The Marauder's Tale [MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADFOOT, & PRONGS]

XXXI. Dates in Hogsmeade

"Hey," Peter said, sitting down with his friends in the Great Hall for breakfast. "Did you guys see the notice on the bulletin board in the common room?"

"No," Sirius said. "Why would I read the bulletin board?"

"You'll appreciate this one," Peter replied. "The first Hogsmeade weekend is in two weeks."

"Really?" Sirius asked, his eyes lighting up. "I've missed Hogsmeade since last year."

"Yeah, you're nearly out of Zonko's products," Remus laughed.

James remained silent. He glanced over at Lily, who was sitting with Kathleen. Sirius watched James for a moment, and realized what was going through his head.

"Are you thinking of asking Miss Lily to go with you again?" Sirius asked.

"What if I am?" James asked defensively.

"Whoa, back off, mate," Sirius said, holding up his hands. "It was just a question."

James sighed. "Yeah, I'm thinking of asking her again." He looked around at all three of his best friends. "Do you guys think that's a bad idea?"

"No," Remus said slowly, "I don't think it's a bad idea."

"Really?" James asked, brightening instantly.

"Well, when you asked her before, we were all third years. Just little kids, really. But now we're older, and I think that both of you would handle it better."

"And you guys wouldn't mind me going on a date during a Hogsmeade weekend?"

Remus shook his head. "That's a week before the full moon. We'll have plenty of time to spend together."

The three boys looked at one another. This would be the first full moon since they had learned to transform, and they were all a bit apprehensive about it. No one seemed to know quite what to say after Remus' observation. Finally, Sirius was the one to break the silence that had fallen.

"Look, I have an idea. Why don't we make this our date weekend? We can each invite a girl, and all go our separate ways. Remus is right; we'll have plenty of opportunities to spend unlimited time together."

The others nodded their agreement, each trying to decide whom he would ask. They had never done anything like this before during a Hogsmeade weekend - usually they opted to stay together. The more they thought about it, the more excited they became. When they looked at each other again, they were all grinning. Now all they had to do was to find the girls they wanted to ask.

***

Sirius made up his mind in an instant. He was going to ask Bree Carson, the fourth year Remus had caught him winking at during the opening feast. She was a sweet girl, and extremely pretty. Sirius had spoken to her since then, and flirted with her shamelessly, but had not yet had the opportunity to spend any quality time with her. He finally had his chance.

He was completely confident that Bree would go with him. After all, what girl would turn down a date with Sirius Black? Sirius was very handsome, and knew it; he also knew that girls watched him walk down the halls of Hogwarts, and giggled with their friends about how cute he was. Yes, Bree would certainly agree to go with him.

He found her after lunch, making her way out of the Great Hall with her friends. He looked at his own friends, who immediately knew, even without words, what he was asking.

"We'll see you in Charms," James said quickly. "Come on, guys."

Sirius didn't watch them leave. He knew they would. He took a deep breath, and walked quickly across the room to catch up with Bree.