Chapter 1
His father's funeral was a complete blur. He listened to his uncle deliver the eulogy and looked over at his mother while she cried. Next to her was his aunt, holding his mother's hand while listening to the beautifully delivered eulogy. On James's other side was Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Behind them, just a few rows back, was Albus Dumbledore, as well as a few other Hogwarts teachers.
Over the next few hours, James Potter greeted multiple people at his family's London home. And after a while, he just let his mother handle speaking with everyone. He and his friends retired to his bedroom where a few of their other friends came in to say hello to him.
Mary McDonald, Sirius's girlfriend, came in for a brief period of time and then left as she was disturbed by the fact that the four of them were smoking cigars in James's room.
"Prude," James said, watching Mary leave.
"Yeah, but she's my prude," Sirius laughed. "How you holding up?"
"I've been a lot better," James admitted.
"We could start to drink if you think that would be any better," Peter offered.
"It might," James shrugged.
"I'll go steal some stuff," Remus said, getting up and sitting his cigar in the ashtray next to him.
"I'll go with you as a cover. I should probably make an appearance before I get hammered," James noted.
"Good idea," Sirius said, standing with Peter to join the other two. The four of them traveled down the stairs to see people laughing and eating, talking and drinking whilst thinking of Mr. Potter in the back of their minds.
People began to turn their heads as James passed them, whispering things like, "That poor boy. No father to look up to anymore."
Sirius pushed James along after they began hearing that and then reached the kitchen where they found a family talking to James's mother. His mother, always looking beautiful and flawless, was leaned against the counter while the woman she was talking to held her hand and the man and his daughter stood there patiently. Mrs. Potter was actually laughing at something it seemed. And once she noticed James, she stopped immediately and turned to her guests, saying, "You remember James, of course?"
The guests turned to reveal them to be Mr. and Mrs. Edward Spears, and their daughter Emily, a fellow Gryffindor.
"Spears!" Sirius gasped, looking at Emily. Mr. and Mrs. Spears shook James's hand, ignoring Sirius's random outburst and then said they were sorry to hear about his father.
"Thank you," James replied to them.
"James, I'm going to go introduce Edward and Celia to a few people. Maybe Emily could join you boys?"
"Sure, Mum," James said to her, watching as Sirius grimaced beside him. Mrs. Potter kissed her son on the cheek and then led Emily's parents out of the kitchen leaving the three of them alone.
"You don't have to, Potter. It's ok. I was gonna leave anyway," Emily said to him.
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Sirius said to her as he left the kitchen in pursuit of his liquor.
"Always the charmer," Emily commented.
"It's his way," James shrugged.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine."
"James—"
"Spears, come on," James scoffed. "I don't do the whole crying thing. I do the uh…manly drinking and smoking cigar thing."
"You're sixteen years old," she said. "Not forty."
"You know how this world works, Spears. We're all treated older," he combated. "Us especially, due to the social status of our parents."
"Yes…that," she said dismally.
"Yeah…so how's your Quidditch game these days?" James asked her.
"It's good. I just started working on a new diving technique that this Brazilian woman invented. Supposedly only works well for women, which I find odd."
"Oh, yeah?"
"It's pretty interesting."
"You and uh…Michael still together?"
"Oh god James, that's such old news. No."
"Sorry," James laughed. "We should uh…play Quidditch together sometime soon or something."
"Yeah, definitely," Emily agreed. "Well, I'm gonna go—unless you and the Marauders want to come with me."
"Where are you going?"
"Cecil Welch is having a party as his great aunt's house. She's out of town or something."
"Nah…can't. Remus and Cecil kind of hate each other."
"Why? Oh wait! Marissa Collins! I forgot completely!"
"Yeah. And it usually takes Remus a bit to forgive people."
"Well, how about we play Quidditch on Wednesday or something?" she suggested.
"Sounds good," he agreed.
"Ok, well, I'll see you on Wednesday then," she said, kissing him on the cheek. James smiled and watched as she left the kitchen. And after she walked out, Sirius walked in holding a bottle of gin.
"Gin? Seriously? Eww."
"What just happened?" Sirius asked him, gesturing to the door that Spears had exited.
"Nothing."
"Did you ask her on a date?"
"No. I asked her to play Quidditch this week. You're coming too by the way."
"No! I don't like Spears!"
"Why not? Still sore that I chose her over you for Seeker?"
"Yes! Some best friend you are!"
"She's been scouted by professional teams, Padfoot!" James retorted. "Have you?"
"No…but still! Spears? She's been with like every guy on the planet Prongs."
"This isn't about sex, Padfoot," James told him. "We are friends. We've known each other since we were kids. Our fathers worked together, they were good friends! Spears is just—"
"What? She's just what?"
"A friend."
"A friend who wants to snog you! Or do whatever she does with boys. James, I've heard stories. I mean, albeit great, but they're stories that we're probably not even old enough to hear!" Sirius gasped.
"Nothing's going to happen!" James exclaimed, grabbing the bottle of gin from Sirius's hands to examine it more closely. "It's the cheap stuff too."
"Only stuff I could swipe," Sirius said somberly. "Your uncle was watching the bar like a hawk."
"I'm sure he was," James muttered, as he began to walk up the kitchen staircase. But before they were out of site, James's mother walked back into the kitchen in a huff, and threw a plate onto the ground, breaking it into a million little pieces. She screamed quietly and started cracking her fingers with her back turned to them.
James handed the bottle back to Sirius and went back down the stairs to her.
"Mum?"
Mrs. Potter turned round and revealed that she was genuinely crying. She grabbed James and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm just…I'm sorry," she kept apologizing, pushing him back after their hug had ended. "Where's Emily?"
"She left," James shrugged.
"Oh. Ok."
"Are you ok?"
"No," she admitted, shaking her head. "I just…I really wish I didn't have to do this. Dealing with all these people who are trying to be positive all the time with me."
"Join the club," James replied.
"Where are your friends? You should be with them."
"They're in my room."
"Ok. Go."
"Mum—"
"No, go. I can handle this."
James nodded and went up the back staircase again, watching as his mother straightened up and exited the kitchen with her head held high.
Over the next few days, James cooped himself up in his room and read Quidditch magazines—occasionally seeing Emily Spears's name as a "one to watch." He and Spears were genuinely friends. They flirted, but James often felt that they had nothing but Quidditch and a similar dating record in common. She was attractive though. She was tall with blonde hair and incredibly thin and in need to put some extra pounds and muscle on her to look a little more normal. Spears was due at his house at any moment now to play Quidditch with him. He remembered their last exchange while they were at school very fondly though. They had just finished losing the Quidditch cup to Ravenclaw and on top of a wonderful conversation with Spears, he also had a good conversation with Stella Thompkins, the Captain of the team.
"Good game," Stella said to him.
"Thanks," James replied. "You too. You sad?"
"Yeah. A little. But…it doesn't end here for me. I'll probably play a little pro for a bit hopefully," Stella replied.
"Good. You deserve it," James complimented her.
"Thanks, James! I'm making the recommendation to Professor McGonagal to make you captain next year," Stella said to him.
James grinned and said, "Why? What about Frank?"
"What about Frank?" she laughed. "He's going to be busy with being Head Boy probably and…he's not as good as you are. And he's a bit of a prat sometimes."
"Sometimes?" James joked.
Stella laughed and then kissed him on the cheek, leaving him to continue changing. Eventually, it was simply James and Emily Spears left in the locker room.
"Wait for me. I'll walk you back," James said to her.
"I wasn't going to leave," she said, smiling. James nodded and grabbed his shoes before they finally left the locker room.
"I'm sorry. I should've stopped him," Emily said to him as they crossed the lawn up to the school. "Miles, I mean."
"Oh. He's a great seeker, he—"
"I'm better," Emily said, cutting him off. James grinned and then went back to his somber expression. "There's always next year."
"Yeah."
"I mean, you did a great job. We almost caught up," Emily said. "At least they didn't shut us out completely."
"I know you wanted to win," James said. "I know that there were scouts here looking at you. I'm sorry."
"Who told you that?"
"Dumbledore," he answered, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Oh. It doesn't really mean anything. They're looking at Peakes too and…he's not so great when you really think about it."
"I think when you have about twelve different ones coming to look at just you there's some talent in there somewhere."
"James, I don't—"
"Don't be modest, Spears. You're a great player."
"Wish my dad would see that," she laughed.
"Why?"
"He wants me to be an Auror. He wants me to help people. I'd love to help people, but…I'd love to play Quidditch more."
"You could do both," he sighed.
"And never sleep," she laughed. "My dad barely sleeps as it is. I'm sure your dad is the same way. Well—Oh god, I'm sorry."
"It's ok. Who told you?"
"My dad. Sirius actually let something slip while we were practicing too," she admitted.
"Yep…he'll be fine though. He's just…not well right now."
"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm around."
"Thanks, but I don't think Michael would appreciate that too much."
"James, we've known each other since we were seven. He'll be ok with it."
"I don't know that if you were my girlfriend I'd be ok with you hanging around the future Quidditch captain all the time. I mean…late night practices, sometimes I help you with Transfiguration…."
"He trusts me."
"I wouldn't trust the boy that you were with."
"You've given me and him no reason not to trust you," she said.
"But what if I randomly hit on you or something? What would you do?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "You should try it sometime. See what happens."
James stopped mulling over Spears and stood up from his bed, and walked across the hall to Sirius's room to find Mary sitting on his friend's bed and no Sirius at all.
"Hi, Mary," James said grudgingly.
"Hello, Potter," she said nicely. Mary was someone who James never could fully understand. Part of him merely suspected that Mary was only with Sirius because she wanted to anger her pureblooded loving parents to the fullest extent by dating a 'foul mouthed miscreant' like Sirius. In fact, he not only suspected, he knew that this was the case after hearing a story from Lily Evans one evening when she had had a little too much firewhiskey. She recounted the conversation that she had had with Mary when they were in the fourth year, along with Sarah Wilshire, Diane Muller, and Alice McKinnon.
"Mary, what's going on with you and Sirius Black?"
"We're potions partners," Mary shrugged.
"So yesterday when I saw you kiss him on the cheek, that was part of the potion making process?" Sarah asked her.
Mary blushed and said, "Fine, there have been implications that we should start a relationship."
"But?" Alice asked.
"But…my parents would kill me," she breathed.
"Why?" Lily asked. The other four looked at each other and started to laugh.
"Oh Lily, if you only knew some of the stories each of us hear about Sirius when we were growing up," Diane said, laughing still.
"What?" she asked curiously.
"We used to hear them at those big Ministry parties and James would come up a lot too now that I think of it," Alice said.
"Well what?"
"Well we were told to stay away from James because all of our parents feared that he might turn out like his father and impregnate one of us while we were still in school," Alice said.
"And no one would ever tell us the things that Sirius did. It was apparently a little too scandalous for the crowd that we associated with," Sarah said. "All we heard growing up though, was, 'stay away from that Sirius Black.'"
"I once heard a story that he bit off his mother's finger," Mary chortled.
"He didn't! Relax! I've met his mother before…wretched woman. No wonder why Sirius wants out of that house!" Diane exclaimed.
"So why would your parents kill you?" Lily asked. "He hasn't actually done anything besides dishonor his family, right?"
"A family that my family emulates," Mary reminded her.
"But it's who you want to be with," Lily said.
"But—you're right. I want to date him, so I will. And if I so happen to piss off my parents, then so be it!"
"How've you been?" Mary asked James, pulling him back into the present for only a moment.
"Good. You?"
"Good."
"Do you know where Sirius went?'
"I think he's talking to your mother downstairs."
"Oh…," James said quietly.
His mind then began to wander and he remembered that when Sirius and Mary had begun dating, it was one of the first times he realized that he liked Lily Evans. Of course, by the time he had realized that, Frank Longbottom had already beaten him to it.
"She's great, isn't she?" James asked Remus, sitting down after kissing his girlfriend of the moment, Olivia Newell.
"Charming," Remus agreed, whilst reading his Ancient Runes book.
"Anything been going on here?"
"Not really," Remus answered. "Sirius is still in hot pursuit of Mary McDonald—and it's not working—as usual."
"I don't know why he likes her so much," James murmured quietly, looking throughout the Common Room at all the other pretty girls in the room. He was particularly interested in where the fourth year girls were standing as they were all looking at Lily Evans's newest purchase that she had made in Hogsmede that day—a mini skirt. The mini skirt showed off her legs and how thin and how nicely proportioned she was. Her hair was long and straight today—it was usually wavy, James noticed. He barely spoke with Lily Evans and was now beginning to wonder why. She was smart and attractive, supposedly funny at times. But as pretty as she was, she was quite strange as well. Lily Evans had a long history with Severus Snape, someone who James Potter was not on friendly terms with. The story was that she had been friends with him since they were young and that he had been highly infatuated with her since then, but she had never reciprocated his love.
"James, stop staring," Remus said to him.
"Well at least I'm staring at something that's worth staring at," James said, gesturing to Remus's book.
"Sorry," Remus replied. "Why're you staring at Evans when you're harping over Olivia Newell?"
"I like to keep my options open," James shrugged, still watching as Lily walked in front of Mary, Diane, Alice, and Sarah, changing her shirt and shoes to find something that matched her new skirt. Sirius sat next to Mary, clearly looking bored out of his mind even thought a beautiful girl was traipsing in front of him wearing a short skirt. Sirius looked around the room and saw James and Remus watching them and he smirked at the two of them, beckoning them to come near him. They did as they were told and walked near the girls who were in complete awe of Lily's new skirt.
At the moment when they joined the girls and Sirius, Lily was wearing just a simple Muggle t-shirt and trainers. She nodded to the two and then looked to Diane who was holding another shirt for Lily to try with it. She waved her wand and then the t-shirt changed to a tank top, showing just enough skin to make the three boys very curious.
She then put on heels to match the color blue of the tank top, smiling the entire time.
"I like that color on you," Alice said to her.
"Yeah, you look real pretty," a voice said. The fourth years turned round and found Frank Longbottom standing behind them, staring at Lily with great interest.
"Thanks," Lily said, blushing a tad.
James then noticed at the way Lily Evans kept looking at Frank Longbottom. It was a way that most boys would yearn for from a girl like Lily Evans.
Yes, Frank Longbottom had proposed quite the challenge to him since then. And after that incident, James kept seeing them together, over and over again. And then, while working on some homework in the common room, James and Lily encountered one another and James became highly infatuated with her after an argument with her. Don't ask him why, but her arguing with him made her all the more attractive.
"Hey, Evans," James said.
"Hi," Lily said quietly to him, smiling at him nicely.
"You working on Slughorn's paper yet?"
"It's done already," she said, opening a book to begin reading.
"Seriously? You really are that freakishly sm—"
"Don't call me a freak," she said to him quickly.
"Sorry," he shrugged.
"Yes, I am that smart," she said, answering for him. "How about you? Are you done yet?"
"Haven't started it yet. I'm still wondering what to write about," he said, looking over the multiple pieces of parchment in front of him.
"Did you write down any of the ideas he gave us?" she asked him.
"No. No…I don't like taking advice from Slughorn. He doesn't like me much and I decided that the feeling is mutual."
"He doesn't like you because you're a know-it-all and you and Sirius disrupt class with your stupid questions" Lily said to him, smiling.
"Yes, and you and Snape are just so stupid compared to us I guess," James countered. He changed his voice to a high pitched tone, saying, "Oh, Professor, I know the answer! Pick me!"
Lily rolled her eyes at him and said, "My father's a lawyer. My mother's a doctor. I can't help it that my family has a history of being intelligent."
"I know what a lawyer is, but what's a doctor?" James asked.
"It's a Muggle version of a Healer," Lily said.
"Oh," James shrugged. "My mother's a home-maker. And I'm smart. So's Sirius's—but his mother's also crazy, so…."
"Your father is the head Auror. He's been Head Auror for the last several decades and he—"
"-has defeated some of the greatest wizards of all time with his team of Aurors. Yes, I know. I've heard that somewhere before," James said, smirking. "In fact, I think our houself announces it when you walk into the mansion, I'm just not sure."
"The mansion?"
"Yes. Why?"
"You make no effort to hide the fact that you're rich," Lily said.
"So? That's the world I'm from Evans. In fact, if you were in our world growing up, and had the 'smart' parents that you do, you would be wealthy as well and brag about it just like I do."
"I do come from that world Potter," she said. "I just don't like to tell people that I'm rich. My parents raised me with decorum."
"Are you telling me that my parents didn't raise me with decorum?"
"No, no," she said, shaking her head. "I'm just saying that you strike me as kind of arrogant."
"Don't let whatever Severus Snape tells you get in the way of getting to know the real me," James said to her.
"Severus Snape doesn't say much about you," Lily told him.
"There's a reason for that," he laughed, while beginning to grin at her.
Sirius finally entered the room to break the awkward silence that was overcoming James and Mary.
"Your mum wants to talk to you," he said to James.
"About what?" James asked irritably.
"I don't really know. Something about how we both need to grow up or something," Sirius shrugged. "There might've been something about behaving well at school in there too. I don't really recall."
"Sirius, we're gonna be late for lunch with Lily and Frank unless you start getting ready now," Mary said in a mother-like tone to her boyfriend. Sirius cringed when he heard her say Lily and Frank as a pair and then looked at James, and patted him on the shoulder.
"When did that happen?" James asked irately, turning round to look back at Mary.
"A while ago, Potter. Keep up," Mary said.
James and Lily had had an argument that spurred an argument with her and Frank Longbottom, which lead to a breakup. And during their breakup, James decided to take full advantage of it attempted to ask Lily on several dates during that time in the spring of 5th year.
"So you and Frank are still together, huh?" James asked her.
Lily looked at him and said, "Yes. Why?"
"Just is a long time, is all," James replied.
"It's a year," she shrugged.
"And you're still going strong?" he asked. "No problems in paradise?"
"No. No problems at all, thank you," she answered.
"I'm surprised you put up with his family," James noted.
"Why?" Lily asked, writing more things out on the parchment in front of her.
"Have you met his parents yet?" he asked her, flipping through the book in front of him.
"Briefly," she shrugged.
"Interesting," he said.
"Why?"
"His parents are like…you know, wizarding royalty. Next to Sirius's family of course."
"And is your family in there too?" she asked him.
"They are, but I don't like to bring that up," he told her. "I was raised with decorum, remember?"
"What is your point here Potter?" Lily finally asked, picking up one of the books nearby to research from.
"Girls that marry into families like those," he said, choosing his words carefully, "don't become Aurors."
The look on her face appeared to be as if she had just learned of a loved one's death.
"Oh," she said quietly.
"I'm just telling you what I know, Evans. Even the girls who are born into those families don't do anything but become boring old housewives. Ask my mother," he said.
"But—"
"You're a good witch, Evans. Everyone in the school knows you could beat Sirius with one hand tied behind your back. Don't waste your talent on Frank Longbottom," he advised her.
"It's none of your business if I plan on marrying into his family," she said, heatedly. "In fact, I think I'm a little young to think of marrying anyone right now."
"You'll be twenty in four years," James reminded her.
Lily slammed down the book she was reading and glared at him. And three days later, James overheard a conversation that Lily had with Alice.
"Frank and I broke up," Lily said quietly.
"Why?" Alice asked concernedly.
"I don't know. I just…"
"Is it about the sex?" Alice asked her. "Did he pressure you?"
"No! Yes! No! I don't really know what we were fighting about anymore!"
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Yes. But he didn't pressure me. That's not what this is about…Potter just…oh, I hate that kid!"
"What did he do?" Alice asked.
"He told me that if I married Frank Longbottom, that my life would be planned out because that's how all women who marry into that family end up. I want to work. I want to be an Auror! And…I told this to Frank and he freaked out and…stupid James Potter! Oh!"
"He's right. Most women don't work after they marry into a family like Frank's. I would, but…my family has pull," she laughed.
"I love him though. I want to be with him. I do…I just…And now he thinks that Potter and I are…I don't know. I barely talk to Potter. And…he just annoys the hell out of me!"
Annoy yes, he thought. But annoying James Potter could easily turn into suave and debonair James Potter with the drop of a hat.
"So you and Longbottom called it quits, huh?" James asked, swinging his bag over his shoulder while he and Lily walked to class the next day.
"Yep," Lily said to him.
"You upset?" he asked.
"Why do you care?" she asked him.
"Because I thought if maybe you were upset you would let me take you out and show you what you've been missing," James offered.
"Yes, please do so I can see how the 'other half' lives," Lily said sarcastically.
"Oh come on, Evans," James cajoled her.
"I suppose you'd take me to a Quidditch match, right? And then spend your money thoughtlessly on me and shower me with gifts and then you'd mess up your hair to give it that 'just got off my broomstick' look and at the end of the night you'd try to kiss me and I'd have to say 'absolutely not, you're a jerk.'"
"How am I a jerk?" James asked loudly.
"Uh, Lily," a voice said. A fourth year boy with his potions book had approached them, looking to Lily for help.
"We're talking," James said to the boy, giving him a dangerous glare. The boy scurried off back to his friends while the two continued walking. "Now why am I a jerk?"
"Oh, dear Merlin!" she exclaimed, gesturing back to the fourth year.
"He's annoying. He doesn't count," James said, as they continued down the corridor. They passed a group of Slytherins while talking and Severus Snape managed to slip away from his friends and walk behind the two of them.
"Everyone counts, James," Lily told him.
"Not some people," James disagreed. "Have you met half of the Slytherin house?"
"Everything ok, Lily?" Snape finally said. The two swiveled around to look at him.
"I'm fine, Sev," she replied.
"Example A," James said, pointing to Snape. Lily rolled her eyes and grunted something and walked away from the both of them in a huff.
James caught up to her, leaving Snape behind and said, "What do you see in him anyway? I doubt there's any good in him."
She didn't reply and they kept walking to the dungeons for Potions class. She was trying to walk as fast as possible in hopes of losing him.
And then there was the debacle in the midst of their OWL testing where James had taken off Snape's pants. But that was all water under the bridge now.
"Sirius, if you don't want to go to a boring lunch with the three of them, then you can always come and play Quidditch with me and Spears," James said to his best friend while he had one foot out the door. Sirius was in the middle of taking his t-shirt off while James said this and stopped taking it off to look at him in agony. Sirius would love nothing more than to skip out on a boring lunch with his girlfriend and his girlfriend's best friend and her boyfriend to play Quidditch.
"Sirius, you promised," Mary said quietly to her boyfriend, placing a hand on his thigh and running it up and down the inseam of his pants. Sirius's look of agony increased as he knew there was no way out of this. He mouthed, "I'm sorry," to James and then finished taking off his shirt and walked out of the room and into the adjacent bathroom. After he had left however, Mary merely stared at James with utmost disgust.
"What?" he asked.
"Spears? Really?"
"We are friends," James said, in a dignified tone.
"You also started off as friends with Olivia Newell and Jessica Relly. And we cannot forget your fun tryst with Stella Thompkins after you won the cup in fourth year."
James attempted to say something in retaliation, but couldn't think of anything worthy enough to say to Mary. He never could when it came to her. Instead, he stormed off and out of the room. However, when he walked by the bathroom, he opened the door, flushed the toilet, and then heard Sirius yelp as the water changed from scalding hot to icy cold.
"Relax, Mary! I'm coming!" Sirius yelled. James rolled his eyes and then left the second floor of the Potter home and made his way to the kitchen where he knew he would find his mother.
And in the kitchen, was not only his mother, but Emily Spears.
"Oh, there he is!" Mrs. Potter said happily. Emily turned round and looked at James, smiling. "We were just discussing Emily's future plans. Did you know she wants to play professionally?"
"Yeah," James said to his mother. "Old news, Mum."
"Right. Sorry. What took you so long? I sent Sirius up there a while ago to go retrieve you."
"I just got to talking with him and Mary," James told her.
"Mary's up there?" she asked her son disapprovingly.
"Yes."
"Oh, James, you know how I feel about that girl," Mrs. Potter said within a shudder. She turned to Emily and said, "I apologize if you're friends with her."
"Oh, no! Mary and I run in very different circles."
James laughed and then said, "Well, Mum, we're gonna go play."
Once they got outside, James took about ten steps out the door and then turned round and looked up at Sirius's window. "Sirius! Last chance, mate!"
Sirius appeared at the window suddenly and shook his head, quite sadly. James laughed and then turned round to keep on walking with Emily.
"What does he see in her?" Emily asked James.
"Apparently she's a good kisser."
"That's not all I hear she's good at," Emily joked.
"No, that would be you," James laughed.
Emily hit him on the arm playfully, saying, "Hey! At least I date, unlike you!"
"I date!" he said offensively.
"Who?"
"Olivia Newell!"
"That was a year ago!"
"Jessica Relly!"
"Ooo…a two month romance. Go you!"
"Stella Thompkins!"
"Ooo…two days."
"Hey! You go through more guys than I can count. You and Alice McKinnon make Cecil Welch look semi-normal," James said.
"Yeah…Alice and I kind of have an unspoken contest going to see who can make out with the most Gryffindors."
"Who's winning?"
"Her I think. I could be wrong though."
They finally reached the field that James had spoken of to her and within an instant of stepping onto the field, goal posts appeared along with a box for all the Quidditch equipment needed.
"We don't have to play if you're not feeling up to it, Potter," she offered kindly. James whirled around and stared at her.
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"I don't know," she shrugged.
"Well if you think of something, then let me know," James said to her. Emily grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him down to her level and kissed him suddenly.
"I do need help beating Alice," she said to him between kisses.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and then they both fell to the ground, kissing.