Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.
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Chapter Five: Worries and a Few Shenanigans
For everyone who has been waiting so long for this update. Thank you for your encouragement as I worked through some major writer's block!
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"Take…that!" I grinned even as I gasped for air. James and I had raced for about the last fourth mile of our morning run, and this time I had come out on top.
"I…let you…win," James panted, holding his arms up and clasping his hands behind his head.
I snorted in disbelief. "Please. You'd never… let me win. There's… no fun…in that."
James simply smirked as he waited for his breathing to return to normal. "Or maybe… I let you win…now and then, just…so don't feel too badly."
"Low blow," I mocked scowled at him. He didn't respond, just continued to smirk.
"So, are we still going to do this?" I asked once I caught my breath. "Go running, I mean. Once we're officially playing for different teams?"
James looked up from where he was now sitting on the ground doing a hamstring stretch.
"Er, why wouldn't we?" he frowned in confusion.
Only one week remained before my first official day at the Holyhead Harpies. James and I had discussed our excitement to soon be playing professional Quidditch, but we hadn't dwelled much (or at all, really) on the fact that we would be playing for different teams. More importantly, we hadn't discussed what that might mean for us.
"Do you think our teams are really going to want us training with a member of another side in our free time?" I asked slowly. I mean, it seemed like a logical worry to me. If I was a coach, I wasn't sure I'd want my players training with the members of rival teams.
James cocked his head to the side. "You really are worried about Quidditch breaking us up, aren't you?"
"No," I protested immediately, then reconsidered "I don't know. The Harpies assured me they don't care about my life outside the team as long as it doesn't interfere with work. And Dad was adamant that Puddlemere wasn't out to break us up… I guess it's not so much the teams themselves as us finding the time, like for running. What are our schedules going to look like? Will we even have time to go running outside of our normal training?"
James sighed and stood up. "You need to stop worrying about this."
"But so much is changing," I retorted. "A new team – not to mention a team I never expected to play for. And Christine and I are going to look at some flats later this week. In North Wales. It's just a lot."
"I get that," he assured me. "I meant that you need to stop worrying about us. We'll find time to see each other. We can Apparate and use Floo Powder. It'll be fine."
"How do you not worry?" I cried in exasperation. "How are you always so sure?"
"How are you always so doubtful?" he bit out, then at the look on my face said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."
Part of me wanted to retaliate and say something snarky in response, but I knew where that had gotten us in the past. I didn't need to start a needless row. Besides, this wasn't something we should be arguing about.
James paused for a moment, thinking, then said, "Remember that time we rowed and you thought I was going to break up with you?"
I swallowed heavily and nodded. I did remember that, all too well.
"You told me then that you would have fought for me."
"I did say that, didn't I?" I smiled at him, feeling the worry and exasperation slowly drain out of me. I'd meant what I said then, and I still meant it. James was worth fighting for.
More than worth it.
"It's not us I worry about," I tried to reassure him, "It's busy schedules and just…life. I don't doubt how much you care about me, or how much I care about you."
James grinned at my words, and reached out to pull me close to him. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, really," I smiled back.
As his cheek brushed against mine, I pulled back slightly and rubbed at my face. "Ow, you're a bit prickly."
"Fred and I are seeing who can grow the most facial hair in two week," James admitted, running a hand across his jaw.
"Oh, so you've been at it a week," I teased with a slight laugh. James was nowhere near being able to grow proper facial hair yet. "That explains the prickliness."
"Oi!" James protested, "At least mine is coming in even. Fred's is just patchy."
"What brought on this brilliant plan?"
James' ears went pink and he mumbled something unintelligible.
"What was that?" I asked, giving him my best innocent look.
"Nothing," he replied hastily, in a clear attempt to change the subject. "About our morning run routine. I think we should wait and see what our training schedules are like before we decide anything."
"I'll agree to that," I replied, "if you tell me what you said."
"I said…" he screwed up his face and forced the words out. "We're seeing who's the manliest."
I was suddenly sorry I asked. My facial expression must have said it all, because James quickly added, "It's all Teddy's fault. He can grow a full beard and was teasing us because we can't."
"How much older is he?" I asked. I'd heard about Teddy, but had yet to meet him.
"Six years," James admitted somewhat woefully. "Oh!" he snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "Speaking of family members – my family is having a party this Saturday, to celebrate me signing to Puddlemere. The whole family's going to be there, along with some family friends, and you're invited. Your whole family is."
The thought of attending a Puddlemere signing celebration made my heart clench a bit, but I pushed the feeling aside. I was going to be playing for a brilliant team, and I needed to remember that.
"Yeah, that sounds fun," I replied cheerfully. (Maybe a bit too cheerfully.)
"Are you sure?" James asked, looking at me carefully.
"Yes." I managed to sound more normal that time. (I hoped.) "Absolutely. What time?"
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"I'm not living there," Christine said the moment the door closed behind us.
"The spider wasn't that big," I said. "Besides, it's not like it's going to still be there when we move in."
Christine didn't seem to take comfort in this statement.
"You know how I feel about spiders, Eva," she said in a deadly serious tone. "If one that large got in once, what's to say there aren't more lurking around? Or that more won't move in?"
"Move in? It's not a flat mate," I couldn't help but laugh. "And we can set a repelling charm, you know. Or I'll take them outside."
"Take them outside?" Christine crinkled her nose in severe disgust. "They're not pets, they're threats to humanity."
Christine was wonderfully level headed about many things, but spiders were not one of them. Spiders reduced Christine to a state of pure anxiety in which rational thought completely abandoned her. Hence the unwillingness to consider 310B Bryn Gwyn Road.
"Okay, okay," I raised my hands in surrender. "Not that flat, then."
I pulled the list of flats to let and map out of my shoulder bag. There was only one more flat, and a good thing too. I felt as though we'd traipsed over the whole of Anglesey today.
"16B Cae'r Deon. In Bangor," I read from the list. "2 bedroom, 1 toilet, spacious sitting room."
"And hopefully no spiders."
No joke. We'd never find a flat if Christine kept discounting flats due to arachnids, as if there weren't repelling spells for that sort of thing.
One trip by Apparition and short walk later, we stood outside of 16 Cae'r Deon in Bangor.
"Well, here goes nothing," Christine said as she reached out to knock on the door.
A minute or so passed and Christine was just about to knock again when the door opened to reveal an older woman in forest green robes and exceptionally curly grey hair peaking out beneath a pointed witch's hat.
If we weren't in the right place, I was going to be very surprised.
"Here about the flat," she said by way of greeting. "Do come in, I've been expecting you. I'm Eirlys Owens."
"Eva Wood."
"Christine Elliot. It's nice to meet you."
My first real view of the inside was of the truly hideous wallpaper of the entryway. Ms. Owens caught my expression and somehow misinterpreted it for a look of interest and appreciation.
"Isn't it nice?" she motioned to the walls. Thin stripes of dark blue alternated with larger sections of light blue. Within the light blue stripes were mingled what looked to be constellation designs done in greens and oranges. "It was half price, can you imagine?"
Yes. Yes, I could. How someone had even managed to imagine such a horrendous pattern boggled the mind.
"It's very…colorful," Christine said when words failed me.
"The flat is upstairs, the whole second floor. Third floor is the attic, but if you wanted to do something with it, I wouldn't be bothered."
The stairs groaned as the three of us made our way to the second floor landing. Thankfully the wallpaper stopped there, although it was replaced by a peeling paint job.
"Watch the top step, ducks," Ms. Owens called over her shoulder just before Christine stumbled and caught herself on the bannister.
I couldn't tell if Christine had stumbled because of the unevenness of the top step or at being referred to as "ducks."
The landing was small, and a narrow hallway opened to the right. Immediately in front of us was a large sitting room with windows overlooking the back garden. The kitchen was off the sitting room overlooking the front street.
"This is spacious," Christine said out loud, clearly thinking of the advertisement.
"Got permission to use an expanding charm when I decided to let out the upstairs," Ms. Owens explained, looking pleased. "Also had the fireplace put in and connected to the Floo Network."
"That would be useful," I said, thinking of attempting to keep a low profile in a largely Muggle neighborhood. "Especially since you'll be commuting."
"Oh, where do you work?"
Christine shifted her feet, looking a bit uncomfortable, but all the same said cheerfully, "Well, I hope to work in London, but we'll see. I'm waiting to hear back about a job."
"London, you say? That's a fair distance," Ms. Owens observed.
"I'll be working nearby," I put in to take some of the pressure away from Christine, who gave me a grateful look.
"Really, where at?"
"I'm playing for Holyhead," I replied, the words still sounding a bit strange on my tongue. "Reserves right now, of course."
"Is that so?" her face lit up happily. "Well, I'm quite a fan. Have been ever since I was a little girl and my father took our whole family to a match as a surprise one summer. Grand times."
"The official announcement comes out in the Prophet tomorrow," I smiled.
"Congratulations," she said warmly, then added, "well, about the flat, I'm asking nine galleons a month, which includes all utilities. Approved pets include cats, small dogs, crups if you've got the proper license, and most birds. No fwoopers, even with a license, I'm afraid. Having one in the house would make me too nervous."
Fair enough. The threat of being driven insane by birdsong was hardly an appealing prospect.
"I, myself, have an augurey named King Arthur, if you would ever need to know if it's going to be rainy for practice," Ms. Owens helpfully shared, as though this might be the tipping point in our decision to let the flat or not. "I have a bit of a gift when it comes to divination – mostly tea leaves and crystal balls – but weather has always been tricky for me. King Arthur's a great help in that regard even if his song does become a bit mournful in winter."
"I just have an owl," Christine said. "She's very well behaved."
I didn't even have that considering Waffle was my family's owl. I frowned as that thought crossed my mind. Even though I shared him with my brothers, Waffle had been as been as good as my pet for years now. The thought of getting a different owl of my own seemed strange. Almost disloyal, somehow.
"Well, I'll just show you the bedrooms, shall I? Right down this hallway, ducks."
This time I couldn't tell if "ducks" was referring to me or Christine or the both of us. I'd read books that featured characters who called people "ducks" but I'd never yet run into someone real who used the term. It was a wee bit odd, to be sure, but harmless enough.
The bedrooms were blessedly wallpaper free, and painted a soft neutral color. The rooms were on the small side, but perfectly adequate, and each overlooked the back garden.
Thankfully for Christine – and by extension, me – there were no spiders anywhere in sight.
"You'd be welcome to paint and decorate any way you pleased," Ms. Owens said as we looked around. "It doesn't make me no never mind."
"Well," I said after we'd seen the entire flat and Christine had characteristically taken down some notes on the place. "Thank you for showing us around. We'll give it some thought and get back to you in a few days. Would that be all right?"
"That would be fine, ducks," was the reply. "I look forward to hearing from you two."
After that, Ms. Owens showed us out. While standing on the doorstep, she made sure to point out the flat's close proximity to a supermarket and a chippy.
"Well, what did you think?" Christine asked as we walked away from the 16B Cae'r Deon.
"I liked it," I said. "The sitting room was really nice, and the fireplace will be dead useful for the Floo network."
"As long as we don't mind being called ducks, I think it would be a nice place," Christine agreed with a laugh and shake of her head. "My grandmum used to call me ducks when I was little. I'd forgotten how funny it is to be called that."
"Well, let's go make up a proper pro and con list," I suggested, knowing that was exactly what Christine planned to do next.
"You know me too well," she grinned as we made our way toward our Apparation point.
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"Are you okay?" Richard asked me quietly as we approached the home of James' grandparents, better known as the Burrow. Mum and Dad were walking behind us, but if they heard they didn't say anything.
"I'll be fine," I replied. In truth, I'd shed a few tears in the shower this morning, though I would never admit it to anyone. I was going to spend all day hearing people congratulate James on signing to Puddlemere United. As much as I didn't want it to - and as often as I told myself that I was going to be playing for an excellent team - Puddlemere's rejection still stung. Dreams didn't die easily, especially not one that had been so dearly held.
"Sure?" Gareth asked from my other side.
"Yeah," I said. "But thanks."
We were just trying to figure out whether to knock on the front door or go around the side of the house where we could hear people gathering when the door opened and James stepped out onto the step.
"You made it," James greeted me, a slight look of satisfaction in his eyes. He's shaved his scant facial hair since our run yesterday. Even though I (unfortunately) hadn't seen Fred's attempt at facial hair, I assumed he'd shaved as well.
"As if I'd back out," I retorted and his mouth curved into a knowing smirk.
"It's good to see you again Mrs. Wood, Mr. Wood. I mean, er, Coach Wood. Um…"
Both Dad and James looked awkwardly at each other. Apparently neither had given much thought as to what to call the other off the pitch. In fact, Dad had debated whether even coming today would be seen as showing favoritism towards a new player In the end, he'd agreed that it would be all right as long as he and mum didn't stay all afternoon.
"I, well, that is," Dad stammered, "since you're playing for Puddlemere –"
Mum clearly her throat loudly and gave Dad a pointed stare.
"But seeing as we're off the pitch," Dad amended what he had been about to say, "you can call me Mr. Wood."
"Um, thanks," James said, then, "Everyone is around back."
Gareth and Richard went ahead to find friends (or in Richard's case, Lily) while Mum and Dad searched out familiar faces.
"Well, ready to meet the family? The whole family, I mean?" James asked once it was just the two of us.
To accommodate the large number of people, a tent had been set up on a large patch of lawn in the back garden. A crowd of people, most of them wearing robes, were standing around, holding drinks and chatting. Inside the tent, a long table was heavily laden with an enormous amount of food.
In the far corner, I could see Mrs. Potter speaking with a tall man with long, flaming red hair the same shade as hers. I assumed he was a Weasley, but couldn't get a good look at him because his face was covered in scars.
I recognized Hermione Granger-Weasley, who was speaking with someone I didn't recognize. Mr. Potter – obviously the most recognizable person in the vicinity – was having a pint with Professor Longbottom.
"I suppose," I answered, pulling my attention back to James. It was rather daunting, the prospect of meeting James' entire extended family, along with family friends, all in one afternoon. "I don't exactly have much choice, do I?"
"Well, you could turn around right now, but your Gryffindor self would never allow that."
Too right it wouldn't.
"Any last bits of advice?" I asked hopefully.
"Avoid Uncle Percy if you can help it."
"You told me that already," I pointed out. "You said he's boring, remember?"
James's mouth twisted into a smirk. "Well, he is!"
Looking up at James, I realized that something was different. I just wasn't sure what it was.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, a confused expression crossing his face.
"Something's…. wrong." Now that I had said it aloud, the idea seemed silly. I couldn't even pinpoint what was off.
"Wrong?" James raised an eyebrow and his smirk intensified. "How so?"
There it was again. It was his smirk. There was something…something different about it. Yes, that was it!
"Your smirk," I insisted. "Your smirk is wrong. Your mouth always curves up on the left side, not the right."
James laughed loudly. I opened my mouth to protest that I wasn't daft, but stopped when I saw that James's features were changing. His hair was turning a shade of light brown, and his eyes were becoming blue. He shrunk just a bit and his skin became paler, with a few freckles. The person standing before me was older than me, but still young, probably in his mid twenties.
I realized that my mouth was hanging open and I closed it with a sharp snap. Holy hippogriffs, what had just happened?!
"That was fast," the young man told me with wide grin.
"Who…what…I mean….what?"
Well, that was certainly coherent. Well done, Eva.
From all around us, the various members of the Potters, Weasley, and Wood families burst forth from concealed hiding places behind trees or from disillusionment charms.
"Spot on, Eva Louise!" Fred yelled happily. Roxanne and Lily were sharing a high five while Richard and Gareth were grinning widely.
Huh? I had obviously missed something. Nothing new, I supposed.
Suddenly, a warm pair of arms wound around me from behind and I knew that this was the real James. Twisting slightly so I could look up at him, I saw that he was smirking. And this time, his smirk looked just as it should, curving up on the left side of his mouth.
"I take it that this some sort of test?" I asked, looking around at everyone, still feeling rather shocked.
Rose spoke up. "They wanted to do it to Scorpius, but I talked them out of it."
For the first time, I noticed that Scorpius was standing next to Rose. I wasn't sure how I'd missed him before, seeing as at the moment he was the only person in the group with blonde hair.
I fixed him with an exasperated look. "We're both outsiders here. Shouldn't we be sticking together? You know, solidarity against this mad lot?"
Scorpius smirked slightly. "Better you than me."
Spoken like a Slytherin.
"So, who are you, then?" I asked, turning to the James-imposter.
"Teddy Lupin," he introduced himself with a laugh. "Nice to meet you, Eva. I've heard loads about you."
"We were counting on you not knowing that he was a metamorphmagus," James grinned knowingly.
At those words, Teddy screwed up his face in concentration, and the color of his hair suddenly became a violent shade of turquoise. I'd never met a metamorphmagus before, and the sight took me by surprise. It was one of the strangest things I'd ever seen, but at the same time it was also highly intriguing.
"Remind me again how you're related?" I asked. Best start learning who everyone was now. It was going to take me forever to remember them all.
Teddy smiled kindly. "Technically, I'm not. Harry's my godfather."
"You're just as much family as anyone here," Al insisted. "You're like an older brother."
"Oi, what am I? Chopped newt liver?" James protested with a look of incredulity.
"You know what I meant," Al waved James's statement off. "He was like your older brother, too."
Roxanne chimed in with a wide grin, "Teddy's been dating our cousin, Victoire, for ages, so he'll be family someday. Hopefully very soon," she added with a conspiratorial wink.
"Harry's father and my father were close friends at school and after," Teddy explained further, ignoring Roxanne's lack of subtlety. "My dad, Remus, taught Harry for a year at Hogwarts and then they were in the Order of the Phoenix together. My parents were both killed at the Battle of Hogwarts so I was raised by my grandmum, but I spent a lot of time with the Potters when I was growing up."
"Am I right in thinking that you're as meddlesome as this lot?" I asked, sweeping my hand out to signify the crowd of people standing around us.
Teddy laughed loudly. "Not quite, but I help out in their schemes from time to time. I'm more interested in adventures than meddling in love lives."
"Teddy's a junior Auror," James explained. "Obviously, he's ace at disguises and impersonating people."
A thought suddenly occurred to me, and gently hit James on the arm. "What if I'd tried to kiss him?"
"I had strict instructions," Teddy defended himself, holding his hands up in front of him. "And I wouldn't have let you anyway. I love my girlfriend very much and I don't want her and James teaming up to kill me."
Not to mention that I wouldn't have been too pleased either, come to that. I would have hexed James, then Teddy, then James again. And then maybe everyone else for not stopping it.
"All your talk about testing Scorpius's mettle, and I'm the one you prank," I said with a slight harrumph.
"Who said we don't have something planned for him later?" James suggested in an innocent tone.
It was hard to tell given his coloring, but Scorpius might have paled a bit. Rose merely rolled her eyes. It seemed to fair to assume that there had been discussion between the cousins well in advance of this event.
"Scorpius already has to spend the afternoon with all of us," Al pointed out in defense of his friend. "What more could you possibly do to him?"
Oh, Al. What a naïve question.
"Well," Hugo chimed in, "We could always make him ask Uncle Percy about the regulations of broomstick handle length."
Scorpius quirked an eyebrow. "That's your best idea?"
"Trust me, you do not want to have that conversation," Rose explained, a haunted look crossing her face. "I once lost a bet to James and Fred and my punishment was asking Uncle Percy about broomstick handle regulations. That's thirty minutes of my life I'll never get back."
I didn't quite know what to think about that statement.
"Don't worry, we have something better in mind," Fred grinned mischievously in Scorpius's direction.
That in no way boded well.
"Come on, Eva," Lily said, looping her arm through mine and moving us towards the tent. "Let's get something to eat. Nana Molly is a brilliant cook. And so is Mum."
"I'll come with," James said as he jogged a bit to catch up with us. "I know for a fact that Nana Molly was baking banoffee pie."
I made a face and teased, "Ugh, who would want that? It's horrid!"
"You don't like banoffee pie?" Lily all but gasped. "How do you live life without banoffee?"
Considering it was one of the vilest baking inventions ever, just fine, thanks.
"It's revolting," I protested. "Banana and toffee is a completely rubbish combination. What is with everyone's obsession with it?"
"It's a wonder I keep you around," James grinned at me as we approached the food table.
The table must have been reinforced with magic, because there wasn't a spare millimeter of free space. Every available surface was filled with delicious looking dishes and baked goods. We took plates and utensils from the end of the table, and joined several people who were already filling plates.
"Grandad!" Lily exclaimed happily, speaking to a tall, thin, older man just ahead of us in line who was wearing an Argyll sweater vest. He was almost entirely bald, though he still had a small amount of grey hair. He looked at us happily over a pair of crooked glasses.
"Lily, dear," he said warmly. "And there's the man of the hour," he greeted James with a hearty pat on the shoulder.
"Grandad, this is my girlfriend, Eva Wood," James told him. I could hear a touch of pride in his voice, which made me smile. "Eva, this is my granddad, Arthur Weasley."
"It's nice to finally meet you, Eva," Mr. Weasley told me. "I've heard quite a lot about you. You play Quidditch as well, am I right?"
"Yes, sir," I replied. "I played for Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and now I'm going to be on the reserves for the Holyhead Harpies."
"I hope you've talked to Ginny about the Harpies," he said. "She had quite the career with them until she decided to retire to have a family and give us grandchildren."
I saw James's ears turn a light shade of pink, although I wasn't sure what he had to be embarrassed about.
"I have, a little bit," I said as I placed a slice of treacle tart onto my plate.
"I'd better find your father," Mr. Weasley said to James and Lily. "He promised to finish explaining more about mobbles. Muggles do come up with the most ingenious ways to communicate without using magic!"
"What's a mobble?" I asked as Mr. Weasley made his way over to a table where Harry and Ginny Potter were sitting with Professor Longbottom and a few other people I vaguely recognized.
"I think he meant mobile," Lily replied with a small laugh. "Grandad is obsessed with Muggles and Muggle inventions."
"He used to be in charge of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department at the Ministry," James further explained. "Mind you, he had an entire shed full of illegal artifacts here at the Burrow."
I decided that I liked Arthur Weasley very much.
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There were so many people in James' extended family – not to mention the family friends that were here – that I couldn't remember the names of half of the people I'd met this afternoon. Thankfully I knew most of his cousins from Hogwarts, but I'd never met Victoire, Dominique, Molly, or Lucy before. It didn't help any that it seemed as though half of the people here had red or strawberry blonde hair. The people with darker hair were far easier to pick out.
Then there were the five living uncles, four aunts, and a large number of family friends. The man I'd seen Mrs. Potter speaking to earlier turned out to be her brother, although I forgot his name shortly after meeting him. Luna Lovegood, who I was able to recognize as the editor of The Quibbler, turned out to be just as eccentric as she had always seemed, which was quite impressive since she'd always come across in writing as a very particular individual.
The fact that a decent number of the adults present had been members of the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War and were war heroes was rather intimidating. I mean, I knew my Dad had been at the Battle of Hogwarts, but to see so many people involved in the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters all in one place…
James and Fred had gone off looking thick as thieves, leaving me alone by the table with drinks. They'd promised to be back shortly, but of course, had yet to appear.
"Hullo, Eva," a voice behind me said. Turning, I saw a semi-familiar face. Quaffed strawberry blonde hair, bright blue eyes, freckles…but his name stuck on the tip of my tongue.
"Hi," I said, frantically trying to match a name to his face.
The boy grinned. "You don't remember my name, do you?"
"No," I admitted, feeling rather stupid about the whole thing. "It's only that I've met so many people today, and most of them are related and resemble each other…"
"That's all right," he grinned. "It's Louis. We met in the Hospital Wing last term."
"I knew you looked familiar!" I cried in frustration.
"No worries. Say, where's James? I wanted to congratulate him on signing to Puddlemere."
I felt a pang at those words, but pushed it away. I was fine, I told myself. Just fine.
"He and Fred went that way," I pointed to the side of the Burrow. "About ten-ish minutes ago."
"Any idea what they're up to?"
I shook my head. "None at all, but I can only assume mischief is involved."
An unfamiliar girl came over to get a drink, and then saw Louis.
"Louis! It's good to see you." She was very short with dark blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Her round cheeks seemed to be permanently tinged a light pink color. She looked vaguely familiar, but as usual, I couldn't place her.
"You too," he agreed easily. "Eva, do you know Olivia?"
I shook my head. "Eva Wood. Nice to met you."
"Hello," the girl said cheerfully. "I'm Olivia Longbottom."
"You're Christopher's younger sister," I realized, finally putting two and two together.
She nodded cheerfully. "That's right. You were the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, weren't you? What does it feel like to fly on a broomstick?"
I tried not to let my mouth drop open in utter shock. "You – you've never flown before?"
Louis laughed out loud. "I'm not getting into this conversation. See you later, you two." He spotted someone he knew and walked back in the direction of the tent.
After we'd waved goodbye to Louis, Olivia said, "Well, of course I took flying lessons with everyone else in First Year, but I'm so terrified of heights that I didn't fly very high off the ground."
"Well," I said slowly. I'd never had to describe flying to anyone. "It's…it's like no other feeling. The wind rushes past your face and makes your hair flutter. Sometimes it can be really cold on your skin, but it's nice most of the year. If you fly really high or fast or do barrel rolls you get a swooping sensation in the pit of your stomach. It's a scary feeling but also an exhilarating feeling all at the same time. There's such freedom in flying, such a feeling of release."
Wow…I hadn't even known I felt all that.
Olivia sighed happily. "That sounds lovely."
"Er…it is."
"I'm a ground person, myself," Olivia told me. "I take after my dad and his love of plants. I want to have my own greenhouse someday, and a large garden. Being outdoors in nature or around plants, it's like flying is for you. Without the swooping sensation and heights."
She grinned at this, and I found myself smiling back. There was just something very engaging and likeable about her.
"The Weasleys have such a lovely property here," Olivia gazed around us, her eyes lingering on the woods behind the back garden. "So many places to explore. I once went walking the woods with Luna looking for a blimering-something-or-other."
"A what?"
Olivia laughed good-naturedly. "Something Luna Scamander believes in but very few other people do."
"Er…did you find any?" I had no idea who Luna Scamander was, so that didn't help my confusion.
"Oh, no. They're not anymore real than dryads. I just went along for the adventure of it. It was a lovely afternoon."
"Dryads?" I found myself asking. What in the name of Merlin's pants was a dryad? This conversation was starting to make less and less sense.
"In Greek mythology they were tree nymphs. Think of it like a tree spirit. They were minor female deities who inhabited trees or were the animation of nature."
Yeah, that definitely raised more questions than it answered.
Olivia continued at my puzzled expression. "I once read a book that had dryads in it and I was just so wonderfully struck by the idea that there were spirits housed in the trees that could be found dancing in the woods in the twilight. Isn't that such a lovely thought?"
"I've never thought about it before," I answered honestly, feeling a bit dumbstruck. Clearly, I did not have a very vivid imagination. Or much of an imagination at all. Still, Olivia didn't seem to hold this against me.
"Oh, Christopher!" she cried happily, pointing behind me at her brother.
"Haven't seen you in ages!" I said, turning around to see my friend. "How have you been?"
He looked taller than the last time I'd seen him, and he wad closer to James's height now. He'd also been letting his hair grow out a bit, so it wasn't so closely cropped to his head.
"Really great," Christopher smiled. "I'm interning at St. Mungos in the greenhouses there. It's really fascinating so far."
"Wow," I told him. "Good for you. "Do you think you'll want to work there after your internship is over?"
"Yeah, I would. I'm hoping that my current supervisor will recommend that I be hired. My one month review is coming up, so wish me luck."
"Good luck, not you'll need it," I smiled, trying to look as encouraging as possible.
"Thanks," he smiled, though he looked a bit nervous.
"Have either of you seen James and Fred?" I asked, looking around for them. "They said they'd be right back and then abandoned me."
Christopher and Olivia shared a knowing look, then Christopher said, "I saw them with some sticks and their brooms, so…"
Sticks and their broomsticks? What in the name of Merlin's pants were they up to?
"Why do I have the sudden feeling that mischief is afoot?" I asked. Knowing Fred and my boyfriend, it was more than a possibility.
"It's more like…" Olivia paused as she searched for the right word. "Tomfoolery?"
Tomfoolery? Really?
"I don't want to say it's immature," Christopher began. "I've played my fair share, but I'm not very good at it."
"Played what, exactly?"
"Oh, sorry. Dueling on broomsticks. With sticks!" Christopher added quickly at my look of incredulity. "They duel with sticks – instead of wands – while riding on brooms."
"They don't fly very high," Olivia chimed in. "No one ever gets seriously hurt."
"Except that time Hugo almost took my eye out," Christopher said dryly. "Haven't played since."
I found myself laughing at the idea of dueling with sticks. "Why am I not surprised those two would come up with something like that?"
"Well, I wanted to talk to Rose and see how everything's going. You know, since she brought Scorpius today. Do you want to come with, Eva?"
"Thanks," I told Olivia, "but I want to see this whole dueling with sticks thing. And make sure James doesn't get an eye poked out."
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Eva," she waved as she started to walk away.
"You too," I waved back as she strode in the direction of the house.
"I can't believe I've never met your younger sister," I said to Christopher, as soon as she was out of earshot. "Am I really that unobservant?"
He just laughed. "I introduced you when she was a first year, but you probably haven't talked to her since. She's in Hufflepuff, the year below us."
Oh, well, then that explained it. With a few exceptions, I hadn't known very many people outside of Gryffindor. I was realizing now that I had missed out on knowing a lot of interesting people.
"She seems sweet," I observed. "I would have guessed that she was in Ravenclaw, actually. She just has that…" I trailed off, not knowing how to articulate what I wanted to say.
"Curious and dreamy quality," Christopher supplied.
"That's it exactly."
"Eva Louise!" a familiar voice called out. "Are you ready for broomstick stick dueling?"
Turning around, I saw James and Fred approaching. Each was carrying a broom and a handful of long, thin sticks.
"Oh, how could I not be?" I answered, eyeing the sticks somewhat warily.
"You just missed Olivia," Christopher said. "She and Eva have finally met properly. Oh, I see my mum waving me down. Better go see what she wants. I'll catch you up."
"Stick dueling!" Fred called after him. "You play the winner."
"Ha, no chance!" Christopher yelled back.
"Or the loser," Fred suggested, more to himself than anyone else.
"Did Olivia say where she was going?" James asked, peering around looking for a sign of her.
"She said she was going talk to Rose. Why?"
Fred grinned. "Al's dead set on her."
"What?"
James's grin only widened. "Yeah, they've always been causal acquaintances because the Longbottoms are such close family friends. But Al's head over heels for her. Has been for a while, really."
"If he like her so much, why hasn't he asked to Hogsmeade or to watch a Quidditch match or something?"
Fred rolled his eyes in response.
"Eva," James shot me a pointed look. "This is Al we're talking about."
All right, fair enough.
"I mean, he's so shy, especially with girls, and especially with a girl he fancies. And she, er…" James trailed off, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"She what?' I prompted.
"She fancied your boyfriend," Fred helpfully supplied as he laughed.
"It was bloody awkward!" James insisted. "And really hurt Al's confidence. I mean, he wouldn't tell me that, but that's what Lily thinks. She reckoned he felt like he couldn't compete with an older brother, especially one who played Quidditch."
"That's rubbish!" I protested. "Al's a fantastic lad and Olivia would be lucky to date him."
"We know that," Fred agreed as James nodded. "But Olivia doesn't seem to. Yet anyway."
"So why were you looking for Olivia?" I reminded him since we'd gotten a bit off topic.
"Oh, yeah," James peered around again, looking over the top of my head. "I was going to send Al after her."
"Why would you – James Sirius Potter, are you trying to meddle?"
That was a question for which I assuredly already knew the answer. I wasn't certain why I bothered asking, actually.
James put on an innocent face. "Al will thank me!"
"What is it with your family and meddling?" I wondered out loud to no one in particular.
"Ah, you just need to learn how to meddle properly, that's all."
"We can teach you all we know!" Fred chimed in.
"I'm not going to be an enabler. You need someone to be the voice of reason and reign you in when needed."
James smirked. "I can always try. Though I suspect you lack the subtlety necessarily for a proper meddler."
As if there was levels of meddling achievement.
"I choose to take that as a compliment," I informed him trying for a lofty voice.
"Although," he continued as though I hadn't spoken, "Richard is often ridiculously blunt and he didn't seem to have any objections to interfering in your life."
"Perhaps it was just an exception for a family member."
"Well," Fred said with a sly grin, "Al is your potential family."
I quirked an eyebrow in my best threatening manner. "I thought we discussed how you weren't supposed to say things like that anymore. We're eighteen, you plank."
"Oh, fine," Fred huffed. "But it's true," he muttered as if I couldn't hear him perfectly well.
Prat.
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
Broomstick stick dueling turned out to be incredibly ridiculous, although I hadn't expected much else considering its inventors. Still, it actually looked rather fun. The two contestants hovered about three feet off the ground, and pretended as though they were wielding swords instead of sticks. Naturally, Fred and James added their own particular flair to the entire game by throwing ludicrous insults at each other.
"Surrender now, vile villain, and I may yet spare your life!" Fred cried, thrusting right with his stick.
"Never!" James retaliated with a parry and then a thrust of his own. "James the Invincible never surrenders to pirates!"
"Pirates?" I asked Christopher and Lily as we sat sipping lemonade and watching the stick dueling. The sidelines were placed reasonably well back from the dueling area. It seemed to be about the only concession to safety, except for the rule about not hitting people in the head.
"Sometimes it's pirates, sometimes knights," Lily shrugged. "Depends on their mood, really."
"Richard and Gareth are definitely going to want to have a go at this game," I predicted.
The stick duel continued for several more minutes, and gained more spectators. Clearly, this was a common event at Potter-Weasley family gatherings.
"Aha!" Fred's victorious cry came as James toppled from his broom and landed on his back. "I have defeated you and now I shall take back my ship, my rightful property!"
"You win this time, foul pirate," James groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground. "But I live to fight another day. I'll be back!"
Fred spread his arms wide, and made an elaborate flourish with his stick. "Who would challenge me?"
Not me, that was for certain.
"I can't believe I'm falling in love with a bloke who duels with sticks," I told James and he flopped down next to me on the grass.
He shook his head ruefully. "That was an embarrassing loss."
"Malfoy!" Fred called as he caught sight of Scorpius and Rose approaching. "I challenge you to a broomstick stick duel!"
"Oh Merlin," Lily sighed, but couldn't quite contain a smile.
I wondered if this was what Fred had had in mind when he had said earlier that he was going to test Scorpius's mettle in a way that didn't involved Teddy's metamorphmagus abilities.
"No thanks," Scorpius said with a grin, "I'm going to pass."
"Then I subscribe you a coward, that you will not defend the honor of your fair maiden."
Scorpius carefully selected a stick from the pile resting on the sidelines as everyone cheered. "Now that I cannot allow."
"I'm underage, someone make me a handkerchief," Rose instructed.
With a quick spell, Roxanne had transfigured a large oak leaf into a lacy, white handkerchief.
"A token of my favor, good sir," Rose managed to tell Scorpius through her laughter as she presented him with the handkerchief. "Protect my honor and avenge your good name."
"This," Lily predicted, "is going to be good."
Apparently we had switched from pirates to knights. Well, that certainly kept things interesting.
"Mind if we join you?" Teddy asked as he and a stunningly beautiful girl with long, strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes approached. Based on the description I'd heard of her, this could only be Victoire.
"Hello, I'm Victoire," she greeted me, a trace of accent in her voice. I was taken slightly aback as she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. Technically, it was more of a slight grazing of cheeks. Either way, I had not been expecting it.
"I see no one has told you I'm half French," she cast a look of censure at Teddy and James. Neither looked remotely chastened.
"I grew up in England," Victoire said, "but my mother is French. She made sure my siblings and I could all speak fluent French and were well versed in French customs. It's such a habit, that sometimes I forget and take people by surprise."
"That's quite all right," I told her, not wanting her to feel badly.
"Christopher, Lily!" she greeted each of them. "Wonderful to see you."
"Is that – is Fred going stick dueling with Scorpius?" Teddy exclaimed as he watched the two lads grab their brooms and gently kick off.
All of us nodded. I, for one, wasn't quite sure what to expect from this particular stick duel on brooms. Disaster or hilarity seemed the likely outcomes. Or maybe a bit of both.
"We might have planned it," James answered with his most mischievous smirk fully in place. "Whichever us of us won had to challenge Scorpius."
"You lost to Fred?" Teddy asked with some incredulity in his voice.
"Don't remind me," James grimaced. "It's bloody embarrassing."
"It wasn't his worst loss," Christopher chimed in, "but I wouldn't say it was good, either."
James shot Christopher a look that clearly said he didn't appreciate his friend's commentary.
"James is typically the best at dueling with sticks," Victoire explained to me. "But I think perhaps he was a bit distracted by trying to impress you."
James's ears turned an alarming shade of red as Teddy and Victoire laughed good-naturedly.
"You used tease me endlessly about Victoire," Teddy reminded James. "This is called getting even."
"Fair is fair," I said with a grin. "Meddlers need to get their comeuppance somehow."
"I like you already, Eva," Victoire smiled warmly. "You're good for our James."
"Oh," I said, reverting to my old standby reaction in awkward circumstances. By the warmth of my face, I was quite certain that I was blushing heavily. "Thanks?"
Thankfully, everyone was distracted by the start of the duel.
"En garde!" Fred cried as he brandished his stick in the air.
"I take it there isn't a set theme for this?" I asked James as Scorpius blocked Fred's thrust and took a swipe of his own that went wide.
"Nah," he replied with a grin. "That's part of the fun. It can be anything you want and change as often as you want. There's really no rules except not to try to hurt anyone on purpose."
That sounded like the kind of rules James and Fred would want.
"Oh good, we didn't miss it."
I looked behind me to find that Richard and Gareth had decided to join the large group of people now watching.
"You have cast aspersions upon my honor and that of my lady," Scorpius accused Fred, giving a more than passable impression of heightened RP. I wondered vaguely if anyone in the Malfoy family actually talked like that or if he'd simply picked it up from some show on the Wizarding Wireless Network.
"Go Scorpius!" Lily cheered him on. "Take Fred down!"
"Traitor of the highest degree! I'll attend to you later!" Fred called back to her as he made a jab at Scorpius. Scorpius easily maneuvered his broom out of the way and aligned himself for an attack on Fred.
Fred was nearly unseated by Scorpius's onslaught, but managed to hang on. "Your best is not good enough!"
"I demand that you take back your foul words. I am no coward!"
Turning sharply, Scorpius dodged Fred's outstretched stick.
"What, exactly, is happening here?" The voice was quiet but held a strong sense of authority.
Everyone near me stiffened and their eyes grew wide. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hugo silently swear to himself. Fred and Scorpius were so busy waving their sticks at each other and yelling about protecting their honor, that they hadn't seemed to notice the change in the crowd.
Turning, I saw not one person like I had assumed, but three.
"Hi Mum," James said, throwing the three women his most winning smile. "Nana, Aunt Hermione."
Oh, holy hippogriffs. It was the like the Potter Weasley triumvirate of strong women was staring us all down. My heart sped up a little in my chest. Talking with one of them at a time was intimidating enough, but put all three together?
Mrs. Granger-Weasley had the same bushiness to her hair as Rose, but in brown instead of ginger. At the moment, she seemed rather serious, but earlier I'd seen her laughing at something her husband had said.
Mrs. Weasley was the most intimidating of the three women (though Mrs. Potter certainly gave her a run for her money). Her grey hair was pulled back away from her face and she wore a flowered apron. There were laugh lines at the sides of her eyes, but also lines of worry around her mouth.
The three women didn't look cross, exactly, but they did seem a bit wary.
"I just want to know," said Rose's mum in a calm, yet slightly intimidating voice, "is Scorpius out there of his own volition? Or is this some sort of prank?"
I thought back to a few months ago when nearly everyone in the Potter and Weasley families had received letters from their parents concerning their treatment of Scorpius. It seemed that the adults in the family were still looking out for him, although from my perspective, Scorpius had really grown on everyone. He and Al had become good friends, and even though Fred and James had set out to challenge him to broomstick stick dueling, it hadn't been done maliciously.
"Fred challenged him," James explained, looking at his aunt. "But no one forced him out there. Honestly."
"Yeah, Scorpius is having fun," Lily said, pointing to the two boys swinging sticks at each other and still bellowing loudly about their honor.
"It's fine, Mum," Rose said as she stood up to face the three women. "Really. Nothing's wrong. Actually, Eva's the one they pranked. They could have pranked Scorpius, but they didn't."
Mrs. Potter shot me a questioning look while Mrs. Weasley fixed her bright brown eyes on James and Teddy. She seemed to sense exactly what had happened. The two boys seemed to quaver a bit under her gaze. Having been on the receiving end of a stare down from Ginny Potter, I could sympathize. It was clear to me that Mrs. Potter had inherited her intimidating glare from her own mum.
"Oh?" Mrs. Weasley asked, but it wasn't a question. "I suppose you two are behind this?" She motioned to James and Teddy with a wooden spoon that had apparently come from her apron pocket.
"It was harmless," I hurried to reassure everyone. "No worries."
"We were just making her feel welcome," Teddy said, and then grinned widely at me.
Mischievous, meddlesome family. Welcoming people by pranking them. Honestly.
Just then, a triumphant shout distracted all of us. "Victory is mine!"
I turned just in time to see Fred flat on his back in the grass. Scorpius hovered above him in the air, his stick held aloft.
"I admit defeat," Fred told Scorpius in a falsely solemn voice. "The honor of the fair Rose is defended and I retract my statement. You are no coward, but a knight most valiant."
Scorpius was silent for a moment as he took in Fred's words. He seemed to be taken aback. I could hardly blame him. I wasn't sure I'd head Fred correctly. But it turned out that I had.
"Well Ginny," Mrs. Granger-Weasley acknowledged with a smile, "It seems we were worried for nothing." She pushed her bushy brown hair out of her eyes as she spoke.
"I don't know if I've ever been so glad to be wrong," agreed Mrs. Potter with a slight shake of her head. "These kids never fail to surprise me."
Scorpius hopped off his broom and held out a hand to Fred to help him up. "I accept your apology, and spare your life, sir knight. We are friends."
Holy hippogrifs. That wasn't something I thought I'd hear for a long while, if ever.
"You won!" Rose exclaimed, running out to congratulate Scorpius., her red hair streaming out behind her. She threw her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. In response, the people on the sidelines cheered and clapped enthusiastically.
"Broomstick stick dueling," Mrs. Weasely muttered, casting a glance at James. "Just like your uncles."
"Aw, thanks, Nana," James told her as he gave his grandmother a quick hug.
Her mouth twitched up as she tried (and failed) not to smile. Molly Weasley might have been rather intimidating at times, but she obviously loved her family very much.
"I really like your family," I told Lily as all of us who had been watching the duel went out onto the field to alternatively congratulate Scorpius and console Fred.
"Me too," she grinned and linked her arm with mine. "Me too."
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
"Admit it, I won fair and square," I demanded of James. I had given the last fourth of a mile everything I had and crossed our makeshift finish line several paces ahead.
He pretended to scowl and look offended, but said, "I reckon you won."
"So gracious," I grinned at him.
"That's me," he smirked in return.
"I didn't ask the other day, how did your search for a flat go?"
"Really well, actually."
James laughed as I regaled him with Christine's spider paranoia and its effects on our search and told him about the final flat in Bangor.
"So you decided on North Wales after all, then?" he asked.
"Looks like it," I nodded. "I never thought I'd end up in Wales, but I've given it more thought, and Christine was right. We're young and this is the time to live wherever we want before –"
I stopped short, realizing what I'd been about to say. Holy hippogriffs.
"We all know Christine's going to marry Kieran someday, it's hardly a secret," he teased, clearly thinking that I been about to make a reference to my best friend and her boyfriend.
"That's true," I said, letting him think what he wanted. He most certainly didn't need to know I'd almost uttered the words, "before we all settle down and get married." I hadn't meant myself or us specifically, just in general, but James might not have taken it that way. I might have been falling in love with him, but I wasn't anywhere near being ready to be married to anyone.
"Speaking of people and relationships," I said in an attempt to steer the conversation away, "has anything happened with Fred and that girl? You know, the one at Fortescue's?"
"Yeah, Theia," James nodded, and then shrugged. "They've been out a few times. He seems to really like her. I haven't met her, but he says she's funny and clever and nice."
"And she actually agrees to go out with him," I added with a laugh. "That's real progress for Fred. But really, I'm glad that he seems happy."
"That business with Susannah," James shook his head wearily. "I felt rotten that he pinned his hopes on the two of them being like us."
I had felt that same. But hopefully Fred's troubles were over and he'd found what he was looking for.
James's face brightened. "We're looking at flats this weekend. "London metro area, mostly. We looked into some of the villages in Devon, but I'm not sure how well we'd blend into Muggle surroundings there."
"London's probably the better option," I readily agreed. Subtlety wasn't exactly Fred's strong suit. Or James', when it came down to it.
We sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, just enjoying the pleasant weather and the clouds overhead. I leaned into James and rested my head against his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me more securely into his side. It was so lovely and comfortable that I never wanted it to end.
"I can't believe tomorrow is my first day with Harpies," I said, finally broaching the topic we'd avoided so far this morning.
"You'll be brilliant," James assured me with a quick kiss on the top of my head.
"Let's hope so," I muttered. "I know their scouts saw me play at Hogwarts, but they took a chance on me after that horrid tryout." I shuddered just thinking about it. "At least I'm well rested and I've been keeping up on training. I have that in my favor."
"Aren't you excited at all?" James asked tentatively. "You seemed like you were looking forward to playing with the Harpies at first, but lately you've just seemed…worried. And a little sad."
I paused for a moment, then said, "I'm excited to play Quidditch again. It's just…I never expected to play for a team that wasn't Puddlemere. In the back of my mind, I knew it was a possibility that I'd start out on another team. Objectively, I knew that. But after Puddlemere didn't want to sign me, I realized that I'd never seriously thought it would happen. It was just my fake back up plan that I never thought I'd need."
I felt my chest tighten and I strove to take in a deep breath. "But then I really liked the reserves team at Holyhead. And their management, although the one trainer is a bit intimidating. All these things that I never expected to happen are happening and I'm just…confused, I guess."
And then there was the fact that James was playing for Puddlemere. I didn't begrudge him the opportunity, it was just a little bit difficult to be too happy for him when I couldn't fully share it. I knew it was wrong to feel that, but it was what I felt nonetheless.
"Are you cross with me?" His voice was cautious, which was so unlike him.
"No," I insisted, twisting around to face him. "No. Just…adjusting to my new reality. Truly."
I leaned up and kissed him softly on the mouth. "How could I ever be cross when the lad I'm falling in love with is so amazing?"
He grinned at my choice of words. "How amazing, exactly?
I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head down to mine. "Tremendously."
~…~…~…~…~…~…~…
Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, favorites, and story alerts! I appreciate everyone who reads my story and everyone who has let me know how much they enjoy it! And a special thanks to my beta, blue and gold, for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities.
Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought!
Next chapter: Eva's first day at the Harpies, and a certain infamous character from Game On returns.