The Great Hall was filled with students, who were all chatting about the news of the upcoming Ball while having supper.
James was sitting across a girl from his year at the Gryffindor table, staring at her with big, pleading eyes.
"Clarice, please," he leaned on the table. "Could you just do this one thing for me?"
She swallowed her food. "Could you just let me eat in peace?" She asked back.
"I will if you just say yes," he bargained.
Clarice raised her pierced eyebrow at him. "James, I'm asexual."
"Yes," he nodded, "but Mia doesn't know that."
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Why can't you just ask her normally?"
"Because I'm not normal," he shrugged. "So? Will you do it?"
"No," she said before taking another bite out of her sandwich.
James groaned. "Come on! You owe me one, I helped you with your DADA essay last time!"
"Oh, wow," she put a hand over her heart. "And there I was, thinking that you did it because we're friends."
"We are!" James straightened up. "That's exactly why you should do this for me!"
"So not because I owe you one?" She gave him a questioning look.
"I – ugh, just... please?" He tilted his head to the side.
"Can't you ask someone else?"
"I could, but you're the best option," he stated.
Her eyes widened. "Meaning?"
"You're like... super pretty," he smiled at her charmingly.
Clarice rolled her eyes. "You know damn well that doesn't work on me."
James chuckled. "Of course I know. But still, it's true."
"Well, I can't argue with that," she tucked her short, curly black hair behind her ears.
His eyes lit up. "Is that a yes?"
"Oh, okay, fine, whatever," she gave in, pushing her plate away. "I'll do it."
"Brilliant!" James grinned, then he squinted his eyes, staring at the back of Mia's head. "Hurry, she might be leaving soon."
He stood up and walked over to Clarice, then they started walking next to the Ravenclaw table towards the exit of the Great Hall.
The girl took a big, annoyed breath before clearing her throat. "James, please!"
"No, Clarice, I'm sorry," he said loudly. "You're lovely, but I can't go with you."
She frowned. "Why not?"
"I just... I can't, I really am sorry," he apologized again.
"Did someone else ask you already?"
"Well, yes –"
"Oh, I see," she narrowed her eyes.
"But I said no to them too!" James added quickly.
"Why can't you go with me, then?"
"I just can't, okay?! That's it."
They stepped out of the Great Hall.
Clarice stopped and crossed her arms over her chest.
"What?" James gave her a confused look.
"No one else actually asked you, correct?" She raised her eyebrows at him.
He snorted. "Nah, why would they? Everyone knows I'm a hopeless case."
She rolled her eyes. "I knew it."
"Do you think she heard us?" James asked quietly.
"I think so," she shrugged. "Are we done here?"
"Yeah," he sighed.
"Great. Are you coming back to the Common Room?"
James nodded, then the two of them started walking again.
"Anyway... are you planning on asking someone for real?" He asked casually.
"Maybe," Clarice nodded. "I'm considering it."
"Really?" His eyebrows shot up. "Who?"
"Eamon Howells."
"That Ravenclaw bloke?" James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Isn't he... like..."
"Gay?" Clarice smiled. "Exactly, and his standards are way too high, so there's no way he'll find anyone to go with. We're cool, so he might say yes. I suppose it would be better to go with a friend than to go alone."
"Oh... well, in that case, you should definitely ask him."
"Yeah, and I might even be more successful than you," she grinned.
James glared down at her. "She'll say yes."
"Well, I'm rooting for you."
"Thanks," he grumbled.
"When are you going to ask her?" Clarice asked curiously.
"Tomorrow, probably," he ran a hand through his hair. "Or as soon as I get the chance. I don't want to mess it up, though."
"Then don't," she said, making him scoff.
"Yeah, okay. Thanks for the tip."
Clarice chuckled. "You'll be fine. Now come on and hurry up, I promised Haley that I would play a game of Wizard Chess with her after supper."
***
The Slytherin Common Room was as dark as usual, one could almost miss the black-haired boy sitting comfortably on one of the sofas, taking up way more space than necessary.
Albus was immersed in a book when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the light.
He looked up with a frown. "What?"
It was a girl from his year, he recognized her immediately. Half of her blonde hair was up in a messy bun, while the rest of it fell down onto her shoulders. She was staring down at him with one of her eyebrows raised.
"You're in my seat, P.J.," she said seriously. "Scoot over."
His eyes widened. "P.J.?"
"Yes, Potter Junior," she nodded. "Now move."
Scowling, Albus lowered his book and did as he was asked. The girl smiled happily, then she took a seat next to him.
"What are you reading?" She asked, making him suspicious.
"Uh... it's just our Potions book..."
"Oh. I thought it was something fun," she pouted.
Albus crossed his arms. "Listen... Lara..." He said her name cautiously, afraid that he would get it wrong, but to his relief, she didn't react badly.
"What?" She asked.
"Well... I just... do you need something?" He blurted out. "I mean, we never really interact with each other, so –"
"That's because you're always with M.J.," Lara said matter-of-factly.
Albus blinked. "Malfoy Junior?"
"No, Michael Jackson," she rolled her eyes. "Who else would I be talking about?"
"'Kay, sorry," he mumbled.
She turned her body towards his. "To answer your question, you've been looking quite miserable recently, so I thought I would ask you what's up."
He let out a dry laugh. "Wow, thanks."
Lara grabbed his book and hit him with it lightly. "I mean it. How are you? And don't lie."
Albus turned his head to look at the fire. "I'm... not doing that great, to be honest."
"I figured," she nodded, then she grabbed his chin gently and turned his head back towards her. "Why is that?"
He cleared his throat. "I uh... I – I did something... bad..."
She pulled her hand away slowly. "What do you mean?"
"I would rather not say..." he muttered, feeling ashamed.
Lara leaned her head on the back of the sofa. "Well, you're not in Azkaban, so it couldn't have been that bad."
He scoffed. "Maybe I should be in Azkaban."
"Okay, now I'm really curious," she leaned closer to him. "What did you do? You can tell me, I just want to help you."
"But I didn't ask for your help," he snapped.
"Right, but you're getting it anyway," the girl persisted. "So?"
Albus glanced down at his legs. "Fine... Let's just say, that... it involved a love potion."
Lara blinked. "That's it?"
"What do you mean?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"You gave someone a love potion?" She asked.
Albus nodded slowly.
"And... did something happen?" Lara stared into his green eyes.
"Well, no, but I lied to her, I disappointed her, and now she hates me –"
"Okay, okay," she raised her hands. "Did you apologize?"
"Yes, but –"
"I don't see what the problem is, then," she shrugged.
Albus stared back at her in disbelief. "Uh, it's not that simple –"
"Please," she rolled her eyes. "This is so silly. I mean, we're literally taught how to brew a love potion, do they really expect us not to use it every once in a while?"
"Yes?" He asked unsurely.
"That's just unrealistic, they really shouldn't trust a bunch of teenagers with these kinds of things. I mean, one of my dorm mates gave me one last year as a prank. Thankfully it was quite weak, so the effects wore off in a few hours, but still. Trust me, you're not the first person to use one, and you definitely won't be the last."
"But... what I did was still extremely wrong..."
"And you learned from it, right?" She asked.
"I mean, yeah, but –"
"Move on, then."
Albus narrowed his eyes at her. "It's not that easy."
"Okay, Sulky Boy," she said jokingly. "Have you heard about the Ball?" She gestured towards the huge poster on the wall.
"Of course," he grimaced. "It would've been hard not to since practically the whole school is talking about it."
"You don't seem too excited," Lara noted.
"Maybe because I'm not," Albus huffed.
"You should be," she straightened her posture. "You're coming with me."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "I was actually thinking about going with Kaden."
Lara raised her eyebrows at him.
"As friends!" He shook his head. "Gosh, does everyone think that I'm gay? I mean, I love him, but he's not that attractive... Besides, he's pretty much like a brother to me."
She stood up from the sofa. "Well, tell him not to get a date, because he's going with my friend. We can all go together," she smiled.
Albus stared up at her with a blank expression. "Do I get a say in this?"
"No," she broke out in a grin. "Talk to you later."
After waving at him, Lara turned around, then she started walking towards the dorms, leaving a puzzled Albus behind.