Full Summary: Their story was incredibly cliche. The studious, sarcastic Abigail King is teamed up with the arrogant, trouble-making James Sirius Potter, who has always been her enemy, to be Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts. But neither is happy. James is constantly fighting the image of his heroic parents, while Abigail struggles with the painful reality of her family's situation and past. The more time James and Abigail spend together, the harder they have to try to hate each other. They can't quite understand why they seem to know the other more than anyone, helping each other through the rough times they face. But in the end, it's really quite simple. Hate can turn into love easily, and James and Abigail are about to understand this twisted logic.

Disclaimer: The characters of Harry Potter are owned by J.K. Rowling. The content and ideas of this story are owned by peace. love. randomness - peacelovebooksx107 and randomrayyxx3 respectively. The song "Words" belongs to Skylar Grey.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Words

"It's so loud inside my head with words that I should have said."

Abigail Evelyn King

"Okay," I said, rubbing my hands together. "Quiz me again."

James, who was sitting upside down on one of the couches in our dorm, rolled his eyes and sighed. "Abigail, we've been studying this every single day for three weeks now and NEWTs are tomorrow," he said. "I think you've got it down to a science."

He was right: we had been studying. Ever since he brought me the box of books three weeks ago, I had constantly worked with him, trying to memorize almost every single line in the books. I thought that maybe he would have gotten sick of me by now but for some reason, he was still helping me. Needless to say, I was basically having a panic attack that I would be taking possibly life-changing exams the next morning.

I hauled him upright by the arm, forcing him to sit up in front of me. He made a face, rubbing his arm where I had grabbed him. After a moment, he sat back on the couch, his shoulder pressing up against mine.

I forced myself to repress a stupid, girly sigh. Focus, Abigail.

"James," I said seriously. "I will not stop working until we take the NEWTs."

He cocked his head to the side. "That gives us…" He glanced at his watch. "About 14 hours."

"There's no time like the present," I retorted.

He tried to keep from smiling, but I could tell that he wasn't actually annoyed with me. With dramatic slowness, he pulled the Arithmancy book from the top of the pile and started skimming the text for questions.

While he looked down at the book, I took the opportunity to study him. There was a time in my life when I looked at the famous James Potter and thought, what an arrogant prat. I never gave him the time of day, was persistently rude to him, and even went so far as to avoid him entirely.

What in the world made everything change?

Sometimes, I felt that if I went a whole day without seeing him, I would go mad. But it wasn't the stupidly love-struck teenager kind of mad. He literally kept me sane.

Well… as sane as I could get, anyway.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Hmmm," he murmured. "Who first used the system of Arithmancy and for what purpose?"

I pushed my reading glasses up my nose and thought about the question. But before I could open my mouth, James sat up straight and asked another.

"Hold on, I just remembered," he said. "What ever happened between you and your uncle? Did you ever talk to him after that fight you had?"

I scowled. I'd hoped that James would have forgotten about that little fight I'd told him about. But he did have the annoying habit of remembering things I'd said.

"Well," I started. "The ancient Greeks used Arithmancy to predict the results of upcoming battles they had by giving values to the letters in the names of their opponents." I smiled triumphantly at my ability to avoid the question.

"Abigail."

I sighed. "Okay, fine," I mumbled. "I still haven't tried to talk to him. He's sent me a bunch of letters but I haven't responded. Neville said he let my uncle know I knew about America, but that was pretty much the end of it." I paused. "Ask me another question."

He ran his finger down the page. "Whose system of Arithmancy do we base ours off of?" He paused, frowning. "Wait, so you haven't spoken to him in over a month?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "The Chaldeans in Arabia," I answered. "And there's no need to sound so judge-y."

He shut the book. "I'm not judging you, Abigail," he said. "I just know how much your uncle means to you. And you've been way too distracted and stressed lately to start worrying about something else."

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm not distracted."

He gave me a look. "Your jumper is on inside out," he deadpanned.

With a glance down, I realized he was right. I hastily pulled off the sweater, revealing the flimsy t-shirt I'd thrown on earlier that day. It was a little bit thin and low cut, but I hadn't planned on taking off my jumper that day. "What jumper?" I retorted cleverly.

But James was just sort of…staring at me. I felt his eyes slowly travel up my torso, his eyes finally meeting mine. Damn it, he was doing that look again. I felt my stomach get tighter with every second that passed.

"What?" I said self-consciously. My voice came out like a whisper.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Erm. Nothing."

We didn't say anything for a few moments. I was struggling to remember what we were talking about.

James shook his head again. "Anyway," he said, his voice a little low. "You should write your uncle a letter or something. Let him know you're okay."

I bit my lip. "Yeah, maybe."

"Good!" he said brightly. He glanced at his watch. Suddenly, he stood up and started stacking up the books and papers. "On that note, I must be going."

"What? Where are you going?" I asked, taken off guard. "We've only been working for – "

He raised his eyebrows. "Four hours."

I grimaced. "Oops?"

He laughed. "I told you, Abigail," he said. "I'm happy to study with you. But unfortunately, right now I have to see a man about a game of Exploding Snap."

"Fred?" I deadpanned.

"All the guys, actually," he said, laughing. "Ryan has created something he's calling the 'Pre-NEWT Sanity Regimen'," he explained, using finger quotes. "They're all convinced that if they don't get in at least one fun activity every four hours, they're prone to pre-exam panic attacks, and, therefore, their futures will burn. Mitch's words, not mine."

I rolled my eyes. "Good Lord."

"I know."

I sighed. "Well, I guess I could try writing my uncle."

He walked to the door. "You should," he said with a small smile. "It'll give you some peace of mind before the exams." He walked out the door, but within seconds, he popped his head back in. "Hey, what do you say to celebratory ice cream tonight?"

I furrowed my brows. "What are we celebrating?"

"The fact that after tomorrow, we will never have to take another school exam again."

He said this with a smile, but at his words, my face fell. I knew I should be happy about this fact – I mean, taking exams was terrible. But it was another reminder that in a few short weeks, I would be leaving Hogwarts behind forever.

James seemed to realize that something was bothering me. He walked back into the common room and sat down next to me. "What's wrong?" he said softly.

I looked in his eyes. "Doesn't it make you sad?" I whispered. "The fact that we'll never be coming back here again?"

He thought about this, nodding slowly. "It makes me a little sad," he agreed, "but what comes next is going to be great, too. We'll all be living on our own, hopefully doing what we love… It's all very grown-up of us," he joked.

"Yeah, great," I said sourly. "Unless I have to move to America."

He frowned. "That's not going to happen," he said with finality. "It won't."

We sat there quietly, each lost in our own thoughts. I tried to push thoughts of moving out of my mind. There was no way I was going to be able to pass my exams if I was thinking about so many things at once.

I shook my head to clear my mind. "So, ice cream?" I said, prompting a subject change.

James smiled and stood up. "Meet me in the kitchens at ten," he said. On his way out of the door, he called behind him, "You can have a double-chocolate scoop on me!"

I laughed, knowing full well that we wouldn't be paying for anything. I shook my head at his antics. So weird, I thought fondly.

James Sirius Potter

"Bloody hell," I grumbled, slapping the cards down on the table on the Gryffindor common room. "This is unbelievable."

"Aw, don't worry, mate," Ryan cooed. He had soot on his cheek and he was smiling like a maniac. "Some people just can't be beaten. And I am one of those people."

Fred and Mitch burst out laughing. Over on the end of the couch next to Fred, Morgan snorted, shaking her head. She was looking over some notes, while letting herself get distracted by our conversation. Dom and Molly were nowhere to be found, probably off doing some last minute studying. The rest of the common room was empty.

I scowled at her. For the past two hours, Ryan, Fred, Mitch, and I had been playing the longest round of Exploding Snap I had ever played in my entire life. I wasn't sure how this so-called "Pre-NEWT Sanity Regimen" was supposed to help me relax – I don't think I had ever been more frustrated in my life.

I hadn't won a single game.

"Best of forty-five?" Fred suggested, smirking.

I glanced at my watch. It was a little before eight now. "No, I should probably get going," I told them.

"Oh, I'm sure you have enough time to lose another game," Mitch assured me, laughing. "Where do you have to be at ten o' clock anyway? You're not actually going to study, are you?"

I snorted. "No way," I told him. Shuffling the Exploding Snap cards back into their box, I said evenly, "I'm meeting Abigail in the kitchens."

"Kinky," Ryan said with a wink.

Morgan was no longer paying attention to her notes. Her eyes were on me, watching me very closely.

I felt my face grow warm. "We're getting ice cream," I told them. "That's all."

"Is it, though?" Morgan asked, jumping into the conversation.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, suddenly defensive. I stood up, ready to walk out and leave the topic behind.

"You've been acting really strange lately," she said. "Especially whenever Abigail comes up in conversation. It's like you're hiding something."

I shot a quick glance at the guys. They all had wide eyes, watching the strange scene unfold with fascination. When they saw me looking, they all discreetly shook their heads. They knew exactly what I was thinking – did one of them tell Morgan that I was in love with Abigail?

"Well, I'm not," I assured her, walking away.

But before I could reach the door, Morgan stood up in front of me, blocking my way. I tried to walk around her, but every time I moved she stepped in front of me again. She crossed her arms over her chest and stayed put. Confused and slightly annoyed, I mimicked her pose and frowned.

"Uh…Morgan?" I heard Fred say behind me.

She shushed him with a wave of her hand. Suddenly, she looked me in the eyes. I mean, she really looked at me, not breaking eye contact for maybe thirty whole seconds. She seemed to be searching for something.

The thing about Morgan Finnegan is that I have never in my entire life met someone who can read others as well as her. With one look, she can just know things. I knew that she was obviously trying to find something out, but I just couldn't keep eye contact. I felt like every second she stared at me, the more she was analyzing me. As hard as I tried to keep her gaze, I just couldn't help it...

I broke eye contact.

She gasped. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "You're in love with her!"

I spun around to the guys. "What the hell!" I yelled. I glared at Fred. "You told her?"

He was stunned, an astonished and slightly amused smile on his face. "I didn't say a word, mate."

"Me neither," Mitch said. Ryan was laughing too hard to get any words out, but he was shaking his head back and forth.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and looked at Morgan. "You're not going to say anything, are you?"

She smiled widely and sat back down on the couch, obviously very proud of herself. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Of course not," she said. She looked over at Fred for a minute before saying, "But one day, you will. One day, the two of you are going to step out of your cowardly little boxes and admit how you feel about each other."

"I don't think Abigail feels that way about me," I said.

Ryan scoffed. "Merlin, James. Are you blind?" he said disbelievingly.

Mitch nodded. "Yeah, mate," he agreed. "Half the school can tell you guys are into each other."

"You're practically dating already," Fred added with a thoughtful nod.

I stared at my friends with wide eyes. For a few moments, I was convinced they were pulling my leg, playing some coordinated prank on me. But they weren't laughing. Actually, they weren't even smiling. They were being completely serious.

To be honest, I'd never really entertained the idea that Abigail might feel about me the same way I felt about her. Of course, a part of me always hoped for it, but it seemed too good to be true. We had worked too hard to get where we were today to even consider changing what we had. It had always seemed… I don't know. Selfish, I think. The fact that I even had her as a friend was a miracle in itself.

But was it possible that she felt the same way?

Behind me, a group of giggling girls burst through the portrait hole, their loud laughter snapping me out of my daze. I shook my head, furrowing my brows.

"I…" I started, not sure what to say. "I should go."

My friends all smiled at me. Well…more smirking than smiling. They all seemed to realize that I was having some sort of internal battle with myself.

Morgan smiled. "Have fun, James," she said genuinely. "And don't worry about everything so much. Things will work out."

"Yeah, you do that, James," Fred said. "You go enjoy some ice cream with your woman."

Morgan smacked the side of his head, Mitch and Ryan cackling in the background. Off on the side, Morgan and Fred started bickering, arguing about his use of the word "woman." Knowing that their arguments could either end in full-blown fighting or full-blown kissing, I decided that this was probably a safe time to escape.

"Right," I said to no one in particular. Ryan and Mitch weren't even paying attention anymore, tallying up points for either Morgan or Fred during their argument. "I'll see you guys later."

"Use protection," Ryan called distractedly.

I rolled my eyes nonchalantly, even though my face was probably bright red.

Within a few minutes, I reached the kitchens. I pushed the door open slowly, listening to see if anyone was there. I'd forgotten the Marauder's Map when I left the room earlier that day. I usually brought it along to check if there were any teachers grabbing a late-night snack.

It was uncanny how many times that was actually the case.

But when I peeked into the large room, I didn't hear cabinet doors opening or sweets being unwrapped. I heard crying. I automatically pushed the door wide open, rushing in to see if Abigail was okay.

Over on the opposite side of the kitchens, sitting on the ground up against the wall, I saw Abigail. But she wasn't alone, and she wasn't the one crying. She had a panicked look on her face, her arm wrapped around the shoulders of the crying girl.

It was Lily.

She looked up, her blotchy eyes spotting me. "Oh, James," she sobbed. "I'm dying, I just know it."

I rushed over to them, leaning down in front of my sister. "Lils, what on earth are you on about?" I shot an alarmed look at Abigail, but she just shook her head resignedly.

Lily let out another sob. "I'm dying, James," she repeated, "of a broken heart."

Abigail Evelyn King

After James managed to calm Lily down enough to get her to drink a cup of tea, he slipped his hand around my wrist and pulled me to the side of the room.

"What happened?" he whispered, his breath warm on my ear.

I ignored the shivers running up my back and said, "I have no idea. I came here a little early because I finished a letter to my uncle – "

"That's great!" he interrupted me, squeezing my hand.

I smiled, "Oh thanks," I said distractedly. "And then she was like this when I got here." We both glanced over at her sitting on a barstool. Her eyes were half-open, tired from all the crying, and she ran a hand through her tangled red hair. That nervous tick must have been a Potter family trait. "What should we do?"

He took a deep breath and walked over to her, me following him. He went around the bar-like table she was sitting at so that he was facing her. I sat on a barstool next to her and rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"Lils," he said gently. "What exactly happened?"

Lily was silent, biting her lip. "Did someone say something mean to you?" I asked her, helping her along. A few more tears slipped out of the corner of her eye.

After a few minutes of silence, she took a deep breath and said quietly, "It was Thomas Blake."

I exchanged a glance with James. He looked just as confused as I felt. "Wait, Al's friend who was at your house for New Year's? That Thomas Blake?" I asked.

"Dreamy, fit Thomas Blake?" James added. "The one you're always going all loony over?"

I shot him a look. Not helping, I mouthed. He shrugged innocently. Boys…

Lily rubbed her eyes before saying in a broken voice, "I thought he liked me. He had walked me to class once. He even told me he would write me letters over holiday." She started crying again so I put my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me and whispered, "Now I think he was just making fun of me."

James's expression went from concerned to angry in the blink of an eye. "What did he say to you?" he growled.

She let out a little whimper. "I was talking to Panchi Patil and she said that she heard a rumor that Thomas liked me. So I went up to him in the courtyard to ask him to Hogsmeade. Al was standing a little ways off, I don't think he realized what I was going to say," she explained. Through her words, she had started tearing up again, a few tears running down her cheeks.

"So I asked him and…he said…" she continued, taking another deep breath to calm herself down. "He said that he would never go out with an annoying, unattractive, awkward third year like me. A-And then he said," she dropped her voice, apparently mimicking his low drawl, "just because my parents are famous doesn't mean that I'm not the ginger nobody I really am." And she burst into tears again.

"Who the hell does this kid think he is?" I exclaimed, rubbing her back to calm her down.

"He said that you were annoying and not pretty?" James hissed. "Merlin, what a bastard."

"And he made fun of you being ginger?" I said, outraged. "Prick."

James's eyes grew wide, remembering something. "What did Al do?" he asked her, taking her hand.

Lily's crying had ceased and at this question, she actually let out a laugh. James and I looked at her in alarm, but she gave a small smile. "He punched him," she explained. "Right in the nose."

"Oh, I've taught him well," James joked, smiling again. Suddenly, Lily's face fell, her smile turning into a sad frown.

"What is it?" I prompted. Seeing Lily sad was just one of those things that weren't meant to happen. She was usually the brightest, happiest girl.

"It's just…I really liked him, Abigail," she told me. "I just don't understand. How do people…" she trailed off.

"How do people what, Lils?" James asked.

She broke eye contact and traced the rim of her teacup with a finger. "How do people know when they're in love? What do you think its like?" she asked so quietly, I almost thought I imagined it.

James took a deep breath. "This calls for ice cream," he muttered, moving towards the giant freezer.

I glanced at Lily, who didn't seem to hear James. She looked so confused. For a moment, I was stunned into silence. I was so used to Lily acting so mature, so much older than her age. Whether it was the way she held herself, her excessive language, or her premature wisdom, she had always seemed older than her fourteen years.

Sometimes I forgot that she was just a kid.

Lily looked over to me, expecting me to say something. "Oh," I said, startled. "Well…"

I glanced to James for help, but he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was focused on the tub of ice cream as he scooped a hearty amount into three bowls, his brows pulled over his eyes. Even as he worked, he seemed to be thinking hard about something.

"Well, I think people in love want to spend every minute with the other person," I told her, making sure I did not look at James. "It's like…it doesn't matter what you're doing, as long as you're together."

Lily nodded her head, interested to hear more.

I thought back to all of James's weird little ticks – like running a hand through his hair and tapping his fingers when he was nervous. "And people in love always notice things about the other person that nobody else does," I decided. "They see little quirks and flaws that they have and they love them even more for it." Realizing what I'd said, I felt my face go scarlet. "At least…that's what I've heard."

James passed us each a bowl of the frozen treat. I could feel him looking at me now, but I kept my gaze hard on the countertop.

"But…it's not just little things," he said suddenly. "People in love think about the big things too. It's like everything you do, every decision you make, you make it for two people."

I could feel my face getting hotter by the second. Thinking fast, I shoved some ice cream into my mouth.

"That sounds like a lot of work," Lily mumbled.

"I don't think it is," he said. I almost choked on the ice cream. He coughed and said, "I mean, so I've heard. I guess it's like having someone who is like a best friend…but better than that."

Lily smiled widely. "Yeah, I guess that sounds pretty nice," she commented, digging into her ice cream.

I let out a snort of laughter. Of course Lily would have such a casual response to the conversation that just happened.

Meanwhile, I'm just having a heart attack. I mean, seriously. Why did he have to say stuff like that? He was making it near impossible to not just jump him then and there.

The prick.

While we all helped ourselves to the ice cream, I peeked at James under my eyelashes. He was stirring his cookies and cream slowly, mixing the perfectly sculpted scoops into a black and white mush. I don't think he'd even taken a bite. He was smiling slightly.

Lily let out a sigh. "Well, I suppose I should be off to bed," she announced. Her voice cracked slightly from the crying, but she seemed to be in better spirits overall.

James snapped out of it. "Right," he responded. "Get some rest, Lils."

Lily turned to me and said, "Thanks for talking to me, Abigail. You're such a great friend." And she hugged me.

I smiled and hugged her back. "Not a problem."

After pulling away, she squeezed James hand and turned to leave. "Thanks, Jamie."

He saluted her. We watched her leave, not saying a word. And then we were alone, absolutely silent in the giant room.

I glanced at James. He had taken his and Lily's bowls to the large sink, placing them inside to be washed. He stood there a moment, turned away from me. In my head, I saw myself walking up behind him, slipping my hands around his frame, and pressing my forehead into his back. But I never did.

He turned around. "We should probably head back too," he said. His quiet voice seemed extremely loud in the silent stillness of the room. I nodded, not being able to bring myself to speak. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would say something crazy.

We walked back to our dorm in absolute silence, the kind of wordless comfort that I always felt around James. But this time, it was tenser than usual. I kept thinking back to what he had said – that being in love was like having a best friend, someone who you always thought about and considered in your choices. I couldn't get it out of my head.

He walked me right to my bedroom door but I didn't go in yet. He leaned on the back of a sofa a few feet away and just stared at me, not saying anything.

I cleared my throat. "So NEWTs are tomorrow," I said lamely. "Good luck, I guess."

He didn't say anything, but he took a step closer to me. Suddenly, he reached up and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. Almost instantly, he dropped his arm and slipped his hands into his pockets. "I don't want to screw anything up," he said softly.

I couldn't tell if he was talking about NEWTs…or something else. Me. My heart was racing, but I didn't let it show. So I answered him the best way I could. "You won't."

He nodded, seeming satisfied with this answer, and took a step back. "Goodnight, Abigail," he said.

I smiled. "Night, James."

As I walked into my bedroom, I prayed to all and any gods above that I would be able to get a good night's sleep before the exams.

But considering that my heart was still racing and my mind was going wild, that seemed pretty unlikely.

The next morning, about half of the seventh years met up in the Great Hall to take the very first exam: Herbology. It was the only exam that all of my friends would take with me.

Nobody really said anything as we walked into the Great Hall. All of the tables had been cleared away, the whole room overtaken with individual desks. We had to stand in the back of the room until they called our names, telling us where to sit. Dom and Molly were standing off to the side, looking over some notes. Fred and Morgan were talking quietly. Mitch and Ryan seemed to be half-awake, the two of them leaning up against the wall.

James and I stood next to each other. I'm sure I looked like a panicked mess, with crazy hair and sweaty palms. James, of course, looked as cool as a cucumber, as if he took NEWT exams every day.

The proctor started calling names, directing students to their desks. I must have looked like I was about to have a heart attack because James nudged me with his shoulder and said, "Hey, don't worry, okay? You're going to be amazing."

I smiled at him. "Thanks," I said earnestly. "Seriously, thank you so much for all you've been helping with this past month."

The proctor called my name and ushered me to the desk. I tried not to panic as she read off the rest of the class, bringing us closer to the exam. When the final student was called, the testing witch walked to the front of the room, her heels making an obnoxious click click click, and she turned to face us.

"You may begin."

A/N: WHOA THIS IS A LONG CHAPTER! It's sort of filler-y, but its definitely got some good stuff. Basically, just James being adorable. Which is always good.

Big shoutout to all the new followers and reviewers! It makes me so happy to see that you all are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

See you next week.