Chapter One

Hi! I'm Ava-Louisa, and I'm an A-Grade bitch. That is, according to James Sirius Potter. However, his opinion mattered to me about as much as I payed attention during Professor Binn's interminable, droning speeches, which is not at all. I was perfectly content on ignoring the older Potter brother, as he was with me, which wasn't at all that hard seeing as we weren't even in the same year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately we couldn't pretend the other didn't exist, as we were in the same house, Gryffindor, and I was best friends with his younger brother, Albus. There wasn't anyone I got along with better, meaning that I frequently bumped into James while I was at the Potter's house in the holidays. There had been arguments in the past few years between James and I, which had lead up to us now ignoring each other and bitching about another behind the other's back. I couldn't even remember how we started hating each other, he was just one of those people where everything he did annoyed me. I didn't care what James Potter thought of me, as I wasn't going to let him ruin my life at school, and was perfectly prepared to interact with him as little as possible until he left school. Unfortunately for both of us, god, destiny, or whatever else decides the future, had different plans for us.

Albus Potter rolled his eyes as I talked enthusiastically about the holiday my parents and I were going on in the summer holidays, for the hundredth time that week.
"Stop making me jealous, Little A" he groaned, however I could tell he wasn't thoroughly bored or angry as he still used my nickname.

I laughed "I can just pack you in my suitcase, then you don't need to be jealous"

It was Albus's turn to laugh as he replied, "No thanks, I don't want to be squashed up next to all your smelly clothes"

I tried to poke him in the ribs, however he dodged my arm and escaped, yet his quick movement to the side caused him to trip over one of the rocks on the pebble beach we were currently strolling along, and he flailed his arms trying to regain his balance. I saw the fleeting look of shock and horror on his face as he started toppling backwards into the shallow water. I doubled over in laughter, collapsing on the pebbles. The water lapped around Albus's ankles as he stood up, glaring at me, water dripping from his uniform. I continued to giggle, still lying on the pebble shore. The annoyed expression on Albus's face quickly turned into a smirk as he bent down and splashed a large amount of water on me. I shrieked, and scrambled away as fast as I could. Albus laughed loudly as he ran after me along the water's edge, his athletic body quickly catching up to mine. He managed to wrap his arms around my waist and lift me up, carrying me into the Black Lake as I screamed.
"Put me down, Albus! I swear I will never talk to you again!"

"Put you down?" he asked, grinning, "Whatever the lady demands" he then said, as he let go of my waist and I fell into the water.

The water was cold, however the hot July sun made it extremely refreshing. "I hate you so much" I told him, even though both of us knew that wasn't true. The water reached my waist, and my whole uniform was soaked.

"No you don't, you love me" he said with a wink, and then shook his head so that the water droplets in his hair sprayed everywhere.

I glared at him, then decided to jump on him and try and get him completely soaked too. I succeeded, however Albus pulled me into the water with him, so that both of us were once more submerged. He then wrapped his arms around me from behind in a hug.

"I'm going to miss you this summer, Little A" he grinned.

I sighed and cuddled into his arms. "I'll miss you too, Big A"

Albus and I had been friends ever since the first day of classes in our first year at Hogwarts. We'd been sat together during Transfiguration, and bonded when we were the only ones who managed to turn our pin into a match on the first go, while the rest of the class spent at least half an hour on it. Now, almost five years later and during our O. we were as close as brother and sister. Many people mistook us for a couple, and I didn't blame them, as Albus and I often held hands or cuddled on the sofa in front of the fire in the common room, or just acted like a couple in general. However, we were simply the best of friends, who understood and knew everything about each other, from the way we judged people when we first met them to those embarrassing stories we had collected since birth.

Albus and I made our way back to the Gryffindor common room after we had dried off in the sun. We entered the common room laughing loudly, and received several filthy looks from the others for disrupting the quiet area everyone was currently using to study. Albus and I rolled our eyes and quickly made our way up to the fifth-year boys' dorm, as to not make any new enemies by interrupting the deep chains of thought in the common room below.

Two of Albus's friends were in their dorm as we entered, arguing about something in their History of Magic book.
"What's up, Clyde and Miles?" Albus asked them, casually strolling over to them as I made my way to their bathroom, making sure I didn't have mascara smudges from going swimming in the Black Lake before. Everyone was studying for exams, yet with only two more days left until we had finished for the year, Albus and I decided that we were done studying. Well, I had hardly studied and today I had persuaded Albus that we didn't need to study for Astronomy and History of Magic, our last two subjects. I didn't not study because I was a bad student, learning came naturally to me and once I had understood something, it rarely left my brain, meaning I never bothered with last-minute revision. Albus was similar, just not quite to an extent as me, which is why he had bothered to look at the books before each exam, while I lazed around the couches, occasionally helping my friends with certain subjects. Rose Weasley seemed especially irritated that I didn't bother to study, and Albus, who was her cousin, always told me that "Dad says it's the Aunt Hermione in her, and that she was exactly like Rose is now when she was our age".

Being best friends with the son of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley was kind of special, I guess. I was invited to all their family gatherings now, and treated as if I was a relative. The huge amount of cousins which Gryffindor consisted almost half of (OK not quite but you get what I mean), always ensured that the family get-togethers were loud and joyous.

I walked back out of the fifth years' boys' bathroom, and made my way over to where Albus had just finished explaining about a certain Giant war to Clyde and Miles, who now looked like they vaguely understood it. They mumbled their thanks to Albus who went over to his four poster bed and lay down on it, closing his eyes. I bounded over to him and jumped on his bed, snuggling down beside him. He didn't even open his eyes to droop an arm around me like the protective big brother he was. I felt my eyes slowly close, about to take a pre-dinner nap when the door to the dorm banged open and James bounded in, Fred Weasley II following in right after. James stared at the way Albus and I were entwined on the bed with a look of disgust. It was obvious he didn't approve of our friendship.
"What do you want?" Albus groaned beside me.

"I need the cloak" James replied, looking expectantly at Albus.

The boy next to me sighed and reached under his cushion and pulled out the shining material, then tossed it at James who caught it in one hand, however didn't move from his position at the bottom of Albus's bed.
"What now?" Albus asked his brother, sighing again.

"You're not dating her are you?" James asked him rudely.

I glared at him.

"She has a name. And no we aren't dating" Albus replied angrily.

"Good." James said bluntly, then added, "Because you could do so much better than her, mate"

Albus and I both stuck our middle finger up at him.

"Get out of my dorm, you tosser" Albus almost growled.

James smirked, being proud of his insult towards me. He then turned, and he and Weasley swaggered out of the room again.

"Sorry about him" Albus sighed, running his hand through his hair.

I shrugged. "At least I won't have to see him during summer, I mean if I'm in Greece and China and Australia it would be a little hard for us to bump into each other while he spends his whole holidays at your house" I replied with a wink.

Albus laughed, before his face turned solemn again. "I'm really going to miss you, A", repeating what he told me at the lake.

I smiled slightly, before we both settled into a comfortable silence.

Miles and Clyde were still stooped above their History of Magic book.

I managed to get about ten minutes of sleep before Albus gently shook me awake. "It's dinner time, A"

I groaned, but the idea of food, made me open my eyes. Albus was already standing up, holding out his hand to me.
"Come on, Ava" he pleaded. "My stomach is growling out of hunger"

I sighed and slowly sat up. "Boys and their food." I laughed, before grabbing Albus's hand and gaily skipping all the way to the Great Hall for dinner.