James POV

Chapter 7: Improvisation

A/N: Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been ALMOST FOUR MONTHS since my last update.

I am truly, truly a horrible person, and I apologize deeply. School and sports are a bitch, and I guess for a while there I just wasn't inspired and didn't have any ideas, and I wasn't going to write crap just so you guys could have an update. I like you guys too much to write crap.

I hope you accept my apology. Can we still be internet friends?

Consider this your…late Christmas/Hanukkah present.

Happy 2013, my lovelies!

*acgormy3

I guess you could say my life was better than it had been in a long while. Actually, my life was pretty much exactly as it had been the past few years, with the exception of one very large addition.

KATE WAS MY FRIEND! Do you know how long I've waited for this? Do you know how long I've waited for her to be able to spend more than ten minutes with me without hexing or storming away in an angry huff? This was amazing. Not only that, but she had shared with me something about herself that she had only ever shared with one other person. I guess she didn't really have much choice, considering I found all her stories, but it vastly expanded the things we got to talk about. I had been completely serious when I said she should write down everything that happened to my dad. It would be a huge undertaking, and nobody could deal with that better than Kate.

Of course, there was still that whole "I'm-in-love-with-her" thing I had to deal with, but it had only been two months. It was nice now; she actually laughed with me instead of at me, and would punch me playfully instead of in fury. So until a little more time passed, I was content to be friend-zoned for a little while. It was better than the alternative.

There was just one small problem.

There was a Hogsmeade trip on Halloween, just five days away. I wanted more than anything to ask Kate, but I was afraid it would jeopardize the easy friendship we had going at the moment. If I asked her with the same bravado as I used to, she would think I was reverting to my old ways, and that this whole friendship thing was just a game to me, which it bloody well wasn't.

But what if I just asked her as a friend? Granted, we'd been friends for all of a month and a half, and that short-lived of friendships usually don't result in Hogsmeade trips together, but at this point I was desperate. I just wanted to spend more time with her. Maybe I could just ask her if she wanted to grab a Butterbeer, in the middle of the day or something. Yeah, that could work.

Step One of Mission Casually Ask Out Kate commenced the next morning at breakfast, with T-minus four days until the trip. She had gotten up quite a bit earlier before me this morning, and had already showered and left the dormitory before I pressed the snooze button on my alarm for the fifth time. I quickly showered and dressed, taking extra care to get all my nervous hands-running-through-my-hair out of my system before I got to the Great Hall. I did it purely out of nerves, but I knew Kate hated it.

As I walked through the corridors, all I could do was worry. What if she thought I'd been nice to her just to get her to say yes for once? What if she hated me after this?

Calm down, idiot, a voice in my head told me. You must have done this a hundred times. She's not any different than the others.

But she is, I thought as I finally made my way into the Great Hall. I sought out Kate at the Gryffindor table, chatting animatedly with her three friends and a smile gracing her face. Luckily, my friends were seated at the far end of the table, so I could make it look like I was just stopping by on my way to sit with them.

I quietly walked up behind her. Her two friends, Grace and Summer, were sitting across from her and could see me. I made the shh-ing motion so they wouldn't alert Kate to my presence. Putting my face right next to her ear, so close I could smell her perfume, I said "Boo."

She jumped a good six inches off her seat.

"Bloody hell!" She shrieked as she turned around, startled. I smirked as she narrowed her eyes at me. "I'll get you for that one, Potter. Mark my words." She said, lowering her voice, trying and failing to sound frightening.

"We back to surnames, now, Turner?" I retorted, raising my eyebrows playfully.

She laughed. "No, James. Of course not." Turning back to her potatoes and kippers, she asked "What's up? Why the dramatic entrance?"

Now was the time to get nervous. Hoping I didn't sound it, I said, as casually as I could muster, "I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

That got her attention. She turned back around, curiosity all over her face. "Sure," she replied. "Be right back." She said to her friends before getting up from the bench and following me out of the hall.

I just led her to the side of the Entrance Hall. I didn't want to bring her to a secluded corner or anything. That would make it too serious. "Just wanted to remind you that we're actually adding more stuff to the potion today. We're not just working on the essay."

She raised her eyebrows. "You scared three years off my life, and took me out here just to tell me that? A bit much, don't you think?"

"And one more thing," I continued, nervously, fighting the urge to run my hand through my hair. "Do you want to, maybe, grab a Butterbeer at the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday?"

I couldn't read her face for about five seconds. Scariest five seconds of my life, and I've been in the middle of Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's rows.

She finally gave me a sad little smile.

"Oh, James, I'm so sorry," she began apologetically. "I'd really like to, but someone already asked me earlier this morning."

That was almost worse than just a flat-out no. Everyone had known that Kate was my territory for almost the past five years. And now she wasn't. And now I was too late. She was going to go to Hogsmeade with what's-his-name, fall in love, get married, have children, and live happily ever after while I looked on and stayed single for the rest of my life because I could never get over her.

Whoa there. The voice in my head was back again. Slow down there, cowboy. Exaggerating much? It's one date, and maybe she won't even like the guy.

I was jerked back to reality by the feeling of Kate's hand touching my arm. I must have been zoned out.

"Could I take a rain check?" she asked quietly, still smiling apologetically.

I sighed. "Yeah, I suppose." I said, finally succumbing and running my hand through my hair. "If you don't mind me asking, who asked you?"

"Ellis. You know, the Ravenclaw?"

Yes. Yes I did know the Ravenclaw. Duncan Ellis was the genius who was going straight to the Ministry without even taking NEWTs. But he was also the Quidditch captain who was cocky and always tried to break my hand when we would shake hands before matches.

"Yeah," I sighed again. "Well, have fun, I suppose." I finished, and I walked, defeated, back into the Great Hall.

If only I'd gotten there earlier, I thought as I drowned my sorrows in chocolate chip pancakes.

I should have stopped after the second snooze.

The four days until the Hogsmeade trip passed in a blur of trying not to talk about it. I acted as though I had never asked Kate out, and she followed suit. We fell easily back into the banter and conversations we'd been having before.

Saturday dawned bright and cold. The trees bypassed red and orange and were now turning brown. Winter was definitely on the way. The Hogsmeade trip was set for 10:00 am, and I was up (no snoozing this time) at 8:30. I wasn't exactly sure why, as I didn't need to try to get ready for anyone. I just threw on some jeans and a sweater, grabbed by cloak and scarf, and went down to the Common Room, spending a great deal of time just gazing into the fire. I didn't even realize what time it was until I heard Kate coming down the stairs from her dormitory.

"Hey." I heard from behind me.

"Hey." I responded, turning around. She looked very pretty, having put more effort into today than usual. Her hair looked curlier; she was wearing more makeup than usual, and was wearing a peacoat instead of the usual cloak.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Kate started toward the portrait hole, saying over her shoulder, "Maybe I'll see you there?"

The portrait hole slammed before I got the chance to answer. "Yeah. Maybe." I whispered to nobody.

We finally got out the doors after a long and tiresome wait (Filch was getting crankier with age). I was walking next to Mason, my best friend, and on his other side was his girlfriend, Grace. I had been relegated to being a third-wheel (oh the pain!). I didn't see Kate and Ellis anywhere. I wasn't expecting to. I just hoped for Kate's sake that he didn't drag her to Madam Pudifoot's Tea Shop. I was surprised that place was still in business, with the reputation it had.

I followed Grace and Mason into Dervish and Banges, then to Zonkos (we always saved Honeydukes for last). When we finally decided that we couldn't fit anymore frog spawn soap into our pockets than we already had, we headed toward the Three Broomsticks. Warmth washed over us as we walked through the door, and as I removed my scarf, I spotted Kate and Ellis in a booth across from the bar. Kate was facing me, and she looked, dare I say it, bored? I kept watching her, and it looked like Ellis wasn't letting her get a word in edgewise. She must have felt my eyes on her, because she looked up suddenly and looked me straight in the face. My heart leapt. Her eyes were wide as she mouthed something to me. Save me.

I had to have mis-lip-read.

I raised my eyebrows questioningly at her. She did it again, more exaggerated this time, with a pleading look on her face, before quickly flicking her eyes back down to Ellis with a smile and a nod before he noticed.

I tapped Mason on the shoulder and told him I'd be right back (he wasn't paying much attention to me anyway), and headed over to their booth. As I reached it, Kate looked up at me with a look of relief, while Ellis scowled.

"Can I help you, Potter?" he growled at me.

"Actually, no." I responded, keeping my tone light. "You can't. But Kate can. You see, we're working on a long-term Potions project together, and we're brewing a very tricky potion. It takes more than four months to brew. And we have to add some stuff to it along the way, and since today is the day of the full moon of the second month, we've got to go work on it. I'm sure you understand."

"Why can't you just do it later, when the trip's over?" he asked, annoyed.

"Well, you see," I continued, as if trying to explain something very simple to a toddler, "as I told you before, Mr. Ellis, this potion is very touchy, and it needs to be dealt with at the very moment that the Sun is at its highest point on the day of every full moon of every month that it's brewing. That's the only way for it to turn out perfectly."

I chanced a glance at Kate. She had shoved her fist into her mouth to stop herself laughing. She knew what Duncan Ellis didn't know; that this whole spiel was complete and total bollocks. I should be getting a medal for this amazing improv.

"Well, I think – " Ellis started to say, before Kate cut him off.

"You know, Duncan, I really think I need to go deal with this Potion," she said, sliding out of the booth and putting on her coat. "Of course, I guess you wouldn't know, being holed up in the South Tower all the time…Arithmancy, was it?" She gave him a sarcastic little smile, then grabbed my arm in a vice-like grip and marched me out of the pub. We made it all the way to Honeydukes before she let go and turned to face me.

"Thank Merlin you got me out of that." She said, sounding relieved as she ran a hand over her face. "All he talked about was either how amazing the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was – "

"Must not have talked much then. They're horrible." I interrupted.

"Very funny." She added sarcastically. "Or he would brag about his "amazing new opportunity" for his "once-in-a-lifetime internship" or whatever the hell it was…Didn't ask me a single question except what I wanted for lunch. I think I may have talked twice. If that."

"You seem to have gotten him back nicely for it." I told her, smiling, "Did you see his face as we were walking out of the pub? Classic! That was a great comeback, that was."

She smirked as she said "Thank you very much. I'll be here all week." I laughed. "But I must say, I could barely keep myself from laughing when you were rambling on and on about the 'Sun's highest point on the day of the last full moon.'"

"Well, I think we both deserve reward for our incredible wit and skill at confusing Mr. Quidditch-Intern," I said, pointing down the road towards Honeydukes. "My treat."

Her gray eyes twinkled as she grabbed my arm again, pulling me toward the sweet shop. I got to spend the rest of the trip in Honeydukes with her, watching her run around in a frenzy to decide what she wanted to get. I found out that both our favorite candy was Fizzing Whizbees, and that we both love Chocolate Frog cards. I bought a large box of each, along with a bag of toffees for me and a large chunk of coconut ice for her.

We spent the rest of the day in our Common Room, eating Fizzing Whizbees and trading Chocolate Frog cards. I got two new ones, Circe and Morgana. We played one too many games of Exploding Snap, which resulted in the singeing off of the velvet lining on one of the arms of a squashy armchair.

We had so much fun.

Today definitely went better than I had expected.