A/N: So sorry for the wait! This chapter isn't that great, sorry to say. Another one of those necessary fillers. I won't keep you up here long. Please review!

Chapter Eleven: Growing Friendships

Jake

"So how was your day?" Gran asks conversationally over supper that night. I avoid Danni's gaze and stuff some more chicken into my mouth, rendering a response impossible.

"Good," Danni answers, drawing my grandmother's attention to the other side of the table. "Work was pretty boring today," she says lightly.

"Good, good," she replies rather distractedly. I wonder what's up with her today. She's been odd all day. I'm about to bring this up when Danni interrupts.

"How was your day, Mrs. P?" she asks with a big smile. Gran smiles back.

"Good. Did a bit of grocery shopping this afternoon, you know…" she says, trailing off. I exchange a worried glance with Danni, who shrugs before going back to her meal.

"And how are things at home?" Grandma asks. Danni stiffens noticeably. I know nothing about her home life, as she's always extremely reluctant to talk about it, and has abruptly changed the subject whenever it comes up. Grandma must be off today to bring it up in front of me – as far as I know, they never discuss it when I'm even in the house.

"The same," Danni says simply before taking a leaf out of my book and stuffing her mouth so full she can't possibly say more. I keep my eyes trained on my plate, and the air turns suddenly awkward.

"So sorry, dear," Grandma murmurs, though whether she's apologizing for bringing up Danni's family or for whatever's happening at her house, I'm not sure. I don't think Danni is either, but she simply murmurs that it's fine, don't worry about it.

The rest of the meal passes uneventfully. By the time the table is cleared, the kitchen curtains drawn, and the dishes set to washing themselves in the sink, Grandma has disappeared down the hall to her bedroom.

"Do you think she's okay?" Danni asks from where she's leaning against the breakfast bar, watching in fascination as the dishes scrub, dry, and put themselves away.

"She's a bit off today," I agree, joining her. She inches closer to me and slips her hand into mine. I let my hand lie there uselessly, not moving to tighten it around hers, but I don't pull away either. Her hands are soft and smooth, and – again – they remind me of Aria. Is that all I can see in her? I think with disgust, suddenly realizing what I'm doing. All I can see in her is how she measures up to Aria? That's not even fair.

Danni's great. For a Muggle. No… no, Danni's great, period. I haven't known her long, but she's smart and funny, and she's pretty, which is always a bonus. She's not Aria, but she's … close. Again. I'm doing it again.

"Are you okay?" Danni asks, pulling me back to earth. Her voice isn't like Aria's. It's not as soft or as high-pitched. Not as … melodic I suppose.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell her, squeezing her hand slightly before pulling away. "Just thinking."

"About whom?" she asks rather innocently.

"What makes you think it was a who?" I say with a mock-offended look. She grins.

"Just the look you had on your face. Who is she?" she asks curiously.

"Now you think my who is a she?" I ask with raised eyebrows.

"Jake, I'm a girl. I know things," she whispers dramatically, to which I have to smile.

"Her name's Aria, and I'm actually trying to forget about her," I explain with a grimace as the truth squeezes through. Then I have to wonder. Do I really want to forget her? No. I just wish her memory wasn't so painful. I hated leaving her like that, making her cry. It's that that I'm trying to forget – not Aria herself. I could never forget Aria. I lo-

"How come?" Danni asks, interrupting my train of thought.

"I don't want to talk about it," I mumble. Danni's expression morphs into one of understanding, which for some odd reason comforts me.

"Bad break-up huh?" she asks comfortingly. My comfort disappears instantly.

"Sure, something like that," I manage. It's too complicated to try to explain all of it to her, so I'll let her believe that.

"Let's talk about something else then," she suggests, opening her hand to me and looking at me curiously, half daring me to take that extended hand of hers and follow her into the living room. I look at the sink to see the dishes have finished. Quickly I wave my wand to drain the sink before smiling at her a bit uncertainly and taking her hand.

As I follow her into the living room, I wonder what I've gotten myself into.

x.x

Danni

I don't think I've ever met someone quite like Jake. First off, he's a wizard, and he's the first wizard I've ever met under the age of thirty. The coffee shop where I work isn't very popular among the "young crowd" as my boss calls it. It's mostly old people and businessmen … erm… business-wizards? Whatever.

Mrs. Parks was the first one to tell me about magic, though she did it extremely reluctantly. She used to babysit me when I was little, and one day – I must have been about six - she accidentally did some magic in front of me, and when I wouldn't stop talking about it, she sat me down and told me all about magic and wizards and witches, swearing me to secrecy.

I instantly took fancy to the idea of being a witch. I was bitterly disappointed when the summer I turned eleven passed without my Hogwarts letter. But I still have Mrs. Parks, who helped me get a job at the coffee shop, even though it's an all-wizarding shop that Muggles aren't supposed to notice. To me, the outside looks like an old boarded-up barber shop, but as soon as I pass through the door it transforms into the cozy coffee house I've grown to have a rather love-hate relationship with, due to the fact that working there reminds me that I'm not a witch, and probably never could be.

I love it though, because it's my only real connection to the wizarding world – the only time I ever get to see wizards in "action" (reading, drinking coffee, but hey, it's better than nothing). I've grown so used to Mrs. P being a witch that it always manages to surprise me when I see new people doing magic.

But Jake is so different from the other witches and wizards I see at the coffee shop. First off, he's my age – very nearly anyway. And he's cute – damn is he cute. He's also really … nice. He's not like guys at my school, almost all of whom are jerks and egotistical arses. He's … almost normal.

Perhaps my high opinion of him is biased – you know, considering I have a ginormous, elephant-sized crush on him? Yeah, that could do it. Well, who wouldn't? The only problem is, I'm not really sure what he's doing here. I mean, one day it's just me and Mrs. P, and the next thing I know, her long-lost grandson appears out of nowhere? It's a little strange.

Also, the fact that he just broke up with this Aria-girl is weird. I mean, I've known him for a little over a month now, and he hasn't once mentioned her … at all. Who is she?

I lead Jake into the living room and pull him down onto the couch beside me. I can tell he's a bit uncomfortable with this. Maybe he's still getting over Aria. Well … best way to mend a broken heart is to move on, right? That's what my mum told me once anyway.

"Listen, Danni," he says, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "We really shouldn't-"

I don't wait anymore. I kiss him. He doesn't kiss me back at first, but I don't pull away. Eventually his hands circle around me like they're supposed to, and he relaxes. He's a good kisser.

Finally he pulls away, breathing heavily. I smile at him, and he sighs. Oh boy, here we go again.

"Danni, we really ... we really shouldn't…" he trails off and shakes his head. He's silent for awhile as though thinking, and then he heaves a sigh. "What the hell," he mutters to himself before kissing me. I smile against his lips. That's right, Jake. Forget ol' whats-her-name Aria. You have me now. You don't need her.

He must be thinking the same thing, because the next second his kissing is even more passionate, almost needy. Still amazing though. I don't deny his desire for my kisses. We kiss heatedly like this until we hear footsteps coming down the hall. He jerks away, his face flooding with guilt and shame. I glance over my shoulder just as Mrs. Parks comes into the room. Upon seeing us, an amused look overcomes her features.

"Did I interrupt something?" she asks, obviously extremely amused.

"No," Jake mutters, not looking at her. I glower at her good-naturedly so she'll get it that yes she was interrupting something, but I won't stay mad at her.

"Good," she says rather sternly, more to me than to Jake. "Danni, it's getting late. You should get on home," she says a bit coolly. My heart sinks.

"I can't stay here?" I ask softly. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jake look at me sharply before quickly glancing away again. Mrs. Parks' expression softens slightly.

"I am sorry, dear," she says quietly. "But I don't think that's best."

I nod at her curtly. She offers me a kind smile before addressing her grandson. I feel a pit of jealousy erupt in my stomach when she smiles all the more lovingly at him. I've had her to myself for years and now suddenly he shows up claiming to be her grandson and she drops everything for him! She doesn't even know him! It isn't fair.

"Jake, dear, you should be getting to bed as well," she says softly. Jake nods agreeably and offers her a smile.

"Goodnight," he says in a sweet way that makes me want to puke. Mrs. Parks smiles back warmly.

"Goodnight, dear."

With that she turns on her heel and marches back up the hall to her bedroom. I hear the door close with a snap. I've known her for years, but she still confuses me with her strange moods.

"I should get going," I say softly, standing up. I'm surprised to find my hand in Jake's, unable to leave.

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," he says quietly before standing up as well. I grin up at him, and he seems to relax a little bit.

"Ah, it's not big deal," I assure him. "I'm used to it. She thinks she really is my grandmother sometimes and goes a bit overboard with the discipline," I say with a wink. He grins back down at me and leads me to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asks rather uncertainly. From his tone I can't tell if he's looking forward to it or not. But he smiles at me and kisses my forehead gently, which makes me thing he probably is looking forward to tomorrow, if not quite as much as I am.

"Definitely," I reply, leaning up on tip-toe to plant a kiss on his cheek. He stiffens a bit as I pull away, but I don't comment on it. He'll get over whoever this Aria person of his is in his own time. I'm just here to speed up the process a little bit.

"You should go," he murmurs, pulling open the door for me. I smile at him and step outside.

"Goodnight, Jake."

"Night, Danni. Take care."

And then he shuts the door in my face.

x.x

Jake

I stand there leaning against the front door, my head spinning, wondering what on earth I've just done. I spent the evening kissing a girl who is not Aria. A girl I've known for barely a month, whose past I know nothing of. What am I doing? If Aria ever found out about this…

And then I have to wonder … why am I so worried about what Aria would think? She doesn't control my life, does she?

What is WRONG with you? Are you TRYING to ruin your chances with her?!

What? Of course I'm not! I … I love her … don't I?

Of COURSE you love her you idiot! What are you doing messing that Danni girl around? You stick with her and you can kiss your chances with Aria goodbye. Literally.

But I like Danni… She's a nice person. She's smart and funny. She's not that different from Aria really…

You'd rather have a knock-off than the real thing?

Why am I arguing with myself? Shaking my head at that realization, I sigh and walk around the downstairs, turning out the lights before heading upstairs to my bedroom.

The room I've been given at my gran's was most certainly once my mother's, though it's not very obvious. The colors in the room are gold and burgundy and dark blue – nothing girly like pink or lavender, but that's to be expected. My mum isn't really the girly type, at least not as far as I can tell.

The bed is comfortable, that's all I need to know. There are no pictures on the walls – which disconcerted me at first, but over the last few weeks I've gotten used to the lack of photographs around the house. I think it's probably because most of them would be wizard photographs, and since Mrs. Parks has looked after Danni since she was just a little girl, most of the pictures have probably been taken down for her benefit. No need to expose her to the entire wizarding world, though she already knows a hundred times more than the average Muggle.

I lay in the darkness staring up at the ceiling, wishing I knew what to do about my Danni/Aria problem. Of course, the most obvious solution would be to hang around with Danni until I finally decide to leave to renew my search for my dad, and then once I go home, get with Aria, but that seems like a jerk thing to do.

With a sigh, I roll over and close my eyes. Maybe the answer will come to me in my sleep.

x.x

Aria

Lunch with Kay and Drew has become a routine, and not just every other Friday. Somehow – and I have no idea how – Eva has managed to nab me for all of my temping hours, so I now spend all of my time not in class in the Wilifrom Ward. And now I don't have every other Friday off – apparently that was a luxury with an expiration date.

It didn't take long for Drew and me to start taking lunch together on the Fridays I worked, and only a week after that we invited Kay to join us. She gladly obliged, and it soon became a regular occurrence. And then, when I started working my regular hours for Eva, we started eating together on Mondays and Wednesdays as well. Now, we even eat together on the days I have classes, though it's sometimes tricky to time our schedules just right, as class schedules aren't the same as trainee-hours schedules.

"So, what are you up to this weekend, Aria?" Kay asks now as we sit in our favorite booth in the diner across the street from St. Mungo's that we discovered a few weeks back.

"Oh, nothing much. I think Eva's daughter is probably going to come visit "me" again," I say with a wink. They both laugh. I've told them how Maddie comes to visit under the pretext of seeing me, but really spends her entire visits chasing Henry around, who in turn does his very best to hide from the poor girl, seeing as he finds her the most annoying creature to walk the earth.

"Yeah? Well … I was thinking about going to a Quidditch game this weekend. I was wondering if you two wanted to come along," Kay says uncertainly. Drew grins.

"Definitely! Who's playing?"

"Ireland vs. France, right?" I ask curiously. Sean won't be playing – he's still in training – but I'm still up for a good game.

"Yeah. Will your brother be playing?" Kay asks. I grin at that. She's been dropping hints about Sean for weeks now. I think she wants me to introduce them – but I could be wrong. Ha, ha.

"No, but he'll be there, I'm sure. We could go if you want. You could meet him. He owes me some box seats, I believe," I say, which is perfectly true. Sean promised me some tickets to a game the last time I saw him.

"Oh, I already have tickets. They're not box seats, but they're pretty good. I was going to go with my parents, but they cancelled on me last-minute, so I was wondering if you two wanted to come," Kay explains.

"Sounds great," I say enthusiastically. "Game's Saturday, right?"

"Yeah. You want to meet somewhere around two? The game starts at two thirty," says Kay.

"Sure. We could meet at the Ireland stadium's south entrance," I suggest. The other two agree. It's a date … erm … deal.

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay, again! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I wish it was better for you, but I know where the story starts, and I know where I want the story to go, I just can't figure out how to get there. It's painful. Please review!