It was nearly May and with N.E.W.T.s approaching, everyone was turning into shut-ins. Especially Rose. Amanda was sure she hadn't seen Rose in five days and she had seen Albus in two days. Atria was stressing out about DADA and was convinced she was going to fail and everyone would blame her 'background.'

"Ms. Smith, do pay attention!" Madam Pomfrey said as she rushed to help a student throwing up toads. Amanda almost knocked over a bottle of Skelegrow as she was arranging supplies. In the two months since she had started working here, Amanda had learned so much. In fact, she never would have imagined there would be so much to learn.

"Sorry." Amanda muttered as she continued to clean all the tables and beds.

After Madam Pomfrey gave the poor boy something to stop the nausea, she came over to Amanda. "Is something on your mind, dear?"

Amanda ran her hands over the bedsheets to flatten them. "I hope I've made the right decision about going with the Harpies."

"I'm sure everything will work itself out. You're doing excellent work here and when you go to St. Mungo's for the summer, I'm sure you'll be ready to start the season with the Harpies. And Mr. Potter is on the Harpies, so you'll have a support system."

"I know."

"Have you told your friends about your decision?"

Amanda bit her lip. "Not yet." Because she hadn't told James either. And Albus would tell James and Atria would tell James. Rose would tell James. Fred would find out and he would tell James. There was simply no way to avoid James once this became public knowledge.

Amanda's spine straightened. "Madam Pomfrey, do you think I could leave early today and stay late tomorrow?"

Madam Pomfrey looked slightly confused by the sudden change in Amanda's demeanor. "Yes, I think you're about done here anyhow."

"Thank you." Amanda gathered her things quickly and raced to the Owlery. She needed to owl James immediately. It was all she could think of to end this drama right then and there. She couldn't run anymore and she didn't know why this struck her in that moment.

As she raced up the stairs, not paying attention to the uneasy footing, she was scrambling to pull parchment and a quill out of her bag. Once she was in the Owlery, she scribbled a hasty message against the wall.

Dear James,

I know it's been awhile since we've spoken. Do you think you could meet me in Hogsmeade sometime? I have to talk to you.

Amanda

She sent it off with a school owl and a heavy weight lifted off of her.

And then for the next two days she waited.

While Amanda was sitting in the library, procrastinating her Muggle Studies homework. She looked at Rose, who was diligently taking notes and annotating her potions book, and knew her friend would provide no distractions. Of course Albus and Attie were off being lovebirds somewhere. Amanda closed her Jane Austen book.

"I'm going to the Owlery." She announced and Rose looked up quickly and mumbled something.

"Sure."

Amanda didn't mince words. She got up and left.

Without the adrenaline she had two days ago, the steps to the Owlery were a struggle. "I miss Quidditch." She mumbled, thinking about how long it had been since she had had a proper workout. When she arrived at the top the Owlery, the owl she had sent was sitting on its perch with a letter in its mouth. Amanda surged forward and took the note.

She ripped it open.

Meet me in Hogsmeade on Friday at 7.

James

Amanda was relieved, but at the same time nervous. Tomorrow was Friday. He didn't say where to meet, but she assumed he meant Hog's Head. She had been going over in heard what she wanted to say to him, but she knew that it wouldn't go the way she planned in her head. Those sorts of things never went the way a person thinks they will.

When she went to bed, Atria was watching her suspiciously. "Why are you so jittery?"

Amanda pressed her cheek into the pillow. "I have something to do tomorrow and I'm not sure how it's going to play out."

"What is it?"

"A meeting with someone I might be working with."

"You've made a decision, right?" Atria asked with a knowing glint in her eyes. Amanda hated how Atria always seemed to know everyone's secrets, but until recently no one knew any of hers.

"Maybe."

Atria looked like she was suppressing a smile. "Everything is working out."

"You didn't think it would."

"No." Atria didn't hesitate. "I never thought that this is how my life would turnout."

"How's the zoo coming?"

Atria shrugged as some girls came out of the bathroom. "It's coming alright. The biggest problem is permits for the animals."

"Are you going to be chatting much longer?" Celaena asked.

Amanda rolled her eyes and fell onto her back. "No, I guess not." The lights went out a moment later. And Amanda tried to calm her heart down enough so she could fall asleep.

Hog's Head was empty as usual. James wasn't here yet, but Amanda was early. She sat at a table in the shadows of a corner, sipping on a butterbeer.

"Amanda."

She coughed as the liquid went down the wrong pipe. She stood up quickly, clearing her throat and stared at James. He looked tired and beautiful. His hair had grown out in the weeks since they had last spoken.

"Thanks for coming." She said and then they stared at each other for a while. "I'm sorry about the last time we spoke." James continued to stare at her with guarded eyes. Amanda continued with a clogged throat, "I was being foolish and trying to avoid making mistakes based on fleeting emotions, but I almost made the biggest mistake of my life."

Confusion flashed across his face and she was eased by the emotion that finally came onto his features. And then he steeled himself again.

Amanda took a deep breath. "I'm going with the Harpies."

James's jaw dropped and his mouth flopped open and closed. "What?"

"I told you I was going with the Magpies, but that would have been stupid with me. I was trying not to let emotions get in the way of my decision, but they almost made me choose a worse team just because…"

"You'll be living with the team." James said with a far off look in his eyes.

"Yes, that's why I wanted to speak with you. I know that we've been weird for the past few months and now that we have to work together—"

"What emotions?" James interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

James looked invigorated. "You said that you were trying not to make this decision based on emotions. I want to know what you meant."

Amanda kept her face straight. "I want to make the best choice for me—"

"Yes, but what emotions would have stopped you from doing that?" He inched closer and his fingers brushed the edge of her shirt. She shivered and he leaned closer, so close his nose brushed her cheek. "Just tell me," his voice wavered. "Say—"

She grabbed his collar and crashed their mouths together. He moaned and his arms came around her immediately. The edge of the table dug into the back of her legs as he pressed her against it roughly. For a fraction of a second their mouths parted and she dragged in a ragged breath. He kissed her again and she gasped, pulling him closer. Their hands were flying over each other's bodies.

When his hands went to the back of her legs, she realized he was going to place her on top of the table. She turned her head and dragged in air. He simply continued to his her cheek and jaw and then the column of her throat. "James," she sighed pleasantly.

He mumbled something against her neck and then she felt his tongue sweep out.

"James, we're in a pub." She said breathily.

His lips pulled away slowly and he released a long breath against her skin. She let out a breathy laugh. "Damn." His head was still buried in her neck, even though his lips weren't pressed against her skin and it was doing crazy things to her heart.

"Let's sit down and eat something." She suggested, but didn't move away from him. "And talk." He groaned and then pulled back.

"About what? You're coming with the Harpies and we're going to be together."

Amanda laughed. "Just like that? One kiss and it's all been decided?"

"Let's skip the part where we pretend like we haven't been dancing around this for months." James said impatiently. "We fancy each other."

"Yes, but we also need to work together. It's not like I have an office job either, I will come in direct contact with the team. It would a conflict of interest."

"How do we solve that?"

Amanda bit her lip and looked away. "We can't date." James's eyebrows shot down and he started to protest. "What if we broke up?"

He rolled his eyes. "You're afraid of breaking up when we've only been together for two minutes?"

"I'm afraid that if something happened between us and it fell apart, I wouldn't be able to work with you! I'm already too invested in whatever this is and we're not even dating." She snapped. "If we started dating and something happened, it would wreck me."

"We wouldn't have to break up." James argued.

"There is no guarantee that we wouldn't break up."

"We could get married."

Blink, blink. Amanda stared at James as he held his breath and seemed to contemplate what he had just said. After several moments of looking thoughtful, his features shifted toward determination. His jaw set and he waited for her to say something.

"Did—did you just propose to me?"

James looked at the ceiling and squinted. "Yes. It's logical. I love you. I want to be with you and I don't want to ever break up. If you're so worried about it, I have no problem getting married."

"You haven't thought this through."

"All I've thought about for the past year is how to be with you. So while I wasn't specifically thinking about marriage, I have been thinking about the future and how I want you in mine. The universe wants it to. You're getting a job with the Harpies. We can be together, they have special housing for families."

Amanda rubbed her temples. "We've never been on a date!"

"Then let's do what you suggested: sit down and eat dinner."

Amanda wanted to say something but couldn't think of a single thing to say or argue. So they sat down and Amanda took a log gulp of her butterbeer. "James," she said slowly, "I think you should take some time to think things through."

"You want to say yes." James told her. "You're creating reasons for me not to do this, but you haven't argued your side. Why shouldn't you do this?"

"You could break my heart."

"Implying that you're in love with me too." James grinned. "You love me. Marry me."

"You haven't given me a ring."

James smiled boyishly. "I'll go buy you one now."

"You don't know my ring size or what type of ring I might want—"

"Classic, but not a circle. I'm thinking square with two little diamonds on both sides." James said thoughtfully. Amanda rubbed her temples and tried to banish the thoughts of how beautiful that would look on her finger. "And do you even know your ring size?" Amanda hesitated.

"James…"

"Tell me you don't love me. I won't accept any other reason for why we shouldn't get engaged. We don't have to marry immediately, but I see no reason why we shouldn't get engaged."

"The fact that we hardly know each other."

"We've known each other for years and been friends for two years… maybe more."

Amanda gave him a level look. "And for most of those years you were obsessed with Atria."

"That ended last year."

"Good thing, considering she preferred your brother."

"Now you're just being mean."

Amanda shrugged. "Just because I'm not as snappy as Attie, doesn't mean I don't have my moments."

"I love you." He said as if it was just a continuation of the banter. Amanda stared at him, trying to see his heart through his eyes.

"Three weeks."

"Huh?"

"I graduate in three weeks and if you're still convinced… maybe we could try dating. The summer will give us time to think before we have to work together."

James looked away, contemplating the options laid before him. Finally, he looked back at her. "Three weeks." He repeated. "In three weeks, I'm going to be back and we're going to get engaged…"

"We're going to date." Amanda argued.

"Yes, while we're engaged."

"I don't want to get married at 17."

James exhaled. "So we'll marry in a few years. The point is that you're worried about security and your job and our relationship will get in the way of your career. I plan on us being together forever and if we get engaged now and marry in five years, what's the difference between getting engaged in four years?"

"Everyone will think I'm pregnant." Amanda mumbled and then shook her head. "But since when have I cared about what anyone else thinks?" She grinned at James and his eyes lit up.

"You're saying yes?" He choked out.

Amanda laughed. "I'm saying come back at graduation. Give us both a few weeks to think about this. Go look at how expensive engagement rings are and see if you really want this."

"All I need to know is that you want this."

She blinked and was surprised by her answer. "I want to be with you." There was no doubt or hesitation.

"Then I'll see you in three weeks. Unless I can't wait."

"James."

"Kidding!" He held up his hands innocently. "But can we go on dates in the meantimes? I don't like the idea of going three weeks without seeing you."

"Sure, why not?" She said calmly, but suppressing a giddy grin was difficult.

"I could help you study for N.E.W.T.s," James suggested.

Amanda gave him a doubtful look. "Didn't you only get two N.E.W.T.s?"

James looked indignant. "I knew I was going to play Quidditch. Besides, DADA and Charms are the most important subjects, anyway."

"And potions."

"That's what I have you for!"

"James," she admonished.

He leaned across the table and kissed her. His mouth moved against hers and he tilted his head. Her teeth scraped his lower lip and he moaned. "I love you."

"Me too."

"Meet me on Wednesday." He said against her lips.

"Okay." She whispered back and then pulled away. Their noses still touched. "I should go before someone misses me." James's thumb brushed her cheek.

"Alright." He pressed one last kiss to her jaw. They sat back and Amanda gathered her things. James paid the check and they left Hog's Head, hand in hand. They kissed again before Amanda started walking back to the castle. She let out a content sigh and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.