The Marauders: Year Four

Pescoco Engorgio

Pescoco Engorgio

"Who is that?" whispered Julie to Petunia. They were hanging back, coming up the rear of the little cluster of teenagers loping along the street toward the cinema. James was trying to stay next to Lily, but kept having to step behind her or else off the edge of the sidewalk to dodge phone boxes and trees and other obstacles in order to stay by her, since she was walking three-abreast with Ali and Frank.

Petunia made a face, "Some friend of Lily's from school."

"He's rather good looking, don't you think?" Julie asked, "Those eyes. They're gorgeous."

Petunia's nose scrunched in disgust, "If you can see them through those terrible spectacles he's got." Inwardly, Petunia wondered why he hadn't used bloody magic to fix his stupid eyes if magic was so wonderful, surely it could do that and then he wouldn't look like such a loser with those horrid spectacles.

"I like his spectacles," said Julie.

"And that unruly hair. Hasn't he ever heard of a comb? He looks positively uncivilized."

"Or athletic," Julie argued. "Maybe he plays futbol."

Petunia rolled her eyes. "I don't think they play futbol at Lily's school."

"Every school has futbol..." Julie said.

"Not their school. Their school is for special people; people with slow minds, I mean. He's probably not very bright, that boy." Petunia wished she hadn't invited Julie along at all. She was afraid that something would be done or said about magic and Julie would think them all mad and she'd lose her friend and it would be all Lily's fault. "Probably so dim that if he did play futbol, he'd end up kicked in the face."

"Well he's very good looking," Julie said, "Whether he's bright or not."

Meanwhile, James, oblivious of the conversation going on behind him, was trying desperately to get a word in edge-wise with Lily Evans, who was chattering happily with Ali. Frank, on the other side, smirked knowingly as James attempted to weigh-in on topics that were entirely out of his range of knowledge. "Oi, mate, just give in, once they get talking you aren't going to get a single thing heard," he said quietly to James, tugging him aside, "Just makes you look rather desperate for attention and trust me, ladies don't like that. Calm down. Lily knows you're here. Let her talk to you when she's ready." Frank winked. "That's what I do with Ali."

James sighed in frustration. Lily would never purposely talk to him if she could help it, and with Ali and Frank and even her sister there as alternate options... James sort of felt like he was only there to appease her guilt and that made him feel sort of angry, like he'd been tricked. Part of him wanted to just go home and forget all about the cinema, seeing as it didn't seem like Lily cared if he was there for not. He was feeling quite despondent by the time they arrived to the movie house.

Lily went to the window and got the five tickets to the film and waved for them all to follow her in. She ordered three large buckets of popcorn and they carried them through the movie house. Despite his moodiness, James was in awe at all the lights and movie posters that filled the walls, which were covered with velvet instead of paper or paint, and bright gold frames with electric bulbs glowing brightly to light up the images. There were oodles of pictures coming out and James stared at them with wide eyes.

"Wow," he whispered, seeing a poster with giant dinosaurs boasting it was coming out over the summer and another with a horrible rendering of a werewolf (that made James laugh, thinking he'd have to tell Moony about it) and another called the Rocky Horror Picture Show with a pair of bright red lips on the poster. "There's a lot of films. Are there always so many pictures to see?" he asked, looking about at Lily. "Do they ever play Doctor Who at the cinema?"