So, I am not sure if any of my original readers are still interested this story considering I haven't updated in 7 whole years. But the other day I stumbled across the old notebook that had the plot for this one mapped out, and it inspired me to re-read the original story and it made me want to update, on the off chance any of the original fans are still out there.

I am hoping to try and update a bit more, but as the seven-year long break between updates proves, life gets in the way so I can't promise anything. I do have a storyline mapped out though, and eventually I would like to tell the whole story.

James POV

I awoke the next morning to feelings of jubilation. I stretched out slightly in the bed and reflected on the fact I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this content. I was completely and utterly happy. Memories of yesterday's date replayed over and over in my head and I felt my heart swell in my chest because finally, after months of misread signals and heartbreak, Hope and I were officially a couple.

Fred had teased me mercilessly about how much of a romantic sap I seemed when I came to bed looking like a lovesick fool last night, and I didn't even care. I knew it came from a good place; he was getting his own back for the years of teasing I had given him with regards to Sky. Besides, I knew he was happy that Hope and I finally seemed to have worked out our rhythm. We'd both had a serious talk not long after the kiss in the library, as Fred had wanted to know that I was serious about Hope, that she wasn't just another notch my bedpost that I'd walk away from in a few months' time. I think he knew that this was different, that Hope was special to me, but he wanted to be sure. However, I don't think he was expecting me to look him in the eyes and admit that I wasn't just serious about her, I was in love with her. That had thrown him, and he had nodded for a while before saying 'well in that case, I guess I have nothing to worry about?' and had clapped me on the back, telling me how great it was that his best friend and favourite cousin hadn't just stopped fighting with each other but were now falling for each other.

I wasn't sure how long I lay there, just allowing myself to reflect on how bloody wonderful the last 24 hours had been, but when I checked my watch it was still only 7.15am. I toyed with the idea of going back to sleep, it was Sunday after all, and the excitement of the day's events had kept me up pretty late last night. But at the same time, I had this overwhelming urge to see Hope.

I had asked last night if she wanted to have breakfast with me this morning, but she'd already agreed to eat with Roxy and Brooke to go over the highlights from the date. After explaining this she had looked at me with concern and asked if I was mad, which made me laugh out loud. I could never be mad at her for wanting to spend time with her friends and my family. She'd then questioned if it was ok for her to speak about our date, or whether I wanted it to remain private. That had thrown me, no other girl had ever asked me that before. It really moved me that she had even thought about it and taking her face in my hands I told her as much, before confirming that it was completely fine to tell them about it. Roxy had helped me plan the date after all, I thought it only fair she heard about how well received it had been.

I knew if I got up now, I would be able to see Hope before breakfast. She was an early riser, whereas Roxy most definitely was not, so I could probably get half an hour of Hope's time at least before her breakfast date with the girls. This gave me the motivation I needed to pull myself out of bed and into the shower.

When I emerged from my dorm room twenty minutes later, I was happy to see that Hope was already up and sitting alone in the common room, curled up in one of the big chairs. I took a moment to study her before I approached, marvelling that this amazing, strong, intelligent, stubborn woman was now officially dating me. She looked so beautiful sitting there, a slant of light coming in through the big bay window, illuminating one side of her face and giving her a halo glow. She had a roll of parchment balanced on the arm of the chair and she was studying it intently as she chewed on the end of her pen.

After staring at her for a few minutes I started walking again and as soon as I hit the bottom step she looked up. When her eyes met mine, her face broke out into one of those earth shattering smiles that make me go weak, and a slight blush came to her cheeks.

'Hi' I said as I reached her, before bending down and kissing her softly on the lips.

'Hey yourself' she said as I pulled away, before scooting up on the chair and patting the space next to her, inviting me to join her.

I flopped down next to her and took her hand in mine, feeling another wave of happiness wash over me as she laced her fingers with mine and looked up at me, giving me another shy smile.

'So, how did you sleep?' I asked as I ran my thumb over her knuckles.

'Really well, better than I have in weeks actually' she said, bringing her free hand up to caress my cheek.

'Oh really?' I questioned a little smugly, wiggling my eyes at her suggestively.

'Yes, you prat' she said as she let out a laugh and playfully gave me a shove 'although the other girls in my dorm were a bit weird when I got in….'

'How so?' I asked as she trailed off.

I knew her trepidation about the way people were whispering about us and I didn't want this to be something that was going to cause her to doubt the viability of our relationship again.

'Oh, it was nothing' she said shrugging, 'just a lot of staring at me when I came up to bed. It was as if they were trying to work out what had happened between us on the date just by looking at me.'

She must have sensed my concern because she ran a hand through my hair and said affectionately 'don't worry, the staring isn't going to scare me off. I want to be with you and if that means I have to put up with the staring, the whispering and people saying I am not good enough for you then so be it.'

'And you are sure you are ok with that?' I asked as I squeezed her hand.

'I think it is definitely a price worth paying if it means I get to be with you' she said as she leaned in and pressed a light kiss to my mouth. 'Besides' she carried on as she pulled back 'it can't be any worse than the whole school whispering about whether you pushed your best friend down a flight of stairs can it?'

'I guess not…so, tell me what are you working on?' I asked as I leaned over to pick up the parchment she had been staring at so intently before I disturbed her.

'Oh, just trying to memorise some new incantations for the duelling club championships in a couple of weeks…I am determined not to be knocked out in the third round by Bertie Cuthbert this year.'

'Competitive much?' I teased

'You know it.' she shot back playfully.

'Want me to quiz you?'

Her eyes light up a little bit when I asked, and I had to stifle a laugh. How had I, James Sirius Potter, the guy who tries to coast his way through school while puling pranks with his best mate, ended up with the girl who does a million extra credit assignments and revises for duelling club championships on the weekend? No matter how it had happened, there was no denying I was happy that it had.

'You sure you wouldn't mind?' she asked as she bit her bottom lip nervously, causing me to shift slightly. How she could look so innocent and seductive at the same time without it being intentional?

I let out a contented sigh, snuggled back into the chair, putting my arms around her and pulling her into my chest.

'Of course not' I said as I kissed her temple softy, 'nothing would make me happier. Now tell me what do you do if you want a vine to grow out of the floor and trap your opponents legs?'

I happily spent the next hour holding Hope close as I quizzed her, only stopping to give her what was supposed to be a quick kiss on the nape of her neck. However, she'd sighed dreamily at the gesture, snuggled back into my chest and moved her head to the side, inviting me to kiss her neck more, before turning in my arms and capturing my lips in a kiss. I loved it when she did that, when she initiated the physical contact between us, it reassured me that she was happy with how things were slowly progressing between us. I would have liked the kisses to last for longer, but I was painfully aware that I had promised her I would quiz her and I didn't want to be a distraction. I was also aware that it wouldn't be long until Gryffindors students started to move into the common room, and I didn't think Hope would appreciate being caught in another public display of affection similar to the incident in the library.

'As nice as this is, this isn't going to help you at the dualling championship' I said as I pulled away from her kiss and rub my nose to hers.

She closed her eyes and sighed before saying 'No, no it isn't. You are right…'

She tailed off and stroked my cheek affectionately and then moved in to kiss me again. Lord was it hard to resist her.

'This is definitely nicer though' she said as she pulled away and smiled shyly at me.

'Well, I can't argue with that but people will be getting up soon …' I looked at her and briefly ran my thumb over her bottom lip as I tried to find the right words to say 'I would not want to do anything that might unintentionally mess this up, and I don't want to give people more reasons to whisper than they already have. I know it makes you uncomfortable'

I half expected her to get defensive and angry, to tell me she was a big girl who made her own decisions but to my surprise she ran a hand through my fringe softly and hummed to herself while she contemplated my words.

After a brief pause, she nodded and said, 'I think you are probably right but if this is going to work, I have to get used to all the whispering and staring.'

'it will fade eventually, once the student population realise that we are together they will get bored.'

She smiled at me and squeezed my hand before muttering 'together, I like that'

'Me too' I said kissing her softly, before getting hold of the parchment and starting to quiz her again.

We were so engrossed in the task that we didn't even notice Roxy and Brooke until Roxy cleared her throat rather dramatically. Hope jumped a mile, pulling away slightly so she was no longer nestled in my arms, much to my disappointment. However, she just adjusted herself so I was still holding her in a loose hug.

'Rox, Brooke, morning' she said sheepishly.

'Glorious morning to you both' I added, unable to keep the grin off my face.

'And to both of you' Brooke said with a wink, not eve trying to hide her amusement.

'Yes, good morning…' Roxy said, looking between the two of us, clearly taking in our closeness and eyeing the fact I had my arm around Hope 'I take it the date went well then?' she finished, cracking a playful smirk.

'No, it was awful, a complete disaster. I think it is fair to say Wood hates me and clearly I detest her' I said, laughing at the way Hope shoved me playfully.

'Watch it Potter, there is still time for that to happen. I mean the date was lovely, the company was only so, so…' Hope replied teasingly before shooting me a wink.

'Urgh, it is weird, they flirt in the same way they used to fight' Brooke said as she rolled her eyes, before smiling kindly at us and adding 'you both look happy though, which is nice'.

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. I pulled Hope back close to me, kissed the top of her head and said 'I am. I am completely, and utterly blissfully happy.'

Hope blushed and Roxy made a gaging gesture at us, causing me to stick my tongue out at her.

'Well, as adorable and sickening as it is to see my cousin stare gooey eyed at my best friend, I would like to get to breakfast before you completely ruin my appetite with this disgustingly happy display' Rox said teasingly.

Hope nodded at her and turned to me 'you don't want to join us, do you?'

I had to stifle an amused smile as I saw Roxy gesturing behind Hope, making it perfectly clear she did not want me butting into their prearranged plans to re-hash the night before.

I put my hand to Hope's face and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, 'no, I wouldn't want to impose. Enjoy breakfast with your friends and I will be down shortly. I'll wait for either Al or Lil to wake up, it'll be nice to have a sibling breakfast.'

'Ok, if you are sure?'

'I am. Besides, we are still on for meeting later to sort out Gryffindors quidditch supplies for the year, right?'

She smiled at me and nodded 'yep, 2pm in the changing rooms?'

'I'll be there' I said, before reaching forward and kissing her slightly on the lips.

Roxy made another fake gag sound again, while Brooke wolf whistled at us, causing Hope's cheeks to turn an adorable shade of red, and she buried her head sweetly in her hands for a second to recompose herself. I felt a pang of disappointment when she disentangled herself from me and stood up to leave.

'Ok, ok enough teasing, do you want me to give you any of the details or not?' Hope asked, poking them both jokingly in their shoulders.

'You'd better give us all the details, Dom made it very clear to me if I did not write to her telling her every juicy detail about yesterday then I would be in big trouble!' Roxy exclaimed dramatically

'And why can't I write to Dom to tell her myself?' Hope asked, clearly confused

'Ummm because you can't be trusted to tell the whole truth to anyone other than me. Duh' Rox said

'Ummm, do I get a say in this? I asked, 'maybe I don't want my whole family talking about my private life'.

'Since when has that EVER stopped us?' Rox said sticking her tongue out at me.

She had a point; they would talk about me whether I wanted them too or not. And really, it was nice to know that in this instance they were happy for me, and their gossiping came from a good place.

'Fair point. Ok ladies, well have a lovely breakfast and don't get too carried away talking about what a wonderful catch I am and how Hope is the luckiest women alive to have bagged me for her own' I said, winking.

While Rox merely snorted at my suggestion, Brooke muttered 'yeah right' under her breath and Hope rolled her eyes at me before leaning forward, kissing me softly on the lips and saying 'yeah, alright. I will see you later, that is if your pompons big head can fit into the changing rooms'.

I laughed lightly at her playful comment, as she turned and linked her arms with Roxy and Brooke, as they all turned to leave. They walked over to the portrait but just before walking through Hope turned around and gave me one more huge smiled, 'later boyfriend' she said, winking at me. Clearly enjoying the startling cries from the other two. She grabbed hold of their hands and pulled them through the portrait before she said anything else, and suddenly the room went quiet.

I flopped back on the chair, missing the warmth of Hope in my arms but unable to keep the grin off my face.

About thirty minutes later Lily emerged from her dorm room and was clearly taken aback when I stood from my position on the chair, bounced over to her and grabbed her in a hug, spinning her round, before placing her back on two feet on the ground.

'Morning my darling little sister, what a glorious day it is.'

She looked at me quizzically before saying 'good date then?'

'And what makes you think that?'

'Well you are awful chipper and you just called it a glorious day when it is chucking buckets out there' she said with a raised eyebrow, before giving me a playful shove and saying 'besides you are grinning in a wholly unnatural way'.

I laughed before giving her hair a half-hearted tussle.

'Yeah, it was good. Really good. Great actually. Do you want to grab breakfast together and I can tell you about it?'

'Oh James that would be lovely!'

'I can leave a message for Al, see if he wants to join us when he is up?'

'Even better' Lily said, beaming at me.

Half an hour later Lily and I were busy stuffing ourselves with waffles, talking animatedly together. I had already given her an account of yesterday's date with Hope, to which she had responded with the appropriate amount of girlish squeals. Lily had then given me her account of her Hogsmeade trip yesterday. Part of me was happy to know she had only gone with some of our cousins and Ol. She was growing up so fast and she had always been so mature for her age, I knew it was only a matter of time before boys started noticing her. Or, more accurately, before she started noticing boys. The boys already noticed her, I saw the way some of them looked at her and it definitely made my over protective big brother feeling rise to the surface.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard a voice that sounded a lot like Hope chiding me for this, telling me that it was up to Lily who she wanted to date and when, not up to me, and that my job as her brother was to support and love her. Typical, even when she is not physically here to call me out for my sexist thinking she still manages to do so. I stole a glace further up the table to where she was sitting between Rox and Brooke laughing and talking at a mile a minute. Her eyes caught mine and she smiled at me, and I felt a blush creep across my cheeks as I ginned back at her like an idiot, before returning my attention back to Lil.

I was just about to ask her about what her plans for the rest of the day were going to be when I noticed Al rushing towards us. My good mood faltered slightly as he got closer and I saw the look on his face.

'Al, what's wrong?' I asked as he came and sat next to me, all serious and brooding.

'Yeah, what's wrong, has something happened, is it dad?' Lily chimed up next to me, her smile fading as worry crept across her face

'No, no, dad is fine but have either of you seen this?' Al asked unrolling a copy of the daily prophet from under his arm and passing it to us.

I sat up when I saw the headline, which read 'Dark Wizard Syndicate Caught Operating in Liverpool'

'Dad's case?' Lily asked looking at Al, and he nodded to confirm.

I scanned the article, my mind swirling slightly. Before the start of this year dad had sat us down and explained that there had been some troubling activity reported in the UK recently, with the unrest across Europe slowly starting to take a hold here. He had tried to brush it off as being nothing too serious, something we shouldn't worry too much about. He had explained that he didn't want us to change our behaviour in anyway, but he wanted us to be alert, just in case.

Although both our parents had tried to present a calm face, we knew it was probably more serious than they were letting on. We'd grow up knowing we had to be more alert than some of our peers, even if dad didn't work in the field he did he would still be a target. There would always be those who practiced the dark arts who would want to hurt him. Yet, despite the few extra safety measures we had grown up with, we'd never really felt like we were threatened. Mum and dad had never made a fuss about anything before, so even by simply telling us we had to be more watchful we knew this time it was different. It was serious.

Feeling eyes on me I looked up to see Hope starting at me, evidently concerned.

'You ok?' she mouthed to me

I tried to smile reassuringly at her as I gave a quick nod, before going back to look at the paper. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach, unsure if I should tell Hope about any of this or not. I had already let it slip to her that dad thought she could be a target, although she hadn't really reacted to that news. I wasn't sure what conversation had been had with her family and the ministry after Katie was attacked, I guess maybe she had already been told there was a risk that whoever went after her mum could come after the rest of the family.

'Do you think we should be worried?' Lily asked beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to the present.

'I am sure it will be fine, Lil, nothing to worry about. But it might be a good idea to write to dad, see what he has to say?' I suggested, putting a comforting arm around her.

'Or we could floo him?' Al suggested.

'That would be good' Lily said, 'speaking to him face to face would probably be easier. Plus, I would feel better if I could see him.'

'Yeah, ok you are right, although we'll need privacy. Neville would probably let us use his office, we can go and ask him after Al has some breakfast.' I said, shooting my little a brother a pointed look.

'Jeez, ok mum' he said, rolling his eyes, grabbing a croissant, ripping a piece of dramatically and stuffing it in his face 'happy?'

'Ecstatic' I said

'Can we go then?' he asked, standing before I had a chance to respond

I stood up and gestured for him to lead the way, and started following him out of the great hall, allowing myself one last glance at Hope as I passed. She smiled at me and waved as I went past, and I tried to smile back as if everything was normal. it obviously didn't fool her though, as a concerned frown pass over her features.

I knew in that instance she was going to ask me what was wrong when me met later to sort out the quidditch supplies, and right now I really wasn't sure what I would tell her.

The minute I walked into the changing rooms later I knew I had been right at breakfast. It was clear Hope wasn't going to let this go. I had barely stepped into the room before she was in front of me demanding to know what had happened and why I looked so tense at breakfast.

'Jeez, can't I even have hello before you start giving me the inquisition?' I asked ruefully, running my hand through my hair nervously.

'Ok, hello. Now tell me what is going on?' she said, not deterred.

'And can I have a kiss?'

She narrowed her eyes at me and looked as if she was going to say something but she clearly thought better of it as she stood on tiptoe and kissed me lightly on the lips before pulling away and smiling slightly and whispering 'is that better?'

'Most definitely' I said, smiling down at her and wrapping my arms around her waist, bring her too me and resting my forehead to hers. My anxiety lessened slightly as I took a couple of deep breaths, savouring the moment and the feeling of having her this close to me.

She let us stay quietly like this for a few seconds before she pulled out of my embrace, grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me on to the nearest bench before stating firmly 'now, tell me what is going on'.

I let out a breath, ruffled my hair a bit more and tried to work out how much to tell her and how to explain it.

'Did you see the front of the Daily Prophet today?'

'Yeah, is this what it is about? The stuff in Liverpool?' she asked, looking at me intently.

'Yeah, I mean kind of. My dad has been working on outbreaks of dark magic crime syndicates across the UK and, well this was one of the cases he has been working on-'

'He's ok right? Nothing has happened to him?' Hope asked, squeezing my hand and looking at me with concern in her eyes.

I smiled despite myself, I couldn't help it, her concern in that moment reminded me once again how lucky I was to have her in my life. On impulse I brought the hand I was holding to my mouth and kissed it quickly before saying 'no, no it is nothing like that. I mean it puts him in danger obviously, but then, what is new. My dad is always in danger.'

She squeezed my hand again, shooting me half a smile, but didn't say anything allowing me to continue in my own time.

'No, it is just that we think something more is going on here than a few crazy radicals. Before schools started mum and dad sat us down and spoke to us a little bit about what is happening in the rest of Europe and how it is spreading here and they gave us this lecture about watching our backs. It was completely unlike them-'

'Have they said anything else since?' Hope cut in, as she brushed her fingers slightly down my neck in a comforting gesture, causing me to shudder slightly.

'No, not really. I mean we had a floo conversation with dad after breakfast and he kind of just reiterated what he said at the end of summer. Try not to worry, carry on as normal, but be on guard. Ha, I am not sure how we carry on as normal while being more on guard' I said, frustratingly running my hand through my hair. I turned to look at her properly and took a breath before carrying on 'we also spoke about you and your family too…'

'In what way?'

'Whether you were in danger' I said bluntly.

'Oh' she said, looking down at her clasped hands.

'Hope, I just, I mean I want you to be safe and I worry at the moment that you might not be and I guess…I don't know, I ju-'

She learned over, kissing me and cutting me off before pulling away and saying 'look, I know the ministry think I am more at risk following mum's attack. She was clearly targeted because of the advancements she had made in her treatment of war victims with PTSD, and their attack failed, so they are likely to be a bit pissed. And even if it hadn't failed, they could still have wanted to make an example of our whole family.'

'You already knew all this?' I asked, trying to sound as kind as I could, running my thumb over hers in my hand where it lay.

'Yeah, I mean why else do you think I am taking the duelling championships so seriously this year?' she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

'Honestly, I just thought you wanted to beat Bertie…' I trailed off with a shrug.

I was relieved when she laughed and shot me a smile 'Ok well yeah, that is part of it. But the main reason is I thought it would be good to be prepared in case anyone does come after me, even more so now we are together.'

'What do you mean?' I asked, perhaps a bit more sharply than I meant too.

She shrugged and said 'just that I know dating you will come with some added risk-'

'Hope, I-'

'No, James please let me finish, please?' she requested, looking at me sternly.

I nodded ok and let her carry on.

'I know it will come with some added risks ok. I know who your dad is, I am not naïve to think that wouldn't make things a bit more complicated. Besides, it isn't like Violet hasn't made threats against me a-'

'I would never let her hurt you, Hope' I cut in, frustrated that Violet continued to cast a shadow over our relationship.

'James, you can't promise that ok. You can't be around me all the time, nor do I want you to be. Besides, I don't want some guy to save me, I want to be able to save myself ok? And I want to be able to be among my family and be in a relationship with you and know that I have done all I can to protect myself and others. I don't want to give up the people I care about, but I don't want to live in fear either. That is why I wanted to get better with the duelling, so I am able to do that. Does that make sense?'

I nodded, 'yeah, it does' I said stroking her cheek.

We were quiet for a few minutes before I broke the silence by saying 'I shouldn't have taken you to Birmingham yesterday, it was foolish'

'James' she said softly 'you had all the permissions to go right, and your dad didn't try to stop you?'

'No, I checked with him loads before and he promised me he thought it would be just as safe as if I took you to Hogsmeade, perhaps even safer. He said there was no suspicious activity in Birmingham and if we were in all the muggles areas then it would be really safe.' I said, shrugging.

'So essentially you are being ridiculous?' She said playfully giving me a little shove.

When I continued to look at my hands and not meet her gaze she let out a frustrated noise and said 'look James, it isn't like I didn't know there were risks with going with you yesterday, and nothing happened, at least nothing bad. You know what did happen, I had a great time and I felt really happy and carefree, for the first time in what feels like forever. Besides, I am not some china doll that needs wrapping up in cotton wool. So, can you please stop moping and being ridiculous, I made my own decision to go yesterday, nothing bad happened and I am fine.'

'I guess…'

'There is no 'I guess' about it Potter, just stop being so bloody silly. And while you are at it kiss me.' She bossily ordered, knocking her shoulder to mine teasingly.

I laughed and moved into her personal space 'well, I guess if you insist…?' I teased as I hovered over her lips.

'I do' she said breathlessly, bringing her had up to cup the back of my neck, causing me to shudder again 'I really do.'

And with that I move in to capture her lips in mine. We spent the next half an hour like that, caught up in each other's lips, only breaking apart to catch our breath before coming back together.

Eventually Hope pulled away and after taking a second to compose herself she pointed out we hadn't yet sorted out the quidditch gear and we had promised Neville we would let him know if there was anything that needed replacing by first thing tomorrow morning.

I let out a groan. As much as I wanted to carry on just sitting here kissing Hope, making up for all the lost time and misread signals last year, I knew she was right. It was supposed to be an easy task and we were supposed to be done by 3.30pm but it was already past 4pm, and Hope had a prefect meeting at 5pm.

'You are right' I said standing and holding my hand out to her to help her up, 'maybe we should impose a no kissing when working on quidditch tasks rule. Otherwise we might not retain our title this year.'

Hope laughed, grabbed hold of my shirt and brought me in for a quick kiss 'perhaps you are right' she sighed against my lips as we broke apart.

I felt my heart swell in my chest again, almost forgetting my earlier concerns, and I promised myself as long as I could hold onto this wonderful women in my arms then everything would be ok. And besides, surely dad was right, there was nothing too serious to worry about.