The Marauders: Year Three | #Wattys2016

February 13

February 13

Gryffindor common room was a mess of nerves almost as pathetic as it'd been before the Yule Ball, except this time Sirius and James weren't making fun of it. They were sitting in the same spot on the stairwell leading up to the dorms, sure, but they were looking over the common room for a far different reason.

"I'm thinking of asking Annalee McKinnon like I said I would," James said. "I know she won't say no, so it's a safe play."

Sirius stared down, "I dunno who to ask."

"Meg Johnson, maybe?" James suggested. "You like her, don't you?"

"Yeah she's alright," Sirius replied.

"Well, we haven't got much longer. It's tomorrow," James pointed out.

Sirius leaned his forehead against the wrungs of the rail. "Yeah, I know."

James sighed, his eyes flickering to Lily Evans sitting at the desk across from the newly returned Remus, whose nose was still scared, though far less red than it had been before. The balm that Newt Scamander had given Madam Pomfrey really had done wonders for the cut across his face. He'd told only the other three boys about Newt and Professor Veigler, though he hadn't shown them the letter, afraid of what they might think about the bits concerning Sirius. He'd tucked it away in the bottom of his trunk, in the old copy of Jekyll and Hyde from last semester., where nobody would find it. Some things were too personal.

James said, "It's bullocks. All this worrying and nervousness."

Sirius nodded.

James couldn't take his eyes off Lily. He felt so bloody frustrated. "Why won't she just say yes to me, Sirius?" he asked.

Sirius looked down, following James's gaze. "Dunno, mate."

"She's just so pretty!"

"There are loads of pretty girls."

"Not like Evans. Nobody's like Evans."

"I know what you mean," Sirius said. He sat back, fishing in his pocket for a knut. "Here," he said, "We'll flip for who we're gonna ask to be our Valentines, how's that?"

James looked at Sirius, "You want to leave such an important choice up to the flip of a coin?"

"Why not?" Sirius asked, "It isn't as though either one of us is going to end up with the person we do the stupid Valentines thing with, right?"

"Yeah, true, why not." James turned to watch as Sirius balanced the knut on his thumb.

"Alright. Heads you go ask Annalee, tails and you ask McKenna." James nodded solemnly, accepting the terms, and Sirius flipped the coin. It spun in the air several turns before coming down and landing between them, rolling a little ways. Sirius slapped it to the floor just before it went in an air vent. He looked at it, "Heads, mate."

James looked down at the common room where Annalee was laughing and braiding Ali Prewitt's hair as they talked by the fire. He could do worse, he thought. He picked up the knut. "Alright, now for you," he said, turning to Sirius. "Heads you ask Meg Johnson, tails it's Marlene McKinnon. Ready?"

Sirius nodded solemnly and James flipped the coin into the air and it spun... then landed. Perfectly straight on it's narrow edge. James and Sirius both stared at it in shock. "Well what the bloody hell do you reckon that means?" Sirius laughed.

"Means I should never go into professional coin tossing, clearly," James replied. "Imagine that happening at the Quidditch World Cup? Probably would, my luck... Blimey." He snatched the coin up and said, "Same terms. If it lands on the edge again - which it won't because, bloody hell I couldn't do it again if I tried, I'll bet - then you can bloody take me as your Valentine."