Priori Incantatem [HARRY POTTER FANFICTION]

Chapter 4: Face Offs and Fiascos

Chapter 4: Face Offs and Fiascos

The long-awaited Hogsmeade outing followed by the Halloween feast had finally arrived and the usual anticipatory buzz filled the Great Hall as every third year and above discussed their plans with their housemates over breakfast. Some were filled with virtuous excitement at the prospect of visiting Honeydukes, Zonko's, and The Three Broomsticks. Some, however, were looking forward to Hogsmeade's less innocent amenities, i.e. the prospect of unsupervised snogging in Madam Puddifoot's and any other semi- private corner of the town.

"Is it something they put in the pumpkin juice, d'you think?" Lily mused as she and her roommates watched yet another nervous, giggling girl, the third as far as they knew, confirm her rendezvous with Sirius Black in Hogsmeade, then giggle even more as Sirius did some confirming of his own.

"What, something they put in the pumpkin juice to make every girl with the correct parts turn into a twittering ninny around Sirius Black or something they put in the pumpkin juice to turn ordinarily sensible, normal people into randy tossers at the prospect of a few unsupervised hours? Morwenna wanted clarification.

"Erm. Both, I suppose," Lily replied upon further reflection.

"Hate to break it to you, Lils," Dorcas quipped. "But nature took care of that without the need to put anything in the pumpkin juice."

"Hey Evans," an all-too-familiar voice behind Lily said.

Resigned to her fate, Lily turned around. "Did you want something, Potter?" she inquired in her most quelling tone, one eyebrow cocked.

"I just thought I'd ask you to go to Hogsmeade with me one last time, as it doesn't seem things are working out with the giant squid," James answered, trademark grin plainly in evidence.

Lily snorted and took a deep breath. "What makes you think that I'd change my mind and go with you? Are we the last man and woman on earth?"

"If I said yes would you go out with me? Strictly for the sake of the species, necessary procreation and all that." James quipped, running his hand through his hair again. 

"All good things must come to an end, and I'd say mankind had a pretty fair run," Lily retorted, then turned away to talk to Kathleen, clearly indicating that the conversation was finished as far as she was concerned. Though Morwenna gave him a slightly sympathetic smile, there was nothing left for James to do but walk away and hope that he might run into Lily later.

*** 

"Explain to me one more time why exactly you lot are tagging along on my date," Sirius complained again. He was meeting his first date, to use the term loosely, in The Three Broomsticks, and unexpectedly Remus, Peter, and James had decided to tag along.

Though the four generally spent these Hogsmeade days together, this time the plan had been for Remus, James, and Peter to go along and buy a few items the four of them would need for the Halloween feast later on as Sirius already had his time well accounted for with three dates, or more accurately, snogging appointments, scheduled for today.

Remus snorted at Sirius' use of the word date. "It's hardly a date when there are three in one day. Why not call a snogging session a snogging session?"

"Wow, three? Out of curiosity, where are the other two?" Peter asked, impressed.

"Poor Wormtail, always the voyeur and never the voy-ee," was Sirius' only response.

Though he complained that he didn't know why his friends were tagging along, Sirius wasn't thick. He knew perfectly well why they were there, and Remus and James did too. As for Peter, well, he had always been a bit slow on the uptake, or slower than the others at any rate.