I scooted closer into him, slightly enjoying the close proximity of my best friend. Not that I'd ever admit it. Al stiffened a little, and then cautiously wrapped an arm comfortingly around me. I didn't blame him. I had finally encouraged him to get a girlfriend, and he probably didn't want to mess it up. Don't ask me why, but all of his girlfriends in the past were intimidated by our close best friend relationship, and promptly left Al, scared of heartbreak.

I didn't want Al and Emily to break up, anyways. Emily was a super sweet girl, and Al deserved someone so caring. Al and I—we are too much like each other to get along nicely. Eventually fiery tempers would explode, or we would send months angry at each other and not talk, because neither of us would apologize, both of us feeling that we were in the right.

Which, speaking of relationships, was kind of why we were here. If girls were intimidated, by how close Al and I were it's nothing compared to how guys are. They won't even look at me twice. It sucks. It's not as if we acted 'together'. He just had a big brother complex around me. He treated me as if I was Lily, when it came to boys.

Ironically, though, the one boy who he trusted me with left me sobbing for three hours straight, and now I was a tear streaked, empty shell. My heart was aching, and if I hadn't run out of tears, I'm sure I'd still be wailing. I winced, as Al rubbed my shoulders reassuringly. Oops. Al was there the entire time.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" He asked quietly, glancing down at me.

I sighed softly, wanting to say no. It was all so painful. However, Al had been punched in the face (I'm sure his nose is broken) and still sat there and listened to me cry for three hours. He deserved to know. We hadn't been close in the time it had all started (I started dating, and he fell for a girl), so starting at the beginning would be essential.

Five Months Ago

I was curled up in a chair in the Common Room, reading, when it happened. James had stormed in, arguing with a tall blonde girl who had followed him in. She was screaming at him about lying, when his gaze landed on me, who was trying (unsuccessfully) to read, and act uninterested in their dispute.

"I didn't lie, Lisa," he said, irritated, and giving me a pleading look. What did he expect me to do?

"Oh, really?" She stepped closer," Then who is it, Jimmy?"

Jimmy? I nearly choked, trying not to laugh. Besides his little fan club, only his mum called him that. James threw a slightly panicked look at me, and I got the message. Don't ask me what made me do this. Maybe it was the fact he was being harassed by a delusional girl, or maybe it was the small hidden crush I have had on him for as long as I could remember.

I stood, reluctantly, setting my book down, and grabbed James's hand," It's me."

Relief actually flooded over James's face, and he tugged me closer.

"Thank you," he murmured so quietly I barely caught it.

She froze, glaring at me with her icy blue eyes. I admit I was slightly scared. I had nothing on this gorgeous, stick like girl. I was brown eyed, dark haired and only 4'9.

"Who are you?" She snapped angrily.

I went to reply, but James cut me off," This is Anali." Holy Merlin, he knew my name! We never exchanged more than a 'hi' in all the years I've known Al, which was practically my while life.

She narrowed her eyes, studying me. It appeared she was trying to figure out what made me special enough to date James Potter, (Nothing, we weren't dating) and then recognition dawned on her.

"Aren't you that girl that like, stalks Albus Potter?" Really? I'm the stalker here? Sheesh.

"Er, we actually—"I was cut off by James yet again.

"I had Albus become friends with her, so I could get closer to her," he said, smiling sheepishly. He's a great liar, I'll give him that. I nodded in agreement.

"I'm watching you two," Lisa growled before stomping out. James relaxed instantly, and we both stayed where we were rather awkwardly for a minute, before my senses came to me, and I pulled my hand away.

"Sorry about that. Bloody girl won't leave me alone. She thinks we're made for each other."

I sat back on the couch while he was talking, and shrugged," Well, she's pretty."

James stared at me, disbelieving," What?"

I cracked a smile," Pretty mental." Seriously. How dare she accuse me of stalking? Pfft.

He chuckled, a thoughtful look crossing his face," You know, girls are always stalking me, attempting to figure out my dating status."

"Sounds like a personal problem to me," I muttered, imagining a horde of teenage girls following him with cameras and notepads. I found it humorous, but it wasn't far from the truth. Little Jamesy had quite the fan club, especially after he became Quidditch Captain his fifth year.

"I'm serious," He protested," It's annoying as bloody ****."

"What's your point, James?" I asked warily. He had a tendency to come up with ridiculous plans, according to Al. Apparently it ran in the family.

"Be my girlfriend, Nali."

Nali? Only Al called me by that nickname…Wait, what?

"Your girlfriend?" I sputtered out, not trusting my ears.

"Well, not my real girlfriend, but a fake girlfriend."

"There's a way to win a girls heart," I responded dryly, "and that's not it." James shook his head, his hazel eyes bright with excitement.

" You don't understand, Anali. I just want girls to get off my back, and if I am 'dating' you," he put air quotes around dating," then they'll leave me alone because they'll think I'm off limits. Then I can finish my last year at Hogwarts in blessed peace, free from all the dumb giggling, and hair twirling that I have been subjected to since I was born."

Wow. I can't believe he is this desperate. I mean, I'm about as low as you can go on the dating radar at Hogwarts. That's saying something when you meet the daughter of Lavender Brown, well, Lavender Finnigan, now.

"What about the press?" I wisely asked, avoiding the original request.

"What about them?"

"They'll have a field day if you go public with a girlfriend…Especially if I'm the girl, James. I'm hardly suited to the world of cameras and newspapers," I pointed out, sure this would get me off the hook. It's not that I don't want to be James girlfriend (because I would love to be) but I don't want to be his fake girlfriend. I mean, that's a self-esteem killer if I ever heard one. On top of that, I knew the press would have a field day.

See, I was adopted into a Wizarding family at birth. Nobody knew who my parents were. They dropped me off at my adopted family's house with a note saying that I was magical, and they knew thye could trust them to take care of me. My adoptive parents were overjoyed… they always wanted kids, but for whatever reason, couldn't conceive a child. I was a serious blessing in their life.

Which would be fine, since I was officially adopted, and became one of their own the day they found me, but they are a prominent Wizarding family, so everyone knows the story. I used to be severely picked on for it, but thank goodness, Al protected me from the worst of it.

He waved his hand in indifference," What makes you so special to the other girls I've dated in the past? They all had the exact same treatment, the press loved them."

"The problem isn't that I'm more special than them. The problem is that I'm not special. Those other girls were all blonde, tall, and I'm pretty sure somewhere along the line, had Veela in their blood."

James ruffled his already messy black hair, and collapsed on the couch beside me," Anali, please? I just want a year without being pressured by a ton of girls. Besides, this can benefit you, too."

See? He's not even arguing that I'm nothing like those other girls! Hold up…did he just say this would benefit me, too?

"I hate to ask this, and catch a glimpse of your flawed logic, but how would I benefit from this?"

He looked at me, surprise clearly etched on his face," You could make Albus jealous. And don't worry about the press. I'll show you how to be more...appealing to the public."

Make Al jealous? Why would I want to do that…? Oh. He thinks I like Albus. Just like every other person in this bloody school. What they don't know is that Albus and I did try to date once, secretly. However, our first kiss clearly seemed to prove that neither of us felt anything other than friendship for the other. I don't know if I was more relieved, or embarrassed.

Surprisingly, though, I heard myself agreeing with James to be his fake girlfriend. What have I managed to get myself into?