New Year's Eve's Evening

Hi. Just James getting ready for the party here. Well, Teddy's here too. He is helping make sure I look my best for Uncle Neville. I mean Ally. I mean, I need to look my best tonight, alright?

"Hey Ally. It's good to see you."

What did Teddy just say?

"Hi Teddy. Hi James."

Did she look nervous? Why would she be nervous? Is she worried last night was a fluke? Cause it really wasn't.

I go over and hug her. Oh, it feels so good to hug her. "Hi Ally. It's real good to see you." I pull back and ask, "But why are you here?"

"Your mum wrote me explaining the plan for tonight. She said that I should get ready over here so my dad doesn't notice."

"Well, if it means more time with you, I am all for it."

"I'm glad. I'd be worried if my boyfriend didn't want to spend time with me." She smiles that coy smile before going up on tiptoes to kiss me.

"Ahem."

Now she looks sheepish. "Sorry Teddy."

Why is she apologizing? "Don't apologize Ally. I've nearly vomited before seeing him and Victoire together. He can deal with seeing us."

"Ha ha. Very funny James. Wonder if you'll still feel that way when it's Lily using that same logic against you when she starts dating." Teddy thinks he's so amusing.

"She's not going to have a chance to use that logic against me because she is never going to be old enough to date. Ever."

"She's the same age as I am, James." Damn Ally's logic. It makes too much sense.

"Different rules. She's my little sister."

"Well, I'm Frank's little sister. So if that rule applies to her it applies to me too."

"Ally!" I said, dragging her name out. She might have called it whining. I call it a creative tone of voice.

"James." Why does she have to do it right back at me? Remind me again why I'm dating my little sister's best friend? Oh yeah, I love her.

"Alright Ally. How about you drop this and I promise not to scare boys away from Lily."

"Really? I'm not sure you can promise that."

"Fine. I promise to allow Lily to date as long as I like boy and do not think he will hurt her."

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

Oops. She's looking a bit irritated now. "I love you, Ally."

She laughs! Wait. Is that a good or bad thing? "Nice save, James. I love you too."

"Ally! James! Teddy!"

"In my room Mum!" Why does Mum want us?

"Ally. There you are. We need to start getting ready."

Now? "Mum. The party doesn't start until 7pm." It's only 4 now.

"Honey. Beauty takes time." Does she have to sound so condescending? I'm not daft. I simply do not understand why it takes birds so long to get ready. She turns to Teddy. "Teddy. Make sure James looks his best. And if you can't tame his hair, come find me."

"Of course, Ginny."

And then my new girlfriend, the love of my life, ditches me. For my mum. There is something wrong with that scene. Isn't she supposed to ditch my mum for me?

But she came! And she's going to come tonight! Maybe this won't be so bad after all. I mean, Ally can protect me from Uncle Neville. She does after all have him wrapped around her finger. And yes I know it sounds bad to have my girlfriend protect me, but Uncle Neville can be scary. He is a war hero after all, former Auror, former Herbology professor, and current DADA professor and head of Gryffindor house. And Herbology may not sound that bad, but there are some wicked evil plants in the greenhouses at school. I can't count the number of times I've ended up in the Hospital Wing because of a Herbology lesson gone wrong. I've had broken—wait, did Teddy just say something? "Sorry Teddy. Spaced out there for a moment. What did you say?"

"I said, go take a shower now we have time to turn your hair into some semblance of neatness that your mother will accept."

"Okay. Are you going to be the one picking my clothes?"

"Do you honestly think Ginny would trust you to dress yourself for a formal event?"

"Right. What on earth was I thinking? I'm only seventeen after all. Barely even of age. Why would I ever think of dressing myself?"

"If I were you, I'd lose the sarcasm and get in the shower before Ginny shows up and sees you being sarcastic and not getting ready."

Shower it is.

And despite what you think, I'm not scared of my mother.

Alright. Maybe I am. Just a little bit.

Okay. Alright. Just a whole lot. She's a scary woman! Her bat-bogey hex is LEGENDARY! Literally. It's mentioned in my textbooks! There are legitimate reasons to be scared of her. Any sane person is scared of Ginevra Molly Weasley Potter when she is angry.

However, I do not see how she can possibly expect my hair to be neat. She can't even neaten up Dad's hair. Or maybe he just doesn't let her try? I don't know. All I know is I have been curse-blessed with the messy Potter hair. It's a curse because Mum always tries to neaten it and a blessing because it's actually kind of cool that I look like my namesake. Though I am not so much of a prankster. Or at least, I don't get caught. I'm too careful. That's how I made prefect after all. Dad couldn't believe it. Said it had to be from Mum because even though she was never prefect, all the uncles were except Fred and George.

I just thought of something. Uncle Neville picks the prefects of head of Gryffindor house. So maybe he won't think I'm so bad for Ally after all.

Oh, who am I kidding. No one is ever going to be good enough for Ally in his eyes. Not even the son of the great Harry Potter. That would probably have helped better if he didn't know Harry beyond what's in the books.

Sigh. Shower done. Let the torture begin. (My hair is never going to lie flat. Ever)