Hey guys! Sorry for the short chaper, just wanted to get this out before school starts! I probs won't be updating as regularly because of school, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for all the follows and reviews guys! WHOO!
Here are my replies to my reviews!
Buford The Table: thanks for reviewing, I love hearing from you! Thanks for the support! I'm glad you like the characters. Are any too cliché? Please, be honest!
Norissa910: I'm glad you think my story's cool! And, I promise, I won't break Victoire and Teddy up – you'll meet her soon too!
Cap92A: Lots of James in this chapter for you! Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill off Hagrid!
TypewriterGirl13: ha love you! Thanks for reviewing! And I know you love Teddy Lupin!
So guys, keep reviewing and reading! Love you all! Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Reasons I Certainly Do Not Like James Potter
So, there I was, just sitting in the common room, thinking about the Pure's and the Huff vs Gryff game that day (Gryffindor won and I hate to say it, but James is an awesome seeker), when BAM. A bomb explodes.
Not literally.
But close enough.
The door banged open and Professor Gerard called everyone to the common room from years 4-7. The bomb hasn't exploded yet, but you'll know when it does.
"What's going on?" I whispered to Al who just shrugged in return.
"Listen up people! Now, Christmas is fast approaching and so are the holidays, but you all know what happens around this time of year – that's right, the Diggory Yule Ball in honour of Cedric Diggory, founded by Harry Potter around twenty years ago! You are all expected to find dates and attend the ball. I hope you all brought your formal gear, because it is a black-tie event! Same-sex dates are allowed but no dates from the first and second years. Third years are acceptable. Any questions?" Professor Gerard announced. Yep, you guessed it – that was the bomb.
A freaking Christmas ball! I hate dressing up, dancing and all that shit but the worst part – I was expected to find a date.
Umm, excuse me, but I don't have someone I could take and I bet you, no one is thinking of taking me!
People were chatting excitedly and clapping and dancing and jumping around and laughing while I sat there, an awful look of disgust on my face. I know, because that's what Jo told me I looked like later.
A Christmas ball? What kind of school even has those?
And more importantly, I have more important things to think about like my studies (ha, just kidding, I don't study that hard), Quidditch and oh, I don't know, THE FREAKING PURE'S AND THE FACT THAT I MIGHT HAVE DREAMED THE FURTURE!
"Whoa, what's up, Maddie? You look a little… sick," Roy asked. I snapped my head up.
"Just thinking about how I probably won't go to the dance. I mean, who would ask me?" I said, in a joking way, trying to get him off my back. The last thing I needed was for Roy to come and jumble my thoughts up even more.
Roy looked a little hurt. "I would. Ask you, I mean," he said, staring at me. Shit. What do I do?
Uh, ok then.
I cleared my throat. "Umm, right then! I need to ask Al something," I said, bolting off. Did he just ask me to the dance? Am I over thinking it? Why didn't I say yes? I felt a little sick, excited and warm at the thought of Roy asking me to the dance. But why am I such an awkward person when it comes to romance? Why did I run off? Well, I can't go back now.
"What's with the goofy smile? Roy ask you to the dance?" Jo teased. I blushed and mumbled something along the lines of 'no way, he did not, why would you think that? You're weird, he didn't ask me', but it jumbled together a bit.
"Uh, ok then," Jo said, side stepping me, looking at me funny.
Great, now she and Roy thought I was acting weird.
Luckily, Scorp and Al walked up to me, smiling wickedly.
"What now?" I eyed them suspiciously.
"Well, we just thought of an awesome prank to play on James Sirius Potter!" Scorp said excitedly. Now, that perked my mood up!
"Ooh! What is it? Should we ruin his dress clothes for the dance? Or-" I started when Al cut me off.
"We're gonna get someone to ask him to the ball as a joke! Then, after he says no, you'll say it was all a prank!" Al said excitedly.
Now I was confused. That was an awful prank. It was mean to do that to someone. Who would we even get to do that? Then, of course, it clicked.
"No. No way in hell am I asking James to the ball and then saying it was a prank! That's just mean and weird and not even funny! I don't find it funny and neither would James!" I said, a little miffed.
"Since when do you care about what James would find funny?" Scorp asked, confused.
Oh my god. I did say he wouldn't find it funny. Why would I say that?
My words got all jumbled and I fumbled along a weird sentence. "Wh-what, no. I just… I don't want to ask him!"
Al sighed. "See, Scorp? I told you Maddie would fall in love with James eventually. Oh well. Looks like she's like every other girl in the school…" Al baited me, looking disappointed in me.
He was good. If I didn't ask him, they'd think I like him but if I did ask him, they'd think I don't.
Wow. I just confused myself. Well, I don't like him, in any way. Not a single bit! In fact, I'm gonna make a list!
Why I Certainly Do Not Like James Potter:
He's mean. He teases us all the time
Arrogance isn't attractive on anyone (except him, but let's just skip over that)
He's far too cocky for his own damn good (even though he's extremely funny when he his)
He's… temperamental? Is he?
He has an annoying smirk (that's kind of attractive. Kind of)
I hate his swagger (even though he looks confident when he swaggers)
He thinks everyone loves him and he needs to be put in his damn place
He gets special treatment for having the last name Potter (but that's not his fault. Besides, Al doesn't get special treatment for some reason)
He's over-confident (but I like over-confident and it suits him)
And many more reasons that I can't be bothered thinking of!
"It's just… not a very good prank," I said, trying to sound reasonable.
"Please? How about you hint to him that you want him to ask you and when he does, say no!" Al pleaded, his eyes wide. "Just think that he teases all of us every lesson in DA DA."
True, he did tease us. But not about anything important.
Looking into his bright, grass-green eyes, I melted. Frustrated, I sighed. "Fine. But I'm not happy about this," I said pointedly. I couldn't help but smile when they did a little victory dance.
"Ok, he's alone, studying in the library. Just go and get him to ask you and then say no," Al whispered in my ear as he shoved me into the library.
"Wait!" But he was already gone. Sighing, I walked further into the library. I looked at some books on the shelves and tried to look for James without being obvious.
Finally, his mess of black hair popped up from a shelf a couple shelves over. Being discreet, I wondered over there, taking my time.
I tried to look really focused on the book titles in front of me, but it was hard when I was trying to look at where James was.
He was further along down the shelf and I don't think he'd seen me.
I trailed my fingers across the tops of the books and 'accidentally' pushed them all off. I squealed as about twenty all came flying off and landing at my feet in a heap of dust and old parchment pages.
Coughing, I bent down to pick them up, praying James heard my squeal and the books.
"Wow Maddie. You're such a klutz, it's not even funny," James drawled from behind me. Still on my knees, I whirled my head around and craned my neck, looking up at him.
"Thanks James. Your help has been much appreciated," I said sarcastically. James sighed and bent down.
He started picking up the books with me, humming the tune of SexyBack by Justin Timberlake.
I snorted. "Really, that song? Cocky much," I told him as he started full on belting the lyrics in an awful voice.
I burst out laughing at his ridiculous singing.
"Potter! Shush! This is a library, not a concert!" Madame Pince, the librarian shushed us from another shelf. She stalked out to glare at us. James held his arms up in defence.
"Sorry, Madame, but it wasn't me! It was her, Maddie. She was the one singing, I swear," James said sincerely. I snorted. There was no way she'd believe him – it was obviously a male voice.
"Well, Maddie. I suggest you take up singing lessons – your voice is a little out of practise. 5 points from…?" Madame Pince said stiffly.
"Gryffindor," I supplied. No way was Slytherin losing points for something I didn't do.
"Hm. Well, shush from now on!" And with that, Pince disappeared.
I looked at James and burst out into silent laughter.
"Why'd you lie to Pince about your house?" James whispered, smiling.
"Wanted you to get punished. Did you hear her? 'Get singing lessons, you suck'," I whispered as James stifled back laughter.
After we'd picked up and put away all the books, he asked me why I was in the library.
"Just looking for a good book. Maybe get some study in? Think about the Diggory Yule Ball? I can't believe I have to get dressed up for a ball. It sucks. And I bet you no one will ask me!" I pointed out as James nodded.
"True. No one would ask you. You're awful," James said, a look of disgust on his face.
"Ha ha, very funny. Well, maybe I should ask someone. Give me some examples of people I should ask," I challenged him as we sat down on one of the couches.
"Well, ask Al. He'd say no, for obvious reasons, but he'd let you down easy!" James said cheerfully.
I sighed. "No, seriously. Who do you think would say yes?"
"Umm… That funny looking guy that you hang out with. Pale skin, weird eyes, black hair… umm… he's beater I think on your team," James suggested.
I laughed. "Roy. Why do you think he would say yes?"
James shrugged. "No one else would want to go with him."
I frowned, comfused. Roy's nice and funny – why would no one else want to go with him? "Why would no one else want to go with him?"
"Well, he and Colleen dated since they were in Third Year. And Colleen… she's scary. Like, she'd kill you in your sleep if you weren't careful which was why it sucked when we pranked her. If she found out that someone went with her ex to the ball, she'd be super pissed," James explained.
I looked at him in surprise. "That's not very encouraging. Why are all my new friends friends with her? She sounds… awful. Truthfully, I've heard all these rumours about her but I didn't want to say anything to my friends because they liked her. I mean, she sounds like a tyrant."
"A cunning, ruthless, awful, mean, snarky tyrant. Hate her guts. I was so thankful when they called her name out to be the exchange student. I mean, I was disappointed I didn't get it, but I wasn't surprised. Like they'd send trouble-maker James Potter," James joked but his words shocked me.
"You wanted to be an exchange student? Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.
James shrugged. "Australia sounds scary. With all the kangaroos and spiders and crocodiles, I thought it'd be awesome!"
I couldn't help it – I laughed.
James frowned. "What?"
"It's just… Australia is scary, yes, but like, only in the outback! And AIM is in Sydney!" I said whilst laughing.
James looked a little upset. "Oh. That sucks. I still want to visit there, though," James pointed out.
"I bet you wouldn't be able to handle the spiders. Or any of the bugs. I swear, it's like there are no bugs in England anywhere! I see spider webs, but no spiders!" I complained to a smiling James.
"No spiders? No spiders? Ok, I'm gonna show you something. Tonight, I'll meet you at Hagrid's hut, got it? If you sneak out in between 12:37 and 1:08, you won't be seen – Slughorn goes on lookout then and he always falls asleep. What do you say? Unless you're scared of a little spider?" James teased, smirking his trademark smirk.
I held my head up. "I'm in."
It was almost time to go. When I told Al what had happened, he'd been super excited.
"He'll ask you to the dance tonight! Yay! I'll do a spell on your hair to make it look nice and we'll dress you in pretty clothes!" he'd said.
So, there I was, in the common room dressed in nice jeans and a nice sweater with nice gloves with my hair all curled and looking nice which was ridiculous because I'd probably be getting dirty.
When I told Al that, he'd just waggled his eyebrows and said: "Not too dirty, Mads."
I've come to the conclusion that Albus Potter is an idiot.
Finally, I snuck out of the dungeons and through the castle. I made sure I was quiet but I needn't worry – no one was around. Although, Filch almost caught me a couple times.
Finally, I snuck out into the back fields of Hogwarts – where Hagrid's house and the Forbidden Forest that didn't look all that bad was.
The cold hit me like a whip. Shivering, I raced down to Hagrid's house, keeping low so he wouldn't accidentally see me. I slowed to a walk and crept through Hagrid's veggie garden, looking for James.
After a couple minutes of waiting, I grew impatient.
"James," I hissed. I searched the garden, waiting for him to reveal himself or for him to yell BOO at me or something immature. Instead, a stumbling figure staggered out of the forest, clothes torn and covered in mud. Knowing exactly who that was, I sighed and trudged over to him.
"Really James? What in the name of Quidditch are you doing in there?" I asked, shaking my head. He was panting and lying on his back, a huge grin on his face.
"Making sure the plan is a go tonight. Still not afraid of spiders?" James asked, sitting up, a sly grin on his face. I placed my hands on my hips and stared him down.
"Spiders live in my bathroom and backyard. I think I can handle whatever your definition of a bug is," I scoffed. James raised an eyebrow.
"Ok then. Follow me," he stood up and led me into the forest.
James and I were bantering the whole time we were walking. We kept each other laughing and smiling while being completely at ease. For him being an enemy, he was easy to talk to.
The forest was dark and gloomy, with giant, twisted trees and prickly bushes. The air was thick with a pale fog and it was hard to breath.
"Ok, here we are. Now, keep quiet and don't say a word," James whispered to me as we came to a sudden stop. He led me down a crack in between two tree stumps. It was like a slide, except less smooth and harder to climb down. After doing some serious gymnastics, we made it out the other side. The exit of the weird tunnel/ slide opened into a large cavern. Dead, black leaves piled on the floor as well as thick spider webs.
James turned around to face me. "They don't like newbies. Just don't be scared, ok?" James smiled wickedly at me as he turned around and walked straight into a spider web. He screamed and flailed his arms trying to get it off. I snorted and stood there, not offering help.
Finally, James composed himself.
"Not a word about that to anyone," he warned, his eyes angry and embarrassed.
I smiled. "Whatever you say, Spider-Web Man!"
James sneered as I grinned. Suddenly, a fast, click-clack sound filled the cavern. The clicking became faster and faster and soon, more clicking noises joined in. I felt a brush of legs against my feet. I looked down to see a sea of tarantula-sized, black, hairy spiders running over my feet. The sound of massive legs scuttling towards me startled me. I heard the click-clack of giant pincers. I looked up to see a giant, huge, massive and ginormous spider, about ten feet tall looking down at me with eight, beady eyes the size of dinner plates.
Wow.
I looked at James, who was looking at me expectedly. "How come she's so small?"
"How come you weren't even scared?" James whispered to me as we snuck back to Hogwarts. "You had a conversation with her! It's a talking, giant, female spider for Gods' sake!"
I shrugged. "We have giant spiders all over the place in Australia."
James looked intrigued. "Really?"
I stared at him, shocked he believed me. "No."
We were talking about the Christmas ball again because I remembered the prank I agreed to do.
"So… who are you taking to the ball?" I asked very subtly (NOT). James looked at me funny.
"Why are you so obsessed with it?" James asked. Flustered, I choked under the pressure.
"I'm not! I… I mean I'm not… because that's weird and it's not like I wanna be asked…" I winced, trailing off. Real smooth.
"Wow," James said, his voice and face full of cockiness.
"What?"
"Knew you liked me! Do you want me to ask you to the dance?" James asked, his face all-knowing and arrogant. Great, I'm just boosting his confidence by doing this prank.
"Umm…" I said, not knowing what to say. My face was flushed and I was stuttering. For some reason, I was nervous.
James Potter stopped walking, grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him.
For the first time, James Potter had a look of pure seriousness on his face without a hint of arrogance, cockiness, amusement or ridicule.
"Madison Taylor, will you go to the Diggory Yule Ball with me?" James asked, his sapphire-blue eyes locked on mine.
Yes.
Surprisingly, that's what I wanted to say. I liked this James, the one who laughed and teased me good-heartedly and the one who risked getting in trouble just to try and prove me wrong. This wasn't the James I saw around his friends or my friends – he wasn't arrogant, rude or mean. I wanted to say yes to the new James so, so bad.
Instead, I closed my eyes and scrunched my face up. "Uh… no…?" I can't believe I just did that. My gut clenched and I felt sick to my stomach.
I felt James remove his arms from his shoulders. I opened my eyes to find him glaring at me. "Is this a joke? Get me to ask you so you would say no? Did you think that was funny? Well, jokes on you – I'm asking Alexia and I know for a fact she'll say yes," James sneered as he swaggered off.
And suddenly, the old James was back – the one from class, the one I hated.
Sighing, I trudged along to the dungeons.
Why did I say no? I could've said yes. Should've said yes. But he hates me now.
Which is good, because I still hate him, right? He's my enemy, right?
I didn't even know anymore.
School was torture that day. James was sneering and teasing me and my friends more than ever. I didn't tell Al and Scorp what happened between us that night, only that is was ugly. I didn't tell them I wanted to say yes, either.
The worst part of the day by far, however, was when I got back to the common room after Quidditch practise. I was studying (shocker, I know!) in an armchair by the fire when Roy came up to me, his expression a little unsure.
"Hey Roy. Nice Quidditch practise today, wasn't it?" I asked, my tone light. Truth be told, I was reliving the events of the past night, over and over. Every joke, every laugh, every question. One specific question, actually.
"I have a question," Roy stuttered. Confused, I looked up from my book at his nervous face. I didn't understand at first what he said next. It was kind of a jumble of words. But they scared me ever the same. "I was wondering… doyouwanttogototheDiggoryYuleBallwithmemaybeifyouwant?"
Shit.
So guys, sorry for the crap chapter but I really wanted a cliff-hanger even though they're cliché!
Please review because I love you guys for reading! Comment anything you want to say but please, no hate!
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Love you and I'll update when I can!
Kat xx