𝕿𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖗 - ʳᵉᵍᵘˡᵘˢ ᵇˡᵃᶜᵏ

Chapter 15: Boyfriend-Girlfriend

[ December 11th, 1977 ]

     "SOLDIERS, AT the ready!" James exclaimed, looking out at the line up of his friends in front of him.

     They all gave him blank stares.

     He stomped his foot childishly, "you're supposed to salute!"

     They each lazily raised a hand to their forehead.

     "Alright," he grinned, rubbing his palms together in front of him, "let's get this party started!"

     Theona had made plans for her Saturday. She was going to sleep in, have brunch with Pandora before they would head off to Hogsmeade for candy shopping. Then she was going to study with Sybil, whom she missed dearly, and finally her and Evan were going to go for a walk through the school. The boy was always preaching about keeping up appearances and not going too long without being seen publicly. It had been a nuisance at first, but she'd grown to enjoy their time together.

      All those plans went out the window, however, when James proclaimed that today would be the day he asked Lily to be his girlfriend.

     He had been preparing it for weeks. His ideas were all over the place; everything from an elaborate fireworks show to a full scale symphony. He finally landed on something a little more simple (after a lot of coaching from his friends): a scavenger hunt that lead to a private picnic by the Black Lake.

     Theona had come up with that one and she would forever hold it over James's head.

     "I'm going to need all of you to help if Operation: Get Lily to be My Girlfriend is going to work," James requested, smiling giddily.

     "Bit of a mouthful, don't ya think?" Mary snorted, crossing her arms.

     "The name was the least of my concerns," James waved her off, continuing on, "I have jobs for each of you and they are of the utmost importance."

     "How did I get myself here?" Remus muttered, looking up at the sky.

     Theona snickered, "nobody else wanted to be your friend."

     He glared, pushing her shoulder.

     "Mary, I need you to hangout with Lily all day, keep her distracted," James started, standing in front of Mary, "keep her out of your dorm and away from the Black Lake."

     "Sir, yes, Sir," she mused, rolling her eyes.

     "Marlene, while they're out you need to go back to your dorm and take Pom-Pom," James instructed, pulling out a piece of paper, "leave this behind. It's the first clue in the scavenger hunt."

     "Question, what's a Pom-Pom?" Peter asked, holding up a finger.

     "Lily's childhood stuffed sheep," James explained briefly, like it was obvious. "Back to the matter at hand, Mary you need to get Lily back to the dorm at exactly four PM. That way she'll see Pom-Pom's missing."

     "I seriously doubt Lily will notice a missing plush that quickly," Sirius scoffed, pressing his lips in a thin line.

     "Oh, trust me, she will," Theona shuddered. Just the week prior she'd accidentally sat on Pom-Pom and Lily threw her off the bed. She still had the bruises.