Work Hard to Play Hard ||Open

[ALICE MARIE LOGAN]

Her backpack was stuffed full of her ususal textbooks that she brought with her to classes throughout the day. Normally she left her afternoon books back in her dorm room and would exchange her morning books for her afternoon books. But today she required all of her textbooks since she planned to do some major studying in the library. It wasn't that she was behind on her homework but she needed to get ahead on things since the weekend was almost here. The weekends were always reserved for fun and enjoyment with her friends. Her mind could not be weighed down by things like unfinished assignments and papers that she needed to start. So after her last class finished for the day Alice lifted up her heavy back pack and went down to the library.

Some afternoons the library was packed but Alice always managed to find herself a little table to spread out her books and parchments while she worked. Her shoulders felt sore from the heavy backpack but she kept walking forward through the heavy wooden doors of the library. Although she was paying attention to where she was walking, at the same time she was going over everything that had to be completed this afternoon. Her charms essay, potions lists, divinations reading and notes, ancient runes assignment. It was a long list but that was Alice's own fault since she wanted to maintain as many classes as she could. Better classes would mean a better job for her in life.

Her bright blue eyes scanned the various tables to see which were occupied and which were free for use. Eventually she found one table that was large enough but close to a window so she could have some sunlight. Her backpack made a thud sound when it hit the ground before Alice assumed her seat. Still in her school uniform since it would have been a long walk to change into her regular clothing. Then she reached into her backpack and pulled out a few of her textbooks and placed them on the table. But she opened the charms one up first since she knew that assignment would take the longest.

The parchment unrolled and she dripped her quill into the ink pot before she wrote her name at the top of the page. Next came the year she was in, and then the assignement. Her blue kepts jumped back to the book as she searched for the words she needed. A small smile formed on her lips as she looked through the book some more.

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

If he was being quite honest James wasn't entirely sure where the library was. When had he ever had need to go there? It wasn't as if he actually studied. All homework was done by the fire in the common room with Sirius and the two of them would spend most of the time winding each other up until they realised it was twenty to midnight and they should probably scrawl down something that was acceptable or perhaps give up completely and risk detention. Studying was just not in James' vocabulary. Even when it came to exam periods he didn't bother to pick up a book. He knew that he knew just enough to pass the subjects that he was bothered about and passing was what counted. He wasn't bothered about getting top of the class or achieving above his expectations a pass was a pass and if he could get one without studying then why bother? He had more fun things to do than read.

Truth be told though he had been in the library just last year. As part of his Padfoot and Wormtail's quest to become animagi. It had been a horrendous experience and one the Gryffindor did not wish to repeat. Musty smelling, dusty aisles and aisles of books and the silence. James shuddered when he thought of it; oppressive and real he felt like he could get eaten up by the silence in the library. James had hung around only because it was paramount that they found a certain book that was going to help them. He had to admit he was rather thankful for the library's existence back then but he did prefer to send Peter to collect the required reading rather than venture to the place himself.

But James found himself forced to enter today. He didn't like it, in fact his breathing quickened slightly and he genuinely thought he was going crazy; perhaps he had an irrational fear of the library? Was that even possible? Whatever, he was here and unfortunately not going anywhere. Several students that he passed by gave him 'are you lost?' looks which did not surprise him, he was surprised he'd even managed to find the place and for two years he hadn't even known Hogwarts had a library. He just thought Remus wandered off for very long walks.

The reason for his entry to the place was in search of someone and James had been reliably informed that Alice was in the library so that was why he was here. James searched up and down the many aisles and in between tables until he spotted her working away and he bounded over quickly, knocking into an irritated Ravenclaw who did nothing but glare silently at him (probably didn't want to ruin the ambiance). "Alice!" James said loudly as he sat down at her table causing more glares to be thrown his way. Rather than look abashed, James rolled his eyes and dramatically lowered his voice. "I've been looking for you, can we chat?" James grinned eagerly at her hoping to persuade her to let him talk rather than focus on her homework. "I come bearing gifts" he wheedled, pulling the Halloween based treats he had recently purchased stolen from Honeydukes's cellar out from his red jumper's pocket.

He dropped the chocolates and sweets on the table over her work and books and gave her his devilish grin. "So how are you? You look strangely happy about writing an essay." He asked first off because he wasn't so rude as to jump straight in with what he wanted and besides Alice was his friend, he did actually care about her welfare.

words 600 odd
notes hope you don't mind me gatecrashing!

[ALICE MARIE LOGAN]

There was a certain drive that Alice had when it came to bettering herself through studies and hard work. She was ambitious and wanted the best for herself and she knew that the best would be achieved through the best grades and the best training. It was no secret that she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and become an Auror. Everyone in Gryffindor knew her little goal for her life and they knew not to get in her way when she was working towards it. Some mornings she woke up to go running around the castle so she would physically be in the best shape when the time came. Aurors needed to be in decent shape to chase after bad guys and Alice wanted to hold her own against men. But it would be a tough time to get through Auror training since she was a female afterall. Women were far between in the Auror department mainly because some women were not as tough as Alice was. At least Alice hoped that she was tough but she knew that when people looked at her all they saw was innocence.

Innocent and a naive blond who thought the world of everyone. She was smiling and happy and she knew that Aurors in charge of training would love to break her. No one could lay a hand on her in a sexual way but they could physically train her and break her down real fast if they wanted. Alice was not stupid so she was preparing herself mentally to go through all of that. But now her mind was not thinking about that, it was focusing on the essay in front of her. It was her priority and the task at hand if she wanted to just relax this weekend. Maybe her and Molly would go down to Hogsmead and do a little bit of shopping. Something fun that would get her and Molly talking again. Ever since admitting to her crush on Frank, Molly hadn't really been too nice towards Alice. They barely spoke now, although Molly had assured Alice that it was alright. Nothing felt alright anymore and Alice didn't know how to return to the way things used to be.

It was frustrating and she was a little bit on edge. But still she held her head up high and was trying to show her usual self. The usual girl that was fun and bubbly and not upset by silly drama between her best friend and boys. How did she even develop this crush on Frank Longbottom? The guy barely spoke to her and although they ran in the same social circles they barely knew anything about each other. Alice began to fall into her own little world of thoughts and drama so she did not even notice as James approached her and sat down at her table.

As soon as he said her name she jumped slightly and looked up at him. "Oh James! Hey... how are you?" She asked as she quickly grabbed some of her books and put them away so he would ahve room at the table. "Ok... what did you want to talk about?" Alice asked as she set down her quill for later. It was unlikely that she would get any work done while James was sitting with her. Not that she minded since the essay was super boring and there was always later that night for her to work on it.

When he dropped the sweets on the table Alice leaned closer and took a piece or two that she popped into her mouth. "I'm not happy about the essay but it has to be done." She commented. "But other than that I'm alright... How are you?" It was only polite to ask and it was a great way for James to lead in with what was on his mind that he wanted to talk to Alice about.

(I'm glad you did reply! Alice and James totally needed a thread together!)

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

Like Alice, James had ambitions to become an auror. Though that was only if professional quidditch fell through. Which unless he got injured he found unlikely. He wasn't much of a hard worker; that was well established but it didn’t mean he wasn’t capable. Perhaps next year he would actually have to buckle down and put in a bit more effort. Perhaps that would be an empty promise he made to himself. But he did still want to join the resistance and fight against this so called dark lord. James had recently seen the effects of what his followers could do and it did not make for a comfortable experience having to comfort a fifteen year old girl who had just been subjected to torture. It had made him realise that there were dangerous people within the castle that weren't afraid to put dark magic to test and that in itself was a frightening thought and made him work so much harder in defence against the dark arts classes from now on. And if they could do that to a pure blood what horrors would they subject to muggleborns like Lily? He shuddered at the thought.

He unwrapped one of the sweets sucking it as he nodded in response to Alice saying that she was good. He nodded quickly answering the return question and crunching down on the hard candy chewing and swallowing so that he didn't talk with his mouth full. "Yeah I'm good too thanks. Very good actually." he glanced around, conscious that the library was extremely quiet and it would be quite easy for someone to over hear what he was about to say even though all he really wanted to do was scream it from the top of the astronomy tower. "I err," he laughed shortly; nervous and excited all at once. "I’ve got a date with Lily!" He practically bounced up and down in his seat grinning across at her. "But shhhh I'm not supposed to have told anyone! So you can't tell, especially not Lily that you know." he knew that Alice and Lily didn't just share a dorm together but were rather good friends as well and he supposed he was asking Alice to break some sort of friendship code that girls kept. But out of everyone, even more than his marauders sometimes, Alice had been one of the most supportive. It was basically his duty to inform her of his success.

James popped another sweet into his mouth; his elation evident. This was something he had waited a long time to happen and he was slightly peeved that Lily wasn't allowing him to share his joy but it was understandable, she had put herself out there and been so vulnerable that day in the courtyard. Not to mention the entire school would have a field when they found out which would be a little uncomfortable for Lily considering she had spent the last few years treating him with disdain. So he would keep details to a minimum, Alice didn't need to know the ins and outs just yet but anyway surely this was enough news in itself. Of course he had told his marauders. They had all proceeded to tease him about it which showed just what kind of friends they were. Amazing ones of course but not very useful on the advice front. Especially Sirius whose dating record was longer than the quidditch pitch and whose advice consisted of how to cop a feel under the table. James was proud to say he was much more of a gentleman than that so he needed a woman's advice.

"The thing is," he started, nerves beginning to creep into his voice. "I don't really know what to do. I've never had a date before." he admitted. "And I don't really know what girls expect. Or what I'm supposed to do or anything." he looked at her pleadingly, conveying just how much he needed just a shred of advice. "I can't mess this up Alice."


(Yessss! I'm glad you agree xD)

[ALICE MARIE LOGAN]

Her father had been her role model since she was a young child since he used to come back with these grand stories about capturing the bad guy while he was away on assignment. It always seemed like he was the strongest Auror out there and he was the bravest and the smartest. Now she knew that her father was just telling her things since although he was a strong guy he definately was not the bravest or the smartest. Alice loved him dearly but she knew now that he was telling her fantastic stories to keep her amusement as a child. still Alice Logan wanted to live up to her father's name in the Auror business and there was talk of Alice graduating from Hogwarts. The ministry department seemed interested but Alice knew that children following in thier parents foot steps were always treated differently. It was like Alice would have all of the odd stacked against her when it came to her career choice but that wasn't going to stop Alice.

His responce seemed to show that something amazing had happened to him and Alice was definatley interested in what he was about to tell her. She loved to hear about how people were doing well and how they were happy with thier lives, exspecially her friends. It was hard for Alice to upset her friends, which is why confession to Molly hurt her so much. It felt like she was betraying her best friend by developing a harmless crush on him. It was harmless and Alice hated it. Mostly because Frank Longbottom didn't even notice her and he avoided contact with her whenever possible. It was like he knew about her crush and was avoiding her so she would just forget about him. Suddenly James spoke and told Alice his great news. A smile spread across her face as well as laughter when others around them told him to be quiet. "James! thats great! Have you decided where you are going to take her? Obviously like Hogsmeade or something." She said and just smiled. Friendship was great and Alice was so happy that something was happening and going well for someone's love life. Her own just seemed to be going flat at the moment.

His responce made her feel a bit sad since she wasn't quite sure what to tell him. Lily was her own person and James should impress her with his own self not whatever Alice suggested. So she smiled and shurgged. "Why don't you jsut do something simple like dinner or lunch." She suggested. "Obviously you want to show her who you are and not do something that neither of you like.... Just be yourself James. She already agreed to go out with you so the hard part is basically over." She explained and then looked down at her notebook. In her mind she was thinking about the way Frank smiled and how he would have been romantic towards her if he only knew she was alive. Right now she envied Lily for having a guy who was nervous and excited to take her out on a date.

"So how did you ask her out? I didn't even know that you were planning to." Then again Alice had been out of the loop recently since she was busy with schoolwork. Schoolwork and avoiding Molly after her confession. Right now she just wanted to hear the details of James asking out Lily. It would cheer her up to be caught up on gossip and stuff.

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

Usually James was a bundle of energy and confidence. That in particular was something he did not lack. He would throw himself at anything head first regardless of how much of an idiot he looked and worry about the consequences later. Or not. Worrying was not something the young Gryffindor did very often. He didn't bother himself stressing over upcoming deadlines or how much trouble he was going to be in when because he still hadn't handed in a single piece of charms homework since they had arrived back at school. There was no point. If you spent your time stressing and worrying then you were wasting your time in James' opinion. And life was supposed to be lived to the fullest, not wasted away. And James was proud to say that he did indeed get the most out of life. Living on the edge was where it was at.


Saying that, his impending date with Lily was taking over his life and filling him with worry. He didn't like it, it was unnatural to him. But he couldn't help it, all day and all night his thoughts were consumed by her she was always on his mind, even more so now they had agreed to a date, even more so since they had confessed their love to each other. Love that was what this was. That Constant burning feeling inside of him making it hard to eat or sleep or think straight. And it was amazing. Completely awe-inspiring, overwhelming, filling him up and spilling out of him and making him feel sick to his very stomach. With worry.

James nodded in response to her question, biting on his bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth, a habit he had when he was nervous. Nervous just thinking about it, Merlin only knew what he’d be like on the day. ”Yeah, Hogsmeade. I was thinking we would meet for a drink in the Three Broomsticks.” Keep it casual, then there would be no pressure for either of them, it wouldn’t even feel like it was a date. Except they’d both be there, together, alone, hopefully being civil toward one another. ”And then take a walk together, if the weather’s nice, somewhere a little quieter.” Because the pub would undeniably be busy and noisy and James was selfish he wanted to spend some time with just Lily alone and that included no people in the background. He looked across at his fellow lion, head tilted to one side, asking her what she thought of his plan.

His teeth began to dig into his bottom lip now, chewing on it frantically. ”She thinks I’m a, and I quote, ‘arrogant, bullying toerag.’ Do you really think I can get her to see me differently? Just be myself... okay... alright.” The truth was, James was arrogant, he could be a bully, but his heart was ten times bigger than his brain. The problem was Lily zoned in on his bad points and completely ignored his good side. But away from his friends, away from Snivelly and even being away from the school would mean that the other side of him, the gentle, caring, considerate, loyal and (hopefully) charming side would come to the forefront. Perhaps actually all the two of them needed was to spend some time together alone, James so he could change his ways and Lily so she could change her opinion. Fingers crossed.

The Gryffindor male had everything crossed. Just like he did every time he asked her out. He could recall the last time it happened perfectly and it wasn’t long before the trusty James Potter grin was back. ”I’m always planning to ask her out, Alice.” James said with a roll of his eyes. It was true; every time he saw her he would without doubt pop the question. ”It was the other Saturday,” He launched head first into the tale. ”And I accidentally whacked her with my broomstick on the way back from quidditch practice and of course we got into a huge fight and well one thing led to another...” This was where the story got tricky because he didn’t want to reveal that they had both said the ‘L’ word. ”We both said some things and I managed to convince her that I could change and so yeah... I asked her out and this time, she said yes.” He banged his fist triumphantly down on the table. ”Yes, Alice! I didn’t even know that word was in Evans’ vocabulary.”

[ALICE MARIE LOGAN]

It had been forever since she last went out with someone. Not that no one was asking but Alice just wasn't interested in everyone else anymore. She wanted someone specific but she knew that he was probably off limits thanks to Molly. Girlfriends came before boys and Alice respected herself and her frienship enough to follow that moral girl code. Afterall boys couldn't be in the girls dorms and who would she bitch to late at night or have a pillow fight with. Girls would always be there but boys came and went out of lives faster than the seasons changed. Alice had seen so many girls heart broken and she honestly she was scared of going through that herself. Obviously she kept herself guarded from that but all she wanted was to feel the love that Molly felt when she had been with Frank. Nothing could make Molly frown when they were together, minus their sudden breakup. But she knew that she was just going crazy at this point and focusing on her studies and on her friends problem would help take her mind away from everything.

She was a good and loyal friend so her problems were pushed away in her mind and she focused solely on James and his date with Lily. Alice and Lily met thier first year and although they weren't super close they were always decent friends. The kind of friends that allowed for them to rant to each other and study together. Alice always cheered for her during quidditch but she was hopeful that they would grow closer since Molly was graduating this year. And having a best girlfriend around was important to Alice since she always needed that one person to talk to and confess her silly crushes to.

Listening to James' plan for the date was important since obviously a first date would make or break a relationship. If the girl hated the activity then she would be very reluctant to jump into a second date or if the guy seemed to desperate then it would fail. If the guy seemed too be jumping through hoops just to impress her and the girl was unamused then the date failed as well. So much pressure on guys to plan a great date and to have plenty of conversational topics so the conversation flowed. "That sounds great... what will you talk about though? I mean the last thing you want is to get there and have no idea what to say to her." Her comments were probably going to panic him but Alice just wanted to make sure that he was ready for this. It was a big deal and she so desperately wanted James and Lily to have a good time. In her mind they were just so cute together and they played off of each other well.

Certain couples just worked so perfect together in her mind. James and Lily... Molly and Frank. There she went again with Frank and Molly. Jelious and angry that she couldn't do anything about her crush without offending Molly. She looked back at James and laughed at his comment about how Lily always called him a bully and stuff. "I am sure that once you guys are alone then she will see how much of a good guy you can be. Your friends just hold too much power over you and get you in trouble."

Friends had a funny way of making the nicest guy into an asshole due to peer pressure. And at thier age they all felt it in some way. Alice felt the pressure to study to get good grades and the pressure to forget her crush on Frank. But she knew that Lily would just see all of the good in James. "Oh I didn't know that." She replied after he mentioned that he had always planned on asking her out. Alice had just been clueless to her friends recently. But the story of how it happened was cute in it's own sort of way. A smile appeared on her lips as he told her about it. "James that sounds just like you and 'Yes' has always been in her vocabulary. She said yes when I asked her to study last week." She said and giggled at her own little humor. "I am so excited for you James... its so nice that at least someone is getting to be with the person that they want." Secretly Alice was upset with Molly for being upset about Alice's crush and she was upset that Frank barely even knew of her so it was unlikely that they would ever be together.

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

This week was obviously a week of firsts. James had successfully found the library, lily had agreed to a date with him, the sun was actually out even though lately the weather had been typically British with the constant dreary rain. Things were just going well. Although he was incredibly nervous, he couldn't help but feel on top of the world. Like if he stepped off from the top of the astronomy tower, he would just float because he was so light with happiness. Yes, currently it was good to be James potter. Honestly, James was always of a positive attitude so he usually agreed that it was always good to be James potter but at the minute, no one could disagree.

Alice had a good point. Conversation on first dates could be dry, dull and hard to come by. But James was good in that area, he was sure he'd be able to make conversation, he was easy going and relaxed even in pressured or stressful situations, if anything those were the type of scenarios where he thrived rather than panicked. But it was a good point; he should make sure he had a list of conversation starters because it could get very awkward. "I think I'll be okay..." he said, sounding only slightly uneasy. “I have lots of things I want to ask her I mean... I hardly know her..." he didn't. He had no clue. She was the pretty, intelligent and brilliant at charms, muggleborn redhead and that was really all he knew. He didn't know her likes or dislikes, where she lived, her family and how well she got on with them... It was a sign of how much she had really put him at a distance over the years, they had never just sat and chatted on their own and they most certainly had never had a conversation that hadn't involved an argument.

This was exactly why he had come to Alice. She knew exactly what to say to put him at ease. He just needed someone to look at him and say James, it's going to be okay and that was exactly what she had just done. He beamed at her gratefully trying to convey just how much that meant to him. "Thank you, Alice. I hope so." and again she was right. His friends, mainly Sirius had a way of influencing him to act stupid and immature and that was something that lily had always made perfectly clear that she disliked. He grimaced slightly because there really was no way he could change that behaviour and quite frankly, he didn't want to. He chuckled at her joke, continuing to grin appreciatively and he couldn't help but notice the undercurrent to her following sentiment.

A slight frown creased his forehead. Usually boys weren't so good at picking up on signals like that but James was a conscientious person. "So how's your dating life going? I can't believe no one is interested in you, Allie." he said it with a smile, using a nickname to put her at ease in his James way but his expression was serious. After all, Alice had learnt her ear to him it was the least he could do to return the favour. "Spill." he said, slapping his hands on the table (at a decibel suited to the library of course). He didn't know if Alice wanted to share but he made it clear that he was here if she did. Plus, James could offer a few words of support himself since he shared a dorm with one Frank Longbottom and word on the hogs arts grapevine was that he had his sights on the girl sitting adjacent to him.

[ i fail for making you wait and i'm not very happy with it but i needed to post! <3 ]