A/N: HEY ALL YOU FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE READING MY STORY AND NOT REVIEWING!!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Thanks for reading, it's awesome to know that even if you can't bare the thought of giving me a review you still like the story enough to read it!

Disclaimer: I made up a whole bunch of this shit, so there!

Chapter Five

Weasley War Zone

Kira glanced over at James. He was acting weird again, but then everyone in the Burrow was acting weird. James was just usually exempt from that weirdness. He was the cool one. He was the sane one surrounded by maniacs.

Kira had no idea what was going on with him and she didn't like that one bit. They were supposed to be best mates and best mates know just about everything about one another. He knew just about everything about her. The thought that he was hiding something from her irritated her to no end. And the sick thing was that she was already learning his action and reaction in whatever new funk he was in.

If she hit him, he'd grab her hand and force her to hold on to whatever part his body she'd hit. If she insulted him, he'd compliment her. If she asked what was going on with him, he'd tell he was drunk.

She had begun not to believe him about being drunk. She'd raided his dorm room during lunch just before summer break and found that James didn't have any alcohol. There weren't even bottles all over the floor and if he'd been drinking half as much as he said he was there would have been bottles all over the place. James wasn't one for cleaning up after himself. But when she raided his dorm, his bed had been neat, clothing folded and in the proper drawers.

It all made Kira's heart sink.

Her best mate was lying to her. They'd made a promise never to lie to each other back in their first year, during their first detention together. He was lying about the drinking and about why he wanted to go to bed at 12:30 am. It was way too early for either of them. To find out that he hadn't been going to bed for a shower and wank, but that he was cleaning was just disturbing. He used to be so predictable, she could guess what he was going to say or do long before he did it.

Now she felt like she barely knew the person sitting next to her. And that was depressing.

With a sigh, Kira shifted, James flinched and she'd had enough. If they were going to be strangers they might as well be strangers from across the room. She stood up and lightly brushed James' side with her hip, half hoping that he'd grab her and force her closer. He didn't and Kira sighed again. They might as well be strangers from across the house. It was time for some serious girl talk.

"Where are you going?" James asked. Kira glanced back at him. He looked upset, but for once Kira had no idea why. Bastard, she thought.

"I'm going to talk to Lily. You know, girl talk," she said. She moved to walk away.

"Oh… well, the wedding…" James stammered. Kira stopped, he sounded drunk, but she knew he wasn't. She'd been with him all day. There was no way he could have gotten wasted without her knowing.

"The wedding isn't for a few hours," she snapped. "Maybe you should go have a guy talk with Teddy. He's probably freaking out." Kira grabbed Lily and dragged her upstairs. "Which one of these rooms is your mum's? And where's Rose?"

"To hell if I know where Rose is, and it's not like we live here, I have no idea which room is my mum's," Lily mumbled. Kira stopped walking and turned to her friend.

"Okay what is with you Potters?" she demanded.

"What d'you mean?"

"First James is lying to me and now you're all mopey! I've just about had it with the lot of you." Kira pushed the nearest door open. "He tells me that he's going to bed early so he can shower and have a wank and what's he doing? He's- holy crap!"

Kira had finally turned around. She had found Ginny's old room and she'd also found Rose. Her outburst wasn't enough to get the other girl's attention and to be honest Kira couldn't blame her. It was hard to talk around one's boyfriend's tongue and it didn't look like Rose was trying. Kira didn't blame her, it was damn near impossible for her and Stephen to kiss let alone have nice long snog.

Kira could blame her for having that snog in a house filled to the brim with her manic family.

"Merlin's balls, is that what I think it is?" Lily asked.

Kira couldn't take her eyes off the couple smashed onto Ginny's tiny bed. Rose had her leg hitched up over Stephen's hip and her hands in his hair. Stephen was being a little more careful, holding himself up off her body. Kira had seen Stephen with other girls and knew that he was being much more respectful of Rose then he usually was.

"I think you know exactly what that is, Lily," Kira snorted. "I've caught you that position far too many times for you to feign any sort of innocence."

"I've never been caught in a position quite like that-"

"But you've been in a position like that," she insisted. Lily rolled her eyes and cleared her throat trying to get the couple's attention. "If our talking didn't get there attention what makes you think that will… Do you reckon you could a good impression of your uncle Ron?"

"Course I can, but I don't think it'll do any good. Rose's been pissed at him since break started," Lily said.

"Is it because he's been paying you lot to keep Stephen from doing something like that?" Kira pointed the couple.

"Kind of. He never paid me, though, I refused."

"Possibly because you wouldn't want your dad getting the same idea?" Kira surmised.

"Wouldn't matter if he did," Lily snapped. "I'm not interested in any of the blokes asking me out these days."

"Really, why?" Kira leaned against the door jam and crossed her arms.

"Okay if tell you, you have to promise me you won't tell a soul. Not even my brother," Lily said, seriously.

"That last bit won't be a problem. The bastard's been lying to me for a while now, there's no way I'll be ratting you out, least of all to him."

"Wow. You're really pissed at him, aren't you?"

"We promised each other in our first year, during our first detention together that we'd never lie to one another. And I find out that not only hasn't he been drinking-"

"Could you two close the damn door?!" Rose yelled, pulling her mouth momentarily away from her boyfriend.

"Could you be a bigger idiot?" Lily yelled back. "Uncle Ron is up here somewhere and you've got your tongue in your boyfriend's mouth. Shit, Rose. If he caught you guys, you'd be grounded for the next three years."

"Why don't you just scream a little louder, Lily," Rose snapped, pushing Stephen off of her so she could get in Lily's face. "I don't think the wizards in TAIWAN heard you!"

"What are you guys yelling about?" Ron Weasley demanded coming down the stairs. Rose quickly closed the door to Ginny's old room, blocking her father's view of Stephen who still lay haphazardly on the bed.

"Nothing, Dad," Rose said, the picture of innocence.

Kira noticed with pride that she'd removed her lipstick and purposefully styled her hair messily so that no one would notice if she had a snog. It was a trick that Kira herself had taught the young Weasley.

"I wish you wouldn't do your hair like that, Rose," he chastised lightly. "It makes you look like you've rolling round in bed or something."

The three red headed girls stared at him in silence for a moment, before Kira laughed. It was an obviously faked laugh, but fortunately the other girls were smart enough to join in before Ron realized something was up.

"We we're just having some girl talk. You know talking about lip gloss," Kira said.

"And our hair," Lily added.

"And how we all don't plan on doing anything naughty until we're married," Rose finished. Ron gave his daughter a curious look and Kira rolled her eyes. She wasn't the most tactful Weasley.

"Definitely," Kira said, coming the rescue yet again. "Nothing naughty."

"Not even kissing," Lily said, never missing a beat. Now she knew how to bull.

Ron nodded, he didn't look like he particularly believed a damn thing they had said, but conceded that he had no way of proving that they were lying. "Go find your mum, Rose," he said, finally. "You must have been wiggling because your dress is all wrinkled."

Ron went back upstairs after that. Rose let out a sigh of relief once he was out of sight and moved to open the door that was hiding Stephen. Kira stopped her before she could, listening carefully to the goings on up stairs. She let Rose open the door only after she heard Ron entire his old attic room where the men were getting ready for the wedding.

"You have to be more careful, Rose," Lily said.

"I'll thank you not to give me advice about how to deal with my boyfriend, Lily," the younger girl snapped.

"I've had plenty of boyfriends-"

"We all know that." Lily paled. "But how many of those boyfriends have lasted longer than a week? You date them, you snog them and then you dump them. What do you actually know about dating, Lily? You've only ever had relationships that last under seven days. I'd rather let Ms. I'm In Love With My Best Mate over here give me advice then you." Rose pointed an accusing finger at Kira.

"Now wait just a minute-" Kira objected.

"Well, fine then, Rose," Lily spoke over her. "Just don't come crying to me when your older man dumps you as soon as he gets bored with you like all of his other little girlfriends," Lily snapped. She stomped back down stairs leaving a very uncomfortable Kira with a glassy eyed Rose.

"Rose?" Stephen called. He was sitting on the side of the bed, fixing his dress robes and looking at her with concern gleaming in his green eyes.

Rose didn't look at him, she just grabbed Kira's arm and yanked her into the loo. She slammed the door closed and locked it before collapsing on the toilet and sobbing. Kira sighed and thought, So much for a girl talk.

---

Stephen Wood had been thrilled. He'd finally gotten his tongue in his girlfriend's mouth. It seemed like it had taken ages for him to get it there, but it had finally happened. In his good opinion it validated their relationship in a lot of ways. It meant that she was comfortable being physical with him. It meant that there was a possibility of taking things a bit further. It meant that even though their relationship was progressing slowly it was indeed progressing.

Against all odds he'd managed to actually snog his girlfriend. In a house full of her damned nosy relatives no less. She'd been far more aggressive than he ever imagined she would be and it had aroused him to no end. He'd been inclined to let her feel exactly how she was affected him, but his mother had raised him to be a gentleman and a gentleman didn't press his erection into his fourteen year old girlfriend. So he held himself up and off of her, while she tried to pull him down on top of her with a leg wrapped securely around his waist. When he'd asked her out all of ten months ago, he'd never in his wildest dreams thought that she'd be more aggressive during a snog then he was.

It just figured, she was always surprising him.

Her very existence had surprised him, in fact. Oh, he'd known that Ron and Hermione Weasley had a daughter named Rose, but he hadn't recognized the significance. Not until her book had slid across the floor and hit his foot. He found her on the other side of the hall, laid out on the floor with one of her many cousins laughing behind her, instead of doing the decent thing and helping her. Her skirt had flopped up when she fell and a sinful amount of creamy skin had been revealed for his greedy eyes. When she glanced up at him, her sparkling blue eyes were filled with contempt and embarrassment.

She was smart and witty, and he felt like an utter fool for not noticing her sooner. Stephen had had his fair share of girlfriends over his six years at Hogwarts and was sure that as a fourth year she'd seen him with plenty of those girls. He'd sat through his class after their first meeting thinking about all the ways she would no doubt reject him for his past liaisons. He'd never been subtle about his affection, however fleeting that affection was. He'd never been attracted to a girl the way he was attracted to Rose.

Stephen was sure that she felt the same as the day came to an end. He'd walked to all her classes that day and made a point of sitting next to her during dinner, instead of sitting with his Quidditch team the way he usually did. When he asked her out, he'd felt a moment of panic as she stammered and stumbled over her words. The only time a girl had ever done that after he asked her out did it because she was about to refuse. Stephen didn't know what he would have done had she refused. He probably would have kept asking her until she finally relented and complied.

He realized after she said yes that the reason she had been stammering was because she was nervous. His pretty girl was young after all and had probably lived a relatively sheltered life. No one knew for certain how many Weasleys there were and it was very likely that most of her friends were also her relatives. He realized that he was right once her family got wind of their relationship. Life got a lot harder for him after that.

On any given day, Stephen had a plethora of redheads following his every move. He knew that if he made one wrong move or looked at another girl too long, he was toast. The Weasleys weren't one of the Wizarding Worlds most respected families for nothing. They could and probably would hex the crap out of him he made a single mistake. That made life a bit more stressful than it had been before.

But Rose made him happy, so he dealt with it. The hardest thing to abide by was the veritable inability to touch his girlfriend. Touching was one of the most enjoyable parts of dating and he couldn't do that because every where they went her family was sure to go. And if he threw caution to the wind and just snogged her in the Common Room like he so desperately wanted to, he'd probably spend the next few weeks in the Hospital Wing.

It didn't help that her father was so protective of her that the first time they met, Ron Weasley threatened to send him to Azkaban for any slight infraction. Ron had been told off by his wife and his daughter mere seconds after saying so, but the horrifyingly stern look in his eyes told Stephen to take the threat seriously. And then a few minutes later he snuck into a bedroom with his girlfriend and stuck his tongue in her mouth. His father always told him he had a problem listening.

It wasn't that he didn't believe Ron, per say. Just that Rose was a lot more persuasive then her father and Stephen had promised the man that he'd make her happy. She wanted to snog, she said that snogging would make her happy. So, really he was just doing what Ron had asked, right?

Wrong.

His sweet, aggressive little girlfriend had just locked herself in the loo with Kira Fitzsimmons. Stephen knew that he could easily whip his wand out and force the door open, but his mother had slammed many a door in his father's face and she always got madder when he forced the door open. The only way to succeed in this situation was to sweet talk her into opening it for him.

He wasn't entirely sure what was wrong, but he was pretty sure that Lily had said something and Rose's reaction was to pull Kira into the loo and lock the bloody door.

He was mildly appreciative of the interruption because he didn't relish the thought of spending the rest of his life in Azkaban because Ron caught him snogging Rose. Lily and Kira had managed to pull Rose away just in time so that her father had no idea what had been going moments before.

Unfortunately Lily had spoken too quietly for him to hear. He really and truly didn't know what the problem was.

When last she spoke, she sounded mad and that didn't bode well for Stephen.

"Rose, babe?" he called. And that's when he heard it. The most heart wrenching sound any good boyfriend could ever hear. His girlfriend's sobbing.

Whatever Lily had said to Rose made her cry. Now she was locking in a loo with Kira Fitzsimmons, who was by most people's standards the worst person on the planet at consoling and Stephen, who was actually quite good at it was outside the loo fighting with his dress robes. He was looking for his wand and it seemed that his robes had eaten it.

"What're you doing?"

Stephen looked up. James was standing at the top of the stairs, looking confused. But then again James looked confused a lot lately. Whatever had been distracting the poor blighter had cost Gryffindor the cup. Stephen had every inclination to tell him to bugger off, but James had his wand in his hand and that stopped him. He needed to get through that door and since he couldn't get his wand free of his damned robes, James would have to do it.

"I'm trying to open this blasted door," Stephen snapped. "You've got your wand out, do it for me." His took on the authority of a good Quidditch captain, a tone that even James knew better than to ignore.

"You're not my Quidditch captain during the summer, Wood. So, I'm going to have to pass," James said, with his characteristic distain for authority.

"James!" Kira yelled from behind the door.

"Kira?" James looked concerned at the desperation in her voice which Stephen found odd. He'd never seen James concerned, really concerned about anything in the five years they'd known each other. He rushed to Stephen's side. "Kira, what're you doing in there? Are you all right?"

"I'm being blubbered on by one of your damned relatives! And I've forgotten my wand downstairs so I can't get out! Open the bloody door!"

It sounded like there was scuffle going on behind the door, then pounding as Kira threw herself against it in an effort to get out. James raised his wand, muttered a spell and door flew open. Kira stumbled out and into James' arms. They stared into each other's eyes, bewildered for a moment. Stephen rolled his eyes. They were both so clueless, especially about each other.

Stephen pushed past them towards Rose. She was curled up in a ball on the toilet with tears streaming down her cheeks. He knelt down in front of her and wiped the tears away, muttering about how it was all going to be okay and how there was nothing to cry about. Unfortunately everything he said seemed to make her cry harder.

"Kira?" Stephen froze. He knew that voice. "What're you doing out in the hall with James?" That voice meant that he was about to be in big trouble if Rose didn't stop crying right away. "You just told me that you girls were going to have a girl talk."

Kira fumbled over her answer trying, he was sure, to give him more time to calm Rose down. "Please, Rose," he whispered. "Don't cry. Everything will be all right, you'll see."

"Why is Rose crying?!" Ron had finally gotten past Kira and James. Stephen hung his head, he would never get on his girlfriend's father's good side now. He was doomed to an eternity of not touching her because now her father was never going tell her cousins to lay off.

"Kira and I were snogging!" James yelled all of the sudden.

Ron stopped half way over to Stephen and Rose, frozen in shock. Both Stephen and Rose were staring over at Kira and James, also in shock. And Kira was staring at James wide eyed, mouth agape. Ron turned back to his nephew and shook his head.

"How does that explain why Rose was crying?" he asked. James was clearly trying to save Stephen some grief by lying, but of all the lies to tell his uncle how the hell had he come up with that one?!

"Kira and I were snogging in the loo," James began. He glanced at Kira, who still seemed too shocked to do anything more than stare at her friend. "And Wood being the upstanding, responsible and mature bloke that he is told us off for it."

"That's right," Kira said, finally unfreezing. "Stephen and Rose were having a completely platonic conversation and came upon James and I……"

"Snogging," James offered, Kira nodded.

"Rose was so surprised that we were……"

"Snogging," James said, again.

"That she stubbed her toe real bad and started to cry," Kira finished, somehow managing the whole lie with a straight face.

Ron stared at them for a second before turning back to his daughter. Rose had begun rubbing her big toe, in an effort to make the lie seem more believable.

She was doing a really good job acting like she was in physical pain and Stephen wondered idly how often Rose lied to her father. He was very protective of her and that probably put a huge strain on what Rose felt she could do. Perhaps doing things like snogging her boyfriend in her aunt's old bedroom and then lying to cover it up was the only Rose could do anything her father might disapprove of.

"Is that what happened, Rose?" Ron asked. He obviously trusted his daughter not to lie to him.

"Yes, Dad," she said, showing no trace of the lie on her face. "Stephen was just rubbing my toes when you came in."

Ron nodded and Stephen felt slightly bad for the guy. He just wanted what was best for his daughter. Was it really right for her playing him like a fool? Stephen just wanted what was best for Rose too, but he was willing to let her decide what she felt was best. That made all the difference in Stephen's mind and was the only reason he didn't speak up.

He would try to convince Rose to tell the truth eventually. Perhaps his efforts to improve Ron's relationship with his daughter would keep the Auror from sending him to jail for snogging the aforementioned daughter. Stephen could hope.

"When were you two snogging and why didn't I see Wood when I was down here a few minutes ago?" Ron asked.

He just wasn't going to make this easy.

"Stephen was in Ginny's bedroom, where Rose and he were talking," Kira said. Damn that girl is good at bull shitting, Stephen thought.

"James came up shortly after you went back upstairs." It is really no wonder, Stephen thought, that Ron believes her. She spoke so clearly and eloquently that it sounded like she believed herself.

"She didn't want you to see him in Ginny's room because she was sure that you'd make the wrong assumption."

Ron nodded again, this time he looked like he believed her. "Rose, go find your mum. She'll get the winkles out of your dress and make your toe feel better." Rose got up and made a show of limping out of the loo.

"Wood you should spend some time straightening your robes, you look a bloody mess." Stephen stood up and did as he was told. "James, I have to say I'm disappointed in you." James gave his uncle a guilty look, but not for the reason Ron thought. "You've known Kira for years and you couldn't dignify your first snog with the girl by doing it somewhere nicer? Your father will hear about this young man and I can promise you, he won't be happy with you. Not get out of here, both of you."

Stephen watched the retreating backs of the two fifteen year olds that had just saved his ass and sighed. He'd have to do something to pay them back because they were never going to live that lie down. Not unless they made it true.