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21
AN ABUNDANCE OF POTTERS - PART II
MUSICAL MOOD FOR THIS CHAPTER: TAYLOR SWIFT - WILDEST DREAMS (TAYLOR'S VERSION)
Because to a guy who could have everything, not much meant anything, really.
The true disadvantage of wearing a rather low-back dress was the staggering amount of sweaty arms and shoulders that had already made skin contact with me tonight. Fortunately, somewhere between my third and fourth glass of champagne, I had stopped to care.
"This is my friend Seth!" I heard Katie shout over the loud background music and suddenly her hand wrapped around my elbow, tugging me to her side. "Seth, what are you doing?"
"Just a moment," I said, trying to get the large strawberry at the bottom of my empty champagne flute to roll into my mouth. Despite the many delicious dishes that were carried around by an army of house elves, the fruits in the drinks had been the only food I had been able to scavenge this evening. It might not have been a substantial food source, but it was still better than nothing.
"Seth is also a big fan," Katie announced to the group of twenty-something guys in front of us, her fiery red lips curling upwards into a bright smile. How on earth she had managed to hog Hey Hey Hippogriff for half an hour already when there were at least a dozen other girls clustering round the musicians like insects around a light source was beyond me.
"Seth - that's a weird name for a girl," one of them said in a kind of bored, lilting accent that reminded me of those old American western films. His hair was dark and almost shoulder-length, probably in an attempt to disguise his soft pretty-boy features that would have ruined his rock n' roll credibility.
"Not really." I gave him a deadpan look which earned me a rather hard blow into my ribcage from Katie.
"Don't take her too seriously, Fate," she said, forcing a breathy laugh, "Seth likes to joke."
"Fate?" I looked at him with an arched eyebrow, ignoring Katie who let out a long, deep groan next to me. "That's your name? Fate?"
"Yeah, why?" He drawled in that lazy I-don't-really-give-a-damn kind of voice, but his blue eyes rested on my face curiously.
"Well," I snorted, unable to stop myself. "It's just funny that someone called Fate thinks I have a weird name."
"What?" Fate frowned at me, looking thoroughly bewildered. It was hard to believe that no one had ever commented on his name before but, before I had the chance to point this out, one of his band mates pulled him away, mumbling something about performing in ten minutes, and they left for the stage.
"What is wrong with you?" Katie looked at me, her heavily made-up eyes wide with disbelief. "Why are you being so aggressive?"
I sighed and shook my head at her. "I don't know," I whined. "I'm hungry and I feel like I want to punch someone. Really hard." There was a sort of inexplicable anger bubbling in the pit of my stomach ever since I had run into James Potter before and I just couldn't shake it off
Katie studied me for a moment, her facial expression softening. "How much have you had to drink?"
"A bit," I admitted. "I'm woozy."
"Come on," she sighed, putting her arm around my shoulder and leading me out of the crowd that had started to gather in front of the stage. "Let's find you something to eat."
I would have preferred to be in my most comfortable and baggy pyjamas, curled up in bed with the blanket over my head. Instead, I was leaning against an incredibly uncomfortable wall, nibbling on a piece of dry baguette as I stared vaguely into the distance. The party was in full swing with everybody dancing to Hey Hey Hippogriff and enjoying themselves as they were tossed around in the dense crowd that had accumulated in front of the stage.
"There you are!" I heard Sam's voice before I actually saw him, tripping over a chair as he stumbled towards me. His blond hair was sticking up oddly and the silver tie hung crookedly around his collar, swinging back and forth as he moved. "I hate parties."
"Me too! Baguette?" I offered him a piece of bread as he slumped against the wall next to me, a sort of miserable scowl on his face.
"No thanks," he shook his head, accidentally bumping against the wall. "It took me an hour and a half to get this pissed. I can't risk sobering up again."
I watched him for a moment as he fumbled clumsily with his tie, struggling to remove it for good.
"Here," I said and loosened the knot before pulling it over his head. "Better?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"No problem." I handed him the silky cloth, watching him crumpling it up and unceremoniously stuffing it into his pocket. When he looked up again he was grinning at me, looking like a mischievous four-year-old.
"Hey, can you remember when I tried to hit on you?"
I snorted, leaning my head against his shoulder. "I try not to."
"Yeah." Sam laughed, examining the slowly fading butterbeer foam on the bottom of his empty glass. "That was weird. You're really bad at flirting, Seth."
"I know." I sighed, not even bothering to contradict him. I hated flirting - it was something you couldn't actually learn; there were no rules, no definite instructions, which made it unpredictable and, frankly, quite scary. "I'm really good with cats, though."
Sam laughed, grabbing two glasses of red wine from a passing elf's tray and handing one to me. "I'll drink to that. Cheers."
"Cheers," I echoed and took a sip, effectively nullifying any sobering effect the piece of bread might have had.
"What the hell are you two doing?" Katie's voice cut through the loud music, her pink dress swinging back and forth as she moved towards us. "You're not supposed to give her more to drink!" She chastised Sam, taking the glass out of my hand so ferociously that some of the wine slopped over the edge and right onto the floor.
"I'm fine, Kat-" I hoped she wouldn't notice the slur in my voice , but she frowned, obviously not quite convinced, and thrust a plate of bite-sized puff pastry into my hand.
"Here, eat."
She watched me study the small squares on the plate, her arms tied in front of her chest. The pastry smelled delicious and my stomach churned desperately at the mere prospect of biting into one of them, but somehow I was reluctant to eat. Intellectually, I knew that my body needed food to cope with the unusually large amount of alcohol in my blood, but I also didn't want to lose this feeling - this wonderful, reckless feeling that had wrapped around my thoughts like cotton wool. For once, I wasn't thinking - I wasn't analysing everything and everyone around me - and it was like a heavy weight was lifted off my mind.
"I don't really feel all that-" I wanted to say 'hungry', but the word got stuck in my throat the moment I looked up at Katie; Tarquin stood right behind her, his eyes meeting mine as he gave me a nervous nod.
"What's wrong?" Katie asked, looking concerned. "You look weird. Are you going to throw up? I can't handle vomit, you know that."
I began to shake my head, not sure if I was doing it in response to her question or to keep Tarquin from doing anything rash. This party was hardly the right place to declare his love to Katie; there were people around us everywhere, pushing and shoving into each other and it felt as though the room had a thousand degrees.
Unfortunately, Tarquin didn't even look my way.
"Can we talk?" he said briskly, his brows furrowed behind his black-rimmed glasses; he looked unusually imposing in his black suit and bowtie - really good, actually - and Katie's eyes widened with surprise for a moment before she began shaking her head at him.
"No."
"Katie."
"I'm busy, Tarquin." She pointed vaguely behind her back where Sam and I were still lingering awkwardly like a couple of toddlers that were already way past their bedtime.
"I love you." Tarquin's face turned a dark shade of red, but his voice was clear and unwavering.
"No," Katie hissed as she looked around anxiously to see if people were watching.
"Yes. I do," Tarquin insisted, the red colour slowly draining from his face as he stood up straighter. "I love you. You're amazing and funny and fierce and beautiful. And I know that I'm not exactly your type but that doesn't change that I love you." He paused, his chest heaving as he looked at her, obviously unaware of the small crowd that had meanwhile gathered around us, observing the scene.
"I just - I wanted you to know this," he said, losing some of his bravado as his voice cracked. "And - thank you. And, um, goodnight." With that, he turned on the spot and walked away, almost running into a house elf before vanishing into the crowd.
For a moment, no one said anything. I could feel Sam staring at me from the side but my eyes were trained on Katie. Her cheeks had flushed with colour and she seemed to be breathing more quickly.
"Can you believe him?"
I opened my mouth, trying to think of something to say, but my brain was sluggish and slow and before I could produce anything helpful, Sam had chipped in.
"Actually, no," he said, sounding almost angry. "Because no one does that, ever."
"Exactly," Katie agreed heatedly, but Sam was shaking his head, running a hand through his hair.
"No, Katie. I mean, no one does that." His voice was considerably softer this time and the smile he gave her was too small to reach his eyes. "Ever. Not in real life."
It seemed to sink in very slowly; Katie's furrowed eyebrows rose again and the creases on her forehead vanished as her features softened to an almost bemused expression. "But I don't-"
"You should," Sam said despite the slur in his voice and then pressed his lips together into a tight line.
Katie stared at him for a moment before she turned to look at me, her eyes wide. "Seth?"
I shrugged and gave her a small smile. "Just... talk to him?"
She blinked and stared down at her shoes, her eyes unfocused. When she finally looked up again, she seemed determined. "Don't drink any more alcohol," she told us firmly, "I'll be right back." And with that, she plunged into the crowd, vanishing between clusters of glitter and cloth, until even the last layer of her tulle skirt had been swallowed.
"Well, I guess that leaves only the two of us." I sighed and turned around to face Sam, just to discover that, he too, had disappeared.
"Or me," I said to myself, snatching a glass of wine from a passing elf's tray. "That leaves only me."
I hadn't moved; not much, at least. After half an hour of standing by the wall, clutching a wine glass that was approximately the size of a baby Niffler, I had relocated to a slightly less sad spot, leaning against a window sill as snow drifted by idly behind my back.
The party was still in full swing but without Katie and Sam, I really was quite alone. Katie had not returned from her hunt for Tarquin and, frankly, I was glad about it. I hoped it meant that they were together somewhere, talking or, well, snogging. Sam had not reappeared either and I had the strong suspicion that he had long gone back to Ravenclaw Tower to sleep off the alcohol. There was no reason for me to prolong this evening any further, really.
Yet, I couldn't get myself to leave.
"Great party, isn't it?" A low voice suddenly said and I looked up, surprised to find Harry Potter standing next to me. "May I?" He gestured towards the free space on the window sill and I simply nodded, still too dumbfounded to produce actual words. It wasn't everyday that the saviour of the entire wizarding world asked to share a window ledge with you.
"I was never a fan of Horace's parties." He sighed, the green eyes behind his round glasses scanning the sprawling room. "Always tried to find an excuse if I could. There are just too many important people here."
I nodded again and, realising how idiotic I must have looked, added,"I know what you mean."
Mr Potter turned to look at me and I felt my stomach twist as my eyes caught on the lopsided smile and the solitary dimple that involuntarily made me think of someone else.
"So, according to Horace, you single-handedly dragged my son's Potions grade out of the depths of Tartarus."
It was as though he had read my mind and I shifted uncomfortably on the sill. After all, Harry Potter was head of the Auror office and I was sure he knew a wealth of mind-reading methods that I hadn't even heard of yet. It seemed ridiculous that he would use them in a situation like this, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy.
"I wouldn't say that," I said quickly, looking down at the strappy sandals on my feet. "It was just a couple of tutoring lessons. He didn't show up for half of them."
I hadn't meant to say the last bit, but it had spilled from my mouth before my brain had even realised what was going on. To my surprise, however, Mr Potter laughed loudly and nodded his head. "Yes, that sounds like Jamie. Has he been giving you a hard time?"
I contemplated the question for a moment, staring at the velvety residue on the bottom of my wine glass. A part of me wanted to say yes: the sudden appearance of James Potter had made my life not exactly easier, but I hated to admit that his existence had even the slightest impact on me at all and so I shook my head.
"No. I mean, it's not like we spent a lot of time together. I just helped him with potions, that's all."
"Oh. Right." Mr Potter nodded very slowly before looking up at me with a sort of inquiring look that must have come in handy in the Auror Office's interrogation room. I couldn't be sure, but it almost looked as though he wanted to say something else. Then, quite suddenly, however, he seemed to have changed his mind.
"Well, then. I don't want to keep you from enjoying the party any longer. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Woodley."
I shook his outstretched hand, unable to ignore the sudden awkwardness that seemed to have enveloped us. "Oh, um, yes - I mean, you too, Mr Potter."
He gave me one last smile and then - like everybody else at this party - disappeared into the crowd.
It was time to go. It had been for a while but - for reasons I didn't even know myself - I had hung around, scanning the room from my perch on the window ledge without knowing what I was actually looking for. There was no one left to wait for and Katie's shoes were killing me. I had definitely been at this party for too long already, drinking too much wine and ignoring the pitying looks that were cast my way whenever someone walked by my lonely window.
Sighing, I slid off the sill, wincing inwardly as my sore feet made contact with the ground. It was then that I suddenly saw him in a shady corner in the back of the room: James Potter had lost his black jacket, the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up carelessly and the bow-tie dangled loosely around his opened collar as he bent over a dark figure that was leaning against the wall. They looked like they were entwined, doing Merlin knew what, and I forced myself to look away again, brushing aside the sudden heavy feeling in my stomach.
Whatever Potter did, it was none of my business.
"Wanna dance?"
"What?" I squinted at the tall boy that had planted himself in front of me. Distracted by the low cut V-neck that exposed too much of his hairless chest and a silver cross dangling from a chain, it actually took me a moment to realise that I was talking to Fate, the unfortunately named drummer of Hey Hey Hippogriff.
"Dance," he repeated, exposing a row of blindingly white teeth. "I asked if you wanna dance."
The frown on my forehead probably deepened to an unprecedented level as I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was being serious. There was, of course, the likely possibility that he was completely high on gillyweed.
"Fate, listen, I really - I don't dance."
"You should." He was still smiling, which was somehow off-putting, though I guessed that, being an international rockstar and all, he wasn't very used to the word 'no'.
"Yes. Right." I glanced towards the exit, wondering if maybe Katie had somehow orchestrated this. "Listen, I-"
"I've been watching you," he said, but when he noticed the slightly alarmed look on my face his smile finally faltered and he quickly shook his head. "Not in a creepy way. I've just noticed you… standing against walls all night. Mostly alone."
"Thanks, Fate, for summing up my tragically sad life."
He laughed, probably thinking I was joking, but it made him somewhat less irritating. "That's not what I meant. Just, dance with me, okay?"
I knitted my eyebrows at him as I considered this - him. Fate the drummer wanted to dance with me and, even though I was a lousy dancer and Katie's shoes hurt like hell, I actually hesitated. After spending the majority of the evening alone, backed up against walls and windows, it was somehow nice to be asked to dance.
"So?" Fate asked, his eyebrows raised as he studied my face. Before I could even open my mouth to answer, though, a piercing high-pitched screeching filled the room and the music stopped abruptly.
For a short moment I thought that maybe Slughorn had decided to give a speech, which, after a certain amount of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey, he usually did, but as I turned to look at the stage, my heart plummeted to my stomach; Sam was tapping his fingers clumsily against the microphone, making it screech once again.
"'Ello?" His slurred voice rang out, reverberating from every corner of the room. "Can you 'ear me?" He was swaying back and forth as he spoke, his feet constantly shuffling underneath him to maintain his fragile balance, and I knew that, no matter what he was about to do, it couldn't be good.
Without thinking, I jumped from the window sill, past a bewildered Fate, and began to plough my way through the crowd, recklessly pushing and shoving people out of the way as I tried to get to the stage. I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do once I had reached it, but I needed to get Sam out of here.
Unfortunately, my progress was too slow.
"My name is Samuel Henderson," he continued, looking oddly hunchbacked as he cowered over the microphone. By now, a low humming sound filled the room and absolutely everybody seemed to have abandoned their conversations in favour of staring at him.
"And I jus' wanted to say that-" He paused for a dramatic second, squinting into the room as though he was looking for someone, and I suddenly understood what he was about to do.
"No! Sam!" I cried out, but my voice drowned in the buzzing that had erupted around me. I was tossed to the side and my shoulder collided rather painfully with something hard, just as Sam bent down to the microphone again, his lips grating against the speaker.
"I'm gay. And Hector Chang is a fucking coward."
There was a moment of silence - like someone had sucked all the sound from the room - and then the crowd exploded into scandalised murmurs, interspersed with savage laughter. I resumed my struggle to get to Sam as two security wizards climbed the stage, trying to drag him off. He was clutching the microphone reluctantly, apparently unwilling to come quietly, but they finally managed to remove him from the stage, leading him towards the exit.
I swerved, elbowing my way through the mob to get to the door, but suddenly a sort of uniform motion swept across the crowd - almost like a wave in the ocean - and it parted as Hector Chang emerged, his face a deep shade of red.
We reached the door at the same time, but, just as I wanted to push it open, he turned towards me, a determined look on his face.
"I got it."
I narrowed my eyes at him, ready to protest; I wanted to tell him that he had absolutely no right to go after Sam after everything that had happened and that I really didn't trust him to be alone with him right now, but something about the way he looked at me made me hesitate.
Hector's face was still a formidable nuance of magenta but there was a sort of sincerity that - in six years of sharing a common room with him - I had never seen on him before.
"Right," I finally said, taking a step back to clear the exit. "But, just so you know, I know hexes you haven't even heard of, so -" I trailed off but my message was understood; Hector simply nodded, somewhat darkly, and then walked past me and out the door.
I had waited a couple of minutes before following Hector out onto the dimly lit corridor. I didn't want it to look as though I was checking on Sam and him, even if that was exactly what I had in mind. Naturally, my trust issues - which, after sixteen years of being a Woodley, had carefully been inculcated in every fibre of my body - extended beyond my own personal life to include my friends.
I treaded carefully, trying to keep the clacking of my heels to a minimum as I skulked along the sombre corridor. At least my family couldn't see me like this, hobbling on the balls of my feet, peeping around corners like a creep.
I must have looked like an idiot.
Suddenly, there was a weird grunting noise, followed by a dull thud, and I stopped dead in my tracks, pressing my body up against the wall. It took me a moment to notice the dark mass that moved rather jerkily on the second floor landing and I quickly reached for my wand, my heart beating in my ears.
The thing seemed to be two people who were either embracing each other or fighting, but it was impossible to tell which one it was. If Hector was hurting Sam I needed to act; if the two of them were sharing a romantic moment, however, I would look quite the prat pointing my wand at them.
"Come on, move!" One of them whispered and they both tumbled towards the stairs without breaking the embrace. It looked odd - almost like only one of them could walk properly - and I realised that, whatever this was, I definitely had not stumbled in on a love scene.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself off the wall and strode towards the landing, my wand pointing at the two figures who had frozen at the sound of my heels hitting the stone floor. I was prepared to hex Hector Chang into next year; however, as I got close enough to discern more than vague shadows, I realised that it wasn't Hector who was looking at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"Woodley?"
I blinked, unable to produce actual words as my wand pointed directly at James's heaving chest.
In his arms, he held the limp form of Albus Potter.
"What the hell is this?" I could hear the panic in my voice as I stared at the two brothers; Albus's head was lolling on James's shoulder, who seemed to be struggling to keep his younger brother from slumping to the ground.
"It's - nothing. Just, go," James snapped, still trying to keep Albus upright. It was only now that I realised he wasn't unconscious; Albus, while definitely drowsy, was apparently fighting his brother's attempts to hold him.
"Did you hex him?"
"What? No!" James said indignantly, a sort of angry look flashing across his face. "He's completely pissed, the prat. I told him to take it slow but then I found him squatting in a corner like this."
I narrowed my eyes at James, still not fully convinced by the story. Everybody knew that Albus was the good brother and that James was usually the one who got drunk and needed assistance to find his way back to the Gryffindor common room.
"Are you taking him to Madam Pomfrey?"
James looked at me as though I had just suggested throwing his brother off the Astronomy tower. "Sure, so that he gets a life-long detention."
"But-" I protested as James dragged Albus's arm around his shoulder and made to haul him down the stairs. "Where are you taking him?"
"Hagrid," James said, slightly out of breath. "And I'd really appreciate it if you - you know - don't report this."
It took me a moment to catch on but then it dawned on me; I was a prefect - technically it was my duty to report any kind of substance abuse to the headmistress immediately.
"I - I won't," I said quickly and James gave me a miniscule nod.
"Thanks."
I watched him half-carry, half-drag Albus down the first couple of stairs and knew that they weren't going to get far. If they were lucky, they would maybe make it to the entrance hall without being caught by Peeves or Filch, but then James still had to wade through the fresh blanket of snow to get to Professor Hagrid's hut.
They were going to get caught and, even though I shouldn't have cared, I couldn't just walk away.
"Wait!" I hissed and climbed down the steps towards the Potters, my heels clicking annoyingly on the stone staircase. It also didn't help that James was staring at me, looking utterly bewildered.
"What are you doing?" He whispered just as Albus let out a low groan.
"I can help," I told him, but he just shook his head.
"I don't need-"
"Yes, you do." I pushed past him, my wand outstretched as I led the way down the stairs. To my surprise, James didn't protest again, which was probably due to the fact that he had to force Albus to come with us while simultaneously supporting his entire weight.
"Why are you doing this?" He panted as we reached the first floor landing, adjusting his grip on a feebly struggling Albus.
"I don't know." I shrugged without turning around to look at him. "I've had a lot of wine."
Getting Albus out of the castle had proven easier than I had expected. At one point, Mrs Norris III had poked her head around a corner, but the small yellow bird I had conjured had quickly attracted all of her attention so that we had managed to slip out unnoticed.
The grounds, however, were quite a different story. Despite my rather accomplished hot air charm, which cleared a broad enough path for us in the snow, James had difficulty walking on the uneven ground with Albus, who had fallen asleep halfway, draped over his shoulder.
I was freezing in the thin dress and Katie's sandals and couldn't, for the life of me, understand how I had failed to bring a change of clothes. It would have been too risky to summon anything from the castle now; randomly soaring jumpers and shoes in the middle of the night usually attracted attention, even in a school for magic. It was a relief when the small wooden cabin at the edge of the forest finally came into view.
"I can see light," James said behind me as we had reached the porch; Albus was dangling from his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, his bum next to his brother's face, and I couldn't help wondering if James had carried me like this too after I had been poisoned at the Gryffindor common room party.
Dear Merlin, I hoped not.
"Professor?" I called out after knocking twice, listening intently for any signs of movement behind the thick wooden door. For a moment, it looked as though nobody was home, but then heavy footsteps were clearly audible from the other side and the door swung open, revealing the bearded face of Professor Hagrid.
"Seth?" He said, a look of confusion on his wrinkly face that was only surpassed by the one on James's.
"Who's Seth?" He frowned and cast a quick look around as though expecting to find somebody else. I simply rolled my eyes, feeling once again confirmed in my opinion that James Potter was a self-absorbed git; even after all this time, he didn't even know my name.
"I'm Seth," I snarled and pushed past him, bumping hard into his shoulder as I did so.
James had dropped Albus onto Hagrid's large bed, immediately making way for the Care of Magical Creatures professor to examine his brother.
"What did Al do that for, eh?" He grumbled as he searched his lax arm for a pulse.
"No idea." James's hands were in his hair, mussing up the slightly damp strands that stuck up more than usual. I wasn't even aware that I was watching him until he glanced up at me, our eyes meeting for a brief second before he returned to staring at Professor Hagrid's enormous back. "I found him like that."
"I'll need milk thistle and berberis from the garden."
"I can get it," I offered immediately, feeling quite useless only standing around in the corner but before I could even so much as move, James had already crossed the cabin and opened the backdoor.
"I know where it is," he mumbled and slipped out into the darkness.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Hagrid shook his head and moved to his kitchen to fill the enormous kettle with water. "Those Potter boys, I tell ya," he snorted as he tinkered with an assortment of mismatched mugs and something that looked like an oversized tea strainer. "Nothin' but trouble, they are."
I leaned against the wooden wall and hugged my arms around my torso in an attempt at making myself a little warmer. I could only see Hagrid's profile but even from here - despite the darkness of the room - I could see how his features softened when he spoke about James and Al.
"So, this happens a lot?"
"Well, usually it's not Al." Hagrid laughed softly and then picked up a woollen blanket from a large basket in the corner and handed it to me. "Jamie and Freddie, though - well, ye know."
"Thank you." I wrapped the plaid piece of cloth around my shoulders; it smelled of smoke and something distinctly leathery, but it wasn't unpleasant. At least I wouldn't have to freeze to death on my way back.
"It's nice of you to help Jamie." Hagrid had moved back to the bed to sit down beside Albus and I was glad for the lack of light as I felt my cheeks blush. I hadn't thought about this before, but he didn't seem at all surprised that I was here with James in a tiny party dress and high heels.
"Oh, um, I didn't do it for James," I said quickly, feeling my face burn even more. "I was helping Albus."
The backdoor snapped close and I turned my head to find James standing in the dimly lit room, a bundle of limp reddish and green plants clutched in his hand and a deep frown on his face.
"Here," he said gruffly, holding the herbs out to Hagrid without even so much as looking at me. I wasn't sure if he had heard me but it shouldn't have mattered anyway.
"Righ'." Hagrid took the plants and spread them on a cutting board next to the clattering kettle. "Tha' will do. Now, how 'bout some tea?"
As if on cue, the kettle gave a particularly ferocious buck and then exploded into a high-pitched whistle that seemed to battle the awkwardness that had crawled into the room.
"Oh, um, I think I should go, actually." I glanced at James who was still standing next to the backdoor, arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched Hagrid cut up the herbs with a frown. He didn't even seem to notice I was there anymore and I felt once again like some silly stalker who had outstayed their welcome.
The door fell into the lock behind me and I closed my eyes as the cold, clean winter air enveloped me. I hadn't even noticed that I had been holding my breath until I had left the warmth of the cabin behind me.
Still wrapped into the blanket and wearing a pair of too big, old rubber boots that Hagrid kept as a spare for students, I left the porch and headed out into the snow, hoping that none of the creatures that lived in the Forbidden Forest would decide to take a night-time stroll on the castle grounds. As much as I hated to admit it, I had felt considerably safer with James trailing behind me.
Suddenly, there was a muffled bang, followed by the distinct scrunching of snow, and I clutched my wand a little tighter before I whipped around, thrusting my shaking arm out into the darkness.
"Jesus Christ, Woodley!" James swore as he looked down at his chest where the tip of my wand was digging into his shirt. "That's the second time in the last hour that you're pointing that thing at me. Maybe you should consider yoga. Heard it helps."
For a moment I could do nothing but stare at him, my wand still pressing into his chest like I wasn't completely convinced I wouldn't need it after all. "What - what are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" He snapped and then pushed my wand away with two fingers, looking somewhat annoyed as he stuffed both of his hands into the pockets of his black trousers. Obviously Professor Hagrid had made him come after me to make sure I got back up to the castle but I'd much rather have braved the dark and gloomy grounds alone than having to spend even another second with a brooding James Potter who didn't even want to be here.
"I don't need you," I said flippantly and wrapped the blanket a little tighter around my body; I must have looked like a loony old cat lady with the green plaid draped around me like a cape and the too large wellies that flapped around my naked calves. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
Even in the weak moonlight I could see James roll his eyes. "That again."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him. He acted as though he actually knew me - the boy who hadn't had any idea I was called Seth until two minutes ago - and it agitated me even more.
"You're incapable of admitting that you need help," he said matter-of-factly, an infuriatingly arrogant look on his face that made me grind my teeth.
"Well, I don't."
"Yeah, right." He scoffed and for a moment I thought I saw a smile flicker across his face. "Except for when I saved your arse this year. Multiple times."
"Multiple times?" I could only stare at him with disbelief as I fought the overwhelming urge to throw a stinging hex at him. Who did he even think he was? I wasn't doing this anymore - I didn't have to - and so, instead of feeding his already inflated ego by letting him get to me, I turned on the spot and began to trudge up the path I had cleared before.
Unfortunately, James didn't seem to get the hint.
"Woodley!" He shouted after me and I could hear his footsteps behind me, which only made me walk faster. Snow had trickled into my wellies by now and I regularly lost my footing as the rubber soles slipped on the frozen ground, but I ploughed on. The faster I walked, the sooner I could get away from James Potter.
"Running away only means that I won!" He taunted, amusement lacing his words, and I almost lost my balance as I snapped around to face him. James was much closer than I had expected him to be and I staggered a little, my feet skidding on a patch of ice.
He was grinning - infuriatingly so - and I could feel a hot wave of anger sweep over me as I clawed my nails into my blanket. It dawned on me then - that everything was a game to him - because to a guy who could have everything, not much meant anything, really.
"What, you're giving up so soon?" He said, not showing the slightest inclination to move; he seemed entirely too comfortable invading my personal space and, of course, I could have just turned around and left, but I was riled up and still a little stupid from the wine and, before I even knew it, I was shouting at him.
"You tripped me up!"
"What?" It was somewhat satisfying to see the arrogant smirk on his face falter and fade into a confused frown, but I wasn't done yet. Some invisible barricade seemed to have cracked and it was all I could do to handle the flood of rogue emotions that cascaded over me.
"And you ruined my miniature tree!"
"OK, what?" The lines on James's forehead deepened and I would have laughed at the bewildered look on his face if I hadn't been so furious.
"You ruined my miniature apple tree and you can't even remember!" I snapped, only dimly aware that I probably wasn't making much sense.
"I don't know what-"
"Do you even know how long it took me?" I cut him off again, my words turning into puffs of smoke as they soared into the frigid air. "I could've had tiny apples for breakfast every day!"
My voice echoed as it bounced off the forest line and, for a moment, James only stared at me. "Bloody mental," he muttered and shook his head, which didn't really help the situation.
"Oh, am I?" I said sharply, my breath banking up in front of me like a wall of clouds. I had no idea what I was doing - why I had lashed out at him like this - but I knew that I needed to get away from him before I could embarrass myself even more. "Just... leave me alone, Potter."
I turned around again to resume my climb up the sloping hill but I could hear him come after me once again, his footsteps crunching in the fresh snow as he caught up with me.
"Woodley, wait!" He called out, but I just shook my head to myself and continued my unsteady walk, hoping that I would make it to the castle without falling face down into the snow like an idiot.
"Listen -"
"No!" I snapped and stopped to look at him once more despite myself. "First you leave me waiting in the potions classroom like a complete idiot. Twice. Then you accuse me of stalking you and then, Merlin knows why, you suddenly invite me to your parties and expect me to skip class with you?"
"Woodley-" He started, making to come closer again, but I just shook my head, absolutely uninterested in what he had to say. All I wanted was to get away from him before I could say even more things that I had never meant to say in the first place; Merlin, I hadn't even known that I had these thoughts until they had come spilling out.
"Whatever it is you think you're doing, Potter, I'm not interested."
"Woodley."
"Piss off." I breathed out a shaky laugh, surprising myself as the coarse words tumbled out of my mouth, but their echo was absorbed by the snow and I shook my head, ready for this night to finally end. "Good night, Potter," I said quietly and made to turn away from him, but he suddenly closed the distance between us and his hand wrapped around my elbow, twisting me out of my half-turn and into his arms. I tried to pull back, albeit half-heartedly, but he was holding me around the waist and all it did was put me closer to him.
It was phenomenally dumb, but I looked up into his eyes and something behind my chest tightened. James was frowning at me, his head bent towards me, and I couldn't help thinking that he was much too close this way. But my eyes lingered on his face nonetheless, on the snowflakes that had caught in his dark eyebrows, the curve of his lips, his sharp jawline, and the way his slightly damp hair fell into his face.
"What - what are you doing?" I finally managed to say, though I sounded much too breathy and weak, and he was still frowning.
"Nothing…" His scratchy voice was barely more than a whisper and, before I could even get my thoughts in order, he brought one hand up to my face and tucked my hair behind my ear, his thumb skimming against my cold cheek. And, even though I definitely shouldn't have, I looked up at him, my nose brushing against his accidentally.
I felt his warm breath on my skin and I could have swerved when he leaned in - I should have - but I didn't. All I did was stare at him, unable to think, holding my breath, and then, suddenly, his lips brushed against mine.
"JAMIE!" A booming yell pierced the quiet night and I pulled back with a jerk, biting my own lip as I tumbled backwards.
"Jamie!" Hagrid yelled again and James's hand slid from my waist as he turned around towards the wildly waving gamekeeper.
"It's Al!" He called, panic now clearly infusing in his voice. "Something's wrong!"
A/N: Tadah! Finally, the scene I have been promising you for so long. I hope you enjoyed it and I am really really looking forward to hear what you lot think about it and the whole chapter in general. Also, I am really interested in what you think is wrong with Al and what will happen after this - maybe slightly awkward - almost-kiss between Seth and James...
I also wanted to say that I really really appreciate all the love this story gets from you guys! It is so amazing to get your feedback and I can't tell you enough how much it means to me that so many people are sticking with Seth and putting up with my belated updates. You're all fantastic, brilliant people and you're the reason I'm writing this story :)