𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨-𝙧.𝙖.𝙗

𝟬𝟱-𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗱𝘂𝗸𝗲𝘀

IT'S HARDLY EVEN ELEVEN IN THE MORNING, AND JO IS EXHAUSTED.

Her day started off with Dorcas pulling and yanking at her hair, nearly ripping the follicles right out in the name of trying to straighten it out. But her hair, true to Potter fashion, fought valiantly against any attempts at lying flat. It took about forty-five minutes before Dorcas could even get one side of Jo's hair as sleek and shiny as she wanted it. And the outfit was even worse than that. Alice tossed her tights and skirts and dresses and sweaters and boots and necklaces, until Jo's bed was buried under a mountain of fabrics. And by the end of it, when Jo was staring in the mirror, now sleek hair longer than usual and dressed up in a crocheted patchwork sweater and bell bottoms, she thought all that work, all that time and effort, was hardly even worth it.

She thought she looked good before, and Ivan Reed had hardly done anything worthy enough to deserve all this.

And now, her brother and his band of baboons are going to great lengths to get under her skin.

"Now, remember, Little Potter," Sirius says, tossing his arm over Jo's shoulders just for a second before she's shoving him off of her; he continues unphased, "we're going to hit Zonko's, Honeydukes, and then we'll be at the Three Broomsticks for the rest of the day. So if anything goes wrong, you'll know where to go."

Jo rolls her eyes, perched up on the back of a couch while Sirius and James lecture her. She had hardly been in the common room for a second before the two of them ambushed her. And she's thinking that there must be something she's missing, because, Merlin, it's just a date. "Right, and we mean if anything goes wrong," James tells her, tone severe and he's looking down at her like he's really worried, like something awful is about to happen. It's enough to make her chuckle under her breath.

"Piss off," she tells him, with a light shove to his shoulder.

But James is persistent. "Really, if he ends up being a complete tosser or just wants to have a little too much fun-"

"Or he just says anything that makes you uncomfortable-" Sirius continues,

"Do you think I'm incapable of taking care of myself?" Jo asks the two of them, and her own words sound familiar as they echo in her head, though she can't quite place from where.

"Nah," Remus says, and Jo twists around to face him. He and Peter are slouched on the couches, watching, and smirking and waiting. "They're just inflating their own sense of self-importance."

Peter nods and tosses Jo a sympathetic look. "They like to pretend you still need them, Jo. Really, it's a bit sad."

"Would you two piss off?" Sirius snaps back at the two of them. "It's Little Potter's first date. That's a big deal."

James is attentive, fixated on his little sister and he puts his hands on her shoulders. "I swear, if Reed does anything -"

"Sod off, James."

"Seriously, Josie, you'll come and get me if you need anything, right?"

And James's expression is so sincere and innocent that Jo almost feels bad. She gives him a half-lopsided grin and says, "Sure."

Jo doesn't need anything, though, because Ivan is the perfect gentleman.

He greets her at the castle entrance, looking dashing in a set of robes, with a single white rose that, once in Jo's hand, turned into a flurry of petals, flying in the air and fluttering against her face like little kisses. Jo smiles and thinks about it for the rest of the day.

Ivan takes her by the arm, leading her through the small village, over the piles of leaves and in and out of stores, scent of hot cider and wet ground heavy in the air. It's chilly out, even for October, and Ivan holds her close to him, blocking out the wind with his broad shoulders. He buys her a few sweets from Honeydukes, and he splits a box of Bertie Bot's with her. Ivan got cherry flavor. Jo got spinach and liver.