Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, so brilliantly created by
J.K. Rowling. Most situations are based on those created by J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Thirteen: James' Crush
James could remember the first time he had ever seen her, even though at the time he didn't give her a second thought. She had been getting onto the Hogwarts Express, and she was saying good-bye to her parents. He found out later that her name was Miranda Timble, when she had also been chosen as a new Gryffindor first year. They knew each other from classes, and saw each other everyday when they were in school, and had had multiple conversations over the years, but it wasn't until early in his fourth year - at the age of fourteen - that James happened a glance at Miranda, and felt something in his chest constrict.
All of a sudden, James found that he wanted to do everything he could to impress Miranda. He raised his hand a lot in class, proudly giving answers her knew were correct. He tried not to make it obvious that he was checking to see if Miranda had noticed his giving the correct answer.
His newfound attentions did not go unnoticed, however. Aidan could see that his friend was falling for the girl, going by his own recent feelings about one Rachel Rowan of Hufflepuff.
"If you fancy her, you should just ask her out," said Aidan as he and James sat in the common room one evening, doing their homework. Well, TRYING to do their homework was more like it, as James kept stealing glances to the opposite corner of the room, where Miranda was doing her own homework with her friends.
"Ask who out?" Emma asked curiously, walking up behind them.
"James fancies Miranda Timble," said Aidan, and James immediately kicked him in the leg.
"She'll HEAR you," he whispered harshly to his friend.
Emma giggled. "Do you really?" she asked. James said nothing, but the deep blush in his cheeks, and the reaction he had given Aidan, told her all she needed to know. Now Emma laughed triumphantly. "My cousin has a girlfriend!" she exclaimed.
"She is NOT my girlfriend!" James' voice continued in the harsh whisper.
"But you WANT he to be," Emma teased.
"That doesn't make it true," James said, and he glanced over at Miranda's table again.
"Ask her to go into Hogsmeade then," said Emma. James shook his head furiously. "Why not?"
"What if she says no?" James asked.
"But what if she says yes?" Emma shot back. James was silenced. Emma DID have a point. He had never considered the fact that if he asked Miranda to go into Hogsmeade with him, she might actually agree to go.
He looked at his cousin and said, now with a very serious tone, "Do you think she really would go?"
Emma shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I just meant that you'll never know unless you ask her."
"She has a point," Aidan said.
Now James turned to his friend. "I don't see you asking Rachel Rowan into Hogsmeade."
"Yeah," Emma joined in, "and you've liked HER since last year."
"Well," Aidan said, slightly flustered now and trying to think of what to say next. "Maybe I just don't want a girlfriend tying me down right now."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah right," she said. "You're just afraid."
"I am not!" Aidan exclaimed, and then to Emma's look he said, "Okay, maybe a little bit."
"How hard can it be?" Emma asked. "You just walk over there, and you say, 'Would you like to join me in Hogsmeade next weekend?'"
"I don't talk like that," said James.
"Then talk however you talk," said Emma, "I just think it would be better to be polite."
"What do you know about it anyway?" James asked. "YOU'VE never gone out with anyone."
"So?" said Emma. "I'm a girl, and I know that girls don't like it when boys walk up to them and mumble something."
Aidan and James exchanged glances with each other. It had never occurred to them before that they could use James' cousin to their advantage. She WAS a girl, and she probably knew much more about what girls liked and didn't like. "How can I tell if a girl likes me or not?" James now asked her.
Emma thought about it. "It's not always the same," she said. "There's different types. Some girls get really giggly whenever they're around someone they like. Other ones might start to act jealous if you pay attention to too many other girls - that's what my mum did when she liked my dad."
"I don't think Miranda has done either of those," said James.
"But you don't hang around with groups of girls," Aidan pointed out. "Except Emma, and no one's going to get jealous over you and her, cause everyone knows you're related."
"True," Emma pointed out.
"Well, how else can we tell if she likes me or not?" James asked, though the blush on his cheeks was now burning.
Emma thought for a moment. "Do you want me to ask her for you?" Emma asked.
"What?" James asked, taken aback by the suggestion. "No! She'll know I told you to!"
"She would," Aidan agreed.
"Okay then," said Emma. "Do you want CORNELIA to ask if she likes you?"
James thought about this for a moment. The thought of Emma's best friend asking Miranda Timble personal questions didn't seem to be such a bad idea. Still, it seemed as though they could hit a snag with that plan. Aidan was the one who voiced the potential problem. "Since when are Miranda Timble and Cornelia on speaking terms?"
"Yeah," James said.
"They're not," said Emma, "but they're both in Gryffindor, and they have had small conversations before."
"I don't think so," James said, making the decision. "That would be too weird."
"Suit yourself," said Emma. "You'll just have to see how it goes then." She turned and headed out of the common room, informing her cousin that she would be in the library getting her homework done.
Once Emma was gone, James turned to Aidan. "I'll tell you what," he said. "Let's make this interesting."
"What do you mean?" Aidan asked.
"I mean that I'll ask Miranda if she'll come to Hogsmeade with me if YOU ask Rachel Rowan," said James with a raised eyebrow at his best friend.
Aidan's face paled, stricken at the thought of going close enough to Rachel to actually be able to say something to her. Every time he had found himself in that situation he had managed to get flustered and screw up whatever he wanted to say, whether it be a request to borrow a quill or to try and tell her that she looked nice. Rachel was polite about it, and she smiled at him whenever they spoke, but Aidan was almost sure she giggled about it behind his back when he wasn't around.
"Do I have to?" Aidan asked.
"You like her, don't you?" James responded, to which Aidan nodded. James nodded back at him, affirming that Aidan would have to deal with his fear and speak to the girl, for real, once and for all.
"Can I do it tomorrow?" Aidan asked.
"I guess so," said James. "You won't see her till then anyway."
"Good," said Aidan. "Then it's settled. Shake?" He held his hand out to James and the boys shook hands, sealing the pact they had made. When their hands left contact, Aidan said, "Now can we get some homework done?"
* * *
At breakfast the next morning, James found himself seated with just three people in between him and Miranda. Aidan kept shooting nervous looks in Rachel Rowan's direction. Emma, after hearing about their pact, spent breakfast alternating between a deep conversation with Cornelia about the essay they wrote the night before, and rolling her eyes at her cousin and his friend's ridiculous behavior. "Just ask them," she said before she left the Great Hall to head to her class. The boys stood and began to follow the crowds that were now leaving the Great Hall. They had a class that morning with the Hufflepuffs, and so the opportunity couldn't have been better.
They entered the greenhouse and took their places. Professor Sprout entered, greeted them and began talking at length about something James and Aidan weren't really paying attention to. James' eyes were on Miranda as she seemed to listen to Professor Sprout, however she turned when she felt someone's gaze on her. When she saw that it was James who was looking at her, she gave him a small smile. James' heart swelled, and he suddenly felt more confident as he smiled back at her.
Herbology seemed to last forever that morning. James kept looking at Miranda, and to his delight, she kept looking over at him and smiling as well. He took this to be a good sign, and once Professor Sprout had dismissed them he walked away from Aidan without a word and soon found himself face to face with his crush.
"Hi Miranda," he said, hoping he sounded more cheerful than nervous.
"Hi," Miranda said back. She yawned. "That was a long class, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," said James. They were now standing near the entrance of the greenhouse, neither one saying a word, and both VERY aware of the silence that now fell between them.
"So," Miranda finally said, and it seemed as though she was ready to walk out of the greenhouse.
"Miranda?" James asked, feeling his newfound courage slip away from him.
"Yeah?" she responded.
James felt as though he were shrinking under her gaze. She looked at him expectantly, and he suddenly remembered that he had to speak. "Um," he started, unable to find the correct words. "Miranda, would you.. would you like to... would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"
Miranda smiled at him, and then seemed to consider the question. "Sure," she said, and this time when James looked at her, her smile was warm, and it made him smile back at her. His heart now seemed to swell again.
"Great!" he said, beaming. Miranda beamed back at him, and the pair walked back to the castle together, talking of the weekend and what they might do when they got to Hogsmeade.
* * *
In the common room that night James and Miranda, though they kept their distance from each other, sent glances and smiles in each other's direction, as though they had a secret from everybody else. Emma, however, was determined to weed out the secret as she saw her cousin look up from his work for what seemed the twenty-seventh time. "All right," she finally said. "Are you going to tell me what happened or not?"
"What do you mean?" James asked, turning a page in his spellbook and pretending as though he had no idea what she could be talking about.
"You and Miranda," Emma prodded. "What happened?"
"Oh, that," said James as though the previous day's problem had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "She said she'd go into Hogsmeade with me."
"She did!?" Emma asked. "That's great!" James didn't respond, but Emma could see that he was smiling. "So you finally got the courage to ask her, huh?"
"Yup!" said James happily.
Emma's eyes lit up. "What are you going to do in Hogsmeade?" she asked.
"I don't know yet. Probably go to the Three Broomsticks," said James. "She said she likes it there."
"I wish I could go!" Emma said. "You're so lucky!"
"You'll get to go next year," said James. "And besides, you've been to Hogsmeade a million times."
"I know," said Emma, "but not with school." She thought about it for a moment, but then seemed to brighten up. "Here's Aidan!" she exclaimed. "You think he was as lucky as you."
The look on Aidan's face made it seem as though the boy had been flat out turned down, but when he took a seat in the chair across from James, a small smile crept across his pale face, and he took a long breath as though it were the first one he was allowing himself.
"What happened?" This time is was Cornelia who asked, having joined in the conversation late.
"She said okay," said Aidan.
"Great, mate!" James exclaimed, but Aidan just continued to gaze dreamily into space and smile his small smile.
"I think he's in shock," said Emma.
* * *
When the next Hogsmeade weekend rolled around, James, Aidan, Miranda and Rachel all headed out the front gates of Hogwarts for a fun-filled afternoon. When they returned from the day and sat with Emma and Cornelia by the fire in the common room, they recounted their day, and said how glad they were that they finally overcame their fear and asked the girls out.
Chapter Thirteen: James' Crush
James could remember the first time he had ever seen her, even though at the time he didn't give her a second thought. She had been getting onto the Hogwarts Express, and she was saying good-bye to her parents. He found out later that her name was Miranda Timble, when she had also been chosen as a new Gryffindor first year. They knew each other from classes, and saw each other everyday when they were in school, and had had multiple conversations over the years, but it wasn't until early in his fourth year - at the age of fourteen - that James happened a glance at Miranda, and felt something in his chest constrict.
All of a sudden, James found that he wanted to do everything he could to impress Miranda. He raised his hand a lot in class, proudly giving answers her knew were correct. He tried not to make it obvious that he was checking to see if Miranda had noticed his giving the correct answer.
His newfound attentions did not go unnoticed, however. Aidan could see that his friend was falling for the girl, going by his own recent feelings about one Rachel Rowan of Hufflepuff.
"If you fancy her, you should just ask her out," said Aidan as he and James sat in the common room one evening, doing their homework. Well, TRYING to do their homework was more like it, as James kept stealing glances to the opposite corner of the room, where Miranda was doing her own homework with her friends.
"Ask who out?" Emma asked curiously, walking up behind them.
"James fancies Miranda Timble," said Aidan, and James immediately kicked him in the leg.
"She'll HEAR you," he whispered harshly to his friend.
Emma giggled. "Do you really?" she asked. James said nothing, but the deep blush in his cheeks, and the reaction he had given Aidan, told her all she needed to know. Now Emma laughed triumphantly. "My cousin has a girlfriend!" she exclaimed.
"She is NOT my girlfriend!" James' voice continued in the harsh whisper.
"But you WANT he to be," Emma teased.
"That doesn't make it true," James said, and he glanced over at Miranda's table again.
"Ask her to go into Hogsmeade then," said Emma. James shook his head furiously. "Why not?"
"What if she says no?" James asked.
"But what if she says yes?" Emma shot back. James was silenced. Emma DID have a point. He had never considered the fact that if he asked Miranda to go into Hogsmeade with him, she might actually agree to go.
He looked at his cousin and said, now with a very serious tone, "Do you think she really would go?"
Emma shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I just meant that you'll never know unless you ask her."
"She has a point," Aidan said.
Now James turned to his friend. "I don't see you asking Rachel Rowan into Hogsmeade."
"Yeah," Emma joined in, "and you've liked HER since last year."
"Well," Aidan said, slightly flustered now and trying to think of what to say next. "Maybe I just don't want a girlfriend tying me down right now."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah right," she said. "You're just afraid."
"I am not!" Aidan exclaimed, and then to Emma's look he said, "Okay, maybe a little bit."
"How hard can it be?" Emma asked. "You just walk over there, and you say, 'Would you like to join me in Hogsmeade next weekend?'"
"I don't talk like that," said James.
"Then talk however you talk," said Emma, "I just think it would be better to be polite."
"What do you know about it anyway?" James asked. "YOU'VE never gone out with anyone."
"So?" said Emma. "I'm a girl, and I know that girls don't like it when boys walk up to them and mumble something."
Aidan and James exchanged glances with each other. It had never occurred to them before that they could use James' cousin to their advantage. She WAS a girl, and she probably knew much more about what girls liked and didn't like. "How can I tell if a girl likes me or not?" James now asked her.
Emma thought about it. "It's not always the same," she said. "There's different types. Some girls get really giggly whenever they're around someone they like. Other ones might start to act jealous if you pay attention to too many other girls - that's what my mum did when she liked my dad."
"I don't think Miranda has done either of those," said James.
"But you don't hang around with groups of girls," Aidan pointed out. "Except Emma, and no one's going to get jealous over you and her, cause everyone knows you're related."
"True," Emma pointed out.
"Well, how else can we tell if she likes me or not?" James asked, though the blush on his cheeks was now burning.
Emma thought for a moment. "Do you want me to ask her for you?" Emma asked.
"What?" James asked, taken aback by the suggestion. "No! She'll know I told you to!"
"She would," Aidan agreed.
"Okay then," said Emma. "Do you want CORNELIA to ask if she likes you?"
James thought about this for a moment. The thought of Emma's best friend asking Miranda Timble personal questions didn't seem to be such a bad idea. Still, it seemed as though they could hit a snag with that plan. Aidan was the one who voiced the potential problem. "Since when are Miranda Timble and Cornelia on speaking terms?"
"Yeah," James said.
"They're not," said Emma, "but they're both in Gryffindor, and they have had small conversations before."
"I don't think so," James said, making the decision. "That would be too weird."
"Suit yourself," said Emma. "You'll just have to see how it goes then." She turned and headed out of the common room, informing her cousin that she would be in the library getting her homework done.
Once Emma was gone, James turned to Aidan. "I'll tell you what," he said. "Let's make this interesting."
"What do you mean?" Aidan asked.
"I mean that I'll ask Miranda if she'll come to Hogsmeade with me if YOU ask Rachel Rowan," said James with a raised eyebrow at his best friend.
Aidan's face paled, stricken at the thought of going close enough to Rachel to actually be able to say something to her. Every time he had found himself in that situation he had managed to get flustered and screw up whatever he wanted to say, whether it be a request to borrow a quill or to try and tell her that she looked nice. Rachel was polite about it, and she smiled at him whenever they spoke, but Aidan was almost sure she giggled about it behind his back when he wasn't around.
"Do I have to?" Aidan asked.
"You like her, don't you?" James responded, to which Aidan nodded. James nodded back at him, affirming that Aidan would have to deal with his fear and speak to the girl, for real, once and for all.
"Can I do it tomorrow?" Aidan asked.
"I guess so," said James. "You won't see her till then anyway."
"Good," said Aidan. "Then it's settled. Shake?" He held his hand out to James and the boys shook hands, sealing the pact they had made. When their hands left contact, Aidan said, "Now can we get some homework done?"
* * *
At breakfast the next morning, James found himself seated with just three people in between him and Miranda. Aidan kept shooting nervous looks in Rachel Rowan's direction. Emma, after hearing about their pact, spent breakfast alternating between a deep conversation with Cornelia about the essay they wrote the night before, and rolling her eyes at her cousin and his friend's ridiculous behavior. "Just ask them," she said before she left the Great Hall to head to her class. The boys stood and began to follow the crowds that were now leaving the Great Hall. They had a class that morning with the Hufflepuffs, and so the opportunity couldn't have been better.
They entered the greenhouse and took their places. Professor Sprout entered, greeted them and began talking at length about something James and Aidan weren't really paying attention to. James' eyes were on Miranda as she seemed to listen to Professor Sprout, however she turned when she felt someone's gaze on her. When she saw that it was James who was looking at her, she gave him a small smile. James' heart swelled, and he suddenly felt more confident as he smiled back at her.
Herbology seemed to last forever that morning. James kept looking at Miranda, and to his delight, she kept looking over at him and smiling as well. He took this to be a good sign, and once Professor Sprout had dismissed them he walked away from Aidan without a word and soon found himself face to face with his crush.
"Hi Miranda," he said, hoping he sounded more cheerful than nervous.
"Hi," Miranda said back. She yawned. "That was a long class, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," said James. They were now standing near the entrance of the greenhouse, neither one saying a word, and both VERY aware of the silence that now fell between them.
"So," Miranda finally said, and it seemed as though she was ready to walk out of the greenhouse.
"Miranda?" James asked, feeling his newfound courage slip away from him.
"Yeah?" she responded.
James felt as though he were shrinking under her gaze. She looked at him expectantly, and he suddenly remembered that he had to speak. "Um," he started, unable to find the correct words. "Miranda, would you.. would you like to... would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"
Miranda smiled at him, and then seemed to consider the question. "Sure," she said, and this time when James looked at her, her smile was warm, and it made him smile back at her. His heart now seemed to swell again.
"Great!" he said, beaming. Miranda beamed back at him, and the pair walked back to the castle together, talking of the weekend and what they might do when they got to Hogsmeade.
* * *
In the common room that night James and Miranda, though they kept their distance from each other, sent glances and smiles in each other's direction, as though they had a secret from everybody else. Emma, however, was determined to weed out the secret as she saw her cousin look up from his work for what seemed the twenty-seventh time. "All right," she finally said. "Are you going to tell me what happened or not?"
"What do you mean?" James asked, turning a page in his spellbook and pretending as though he had no idea what she could be talking about.
"You and Miranda," Emma prodded. "What happened?"
"Oh, that," said James as though the previous day's problem had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "She said she'd go into Hogsmeade with me."
"She did!?" Emma asked. "That's great!" James didn't respond, but Emma could see that he was smiling. "So you finally got the courage to ask her, huh?"
"Yup!" said James happily.
Emma's eyes lit up. "What are you going to do in Hogsmeade?" she asked.
"I don't know yet. Probably go to the Three Broomsticks," said James. "She said she likes it there."
"I wish I could go!" Emma said. "You're so lucky!"
"You'll get to go next year," said James. "And besides, you've been to Hogsmeade a million times."
"I know," said Emma, "but not with school." She thought about it for a moment, but then seemed to brighten up. "Here's Aidan!" she exclaimed. "You think he was as lucky as you."
The look on Aidan's face made it seem as though the boy had been flat out turned down, but when he took a seat in the chair across from James, a small smile crept across his pale face, and he took a long breath as though it were the first one he was allowing himself.
"What happened?" This time is was Cornelia who asked, having joined in the conversation late.
"She said okay," said Aidan.
"Great, mate!" James exclaimed, but Aidan just continued to gaze dreamily into space and smile his small smile.
"I think he's in shock," said Emma.
* * *
When the next Hogsmeade weekend rolled around, James, Aidan, Miranda and Rachel all headed out the front gates of Hogwarts for a fun-filled afternoon. When they returned from the day and sat with Emma and Cornelia by the fire in the common room, they recounted their day, and said how glad they were that they finally overcame their fear and asked the girls out.