CHAPTER 34: For She's a Jolly Good Fellow

"One more hand."

"You said that twenty hands ago," Kellyn groaned, still perched on Drew's lap.

"You aren't even playing," one of the poker players said. Kellyn sighed, knowing she would have to be there until Drew decided to go to bed.

"This can be the last hand," said Drew as he raised the bet.

"Oh no, don't mind me."

"You're on my lap."

"Very true." He no longer seemed embarrassed about the situation. In fact, they had finally found a comfortable position for the both of them. Kellyn sat on his lap and leaned back on his chest as Drew slung his arm around her waist and held his cards so they both could see.

"I'm running out of chips anyway."

"Sorry, I have a bad poker face," she said with a yawn. Kellyn rested her head on his shoulder, burying her head in the crook of her neck. Her breath tickled his neck and he squirmed for a moment before relaxing. The last thing she thought before she drifted off into sleep was that she molded perfectly with him. The realization was lost in the haze of the early-morning darkness.

She woke to a now familiar sight, Drew sleeping on the couch across from her. She let her mind drift back to the previous night and had a feeling that she had been, once again, carried and deposited on the couch for the night. What she couldn't understand, though, was why he insisted with staying with her.

"Why are you here?" she blurt out the moment he opened his eyes. Drew blinked a few times, gathering his thoughts. "You can sleep in your own bed you know."

"I liked you better when you didn't talk in the morning," he said, burying his head into the pillow. "I didn't feel right leaving you alone," he finally gave his explanation. Kellyn didn't know what to think. "And by the way, if you were hoping last night could be our little secret… well, there are pictures." Just then, Sharon walked into the room, hearing Drew's last sentence. She had a mixture of shock, horror, disgust, and confusion on her face and Kellyn burst out laughing. Drew smiled, but Sharon dashed out of the room and Drew followed her, obviously now regretting his actions. Well, she did not need him making sure she was alright anymore. She was alright, right?

The common room felt empty and so she went upstairs to see what everyone else was doing. Stella sat alone in the room.

"Where is everyone?"

"At breakfast."

"You not hungry?"

"No, I just figured you would be up soon and make your way upstairs." Kellyn suddenly felt embarrassed.

"I, um, slept on the couch."

"Drew is a good guy," she said simply, not judging and with understanding. Eager to talk about something other than herself, she suddenly remembered James and Stella's outing the day before.

"So, how was your lunch with James?" she probed.

"Oh, it was fine," she said, completely unflustered. "The food was good."

"And the company?"

"It was just James," she said plainly.

"James is a good guy."

"He hasn't always been."

"And I never thought you were the type to hold grudges."

"I really don't," she said quickly, suddenly ashamed. "I suppose I have not been quite fair to him. It's just… It's just hard to take him seriously."

"He is a goof-ball," Kellyn smiled, but Stella didn't. Kellyn saw this and tried a new strategy. "Between you and me, he is trying to make up his past mistakes with you." This fact seemed to shock Stella.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You think so?"

"Yep."

"Interesting…" was all she said before she walked out of the room. "Aren't you coming to breakfast?" she asked poking her head back in the room.

Sharon was slightly cold toward Kellyn that week, despite Drew's increased attention toward her. Sam and Katima hotly argued loudly enough in the hallways to have professors take points from them. However, these arguments soon lead to equally heated apologetic kisses that made first years run away, permanently scarred. Kellyn wrote to her parents, sharing the offer from the Cannons. So, when she was sitting next to Drew at lunch that week and a letter dropped in front of them with her father's handwriting, she began to open it.

"Um, Kellyn, that's addressed to me."

"What?" cried Kellyn, inspecting the recipient address to find that, indeed, it was addressed to Drew. "Oh, I guess it is."

"Well, may I read it?"

"No," she said, slapping away his outstretched hand. She cleared her throat and began to read aloud. " 'Dear Drew,' How come he gets to call you 'Drew?'" Drew shrugged and Kellyn continued. " 'Dear Drew: Kellyn, if you are reading this, please give Drew back his letter.'" Drew smirked and held out his hand again. Kellyn slapped the letter in his hands and angrily ate. "Fine, read your letter from my father. See if I care." Drew read the letter agonizingly slowly. "Well… what does it say?"

"It's my letter, it's private."

"It's my father."

"He wanted to congratulate me on the Cannon offer," he said in a low voice.

"What about me? His own daughter?"

"He said that you would probably complain. He told me to do this." Drew patted her on the head. "Oh, and our parents are having dinner together."

"What is this world coming to???" Drew patted her on the head again. "Do that one more time and you will be known as the One-Handed Keeper." Drew held up his arms in surrender.

Sam's and Katima's arguments became more frequent as the week went on and passersby began to keep track of the subject of each argument. Sometimes it was the fact that he neglected to open a door for her or that he pulled his arm away when she went to link arms with him, but more often than not it was related to his wandering eyes. Kellyn and Shelby became use to hearing their names screeched in the hallways and the two finally had a chance to get to know each other better. By the end of the week, Sam had slept in the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor common rooms at least once.

"The Ravenclaw couches are not that comfy," he complained grumpily.

"I've fallen asleep on them," Kellyn said. "Besides, you could sleep in your own bed, you know, like a normal person."

"But then I have to see her."

"Well, that's your problem, not everyone else's."

"She's really not that bad when she's not being paranoid, possessive, and clingy."

"I'll take your word for it," Kellyn said, not hiding the sarcasm in her voice. Sam muttered something foul under his breath. "It seems to me that you are the only person in this whole school who doesn't know the truth about you."

"And what's that?"

"You aren't a one-woman man, nor do you plan on being one for awhile."

"I have a girlfriend."

"Can you honestly call her that? She's your go-to girl, you said it yourself."

"I did not say that," he insisted angrily. "You're full of shit."

"I'm full of shit?"

"I am beginning to think you are jealous."

"Me? Jealous? Hell no. I just don't see why you are kidding yourself with this so-called 'relationship.'"

"I can be a one-woman man," he retorted. "Maybe not with her—hell, I don't know—but I can." Kellyn eyed him as he gritted his teeth. "There's a reason why I keep coming back to her, you know," he said, getting defensive.

"Why?" Kellyn asked quietly, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"Because she's seen me at my worst," he said, equally quietly. "I guess if someone has seen you at your worst, you can never disappoint them." His eyes clouded over and Kellyn could only guess the thoughts running through his head. She wondered if his father was one of them. "And she's fucking hot," he said with a wolfish grin. Kellyn decided that like his best friend, it was hard to take Sam seriously for long.

Friday morning, Kellyn woke up to hushed whispers.

"You wake her up!"

"No, you do it!"

"Do you have the confetti?"

"Oh, I almost forgot the…"

"Just wake her up!"

"She will shank me."

"Everyone ready? On the count of three: one, two, three!" Kellyn was bombarded by a pillow attack. When her tormentors finally ceased, she sputtered, staring at the girls crowded around her bed, not sure whether to laugh or scream. Stella gaily emptied a container of confetti on Kellyn's head and the remaining girls—Amadi, Helen, Shaylee, Jay-Jay, Sharon, Lily, and Rose—proceeded to pull out bottles of whipped cream.

"No," said Kellyn with wide eyes.

"Yes," they all responded with evil glares. Kellyn jumped out of her bed, screaming and running, trying to escape the clutches of her demonic friends. They did laps around the common room, Kellyn unsuccessfully dodging the whipped cream, before they took their battle out into the halls. Eventually they tackled her in front of the Great Hall, sat on her, and emptied the contents of the bottles before Professor Sharp yelled at them. He was about to hand out detentions for all of them (Rose was particularly appalled) when Neville Longbottom and Teddy Weasley came along and persuaded him otherwise. They winked at Kellyn and said happy birthday to her. Out of breath and covered in whipped cream, the girls ate breakfast with each other and then hit the showers.

Hagrid and Grwap each had a present for Kellyn. Hagrid presented Kellyn with a bracelet of braided unicorn hair and Grwap had found a caterpillar cocoon and with great care and probably a little help, put the cocoon in a glass jar.

"So Kewin can have snack snack if you hungee," was his explanation of the offering.

Neville and Teddy, however, knew what was important to a seventeen-year-old witch, and presented her with a bottle of Firewhiskey and good mead.

"Your father is going to kills us," whimpered Neville, regretting his actions when he saw Kellyn's exuberant reaction.

"Not if he doesn't find out," said Teddy and Kellyn at the same time.

Kellyn's real present arrived during afternoon tea, when a box was gently dropped into her lap with a letter on top. She recognized her mother's handwriting and opened the letter.

My Dearest Daughter,

It seems like only yesterday you were my sweet little girl with unquenchable desire to fly like a bat out of hell and a penchant for wearing summer dresses with wellies. Well, it seems as though the only thing that changed is that you are no longer my little girl, but a woman.

Today, Kellyn, you are seventeen, a legal witch. You are now free to make your own decisions, explore the unknown, and dictate your life. You have so much ahead of you, so many opportunities, hopes, and dreams. It is time to make your own reality, to go out and make memories to last a lifetime. Just remember that we will always be your parents, parents who love and support you and want the best for you, even if we show it in the oddest ways.

In celebration of your journey into womanhood, I have enclosed a package. This is a family heirloom, which was given to me on my seventeenth birthday and given to your grandmother on hers, and so on and so forth. Treasure it—it is valuable both monetarily and spiritually. It is time for you to have it and I hope that you will give it to your daughter when she becomes of age.

Bundles of love to our beautiful daughter,

Mum and Da

Kellyn touched the parchment, feeling rather sentimental, as her friends gathered around her on the dock. Kellyn opened the box, carefully digging through the stuffing. What she found left her speechless. She saw a golden chain and gently took hold of it, pulling it out of the box. Strung on the chain was a brilliant piece of Chinese Fireball eggshell. It was scarlet and speckled with gold. The girls cooed, admiring the piece of jewelry, but Kellyn did not utter a word as she slipped the long chain over her neck, letting the eggshell rest under her ribcage. The sun made the gold speckles glitter and she fought back tears of pride and love. Sam caught on and nonchalantly placed his hand on top of hers.

"If I am not mistaken," he said quietly, "that will look stunning with your dress tonight." Kellyn simply smiled.

Kellyn smoothed her yellow dress, glancing at herself in the mirror. The dress was simple, with spaghetti straps and a hem that barely brushed the tops of her knees. It was the necklace that stood out, its red hue in the spotlight, glittering with gold. Her hair was left down, pinned back on one side and in loose curls. All that was left was to pick a pair of shoes.

She knew she was going to wear the white heels, but she knew that by picking this pair, that would mean two things: one, that she would be ready and have to face her party, and two, that she would have blisters on the back of her heels. She was nervous; she blamed it partially on the necklace, feeling as though she was carrying the weight of the world and a new-found responsibility for the one and only thing she had wanted to be responsible for: herself. It was an odd feeling, knowing that she was in charge of herself. She had strived for this moment throughout her adolescence, and now that she was facing it, the prospect seemed rather frightening. She would have to face her party, she would have to face the music, she would have to face her age, and most of all, she would have to face the blisters on her heels. But perhaps, this was one of the things she could handle.

She went down to the common room to search for band-aids. The room was empty, with everyone either already at her party or off on their own adventure. Off to the side of the room was a small first aide kit and she rummaged through it, finding two bandages. She bent over to put them on her heels and heard steps from above. A figure dashed through the common room, pausing at the doorway and turning back to her.

"Kellyn?"

"Drew? I thought you would be…?"

"I forgot your present," he said sheepishly, holding up a small envelope.

"Oh," she said, blushing. "You look nice." Drew was wearing black dress robes, a dark green shirt, and a black tie.

"Thanks, you look…" he trailed off, searching for the word.

"Yeah," Kellyn interjected after a moment, sparing him the embarrassment. "Thanks."

"Do you want to open it now?"

"What?"

"Your present."

"Oh, um, sure," she said, he stepped toward her, handing her the envelope. She took it with a smile, opening it up, pulling out a thick piece of paper. Scrawled on the back were the words, "our little secret." Kellyn looked at him skeptically. Drew sighed and flipped the paper over, revealing the picture of them from the previous week. Kellyn sat on Drew's lap, sound asleep with her head tucked into the crook of his neck and a faint smile on her lips, as Drew examined his cards, his arm wrapped around her waist. Kellyn laughed at the picture and gave Drew a hug. "Thank you," she said. They stood there for a moment, not sure what to do.

"I should head over to your party," he said.

"I'll see you there." Drew began to walk out of the room, pausing in the doorway, once again. "What I meant to say," he said with hesitation, "was that you look beautiful." In a moment, he was gone and she was alone in the common room, pondering his words. Outside, Drew kicked himself for slipping up again.

Beautiful? Merlin fuck, what was he thinking? She was a silly little girl, the bitchy-but-not witch who had infiltrated the school and his mind. At the rate he was going, he was going to end up as neurotic as her.

Kellyn looked at herself in a mirror in the Ravenclaw common room, still bewildered at Drew's words. Beautiful? Merlin fuck, what was he thinking? She was a silly little girl—well, she was a woman now, legally speaking—the girl he instinctively despised the moment she had stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. And now, was she in his head? At the rate he was going, he was going to end up as neurotic as her, she concluded.

"Wow," the word was breathed inside the doorway. Kellyn looked in the mirror to see Sam in the room, impeccably dressed and looking at her in awe. His eyes roamed her body, searching for the words to say. "You look…" he trailed off. "You clean up well, Wood."

"Thanks Malfoy," she said, her lips twisting into a grin. "You really know how to give a girl a compliment."

"It is a delicate art, one which I…have…refined…over the years," his voice slowed as Kellyn reached up to straighten out his tie.

"I can tell. Your practice has paid off." He gulped and smiled.

"No, but really. You look…" Beautiful? "…stunning," he said after a moment's hesitation. "Well," he said, back to his usual confident self, "what's the point of looking stunning if there is no one to stun? My love, we have a party to get to." He held out his arm for her and she took it, letting him lead the way. "Nervous?"

"A little, I suppose. More excited than nervous. I can't possibly thank you for everything…" she trailed off. Sam shrugged.

"It was nothing."

"No it wasn't."

"We had a deal."

"Taking notes in History of Magic for a birthday bash to end all birthday bashes? I would hardly call that even."

"You're right… your job is much harder." Kellyn rolled her eyes. "I dumped her."

"What…?"

"I dumped Katima." Kellyn stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh."

"I guess you were right."

"Sam…"

"I can't be a one-girl man with her. There have to be some other girls who can handle me." Kellyn was half-proud that he relinquished himself from the Slytherin's grip, but couldn't help but smile at his own selfish presumptions. "But tonight is about you, not me. Go get them princess," he said, showing the door to the Room of Requirement. Kellyn took a deep breath and pulled the door open. It was dark and she walked a few steps, her heels clicking on the ground. Then, the room exploded in light, everyone jumping out and shouting.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLYN!!!" Kellyn squealed in joy, seeing every single person she knew well at Hogwarts here to celebrate with her. She made her way through the crowd, trying to thank every person as music blared around her. Sam handed her a bottle of good wine and told her to, "have at it," and Kellyn poured herself a glass, enthusiastically. After that, the party began to roar, as alcohol oozed from every crevice of the room. Her cheeks ached from smiling so much and she pulled everyone onto the dance floor and let the festivities be only interrupted by cake, which was exactly what she had asked for.

"Kellyn, is that your third piece?"

"No, it's my fourth," she insisted to Sam.

"Merlin…"

"Well, I had one slice of banana bread cake and one slice of carrot cake and they were both so good that I had to have seconds."

"Well, I have not even have had firsts with dancing with you, so Miss Wood, will you do me the honor of this dance?"

"Oh, I was kind of thinking of another slice."

"No," he said, taking her hand. Kellyn grabbed her fork quickly, licking off the remains of the delectable icing before Sam had her in his clutches. It was then, as the music slowed, that she was able to take in the scene. It had been just a little over two months since she had arrived at Hogwarts and she had met so many people, people who genuinely cared for her, people who made her laugh, people who she could argue with, people to fly with, people to dance with… she had people. She had friends; and to have them all gathered in one room was…

"Magical. This is magical."

"So, everything you dreamed of?"

"And more," she whispered in his ear. She kissed him on the cheek, thankful for all his hard work, and rested her head on his shoulder. His hands, firmly gripping her lower hips, moved so he had wrapped around her waist, his touch gentle, almost tender. She could feel his soft gaze on her, his breath tickling her ear. "There's no way you could have possibly disappointed me."

"I know that, princess," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I know that."

A/N: Sam or Drew? Your thoughts. Thanks for waiting so patiently for this and please review!