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･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.
FEBRUARY FALLS ACROSS THE ANCIENT CASTLE OF HOGWARTS in sickening hues of pinks, at once brightening its dismal stone walls and breathing life back into the pale, frigid, and barren Scotland winter plains surrounding it while simultaneously mimicking ostentatious Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop on any ordinary day, but tenfold.
As much as Lydia wishes she could be lying, she isn't. Aside from the fact that she's now dating her sort of boyfriend who she was fake-dating previously (something that still confounds and bemuses her), the Great Hall of the school is decorated thoroughly and magnificently for Saint Valentine's Day with, and not limited to, various sorts of garlands and streamers ranging from red to pink to white in colour, crisscrossing overhead the tables, hanging along the walls, and dangling in between ornate portraits of old sleeping wizards and witches alike. Even if one were to desperately try to avoid the occasion by ignoring the Great Hall, the festivities still seem to pour out amongst the students wandering about in the corridors and classrooms, passing cards to harbored crushes and sweets to friends.
As disgustingly cheesy as it sounds, Lydia doesn't think there to be a more perfect time for her to come to her heartwarming realization about James Potter then now. Nearly two weeks and, while nothing seemingly has changed from an outsider's perspective, everything has changed at the same time. Which is, perhaps, what makes the whole ordeal both wonderful and that much more confusing. On the one hand, Lydia doesn't have to deal with prying eyes and rumours being spread because she's already had to endure all those months ago; on the other hand, she has no one, not even Phoebe, to discuss serious boyfriend matters with, such as her realizing her true feelings (how can she tell Phoebe that without giving away the fact that she was pretending to date James in the first place while avoiding being humiliated by her friend?) and possibly gushing about what it's like to kiss James Potter (solely for the purposes of grossing Phoebe out, she swears).
She wonders if one day she'll ever tell Phoebe or Bellamy the truth - and maybe one day the time will present itself. For now, she's stuck with James, though as far as partners go he isn't all that terrible. Him, and the only other person who does know making her sort of want to curl up into a ball and die of embarrassment being the one and only Sirius Black. Despite his cocky behaviour, he's kept quiet about Lydia's secret and whatever silent rift that formed between him and James is gone just as fast as a blink of an eye. But that still doesn't mean Lydia can face him properly - or even wants to face him at all - though he doesn't seem to notice or perhaps even care.
As Lydia finds herself waiting for James, stood in the overwhelmingly decorated Great Hall on the morning of Valentine's Day with the promising trip into Hogsmeade inspiring a sense of excitement in the air around her and in her very own veins, she spots Sirius strolling casually into the hall with Peter in tow. He doesn't notice her at first, not until Peter starts talking to another Gryffindor girl and Sirius, in search of a distraction to his signature boredom, casts a gaze about the room and spots her. As soon as he catches her eye, he smiles genuinely and nods in her direction, pushing his feet to join her.
