Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling I would not be using this site. I am not her. I only own Gemma and Lacy and the plot
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Gemma blushed. Her first kiss was not exactly what she liked to share with people, in fact, much less James. She would probably die of embarrassment if he knew. She hadn't lied to him yet and wasn't about to. With a sigh, Gemma said softly, avoiding his eyes, "You."
She noticed that James looked a bit startled at first as her head came up only to meet his stare. Their eyes met as the remembered that day, almost as clearly as it had happened just the previous night. Gemma and James' minds wandered back to third year, on one unfortunate Christmas Eve. Both of them had been walking through the portrait hole of Gryffindor tower bickering about something trivial, when both of them had failed to notice that they walked right under mistletoe.
Now ordinarily, they could have gotten away if no one had noticed, but it seemed as though the entire Gryffindor house was packed into the common room like a pack of lions waiting for their prey. Someone, James had presumed Fred, had bewitched the mistletoe to ensure that they couldn't leave a two foot radius of each other before sharing a kiss. Gemma had been furious, she nearly fainted due to the sheer horror that her two options were to be attached to James at the hip or kiss him. James was just as upset, in fact, if not more. The idea of kissing Gemma was absoloutely putrid. That night he had claimed that he wouldn't wish kissing the likes of Gemma Bell upon his worst enemy. So, before the whole thing could turn into a bigger production, James suddenly spun around, hesitantly put his hand at the small of Gemma's back, brought her closer to him and ever so gently brushed his lips against her before springing apart. Gemma might have not believed that it even happened if she hadn't felt the blood rush to her cheeks and seen James' face with his stupid contented smirk upon it.
James and Gemma continued to look at each other as the recounted this memory until Gemma said quietly, "You stole my first kiss."
James hadn't said anything; he only studied her face for some time before his face broke out into a grin. "Aww, Gemma, love, I had no idea you still remembered that," he said with a teasing tone to his voice.
"Of course I remember it Potter," she snapped at him, "every girl remembers her first kiss, no matter how unconventional or horrid it was."
"Ah, my lovely Bell," he retorted, "that is where I beg to differ. If I remember correctly, I wasn't the one blushing like mad."
"Oh sod off James," Gemma said, "just because I had the decency to be embarrassed does not mean that I enjoyed it in any way."
"Fine," he conceded, raising his arms in surrender, "whatever you say, Bell."
"Mhmm…" Gemma said suspiciously, "Anyhow, it's your turn."
"Actually, I believe mine was earlier that year as well," James said scratching the back of his head, "hmm… Jessica Williams."
Gemma nodded in acceptance. "So then," she started, "that begs the question, who was the first girl you fancied?"
"Well," he debated, "the first girl I ever truly fancied was Alex, not to say I didn't like the others, I did, but I think Alex was the first girl I fancied."
"I wasn't going to say anything," Gemma teased, "I was only looking for a name."
"Sure you were," James said, "You girls always have ulterior motives."
"Smart boy," Gemma noted.
"Merlin's pants!" James exclaimed in mock surprise, "was that a compliment, love?"
"Oh shut it, you prat."
James simply grinned at her before saying, "Your turn."
"Roger Davies," Gemma said with a small smile. He had been her first crush and first boyfriend, in that respect, she was extremely lucky.
"Hmm…" James said thoughtfully. He had opened his mouth to say something when the clock tower rung, they both noticed that it was nearing midnight. Rounds was finished for the night, so they walked back to their dormitory.
"Worst fear," he said as they were walking back.
Gemma had to give that one a fair thought before answering, "Losing my family or friends."
"I can attest to that," James conceded to her point as they approached the familiar stone wall.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans," Gemma said as she shot James a smile. They made their way through the arch and continued to the love seat by the fire. She wasn't tired yet and James wasn't either.
"So how's everything with Fred?" Gemma asked him out of the blue.
"Huh?" James said, confused for a second, "Oh, he's fine," then he added defensively, "why?"
"Oh, no reason," Gemma replied, "I was just wondering when he was going to man up and take Lacy out."
James laughed airily. "Oh! I don't know Bell, I've been telling him to make a move before Evans doesn't want anything to do with him anymore, but he's just Fred?" he said with a shrug.
Gemma also laughed, she recalled Fred's antics to get Lacy's attention and how they'd worked magic, "He doesn't need to worry about that," Gemma said shaking her head, "Lacy's not one to move on to another bloke that quickly, she's mighty persistent."
Suddenly James' face lit up. "So, Miss Bell,what do you say to uhh… moving along the process a little quicker?" he said mischievously.
Gemma raised an eyebrow, "well what did you have in mind Mister Potter?" she questioned back.
"A harmless trick," he said and then quickly added, "Just to finally get these two together."
"We really shouldn't James," Gemma said, "We're Head Boy and Girl. We're supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the students."
"Well what example would we be setting if we didn't help our friends who fancy each other? It's practically our duty!" James reasoned. "Fred's one of my best mates!" he practically begged of Gemma.
She looked at him skeptically before finally giving in, "fine," she sighed, "I swear Potter you're corrupting me."
James' face broke out into a dazzling grin. "You will not regret this!" he exclaimed.
"I'm already beginning to," Gemma murmured.
"Oh loosen up Bell, when's the last time you've had a spot of fun."
"I have fun," she countered.
James simply laughed in response.
"You are unbelievable," Gemma said in exasperation.
"You love that about me," James mocked.
"You're such a prat," she spat.
"I think you just injured my pride."
"Your ego is the size of Britain," Gemma said, "I think you'll be fine."
James feigned hurt, "That just crossed the line."
"Mhmmm…"
"Oh shut it, Bell," he said with a smile.
It was Gemma's turn to plaster a smirk on her face in content.
The pair of them then proceeded to begin planning their little ploy to bring Fred and Lacy together. The feelings were already there, so all they were really doing was giving them a friendly nudged, Gemma finally reasoned. James and Gemma talked on and on well into the morning. They had completed their little plan in less than an hour, it was simple, there was no reason that they should have kept on talking, but they did. They talked about many different things and somehow, they didn't run out of things to talk about. Both of them managed to go on and on and have an engaging conversation. It wasn't until Gemma let out a small yawn that either of them noticed the time. It was around three thirty in the morning! James and Gemma had been talking for over two hours!
"Oh my!" Gemma exclaimed. "We have classes tomorrow! I hadn't even realized the time! I'll be off to bed now."
"Alright, love, sweet dreams," replied James as they both made their way up to each respective staircase.
Gemma rolled her eyes, "do not call me love. Good night James," she said with a tired smile.
"Ehh…" James smirked, "I'll consider it."
They both walked up to their and entered their rooms. Gemma changed into her pajamas and flopped on her bed. She had been talking to James this entire time and it felt like a mere five minutes. Gemma liked talking to James; he was just so easy to talk to. Despite what Gemma thought previously, she was beginning to realize that she didn't hate James. Sure, they might occasionally bicker and argue, but Gemma acknowledged that it wasn't out of hate as it might have been previously. The arguments were more out of teasing and mocking than anything else. Not to say that she liked James at all, no, quite frankly he was an irritating git, always would be, but she couldn't deny that he had certainly changed. For one, if it was possible he had grown more attractive this term, no living witch alive could deny that. However, there were also more subtle changes. He still ridiculed Gemma, there was no getting around that, but he made her feel comfortable. He was a lot more considerate and more responsible by tenfold. She still hated his stupid little smirk and his ability to take everything with such ease. James was… complicated to say the least. She still had strong feelings of dislike towards him, sure, but there was something new in their relationship, if you could call it that, trust. Gemma realized that she could finally trust James. After all, they'd talked about everything and she hadn't even flinched while telling him any of it. Except for the kiss. James had indeed stolen her first kiss, just as Gemma thought about it her lips tingled as if James had only just pulled away. That was new.
