I Can See You

The First Dates I: Anticipation & Blocks

There was a flurry of excitement in a particular boys' dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower.

James Potter was staring at his reflection in the mirror. "Shall I wear the brown sweater instead?" he asked Sirius, who was sprawling on his bed.

"You're behaving like a girl, Prongs. Both sweaters look fine on you. I have no comments as long as you don't pick your green one."

"What's wrong with wearing the green sweater?" Peter asked. He had given up trying to squeeze into the pair of jeans and reached out for some loose pants. He had really put on weight over the last few months.

Both James and Sirius rolled their eyes at their beady-eyed friend. Peter thus turned to Remus who was combing his hair. "Do you know why, Moony?"

"That's the Slytherins' favourite colour," Remus replied without taking his eyes away from the mirror.

"Moony, perhaps you should consider wearing my green sweater. Natasha may like you even more!" James quipped.

Sirius snickered, "Moony has no need for that, Prongs. His light brown hair is enough to charm Strauss!"

Remus put down his comb and gave his dorm mates a dirty look. Sirius caught the warning and decided to turn his attention to Peter instead. "Wormtail, I've asked this once and I'll do it again. Why in the world did you ask Hannah Bolts to be your date?" He tried to picture the plain-looking Hufflepuff girl sitting with them in the Three Broomsticks and shuddered.

Peter continued to button up his shirt and did not reply. Hannah was the only girl who would agree to go out with him. And Peter was sure that she only obliged because he told her that they would be joining Sirius and James.

*

"Should it be the red or the blue?" Lily asked her dorm mate Briana, holding two outfits in front of her.

"The red," Briana grinned at the redhead. "I think Potter likes the colour."

*

"Aren't you girls overdoing it?" Tessa asked disapprovingly.

Natasha and Kathleen had taken turns styling each other's hair. Natasha's straight blonde hair was now set in curls while Kathleen's wavy dark hair was tied up in a loose bun. Both girls were too happy to be bothered by Tessa' remarks.

"Have you decided what to wear?" Kathleen asked Natasha.

"My lilac dress."

"Good choice. It brings out the colour of your eyes."

Natasha smiled smugly. "Have you picked your outfit?"

"I'm still deliberating between the pink and the black."

Natasha frowned. "Not the pink dress. It makes you look too sweet and vulnerable."

"So I should wear the black dress?"

Natasha shook her head. "Not black either. You don't want to appear too eager to please Mr Black."

Kathleen threw up both hands in exasperation. "So I don't have a suitable outfit?"

"You can borrow my green dress," Natasha offered, hiding the mysterious smile that threatened to surface.

The dark-haired girl pursed her lips. Much as she liked Natasha's green tube dress, she was not sure if that was a colour she wanted to be seen in for her first date with Sirius. "It may remind him of the differences between our Houses," she said quietly.

"Nonsense!" Natasha chided. "If he minds that you're a Slytherin, he won't have asked you out in the first place! Anyway, it matches your eyes."

Kathleen took the dress from Natasha's wardrobe and pulled it on. She decided she liked the effect - the dress clung to all her curves.

"Do you think this is too sexy and revealing? My shoulders are bare and it's showing some cleavage!"

"It looks perfect," Natasha assured her. "Just bring along a sweater if you feel uncomfortable."

"I'll lend you my sweater," Pamela, who had been observing them, spoke up suddenly.

Kathleen stared at her, surprised. "I though you don't approve of us going out with the Gryffindors."

"Sure," Pamela snapped. "I still don't agree with you, but since I can't stop you, I'd better make sure that you girls look your best and don't embarrass Slytherin."

Natasha frowned as she watched Kathleen give Pamela a fierce hug. "Girl, Sirius Black is going to break your heart," she mumbled under her breath.

*

Natasha and Kathleen left Tessa and Pamela at the Zonko's Wizarding Joke Shop and made their way to the Three Broomsticks slightly after two in the afternoon. Kathleen had been anxious that they should be on time, but Natasha stubbornly insisted that it would make them appear too eager.

Kathleen drew in a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach before pushing open the door to the bar. She spotted Sirius immediately. He was sitting with James, Peter, Lily and a girl Kathleen did not recognise.

"Good luck," she whispered to Natasha before making her way to her date.

Natasha was glad that Remus chose a seat several tables away from the group, and forgot all about her concerns over Kathleen as soon as she spotted him. He was wearing a white tee-shirt that showed off the healthy tan he had recently acquired, and suppressed an impulse to touch his bronzed arm.

"Hi!" Remus stood up from his seat as she approached.

What lovely manners! she thought as he pulled out a chair for her.

*

Sirius slid over to make room for Kathleen, who blushed slightly as his elbow brushed against her arm.

Kathleen glanced at the rest of the group seated around the cramped table, returning smiles and greetings from everyone till her eyes met Hannah, whose identity she was still trying to figure out.

Lily caught her questioning look. "You've met Hannah Bolts? She's in Hufflepuff."

Kathleen's confusion cleared up at once. It was no wonder she did not recognise the girl. The only Hufflepuffs the Slytherins paid the slightest attention to, were those in the Quidditch team. She wondered fleetingly why the Hufflepuff was sharing the table with the Gryffindors.

"You're in the sixth year too?" she asked Hannah, who nodded awkwardly.

Sirius chuckled and whispered into Kathleen's ear, just loud enough for her to hear, "I didn't know she exists too till Peter asked her out."

She turned up her face in time to see his cheeky wink.

*

"Sorry, am I boring you?"

Natasha snapped her attention back to her date and felt a pang of guilt. She had been momentarily distracted when she spotted Sirius leaning closer to Kathleen and began to worry for her friend again. Kathleen seemed to be having a good time though, and conversation was flowing easily around the table, save for Pettigrew and his date whom Natasha did not recognise.

"No, of course not. What were you saying about those forest creatures again?"

*

Natasha was blissfully lost in conversation with Remus when there was a loud bang. Someone had swung open the door very forcefully and stalked in.

Kathleen's hand flew to her mouth when she saw the three seventh-year Slytherins who just entered the Three Broomsticks. She quickly turned to look at her friend seated a few tables away.

Jason Lindow led the group of newcomers, and he lost no time in making his way to Remus and Natasha's table. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up from her seat.

"Let me go!" Natasha tried to shake off his hand but his grip only tightened.

Remus left his seat and growled at Jason. "Let her go! Now!"

Jason released Natasha's arm and turned his attention to Remus. "So you're the Gryffindor prefect who's trying to seduce Nat?" he sneered, "From what I know, you're not even a pure blood. Your mother is a Muggle. So what makes you think that you're worthy of a Slytherin?"

"This pure blood business is ridiculous, Jason!" Natasha snapped. "It doesn't matter if they're mixed blood or if they're Muggle-born."

"Doesn't matter?" Jason looked at the blonde with shock. "You've lost your senses! What would your father say about this?"

Natasha was bothered for a moment by his underlying threat. Daniel Strauss would not be pleased to know that his only daughter was dating a non-pure blood. But Natasha also knew that very few were brave enough to bring her father displeasing news. The senior Strauss did not take to them well - and would sometimes vet his unhappiness on the unfortunate news bearer.

She gave a smirk. "You're not thinking of telling my father, are you?"

"Of course not, Nat. You know I'll never do that to you!"

"Then leave us alone, Lindow!" Remus stood closer to Jason till both of them were staring eye to eye.

In the meantime, a small group gathered around them. The two Slytherin boys were standing behind Jason, while the other three Marauders and their dates stood behind Remus.

"Stop fooling around, Nat. Leave with me at once," Jason ordered.

"I'm on a date with Lupin. If I should decide to leave, I'll leave with him and not you," Natasha replied coldly.

"This is your last chance, Nat. Make your choice carefully."

The blonde snorted. "Get a life, Jason!" She slipped both hands through Remus' arm and guided the slightly stunned Gryffindor out of the Three Broomsticks.

The rest in the bar looked at the pair's departure with mouths agape. Sirius was among the first to recover. He found Natasha's rejection of Jason highly amusing and began laughing out loud. Jason stared at him crossly. Then his eyes scanned the group and spotted the Slytherin who was standing quietly next to James and Lily.

"You too?" he shot Kathleen a look of disgust.

"Leave Nat alone. She's free to date anyone she wants."

"And I suppose you also think you're free to date Potter?" Jason spat.

Sirius threw an arm over Kathleen's shoulders. "You must be quite blind, Lindow. Kathleen's here with me."

Jason kept his eyes on his Beater. "You girls are a disgrace to Slytherin, going behind our backs, sneaking around with filthy Gryffindors!"

Sirius and James roared and whipped out their wands. The Slytherin boys followed likewise.

A worried Lily held a restraining hand on James' arm, while Peter and Hannah just stood rooted to the spot as though they were petrified.

Kathleen remained unperturbed. "Get out of here, Jason. Stop embarrassing yourself-" she added with a snarl, "- and Slytherin."

Jason was about to protest when the door swung open again and Professor McGonagall, their Transfiguration Professor, stepped in. She cast a suspicious glance at the group of students standing at the corner with wands in their hands.

The teenagers knew better than to create a scene in front of the no-nonsense Hogwarts professor. They quickly disbanded, leaving the bar in twos and threes.

"This is not the end," Jason told Kathleen in a low voice as he made his exit.

***