Crescent Moons ; J.S. Potter

32. first dates.

If there was one day that everyone in Hogwarts was scared of, it was April Fools' Day. For the past five years, James, Benjamin, and Thomas had always come up with something that made a mess and caused chaos. Each time, they had gotten detention for a week or more. This meant that Daisy was extremely on edge each year.

The six of them were sitting in the common room in front of the fireplace as usual. Marlee had her wand out, Gwen was glaring at the three boys, and Daisy was holding an umbrella.

"You guys overreact," said James, leaning back in his chair and yawning. "The pranks aren't that bad! They're hilarious!"

"Yeah, and we're not even doing anything this year," said Benjamin. The three girls all shot him a look. "No, really, it's just not worth the trouble!"

"We don't want detention," said Thomas nonchalantly. "There's nothing this year. Trust us."

"We're not stupid," said Marlee. "You three are plotting something. We cannot be caught off-guard, ladies."

"Whatever," shrugged Thomas. "Let's go down to the Great Hall. I want lunch."

Thomas, Benjamin, and James stood up.

"Hold it!" said Gwen. "How do we know you're not going to cause an explosion in the Great Hall? What if you start a food fight?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said James. "You've got your wand and Daisy's got that umbrella. My lady, you don't need that."

"You can never be too careful," said Daisy. The six of them walked down to the Great Hall. On the way there, students raised their wands up and the sight of James, Thomas, and Benjamin. When they sat down at the Gryffindor table, everybody else moved a few metres away from them. Even McGonagall had her wand right beside her. Just as Daisy was about to sit down next to James, she heard somebody clear their throat behind her. She turned around and saw Miles Greengrass.

"Oh, hey, Miles," she said, smiling.

"Hi, Daisy," he said. His sandy brown hair was messier than usual. "I was wondering if I could talk to you." He looked at James, who seemed to be glaring at him as usual. "Um, in private."

"Sure!" said Daisy, waving goodbye to her friends, who all looked slightly wary. The two of them walked out of the Great Hall. Daisy turned to face him as they reached a quiet corridor. "What d'you need?"

"Right, so, I've been thinking for a while," he started. Daisy nodded. "Ever since Slughorn's party, I guess I realized how cool you are. You're kind, funny, pretty, and so smart."

Daisy didn't know where he was going with this. She blushed a little at the compliments.

"I fancy you," he blurted out. Daisy's eyes widened. Whatever she was expecting, this was not it. "I've fancied you for months and I had to tell you."

"Oh," was all that she could muster up. How was she supposed to respond?

"So, um," he said awkwardly, "would you—would you want to go out with me?"

"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked Daisy incredulously. He nodded slowly, looking confused. Daisy wasn't used to real confessions. James' were always grand and foolish. This was private and actually real. She wanted to fancy Miles, she really did. Especially after that stunt, she pulled at her birthday party, she needed to stop whatever her new feelings were for James before they manifested into something she couldn't ignore. Miles was sweet, thoughtful, and fun to be around—not the worst traits for a boyfriend.

"Yes," she said. Her heartbeat was so loud she could hear it in her ears. She could barely breathe. She wasn't even entirely sure about what she had just agreed to, but the next thing she knew was that Miles had grabbed her hand and was dragging her through the castle doors, past the gardens, and into a soft patch of grass by the lake.