I hope you always find a reason to smile -- February 1976

I always hated Hogsmeade visits that happened on Valentine's day.  I know the school did it on purpose, but what about those who had no dates?  It had to be miserable.  I mean, I was not one of those without a date, but still -- it had to suck to be them.  I meandered the soggy streets of the village, looking around, and saw a brunette all by herself.  Smiling, I walked over to her, putting an arm around her shoulder.  "Well, well... looks like James succeeded in keeping you from being able to have a date again, didn't he?" I teased, looking over at Ember.

I laughed and looked up at Jeremy.  "Oh, I don't know... there's this guy who apparently loves the thrill of possibly getting killed at any second," I said, smiling.  "Oh wait a moment!  He looks remarkably like you!"  I nudged him playfully with my elbow.

I leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips.  "Yeah, well, I like to live on the edge," I teased.  I dropped my arm and took hold of her hand.  "Please, tell me you don't want to go in there," I added, pointing at the little tea shoppe that was way overly done for Valentine's day.  It was ridiculous.  I was sure the only reason why any guy would step foot in there was because they were expecting to get shagged later in the evening.

Oh how I would love to torture Jeremy by going into that little cafe, but I was pretty sure it would be torture on myself as well.  And I was definitely not into that.  I laughed and shook my head.  "Definitely not," I assured him.  "I'm not that evil."  I could be, but Jeremy never saw taht side of me... yet.

I raised my eyebrows at her.  "Oh, really?  I know you can be that evil," I pointed out to her.  "I have seen you pull out your evil side on a couple of other students."  I smirked at her, thinking that it was rather cute when she got feisty like that.

I laughed and attempted to smile innocently.  "I dont know whta you speak of," I said, looking around for a different topic than my evilness.  I saw the Marauders coming out of Zonko's.  I grabbed Jeremy's arm and pulled him into the small space between a copule of buildings.  "I don't want them to see us... We both know what James will do," I whispered, always enjoying being this close to Jeremy.

I chuckled and nodded.  "Correct... we don't want to have to deal wtih James," I agreed, smirking.  I brushed some of her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.  "You really should have a hat on, m'dear," I added, noticing how her ears were a little pink.  It was still rather chilly outside this February.

"Hmm... maybe my boyfriend could buy me a hat for Valentine's day," I said, winking at him.  I took his hand and led him down the street.  "I do have a present for you, Mr. Taylor..." I was being vague because I did not want to give away what I was going to do for him.

I raised my eyebrows at her.  "And what if said boyfriend already has a gift for his girl?" I inquired playfully.  I was now curious as to what she ha up her sleeve for me.

I smiled as innocnetly as I could.  "Then get her another one," I said simply to him, hoping that I coudl con him into getting me mor ethings.

I rolled my eyes at her.  "My, my... I think my girlfriend is becoming rather high maintenance," I teased, looking at Ember with a smile on my face.

I grinned at him.  "Oh, Jeremy.  Your girlfriend was always high maintenance... she just hid it well," I said to him, leading the way towards one of the closest shoppes.  It was rather chilly out and I wanted to get in some warmth.

Raising my eyebrows at her slightly, I smirked.  "Oh really?" I said, holding the door open for Ember.  "Well... I wish I would have known this sooner... I would have handled a few different things a tad better, I think."

I chuckled and looked at Jeremy with complete innocence.  "Oh, Jere... I think you've done just fine with pleasing your girlfriend,' I assured him, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

I raised an eyebrow at her, smirking.  "Oh really?  I'm rather pleased at hearing that," I said to her.  Sometimes it was hard to tell with Ember.