Summer Kids

Getting Some Air

Halfway through the concert, during one of Rod Stewart's slow songs which didn't immediately catch her ear, Lily decided it was as good a time as any to take a break from the crowd. (And, to some extent, a break from her boisterous fellow concert-goers.) The rest of the Hogwarts crowd and the Muggle girl Thelma didn't seem to notice when Lily stepped back from their cluster. Just before she turned to go, the pale tint of Alice Blishwick's face caught her eye. The other Gryffindor girl was standing a bit steadier now, but still didn't look like she had fully recovered from her dizzy spell at the beginning of the concert. Lily watched for a moment as Alice prodded James Potter in the arm and he leaned sideways so she could say something into his ear. James laughed, his smile sweet and honest as his round glasses reflected green in the concert lights, and Lily couldn't place why she found this slightly irritating.

Lily knew she couldn't have been the only one to notice James and Alice keeping each other company for the duration of the evening. It wasn't a pairing she would have put together in her mind, but they did seem to get along rather well. Lily didn't mind – she was glad Alice had perked up and that someone was keeping James in check.

However, she didn't like the fact that she had caught herself thinking that James had been giving some different signals to her the last time they had seen each other. Lily told herself that she didn't particularly care whom James Potter was seeing; she was just mildly frustrated that she had apparently read him wrong at the Leaky Cauldron. Hadn't he been kinder than usual to her? And hadn't they had actually quite a nice conversation about books? Had Lily been wrong to think that perhaps it had been a new James Potter she had been addressing that night? She hadn't been interested in flirting with James anyhow...but he had still started it.

Shaking her head, Lily dismissed James from her mind and walked up to Alice. "Hey," she called above the crowd, and greeted her fellow Gryffindor with a smile, "I'm going back to get some air. Do you want a water or something?"

"I'll take a beer!" James piped up, flashing a smirk at Lily. She ignored him.

Alice glanced at the stage, then turned back to Lily. Her mouth opened and it was clear that she was talking, but Lily had to lean close and motion for her to start over before she could hear her words. Alice had a soft, quiet voice that unfortunately became masked in the roar of the concert. Cupping her hands around her mouth, Alice nearly shouted to Lily, "Might I come with you? Some air sounds nice!"

Caught off-guard, Lily hesitated – then quickly nodded and motioned for the two of them to set off towards the edge of the crowd. She was irritated again when James bounded up to join her and Alice as they trekked away from the dense noise. Weaving around couples and larger clusters of Muggles enjoying the concert, Lily yelled to James, "What are you doing?"

"Can't we all get a bit of air, Evans?" Lily could feel that James was smiling at her again – did he know he was flirting when he did that? – and purposely didn't look at him. She was beginning to think a beer wasn't a bad idea.

Alice trotted along next to Lily, appearing in her peripheral vision as she gathered her green dress around her to avoid snagging it on any flailing hands and tiptoed almost comically between people. At her height, which was just higher than Lily's shoulder and well below James' ribcage, Alice seemed to go unseen by the majority of grooving concert-goers. Catching her movements from safe spot to safe spot, Lily was reminded oddly of a small, skittering bird taking cover. On impulse, Lily stretched out an arm to the side and waggled it at Alice. "Come on – we can make a bigger path this way. Link up."

The beam on Alice's face was clear, innocent, and unmistakably relieved. Elbows linked – Lily thought that even Alice's arm felt small and birdlike – the two Gryffindor girls forged ahead towards the lights of the merchandise and food tents beyond. It took a minute for Lily to pick up Alice's words when she chirruped, "Thank you – it's so easy to get lost in crowds!"