Chapter 10

'First off, I am going to apologize for my inexcusable behavior last night' is what I was planning on saying, before I asked Julia what her thought was. She warned me that it was 'cold and kind of weird' to say something like that to a boy the day after he kissed you, otherwise, I would have said it, like a regular Edith would, and my point would have been made, and neither of us would have to do any side-stepping.

But no. Not only did a boy kiss me last night, but I allowed him to, and no matter how much I urged myself this morning, I can't stop fretting about it.

Right now, I'm waiting for Albus at the kitchen table, with a plate of cupcakes in front of me. By all means, I'm not nervous. I am, however, regretful that I let myself slip into such a state last night, and let Albus Potter of all people, to take advantage of it. How could I not let him kiss me at a time like that? All I recall is the burning, breaking feeling, as he cleared away my exterior with his unleashment of noble passion, as if cleaning me with the purity of Lancelot DuLac. I may never fully recover from such an exibition. I don't blame him, really, because for one, his father his Harry Potter, for two his mother is a Weasley, and three, he is as Gryffindor as they come.

So to make a long story short, I have plotted to friend-zone him.

Today I put my hair in a ponytail. My jean shorts are plain, and my t-shirt boasts my journey to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Plain blue chuck tailors complete my enormously average outfit. I have gone out of my way to make zero impact on Albus and this troublesome new crush.

My sister suggested to me earlier to try and watch it where it was left, to see if I develop anything, but she's completely barmy in saying so. If I were to even think that Albus and I should be together, I would have to call myself crazy. Nothing good would come from that sort of match. I have trust issues, and as noble as Albus is, I can never trust him like I do Phoebe or Tucker.

BUZZZ. Goes the intercom. "Hello? He says unsurely into it.

Oh bullocks, that's him.

"Hi Al, I'll be right there." I buzz back.

"This is wicked! I wish we had one of these in my house-" I hear him ramble into the machine, as I shut the door behind me.

I get a stomach-ache as I catch sight of him through the door, and a goofy grin takes over his face as he sees me. I step outside, and he gives me the usual up and down before settling happily on my face. It's a good thing I have the cupcakes, or else I swear he would try to hug me.

Instead he bends over to kiss my cheek and I only shy away for a moment. Truthfully I probably wouldn't have tried rejecting him, in wariness of the level of awkwardness. If I deflected, then things right away wouldn't be comfortable.

Merlin, when did I get to be such a social snake?

But anyways, he kisses my cheek, pulls away and smiles.

"Shall we?"

And so we begin our walk to the Potter estate. Actually I've never even seen the Potter family's house, I only assume, based on slight mention, that it is a huge property.

Nothing is said about the night before, just as I suspected. I can tell, though, that it was all he was thinking about. Every time I speak he glances far too long at my mouth, and then at one point on a left turn across the street he grabs my hand, and then keeps holding it afterwards. I slip out of his grasp and it only seems to faze him for a small moment.

It did feel nice to appear like a couple for a second, I'll admit, but I'm not losing sight of my goal which is to be as indifferent as I can, until Albus stops fancying me.

He eats two cupcakes on the way, and he tricks me into giggling about the icing all over his face. Next he tricks me into feeling butterfly-y again when he uses the bottom inside of his shirt to wipe it off, exposing his stomach in the process. Of course the disgusting fact that he's purposefully staining his shirt doesn't even reach my attention, because... well I mean he's not ripped or anything, but he plays quidditch, and he's tall, and I have hormones just like everyone else.

Overall, he forces me into having a really lovely time.

So we walk into Diagon Alley, and we flu to Kent.

The second we're in his fireplace, my queasiness comes back to me. His fireplace is huge, and beautiful and perfect. One glance into his livingroom and I am instantly jealous.

"Don't forget to wipe your feet," he reminds me as he steps out. I laugh to myself. Of course I won't forget; I wouldn't ruin a freshly cleaned carpet.

The inside is not incredibly big in perimeter, but spacious, because of the archways that separate the rooms, instead of doors or just plain walls. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in this house, and I wouldn't have imagined Albus and his siblings living anywhere else. Not that I imagine ever.

I notice Albus watching me look around.

"Come meet my mom," he says, tugging at my arm.

And so I follow him into the most beautiful kitchen I have ever seen.

It is bigger than the living room, and the ceiling goes up so high you can see the inside of the roof. Over one long cream-colored counter on one wall are brass pots and pans hung neatly askewed. On the wall catty corner, there's a window in front of the sink that faces the east, overlooking the front yard, and the third wall is replaced with a large sunroom-like window. I would kill to have a kitchen like this. If I grew up in a normal family, this is what I would fancy us in.

Ginny Potter sits at the island counter in the middle pausing on the letter she's writing, waiting for me to come back to earth. Albus, the whole time this is going on is watching me contentedly.

And finally I come back to earth. "Hello, Mrs. Potter."

She smiles and gets up from her seat. This woman is stunning. Her hair has a few grays, but she is fighting fit, and the wrinkles around her eyes show nothing but a joyful disposition. She shakes my hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Edie."

"Likewise," I say. Albus next to me is looking uncommonly happy. "I – well... Your kitchen is gorgeous."

"Ed is an amazing cook!" Albus cries out excitedly next to me. I look sidelong at him hesitantly.

"Mixing up cupcakes is hardly cooking," I correct him.

"Well I could just tell when we were in there that you knew what you were doing."

I am tempted to snap at him, but since his mom is here, I don't want to embarrass him. Instead, I smile. "It's one of my favorite things to do."

After a few more pleasantries, Mrs. Potter sends us off, and so the tour of the potter house begins.

He starts by taking me outside through the front door.

The front yard has a canopy of trees around a large knoll of grass. "We call this the grove," he says. "I did my primary school homework out here every day. I would take out a blanket and sit here for hours. Lily accidentally enchanted that oak tree right there one time, and every now and then he'll say something really rude to you. We call him Merve."

He walks me around the driveway to the side, where the garage is. The house really isn't as big as everyone has made it seem, but it is beautiful. It's tudor cottage styled, and there are flower gardens all around.

We walk through the garage to get to the backyard, and there is a small quidditch pitch. We sit on the porch swing as he tells me stories about him and James, playing, fighting, and getting into trouble.

He tells me a story about him and his brother up in a tree trying to make a tree house. Mrs. Potter sent Mr. Potter outside to stop them from killing themselves, and instead of scolding them, he got lured into reinforcing the fort with and preparing it for battle.

Charmed at his story, I laugh, and then he leans in for a kiss.

I jump out of the seat and stand in front of him, smoothing out my shirt.

"Can you show me the inside?"

His expression changes from surprised to amiable. "Yeah, lets go."

He tours the inside of his house and, of course, it is beautiful. All three siblings have their own bedroom, but Albus's is different, because it's made of an alcove in the house. He has a large mahogany desk, and a big red sofa. Quidditch posters everywhere, and little piles of dishes and dirty clothes in spots.

His bed is accessible by a ladder that goes up into another recess in the wall, hidden away in the corner of the room. To my trepidation, he motions me to follow him up.

The first thing that strikes me is the large window that overlooks the entire backyard. His bed is neatly made, and he has a lamp surrounded by piles of books on a short table. There's no room to stand – The perfect place to sleep.

After a while of me admiring the area, and him disturbingly admiring my admiration, I speak.

"You're very lucky."

And so I panic right away, because I'm sitting on Albus Potter's bed with him, and when I turn my gaze to him he's smiling and searching every inch of my face, and then I really panic because he says:

"I know." And he's leaning in again.

Oh no, no, no. No.

"Nuh-uh!" I cry, pushing him away with both of my hands on his forehead. He relents and falls backwards in exasperation.

"Come onnn!" he drawls.

"You are treating me like a vending machine. I'm not giving out kisses. I'm not for sale." I cross my arms like a stubborn child. He gets up on his elbows.

"You were last night," he counters. I glare at him menacingly. "Okay I see I've said something wrong..."

"You are such a charmer." I reply scathingly.

At that moment, smarmy little Lily pops up from the ladder with a suspicious look on her face.

"Mum sent me up to make sure you weren't 'doing anything'" she says. "You're not supposed to have your door closed when you have a girl over, Al." She scrutinizes him, and he looks utterly defeated.

"It's not like anything is going to happen!" He cries in my direction.

"How often does he have a girl over?" I inquire as she exits the room triumphantly. I can tell Albus behind me is trying to contact Lily, by the way she stops at his face and considers for a moment. I whip around, and he flies backwards again.

All Lily does is make one loud guffaw, and leaves the room.

That could mean two things. She is either laughing because he never has girls over, or she is laughing because he always does.

Hmm...Let me think.

"You are playing me like a harp." I accuse him sharply.

"Excuse me," he cries, "you're not a harp, you're a fucking enigma!"

"What makes me think I want you to figure me out?" I mutter angrily as I make my way down the ladder. Albus jumps down before I make it to the bottom, and traps me, so I scurry back up.

"Well somebody has to."

"No!" I shout down the ladder at him like a child losing the argument.

"Yes." He says, beginning to climb back up the ladder. "And that person is-"

"No, it's not!"

"Why not?" He has me backed into the corner, so I start squeezing around him, before he can trap me like he did last night.

"Because..." I inch away

"Because what?

"Because... Dom!"

Right then I start to fall backwards off the ledge, and Albus grabs onto my arms before I give myself a concussion.

"Have you been seeing him?" The loudness is gone from his voice.

"Let me up, please." He pulls me up, and backs away from me. There are a few beats of silence. I don't know why Dom came up. I don't want him to figure me out either.

I don't want anyone trying to figure me out. All this time Albus has been practically probing me.

I start to get mad. Righteously so. He has been trying to play tricks on me as if I were just any other girl. He has been trying to steal kisses from me, and I'm sick of it. I'm trying to friend-zone him, but he's not letting me do it, with dark his brown eyes, and sentimental stories of home. I'm sick of him scoping out my face for reactions. Constant desperation for approval from me.

I am like a game to him, because he knows he has everyone else in his snares, and I'm the only one putting up a fight. The other girls are docile summer kisses, but I am a chase.

It is so disgusting, that I feel like crying.

But I don't.

"I'm leaving." I stammer out.

"Are you upset?" He shouts after me, worry in his voice. He's losing.

I don't say another word, and run to the livingroom. Ginny Potter peers at me through the kitchen entry way as I grab a fistful of flu powder in a hurry, and whisk away in the ashes.

:::

As soon as I get home I scribble out a letter.

Dom,

I have an invitation to Tucker's mother's wedding, and it is plus one.

Would you like to join me?

-Edie

I send it out with my bird, and for some unholy reason, my eyes water up.

A/N: I'm sorry, it's a short one, after a long wait, but for some reason I was lacking information. I was going to clump it together with some other plot-y stuff, and even though I lacked a whole bunch of plot here, I'll save it for next chapter.

Which will be huge. I'll end summer in tat chapter, and then something AWEFUL will happen, and things will finally start to really heat up.

What do you think of Albus's house? I really like it :)

Review your thoughts, please!