Lily Evans (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lilium_evansiae) wrote2011-01-08 02:05 pm
lilium_evansiae) wrote2011-01-08 02:05 pm
Entry tags:
OOM: Valentine's Day, 1976
Lily looks into the mirror again, like she's checking her hair one last time.
Actually, she's wondering for the fifteenth time this morning why she thought this was a good idea.
She's barely knows Jeremy Flourish. And it's Valentine's Day.
And, yeah, all right, she's spent some time with him since he asked out, but mostly, they've studied together. They haven't had to talk.
God, what the hell are they going to talk about?
"You look fine, Lily," Mary says.
Mary is sitting cross-legged on her bed, braiding her hair. Cliona and Glynis and Perdita have already gone. Mary is, as Mary generally is, running just slightly behind.
Lily is just stalling.
"Thanks," Lily says, turning away from the mirror. "I guess I should ... unless you want me to wait for you ... " she adds, hopefully.
"No need," Mary says. "I'll be along in few minutes."
"Oh. Well, um, all right," Lily says. "I should go, then, shouldn't I?"
"Lily?"
"Yes?"
"Look, do you want me to tell him you're not feeling well and you can't make it?"
"That obvious, huh?" Lily says.
"To me, yeah. But if Cliona and Perdita and Glynis had noticed, they'd be here, right? Well, maybe not Cliona, what with Fenton waiting for her," Mary says, laughing a little. "But Perdita would be here."
"True," Lily concedes.
"I will tell him you can't make it, if you want me to."
"No," Lily says. "No, that's a fairly horrid thing to do to him at the last minute. It'll be fine, right?"
"Of course it will," Mary says. "Just forget that it's Valentine's Day and try to have a good time, all right?"
"Right," Lily says.
"Come on, I'll walk with you," Mary says, grabbing her cloak.
"Thank you."
Jeremy is waiting, when they get to the entrance hall. He comes over to meet them at the bottom of the steps. "Hi."
"Hi," Lily says. "Um, you know my friend, Mary, right?"
"Of course," he says. "Hello, Mary."
If he finds it at all odd that Lily has arrived for their date with her roommate in tow, it doesn't show.
Mary smiles. "Jeremy," she says. And then, "I'll see you guys later. Have fun."
She starts to move toward the queue of students waiting to check out and leave for Hogsmeade.
"Mary," Jeremy says, and she stops. "Will you be all right on your own?"
"Yeah, of course," Mary says. "I'm meeting Perdita and Glynis. Perdita says they'll be holding a table at the Three Broomsticks. Thanks, though."
Jeremy nods and turns his attention to Lily.
"That was nice of you," Lily says.
Lily worries, a little, about leaving Mary on her own, after what happened last fall. Mary thinks she's worrying needlessly, and has told her as much, but Lily worries anyway.
Still, it's unlikely anything will happen on a well-traveled path full of their fellow students, and she'll be coming back with Perdita and Glynis.
Jeremy smiles, looks down at his feet, and then back at Lily. "You look really nice."
"You, too."
"So, um, we should go, right?"
"Yeah," Lily says. "Yeah, we should."
"Right."
"Okay."
Oh, God.
It's the last thing either of them says, until they have to give their names to Filch.
And then ... well, at least walking in silence is slightly less awkward than standing in silence.
Sort of.
She'll think of something to say, right?
Before Easter?
Actually, she's wondering for the fifteenth time this morning why she thought this was a good idea.
She's barely knows Jeremy Flourish. And it's Valentine's Day.
And, yeah, all right, she's spent some time with him since he asked out, but mostly, they've studied together. They haven't had to talk.
God, what the hell are they going to talk about?
"You look fine, Lily," Mary says.
Mary is sitting cross-legged on her bed, braiding her hair. Cliona and Glynis and Perdita have already gone. Mary is, as Mary generally is, running just slightly behind.
Lily is just stalling.
"Thanks," Lily says, turning away from the mirror. "I guess I should ... unless you want me to wait for you ... " she adds, hopefully.
"No need," Mary says. "I'll be along in few minutes."
"Oh. Well, um, all right," Lily says. "I should go, then, shouldn't I?"
"Lily?"
"Yes?"
"Look, do you want me to tell him you're not feeling well and you can't make it?"
"That obvious, huh?" Lily says.
"To me, yeah. But if Cliona and Perdita and Glynis had noticed, they'd be here, right? Well, maybe not Cliona, what with Fenton waiting for her," Mary says, laughing a little. "But Perdita would be here."
"True," Lily concedes.
"I will tell him you can't make it, if you want me to."
"No," Lily says. "No, that's a fairly horrid thing to do to him at the last minute. It'll be fine, right?"
"Of course it will," Mary says. "Just forget that it's Valentine's Day and try to have a good time, all right?"
"Right," Lily says.
"Come on, I'll walk with you," Mary says, grabbing her cloak.
"Thank you."
Jeremy is waiting, when they get to the entrance hall. He comes over to meet them at the bottom of the steps. "Hi."
"Hi," Lily says. "Um, you know my friend, Mary, right?"
"Of course," he says. "Hello, Mary."
If he finds it at all odd that Lily has arrived for their date with her roommate in tow, it doesn't show.
Mary smiles. "Jeremy," she says. And then, "I'll see you guys later. Have fun."
She starts to move toward the queue of students waiting to check out and leave for Hogsmeade.
"Mary," Jeremy says, and she stops. "Will you be all right on your own?"
"Yeah, of course," Mary says. "I'm meeting Perdita and Glynis. Perdita says they'll be holding a table at the Three Broomsticks. Thanks, though."
Jeremy nods and turns his attention to Lily.
"That was nice of you," Lily says.
Lily worries, a little, about leaving Mary on her own, after what happened last fall. Mary thinks she's worrying needlessly, and has told her as much, but Lily worries anyway.
Still, it's unlikely anything will happen on a well-traveled path full of their fellow students, and she'll be coming back with Perdita and Glynis.
Jeremy smiles, looks down at his feet, and then back at Lily. "You look really nice."
"You, too."
"So, um, we should go, right?"
"Yeah," Lily says. "Yeah, we should."
"Right."
"Okay."
Oh, God.
It's the last thing either of them says, until they have to give their names to Filch.
And then ... well, at least walking in silence is slightly less awkward than standing in silence.
Sort of.
She'll think of something to say, right?
Before Easter?
no subject
"Right," she says, to Lupin. "I don't know what's going on here, but whatever it is, it stops right now."
no subject
"— um. Miss Evans," says Peter, "I asked Remus to come here with me. I was — sort of looking to see if I could ... you know. Find someone to be my Valentine today."
James and Sirius listen in, tense and a bit on edge. Everything, right now, rides on Peter making Lily believe him.
Peter isn't the best liar they've got — never has been — but right now, it's all riding on him.
Remus clears his throat.
"Yes, exactly. I didn't know you were going to be here, Lily. But if you'd rather we left, we can do so. I don't think Peter will find anyone here anyway." He waves a hand about, vaguely. "Only couples here."
(James and Sirius duck back behind their chair.)
no subject
She doesn't believe them.
It's a ridiculous story.
So ridiculous, in fact, that she does not bother to dignify it with a response.
She just goes back to her date.
"Everything all right?" Jeremy asks.
"Fine."
"The tea's here."
"I see," she says, sitting back down.
The cups are very pink.
"She said the food would be here in a moment."
"Lovely."
no subject
They find another table, somewhere out of view from Jeremy and Lily.
"I don't think she believed us," Remus says to the mirror.
James sighs. "That's because Peter's a shit liar."
"I tried my best!" Peter argues from beside Remus.
"I told you I should've gone," Sirius says.
"No," says James. "She'd definitely suspect you."
"I hated having to lie to her at all," says Remus.
"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to get the last stage of this ready," James says. He passes the mirror over to Sirius and saunters towards the kitchens.
no subject
"The tea's good," Jeremy says. "Maybe a bit strong."
"Strong's okay," Lily says.
"Oh, good," he says. "Milk?"
"Please. And sugar."
Jeremy slides the sugar dish across the table to her.
"Thank you."
no subject
He'd never seen a pink stove-top until now.
And he's never smelled so much bloody cinnamon and honey in his life.
The point is, however, James managed to complete the last part of tonight's festivities.
Now it is time to simply watch and hope his efforts have successfully managed to keep Lily Evans and Jeremy Flourish apart.
no subject
One holds scones and small sandwiches.
The other holds a small, but elaborately iced in pink, chocolate cake.
"Here you are, m'dears," she says, setting both on the table in between them.
"Thank you," Jeremy says, and she bustles off.
"They look good, don't they?" Jeremy asks Lily.
She nods distractedly, eyes on a piece of parchment sticking up out of the cake with her name at the top.
"What's that?" Jeremy asks.
Lily pulls it out of the cake and reads it, eyebrows moving closer and closer to her hairline as she does so.
no subject
"Bloody hell, James! Try to make a little bit more noise next time, would you?"
James ignores him. "Is she?" he presses.
"I think so. It looks like it."
There's a pause.
"Well," Sirius continues, "there's a piece of parchment in her hands."
"Good. That, I suppose, is the end of that where Mr Flourish is concerned, then."
no subject
She hands it across the table to him without a word, and watches his eyes move down the paper.
He finishes, and very carefully sets it on the table, next to his tea.
Jeremy looks at Lily.
Lily looks at Jeremy.
They're both absolutely silent for a beat.
Two.
And then, at once, they burst out laughing.
"Oh, my God," Lily says, when she can speak again.
"I know," Jeremy says.
"That is the worst poem I've ever read in my life."
"Yes," Jeremy says. "And I was at the launch of Calliope Belfrage's 'Reflections on Things at the Bottom of My Late Husband's Cauldron' and Other Poems. She read the whole aloud in the store. I don't know how I didn't laugh."
"I've never heard of that book," Lily says.
"You haven't missed much, really."
"So I gather." Lily looks at the poem "Jeremy" wrote again, and breaks out into a fresh round of giggles. "I think my favorite line is 'your red hair red.' What does that even mean? 'Your red hair red.'"
"I have no idea," Jeremy says. "Though I do have to confess to being rather, what's the word here, 'wowed' by you."
Lily smiles and leans toward him a little. "Look, do you want to get out of here? Let's go to the Three Brooksticks and get a butterbeer or something. Start over. Without confetti."
"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
"Brilliant," says Lily.
Jeremy drops two Galleons on the table. "I'll get our cloaks."
A moment later, they're gone, Lily wrapped back up in Jeremy's scarf, her arm linked through his.
The door closes on her saying, "So tell me more about this terrible poet and her book."
no subject
For a very long, very drawn out moment, James simply stays where he is, one hand clutching the side of the edge of the chair until he's certain it will start to meld into the upholstery.
And then Sirius is shaking his shoulder.
"Um. Sorry, mate," he says sympathetically.
James doesn't answer.
How did that happen?
How did that not work? He'd had it all planned out in his head.
Evans would think Flourish was completely daft, a bit creepy maybe, or at the very least — completely off his rocker. There'd be tea flung in his face, cake thrown into his lap. An angry kick to the shins, maybe.
Instead, it'd all gone wrong.
So, so very wrong.
"James?" It's Remus. He pats his back. "Drinks on us tonight?"
"Yeah, mate. We've got about three bottles back at the dorms," Sirius says.
Finally, his voice feeling a bit foreign to him, James manages: "Yeah. Yeah, all right."