Aftermath
Aunt Bridget's outburst aside, the Cèilidh had been just as amazing as it was every year. Of course, Moire's mother, who usually had a soft and gentle disposition, had to be restrained from barging into Bridget's quarters and hexing her into next week, and could be seen sporting a frown whenever she was deep in thought, but there were no further incidents. Aunt Aoife had drunk everyone under the table, Moire had spent the better part of the night dancing with James, toasts were made, and just as the clock struck midnight, glasses were raised, and kisses were exchanged. Moire and James hid behind a large pillar for the New Year's kiss, out of sight.
"Where's my daughter?" She had heard her father ask, a slight slurring in his words, interrupting their kiss.
She had discreetly rejoined the crowd and made her way to her family, where her father led a toast in her honor, the crowd broke into a somewhat offkey rendition of Auld Lang Syne complete with Callum's skillful bagpiping and whatever the hell Ewan was doing with his bagpipe, before Moire and her cousins made their way to the barn to finish the night. Moire had looked around at them, the crown of braids on her hair undone, her hair cascading in waves down her back, and a new sense of pride took over her as she pictured them all at the Cèilidh years from now.
"Let's get out of here," she whispered in James' ear, and they left as half of the people in the barn were passed out, either from exhaustion or drunkenness, and the other half not too far form it.
Unlike the first night they returned to her room, they hadn't been giggling. The air had been charged with the same electricity than in the laundry room at the Burrow, and they had looked for any excuse for physical touch while on their way back to Moire's room, whether it had been a feather light touch around a waist, or a hand caressing an arm. By the time they had gotten behind closed doors, they had practically rushed to rip their clothes off, which hadn't been easy, given the kilts. And as they fell back in bed a few hours later, Moire's heart beating so fast she was certain James could hear it from where he was laying next to her. He had reached out and pulled her close to him, and as she had laid with her head on his chest, a giddy feeling she had wondered if maybe he felt the same as her. Of course, she wasn't a second year anymore, so she had forced the feeling down.
The Potters and the Weasleys had spent the first two days of January at the Manor before they left early in the morning on the third, two days before they were all supposed to head to Hogwarts, while McKenzie stayed at the Manor until the day of. Moire had felt jittery with nerves the morning they would apparate to Kings Cross station. It was quite dumb of her to, after all why would things change between her and James? Of course, they'd probably continue sneaking around at the castle until Salazar knew when. She kept an eye out as they entered the station but could not see the Potters or the Weasleys, which was quite a feat considering the big group of gingers and the occasional messy black hair was not hard to spot usually. Defeated, she embraced her parents before heading to the train along with Kenzie.
"Do you realize this is the last time we'll be doing this?" Kenzie asked, her voice tainted with sadness and a smidge of nostalgia.
Only then did it fully hit Moire that the next time she would be on this train would be on her last trip back home. In silence, the two girls looked around the train, memorizing every detail of it.
"Hey, remember when I walked into your compartment in first year?" Moire asked with a sad smile as they went in search of their friends.
"Yeah, you were mad at your cousins and tried to find an empty spot. And then Thompson walked in and tried to make us give up the compartment so her and her friends could sit," Kenzie laughed. "I thought you were going to rip her hair out."
"How did this bitch end up in Gryffindor, she never fights her battles alone."
"Well, she does have big bollocks trying your nerves every day."
"Moire! McKenzie! We're in here!" They heard Emma call.
They were ushered into the compartment and all hugged each other, catching up on their holidays. Emma's fair skin looked a bit sunburnt, but overall a couple of shades tanner from her vacation in Mexico, which made her blue eyes pop out. Erin's dark hair seemed shorter now, something they all gushed about. As for Leah, she was holding Kenzie's fluffy white cat, Peaches, that she had volunteered to look after while she was at the Manor. They caught up enthusiastically, only stopping to buy sweets when the trolley witch came by their compartment. Halfway through the trip, the compartment door opened, and James poked his head in.
"Hi, Potter," Kenzie smirked.
He greeted them politely before facing Moire, a box in his hands.
"Mum sent this. She, and I quote, thanks you for having us troublemakers at the Manor, and she says the family enjoyed having you around."
"Tell her I said thank you and that you were all perfect guests," Moire smiled, butterflies in her chest.
"I did, and for some reason, she doesn't believe me. But she sends this," he said as he handed her the box.
"Is that…?"
"Mum's fudge? Yes. There also should be a jar of Gran's persimmons jam in there, since you seemed to like it so much."
"Thanks, James."
Cue Emma choking on a pumpkin pasty. James smiled sheepishly, ran a hand through his hair, and then left.
"Since when is Potter James," Leah exclaimed, throwing her arms up, scaring Peaches who jumped from the seat and into Moire's lap.
"Since I was in a house where calling the name Potter would result in five people turning around," she lied smoothly, scratching Peaches behind her ears.
"Hmm. Nothing to do with the sex dreams then?" Erin asked tactfully, eyebrow raised.
"Nothing at all."
They dropped the subject, as her nose seemed to not have betrayed her for once. After they put on their uniforms, Emma and Leah fell asleep, Kenzie and Erin played a quiet game of chess, and Moire was reading the rare potions book Bill and Fleur had gotten her for Christmas while absentmindedly petting the cat purring on her lap.
oOo
The following couple of weeks had been mayhem. Professors doubled the workload of OWL and NEWT level students, and unfortunately for Moire, it meant extra work in potions for both. She thought Lupin would be a little less of a hard ass while he still had his newlywed glow, but she had been wrong. Classes aside, any time she wasn't spending on homework and studying was used for Quidditch practice, with the game against Ravenclaw scheduled for the third week of February.
As she laid in bed on the Friday of the end of the second week back at Hogwarts, she realized something quite strange. She could not remember the last time she had spent any time with James. Of course, it would be a lot harder to sneak around the castle considering the number of students always roaming the corridors and the gossiping portraits and ghosts who had nothing else to do with their time but help fuel the rumor mill. But she still had expected to hang out the way they had before their friendship had transpired into whatever mess it had become. As Kenzie was mumbling in her sleep, her hands clutched around a letter written in what seemed to be Callum's handwriting, something she really tried to ignore, and Leah snored lightly, Moire tried to dig in her memory.
She hadn't seen James much, yes, but he had seemed busy. Every time she had asked to spend time together, he seemed to be busy with something or the other. Just the Friday before, she had suggested they go flying to relieve stress after classes but he had told her that Gryffindor practiced at that time and that he'd promised his friends to work together on the mountain of homework Lupin had assigned for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She hadn't thought of it much, but now that she recalled, it seemed like he was trying to avoid her. She sat up in her bed, curtains drawn, and frowned. Yes, he did seem in a hurry, but he probably was under just as much stress as she was. She forced her shoulders to relax but couldn't do much for the knot in her stomach. She was probably imagining all of it, but years having to build walls around herself came back in full force and she felt herself pull away.
The next morning, however, she slept well past her usual wake up time. At nine in the morning, she opened her eyes, confused as to where she was, before she realized that she had slept for a lot longer than usual. Taking a quick shower during which she thanked every Founder that it was Saturday and she had nothing to do until practice that evening, she dressed warmly and left for the Great Hall, her roommates just starting to stir. Lily waved her over as soon as she walked in. It was still early by weekend standards, so there weren't many people there yet, though it was certainly a bit more populated than when she showed up at six thirty in the morning.
The younger Gryffindor was sitting with Rose and with the Scamander twins. All of them greeted her as she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea.
"You're up late," Rose noticed.
"I don't know what happened," the Scot replied after taking a sip. "Maybe I've just been tired, with helping out Professor Khan while studying for NEWTs and coming up with plays for Quidditch, I'm definitely overworked."
"What NEWTs are you taking at the end of the year," Lily asked, handing her a slice of buttered toast, which Moire thanked her for.
"Well, I'm going for a career in Potions, so definitely that, Herbology, Charms and Runes might be needed too, Transfiguration is always good, and Defense Against the Dark Arts because I liked the class. I was supposed to do Alchemy as well, but unfortunately that is only taught if there are enough students interested in the subject. But aside from that, I have no problem with any of those courses, aside from Transfiguration. I'm average at it, but I'll definitely have to study a lot more…"
"You could always ask James," Lily suggested. "He's quite good at it."
Moire mumbled into her cup. Of course, he was.
"I actually haven't seen much of him lately. We've both been busy, it seems. Speaking of, how was practice last night, boys?" She asked the twins.
Lorcan and Lysander looked at each other, perplexed, before looking back at her.
"We don't have practice on Fridays," Lorcan said.
"That's strange, James said he had to go for practice last Friday… Maybe I heard him wrong."
She distractedly chewed on her toast, her mind going back to the conversation she'd had with James the week prior. Could it be that James said he was going somewhere else? Or maybe…
It clicked in her mind. He had lied to her. He was avoiding her.
"Moire, go easy on the toast," Rose warned, a bit frightfully.
The half-eaten slice of toast in her hands had been crushed in her fist.
oOo
If there was usually one word to describe the general population of Hogwarts, it was tactless. Everyone was always in each other's business and in doing so, feelings were ignored, and the student body showed its denseness by its inability to read the room. Except this once. Hogwarts, in its entirety, could tell that Moire McLeoch was pissed.
It wasn't hard, actually. First, it had been quite obvious at Slytherin practice on the Saturday of the second week of classes. It had been snowing, the pit had been muddy, and she had been ruthless. Halfway through the practice, Albus Potter had asked if they could take a short break. Rumors had it she completely chewed him up and spat him out in front of the whole team.
"A break, Potter? You want a break? Tell me, have you managed to stop McLaughlin, Burke, or Jenkins from getting a hold of the Quaffle? Better yet, have you distracted Buchanan from the Golden Snitch? Because she's caught it twice in the past hour and you're slacking off. So, Potter, what makes you think you deserve a break?"
According to the stories, she had also turned to the rest of the team, her glare colder than the snow falling on them.
"Breaks don't win you games. So, the next one of you who wants a break might as well quit the fucking team and let me know now. I have plenty of players who would be thrilled to take over for you."
From there, with some help from the gossips of Hogwarts, it had been quite clear to the castle that everyone's deepest fear had come true: Moire McLeoch, who was mildly scary and no-bullshit on a regular day, was furious. Something had pissed her off, and whatever that was made the castle walk on eggshells. The only times she didn't seem like she wanted to find a way to shoot a killing curse using her eyes only was when she was helping out Professor Khan in her classes or when she was spending time with Lily Potter.
Of course, there were a couple of stupid Gryffindors who had a death wish. One day, as she was walking down the corridor on her way to her next class, a group of sixth years had been blocking the way. While almost everyone had parted like the red sea when she had barked at them to move, two had asked her, snickering, if it was "her time of the month". The entire corridor had frozen up in a deafening silence, and in a split second, bats flew out in a continuous stream from both their noses and the boys screams filled the previously silent hallway. She had scoffed and made her way to her class.
Olivia Thompson, who the rest of Hogwarts associated as Moire's least favorite person in the castle, had of course taken advantage of the situation, which had resulted in what almost rivaled the Great Potter-McLeoch Screaming Match of 2017. Speaking of which, the Hogwarts residents could not help but notice the absence of one James Sirius Potter, who had ironically become one of Moire's closest mates, as they could be seen before the winter holiday coming back from flying around the Quidditch pitch late at night, skirting the line of curfew. The two, who had seemed to spend quite a lot of time together, were now back to pre-seventh year James and Moire, who could not be seen in the same room outside of class. If rumors were to be believed, the two had spent Christmas and New Year with each other, some stories saying she had been to his house, while others insisted he was at hers instead. But all agreed on one thing: something had most likely happened during the holidays that had somehow snowballed into all of Hogwarts constantly looking behind their shoulders.
oOo
"Spill," Leah demanded as Emma, Erin, and herself surrounded Kenzie.
They had dragged their mate into the Room of Requirements, which had been made to turn into a cozy looking classroom and had forced her to sit on a chair as they all encircled her.
"I don't think you understand, she will slit my throat in half," the brunette refused.
"McKenzie, you were at the Manor, we know you know what happened," Erin insisted, arms crossed. She pulled a nearby chair and sat down, still staring Kenzie straight in the eyes. "Did they have a fight? Because I speak for all of us when I say that we noticed they haven't spent a single second together since he came to give her the fudge on the train."
"They seemed quite fine when he left the Manor, that's for sure," Kenzie muttered.
"Look, as much as I love Moire, I can't live with her when she's in this type of mood. It feels like our dormitory is colder than the Arctic, I can't take it!" Emma exclaimed, throwing her arms up.
After more pleading, a few threats, and some tears, Kenzie caved.
"Fine! But Moire can never find out I told you guys any of this or I will die! And if I do, trust me, I am taking all of you down with me! You specifically Emma, keep your mouth shut and for Salazar's sake, keep your shit together when I tell you!"
After promises that they would keep it to themselves, Kenzie said a silent prayer to Merlin that none of this would ever reach Moire's ears.
"They shagged."
"I beg your pardon?" Erin asked after a heavy silence.
"You heard me. After the whole will they, won't they, which apparently got worse at the Burrow from what I got out of her, I saw them sneaking into her room, holding hands and giggling, the first night at the Manor. I guess her cousins and Potter's family didn't realize, but Founders, if you knew what was going on, it was hard to ignore it. One of them would just conveniently appear out of nowhere, and the other would join us a few minutes later, and there was usually something out of place, like a shirt not correctly buttoned or messy hair. It also helps that most of us were drunk most of the time, which by the way, Moire's family drinks like…"
"Kenzie, don't get distracted," Leah warned.
"Right. Sorry. But yeah, they could barely keep their hands off each other. Hell, remember her aunt Gavina?"
There was a collective shudder, as well as red cheeks from Emma and Leah, which Gavina had asked if they were an item yet every time she saw them, followed by nods.
"I gather that's a yes. Well, Gavina found out as soon as she saw the two of them interact. I don't know what happened after, because she was in a very good mood the entire break, clearly, and until last week, everything was alright!" Kenzie concluded.
"So, I was right!" Emma exclaimed.
"Yes, you were, but you are going to keep your mouth shut!"
"Why wouldn't she tell us? We've heard about all her other fuckbuddies in excruciating detail," oh-so-level-headed Erin speculated. "Every time I see Andrew Davies, I have to remember he has a huge…"
"Yes, well that's because apparently, our dear friend has come to the realization that James Potter might not just be a friend with benefits," Kenzie interrupted her.
There was a pregnant pause as the three others looked at her like she had sprouted three heads and an extra arm. Emma shrieked, breaking the silence, and both her hands flew to her mouth.
"So, help me Merlin, if you tell me she's in love with Potter again, I am going to scream," Leah sighed.
"I knew this would happen," Emma screamed in a high-pitched voice. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! The second they started becoming mates, I knew all those old feelings would come running back!"
"Well, congratulations Emma, you were right. Just make sure you shut up about it in front of Moire, because she…"
"She'll kill you, we know," Leah, Erin, and Emma said in unison.
"Just reminding you in case you forgot," McKenzie mumbled.
"So, what do we do about this?" Emma asked, resulting in the other three glaring at her.
"We do nothing," Leah answered. "I like being alive."
"Leah's right," Erin agreed.
"But we can't let her mope around!" Emma exclaimed, her blonde bun bobbing around as she shook her head in disbelief.
"Moire McLeoch does not mope, she apparently rages, and do we remember how quickly she hexed those Gryffindors a couple days ago?"
"She won't hex us!"
"No, Emma, she'll poison us. And then, she'll bury us in the Quidditch pitch and plant flowers over our dead bodies," Leah reasoned.
It took a lot of convincing to make Emma drop it. Unfortunately, Moire was not someone who was easily helped when she cocooned up, and they would have to wait for her walls to drop a bit before they attempted anything.
oOo
The Weasley-Potter family realized something was up as the rumors started to spread. Moire was curt and cold with everyone of them, except for Lily. After the famed practice where she had unleashed her fury on the team, Albus and Scorpius had run to the Gryffindor Common Room after showering, and as they walked in, both of them collapsed on the couch next to Molly, Dom, and Roxanne.
"You two look like you've been through hell!" Alice Longbottom exclaimed from her seat on the ground with Rose.
"I don't know why or how, but McLeoch is pissed," Albus, who was too tired to turn into a bumbling mess at the sight of the strawberry blonde Gryffindor, exclaimed.
"She was like a fucking harpy!" Scorpius added. "I think I'm going to be sore for the next month. I'm not making it to our game against Ravenclaw next month. We'll all die before."
"I'm sure you're imagining it," Rose said rationally.
That prompted both the boys to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You can't just imagine Moire being mad," Scorpius explained. "It's obvious. If she's pissed about something, you'll know, because she's not passive aggressive."
"I don't think the word passive exists in her vocabulary. She is just downright aggressive. Remember the first game of the season, when she practically scored against Hufflepuff by hitting the Quaffle so hard it flew two thirds of the way through the field?" Albus reminded her. "That's what happens when she's mildly irritated. She almost kicked me off the team earlier because I said we should take a break!"
"Okay, maybe she's mad then," Roxy agreed.
"What do you think set her off?" Dominique asked.
"Not a clue. We came here because we thought James would know."
"He's in the library with Fred, August, Tom, and Declan," Molly informed, looking up from her book.
"He might not know," Rose said, frowning. "I don't think I've seen them hang out together since we got back. They've exchanged maybe ten words, from what I've seen."
"I swear, if James pissed her off somehow, I'm shaving his head in his sleep," Albus groaned.
"He can be an idiot at times," Roxy agreed.
Rose then attempted to schedule a spa night with Moire in the Prefects' bathroom the following night, to which the Slytherin captain had agreed to, but the conversation was curt and brisk, and Rose did not manage to get the reason of her anger out of her.
When asked, however, Lily denied any change in Moire's behavior. It seemed to the rest of her family that she was, as usual, blissfully unaware of the change in mood of her favorite person in the castle.
"How did she seem?" Albus, who had been hiding in the Gryffindor Common Room, asked later that week after Lily came back from studying potions with Moire in the library.
"What do you mean? She was fine, as usual," Lily replied, her eyes wide with questions.
"You haven't noticed how mad she is at everyone right now?" Her brother exclaimed.
"Why would Moire be mad?"
With a sigh, Albus had dropped the conversation. Of course, Lily hadn't noticed anything, and maybe it was for the best.
Roxanne had asked Fred as well when they snuck into the kitchens late at night for snacks at some point.
"Do you think James is behind it?" Roxy said.
"Who knows? They seemed to get along fine until we left the Manor. Hell, that prat kept ditching me to hang out with her most of the time. What could've changed?"
"I don't know. They haven't really hung out much since the start of the term. They were attached at the hip at the Burrow and the Manor, and now it's like we're back to them not getting along."
With that information in mind, Fred had asked James why he hadn't spent that much time with Moire since they had come back from the Burrow. The reply was inconclusive.
"What do you mean, he avoided the question?" Albus asked, eyebrow raised, as they had a little impromptu family meeting, sans James, or the younger two members of their family, who were already in bed snoring, in the kitchens.
"I mean he avoided the question. He literally looked at his wrist, which had no watch on it by the way, and said he had to run to meet Teddy."
"I don't understand, does that mean he's avoiding her on purpose?" Rose frowned.
"Do we think something happened?" Scorpius mused.
"It's not out of the question," Lucy nodded. "Did you see both of their faces after they kissed under the mistletoe?"
"They were also very close at the Manor. They danced together for half the night at the New Year's party, now that I think about it," Roxanne remembered.
"Same thing happened at the wedding," Molly agreed.
"Is James any different?" Scorpius asked.
"Well, he seems lost in his mind a lot," Fred answered. "The Scamander twins almost took his head off at practice because he wasn't paying attention. He's dropped the Quaffle a couple of times too. And when we're studying, he just stares at the same piece of parchment for a while before he shakes himself out of it."
"Maybe we're reading too much into this. Maybe they just had a fight. Either way, should we help them out?" Rose suggested after a long silence.
"If I want to die, maybe," Albus scoffed. "James created this mess, so he can sort it out himself. Hopefully before she feeds him to the Giant Squid."
"Or makes the giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest disembowel him."
"I feel bad," Roxy admitted.
"Look, Moire is still super mad. And from what her mates said, she's not going to listen to anyone until she's a bit less mad and can be reasonable. So, until she at least opens up to them, she's not going to react well to any of us trying to help out," Albus reasoned. "All we can do now is hope no one gets sent to the Hospital Wing…"
"Archie Smith and Elijah Taylor already were, courtesy of your mum's Bat Bogey hex that she taught Moire," Dominique reminded him. "As if she wasn't already scary before she learned that…"
"Well… no one else."
oOo
The student body was not alone in noticing the sudden change in dynamics around the castle. The Professors, who were surprisingly also gossips, were discussing the new shift in moods amongst the students when they should have been conferring about the curriculum and the upcoming exams.
"As long as no one is goofing around during my Gryffindor-Slytherin double class, I'll take it," Alicia Spinnet, who had taken over as Transfiguration Professor a few years back, shrugged. "They all seem so scared of saying the wrong thing that no one speaks aside from answering questions."
"She seemed fine this past holiday," Teddy said, frowning. "I wonder what changed. Zubeida, have you had a conversation with her yet?"
"She hasn't seemed so out of character in my classes," Professor Khan replied, shaking her head.
"Does it have anything to do with your brother, Teddy?" Professor Sinistra asked. "Merlin knows that every time Miss McLeoch is in a particularly bad mood, Mr. Potter is somehow behind it."
"He probably has something to do with the situation. He seemed quite… distracted at the wedding," Teddy agreed.
"Didn't they spend quite some time together that night?" Flitwick piped up.
"They looked awfully cozy sitting on a bench under her tartan, that's for certain," Minerva commented, not looking away from her paperwork but keeping a close ear on the conversation.
"Why do I have the feeling that this will end in another screaming match?" Professor Vector sighed.
All those who were present during the first conversation Moire and James had ever had during their third year shuddered at the reminder.
"That fiasco happened on my first month of teaching. I clearly remember telling myself that if that type of stuff happened every day, maybe I should just go back to my job as a Potions Researcher at the Ministry," Khan reminisced.
"Everyone always talks about that like it was the biggest fight to ever occur on Hogwarts grounds, I'm beginning to think it's being slightly exaggerated," Lupin, who had only been a Professor for the past two years and was not present at the fight, remarked. "I'm sure there was worse."
McGonagall put her papers down and took her glasses off, staring at him straight in the eyes.
"Teddy, I have been a professor for quite a while. I was there when your father and his friends were students, during all of James and Lily Potter's fights, as well as James and Severus dueling in the corridors. I was also present during an all-out brawl on the Quidditch pitch involving Harry Potter, Fred and George Weasley, and Draco Malfoy, and during years of outward hostility between Gryffindors and Slytherins, notably right after the war, when anti-Slytherin sentiments ran high, and I can assure you, to this day, no fight, argument, or row has ever topped the first time those two interacted."
"I think Moire kept changing between English and Gaelic towards the end," Neville remembered.
"Was that before or after their wands came out?" Alicia recalled.
"Alright, I get it, it was bad!"
"Exactly," Khan nodded solemnly. "And I have no idea why Neville and I thought it would be a good idea to have a meeting with both of them in the same room."
"Don't remind me, I had to repair my cardigan after trying to separate the two of them," Neville exclaimed in horror.
"Didn't they break two chairs and a potted plant?" Professor Babbling, who taught runes, enquired.
"And here I thought she fancied him her second year," Flitwick sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"She what?" Lupin laughed incredulously at the old wizard's statement.
"Oh, she absolutely did," Spinnet confirmed. "I thought she would burst into flames every time he was in the same room as her."
"I thought he did too. I mean, from his first year up until the big argument, he always looked at the back of her head and seemed to want to speak to her," Sinistra smiled fondly. "Poor child didn't know how to begin doing that. I'm pretty sure I saw him reach for her braid once before retracting his hand."
"Oh, thank god. Could you imagine how fast she would have ended his life had he pulled on her braid? I mean who is dumb enough to get a girl's attention by doing that?" Alicia exclaimed.
"Hey, leave the poor kid alone, he was eleven!" Teddy defended him with an amused smile on his lips.
"All I am saying is, I have a feeling this will end in a showdown again," Neville predicted.
"Should we bet on it?" Khan suggested with an evil smile. "Septima, you're the best with numbers, would you like to keep track?"
"Oh, I would love to," Vector replied.
"I say fifteen galleons they don't talk to each other for another couple of months before they both calm down," Neville suggested.
"Boring. I say fifteen galleons it ends in a fight during the Slytherin-Gryffindor game at the end of the Quidditch season," Spinnet countered.
"Ten that the stress of the NEWTs gets to them and there's a part two of the third-year debacle," Flitwick added.
"Minerva, would you like to bet?" Vector asked as she noted the previous wagers from her colleagues on a piece of parchment.
"Betting on students' lives is unprofessional and immoral for a Professor," McGonagall declared, her hands folded and her gaze severe. "Put me down for twenty that they both still fancy each other and that this whole thing gets resolved in the next couple of months."
oOo
"C'mon! We haven't had breakfast with everyone in a while!" Lily insisted, dragging Moire by the hand towards the Great Hall on the first Sunday of February.
"I don't think it's such a good idea, dear," Moire tried to dissuade her.
The younger girl didn't seem to budge on her opinion. All Moire could do was sigh and follow. Of course, she could not say no to Lily even if she tried, and the Gryffindor knew that. In fact, it seemed like no matter how mad she got every time she thought of the way James had tried to avoid her and lied to her to get rid of her, her anger melted like snow in summer when his little sister was around.
Moire was quite aware of how her mood had affected the castle. Frankly, she couldn't care less. Besides, they were starting to feel slightly better since there was a Hogsmeade trip scheduled for the next Saturday, two days before Valentines' Day. She felt a little bad for her team, as they more often than not took the brunt of her rage, but ultimately, she noticed quite some improvement following her ruthless trainings. At least they would be more than ready to face Ravenclaw, which wasn't an issue to begin with considering Anthony Corner was an idiot of a Captain and came up with some of the worst strategies she had ever seen. It would still be nice to win in a landslide, however.
As they neared the Great Hall, Lily chattering in a cheerful tone the entire way, Moire felt a sense of dread bubble up in her chest. She was terrified to see James. Who knew what would happen if she did? She was still mad and hurt at the situation, and anger settled like tar in the pit of her stomach when she remembered seeing him chat with Thompson the night before in the library. She watched with great satisfaction as Madam Pince reprimanded the two of them severely, but it had not stopped her from snapping a total of three quills for each time she remembered Thompson twirling her hair as James talked. It didn't matter. He was probably not there, given it was a bit later than both of them usually woke up, so he most likely had already eaten breakfast. With a sigh of relief, she realized she was right when they took their seat at the Gryffindor table amongst the Weasley-Potter family. Albus and Scorpius, sitting on either side of Rose, froze up at the sight of her.
"Relax, I'm in somewhat of a good mood today," Moire lied for their sake.
"So, Moire…," Rose began, clearing her throat. "Excited for next week's trip?"
"I guess," she shrugged. "I'm running low on chocolate. And quills."
Definitely on those, yes.
"Moire, can I come to the apothecary with you? The stuff you explained to me last time was really interesting!" Lily asked hopefully, a large smile on her face.
"Of course, Lils," she agreed with a smile of her own.
Suddenly, the energy around her shifted as she saw everyone around her tense up. Before she could ask why, she heard a voice behind her speak up.
"Hi, guys! What are we talki– oh…"
She had turned around as soon as she had heard James' voice, dread, anger, and pain all rising to her throat again. Oh, she was going to be sick…
"Here we go," Fred mumbled.
"Hi, James!" Lily greeted, seemingly unaware.
"Ahem… Hi, Moire…"
He was standing there, awkwardly, as her cold, hard eyes stared him down. Not wishing to make a scene, she replied in as neutral of a voice as she could muster.
"Hi."
Then, she poured herself a cup of tea, slamming the teapot slightly harder than usual, as he sat down a couple of seats away from her. The conversation picked up again, though some people at the Gryffindor table, noticing the shift in mood, had started turning around. Lily's oblivious attitude and efforts from the rest of the Weasley-Potter family were enough to keep the conversation afloat, but not enough to completely drown the murderous vibes coming out of her. She contented herself with answering in one-word answers and sipping her tea slowly until there was none left in her cup.
"So, what is everyone's plan for next weekend?" Roxanne asked to lighten the mood.
As her family answered, James, with a determined look in his eyes, had turned his head to try and make eye contact with Moire before he spoke up:
"Moire, could I talk to you after breakfast?"
"Oh, no," Albus whimpered before the silence fell on their side of the table again.
Gradually, it took over the entire Gryffindor table. They didn't know what was happening, but something was occurring, and it had to do with Moire and James.
"You want," she reiterated, dangerously calm, "to talk to me. After breakfast?"
"Yes," he replied, holding her gaze.
Then, quicker than lightening, Moire slammed her teacup on the table, resulting in the entire Hall stopping their conversations and turning around.
"Oh, wow. I didn't remember your balls being the size of a fucking Quaffle last time I saw them. Well, thank Merlin you haven't lost your tongue, Potter, you can speak," she spat, almost venomously. "Could've fooled me, I thought you lost the ability to do that when I was concerned."
"Moire, I—"
"Glad you could finally pencil me into your busy schedule. Let me guess, you moved around your imaginary Quidditch practice on Friday? The one you told me you had, but didn't?"
He had the decency to look ashamed.
"I didn't mean to lie to you, I just –"
"You just what, Potter?" She exclaimed. "I'm not a child, if you don't want to spend time together, say so. But don't actively come up with lies and try to avoid me. Really, what was going through your fucking pea-sized brain?"
"If you could let me speak, I could explain to you what went through it," he replied, also starting to get angry.
Blood was pumping in her ears and her hands itched to grab the wand that she had stuck in her bun. She stood up abruptly, the dishware on the table rattling. She could vaguely make out Professors Longbottom and Khan walking towards them gingerly.
"You've got some fucking nerve, Potter. If you can't handle what happened without making it awkward, keep it in your pants!"
"For fuck's sake, McLeoch, would you let me speak?" He yelled back, also standing up.
"I have nothing to fucking say to you, Potter. I can't believe I thought we would ever be friends. Merlin, I can't believe I ever fucked you."
She realized her mistake the second the words left her mouth. Exclamations echoed around the Great Hall, and she could make out Thompson's shrill voice screaming "What did she just say?" a couple of times, which brought a pinch of satisfaction to Moire, but not enough to melt away her anger this time.
"I was stupid in second year and I am even dumber now for thinking I fancied you," she finished, immediately silencing the Hall, her voice calm but frozen.
"You… you what?" He asked, all the irritation leaving his voice, and looking like he had just gotten hit in the face with a brick.
"Oh, fuck you, Potter. I knew this was a bad idea."
She turned around, making her way down the Great Hall and towards the door. She had made a few steps when he spoke up again.
"Bergamot!" He shouted after her, with a hint of desperation in his words. Like he would lose her if he didn't.
She stopped and turned around to face him. He was now standing in the path between the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff tables, shoulders tense, but a vulnerable air on his face that she had never seen before. It made her want to run to him and hold his hand, even if he was supposed to be the brave Gryffindor. She balled up her fists and frowned instead.
"What?"
"Honeydukes, the air when I'm high up on my broom," he recited, almost pleading. "And… bergamot."
She was now acutely aware of everyone in the room staring at them. Her brain was still foggy from their fight and she didn't piece the puzzle together until she saw Professor Khan's eyes widen and heard Rose's gasp. Then, it all made sense.
"I never realized why, for all of first and second year, all I wanted to do was get your attention," he continued, taking a step further towards her. "And how mad I was that I was stupid enough to blow it in third year when I finally got the chance to talk to you for the first time. I didn't know what any of it was, just that I could never take my eyes off of you. And then, I smelled your fucking perfume in Amortentia last year and I realized that I have been in love with you since I was eleven years old and that I was stupid for not realizing it. And that… scared the crap out of me."
By now, the student body was enthralled, and no one dared speak out loud, most of the conversations about the scene being played in front of them held in whispers. Moire felt like her ears were going to burst in flames.
"So, I shoved everything away, because fuck, how could I be in love with someone who hated my guts. And then, this past holiday happened, and everything came back so fast. I thought you didn't want it to be anything serious, but I couldn't help it anymore. Not after everything. And so, I asked Mum to make fudge and Gran if there was any jam left because I knew you loved it. I wrote a note for you telling you to meet me at the Quidditch Pitch before curfew and I put it in the box, but when you never showed up and didn't even mention it, I thought you were trying to let me down gently."
The fudge… the fucking fudge!
"So, I avoided you, but with Valentines' Day and the Hogsmeade trip, I just wanted to try again one last time. But did you just say you fan…"
"I didn't open the box," she finally piped up, her voice barely above a murmur. It sounded much louder in the silence.
"You… what?" James asked, blinking several times as the information reached his brain.
"I never opened the box," she repeated louder. "I put it in my trunk when I got to the castle, and then with the extra homework, and practice, and everything, I forgot about it… I didn't reject you, I just…"
"Never saw the note," he finished for her.
"These idiots," Rose mumbled, prompting half the Gryffindor table to shush her.
"Does this mean… does this mean the fudge probably went bad?" Moire mused out loud. A shocked laugh echoed through the room, accompanied with a couple of facepalms.
"I'm sorry, what?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The jam is probably fine, but not the fudge, right?"
She was speaking absolute nonsense. She was aware of it. But her heart was racing, along with her thoughts, and she could not make her mouth stop. Moire didn't even realize that James had started walking towards her.
"I mean, it's been about a month. At this point, the jam might've also gone bad. I mean, does fudge even go bad? Does anyone know if fu–"
She was interrupted as James cupped her face in both his hands and kissed her in front of the entirety of the Great Hall. Moire's mind went blank, only barely registering the cheers, wolf whistles, and chanting. Her brain was focused on one thing only. James broke their kiss, putting his forehead against hers. The room quieted again.
"You're impossible, you know that? I declare my undying love, and you're talking about jam."
"The jam is fine. I'm worried about the fudge," she dumbly replied.
"Moire…," he sighed.
"The Highland moors, the apothecary, and you," she recited, looking directly into his eyes. "Gosh, Potter, so demanding. Besides, what the hell smells like pine and citrus? Your shampoo?"
"My cologne," he chuckled.
"Whatever. Dumbass."
"So… does that mean you'll go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"
"Considering the fact that we're making a complete spectacle out of ourselves, I'm assuming that's a given."
Only then did James break their embrace, keeping hold of her hand in his. They sat down again at the Gryffindor table.
"So… does that mean our work here is done?" Professor Khan asked with a small smile.
"Sorry about that," she apologized with a sheepish expression.
"Meh, don't worry. We're comparing any incident involving you two to the one in third year, so the bar is low," Neville shrugged before both returned to the table.
"Did the professors just give McGonagall money?" James whispered in her ear.
"I don't want to think about it," she laughed.
"So… how long were the two of you shagging?" Fred asked, arms crossed.
"First night at the barn," Moire replied, trying to not get distracted as James drew circles with his thumb on the back of her hand.
"I'm going to be sick," Albus complained.
"Better throw up from this than from running too many laps in the snow," the Slytherin captain replied with a mocking smile.
"Does that mean you won't kill us at practice anymore?" Scorpius pleaded. "Or terrorize the school?"
Moire looked at James with a gentle smile.
"Luckily for you, no," she replied.
"All I'm going to say is I'm glad I took Lily up on having breakfast with everyone," James declared.
Moire raised an eyebrow.
"Wait. Lily dragged me here today."
Everyone turned to the young Gryffindor, who was smiling satisfyingly.
"You knew?" Moire exclaimed.
"I've known since the beginning! You two were very obvious. To someone who wasn't drunk that night, it wasn't too hard to see that you snuck out together. And you all thought I was oblivious! Ha!"
"You're unbelievable," Rose declared, shaking her head.
"And you're all welcome!" The youngest Potter replied.
oOo
The castle had buzzed for the next couple of weeks after that. Everyone shared their rendition of what they had seen them do at Hogsmeade. Ella Goldstein said she had seen them at the apothecary with Lily Potter. There were contradicting stories about where they had lunch: Gordon Smith swore they sat two tables away from him at the Three Broomstick, sharing butterbeers, while Eunice Leung had seen them enter Vic's Café as she had left it. From then, none of the stories were even remotely similar. Some said they walked around the village for a while, while others insisted that they snogged behind the Hog's Head Inn. Quite a few people also claimed they saw them sneaking around at Tomes and Scrolls, the bookstore, and a few romantic souls swore up and down James serenaded Moire using either a piano or a guitar, depending on who you asked, at Dominic Maestro's Music Shop. Rumors coming from both of their jealous suitors said they were arguing in an alley and both went their separate ways. The more scandalous stories even suggested they ventured into the Shrieking Shack for some alone time, Moire and James both being fearless enough to defy the most haunted building in the United Kingdom. None of the stories made sense together and all defied the others in continuity, but all agreed on one thing: right before heading back to the castle, the sky already dark as the sun had set quite early, both had come out of Honeydukes carrying a mountain of chocolate and holding hands as they walked back to the castle.
"Really, you would think they'd mind their own business," Moire commented as she sat on the ground by the fire of the Slytherin Common room, her back against James' chest, both of them drinking hot chocolate they had snuck from the kitchen on their way back.
"Could you not do this here?" Albus complained as he plopped himself on the comfortable leather couch against which James was leaning.
"Mind your business, Albus," James sighed.
"What a buzzkill," Emma complained, perched on an armchair, as she read her copy of the Daily Prophet.
"We could always run to the Room of Requirement, but you'd have to live with watching us leave knowing exactly what we'd be doing there with no one watching," Moire pointed out.
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Albus hurriedly exclaimed.
"Actually, the Room of Requirements sounds like a great idea, let's go there now," James declared.
"Keep it in your pants, Potter, I can't tire myself out tonight, we have practice early tomorrow morning since I cancelled today's," she responded not without an amused smirk on her lips.
"Being tired at one practice won't kill you," he whined.
"We have a game next week," Moire reminded him.
"Corner is an absolute idiot, if you won against Hufflepuff you have nothing to worry about," James scoffed.
"Oh, I know that. We still have to win by a landslide, though. That way when we face off against you guys at the end of the year, it'll be an even better win with the points advance," Moire cheerfully said, turning around and plopping a kiss on his lips.
"Get a room," Albus exclaimed.
oOo
As predicted by pretty much everybody, Slytherin had beat Ravenclaw by quite a lot, even despite the horrible flying conditions. It had been a crushing defeat, and the Ravenclaw Captain, Anthony Corner, was out of sight for about a week. James had been quite a vocal supporter in the stands, dressed from head to toe in Slytherin colors, jumping up every time Moire blocked a goal.
"That's my girlfriend!" He'd yell, loud enough to be heard across the stands.
Moire would smile from where she flying, and either wink or send a kiss. They had celebrated quite extensively in the Slytherin Common Room before the two lovebirds had ran to the Room of Requirements, giggling under the Invisibility cape, as they made their way to the seventh floor.
"You called me your girlfriend earlier," she had noted later, as they both laid naked on the carpet across from the fire. "I didn't realize it was official yet."
"Moire, I told you in front of the entire school that I've been in love with you since we were eleven, and that I smelled your perfume in Amortentia. We're official. Unless…," he seemed to deflate upon the possibility that she didn't feel the same as him.
"Relax, Potter. I want it too. Just had to make sure it wasn't a slip of the tongue."
"I did say it every time you blocked a Quaffle. Trust me, love, it wasn't."
Two weeks later, she had returned the favor, decked in Gryffindor colors to cheer him on when Gryffindor played against Hufflepuff. It was such a strange sight for Hogwarts to see two Captains of opposing teams, especially two from historically rival houses, encourage the other at games. Gryffindor had won by a landslide, closing the gap between Gryffindor and Slytherin. There were only thirty points between the two, with Gryffindor taking the lead, and at that point, either team could easily win the Quidditch Cup.
As the month of March neared its end and their NEWTs approached, they tried to keep seeing each other as often but it was definitely not quite possible as their schedules got busier. Still, they managed to study together quite often, with James helping Moire in Transfiguration as she offered her knowledge in Potions. One night, after sneaking into the Room of Requirements, which had become their spot when they needed to spend time away from their roommates and families, James had piped up:
"I got an offer…"
Moire turned around to look at him.
"Not from another girl, I hope," she joked.
"An agent from the Montrose Magpies met with me yesterday after dinner in McGonagall's office."
That definitely made her sit up.
"You're being drafted into the Magpies?" She exclaimed.
"The reserves at first. But hopefully, I can be a starter in a couple of years."
"You never told me you wanted to play professional Quidditch."
"Because I didn't think I'd get any offers to," he replied, shaking his head. "I wanted to get enough NEWTs to be an Auror in the very likely case I didn't, but I did…"
"How do you feel about it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It feels… it feels unreal."
"You should know… the Magpies are my family's favorite team."
There was a short silence, but slowly, a big smile graced his features. Moire felt a bubble of joy build up in her chest and yelped as he pulled her against himself with a laugh.
"You're going to play professional Quidditch!" She cheered.
"Can you not tell anyone about this? You're the first person I told."
The bubble erupted into butterflied as she anchored her eyes deep in his. He had not told his parents or his siblings yet. Not even his best mates. He had told her.
"I love you," she finally said.
She saw his eyes widen and after a few seconds spent in complete silence he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently.
"This is the first time you say it," he said after he broke their kiss.
He wasn't wrong. She'd felt it, and he knew that. After all, she had smelled him in Amortentia. But Moire expressed her love in other ways than by saying it. She had felt the need to say it out loud this time, and the strange feeling to want to say it again came over her. Instead, she kissed him.
oOo
April came and went faster than they could blink. The Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game had been played during the last week of the month, and unsurprisingly, Ravenclaw had lost. Then, just like that, the rain and wind made way to sunny blue skies and gentle breezes as May parted the clouds for sun to poke through and warm the Hogwarts grounds. The main event of the season came during the second week of May, as the student body vibrated with excitement the day of the last game of the year, with Hogwarts' most interesting couple facing off in the game that would decide whether Slytherin or Gryffindor would take the cup that year.
James walked in with Fred, scarlet uniform on, broom in hand. For once, he wasn't one of the only people down in the Great Hall. The room was packed, buzzing with anticipation and giving a much-needed break from the stress of exams, mainly OWLs and NEWTs. The rest of his team spotted them, letting out boisterous cheers, which was followed by the entire Gryffindor table. Looking over at the Slytherin table, he realized Moire hadn't arrived yet, but Albus and Scorpius were making funny faces at him from across the room. He ignored them and made his way to the red table.
"How's everyone feeling?" He asked cheerfully.
The twins had their heads in the cloud, unsurprisingly. Declan Thomas-Finnigan was busy shoving eggs into his mouth and he barely made out the "good" that he let out. Colin Creevey II looked green, which was a common occurrence before any game but for some reason looked a lot more pronounced that day. Tom Wood, very much as obsessed with Quidditch as his father, was busy poring over their strategies, muttering to himself as if almost in a trance. As for Fred, he had just shrugged as he sat down.
"How are you feeling?" Rose returned.
"Not too bad. I see you have both team colors on."
She was wearing a red and gold jumper, as well as a Slytherin hat. James knew by now who the hat most likely belonged to. They all did, aside maybe for Uncle Ron. And Albus. What an idiot. Rose had the decency to blush but didn't say much past that. He was about to tease her when the Slytherin table erupted, rivaling the Gryffindors' enthusiasm.
"Looks like Moire's here!" Lily exclaimed.
She was right. Moire walked in, decked in uniform, her broom looking polished and shiny in the light, and a smirk on her face. James loved seeing her in her Quidditch uniform. The fabric clung onto her but then again, Moire McLeoch could look good in a potato sack as far as he was concerned. Her hair was braided and crowned around her head, promising to stay in place the entirety of the game. She walked towards him and the Hall quieted to hear their conversation.
"Good morning," he greeted with a loving smile.
"I'm going to destroy you," she replied, her face deadly serious.
She may have been teasing him, based on the little amused glint in her eyes, but there were no doubts in his mind that she was absolutely not joking, and she would probably only stop short of sending him to the hospital. He burst into laughter.
"I love you," he simply said, and she smiled in return, tiptoeing to kiss him, before she greeted his family and went to her table.
Breakfast seemed to go on forever but ultimately, everyone stood up to head to the Pitch. James had taken one last glance at the sky of the Great Hall, which displayed a blue sky with a few thin clouds. It seemed to be warmer that day, with minimal wind. Perfect flying conditions. Sooner than later, he was standing in front of Moire as Madam Hooch went over the rules. His girlfriend was positively staring him down, and while he loved her to death, James was still slightly scared of her. Healthy fear, she called it. Why did it always have to be terrifying redheads when any Potter man was involved? He vaguely heard Madam Hooch asking for a fair game before she called for the Captains to shake hands. Moire almost broke his fingers in a terrifyingly strong grip. She was scary. God, he loved her.
"Mount your brooms!"
He did as he was told, both him and Moire kicking the ground in unison, and felt his team shift behind him as they did the same. The Bludgers were released, as well as the Golden Snitch. Then, Madam Hooch looked at both of them before throwing the Quaffle into the air and blowing into her whistle.
Finally the last chapter! Thank you all for staying with me until the end of this, I'm glad I could take you along in my whacky ideas. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I had fun writing it. Stay tuned for the epilogue!
Please let me know if you liked this chapter down in the review section, and as always, enjoy!