Hi! I hope you really like it so far, and please review! Also, I know it seems like James has kind of been neglected as a character, but don't worry about it, he'll come in too! There's actually a lot more of James in this chapter than I've written recently, and I have a huge James scene coming up in a couple of chapters. :) please review!
Chapter 13
Ayla, Albus, James, Lily, Liam, Hugo, and Brad stood in front of Professor McGonagall early the next morning.
"And what is your reason for visit?" she asked distractedly and she squeezed all of their names onto a small slip of paper.
"Christmas shopping," Albus replied and she passed him the note. "Thanks."
They exited the castle, bundled up in coats, scarves, and gloves.
"Hey, Brad, you can buy a new outfit for your date tonight," Ayla suggested and he cursed.
"Oh, god, I forgot!" he panicked, biting his thumbnail nervously.
"Brad, calm down, it's going to go great," Ayla assured him.
Liam exhaled, his breath forming a foggy clump in the cold air in front of him, and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "Jeez, Albus, why did we go this early? The sun's barely up yet."
"It's the Sunday before Christmas," Albus said. "It's going to be pretty crowded later."
"Plus Brad needs at least seven hours to do his hair," James joked, grinning broadly, and Bradley shoved his shoulder.
"By the way, who goes on a date on a Sunday night?" Liam asked his friend.
James snorted. "First years who still aren't getting any," he joked, earning a disgusted noise from his sister.
"Oh, like you are?" Brad demanded and James lifted the corner of his mouth in a truce.
They reached the entrance to the village, where a grumpy-looking security guard stood. Albus fumbled to grab the note with his numb hands and the guard snatched it, looked at it, and gave them a stiff nod. They passed by him into the snow-dusted village.
They passed a clothing store first, and Ayla pointed it out.
"Oh, yeah, I'll go pick something out!" Brad said. "I need a girl's opinion," he admitted and Ayla followed him in.
Lily, James, and Hugo said they were going to go save a table at a restaurant. The group had woken up so early that breakfast at the castle was not open yet. Liam ducked into a pet store and Albus joined Ayla and Brad.
"I'll keep you company," he said, shooting her a grin. Ayla smiled in thanks and immediately went to work searching the store. She emerged from a mass of fabric a few moments later with a pair of khakis, a white pinstriped oxford, and a navy sweater. She approached the spot where Bradley and Albus were waiting awkwardly, having never been in a store like this before.
"Try this on," she commanded, and Bradley examined it approvingly before sliding behind the curtain of a dressing room. Ayla and Albus sat down on the small bench across from the curtain, waiting for Brad. He appeared moments later, wearing the outfit.
"I like it," he said, but Ayla stood up.
"The khakis are too light," she said, dashing to grab another pair, but ended up returning with at seven pairs. "We need the perfect pair," she explained, sitting back down while Brad returned to the fitting room.
While waiting for Brad to try on a pair, Albus grabbed a hideous dress off of a rack he could reach without standing up. He held it up. "Hey, Torres, you should try this on," he said sarcastically.
"In your dreams, Potter," Ayla scoffed jokingly. Albus figured out why she had said that when he noticed the dress's plunging neckline. He blushed and put the hanger back on the rack.
Brad stepped out from behind the curtain again. "How about these?" he asked.
Ayla bit her lip, contemplating. "Hmm…try going one shade darker. They're still too light; it looks a little summer-y."
Al threw his head back in boredom after the next three pairs. "Oh, my god, when is he going to be done?" he groaned.
Ayla laughed. "What, not enjoying the fashion show?"
"How many shades of khaki can there be?"
"A lot," Bradley interjected as he stepped out of the fitting room wearing the outfit that he had come in.
"Thank God," Albus muttered, standing up.
"I'll get these," he said, holding up one pair and tossing the rest on the reject rack. They walked to the check-out counter and Brad purchased the outfit. "Thanks, Ayla," he said as they exited the store into the biting cold.
"James, Lily, and Hugo are at the Three Broomsticks," Albus told them. "You've got to try their butterbeer; it's incredible."
They entered the restaurant and were greeted by a hostess who appeared to be in her sixties.
"Well, if it isn't Albus Potter!" she exclaimed. "My, it has been a long time since I have seen you, boy!"
"Hi, Madam Rosmerta," she returned, his cheeks flushing from the cold and embarrassment.
"Aww," Ayla said through a smile as the lady led them to James, Lily, and Hugo's table, earning a gentle shove from Albus. They sat down with their friends and saw that Liam was already there.
"Did you get your outfit?" James asked and Brad nodded, shivering.
"Madam Rosmerta, we'll have another round of butterbeers," James requested.
"You got it, hun!" she agreed, heading off to the kitchen.
James was also blushing as she walked away, and was exchanging a glance with his brother.
"What?" Brad asked, not understanding their secret exchange.
Both boys burst into sheepish laughter.
"Uncle Ron told us that she used to be really hot when he was a student," James explained and Hugo looked disgusted.
"Ew!" he exclaimed. "That's my dad you're talking about!"
"Speaking of hot…" Brad returned to his favorite topic of discussion, "Wait until you see my date tonight."
The table laughed at Brad's persistence as Madam Rosmerta returned with a tray of butterbeers. She placed one in front of each person at the table.
Ayla examined it. "Is there alcohol in here?"
"Ah, scared of getting drunk?" Albus teased playfully.
She didn't answer and he suddenly realized why the answer was actually yes.
"Oh!" he exclaimed in realization. "Just a little bit, like, fractional amounts. Believe me, my Aunt Hermione is a stickler for rules and even she drank it."
Ayla cautiously took a sip and then her eyes widened. "Oh, my god, that's so good."
Al grinned. "Isn't it?" He took a sip as well.
Ayla looked at an old clock on the wall. "At four o'clock, I have to meet Miranda to get her ready for her date. And then we get to the fun part: we find out whether or not Sheldon fell in love with me."
Albus snorted. "I almost forgot! That'll be interesting."
Ayla gave him a playful glare and slunk down in her seat slightly. "He better not be," she said. "And I'm not saying that to be mean; it's just that I don't even know him, and we're three years apart anyway."
Unnoticed by Ayla, both Potter boys flinched slightly.
"Should we order breakfast now?" James suggested to change the subject.
"Yeah," everyone agreed. The menu had two menus, so James, Lily, and Hugo huddled around one, and Albus, Brad, Ayla, and Liam crowded around the other.
They ended up ordering pancakes all around, and left feeling full.
"Okay, well, I'll go with Lily first and get all of your Christmas presents done," Ayla said to the group. "And then I'll go with one of you to get Lily's present."
She walked off with Lily through the village.
"So, where do you want to go?" she asked her and Lily shrugged helplessly.
"I have no idea what I even want to get anyone."
"Yeah, neither do I. Hopefully I'll find something that jumps out at me," she said as they entered a huge joke shop. "Wow," Ayla said in awe as they walked into the store.
Lily grinned. "My Uncle George owns this place," she told her. "He and his brother opened it when they were out of Hogwarts. The first location was in Diagon Alley, but they opened one here too."
"It's amazing," Ayla said. "Your uncle must be really cool."
"He is," Lily said brightly, beaming. "I wonder if he's here. He likes to rotate between the two locations."
Ayla looked around on the shelves while Lily went to look for her uncle. She found a box with a title in curly letter that read, The Ultimate Wizard Prank Kit. It contained fake wands and quills, invisible ink, some potion ingredients, and a whole bunch of other stuff that Ayla had never seen.
"Perfect," she said to herself, grabbing two off the shelf; one for Albus and one for James. She headed to check out and find Lily behind the checkout counter with a tall red-haired man. His hair was mussed and he looked very gangly for his age.
"Ayla, this is my Uncle George," Lily introduced.
"Hi, it's so nice to meet you!" Ayla said sweetly, shaking his hand.
"Oh, yes, I've heard all about you!" he exclaimed, shaking her hand and then checking the two boxes she had brought to the counter.
"That'll be ten galleons, please."
Ayla passed the money to him and he thanked her. Lily said goodbye to him and they left the store. Following the joke shop, they entered at least a dozen stores, and Ayla ended up buying the prank kits for Al and James, a signed Victor Krum poster for Liam (his favorite player), a bunch of candy from Honeydukes for Hugo, and a watch for Bradley.
They met up with Albus, James, and Hugo when they left the watch shop.
"Liam and Brad are still off somewhere," Al said.
"Alright, I'll go with Al and James and you go with Hugo?" Ayla offered and Lily nodded.
Ayla set off with Albus and James, folding her arms over her chest to keep warm, shivering violently.
"Ayla, you look freezing," Albus commented and James jumped into action, handing her his jacket.
"Are you sure?" she asked and he nodded. Ayla pulled on the jacket. "Thank you," she said gratefully, hugging him from the side.
The corner of Al's mouth turned down as he wished he had thought of that first.
"Hold on, I want to go into this store!" Ayla exclaimed, stepping into a shop next to them. She scurried to the back of the store and returned with a gold tote bag. "This is so perfect!" she exclaimed, holding it up. Clueless, the boys just stared at her. "You know Lily; she tries to carry her books to every class and usually ends up dropping them multiple times between each class, so this is perfect."
She purchased the bag and then stepped out of the store. "I was in Honeydukes earlier, but I need to go again because I completely forgot that I need to buy some stuff to send home. I figured wizard candy would be pretty cool to them."
"That is by far the best store in here, next to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, of course," Al said excitedly as they entered the candy shop.
Ayla purchased a huge variety of candy for her relatives and as they left the store, she paused to consider something. "I'm going to need a way to deliver these home…" she said distractedly.
"Oh, no…" Albus muttered, knowing her train of thought.
"I've always wanted an owl," she admitted, drifting toward the wizard pet store. "Oh, my god, look at that one in the window!" She pointed to a dark owl with orangey feathers mixed in and big orange eyes. She dashed into the store and Albus and James laughed incredulously as they followed.
Ayla was speaking to the store owner when they found her.
"What is that owl's name over there?" she asked.
"That is Athena," the old man replied.
"I'll take her!" Ayla exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
"She's relatively young," the owner warned and Ayla shook her head to say it was no problem, beaming. She paid for the owl and nearly skipped out of the store, so happy with her newest purchase.
They met up with the rest of the group and headed back to the castle, filled with Christmas spirit.
X
Ayla waited in the hall for Miranda to meet up with her before her date with Sheldon. James waited with her, eager to hear Miranda talk about Sheldon. They heard footsteps coming around the corner and turned to see Miranda.
"Hey, Ayla," she greeted her, then looked at James and instantly blushed. "What do you think I should wear for my date with Sheldon? I talked to him at breakfast today and he said he's taking me to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. So I know I have to be casual, but I don't know what to do! All I ever wear is my Hogwarts robes!" she said frantically.
"Alright, we'll figure something out. You can borrow something of mine."
"Excellent," Miranda said. "They might be too small on me, but I know a clothes-altering spell!"
"How convenient," Ayla replied, not knowing what else to say, as they headed into a nearby girls' bathroom, James tagging along awkwardly.
James stood uncomfortably in the doorway and Ayla turned to look at him. "It's going to be even more obvious that you're here if you stand there at the door," she told him as she sat Miranda down on the chair that Ayla had put in front of the large mirror above the sink. She held up the outfit of jeans, a flowery shirt, and a cardigan that she had placed in the room while she was waiting for Miranda. "Perfect!" she exclaimed, handing her the outfit. Miranda quickly performed her spell and headed into the stall. Ayla turned to James and sat down next to him.
"I don't think she's going to say anything about Sheldon until after their date," she admitted in a whisper. "So we won't know if the love potion worked until tomorrow."
Before James could answer, Miranda emerged, looking nervous.
"You look amazing!" she exclaimed. "Now for your hair and makeup...what time is your date?"
"Five o'clock."
"Five?" James repeated incredulously and Ayla glared at him.
"Well, he wanted to be back in time to read the paper before he goes to bed. You know, since we have school tomorrow."
"O—of course," James managed, his mouth twitching as he suppressed his laughter.
"Alright, then I need to get started. Sit here again if you don't mind." She reached for her hair straightener and makeup case, knowing that there was probably a spell to help with this but wanting to do it the long way anyway. She immediately went to work with her hair and makeup supplies, with a series of gels, sprays, creams, mousses, and makeup products that James didn't understand. Ayla stepped back when she was finished and Miranda looked amazed when she opened her eyes.
"Thank you so, so much!" she said sincerely to Ayla, giving her a hug. "I really hope Sheldon has fun tonight."
"He definitely will," Ayla assured her. "Have a blast and promise you'll tell me all about it tomorrow."
"I promise," Miranda said, beaming, and left the bathroom to meet up with Sheldon.
Ayla turned back to her makeup and hair supplies, packing them up quickly. "Alright, I have got to get to Brad to give him the style advice that he, for some reason, thinks he needs."
"I can't walk out of the girls' bathroom!" James exclaimed. "Walking in is one thing because I can see if there's anyone in the hall, but…"
"Well then you shouldn't have come in!" Ayla exclaimed, not knowing how to help him.
But James wasn't listening, he was scanning the ceiling. "Where is the…" he murmured, then stopped when he appeared to have found what he was looking for. He grabbed his shoe and tossed it at one of the ceiling tiles, which popped up easily. He slid his shoe back on and used the sink to climb up and hoist himself up into the ceiling. He peeked his head down once he was up.
"Remember that short cut we found that one day when Al and I were giving you guys a tour? Well, that was amateur. This is what you call pro," he said, grinning, and slid the tile back in place.
Ayla laughed once and exited the bathroom, returning to the Gryffindor common room. Brad was waiting on an armchair, and he sprung to his feet when he saw her. He was wearing the outfit he had bought that day.
"You look nice!" she exclaimed. "Where are you taking her?"
He blushed. "I'm taking her to an Italian restaurant in a town near here. If you go out the front of the castle, it's just a couple of kilometers to get there."
"Ooh, fancy!" Ayla said, laughing. "So, what do you want me to do?"
"Help me with my hair. Should I leave it all messed up or gel it?"
"I think it's too short to be messed up, so just leave it the way it is. Seriously, Brad, don't freak out, it'll be fine."
"Thanks," he said, running a hand over his cropped blonde hair.
"Anytime," she promised. "I'm going to go make a phone call—muggle thing—but have fun on your date."
"Thanks," he said again as Ayla entered her dormitory. She smiled when she saw her owl perched on the window sill. She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and dialed the number to make the phone call she had been dreading.
For once, she was relieved to get her voicemail.
Hi, you've reached the Torres-Almendarez residence. Please leave a message after the beep.
"Uh, hey, anyone who's at home," she said. "Whoever is listening to this, you can translate it to mom because I'm tired of doing it all on my own. I'm not going to be home for Christmas. It's my first year that I have a chance of not spending Christmas totally alone. And if I could stay here all year round, including summers, I'd do that too. Yeah, I'm happy. None of you wanted this for me but I'm happy. Enjoy your lonely Christmas." She hung up, anger flooding through her, and threw her phone onto the bed.
Okay, so that last scene might have seemed weird, but don't worry, it'll be explained why she was so angry. I know this was kind of a girly chapter too, so I hope you still enjoyed it! Please review!