Summary: James Sirius Potter and Melinda Alice Longbottom grew up together. Their fathers are friends; their families frequently spend holidays together. They've known each other their entire lives. So why is it that, suddenly, they don't seem to recognize what's going on between them at all? This story is a companion piece to my Rose/Scorpius story, "A Fine Line," but can easily stand on its own.

Author's Note: So I've been planning to do a short story for James Potter and Melinda Longbottom ever since I wrote the Christmas morning chapter for my multi-chapter Rose/Scorpius fic, "A Fine Line." Initially, I had absolutely no plans for Neville's daughter to end up with Harry's son, but the second Melinda walked through the door of the Burrow in that chapter, she made a beeline straight for James, and I haven't been able to get them out of my head ever since. It's so funny how sometimes characters just seem to get a mind of their own. I'm currently writing "A Game of Secrets," my Albus/OC fic, plus several Rose/Scorpius one-shots, but I couldn't resist taking a break from those stories to get a little bit of a start on this one. And then it just came pouring out of me. This is going to be a four chapter story, and they should all be posted within the next few days. I've gotten pretty far already, and I don't really see the point of waiting to post them, so they'll be up as soon as I'm done writing them. I'm sure you guys won't mind.

Hopefully some of you will come to love these two as much as I have. Then again, I'm shipping them so hard that I would still have done this story even if no one was ever going to read it. They're just so much fun to write. For those of you who have read some of my other stories, thank you so much for being interested in this one. For those of you who are new to my writing, I hope you'll head on over and check out some of my other work.

As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to let me know what you think!

Closets

Chapter 1: A Prank to Be Remembered

"Dammit," James Sirius Potter mumbled to himself as he shifted slightly and twisted his wand through the air. He was attempting to levitate a magical sensor up into the vaulted ceiling and settle it into one of the crevices of the intricately carved archway above his head. It was his final year at Hogwarts, and he and Fred had been plotting all year long. This was going to be the prank to end all pranks. Their names would go down in history beside his Uncle George and Uncle Fred's as the greatest mischief makers that Hogwarts had ever seen. It would be the perfect farewell to their beloved school—and the perfect advertisement for just what the newest generation of Research and Development engineers at Weasleys Wizard Wheezes were capable of.

That was, if he could ever get this sodding thing planted where he needed it. The small device—about the size of a Snitch—was a combination of a motion detector and a magic detector. It would be able to tell if the person passing it had magic—or, more importantly, if they didn't. Which meant that it was able to detect Squibs. Which meant that it could determine exactly when Filch emerged from his dungeon lair to patrol the school that night. Which meant that, the second that the aging caretaker walked underneath that particular archway, a chain reaction would go off across the school.

Fireworks, which James had already carefully positioned, would erupt along the first floor corridor in front of Filch. Dozens of walking, meowing copies of the latest incarnation of Mrs. Norris would pop up to infest Filch's office. A jungle would spring up on the fourth floor, complete with screeching monkeys, singing birds, and a particularly sleepy sloth. A sequence of industrial strength "he who smelt it melted" dung bombs would go off on the second floor. A lion would materialize to stalk the hall outside of the Slytherin common room, roaring at anyone who attempted to exit—James's personal favorite. And, last but not least, some sparklers would begin floating around, spelling out naughty words just for kicks—and a little nostalgia. It was going to be epic.

But first…this goddamn sensor.

Melinda Alice Longbottom was running late. She had dozed off, hunched over her Charms textbook in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, and because none of her lovely friends or family members had had the courtesy to wake her, she could easily have missed dinner altogether. Thankfully, everyone would still be seated in the Great Hall by the time she got there, so there was no need to hex anyone for forgetting to make sure she joined them when they had left for supper.

She reached the bottom of the stairs that led up to Gryffindor Tower and turned towards the direction of the Great Hall, her footsteps echoing in the empty stone corridor. Just as she was walking by the passageway that contained one of the stairways leading to the dungeons, however, she paused. She could have sworn that she had heard a muffled curse. Curiosity quickly overcame hunger, and she retraced her steps to peek around the corner.

And there was James. Merlin, that boy was always up to something. Sometimes, it was difficult to remember that he was actually a year older than she was. One would never know it by the way he acted on a fairly regular basis.

At the moment, James was struggling to levitate a small, lumpy ball into the mouth of a grinning gargoyle, carved into the capital of one of the archways that spanned the hallway. From the angle at which he was standing, he was having a difficult time positioning the—whatever the hell it was—precisely enough so that it would settle into the space between the tiny sculpted figure's teeth.

Melinda rolled her eyes before making her way over to him. She moved to stand next to him, peering over his shoulder. "Need some help?"

James jumped three feet in the air with a slightly less than manly shriek, then spun to face her, his hand clasped to his chest. "Merlin, Mel! Are you trying to scare me half to death?! Don't sneak up on people like that!"

She raised an eyebrow in response. "Shouldn't you be paying a bit more attention to your surroundings? Whatever you're doing doesn't exactly scream choir boy, James." She paused, studying him warily. "What are you doing?"

His lips quirked up in a mischievous smirk.

"Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know."

"Aw, Mel. You're no fun."

Melinda stuck her tongue out at him, causing his smirk to widen into a full out smile.

"So…do you actually want to help?" he asked her.

"Why not," Melinda sighed, stepping forward. She held out her hand, gesturing for the uneven sphere in his palm. "Give it." When he handed it to her, she nodded her head towards the archway. "Give me a boost."

James interlaced his fingers, cupping his hands beneath her knee and raising her upwards in one smooth motion. Melinda had to stifle a gasp at how effortlessly he lifted her into the air. At times, it was easy for her to forget that he wasn't the little boy she used to run around the grounds of the Burrow with. In the past couple of years, he had grown nearly eleven inches, so that he now towered head and shoulders above her slight five foot two frame.

She shifted slightly, centering her weight within in his strong grasp, before reaching up to position the tiny ball in the spot he instructed. Once it was placed to his satisfaction, James began to lower her back to the ground. The floor hit her foot faster than Melinda anticipated, sending her careening into the hard planes of James's chest.

"Whoa there," he laughed, grabbing onto her waist and catching her up in his arms to steady her.

They were pressed against one another, their faces close, and their eyes locked. For a moment, neither one of them moved. Then, for reasons far beyond his understanding, James felt his gaze being drawn down to focus on her mouth.

Melinda's breath hitched as she watched his irises deepen from gold flecked brown to dark chocolate. She felt a pull somewhere deep in her abdomen, the unfamiliar sensation urging her to close the infinitesimal gap between them and cover his lips with her own. Now, she too looked away from the intensity of his gaze, her attention captured by the suddenly all too appealing curve of his mouth.

A sudden noise around the corner startled them, causing James to abruptly release his hold on Melinda, dropping her back to her feet. The pair jumped apart, their eyes scanning the corridor.

"Come on," James hissed, grabbing onto Melinda's wrist and dragging her into a nearby broom closet. It would definitely not be good to be seen in the vicinity of what was sure to be the epicenter of a very memorable, and very messy, prank.

They crowded themselves into the small, dark space, their bodies once again in very close proximity. Melinda cocked her head, listening to the sound of approaching footsteps, holding her breath as whoever it was slowly made their way past her and James's impromptu hiding place. As the steps began to recede, she let out a sigh of relief before turning to look up at the boy beside her.

She could barely make out his features in the dim light of the broom cupboard, but there was no mistaking the heat that had, once again, swum up to swirl through his eyes. She froze, her breathing becoming more and more uneven as she felt herself inexorably drawn to him. Then, his gaze flickered down to her mouth, and she was lost.

They slammed together—mouths colliding, bodies arching, hands grasping at one another almost desperately. Tongues tangled, breath hitched, and skin heated to the touch.

Melinda's fingers found their way up James's neck to tangle in his unruly black hair as he fisted his hand in the back of her robes and pulled her even closer. He growled at the sensation of her nails scraping over his scalp and closed his teeth over her bottom lip, wrenching a moan from her throat.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The pair leapt back, nearly simultaneously, staring at each other in utter shock. Then, they both began speaking at once.

"That was—"

"I didn't—"

"We can't—"

"I mean—"

They fell silent for a moment, completely at a loss as to what to say. Then, they both reached for the door, causing their fingers to brush on the knob. They jerked back at the brief instant of skin to skin contact, as if stung. Melinda shook her head, snaking her hand forward with lightening speed to twist the handle and allow them to escape the suddenly claustrophobic space of the closet. The second the door was open, they scrambled out and took off in opposite directions as fast as they possibly could.

I hope you liked it! Stay tuned for the next three chapters. They should be up pretty soon. As is my habit, I'll tell you the title of the next chapter. It is..."An Aberration in the Broom Shed." Hope to see you next time!