Time Together

"This is really good," I say, lowering the parchment onto the table.

James looks both surprised, and delighted by my response to his essay. "And people say you can't have good looks and brains," James says, taking back his essay from me, looking immensely proud of himself. Part of me is proud of him, too. He's not a massive idiot, it would appear. However, his cockiness causes me to scowl, and him to smirk at my scowl.

"Don't get too full of yourself," I tell him, folding my arms. "It's really good, for you," I correct myself. This causes him to pout, which makes me smirk. "Look, it is a decent essay, but it's still only at passing standard, I'd say."

He lets out a long groan. "I'm going to do terribly in my NEWTs," he moans, leaning his head onto the table. "The whole world will know that Harry Potter had at least one dumb kid."

He sounds so upset by the thought, that I feel immediately sorry for him. It can't be easy having the world watching your every more. "By the time we're finished, you'll be coming out with an O in potions," I say encouragingly. He looks up at me, looking tired. I sigh. "Let's leave it at that, will we?"

This perks him up a little, and he begins to pack away his stuff. "Can you believe it's already October?" James says, stretching his arms behind him, stifling a yawn.

"The school year goes quickly," I reply, packing away my own things.

James watches me as I stand up, stretching my own arms. "So, what are you going to do now?" He asks me, shouldering his bag.

"I'm not sure," I answer, shrugging my shoulders. "I have all my homework done for tomorrow, and honestly, I'm sick of the library right now."

"Want to go to the lake?" he suggests.

"It's raining," I remind him as we exit the library together. A few people glare at us for talking so loudly in the library, and I give them an apologetic look as we leave. "And, it's a bit cold out, isn't it?"

James grabs my hand, which shocks me. He drags me into a corner, peering around him for anyone. When he makes sure we're alone, he looks back to me with a grin on his face. "Okay, I'm going to show you something, but you can not say a word of it to anyone."

I squint at him, not sure whether I should agree or not. Feeling too curious, I nod my head.

He pulls out a worn piece of parchment from his bag, and I stare at it, wondering what it is. He takes out his wand, too, and I raise an eyebrow.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he whispers, tapping his wand to the blank parchment.

I look up at him, but he nods down at the parchment, so I glance back at it. I let out a gasp when I see writing beginning to appear on the once blank parchment. Upside down, I only catch a glimpse of the words: Moony, Marauders, and Prongs, before James opens up the parchment. My eyes widen, and I look up to him once again.

"A map?"

"Not just any map," he tells me. He points down to shoe shapes on the map. "This map was created by my grandfather and his mates. It tells me where every person on Hogwarts Grounds is. Look-" He points down to two shapes by the library, and I notice my name beside one of the shoe shapes, which are close to James' name on the map.

"Merlin, that's wicked!" I exclaim, leaning in closer to the map. "Look, it's Eleanor in the Ravenclaw common room!" I say, pointing down to El's name. "James, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"I thought you might like it," he says, folding the map back up. He taps it again with his wand, whispering, "Mischief managed," causing the map to become blank again. "However, I didn't show it to you to get praise," he explains. "The map also shows several secret passageways, some of which lead to Hogsmeade."

"Okay?" I say unsure.

"One leads straight into Honeydukes," he explains further. "Mia, I'm asking you if you want to go into Honeydukes?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "Like, break in?" I ask, worried.

"Merlin, no," James replies, shaking his head. "No, no. The owner knows me. Because my dad's famous, he lets me come in whenever I want- as long as I pay, of course. He's a nice guy, actually."

I bite my lip. Adrenaline courses through my body- that would be breaking a lot of school rules. Merlin knows the trouble we could get into if we were caught. I drum my fingers restlessly against my leg, deciding my answer. "We're to be back before curfew," I warn him.

His face breaks into a wide smile. "Of course. Wouldn't want to break any school rules, now would we?"

...

I follow James up to the Gryffindor tower, as he said he had to get some stuff. He tells me to follow him into the common room, and when I hesitate, he beckons me to follow him up to the boys dormitory.

"I never got why the girls stairs is cursed," he says, opening the door to the boys dorm. "I mean, shouldn't both be cursed? Some girls are weird." He heads over to an unmade bed, and he begins rummaging under it. I look around the room, feeling weird about being in the boys dormitory- feeling weirder that I'm with James in the Gryffindor boys dormitory.

I begin to look at some of the pictures he has hung up on the wall beside his bed. The first thing I notice is that some of them aren't moving. I notice a lot of scenic shots, each of them beautiful and captivating. The second thing I notice is a picture of James and I from when we were younger- it was a summer where Ginny had invited us over for dinner. It was so hot out that day, and we decided to have a water balloon fight, a very fun muggle game.

There's other photos, too, of James with people. Like Rose, James has a picture of the entire Weasley-Potter family hung up, too. However, my focus returns to the picture of James and I.

James has his arm slung over my shoulder, both of us soaking wet, laughing out at the camera. I find a smile creep up on my face as I stare at the picture. Sometimes I do enjoy James' company.

"That was a fun day," James says from behind me, startling me. He follows my gaze to the picture, smiling as well.

"It was the day I realized you weren't a complete prat," I tease.

"Ha ha, very funny," he replies, rolling his eyes. "It was also the day I realized you actually knew how to have fun." I make a face at him and he laughs.

"Who took these other photos?" I ask him, pointing to the scenic photographs, most of which don't move.

"I did," he tells me.

I look at him surprised. His face reddens, and he rubs the back of his neck. "They're beautiful," I tell him. "You have a good eye."

He shrugs his shoulders, his face still red. "It's just a stupid hobby," he mumbles.

"James, don't be silly," I scold him. "They're really great!"

He doesn't reply, shoving, what appears to be two robes, into his bag, after taking out all his school stuff. "Let's get going, shall we?" he says.

...

I think of telling the girls about this passageway on our first day back in seventh year, as part of our annual sneak around Hogwarts on the first day back, but decide against it. Although plenty of people probably do know of this passageway, it feels like a secret between James and I. I think of the map that he showed me, and I wonder when James began to trust me with something like that. When did he decide I was trustworthy?

The passageway is long and cramped, and even small talk is difficult. James crouches ahead of me, less phased than I am about the cramped passage. Slowly, the passageway begins to open up after what feels like hours.

"Does Alex tell you everything?" I ask him when I have room to stand up.

"Odd question," James notes. "But, nah. Probably not." He looks to the ground, frowning. "Honestly, lately, I feel like Alex and Fred don't want me around anymore."

I'm shocked by the sadness and hurt in his voice. "Of course they want you around, James," I tell him. "You mean a lot to Alex. Even a blind man could see that much." I laugh to myself. "Honestly, you can't have James without Alex. You two are a package deal."

He lets out a loud breath. "Neither of them tell me anything anymore, and they always..." He sighs. "Never mind. I'm being stupid." He stops, looking at me. "We're here anyway."

He holds up his wand which had been our source of light as we walked through the passage. I notice a ladder leading up to a trap door. James, without hesitation, begins to climb up, opening the door which lets out a long groan. It's definitely been awhile since its hinges saw any oil, anyway. I follow James when he reaches the top, holding the trap door open for me. He holds out his hand to help me up, and I take it.

When the two of us wipe ourselves down, we hear the creaking of stairs, and the banging of heavy footsteps.

"Ah, Mr Potter!" says an old man, appearing at the bottom of the stairs, who I recognize to be the owner of Honeydukes. "Pleasure to see you as always."

"Hey, Mr Flume," James replies.

"I see you've brought a new friend," Mr Flume says, smiling at me.

"I had to prove I have friends besides Fred and Alex," James answers with a grin. "This is Mia Johnson."

"Lovely to meet you," I say, shaking Mr Flume's hand.

"Johnson, eh?" he says. I nod my head. "Alex's sister I assume?" Again, I nod my head. "I knew your parents, I did. Nice folks. I attended your fathers funeral, too. I was deeply saddened when I 'eard he had passed away." He shakes his head lowly. "I always had great time for your parents. How is your mother these days? It's been awhile since I've seen her."

"Oh, she's been pretty busy with the ministry," I tell him, not expecting to be having a conversation with Mr Flume.

"I suppose you two didn't come to chat to an old man like myself," he says, clapping his hands together. "My wife is upstairs, Mr Potter. She'll serve you both." He nods to me. "Wonderful to meet you Ms Johnson."

We say farewell to Mr Flume, and head up the creaky stairs. The room upstairs is a massive contrast compared to the storage basement. The walls are bright, lit up by the evening light. No one else is inside, so I assume the store is closed for the night. Mrs Flume greets us like it's the most natural thing in the world.

"Pick what you want," James tells me. "It's all on me."

"No, James, you don't have to-"

"I know," he interrupts me. "I want to."

For a moment, I can't help but stare at James. He's changed a lot since this summer alone. Although still cocky, he's become considerably nicer to me in the last few weeks. It's almost refreshing, if I'm being honest.

I begin to browse through the sweets, deciding on a few sugar quills, as they're not too expensive. James comes over to me with a random assortment of sweets, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Do you want to come up to the common room when we get back?" he asks me.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you actually want to hang out with me," I joke, although it's somewhat true.

"I like being with you," he says simply. "But I also like teasing you, too" he adds as an afterthought. "It kind of evens out, I guess."

"Naturally," I say. I place my sweets onto the counter next to James' pile. "And, sure, why not?"

He pays, and both of us leave after saying goodbye to Mrs Flume, and Mr Flume once again.

The journey back to Hogwarts seems much quicker than when we were leaving.

"So, any updates on getting with Claudia?" I ask him, hating the cramped space in the passage. My knees scrape the floor, and I wince, hating the girls uniform suddenly. I stop for a moment to pull up my socks, which barely cover my knees. The passage is warm, making it harder to breathe as we travel. Merlin, I never want to go through this passageway again.

"Nah," James replies, sighing. "I've given up on Claudia."

"Why?"

"Not my type," he huffs, pulling himself off of the floor as the passageway widens.

He helps me up off of the ground as we near the exit.

"You have a type?"

He brushes his hand through his hair, and in the darkness I see his face grow pink. "So, uh, how's things with Jason?" he asks, deliberately changing the subject. He pauses for a second to peer out of the exit to see if anyone is around. When it's safe, we both quickly exit the passageway, back into Hogwarts castle. I feel a small bit relieved to be back in the castle- small places aren't my favourite.

"They're great," I say, smiling. "I mean, once you get over girls whispering: Why did he lower his standards and go out with her? Yeah, once you get over that, it's wonderful."

"Jason didn't lower his standards," James says, making a face. I stare at him, and then, my hand flies up to feel his forehead. He blinks in surprise, and then grabs my wrist to pull my hand away from his face. "What, in Gryffindor's name, are you bloody doing?" he exclaims, looking surprised.

"Are you feeling okay?" I ask him, feigning a voice of worry. "Are you sick? Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"What are you talking about?" He squints his eyes, looking confused at me.

"You're being nice to me," I say.

"Maybe you've only started to realize how nice I actually am," James suggests.

"No," I reply. "No, this is definitely a recent thing."

"Whatever," he says, but he doesn't sound annoyed. He grins. "You should appreciate the new me."

"I do," I tell him honestly.

His smile falters, a little surprised by my response. As we pass by large windows, I notice it's still bright outside- I glance to my watch, noticing it's only gone past eight, which shocks me. I thought we had been gone longer. I mean, I know we finished our tutor session early, but still. Being in that cramped space must have been shorter than it felt.

I also notice, as I stare outside, that the rain has stopped.

"Hey, still want to go to the lake?" I ask him. "I want to check out that map of yours again."

"But what if it begins to rain again?" He glances up at the dull, grey clouds looming overhead warily.

"We sit under the Willow tree," I tell him. "It blocks out the rain."

After agreeing with me, the two of us head down to the lake. No one else is around, and luckily for us, the grass under the tree is dry. I sit down, and James passes me my sweets from his bag, taking out some chocolate frogs for himself. He places one of them onto my lap, and after a moment of bickering about whether or not I should take the frog (honestly, I find it hard to accept gifts sometimes), I accept it gratefully.

The lake ripples in the wind, and in the distance, I see the tentacle of the Giant Squid. No one knows why, out of all creatures, there's a Giant Squid in the lake. Most people suspect Hagrid has something to do with it. The half-giant groundskeeper, and professor for Magical Beasts classes, has a fascination with magical creatures. There's a rumour around the school that he once had a pet dragon named Norbert.

Honestly, if he did, I'm not surprised.

James takes out his map, and after tapping his wand to it, he opens it up to reveal the secrets of the enchanted map.

He passes it to me, not at all phased by the map. Instead, he busies himself with the frog, allowing it to hop around his hand for a little bit.

I glance over familiar names, wanting to stare at the map forever.

My eyes find Jason's name, and I watch it for a few minutes, as he sits in the boys dormitory. After a few minutes, he leaves the boys dormitory, and joins a couple of his friends in the common room.

My eyes scan over the map, and I find Eleanor's name- she's in the Gryffindor common room, once again, with Dani and Rose.

My eyes trail away from them, and my eyes find my brothers name in the Clock Tower, standing in a corner with-

I close the map quickly, my face feeling warm.

"T-that map is pretty fascinating," I say to James, passing it back to him.

Oh, Merlin. Okay, maybe they were just... talking? I shake my head at how stupid that thought is. Of course they're not talking- one: why would they stand in a corner to talk? And, two: they were pretty close together, if I'm being honest. They most certainly were not talking.

I look to James, who had been wondering why Alex was so distant lately. Merlin, wait until he finds out.

All I know is, I really need to have a talk with my brother.

I really wanted to write a chapter of just James and Mia- I think you can pretty much see a development between them both. And, a little bit of character growth for James. I had this chapter, with them sneaking off to Honeydukes, planned for a really long time and I'm happy I finally got to write it :3

Also, if you guys want to follow me on tumblr, my URL for my main blog is: blsexualgansey, and my Harry Potter sideblog URL is: thegoldensquad. So, if you have any questions, you can ask me on one of those?

Anyway, replies to questions:

Cara Lavender: Questions to that will be answered in future chapters! Especially focusing on Jason and Alex's conversation. It is a major part of my plot, actually!

Yay for Jia: Thank you :D

Lifeismorethanaprettyface: You'll find out in future chapters- it's very important, tbh! Also, Rose knows all. Alex... is a bit complicated. He's just going through some stuff, which you'll find out in the next chapter, or the chapter after, depending.

swiftieunite: Thanks :)

Guest: Tension is the best :P Also, drama is p great, especially in stories! Hope you liked this chapter:)