Chapter Four: The Beauxbatons Girl

So sorry I updated a little late.

Computer monitor got broken.

Had to rewrite this chapter.

Thanks for those who reviewed.

James has not yet forgotten the conversation - that is, if you can call it that - he had with his parents during dinner last night. He's going to give his Dad time to "get ready" to tell him whatever it is that Harry's been keeping as secret. He's not going to surrender especially because he knows that it is something huge. He is aware that everybody knows that secret. Which means it isn't a secret after all. (Except to them.)

"Your Dad's awesome!" someone had told him at Hogwarts.

And then when he asked why, the answer was, "You don't know? Well, I don't think it's my place to tell you."

He had never given it much thought - until that day when he saw the scar for the millionth time, finally realizing that there is something.

It is Dominique's seventeenth birthday, and it's a beach party. The location is, of course, on the shore near the Shell Cottage. It looks like a family reunion. Everybody is present. Bill is roasting a couple of barbecues, Fleur is slicing the huge violet cake and her sister Gabrielle is serving some to the visitors. Her parents are chatting with Bill's parents at one of the picnic tables. The adults (Charlie, Percy, Audrey, George, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny) are talking to each other and at the same time, watching out for the kids (Lucy, Rose, Hugo, Albus and Lily) play and waddle on the sea, making sure they won't swim too far. Roxanne and Molly are talking somewhere. James is with Fred and Louis, of course. Louis is lying on and covered with sand from shoulder to feet. Teddy and Victoire are together. Dominique is with two of her invited Beauxbatons friends.

As Teddy and Victoire pass by James, Louis and Fred, James asks, "Where are you going?"

Teddy frowns, impatient.

"None of your business."

Both Fred and James grins. Louis is too busy spitting the bits of sand that's coming to his mouth to care.

While they watch Ted and Victoire going on with their walk, Fred whispers, "We could follow them."

"Okay!"

"Hey! Don't leave me here!" Louis shouts, trying in vain to get the heap of sand off him.

James and Fred quietly and carefully follow Teddy and Victoire. Luckily enough, they don't seem to notice that there are people following them. Finally, the couple duck behind a large rock. James and Fred hide behind some of the smaller rocks on a slightly elevated ground, overlooking the place where Teddy and Victoire were. It is enough for the two of them to see that the lovers had prepared their own picnic, with a blanket they can sit on.

They're just talking, sitting next to each other and holding hands. It's just like that for a couple of minutes that Fred and James are starting to get bored. Then when they are about to go away, they see Ted's face starting to get closer to Victoire's. Closer...closer...closer...

"Hey."

James jumps at the sound of the voice, but Fred didn't seem to hear it. James turns to the sound to find a girl standing behind the two of them. The girl's smiling, her cheeks dimpling. But it isn't what made James's breath catch. It's her eyes. The color violet. A very rare eye color, and it's so beautiful that James can't take his eyes off it.

The girl sighs as she realize what James is doing.

"I get that all the time."

James hears her voice and uncomfortably shifts his eyes away.

"Hi, I'm Jian," the girl says.

"James."

"What are you two doing?"

James looks at Fred and nudges him.

Jian leans to the side and takes a look at Teddy and Victoire.

"Spying?" She raises both her eyebrows.

James rubs his head.

Jian shrugs.

"It's okay," she says with a pleasant smile. "I do it all the time."

"You do?"

She nods.

"My sister's annoying sometimes so I spy on her when she's with her boyfriend."

James grins.

"Looks like we're on the same page."

Jian smiles. She doesn't seem to stop smiling, James thinks.

After a long, interesting moment, Fred feigns a cough.

"Oh. Jian, this is Fred. Fred - Jian."

"Hi, Fred." Jian and Fred shake hands.

"Erm..." Jian looks at Teddy and Victoire again. They are back to sitting, talking and holding hands.

"They're boring," Fred says. "Let's head back."

Jian hesitates.

"You go ahead. I wanted to walk on the shore for a while, that's why I wandered away."

"Wait, I've got an idea," Fred says suddenly, a mischievous smile stretching on his face. "James will go with you."

"What?" James gives Fred a murderous look.

Fred flashes him a meaningful look. "You will, right?" Then he turns to Jian. "It's lonely to walk alone."

"I'm fine. It's okay if James doesn't want to."

"No," James hastily says. "I'll...erm...I'll go with you."

Fred grins in secret delight.

"Great. Well, excuse me. Louis needs rescue."

Jian waves at him as he walks away. When he's gone, she looks at James.

"Shall we?"

James nods.

As they start walking, they both slip their hands in the pocket of each of their pants. For a while, they just walk in silence, with James stealing glances at Jian.

"So you study at Beauxbatons?" James asks, shattering the ice of silence.

"Yeah." Jian smooths her curly black hair, then gathers them to one side of her face. "And I take it you study at Hogwarts?"

"That's right." James looks at her curiously. She isn't French, James concludes. She has no accent. Just sweetness and softness in the way she speaks.

Jian stops walking.

"Can we sit down for a while?"

"Sure."

As Jian's about to sit, James holds her elbow, stopping her.

"What?"

"It's wet," James points out, shrugging off of his jacket and placing it on the shore.

"Ooh, what a gentleman," Jian comments, sitting down on the jacket. James sits next to her.

"I hate it," Jian continues earnestly.

"You do?" James frowns.

Jian begins to laugh and James heaves a sigh of relief.

"I'm just kidding," she says. "You should've seen your face."

James rolls his eyes.

"Seriously, who doesn't want a gentleman?" Jian adds, watching the ocean now.

After a moment:

"Tell me what you're thinking."

"Why?" James asks.

"Because I want to know." Jian shrugs. "And besides, people always think deep thoughts when they're near an ocean."

James smiles.

"I'm really just thinking that I want to know more about you," he admits.

"Really?"

"Really. Will you tell me more about yourself?"

Jian sighs.

"Okay. Er... I'm Jian Parker. I've just turned thirteen last June thirty. I have a sister, Aimi, and she's seventeen. We live in France with Mum and Dad. Well, originally, we came from New York - in Manhattan - which would explain the accent, or lack of it. But anyway, my parents decided to transfer to France four years ago. And that's where we live since then."

"Anything else you can tell? Like the things you love."

"Art - although I'm a terrible artist. I just love looking at paintings. And their colors! I love colorful things."

"Can you paint?"

Jian laughs.

"Not at all. I can't even sketch or draw a simple butterfly properly. How about you? Can you paint?"

"Well... only if I use magic."

"But without it?"

"I'm afraid I can't."

Jian nods understandingly.

"Hey, wait! There's still one more thing I love doing."

"What?"

"Quidditch."

James looks at her with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I play Chaser at school."

"That's awesome. I play Keeper."

"Well, we may have a lot of things in common than I thought."

"And I never would have thought that a girl that has mysterious eyes and a soft voice could be as outspoken and outgoing as you are."

Jian rolls her eyes.

"Can you do me a favor?" James says, smiling slightly.

"What?"

"Will you give me your hand?"

Jian fakes a frown and look down at the hands on her lap.

"I don't know if I can take it off."

James sighs and reaches for her hands. He cups them in his.

"I just wanted to see if your skin is as soft as your voice," James explains innocently.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Is it?"

James pretends to scoff.

"You've got the roughest and most calloused hands I have ever touched."

Jian smiles at his answer. Somehow, what he said contradicts the fact that he still won't let go of her hands.

There. Done, at last. Please REVIEW! thank you.

Sneak peek:

With the help of Jian, Harry learns HALF the truth.