Little Red |Sirius Black|

Aw Shucks! - Arianna

"So, I-uh I had a wonderful time today." Richard professed, as we walked out of Madam Puddifoot's together. I turned to look at him, and saw the faint blush on his cheeks as his blue eyes met mine.

"I did too." I answered, a smile forming on my lips. "Even though you think that the Avengers are better than the Justice League." I added teasingly. Richard gave me a look of playful exasperation.

"I am not having this conversation with you again!" he exclaimed with a laugh. I opened my mouth to respond, but he was quicker. "Or about whether or not Camus was an existentialist!"

"You're no fun!" I pouted, bumping his shoulder with mine. The truth was that I had far more fun on this date than I had expected, especially considering the fact that it was a tea date.

Now if that's not the most British thing you ever heard...

I was brought out of my thoughts by Richard's chuckle. I looked up at him questioningly. "You do realize that you said that out loud?" he inquired, and it was my turn to blush. "Anyway, what I was trying to say before you sidetracked me was that I had fun with you today, and I was wondering if I could see you again." He looked at me with a hopeful smile.

"Well of course you'll see me again!" I answered with a huge smile. "I'll have you know that I'm not going to rest till I get into the Ravenclaw common room!" Perhaps the most interesting thing I had learned that day was that the Ravenclaw common room welcomed more than just Ravenclaw students.

"There's a reason we have to answer a riddle to enter the tower instead of just having a password." Richard had explained to me over our cups of Earl Grey. "Rowena Ravenclaw left behind an enormous library in the common room, and she felt like anyone who was smart enough to get past her riddles deserved access to those books. We have passwords protecting our dormitories, but anyone smart enough to get past the enchanted knocker is allowed access to our common room."

"But wouldn't the Ravenclaws be annoyed at having strangers in their common room?" I had inquired. "It is their space after all."

"It's rather unusual for anyone other than Ravenclaws to get the riddles right, and get access to the common room." he told me. "But if you do get in, no one will bother you till curfew. Ravenclaws respect Rowena's legacy. The woman knew what she was doing."

Now I've always loved a good challenge. Add the promise of obscure books into the mix, and I'd probably stay camped out in front of the enchanted knocker till I answered the riddle right.

"It'd be impressive if you got in." Richard responded, bringing me back to the present. "In all my years here, I don't think I've ever seen a Gryffindor in the common room. Occasionally a Slytherin might get in, but that's about it." Seeing my surprised expression he added, "Not those Nazi-wannabes you see parading around, but genuine Slytherins who got into the house because of their ambition, not prejudice."

"All the more reason for me to try to get in, if only for my house pride!" I laughed. By now the others had joined us, and we walked away from the village aimlessly. I could hear Frank and Alice laughing loudly, and I smiled. This date had gone well for everyone involved. Even Lily and Dorcas seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly.

I made a mental note to thank Lily later. She had been right. This was a surprise I did like.

My conversation with Richard flowed naturally from one topic to the next as we talked about books and sci-fi shows. "I still can't believe you've never seen Doctor Who! It's about time travel, Arianna, time travel! " was a phrase he had repeated about six times now. We had just circled back towards Madam Puddifoot's when our conversation was interrupted by shrieks and surprised screams coming from a little way ahead. Lily and I shared a look, and hurried towards the commotion despite the others calling for us to wait. I caught sight of Mandy and Vera, and strode towards them, Lily hot on my heels.