being the Slytherin scarf currently wrapped around his neck. There were flecks of snow in his hair, and his hands were in his pockets, no doubt to keep them away from the cold. A Slytherin girl in my year called Selena Rowle walked next to him, her mouth moving at an alarming rate as she spoke to him.
She must have said something funny, because Regulus laughed, and for some reason the sight made my stomach churn. I focused on the girl, noting her dark auburn hair currently held in a high ponytail and equally dark brown eyes fixed firmly upon Regulus's face. She was beautiful, almost painfully so. She matched him in colour, wearing a black skirt topped with a black t-shirt, covered with a green jacket. The fact that they were matching made the strange feeling in my gut increase.
Lily nudged my arm with her own, snapping me out of my daze. I immediately looked away from the two Slytherins, instead letting my gaze fall on Lily, the girl currently looking at me with something like pity on her face.
"Don't be jealous sweetheart," she said, giving me a sad smile.
"Wait, what?" I asked. She looked at me, slightly amused, before nodding her head in Regulus's direction.
"Oh. Oh! Oh, no. No, no, no. I'm not jealous," I stated matter of factly. Lily looked at me sceptically. "I'm not!" I defended.
Lily sighed, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched me glance back at Regulus and Selena; the two seemed to be heading for The Three Broomsticks.
"Sure you're not," Lily said, kissing me on the cheek.
I felt myself heat up and stared determinedly at the ground as Lily laughed, linking our arms and hurrying our pace to catch up to the others. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I thought of Lily's kiss still lingering on my cheek. Who needed to be jealous when you had Lily Evans?
. . .
Saturday 25th October, 1976
I sat on the floor in the Gryffindor common room, back to the fire as I talked to the marauders. There was a coffee table in front of me, and then a couch in front of it where Sirius, James, and Remus were sitting, in that order. Peter sat on an armchair next to the couch, all four of the boys listening intently as I talked about my Hogsmeade trip.
"And then Lily kissed me on the cheek," I bragged, watching as James's expression formed into one of disbelief.
"She kissed you on the cheek?" he repeated. "Why?"
I ignored his incredulous tone, shrugging my shoulders.
"Probably because she likes me better than you," I said slyly.
There was a tense silence, James doing nothing but glaring daggers at me as the others looked on worriedly. Then all of a sudden he was lunging at me across the table, Remus and Sirius having to hold him back. I laughed, snatching his glasses right off his face and running away as he broke from the boys' hold and chased after me.
I made it to the girl's staircase, laughing as James tried to climb up but failed miraculously, tumbling to the floor as the second half of the staircase turned into a slide.
"I'm going to kill you," James promised.
I snorted, chucking him his glasses as I continued walking up the girl's staircase.
"Sure you are," I said, blowing him a kiss before I entered my dormitory.
It had been a good day. I'd gotton lots of sweets, bought a lot of fun things from Zonko's I couldn't wait to try out, and been kissed on the cheek by Lily Evans. I should be happy. I was happy, and yet in the back of my mind there were bitter thoughts milling about, all of them to do with Selena Rowle and Regulus Black.
A/N:
honestly, i kind of like this chapter.
y/n being a girl of refined tastes <3333
lily kissing y/n on the cheek and y/n having gay panic. i mean, come on, you literally thought 'who needed to be jealous when you had lily evans?' that sounds pretty gay to me 🤷♀️
james being jealous that lily kissed y/n! and then lunging at her from across the table! sibling love 🥰