DISCLAIMER: I don't own James Potter, Molly Weasley, initiations, or fixing things. I do, however, own Libby Fletcher. :)

When James Met Libby.

James Sirius Potter has no idea why he's telling the story of how he fell in love. He's not even romantic! Falling in love went against everything he believed in … but it happened. And he invites you to listen if you dare. :James/OC recommended reading with GIR and CGIR NextGen:

Chapter 20: When James' grandma holds the hot sauce.

"You know, I think your first-I-love-you story is probably the complete opposite of mine," Rose pointed out.

"We certainly weren't screaming in front of a hundred other people, I'll agree," I answered.

"That … oh," Rose suddenly paused, apparently thinking back. Geez, we'd done enough reminiscing as it was; I think if we 'thought back' anymore, our brains might just explode! At least they were good memories. Well, most of them; I'm fairly certain that we can do our best to forget arguments outside pubs or – perhaps in Rose's case – 'her cousin', 'Libby' and 'sex' being mentioned in the same sentence.

"I wasn't actually thinking of that point, but now that I do, I guess that was the first time I actually said it."

"What d'you mean the first time you said it?" I put in, curious now. "I thought that confrontation in the Entrance Hall was the first time any of it came out!" Let's face it, my knowledge of Rose and Scorpius's story basically extends to whatever I've witnessed myself and … er, well, Al's gossip. And while we all know that Al can't keep his damn mouth shut, he does tend to hold out on the truly juicy details.

"Oh, god no!" Rose snorted. "Things between Scorpius and I started going haywire since the beginning of fifth-year, at least. It didn't become obvious until the Ball, though, which was when Scorpius first said it."

"The Ball?" I repeated. I remembered that Ball quite clearly! The concept was introduced in my sixth-year when the Headmaster, Professor Finch, had noticed that the students were getting restless. He'd decided that every year, there would be a student Ball held around Christmas time (ok, yeah, the 'restlessness' maaaay have been the cause of a new illegal visits to Hogsmeade, and some Firewhiskey might have gone 'missing' in the process, but I swear, it had nothing to do with me!). I believe I spent about half of that first ever Ball playing pranks on people with Fred (tucking skirts into knickers, spiking the Pumpkin Juice, y'know, that sort of thing) and the other half snogging Tracey Fuller outside in the grounds behind a bush.

Um, yeah, it wasn't exactly my finest moment, but c'mon, Tracey Fuller! Her name certainly lived up to the experience; she definitely had what you could call full–!

Er, Rose is giving me that withering look of hers. Maybe I should get back to her.

"So, the Ball!" I said, hastily. "That's when Scorpius first told you he loved you? Is he nuts?"

"I thought so at the time!" Rose nodded, eyes bright. "He kissed me first. I slapped him round the face for that one. Then he sort of accidentally let it come out, and after viciously turning him down, I kind of started freaking out."

"He kissed you?" I said. "How did I not see this?!"

"You were probably too busy stuffing mashed potato down Professor Finch's trousers," Rose smirked.

"Not the Headmaster! Even we weren't that stupid," I pointed out.

Rose snorted with laughter then, and even I had to admit that I enjoyed going down memory lane with her. Sure, I'd done some stupid things in my life, but Rose had as well! Sometimes, I think our two stories were as bad as each other's.

"Anyway," Rose said finally, readjusting her curled up position before continuing. "Back to your actual story. I'm kind of getting concerned. You and Fred still haven't made up and we're getting close to the wedding. I know you were mates by that point; you had no trouble hanging out during the stag night!"

"Well, you're right," I told her. "We were friends again by the time Al and Bea were getting married. And the next part of the story finally covers how – wait," I cut in, confused. "How do you know about how we acted at Al's stag night?"

Rose just scoffed. "James, please. You're telling me that you didn't think it was weird that you ended up at a nightclub, despite the fact that you blokes were all supposed to be on a pub crawl?"

"Ohhh …" Suddenly, things made sense! "Hang on, that's why the girls were all there? Al dragged us along in search of his fiancée?"

"Scorpius was the least drunk that night, and he did inform me that Al was, in fact, the perpetrator," Rose nodded. "Honestly, it doesn't surprise me in the least."

"Well, speaking of the stag night, I actually have a good story to tell from that night!" I pointed out.

"Hey, mate, I've had enough of your misdirection and tangents for one night!" Rose exclaimed, leaning forward to give me a shove on the shoulder. "We'll cover the wedding when we get to that point! For now, just focus on the current story at hand. You were saying something about you and Fred?"

"Yes, well, we eventually got over ourselves," I pointed out. "Let me start the story with disappointed anguish …"

(2029)

"What d'you mean, I can't come over?" I said, aghast.

Libby leaned against my desk at work, her bag slung over her shoulder and her black hair currently in its I-didn't-have-time-to-brush-it-this-morning hairstyle, which basically involved swishing it all to one side. She had finished shift before me and while I'd at first been ridiculously happy to see her, I was now contemplating whether I would have preferred it if she'd never turned up at all. That way, I could have just barged into her flat as per usual and she wouldn't get any say in the matter!

"I mean exactly that, James," Libby said, face apologetic at least. My arm rested across my desk, curled around where her hip rested against the wooden edge. Her arms were folded as I glanced up at her with the most pleading look I could try and muster. "Jo's boyfriend just dumped her. She's in a right state and I need to be the sympathetic best friend, ok? That means no boyfriends there to rub it in her wounded face."

"But …" I was trying very hard not to whine. "I don't think I've been home since … I can't remember!"

"Well, hey," Libby smirked. "It'll give you a chance to actually clean the place for a change, won't it?"

"Please, like I'm going to do that."

"True," Libby mused. "You do seem to enjoy the furry mould that appears to be growing in your carpet."

"The mould's my friend! I've named him Bobby. So can I come over?"

"For Merlin's sake, no!" Libby insisted with an exasperated sigh. She unfolded her arms then, resting her hands on my shoulders. She squeezed with her fingers in what I guessed she thought was a comforting way. "Look, I know, I'm sorry, I'll miss you too … but some things just can't happen with a man around, ok? Why don't you invite some of your mates over, have a boy's night or something?"

"Because!" I spluttered. "I …"

Because I didn't have any mates.

I had barely realised this up until this point, and I felt my face fall as I stared up at Libby. I had friends, don't get me wrong; but they were more acquaintances, people I knew all through work, or from the café. And yeah, most were blokes, but they weren't exactly the mates you call over for a boys' night. They were more the mates you talk shit with at break times and tease about the last holiday work do when they got drunk and danced on the tables before hitting on our boss. Honestly, the only blokes I was really well and truly comfortable around were my own cousins, who were all related to me …

And I wasn't even talking to my best mate.

I was silent for so long, I think Libby figured out what was causing the frown on my face. She raised a hand and pressed it to my forehead, smoothing out the skin there. "You frown anymore and you'll look forty before you reach quarter of a century," she quipped.

"I don't have friends, Libby."

"I know you think that, but it's not true," Libby pointed out.

"It is!" I insisted. "I didn't realise that by moving on with my life, it would result in losing the only friend I ever really had …"

Libby sighed, and she apparently decided to lose the desk completely, by sitting down on my lap. I was slightly startled by the change in position, but hey, I wasn't going to complain! Libby let her arms wind around my neck.

I still didn't really remember a lot from that riot party we threw, but the conversation we'd had afterwards was extremely vivid in my mind. Apparently, I had let most of my fears ramble out to her before I'd passed out that night, but naturally, she made me get it out again, albeit a bit more coherently, the next day. I didn't want to admit that I'd changed, but it was a bit difficult to pretend that I hadn't; seriously, do you even remember what I was like four years ago? I was a horny, ridiculous, childish, fun-loving man-whore!

Well … I was still a bit ridiculous, but you know what I mean!

Once we'd talked it out, I had realised that I was actually seriously ok with the entire thing (which, of course, was what had caused the initial freak out in the first place). But I hadn't realised at the time that as a result, I'd lost my best friend in the process.

I missed Fred. I wasn't still ridiculous enough to pretend that I didn't.

"James," Libby said then, looking me straight in the eye. "Owl him. Ok? I hate seeing you all miserable like this, it isn't natural!"

"You once said that you'd be ok with it if I was ever upset," I pointed out with a hint of a smile.

"Oh, geez," Libby said. "I haven't thought about that night in a while! That evening at the Leaky Cauldron, after Astoria Malfoy's funeral, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "and that's fair enough. A funeral isn't exactly the most fun thing to remember."

"That's true," Libby mused. "Guess I should just get over myself, then. Look, I'm sorry that I'm banishing you, but it's only for the evening! Trust me, if I could, I'd strangle Ryan with my bare hands, but since Jo's still in the post-break up 'I hate him, but I still love him' stage, I don't think she'd appreciate that."

"Maybe later, when she's in the 'I hate him, and just want to kill him' stage?"

"No doubt I'll get arrested for smashing in his windows or something," Libby rolled her eyes. "You might need to bail me out of Azkaban!"

"Ok," I grinned. "I'll bail you out, if you agree to not go to my family reunion on the weekend."

"Oh, no! James!" Libby cried, letting her head fall onto my shoulder for a moment as she laughed. "Please, I really want to go!"

"Why?" I whined, though I made sure to get a snigger into my voice. "My family is NUTS! You've already had to handle my mum and dad, why on EARTH would you want to meet the rest of them?"

"Because it sounds hilarious!" Libby said.

"Look, I don't think you quite understand the seriousness of bringing a significant other to a Weasley Event," I pointed out. "You'll get asked every embarrassing question under the sun, from when was your first kiss, to what medication are you on … then my grandma will attempt to make you cry, Max will probably pull your hair, and if Grandma somehow manages to rope her children into helping her cook, then we'll all die of food poisoning! It's madness, I tell you! MADNESS!"

"… wow," Libby said. "Now I HAVE to go!"

"Oh, for the love of god!"

"I'm sorry, James, but you're just going to have to leave me to rot in jail," Libby shrugged with a smirk. "Because I'd much rather stay in Azkaban than miss out on meeting your family!"

"You're forgetting that it'll be pretty difficult to make it to the Burrow when you're locked in a cell in the middle of the ocean," I pointed out.

"Ok, our analogies are getting weird. James, just face it," Libby said, defiantly. "I am coming on the weekend, and you are not coming tonight. Ok?"

"No," I grumbled. "It is seriously NOT ok!"

But I accepted her apologetic kiss anyway, and forced myself to say goodbye as she clambered off my lap. "I'll make sure there's some ice cream left over," she said, pausing in the doorway to my office before she left. "Since you're so upset, we can make ice cream sundaes tomorrow, all right?"

"Fine," I mumbled, spinning my chair back around to face my desk.

Libby just sniggered before I suddenly felt her presence behind me once more. I didn't even have time to react before her hands were back on my shoulders and she was leaning down to press her check against my head, whispering into my ear,

"I really am sorry. I love you, James," she murmured, voice earnest.

I spun around to catch her off guard, but she'd already danced out of reach and was now calling out, "Bye!" as she disappeared around the door.

Sneaky cow.

Shit, I love her.

"You don't have to cut off the circulation in my hand, you know," Libby pointed out to me. "I know I forced you to sleep in your own bed this week, but it's not as if I'm going anywhere!"

"Libby, do you even know what that house is?" I asked, gesturing in front of us.

Down the overgrown dirt pathway, rested the front door to the Burrow. This was the house my mother grew up in. It was the house I would spend Christmas dinners at, along with other various birthdays and holidays. It was a bit worse for wear, with lopsided floors and a shoddy paint job from twenty years ago (try and imagine my mother, nine months pregnant with Lily, yelling at all of her older brothers to get the paint even; go on, I dare you!) but though it was generally known as an insane asylum, the Burrow still felt like home to me.

Today's Weasley Event wasn't for any particular purpose; it mostly served as a pre-summer catch up for the family, perhaps to gossip about my brother's upcoming wedding, the love lives of my various cousins, you know, things of the like. I'd brought girls here in the past but honestly, it was done in hopes that it would scare them off (and it worked! Every. Single. Time).

I'd never brought a girl in hopes that the family would like her.

"Look, James, I get that you're nervous," Libby told me, tugging on my hand and stopping just before the front door. "I think I am, too. But that's only because I want them to like me. I'm not going to run, I swear."

"I know," I said. "I know you won't. In fact, if you did, I'd probably tackle you or something just as embarrassing. I'm not above begging, you know."

"Oh, I know," Libby smirked. "I still have last night rather plain in my mind."

"That wasn't begging, that was–"

"Please, come on, James!" Libby scoffed. "At least pretend you can lie well!"

"Hey!"

"Um, if you two are done flirting or whatever," Roxanne was the one to stick her head around the front door, unfortunately interrupting us. "Tea's totally gonna be ready in, like, five minutes. Ooh, James! Grandma wants to talk to you! Something about 'introducing this fancy lady of his'?" Roxanne simply smirked and I rolled my eyes as I shoved her out of the way.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, tugging Libby after me. "So who's your boyfraaaan today?"

"Shut up!" Roxanne cried, slapping me on the shoulder. Then, she gave me a sly grin and said, "His name's Darren."

"Ooh, sounds foxy."

"You're as bad as my brother!" Roxanne complained.

"… you forgot that he was going to be here, didn't you?" Libby muttered after a moment of stunned silence, and Roxanne tore away to snuggle with the boyfraaaan, while I simply stared out after her, wishing that I could somehow hide within the crowd of relatives. Why did my best friend have to be related to me?

"I didn't forget," I said at once. "Well … maybe a little. I figured he'd be here, but I thought it would be easy to avoid him!"

"Maybe it's about time you stopped avoiding him," Libby suggested, lightly. "You did say that you missed having a close friend."

"Ok, that's enough out of you!" I said. "C'mon, you've got my grandma to try and impress."

"… so I hear that you are a Cursebreaker?" Grandma Molly was asking Libby at the dinner table.

I just rolled my eyes, inwardly groaning into my soup. Naturally, Grandma had insisted that Libby sit right next to her, where she was at the head of the table. I was opposite Libby, but it didn't exactly help in stemming the flames of this nightmare. Libby had been grilled basically the entire evening and it was a wonder that she wasn't starting to crack! I noticed down the table that several of my cousins were giggling together, shooting glances up the table. I wonder who bet that she would cry this time?

Well, not my Libby! I can't even remember a time I've seen her cry!

"Yes, Mrs Weasley," Libby said, calmly. "That has been my job since leaving school."

"But it's such an unstable career," Grandma insisted. "and also, haven't I already said it enough times? Call me Grandma Molly, everyone your age here does."

Libby exchanged an amused look with me across the table before answering, "Of course, sorry Grandma Molly."

"Mum," Uncle Bill put in then, hastily. "Are you forgetting that I worked as a Cursebreaker for thirty years?"

"Oh, that doesn't count," Grandma said, dismissively. "You have a high position!"

"Well, on the contrary, Grandma Molly," Libby put in. "being a Cursebreaker has actually brought in quite a steady income."

"Hmm," Grandma huffed. "I see you're not mentioning that you had a second job for most of it."

"And I see you've been gossiping about me," Libby said back with a grin. "Anything else about my life you want to tell me, since I clearly don't already know myself?"

Oh, dear.

My mum had to stifle her laughter with a hand and the sniggering at the table got louder. I heard Caroline whisper to Hugo, "Is she insane? She's going to be slaughtered!"

It was sort of impossible to tell what Grandma was thinking; on the one hand, I think she was a little bit impressed with Libby's ability to retort back! On the other … this was her house, and Grandma took her job of Mama bear protecting her cubs very seriously.

I really shouldn't be enjoying this as much as I was.

"All right, then. Your second job was at a Muggle café," Grandma said with a little scathing in her voice. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it was where you met my dear James?"

I don't think I've ever heard my grandma talk so sarcastically before! Grandma reached out and gave my shoulder a squeeze and a smile that she reserved solely for her family and those who made it past her Weasley Initiation. See: there's a kind, gentle woman deep down somewhere in there! Under all that curly grey hair and curvy body from giving birth to seven kids, there was a sweet, no-nonsense grandma that we all loved and adored.

It was too bad that outsiders only really got to see the protective Grandma that we all love and … um, are kind of scared of.

"Technically, James and I met at Hogwarts," Libby said, then. "but yes, the café was where we actually became friends."

"Friends?" I couldn't help but cut in. "Libby, I think we were anything but friends!"

"Did you not like my James?" Grandma flashed Libby a look.

I couldn't tell if Libby was amused or exasperated now; I think it was a little bit of both, considering the laugh, shaking her head. "We got on," she explained. "but James was a bit of a flirt."

"Oi!" I said. "If anyone was the flirt, you were!"

"Please, everyone at Julio knew you just wanted to get into my–"

"Out Tonight?" I reminded her. "You encouraged me every step to the way, and you totally know it."

"Excuse me," Grandma suddenly cut in, her eyes switching back and forth between us as we spoke. "but what exactly was it that James wanted to 'get into'?"

Finally, my grandma managed to make Libby go red. It was quite spectacular, I must say! She coughed hastily, cheeks burning, and instead said, "This soup is delicious!"

"Everyone says that, dear," Grandma said, sweetly. See? This woman is a she-devil in disguise! She can just switch from evil to good with no problem … and even when she's being 'good', she still sounds evil! That takes some true skill. "Now, since I've been gossiping," Grandma glanced down the table at Uncle Bill, and he hastily avoided her eye, instead attacking his soup with vigour. "I know that the Cursebreakers are going through a downturn at the moment. Are you trying to tell me that your job has never been on the line?"

"I was actually promoted just at the beginning of this year," Libby managed to say, the red thankfully fading, though she was still a little pink around the edges. "Every September, the Cursebreakers host a fundraiser for the trainers and newcomers, and we hand out awards and stuff to some of the senior staff; I've been asked to present one of them. I was a researcher on my team last year, but was appointed Team Leader when using Daydream Charms from your family joke shop helped my team get past the boundaries on a newly recovered set of tombs in Rome."

"So you're the Team Leader," Grandma said, finishing her soup and leaning her elbows on the table. "Yet, you've never actually gone out to oversee your team personally in Italy?"

"Er … well," Great. Libby didn't have a comeback for this. "With the promotion, I got a bonus to help get me out there, but I need to cover the on-going and return costs myself and if I did, I would have nothing left … plus," She glanced up at me then and gave a small smile. "It would mean leaving James by himself in England for god knows how many months. He'd probably try and blow up my flat, and I can't have that, can I?"

"So you chose comfort over potential career growth opportunities," Grandma put in.

"I, well–"

"Not a very wise choice that, is it?"

"Hey!" Libby said and all the noise from the other end of the table seemed to quieten, hastily. "Earlier on you were criticising me for having two jobs and I'm pretty sure 'no boyfriend, poor dear' was implied in there somewhere! What the hell do you WANT from me?"

"I want my grandchildren to be happy," Grandma said in a steely tone. "Forgive me if I don't trust you."

Libby and Grandma seemed to stare each other down for several moments. I glanced uneasily between the two of them; things were totally starting to snowball! But before I could intervene and somehow try and downplay the carnage (not that I could, but y'know, lack of trying and all that), Libby continued.

"You know, it's a wonder people even come back here!" Libby said, catching my eye before looking down the table. That was when she called out:

"Bea! Caroline! Michael! What makes you do it?"

The three significant others all shifted awkwardly, but with Libby's hard gaze, they couldn't exactly say nothing.

"Um, Scorpius and I took it in turns," Bea admitted quietly, sending Rose an apologetic look.

"The food is to die for?" Caroline practically asked.

"I'm married," Michael shrugged, sat next to my cousin and his wife, Lucy. "I sort of have to, now."

"See?" Libby turned back to Grandma with a vengeance. "You terrify them!"

"Today isn't about them, dearie," Grandma said. "Today, it's about you. Are you terrified?"

"No, dearie, I'm pissed off!"

I'm fairly certain my grandma was about to murder my girlfriend, if the look she gave her was anything to go by! I noticed little Max sneaking around under the table near my feet, but I just nudged him away, staring. Libby, you are probably the greatest woman I have ever met, but seriously, you're digging yourself into a hole, here! Why did you even want to come? You already know my family is nuts, you didn't need it confirming! If I was any less confident in myself, I'd probably insist that I was going to be single before I even left the house!

I avoided Fred's gaze, even though I knew he was watching me. We'd been crossing gazes and exchanging looks all night, but of course, I was clearly never a Gryffindor in a past life, because I couldn't work up the courage to actually speak to him. He was probably thinking along the lines of, sorry mate, but I was totally right.

"Why can't you just accept the choices that your grandchildren make?" Libby was still going on, digging herself further and further into that hole; at this rate, it would be big enough for a fridge, sofa and small dog. "Sure, they'll make mistakes, but that's how we LEARN! Don't you value that at all?"

"Don't you dare try and tell me that I don't care about my grandchildren," Grandma practically growled. Oh, yes, here comes Mama bear.

"I will if you're going to treat me this way!" Libby insisted. "You–!"

Libby was cut off then by an owl swooping into the dining room. Pretty much everyone stared in confusion until I recognised the owl as Libby's own. She took the letter Westfield dropped partially in her abandoned soup and he settled down to rest on her shoulder. Grandma was still seething as Libby held up the letter and said, "I apologise for being rude, but this will be from my best friend. Do you mind if I go answer it?"

Libby didn't even wait for Grandma's answer; she just kicked back from the table and stormed off for the empty lounge. Quickly, I threw myself after her, ignoring how excited conversation suddenly broke out at the table. My family really takes too much pleasure in other people's dramas.

"… is Jo ok?" I asked once I caught up with Libby by the stairs.

"James!" Libby looked relieved when she saw me, the letter now open in her hands. "Yes … well, I told her to owl if she ever felt like going and seeing Ryan, because there's no way in hell I'm letting her try and beg him to take her back. She's freaking out and she needs me."

"Now?"

"Honestly, I'm glad to get out of here," Libby admitted, rubbing her eyes. Then, she dropped down onto the bottom step of the stairs, holding out a hand. I took it and sat next to her. "James, I'm so sorry for going off at your grandma like that …"

"Hey, it's fine," I said, weakly. "It's nothing personal, she does that to everyone."

"She just got me so angry!" Libby said, leaning and resting her head against my shoulder. "Who is she to tell me that I'm not good enough for you? I've already had to get through those issues myself, I don't need her bringing it up again."

"She's only trying to protect me."

"I wish she wouldn't."

"You have to admit though," I said, moving to grin down at her. "My family's pretty epic, right?"

Libby looked up and met my gaze. "It was kind of fun to answer back," she said with a small smile.

"So what're you going to do?"

"I have to check on Jo," Libby sighed. "Will your grandma kill me?"

"She'll probably try," I told her. "Stand your ground. I'll back you up."

"You're pretty amazing sometimes, James," Libby said, her eyes finally lighting up her smile.

"Oh, I try," I shrugged, before leaning down and kissing her.

However, back in the kitchen, things got even dicier and not even my wonderful diplomacy skills were good enough to completely deter Grandma's ire.

"You are leaving?" she said, almost in disgust.

"I honestly apologise, and I thank you for the … lovely dinner," Libby really did her best not to sound too sarcastic. "but my best friend needs me, and since I have no more interest in listening to you, I'm indeed going to leave now."

"Were you not taught any kind of manners growing up?" Grandma gasped.

"I was," Libby said, pushing her chair in. "I just chose not to listen."

"Clearly!" Grandma spluttered. It was becoming quite obvious that she'd never met someone who had been ruder to her! Almost my entire family was laughing and I noticed a few coins exchange between hands as someone clearly won a bet.

"So! It was lovely meeting you, Grandma Molly," Libby said, as cheery as ever as she held out her hand. "I'm sorry to be taking off like this, but I'm sure we'll see each other again at other Weasley Events, yes?"

Grandma stared at Libby and her outstretched hand for a good thirty seconds. I noticed Libby's chair somehow move by itself, and I realised that Max was crawling under the table again. Just as his multi-coloured head popped up behind the chair and at Libby's feet, Grandma suddenly called out, "Max! Hold the hot sauce!"

"Aw, Granny!" Max complained, dropping the bowl of said sauce onto the floor.

Libby looked between the little boy and my grandma with confusion, her hand wavering. However, before she could let it drop, Grandma reached up and took it.

"You are the most insolent woman I have ever met," Grandma told Libby, looking her straight in the eye. "So it's no wonder James likes you."

"Hey!" I protested, but even Uncle Percy down the table told me to shush.

"Thanks … I think," Libby said, shaking Grandma's hand.

"I believe you are right in thinking we'll meet again," Grandma said. "Well done, Libby Fletcher."

"So I passed whatever crazy initiation this was?"

"Initiation? Whatever do you mean, child?" Grandma naturally pretended to be none the wiser, letting go of Libby's hand and pulling out her wand, levitating the bowl of abandoned hot sauce back onto the table. Lord knows what she was going to get Max to do with that … but I was actually rather disappointed I didn't get to see it.

What? It would have been exciting!

"Of course. Silly me," Libby smiled. "James?"

"Right!" I leapt after her once more.

We paused in the hallway just before the front door. Before I could even think of anything to say, Libby had thrown her arms around me in a hug that nearly knocked me flat.

"Whoa, steady on–"

"I think I passed!" she said, excitedly.

"With an Outstanding," I agreed, getting a laugh out of her as I picked her up and twirled her around, mainly because I could, and also because I was insanely proud of her. "If Grandma approves, that means the rest of the family will! Not that it makes any difference," I hastily added, setting her back down in front of me. "No matter what Grandma said, I'd still be with you. It's just a bonus that you're a hard-arse."

"So if I'm the hard-arse, what does that make you?"

"The funny one?"

"Hard-arse and Hilarious," Libby mused. "We could fight crime."

"We certainly already have experience tracking down evil bastards," I agreed. "Oh, that kind of reminds me: Creepy Howard finally retired!"

Libby gave a groan at that. "Naturally, only after I've left," she complained. She paused for a few moments, the two of us just standing together quietly, until she asked me, "When's your last shift there, again?"

"Next Saturday," I answered. "It's going to be extremely weird."

"I'll come pick you up after," Libby told me, letting go of my neck. "I haven't seen everyone in forever. It'll be nice to again," Sighing, she slowly started making her way towards the front door, but halted in the process. She stopped just as the door swung open, her hand on the door knob, before turning back to me. "I almost forgot," she added. "You still have one more job to do."

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean," she said. "that you are not allowed back inside my flat until you talk to Fred."

I simply gaped at her. Was this woman seriously part Satan?

"Libby–"

"You miss him," Libby insisted. "Talk to him, I'm serious!"

"That means we'll just have to hang at my place," I pointed out.

"I'm willing to brave the dirt."

"Really? You're willing to hang out with Bobby the carpet mould?"

Libby hesitated at that, hovering in the doorway. I gave her a smirk … until she shook her head and said, "Nope, still serious! Talk to him. I'll see you later," And she swung forward to kiss me, before disappearing behind the door.

Any children of hers will be serial killers, I'm sure.

I practically held my breath when I knocked on her door later that night. Normally I would simply barge on in, but with the 'Man-hating' session, I was a bit concerned about what I might find; I rather like all of my body parts, and I'm fairly certain I would cry if some maiming happened! When I knocked, there was a loud thump and a girl's voice cried out, "Whoever that is, they can go to hell!" There was some scuffling, and then the door opened the several inches that the chain lock allowed.

Libby's eye appeared in the crack.

"… yes, Bastard Male?"

"Libby, let me in," I snorted.

"Did you talk to Fred?"

"Uh …"

"Do you have a vagina?"

"What?"

"Then no!" she cried before slamming the door shut.

"LIBBY!" I yelled, pounding on the door once more. "C'mon, this is ridiculous!"

The door opened a crack again.

"What's the password?" she hissed.

"Seriously?"

"Password, James Potter!"

"Um …" I could have let myself get annoyed at this, but c'mon, sometimes, you just had to let loose and forget about real life for a few moments. I just shook my head with a grin, trying to find something to say. "Libby Fletcher is amazing?"

"That's true, but not the password."

"Jo White rocks?"

"What d'you reckon?" Libby called back into the flat.

"Tell him to sod off!" Jo's voice yelled back.

"Sorry mate," Libby said to me through the crack. "Try again."

"Oh, I don't know! All men are bastards?" I said.

"Ha, no–! Oh," Libby cut herself off. "Damn. That's actually right. Well, you're still not coming in!"

"Look, Libby, I would totally go home if I could," I pointed out. Was I seriously still having a conversation through a door? "But Bobby has kind of swarmed since last time I saw him and I'm fairly certain he's a health hazard now, so unless you want me to die–"

"What're you rambling about?" Jo's face suddenly came into view behind the crack. Slightly shorter than Libby, her blond head was just visible underneath her beanie hat, which was in the shape of a duck.

"My dear Joanna! How're you this fine evening?" I asked her.

"Feel like shit. Hey! You can come in if I can kick you in the balls?"

"What?" Oh dear, I think my voice went an octave higher without me even meaning to. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, but you're the only man within a ten mile radius, sooooo …"

"James?"

Suddenly, I wasn't the only man around. The voice came from down the hallway, towards the entrance from the front lobby, and Fred Weasley was facing me, of all people. I felt my mouth fall open, but no sound came out. He seemed to have come straight from our grandparent's house, since he was holding a plastic container of leftovers in his hands. When he noticed me still staring, his feet shuffled and he glanced down, gracing me with the top of his curly head.

"Hey …" he muttered.

I still couldn't think of anything to say in response.

Apparently, my stunned expression was enough to make Libby slam the door, slide off the chain lock, and fling it open once more. She and Jo hovered in the doorway, until eventually Fred took a step forward and held out the container of leftovers to my girlfriend.

"Hi, Libby," he said, giving her a half-hearted smile. "These are for you. You left before Grandma could make you take them. Good thing too, or you'd have left with an entire cooked chicken."

"Oh … um, thank you," Libby took the container, awkwardly moving back to the doorway.

"Look, I figured that you'd probably be here, and I wanted to talk to you," Fred said to me, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Is that ok?"

"Depends on what you have to say," Look at that, I finally managed to say something!

I hadn't been able to talk to him at the Burrow, that much was true. I didn't even want to admit that I wanted to … but every time I caught his eye, he would glance away, or be distracted by someone, and I would manage to convince myself that this situation was beyond talking. Then, I would feel a wash of guilt over me because I was basically the reason he was looking so … well, sad. But it wasn't my fault we weren't speaking, right? I mean, ok, I was the one who said he wanted nothing to do with him, but it was for a good reason! Until he got over himself, it was really all his doing, wasn't it?

But like it or not, at the end of the day, he was my best friend. He deserved to be heard.

"Jo," Libby muttered. "Let's go back inside, ok?"

Jo took one look at Fred and turned up her nose. "Effing bastard," she snarled, before following Libby's advice and storming back inside her flat. Libby gave an apologetic look before closing the door behind her.

"… did she just call me a bastard?" Fred asked, bewildered.

"She's just been dumped, all men are bastards to her at the moment," I answered.

Another awkward silence. Man, I was seriously about to lose it if I had to stand this for one more second! Maybe that's why I spoke first.

"Fred, why are you here?"

He took a deep breath. "To apologise."

"… you know you can't fix everything with an apology, right?"

"I know," Fred admitted, taking a step forward in the hallway. "In fact, I think I know a lot of things, now. I get why you yelled at me. I get why you don't want anything to do with me. But like it or not, I care about you, ok? I don't want to see you hurt."

"Adorable, but what's that got to do with your apology?"

"Oh, c'mon, I've been selfish, James," Fred suddenly burst out rather loudly. "Completely focused on me, and I didn't even care what you were going through! Hell, that was some shit Libby forced you through the last few years, and I didn't even try to support you with any of it!"

"I thought listening to you was my help," I admitted.

"Well, I was full of shit," Fred pointed out. Then, he gave a small smile and added, "C'mon, mate, you should know better than to listen to me."

I almost laughed.

"I think I like change even less than you do," Fred continued, quietly. "and … sometimes, I forget that we're different people, that we have different lives. We may have grown up attached at the hip, but that doesn't mean we still are."

"Hey," I said. "you'll always be my cousin."

"It's different," Fred said, shaking his head. "You know it is. I've watched you fall in love with that girl the past four years and the entire time, I pretended that it wasn't happening, because that way I wasn't losing my best friend. When you first got together, I told myself it was just a phase you had to get through, that you'd come around, but we both know that's not true. If you don't end up married to her at some point, I'll be very surprised."

(Oh god … I don't think I'm even going to go there).

"I – um –" Damn, his comment still had me flustered, but I did eventually say, "You're … you're right. It's not just a phase."

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "and I've figured out … I can stay the same, if I want. But that doesn't automatically give me the right to force you to stay the same as well."

It was huge for him to admit it. In fact, it was right then and there when I realised that I'd already forgiven him. Didn't that happen a long time ago? Here he was, trying to make things right, and that was all I had ever really asked for, wasn't it?

I gave him a grin. "So, you're sure that you do want to stay the same?"

"Whoa, ok!" Fred said, holding out his hands defensively. "Don't go implying that things are different for me! Geez, are you nuts?"

"Just saying," I told him. "It's not half bad."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's just not my thing," Fred said then, almost shuddering.

We both paused for a moment, but the silence was thankfully no longer that awkward. Well … kind of. Things were clearly new and tentative, neither of us wanting to screw up (again). I think we were sort of on the verge of shaking hands or something, when Libby's voice suddenly yelled out from behind her front door:

"For god's sake, HUG already!"

"You can't see through solid wood, Lib!" I called back.

"My wand says otherwise!" Libby retorted. "Now HUG!"

Fred snorted, before I gave a shrug. Before the door could open and Libby was set upon me like a savage wolf, I moved forward to hug him, throwing my arm around Fred's shoulders in that manly back-clap thing that we do. Because, well, I didn't exactly want to face Libby's wolf-y wrath. Besides, this way, she might actually let me in!

Um, that and I had missed this, of course.

"See? That wasn't so hard!" Libby called.

"Look, can I come in now?" I asked, pulling back.

I heard Libby sigh, before there was a scraping of a tumbler turning and the front door opened. Libby stood sheepishly in the doorway, before moving aside. "Go on, then," she told us. "but only because I'm proud of you both."

"What, me too?" Fred asked, moving inside.

"Hey, you might act like a dick sometimes, but you're still cool," Libby pointed out. "Or don't you remember our date up the London Eye?"

"That was NOT a date!"

"Hey," Libby quickly grabbed my arm, just as I shut the door and Fred moved towards the kitchen. While he was out of earshot, she muttered to me, "I really am proud of you, ok?"

"I know," I said. "Thanks. I'm proud of you, too."

"What the hell for?"

"Taking on my grandma?" I reminded her. "How the hell could you forget that?"

Libby laughed and might have made some retort back … but that was sort of when there came a strangled shriek from somewhere near the kitchen. Libby and I both snapped our heads around, Libby staring with an expression akin to horror.

"What the hell are you DOING here?"

"We were let in – JESUS!"

"HYYYYYYYYAH!"

Libby and I tore for the kitchen. We skidded to a halt in the entrance way, just in time to see Jo knee Fred straight in the balls.

(2030)

"Never underestimate the power of a woman scorned," I told Rose, seriously. "I swear, he had ice on that thing for weeks."

A/N: 'Hard-arse and Hilarious' was sort of taken from a Friends quote, where Phoebe mentioned that she and Monica should fight crime as 'Hard ass and Wuss'. Not my credit, of course. Yay for Fred and James, but Molly and Libby's banter was probably the most fun part to write!

General Updating Madness: Real Life interfered, involving attending a friend's wedding across the country, moving cities, and starting uni again (last year, woo!). I know my updating is rocky at best at the moment, so don't be surprised if updates go to every 2 weeks instead of 1. Sorry about that, but I love you all and I promise this story will eventually be finished. :)

Again, thank you SO MUCH for the reviews and support, you're all amazing. I really hope you all enjoyed this one. Please keep your thoughts coming, you're all really helping keep my enthusiasm alive!

Until next time -

- Moon. :D