Greetings! As you're probably aware - My updates have been anything but frequent! My computer broke so I lost all of my work (I didn't back any of it up, like the silly that I am). So finding a computer to work on hasn't been easy... there have also been various other factors to add to the reason of poor update!

Alas, here is another chapter to tide you over. I can't tell you exactly when the next chapter will be up but don't lose faith. It won't be ages and I will never ever give up on any of my stories, so don't fret :)

If there is anything that means the world to me - it's reviews, you cannot comprehend the excitement that fills me when I see that I have received a review! So please, please review! It makes me happy that you are enjoying my stories...

If you would like to see the way that I see the characters in my story then go here(remove spaces):

http : / / s1195 . photobucket . com / albums / aa394 / ElizabethJaneMalfoy / It%20Must%20be%20the%20Chemistry/

Music Selection for this chapter: Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)

Anyway, on with the story...a few cheesy moments, but hey! I love cheese. Grilled cheese in particular.


Chapter 2 - Raise Your Glass

When Rose's feet touched down in the fireplace at James and Teddy's 'Bachelor Apartment' (or, in other words; the dingy little flat above 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' that was formerly owned by Uncle George and the late Uncle Fred), she was immediately whisked away by a more than eager Roxie and (much to the amusement of Teddy and James) dragged down the hallway into one of the guest rooms where Roxie had already set up an array of dresses and make-up…

"Oh bloody hell Roxanne! It looks like a bloody fairy's thrown up in here!"

Roxie flapped her arms about in protest, "Please don't start that again Rose! If you want to look shaggable for Teddy then you need to let me do what I must!"

Rose pursed her lips and crossed her arms, cocking her hip out to the side, hurriedly deciding to ignore the fact that she was practically scarlet.

"And what makes you think that I want to look 'shaggable' for him?" She questioned, ignoring Roxie, who had decided to let out a rather loud 'pah!' at her comment.

"Look, Roxie…I do not want loads of slap on my face and those bloody fake eyelashes…a-and I most certainly do not want to wear those knickers that go up my arse!"

Roxie's loud giggle erupted in the weenie bedroom as the brunette bounded across the room to her handbag, rifling through sequin after sequin before pulling out a brand new bottle of Odgen's finest Firewhiskey and two plastic cups. She giggled still as she poured each of them a large shot. "Rose, stop overreacting." She handed her the glass and took a sip of her own, "I am not going to force you into wearing anything that you don't want to, silly…"

"Hah!"

"What now!"

Rose huffed and flung herself onto the bed, taking a small, hesitant sip of her whiskey. "Well, you didn't really let me have a say about anything that I wore to the Yule Ball…"

"Yes, but did you or didn't you look utterly fabulous?"

She paused momentarily, thinking back to the day that she had descended the entrance hall steps, dressed head to toe in a svelte gold gown, her hair pinned back off' her face and cascading down her bare neck. She had to admit that Roxie had done a fabulous job that evening, regardless of the fact that she had given her no choice in the matter.

"See! The silence says it all…"

"Alright. You did a good job." She said through gritted teeth.

"Good?" Roxanne took a deep swig of her drink and raised her eyebrows. "I think you underestimate my abilities, Rosy Posy…" said Roxie.

Rose rolled her eyes and studied her nails, faking boredom. whilst Roxie clambered off' the bed, mumbling something like 'So fucking blind…' and downed her shot in one as she approached the dressing table, going to refill her glass.

"Right, where shall we start?" she studied the variety of equipment. "I'm thinking… eyebrows?"

Rose slapped a hand to her forehead, hiding the area that Roxie intended to attack with a tweezing charm. "No. Fucking. Way."

Roxie pursed her lips wickedly "Rose, you'd better down that shot and pour yourself another… there's no way I'm backing down on this one!"

Four more shots of Firewhiskey, three hair-dos, eight dresses and a painfully long two hours later, the two young witches were finally ready!

Well, Roxie was.

Rose still had yet to decide which dress she was going to wear...She had never really been one for dressing up and if she ever had the choice between a dress and a pair of jeans with a plain tee-shirt, then she most certainly would opt for the jeans and tee every single time.

She was a bit of a tomboy really.

"Go for the black one, Rose..." urged Roxie, a little impatient. "It'll make your curves pop and arse look fabulous! Trust me."

"Yeah, but don't you think it's a bit short? You'll be able to see my knickers!" she chided, studying the daring little number against the other lengthier, more modest and rather plain, white dress. "It's easy for you, Rox, you've been wearing this stuff for ages and look fabulous in all of it." she looked back over at her cousin, studying her faultless appearance from top to bottom.
Roxanne had found the most beautiful, rich sapphire dress that came to her mid-thigh. It had a plunging vee-neck that showed off her perky cleavage fantastically and a little cape that hung down the back, making her look like a goddess.

Rose's bottom lip jutted out in disappointment at her indecisiveness and she slumped onto the bed in defeat...

"Rose, don't be bloody absurd. You're going to look great, just trust me please..." Roxanne almost begged, taking the little black dress off' it's hanger and handing it to Rose. "Look, the guys are getting impatient and we need to leave in five, no longer. We're going to go with or without you..." she kissed Rose on the cheek and sauntered over to the door, finishing another shot of alcohol as she went. "Now, Rose Weasley, put the fucking dress on...actually look at yourself in a mirror for once and if you don't like what you see, then I shall eat my purse. I'll see you at the fireplace in four minutes."


Merlin, it was tight. The right fit, but gods, did some girls actually wear stuff like this?

Rose quickly decided (after another quick shot) that she wasn't going to miss out on the 'Hogwarts Graduation Party' for anything, let alone a little petty dress.

A little, daring, sultry, 'nothing-that-rose-would-ever-wear' dress.

She sighed in defeat and rushed over to the mirror so that she could at least catch a little glimpse of herself before having to hurry to the fireplace.

"Whoa..." she breathed, taking in her appearance. It was certainly different and Rose was debating whether it was actually her reflection at all. She studied every little detail... from the sky-high heels that accentuated her long, creamy legs, to the gorgeous diamante studded neck-line of the dress, her fingertips tracing the intricate lace that replaced the fabric on her waist, to give the dress it's suggestive style.

Right. This was the point where she was supposed to properly freak out and run into the bathroom in true Rose style, refusing to go into public looking like such a harlot.

Except, this time, she didn't.

Her body felt warm, the several shots of firewhiskey confidently pulsing through her veins and making her feel completely relaxed and somewhat... daring.
Rose gazed at her reflection, softly biting her blood-red lips.

"Gosh..." she murmured. "Well here goes nothing."

...

A couple of minutes later, Rose stood in the doorway of the living room, her nails picking nervously at the delicate beads on the small clutch bag that she held. Expecting a good thirty seconds of judgement from the others, she stared up at the lampshade in a nonchalant manner and pretended to study it carefully as Fred, Albus and Teddy took their own moment to drink in Rose's unexpected appearance.

Freddie was the first to break the silence; "Well Roxie, I must applaud you once again! Twice in a year, well done Sis!" Rose glanced over at where Roxie stood and had to stop herself from sulkily raising her eyes at her cousin, who leant against the wall, looking like the cat who caught the fucking canary.

"You look smashing, Rose!" Albus beamed, giving her a comforting rub on her shoulder, which seemed to lift a little anxiety off' Rose's shoulders.

"I'll say..." Roxie agreed and purred sexily, waggling her eyebrows suggestively in Teddy's direction... fully grabbing Rose's attention.

"Oh, and I suppose that's your seal of approval then, is it?" said Rose, placing both hands on her hips and raising one freshly plucked brow in a 'don't you bloody dare' glare.

"Well what can I say?" she retorted, that humungous, sly grin still slicked across her purple glossed lips. "She looks hot, doesn't she Teddy?"

Rose's eyes immediately went to Teddy. He stood casually with one hand in his trouser pocket, the other cradling a large glass of firewhiskey. His face, however, was a mask of utter surprise; his eyes wide and jaw completely slack. With a swift kick in the shin from Fred, Teddy let out an embarrassed cough and nodded a little too enthusiastically at Rose. "You look...You look great. Uh, should we? We should go." Rose blushed slightly and smiled as she watched the handsome young wizard stumble over his words before dragging Al and Fred (who were more than amused) to the fireplace, where they were to floo to Hogwarts. Teddy looked back over his shoulder at Rose, smiling warmly this time, almost flirtatiously as he, Fred and Albus disappeared in a flash of green.

Roxie followed suit, giggling as she did, half triumphantly to herself, the other half rubbing it in just for Rose's sake...

Obviously.

As soon as Roxie disappeared, Rose let out a huge sigh. Gosh, that witch would be the death of her! Encouraging her to drink many shots and dress up in alluring outfits in order to woo a deliciously handsome wizard. That woman was crazy, an absolute nutter! Talking of shots, Rose spied the glass that Teddy had left on the mantlepiece and downed it in one huge gulp.

"Dutch courage?"

"Holy Fuck! What th- James?"

"Rose Weasley!" he faked a shocked look, holding a hand over his lips "Since when did your vocabulary get so dirty?" he winked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Her head dropped to the floor in embarrassment...

"Sorry, I thought you'd already left?"

"No...I had to send an owl."

He stood in the hallway, his back against the wall as he smirked playfully, glancing her up and down. He looked incredibly...nice, she noted, looking at his smart black suit with the navy shirt that she had bought him last Christmas. He wore no tie, leaving the first few buttons undone.

The pink tinge on Rose's cheeks deepened to a raging scarlet as their eyes locked and Rose realised that James was giving that same smouldering look that he gave her before they left the Burrow.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

Rose smiled and snorted lightly. "You look like you want to kill me or something, James. I haven't done anything wrong have I?"

His brow furrowed and he glanced down at the carpet... "Not at all..."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive" he insisted.

"Then what is it? Do you think that I look terrible?" she asked in a mocking tone, her insides twisting as she waited for his response.

"Don't be stupid Rose. You look..."

"What?" she panicked, slightly.

"You look beautiful" he said, honestly.

She dipped her head bashfully, probably looking like a bloody tomato at this point.

Stupid bint.

"Thanks. Gosh four eyes, what's happened to you? You've gone all soft on me." she joked, bashing her shoulder against his. "Be careful, you might grow some boobs or something..." She squealed as he pulled her to his chest and dug his fingers into her ribs. "Cheeky Witch!" he exclaimed.

Ah here he was, the James she loved the best. The James that she would spend days with during the holidays, play-fighting, playing wizards chess, baking, swimming in the lake outside the Burrow.

Gods she had missed him.

So much.

He really was her best friend.

After getting his revenge, James picked Rose up by the waist and carried her giggling frame over to the fireplace.

"Put me down you oaf! I'm so getting you back for that..." she exclaimed.

As he set her down she went to attack but her arms were stopped by his large warm hands, which slowly slipped down to clasp her fingers.

"You can try and get me back later Rosie. We've got a graduation party to get to first" he said, "and we don't want to waste that lovely dress of yours, do we?"

She shook her head in agreement and sighed in defeat, leaning her head onto his chest.

"Oh bloody hell. Okay." She paused for a second, "Merlin...it's going to be so strange."

"What is?"

"No more school."

He chuckled lightly, tugging at a small strand of her crimson hair before winding it delicately round his finger. "Trust you to say that... no more education! What on earth will you do with out it eh!" he teased, receiving a rather painful 'thwack' in the shoulder as a response.

"You know what I mean, James. Don't be a prat" she sighed.

"Hey, I was just teasing!"

"Well don't."

"Yes Madam"

'THWACK'

"Oi!"


Until next time!

-Lizzie