A/N: So I wanted to give you guys a quick update this time, seeing that I left some things unanswered in the last chapter and I didn't want you to have to wonder about them for too long! Please keep giving me suggestions as to face claims for Aurelia and/or other characters in this story! Also, I'm considering creating a Tumblr account to share photos and inspirations for this story, if you'd like that, please let me know and it might happen! Hope you like this chapter, and don't forget to review!
Most students gathered in the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony were bursting with laughter, genuine smiles glued to their joyous faces as they greeted friends they likely hadn't seen much over the summer holidays.
Over by the Slytherin table, Regulus Black was deep in conversation with his friend Severus Snape, and Priamos Parkinson was full on snogging Luella Avery. Aurelia vaguely remembered hearing about their betrothal at her cousin's wedding nearly two months ago, and despite the union clearly being arranged, she couldn't help but to think that they looked more than happy about it.
At the Ravenclaw table, a large group of students were out of their seats, gathered around a seventh year who Aurelia recognized as Pandora Killick. The outspoken blonde seemed to be casting some sort of charm, and the crowd of Ravenclaws surrounding her burst out into laughter after following the girl's wand movements in adoration.
At her own table, Aurelia was probably the only one sitting quietly in her seat, as the Hufflepuffs were divided into many smaller groups sharing details of their summer holidays with each other. Lisa Collins, a muggleborn witch with whom Aurelia shared a dormitory, had politely asked the pure-blood about her summer before returning to her group of friends. The silvery blonde, who was probably the loneliest of Hufflepuffs, bitterly wondered if she could've been part of the giggling group of girls hadn't her brother and cousin threatened the 'filthy mudblood'upon seeing her with Aurelia sometime in her first year.
Reluctantly, the blonde let her gaze wander to the Gryffindor table, at the end of the Great Hall. She could just about feel her heart skip a beat as she first laid eyes on him, hazel eyes shimmering in line with his smile, as he playfully ruffled Sirius hair as he always did.
They were sitting not only with Remus and Peter, she noticed, as James turned away from his best mate to smile at something the redhead next to him had said; Lily Evans. Marlene, Mary, and a beautiful witch with olive skin, who Aurelia suspected was Dorcas, were also sitting with the marauders, all looking exceptionally content and perfectly in place. It dawned upon her that the group fit so well together, and that she would never truly be a part of that. She was, and had always been, an outsider; in her family, in her Hogwarts house, and now in her group of friends.
Just as a tear started forming in the corner of her eye, he looked up at her, beaming, and as she met those warm hazel eyes for the first time in six weeks, she forced herself to look away. There he was, only now looking for her, after several hours on the Hogwarts Express and after catching a carriage with her, not even bothering to look for Aurelia. She wanted nothing more than to be furious with him, than to glare at him, the way that only a Malfoy descendant could. But then again, despite her looks, she was no Malfoy, and so she turned her dejected eyes down to face the table.
The truth was, she had missed him to the degree that it took everything she had not to look up and meet those familiar hazel eyes again. Her stomach fluttered at the mere thought of it, and it felt as though him actually looking at her just moments ago was some sort of confirmation; it had all happened. It wasn't just some relationship she had made up in her mind from being alone all summer, and it wasn't over; because he had looked at her.
And so, despite the fact that her entire body shivered at the thought of being alone with him again, talking to him, kissing him – she abstained from turning her gaze back towards the Gryffindor table, telling herself that she would only find him shooting that flirtatious grin at Lily Evans, as he had so many times before.
"Order!"
The Headmaster's voice rung through the great hall, as he placed the sorting hat on a stool at the head of the Great Hall, causing the students to rush to their seats in a newly erupted silence.
"Let the sorting begin," he continued, and the hat started singing its lengthy song.
The sorting was uninteresting, at least to Aurelia it was. The first years were so young, and while she recognized quite a few family names, she didn't know any of them. In tradition, she applauded the new Hufflepuff additions together with the rest of the house, but quite frankly, she couldn't wait for the feast to be over with so that she could return to her dormitory where she didn't have to constantly avoid looking at a certain raven-haired boy with enchanting hazel eyes and captivating lips.
As soon as the prefects had led the first years out of the Great Hall and towards their common rooms, Aurelia was on her feet, determined not to spend any more time than necessary with her fellow students. It wasn't that she particularly enjoyed being alone. The summer had been unbearably lonely, and ever since she came back to live with her parents, the only tolerable company she'd had was her cousin's new wife – Narcissa. While the witch was several years her senior, a socialite pureblood, and married to Lucius (with whom Aurelia was not on speaking terms), she had proven to be somewhat of a friend – and quite frankly, the only company which Mrs. Fawley didn't object to. She probably figured that spending time with a married, and well-bred pureblood witch could only do her rebellious daughter good.
No, Aurelia did not take well to being alone, yet she always seemed to find herself being just that – alone. And seeing that James didn't seem to want much to do with her, she wanted nothing more than to retreat from the crowds of students and hide away in her dorm where she could scold herself for ever believing that James Potter would want to be with her of all people.
She was ripped out of her thoughts, and away from her path towards the stairs, as a strong hand grabbed her wrist from behind and pulled her into one of the secluded window alcoves. Before she caught glimpse of her abductor, her heart managed to stop at the thought that it might be Rabastan Lestrange, only to relax again at the realization that he had graduated before summer and was not at Hogwarts anymore.
As the girl turned around, she found herself face to face with a familiar flirtatious smirk, as James' body was pressed dangerously close to hers, the scent of butterbeer just nearly concealing that of muggle cigarettes in his breath.
"My, my, Miss Fawley. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were avoiding me," he grinned, low voice husky as he pressed his body closer towards her, his lips teasingly hovering just above hers.
"Nonsense, Potter. If anything, you seem to be avoiding me," she replied coldly. While they had argued before, she had never quite given him the cold shoulder she had adopted from the Malfoy side of the family. Not until now. Although, she had to admit it was difficult to maintain with him so bloody close, blurring her mind with all kinds of stupid ideas.
"So that's what's got your knickers in a twist," he continued, as he teasingly ran his fingers down the side of her arm. The fact that he seemed to be enjoying this made her regain some of her anger, as he quite honestly had hurt her with his absence, and was now teasing her about it.
"Well, I'm sorry for expecting more of you. I was clearly mistaken," she sneered, pushing at his chest with her palms to create some space between them, but failing to budge the much taller, and not to mention stronger, Gryffindor beater.
"Hey, relax Lia. I was only joking. You know I would never avoid you, where's this coming from?"
"I know no such thing. I haven't seen you in six weeks and just now, after, what, nine hours in the same place? - you come to find me. Nine hours, James! Is that how little I mean to you?"
"What? No, Lia! Of course not, you… you mean the world to me," he retorted, softly, as he pushed her hair behind her ears, hands lingering on her cheeks.
"It's just with this new responsibility and all that… I've been so distracted," he continued explaining.
"Yes, well I'm sure that would be distracting, wouldn't it? How is the Head Girl, by the way?"
His hands dropped at that, and he started blankly at her as he took a small step back. So, she had been right about Evans. All this time, she had just been a stand-in for the brilliant and enchanting muggleborn, who seemed to fit in with any crowd.
"She is my colleague, Lia. I didn't ask for this, if that's what you think."
"Of course, you didn't, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind working so closely with her."
"Lia, wha-. I'm with you, aren't I?"
"I don't know. Are you?"
"Of course I am!"
"Really?"
"Yes, Lia. Now calm down, would you? You're starting to scare me," he muttered, taking that small step back towards her to wrap her in his arms; somewhere she hadn't been in so long she'd almost forgotten what it felt like; home.
"Well, you scared me first," she murmured into his chest, not hesitating to wrap her arms around his middle and breathe in his familiar scent of muggle cigarettes, rich cologne, and a hint of cinnamon.
"I'm sorry, love. Honestly, all I've wanted since I set foot on that train is to be alone with you," he mumbled softly, pulling away from the embrace only to lift her chin up and catch her lips with his in a smooth motion that made her want to melt away. That was all she had wanted since she set foot on the train, too. It was all she had wanted since she left him in Potter House six weeks ago only to be put on house arrest by her mother. If only that woman knew just what her daughter had been getting into at Hogwarts, Aurelia would've surely been home-schooled for her remaining two years.
The kiss, which hadn't been particularly innocent to begin with, quickly deepened, and had the pair pressed too closely together where they stood in the window alcove.
Aurelia's heart was racing, and as they finally broke the kiss, her breathing was heavy and unsteady, as was his.
"I've got my own dorm now," the boy breathed, with a suggestive smirk on his lips, before he came in again and caught her lips in a chaste kiss.
"Is that so? I can't imagine you'd want to… share it with anyone."
"No one but my girlfriend," he murmured in response, placing another peck on her lips.
"Is that so? I was under the impression that the Head Boy was… going stag," Aurelia inquired, her heart having stopped at hearing the word girlfriend leave his lips.
"Oh no, he's found himself an enchanting badger," he grinned, his hand slipping down along her back, pressing her closer to him.
"James Potter, you take that back! I would most certainly not be a badger!" she scolded, punching his arm before she realized what he had really said to make her consider her supposed animagus form. He had called her his girlfriend.
"No, you'd be a bloody Hungarian horntail, is what you'd be," he laughed, retreating to rub his arm where she'd punched it.
"Now would the gruesome dragon care to accompany the Head Boy to his dormitory, or would she rather go stag?"
"Now, that doesn't sound like much of a choice, does it, boyfriend?"
"What, Head Boy or stag?" he teased, still smirking irresistibly.
"I think I'll have them both."
Several hours later, the blonde Hufflepuff woke up in the strong arms of the Head Boy; her boyfriend. Having spent the night in his dorm, she had grown more used to his new position, thinking that perhaps it could benefit their relationship after all.
That was, until she snuck out under his invisibility cloak, ending up having to listen to Lily Evans' complaints in the head common room. The Head Girl was characteristically sitting in the common room sofa with her nose down a book, and while James had spent the whole night convincing Aurelia that she was the one he wanted, she couldn't help but to feel jealous of the girl who was going to share a common room with him throughout the entire year. Not to mention that Evans had been given his undivided attention for several years now, and Aurelia needed to have him to herself now – something that would likely be quite difficult given these new living arrangements.
"I know that you have this compulsive need to shag everything that moves, Potter, but I'd appreciate if you kept your slags away from our common room, or at least cast a muffliato," the redhead complained as the pair made their way through the common room, Aurelia well hidden under the cloak.
"No slags here, Evans. Just me and my invisible girlfriend," he smirked, and Aurelia couldn't help but to grin at his truthfulness.
"Oh, please. I heard you, and it was repulsive. I couldn't sleep all night."
Aurelia was since long blushing under the invisibility cloak, but there wasn't a trace of embarrassment on James' face, as he kept grinning smugly at the redhead.
"Repulsive, you say? I'd have to object. You see, she does this wicked thing with her- ow!"
He had deserved that arm-punch, the currently invisible girl decided, as she could feel her face burning at his terribly inappropriate suggestion. The tall boy rubbed his arm, much like he had the evening before, muttering something about her being a 'bloody horntail'.
"What was that?! Is she here?" the redhead witch asked with an infuriated expression on her face, as she quickly left her seat on the sofa and started striding towards them.
"Nothing, Evans, you're clearly imagining things! Terrible thing, sleep deprivation, just terrible!" he exclaimed as he rushed out of the portrait hole, his 'invisible girlfriend' close behind.
They didn't stop running until they had passed two corners, both laughing hysterically as the young witch finally came out from under the cloak, shoving it into the arms of the boy who had looked absolutely terrified as he ran away from the Head Girl only moments ago.
"You seriously need to keep that mouth of yours shut, or you might end up not having an invisible girlfriend at all!"
"Well, you're perfectly visible now, so I take it you won't mind if I go have a little chat with Padfoot," he grinned, turning to walk up the set of stairs leading towards the Gryffindor Tower.
"You will do no such thing, or else you can forget all about that wicked thing you nearly told Evans about!"
"My lips are sealed," he promised, throwing his arms up in defeat.
"I won't tell a soul," the boy continued, grinning, as he made his way up the stairs.
A/N: There it is, guys, chapter 15! Things are definitely not over between them. What do you guys think of Lily, is she a real threat to Aurelia? And what is James feeling?
If you liked it, please let me know by following, favoriting and reviewing (which gives me the most motivation and joy of all)! Thank you!