Chapter 3: Reasons I Hate James Sirius Potter
"Get up. C'mon. You're gonna be late! Hurry up!" Jo screamed at me. I thrashed wildly and looked around groggily. Ugh. School.
"I'm up," I mumbled and flung myself further into bed. Jo swore under her breath and I could tell she raised her wand. I instantly leaped out of bed.
"I'M UP!" I yelled at her, my arms in surrender. She laughed evilly and ran out of the room.
"WE LEAVE FOR BREAKFAST IN FIVE," she yelled. I groaned and quickly got dressed. The robes, skirt, shirt and ties were all crisp and neatly ironed. Trust mum to iron everything. After I tied up my black boots, I sprinted down the stairs.
"JO! WAIT FOR… me…" I trailed off when I saw a massive crowd of people surrounding Jo, Rachel and Eva. I recognised Scorpius and Albus (holding hands… of course), Roy and Enrico but that was it. Al saw me, and waved me down.
"I'll introduce you to everyone. This," he said, pointing to the massive group, "is our whole friendship group."
Al named everyone and I took mental notes. Emma – the girl with the big forehead, Peter – the boy with the big ears, Xavier – the really hot boy, Hope – the girl with the really long white hair, Sean – the boy with the cool hair, Maria – the girl with the huge glasses, Oscar – the big and buff boy, Dimitri – the scrawny boy carrying loads of books and the twins, Lesley and Frank.
"Guys, this is Maddie. Note: it's Maddie, not Madison," Al said as he led me through the crowd.
They all waved and as one, big group, we all walked to the Grand Hall for breakfast.
As sat down, I piled my plate with pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, yogurt, sausages, more bacon, potatoes, waffles, fruit and more eggs. The girl with the long white hair sat opposite me and chatted my ear off.
"So, you like eggs and bacon? That's so cool! I want to stuff some in my mouth! I stick with toast! I hate jam and butter together though! Is vegemite nice? Is it chocolate? I hate eggs. And bacon. I'm vegan," Hope chatters on really enthusiastically and randomly. I nodded along to be nice but shared looks with Scorp out of the corner of my eye. He rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"So, what class do you have first?" Oscar asked in a surprisingly high voice for someone so big. I looked down at my timetable and saw I had Herbology first thing.
"Herbology. Ugh, I can't deal with plants first thing in the morning," I groaned as Oscar laughed.
"I love Herbology! I love most classes! Classes are fun! School rocks! I think I might teach but I don't know what subject! I think I need some water! Do you want water or pumpkin juice? I want both!" Hope gushes out in that same optimistic tone. She grabs tons of glasses and pours each one to the brim with pumpkin juice. I take one, sceptical. I had never tried it before.
"Does it taste like… pumpkin?" I asked, eyeing it off nervously. The whole group laughed.
"Try it! Try it! Try it! Try it! TRY IT! TRY IT!" they all chanted. I laughed and hesitantly put it to my lips when-
"OI! SHUT UP, WOULD YA?" a voice yelled from across the hall. All of the Slytherin turned around and saw a girl with long, auburn hair and inquisitive green eyes standing on her seat. Her face was flushed and embarrassed as if she couldn't comprehend why she just did that. Al cracked up when he saw her.
"Scorp! That's Rose! I bet you a hundred chocolate frog cards that James dared her to do it!" Scorp and Al both started laughing as the other Slytherin's groaned at the name 'James'.
"Wait, James as in your brother? Didn't I have to get back at him or something?" I wondered aloud. Rachel snorted as Jo nodded.
"Yep, I do recall Rachel saying that… and you agreeing to it! So, basically, he put these Weasley lollies all in our meals for one week – all of us couldn't stop coming up in boils, vomiting, turning blue, disappearing temporarily, growing extra legs and God knows what else!" Jo sneered, though there was respect in her eyes. "We tried everything to keep them out of our meals. Asked for new ones, ate different foods, didn't eat for a certain meal – everything! But James got us good. He's basically Gryffindor's prized possession. He's their leader when it comes to pranking, practical jokes and smuggling goods in – or people out. I'd hate him… if he weren't so god darn helpful!"
"Helpful? Please. You mean hot," Maria laughed as everyone joined in. So I have to get back at Gryffindor's prized possession who is also a Potter and a master prankster and knows every Hogwarts tunnel or secret passageway. And now he's hot too? I didn't know if I could beat him, honestly.
"He seems… pretty advanced. Who's the Slytherin practical jokes/ pranking leader?" I asked. I was met with blank stares.
"Colleen," Roy said glumly. Great. Now I had to live up to Colleen. Again! Did I not get a break from this girl?
"Well, I want everyone to think of some ideas. We need to make sure we're original and nasty. Because I wanna win this war," I stated matter-of-a-fact-ly. Scorp mock saluted and everyone separated into little cliques and groups and went off to class.
"Hey, Maddie. What class do you have first?" Jo asked as we started walking down the hall.
"Herbology."
"Ooohhh. Nasty. I think I have that too, actually…" Jo trailed off and started scourging in her bag looking for something. I turned to Al.
"Do you have Herbology too?" Al laughed in my face.
"I'm in my fifth year! I'm a year younger!" Al said, his face red. I laughed so hard at this too that I doubled over and smacked right into someone. I quickly straightened up and saw the red head girl from before who was in Gryffindor.
"Oh! Sorry! My fault!" I apologised as she smiled tightly and walked away. Huh. Not very friendly.
"Don't mind Rose. She's a little on the… shy side. Her little brother has such a big personality, she gets overshadowed. That's kinda the same for me, actually. As in, my older brother James – the one we always seem to talk about – overshadows me. He's better looking, better at sport, more popular… he's in Gryffindor… But it's all good. He's dumb, not too bright, you know?" Al said in a fake, up-beat tone. I grabbed his arm and faced him. I suddenly felt defensive. Who was James Potter to make Albus Potter feel bad?
"Don't be ashamed of Slytherin or anything else. Ok?" I was interrupted by Scorp clearing his throat.
"Hands off ma man. You do know he's gay, right? So your pretty little eyes won't work any tricks on him," Scorp wrapped his arm around Al's shoulders and kissed his forehead. I giggled at their cuteness. It then hit me that yes, these people are now my friends but they still have other relationships, better relationships than the ones they have with me. Being here for a day doesn't make us best friends. Which also means, it's going to be awkward when it comes to class. Who would I sit next to? Who would want to sit next to me? Would I be alone or stuck next to someone of whom I didn't like? My distress must've shown on my face because Scorp looked over at me.
"Hey, why so sad all of a sudden?" he asked concerned. I shrugged and tried to play it off but it's like he read my mind. "Hey… do you wanna sit next to me and Jo in all of the classes we have together? Just asking coz… yeah…?" Scorp tried to say naturally. I would've laughed had I not been so grateful.
"Thanks," relief must have been plain on my face because Scorp positively beamed. Jo nudged my arm.
"Ready? We have Herbology with the Hufflepuff's. Herbology, here we come…" Jo said unenthusiastically. Scorp, Jo, Rachel, Eva, Roy, Enrico, Hope, Oscar, Peter and I all walked to the greenhouses.
When we stepped inside, I was amazed by how little it was. Compared to ones at the Australian Institute, these were tiny.
I was just about to say so when I saw a giant with giant, fuzzy hair across the room. A legitimate, giant. I squealed and ran over.
"Jonny!" I said standing right in front of him. His big eyes lit up and he waved.
"Hi Maddie! Sorry I haven't said hi or anything. I'm in Hufflepuff and you're in Slytherin. Sooo, hi!" I laughed until someone interrupted me.
"Oi, Jonny. Finally got a girlfriend?" Enrico yelled across the room. I bristled as Jonny groaned. Enrico used that joke too? That joke isn't even funny!
"Enrico, stop," Rachel said, pulling him away. I looked at Jonny apologetically and walked over to Scorp and Jo, who were both looking at Enrico.
"I hate that guy," Jo said at the exact same moment Scorp said, "I love that guy." They looked at each other in bewilderment and motioned for me to sit between them. I slid in just as the doors opened.
"Hi everyone! Sorry I'm late! I was just picking out the right books and such that I'll need for this class today. For all you newcomers, aka, Madison, I'm Professor Longbottom," Professor Longbottom waved to me and set down his bag. He was a tall and bulked up man, with slight stubble on his chin. He had disheveled brown hair and wore clean but old clothes. "Now, everyone. Please open your textbook to page three hundred and ninety five…"
"I love Professor Longbottom. He's awesome!" I exclaimed to Scorpius as we walked down the hall to my all-time favourite class – DA DA (Defence Against the Dark Arts)!
"You know he's a family friend to the Potters, Weasley's and my family? It's so weird hearing people say 'Professor Longbottom' when he's just Neville to us. He and his wife, Hannah, have this adorable kid. He's in his fifth year with Al but I swear to god I could just eat him up!" Scorp said as I chuckled.
"We have DA DA with Gryffindor. Does this mean I finally get to meet the famous James Potter?" I said mockingly. Scorp gave me a look as Rachel, Eva and Jo caught up with us.
"Hey! How exciting! We finally get to see Professor Lupin again!" Eva squealed. Jo rounded on her.
"Ha! I knew you liked him at least a little!" Rachel laughed as Jo did a little victory dance. Scorp looked like he was choking.
"Guys, he's practically related to my boyfriend! And I don't see what the big fuss is. He's not that hot," Scorp protested as he fake gagged. We all laughed and stumbled into the classroom.
"Look! It seems Mr Malfoy, Miss Evergreen, Miss Razour and Miss Keat have 'adopted' our newbie!" this really hot guy chuckled at us. Scorp (Malfoy) ran in and high fived him, Eva (Keat) blushed and walked passed him quickly, Rachel (Razour) laughed a little too loudly and tried to 'glide' past him which ended up with her stumbling to the floor and Eva having to help her to her seat and Jo running straight past him screaming: "I KNOW YOU MISSED ME, PROFESSOR LUPIN!". I laughed at her craziness and introduced myself to the hot guy which I now know as Professor Lupin. He had short, light brown hair and these eyes that seemed to change colour. Everything about his face was perfect but in a natural, carefree way. He seemed tall and was really (like, really) well built. He smiled a one thousand watt smile and held his tan hand out.
"Teddy Lupin. But to you and everyone else in this class, I am Professor Lupin," he said in a really nice English accent. The words Professor Lupin were accented and he made them sound mock posh. I laughed and shook his hand.
"I'm Maddie, Professor Lupin," I emphasised the word Professor as he showed me into the classroom. I sat next to Scorp and Jo (obviously) and took out all of my books.
"No, Maddie. No books for this class. It's all hands on! My Godfather told me that one time, his DA DA teacher only taught with books. He told me, 'Teddy, books are boring. Learning to defend yourself is important and if everyone is asleep, how will they survive?' But, bah, what does he know? He's only the only person to ever survive the killing curse, twice, come back from the dead, skip his last year of school and yet he still graduated, defeated the most evil wizard this world has ever seen but most importantly – he ranked number one in his DA DA class," Professor Lupin joked. So Harry Potter was his Godfather. I laughed along with the rest of the class. I could tell this class was going to be fun – but I would also learn something.
"Now, as you know, in your sixth year, you concentrate on-" Professor Lupin was interrupted by the door being slammed open and five kids all tumbled in laughing. Professor Lupin cleared his throat.
"Why am I not surprised?" he sighed as the five kids all burst into another fit of laughter. One kid was the red head girl (Rose), one had chocolate skin with dark brown hair. Her eyes were a vibrant green-blue and were so piercing, I envied them. Mine were so boring, just this plain brown colour. The other girl had a mane of wavy, white blond hair and the palest skin. Her eyes were big and brown – like melted chocolate. She had this soft, unusual nature about her but she was obviously tough too. One of the boys had close cropped yellow-blond hair. He had a slight tan, for England, and had sea-green eyes. The other boy was… well, I could already tell just by looking at him that this was James Potter.
Wavy, messy, jet-black hair sat upon his head. Royal blue eyes that looked like cut sapphires were covered by thick lashes. He was tall and had a strong build, but not too muscly. A full mouth curved into a confident smirk and he had a nice nose with a small bump in it. His stance was confident and sure, and I could tell by the way all of the Gryffindor girls sat a little straighter with their hair all suddenly out of their ponytails, he was popular, crushed on and loved by all.
Ok, no one told me he was that hot. I tried to keep my expression amused, but I'm sure my mouth was hanging open like a blithering idiot.
"Sorry, bro," James shrugged as he slapped Professor Lupin on the shoulder. Lupin glared daggers into his back as the whole class laughed. He shook his head, exasperated.
"That's it. All of you, detention. I have given you free passes all of last year and I will not have all of your parents calling me up saying 'why are my child's grades dropping?'. Not again. So. Rose Weasley, see me here tomorrow lunch. And the day after that. And the day after that. You," he pointed to the girl with the gorgeous eyes, "Miranda Weasley. See me after school. All of next week. Ellie Lovegood," the girl with the white, crimped hair looked up, "you get the morning ones. Ouch. See me on the school grounds, tomorrow morning. And the next morning." He rounded on the next kid. "Oh Adam Roster. Adam, Adam, Adam," the boy with the blond hair and green eyes walked forward, "see me after dinner all of next week. And you, James Potter. My little 'bro'" he said with a devilish grin, "See me before dinner, 4:30, every day. For two weeks. Trust me, they're all equal punishments. Even yours, James. Now, back to class."
The five of them all slinked to their desks, frowns of disappointment and confusion on their faces. Jo and Scorp sniggered while Rachel and I shared glances, trying not to laugh.
"Now, where were we?" Professor Lupin asked, a confused (and yes, very cute) smile on his face.
"You were telling us what we'll be concentrating on this year," Maria yelled, a smug smile on her face. I was getting the feeling she was a know-it-all. I mean, she sucked up to Professor Longbottom so much, even he was annoyed. I could hear faint muttering coming from behind me and saw Hope whisper-chatting to Maria. It was obvious they were best friends. I mean, they never left each other's sides.
"Being a goody-goody again, Mary? I thought you might have grown out of that by now. Pity. You're really cute. You know, for a Slytherin," James sniggered as his group of friends and the rest of Gryffindor laughed. What kind of person thinks to say that kind of stuff out loud.
"Asshole," I muttered under my breath to Scorp. He just nodded, a small smile on his face.
"Potter!" Professor Lupin called, "You're on thin ice already! Do not push it," he warned, pointing a finger to an innocent looking James.
"Yeah, James!" Maria called from her seat. Hope looked around desperately, trying to calm down Maria, not that she needed calming. Maria was obviously annoyed by Hope's behaviour. "Maybe if you listen in class, you might actually graduate and get good grades! Quidditch doesn't get you everywhere." Hope started massaging her back and I saw Maria dramatically put her head in her hands. The next minute, Maria was whisper-snapping at Hope and Hope moved her chair as far away from Maria's as possible. They faced their backs to each other and made it clear they were 'ignoring each other'. Man, those two are like a soap-opera.
"Hey! I am fabulous at Quidditch and you're just sour because we beat you last year!" James sneered, a mean smirk on his face. Adam high fived him and leaned closer to the action as if to say 'I want part in this!'. At this, Maria turned red and Hope turned back around to her. It looked like she was apologising profusely and Maria was accepting. The next second, they were hugging and crying and I heard them whisper:
"Let's never fight again!"
Yeah right.
"James Potter! Do you need to go the Headmistress's office? Again?" Professor Lupin said angrily.
"Aw, lighten up! You're just punishing us because you like like Maria. Just admit it!" Adam called out, defending his best friend. Maria, who was back to normal, blushed and shrunk low into her desk as the Gryffindor's laughed once again. Hope started rubbing Maria's shoulder to comfort her, but Maria was so pissed at Hope again for some reason. I could hear the angry hiss of their whisper-argument from here!
"Adam! Enough! You all know student-professor relationships are banned! And even if they weren't, I already have a girlfriend! And Maria is far too young for me," Professor Lupin sighed, anger and disappointment clear on his face. Why did everyone worship Gryffindor's so much? Yes, they were all about bravery. But we're wizards dealing with spells and experiments that could hurt us every day. Weren't we all brave? Gryffindor's were so arrogant and disruptive. Disgust was written all over my face. I was two seconds away from exploding at them all, especially that insufferable James Potter.
"You're right, Professor. Adam is very sorry," James started. "We all know you wouldn't go for Maria. She's a nasty Slytherin! And we all know how many fights you and Professor Gerard of Slytherin house had when you two went to school together!" All of the Gryffindor's snickered again as Professor Lupin turned an ugly shade of purple, his veins literally popping out of his throat.
That's it. I had had enough.
"Get your head out of your ass! Slytherin isn't nearly as bad as Gryffindor! At least we don't brag about our non-existent talents – 'I'm fabulous at Quidditch!'" I said in my best James Potter accent. Now it was Slytherin's turn to laugh at the Gryffindor's. Scorp and Jo high fived me at the same time, making a cool 'clap' noise.
James rounded in on me, his face red.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am fabulous at Quidditch, thank you very much. Who are you, anyway? Some dumb Australian girl trying to fill Colleen's shoes? Well, good luck. Her feet are huge," James sneered. Gryffindor laughed as I curled my hands into fists. I don't have anger issues so why am I getting so worked up?
"Because I suppose James Potter can talk about being dumb? I heard you weren't too bright. Well, I mean, everyone knows that. I think someone very close to you told me, actually. Now, who was it? Your brother, maybe?" I sighed, looking fake confused and forgetful, a hand pressed to my forehead as if trying to 'remember'.
"My little brother has nothing to do with this!" James said in a low and even tone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Things are off limits when they're about your brother but not my nationality? But, you're right. Sorry. I guess I don't know anything, huh? I'm just some dumb, Australian girl. Well, let me tell you something-" I started when Professor Lupin raised his wand and light exploded around the room. Everyone was shocked into silence.
"Enough. Maddie, see me after class. James, you too," Lupin said wearyingly clam. I sighed and shot James Potter daggers with my eyes for the rest of class.
"Unreal. I love this girl!" Oscar muttered to himself, looking at me. I blushed and sat taller in my chair.
Scorp and Jo couldn't stop smiling.
After class I stayed behind as Jo and Scorp left for lunch.
"Save me a seat, would ya? And tell Al I'm sorry for yelling at his brother," I said, smiling. Jo and Scorp nodded and headed out. I heard James sigh really dramatically. This wasn't going to be pleasant.
"You friends with Al and Scorp?" James said quietly to me. I nodded just before Lupin walked over to us.
"James? Really? What am I going to tell Harry? He's already disappointed enough in your grades – now you just had to pick a fight with the new girl. She seems very nice and yet all you did-"
"Was defend myself!" James said, suddenly angrily. My god he's got enough hormones and mood swings to be your average teenage girl. "Teddy, please. I just don't know what to do! It's been hard for me and I know that's not an excuse but-"
"James. Stop. And don't call me Teddy when we're at school, ok? If this ever happens again, I'm calling your dad, grandma Weasley and the Headmistress. All of us have taken enough of your behaviour. It's time to grow up," Lupin said seriously as James' expression turned scary. He stormed out of the room in a huff, slamming the door behind him. Lupin turned to me, his expression softer.
"Maddie. I am very pleased that you stood up for your classmates but please, never blow up again in my classroom. I've been told you have a talent for DA DA and I don't want to see it wasted, ok? Some extra homework will be waiting for you tonight, before dinner in my office. Be there," Lupin turned and walked out of the room, obviously done with me. The best teacher ever and he's already got a bad impression of me. But what did I expect? Teachers never like the loud, dumb, disruptive, troublemakers. Never. I sighed, slung my bag over my shoulder and left to find Scorp and Jo.
"I hate James Potter. He's a good for nothing, evil, spiteful, horrific not to mention disruptive, distracting, selfish and arrogant dweeb," I huffed as I squeezed in between Rachel and Jo at lunch. The dining hall was stocked with lunch foods and I ate, biting down on my bread roll angrily. I hated him so much! Who was he to think he was so cool and special? I'd only just met him but I could already tell I wouldn't be able to stand being around him.
Reasons I Hate James Sirius Potter:
1. He's arrogant and thinks he's better than everyone else
2. He thinks he's above the rules
3. He expects people to worship him
4. He's disruptive and annoying in class
5. He's too hot for his own good
6. His friends are annoying (especially Adam. Ugh.)
7. He likes to insult people
8. He's mean and rude
9. And basically everything about him
"Calm down! Jeez. Anyway, does this mean you had some inspiration of how to take down James Potter and his stupid best friend, Adam Roster?" Rachel sneered bitterly. I grinned evilly at her.
"Oh, Rachel. You have no idea…"
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Kat xx
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