Ok so im doing my besy to go quicker with the updates , but thankfully i do have alot of this story pre written.

I would really like to thank my beta Tesco Metro for helping me with this even though she's going through a lot right now .

sooooo i hope you like this chapter better than the last one , which i know some of you were dissapointed in .

thanks for reading and please reveiw if you can

:)

Have you ever hated anyone that you really didn't know, just because you had to hear someone whine about them 24-7?

This is how I feel about one Julie Drake, James's "summer fling." The girl obviously led the idiot on, I mean I know he has a big head, but he seems to be really crushed. Every other day he gets a letter from her, and every time we (his loving family ) try to tell him not to open it. He never listens.

Today, Julie told him how Paolo was coming to visit her in a few weeks and she was really happy that they were making the long distance relationship work. I'm not sure why she thought James wanted to hear about that, maybe she's just dumb, or she enjoys messing him around. Either way my lunchtime this afternoon was interrupted by my two older brothers arguing over whose relationship situation was more pathetic.

"James, you two aren't together—you actually never were," Al said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not clinging to someone who flat out told me they wanted nothing to do with me anymore," James spat back.

"She took that back ok! She only said it in the heat of the moment!"

"Heat of the moment? Do you hear yourself? Do you hear the rubbish excuses you're buying off of her?"

"Least I'm not obsessing over someone hundreds of miles away, who's obviously in love with some Italian prince charming."

"No you're obsessing over someone who breaks up with you twice a week."

"We're working things out. You're pining for someone who's not even remotely in your reach."

"How the hell do you figure that?"

"She dating a guy named Paolo who takes her on shopping sprees and cooks for her. That's not easy to compete with in girl land."

"Yeah well, I have a better relationship with her, and then you do with your supposed girlfriend."

"How is she my supposed girlfriend?"

"Ok," Rose interrupted. "I think that's enough from the both of you."

"Yeah I agree," I said defiantly "It's all getting pretty redundant, and it's definitely annoying."

"All I wanted was advice and I get a lecture from my little brother about how pathetic I am, sorry if I don't take that laying down." James slammed his fork down and stood up.

"James, calm down mate," Hugo urged.

James just shook his head and disappeared into the entrance hall.

"Should I go after him?" Al asked, looking slightly guilty.

"No." Hugo sighed "Just let him be. We'll tell Wood to check on him later."

"He's just gonna keep getting hurt," Rose muttered, grabbing Julie's letter and folding it up. "He should just stop talking to her."

"That's not the solution for everything," I said "Ignoring someone doesn't keep you from getting hurt—you should know that more than anyone."

She shot me a glare, but I didn't mind. She knew I was right. Even though it was a low blow to bring up her past mistakes with Jordan, I didn't want to see James get the point where she had once been.

"He doesn't really know this girl, eventually he'll see she's not worth it," I said.

"Lils, you can't automatically assume someone isn't worth it just because your relationship needs work. It usually doesn't come easy," Al countered.

"Well Al I guess it just depends on whether your willing to let someone break you or not," I replied icily.

"You know, you're really pessimistic," Hugo said, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah I know, and I'm almost never disappointed so it pays off."

That was a lie of course—it doesn't matter how much you try not to, you're always gonna get your hopes crushed at one time or another. Whether it's with a relationship, or a sport, or school. Pessimism doesn't save you from disappointment; it just makes it easier to deal with.

"Did James get another letter from Julie?"

We all turned around and saw Wood and Decklin Krueger (the new beater) heading towards us, brooms over their shoulders, dirt on their robe—pretty much the typical Saturday for these two: play quidditch until you get a) hungry or b) kicked off the pitch.

"Yeah," Rose said, handing him the folded up note. "Al and him had a bit of a row..."

"We know we ran into him outside," Wood explained, reading the note to himself. " He was mumbling something about twitchy little brothers and Italian guys ."

"Is this the girl James has feelings for?" Decklin asked.

Two weeks on the team and I was still not used to hearing Decklin's voice. He was really quiet most of the time, but when he did speak it was with a very strong Irish accent. And he was always so proper too; he never used slang words, never spoke in broken sentences, and always said what was on his mind. It was unnatural.

He was a very odd boy, that much was obvious. He was very intelligent, and yet he never got anyone's jokes. It took almost a whole practice for Wood to explain to him that Kareana was talking about his "lucky charms" in reference to an old American cereal. I have a feeling that he's been made fun of a lot in his life, because ridicule never seems to bother him. Once he overheard Al telling Leahah how weird he was, Decklin just nodded, said "good evening," and walked away like nothing had happened.

I suppose I like him, I mean he's nice and all aside from the overall creepiness. Wood absolutely adores him; he treats him like a little brother. Rose says it's sweet, they're always together, and Decklin seems to look up to Wood.

I am starting to see an issue brewing in this happy little relationship though. Since Decklin is spending time with his new "big brother," Jordan, he's also been spending a lot of time with Rose. And I have noticed that Decklin has been acting very differently around my cousin lately. Maybe he and Wood have a lot more in common then we realize, if you know what I'm saying. But Wood is oblivious to it, as is Rose. Maybe I am imagining it, but I'm gonna keep an eye out, just in case.

"Why does she keep writing to him? Does she really think he needs to hear about this Paolo guy?" Wood said as he finished the letter.

"I don't know, but one more letter and James might be headed to Italy to get rid of said Paolo guy," Hugo added.

"He would never find him though, Paolo is a very popular name and we have no physical descriptions of him. So I doubt that we have anything to worry about," Decklin said, reaching down the table for a plate of sandwiches.

"He was kidding, Krueg," Wood said.

"Oh."

"Hey Wood," I said. "Is the pitch booked this afternoon?"

"Nope, but I have a Defense essay due so I'm done for the day. Why, you going out?" He asked.

"Probably, if Austin feels like going with me," I stated finishing off my sandwich.

"Oh yeah, Austin's been helping you huh?" Rose asked with a big smile. "That's awfully nice of him."

"Yeah well it's the only quidditch action he's getting this year," I said "I'm gonna go find him; I'll talk to you guys later."

And so I headed towards the very end of the slytherin table where Austin sat, when he didn't sit with us. He was talking to a 3rd year girl whose name was Katie, I think.

"Hey," I said, sitting down and interrupting their conversation.

"Hi," Austin chirped, "Lily this is Kelly, Kelly this is Lily."

"I know who she is," the girl snapped, giving me one of those challenging up and down glances.

"So," I said awkwardly. "The pitch is free, I was wondering if you wanted to go out."

"Oh yeah definitely," he smiled, standing up. "Look Kell, we'll talk later ok?"

The girl looked at him for a minute and then rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she huffed, turning away from us.

Austin didn't seem phased by her little tantrum, which kind of amused me, and instead pulled me out into the entrance hall.

"I'll get my broom and meet you down there, yeah?" he said, heading off towards the dungeons.

I nodded and made off to fetch my own broom. I wonder what was up with that little girl. Okay she wasn't little, but she's three years younger than him, so why the hell was he even bothering? Then again I'm two years younger than him, and he talks to me. But that's just because he's friends with my family.

I wonder if he's into that girl. I wouldn't care or anything, but I bet she wouldn't like me and him hanging out as much as we've been lately. She already looked like she wanted to claw my eyes out just from me talking to him. It's none of my business, though. I mean I couldn't care less who he dates or talks to, I just find them a really odd couple. That's all.

We both made it down to the pitch in about ten minutes and immediately started flying laps like we usually do. That was when curiosity got the best of me.

"Hey Aus," I said as we slowed to a halt. "Who was that girl this morning?"

He looked at me for a second. "Kelly?" he asked. "She's my cousin."

For some reason it felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest and I smiled at him. "I thought it was something like that."

"Yeah, she was in a bit of a strop."

"Why?"

"Her older sister has been missing for about three week's now," he said bluntly.

I looked at him. I was shocked, all we'd talked about and he hadn't mentioned that his cousin was missing.

"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry," I gasped.

"Oh no, don't be. We're pretty sure she's okay—she's done this before. She has some drug problems. It's actually gotten so bad that she really can't do much magic anymore. It's really sad because she's only 18. Her dad died about three years ago and ever since then she's totally lost all regard for anyone but herself."

"That sounds rough," I said "How come you never talk about your family? I never knew you even had any in the school."

"Yeah, I have Kelly and her brother Trent—he's a first year. I try to keep my family life away from here; this is kind of my escape."

"Oh, I know what you mean. My family's business is usually out for the whole world to see, what with the papers and all. I really don't have anything to hide."

"It's not that I want to hide anything it's just…I don't need everyone to think less of me, you know."

"Austin, have you ever heard about Jordan's family? My family has dysfunction to, despite what everyone might think, we aren't perfect. You shouldn't feel like you have to hide who you are. I mean, James embarrasses me everyday, but I'd never try to pretend I wasn't related to him."

He sighed and looked at me "Alright, Lily Potter, allow me to define family dysfunction for you."

I smiled and sat down on one of the benches, waiting for him to begin his story.

"My mom's mom was born in France, she forced my mom and her sister to be in little miss witch pageants, model for magazines, whatever she could do to get their names in print. My mom said she did it because she was hoping that her husband, my grandfather, would come back to her if he saw how successful his kids were. That didn't happen, but grandma did succeed in turning my Aunt Elise into the biggest spoiled brat the world has ever seen. "

I laughed at the look on Austin's face as he said his Aunts name . It was kinda like the one James got anytime someone brought up my cousin Lawrence .

"When they moved to England, that was when they met my dad. He lived down the street from them; there wasn't really a lot of dysfunction with his family, unless you count the fact that they were all death eaters. My dad got the mark when he was 17, which was around the time that he and my mom started dating. Well my mom ended up pregnant, so they got married, even though I'm pretty sure they would have later anyway. My brother Aiden was born. That was when my Aunt Elise decided to act up ."

He started pacing back and forth as he told the story , almost nervously . I guess he really was afraid of what I would think of him .

"She was 2 years older than my mom" he continued "19 and single, she hated the fact that my mom had a family and she didn't. So she started dating my dad's best friend Robert Layndon, Nick's dad. I was born about a year and a half after Aiden; by that time Elise had dumped Robert and was just like, dating random guys I guess. Anyway what ended up happening was, my mom came home form a doctors appointment with me and Aiden and found my dad sleeping with Elise. So of course they split up, and my mom hasn't talked to Elise since. My dad refuses speak to anyone on my mom's side of the family, because after it happened Elise tried to press charges against him saying he had sexually assaulted her. Luckily the charges didn't stick. My dad lived with Robert Layndon till I was 5, and then moved in with his brother Chad. That's Kelly's dad, the one that died three years ago."

It felt like he was reading me the story line of a soap opera. It literally astounded me that someone as cool and laid back as Austin was raised in the midst of all that chaos and drama.

" I lived with my mom in France until I got my Hogwarts letter, then I came to live with dad because my mom decided that she wanted to date a 20 year old named Lothario. I haven't heard from her in almost a year. Aiden won't live with my dad, because of what he did, and the whole death eater thing, he stays with his friend in Whales. I've learned to accept the fact that my dad is pretty much an asshole. I'm just gonna do my hardest not to be like him, like any of them for that matter."


 I looked at him. He didn't seem sad, just disappointed. It was obvious that he had in fact accepted it, but I could tell he was worried to see my reaction, as if I would judge him because of how his parents had acted.

"Austin, you're not like them at all," I said "Standing up to Layndon last year proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt."

"You know Lily," he smiled, plopping down on the bench next to me. "You're pretty good at the making everything better thing, too."

I smiled, and everything was peaceful, until the moment had to be ruined.

"Well I wasn't expecting this," we heard someone hiss from behind us.

Of course the Slytherins would choose this moment to appear.

"What are you trying to hook up with Potter now, Bentley?" Malfoy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty sure it's none of your business," Austin replied.

"To good to gossip with your old Slytherin buddies? You've been hanging with that Gryffindor scum so long, your head seems to have expanded ten fold."

"Why, because he stood up to you?" I said. "Sometimes, Malfoy, I think you forget that you're a nobody."

"And Sometimes, Potter, I think you forget that a last name doesn't give you position over everyone else."

"Ok, you know what," Austin interrupted, pulling me up by the shoulder. "We're leaving."

"Not so fast," Layndon snapped, speaking for the first time. "I need to talk to Potter."

"About what?" I asked.

"Rose," he replied simply.

"Rose? You wanna talk about Rose? Ok well let me just start by telling you that you need to stay far away from her, that's for your own safety. Next, allow me to burst whatever bubble you've been living in. Rose didn't love you, she doesn't now, and she never will. She loves Jordan."

"Potter, you think you know all about us, but you don't know anything."

"Oh, I don't! I know that you took advantage of her to impress your friends; I know that you sacrificed her feelings for your reputation, and you know what the worst part about that is? I believe that you may have really liked her Layndon.

"I do, and the fact that you let your cousin and all these idiots come before a girl you really cared about is pathetic. You should have just manned up and admitted that you actually cared about her, but instead you had to make yourself into a player so all the Slytherins would think you were cool.

'I know all about you and Rose, and I also know that there's nothing to talk about, because that relationship is so unbelievably over that you have a better chance of resurrecting Voldemort from the grave then getting her back." I took a deep breath and looked at him, he was fuming.

"Watch me, Potter, you little smart ass, you just watch me." And with that, he stormed off the pitched, leaving Scorpius behind him.

"Wow Potter, didn't know you had it in you," he mused.

I rolled my eyes as Austin started pushing me towards the locker rooms.

"Ignore him," he whispered.

"I'll see you around Bentley, you too, love," Malfoy crooned, winking at me.

I wanted to pop his eye out of its socket, the vile little parasite, but Austin made me keep walking.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, once we were safely away from the assholes.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled. "I've been waiting to tell Layndon off for months."

"Yeah, but Malfoy..."

"Malfoy is scum, he can suck it, and I don't care what he thinks."

He smiled at me.

"So what do you say we go tattle to Wood?" I asked.

He laughed, "You think Layndon got enough of a head start?"

"Who cares, he's a whiney little pouf, and he deserves a bit more abuse. Maybe it'll finally click how dumb he's being and his head will deflate, if not…one less Slytherin in the world."