Author's Note: Hey! Okay so I had some major technical difficulties while I was trying to write this so I apologize for any odd typos or inconsistencies. I tried to catch most of them. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter so please, please, please let me know what you think! I honestly take your opinions into account when I'm writing new chapters. SO here's Chapter 10. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Friends, Boyfriends, Families...Oh My!

I didn't immediately open my eyes when I awoke the next morning. Instead, I explored with my other senses. The bitter taste of whiskey still resided resolutely in my mouth. I detected the faint scent of mint and laundry soap. I heard a slow, steady heartbeat against my ear. I felt the gentle rise and fall of James' chest as he slept. Hold on. James? Oh no, James. Kissing. Kissing James. Had that really happened? No. It couldn't have. Could it? I was dreaming. Definitely dreaming.

There was the sound of someone clearing her throat. My eyelids flickered open...and then flickered right back shut. Oh no. Oh no, oh no! No, this wasn't happening. I was going to open my eyes again and not find the entire Potter family standing in the doorway of the sitting room. Alright, one, two three...Fuck.

They were still there. All four of them. Tousle-haired and pajama- clad and looking positively livid. I shook James' shoulder.

"James, wake up."

"Huh?" He opened his eyes, staring blearily up at me. "What's wrong?"

I pointed to the doorway where his family stood.

"Oh. Fuck." He said, repeating my thoughts.

"This," Mrs. Potter began furiously, waving the empty firewhiskey bottle around, "This is what you call 'Taking care of her'?"

Uh-oh.

"Mum, calm down. Nothing happened." James said quickly.

"Nothing happened?" Mr. Potter cut in. "Nothing happened? James! Look where your hands are!"

Both of us glanced down. Damn. I thought. During the night, James' hands had travelled well beyond their innocent position on my hips. He pulled them away as though he'd been burned and I scrambled swiftly off of him. The too of us scooted as far away from each other as the couch would allow.

"Upstairs. Now!" Said Mrs. Potter, planting her hands on her hips. James stood and walked sulkily up the stairs followed by his furious parents.

Lily and Albus remained in the doorway. They didn't look angry like their parents. In fact, they looked as though they didn't know what to feel.

"So..." I said into the awkward silence. "Sounds like someone's in trouble, huh?" I chuckled weakly, waving towards the staircase. Neither of them said anything. They continued to stare at me, making me squirm.

"Uh, Vera," Albus said finally, "I think we need to talk."

I nodded glumly. "Yeah, I think we do."

They strode over to me. Lily took a seat on my left and Albus planted himself on my right.

"So, er, how do I put this delicately..." Said Albus, seeming to search for words.

"Did you sleep with our brother?" Lily interrupted, abandoning all polite pretence.

"Excuse me?" I asked, taken aback.

"Answer the question." She demanded.

"No! Of course not! I have a boyfriend...Oh my god I have a boyfriend." The realization hit me like a speeding train. Donovan. I was dating Donovan. And I'd just spent the night snogging James. And I was a terrible person!

I dropped my face into my hands, tears suddenly welling in my eyes. I began to curse fluently into my palms.

"Vera, calm down." Said Albus, patting my shoulder. I continued to curse, becoming more creative with my vocabulary with each passing phrase.

"It's okay, Vera." Came Lily's voice. "Just tell us what happened."

"Okay." I said, taking a few deep breaths and straining my memory. "Okay. You all had just gone to bed and I was in the kitchen with James. Then he offered me some firewhiskey."

"First mistake." Lily pronounced. "Accepting alcohol from a hormonal teenage boy."

"Oh go away, Lily." Said Albus irritably.

"Fine." Said Lily. "I'll go make sure mum and dad haven't murdered James."

I heard footsteps and lifted my face to look into Albus' vivid green eyes. I was about to resume cursing when he said,

"Okay, so what happened next?"

"Let's see...we started taking shots. And we were talking." "About what?"

"Everything." I replied honestly. "Then he asked me to dance. The radio was on. 'To Catch a Golden Snitch' was playing. We started talking again and he..."

"He what?"

"He told me he was sorry about how he's been treating me for the last couple of years." Al's brow furrowed in confusion at this. "And then we started kissing."

My heart seemed to stutter as the memory of his kiss came back to me. I touched my lips, relishing in the memory of the sensation.

"And?" Albus prompted. "And then we fell asleep." "That's all?"

"Yeah."

"So all you did was kiss?"

I nodded. Al exhaled loudly, running a hand through his already messy black hair.

"Are you angry with me?" I asked after a moment. He sighed. "I don't know. I'm just really confused."

"About what, may I ask?"

"Well," He seemed to be struggling for words. "How do I put this..." He struggled again. "It's like...it's like coming down stairs on Christmas morning and finding Winston Churchill snuggled up with Hitler on my couch."

"Who?"

He ignored me. "I mean, you and James have hated each other forever. And all the sudden you're attracted to each other? It's a difficult concept to wrap my mind around."

I sat silently, waiting for him to continue. He didn't. He simply stared at the opposite wall with a very familiar expression. It was the face he made when he was trying to grasp a difficult concept. He'd begun to wear it more and more frequently at school as material became more and more incomprehensible.

I continued to wait, now feeling deeply uncomfortable. I fidgeted with the edge of the olive green t-shirt Al had lent me and bit my lip anxiously. If Albus was angry with me - really angry – I didn't know if I could handle it.

"So..." I jumped when he finally spoke. "I guess the big question is...do you like him? Like that I mean."

"James?"

"Yeah."

It was my turn to slip into deep thought now. Did I like James Potter? He was certainly very attractive, with his tall stature, broad shoulders, long nose, hollow cheeks, and casually messy black hair. But I felt like being attracted to someone and liking them were two different things. I had certainly enjoyed talking to him last night. In fact, he was easier to talk to than anyone I'd ever met, except maybe Albus. But 'like' didn't seem to be the right word for the way I felt about him. 'Like' didn't describe why my heart sped up so rapidly whenever I saw him. 'Like' didn't describe why my knees felt weak every time we made eye contact. And 'like' certainly didn't describe the feeling I got when he kissed me. In fact, I didn't think any words could describe that.

"I – I don't know." I said at last. "I'm just really confused. I have a lot to think through."

"I don't know that there's that much to think about. Do you want to be with him? Yes or no?"

"I – I..." I really didn't know. I mean, of course I wanted to be with him. If it was up to me I would spend every moment staring into his eyes as I had done last night, and have him look at me in that way that made me want to explode in a puff of rainbows and smiles. But then there was the matter of Donovan. My...boyfriend. What could I say to him? And my brother. What would he say if he found out? And then there was everyone else at school, at home, everywhere in fact. How would they react to James and I being together?

Questions swirled around my mind as I tried to make sense of my life.

"Vera?" Albus asked. Apparently I had been silent for a long time.

"Can I have some time to think and then tell you? I really just don't know."

"Alright." He said. His face was still grim. We passed even more time in silence. Behind us there was the clatter of pots and pans while a still fuming Mrs. Potter started breakfast. I could hear her cursing things like the pancake batter, James, the bacon grease, James, the egg yokes, and James under her breath.

Beside me, Albus perked up quite suddenly.

"What?" I asked, relieved to see his familiar smile fixed firmly on his face.

"I've just figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"The reason you've been acting all weird. I knew it had to do with Donovan and James. Well now I know!" He clapped his hand excitedly. "I know more than you do even! You're confused."

"That I do know." I said, irritation creeping into my voice.

"But I also know why you're confused! You're dating Don, a really cool guy who you really like. But you feel guilty because you're in love with my brother!" Then his face fell. "Shit you're in love with my brother."

"I am not!" I argued, my face flushing scarlet.

"Then how come you're all nervous around him all the time?" He accused. Despite not particularly enjoying the idea of me having strong feelings for his brother, he seemed determined to be right about it.

"I don't know. But it's just ridiculous to even think about. I think you have to hook up more than twice to fall in love."

My heart seemed to come to a complete stand still as Albus' smile disappeared completely.

"What do you mean twice? Last night wasn't the first time?"

I cursed myself internally. Maybe sewing my mouth shut would stop me from saying stupid things.

"Uh no." I said, shifting uncomfortably. "He kissed me in the locker rooms on the day of the match against Slytherin."

"I see...and you didn't tell me." It was a statement. Not a question. I knew him well enough to know he was hurt. Very hurt.

"I couldn't!" I tried to defend myself. "I felt so bad about it. And he's your brother! And the whole thing with Don...I just wanted to forget it happened."

Albus didn't respond. At that moment Mrs. Potter called,

"Breakfast. Come to the kitchen. All of you."

Thus ensued one of the most uncomfortable family gatherings I had ever experienced. And that's saying something. I am a Malfoy after all.

Throughout the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Potter glared at James, who continued to shoot me side ways glances. Albus was alternating between staring sadly at his eggs and staring sadly at me. Lily was looking around at all of us thoroughly bewildered, and I was staring fixedly at my plate.

"Present time?" Lily asked finally. She was nearly fifteen, but her eyes gleamed with the excitement of an eight-year-old at the prospect of gifts. I've learned in my years that no one is too old for presents.

We all gathered around the Christmas tree and Lily began distributing out our presents.

"So Vera," Said Mrs. Potter as she forced a smile onto her face. "Since you're the guest, why don't you go first?"

I nodded and forced a smile as well. I was holding a squishy package covered in shiny silver paper. There was a note attached to it that said,

To: Vera

From: Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur

I tore at the edge of the package and unwrapped it. A knitted scarlet sweater slid from beneath the layer of papers and into my lap. I picked it up and held it out in front of me. In the center was an elegant golden lion frozen in that act of roaring.

"Did she – did Grandma Molly...Did she make this?" I asked, awed by the skill of the design.

"Yep." Said Mrs. Potter, now genuinely smiling. "She makes one for each member of the family every year. And since you're pretty much family now, I told her to make you one too."

I could feel a very powerful emotion roaring to life in my chest. Family? I was part of a family! A big, happy family full of wonderful, kind people (mostly). Tears of happiness began to spill from my eyes and before I could get a handle on my emotions I was standing up and throwing myself into Mrs. Potter's arms.

"Thank you so much! That was so sweet of you. And thank you for letting me stay here and I'm so sorry for what happened last night. I'm really really sorry." I wrapped my arms tightly around her slight waist. After standing there stunned for a moment she began to laugh and embraced me back.

"It's alright dear. What's done is done."

It felt so odd yet so wonderful to receive a maternal hug. I pulled away from her after a moment and wiped my eyes on my sleeve. I yanked the sweater on over my head and sat back down between Lily and Mr. Potter.

"Sorry." I muttered bashfully. "I just – no one's ever made me anything before. My family doesn't – "

I struggled to explain my flashy show of emotions.

"I understand." Mr. Potter said from beside me. "That's how I felt when I met the Weasleys." He smiled lovingly at his wife who returned the smile.

The atmosphere lightened considerably after that, and we whiled away the rest of the morning opening presents and laughing. I retreated to my room afterward, not wanting to see Albus' hurt looks or James' awkward glances, and began reading a new book Aunt Hermione had sent me entitled, The Importance of House-Elf Liberation written by herself.

Lily wandered into my room at half past three and lay down on my bed, throwing her arms above her head as though she was going to make a snow angel.

"What's up?" I asked, marking my page and closing the book.

"We should start getting ready." She informed me.

I glanced at the clock. "The party doesn't start until seven. Why do we have to get ready now?"

"Because there's so much to do Vera! We have to do facials, manicures, pedicures, hair, make-up...it'll take hours! Besides, Rose is coming over soon."

"Oh Lily," I said, pretending to shake my head sadly. "You could have been a brilliant Quidditch player but then you went off chasing pink dresses and eyeliner."

She rolled her eyes and whacked me with a pillow.

"Oh just come on." She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the bathroom.

The beautification process did indeed take several hours. Lily sat both Rose and me down in front of her vanity and played with our hair and make up as though we were her own life size dolls for what seemed like ages.

At six o' clock she ordered us to change into our dresses and shoes and then line up so she could inspect us. She examined every inch of me, peering closely at my smokey brown eye shadow and black mascara, my glossy curls and painted lips, my delicate lion necklace and matching golden bangles and earrings, right down to the hem of my strapless red silk taffeta cocktail dress and my strappy black heels. After pronouncing me acceptable she moved on to Rose to look at her neutral eye make up and blushed cheeks, her silver necklace, earrings, and pumps, her dark red hair curled up into an elegant bun, and her midnight blue dress.

After carefully adjusting Rose's wavy bangs, Lily slipped off to the bathroom to change into her own olive green dress. I turned to Rose the second she left the room. I needed her opinion on the events of last night, and how I should proceed.

"I need to tell you something." I informed her.

"Me too. But you go first."

I launched quickly into the story of the previous night's exploits. When I reached the part about when James had kissed me and how it had made me feel, her familiar 'I told you so' smile lit her face. I finished the story and she burst out,

"I knew it! I knew you two liked each other!"

"Yeah you were right. Good for you. But what about Donovan?"

Her face fell dramatically. "Damn. Donovan."

"My point exactly. Now you're the brilliant one here, tell me what to do!"

Rose bit her lip thoughtfully. I could see the cogs working in her brain through her focused, chocolate brown eyes.

"Well Vera," She said at last, "Since you're feeling so guilty about it, I think the only way to clear your conscience is to come clean."

I sighed and stared sadly down at my hands. "I know. I know that's the right thing to do but...but what if he breaks up with me?"

"Hey," She said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, "Don't start crying now. Lily will kill you if you mess up her artwork. And love, maybe you should have thought about that before you spent the night in the arms of another boy."

I nodded, twisting my hands together and trying to stem the flood of emotions.

"I suppose you do have one other option..." Said Rose after several moments.

"What's that?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Well you could let it go. Not tell Don. Try to forget it ever happened. But then the question is, is that the kind of relationship you want to have with him? Where you lie to him about something as big as this? And would you be able to forget about James that easily? From what you're describing to me...that kiss wasn't just a drunken accident was it?"

"I don't know what it was." I shook my head, trying to clear it enough to make a logical decision.

"I know what I have to do. I just wish I didn't. I really do care about Don but this whole thing with James...I don't know if it's going away."

Rose gazed at pityingly. We passed several more minutes in silence before I remembered that she had had news as well.

"What was it you had to tell me?" I asked.

"Oh. Nothing..." She replied, suddenly shirty. "No really. What is it?"

"Nothing. I was just going to tell you I invited your brother." Her voice became steadily quieter as her sentence progressed until she was whispering the last word.

"You did what?" I demanded furiously. "How could you - "

Lily flounced back in at that moment and twirled around so we could see her from all sides. I quickly stifled my fury.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"Beautiful." I assured her honestly.

"Really lovely." Rose agreed. Lily beamed at us, her round, dark green eyes glowing with excitement.

"Excellent!" She pronounced, "Now come on. We have to go help mum decorate."

She left followed closely by Rose. After sighing to myself once more, I headed downstairs.

I was greeted initially by the clanging sounds of pots and pans from the kitchen as Grandma Weasley finished up some of the dishes she would be serving. Mrs. Potter was in the entrance hall, wearing dress robes of pale pink that matched the delicate blush in her cheeks. James was standing beside her, looking dashing in a suit and black tie and levitating bits of holly and mistletoe up to the rafters.

James' eyes widened considerably when he caught sight of me, and he abandoned his task to meet me at the bottom of the stairs. He held his hand out to me. I took it and he guided me down the last few steps. I was grateful because my general lack of grace was always aggravated when I wore high heels and I was viable to trip and break an ankle.

"You look lovely." He said, not letting go of my hand.

"Thank you." I said politely. Donovan, Donovan, Donovan, Donovan! I thought, trying not to lose myself in the warm amber color of James' eyes.

Someone cleared his throat beside us and our staring match was broken. I turned to look at the throat-clearer and found Albus standing beside us, also wearing a black suit and tie. I yanked my hand from James' as though he had burned me. I dropped my head and pushed past the two of them to where Mrs. Potter, Rose, and Lily were congregated to assist in the decorating.

In minutes, the whole bottom floor looked like an explosion of holly, tinsel, mistletoe, paper chains, stuffed Father Christmases, fairy lights, and other holiday cheer.

The doorbell rang a little while later. I glanced at the clock.

"It's only 6:45. Who comes to a party this early?" I questioned.

Rose and the Potters all looked at each other. "Percy." They said in unison.

Mrs. Potter opened the front door to reveal a man of medium height with curly red hair and horn-rimmed glasses. Beside him stood a slight woman with graying mousy hair and tawny eyes. She had her hand on the shoulder of her daughter, Lucy, whom I recognized from school. Lucy had the same auburn hair and splatter of freckles as the girl standing next to her, who I assumed was her sister. Other than that though, the two could not be more different. Lucy was fairly short for fifteen with a round, nervous face and a button nose. Her sister was much taller and rather scrawny with sharp, distinctly European features.

"Percy!" Mrs. Potter embraced her brother.

"Lovely. Lovely to see you, Ginny." His voice was extremely pompous. "Oh and Harry! There you are old boy."

I turned to see Mr. Potter coming down the stairs. He wore bottle green robes and was unsuccessfully trying to unknot his matching tie. Mr. Potter looked utterly exhausted but managed to fix both a smile and his glasses onto his face as he greeted Uncle Percy.

Albus came to stand beside me and squeezed my hand, still the best friend in the world even when he was furious with me.

"Uncle Percy," He said, loud enough to capture the older man's attention. "This is my friend, Vera. Vera, my uncle Percy and aunt Audrey and cousin Molly and you already know Lucy."

Lucy acknowledged me like an old friend before running off to join Lily. Uncle Percy's eyes narrowed in on me.

"What's your last name?" He asked suspiciously.

"Malfoy." It was Molly who answered. I suddenly recognised her. Molly Weasley. She had been two years above me at Hogwarts.

Uncle Percy's face twisted, just as most people's did when they found out who I was. "A Malfoy, aye?"

I was saved from closer inspection by the bell. Literally. The door bell rang again and Albus pulled me over to introduce me to his uncle Bill and aunt Fleur and his cousin Dominique (Victoire was not with them and I had already met Louis.) I was in awe of this family. Fleur was, if possible, even more beautiful than I remembered Victoire being, and that's saying something. Dominique was equally beautiful and glowy though she took after her father more with her strawberry-blonde hair and light brown eyes.

"Your 'air is lovely." Aunt Fleur informed me when we were introduced.

"Thank you very much, madam." I then repeated my pleasantries in the French my mother had been making me learn every summer since I was five. Fleur took to me instantly after that and pulled me aside to question me about every thing from what products I used on my hair to what teachers I'd had in the French language.

Victoire and Teddy Lupin arrived a little while later followed by Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, and Rose's brother, Hugo. The Longbottoms dropped in soon afterward bringing with them the Scamanders. I was introduced to Alice, Alex's little sister, and Professor Longbottom's wife Lenora. I already knew Lorcan and Lysander from school but had the chance to meet their extremely eccentric parents Luna and Rolf.

Uncle Charlie, Uncle George, Auntie Angelina, Roxanne, and Fred were the last Weasleys to arrive, but far from the last people. The Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, came in with his extremely tall son whose name I didn't catch. Alicia Finnegan and her younger brother arrived with their father Seamus and mother Darlene. Many more people flowed in through the front door during the next hour. I even spotted the back of a white blonde head that could only be my brother, but chose not to greet him.

Having won aunt Fleur over so easily, I figured it may be in my best interest to befriend some of the other Weasleys. I approached Uncle Percy first and asked about his work at the Ministry, which he dived into with enthusiasm. I also managed to slip in that I was a prefect and a reasonably prestigious student with the result that by the end of the conversation, he seemed to have forgotten whom I was related to.

I was standing over the food table, indulging in some of Grandma Molly's delicious creations when someone wrapped their arms around me from behind and picked me up, spinning me around happily.

I choked on a truffle and began gagging as the person turned me around to face them. Don had arrived all too soon. Looking concerned, Don pointed his wand at me and said,

"Anapneo! Blimey Vera, are you okay?"

"Fine." I gasped. After I had caught my breath he pulled me in for a quick kiss and stared down at me, overwhelming excitement evident in his eyes. My heart throbbed guiltily.

"I'm so happy to see you." He informed me. I couldn't honestly return this sentiment so instead I said,

"Yeah. Happy Christmas!"

He beamed at me. " You look beautiful. Now come on, I want you to me my parents."

"What? No!" If I met his parents it would make things serious! It would give faces to those people he always talked about. Those people who cared about him. Those people who cared so much for him that they would hate me more than he would when we broke up.

"Why not?" He asked, turning back to face me.

"I just - I'm not ready to meet them yet."

"Why? They won't judge you."

"It's just a bit nerve-wracking," I invented, "Meeting your boyfriend's parents for the first time."

He smiled down at me.

"Alright then. How about we dance?"

"I'd love to." I took his offered hand and he led me into the sitting room where all the furniture had been cleared away to create a dance floor. He twirled me around in time with an upbeat song until I was laughing and dizzy and clutching him to remain upright.

It was easy to dance with Don. It was easy to be around him. To have fun with him. I did my best to push down the nagging feeling in the back of my head and just try to enjoy myself and the time I would have with him before he found out what a terrible girlfriend I was.

I looked around at some of the other guests during a slow dance. Scorpius was standing in the corner with Rose. He had his arm wrapped around her waist and was muttering in her ear while she giggled. My eyes continued to pan around the room. Albus was speaking to Teddy and Kingsley Shacklbolt and they were all in fits of racous laughter. Victoire was standing not far away, speaking in rapid French to her mother and sister. My eyes at last fell on James. He was leaning against the wall near the entrance. Alicia Finnegan stood beside him, jabbering away and completely unaware that he wasn't listening to a word she was saying. His eyes were fixed on Don and me as we swayed on the dance floor.

As I watched, Alex came up to him and they shared a short exchange. James' eyes bore suddenly into mine and I dropped my head to look at my feet.

I returned my attention to Don. He was describing to me a new Quidditch move he had learned when someone tapped his shoulder.

"Alex, hey!" I greeted him.

"Hey V, hey Don. Mind if cut in?"

"Er, I guess not." Said Don. "I'll go get us some drinks."

He walked off and Alex took his position in front of me, taking my hand in one of his and placing the other on my shoulder blade.

"So guess what." He said.

"What?" I played along.

"I met a guy!" His face was lit with glee.

I gasped and exclaimed, "That's great! What's his name?"

"His name is Jared. He's a muggle. I met him down in the village beside my house."

"Oh I'm so happy for you!" I said honestly. "Tell me about him."

Alex launched into excited chatter about the boy named Jared who was nineteen and working for a car repair shop. According to Alex, he was tall, handsome, funny, perpetually covered in oil, and extremely queer. I nodded politely as Alex dished out the details and congratulated him once more when he'd finished.

"So sounds like you met a guy too."

"Huh?" It took me a moment to catch his meaning. "Oh."

"Yeah Al told me what happened. Sorry."

"It's alright I guess I deserve it." I said. The song changed but we continued rocking back and fourth.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I decided I'm gonna tell him. When we get back to school though."

Alex's brow furrowed. "Why then?"

"Well I don't wanna ruin his holiday."

"But Vera," Alex interjected, "Won't it just make him feel even worse if he founds out you led him on that long?"

I growled and dropped my head into his chest. "I don't know, Alex. I don't know what to do."

"It's okay." He consoled. He enfolded me in his arms and hugged me comfortingly. The clinking glass announced Donovan's return. Alex released me.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your girl, mate."

"No problem." Then Don addressed me. "Wanna go find a quiet place to hang out?"

No. "Sure."

He led me over to a quiet area near the backdoor and handed me a bottle of butterbeer. The amber liquid within reminded me of...I shook my head.

Don leaned against the wall and I glanced up at the ceiling. Mistletoe. Uh oh.

"So did you like my present?" I asked conversationally, hoping he wouldn't notice the little bunch of green leaves above us.

"I loved it. Sorry you didn't get yours this morning. I wanted to give it to you in person."

"Well," I said, holding my hand out jokingly. "Where is it?"

He laughed. "It's in my cloak pocket. I'll go get it."

"Oh I was just..." he had already bounced off toward the coat closet, "kidding." I told the empty hallway.

I leaned back against the wall and sighed. I wished he hadn't gotten me a present. He was too kind already as it was. I glanced back up at the ceiling, trying to find something to look at.

The mistletoe was still there, mocking me in all its suggestive glory. I reached up and tried to pull it down but found myself about a foot short. I jumped up and down a few times, trying to grab the little thing but it remained just out of my reach. Damn. I suddenly wished I'd bought a dress with pockets. I'd left it upstairs because there was simply no place in my outfit to stash it, and somehow I thought I couldn't pull off keeping it behind my ear like Luna Scamander did.

Don returned by the time I gave up the attempt to remove the mistletoe from the ceiling. He was carrying a small parcel wrapped in brown paper. He leaned over me with his palm pressed against the wall beside my head and handed me the package.

"Open it." He told me.

I found the corner of the paper and pulled at it. The packaging ripped easily beneath my hands to reveal the back of a small canvas. I turned it over to reveal...a tiny painting depicting a beautiful girl sitting in a small clearing hugging the neck of a gorgeous white unicorn. As I watched, the girl's golden hair and the hem of her silvery dress rustled in the wind. The girl was so stunning that it took me several moments to realise that she was supposed to be me.

"Don this is...this is beautiful. Did you draw this?"

"Yep." He replied, watching me carefully. "Dad's pretty good at drawing and painting so he taught me a few things. Do you like it?"

"Of course I do! This is the most amazing gift I've ever gotten."

He sighed in relief. "Good. Because I wanted to tell you something when I gave it to you."

I suddenly felt wary. Oh no. Please say you just wanted to tell me when strawberry season starts. Please, please, please...

"We've been together for a couple of months now and I've really enjoyed being with you..."

Yes and now you're going to give me the statistics on the last Quidditch game right?

"And I care about you a lot. More than I've ever cared for a girl..."

I care about you too. Now let's go grab some garlic bread!

"And I know it's early and you don't have to say this back but I just wanted you to know..."

That hippogriffs are going to fall from the sky! Please say anything. Anything other than...

"I love you." He stared at me so intensely as he said those words I thought my eyes were going to burn out of my skull. He loved me? HE LOVED ME? No. This wasn't happening. What was I going to say back? Did I love him too? I knew I cared about him but love was a whole different Quidditch game.

"I - I..." He wasn't waiting for me to say it back. He was leaning in for the kiss. James' face leaning toward mine popped into my head. His eyes were closing. Surely I would explode from this guilt. His face was inches from mine.

"I kissed James!" I burst out.

Okay plenty of drama. I promise there will be more Vera and James moments in the next chapter so stay tuned!