Summer - end of 3rd year

Lyra had loved third year. She felt like finally, finally she was settled in her new magical life, studying all the amazing things the magical world had to offer. And what's more, because of what they had chosen, she got to spend more time with James which was an added bonus. True, he now seemed to have a new girl on the go at any given time, and she had to put up with them too, but in class, James would come and sit with her and Rosie and she had very much enjoyed it. Her crush on him was still there, under the surface, but as more time passed, so too did the realisation that her and James were just friends. Would always be just friends. And every girl he went out with, seemed to cement the idea in her mind.

This summer, as always, they had spent nearly every day together and it was always during this time that her crush on him seemed to rear its stupid head. Today, they were at her house as Carol was getting the house cleaned top to bottom and she had sneakily asked Lyra to occupy James for the day. It, unfortunately, was one of those typically British rainy summer days and as such Lyra had enlisted James's help in rearranging her room. Neither of them could do magic outside of school yet and so it required the manual movement of her furniture, James having done a lot of grumbling as he did it. Whilst he finished up, she had come downstairs to get them both a lemonade and, thinking he had really helped her, she also snagged the doughnuts on the side, sure it would be a good thank you. Balancing all this was an absolute skill, she privately thought, and even opening the door with her hip, but she almost dropped everything at the sight in front of her; James Potter was rifling through HER UNDERWEAR DRAWER.

"JAMES WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" she exclaimed, making him comically jump, spinning and looking the epitome of guilty…with one of her bras in his hand. "JAMES! GET OUT! GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" she demanded, feeling that she was scarlet in the face. James instantly dropped her bra, shuffling awkwardly.

"Ly I can explain I was just moving this, and your drawer just fell out! I was only putting everything back in!" he was a dammed liar and they both knew it.

"GET OUT! YOU CAN'T JUST RIFLE THROUGH MY UNDERWEAR!" she was so, so, horribly embarrassed, pointing at the door to make him get out.

"Ly come on, don't be like this" he pleaded but she was still outraged.

"ME BE LIKE THIS?! YOU'RE THE ONE LOOKING AT MY DAM UNDERWEAR!" she exclaimed. "JAMES. GET OUT" she demanded. James looked deflated but he went, pausing at the top of the stairs but she moved into her room and slammed the door shut, hoping he got the hint. She sat on her bed, calming her heart at the very idea that he would invade her privacy like that. No wonder the boys couldn't get into the girl's dormitory if they would behave like that! It was the first time she had ever questioned having him in her bedroom but that he would do something like that to her, his apparent best friend. It wasn't like she went rifling through his underwear drawer or snooping in his bedroom. She was absolutely mortified, the embarrassment growing as her rage subsided. After some time, she felt calm enough to leave the safety of her bedroom, thankful James had scarpered and not sure where they would go from there. He was supposed to be her best friend, and yet he would do that. The fact that she fancied him, she reflected, was probably what caused her to be more embarrassed, and knew Rosie would go wild at the thought that she had caught him red-handed. Indeed, it was thinking about Rosie which had her reaching for her parchment, thinking she would send her a letter so they could arrange to meet up when the front door went. Sighing, she went to get it, knowing how much her parents hated it when she ignored the door because she was too scared to get it. And James had called her a wimp enough times to force her to be more active in her door answering duties.

However, she regretted it as soon as she saw James on the doorstep, even though he was holding a box of what looked suspiciously like her favourite brownies. She was about to slam the door in his face, but he stuck his foot there, the sheer bloody cheek of him, stopping it from closing.

"Ly please. I'm really, really, truly sorry" he stuck his head in, box of brownies held above his head as though wanting her to see it. "I invaded your privacy, and I shouldn't have and for that I will always be truly sorry" he bowed at her, proffering her the box of brownies. She glared at him, James peeking up at her. "They're your favourite. I got two slices of the chocolate orange, one slice of the white chocolate blondie thing and another slice of the raspberry and white chocolate" the thought was genuinely tempting…but he'd looked at her underwear!

"I promise to never tell a soul what I did or what I saw and vow to never speak about this again. Or do it again. Ever" he crossed his heart.

"You're a jerk" she told him, crossing her arms and still feeling embarrassed.

"The biggest jerk to ever have existed" he agreed, small smile on her face.

"And you promise to not tell the guys?" she pushed, James nodding straight away.

"Wouldn't ever dream of betraying the trust of my very best friend" she arched her eyebrows at him. "Again, that is. I have learnt my lesson and am prepared to be shunned should I ever violate that trust again" he put on his adorable puppy dog eyes that he knew she was helpless to resist as she sighed, taking the box from him and heading into the kitchen.

"I'm not sharing the blondies with you" she called over her shoulder, knowing he would be following her.

"Nope, they're all yours" she glanced over her shoulder, saw him grinning and knew that he knew she'd forgiven him.