Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I only own the plot for this story and some of the characters.

Just a heads up, this story is rated T for some foul language.

Chapter 11

James' POV

I open my eyes and look around. The sun is shining into my room brightly and the rays are resting directly on my face. My bedroom door opens and shuts. I try to bring my hand up to block the sun so I can see who's in my room but, as I raise my arm, a pain shoots through my shoulder. I wince at the pain and lower my arm. "Who is it?"

The person chuckles lightly. "Just your favorite brother…" Oh Al, you make it too easy…

I smirk and say "Teddy?"

Al walks over to my bed and sets a tray of food down. "You hurt me brother! How are you feeling?"

I lightly shrug my shoulders. "Alright I guess. I'm a little sore all over, and currently blind. Can you shut my blinds please?" He laughs and pulls out his wand. He waves the wand and the blinds snap shut. "Thanks you."

He nods and turns back to me. "You know, you and Ariana had us pretty scared. You guys have been out cold for almost two days… Mum and dad said that if she hadn't shot up that red spark then they wouldn't have been able to find you two. Dad said that there were at least a thousand Inferi around you guys. She is up in her room, you know. Now that you two aren't dating, mum and dad probably won't mind you two being alone in the room together anymore…"

"Okay good. Because I have QUITE a few questions I need answered NOW." I say while gingerly getting out of my bed.

Al opens the door for me and says "Just try not to be too loud up there. Mum and dad might be alright with you two being in the room together, but they probably don't want to have to break up any fights."

I grab the food tray and walk out the door "Yea, yea. Piss off." I slowly make my way up to the fifth floor and knock on her door. I have so many questions buzzing around in my head, the first of which is what the hell happened at the cemetery two days ago. I knock on the door again and hear her say "Come in."

I open the door and walk over to her bed. She scoots over to the right and gestures for me to sit next to her. I comply and sit down, setting the food on my lap. I lean back against the headboard and look ever at her.

Her blonde hair is in a very messy pony tail. She is wearing a tank top, which shows of multiple cuts on her upper chest and right shoulder and a large bandage wrapped around her left shoulder. Her left arm is in a sling that is pinned to her body. Her right leg is resting atop the blanket and has four cuts on it. Her left cheek has four long cuts on it. I let out a chuckle. "You look like shit."

"Gee thanks James. You really know how to flatter a girl." She says with a smirk and an eye roll.

I look at her with a raised eyebrow. "So you're talking to me now?"

She grabs some fruit off of my food tray and frowns. "Yea… Sorry about that. You have to understand that, as cliché as it may sound; it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I had come into some… information that made me think that ending things was a good idea." She pops the fruit in her mouth and looks out the window.

I lean my head back against her headboard. "Well what do you think now?"

She pulls her hair out of the pony tail and continues to look out the window. "Um…"

I decide I would rather not know right now. I eat a piece of fruit and change the subject. "What information made you think that?"

She looks back at me. "Did you know Landen hit that bludger at you on purpose?"

I laugh and say sarcastically. "Oh really? I had NO idea…"

She ignores my sarcasm and continues. "Did you know he alluded to it before the match? And on the train he said he was upset that the bludger hadn't killed you. He also said he was going to have to keep trying until I learned how to stop meddling…"

"What were you meddling in?"

She sighs and blushes a bit. "I MAY have been caught eavesdropping…"

I look at her incredulously as I pick up another piece of fruit. "YOU? Caught eavesdropping?"

She laughs and nods. "I know! Shocking huh?" She steals the piece of fruit I'm holding and eats it.

"So you thought that breaking up with me would stop that prat from 'killing' me? That's a bit melodramatic don't you think? Why didn't you just come talk to me about this?"

She shrugs her shoulders with a wince. She brings her free arm up and rubs the wrapped shoulder. "It was MY problem. I didn't want to concern anyone else with it. By the way, I finished translating that parchment. It has to do with the Inferi too."

I hold up my hand. "You keep using that word. What the hell are Inferi?"

She sighs and looks back out the window. "Inferi, or singularly Inferius, are dead bodies that have been reanimated by a dark wizard. They don't have free will or a way to think for themselves; they are merely puppets for the dark wizard who reanimated them. The only way to defeat them is with light, which is why your spells weren't doing anything the other night."

I nod. "Is that why one of them looked like Carter? And did I hear you call one of them 'mom'?"

She nods solemnly. "The first three that attacked us were Carter, my mom and my dad." She points to the cuts on her chest. "My 'dad' did this to me…" she moves her hand to her shoulder. "…and my 'mom' did this to me. That asshole made my own bloody parents try to kill me…"

"Wait, you know who sent them out after you?" I say curiously.

She sighs. "Well, I have an idea. But first, the translation." She slowly leans over to the bedside table next to her and pulls a crumpled up piece of parchment out of a book. She leans back and hands it to me. I unfold the parchment and read.

To release the Inferi you will need the blood of a pure blood wizard.

The chamber is located below the prefect bathroom.

You will need to know the song of the dead to enter.

The song of the dead can be heard deep in the forbidden forest.

The journey will be perilous so you will need fire to remain safe.

It must be done during a rain storm to gain control.

I fold up the parchment and hand it back to her. She takes it graciously and says "I mistranslated a few things, but I think this is correct now. I think the shrieking they were doing is 'the song of the dead'. I also think that the multitude of Inferi that attacked us was an army of Inferi who were released with 'the blood of a pure blood'. So when we get back to Hogwarts, I'm going to be paying a visit to the prefect's bathroom."

I nod firmly. "I'm going with."

She tilts her head. "James. We aren't dating anymore."

"I know, I know. You ran into 'information' that made breaking up seem like a good idea." I say while rolling my eyes.

She nods. "Exactly. I don't want you to feel like you HAVE to go with me."

I laugh. "I DON'T feel like I have to go. I WANT to! Plus, you're going to need someone there to protect you…"

She scoffs. "I don't need anyone to protect me!"

"Yea, like in the cemetery right?" I say with a smirk. It may have only been two days, but I had missed the witty banter we were so good at.

She nudges my leg with hers. She probably would have used her shoulder, but that currently isn't an option since it's injured. "I'm pretty sure I protected you DESPITE having an injured shoulder. PLUS I basically drove us to safety!"

I look at her. "I forgot about that! Where did you learn to drive like that?"

She blushes brightly and smirks. "I had a muggle godfather. He was a nice enough guy, but he was essentially a criminal. He owned a race track. One year, when I was like nine or ten, my dad came here for work. He sent me to live with my godfather for that year. He was great. He taught me to drive on his race track and how to fix cars. He was gone a lot though. After the first month I realized what he was actually doing when he was gone. I overheard him planning another theft, so rather than punish me he included me. He taught me how to hotwire cars like a pro. He also taught me how to hide myself in the shadows and sneak around for the most part."

I look at her with wide eyes. "You helped him STEAL cars?"

"He told me that we were stealing them back! He said that those people had stolen those cars from him and we were just getting them back!" She says loudly, throwing her good arm in the air.

I chuckle. "And you BELIEVED him?"

She hits me with her foot again. "I was young! And I didn't WANT to think of him as a criminal. I ended up having to testify against him though. One night, when we were stealing a couple of cars for his track, the police showed up and arrested him. They let me go though, since I was so young. They DID tell me I would have to testify in court against him though, so I did. I actually lived on the streets after he was arrested; just until my dad got back from here."

I smirk at her. "You were homeless?"

This time she reaches her good hand over and punches me in the arm with a laugh. "THAT'S what you got from all of that?"

"Well that, and that you are very good at being in denial."

She grabs a piece of fruit and throws it at me. "I hate you."

I place my hand on my chest and frown. "Ariana, you wound me. Now you're going to have to pay."

"You wouldn't do anything to me, I'm injured!" she says with a grin.

I shrug. "Well… you DO only have one arm to defend yourself. How do you think you would fare against being tickled?"

Her eyes widen and she puts up her hand defensively. "James, you wouldn't…"

I grin and nod. "Oh but I would…" I poke her in the side.

She slaps my hand away playfully. "Don't you touch me Jamie!" I move my hands closer to her and she looks at me warily. "Jamie… I'm warning you…"

I continue to move my hands closer. "I'm pretty sure you can't do anything about it." I swiftly bring my hands to her sides and wiggle my fingers. She lets out a squeal and tries to wriggle free from my grasp. Her feet kick out, wrinkling the blanket beneath us.

She gasps and desperately pleads with me between laughs. "Jamie! Please… s-stop!"

I smirk. "Are you sorry that you hit me?"

"YES! I'M SORRY!"

I relent my tickling and grin at my triumph. She takes a deep breath and smirks. "I REALLY hate you."

I let out a laugh. "That's a lie and you know it."

"Nope, I hate you. No lie!" Her smirk turns to a grin.

I sigh with a smile as I prop myself up on my elbow to face her. "I bet I can prove that you don't…"

She shakes her head. "I bet you can't!"

I shrug my shoulders and sigh. "How about we make this interesting then. If I win then you have to go as my date to the Christmas party at the burrow."

She nods. "Fine… And if I win, you have to make me dinner. WITHOUT MAGIC."

I nod and smirk. "Perfect. Now, prepare to lose." I place my hand on the right side of her face and I firmly press my lips against hers. At first she seems surprised, but her shock fades and she gets into the kiss more. I smile and wrap my fingers into her hair. She uses her free hand to grab my shirt and pull me closer. I pull back from the kiss and smirk. I lean back against the headboard again and say "So does this mean I win the bet?"

She sighs sharply. "Asshole…"

"I'll take that as a yes…" I say with a grin.

She looks at me. "Whatever, you cheated."

I look at her and laugh. "How did I cheat? We didn't establish any rules for the bet!"

She gets off of the bed and walks to her bathroom. I watch her as she walks away. "Where are you going?"

She sighs. "I need to shower."

I laugh and say "Alright. I will just wait out here. We still need to discuss outfits for the party!"

Okay yall! This winter holiday portion is definitely lots of fun to write up, so I hope you are enjoying them as much as I am. :)

Leave me a review with your thoughts and opinions!

Thanks! :)

-Tx