Sirens

Chapter 3

The Date

"You are going on a date with her?"

"Yes."

"You and Callista Diotrephes are going on a date?"

"YES, Dean!"

"Callista Diotrephes has a crush on you?"

"Bloody hell YES!!!"

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Well, she was under the influence of stomach-ache drugs. Maybe she forgot who you were?"

"DEAN!"

"Hey, keep your hair on!" said Dean. "I'm only saying."

"Well don't."

"I think it's great you're going on a date with Callista, Seamus," said Hermione Granger. "It's nice that you're showing her that just because she's new it doesn't mean she can't be popular."

"You hate Callista," said Parvati, who looked quite sulky ever since she'd found out that Seamus was taking Callista to Hogsmeade.

"I know, but still," shrugged Hermione.

"I don't think Callie's right for you, Seamus," said Lavender. "She's nice and everything, but I reckon the right girl for you is someone you've known longer. She's really nice..."

She was hinting about Parvati, Seamus knew it. But he didn't care. Parvati was pretty and everything, and he liked her, but she was nothing compared to the Sex Queen that was Callista Diotrephes.

"It's only tomorrow," Dean said, causally. "Have you planned it all out?"

"Planned what out?" asked Seamus, puzzled.

"Where you're going to take her. What you're going to do," said Dean.

"Err...yes, of course I have," said Seamus, but really he was stumped. Plan it out? The only date he'd ever been on was with Lavender, and that was to the Yule Ball so it didn't count. But this date? Oh my God was it going to be a disaster? Was it going to fail completely and Callista would never speak to him again?

"So what you gonna do?" asked Dean. "Are you taking her to Madam Puddifoot's Teashop? Loads of girls love that place on Valentine's Day."

"What's it like?" asked Seamus.

"Full of cherubs and heart confetti," said Dean. "I hate it, but Ginny thinks it's 'romantic' to go somewhere like that. Girls just really like stuff like that: face it."

"I don't," said Hermione, looking disgusted.

"I'm going to ask her where she wants to go," said Seamus, deciding. "That way I don't have to choose and I won't accidentally take her somewhere that she'll hate."

"Good idea!" said Hermione. "She'll really like you for that, Seamus." She earned herself exasperated looks from Lavender and Parvati but she didn't seem to care. Seamus suspected that Hermione was still too sore about the mice cream incident to help Lavender or Parvati.

"Thanks for the help," said Seamus, getting up. "I'm going to the library. I need to finish off that extra Transfiguration homework."

He walked out of the portrait hole and as he was wandering down the path he bumped right into Carey Briggs. Carey was considered to be the best-looking girl in Slytherin. However, her personality was nowhere near as appealing as her looks.

"Watch it you stupid sod!" she snarled, flicking a golden curl out of her face. Seamus scowled and was ready to say something very nasty to her, when he noticed that Carey wasn't alone. She was accompanied by Isabella.

Seamus waited for the barrage of insults from the dark-haired Italian, but to his surprise all she did was glance at him briefly and walk on with her new friend. Seamus scowled after them. Briggs and Giordano. They made a good pair. Both spiteful, both irritating and both deceptively gorgeous.

Gorgeous? Geez! Wrong word there. Isabella was hardly gorgeous. Ok, she was kind of cute, but gorgeous? Carey was gorgeous. Ginny Weasley was gorgeous. Callista was gorgeous. But Isabella? No.

When Seamus finally reached the library, he walked past a table with a bunch of Slytherin boys on there, although he noticed that Draco Malfoy wasn't among them. Seamus was about to walk past them, when he heard the phrase, "I'm going to do it today."

Seamus was a curious person. He hated not knowing things. So he walked by, then slid sideways behind a nearby bookshelf so he could eavesdrop without detection.

"Well, I don't think she'll be able to say no, really," said a voice that Seamus recognised to be Blaise Zabini's. "I don't think she's going with anyone else. I know Michael Corner asked her..."

"That idiot? No chance!" said Theodore Nott.

"...but she said no. apparently she told him she was going with someone else, but I reckon she just didn't want to go with Corner. I mean, who would?"

There was a bit of agreement before Blaise went on to say, "Oh, by the way, did you hear?"

"Hear what?" asked Nott.

"Draco and Pansy broke up," said Millicent Bulstrode's clear voice. "She's devastated, but he seems a bit shifty about the whole thing. Of course, there are loads of girls wanting to date him now, but he says he's 'not in the mood after the break-up'."

"Yeah, he says that, but he really means that he fancies someone else," said Blaise. "I bet it's Carey. I heard she's going through a bit of a rocky patch with that Hufflepuff weirdo she's dating at the moment."

"Yeah. He's getting kind of poor, so she's getting kind of bored," said Millicent, sniggering. "Either way she's going to move onto someone else that's rich. I reckon it'll be Harry Potter, you know."

"What?? No self-respecting Slytherin's gonna date him!" said Nott, disgusted.

"Carey will," said Millicent. "She'll get his money and get him to talk. It's the perfect opportunity for us."

"But anyway, Potter's only got eyes for that Weasley girl," shrugged Blaise. "What's her name? Jilly."

"Ginny," said Millicent.

Seamus was a bit confused. Harry fancies Ginny? He fancies my best friend's girlfriend?? He supposed he should have realised it, really. It was a bit obvious now he thought about it.

"So anyway, back to me and Izzie."

Izzie? Seamus furrowed his brow. Did he mean Isabella? Was Blaise Zabini planning on asking out Isabella? Why would he want to ask out that cow?

Seamus didn't realise that he was leaning on the shelf a bit too hard. It came crashing down in front of him, and the books on it toppled on top of the Slytherins. Seamus prayed nobody had seen that it was him behind the bookshelf as he legged it out of the library. Once the swearing of five battered Slytherins faded he leant against a tapestry, panting.

---

"Did you hear? Piers isn't going to play in the match on Thursday!"

Seamus looked up from his homework. Any excuse to drag his attention away from his essay was fine by him.

"Really?" he said, feeling uneasy. Dennis Piers had been with Zabini and the others earlier. "Why's that?"

"A bookshelf fell over in the library and a hardback edition of Hogwarts: a History hit him on the head," replied Dean. "He's in the Hospital Wing suffering from 'minor head injuries'. He's livid but Madam Pomfrey says he can't play Beater in the Quiditch match coz of bad concussion. I call it luck! Now they have to find a new Beater in five days!"

"Yeah, good," said Seamus, forcing a smile, but really he was feeling incredibly guilty. And scared. What if Madam Pince had seen him tip the bookshelf over? He hadn't meant to, but it was still serious.

"I heard Blaise Zabini's trying out," said Parvati.

"That idiot?" laughed Dean. "He couldn't hit a girl let alone a Bludger. Personally I reckon it's going to be a great match. Piers is their only good Beater. They're not going to find anyone that good so we'll definitely get a good advantage. I just hope it doesn't rain. I hate sitting in the stands when it's pouring; you can't see what's going on."

"Yeah," Seamus agreed, pretending to be interested in his homework. "So do I."

Really his mind was filled with thoughts of Callista. It was Valentine's Day tomorrow and he was still really nervous about taking Callista on a date. What was he going to do? What if when he asked her where she wanted to go she did that whole, "I don't mind. You choose," thing and he was stuck.

He was getting a bit panicky now. It was going to be a total disaster! It couldn't be a disaster! He was in love with this girl! She made him go all gooey whenever he thought about her! If he mucked this up he was not going to be able to live with himself.

"I'm going to bed," he said, before he started to panic. As he bid goodnight to his housemates, he was worrying. This date could not go wrong. There was no way it could. If it did he was going to throw himself in the lake and drown.

He imagined his funeral. Parvati weeping. Lavender also crying. Dean, Ron and Harry pale and lost for words. Girls wailing everywhere like they always did at any death. Callista absent from the ceremony: has committed hari-kari under full moon in despair. Isabella Giordano there, though, ashen-faced and full of regret at being such a cow.

Seamus shook his head. In his dreams. His parents would be the only ones upset at his death. He retired to bed feeling utterly depressed.

"Oi! Finnigan! Get up!"

"What? DEAN!"

"Today's your lucky day!"

"What?"

Seamus rolled over. He didn't realise there was no more bed to roll onto and fell off onto the floor.

"OWW! Dean, I swear..."

"Don't swear, it's rude."

"Shut up. What are you doing?"

"Waking you up. You've got three hours to get ready for your date."

"What?"

"You arranged to meet Clarissa -"

"Callista."

"- at eleven, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's nine o clock."

"ARGH!"

"Look, chill out. All you have to do it get ready and eat. Then you can go and woo the fair Clarissa."

"Callista."

"I prefer Clarissa. It's prettier."

"Well I prefer Dave to Dean but I don't call you Dave do I?" said Seamus, getting up irritably and pulling off his pyjama shirt.

"Get you."

Seamus scowled and dressed sullenly, with the same feeling in his stomach as when he had eaten Dean's home-made dumplings. The first date of the rest of his life.

Why was he so nervous? It wasn't like he'd never been with a girl before. What about Lavender? She was a girl. And even though he hadn't actually gone on a date with her, Corinne Cooper was still a girlfriend.

"Going out". It was such a stupid expression. All he and Corinne had really done was snog. So basically being boyfriend and girlfriend was translated as going out, even if they never went on a date. It's so stupid, thought Seamus. Technically, Callista's the first girl I'm going out with but she's not my first girlfriend.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Dean, who Seamus suddenly realised was standing in the room.

"I thought only girlfriends asked that?" said Seamus, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, but your face was all weird," said Dean. "Were you thinking about that incident with Neville and Harry? Because you looked pretty disgusted. Your face was all screwed up."

Seamus made a mental note not to let his mind wander when with Callista. If he really was making idiotic faces when he thought about stuff like that he didn't want the potential love of his life to see.

"So, how far do you plan to go?" asked Dean. "Do you plan to shag her?"

"What? No! Not after the first date!" Seamus said indignantly.

"So you're going to just snog her?"

"If it doesn't all go wrong, yeah."

"Aren't you the gentleman? If it was me I'd be in bed with her ASAP. She's bloody gorgeous."

"I know. That's why I asked her out."

"You don't like her for her sparkling personality and sharp wit?"

"She's nice but mainly coz she's hot," admitted Seamus.

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"You shallow git."

Seamus stuck his tongue out.

"And you're not, I suppose?"

Dean shrugged.

"Didn't say that."

"You implied it."

"No, you interpreted it."

"Shut up."

Dean laughed but went down for breakfast. Seamus followed him. He was pleased that Callista wasn't at the table for some reason. Maybe it was because he didn't want a nerve-wracking and awkward pre-date moment.

Once he had finished he scooted back to Gryffindor tower to prepare for his date. Well, what was there to do really? He stared at the mirror and tried to make his hair go right.

Seamus scanned his appearance, taking in everything and working out its characteristics. His hair. Well it could be worse. It was "sandy" according to his mother. He stared at it, wishing it could be slightly less mousy. But it was ok. It didn't stick up all over the place like Harry's. In fact it pretty much behaved itself.

Eyes? He wished they were deep brown as girls seemed to like brown eyes. However they remained light blue, no matter how hard he willed them to change colour. The shape was ok, at least. Nose? Fine. Mouth? Fine. Skin? Very good, actually. He never got spots. There were a few very light freckles on his nose but they were practically invisible. Also he was getting quite tall. He was never going to be as tall as Ron Weasley, but he was taller than Harry or Dean. Luckily he was also taller than almost all the girls he knew, which was useful.

He glanced at the clock. It was quarter to eleven. He needed to go now if he was going to meet Callista. He walked slowly down the stairs and through the portrait hole so he didn't look too eager. When he reached the entrance hall he found Callista standing chatting to Grace Potterton. She smiled when she saw Seamus.

"Hi!" she said, brightly. She was wearing a deep-cut light blue sweater and black trousers. She looked really pretty. Seamus felt his heart flutter around in his chest.

"Hi," he said. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," said Callista, looking happy. "Seeya Grace."

"Bye Cal," said Grace, and wandered off into the crowd of students that filled the hall.

Seamus didn't know what to do really, so he took Callista's hand. She seemed to like it. They went outside and walked down the path that led to Hogsmeade.

"So where do you want to go?" asked Seamus.

"I haven't been to Hogsmeade before," said Callista.

Dammit, thought Seamus. I forgot she hadn't been.

"I know! You could give me a tour!" said Callista brightly.

"Good idea," said Seamus, thanking God silently that Callista had come up with the idea.

He took her around the town. Snow was beginning to fall by the time they were halfway around it, so Seamus suggested they go inside and have something to eat.

"The Three Broomsticks is nice," he said, but Callista had become distracted.

"This place is sooooooooooo cute!" she cooed, staring inside Madam Puddifoot's Teashop. "Can we go in here? Please?"

Dammit, Seamus thought, but to Callista he said, "Of course."

He regretted going inside instantly. There was heart-shaped confetti falling from the ceiling, and cherubs were flying around everywhere. It was so tacky Seamus wanted to be sick. His first reaction was to run as fast as possible toward Zonko's but something told him that wasn't the best idea if he wanted to keep Callista interested in him.

He sat down at a table. Callista joined him and sat daintily in her seat. Seamus felt like he could just look at her forever and ever...

"Hello dears. What would you like?"

Seamus jumped about a foot in the air. He had been ambushed by a tall, thin woman with a notebook that was presumable Madam Puddifoot. Odd. He had expected someone round and short. She's no Madam Rosmerta, Seamus thought disappointedly. He had always liked the pretty landlady of his favourite pub.

"Err...what do you want?" he asked Callista.

"I'll have what you're having," she said sweetly. Seamus gulped and ordered two Butterbeers. This was such a stupid place! Why would anyone in their right minds want to come here? It was just so...tacky. He wished he was somewhere else. He didn't feel comfortable in here.

In the table next to them was Blaise Zabini locked in a close embrace with a dark-haired girl. Seamus couldn't see her face because she was kissing Zabini fiercely, but he reckoned it to be Isabella. He knew Zabini had been planning to ask her out, anyway.

Callista smiled at him.

"You're really beautiful, Callista, do you know that?" said Seamus, on impulse.

"Thank you!" said Callista, smiling. "But please...call me Callie."

Seamus felt his heart swell. She had asked him to call her Callie! He remembered what she'd said to him in that first Transfiguration lesson they'd had together. "I only let people I...really like...call me that." She must really like him!!!

The drinks arrived and spoilt the moment slightly. Whilst he was sipping his Butterbeer, Seamus noticed Zabini and Isabella had broken apart. However to his surprise it wasn't Isabella that was accompanying Zabini. It was in fact Tracy Davis, a dark-haired Slytherin girl Seamus had Potions with.

Without realising, Seamus had drained his glass. He shook himself and looked at Callista, who had also finished her drink. She was looking out of the window, her hand on the table. Seamus gritted his teeth and put his hand on top of hers.

Callista seemed to like it, because she smiled at him.

"Look," she said, nodding toward the window. "It's snowing."

So it was. Seamus thought it was perfect timing. It hardly ever snowed in February.

"Shall we go?" he suggested, eager to get away from the café and Zabini and Davis, who were kissing again.

"Ok," said Callista. She didn't seem eager to talk. It really wasn't the best date Seamus had ever been on. Well, actually it was. It was the first.

He paid for the drinks (tetchily noticing that they were at least five sickles more than in the Three Broomsticks) and led Callista outside.

They walked along a bit, hand in hand, when they got to a small shop. It was closed, so they couldn't go inside, but over the door there was a kind of awning that kept the snow off. They retreated under it, and Seamus could sense that now was the time if he wanted a kiss.

Then he made his fatal mistake.

He put his arms around Callista. She appeared to like it because she returned his embrace. However Seamus glanced to his left, and realised that Draco Malfoy was also under the awning kissing a girl. But it wasn't Carey Briggs as Seamus had expected. She had dark hair and olive skin. She was tall and willowy. She was wearing a red polo-neck jumper.

It was Isabella Giordano.

And Seamus didn't know why he suddenly had an urge to thump Malfoy.

When he looked back to Callista, he realised he'd nearly missed his chance. Callista's face was very close to his - he nearly bashed into her head, she was that close - and her lips were slightly pursed.

Ah, what the Hell, thought Seamus, and - still conscious of Isabella and Malfoy next to him - moved his face an inch forwards and kissed Callista.