Winter is Coming (Gage, James)

[Lily Evans]

Lily sat down on one of the stools that was set up at the counter. "It can get pretty cold around here during the winter. I'm used to it, really... but if you're used to warm weather, this is going to be kind of a shock to your system. Especially for any classes you have to take outside... You'll probably be walking to Herbology in the snow pretty soon."

She rubbed her hands together, but the feeling had already started to return to her fingertips. "In a way, the winter coming could be a good thing... maybe things will be safer around her. No one's going to want to wander around outside if it's that cold out."

[Gage Oliver]

"Oh that'll will be fun," Gage laughed, imagining himself trudging through the snow, attempting to reach the Herbology greenhouses.

Gage nodded. Lily was right, it would be safer around here due to the cold and the snow. He thought back to the dinner in the Great Hall where Professor Dumbledore had announced Katie's death, a girl Gage hardly even knew.

[Lily Evans]

Lily smiled. "Well, snow can be fun, too. You can have snowball fights, and make snowmen... and then when you come back inside, you can have hot chocolate with marshmallows. It always tastes better when you come in from playing in the snow. I'll have to teach you how to make snowballs, and maybe we could make a snowman some time. Trust me... it's fun. It can be hard when you have to walk in it... but when you get to play in it, it's really fun."

The little house elf arrived just then with their hot chocolate. "Can Spritzle get anything else for the young miss and mister?" it asked excitedly.

[Gage Oliver]

"Yea, that does sound like fun," Gage said with a smile. When Gage thought about the soon comming snowy weather, he always had bitter thoughts of freezing corridors and cramped common rooms where he wouldn't be able to have a single minute to himself. But when Lily spoke of the snow, it sounded like fun. "And then soon it'll be Christmas!" gage beamed. "Are you going to be going home for the holidays?" Gage asked.

"Thank you Spritzle, and I'm fine thank you very much," Gage smiled at the house elf.

[Lily Evans]

Lily also thanked he house elf, then began to sip her hot chocolate, which was richer than any she'd ever had. "I can't wait for Christmas!" she said excitedly. "I've been getting such wonderful gifts for my family... things that are magic-related. My mum and dad will love them... I only hope Petunia will come around. We used to be so close, and I miss her when I'm at school. But she always acts like she's mad at me or something."

[Gage Oliver]

"I'm sure she's just jealous," said Gage with a sympathetic smile. "She'll get over it. My little sisters are jealous I'm here too, but I know they still love me," He said.

"So you are going home for the holidays," Gage asked more than stated. He figured she might be, seeing that she was so excited about bringing her gifts to her family. "I'm not, my family is all going seperate ways for Christmas this year," he said. It was strange, not being with family for Christmas, but Logan was going to visit friends back in California, Lexie was spending Christmas with her boyfriend and his family, and Dad was working doing god-knows-what. It just wouldn't be the same, so Gage decided to spend the holidays here with his new friends.

[Lily Evans]

Lily nodded. "Yeah, I am going home. But there's nothing wrong with staying here. A lot of kids do it. They always decorate the school so nicely, and I hear they have a big Christmas dinner. You'll have fun here, especially if your friends are staying, too." She sighed softly. "I almost wish I was staying here... Since Petunia's been ignoring me, it's not much fun to go home. My mum and dad keep asking me to do silly parlor tricks, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat or something. Don't get me wrong... I love them, but they really just don't get it."

[Gage Oliver]

"Why would they ask you to pull a rabbit out of your hat?" Gage asked, guenuinely confused with what Lily said.

"Yea, I think it'll be fun here this holiday," Gage agreed. "And there's the ball comming up as well. And everyone in school is really excited about that."

[Lily Evans]

Lily laughed. "Oh, my parents... they're muggles. They don't understand what magic is really like. They think it's like magic tricks, ehich aren't really magic at all. Some muggles do these shows... they call them magic, but they're really illusions. I don't know how they do them, but I do know they're not really pulling rabbits out of hats or sawing people in half. It's really very silly."

At the mention of the ball, Lily nodded quietly. She wasn't sure if she was going to go to the Yule Ball. She had sort of expected James to ask her, but he hadn't yet. And even if he did, she wasn't sure she'd say yes. "Yes, the ball. Are you going?"

[Gage Oliver]

Gage listened intently as Lily talked about "muggle magic" and laughed. Who ever heard of sawing people in half with ACTUAL saws?

"I was considering going," Gage admitted. "It should be fun. Are you going?"

[Lily Evans]

Lily laughed, too. Once she started learning what real magic was, the ideas of muggle magic really did seem silly. Most of it had no purpose, and it was all very obviously a trick. It was hard to believe she'd ever been fooled by it.

"I don't know about the dance," Lily said. "I mean, no one's asked me yet... I don't know if I want to go alone."

[Gage Oliver]

"I would have thought James Potter would have asked you," Gage said in reply. He may have been new, but Gage did hear some of the rumors that traveled the halls.

"I don't blame you, I'd hate to go alpne as well," Gage added, sipping some more at his hot chocolate. Then it was like a lightbulb blinked over his head. "Hey, Lily..." Gage started. "How about... well, er... would you mind... going to the ball with me then?" he said quickly.

[Lily Evans]

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, even if he did ask me, I probably would have said no," she said, raising her chin. OK, if she was honest with herself, there were times when he was kind of sweet. But then he'd do something that would annoy her and she would go right back to hating him. She just wished she didn't think about him so much. And she wished it didn't hurt, just a little, that he hadn't asked her.

She was still thinking these confusing thoughts when Gage abruptly asked her to go to the dance. Her face lit up immediately. "Really? Wow... that's so nice of you! Sure, I'd love to go!"

[Gage Oliver]

Gage smiled, a feeling of relief sweeping through him. "Really? I mean, uh, great! good..." he smilled, then began to laugh a little. "Seth said that'd be way harder than it was..." he laughed.

[James Potter]

James wanted to go down to the kitchens for a little bite to eat. His stomach was growling and walking up to a girl with a growling stomach probably wasn't that attractive. He reached the portrait and tickled the pear. As the portrait swung open, James took a step inside.

Just as he walked in, he froze when Lily's red hair caught his eye. He was going to talk to her, just to be nice, however some other kid was talking to her. James knew he was in Ravenclaw, but he couldn't remember his name. He listened to what they were saying. That Ravenclaw was asking Lily to the dance. James half hoped that she would say no, but then again he knew that she was going to say yes.

It didn't bother James as much as it usually would have. He had forced himself to continue on. Maybe one day, Lily would come around and see that he wasn't that bad of a guy, but until then James would do his own thing. After Lily's answer, James turned around and left the kitchens before getting what he came down there for.

[Lily Evans]

Lily never saw James enter the kitchen or leave; she only noticed when the door swung shut behind him. She never knew it was James, and that he had heard everything. If she had, her response might have been different. But as it was, she thought nothing of James, who claimed to like her but had not even asked her to the dance.

Instead, she laughed at Gage. "I don't know why boys think us girls are so hard to talk to. We're just like everyone else. All we want is to be treated like people. And anyway, why would I say no to you? You're a nice guy and I like talking to you."

[Gage Oliver]

"I like talking to you too Lily," Gage said with a smile. Gage was slightly shocked that he could continue a convorsation for so long. Ususally after a few minutes, things would get awkward for Gage and he'd pull out his handy sketch book and go into his own world. But he and Lily had kept talking and Gage didn't feel awkward at all.

He took another sip of hot chocolate. "Just like everyone else? I have to disagree there. Girls are a whole 'nother level of confusing sometimes. I don't even get my older sister half the time." He chuckled.

[Lily Evans]

Lily smiled. "Well, if it helps at all, girls actually think the exact same thing about boys," she said, nudging him. "Maybe that's the point. Boys find girls confusing, and girls are confused by boys, so they all just keep trying to figure each other out."

[Gage Oliver]

"Well Miss Evans," Gage laughed. "I do believe we just discovered one of the mysteries of being teenagers," he smiled and held up his Hot Chocolate mug in a "cheers" manner before bringing the mug to his lips.

[Lily Evans]

Lily laughed. "I think that must be it," she said. "Maybe I've just figured out one of the great secrets of life! Maybe I should write a book on my theory..." She also took a sip from her mug of hot chocolate.

"Anyway, I really think we'll have fun at the dance. Now I'm going to have to get a dress!"

The idea made her stomach quiver nervously. She had envisioned James asking her and her turning him down. She had not expected that someone else, especially someone as nice as Gage, would ask her instead. She would have to owl her parents for some more money, and then hope that Petunia didn't hijack the owl. Her sister really hated the owls.