Part One
Hogwarts Express was chugging along towards its destination, Scorpius and Albus were wondering about trying to find a compartment to sit in. They paused at one compartment, inside was just one person. Whoever it was, was already wearing the school robes, no house sign was seen so it was clear whoever it was, was a first-year student just like them. They tried to open the door but it was locked. They knocked on the glass, "Hey, open up!"
She got up, they couldn't see her face as she wore a hood, slowly she walked over to the door and instead of opening the door she just lowered the blinds going back to her seat she lay down and fell asleep.
"What the hell?" They cried out, "How selfish!"
"She'll make friends," Scorpius scowled, "Come on, let's keep moving."
They didn't see the girl again till the Sorting ceremony, she kept to herself her hood still down, the two boys were more fixated on the ceremony to be distracted by the unusual girl. Everyone was more concerned about the celebrity amongst them. Albus Potter, the son of the boy who lived and the savior of the muggle world. Everyone went crazy when Albus was sorted into Slytherin. It seemed like nothing more could shock the student body. The numbers to be sorted dwindled down, not many people were interested in the students left. Then there was one. The girl that had annoyed both Scorpius and Albus earlier in the day.
The teacher in charge of the Sorting Ceremony paused, his eyes wide as he got to the last name, "Ria…Ria Dumbledore," he spluttered. Calmly Ria walked up to the stool with the sorting hat she ignored the silence that had fallen across the whole hall. She put on the hat waiting for its answer. The second it touched her head, the Sorting hat lit up.
"Oh my," he began…"It's been so long since I've touched a mind so talented…this school year is going to be quite special now…there is no place I can send you but…Gryffindor."
There was complete silence as Ria slipped down and walked over to her table and sat down, nothing seemed to affect her. She didn't care about how they were reacting to her. Her head remained lowered as if focused on something else, something that wasn't there. The feast began, it was a hive of emotions and chatter all of it going around her. She didn't react, she didn't join in. She just wanted to be alone.
"Are you actually related to Albus Dumbledore?" Rose Weasley fell in step with Ria as they headed up to the Gryffindor dorms, she seemed to be one of the few students not affected by Ria's celebrity status.
Ria shrugged, counting down on her fingers, "Yeah, he's my great, great, great uncle," she scratched her head, "I think I counted enough greats," she shrugged again, "He's just grandpa to me."
"Wow," Rose was impressed, "It must be stressful having such a famous grandpa."
"Not really," she shrugged it seemed to be her habit, "It's not like I am him or whatever, and I live in the muggle world."
"Really? Why?" Rose asked confused, she didn't understand how the descendant of one of the most powerful wizards in the world was living in the muggle world.
"My dad isn't magical, my mum was a muggle, I think everyone up to Grandpa Aberforth and Albus hasn't had magical powers in our family."
Rose and Ria became friends instantly. As two independent, intelligent girls with a legacy, they felt most comfortable around each other as opposed to with other people, who fawned or judged them. Their friendship was more down to Rose's forcefulness. She would drag Ria to wherever she was going or doing. Ria was fine with being led, she didn't have much of an opinion on anything.
Ria stormed off into the first years' girls dorm, kicking everything in her path as she did so. She was annoyed at not being allowed to visit Hogsmede. Only third years and above were allowed to get permission to go, being too young took away that chance from her. She threw herself down on her bed covering her head with her pillow. All the girls had left the dorms, knowing Ria's fiery personality and not wanting to get caught in her crossfire of anger.
"Oi Ria," a voice called out from the doorway.
"Go away," she cried out.
"Come here," he groaned, "I have to show you something."
"What do you want!" She stormed over to the doorway crossing her arms.
"Take a step closer," he gestured to her.
"Why?" She scowled under her hood.
"Just do it," he rolled his eyes, "I'm only doing this because I owe Rose one."
"What do you want Potter?" She snapped taking a step across the dorm threshold, as she did he pulled her under his arm. Instantly she pulled out her wand and pointed it at his nose her eyes narrowed, "What do you think you're doing?"
He sighed, "Don't you want to go to Hogsmeade?"
"And how does you violating my personal space help me with that?"
"Just shut up and go with this," he covered them with a cloak, "Now hold this," he passed her a scroll, pouting she did as he instructed with a tap and an incantation the blank scroll woke up.
"This is so cool," her eyes widened, the scroll was a map showing off the whereabouts of everyone in the school. James couldn't help but smile, with his wand he traced out a route, "We can follow this path and get into Hogsmede, this map was made by my grandpa and his friends, it got passed down to my uncles and then to my Dad, and now to me…" he sniggered remembering how he managed to get the map, "No one will be able see us."
"How?" She looked up at him, she was so close to him that he could feel her heartbeat, the scent of her skin, it was throwing him off. He pressed his lips together for a moment then stuttered,
"The cloak we are wearing…it's an invisibility cloak."
"Cool," she breathed and looked about, she reached out and touched the material it was soft against her fingers. James instantly grabbed her hand,
"Keep inside the cloak if you don't want to be seen, let's go before people notice you are missing," keeping hold of her hand and sharing the map they went off down the secret passage to get to Hogsmede.
"So why do you want to go to Hogsmede so bad? I thought you lived in the Muggle World, have you ever been there."
"My grandpa lives there," she answered, "I miss him," her voice softened, "I can't contact my Dad while I'm here, because Muggle communication devices don't work in Hogwarts. But I know my Grandpa can help me see my Dad."
"You're close to him?"
She nodded, "He's all I have, and I'm all he has. It's always just been me and my Dad and my Grandpa whenever he comes to visit. I've never been so far away from him for so long. I don't like it."
"You don't like Hogwarts?" James was surprised he looked down at her.
"It's not that I don't like it, I just miss my Dad."
When they finally got to Hogsmede, Ria's personality changed she became bright and excited, she pulled away from James, "I'll meet you here in 2 hours okay, bye," she ran off not even turning back to look at him, he was instantly deflated. He had hoped to have spent some time with Ria in Hogsmede but she had run off so quickly.
Ria felt uncomfortable being at the Weasley-Granger household. Her father was unable to be with her for Christmas and somehow she had been strong-armed into joining Rose and her family for the holidays. She didn't know how to be, it wasn't long before she was surrounded by people. The house was jam-packed with people, wherever she turned there was another redhead or brunette. Everyone was so loud and so noisy.
"Let me meet your new friend," Ron said brightly at his daughter, everyone had finally settled down and had turned their attention on their guest.
"Dad," Rose said brightly, "This is my best friend, Ria."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr Weasley," Ria said politely, she felt awkward so kept a step behind Rose, who pushed her forward.
"Ria's Dad is a muggle and he's away for Christmas, mum said it was okay for her to join us."
"Of course it is okay, any friend of my daughters' is welcome here. Your father is a muggle eh, what about your mum?" Ron asked curiously.
"She died when I was born," Ria answered matter of factly, her words made everyone shut up, "But she wasn't a witch either."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Ron went bright red at having bought up a sensitive topic.
Hermione stepped forward, "You're the first witch in your family? So was I, it must have shocked your father when the letter for Hogwarts came, I still remember when that happened to me, did you accidentally do any magic before you found out?"
Ria rubbed her neck, "Dad wasn't too shocked, and I'm not the first witch in my family."
Rose grinned, "Ria's great, great, great, uncle is Professor Dumbledore."
All the adults gasped and fell to the floor, "You are related to professor Dumbledore?"
"Uh yeah, I never knew him because he died long before I was born," she answered simply, "My granddad, great granddad and great, great grandad were all muggles. But Grandpa Aberforth, he's also my great, great, great uncle but I call him my grandpa, kept in contact with the family. They didn't think there would ever be another witch or wizard in the family, but then one-day Grandpa gave me his wand and I made a Patronus charm so that let them know magic was in me."
"You've made a Patronus charm?" Hermione squeaked, "But you are only 12."
Ron elbowed Hermione, "To be fair Harry was only 13 when he managed it."
"I was 3," Ria corrected them, "I didn't know what I was doing, Fawkes just told me to be happy and when I did it happened."
"You produced a non-verbal Patronus charm at 3?" Hermione gasped, going pale.
"Fawkes?" Ron repeated, "Wasn't that Professor Dumbledore's phoenix?"
"He's mine now," Ria corrected him again, "He found me and he talks to me."
"You must be one talented witch, Ria," Ron patted her on her head, "Professor Dumbledore's skill must run in your veins."
Ria lowered her head, "I'm not special. I'm just Ria."
They all decided to play Quidditch apart from Ria and Hermione. They watched the families battle it out. Ria's eyes drifted to her hands, she was fidgety, "You don't like Quidditch?"
"It's okay," she muttered, "It doesn't mean much to me."
Hermione smiled, "I understand, it was unusual to me too when I went to Hogwarts. Everyone's fascination with becoming a player and beating others, I never understood it."
"I just don't like big crowds of people," she mumbled, "Growing up it was just Dad and me, or Grandpa. I guess I'm just not good with too much stimulation."
"Hogwarts must be hard for you then," Hermione smiled softly, "With the name Dumbledore, it can't be easy having your own space."
"I will disappoint everyone. Once I finish studying at Hogwarts I'm just going to back to the Muggle World, I'm just going to go stay with my dad."
"You don't want to stay in the magical world?" Hermione was surprised.
"Here people expect great things, people want me to be something I'm just not. No part of me wants to be great, I just have no interest in it. It's easier being me when I'm at home, here it's too hard."
James was already bored at the start of the new school year. It was his 6th year. His penultimate year before he would finish his time at Hogwarts. It was a bittersweet feeling. A part of him was happy he could move away from exams and having to study, the other part would miss playing games and acting a fool. He sighed as his Charms teacher walked in, "Class, I know you are all excited to begin the new year, it is the year of the NEWT exams. But before we start I just wanted to announce a new addition to our cohort."
Whispers broke across the class, James just rolled his eyes, this wasn't interesting to him, he wanted to nap, "Ria Dumbledore, will be joining us," just as he said that James's eyes widened he bolted upright and looked to where their teacher had gestured, and sure enough behind him was Ria. No one had spotted her before, it was as if she was a ghost.
"She has already passed all her OWL's and as such, it was decided that she would begin studying for her NEWT's a little earlier than usual. It is highly unprecedented but I am sure you will all be welcoming towards our newcomer, but I will warn you," their teacher smiled a little slyly, "Miss Dumbledore, is a highly talented witch."
James heard that sigh from Ria as she returned back to her books, she could feel everyone's eyes on her, most of them were out of jealousy and annoyance. Of course, magic came easy to Ria, she was from an honorable bloodline. No one liked people breaking the status quo, and having a student jump up two years because of their intelligence was degrading to the 6th years. They didn't want her showing them up. When the lesson was over Ria tried to sneak out but James ran in to step with her, he put his arm over her shoulders and slipped her timetable out from between her textbook pages,
"Why didn't you tell me that you'd be joining my classes, nerd. We are in basically every class," his eyes sparkled at the thought of seeing Ria more and more.
She scowled snatching the timetable back and moving from under his grasp, "Why would I tell you something like that? And don't touch my stuff."
"Because I'm your most favorite person in the whole entire world," he exclaimed, they both had Potions and walked down to the dungeons together.
"You? My most favorite person? Please…" she scoffed, "You don't even rank on any list. You are a loser."
"And you are a nerd, so see we are perfect for one another," he grinned. They bickered all the way to class and ended up sitting next to one another. James couldn't have been happier. With Ria. He didn't know what it was, but he always had a smile plastered on his face, she made him feel tingly, excited even, all his emotions were on the surface and the sensation was addictive.
"You know what we haven't done in a long time," James began.
Ria sighed, "We don't do much together."
"Remember when we would sneak to Hogsmede together, under the invisibility cloak with my map…" he reminded her, "Why did we stop?" He mused, "It was fun."
"It was fun," she nodded in agreement making him ecstatic, "But unnecessary now, I can go to Hogsmede whenever I don't need to sneak about."
"True, but this school is so big, there are so many places we can go…sneak about…is there anywhere you want to go?"
"I want to go to the Headmaster's office," she answered immediately.
James paled, "What? Why?"
"I want to talk to Professor Dumbledore," she said simply.
"What? Why?" He repeated.
"It's nearly the anniversary of when I first met Fawkes, and I want to know what I should get him. Fawkes won't tell me what he wants and Professor Dumbledore has had him much longer so would know what the perfect gift would be. If I want to ask Professor Dumbledore I need to be in the Headmaster's office when the Headmaster isn't there. He never lets you talk to the old Headmasters, and they all pretend to be asleep around him."
"But you'll definitely get into trouble," James pointed out, "There is no way to get into the Headmasters office unnoticed."
"I just need to know when the Headmaster is out of the office," she explained, a plan forming in her mind, "Once he's out I can sneak in, I know the password, he isn't subtle about it, once I'm in I can try and get the professor to speak."
"What if you get caught? Wait what I'm I talking about, you will definitely get caught, do you really think the other headmasters wouldn't rat you out."
"I don't care if I get told off or whatever, as long as I find out what to get Fawkes it will be worth it, come on James, I'm not exactly asking for the world. Just let me know when the Headmaster is out of his office."
"You'll owe me big time for this," he scowled.
"Yay," she smiled brightly clapping her hands.
They stood under the invisibility cloak, James refusing to let Ria go alone, they had entered the Headmaster's office, surrounded by the many portraits that hung from the wall's a few of them sleeping, others bored. There was one face that stood out from the rest. He had such familiar eyes. Family eyes. Ria elbowed James to stay quiet he was having second thoughts, she slipped from under the invisibility cloak and sauntered carefully towards the imposing portrait.
"Ooo what do we have here?" Professor Dippet raised an eyebrow, "A thief in the Headmaster's office?"
"I didn't come here to steal something," Ria snapped at the professor.
"Then why would you sneak in here," Professor Black noted, "Sneaking in you want to steal."
"I came to ask a question to Professor Dumbledore," she said simply.
"A question? A question? Why would a student sneak in to ask a teacher a question?" Professor Dippet frowned, not believing Ria.
She crossed her arms, "Because whenever the Headmaster is in his office you all pretend to be asleep."
"Ha," Professor Dippet laughed, "That old man is so boring."
"Careful how you speak former Headmaster Dippet, that is a current Headmaster of Hogwarts you are defaming," a drawl was heard from beside Professor Dumbledore's picture.
"You killed a Headmaster, you don't hear me complaining," Professor Dippet scowled.
"That's enough," Professor Dumbledore interrupted he raised an eyebrow, "I believe this student had a question for me, the ruckus you all are making is quite irritating. So, tell me, child, what is it you want to know from me? What would you want to ask me, that you would risk punishment for?"
"Your Patronus," Ria began, "It's a phoenix right?"
He nodded, "It is, is that what you wanted…"
She cut in shaking her head, "No, you see so is mine."
Professor Dumbledore smiled, "We share a Patronus? Is that…"
"No…"
"What do you want child?" Professor Black snapped getting annoyed with Ria.
"Stop interrupting me," she snapped back, "Let me finish my sentence."
"How dare…" he began, with a flick of her wrist she had covered his mouth with a silencing charm, Professor Dippet burst in to giggles, which earned him the same charm from Ria. Professor Dumbledores eyes sparkled,
"You can do incantations unspoken, at your age?" He was impressed, "Silencing these Professors, that takes skill."
"Don't make me use it on you too," she pouted, "I have a question."
"Ask away," he smiled.
"It's nearly the anniversary of the time I first met Fawkes, and I wanted to celebrate it, it's been 12 years and I wanted to get him something special, but he won't tell me what he wants. As you had him much longer than I have I wanted to know if you had an idea for a gift he would like."
"Fawkes?" Professor Dumbledore repeated, "My companion phoenix?"
She nodded, "He's my companion now."
"Who gave you Fawkes?" He frowned confused.
"No one gave me Fawkes, he found me. We have been together since I was 3."
"What is your name child?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"Ria," she answered simply, "Ria Dumbledore."
All the portraits woke up, there was silence in the room as they all stared at Ria, "You are Andrew's daughter?" He whispered.
She nodded, "Yes. Apologies that we haven't met before, but its kind of hard to say hi to someone whose in a portrait, locked away. But hi great, great, great uncle Albus."
"You are a witch, and you are in Gryffindor," he noted smiling at her robes.
"Yes, yes," she waved her hand as if it was nothing, "I don't have much time do you have an idea about the gift."
"Ah, a gift for Fawkes. Does he have a perch?" He asked her.
"Perch?" She repeated then shook her head, "Fawkes usually just sits on my shoulder, though he is getting a bit too big for that."
"Don't worry I believe we still have his old perch. He has had it for decades, he will surely love to use it again. I will ensure the Headmaster provides it to you as soon as possible."
"Thanks, Professor," Ria smiled brightly.
"Are you in touch with Aberforth?" Dumbledore asked her curiously.
She nodded, "Yes, Grandpa and I are very close."
"You call him Grandpa," Dumbledore smiled.
"Yes, calling him great, great, great uncle, is too much of a mouthful," she joked.
"Then you should call me the same," he said softly, "Please do visit me again, Ria."
Ginny glanced at Harry, there was something weighing on her mind, finally, he sighed looking over the paper, "What is it, Ginny?"
"It's James," she began.
"James?" Harry frowned, he never expected her to be worried about James of all people, the only one who caused them problems was Albus.
"He's been at Hogwarts for 6 years Harry, and in those 6 years he's never had a date."
Harry burst out laughing, "That's what you're worried about, your 16-year-old son has never had a date?"
"Stop laughing Harry, it is serious, I've never even heard of him talk about anyone romantically. Even Albus has had a girlfriend, Lily dates. But James, nothing. Not even a crush."
"It's not like he'd tell his parents about it," Harry pointed out, "It's not an issue, Ginny don't worry about it, look at us we didn't really date much during our time at Hogwarts."
"Yes but we did date and we dated other people too," she said a little stiffly, "But at the same time Harry during our time at Hogwarts we had wars and a battle to deal with. We didn't exactly have a normal time at Hogwarts. There is nothing getting in James' way of dating. He is the star Gryffindor quidditch player and even then he's had nothing. He's a good looking kid, why doesn't he have a girlfriend?"
"Lily," Harry called to his daughter who was passing through the kitchen.
"Yes, dad," she said over her shoulder.
"Why hasn't James dated at school?" He asked her calmly.
Lily snorted with laughter, "Because he's a loser."
"Your brother is not a loser," Ginny snapped at her daughter who grinned.
"Well, he is," Lily kept a safe distance from her mother, "All he does is Quidditch and playing pranks. He doesn't really talk to many girls other than Rose and Ria."
"He talks to Ria?" Harry was surprised, he had met Ria a few times and she mostly stuck beside Rose. The longest conversation he had ever seen her have was with Hermione.
Lily nodded grabbing some grapes and putting them in her mouth, "Ria's the smartest kid in school, she's been bumped up to 6th year so she's in pretty much all of James' classes. I guess they kind of have to spend a lot of time together."
"What is she like?" Ginny was curious, she just like Harry barely knew anything about Ria.
Lily shrugged, "Ria's okay I guess. She's pretty private. You wanna know more about her you better ask Rose. She is coming over tonight for dinner. Ria doesn't talk much to anyone."
"Do you think she and James would be a good couple?" Ginny asked curiously.
Lily burst out laughing, "Is that how desperate you are for James to have a girlfriend? You want to set him up with Ria? I don't think that would ever happen."
Ginny brightened up when she saw Ria had joined the Weasley-Grangers as they came over for a family dinner. She watched as Ria played board games with the other kids. She was curious as to why Ria always wore a hood, she realized she had never seen Ria's face, had anyone? It made her wonder what the girl really looked like.
"Let's play Quidditch, there is 10 of us, we could do 5 on 5," James said brightly.
"That's a great idea," Ron jumped up, "Ginny always has spare brooms."
"Let's clear up first," Ginny sighed, inside she was euphoric, James would be showing off his greatest talent, maybe he could woo Ria by doing so.
She frowned when she overheard James arguing with Rose, "What do you mean she won't play?"
"Ria doesn't fly, come on James have you ever seen her on a broom, she won't play and she doesn't have to."
"Of course she does, it's my house," he stormed over to where Ria was and grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house, she was too confused about what was going on, he picked up two broomsticks, "Get on the broomstick Ria."
"No," she said sharply.
"What do you mean, no? You are a witch, witches fly on broomsticks, that's how it goes so get on the broom," he chided her, trying to force the broom in her hand.
She struggled against him, refusing to touch the broomstick, "No, no I won't."
"Why?" He demanded.
"Stop it," she shouted at him, "Stop it, James."
No one had ever heard Ria shout before, it stunned them all as they watched the two fight, not knowing if they should intervene.
"Why should I stop? We are all going to have fun playing Quidditch…"
"It isn't fun for me," she cried out, he was still holding her wrist tightly, "Let go of me."
"No," he tightened his hold, "You're going to get on that broomstick…"
"No," she shrieked flipping her wand out she blasted James away from her, it was a simple repel spell that couldn't hurt him, it would just push him away from her.
He was stunned staring at her from the ground, "You used magic on me?"
"I hate magic," she spat out, throwing her wand away, her whole body was trembling, "I hate magic, I hate flying, I hate what I have to be. When I finish Hogwarts I'm never ever coming back, I'm never using magic again and I will never fly," with those words she disapparated on the spot.
Aberforth Dumbledore slammed his fist against the bar top in Hog's Head, his sharp blue eyes fell on James, "I told you to stay away from my niece."
"But I…"
"None of your excuses, I told that stupid school it won't work, making Ria spend time in the magical world isn't going to make her forget. How can it make any child forget? They won't let her grieve. They won't let her go home. Just because she's a legacy they can flaunt to others about, doesn't mean they can ignore what she wants."
"Do you know where she went?" Rose asked softly, worry in her eyes for her best friend.
Aberforth sighed he turned to his door and flipped the sign to closed as he grabbed Floo Powder, "There is only one place in the world Ria wants to be, and that is with her father," he threw the powder into his fireplace, "12 Long Road," he jumped through, the others following suit. This was the first time they had ever visited Ria's home. They all landed in a dusty dark house, it was as if no one had lived there in a long, long time.
"Take your time," Aberforth snapped, "It's going to rain and if my baby gets sick I will hold you all responsible," he led them out of the abandoned house, they could hear the crashing waves, this home was by the seaside. In the distance they saw a flash of red, it was Fawkes, he was encircling an area to where they were headed.
"I thought you said Ria went to her Dad," James piped up as they entered a cemetery, he didn't understand why they would go here.
Aberforth glowered at him making him close his mouth entirely, they all stumbled when they heard crying. It was Ria. Her back was against a tombstone around her were her memories, they seemed to have slipped from her and played over and over again. They saw this handsome man with dark hair and bright blue eyes throw up a little girl in the air and catch her, he was a strong-looking man wearing a uniform, he looked so happy as did the girl. They played about for so long, their bond was deep. They saw Ria as a child. She was a pretty girl with the same hair and eyes as her father, she had sweet dimples and was forever smiling. They saw her with Fawkes and her first show of magic, the Patronus charm. They saw how she showed her dad her new wand, and the broomstick Aberforth had bought her, he was so proud of her. She was only 8 years old and she was making potions and conducting simple charms. Then they saw it, that one unfortunate day Ria had tried to ride a broomstick with her father. That lightning that had struck them, the horrific fall her father grabbing hold of her and cushioning her fall. The blood. The blood that soaked through her clothes and covered her hands. The scream that caused the thousands of Patronus charms to fly out of her, the army of phoenixes. The onslaught of the Ministry of Magic Aurors who arrived to investigate the sudden burst of magical power. They saw the men pull Ria away from her dead father. They saw her being forced into an orphanage for magical beings. They saw her every request to go home being rejected, they saw her being forced to go to Hogwarts and an ultimatum of completing her school years put on her before she could leave. It broke their hearts to see how much pain Ria was in.
Magic had caused that pain.
They had not realized why she studied so much, it wasn't for a love of it, but rather a desperate need to get as far from it as possible.
James stepped forward wanting to console Ria but Aberforth stopped him, "You've done enough," he went over instead and sat beside her.
"Grandpa," she mumbled to him, between her tears, "Why won't he come back?"
"You silly girl," he put his arm around her, "You know he would if he could."
"I just want him back, I want him back..." her voice broke as she cried more and more in Aberforths' arms.
Ria was completely withdrawn when they returned for the second term, she barely ate, barely lifted her head, she was a ghost of her former self. His mind filled with worry for her, James was distracted as he trained with his Quidditch team. He didn't notice the bludgeon that came flying out, knocking him off of his broom and causing him to head to the Infirmary, unconscious.
Madame Pomfrey gasped when she analyzed Ria, "She needs to eat, she needs to regain her strength. At this rate, she will die."
James's heart dropped when he overheard that, "Do you understand Ria, you need to eat," Madame Pomfrey urged her, but her words fell on deaf ears, "If you don't eat here you will get sent to St Mungo's. Do you really want that? I will leave you for a bit but you have to have eaten something."
As Madame Pomfrey left James sneaked into Ria's ward, he sat down on her bed, his own head wrapped up in bandages, Ria was wearing a hood which looked even bigger than usual, Fawkes was beside her nudging food towards her but she was unresponsive.
"Wow," James widened his eyes, "Look at all the food you have. This is way better then what I got given. Yummy chicken," he said brightly, he tore a bit off and offered it to her, "Come on take a bite Ria, trust me it tastes great."
She didn't move, her head down, his hand lowered sadly putting the piece down, "Oh look we have pie, might as well start with dessert, I love pie," he grinned, he cut a piece and put it on the end of a fork again offering it to Ria, "Come on have some, it's awesome…" his voice broke.
Ria looked up, and her heart broke, it hurt so much, tears were in James' eyes, he was struggling to keep it in as he feigned a smile. She had never seen James look like this. Slowly she reached forward and took the bite he offered.
"It's good isn't it," he smiled at her. Weakly she nodded, she ate all he offered her, a tear slipped from his eyes she reached out and brushed it away, he grabbed hold of her hand, it was so cold.
"You're like ice," he noted, pulling out his wand he created a small ball of heat for Ria to hold, "You'll warm up soon, just eat a little more," neither noticed Madame Pomfrey smiling outside of Ria's ward, she was relieved that Ria was finally eating, she had someone who cared about her and whose tears she could not ignore.
As Ria got physically stronger, but still not strong enough to return to class, James would visit to keep her up to date with what they had been doing, late at night he would sneak her out of the hospital and into Hogsmede where they would drink butterbeer and eat copious amounts of candy from his uncles' shop. They thought they were being sneaky but Madame Pomfrey was well aware of their trysts as was Ron, who would leave out other treats for them to take.
It was their Headmasters' 100th birthday, as such, there was a big party planned for the whole school. All students were required to take ballroom dance lessons. Ria had finally returned to class just in time to take part in the dance classes. Ria stood nervously on the edge of the class, she didn't know how to dance and didn't really want to learn. Being so close to another person made her uncomfortable.
"There is no getting out of this," James grinned taking Ria's hand he pulled her into the middle of the Great Hall so he could dance with her. She hadn't realized that for the first time she didn't want to wrench her hand away from a person. She let James put one of her hands on his shoulder another in his whilst his spare hand went to her waist, "I can't dance James. I don't know what to do."
"Just follow me," he smiled down at her, "Class is about learning, remember."
"But I can't do it…" she moaned, struggling to be graceful.
"Finally something I can do that you can't," he grinned.
"There is a lot you can do that I can't," she muttered irritated, "Loser."
"Nerd," his eyes sparkled as she giggled. They were partners during class. The more they practiced the better she got, James, on the other hand, loved every moment of it, getting to hold Ria, dance close to her. It made him unbelievably happy. Whenever he saw her, be it in the library, the Great Hall or the common rooms he would force her into dancing with him. She would always push him off and storm away. But it became his game with her.
"So, who are you going to the ball with?" Louis asked his cousin, they were all discussing partners for the ball. Before James could answer Rose grinned putting her arm around Ria,
"Ria's my date."
"What?" Everyone gasped staring at the two.
"What's wrong with two best friends going together."
"Is it because you can't get a date?" Louis joked to Rose.
She scowled, " No, neither of us think it's necessary to go with a male date, we both are happy with going together as friends. Right, Ria?"
"Yes," she nodded softly.
"But you're my dance partner," James narrowed his eyes pushing Rose away as he focused on Ria.
She shrugged, "That's just class, I'm going with Rose."
"Yeah," Rose pushed James away annoyed at his earlier reaction, "Ria's my date, go find some other girl to annoy."
"You're Quidditch Captain, you'll find a lot of girls who would want to go with you," Ria said offhandedly, "You don't need to pity me."
"Hey you have the best date in the world, you've got me," Rose chuckled.
Ria nodded, "True."
"I don't want to go with anyone," James crossed his arms and sat down heavily.
Rose sniggered, "That's why Aunt Ginny is so worried about you, 6 years and no girlfriend. You know sometimes she cries because of it, her loser son."
"What?" James went red as everyone burst out laughing.
"It's true," Louis choked, "You haven't ever dated anyone, you don't even look at other girls. I bet you're too scared to talk to a girl, to ask a girl out. James Potter is afraid of girls."
"I'm not afraid of girls," he snapped, "I talk to girls."
"Other than family and the girls on the Quidditch team, you don't talk to girls," Louis explained, "All those girls you kind of have to talk to, the only one…" Louis's eyes widened suddenly James hit him,
"Shut up Weasley before I beat you up."
"You…you…you…" he pointed at James who had flushed darkly.
"Shut up," he scowled pulling out his wand.
"Let's leave these losers, we have dresses to talk about," Rose took Ria's hand and left with her.
Rose was ecstatic as she came down to the common room from the dorms, "I finally did it, I finally did it."
"Did what?" James asked lazily, they were all dressed up to go to the party, he was lying on the sofa flicking through a magazine. People had come down and left a while ago, he was waiting to see Ria but trying to disguise it with disinterest in the whole event.
"I finally made Ria take off her hood," Rose said happily, a group of girls went passed whispering about Ria. James sat up when he heard her voice,
"This is really uncomfortable."
"But you look awesome," Rose smiled brightly, "Doesn't she look amazing."
James turned around and went red, Ria was staring at the floor playing with the hem of her voluminous dress, it was strapless and fitted her body perfectly. It was a mixture of black and blue, the same black as her hair, and as she finally looked up at him, he noticed it was the same twinkling blue as her eyes. He had never seen Ria's face before, but it took his breath away. She was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on. She took one step forward and stumbled, instantly he caught her,
"It's too hard to walk in, Rose!"
"You'll get used to it, stop complaining," Rose grinned, "It's perfect you're not changing anything."
"Take my arm," James suggested his voice breaking a little, "That way you can lean on me so you won't fall."
"Thanks," she mumbled, "I just can't balance, this is too much."
He smiled proudly as they headed down the stairs, "Mummy!" Rose said excitedly, sure enough, both James' parents and Rose's parents had turned up as special guests for the Headmasters birthday party. Rose grabbed Ria's hand and led her away from James to go to her parents. It made him sad, to have her not close to him anymore.
"Let's take a picture of all of you," Hermione suggested much to Rose's happiness and the other kid's annoyance. They stood together with their respective dates apart from James, he stood a step behind Ria. Before Hermione took the photo he leaned down and whispered, "You look beautiful, nerd."
She went bright red and instinctively tried to hit him subtly but he grabbed hold of her hand intertwining their fingers together, "Loser," she muttered under her breath but not pulling her hand from his.
Just as the photo was taken James's eyes brightened cheekily he pulled Ria back away from Rose, "You're mine now," he laughed and dragged her away with him.
"James!" Rose cried out annoyed by her cousin stealing her date.
"James, James," Ria called out confused as to what was going on, "What are you doing?" He had taken her into the middle of the Great Hall, far away from everyone else.
"We are going to dance, it's a party," he explained.
"But I'm Rose's date," she argued.
He put her hands in to position, "That doesn't mean she owns you. It's just a dance, you can give me that much," he smiled at her.
"Fine," she relented. It felt different dancing with James, in that dress, feeling exposed and vulnerable, his eyes on her. Ria blushed, "Everyones staring."
"Let them stare," he whispered back to her, "I want them to be jealous that I get to dance with you."
"Why would they be jealous?" She muttered still pink.
"Because you are beautiful," he smiled twirling her around, people had begun to give them a wide berth as the two danced completely in tune with one another. It made them stop to watch in awe. As they danced, sparks flew about. It was magical in more ways than none. Before they finished James spotted Rose and his family getting closer, "Oh no party poopers are on their way," he grabbed Ria's hand and ran with her again, she was too confused to react other than follow James. They ended up at the Quidditch pitch, James took her up into the stalls, "No one will disturb us here."
"Why did we come here?" Ria was confused.
"So we can be alone," he said simply as if it was obvious. With a flick of his wand he had made a feast appear with a couple of bottles of butterbeer, he opened the bottles passing one to Ria and tapping it with his calling out cheers.
"Why do we want to be alone?" She asked still confused.
"You hate being around so many people, remember," he stuffed a sausage roll in her mouth, "Eat and stop asking so many questions." The whole time they ate he watched her, unable to look anywhere else. When they finished she expected them to leave but James just cleared up. She didn't want to annoy him with more questions but so many were bubbling in her head. He noticed her shiver so instinctively pulled off his robe and put it around her feeding her hands through it.
"I'm okay," she protested but he was insistent, "You are tiny, you get cold easily, I'm not going to have your Grandpa kill me because you got ill."
He pulled her closer his arm around her, making her rest against his chest, he put his feet up against the rail in front of them, he was so happy to have her so close to him. It was the perfect night. They watched the fireworks that were let off in celebration. The two had the perfect seats to watch the glitter across the sky. Ria jumped after one particularly loud bang.
"Are you scared of fireworks too?" He grinned, he loved that she held on to him tighter when she got scared.
"No," she scowled, "I just wasn't expecting it to be so loud."
"Yeah right," he teased her, "Your hands have gone white," he gestured to her grip on him, her fingers had gone pale, she blushed and let go about to move away from him.
"I'm not scared."
"I am," he said softly.
She frowned, "You're scared of fireworks?"
"No," he shook his head, "I'm scared of you."
"Me?" She tilted her head, curious about what James could be talking about.
He nodded, "I'm scared of the way I feel when I'm around you," Ria went pink, and quiet as she listened to James speak form his heart, "I'm scared of the way I feel when I'm not around you. I'm scared of never been able to tell you how I feel, I'm scared of telling you how I feel. I'm scared of you rejecting me, I'm scared of you accepting me. I'm scared of never seeing you again. I'm scared of you hating me. I'm scared of hurting you. I'm scared of not being enough for you. I'm scared of making you cry. I'm scared of only ever being your friend. I'm scared of not being your friend."
"You don't scare me," she mumbled, "You've never hurt me."
"I'm scared of you not forgiving me," he whispered, his smile was gone.
"What would I not forgive you for?" She asked.
He leaned in and kissed her, it started off sweet but he couldn't help but pour his emotions into it as he deepened the kiss, his hands holding her face close to him, his fingers in her hair. When he broke apart his voice soft, "I'm scared that I'm in love with you Ria."
She pulled away from him, "I should go," she turned away and ran off kicking her shoes off so it was easier to run. It wasn't hard for him to catch up he pulled her back to him,
"Ria, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have asked…"
"No, no, no," she shook her head unsure how to console James, he looked devastated, "I'm sorry, I…I'm sorry James. I…I'm sorry you feel this way about me…you shouldn't…"
"Why?" He demanded, "Why can't I feel this way? Do you care for someone else?"
"No," she shook her head.
"Then what's wrong with me?" He asked her, he needed to know what he lacked in, why couldn't he be someone she noticed.
"It's not you," she was freaking out, "It's me."
"What?" He was stumped.
"I'm unstable. I'm a weirdo, I am a loner, a freak. I don't want magic in my life, I don't want to touch a broomstick, I want to leave Hogwarts every day. I have issues. So many issues, you shouldn't care about me, I'm not worth it…"
"I love you, Ria. I have loved you for the longest time, I know what you are scared of, what you want and what you don't want. I am willing to give up everything, everything for you…"
"No, no, no," she struggled, "You can't, you shouldn't ever give up anything for anyone."
He pulled her close to him, "Then don't make me give up on you. I'm crazy about you."
"But I'm a loser," she mumbled, unwilling to fight anymore as she rested her head against his chest as he put his arms around her.
"And I'm your loser," he smiled, "I don't care what you say unless you like someone else, you're my girlfriend. You are very lucky Ria, to get such a good-looking, talented boyfriend like me."
"You're such a loser," she pushed him off of her, the two of them getting in to fight, laughing as they did so.
The two of them were the first to breakfast the next day. James was in high spirits he couldn't stop flirting with Ria, acting lovable and sweet. Ria finally frustrated grabbed hold of James' hands, "Please stop."
"I don't want to stop," he moaned, "You're my girlfriend."
"And I don't want other people to know," she replied sharply.
"Why not?" His shoulders slumped, he was looking forward to holding Ria's hand around the school, kissing her in the hallways, showing off his beloved girlfriend, he was not expecting a secretive relationship.
"Because you are you and I am me, I hate having people stare at me, expect me to be something, to do something, I don't need more of that, I want to have a quiet life at Hogwarts. You are not quiet. You are Harry Potter's son and you are the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, you are the loser, James Potter."
"I'll leave all of that to be with you," he took hold of her hands.
She let go of his hands and put hers on his cheeks, "I wouldn't want anything to change about you, just keep being you don't you dare change because of me, or I'll stop doing this," she leaned up and kissed him. It made his cheeks blush up to his ears.
"Don't stop," he mumbled.
She smiled under her hood, "Don't change, and keep your mouth shut," she patted his head and ran off before anyone else could see the two together.
James couldn't dampen his blush as he remained at the breakfast table, his friends finally coming in, "What's this?" Sam jumped down in front of James, he grabbed an apple taking a bite, "James Potter up before noon on a Sunday?"
"With a blush on his cheeks," Louis touched his cousin's cheek who batted his hand away angrily,
"Cut that out, I'm not blushing, I'm just a little hot."
Ria was studying in the library, James was practicing Quidditch. They had NEWT exams coming up, so she was focusing on that. As Ria did not do any extracurricular activities, she was ordered to mentor weaker students for their OWLs. She wasn't looking forward to it. She barely knew the boy she needed to tutor, she had no idea how to tutor. Lukas Cabott. He was another Gryffindor student who was a fourth-year like she should have been. He wasn't doing well at all in any of his OWL subjects. He was a Quidditch player, a chaser on James's team, a beloved classmate but a boy she couldn't even picture in her mind.
"Sorry I'm late," Lukas dropped down beside Ria. His hair was wet and he smelt of shampoo and soap, it was clear he had just showered.
"Lukas?" Ria tilted her head lightly, to confirm.
He grinned showing off his pearly white teeth, "Of course, don't pretend you don't know who I am."
"Uh…sorry, I'm not the best with faces. It's probably not appropriate to talk here in the library, let's go and find a classroom," she got up to leave. He ran after her to walk in step.
"Are you kidding me? You don't know who I am?" He was stunned, "I'm on the Quidditch team, I used to sit behind you in our classes during the first, second and third year. How can you not know who I am? We see each other all the time in the common room and at lunch."
She shrugged, "I told you I'm not good at faces, or names…and I've never watched any of the Quidditch matches at Hogwarts."
"How can you be at Hogwarts and not watch Quidditch?" He just didn't understand Ria at all.
"No interest," she waved her hand, "But you need to gain an interest in Charms, if you fail you'll be kicked off the team."
Lukas stared at Ria openly, this was his first time getting to interact with her, he was in awe with the way she taught, the whole time he couldn't understand how any witch could be at Hogwarts and not be into Quidditch. She was so intelligent and calm. It contrasted with his hyper excitement and made him smile. Ria, on the other hand just focused on the task at hand, she needed to teach so she could move on. They met up frequently, Lukas finding more and more excuses to be tutored by Ria, she was oblivious to his ploys and just did what she was asked to do.
The Quidditch team were all having a drink together at the Three Broomsticks, they were enjoying Butterbeer together. "Okay, okay," Sam spun the bottle on the table, "Let's see whose turn it is now."
It landed on Lukas, "Ha," Sam grinned, "Finally Cabott's turn. Truth or Dare."
"Fine," Lukas smirked, "I'll go with Truth, I have nothing to hide."
"Really," Sam's eyes darkened mischievously, "So tell us, are you harboring a crush on Ria?"
"What?" Both James and Lukas choked on their butterbeer.
"Don't lie, we can always find out if you're lying or not. I've seen you, you aren't even failing Potions or Muggle Studies. Yet, you still get her to tutor you in those subjects."
"She's a good teacher."
"Your parents are Muggles," Sam burst out laughing, "You don't need extra tutoring in Muggle Studies."
Lukas reddened, chugging down more butterbeer so he didn't have to speak, "You really have a thing for Ria?" Anna asked him curiously.
"Stop teasing the boy," James interrupted, "This game has gotten silly now."
"Fine, I give in," Lukas groaned, "It's true, I'm crazy about her. I don't know what it is, the more time I spend with her the more I want to be with her."
"Lucky you, look who just walked in," Sam pointed over at the door, sure enough, it was Ria with Rose. They were joined by Scorpius and Albus.
"By any chance is Ria dating your brother?" Sam asked James who choked on his drink for the second time,
"Ria and Albus?"
"That's what I thought, they are pretty close," Lukas said sadly, "Which is why I haven't asked her out."
"Are they dating?" Sam repeated his eyes on their captain.
"No," he answered sharply, "Al is way out of her league."
"No need to be so proud of your Potter lineage," Sam made a face.
"I mean Ria's too good for him, she's way smarter and talented than Al. He could never get her in a million years, not that I think he's even interested in her…"
"No," Lukas shook his head, "I'm pretty sure he is."
"What?" James stared at Lukas.
"I know Al wanted to ask Ria to the ball, but Rose had already declared herself Ria's date. I've overheard him talk about her many times, and you can see it, your brother is definitely infatuated with her."
"No way, he's just friendly, Ria's like family. It's because she's Rose's best friend, that's all there is," he excused himself to go to the bathroom, on his return he dropped by his brothers' table to tease Al who scowled,
"What do you want James?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to say hi," he grinned secretly passing Ria a note, "But I see I'm not wanted here, see ya losers," with that he got up to return to his table.
"What did you say? Did you tell…"Lukas panicked.
"I didn't say anything, trust me," he patted Lukas's head making him scowl, "I would never tell Ria anything like that."
James had been waiting for ages for Ria. The note he had slipped to her, he had asked her to meet him in the Gryffindor stands on the Quidditch pitch. It was a special place for him, it was where he had officially told her he was in love with her. He began to scowl, she was 2 hours late, but even then he waited.
"I'm sorry," Ria sat down beside James, "Rose and Al started fighting and it took ages to break them up and calm them down. I only just got free…" she stopped as he put his hand around hers and pulled her in for a kiss.
"What was that for?" She giggled, her eyes sparkled as she watched him.
He smiled, "I missed you."
She cuddled up against him, putting an arm around his waist, "You see me all the time."
"But I don't get to do this to you all the time," he pouted as he hugged her back not wanting to move from his hold on her, he was incredibly comfortable.
"Will you do something for me?" He played with her hair.
"Depends what it is," she answered simply, she took hold of his hand and began playing with his fingers.
He made a face, "Aren't you supposed to say, I'd do anything for you?"
Ria laughed looking up at James, "There is a lot I wouldn't do for you."
"What?" He looked crestfallen.
She reached up and touched his cheek, "But there is a lot I'd do for you, that I would never do for anyone else, like this," she kissed him making him grin.
"Good."
"Then what do you want?" She asked.
"Stop tutoring Lukas," he said to her.
Ria laughed, "Why?"
"Because, he has a crush on you," James explained.
"And..." she repeated.
He frowned, "Didn't you hear me, he has a crush on you. You, you're my girlfriend," he stressed.
"And," she shrugged as if it was nothing, "What does it matter if he does or doesn't?"
"Because I don't want any boy hanging around my girlfriend to have feelings for her."
"Why does it matter if someone has feelings for me or not? I can't control that, you can't control that," she was confused.
"It's wrong, I hate it," he argued, "Just the thought of him spending time with you, watching you, thinking about you, it makes me angry."
"James," she began holding his hand in both of hers, "Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do, I'd trust you with my life," he answered confidently, "Do you trust me?"
"More than anyone. So you don't ever need to feel jealous. There could be hundreds of guys with feelings for me, but none of that matters, because however much they like me or not, it won't ever change how I feel about you," she smiled at him brightly, "You are all I notice, you're all I'll ever notice. So trust me and ignore anything anyone else says."
"Could you stop hanging out with Al too…" James began making Ria laugh,
"Why?"
"Why does he get to spend time with you in the open when I can't? He likes you too…"
"Al is my friend," she said softly, "I won't stop hanging out with him because you get jealous."
"Has there ever been someone that you've had feelings for?" He asked her gently.
She lowered her eyes and nodded, "Once. I was in the First Year and this boy showed me a map, a magical map and an invisibility cloak, he helped me go see my Grandpa when I needed to see him the most. That same boy helped me sneak into the Headmasters office when I wanted to do something special for my Fawkes. That same boy helped me smile again, helped me eat again, helped me talk again," her cheeks were completely pink.
"I love you, you know that," he said sweetly.
She smiled her eyes still lowered as she nodded, "I'm happy with you, so don't worry about anyone else."