Lions Inside¹ | James Potter

twenty-three

-//-

(Take Me to Chuch//Hozier)

9th of November, Saturday, 1974

The rest of the week, the boy's dorm could easily be mistaken for a war bunker. The Marauders plotted their good-hearted revenge for the Ravenclaws, keeping up the school spirits and raising the excitement for the first Quidditch Match of the season, which was to be played Sunday evening.

Andrea was happy with the distraction because this left the boys preoccupied when Kingsley came to confirm the schedule for their date and it would give her and Dorcas peace and quiet when they got her ready for the date. 

What she hadn't counted on was Mary's big mouth. As James and Remus sat discussing battle strategies for the prank, they were planning for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, a very chatty Mary and Lily returned to the Common Room. 

"I can't believe it finally happened. Andrea is so lucky. King's cute," Mary stated loudly. Lily giggled. "Yeah, he's great. Good Quidditch player, smart, handsome."
James and Remus stared at each other in horror before jumping up and ambushing the girls. Mary screamed in surprise and Lily stared at the two in utter horror. 

She knew then, she had fucked up. "What's this about Andrea and Kingsley?" Remus growled, surprising all of them. "Uhm - they - I mean... You know - What?" Lily stuttered, looking to Mary for help. Mary just shook her head and suddenly glanced behind the boys, smiling brightly.
"Oh, hey!" she greeted someone. She grabbed Lily's elbow and rushed up the stairs to the girls' dorms. "It's been forever," they heard Mary laugh on the stairs. 

James turned to Remus with raised eyebrows. "She knows there was no one there, right?" he asked, not quite sure what to make of Mary's state of mind. Remus scratched his head.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I really hope so. But who cares? Andrea is going on a date with Shacklebolt?! Since when is this a thing?!" James crossed his arms. "What happened to 'she's a big girl who can take care of herself'?" he challenged him. 

Remus glared at James. "That's before the dick went behind our backs and asked her out," he said through gritted teeth. "Language," James mumbled automatically. "Is this really the best time?" Remus asked, exasperated.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Force of habit." 

Together the two boys climbed the stairs to the dorms to inform Sirius and Peter of the new development. 

And as her friends went slowly insane, Andrea stood next to the statue of the one-eyed witch, waiting for Kingsley. She ran her hands up and down her jeans, tapping her fingers on her thigh in a comforting manner. 

 She was rarely early to anything, but today Dorcas and Marlene had gotten her ready and Marlene was very punctual. Andrea assumed it was sharing a dorm with Lily that has worn off on her. The only problem was the advice. Because halfway through dressing Andrea and preparing her for the date, they came to realize that they were both lesbians and have no idea what to do on a date with a guy.

Luckily, Lucretia had shown up to help. Unluckily, because her last relationship had crashed and burned, she didn't want to help either in case she made it worse.

You're our only hope for a normal, healthy relationship in our friend group Andrea. But no pressure, Lucretia and Dorcas had said cheerfully.

No pressure? There were extreme amounts of pressure. What would they guys say when she got back? She had kept a secret from them, basically lying to them, all for a guy. Would they get angry? Would they feel betrayed? What if it went horribly and Andrea and Kingsley couldn't hang out together anymore, making Dorcas have to choose between them and not having all her friends together anymore? What if Kingsley realized how completely ordinary she was and lost interest?