The discussions had gone on into the night. Everything was being meticulously planned, down to the very last detail, as the embers in the fire began to fade, and even the House Elves had come out to clear up as it was so late.
The three plotters sat back for a moment of reflection, as they each went over the plan in their minds, trying to think of any stone that had not been overturned, or any detail not yet accounted for.
Lily’s eyes were closed, out of tiredness and concentration, and her legs curled around her, as she held a warm mug of hot chocolate to herself, one of the three which the House Elf who had come to tidy up had fallen over himself to make for her and her comrades when he had realised that there were still students out of bed.
Opposite was James, watching her, but as he took in her features, he wasn’t really seeing them properly “ what he was seeing was the whole reason they were up at such an hour, everything they had been planning, coming into motion.
And, completing the triangle was Remus, watching the glowing in the fireplace slowly fade, as he too tried to process everything that they had decided.
“Wait,” he said, sitting bolt upright. “How the hell are we supposed to convince Sirius?”
James groaned, tearing his eyes away from Lily, as her own eyes snapped open.
“Dammit!” she exclaimed. “Any fresh ideas anyone?”
Something told James that the night was not over yet.
“... See the thing is, Professor McGonagall, we really believe it’s in the best interests of everyone if you move the date of the Hogsmeade forwards to Saturday,” Lily concluded, as James nodded determinedly by her side.
McGonagall’s eyes flicked from one student to the other, taken aback by the way they had approached her after class first thing on the Monday morning, especially as they were not known for their compatibility. Had Dumbledore appointed wisely after all? She had had her doubts, but would reserve judgement for the moment. “And you’re advising me this as Head Boy and Girl of the school, as the representatives of the entire student body?”
Lily faltered for a moment, and James jumped in to cover her. “Absolutely, Professor. May I say that your hair looks particularly ... uh ... authoritative, today?”
Her eyes narrowed, as Lily grimaced, and shot him a look which said ‘You blew it’.
“I’ll ignore that, Potter. What reason, exactly, do you give for this decision to be implemented?”
Lily and James glanced at each other. “Um ... We ...” James tried desperately for an excuse, and cursed himself for banking on McGonagall allowing their wishes purely because they were Head Boy and Girl. “Because of ...”
“Little Billy Firstie!” Lily blurted out, and then looked horrified at herself. What had possessed her to say the ‘name’ of the boy Izzie had used in her demonstration against their fighting, when Sirius and Henrie were first going out “ a lifetime ago, it seemed.
James, too, looked shocked, and as he stared at her in disbelief, not even he “ the master of spin “ was able to think of a way to salvage this situation.
“I mean, um,” Lily took a deep breath, and plunged straight in. “Joseph Hughes. In Gryffindor, First Year. See, his, uh, his cat died “ no, not died, poor thing, it’s just ill “ and he wanted to, um, get it looked over, in, um, Hogsmeade.”
McGonagall said nothing, and Lily took that as an indication that she should continue.
“But, obviously, he’s a First Year, so he couldn’t go into Hogsmeade, and so me and, um, James, we offered to, uh, do it for him! You know, because it’s ... it’s ... our ... responsibility ... you know, as representatives of the entire ... entire student body. And obviously, the sooner the better, because, why wait a few more weeks when the thing’s ill ... you know?”
“What, may I ask, is wrong with our Care of Magical Creatures teacher?”
“It’s ... it’s a special kind of poorly,” James answered, and then blushed furiously.
“A special kind of ... poorly,” McGonagall repeated, and they both nodded. She sighed, and leaned forwards on her desk. “Mr Potter, I have been a teacher at this school for many years, now.”
“Admirable,” James said, and Lily kicked him discreetly, before smiling widely at their Head of House. McGonagall, however, ignored them.
“As a result of this, I have seen many students come and go, many like yourself, talented with a lot of potential, should you wish. And many of these students have tried to lie to me to cover up their ulterior motives. Some, naturally, were more skilled than others, and some were easily spotted.
“As you know, Potter, you yourself have committed falsehoods to me many times in your years here. You have always proved rather more skilful than your latest display, however, and I suppose that comes down to nerves. Also, taking into account your new accomplice,” she nodded at Lily, who looked at her feet, “I have deduced that whatever the real reason you wish the Hogsmeade weekend to be brought forwards for is, it is of importance. I am willing to allow the change if “ and only if “ your behaviour and conduct on the day is admirable and within the rules of this school.
“Should you break this agreement you will both be punished severely, do you understand? And I also expect that your current cooperation continues throughout this year ... hopefully, however, you will direct it towards more appropriate uses of your time. Do you understand me?”
“Absolutely,” James said.
“Without a doubt,” Lily agreed.
“We won’t let you down.”
“You can count on us.”
“If ever there were more trustworthy “”
“Just go,” McGonagall sighed, waving her hands. James turned and fled.
“Thank you, Professor,” Lily stammered, before racing after James, yelling at him to wait.
Sirius rubbed his brow as he and his three friends headed across the Grounds towards the gate. “Remind me again why we’re going to Hogsmeade today, instead of three weeks time?” he asked Remus.
“Because it was moved due to unavoidable circumstances. Also, we set you up a date.”
“I don’t want a date,” Sirius protested, monotonously.
“You have one,” James insisted, then added, “Oh, and it’s a blind date. You both have to wear masks.”
This seemed to catch his attention. “What in Merlin’s name is the point of that?”
“She says she’d rather you got to know each other without judging by looks,” Remus replied.
“That’s stupid,” he pointed out. “If she doesn’t like that sort of person, and I was one of them, she wouldn’t want to date me anyway. Wouldn’t it make more sense if I saw what she looked like from the start?”
James patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t think like that, mate, you’ll give yourself a headache. And don’t worry, we both have to be masked too, and her friends, so you won’t look completely stupid.”
“How come I didn’t know about any of this?” asked Peter, offended at the way both Remus and James obviously knew what was happening.
“Sorry, Wormtail, we wanted to include you, but the girl in question asked for us two specifically.”
“So what will I do?” asked Peter.
“Uh ... get drinks?”
As they began to bicker, Sirius sighed. He didn’t want to be doing this, he didn’t want to be going anywhere. He’d only come because he’d been literally man handled out of bed and out of the dormitory that morning, and had decided it would be easier to just get on with whatever came next. He wasn’t in the mood for shouting, or causing a scene, or anything at all. The whole week he had tried several times to talk to Henrie and apologise “ he just wanted to apologise, that was all. But every time he had come near her, suddenly Lily and Izzie would appear, and whisk her away without a backwards glance. And then one of his friends would always find an excuse to drag him in the opposite direction. He had somehow been prevented of any contact with her at all, despite his best efforts.
Well, he thought, as they entered Hogsmeade and went heading towards The Three Broomsticks. At least it will be over with soon.
Meanwhile, Henrie was already inside, along with her twin sister and Lily. She had not wanted to come, although she had forgiven Izzie for what happened with Snape. It had taken all of her will power when she was first told, not to scream at her sister, not to yell or cry, or throw things. But when she saw how sorry Izzie was, when she realised how much she regretted it, she had stopped herself. That whole night she had lain awake, thinking things through (while, although she didn’t know it, Lily, James and Remus were planning their scheme) and had accepted that her sister had not knowingly caused the disruption. What happened between her and Sirius was not her sister’s fault, and she had told Izzie of this at four in the morning, so as to get it off her chest. Izzie, who was having trouble sleeping also, had been relieved, and proud of Henrie for coming to such a mature decision, when she knew that she herself would not have been so reasonable.
But what to do about Sirius, Henrie hadn’t known. The trust she had felt was gone, whether she liked it or not, and it pained her to see him everyday “ although somehow, this had not happened as often as it normally would. She wanted to trust him, wanted to forgive him, but was not sure entirely if he wanted the same thing. After all, he had not spoken to her all week, and she knew he was not a coward, so his silence could only mean one thing. If only she could talk to him, she decided, then she would know what to do. As it was, she had not had the chance.
“Henrie,” Lily said, interrupting her thoughts. “I know you’re not going to like this, but I set up a date for you. They’re on their way right now. Here, put this on.” And she handed Henrie a plain white mask, covering around her eyes.
“What? Why?”
“Don’t worry, it’s totally cool,” Lily said. “You’re date’s will be white, too, so you’ll know it’s him. Meanwhile, I will wear this red one, and Izzie here will have a black one. Tie your hair back, that way it will be harder to recognise us.”
“Why can’t we just look at each other?” Henrie asked, confused beyond belief, while Izzie eyed Lily suspiciously.
“Shush, they’re coming. Masks, masks, masks!”
As the three girls struggled, the Marauders entered the pub, mostly feeling like idiots. They sent Peter off to get seven butterbeers, and made their way over to the table. Remus, with his black mask, sat opposite Izzie, closest to the door. James, in red, sat next to him, opposite Lily, and Sirius and Henrie were on the end, both in white.
“Right,” Lily said, brightly. “Everyone just talk, and get to know each other.”
She leaned in close to James, and began whispering the days events so far, making sure only he could hear her, while Remus “ as planned “ filled the silence with murmuring the plan to an amused Izzie, explaining “ quite rightly “ that if it looked like those two pairs had hit it off straight away, it would encourage Sirius and Henrie to talk, also.
“What if they recognise each other’s voices?” asked Izzie, and Remus paled. “Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.”
Henrie watched as her friends leaned in and started talking to their dates straight away, with a very worrying ease. She looked over at the boy in the white mask in front of her.
“Um. Hi,” she said, feeling herself blush. She glared at Lily for putting her in such an awkward situation. Her date wasn’t even looking at her.
“Oh, yeah, hi. Look,” he said. “I don’t even want to be here. Truth is, I love someone else, I’m just having trouble working it out with her. So don’t get your hopes up too high.”
Feeling a little hurt, Henrie nodded. “Don’t worry, I kind of like someone else too. I don’t know what Lily was thinking when she set all of this up, because she knows that perfectly well, too.”
Sirius looked up. Lily was the one in the red mask? He looked over at her. Of course it was her! He saw now her long red hair, pulled back in a ponytail, but still unmistakable. So if that was Lily, who was her friend? He pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes, but it fell straight back into the exact same place.
Henrie, who was watching all this, gasped. She leant forwards, looking for his eyes “ those distinctive grey eyes. And there they were, looking back at her, her own recognition starting to mirror in his.
It can’t be, he thought, that would be impossible. Why on Earth would James go to all that trouble? He glanced at his best friend, as he spoke to Lily urgently, their eyes flicking towards himself and Henrie every now and then. He narrowed his own. Scheming little water rats!
“Henrie,” he said.
“Sirius?” she replied. They took off their masks, and each let out a relieved smile.
“This,” he said loudly, brandishing it in the air. “Was an utter waste of someone’s time and energy. If someone “” he glanced meaningfully at Lily and James, who paled considerably ““ thought that somehow it would cover up our identities, they were sadly mistaken. Now, if you wanted me and Henrie to talk, why didn’t you just let us?”
“Never mind that, Sirius,” Henrie told him. “Did you say you were in love with someone else?”
“Well “ that was before I realised “ I mean, I’m not “ so did you!” he stammered.
“I was talking about you,” she whispered, her voice low, hardly daring to let herself hope.
“I “ I “ um “ well “ yeah,” he muttered finally, looking away. “Me too.” And then, as if possessed by a sudden spirit much bolder than he felt, he reached out and kissed her, before breaking away and grinning at her surprised, but pleased, face.
“I ... uh ... there was a long queue,” Peter said, levitating seven butterbeers in front of him, wide eyed at the scene in front. Sirius laughed, and started taking the bottles out of the air and handing them round.
“Sit down, Wormtail, for all is well!”
“Are you ... sure?”
Sirius beamed. “Perfectly.”
Peter sat down, and took a sip from his drink. “What did I miss?”
As James explained everything that had been going on to Peter, Izzie was starting to feel uncomfortable. She had not forgotten her own part in all the chaos of the last few weeks, and was waiting for the moment when someone remembered that. Eventually, after the plan had finally been merrily told to practically the whole pub, Sirius caught her eye, and sidled over to her.
“Hey, Izzie,” he said. “How are you doing?”
“Um,” she stuttered, looking anywhere but at him. “I’m fine. Listen, about the thing with Snape “”
Sirius held up his hand to silence her. “It’s okay. Let’s just forget about it, yeah?”
She nodded, wanting nothing more, and he smiled warmly at her, before patting her shoulder, and bounding off in the opposite direction, back towards the girl he never wanted to let out of his sight again.
Later, they were still loudly celebrating, on their third round of drinks, when Sirius said, laughingly, “You know, there’s still one more scheme that we haven’t talked about.”
James frowned. They had discussed the whole masked charade of the Hogsmeade trip, and talked about how Bellatrix and Snape had managed to cause such confusion in the first place, and as far as he was concerned, those were the only ‘schemes’ that had been pulled off. Now, as everyone but he and Lily began to laugh, he started to wonder whether there was something they had been kept in the dark about.
“What?” demanded Lily. “What aren’t you telling us?”
And Henrie began to explain how they had each made sure Lily and James heard the discussions on the other’s apparent passion, smiling all the way, although the couple in question’s spirits were slowly deflating.
“So ... you were never completely in love with me?” asked James, astonished.
“No!” Lily scoffed. “What do you take me for, some kind of pathetic twelve-year-old writing ‘Mrs James Potter’ on all my possessions, waiting for you to realise my feelings for you? Not a bit! I thought it was you who was some kind of ... of mysterious, poetic, unrequited ...” she trailed off, and glared at her two best friends. “I hate you both.”
Meanwhile, James was laughing. “Me? Poetic and mysterious? You’re talking to the guy who thought Yeats was a kind of nose hair clipper!”
Lily wrinkled her nose. “Charming, James ...”
“Well, exactly! I don’t think you can get less poetic than that ...”
“So ... you’re not a tortured soul, full of unrequited love and sexy, mysterious angst?” she asked, quoting Izzie exactly. He burst out laughing, as did everyone else present “ particularly Sirius, who had to clutch the table in front of him to stop himself falling onto the floor.
Lily frowned. “But ... if I was trying so hard to return your non-existent feelings, and you were returning my non-existent feelings, then ... what have these last couple of weeks been? A lie?”
In truth, Lily did not think they had been a lie at all. In fact, they had been anything but a lie ... they had felt real. She’d worked so hard to return his feelings that ... she had started to. At first she had forced herself to return his smiles, but as time went on it started to be hers that were returned, every time she laid eyes on him, not the other way around.
James was thinking along the same lines, and was therefore very surprised when she gulped, and whispered quietly, “Well, if you don’t really love me, and I don’t really love you, I guess ... I mean, it’s the logical thing to do if we just call the whole thing quits.”
James blinked, and, heart falling, nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s ... that’s logical.”
While the others exchanged panicked looks, something caught Peter’s eye, and without explaining himself, he stood and left the group. No one noticed, as they waited with bated breath for either Lily or James to say that they didn’t care about logic, that they wanted to stay together ... but neither did.
In desperation, Izzie cried out shrilly, “When has either of you cared about logic? Come on guys, you know you love each other really. Why are you kidding yourselves? Just ... just say it, why don’t you?”
They stared at her. James came out of his trance first, and, quite bravely, said, “Lily Evans, would you care to ... um ... date me?” He cringed at his own stupidity, while she burst into the giggles.
“Go on, then,” she gasped, before clutching her sides, and cackling with laughter. Slowly, the others began to join in, and just when they thought they might die, there was a loud crack, and they caught sight of Peter across the other side of the pub, standing below three figures hovering in the air by their ankles.
“Gotcha,” he said, grinning, while Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Snape hissed and spat at him, trying and failing to reach their wands.
Sirius grinned. “You know what, Wormtail? We’ll deal with them later. Rosmerta, my dear?” he called across the pub to the barmaid. “You couldn’t bring us another round could you?”
Rosmerta smiled. “For you, Black? Anything.”
AN: Hooray! And, once again, we have come to the end of another fic. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, please leave a review, and remember “ the plot to this was borrowed from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and I hold no claim to it, or the characters and places portrayed “ they, my friends, as I’m sure you are aware, belong to JK Rowling herself.