"Des!" Andi yelled, rushing towards her friend, her electric blue hair flicking behind her
"Hi Andi!" her friend greeted her with a bear hug
"How was summer with Superbitch?"
"I survived, put it that way. I'm looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts though" Des grinned
"Looking forward to seeing Roxy?" she asked teasingly
"Yeah" Des was trying (and failing) to keep his blush under control. Andi was the only one who knew about the crush Des had nursed for Roxanne Weasley since third year. "Oh, by the way, James was asking after you"
"What did you say to him?"
"Told him to go shove it, you would never go out with him" he chuckled as they high-fived.
"You go find Roxy, Fred and Toni, I'll find the others, and meet in a compartment in 10 minutes" Andi ordered, before darting off into the crowd. Exactly ten minutes later, Des, Toni, Roxanne, and her brother Fred were filing into the compartment Andi had got for them. The nine of them, Andi, Des, Toni, Rowan, Roxanne, Fred, Greyson, Scarlet, and Gracie, just about squeezed into the padded benches.
"I've got some good news" Gracie grinned
"Spill!" Toni ordered
"Look what came in the post with my Hogwarts letter" she indicated the glittering yellow badge on her chest. "I'm a Hufflepuff Prefect!"
"Well congratulations, Gracie" James smiled from the doorway. Oh for Merlin's sake, Andi thought, as James squeezed in between her and Des.
"Thank you, Potter, but I hope you know that now I'm a prefect, your pranking days are over"
"I'd like to see you try, Axon." James smirked proudly, before turning to Andi "Meda! How was your summer, love?"
"For the last time, it's Andi, and my summer was fine, thanks. You know why? You weren't there" she retorted coldly
"A dagger in my heart! Why does my love despise me so?" he pretended to faint, and she couldn't help but let out a small grin "Did you get my letters?"
"Yes, did you get my replies?"
"Yes, but I knew you were lying"
"What did she reply?" Roxanne whispered to Toni, Andi's best friend
"She threatened to magically castrate him" Toni giggled. James had been asking her out almost every day for the past year, and every time she said no.
"But you'll go to the ball with me"
"Potter, I'm not going to the Welcome Ball with you"
"Oh no, love, it wasn't a question, it was a statement" he grinned "You see, you've already agreed"
"What?"
"Andi, don't you remember?" Gracie asked between giggles
Five Months Earlier
"Have you done the potions essay yet? It's due in for tomorrow" Fred asked from his seat on the sofa
"Nah ol' Sluggy won't mind" James replied
"James, you've done that for the past four essays, Slughorn won't let you off every time"
"Yeah he will, Meda, I'm James Freakin' Potter, he practically has to"
"Bet he won't"
"How much are you willing to bet?"
"If he does let you off, I will attend next year's Welcome Ball with you" she bargained
"Agreed" they shook hands, a wide grin on James' face.
Andi swore loudly, before warning him sharply "Fine, Potter, I will go to the ball with you, but know that if you try anything funny I will hex you into oblivion"
"See you at the ball, Meda!" James called over his shoulder
Andi huffed indignantly as she sat down, but Rowan, seeing her displeasure decided to change the subject "So what are we all doing about the Welcome Ball? None of us have dates yet"
"Well, if Tone goes with me, Rowan goes with Greyson and Des goes with Rox, then that's six of us out of the way" Fred suggested, at which there was a nods
"I'm going with Julian Richards" Scarlet told them
"He's a Slytherin!" Roxanne almost yelled
"He's a nice guy, if you'd actually bother getting to know him!" Scarlet retorted, giving Roxanne one of her famous death stares. A weaker girl than Roxanne Weasley would have crumbled under the intense force of Scarlet's piercing blue eyes, but instead she just sulked in the corner, shooting dirty looks at Scarlet every so often. The others all chatted about their summers for hours, until they realised that they would arrive at Hogwarts soon, when Greyson conjured a curtain so as they could change for the Welcome Ball. Andi wore a one-shouldered indigo dress that hugged at her tiny waist and flowed towards the floor, Scarlet wore a simple strapless silver and red dress, Rowan wore a backless black and gold dress with ruffles on the skirt, Toni wore a strappy crimson dress, Gracie wore a tortoise-shell green knee-length dress, Roxanne wore a muted orange thigh length dress, and the boys all wore traditional tuxedos. A few minutes after they had changed, the train rolled into Hogsmeade Station, Andi took a deep breath and stepped into the carriage.
"Meda, can I just say you look simply beautiful tonight" he handed her a violet wrist corsage, and offered her his arm. "Not that you don't look beautiful every day but-"
"Shut it James"
"You called me James."
"Slip of the tongue, Potter. Trust me it won't happen again"
"If you say so, love" he grinned, as he took her to the dance floor. The tradition for 21 years had dictated that the Welcome Ball would start with a waltz, and a few other formal dances, before playing popular songs. James took Andi's waist and led her gracefully around the floor, but Andi was too busy doing her best to avoid his hazel eyes than enjoying the dancing. They danced together for the entire evening, as was their agreement, and even when the slow music began to play towards the end of the night, they continued to dance. At midnight, when the final song finished and only a few couples remained on the floor, Andi walked briskly away from James, towards the Gryffindor dormitory where she knew a warm bed would await her, but James followed her every step of the way.
"Goodnight, James" Andi dismissed him exasperatedly, wishing only to get to her bed
"Goodnight, Meda. I had a really good night. Maybe we should do it again sometime" he grinned back
"Maybe" she smiled, before pecking him softly on the lips. Suddenly, James moved his hands to the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her cobalt hair, and prolonging their kiss, whilst Andi froze, utterly bemused. The kiss was filled with a warmth Andi had never felt before, a warmth that filled her entire body with contentment and happiness, and she loved it. She inhaled and James' scent, an intoxicating mixture of vanilla and sandalwood, but a minute later James pulled away, and began to make his way up the dormitory stairs.
"James!" she called after him
"Yes, love?"
"That's not fair James!" she had to stop herself from stomping her foot on the floor
"How so?"
"Becauseā¦becauseā¦James, why did you stop?" she asked, with an almost undetectable hint of desperation, but James merely winked back, saying "Because then, love, you would win"
A/N: Don't shoot me! Okay I uploaded without editing too much, and not waiting for my beta, but please forgive me! If there are any mistakes, please tell me, and I'll probably change the whole chapter when my lovely beta has finished her amazing work! Read, review, remain awesome!
