build me up buttercup [s.black]

[31] Animagi

"Jumper? Jeans? Dress? Shorts?" Aisling held clothes up in front of herself in the mirror. "Not shorts Aisling don't be stupid, it's freezing."

She was very glad that nobody was in the dormitory to hear her having a nervous breakdown over what to wear. This was unheard of, Aisling had never given even the slightest indication that she cared about clothes; much to the dismay of her mother who, after years of failed shopping trips, had accepted that Aisling would wear anything as long as it was comfy.

After about five more minutes of agonising over which items looked better, Aisling managed to pull herself together; realising that Sirius saw her almost every day, and never seemed to have a problem with what she wore. She decided finally on her favourite pair of cuffed jeans and a cable knit jumper. She remembered that Sirius had once commented on how the green colour of the wool suited her. Slipping on her boots, she made her way down the staircase and into the common room. But despite agreeing to meet her there, Sirius was nowhere to be found.

"What are you doing up and dressed so early McCawley?" She heard someone behind her ask.

James Potter was standing in front of her, sporting a dressing gown and possibly bed head, but it was too similar to his normal hair to say for sure.

"Hogsmeade trip today Potter, remember?"

"Oh, did nobody tell you?" He asked. "It got cancelled."

He pushed his glasses further up his nose and peered through them at Aisling, ready to scrutinise her response.

Aisling's heart sank, and her disappointment must have shown on her face too because James gave her a knowing look before glancing at the noticeboard and speaking again.

"Oh no my mistake, guess it's on after all!" He said, rather brightly, before sloping back upstairs.

He gave Sirius a very obvious thumbs up as he passed him in the doorway. Aisling laughed in disbelief. Very subtle. She thought to herself; and, right on cue, the boy himself strolled into the common room.

"You ready to go?" He asked.

"Yep." She said, unable to ignore the feeling of happiness that fizzed up inside her chest as he grabbed her hand.

"Then let's go, got some fun stuff planned." He grinned at her and pulled her out of the common room.

Once they made it into Hogsmeade, Aisling was surprised that they walked straight past The Three Broomsticks and all the way across town to the Shrieking Shack.

"Very romantic." She said, arching an eyebrow.

"Wait for it." He said, putting his arm around Aisling's waist and pulling her closer to him.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, a shower of gold sparks flew out of The Shrieking Shack's crooked chimney. They soared up into the air, multiplying and spreading out across the dark grey of the sky. Aisling's mouth fell open as more sparks erupted; red, blue, pink and green. As more time passed, the fireworks - which she now realised must have been Dr Filibuster's purchased from Zonko's - started forming more and more impressive patterns. She rested her head on Sirius's shoulder as green, red and gold mingled to create a fire breathing dragon; and a shower of silver sparks morphed into a unicorn which pawed at the clouds with its hooves. After about ten minutes the pyrotechnics ended, and Aisling pulled away slightly to look at Sirius.

"Did you do that?" She asked.

"Well, I can't take all the credit." He said, though the smug look on his face suggested he would very much have liked to. "The other three set them off."