A New Generation

Chapter Nine

Hello everyone! This will be very short author's note. Are you ready?

A.N: I don't own Harry Potter.

"Welcome, all of you," Headmistress McGonagall greeted. "To the Halloween Feast! Just a few quick reminders. No one is allowed out of bed after hours, except for Prefects or members of staff. Any student caught out of bed will be severely punished…"

"Did you notice she looked at us all the way through that sentence?" James whispered to Fred.

"Second. The Quidditch grounds MUST be booked, or your team CAN NOT practice on them. Third of all, Happy Halloween!" McGonagall smiled.

The candles in the sky turned into orange Jack O' Lanterns, and food appeared on the plates, just like at the welcoming feast. Rose took in three large dollops of mashed potato over her turkey, and poured gravy all over it. She tucked in happily.

"Alright guys," James whispered. "Three, two, one, GO!"

Each boy waved their wand, causing three purple jets of light, almost unnoticeable, towards the Slytherin banner. It crackled and popped, and quickly changed. The green and silver became pink and purple, and the snake was turned into a purple rabbit, that bounced up and down the banner. The Slytherins were outraged, especially when three more jets of light were pointed at them. They all turned bright pink, except for the hair, that turned purple. The other three houses (and some of the teachers) laughed at the new pink Slytherins, and finally, at the pink and purple banner that floated above the Slytherin heads. It's not what it said, but what it sang out was what people found hilarious.

"Hop along now, fluffy bunnies! Back to your little dungeons and sulk. Hop, hop, hop!" it sang to the Hall.

The Slytherins ran out of the hall in embarrassment, and the feast continued in peace. It was only when the houses left the Hall that Fred, Teddy and James were let through in front of everyone at the stairs. They turned to face them, and took a deep bow. The houses cheered and applauded.

"Nice work!" "Well done!" "The look on their faces!"

"Thank you all! And all the first-years here, don't worry. Ask anyone else, because you will find out that we will not stop pranking until our ickle Jamesie here graduates seventh year. Or until we get expelled, whichever comes first!" Fred told the crowd. "Goodnight everyone!"

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"Come on Rose, you need to eat!" Ash tried to push the little piece of toast into Rose's mouth, but it wouldn't budge.

"I'm too nervous. Slytherin will crush us after what James, Fred and Teddy did last week," Rose moaned.

"Here are the culprits now," Ash folded her arms.

Fred and Teddy came in, almost strutting as they took their place at the Gryffindor table and picked up some toast. James came in when the two doors opened, carefully dodging a piece of toast thrown by a Slytherin. He sat next to Ash, and grabbed a buttered potato cake.

"Rose, you have to eat something," James coaxed. "Otherwise the Slytherin seeker will catch the Snitch before you. You need energy."

"I-I, I'm worried," Rose whimpered.

"Food helps butterflies, trust me," James grinned, as he passed her a jam smothered piece of toast. Rose hesitantly took one bite, swallowed, and wolfed down the rest. James smiled triumphantly, and set about eating his own breakfast, leaving Ash to stare in shock and surprise over his victory of getting Rose to eat something.

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"And, here are the Gryffindor team, captained by Steve Wood. Wood, Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, Potter, Potter and Weasley. Everyone cheer!" Luke Jordan's voice boomed, then took an almost bored tone. "And there's the Slytherins, captained by Max Flint. Flint, Nott, Bulstrode, Goyle, Zabini, Price and West."

"On the whistle teams, Keepers fly up to your places!" Miss Hooch called. "Three, two, one, GO!"

Twelve broomsticks rose in the air, and the four balls were released. As soon as the Quaffle was in the air, Roxanne snatched it and flew to the Slytherin posts. A Slytherin Beater, Bulstrode, shot a Bludger straight at her, but Fred hit it away. Roxanne weaved in out of the posts, confusing the Keeper, and shot.

"And Gryffindor leads 10-0!" Jordan shouted.

Rose scanned the pitch for a telltale gleam of gold. It had only been when they had tied 50-50 that she first saw it. She dove straight to the bottom, and weaved around the posts, her eyes fixed onto the Snitch. Her hand reached out to catch it, before a Bludger flew not three inches from her nose. She managed to dodge it, but the Snitch had gained a lot of distance.

"Rose, look out!" James shouted, diving towards her and dragging her out of the Bludger's path. Rose zoomed towards the Snitch, arm outstretched, and she felt the warm metal curl into her glove. She held up the Snitch for everyone to see.

"James!" Fred shouted, as a Bludger aimed by grudge-bearing Nott hit him in the face. He toppled backwards, and almost fell off his broom. Teddy helped him fly to the ground, and the team hopped off their brooms to see what was up.

"Is he OK?" a familiar voice asked.

"Phoenix? I didn't realized you cared so much," James laughed.

"Shut up, Potter," Ash laughed.

James's nose was spurting blood, and a large pool of it was drenching his shirt and the grass. He touched it gingerly.

"Oh Potter," Madame Pomfrey had finally managed to get to James. "You're just like your father, the amount of Quidditch injuries of his that I treated. Still, it's only a broken nose."

Only a broken nose? Ash thought incredulously. What was a bad injury in her eyes then?

"Episkey!" Madame Pomfrey pointed her wand at James's nose, and with a sickening crack his nose clicked into place, and the blood stopped flowing out. "Scourgify!" James's Quidditch uniform was cleaned of the blood that was starting to dry there.

"Does my nose look right?" James asked Ash.

"Yes, you're still your hideously unattractive self," she teased. He shoved her arm, and sat up.

"Still, we won. Well done, Rosie!" he smiled at Rose, who blushed slightly.

"Come on, let's get you back to the common room," Fred grinned.

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"I love Fridays," Fliss grinned as they left Potions, their last class of the day. "It's now officially the weekend!"

"Yeah. If a week was a dinner, then a weekend would be a dessert," Liz uttered her profound words of wisdom. Her focused on something and she squealed. "Hide me!"

"From what?" Rose asked as Liz jumped behind her. She caught sight of a Ravenclaw second-year walking past. "From Jimmy Brown?"

"Shut up! Wait until he's gone!" Liz hissed. Jimmy disappeared round a corner, and Liz let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, Jimmy Brown!"

"You fancy Jimmy Brown?" Rose asked.

"The completely sensible, responsible Elizabeth Moonheart is crushing over a second-year?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Don't rub it in! Jimmy is different!" Liz pouted. Rose nudged her reassuringly with her elbow. "Don't worry Liz. Ash is a hypocrite."

"What?" Ash shrieked.

"Well, it's completely clear that you fancy my cousin," Rose pointed out.

"No I don't!"

"Ha! You're blushing Ash! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone…except James!" And with that, Rose sprinted as fast as she could to the common room, Ash hot on her heels, leaving Liz and Fliss laughing in the corridor.

"So…Race you to the Great Hall?" Fliss asked.

"Make it the common room, and you have a deal," Liz answered. Fliss nodded.

"Three, two, one, GO!"

Both girls sped after their best friends, laughing their heads off as other students stared at them cautiously, not sure what to make of the four insane girls.

"James! James! Where are you?" Rose shrieked down the corridors.

"Rose Ginevra Molly Weasley, don't you dare!" Ash shouted after her.

"JAMES! JAMES!" Rose laughed, barely able to run.

Ash tackled her to the ground.

"Don't you dare tell James, or I will tell the whole school that you fancy Scorpius Malfoy!" Ash hissed.

"But I don't!" Rose argued.

"They don't know that!"

"I-Fine. I won't tell James, you don't tell them. Deal?"

"Deal."

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James took a deep breath. He could do this. He had been practicing in front of the mirror, as dorky as that sounds.

"Ash," James sat down on the sofa next to her. Ash looked up.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering…If you would like to come to my family's house for Christmas," James asked.

"Is this a slightly twisted way of asking me out?"

"No! Don't worry. My parents said I'm allowed to bring friends, and since Fred and Teddy will obviously be there, you were the next person I thought of. Rose will be there too," James added.

Ash smiled at the idea. "I get to spend Christmas in a Wizarding house? Are you serious?"

"Serious is my middle name," James grinned, while Ash laughed. "Really, 'Sirius' is my middle name, after my dad's godfather Sirius Black."

"Wow. Really?"

"Yeah. So, will I see you at Christmas?"

"I'll have to ask my parents, but I definitely want to go."

"Cool. See you."

James left the common room, Ash unaware of the big grin on James's face as he walked up the stairs to the Boy's Dormitories.

Ash ran up the stairs to the girl's dormitories, got out a piece of parchment and a quill and started writing.

Dear Mum,

Thanks for your last letter. It made me laugh at what Mr. Taylor did when Dad told him I wouldn't be going to his high school. How is Dad and everyone?

I was wondering. You told me about your plans to go to Jamaica at Christmas, but you're going to have to cancel them. Well, you don't have to. Ash pondered if it was Dad who would read this, he wouldn't exactly be thrilled about her going to a boy's house over Christmas. But a girl's house wouldn't be a problem. See, my friend Rose asked me to go to her house at Christmas, and being a wizard and everything, I thought it would be really interesting to see Christmas from their point of view.

Please say I can go. Hooter says hi.

Love from Ash,

PS The brownies you sent were delicious. Thank you.

Ash sealed the letter in an envelope, gave it to her owl who then flew to her parent's house, and hoped for the best.

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James woke up quite late on Sunday, and would've woken up later, if he hadn't sensed some figure standing over him. His instant reaction was a Black-Cloak, until a feathery pillow landed on his face, and Teddy's laughter rang around the room.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty, Quidditch practice, remember?" Fred told him.

James bolted upright. "When do they start?"

"Ten minutes, Jamesie Boy. Get up!" Fred sang, as he grabbed the bed covers and pulled the off. James rushed out of the dorms to the bathroom, and brushed his teeth as quickly as possible. He tried to drag a brush through his hair, but being just as unruly as his dad's, it was a quest in vain. He pulled on his Quidditch uniform as quickly as he could, still getting his jumper on as he left via the portrait hole.

"Hmm, that took about three minutes," Fred consulted his watch.

"He's going to kill you when he finds out the practice is in an hour and ten minutes.

James sprinted towards the pitch, his Firebolt Mark XIII under his arm. When spotted the pitch totally empty, he sighed. He had a feeling Fred and Teddy were having him on, but he was outside now, with his Firebolt, and decided to use it for his own entertainment.

He mounted the broom, took off, and flew around Hogwarts. His hair rustled in the wind as he sped towards one of the towers. He came to a stop outside Rose's dorm's window. He knocked on the window, startling Rose.

"Hello, Rosie. How are you?" he asked.

"Er, fine. James, what are you doing up here?"

"Oh you know, just flying round. Not really having a plan-"

"Ash isn't here."

"See ya, Rose. Oh wait, what time is the Quidditch practice?"

"About an hour from now. Bye James."

"Bye," James descended to the ground. Since practice wasn't on, he decided to grab a bite to eat in the kitchens. He was a growing boy, after all.

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Ash was going over her Charms homework. Charms was her second-best subject, after Transfiguration, but this particular piece of homework was quite difficult. She was about to try out the new spell 'Wingardium Leviosa', when Hooter tapped on the window, a reply in his beak. She opened the window, took the message and gave him a treat. Hooter hooted gratefully, and flew to the Owlery. Ash opened the letter.

Dear Ashley,

Of course you may go to Rose's house for Christmas! If that's what you want, then go right ahead. Thank you for the sweets that you gave us the letter before the last. Your father's face when he bit into a liver jellybean was priceless. Those wizards are geniuses!

I hope you're alright, that you're not struggling. No one can be the best in everything (as hard as your father tries!) but I hope you're fine. I would love to hear more about Rose, and your roommates, Liz and Fliss was it? Fliss is a strange name, by I suppose they are wizards. Those photos you sent us were very interesting, especially how they moved. You have to send us more, your father says. He loves to watch them wave and laugh.

I'd also like to know more about these fellows you named 'The Pranksters Of Hogwarts'. They seem rather interesting. Remember to tell us all about them Ashley. Your cousin Rachel said they look particularly attractive (of course, we showed her the non-moving one) especially that one with the messy hair and glasses.

Waiting for your reply and best wishes,

Mum

PS Dad says hi, and gives you his infinitely used warning to 'Stay Away From Boys'. Personally, I think it won't be you who will be following boys round, it will be the boys following you! You've got the Phoenix smile, that's all I can say. Especially since it's the one that made me notice your father in the first place.

PPS I hope you're doing your homework young lady!

Ash laughed as she read the letter. She looked a little guiltily at the mountain of homework on her desk that she had abandoned. She sighed, and went back to her Charms. Only 28 days until the Christmas holidays!

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"James!" Ash called up the stairs to the Boy's Dormitory. "James!"

"Yes, Ash?" James asked, as he sauntered down the stairs towards her.

"My parents said I can stay at your house for Christmas," Ash smiled. James grinned from ear to ear.

"Awesome!" he laughed. "Wait 'til you meet my parents. And all my cousins."

"I thought I'd met all your cousins?" Ash asked.

"There's a few more that haven't started Hogwarts. And there's my sister Lily of course."

"It sounds great!" Ash beamed. She climbed out of the Gryffindor portrait hole and headed towards the Great Hall, hoping to just catch the end of dinner. Rose, Fliss and Liz were waiting for her.

"Tut, tut. You're late, Ash," Rose tutted, jokingly.

"I just had to talk to your cousin," Ash shrugged, helping herself to some of the pizza.

"Which one? I have like, a dozen."

"James."

"Mm-hm. And what did you say?" Rose asked, suddenly very interested.

"He asked me to go to his house for Christmas, I asked my parents, they said yes, so I told him I could go."

"Wait, your parents let you go to a boy's house over Christmas, who they don't know?" Liz asked, suspicious.

"Well…I may have told them I'll be staying at Rose's," Ash admitted.

"My house is James's house. At least, over Christmas. My mum, dad, my brother and I always go to James and Albus's house for Christmas. Family tradition."

"See, I didn't lie then," Ash shrugged.

"You just forgot to mention a very attractive third-year that fancies you so much is staying there too," Fliss noted.

"Precisely. What they don't know, won't hurt them. But on the safe side, I think it would be good if you told yours and James's parents you were the one that invited me," Ash asked Rose.

"Hmm, what's in it for me?" Rose asked.

"A good sense of loyalty and friendship when you help a friend in need," Ash pleaded, then sighed. "And seventy-percent of my Chocolate Frog stash for the rest of the year. Deal?"

"Deal. But you're the one telling James."

"Tell him what?"

"That he has to keep in the pride and gloat of having the girl he's fancied for months come round to his house over Christmas, and pretend it was his cousin who invited him. And also to sort of lie to his parents."

"Yeah…That'll be hard."

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"Can I ask you a favor, James?" Ash asked James. It was about 8-ish later that day.

"Ask away, Phoenix," James grinned.

"Well, the only way I got my parents to agree was to tell them that I'm staying over at Rose's at Christmas, just in case they get the wrong idea about you know, boys…"

"Yeah, I see. Go on."

"Well, they're bound to check with your parents, so we really can't tell them that you're the one who invited me. So I kind of need you to go along with it."

"What's in it for me?" James asked. Aah, so much like his cousin, Ash thought.

"The pleasure of my company for three weeks, and… sixty-five percent of my Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans stash from now 'til May."

"Make it July and you've got a deal," James compromised. Ash nodded.

"Deal."

They shook hands, sealing the arrangement.