The rest of the holidays went by at a better pace. I was a lot happier now that Adam had returned to my life. He was truly my family, and I hadn't realized how much I had missed him. Things felt like they were so much better too. He was being the happy, kind guy that I had fallen in love with.
The meeting at St. Mungo's went really well too. Hermione and I sold the Sedation Serum formula to the hospital for a thousand galleons each, and we would continue to receive money for as long as the potion was successful in use at the hospital and in potions books. I felt really satisfied with our work. I knew that this would help me get a job after Hogwarts. This was something that was so rare, some of my future bosses wouldn't be able to cite it on their resumes. It had basically made my future.
Dad seemed really happy. It felt so great to hear him say the words "Your mother would be so proud," as we walked out of St. Mungo's. For some reason, I knew I would be back soon.
But hearing that my mother would have been proud of me was such a fantastic feeling. A lot of time, I found it hard to miss my mother. I had no memories of her, so she was more of an abstract figure to me. That didn't mean what he said didn't hold a lot of meaning to me
I went home that night and stared at the only photo I had of my mother and I. It was my second birthday, and she was helping me blow out candles on my cake. My hair was still very red then, but it matched her hair. She was really pretty, with super pale skin and freckles and red hair. I didn't look all that much like her. My hair had gotten darker was was definitely more of a chestnut color now. We had similar eyes, though mine were darker as well. And my skin was still light, but you couldn't see my veins or anything. I had Dad's nose and chin, though.
Soon, school was back in session. Winter was my favorite season, because it was just so beautiful out, and we were all busy with school work, but everyone was generally happy.
I was happy, because Adam and I were getting along really well. Everything seemed to be perfect. I didn't feel any of the flaws that had been there before still existed. Hermione was happy because Ron had broken up with his girlfriend and was single. However, she didn't seem to want to do all that much about it. She didn't want to ask him out for a date or anything, so I didn't know how to help her there. But she was happy, and Ron and Harry seemed like they were doing okay, so that was good. Everyone was doing pretty well, so it was a peaceful time.
During one of my free times that Adam had class, I was walking around the third floor. I was looking for somewhere to study where I could watch the snow fall, so it had to be an empty classroom. I finally found one, but it was occupied
"Hello?" I asked, leaning against the doorway. Harry Potter sat on the far side of the room. To me, it was peculiar that he was alone. I wasn't sure I had ever seen him completely alone like this before.
"Hey Kat," he said. He didn't seem very happy, so for a few seconds I was conflicted. Should I really be in here if he was in a bad mood? Obviously, he wanted to be left alone.
"Do you mind if I work in here?" I asked him.
"Not at all," he said. He moved his stuff so I could sit next to him, so I felt better about stealing his alone time from him. I saw that he was working on an essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Snape's a hard teacher," I commented.
"Yeah," he said. "He's..." he just shook his head. "Very... something."
I took that as a sign that he just wanted some silence, which was fine by me. I took out my work for a Potions essay that was due in a few days, and got started on it. I watched many fat snowflakes drift past me from outside the glass, and admired the beauty in between paragraphs of my paper.
I glanced up, and saw that Harry was watching some people outside. I craned my neck, and was pretty sure I recognized Ginny Weasley and some of her friends having a snowball fight on their way back from one of the greenhouses.
"Is that Ginny Weasley?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Yes," he said. He didn't look like he was going to elaborate, so I went back to work on my paper. If I kept working at this rate, it would be done in no time.
I ended up finishing a pot of ink, and hadn't thought to bring another with me. I looked up at Harry, wondering if we were good enough friends that he would allow me to borrow some from him. His eyes were still fixed on Ginny outside.
"Do you fancy her?" I asked him, rather frankly. Of course, he had no obligation to answer me, but I was curious.
He looked at me, and the look I saw in his eyes was surprise. It was almost as if he had forgotten I was sitting next to him. "Er..." he trailed off, but looked down.
I was pretty sure that meant yes. "Aren't you both single?"
"Well, yeah..." he said. "We are. But I didn't say I fancy her."
"Oh?" I asked. I just looked him in the eyes, but he was weaker.
"Okay, maybe I do... a little. But it's not really anyone's business other than mine, because we're not going to be together, and therefore it doesn't matter at all."
"Why can't you be with her?" I asked. I was seriously confused. I didn't think she was out of his league at all. "Is it some best friend's sister thing?"
He shook his head, but it was half-heartedly. "Just... it's complicated," he said "I can't explain it to you, Kat, I'm sorry."
I guessed it was some 'Chosen One' nonsense, but really, unless there was something huge going on, I had no reason to believe they couldn't be together. He was being stubborn and a little bit insane. "All right," I sighed.
"It's too complicated. Believe me, if I could, I would."
"Then why don't you?" I asked him. "I mean, really, how bad could it be? I think you'd be a great couple, even if I don't know either of you very well. And so what if she's Ron's sister, I think it would still be good for both of you! Give you a reason to smile, you know?"
He shrugged. "Maybe," he said. But it didn't sound very convincing. It was more of his way of trying to shut me up, I could tell. However, I was more stubborn than he was.
"Or you could just continue to sit there, feeling alone, and stare at her from up here," I said.
He looked up at me. "Yeah, I think I'll do that." he said.
"You are a stubborn, stubborn bloke," I told him. We held a staring contest for a moment, and I won.
"Could say the same thing about you," he said. But he had already looked down and returned to working on his homework.
"Minus the bloke bit!" I complained. We both laughed, because it was a little bit funny. I was glad there was a lighter, high note to our conversation.
Classes had started to be let out, and people were walking in the hallway. I looked up to see Adam standing in the doorway. "Hey!" I said, surprised to see him there.
"Hi," he said. He didn't sound very happy, so I got worried.
I gathered my things back into my bad, and stood up. "I"ll see you later, Harry," I said, walking confidently towards Adam. I figured if I was in a good mood, it might rub off on him. I grabbed his arm, and pulled him downstairs with me.
"How was your day?" I asked him.
He just shrugged. "Why were you alone with him?"
Was he jealous? That was ridiculous, we were just friends. Even calling us friends was a bit of a stretch. "Why does it matter?" I asked, a little upset.
"Well, why would I be supportive of my girlfriend hanging out alone with other blokes?" he asked.
"Bloke. As in one," I corrected. "And I was giving him relationship advice for someone else, you git."
"Oh," he said, stopping. The frustration and anger that were previously so evident on his face melted away. "Who?"
"Guess," I said. I thought this might be fun.
"I don't want to guess, Kat. Just tell me," he said. His voice didn't sound like it wanted to be messed with. I rea;ly, truly loved him, but sometimes he was just no fun at all.
"Ginny," I said, quietly.
"Oooh," he said, dramatically. "Well, that's interesting. Romance on the Quidditch pitch. I would be willing to bet money they won't last- Quidditch romances never do. Speaking of Quidditch, we're playing Gryffindor in the next game, even though it's not for another six weeks."
"That's exciting," I told him.
"Alex Sturgeon is coming to check me out," he told me, loads of excitement in his voice. Alex Sturgeon was the top recruiter for Quidditch. If he liked the way that Adam played, Adam would have a guarenteed career. And since he had no other options lined up for him at this point, he would have to play really well in the next match.
"Congratulations," I told him. I leaned up on my tip toes to kiss him, letting him know how proud I was of him.
"Thanks," he grinned. I was right, going into the situation this afternoon while projecting a happy mood had been contagious, and he was now smiling with me. It seemed to me like it had been a crisis averted.
A few more weeks passed, and winter was fading. We hadn't had a real snow storm in a few weeks and patches of green and brown were starting to reveal themselves under the snowy covering. I hated the transition from winter to spring, since it wasn't very nice to look at.
However, it did mean my birthday was coming up. Every year, on the twentieth day of March, I turned one year older. This year, it was on a Tuesday, which meant that the celebration was limited, however, there would still be some sort of party. And the following weekend I would be able to go get my Apparition license. I knew I would pass, so I wasn't too worried. It would make things so much more convenient this summer, because Adam would have a flat and I would be able to get there any time I wanted.
This summer... I thought towards summer with a fond feeling. This summer was going to be fantastic. I would be able to use magic and Apparate, so I could see Adam whenever I wanted. We would definitely use that to our advantage. Maybe he would be signed to a Quidditch team by then, and I could go watch him practice. I would definitely be a proud girlfriend.
But first I had to think about my birthday. I never had any idea what I wanted to get for my birthday. I usually ended up getting money from people and then spending it when I needed money. But I was kind of sick of that. I had my own money, sitting in Gringotts after I had made the deal with St. Mungo's. Although I wouldn't tell anyone, I wanted more thoughtful gifts this year.
And I ended up receiving the perfect things. Adam had gotten me a journal. It was a really nice one, too. I had never kept a journal before, but this one was so nice, it called to be filled with my story. It was a nice, soft brown leather journal, and the pages were clean and crisp. But I decided I would wait to fill it up until something exciting happened. Right now, my life was boring and stable. I wouldn't have a lot to write about.
Maybe next year would be more exciting. I would be trying to secure work for after graduation, and that would be a lot more interesting than me writing about my current, monotonous routine.
Author's Note: Here's another chapter :) Thanks to potter-reading-coastie for beta-ing. He's done as my beta now, but managed to do a few chapters before he left. Let me know what you think :)