Ok so I have been super busy at school and feel awful that my chapters aren't as long as they were before. I also feel bad I haven't been updating as regularly as before : (
But, I have a cute chapter that basically sets up the next one that's going to be full of drama, scandals, pretty dresses and James Potter!
To:
Obsessedteenagefangirl: hahahaha I love your ship name! I hope you like this chapter (soz it's a bit crap) but the next one will be long and juicy! Keep reading and reviewing, I love getting review alert emails from you!
Cap92A: I'm in love with writing James and Maddie fail at realising they like each other. Plus, I love writing failed kisses! I'm trying to make James more likeable for Maddie but am trying to keep his arrogance because that's what she really likes about him! Keep reading and reviewing!
Tigs0701: I'm definitely writing a fight between Roy and James and Maddie and Alexia at some point! I love jealous guys fighting over a girl : ) keep reading and reviewing, always love hearing from you!
REVIEW PLEASE!
Chapter 16: Some Confusing and Embarrassing Nights
I all but ran down the stairs. I could hear the heavy clomping of James walking behind me – but he kept his distance.
As I walked down the stairs, I was still so shocked as to what had just happened. I mean, we almost kissed. And I hate the guy.
Wonder what I'll do to the guy I actually like.
I slowed my pace into a fast walk as I came down the stairs and steered myself into the dining room where everyone was still eating.
As I walked in, I took in the expressions of absolute shock and confusion pass over their faces. Then I looked down at my shirt.
I blushed the same colour as my now tomato sauce stained shirt.
James walked up next to me, fidgeting with nervous energy. He frowned.
"Why is everyone staring at us?" he asked, confusion and accusation lacing his voice.
I coughed, trying to signal him in. When he glanced as his dirty shirt and my dirty shirt, he blushed. He actually blushed. It was the second time I'd seen him blush.
"Why are you both still dirty? Why is Maddie also dirty? I thought you were going to get cleaned up!" Wendy asked, her voice grinding on my last nerves. I clenched my hands at my sides into fists.
Lupin snorted. "Seems to me they wanted to get a little dirty instead," he sang in a sing-song voice, his eyes mocking us.
Everyone suppressed laughter at the table except for Wendy who was glaring the bejesus out of me.
I stared at Lupin, my mouth open wide. I can't believe he just said that.
"Wh… what?" I finally managed as James went rigid beside me.
Then, he let out a shaky laugh that was obviously so fake. "Good one, Teddy. But nothing happened. As much as Miss Taylor over here wants it, she didn't get it," James said, as he casually dodged past me and slid into his seat. The moment he sat down, Wendy clung to him like a barnacle.
What the hell did he just say? He was the one who picked me up and almost kissed me! I did nothing to encourage him! I didn't even like it!
But…
NO! Don't finish that sentence. I won't.
I cleared my throat and sat down at my seat. "Yeah, in your dreams, Potter," I said, trying to make it look like normal banter.
But as I looked around the table and saw everyone's knowing glances, I knew that they knew something was up. And it was also a little obvious from the stains on my shirt…
I have to say, Ellie, Rose, Hugo and Andy were all really nice and friendly. Of course, they kept on giving me these knowing looks which made it extra awkward sometimes.
I think Ellie is my new favourite person. She's headstrong, weird, down to earth, stubborn, absolutely hilarious and very, very different. Of course, she looks just like her mum with the white hair but she has her dads chocolate-brown/ black eyes.
Rose was pretty cool. I think she takes after her mum, Hermione, although I imagine she looks like Ginny did when Ginny was her age. Her hair was bright orange and her eyes were a bright blue. She was super nice, if a bit stiff at some stages and liked to correct Hugo when he told stories wrong.
Hugo was a little scrawny kid who ate food like there was no tomorrow and says the first thing that comes to his mind. He and Lily were laughing the whole dinner, whispering and sharing inside jokes no one else got.
Andy was a little ball of sunshine. He was sweet, smiled a lot and was super neat and organised, I could tell. His sense of humour was lacking and his jokes were so cheesy, yet endearing.
And then there's Wendy…
Wendy was a right pain in the ass. She complained, whined and stressed the whole time, chiming into the conversation to either brag about her grades at school, complain, tell everyone how 'pretty' she was, flirt weirdly with James and to correct people's grammar errors. Like, who does that?
Overall, I had a pretty good time at dinner!
But… there was a like a massive block between me and James. It was as if a huge block of syrup was placed between us – we couldn't move forward without getting sticky and messy. Plus, it takes a lot of effort to walk through a whole block of syrup. We avoided eye contact, any contact and avoided conversation at all costs.
All the parents were cool (I especially appreciated Luna's weirdness) and dinner and dessert were awesome.
Eventually, the parents sent us away so they could talk about 'grown up things' – aka, the Pure's and the creepy, animagus greyhound.
All of us kids piled into Al's room and listened to the Weird Sisters on repeat.
It was a fun night…
If you overlook the fact that James Potter and I almost kissed. Trust me, a little (ok, massive and loud) voice was screaming inside my head 'WHAT THE HOLY HELL JUST HAPPENED WITH JAMES?' over and over. It took every ounce of my self-control to keep all that frustration and weird feelings at bay.
So, finally, when everyone left and we'd said our goodnights and goodbyes, I ran quickly to my room, locking myself in there, vowing to never leave. Ever.
It was the most confusing and embarrassing night of my life. And that says a lot!
Some Confusing and Embarrassing Nights:
The night I had that weird psychic dream about the Pure's breaking into the Australian Institute of Magic
The night I cried when we watched Marly and Me in the dorms back at AIM's and everyone called me a wuss
The night I kissed some random crush, thinking he liked me. Of course, he didn't
The night my mum would not stop telling her friends, family, my friends and school teachers that 'Maddie got her period' and that 'she was so proud'.
The night my brothers and their friends all barged in on me changing into a new bra
And… the night James Potter almost kissed me
So, the list is pretty long.
But the strange night wasn't over yet, apparently.
I threw myself into my bed and flicked the lights out with my wand.
I fell asleep easy that night, probably to lull me into a false sense of security.
"Stop! Dad, please!" I yelled, my voice coarse and shaking as I yelled at my dad, tears streaking down my face, blurring my vision.
It appeared that me, my dad and some hunched over figure in the corner were locked in some room, grey in colour and grey in mood.
My dad just looked at me, his eyes completely white – no iris or pupil in sight. He smiled, and I gagged as I saw his teeth were gone, leaving only gaping gums, red with blood.
I cried out once more and he kicked the figure in the stomach. And again. And again. I tried to reach the man who looked my dad but wasn't acting like him to stop kicking the defenceless person, but I couldn't move. I looked down at my wrist to find a long, heavy chain keeping me rooted to one corner.
"Dad," I said, my voice shaking, "Please, don't hurt him. I… I… Dad, this isn't you! Fight it, for me, please!" I said, my voice ragged and breaking with emotion.
Dad looked at me once more, his face emotionless as he kicked the figure one more time and a grunt that sounded so familiar filled my ears.
With a start, I suddenly noticed the messy, dirty black hair stained dark red and the grunts of pain.
"James," I whispered, my heart breaking into a million pieces as I saw him groan one last time and then… nothing.
I woke with a start in a hot sweat, yet I was shivering, as if I'd felt the cold seeping in from the grey room into my bones.
I started shaking, as I recalled my dad's white eyes and toothless mouth. I recalled my wrists being bloody from pulling too hard on the chains but worst of all, I recalled seeing James, lifeless on the floor.
I tried to calm myself, to get back to sleep, but it was like every time I closed my eyes, I saw James on the floor, his back to me, bloody and beaten.
I told Al of the weird dream who immediately told Harry. I explained everything as Harry listened, attentively.
"And this has happened before?" Harry asked, his voice calm as I wrung my hands.
"Yeah. Well, I dreamed that AIM was under attack from the Pure's and this girl I'd never met was in it. I don't think it actually happened… but it was weird," I said as Harry's face grew darker.
"Well, there's nothing we can do except alert Professor McGonagall. I'll see what she has on the subject."
And that was that. The dream and its contents slowly faded from my mind as Al and I started doing some things – we made cookies that literally exploded in your mouth, we practised Quidditch techniques, went on runs and walks, studied and studied and studied for the upcoming N.E.W.T's and talked endlessly about endless things. James and I studiously avoided each other, though me and Lily became pretty close.
And then before, I knew it, Christmas had arrived.
"Get up!" Lily yelled as she ran into my room and jumped on my bed, hey eyes wide with excitement.
I groaned and rolled over. "What time is it?" I mumbled as Lily, with a flick of her wand, opened all the curtains, letting bright sunlight fall in.
She all but dragged me out of bed until I was sitting on the comfy couch next to her, opening presents with the rest of the Potter's.
My presents included some new clothes from Jo, a pretty butterfly hairclip that fluttered and flew away when it wanted (but it always came back) from Eva, a knitted jumper that had the letter 'M' sown on it in the colours gold and royal blue. That was from a Mrs Molly Weasley – apparently, she knew all about me. And, I was meeting her for the first time today along with the rest of the family.
I got piles of lollies from my school friends but nothing arrived from my family and friends back home. I missed them with a terrible ache that wouldn't go away and I wondered why I hadn't gotten anything from them.
Ginny, smiled as if sensing my thoughts. "Ok, we have a surprise for you! Well… So, the day after Christmas, Harry has arranged a portkey to take us from here… to Australia! We are going to be staying there for three days and are staying with your family!" Ginny said as I looked at her in disbelief.
What? I'm going to see my friends and family? Oh. My. Freaking. God.
"Seriously? We're going?" I asked, my voice disbelieving. I saw the looks on everyone's faces and that was when I knew it was for real. Harry looked excited, Ginny looked thrilled, Al was grinning madly at me, Lily was clapping and squealing and James… well, he had a small smile on his face.
It was the best news I'd heard ever.
I WAS GOING TO SEE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
I jumped up down, screaming. Lily laughed and joined in as Al cheered and whooped.
James's face fell as he slumped lower in his chair, a troubled expression on his face.
But I didn't care about James or Al or the weird dream I had had all those nights ago – all I cared about was that I was seeing my family.
I was going home.
After we'd eaten breakfast and opened all our presents, we set to getting ready for the huge Christmas party the Potter's were throwing.
We emptied a massive living room of its furniture and dragged the table up against the wall. We decorated this room in gold – everything was gold. The Christmas tree was covered in gold ornaments, the table cloth was gold, the wood and fire in the fire place were gold (thanks to an awesome spell) and even the paintings on the wall had a golden tint to it. That was the official party room, where guests could have drinks and mingle before dinner and before the ball.
The ballroom (the Potter's actually had a huge ballroom – I know, crazy) was decorated in white with snow falling from the roof but disappearing before it landed on anything. That was my favourite room, the white and silver glistening in the light of thousands of candles.
And finally, the dining room. That was where we'd all be sitting for lunch. It was green and red with festive wreaths and decorations crowding the room.
After the rooms were done, Ginny, Lily and I all cooked a massive dinner of… everything. Every food, meat, salad and vegetable were cooked, cleaned, cut and peeled that day.
After that tedious job, Ginny sent me and Lily away to get dressed whilst she made the final touches to lunch and made dessert.
"I can't believe all those jobs and cooking only took, like, three hours. It takes months back at my place," I joked to Lily as we walked up the stairs. It was only twelve and the guests were all arriving in an hour or so.
Realising she wasn't following me, I looked back to see her standing at the bottom of the stairs, hands on her hips.
"What?" I asked, acting innocent. I didn't know what she was doing and acting innocent is always the best option when you're uncertain of a situation.
She gave me a knowing look. "So… how'd your shirt get all dirty that night at dinner a few days back? I've been meaning to ask you but this was the only time that James, dad and Al were out of the house. They're buying last minute presents and goodie bags for the guests, mum's cooking dinner and no one is around to eavesdrop. Plus, I can tell from your blush that something went down," Lily stated as she crossed her arms, jutting her hip out.
Blushing, I glared at her. "Aren't you like, fourteen? Why do you wanna know what happened?" I asked, my voice sounding annoyed.
Lily scoffed. "Fourteen isn't really that young. Only two years younger than you, I might add!" Lily huffed as she climbed the stairs and pushed me back up to the top.
Lily spun me around and looked me in the eye.
"I know you like him. I know he likes you. Get it into your thick heads that you two are totally hot for each other!" Lily said as I turned even redder.
I brushed her arms away and scoffed. "Yeah right. We aren't 'hot' for each other, ok? Well, I have a party to get ready for," I said, practically sprinting to get away from Lily and her confusing accusations.
Because the thing was, I wasn't really sure whether she was wrong… or right.
Hope you liked! Remember, review! I'll try update ASAP and I'll see if I can get two chapters up in the weekend, maybe…
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Ok, thanks for reading and I love you all,
Kat xx
