Chapter Six

'I knew it!' yells Roxanne, jumping out of her chair and knocking a bemused Lysander to the floor.

'I didn't!' complains Fred, 'Why am I always the last one to know about these things?'

'You're not,' I hiss quietly so that a nearby group of second years who are looking curiously at us can't hear what I say, 'I'd not told anyone. It was just a little crush.'

But that excuse does not seem to work and even Rose forgets her anger to interrogate me about James.

'Ask him out!'

'I'm sure he likes you too!'

'We'll be cousins in law!'

'Shut up!' I scream at them all.

This is exactly why I'd kept my feelings for James quiet and hoped that they would pass! I knew that as soon as one of this lot found out then I'd never hear the end of it.

'Harry Potter's son and Viktor Krum's daughter,' whistles Fred, taking Roxanne's empty seat and leaning back in it with a satisfied grin, 'The Prophet would have a field day.'

'Oh God,' I cringe, imagining the amount of attention we'd receive.

'You'd be perfect together!' whines Roxanne, looking around at the others for support.

'Perfect together? Roxanne, we can't go five minutes without wanting to kill one another!'

'That's hot,' winks Lysander.

I give him a withering look and turn back to Roxanne, 'My feelings for him are over, anyway.'

There's silence for a few moments as five faces, each wearing increasingly disappointed expressions, stare at me.

'Oh and just to make this clear,' I say in a dangerous voice, 'None of you are to say anything to James.'

To be fair to them, Rose, Roxanne, Fred, Lysander and Frank all keep their promises and when I get down to breakfast the next morning I can tell that nothing has been said.

In fact, they all seem to have tired of the situation very quickly. Roxanne and Lysander are kissing over their toast, while Frank is trying to distract Fred from this very sight by talking loudly about Quidditch. Rose, meanwhile, is muttering under her breath about James, no doubt still furious about what happened yesterday.

'Hey, Rose.'

Scorpius and Al have wandered over to the table, both looking rather apprehensive. I'm guessing Al has been filled in on events and drafted in as a bodyguard in case James flies off the handle again.

'Hey,' breaths Rose, looking much happier now.

I budge along the table and let Al and Scorpius sit in between me and Rose. Predictably, Scorpius and Rose lean their heads together and start talking amongst themselves, leaving me and Al to chat.

'So, apparently you got a bit annoyed with James as well,' says Al, helping himself to some bacon.

I notice Roxanne breaks apart from Lysander to give me a significant look.

'Yeah, well he was acting like a twat,' I say, ignoring Roxanne completely.

'It's not polite to bitch about people, Krum,' mutters a new voice irritably.

Oh shit.

James has arrived and thrown himself down next to Fred. He does not look happy, especially when he catches sight of Rose and Scorpius looking rather intimate.

'Sorry,' I say, rather embarrassed that he heard me, 'But you did act like an idiot.'

'That's true!' exclaims Rose furiously.

James spares her one glare before turning his attention back to me, 'You don't know what you're talking about.'

'Calm down, James,' says Al quietly, evidently alarmed by his brother's tone.

James sits in silence for a few moments, shooting glares at everyone.

This boy seriously needs to chill out.

'So, its Quidditch practice later,' says Frank in an incredibly transparent attempt to break the tension.

'Don't remind me,' I mutter; there is nothing I want to do less than spend the morning with James.

'That's not the attitude I want my Chasers to have,' snaps James, 'Keep it up and you're off the team.'

'Why are you acting like such a tosser this morning?'

'Oh I don't know, maybe because of how mad you got with me yesterday!'

'You deserved it! It's not up to you to decide that Rose and Scorpius shouldn't be going out!'

'That's nothing to do with you Krum! You know what? I'm fucking glad that Al interrupted me before I could say what I was going to say in The Three Broomsticks.'

And with that, I jump up from the table and storm out of the hall, willing myself not to cry.

Dramatic much?

The next couple of months are like first year all over again. James and I seem to have gone back to hating one another, and doing our best to cause arguments wherever possible. We have full blown rows on the Quidditch pitch and even have to be physically separated twice in the common room.

It is the most messed up situation I've ever seen. I'm now certain that James was going to say he liked me that day in Hogsmede, but now those feelings are well gone.

What with all of the James drama, it's a relief when the Christmas holidays arrive. Normally I make an effort to see Rose and Roxanne as much as possible during the two weeks off, but this year I just want to go home and forget about everything Hogwarts related for two weeks.

The train ride home is uncomfortable. I share a compartment with Rose, Scorpius and Al; Roxanne and Lysander are together in their own compartment, refusing to take either mine or James' side.

Rose and Scorpius, meanwhile, aren't so fussy, although after watching them kiss for two hours, I begin to wish that they were.

'For God's sake guys, can you two leave each other alone for one minute!' yells Al after a particularly enthusiastic session.

'Sorry,' says Scorpius, looking slightly embarrassed but rather pleased with himself.

'What are your plans for the holidays?' asks Rose, who is rather pink cheeked herself.

I laugh for the first time in ages, 'Not much. Eating, sleeping, that kind of thing.'

Rose pulls a face; spending two weeks not doing anything productive would be her idea of hell.

'So I take it you won't be coming round to mine at any point?' asks Al.

'Has your brother moved out yet?'

'Unfortunately not.'

'Then no, I will not.'

When the train pulls into King's Cross, my father is standing on the platform waving happily. I say goodbye to my friends, promise to write and then head over to him, glad to have two weeks just with my family.

'Hi Dad,' I say, hugging him.

'Hello, Alex, how was the term?'

'Oh it was good,' I say, having already resolved not to say anything to my parents about James. My Dad and Harry get on well, so Dad has met James a few times over the years, and thinks he's brilliant. If there was even a suggestion about anything going on between us, my Dad would be over the moon and would never let me forget it.

'Where's Mum?' I ask, changing the subject to a safer topic.

'She couldn't get the afternoon off work. I think we're going to have to meet her at the Ministry tonight, she doesn't think she's going to have time to come home?'

'We're going to the ministry tonight?'

'Yes, it's the Christmas party remember?'

Of course. The Ministry of Magic Christmas party is an annual, extremely extravagant affair. All of the staff are invited to a delicious feast followed by a dance. My father was promoted to the Head of Magical Games and Sports last year, so he was one of the first to get an invite.

'I thought it'd be nice if we all went as a family. Your mother and I haven't seen you for two and a half months, remember?'

'Yeah it'll be good,' I say earnestly.

It's not until we get home and I'm in my room choosing a suitable outfit that I'm brought back to reality with a painful bump.

What if the Head of the Auror Office is thinking along the same lines?!

By the time I arrive at the Ministry with Dad, my nerves are at breaking point. I really do not want to see James Potter tonight, and find myself desperately wishing that either Harry couldn't get a spare ticket (unlikely) or that James wanted to miss the party (even more unlikely.)

I am determined to look good in case I do run into him, however. So I've curled my dark brown hair into ringlets, slicked on some rather daring red lipstick and chosen a dress in the same bold colour.

Not that I'm trying to make an effort or anything.

When we enter the main room, everyone is mingling before dinner is served. I shoot subtle glances around the room, looking out for a tall guy with messy black hair. I can't see James although this doesn't reassure me; I have a horrible, paranoid feeling that he's going to suddenly appear from nowhere and catch me off guard.

'Are you okay Alex?' asks my father.

'Oh yeah I'm fine.'

I can tell he's about to interrogate me further but, thankfully, the Minister for Magic himself walks over to us at this exact moment.

'Good evening, Viktor,' says Percy Weasley, shaking my father's hand.

'Hello, Percy. This is my daughter, Alex, and my wife Katie should be here any moment.'

Percy smiles at me and shakes my hand warmly, 'Yes, Molly and Lucy have told me about you. A good Quidditch player, I hear.'

'Thank you very much, sir,' I say, feeling slightly embarrassed that someone as important as the Minister for Magic is talking to me about Quidditch.

'Hello Percy, Viktor.'

My stomach drops unpleasantly as Harry Potter himself appears and shakes my father and Percy's hands. And, because someone up there obviously hates me, James isn't far behind him.

I look up to say a fleeting hello to James so that the adults don't get suspicious, and find myself unable to speak.

Wow, he looks amazing.

His dress robes are dark and somehow bring out the perfect hazel of his eyes, as well as making him look even taller than usual. His hair isn't its usual mess but is somewhat artistically ruffled; I have to exercise considerable self-control in order to stop myself running my hands through it there and then.

I don't realise that I'm staring at him with my mouth wide open until he says, 'you look nice, Krum.'

I find myself blushing in a rather uncharacteristic way. Did James just tell me I look nice? We've been close to killing one another for two months, for God's sake!

'Erm, yeah so do you,' I stutter inarticulately.

Harry grins knowingly, looking exactly like Al in the process, and raises his eyebrows at my father and Percy, 'Shall we leave them to it?'

The three of them move across the room and start talking with a couple of other Ministry employees, leaving James and I staring at one another, unsure what to say.

'I'm sorry,' we both say simultaneously and then burst out laughing.

'What the hell is wrong with us?' I muse.

'Tell me about it. We've definitely got a love-hate relationship going on, Krum.'

Did he just use the L word?!

Okay, admittedly he said hate as well, but oh well!

'Maybe we should both stop being so stubborn?' I suggest.

'Yeah it would probably help,' laughs James, 'our problem is that we're too similar.'

'Yeah,' I laugh and then hug him, partly because I'm glad we've made up but mainly because he's so damn sexy right now.

Our hug lasts way too long to be considered friendly and we break apart looking a little flustered. I glance around, well aware that we're in a room full of Ministry of Magic employees and our parents.

James seems to read my mind, 'Want to get some fresh air?'

I nod and he leads the way out of the party room into a long corridor full of doors.

'Hmm,' he says with a mischievous look in his eye, as he opens one of them.

Then suddenly, he takes my hand and pulls me into what is a rather impressive looking office.

And then we're kissing, and it is the best sensation in the world. I've kissed a couple of guys before but that was nothing compared to James. Wow, he is amazing at this!

I wrap my arms round his neck, and then change my mind and run my hands through his amazing hair. From his reaction I can tell he likes that.

We break apart for a moment's breath, both of us looking incredibly dishevelled. Of course, this only makes James look even sexier.

'Where are we?' I breathe.

James grins wickedly and gestures to the plaque on the ornate desk.

Percy Weasley, Minister for Magic.

I burst out laughing and pull James towards me.

Best night ever.

So something has finally happened between them! Hope you liked the chapter.

Drop me a review? :)