after dark || James Potter

A.D. 1:10

 The first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year was set for the coming Saturday, and even Professor McGonagall encouraged Lucinda to go - rescheduling their weekly session to the morning, ending just before lunchtime. This would give her just enough time to get herself ready, eat lunch, and leave right after.

That wasn't what she was planning on doing, though, to Sirius' displeasure. He wanted her to accompany him, as Remus didn't want to go this time around - and they couldn't force him to come without either being ignored or cussed out (a full moon was drawing near). Peter said he had something to do as well, so that would only leave him and James. Sure, Sirius didn't mind - he loved spending time with James, but it would be more fun if they had more of their friends coming as well.

"Come on, Cindy, please?" Sirius was giving her the puppy dog eyes, and she managed to be strong enough to resist it this time around. "I don't really feel like going, Siri, honest. I just want to stay in and read or something."

He huffs but concedes anyway, saying, "fine, but the offer's there if you decide to change your mind."

She nods before going back to her sketching. She's been trying to sketch Millie this time, so she could give it to the blonde for Christmas, which was already give or take a month away. She wanted to be done with the sketches she was planning on making for her friends before holiday break at least.

The boys were planning on spending the break at Hogwarts, in order to finally attempt to complete their Animagi transformation. They were going to start the process with the Mandrake leaf on the next full moon – which should be within the next week, so that they'd be finished with it by Christmas day. They had timed it perfectly so that they'd be able to talk and eat properly by the time the feast for the holiday came along.

Anyway, since the boys were going to be spending the holidays at Hogwarts with her, she figured that she wouldn't be able to finish the gift she was planning on giving them then.

Lucy still hasn't forgotten how the boys made her feel when each of them had given her gifts last Christmas. That was why, this year, she wanted to sketch a portrait of the four of them together; something they could display in their dorm. And, if she still had money to spare, she could buy a nice frame for it as well.

"If you're not coming with James and I this Saturday, will you at least keep Remus company? The full moon's coming up and we really don't want him to be alone," Sirius asks the brunette. She nods in return, "Of course, as long as he's fine with it. Maybe I can bring him here if it's alright with you."

They've never really discussed bringing other people to this version of the Room of Requirement, as it just seemed weird to bring others to their place. But it was no problem to Sirius, really, since Remus is one of his best friends anyway. And, well, he was the one who told Lucy to keep the sandy-haired boy company, even when he knew that Lucy spends most of her time reading in the said room.

"It's alright with me," he shrugs, "if he's willing to leave our dorm, that is."

Lucy hums, going back to her sketching once again. She's only got the outlines done so far, and she's just about to work on Millie's facial features. She pictures the latter's face in her mind as she does so, thinking about how beautiful the blonde was with her thin eyebrows, slightly upturned nose, and dimples. Another feature that she loves about Millie is her light blue-green eyes, since it somehow made everything about her softer. Lucy was hoping she could capture the colors with the use of watercolor paint, but she was doubtful - she wasn't too adept at using those.

She was just about finished with her friend's eyes when she looked up from where she was sitting behind the coffee table. The sight she saw before her made her eyebrow rise up in surprise.