Hey guys! Sorry, been crazy busy lately but here is a cute little chapter – mostly fluff because we can't always have drama drama drama filled chapters!

To:

MissesE: thanks for reviewing and reading, I'm glad you like my work!

NinaGuest: wow, thanks for reviewing again! I need to make some characters act a little 'cray cray' sometimes but I think you're so right – I would act so different in their shoes! Keep reading, hope you enjoy : )

Kattttiiieee: glad you're still liking my work! Really happy you're enjoying it so much! Keep reading and reviewing!

FanFicLover32: my heart breaks every time they act like idiots and don't realise they like each other! Keep and reading and reviewing, thanks so much!

Cap92A: aww, thanks for your kind words! This chap is mostly fluff but it has some good Jaddie lines! I know, Ellie is a two-faced crazy bitch sometimes!

THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL WHO ARE READING AND REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING AND FAVOURITING, I'M SO THANKFUL!

Chapter 19: I Would've Pegged You For More Of A Granny Nickers Kinda Girl

HOME.

I was going home. And let me tell you that that was the only thought that kept me going through the most awkward breakfast of my life.

After I'd showered and quickly packed some things for going back to Australia, I went down the dining room to find that James and Harry were the only ones up.

Awkward.

So I made myself some toast and slathered it in butter, got myself some juice and sat down. I tried, I really did, to make conversation with Harry but James was interrupting me, saying snarky remarks and shooting Harry these looks. It made my stomach turn over.

Lily soon joined us but she wasn't much better than James – don't ask me why, I had no idea why. She was just in a mood.

When Al walked down to find us in awkward silence, he frowned and walked straight back out.

Trust me, I felt like punching him for leaving me alone. Of course, I also felt really bad because no one was talking and I knew it was because of me.

It was a relief when Ginny woke up.

Ginny was a ray of sunshine. She was chipper and getting everyone to pack and was brewing coffee.

"So, why's everyone so glum?" Ginny teased. "Any secrets anyone wants to share?"

I choked on my juice.

"You alright?" Harry asked, looking amused.

"Yeah," I spluttered out. I couldn't help but look at James when I said this. I was glad to see him avoiding eye contact with everyone.

The idiot.

I was still so mad at him for being such a jerk. I mean, could he actually be more stupid? I mean, I'm legitimately asking – could he?

Was he really that oblivious to how I was feeling towards him? But, I have to admit, even after last night, I felt tingles go through me whenever I caught him staring at me. I mentally slapped myself when that happened though, because I wanted to move on.

Al walked back in, smiling. "Well, I'm excited! I've never been to Sydney! Will I see a kangaroo?" he said brightly.

I sighed. Maybe the trip wouldn't be as good as I'd thought.


We all huddled to the fireplace carrying our luggage. Not knowing what the temperature would be in Sydney, I decided to wear jeans and t-shirt.

One at a time, we said the address and stepped into the fireplace.

Do you realise how much I wanted to go home? It was like the thought of seeing Able, Sadie and Max and my family was just too good to be true.

I was jittering and skittish and for once, James wasn't the only thing on my mind.

I was up first. I stepped into the fireplace with my small bag and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder.

"Sydney, Australia, 57 Sandy Cove street," I said clearly – don't wanna end up in some dodgy place like Knockturn Alley or anything like that.

I threw the powder in the coals and in a swirl of flames, I stumbled out of my fireplace at home.

Home.

The word was weird in my mouth – I hadn't used it in so long.

I stumbled around and I immediately knew I'd already been bitten by at least fourteen mozzies (mosquitos for you people who don't know the slang).

I cracked my eyes open and rubbed the soot off my face. I blinked a couple of times and I saw the figures of my family come into focus.

"Mum!" I screamed as I launched myself at her.

My mum. If you don't know her, Cathryn Taylor is the most annoying and the best person at the same time. She's one of those ladies who used to be fit and amazingly thin but with age, she went a little plump around the edges. Her eyes were the brightest blue and her tanned face was always covered in sun and laugh lines. Brown hair streaked blonde/ grey fell thickly to her shoulders. Her skin was dotted with faint freckles with the occasional mole. I hugged and smelt her fragrance – sweet mangoes and salt. She owns a really successful café – the Lagoon, the most popular café in all of Little Cove (the suburb I lived in). I should mention the suburb is popular among wizards but some pretty cool muggles live here too. It's your average beach town – cool beaches, hot summers, awesome boardwalk shops and cute cafes and joints. It's also super casual – if you wear shoes anywhere in summer, it's kinda weird. I love walking to the shops and getting fish and chips in just bathers and sunnies.

"Maddie! I've missed you so much!" mum said as she rocked back and forth, squeezing the life out of me.

I pulled away to see her blue eyes tearing – she cried at everything.

I ran over to my dad, grinning.

"Mad!" his deep voice said as he enveloped me in a giant hug. My dad was a pro surfer. Like, pro – as in, Stefan Taylor, Australia's best. Of course, when he met my mum and found out she was a witch, he gave it all up and decided to live off the money he earned from competitions. He's got my blonde hair, though his was more golden from the exposure to the sun – England has ruined my golden streaks. His eyes were like mine, brown, though his eyes were surrounded in thin lines from all the sun. He's tanned all year round and he always smells just like him. Just normal, with a hint of sun. You know how the sun smells warm and soft? He smells like that. Those two words, soft and warm describe dad. He never yells, never raises his voice and never so much as snaps. He's the biggest softie who goes great with my sarcastic and dry mum.

"Dad! You've no idea how much I've missed you and mum!" I squealed, squeezing him.

"What about me?" Adrian asked behind me. I whirled around and clung to him as he picked me up and swirled me around the room.

I giggled, hanging on for dear life. Adrian is a mix between mum and dad – he's warm and soft plus he is the funniest guy ever. He had dad's hair and skin and mums eyes. Adrian is awesome.

That is the only word to describe him. He travels all over the world, helping to raise awareness for endangered magical creatures.

"I haven't missed you too much," I teased as Adrian set me back down.

His eyes sparkled. "Must be opposite day," he said drily as the corners of his mouth quirked up.

I waved him off and hugged Ollie, the cutest guy ever. Aka, my youngest brother.

"Maddie! I missed you!" Ollie said as I squeezed him tight. Ollie is the split image of my mum but has a personality of his own. He's bright and always talking. He's optimistic and has the positivity of the sun.

Lucy came up behind me and hugged me super tight. I turned around so I faced her and hugged her even tighter. "I've missed my only sister," I said as Lucy giggled.

Lucy was… Lucy. She likes to sew but hates knitting. She hates sugar but loves cake. She loves to fly on a broomstick but she hates Quidditch. She hates short nails but she bites hers. She detests long hair but she insists on never cutting her own (it's almost at hr waist). She's kissed millions of boys but hasn't ever had a boyfriend. Her favourite colour is blue but she never wears it. She always wears a million layers of sunscreen but she always has the best tan. She's… Lucy.

She's also the split image of me. Except she's prettier and curvier, naturally.

I hugged my other brother, Jeremy with much force and he still literally crushed me! He's some hotshot Quidditch player, trying to get onto the Aussie team or something like that. He's always going about how he'd be the perfect candidate.

"Hey twinnie!" Jeremy said, his loud voice booming in my ears.

I shoved him away, grinning. "We're not twins – I'm way too pretty to be your twin," I said, laughing as Jeremy got ready to tackle me.

Time to explain: he calls me twinnie because everyone thinks we could be twins (he's a year older). We look exactly the same, have the same sense of humour, the same loud voice and big mouth with the same ambition to always be in trouble.

Which is exactly why we fought non-stop.

I was bracing myself for his 'attack' when Lily shrieked and stumbled out of the fireplace.

"Oof," she 'oofed' as she landed on her butt, covered in soot.

"Was wondering what took you so long," I said, shooting Jeremy a look that said 'later'.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Mum wanted to give you 'alone time' with your family. Of course, James just had to push me in. Tosser," she growled as I snorted.

Trust James.

"Well, you might wanna move from the fireplace. I have no doubts the rest of your family will be tumbling through any second," Adrian said as he walked over to Lily and helped her up. She took one look at his charming smile and was gone.

Lucy, Jeremy and I shared a look – Adrian always charmed the girls. Always.

"Oh, thanks. How kind," Lily said, playing her accent up and smiling slyly. She looked around the room slowly and jerked, as if remembering something.

"Oh! God, how silly of me! The name's Lily! Me family wouldn't be surprised I forgot to introduce me-self. I'm such a ditz sometimes," Lily said, sounding much more British and proper than usual.

I gave her a questioning look. "Yes, well, meet 'me family'. Jeremy, Lucy, Mum - Cathryn, Dad - Stefan and, well… you just met Adrian," I said drily as Lily glared at me for mocking her.

I knew mum was about to scold me so of course Al saved my skin from getting into trouble – as per usual. He stepped out, looking worried and concerned until he spotted Lily.

"Oh thank God!" and with that, he ran over and hugged her (much to her dismay). "Mum and dad were convinced you'd ended up in some dirty old alley with old hags," Al said as he stepped away and shook his sooty hair out.

He looked up and smiled. "Sorry about Lily just bursting in. I'm Albus, but you can call me Al," Al said as he stepped forward and shook my mum and dads hand.

Adrian looked at him with disapproval. "So… you seem a little scrawny to date my sister. I also heard she's an older woman to you. Should I be worried?" Adrian threatened Al as Al blinked in surprise.

I snorted. "Oh yes. We're madly in love, pan to elope and have wild sex in forests. He's gay, you idiot," I said, rolling my eyes as Al laughed. Adrian grinned and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you!" Adrian smiled, all charm, once his protective side was gone.

"Nice to have another gay guy around. Oh, don't worry – I'm taken," Ollie said excitedly.

"Did I hear someone say 'wild sex in forests'? Because that's totally my thing," James said obnoxiously as he stepped out of the fireplace, ruffling his hair as soot and ash gathered around him on the floor.

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, nice first impression."

James shrugged, grinning at me. "What can I say? I live to please," he said, bowing slightly.

"What were you thinking? Pushing Lily into the fireplace and sending her off? She could've gotten lost!" I accused as James looked at me innocently.

"What? I was helping her – I swear. Besides, you know you would've done the same if you were in my position. She was leaning in and actually asking what would happen if someone pushed her. She was asking for it! You would've pushed her too," James retorted, pointing at me.

I tried to hide my smile. "Maybe."

It was weird – It was as if coming to Australia had turned the clock back on James and I's friendship – back to when we acquaintances. The kiss, the conversation last night was forgotten.

Adrian looked back and forth between us and frowned.

"I take it it's this guy I should be worried about."

My blush kind of confirmed it.


Once all the Potters were here, in my house, we all went and sat outside on the porch out in the backyard (James got a stern 'talking to' when they arrived – I couldn't stop giggling at it).

Do you want me to describe my house? Well, it's huge. I mean, six people living together, half boys and half girls? You'll need at least three bathrooms and seven bedrooms with multiple game rooms and lounge rooms and giant kitchens. We're not rich by any standards, of course.

It's just that our house… well, we call him Bob. And Bob has a personality of his own. Bob has white-weathered floorboards and wooden roofs. Rusty doors with miss-matched doorhandles. Paint-peeling walls with thousands of paintings and pictures stuck on them with blu-tac. Old cabinets, sandy couches and ancient fans – all the shebang. Basically, it's a beach house but bigger and lived in year-round.

I love Bob. Bob always smells like salt and sand. Like the sun and sunscreen. Like chlorine from the crystal pool and like crisp fruits. Like mud from the wet fields when it rains. Like brown grass in hot summers. Like wild flowers in the spring. Like warm cookies and roast veggies when it gets cold in the winters. Like dust, apples and rain in the autumn.

On that day, it smelt like all of the above.

Ok, first of all, I realised how stinking hot it was. Around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) and could feel my pale skin burning already – gotta love Australia.

Once we'd discussed the sleeping arrangements, I gathered everyone and showed them where everyone was sleeping (me, Lily and Lucy were sharing, Adrian and Jeremy, Al and James and then the parents had separate rooms). I raced Jeremy up the rickety flight of stairs and bounded on the second floor and flung open my room. I breathed in the coolness of it and felt myself familiarise with it once again.

The bright, blue walls, the yellow-green bedspread, the picture covered wall, the posters of the Weird Sisters, the magic lava lamp, the messy desk covered in school books and notes – all of it.

Al came up behind and shielded his eyes. "God, that's a bright yellow. And the blue! How do you sleep with all those weird glass pineapples staring at you?" he said, pointing to my 3 glass pineapples.

I huffed. "I like them. They help me think."

"Only giant pineapples could help you think," Al retorted as I shoved him away, stepped inside and slammed the door. I immediately raced to my wardrobe and pulled out my favourite bikini (multi-coloured triangle ones) and slipped on my favourite large tank top that was like a baggy mini-dress. I grabbed my sunnies, pulled my hair into a messy bun and raced downstairs.

I sat down in the living room as everyone eventually found their way there.

Once everyone was seated, mum cleared her throat.

"Welcome to Bob! That's what we call our house, btw. So, I hope all of you are comfortable here. And now, I know you're all very responsible but I want no funny business in Bob whilst the Potters are here," mum said (the last bit was aimed at James).

"Now, we'll have a sausage sizzle for dinner and have a nice swim at the beach – it's just around the corner from here. I bet some mermaids might even be around, the weather's so nice!" dad said as Harry and Ginny both recoiled.

"Um, no mermaids for me," Harry said as I laughed.

"They aren't ugly like they are in the Black Lake. They're… very friendly. Like, extremely. You have to be careful otherwise they'll convince you to come to sea with them. Other than that, they're awesome!" I exclaimed as Harry turned green.

"Well, we thought, since it's around three in the afternoon, thought we'd go to the beach – prime tanning time!" Lucy exclaimed as she stood up and whipped her sundress off (don't worry, she had a blue one piece on underneath). "Plus, I think some people might be buying some ice cream at the boardwalk. I don't know, maybe," Lucy shrugged as she started walking towards the front door.

She paused and turned around, sighing. "Able, Sadie and Max are gonna be there. I was trying to give you a hint."

I jumped up, squealing. You have no idea how anxious I was to see them. I clapped and squealed and jumped around until James coughed. I stopped, glaring at him.

"Well? Get your bathers on! We're going to the beach!" I told Al, James and Lily. I hurried them upstairs and urged them to change quickly.

Adrian, Jeremy, Ollie, Lucy and I all caught up and chatted whilst we were waiting for them.

Finally, they came down. I did a double take.

"No. Nope. Nadda. Non. I'm not walking around with weirdos. I have street cred to uphold," Jeremy said as he took in Lily, Al and James.

"Seriously, what are you wearing?" Adrian asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

They looked ridiculous.

Al was wearing a long-sleeved rashi vest (a swimmer top if for some reason you don't what a rashi is) with khaki long pants and green runners. Lily was wearing an itsy-bitsy bikini with strappy high heels and a face full of makeup. James was wearing flowery purple board shorts with a white long sleeved shirt with thongs (flip flops, not the underwear).

Lucy burst out laughing. "Oh, sweetie, it isn't a fashion show! Lose the heels and makeup. And gain some modesty – you're basically falling out of the swimmers!" Lucy giggled as she walked over to Lily and tried to help her look more casual.

Ollie and Jeremy walked over to Al and pulled him up the stairs, presumably into their rooms to give him some appropriate beach clothes.

I set my jaw and walked over to James (Adrian didn't come).

"So, what's wrong with me?" James asked, holding his arms out.

"You're an obnoxious, self-righteous, jerk-face, selfish, girl-user dick who needs to see a guidance councillor about the whole arrogance and over-confidence issue," I stated. James glared at me. "Oh, you meant the clothes? Oops, my mistake!" I said sweetly.

James punched me on the arm. Scowling, I got on my tiptoes and grabbed the sleeves of his shirt. I pulled down, ripping the thin fabric so it was now a tank. I did the same on the other arm. Ignoring his protests, I pulled him into the drying room, where we hang our wet bathers. Pulling down a suitable pair of board shorts (that weren't purple and flowery – in fact, they were dark blue with white stitching), I gave them to him and walked out of the room, demanding he changes.

After a minute, he walked out looking beach ready. The white tank showed off really toned arms and his hair was dishevelled to perfection. Two words: Hot. Damn.

I tapped my finger on my chin, thinking if there was something wrong with the look.

"Do you approve?" he said mockingly as I shook my head.

"Lose the thongs – it's summer, you don't need shoes," I said, stalking off.

"Shouldn't you lose the thong? I mean, you're the girl here. Although, I would've pegged you for a granny nickers kinda girl," James yelled at me. I smiled grimly. Walked right into that one.

"You know, I'm actually more of a lacy underwear girl. But, I guess you'll never know."

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that. I have a feeling I'll know very soon."

Thank god he couldn't see me blushing.

Sorry for the short chapter ) : And for the grammar mistakes, my eyes are getting droopy from tiredness.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll try update on the weekend!

Thanks for reading! Please review!

Kat xx