A/N: Alright you lot, here's part deux to the breakfast conversation. Hope you enjoy!!
CHAPTER TEN
"What's got her knickers in a twist?" Sirius asked, crinkling his forehead and arching a brow.
"Well, it obviously isn't you," Remus said with a fleeting glance to his right.
"Not in a physical sense-"
"Oh, shove it, the pair of you. She's upset cos she hasn't got a date to the masquerade, and considering that it's tomorrow she's rather touchy about the subject," Alice snapped between bites of bacon.
"But we didn't even mention the stupid Slug Ball!"
"Doesn't matter, Black, you don't go flaunting how many girls you've snogged in front of one that's single. It's called courtesy-"
"Well, how was I supposed to know!?"
Remus rolled his eyes and lowered the Prophet, turning his attention to the brunette beside him, "I didn't know Dorcas was in need of an escort. I would have gladly accompanied her-"
"Oh, she doesn't want a date-"
"Then why was I reprimanded for reveling in my female rendezvous??" Sirius asked in a disgusted manner.
"He's hopeless, that one," Alice mused before continuing, "Sadly, I haven't got a date either."
"How is Frank?"
"All I know is that he's working closely with Dumbledore, some secret society he refuses tell me anything about. The mere fact that I even know there's a secret society is far too much information, apparently. Be that as it may, I could really care less about finding someone to escort me, but it is the last masquerade of our Hogwarts career and I didn't particularly want to go stag."
"Some of us don't mind it too much," Sirius cut in with a cheeky smile, jabbing his elbow into James' ribs rather forcefully, knocking the Head Boy to the floor, "Er-"
"Is he going to be alright?"
"Who, him? Oh, this is just a James replica we made in Divination one day, rather boring in there, you know- and we like to take it 'round with us and mess with people's heads. Peter likes to sleep with it, quite odd actually-"
"Padfoot!" Remus snarled through gritted teeth, wrinkling the edges of his paper in tightly clenched hands before returning his attention to Alice, "I'm sure he'll be fine," he said gently with eyes narrowed at the wanker across from him, "and if you need someone to accompany you tomorrow, I'd be more than happy to do it. We've been friends since our diaper days, Frank isn't likely to be jealous."
"OH, Remus, you would?" the plump brunette gushed as she sprung across the table, enveloping the wizard in a very painful hug.
"It would be my pleasure," he wheezed as all the air was deflated from his lungs.
"OH, simply brilliant! You're ace, Remus, just ace! I don't know what' I'd do without you!"
"Eat a pint of shifting sherbet in your room tomorrow night while lounging 'round in your dressing gow-OOF!"
"Sorry, Black, hand must've gotten away from me, there."
"Quite alright, love," Sirius choked out, slowly teetering back and forth like a slinky.
"I'm going to go owl Frank, I know he won't mind! I'm just not sure if he'll even get my letter, many of them come back unopened."
"There's dangerous things going on out there, Alice, and Frank's probably in the middle of it. I've been reading every paper I can get my hands on and not a one says that anything is other than normal, which we know is definitely not the case. There's a war brewing outside these walls, and come mid-June we're going to be facing it."
"Oh, Remus…"
"But, I'm sure Frank's peaches! He's an intelligent bloke, little on the slow side, but bright enough, yeah?"
"That was so helpful, Padfoot, I'm sure you really made her feel better. The therapist in you is just coming out more and more all the time-"
"Well, at least I'm not scaring her with all this dark and sinister war rubbish! If the Prophet says it's fine, it's fine. No need to worry your pretty little head about it," Sirius finished with a wink as he stealthily reached for Alice's plate.
"You can have it, I've lost my appetite. I've got to run anyway, thanks again, Remus," she added with the quick blow of a kiss in his direction, "See you in charms," and she strode off the opposite direction, swiftly making her leave.
Alice raced up the winding path to Gryffindor, her black robes billowing ferociously as she picked up speed. Scaring a clan of first years as she fervently rounded another corner, she nearly tore a hole through the fat lady before stomping up the spiral staircase, brown locks swinging wildly about her pudgy face.
"NOW, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE??" the brunette bellowed as she slammed open the dormitory door, the mahogany aperture quaking violently against the patterned wall. Two witches bolted upright in their beds, eyes wide with fear as they stared bewildered at the sudden intruder, standing with arms akimbo in the entrance to the seventh year girls' dormitory.
"Has everyone here gone mad? YOU-" she turned her attention to the frozen redhead on her left, pointing a stubby finger, "have a boy pining over you downstairs that's lost all function of his body, and quite possibly the will to live because you won't give him the bleeding time of day. No one cares how you all got together, Lily; Gryffindor won the bloody match and you made it a tad bit more interesting in the process, get OVER it! As for you, Meadowes, I don't know if it's just your time of the month or what but you can't just bury your head in your hands and high-tail it the other direction every time someone mentions they've had a go with someone other than you. So, you don't have a date, big blooming bloody DEAL! No one gives a rat's arse, Dorcas, just go with it! Now where in Merlin's name is Marlene??" Alice finished, releasing all the air from her lungs. Her face was bright red and the witch was nearly doubled over, the adrenaline once surging through her body screeching to a halt.
"We haven't seen Marlene all morning, at least I haven't," Lily mumbled from beneath her pillow.
"Well, that's just perfect," Alice spat as she flopped on to her four-poster, panting heavily as her hand clutched her stomach.
"Everyone's life can't be as perfect as yours is, Alice," Dorcas jeered from her corner, her brown eyes glinting with malice beneath her opal frames.
"Yes, Dorcas, my life's perfect. Wouldn't trade it for anything. It's perfect hanging around a depressed lot of females that never think of anyone but themselves. It's perfect not ever knowing where my boyfriend is, doing Merlin knows what while I'm stuck here in this glorified prison. It's perfect waiting every day to hear from him, only to find my owl come back empty-handed. It's perfect being the heifer seen walking around the bustling corridors with the skinniest witches of Hogwarts. It's perfect going to the masquerade with my old friend instead of the love of my life-"
"At least someone asked you!" Dorcas shot from the other side of the room.
"Well, I'll have you know he asked for your hand first. I was merely an afterthought."
"He did?" Dorcas squeaked, slowly bringing a petite hand to graze her blushing cheek.
"Yes," she snapped, turning over her crumpled comforter plastered with turquoise appliqués, "and it's too late now, I'm going with Remus and you can't stop me. And as for you, Lily, you'd better get out of whatever funk you're in by eight p.m. tomorrow- that boy won a bet and you made yourself his prize. Now whether your relationship remains ' strictly professional' or not is entirely up to you, but if you think people are talking about you now it will only get worse if you stand him up."
Lily pondered these words carefully, her long, straight hair flowing gently over her shoulders, spilling on to the pillow she so tightly held to her chest. Her feet scrunched underneath her, settling under her buttocks as Lily pulled the crumpled sheets around her shivering frame. She eased back onto her headboard, slowly shifting her gaze to the circle-top window, staring at the pane rather than the grounds below. Transfixed on the glass, the Head Girl missed the lean figure slinking towards the entrance, auburn locks rippling in the breeze as another graciously opened the large, wooden doors.
A/N: Two more chapters to go!!! Are we excited? Not much to move the plot along there, but several things had to take transpire for everything to fall into place in the end. Seems like everyone's depressed, besides Peter, and that's no good! James really hasn't had much to say these past two chapters, but I guarantee he'll be back in on the action in Ch. 11. This is his story after all (in part). Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, I want lots of reviews!!! : )