Chapter 2

"Hey Grandma," James called as he stepped out of the floo to the usual chaotic atmosphere of the weekly Weasley feast; as it was winter most people were in the house and he could hear raucous laughter coming from the living room while the clinking of plates and bowls told him that some of the family were helping to get the table and the food ready. He waited by the fireplace for a moment while the flames turned green again and Holly appeared in the middle of the fire. "I hope you don't mind but I brought someone along!" he added as he held his hand out to his girlfriend so she could step out steadily.

"You mean you didn't ask first?" Holly shrieked in a quiet voice feeling suddenly like an unwanted intruder.

"Of course not darling," Molly Weasley replied stepping over to the fire to greet her new visitor, "the more the merrier I always say! Hello dear," she went on stepping forward and kissing the cheeks of the pretty dark haired girl, "what a beauty she is James," the old woman added making Holly blush again. "And it's nice that you've finally brought someone along to dinner, the rest of the family have been doing it for years, make yourself at home Holly," she finished winking at her grandson and then heading back to the table where she had been cutting doorstep wedges of bread.

"See, I knew she wouldn't mind, she loves to feed people and as she said the more the merrier!" he chuckled taking hold of her hand and walking towards the door which led out of the kitchen. Holly walked quietly behind him and at the door he turned to look curiously at her, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes...I...I just feel...a bit nervous."

"But why?" he chuckled pausing outside the living room door, "You already know everyone in there and you've done plenty of stuff with them all before," he went on smiling.

"I know but...but this time I'm here as your...your..." she still struggled to say aloud that they were in a serious relationship, more because she felt that when she said the word girlfriend James might still decide to run a mile.

"Girlfriend?" he asked tugging her gently by the hand into the stairwell where it was a little darker and more concealed.

"Well...yes," she replied blushing furiously again, something which was hidden this time by the darkness of the stairs. "It just feels different this time."

"It is different," he said softly, "because you're here with me this time, but that doesn't mean everyone else will be different, we've been around them for months without them knowing about us and it was never different."

"I know, but this time they'll be looking at me as your girlfriend and not just Rose's old school friend."

"So?" he questioned curiously rubbing her hands within his.

"Well...they'll be thinking about me differently, thinking am I good enough for you or...or..."

"Holly," he whispered leaning in to kiss her swiftly, "you proved you were good enough when you sat by my bedside for two weeks, not that you needed to even then. I was the bad guy when I slept with..." he coughed allowing her to fill in the blank for herself, "my sister went berserk because she liked you so much and said I'd made the biggest mistake of my life!" he chuckled as she smiled. "So stop worrying, they love you as much as I do and anyway I'll be the one getting the grief from them all!"

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because this is the first time I've ever brought someone to the weekly dinner!"

"But...didn't you ever bring Annemarie?" she asked with a shocked tone.

"No," he replied shaking his head, "she came to birthdays and Christmas stuff but never the weekly feast."

"How come?" she continued inquisitively?

"I never asked her," he answered nonchalantly, "I guess I never thought to do it! I must love you more!" he added chuckling as he lowered his face to hers for another soft kiss, "Now come on, let's get the teasing over with, for me!" Holly smiled up at him in awe, she had always assumed that Annemarie had been part of his family life and knowing that she hadn't been made her suddenly felt privileged to be part of it herself now. Allowing him to lead her by the hand she followed James into the living room where what felt like hundreds of Weasleys were standing, sitting and talking together in corners, before the fire and by the window discussing the events of the week. Spotting Rose and Salamander with Dominique and her brother Louis, James set off in their direction with Holly still walking behind holding his hand.

"Hey James, and Holly?" A voice said from the other side of the room and their heads swivelled to see George Weasley who was looking goggle eyed at them both, "You finally have a girl you want to share with us dear nephew?" he chuckled and James returned a small smile.

"Yes as a matter of fact I do," he replied proudly looking at Holly again and then continuing over to the corner where their friends were.

"Hey Holly," Rose whispered as they approached and she felt herself relax a little as they entered into easy conversation about their respective weeks. This was really the first time she and James had done anything as a couple with his family since their relationship had come out in the open, she had seen her friends since then but never with him as they had spent the few weeks of his recovery at his flat most of the time because he had not been up to venturing out of it.

Family members came and went during the next half an hour before they were called into the kitchen to eat, James' sister Lily and her boyfriend turned up just as they were called and Raulph whispered a quiet hello as he followed her into the room, "It's a bit scary the first time isn't it?" he said when she saw the mountains of food on the table and the seemingly endless Weasley's attempting to sit at the magically enlarged table.

"A-ha," she replied looking round the room for James who had left her talking to Rose and the others in the lounge.

"I mean you do lots of things with the family before you start seeing one of them, but the first time you are here as a 'significant other' is pretty nerve wracking!" he chuckled. "But don't worry, it gets easier!" he finished heading across the room to Lily who was sat beside James' brother Albus, Holly continued to stare bewildered at the en masse surge to sit down and started to feel a little bit lost in the seemingly small room.

"Hey, gorgeous," a voice whispered in her ear as two hands wrapped around her waist from behind, "ready to eat?" James asked as he took her hand again and pulled them in the direction of the rest of his siblings who were on the other side of the room. She sat beside Lily who immediately started talking to her and she felt herself relax again as James handed her a plate and told her to dig in before it was all gone.

Watching them all sharing a meal was quite humbling, Holly came from a small family in comparison to this one, she had a brother who was older than her by a year but the only cousins she had were on her father's side and as he was a muggle born wizard they were muggles too and so her family rarely interacted with them. Watching everyone piling their plates high with various meats, vegetables and potatoes reminded her of Hogwarts and she had to wonder in awe at the woman who did this every week so she could have all her family together. They clearly loved each other very much and sat in different groups around the table catching up and sharing stories, the children still at Hogwarts were missing and Holly couldn't even begin to imagine where they would sit if they had been there as the table was already crammed to bursting. The only child at the meal was Victoire and Teddy's son, Remus, who was now toddling around the end of the kitchen receiving many 'oos' and 'ahhs' from the family when he toppled from side to side.

When everyone had eaten their fill Molly Weasley swept the table clear using her wand and set the vast amount of dishes washing themselves in the sink while she got up and turned her attention to what looked like seven different cakes waiting on the windowsill. "Mmm dessert," James whispered beside her, "I wonder if it'll be as good as yours was last night!" he chuckled and she swatted him on the arm as he slid the other around her back.

By the time they had finished eating everyone in the room was stuffed to bursting and a few at a time they rose from the table and wandered off in different directions, most of them back to the living room while a few of the women stayed around to help Molly clear away. "Can I do anything to help Mrs Weasley?" Holly asked as she rose from her seat and carried her plate to the sink.

"No, no dear," she returned, "but thank you for offering, it's more than most of the youngsters do around here!" she chided gently, "You are a guest, go and talk with the others! And please call me Molly dear; if James is bringing you along here then you must be very important to him, in which case I want us to be firm friends," she smiled beaming at her grandson who had come up behind her quietly.

"She is very important to me," he replied making Holly jump as he slid an arm around her again and she saw a look of extreme happiness cross his grandmother's face.

"Good," she said back to him, "I think this one is a special girl James, a keeper if you ask me!" she chuckled winking at Holly who swallowed over a lump in her throat and allowed herself to be guided by James in the direction of the back door. Although she knew James loved her and wanted to be with her she still never allowed herself to think too far into their future, they were still young after all and she was used to thinking that she and James may just be a fling. When he had asked her to move in she had been shocked to the core that he was willing to make such a commitment but whenever people broached the subject of any further future she became flustered, not because she didn't want it but because she didn't know if James was ready to contemplate it.

"Do you fancy a walk?" he asked when they got to the back door and she nodded her reply as he summoned their cloaks and then opened the door for her waiting until she had stepped outside before closing it again to keep the cold out of the house. A cool winter chill was in the air around them and as they set off in the direction of the stream they both pulled their cloaks tightly against their necks. James clasped her hand as they walked and passed on a modicum of his body heat, "Sorry if that was a bit chaotic for you!" he said as they fell into a synchronised step, "There are a lot of us, and some of them weren't even there!"

"I know," she chuckled back, "but it was nice, it was fun to see everyone enjoying themselves and getting on. My family is so small we never have anything like that."

"Sometimes it can get too much though, sometimes it's enough when we're having a meal at home without all the Weasleys, a Potter meal can be just as manic you know!"

"Well maybe I'll have to try one of those next then," she ventured and he turned to smile at her stopping their walk and holding her hands in his.

"I love that you like my family," he whispered honestly, "and that you don't mind that they do these kinds of things."

"Why would I mind?" she asked curiously.

"I...I don't really know why, like I said before I never invited anyone to the weekly thing before, Annemarie never seemed that bothered about being with everyone so often so I just never asked her but with you I felt like...well I wanted you to be there," he said. "I'd like it if you came all the time...I mean if...if you want to, I'm not forcing you or-"

"James," she laughed softly, "I'd love to!" Though they had technically been together for just shy of a year now they had been in a secret relationship for so long that they had never had to encounter these sorts of moments. They had always met up at one another's homes instead of going on dates and meeting the family; and while they were completely comfortable with each other these kinds of situations could become awkward and sometimes it felt as if they were just starting out.

They carried on walking, treading carefully along a well worn path through the trees under a bright white moon which filtered its rays through the branches above their heads. Eventually they reached the small river at the end of the garden which backed onto the Longbottom land and James stopped at the water's edge where the moon reflected in the ripples. "Rose has told me about this place," Holly whispered as they stood hand in hand, "she said you all used to play here as children."

"Yeah we did, with Salamander and Consuella too, we'd swim in the water and play quidditch up on the field over there," he explained pointing in the direction they had come from, "me and Rose used to argue like crazy!" he chuckled.

"You did that at school!" Holly returned looking over at him, "Especially when she became a prefect and could tell you off all the time, you were even worse then at winding her up just because she had to deal with you!"

"Well she was a goodie too shoes!" he joked, "Always doing her work on time and never breaking a rule; she deserved it, especially when she was always explaining the rules to everyone else, absolute nightmare!"

"Hey," she returned batting at his arm again, "I always did my work on time and I never broke the rules either and you never gave me the time of day!"

"Yeah...but...but that was...that was because I...well..." he had no real explanation and she just laughed at him. "And anyway I noticed you when you stopped being a goodie too shoes and started coming on to me!"

"I...what?" she barked, "I came on to you?"

"You know you did," he chuckled pulling her into his arms tightly and holding her close as she tried to push him away softly, "strutting around at the wedding in that slim fitting dress, shimmying your hips at me whenever I was nearby! You know what you were doing!"

"I was doing nothing of the sort!" she shrieked trying to push him away with mock indignance but he was holding her fast. "As I recall you were the one buying the firewhiskey and being cock sure of yourself!"

"Well I was!"

"Huh?"

"Cock sure of myself, I got you into bed didn't I?" he laughed and she batted his chest with her hand starting to feel slightly annoyed at his arrogance.

"Well," she huffed, "I...you..."

"And it was the best thing I ever did," he added softly releasing the tight hold she was trying to loosen but still pulling her in for a deep kiss, "ever," he repeated as she stopped moving and allowed his lips to touch hers. When they broke apart she swallowed and forgot that he had been trying to wind her up as he kissed the top of her head and then motioned for them to move further down the river; it was cold and as they reached the old Lovegood loveseat which was cracked and weather beaten he indicated for them to sit down; she started to shiver from the cool air and James used his wand to light a small fire at their feet which warmed them almost immediately.

"I brought extra dessert," he chuckled reaching into his cloak and extracting a small box from it, "not as good as yours though!" he laughed as she raised her eyebrows at him. "Care to try this one out?" he asked as he opened the lid to reveal some of the creamy cheesecake which Molly had made as one of the cakes.

"I tried it, that's what I had for my dessert," she answered.

"That's not quite what I meant," he went on slowly eying her deliciously.

"James!" she shrieked, "Not out here!"

"Why not?" he asked leaning in to her neck and starting to kiss it softly just where he knew she liked to be kissed.

"Well for a start it's freezing and your family are just up the hill," she reasoned but then moaned at the feel of his soft lips on her skin.

"I can take care of both of those problems, come...on," he pleaded looking up at her with puppy dog eyes, "you didn't mind when we were in Scotland!"

"That's because we were all alone and miles from anywhere, not three hundred yards from your Grandmother's house!"

"There's a huge warm fire in there and no one will come down to the river, trust me," he answered back leaning in to kiss her neck again and then stopping to swipe his finger through the cheesecake, "come on, just a little taste?" he pleaded holding the dollop of cheesecake towards her face and smiling.

"James," she chided, "can't you wait until we get home?"

"For you? No!" he answered hungrily trying to slide his free hand into the top of her jumper.

"James!" she squealed jumping up from the seat and turning to run, "No!" she shouted darting behind a tree into the darkness and holding her breath.

She jumped from tree to tree listening to the sound of his footsteps trying to track her while trying hard not to make any noises of her own and then stopped when she thought she was deep enough into the trees to be hidden. It was dark where she was and she could barely see her hand in front of her face as she waited with her back against the tree listening to James' moans of her name. She giggled furiously to herself and continued to listen but after a few minutes he stopped calling for her and then she heard his footsteps move away. After waiting a couple of minutes longer she ventured from her hiding place and trod carefully between the trees and branches heading back to the seat where they had been; when she got there however James was no where to be seen and as she turned in the darkness she suddenly felt very alone.

Had he gone back to the house and left her in the dark? Turning on the spot she peered in every direction but it was so dark that she could not see and as her breath came out in plumes from her mouth she felt cold and a little afraid. A small amount of light coming from the top of the hill told her that was the way back to the Burrow and with a small sigh she started to climb back up away from the softly trickling stream. She had barely taken three steps when a shadow moved beside her and she let out a short scream as two arms enfolded her and then turned it to a giggle as she heard James' raucous laugh. They tumbled to the ground at his insistence and he rolled them over until she was beneath him, pinioned to the earth by his weight, "James you scared me," she chided as he stopped moving and looked down at her sincerely, "I thought you'd gone and left me."

"I would never leave you," he whispered seriously as he smoothed hair back from her face, "I promise," he added as if he had just been threatened by it.

Holly stopped giggling at him and looked back at him with a similar look, "I know."

"Seriously, I won't...ever, I love you Holly."

"And I love you too," she replied wondering why he had turned so serious all of a sudden.

"Promise you will never leave me," he whispered staring into her eyes, with the bright moon behind them all she could see was his outline silhouetted against the sky but she knew he was gazing at her deeply.

"I promise," she croaked, "I won't leave you," she went on feeling that familiar jolt in her stomach that she got whenever he said something like that; the one which gave her a tiny ray of hope that maybe he did want a future with her; the one which she usually had to keep in check just in case it all came crumbling around her. He leaned down to kiss her then and with a flick of his wand he encased them in a tight bubble with a small but warming fire which took the chill from the night as he sat up and slowly began to undress her. His eyes never wavered from hers as they stripped down to nothing and then made slow, passionate love to each other in the woods beside the Burrow, moaning softly with one another until they came together and cried out quietly.

They returned to the house a short while later, wearing happy smiles, and said their goodbyes to the family. Molly showed her pleasure at Holly's presence and gave James a stern warning that he had better bring her along again if he knew what was good for him; then they flooed out one behind the other back to the flat where they went to bed almost straight away, falling asleep curled up together. As she dozed Holly allowed herself to think about the thing she usually locked away; the thing she only allowed herself to think of when she had seen a ray of hope and tonight she had seen that. James had seemed suddenly insistent that he did not want to leave her and she started to wonder where it had come from, was it just because they had been hiding from each other or was there some other fear that he had developed? Whatever it was she had no intention of going anywhere at all, when she did remember that James used to be a man about town and forced herself to banish thoughts of a future with him to the back of her mind she knew that he would be the one doing the leaving. She was desperately and wholeheartedly in love with the man and knew if any heart was going to be broken it would be hers and not his.