𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝑊𝐸𝑁𝑇𝑌 𝐹𝑂𝑈𝑅

➪ CHAMPAGNE ➪

"LOKI, THANK MERLIN!"

The girl called spun around. A smile pulled her lips upward at the sight of Lily Evans making her way toward her.

"Morning, Lily, " Loki greeted.

"Morning, " Lily replied. "I'm glad I caught you. Marlene and I were just talking about your date with Sirius."

"Does everyone know about that?" Loki frowned, clasping her hands together to toy with her thumbs.

"I mean, not everyone, " Lily waved her off, "but it is kind of a hot topic. That's probably why people have been giving you odd looks for the past week."

Loki groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Great, " she sighed.

"It's okay, Loki, " Lily smiled. She placed a comforting hand on the dark-haired girl's shoulder. "James and I are supposed to go on a date once Christmas break is over, so people will be talking about that pretty soon, I'm sure."

Loki raked her hands through her hair. She was nervous about her date with Sirius. She didn't even know what to wear. And Sirius hadn't good her much, either.

"Date talking aside, " Lily spun the girl around, keeping her hand on Loki's arm as they began to walk once more, "what's going on with you and Remus. Because I saw you walking with him on Monday, and it looked like something was going on."

"Oh." Loki's face flushed at the reminder of what happened days prior. "Um, well, I--I--I don't think anything is going on. I mean, do I have a crush on him? Yes. Do I also have a crush on Sirius? Yes. Do I feel bad about fancying the both of them? One hundred percent."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Lily inquired.

"What?" Loki turned her head with a frown.

"Merlin," Lily let out a disappointed laugh. "Loki, what are you going to do about it?" Lily glanced around before bending close to Loki's ear. "I really shouldn't be saying this, but James, Marlene, some other Gryffindors and I have this little bet going on."

"You're kidding, right?" Loki asked frantically. "Do Remus and Sirius know?"

"As far as I'm aware, no." Lily smiled at the girl, continuing to guide her down the corridors. "The bet is basically who you're going to end up with -- I mean, one kid did bet on Remus and Sirius getting together, and you're just there to hide it. But! Other than that, the votes are pretty evenly split."

Loki bent her head down. Her eyes were wide as she thought about the situation. Exactly how many people were in on it?

"Marlene, James and I and some others all bet the three of you are gonna become a thing," Lily continued. "A few of the girls think you and Remus are cute together. Then some older guys and a few girls that think Sirius is going to sweep you off your feet." Lily let out a laugh. "This just shows how little people know about the boys. And you, of course."

Loki kept silent, listening to Lily talk. She could understand Marlene, James and Lily taking bets. They were close friends with the boys, but everyone else?

"Who started it?" Loki spoke up, turning to the ginger.

"It was just Marlene, James and I, but this girl heard us talking and wanted to join," Lily explained. "Um, I guess she didn't like three against one, because next thing I know a bunch of other people were talking about it."

"Ah," Loki nodded. She already knew that once things like this began, they were hard to calm down.

"I'm sorry. Looking back at it, it seems really mean. I didn't mean to butt in, Loki, honestly. It was just a little joke to tease Remus and Sirius about in the beginning." Lily sighed, running a hand through her flaming red locks. "I'll tell everyone the bets off."

"It's fine for you, James and Marlene because I actually know you, it's just the others." Lily nodded at the girl, stopping them both. She stepped in front of Loki and smiled.

"No more betting from anyone," she grinned. Loki shot her a grateful smile. "Oh, um, before I forget." She placed her hands on Loki's shoulders. "Come to me before your date, okay? I want to make sure you look okay, and I think I'll have to calm you down, too." She chuckled.

"Thank you," Loki replied.

"Well, I'll be off now, you keep heading to the library," Lily waved at the girl before skipping away.

"I think she saw me." Loki jumped, spinning to her left where James was walking towards her from another abandoned corridor. "Oops, " he grinned sheepishly. He walked up to the girl, taking Lily's place beside her. "What were you and Lily talking about."

"The bet you had," Loki answered honestly.

"Oh, that," James adjusted his glasses. "We didn't think it would get out of hand. But I'm guessing Lily's going to sort it out?"

"She told me she would," Loki smiled. "I can see why you like her. She's charming."

"That reminds me," James nudged the girl, "congratulations about that date with Sirius." The girl flushed, and James poked her cheek. "You really like him, don't you?"

"I--I--I--"

"Don't fret; guys are usually oblivious to this stuff, and Sirius is no exception." James laughed. "Remus isn't either." Loki squeaked, covering her face for the second time. "Just so you know, Sirius is probably as nervous as you are about your upcoming date."

"Why?" Loki queried. She furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't imagine Sirius being nervous at all.

"He just doesn't want it to be a disaster. Your date with Remus got him thinking, and that's why he's planning it." James glanced around as if checking for the boy they were talking about. He leant down. "Just a secret between you and me, because he doesn't want to admit it, but he asked Nicolas about you. He wants to know exactly what kind of date you want."

"Oh, Merlin!" Loki whispered, placing her hands on either cheek. "But Nicolas doesn't know!"

James raised a brow before breaking out into laughter. "Well, Nicolas told him something."

For Hufflepuff's sake, Nicolas!

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

I needed something to cheer me up from last night. I thought a little filler with the ultimate HP couple would do just that.

next chapter will be the date! I'll probably bust it out a little later today (cuz it's lunchtime here) and i'm already excited.

Hope y'all are having a good day :) See you later, alligators!