DISCLAIMER: I don't own James Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, fluff (maybe?), screaming, or Halloween. I do, however, own Libby Fletcher and Emma Terry. :)


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 27: When James became an axe murderer.

Life goes on and you can't stop it. Even when things get hairy or messy and you wish you could just take a break, or put life on pause for a bit. But you can't, because that's not really the way the universe works, is it?

Issues continue, but life goes on.

Luckily, Libby and I were learning to face it together.


(2029)

Libby was peeling potatoes and rocking out to the radio.

I'd been standing in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against the frame in amusement for the past ten minutes or so, but I still don't think she'd even noticed me. At this point, I sort of didn't want her to. She'd tuned into a top 40 station, playing non-stop pop songs which were all mediocre at best, but absolutely perfect for dancing. In between the ads singing jingles about the new accident-free broom (trialled and tested, despite claims!) and reminders to apply for tax refunds from Gringotts before the end of the financial year, the radio blurted out song after song that Libby, apparently, knew all the words to.

In fact, she seemed more interested in putting on a show than actually making dinner. Maybe she'd forgotten that I usually came home about fifteen minutes ago? Either way, she was spinning around on the kitchen floor in her thick socks, dark hair up in a messy bun and wearing an apron decorated like a bunny. She was using her wand to sing into, belting out the lyrics to, 'You're the only one I wanna beeeeee' swinging her spare arm around wildly. I snorted as she leapt up onto one of the kitchen chairs, swivelling her feet and swinging her hips. As the song reached its final crescendo, she gave a flying kick as she jumped off the chair, striking a final pose as the song tapered out.

"Bravo!" I called out, deciding enough was enough. I was about to split a side from laughter any second now. "Oh, bravo! Encore! Encore!"

"James!" Libby span in alarm, trying to peer through tangles of hair that were coming down from the bun, before hastily pulling it back with her hands, wand still clutched in her fingers. She looked like a little kid who'd been caught stealing sweets from the top shelf. "Oh, god–"

"Amazing! Honestly, utterly amazing," I said, giving her a slow clap as I ambled towards her in the middle of the kitchen. "I have to say, best performance yet. It was the spectacular finish that made it, there's no telling how high that leg went."

"Shut up," Libby smirked, letting go of her hair to shove me on the shoulder, stuffing her wand back in her pocket. In the background, the radio was picking up a new song, yet another popular dance piece.

"But I'm serious!" I said, coming to a halt right in front of her. Barely inches apart, I leaned in so my forehead was pressed against hers. Though her fingers teased mine, we were still barely touching and I kind of liked it. It sparked a thrill of danger, of excitement. "You should've become a singer. Have I ever mentioned how much I love your voice?"

"Hmmm …" Libby's warm breath hummed over mine, making me shiver. My heart was thumping erratically. Blimey, what the hell was this, four years ago? You know, back when we would laugh and flirt, when she was just Libby, and I was just James, before all the drama …

"You may have mentioned my dulcet tones before," she answered.

"Then it bears repeating: I love your voice," I practically whispered, letting my lips graze her ear. "Now, Libby!" I added, suddenly wrapping my arms around her waist. She let out a surprised shriek as I twisted on the spot and used our momentum to spin us around, Libby clinging to my elbows. "–the voice of Clara Knightley is calling us! Dance with me?"

Libby laughed. "Do you have to ask?"

If there was one thing that Libby and I loved to do, it was dance, and goddamn it, we did it well! She threw her arms around my neck, moving in time to the beat of the song: you know, some overly peppy, bright piece about love and commitment and all that stuff. Sure, real life got in the way, but sometimes it was ok to just forget about all that for a moment. Forget about jobs and rent and relationships and making life work for you … just live in the now. Live in a world where you can dance with someone amazing because you'll never know when you get to do it again.

Jesus Christ on a cracker, where the bloody hell is this all coming from? I've clearly had a long day!

I spun Libby under my arm and back, moving forward to catch her round the waist once more. She leaned back her head and laughed as I span us around. "… gotta love that Clara Knightley," Libby said then, a little breathless as indeed the great Clara launched into one last chorus. "When I was younger, I had a poster of her up in my bedroom."

"So did I, but I think for different reasons," I grinned.

Libby was still laughing, but I cut her off mid-giggle with a kiss that just kept on going, even as the song ended and another started. Yeah, Libby and I had been floundering a bit recently, struggling to get through everything, and while this didn't make it magically ok … I like to think it helped. Soon, dancing was cast aside in favour of exploring each other's mouths, kissing fiercely in the middle of the kitchen. Libby's fingers felt like they were burning as they traced my jaw, my neck, to the collar of my shirt. Then, her lips followed the same pattern, teasing with that tongue all the way down to my chest.

I hadn't expected her to start undoing buttons right there in the kitchen and I'm pretty sure I nearly choked as a result. Reacting out of sheer instinct, I shoved my hands under her shirt, turning and pushing her backwards until we hit the kitchen bench with a slightly rough bang. She didn't seem to complain when in the next second, I yanked off her shirt completely, throwing it somewhere behind us before kissing her once more, trying to taste every inch of her. One of my hands crept into the hair that was falling down, the other caressing the skin of her stomach, inching upwards. She let out a noise at the back of her throat, almost like a whine, sending a blinding flash of desire engulfing my entire body …

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

Libby gave a strangled yell, "God – f – ing – damn – it!"

"Whoever that is, I'm going to KILL them!" I agreed. Honestly, talk about inconvenient moment! For several seconds, neither of us moved, apart from our trying to get our breathing back under control and myself letting my head drop down onto Libby's shoulder. I slowly tried to breathe in and out when there was suddenly another knock on the door, this time accompanied by a yell:

"LIBBYYYYYYY!"

I would recognise that voice anywhere.

"I am going to MURDER her," I ground out.

"LIBBY!" Rose eventually yelled through the door. "Let me in! Why'd you lock the door? My head's exploding, this is it–! Oh, just answer the bloody door!"

"Step aside, Rosie, dear," came Bea's voice then, and there was a bit of shuffling from out in the hallway. "We're getting in there! Libby, I hope you don't intend on getting your bond back, because I'm gonna blast the door down, ok?"

"That's it–" Libby cried, kissing my cheek quickly before tearing herself away from me, storming for the hallway. I gave a loud cough just as she reached the kitchen door and she turned back with a quizzical expression, just in time to catch her t-shirt that I'd thrown at her.

"Thanks," she said with a slight smirk. "YEAH, YEAH, I'M COMING!" she added in a yell, throwing the t-shirt over her head as she disappeared around the corner to the front door.

I kind of missed the door opening and Rose and Bea pouring in, seeing as I was still trying to think calm, non-sexy thoughts in the kitchen – uh, pigs, cups, my grandma in a bikini! – but you can imagine the image of such a scene, can't you? Rose, with her fist raised mid-knock, tumbling through the door as Libby wrenched it open, Bea stumbling into her with her wand still half raised. The second they were inside, they both started shrieking … something, in high-pitched tones that I could barely understand.

Um, ok?

"Oh, Libby! Libby!" Rose was yelling (possibly, I mean, it was hard to tell). "We finally found it! In the cutlery drawer at Al and Bea's house!"

"Ridiculous boy," Bea added, shaking her head. "He had to know we'd catch on."

"Catch on to what?" I asked, finally sticking my head around the corner, mainly out of curiosity now more than anything. I mean, lord knows that it was best that I stay far away from this scene, since the girls were sort of starting to scare me. Bea was practically jumping up and down on the spot, clutching Libby's hand excitedly, whereas Rose answered by punching her fists into the air in triumph.

"WE FOUND THE RING!" she yelled. "SCORPIUS IS GONNA PROPOSE!"

Aaaaaaand … yep! Cue the shrieking.

I just snorted as all three girls literally screamed at the top of their lungs, Libby finally catching on and lunging with her arms around Rose's waist and Bea throwing herself at the both of them. Together, the three almost toppled over in their enthusiasm, but it didn't stop them from … um, celebrating? Mourning? You know, I still can't really tell, there's too much crying and laughing mixed in there.

And besides, to me, a scream's a scream.

"Oh my god, Rosie!" Libby cried.

"I know!" she yelled back.

"You're gonna get MARRIED!"

"I KNOW!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH–!"

"Uh, girls?" I felt the need to cut in then. I raised a hand tentatively as I leaned against the hallway wall, as if I might get shut down for answering wrong in class. "But – um – correct me if I'm wrong – but Scorpius hasn't actually proposed yet, right?"

The three girls stopped and stared for a moment, their arms still clutched around each other as they exchanged looks. I could see mental cogs whirring, wondering whether they could get around this slight dilemma.

Then –

"Who bloody cares?" Bea suddenly scoffed. "Rosie's getting married!"

And they all dissolved into unintelligible shrieks and laughter and talks of carets and diamonds and oh my god, have you thought of a venue? and I figured that was probably about time I got out of there. However, just as I smothered a laugh and made to leave, Rose was suddenly there in front of me, blocking off my escape route and exclaiming, "Oh, no, you don't!" An arm was suddenly thrown around me, dragging me into the Group Hug of Doom.

"Rosieeeeee!" I complained.

"You're a part of this, too!" Rose said as Libby and Bea laughed and moved to include me in the hallway-four-way-hug (ok, that was kind of cool to say). "Celebrate with me! I'M GETTING MARRIED!"

"But he hasn't–" I cut myself off in a sigh, half because I realised arguing was fruitless, and half because the circulation was slowly being cut off in my chest and I felt like I was twenty seconds away from passing out. "Ah, what the hell?" I ended up saying. "YAY, ROSIE!"

"YAAAAY!"

"This is amazing!"

"Oh my god!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"


"… so basically," Emma grinned at me. "You used me as an excuse to leg it?"

"If you want to put it that way," I said back, nudging her shoulder with mine.

Yes, ok, I kind of scarpered. But c'mon! Once all the screaming had eventually died down, the girls had talked to death the exact story of how Rose got suspicious that Scorpius was planning on proposing soon, which I'll admit had been kind of amusing to listen to ("He kept holding my hand and staring at me," Rose had said, rolling her eyes. "Once, he actually managed to get out 'will you' but that quickly turned into 'will you come out to dinner with me?' That was when enough was enough!"). So while both Al and Scorpius were both at work, Rose and Bea had promptly turned the old Weasley, now new Potter, house upside down, looking for the ring that they were so sure had to be there somewhere.

And woe and behold, they found it in the cutlery drawer.

I'm pretty sure Scorpius could do with a class in 'how to hide things from your girlfriend'.

(Not that I endorse that, or anything).

Anyway, once that conversation was over it moved on to the three girls squealing about flowers and dresses and the pros and cons of spring weddings. And look, as much as I liked flowers, I figured that if I didn't somehow manage to escape then I might just go mad.

So who better to contact to get out of it than my homegirl?

"In any case," Emma told me, her brown curls up in a messy bun and her elbow linked through mine. "I'm glad you owled!"

"Aw," I said, giving her a smile. "It's ok. You can say it. You missed me."

"You wish," Emma snorted.

"No, really!" I insisted. "I know I'm spectacular and everything, it's not too hard to be taken in by all these charming good looks. You can admit it."

"Oh, all right, then," Emma rolled her eyes. "I was startin' to miss ya!"

I laughed in response, glancing back in front of me down the street. Yes, I'd asked Emma to come and hit up Diagon Alley with me, mainly because I needed a friend to carry me over until the storm of estrogen had calmed back home, but also partly because, well, Emma was cool! Something just clicked with me and her, and I rather liked it. I'll admit, though, at first I thought it might be a bit weird. I mean, I still barely knew the woman, and we'd only met once before! Plus, I was out alone with a woman who wasn't my girlfriend and if Libby was anyone else, I'd like to think that she'd be a bit jealous. But honestly, Emma seemed to have decided that I was now an honorary little brother more than anything, which was certainly interesting to experience. Normally, I'm the one doing the teasing!

"So," I said, once we'd stopped at a café for lunch. In early October the weather wasn't exactly grand, but it was a rare moment when the sun was out, so we quickly claimed a table and sat down with coffee and heated sandwiches. "What's going on in the life of Emma Terry?"

"Oh, nothin' that horrendous," she shrugged. "You know I'm a Cursebreaker, right?"

"Yeah, and totally better than Libby."

Emma laughed. "Of course," she said. "I mean, I haven't been stationed overseas yet, but I'll get there someday! Everyone gets to go to the Egypt site at some point."

"Yeah, nah," I shuddered. "I think it's definitely clear now that I could never be a Cursebreaker."

"Not afraid of mummies, are ya?"

"Deathly."

"Then you'll LOVE this story!" Emma grinned. "So there's me and three other newbies, right? We've been qualified literally less than a week at this point, and we're sent our very first decomposing bodies to autopsy. I'm talkin', what, a couple thousand years old?" She cocked her head, remembering. "Yeeeah, that sounds 'bout right. Anyway, bloody Lana decides to come over all faint – she did not last long in the labs, let me tell ya – so we're all fussing over her so much that we don't notice one of the bodies goddamn moving–"

Emma continued her story through a right-launching battle between the four newbie Cursebreakers and what was definitely a rogue mummy! I laughed at her expressions, the way she threw her hands into the air when she described her mate, Ducey, getting himself half-wrapped in linen before the girls could rescue him. Despite my cringing and terror at the thought of such a situation, she was captivating to listen to.

"… I don't even know how things got that far!" Emma concluded, wildly. "And then, to make it worse, our supervisors couldn't even get in to help us for at least half an hour because we'd panicked and put the entire bloody lab into lockdown!"

"Oh – oh god –" I laughed, rubbing my eyes, my sandwich practically forgotten. "But wait – what about the mummy?"

"Oh, turns out it wasn't even real!" Emma said. "Nah, nah, they just animated a fake and planted the poor thing there to terrify us all! Apparently, it was some sort of initiation thing."

"The bastards, I've been through that," I said, still sniggering slightly. "When I first got my job at the Ministry, I didn't realise that nearly every department's got their own initiation ceremony. I was kidnapped, knocked out and placed somewhere random in the depths of the Ministry corridors! Turns out it's bloody hard to find your way back to the seventh floor when the corners and stuff keep changing on you."

"I can imagine!" Emma said. "What department you work in?"

"Games and sports," I answered. "Specifically, I'm in Pitch Construction."

"Get out! My nephew is ridiculous about anythin' Quidditch. No, wait!" Emma cried, holding out a hand. "You design anythin' famous?"

I grinned. "European Cup, 2024? Final stadium?"

"NO WAY!" Emma practically yelled, causing several people at other tables to glance over in confusion. "That's insane, I went to that match."

"So did I! Well, I was on the construction team, so it was mainly just to make sure that the pitch didn't crumble under the pressure of the game, but it was one hell of a match."

"You're not kiddin'," Emma said. "Was that the one where Andy Rudy got bashed round the head and took out half the crowd when he got thrown from his broom?"

"Yeah, he was a toootal idiot," I pointed out. "Honestly, what kind of Beater let's himself get beaten? If that had been me, I would've smashed Trent Cahooly to a pulp and taken home the cup to boot!"

"Ooh," Emma grinned. "Don't cross James Potter."

"Hell no!"

"I guess this is a bit of a stupid question then, but you into Quidditch?"

"You're a smart girl," I smirked. "You can figure that out."

Emma laughed. "Oh, I bet you were the star of Hogwarts," she said. "Had girls screamin' after ya?"

"Hordes of them!" I told her. "They were like jungle animals! I had my shoes stolen, once."

"Ok, now I'm not entirely sure if we're still jokin'," Emma pointed out.

"Well … ok, my fan club was probably considerably smaller than I'm imagining," I admitted. "But those girls could seriously get their nails in if we won a match! Drew blood and everything. And my shoes did seriously get stolen at one point – but I think that was more for convenience than to hang onto as a keepsake, because I found them later the next morning after someone had thrown up in them."

"That is probably the grossest thing I've ever heared," Emma cringed.

"Then you've clearly never heard the Accidental Impaling Incident," I pointed out. "It's kind of infamous in the Pitch Construction team."

"Do I even wanna know?"

"Let's just say that there was a banana, a steel rod, and a bloke who still doesn't walk quite right to this day," I answered, and we both gave a shudder.

Suddenly, I realised that this was the first real pause we'd taken since we'd met up. For the next few moments, we were forced to stay silent as we actually got around to eating our sandwiches. At the rate we'd been speaking, we'd have probably choked if we'd tried to eat at the same time! I was glad that Emma was someone who was so easy to talk to, at least. It's not every day you meet someone new like that.

"Anyway," Emma said, swallowing one of her bites. "You reckon you're gonna stay in Pitch Construction?"

Ah. Tricky question to answer.

"Um … I dunno," I shrugged. "I mean, I've sort of always wanted to play professionally … but yeah, it's stupid really."

"What? Why?" Emma asked. "That'd be BRILLIANT!"

"Seriously?"

"HELL yeah," Emma answered with one of her exuberant hand gestures. "I'd get to say that I'm mates with a famous Quidditch player! You could take me to all your fancy parties – OH MY GOD, you have to introduce me to Sebastian Cortez! I am single until that man learns to come to his senses."

"Whoa, slow down, girl," I pointed out. "I just said I wanted to! But it's not like it'll ever happen, so calm down, blimey."

"Why couldn't it?" Emma asked. "If it's what you really wanna do …"

I considered for a moment. Emma was watching me curiously, her dark eyes blazing with interest. She didn't know how much stress my career had inadvertently made things between Libby and I. She didn't know that I worried almost constantly about it. I'd eventually talked properly to Libby about why I'd bailed on the trial at the last minute, but I still didn't feel like it was off my chest. If anything, it felt like it was still sitting on my chest, you know, like a fat cat who won't move unless you're getting up to feed him.

"Emma, it's a bit complicated."

"Perfect," she said. "That's my favourite kind of story."

"Then you'd love the story of how Libby and I got together," I pointed out.

"Trust me, your girl's already given me her side," Emma grinned. "But don't change the subject. C'mon, we've got however long you want! What happened? 'cause something happened, didn't it?"

"I …" I hesitated a moment longer before I thought to hell with it. I gave in. "I sent applications to teams for this upcoming season and I got a trial with one," I explained, talking to my almost all-gone sandwich. "but … I was stupid about it. Got freaked out and bailed. It was the same day as Libby's birthday, so I used that as the excuse not to go. Needless to say, she got mad," I added with a weak smile.

"I should think so," Emma answered. Leaning her chin on her fist, elbow planted on the table, she continued, "Why'd you get freaked out?"

"Oh, it's stupid, really," I shrugged. "I've just … I've never been the smart one, or the one who gets a lot out of life. My brother got married in July and my sister spent three years travelling overseas, and they're both younger than me! They've got so much going for them, and dunno, I just …"

"You never felt like the one who could achieve anything?" Emma finished for me.

"Basically, yeah," I said, screwing up my nose in agitation. I didn't like admitting that out loud. It made me feel kind of weak and useless, and I hoped to god that Al and Lily would never find out. Al would probably cry on the spot and Lily would most likely slap me!

Emma considered my words for a moment before answering.

"Y'know, this sounds like me a year ago," she said.

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, I had this boyfriend, yeah?" she said. "Name was Mark, and he was a right arsehole. Seriously, he was a total wanker, but I went out with him for over a year because I didn't think I could do any better. Like, c'mon, you can tell that I'm a born and raised Londoner," Emma gave me a small grin, which I returned. "I had both my mum and dad, but I've got three brothers and a sister and there was never a lot of money. I dunno, I guess I just thought there wasn't anything more to me than a working class girl."

"But you're a Cursebreaker!" I said.

"Still doesn't really change anythin'," Emma pointed out. "You've got a respectable job, yet you still feel like you're the shit one."

"I … ok, yeah, good point."

"So anyway!" Emma continued. "I was with Mark-the-wanker until eventually, I said screw it and I left. It took a long time, but I got there in the end. So maybe you should listen to that wonderful girlfriend of yours," she smirked over her coffee. "Just say screw it."

I had the sudden compulsion to hug her, but figured that would probably be a bit awkward over the table. Instead, I returned her knowing smirk, adding,

"Yeah. Maybe I will."

I let that comment sit as I polished off the last of my sandwich and coffee, Emma taking the opportunity to do the same. Eventually, we were left with empty plates and cups and I exclaimed, "Right! Better get moving then. I sort of gave myself the goal of looking for costume ideas while I was out here – OH," I added, realising. "Emma, you've got to come to our Halloween party!"

"You're having one?" Emma asked excitedly, as we stood from the table.

"We've been talking about it, yeah," I told her. We set off down Diagon Alley once more together, falling into step next to each other. "Everything's been a bit tense recently, and I reckon what we need is just a good ol' party to dance the night away at." I am fond of dancing … hopefully I didn't say that out loud. The memory of this morning's dance in the kitchen was still rather fresh in my mind.

"Well, I'd love to come," Emma told me. "Though I'm normally pretty bad at costumes. I went in my pyjamas last time."

"Oh, that's right! Well, that simply won't do," I insisted. I turned to scrutinise her closely, taking in her appearance and any potential ideas that might come leaping into my mind. "Y'know, with the amount of hair you've got, you could totally be Medusa or something …"

"Snake hair!" Emma laughed. "Oh, I love ya. Best compliment I've ever had."


I was glad that this time, it had been Libby's idea to throw a party. I mean, the last two times I had been the one to make it happen, there had always been some ulterior motive! Well, this time I wasn't looking to try and get off with her (well …) or looking to get completely drunk off my face (um …) but, I was looking to just relax and have a good time! I meant it when I said that we needed this, because as you know, I don't like mad and intense. And I reckoned we were doing bloody spectacular, given the circumstances! I mean, think about it: we've been together, what, seven months now? That's still not very long, considering the grand scheme of things, but for us, it was a bloody marathon! In any other case, both of us would have scarpered by now, especially with all that had happened, but look! We were still here, still together, making it work!

Sometimes, I was rather proud of us.

So I was glad when our mates all started filling up our flat, dressed up in costumes to ward away the evil spirits of Halloween. Although, it seemed that most had forgotten that they were supposed to be scary. Bea was in a bloody dress, for god's sake!

"For your information, I am dressed as Queen Victoria, here," she had countered. "Not only was she one of the greatest monarchs of the United Kingdom, but she survived multiple attempts of assassination and had nine children! If anything, she's the scariest thing in the room."

"Please tell me that you don't plan on having nine children," I'd just grinned at her.

"You'd have to drug me to make me agree to that," Bea had snorted. "I don't know, two or three sounds more reasonable. Now, you really have to explain … what the hell are you supposed to be?"

"I'm an axe murderer!" I'd cried.

"Yes, well," Bea had raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes, I do worry."

Oh, please. I'd decided to pass over her comment and instead, focus on how anyone could possibly not get that from my costume? Granted, I won't claim to know exactly what an axe murderer looks like (because, despite Bea's claims, I don't have a bloody axe sitting in my wardrobe) but I seemed to have gone for the 'executioner' type look. I'd transfigured a vest and pair of jeans into black leather, splattering fake blood all over it and carrying a bloody brilliant (but still unfortunately fake in the end) axe from my belt. It's funny, but I'd also had an executioner's hood to wear as well, but Libby had taken one look at it this evening before everyone had arrived, before promptly whipping it off my head.

"Oi! What was that for?" I'd complained as she'd thrown it somewhere behind her.

"You promised," she'd pointed out. "When we first got together, you promised me that you would never go bald again. Wearing something that makes you look bald totally counts!"

"Oh, come on," I'd said, slowly moving my way towards her. "It's just a hood! I still have all my hair underneath."

"Yeah, but now, I can touch it," Libby had smirked, reaching up to run her fingers almost lazily through said hair, leaning her elbows on my shoulders.

It had taken me a moment to click, I'll admit. But once it did, it had hit me like a tonne of bricks.

"You've got a thing for my hair!" I'd exclaimed.

"Only took you five and a half years to catch on," Libby had rolled her eyes as I debated simply dislodging her hold on my hair to haul her into my arms. "Why did you think I looked so shocked when you showed up with no hair that night? I swear, I nearly died on the spot."

"I dunno, because I'd done something stupid again?" I'd suggested, weakly.

"Hmm," Libby had mused. "Stupid, yes. But you know now, don't you? Yes, I've kind of always had a thing for your hair, ever since … well, since we've known each other, really. So do anything to it, and I might just kill you. Ok?"

"Ok," I'd agreed almost instantly.

The kiss she'd given me in satisfaction had nearly made me die on the spot.

Anyway. Where was I before I went off on a huge rant about the girls in my life? Something about the party, right? Yes, well. Most people had turned up in the usual whatever-costume-they-could-find-never-mind-that-it's-not-particularly-scary. Rose and Scorpius had gone completely unoriginal and were wearing their bloody Twelfth Night costumes, for Merlin's sake! But I had to give those two a little bit of leeway, considering only last week had been the third anniversary of Astoria Malfoy passing away, and I knew that Scorpius had to be missing his mum more than usual. I mean, he probably missed her every day, but you get what I mean, right? Maybe I'll wait to tease him about proposing for another week.

Yes, I'll let them off.

But everyone else! They didn't have any excuses. Luckily, Emma had come to the party as a mummy (just to spite me, I'm sure), but I'd laughed and accepted her hug anyway. I also tracked down Fred eventually, out in the courtyard at the end of the hallway, and found yet another person to berate for their ill-thought out costume.

"Seriously, Fred?" I asked, cutting in just as he was apparently arriving. "You came to this party dressed as … naked?"

"I'm not naked!" Fred countered at once as I just held up a hand blocking my eyes from seeing, well, everything. "I'm a barbarian!"

"I can see that."

"Oi! You know what I mean."

"Yes, well," I said. "but did you have to do it without pants?"

"Hey, I've got the essentials covered," Fred grinned as I squinted through my fingers. Well, at least he'd made an effort with the rest of his costume as well as the … underwear/glorified loincloth thing, he'd got going on. He at least had a club that he was carrying around with him, bloody bandages wrapped around his arms and fake bones stuck in his hair. He glanced around me slightly then, apparently noticing something. "And if you're looking for your butterfly girl, she's over there–" he added, gesturing somewhere over my shoulder, in the general direction of the wall that outlined the large courtyard.

"Thanks! Though I did actually want to talk to you for a moment," I added, remembering. "If you happen to see a woman at this party wrapped completely in bandages, do me a favour, and spill your drink all over her?"

"Ah," Fred nodded, knowingly. "Scaring off a crazy, right?"

"Uh … yeah! Let's go with that!" I answered. I slapped him on the shoulder before I darted off, calling, "Thanks, mate!" behind me.

What? Dress as an un-dead mummy, and James WILL get his revenge somehow!

Sure enough, I eventually found Libby leaning against the courtyard wall. She wasn't exactly difficult to spot, considering her costume … yes. A butterfly. Could you find anything LESS scary? I had tsked almost the second I'd seen the purple and blue wings she'd apparently stolen from an old box of dress-ups sitting in her parents' attic, but she'd completely ignored my protests! Now, she looked like a rainbow had thrown up on her. Along with the wings, she wore some sparkly creation over a tie-dyed t-shirt, and leggings decorated in some zig-zaggy Aztec pattern. Really, I don't know what goes on in that brain of hers, sometimes.

"… you do know that you stick out from a mile away, right?" I pointed out once I was close enough for her to hear.

Libby turned at my voice and grinned. "It was either this, or Bathilda Bagshot," she told me as I leaned against the wall next to her. "Mum and Dad have apparently been doing a purge of all the shit they've got sitting in the attic, and there weren't many costumes left."

"You had a dress-up costume of an ancient historian?" I asked in amazement. "What kind of whacked-up games did you play as a kid?"

"I was a special child."

"No arguments from me!"

Libby grinned as she leaned her head back against the wall, the two of us just standing together and looking out over the crowd. There really weren't that many people here – well, compared to that riot party we threw, anything would look like less people – but the courtyard still seemed friendly and welcoming. Maybe it was the Halloween decorations, like the paper bats all linked together in a chain hanging across the tops of the walls, the carved pumpkins, or maybe it was that several of Libby's neighbours had come to join the party. Either way, it was fun and exciting, but it also felt … good.

Just good.

And I liked that. I could do with some good!

Libby swung her head to the side then so that she could look up at me, though in the process she hit me in the eye with one of the antennae's she had adorning her head. "Oh, sorry!" she laughed as I whined, rubbing my eye. "I was just going to say – I'm sorry, stop your whinging! – say thank you."

"That hurt!" I insisted. But then, I moved my hand from my still slightly watering eye to ask, "What for?"

"For–"


(2030)

Knock, knock, knock.

"Wait, what?" Rose suddenly snapped upright from her curled up position on the floor.

"Uh … I asked 'what for' and – no wait."

Um, yeah, that knocking hadn't been me! What the hell–?

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Whoever that is, they're going to wake her up!" I complained, leaping from the sofa at once to go and berate whoever the heck it was. Sorry, folks, for suddenly cutting off the story like that, but I hadn't realised that I was going to get any more visitors this evening! Actually, considering that it was past midnight now, I was a bit at a loss as to who it could have been. I don't who I was expecting when I opened that door, but I was certainly ready to give whoever it was a bloody earful!

But I sure as hell didn't expect Scorpius Malfoy.

"Um, Rosie?" I called back into the lounge. "I think it's for you …?"

"Hey, I'm sorry, I know it's late," Scorpius said, his face slightly … desperate? It was certainly paler than normal, and when Rose stuck her head around the hallway door in confusion, his face lit up in a way that certainly said that he needed her at that moment. Is it sad that I can pick up on that look? Ah, well.

"Rose."

"Scorpius?" Rose said, moving forward to join the two of us, still standing on the threshold. "What're you doing here? I did tell you I was coming down to see James, right?"

"Yes – it's not that – it's just," Scorpius's eyes were wide, vulnerable. I don't think I'd ever seen him like this and it was kind of weird, to be honest. I backed up slightly as Rose clearly recognised the look on her fiancé's face as well, and took his hand tightly, in both of her own.

"Scorpius, what is it?" she asked. "Is it your dad–?"

He shook his head, but didn't say anything. I sort of felt like this was some private moment happening right here in my hallway, but I couldn't bring myself to retreat back into the lounge. Since when did I become too nosy for my own good? Oh, right! I've always been nosy. Whoops!

(I'm not even sorry).

Anyway, eventually Scorpius spoke, and it became pretty clear why he'd needed to come find Rose at once.

"Rosie, my mum's not going to be at our wedding."

Ah. Oh, dear.

I didn't know what Rose was thinking, but I could make a fairly good guess from the look on her face. It was half apologetic and upset that he was having to go through this, and the other half was just resigned, like she'd been almost waiting for this to hit him at some point during their engagement. Seeing as it was October once again – a whole year after the story I'd just been telling had taken place, in fact – and they were getting married in a little less than a month away, I guess it was no surprise that it was happening now!

"James, I'm sorry," Rose suddenly said, not letting go of Scorpius, but turning to meet my gaze. "but I may have to miss the end of this particular story."

"That's fine!" I said at once. "Go! I don't mind, bloody hell."

"I'll come back if I can," she said, Scorpius moving forward and kissing her silently on top of her head, obviously grateful. With a slight smile, she added, "I mean, now that I've heard most of it, I kind of want to hear the end."

"I promise you, my dear Rosie," I said with a grin. "You shall hear the end of my epic story! And hang in there, Scorpius, mate," I added to the tall, blond bloke.

He nodded at me with those sad eyes, and the two were quick to disappear into the hallway, making their way back to their flat upstairs.

Huh. My flat is suddenly silent! That doesn't often happen.

I suppose it's kind of a good thing that Rose needed to leave, actually. Not that I think it's good that Scorpius is having to deal with the thought of his mother never getting to see him at his wedding, but I had been getting anxious anyway as my story went on, because the next part I wasn't sure I wanted Rose to hear. It's not that I didn't mind … but it's not my story to tell, remember?

Maybe I should just sit down and get on with it. Where was I?

Right – Libby was explaining why she was thanking me …


(2029)

"–for sticking with me," Libby answered, glancing away. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail tonight, but I got the feeling that if it was down, she'd be trying to hide behind it. "I know it's been hard, lately. But I'm glad we decided to get through it, instead of running."

"Yeah," I grinned. "We've both done enough running, I reckon. But for what it's worth," I added, nudging her with my shoulder. "I'm not just putting up with you. You've had to put up with me, too. It's a back and forth thing, y'know."

Libby gave a grimace then, looking like she wanted to apologise once more, but thinking better of it. "Right," she said. "Yeah. I swear, one of these days, I'll get over my I-am-not-worthy thing."

"I think you're worthy!" I said at once. I decided that I couldn't simply stand next to her anymore, so I threw an arm over her shoulders, pulling her into my side (and admittedly dodging the antennae's, but so not the point). "Isn't that enough?"

"It should be," Libby said. "and I think I'm getting there, because … I want to tell you something, ok?"

I glanced down at her head in confusion, but I still answered, "Ok."

Despite my confirmation, there were still several seconds before Libby actually said anything. I couldn't see her face, but I could imagine that she was staring into the crowd with intense concentration. I liked to think that I could tell the difference between the types of silences she could have now, and this one wasn't quite I'm-mad-at-you, but it wasn't exactly an I'm-happy-and-want-to-savour-this-moment silence, either. Yep, I could practically hear her brain whirring!

Then, she suddenly said,

"The first time I ever had sex, I was seventeen."

My eyes widened instantly.

"Whoa – Libby!" I suddenly burst out, moving my arm and taking hold of her shoulder so I could actually see her face. "What the–? No, you don't have to–!"

"You're right," Libby said firmly, finally lifting her head to meet my concerned eyes. While a moment ago she seemed conflicted, she now looked determined and confident. "I don't have to do anything. But I want to. Because you trust me, because we aren't running anymore, because you tried to beat up my ex for me, and because I've never felt like this for anyone else in the world. If there's anyone I trust my heart with, it's you. And … you should know."

"But – but –" I stammered. Bloody hell, James! Now is NOT the time to get tongue-tied! A part of me wanted to try and stop her, tell her that it didn't matter, not really … but I got the feeling that I was going to hear this no matter what. And honestly? I was ridiculously glad that Libby felt like she could tell me. That she could trust me. Because I think that's something we forgot to mention to each other at one point.

Well, we could fix that now.

I took a deep breath. I was still holding her shoulder tightly, and I loosened my grip so that I wouldn't be digging my fingers in. She reached up to take hold of my hand, bringing it down to stay linked in hers and, suddenly, the rest of the party wasn't even there. All that mattered in that moment was her. I nodded and she smiled, pressing her forehead to my shoulder in thanks, before she continued.

"I didn't want to tell you this because it's just insanely embarrassing," she said. Sometimes, she met my gaze, though mostly she spoke to my shoulder. I was ok with that. "Or, well, it was at the time. And I was so, so stupid, which I can't stand … anyway," she added. "It was seventh-year at Hogwarts. He was my year, but Gryffindor, and I'd never really spoken to him much, but he was gorgeous. About halfway through the year, he suddenly started talking to me and I didn't have any idea why, but wasn't exactly gonna complain, right? I'm sort of skipping over details," she added with a tight laugh that told me that this was probably harder for her than she let on. "Blah, blah, there was a lot of flirting, a lot of touching, you get the picture right? Soon, there was this party."

I kind of suddenly wished that we weren't at a party right now when she was finally telling me this, but thankfully, the music and chatter around us didn't seem to bother her more than the actual memories did. At least that's something, right?

She continued, "The party was for someone's birthday, I forget whose. But that was the night when he kissed me and it was where things kind of … um, escalated. The thing is," she said, looking me in the eye. "he told me he loved me. And I said it back. Because I was so excited that things were suddenly, finally happening between us and though now I know that I wasn't really in love, it was real at the time, you know? Because I honestly meant it then, even though I might not have really understood it."

"Yeah," I answered, softly. "I get what you mean."

"Well," Libby glanced away, then. "You know what the story's about. What happened next. The sex was kind of awkward and painful looking back, but I still thought it was amazing, right? Then we get to the next day …"

She paused and I realised that I was really only still breathing for her at this point. Otherwise, I knew I'd be holding my breath. Libby sighed and said,

"The next day, he's suddenly back together with his ex."

"WHAT?" I burst out.

"I KNOW, right?" Libby cried, with a hint of a grin. However, it fell almost instantly and she just continued, "Yeah, the dick had used me as revenge sex. He got into my head for months, and slept with me just to get back at her. And it worked, right? So to seventeen-year-old me, who'd just had sex for the first time, I felt like my entire world was ending! And I hate what I did next … but I think I basically followed him around. Pleaded. Tried to get him to see reason. It wasn't really pretty and it's horrific just remembering, gaaah!" she cut herself off, hiding her face in my arm. "Eventually, he turned around and said to my face that I needed to stop stalking him because he was lying when he said he loved me. That I was an idiot. And this was in front of all his mates as well …" She winced slightly. "I can still remember them all laughing at me when I started crying …" she mumbled, her voice trailing off, almost like it was an afterthought.

Without even thinking, I turned and threw my arms around Libby's waist, giving her the biggest hug I could possibly manage. She returned it gratefully, arms around my neck, and I held her so close that I felt for sure that she had to be able to feel my thudding heartbeat, because it was totally breaking for her. Ahem … I mean … keep it together, James … what happened to her sucked?

Oh, to bloody hell with it. My heart broke for her.

"If it helps," I muttered. "I once got screwed over by a girl who claimed she was in for a nice wild time, but turns out that she'd just been dumped and the night ended with her crying all over me. I had to feed her chocolate and we didn't even have sex?"

Libby gave a choking sort of laugh, throwing her head back. "Oh, James," she cried. "You've really got to warn me when you say things like that!"

"I try," I shrugged, weakly.

"Oh, lord … I can totally picture that …"

"Look, all jokes aside though," I added, getting her to look back up at me, her hands now linked behind my neck. The wings of her butterfly costume trailed down, almost wrapping me inside them, but for the first time that night, I didn't care about the lack of scary costume. "You're ok, right?"

She smiled. "Yes, of course," she said, softly. "It … it will always hurt a little bit, because it was my first time, and that's always supposed to be a magical memory, right? Only I was completely let down by it. I only ever told Jo about what happened. There's a reason she was in detention our last three months at Hogwarts, after all. But I got over it a long time ago. Another reason that made me not tell you was because …" she hesitated, glancing away. "I think the world of your opinion, James. And I didn't want you to ever think of me like that."

"Like what?" I asked, utterly bewildered that I could ever think badly of her in that story.

"Desperate," Libby shrugged. "Naïve. Stupid. Needy. All the signs were there, the sudden interest, the convenient party, how could I have not seen it coming, right?"

"Libby, you are the smartest girl I have ever met," I told her. "but I think that's honestly the stupidest thing you've ever said. No, listen to me!" I added, since she was giving me that oh-James-you're-so-endearing look she gives when she's humouring me. "No one should ever have to expect that coming. That guy was nothing but a dick to you. And …" I hesitated then, because I wasn't sure what she might say at my next words. Oh, what the hell? We're down the rabbit hole, no going back now!

"… you know it's ok to need someone, right?"

"What d'you mean?" Libby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well … it's like when you once told me that it's ok for me to be sad sometimes," I tried to explain. "It's the same thing, here! You worry that you don't love me as much as I love you, because deep down, you're afraid to depend on someone that much, need someone that much. But, like … that's ok, you know? Because I'm totally brilliant and all that and you trust me, remember?"

For a moment, Libby simply stared with a look I couldn't decipher at all. I half braced myself for her to scream at me! But then, she slowly started to smile and I hugged her closer, thankful that I'd somehow said the right thing.

"Ok, James," she said. "You're right. Time to say something I should've said ages ago … I need you."

"Yeah?" I grinned. "I need you, too."


A/N: o hai Emma ur back again? Ok.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter and there's far too much that I could potentially comment on, so I think I'll just leave it to you guys to talk about it. I know that I wanted to give you guys a bit of a fluffier chapter than usual, considering things have been all dramarific lately. I'm pretty sure I failed miserably there, but I think it's safe to say that this is about as fluffy as things can get for me! :)

Don't you fret. The drama will be back next chapter! (coughsorrynotsorrycough)

Just … thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. Getting me to 300 REALLY made my week! Please keep them coming and letting me know what you think. You're all simply amazing!

Until next time -

- Moon. :D