The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day around the corner, the halls of Hogwarts were lousy with students attempting to trick one another into drinking love potions from Zonkos. Sirius saw at least one instance of a bewitched garden gnome, dug up from out in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, floating about tressed up like a Cupid as the first year boys dodged through the lovesick mess to the Gryffindor table early, quite annoyed with the hubbub. James unraveled his book bag from 'round his shoulders and chucked it down. "Oi, a right obstacle course that was!"

"Tell me about it," grumbled Peter, who had run down the stairs ahead of the others pellmell as the Cupid gnome had chased after him shooting little arrows at his bottom.

James looked over the table, decided on some eggs and a bit of ham, and sank into his seat beside Remus. "Bilius looks as though he's having a jolly good time," muttered Sirius, nodding at the prefect down the row, who was sitting with his girlfriend.

"I didn't know he was snogging Amelia Bones," said James, eyebrows raised.

"He's been dating her for awhile now," Peter said, without even glancing over.

Sirius looked at Peter, "Why is it you seem to know who all fancies who before any of us do?" he demanded, "Little gossip, you are."

Remus was staring down the table at Bilius and Amelia too now. "Blimey," he said, "Messy, snogging, isn't it?"

"And in the Great Hall, too!" said Sirius, impressed.

"At least somebody is enjoying this stupid holiday," Peter said, whose bottom still smarted from the gnome's arrows, "Valentines isn't even a real holiday, what have we got to celebrate it for?"

"I suppose we'll understand when we're older," answered Remus. "Looks like the fourth years get it alright." He pointed to a pack of fourth years who were paired off like Bilius and Amelia were.

James answered, "I'll be too busy with Quidditch come my fourth year. That's an important one, you know, most captains are picked in their fifth if they're going to be, and I plan on being captain, so it's right important my fourth year be a good one."

"You don't even know if you'll be on the team yet and you're already naming yourself captain!" exclaimed Sirius, "That ego, mate!"

James grinned.

After breakfast, the boys went out onto the grounds to get away from all the Valentines obsessed students filling the castle halls. It was wet and cold, though not as horrible as it might've been for that time of year and they made their way on to the edge of the lake and threw rocks into the thin ice along the edge, trying to make patterns in the broken sheet. When they were finally cold and the sun was setting, they started up toward the castle, laughing and joking all the way.

They were just coming up the pathway to the stairs when, as they were goofing off, the front doors of the castle burst open and out onto the steps came Severus Snape. Quickly, Sirius motioned for the other three to follow as he dove behind one of the bushes lining the path, just before Snape spotted them. They ducked low to the ground and James clapped his hand over Peter's mouth as he made to ask exactly why they were hiding.

Lily Evans came rushing behind Severus onto the steps of the school, which, by the time she'd come out, he was already halfway down, his fists balled and shoved deep into his robes. "Severus," Lily scolded, "Stop. You're being ridiculous... nobody gives a damn if we talk to each other."

"I'm not," Severus replied. He stopped on the stairs, though, and waited until Lily had caught him up. "They do care, Lily. You don't understand the Slytherins, alright? They do care. They care very much, and it's much easier to just... come out here to talk, alright?" He looked at her with a sour expression on his face.