A/N: Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, favorited and followed! As you may have noticed, I have chosen to not have the conversations in italics anymore, as some of you pointed out that it was confusing to you - and we can't have that! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

The sun had set for the evening, and Aurelia was positive she had downed one too many shots of firewhiskey where she sat leaning against the beech tree, looking out over the black lake. She was dizzy. Dizzy and content. Remus Lupin was sitting next to her, nose stuck in a book. Sirius and Marlene were closer to the lake, and while they had said they were going for a walk, Aurelia was certain they were doing more than walking around over there. And a bit closer to the tree, James and Peter were wrestling over the last bit of chocolate that Peter had snatched from Remus. Strangely, sitting by the lake with these tipsy sixth year Gryffindors well past midnight, seemed natural. It was as though, for once, she didn't have to pretend, or put on a mask. And although it was the first time she had ever been invited to join them, it felt like she had known them forever.

Aurelia felt her heart skip a beat as a clearly intoxicated James Potter threw himself on the ground beside her and rested his head on her lap. There it was again, the damned closeness that not only sent shivers down her spine, but all over her body. She didn't want it to stop though, and it wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, rather one she wasn't familiar with. They sat there in silence for a while, her fingers mindlessly touching his messy, yet incredibly soft hair, running through it as to style it (which naturally was impossible).

"So, is it true?" he finally mumbled, sheepishly, breaking the silence.

"You were raised by Slytherins?" he continued, his warm hazel eyes shifting from the stars to meet hers.

"Partially. My dad's a Hufflepuff, though."

"So… Your mum's a Slytherin? And your grandfather? The minister?" Normally, Aurelia would despise all these questions about her family. She would find a diversion, talk about something else, anything else, or rather, talk about nothing at all. She didn't know if it was the alcohol, or if it was him, but for some reason, she didn't mind it this time. She didn't mind him knowing about her family, and she didn't mind talking to him about it.

"Mother was in Slytherin, yes, but I've never heard of a Fawley who wasn't in Hufflepuff. Except for my brother."

"You have a brother? Which house is he in?"

"He's a Slytherin through and through, like mother. But he graduated a few years ago."

"Oh, I remember him. August, right? The quidditch captain?"

"That's the one," she responded, with a small sigh. They had never really been friends, her and Augustus. Perhaps because of the age difference, or because they were simply too different. He had always looked up to Lucius, following him around like a little brother, and both boys always seemed to forget about Aurelia, who was never included in their endeavours. And now, as an adult, her brother only ever seemed to notice her when he had an opinion on how she should think, dress or act. While he didn't agree with their uncle that she should marry Lucius (because god forbid she stole him away), he wasn't short on letting her know that if it were up to him, she'd already be betrothed to Rabastan, Regulus, or some other pureblood bloke by now.

"I don't have any siblings…" James mumbled warily, turning his gaze to the stars again.

"Except for Sirius, that is. He's like a brother to me, even moved in with the folks last summer."

"Well if you ask me, you're better off without a Slytherin git telling you what to do," she replied, glancing up at the sky to see what he was looking at. It was a beautiful starry night, and the moon was nearly full, or looked as though it had been full not too long ago and was beginning to scale off.

"Well, if it gets too bad you can always follow Padfoot's example and move in, y'know."

"Padfoot?"

"Sirius."

"No offense, James. But I wouldn't want to be considered your sister."

"Good. Me neither. I mean… I wouldn't want to consider you my… Oh fuck it!"

It all happened way too fast for Aurelia to actually process. One second, he was lying on the grass, his head resting on her lap, and the next, he was sitting up in front of her, so close that his lips just barely brushed against hers. Or was that intentional? The firewhiskey had to be messing with her head, because she soon figured that this was one of those things that did not happen unintentionally.

Remus slammed his book shut beside them and stood up, causing the pair to hastily jump apart. James Potter had almost kissed her, she concluded, and she had jumped away from him like a scared little girl at the notion that his friend was sitting next to them. And thus, the moment was ruined.

"Really? That's what you're going with? Charming, James. Real charming. How does one go from discussing possible siblinghood to snogging? That's beyond me."

"Well, Moony, perhaps that's why you still haven't..."

James was shut up by Remus' hand pressed to his mouth, and a pair of threatening green eyes glaring at him.

"Don't. You. Dare."

The dark-haired boy threw his arms up in defeat, laughing loudly as his friend turned his heel and walked away. While James hadn't gotten to finish his sentence, Aurelia could only assume what he was going to say, and for some reason she too, found it hilarious. The pair laughed for what seemed like forever, sprawled across the grass, across each other, repeating the blonde's "don't you dare" and bursting into laughter time and time again.

The laughter died out after a while, leaving the two teenagers alone at the base of the tree, both drained of energy from all that laughing, content smiles still lingering on their faces.

"Do you have any idea how bloody beautiful you are?" The boy had an unusual seriousness glued to his face, which only made his words seem more absurd. His brown eyes had locked to her grey ones, and confusion was fogging up her mind. It had to be a prank, after all, because Aurelia was well aware that she was anything but beautiful. She was the embodiment of dull, grey and transparent. She was too skinny, too short, and there was no colour what so ever to her complexion, nor her eyes for that matter. And James Potter could have just about any girl he wanted, well, except for Lily Evans. There was no way that he meant what he was saying, which led her to the conclusion that this had been the prank all along. To make her feel like she had a chance, a chance at all of this; friendship, happiness… him.

"I thought we were done laughing for the night, James," she mumbled as she forced herself into a seated position, her knees pulled up to her chin, turning her gaze to the lake rather than having to face him.

"I mean it. You walk around with your head turned down every day, like you don't want people to see you. But I see you, Aurelia Fawley, and you're bloody beautiful."

A/N: Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on it! I'm still considering where to take this story, and have a few ideas but I'm open to any input you might have! If you liked this chapter, please follow, favorite and review! Thanks!