Author's Note: Here is another update. I have been asked several times about chapters in James' point of view. I'm considering writing this same story from his point of view to show you what he is thinking through all of this. I assure you it is an interesting and very different story in James' eyes. Please let me know if you have and interest in reading that and I will start publishing it. I can put it up as soon as I get far enough into this story for there not to be any spoilers, which will be fairly soon. Please review! I love to hear from all of you.

Chapter 7

The annual Potter Family Prank War began early next day. I was awoken by a bang and the shout of,

"Albus you prat!" I pulled on my bathrobe and raced into the hallway to find two soot-covered people wrestling on the ground with a very amused Lily standing over them. I identified the wrestling pair as Albus and James.

After Mr. Potter had pulled James off of Albus and effectively stopped him from strangling his younger brother, the two were ordered to the showers to wash off, only to find that Lily had replaced all of the soap in the bathroom with diluted boobotuber puss. Over a late breakfast I gathered that Albus had made the first strike of the prank war by placing a load of dungbombs in James' closet that would explode when he opened it. Unfortunately Albus had been caught in the crossfire, and had been hit full in the face as well.

I'd heard many stories about the infamous Potter Prank War from Albus every year when we returned to school from Christmas break. Albus had apparently initiated it eight years ago when he gave Lily a Mimbulous Mimbltonia and told her that if she poked it with a sharp object then it would sing lullabies to her. She attempted it with very messy results. Lily retaliated by replacing all of his records with recordings of mermaid operas. The screeching and wailing noises had upset James, and he got Lily back by dribbling shrinking solution into her laundry. Unfortunately, the laundry load had included some of Mrs. Potter's clothes, and she decided to teach her eldest son a lesson by charming his shoes so that they would run away whenever he tried to put them on. In her haste, however, she had accidently charmed Mr. Potter's shoes instead. After chasing his trainers around the property for a good half hour, Mr. Potter decided to get back at his wife back by enchanting every clock in the house to begin coughing loudly every time she began to speak. And thus began a full on war between all members of the house. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had long since formed an alliance, but the children of the house continued with the principle of every man, woman, and child for his or herself.

I'd made a point of not taking sides, but that did not prevent me from getting lost in the crossfire throughout the course of the day. By twelve o' clock that afternoon, Lily was apologizing profusely for mixing up the tea cups she had been handing Albus and me, and accidentally giving me a large dose of befuddlement draft. After I had finished bouncing off walls and speaking in gibberish for about two hours, I decided it would be in my best interest to get out of the house. I used the Potter's fireplace to floo to Diagon Alley to buy Albus a birthday present and do some Christmas shopping.

On the morning of December 17th, I woke early. I stared out the window for a few minutes after climbing out of bed. The rising orange sun cast light down upon the virgin snow covering the ground, causing it to sparkle as though it was embedded with diamonds. The wind was calm. The mood in the house was quiet and peaceful. The Prank War had been temporarily suspended in observance of Albus' birthday.

I pulled on my bathrobe and picked up Albus' present before shuffling into the hall. I quietly pushed open Albus' door and entered. He was still fast asleep, breathing heavily through his open mouth and drooling all over his pillow. Laughing inwardly I climbed onto his bed and began jumping up and down.

"Bloody hell?" Albus exclaimed as he emerged from sleep in a panic. "Vera what…"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I said, landing in a sitting position beside him and holding out his gift. Albus' expression brightened instantly at the sight of the small, brightly wrapped parcel. He took the present from me and opened it to reveal a velvety, navy blue box.

"Wow. A box." He said.

I rolled my eyes, "Just open it."

"You know Vera, if you're asking me to marry you I think Delilah may be a tad peeved about – oh wow!" He had just pulled the top off to reveal a shiny, new golden snitch. Engraved across the front under today's date were the words, Albus Potter: The Best Friend In The World. He looked up at me, his eyes wide with awe. "Vera…this is amazing. How did you afford this?"

I shrugged, "My mother and father give me about a hundred galleons in allowance every month. I'm just glad I finally have something to spend it on."

"Oh right. The Malfoys are filthy rich. I almost forgot."

"I don't know how you could with my father strolling around everywhere he goes with the entire contents of Gringott's in his pocket…" I muttered.

He laughed. "Well, thank you anyway. This is the most amazing present I've ever gotten." He hugged me tightly. "Wanna go try it out? I'll give you a go on my broom."

I snorted, "In this weather? Fat chance. This afternoon let's say."

He smiled and hugged me again.

Grandma Molly came over that morning and cooked one of the most glorious breakfasts I'd ever had the fortune to eat. She was a short, plump, friendly-faced woman with red hair that was into gray with age. With her came her husband, Grandpa Arthur, and a whole mess of Weasleys, each with their spouses and own shock of red hair. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione showed up with Rose and Hugo followed by Uncle George, Auntie Angelina, Fred, and Roxanne. Not long after came Teddy Lupin, hand in hand with Albus' cousin, Victoire. I gawked at her unflatteringly as she stepped through the door.

I remembered Victoire. That beautiful girl that everyone talked about, boys and girls alike. Everyone was always talking about something she had said to this boy, a secret she had told this girl, a hug she had shared with this boy, a look she had exchanged with this girl. Everyone spoke of her so much during our intersecting years at Hogwarts I felt as though I knew her personally. She was fifteen before anyone figured out she was part Veela, though as I looked at her now, glittering under the bright mid-morning sun, I couldn't figure out how anyone could have missed it. She inhabited a soft glow so distinct that she could light up dim classrooms and hallways when she entered them. Her silvery blonde hair trailed down her back in elegant waves, reaching all the way to her hips. Her pale blue eyes shone like the full moon. She was tall, slim, and elegant. When she moved she seemed to glide as though on wheels. Her pale French features were sharp and looked as though they had been chiseled by the hand of a particularly skilled sculptor. I was in awe of her, as was everyone else as far as I could tell. I remembered the gossip that had spread around the school like wildfire when she had fallen for the eccentric yet handsome orphaned godson of Harry Potter: Theodore Lupin.

I remembered Teddy Lupin as well, though I knew he would prefer to forget me, having established the "I Hate Malfoy" camp that James now presided exclusively in. He drew much sympathy from students and staff upon arriving at Hogwarts, especially the girls. He was the son of two admired war heroes who had perished in the final battle against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. If that didn't make him popular enough, he was also the godson of the famous Harry Potter. Although seemingly dark and mysterious at first, a quality many girls found intriguing, Teddy proved to be shy and in possession of a peculiar personality that some found charming and others found off-putting. He was tall and slightly scrawny for his age. I'd describe his face, but as he was a Metamorphmagi, his features were constantly changing. Today his hair was a deep burgundy and his nose was long and pointed.

Despite the delicious food, breakfast with members of the extended Weasley family was highly uncomfortable. I knew from my experience with them at school that Fred and Teddy were not fans of mine, and was therefore unsurprised when they and James took to muttering in the corner and casting me dark looks. I was unprepared, however, for the way some of the adults reacted to me. Uncle Ron took my presence as a personal offense. He and his brother spent a good half-hour brewing up a stream of loud, rude, and admittedly clever comments, punctured only by sharp looks from Mrs. Potter. Seeming to grow tired of the hostility surrounding his breakfast table, Mr. Potter turned to Uncle Ron and began discussing work.

"Did you finish that report about the disturbance at Knott Estate yet?" Mr. Potter asked, scraping the last morsel of food from his plate and raising it to his mouth. Uncle Ron's nostril's flared and he looked pointedly at me.

"I don't think you really wanna discuss auror stuff in front of the little spy do you?" He glared at me suspiciously.

At last taking the hint that I was unwelcome at this family occasion, I rinsed my plate in the sink and hurried up to the guest room, barely hearing Aunt Hermione admonishing her husband and trying to hold back the fresh set of tears filling my eyes.

I was wiping my eyes on my sleeve when the door creaked open quietly. I looked around to see Rose entering the room. Her brilliant red hair was pulled into a loose plait and her kind brown eyes, very unlike her fathers, were lined carefully in coffee colored eyeliner.

"Hey." She said.

"Hello." I replied, wiping my eyes once more. It was a natural instinct not to allow anyone to see me cry. I was a Malfoy after all.

"Sorry about my dad…and my uncle…and my cousins…I guess I should just apologize for everyone shouldn't I?"

I gave a watery chuckle. "There's really no need to apologize. I'm used to the way people talk about my family. It's just harder to deal with sometimes."

She sat beside me and roped an arm around my shoulder, "Well, I can at least apologize for the fact that you have to deal with all that. You don't deserve it. You aren't anything like your dad or granddad."

I shrugged and we sat in silence together, staring out the window.

"So from what I inferred, things haven't progressed much with you and James."

"I'm surprised you thought they would. I never expected us to be friends, but I thought maybe being on the Quidditch team with him might soften him up a little bit. No joy though. In fact, I'm pretty sure he hates me more now."

"That's not what I meant." I looked up at her, puzzled. She nodded at me with an annoyingly superior look on her face, the same one she wore whenever she figured something out before everyone else which, unfortunately, was very often.

"What do you mean then?"

"Well…James seems to pay a lot of attention to you considering he supposedly wants nothing to do with. He never misses a chance to talk to you, even if it's to say something awful to you. And he looks at you a lot, especially when you aren't looking. It just seems to me that if he really hated you, he would stay away from you."

"I think you just don't know what true loathing looks like."

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly Vera, how thick are you? Why can't you see that James just never progressed beyond the maturity level of an eight-year-old? He's just like all those little boys who pull on the pigtails of girls they like to get their attention."

"You reckon he likes me?" I asked. The idea was so impossible it seemed ludicrous for her to even propose it. Rose held up her hands as though she was showing me she wasn't armed,

"I'm just saying. He obviously feels something very strongly for you, and I think he may be confusing hate with something else."

I shook my head, trying very hard to slow my beating heart. "You're mad. You know that?"

"They said Galileo was mad too."

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

We lapsed into silence. Attempting to change the subject I said,

"So there's a puzzle I've been trying to solve for a while."

"What's that?"

"Well, I'm just wondering, how on Earth did a bloke like my brother get a girl like you?"

She gave a tinkling laugh and flashed me a brilliant smile, "Don't think I made it easy for him. But your brother really is an extraordinary person, Vera. You shouldn't be so harsh with him."

"I'm sorry Rose, but I think you just stopped speaking English for a moment. It sounded like you said my brother wasn't a complete prat."

Albus pushed open the door as she laughed again.

"Hey Vera." He said, sitting down on my other side.

"Albus? Shouldn't you be downstairs with your guests?"

"Oh they started bickering so I left."

"Not about me?" I said, horrified that I had ruined his birthday brunch.

"Of course not. Not all the rifts in my family are about you, Vera." He joked. "Nah, they were talking about politics. And you know how I feel about politics."

"Ah, yes." Rose interrupted. "I've heard your plan to boost the economy by replacing the galleon with Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans."

"You know, if you hear the details it's not that far-fetched." I said fairly. Rose shook her head smiling in spite of herself.

"Alright, alright. Well, Vera, I'm inviting myself for a sleepover. I'm going to go tell mum. Stay here though, just in case my dad's head explodes." Rose said. With that, she stood and flounced out of the room.

The night passed in a storm of giggles and gossip. Lily had joined Rose and my alleged sleepover and insisted on performing the typical acts of sleepovers such as doing each other's hair and talking about boys. I've never been much of a do-hair or talk-about-boys type of girl, but I did my best to imitate Rose and Lily's girlish glee. It was three in the morning when I was sent by the others to fetch more tea. I hopped, relieved to be free of the never-ending high-pitched giggles and Witch Weekly questionnaires, and hurried to the door with our empty cups. I closed the door behind me before I turned…and rammed into someone. I looked up to see who in the world would be loitering in the hallway at this time of night and saw an exhausted looking, tousle-haired James. I suddenly became very self- conscious about messy hair and my silly silk pajamas.

"Watch where you're going." James muttered darkly. Damn it. I thought. Why was he always lurking behind me like that? I briefly wondered if he planned these awkward interactions between the two of us to aggravate my discomfort around him. Maybe he was trying to see if my head would actually explode. Just before my imagination zoomed into overdrive he snapped my attention back to himself saying,

"Tell the others to keep it down. Some of us are trying to sleep."

"I'm not an owl. Tell them yourself." I replied irritably. He fixed me with his intense gaze and my heart sped up quickly. I expected him to come up with a snappy retort, but like the other night in my room he surprised me. He continued to stare into my eyes. I wondered if he was related to a basilisk, because I was absolutely petrified by his gaze. I jumped slightly as he extended his arm, but he simply caught a strand of my hair and tucked it back into my loose ponytail. Then he swept passed me wordlessly and entered the guest room.

I hurried down the stairs into the kitchen and poured some boiling water into the three small teacups. I gulped mine down quickly. The hot liquid burned my throat which gave me something to focus on other than my racing heart. What was going on with me? Why was James Potter able to affect me so much? I'd always been perfectly capable of ignoring him before, but now my knees felt weak every time I saw him. Had I finally reached a level where I loathed him so much that it caused me a physical discomfort? I had never really hated someone before, so I didn't know what emotion to compare this current one to. Damn it. Why did James always have to be so obnoxious and rude and infuriating and insufferable and….and intelligent and witty and handsome and…and…

I shook myself and downed another cup of boiling tea. It was several minutes before I could compose myself enough to return to the guest room. Rose and Lily were still as excited and giggly as they had been when I'd left them, but now they shared this strangely superior expression whenever they observed my thoughtful state, the meaning of which escaped me. Upon catching another one of Lily's sideways glances I exclaimed,

"What's up with you two. Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Oh no reason." Said Lily as she and Rose exchanged a glance.

"No seriously." I pressed.

"It's really nothing Vera." Rose said. "But just out of curiosity, how are you and Donovan doing?"

I felt my insides twist with guilt and shame as Donovan's handsome face popped into my head. I could tell that Rose and Lily saw something on my face worthy of note for they exchanged another look full of meaning.

"We're fine. Just fine." I finally said in a forceful tone, as though I was trying to convince myself as much as them.

"Well how is he doing? I'm sure you two lovebirds have been writing to each other everyday since term ended." Said Rose mischievously.

I stared at her with narrow eyes, feeling as though I was being questioned for information on a grizzly crime, and everything I said would be used against me in the court of girl. "Yes, as a matter of fact. He wrote me this morning."

A note from Don had indeed arrived that very morning, tied to the leg of the Thomas family owl, Leonardo. I remembered back to his excited words and sighed inwardly.

Dear Vera,

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to send this the day I got home but my father, the self-proclaimed expert in all things female, told me I should wait a while so as not to seem desperate. But here I am, eager to hear from you, and I suppose subsequently quite desperate.

Everything has been good here at home. I was so excited to see mum and dad and to hear the news that my family has another child on the way. Why my parents decided to have two children seventeen years apart is beyond me, but I look forward to greeting that little tike into the world. I've always wanted a sibling, though I know you would prefer to live without one.

My dad gave me another piece of good news. Apparently Albus told his dad about you and me, and the two of them agreed that their annual Christmas party could use a few more old school friends, so he sent an owl to my dad, and I'm happy to say I will be seeing you on Christmas. Isn't that marvelous? Harry Potter is a very kind man. Don't you agree?

Dad has been in and out of the ministry a lot lately. Apparently something big is happening that hasn't been released to the public yet. He refuses to tell me what it is though, so I am set to wondering. My thought was that it will be the next Triwizard Tournament, I only wish this wasn't my last year at Hogwarts.

I look forward to seeing you in a few days.

Missing you already,

Don

This letter had given me a guilty lurch when I had read it. I missed Don as well, but I wasn't nearly as excited for his visit. To be honest, the prospect of having him and James in the same room as myself again did not bode a happy Christmas for me. I had chased Albus around the garden several times upon learning of his involvement in the continuation of my internal confusion, but he simply laughed and skipped out of my reach, not even minding when I rugby tackled him in the snow. Lily snapped me back to attention by saying,

"And I'm sure your eager reply is already off back to him. You must have used a different owl though because I noticed Ella is still downstairs."

I ground my teeth, glaring at the two of them. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Nothing." Replied Rose. "Just drop it, Lil."

I continued to examine them both until Rose changed the subject. "So how about England's chances in the match against Japan?"

The conversation was effectively changed, but Lily and Rose's odd behaviour relating to the subject of Donovan still swirled around my head, making me ill at ease. The three of us did not get to bed until the wee hours of the morning, and even when I calmed myself enough to drift off, I was haunted by vivid and perplexing dreams in which James Potter made frequent appearances that did nothing to subdue my bewildered mind. Oh lord. What was happening to me?