to hagrids, to hagrids to get a cute date (4puffs)

[Lance Jordan]

Lance knocked on Hagrid's door but got no answer, he was probably not home today and went around the side to wait for his friends. They were supposed to come hang out as they always did in the afternoons but Lance for once had arrived early. He wanted to try to meet Genevieve before Josh or Eve showed up and see if she'd go to the dance with him. He was actually a bit nervous but he didn't want to wait too long to ask or Josh would likely try to sweep in on her first. TheY both liked her of course, but then they also both kind of liked Eve too.

Luckily the twins, although they never really showed it, both had leanings towards one more than the other. Too bad the girls didn't know it, but he wasn't going to take his chances on Josh beating him to asking Viv out just to be on the safe side. Now that they'd annoucned the champions yesterday everyone was starting to think ahead to the Yule dance.

Lance sat down on a pumpkin nearby and waited.

[Josh Jordan]

Josh finished up in his classes and thought about the who he was going ask to the dance. Sure, taking Genevieve would be nice, but he wasn't sure. He knew that his younger brother, Lance, liked her too. However, there was something else. Part of him felt different around Eve too, and he realized that he sort of liked her too. That was crazy! Of course, he knew that his brother also liked Eve.

It was strange. Both of them liked the same girls, but yet the girls didn't have any idea. He was going to wait for Eve. Josh knew that she didn't have the same last class as he did, but he figured that he'd wait for her to come out of class and walk with her down to Hagrid's. It would give Lance a chance to speak with Genevieve before he and Eve arrived at Hagrid's. He was excited starting to get excited about Eve. Maybe now would be the perfect chance to ask her to be his date. If he didn't, then some other guy might come up and ask. Sliently, he willed her class to hurry and dismiss.

[Eve Mallory]

Eve for once was clueless about her guys, she didn't know they felt like that towards her at all. She was mousy, plain, or at least she thought so. Hiding behind her overlarge robes and her nose in a book. She had no idea that Josh was waiting for her if she had she wouldn'tve finished the book she was secretly reading while the teacher was talking about assignments and whatnot.

She sighed gathering her things before shuffling out of class her nose was still stuck in her book she didn't notice him outside at all at first.

She knew she was to meet them all at Hagrids, but she assumed that Lance was going to ask Genevieve to the dance, or they'd fight over who got to take her, those were her boys, oh well. She was happy, if they were happy then she was happy.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve was not one to linger after class. She wasn't always the first to leave, either, but she usually was in a hurry to get out of the room, especially when her boys weren't in her class with her. So when her last class let out, she was out the door in seconds, hurrying down the hall with the lithe grace of a gazelle. She was supposed to meet Lance, Josh, and Eve down by Hagrid's, and she was hoping she could get Lance alone. She knew both boys wanted to ask her to the dance, but she was secretly hoping Lance would speak first.

Once outside on the grounds, she slowed down a little. She didn't want Lance to think she was hurrying on his account, even if she was. As she approached Hagrid's hut, she saw Lance there and broke into a smile. "Hi!" she said happily, flopping down next to him.

[Lance Jordan]

Lance perked up at the sight of Genevieve walking toward him once he finally heard her say hi and then came to sit next to him. He was suddenly even more nervous and his palms broke out in a sweat. It was one thing to tease the girls and his brother about being all suave and confident but that didn't mean he was the bravest one in the group. And right now he felt like a downright wuss with his proverbial tail between his leg.

She was so pretty with her long blond hair that was blowing slightlly with the breeze and it reminded him of homespun cornsilk with a natural shine that he was sure she must brush her hair constantly to get that sliky smooth, not that he'd ever seen her do it.. maybe it was naturally like that but either way he loved it. And her blue eyes could make a grown man melt he was sure of it, cause it certainly made his insides feel like melted butter.

"Hi Viv, you look very pretty." Why was he so nervous, this was his sweet little Genevieve after all, one of his best friends! He took a deep breath and lost his nerve for a moment, "so um.. how did classes go today? " How LAME was that? duh of course they were okay. but he couldn't think of anything else to say at that particular moment and just outright asking her if she wanted to go to the dance with him was more than daunting.

[Josh Jordan]

Josh waited patiently by the door as the students in the class filed out. Finally, his eyes spotted Eve. A smile appeared on his face. She looked pretty. He didn't understand why she didn't really think of herself that way. In his opinion Eve had changed a lot since she was eleven, but every time Josh tried to tell her that, she would just shrug it away. He didn't get it.

"Eva," he said loudly as she exited the door. A few students glanced his way, but he ignored them and went to one of his best friends. The smile was still on his face as he noticed her nose in a book. She shouldn't try to hide her face. "I thought your class was never going to end!" It was his idea to go ahead and ask her to the dance, but the words wouldn't come out right away. Maybe if he talked to her a little bit before they actually headed toward Hagrid's, the words would come easier. Although, Josh wasn't sure why the words Would you like to accompany me to the dance wouldn't slip from his lips. Eve was one of his best friends!

"How was class?" That was a dumb question to start off with. If only he could smack himself in the head without Eve thinking something was wrong with him..... Josh only hoped that things with Lance and Genevieve were going smoother.

[Eve Mallory]

Eve stopped in her tracks and glanced up dog earing the spot in her book as she saw Josh a wide grin appeared on her face, she waited for him to catch up to her and for him to speak first, "Hey, I thought we were meeting at Hagrids?" she asked curious as to why he had waited for her, not that she minded of course.

" Class was...class." she said with a shrug indicating that it had been boring as usual.

[Josh Jordan]

"Well, I figured that I would meet you as you got out of class. We haven't really spent much time together, so I figured that we could attempt to start to make up for lost time," said Josh. Plus, he was wanting to get Eve alone so he could ask her to the dance, although it didn't seem that those words were coming out at the moment. "And I figured that we could walk down together."

He grew quiet for a moment. "Ah. Boring as usual? I would attempt to make things more interesting if I was in there, but I'm sorry I'm not. And, of course if I was in there, you wouldn't be attempting to hide your face from people while you have your nose in your book as you would come out either." He gave her a grin. "I still haven't really understood why you do that."

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve smiled when Lance told her she looked pretty. Of course, she knew she was, so it wasn't like she needed to be told. Still, it was nice to hear once in a while, especially from one of the two guys she spent most of her time with. They were always together, the four of them, and it would be all too easy to stop really looking at each other and appreciating them for who they were. She never stopped noticing how cute Lance was, especially when he smiled. But she'd never tell him that.

"Thank you," she said almost shyly. "You look pretty good, too."

OK, it was a lame thing to say, but she wasn't sure what else to say. Sometimes when she was alone with Lance, she got distracted staring into his eyes and forgot what she wanted to say. "Um, my class was OK, I guess. I wasn't really paying too much attention."

[Lance Jordan]

He looked good too? Maybe he had a chance after all... "Had your mind on other things?" That hadn't been the response he'd wanted to make either... this wasn't going so well as he'd intended. Why couldn't he just ask her like wanted to? Now that he thought about it she looked a bit distracted even now and she was looking right at him.. maybe that was a bad sign.

Why couldn't he have been a brave Gryffindor to just ask her, instead he said, "I'm surprised your not already planning what you're going to wear for the Yule Ball." Well that wasn't exactly what he'd wanted to say either but... at least it was on the right subject this time.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve giggled. She always thought he looked so cute when he got flustered. She didn't have a clue why he'd be so flustered, but it was cute. His brow would get all wrinkly, and his lips would twitch downward into a slight frown.

"Oh, you know me," she said. "Easily distracted... oh look! A butterfly!"

She giggled again, for there had been no butterfly, but she knew full well that she had a tendency to sound exactly like that at times. Because of this, she wasn't the easiest person to have a serious conversation with, and she knew it. She thought of it as her biggest flaw, but she wasn't aware of the fact that others found it endearing.

"I've been looking at dresses," she said, smiling slyly as the subject of the Yule Ball was mentioned. "There are a few I like in the new Gladrags owl-order catalog. But what color do you think I look best in? Pink? Or baby blue?"

[Lance Jordan]

"You'd look beautiful in either but.. I think blue would make your eyes.... um.. yeah .. blue." He looked flustered for sure as he looked at her eyes again imagining her all dressed in a blue dress, her eyes like sapphires and.. "definitely blue" he nodded.

Then promptly looked away trying to gather his courage staring at some deformed pumpkin laying on its side nearby before he mumbled, "uh do you have a.. um.. a date yet.. uh.. I mean are you... well what I was wondering is what ... Would you go to the dance with me?" Why did his ears feel like they were on fire and turning redder by the minute? Merlin he hoped she didn't notice... geez he sounded like a git he thought. He couldn't chance looking at her though, sure she would see how hurt he'd feel if she said no.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve was still giggling about the comment about her eyes. She was about to tease him for pointing out the fact that, yes, her eyes were most certainly blue, when she heard him say the word "date." Suddenly, she wasn't laughing anymore. Lance was asking her out!

It had taken him forever to get up the nerve. She'd been waiting for it for quite a while. And now that he finally had, she wasn't quite sure how to react. She was smiling, her eyes filling with tears.

"Look at me, Lance," she said softly. She leaned close to him and tucked her finger under his chin, moving his face around to look at hers. Biting on her bottom lip, she nodded slowly. "I'd love to go to the dance with you."

[Lance Jordan]

"It's okay I didn't figure you would I was just... uh.. huh? you would? really?" Lance looked into her eyes he was sure he'd heard her wrong... "really?" he said again as if he thought she was teasing him and might pull the run out from under him at any moment.. but then he looked into her eyes and... reached out to wipe away a tear that had been on the verge of spilling down her cheek with his thumb. Geez the girl could pull at his heart with the smallest things.. she was so cute when she got emotional too.

[Eve Mallory]

Eve tilted her head at him becomingly confused, " Huh?" she didn't realize she had such habits, or that he noticed said habits. She was aware of his though, he was acting unusually funny, which meant he was slightly stalling or nervous to ask something...she didn't exactly know what that meant now.

She shrugged, " People here are.." she paused to think about it, "There are ...a lot of people here, " sighing a bit ruefully she looked at the horizon in the direction they were walking, "Remember when it was just three of us in a world all our own?" she asked thinking up wistful memories, " there weren't any tests, any other people..." *I* was the center of your guys' attentions.

[Josh Jordan]

Josh raised an eyebrow at her first comment, but nodded as she continued. "Yeah. I remember that. A lot of good times. I remember it took me forever to get you to help me put sand in Lance's pants. Oh, that was funny." A grin spread across his face at the memory. They couldn't have been more than nine.

Although, times did change and Eve was a year younger than them. Josh and Lance both met Genevieve during first year, and it seemed like Genevieve was the new Eve, but Eve could never be replaced by anyone.

"You will always have a special place with me and Lance, you know that." Especially me he wanted to finish, but decided against it. The memory of them being around eight surfaced. It was Christmas time, and Josh and Lance's mother put up a mistletoe. Eve and her family came over, just like every year, and Josh and Eve ended up under the mistletoe. He kissed her cheek, and then ran for it. He hid his grin that wanted to surface.

"So, Eva, er. Are, I mean, Have you," he began stuttering. Why couldn't he just say it? Josh sratched his head. "Wouldyouliketogowithmetothedance," he said all at once. He wasn't sure if she would understand what he just said or not, but he was sure that his ears were turning redder by the second.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve giggled. "Yes, really... silly! Did you really think I'd say no? I was hoping you'd ask me, really."

She closed her eyes as his thumb brushed her cheek. She felt goosebumps running up and down her arms that she was pretty sure had nothing to do with the cool autumn air. Opening her eyes again, she smiled and leaned close to him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

[Lance Jordan]

"I thought maybe you'd rather go with Josh," he admitted lamely. "But I'm glad you said yes, and... I think you'd look really pretty no matter what dress you wear." But he was happy that she said yes, no that definatly wasn't the right word, he thought.. he was estatic inside and wanted to jump for joy but instead Genevieve took that moment to lean in and kiss his cheek. He was sure his blush had only gotten worse now with his ears burning as if they'd melt off.

"Maybe you and Eve should go dress shopping together, I'm sure Josh will be going with her." Lance was sure they'd want to have girl talk about them eventually once they both had dates especially and the thought of it made him smile. His two best girls, he knew he loved them both as his best friends, and knew they would have fun doing girly things whatever that was together.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve shook her head. Although she probably wouldn't have said no if Josh had asked her first, she had really been hoping Lance would ask her. "No, I wouldn't rather go with Josh. I was really hoping for you. Don't you know you're my favorite?" She gave him a cute little wink. Besides, I really think Eve likes Josh. I hope he asks her."

At the mention of shopping, Genevieve got excited again. Clapping her hands together, she exclaimed, "Oooh, shopping! Yes, I should take Eve out shopping... she needs help! She's always wearing those baggy robes that hide her figure, and wearing her hair back... it's like she doesn't know how pretty she is. I could give her a makeover, and Josh won't even recognize her!"

[Lance Jordan]

Lanced grinned feeling less embarrissed now, she'd said yes and then admitted to liking HIM more! He couldn't have asked for a better day than this and then when her eyes lit up at the mention of shopping with her friend, he grinned wider. She was so adorable when she got all happy like that, he knew that Genevieve enjoyed those girly things like shopping and he liked that she did too. She always made him feel like life was free and the sun could shine even when it was raining. Viv had the spirit of bird and though flighty at times, he found it exceedingly endearing.

"Yeah she does, you should give her a make over.. I'm sure you'd both enjoy that and you could help her find something more girly to wear than her pajamas to the ball. I hope Josh asks her, but I'm sure he will if he hasn't already anyways." Especially now that you're going with me, he thought to himself happily. He silently thought that Eve looked quite cute in PJ's too but he wasn't about to admit that to Genevieve, though he did agree that it would be nice.. for Josh's sake of course to see Eve dressed like a girl for once. And if anyone could do it, Genevieve could he thought looking down at her proudly.. his date for the dance.. and she had said yes... his mind wandered from thought to thought grinning the whole time with his own elation that wasn't fading anytime soon.

As Lance got lost in his happy little thoughts of Genevieve dressed up just for him, he smiled at her excitement of shopping. "So do I get a sneak peek of your dress when you get it?" He knew she'd say no of course, but he couldn't help asking. He couldn't wait to see her all dolled up for him.

He also wondered in the back of his mind if Josh was fairing as well as he was with Eve. He hoped so.