Looking for Robin

[James Potter]

James left the kitchens as fast as he could after he heard that Gage kid asked Lily Evans to the dance. There was no way that he was going to be around them. He couldn't be. Yes, James was jealous but he wasn't going to admit it outloud. Even if he asked Lily to the dance, she would have more than likely said no and that was why Robin was actually on the top of his list instead of Lily. It would have been nice if he did ask Lily and she said yes, but he knew that that wasn't going to happen. He didn't understand what he was doing wrong for her to still dislike him.

Shaking his head, he walked into the library, in hopes of finding Robin there. He needed to ask her to the dance before some other guy did. After all, Robin was pretty. Although, that wasn't the only reason James liked her. She was actually pretty cool. He continued his search down the book shelves to find the red head.

[Robin Slater]

As it turned out, Robin was in the library. She was in the Ancient Runes section, sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by books. Professor St. Clare gave a lot of homework, and at the moment, she was searching for the meaning of a particular rune that she couldn't seem to find anywhere.

She bent low over a book, comparing a rune to the pictures in the book. All that was visible was the top of her red head.

[James Potter]

He didn't have any luck finding her so far. James didn't gave up though. As he continued his search through the library, he spotted red hair. He could tell who it was, and a smile spread its way across his face. A nervous feeling hit his stomach. That only happened around Lily, but James pushed that out of his mind and focused on what he came to the library to do.

Robin was bent over a book and James continued to smile at this. He walked up to her and knelt down infront of her. "Hey Robin," he greeted.

[Robin Slater]

Robin had just found the particular rune she was looking for, and didn't hear the footsteps approaching. She quickly jotted down the information on a piece of parchment and didn't look up until she heard someone say her name.

"James!" she gasped, seeing him kneeling in front of her. She put her hand on her chest and took a few breaths. "Wow, I totally didn't see you!" she said, laughing. "I think I've been working too long. What are you up to?"

[James Potter]

His grin was still on his face. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought that I'd find you and see what you were up to." James laughed along with her. "You know, you hide pretty well. It took me forever to find you in here."

He looked at the book that she had. "Ancient Runes?"

[Robin Slater]

Robin laughed again. "No, really... don't worry about it. I think I've been in here too long. I was starting to get Library Atmosphere Disease. I was in a total fog."

Glancing down at her book, she nodded. "Yes. It's a hard class, but I like it. It's very interesting." She held up the small rune stone in her hand. "See, we're given a bunch of runes that we have to translate and interpret, then make predictions based on the whole series. I couldn't figure out what this one meant, but I just found it. Let me finish writing this down real quick, and then we can get out of here before my Library Atmosphere Disease turns fatal."

[James Potter]

Ancient Runes sounded sort of interesting. That could possibly be a class James would take before he graduated. After all, he needed to be well rounded if he wanted to become an auror. "That's cool," he remarked looking at the rune.

James stayed knelt down and laughed again. "Well, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?" He waited until Robin finished writing on her parchment before he stood up. James extended his hand to help her up. "I can also carry your books if you want me to," he offered.

[Robin Slater]

Robin finished writing down the meaning of the rune, then folded the parchment and stuck it in her book. Then, with a quick wave of her wand, she said, "Reshelve," and all the library books that were piled around her flew back onto the shelves in their proper places. Winking at James, she said, "That's a little trick I learned from watching the librarian."

She put her hand in his and let him help her to her feet. "Thank you!" she said. "That would be great." She handed him her books. "Where do you want to go?"

[James Potter]

James smiled. He would have to remember that one next time he was in the library, or he could tell Sirius about it whenever they felt like pulling pranks. James helped Robin up with ease and took her books without a complaint. He didn't have a problem carrying her books. "I don't really know," he answered. "I didn't really think about that before I got here." He laughed quietly. "It doesn't really matter where we go. Do you have any place in mind?"

[Robin Slater]

Robin shook her head. "I don't know, really," she said. "It's too cold to go outside, or I'd say we could go to the courtyard. Maybe we could just walk around for a bit. Maybe we could head back to my common room so I can ditch these books. I've been working on homework for hours, and I honestly don't even want to look at another book for a while!"

[James Potter]

"Off to your common room it is," said James. "I've sort of finished my homework. I just have to make up the rest of it. That is not going to take me too long to do. I thought I would come find you before you decided to call it a day and go to your common room." He smiled at her. "Then if you want, we can go to the courtyard." James didn't mind going to the courtyard with Robin. In fact, he didn't mind going anywhere with her. He could be open with her, and that was one of the things he liked.

"So, how have you been lately? Anything exciting going on?"

[Robin Slater]

Robin nodded. "OK, sounds good," she said brightly, heading towards the door. "Nothing really exciting is going on here. I've just been swamped with work. I feel like the teachers are trying to keep us all distracted or something." She looked at him, a sober expression on her face. "How have things been in the Gryffindor Common Room, ever since Katie... Well, you know. It's all anyone's been talking about."

[James Potter]

He opened the door for her as they left the library. "I think the teachers are trying to keep us distracted. Things in the common room have been odd. It's awfully quiet in there most of the time. It's not like it usually is, but I think that people are starting to get back to normal slowly. I've been trying to keep things going, but sometimes they just stare at me like I have five heads or something."

James glanced over to Robin. For a minute, he became nervous. He rarely became nervous. "Although, a good thing is coming up soon, the Yule Ball. Maybe that will help ease people's minds."

[Robin Slater]

"Things were even kind of weird in Hufflepuff for a while," Robin admitted. "And we didn't even really know Katie. But I can't imagine how it's been for you Gryffindors. I know some people say that laughter is healthy and it's the best way to get through something like this. But maybe some of them aren't ready. But keep trying."

At the mention of the Yule Ball, Robin blushed. "Yeah... I'm probably not going. The only person who asked me was Gilderoy Lockhart, but I turned him down. I'd rather go with an ape than go with him. Not that there's much difference..."

[James Potter]

Robin's blush did not go unnoticed. James was relieved that she wasn't going with anyone, but at the mention that Gilderoy asked her, he couldn't help but laugh. Although, for once, he thought that Gilderoy did have a good idea for asking Robin. "Well, you not going to the ball will be a shame," said James. He swallowed and then looked over at her. "Would you like to go to the ball with me?"

[Robin Slater]

Robin's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. She really hadn't expected James to ask her to the dance... she had expected him to go with Lily. But she didn't say anything to that effect. it might be a sensitive subject for him, and besides, she really didn't want to know whether she was his second choice or not. Although she was fine with just being friends with James, she actually really liked him a lot.

"Really?" she said, smiling. "I would love to go to the dance with you."

[James Potter]

James' face lit up brightly as she agreed to go the ball with him. A boyish grin spread across his face. "Great," was the only thing that could come out of his mouth at the moment. He became excited, and Lily had escaped his mind. Robin was going to be the only girl on his mind. He just hoped that Robin didn't think that she was second to him when it came to the ball.

"We'll have a lot of fun, promise."

[Robin Slater]

Robin smiled shyly. "I know I'll have fun with you," she said brightly. "You always know how to make everything fun." She was now feeling a little nervous, wondering what she was going to wear to the ball. She was really kind of a tomboy at heart, and didn't often dress up. She couldn't quite imagine herself in some big poofy dress with flowers and her hair all curled. She was going to have to ask some advice from the resident glamour girl of Hufflepuff, Genevieve. She didn't know the girl very well, but Genevieve was open and friendly with everyone.

"I can't wait to see you in your dress robes," she said, with a teasing smile.

[James Potter]

A light blush appeared on James' cheeks. Robin wasn't the only one feeling a little nervous. He wasn't concerned with what he was wearing to the ball, like she was, but he was more concerned with how he was going to make sure that he didn't bore her in any way.

"Oh, I bet you can't," he replied with a laugh. "And I can't wait to see you in a dress." James smiled. He thought that Robin was pretty any way that she dressed, but thinking about her being dressed up made James smile wider.

[Robin Slater]

Robin blushed. "Speaking of dresses, I'm going to have to hurry out and get one soon! I wasn't thinking I would go, so I didn't get a dress. I hope they have some nice ones available!" She laughed. "Oh... you should have seen it when Lockhart asked me to the dance. He was just going around, asking all the girls in the common room. It was actually a little pathetic..."