James sighed happily as he sat under the shimmering ceiling of the Great Hall. There had been a noticeable change in him over the past two weeks but being back at Hogwarts made him feel at ease. He smirked at Freddie and Jake who were goofing off across from him and turned to look at the Sorting. That's when his eyes caught hers.

Crap.

Emily.

After meeting the mystery girl, the thoughts of his ex-girlfriend had completely left his mind. But now, as she was smiling at him hesitantly all the old feelings came rushing back.

Anger.

Pain.

Betrayal.

Emily had been the first girl that he could see himself with for a long time. He had known her for a while because she was Rose's best friend, and when he had pursued her no one had been as happy as Rose. She knew that James's feelings were genuine and that he would treat her best friend right.

Unfortunately, it was Emily that she needed to worry about. Three weeks before his sixth year and her fifth year had ended, James had caught Emily in a broom closet with a Ravenclaw in her year. She had begged him to forgive her and take her back but he had held firm.

He also didn't tell anyone but Teddy, Freddie, and Jake what had happened. Rose was one of his closest cousins and he knew that if he told her what had truly happened she would be crushed. Rather than reveal the incident, James simply told her that he had lost interest. It had caused some friction over the summer but things were slowly getting back to normal between them.

As James stared at Emily's face, he realized that all the feelings that he had for her before were gone. He no longer felt sad that he had lost her. After all, the only girl that dominated his dreams these days was one that he didn't even know the name of.

After the Sorting finished, dinner was served. James felt as though got back into his groove as he ate and laughed with his cousins and his other best friend, Sam Wood. As dinner was winding down, his sister walked up to him.

"Hey Lil," James said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Jay, we still going after dinner right?" she asked.

"It's tradition," he replied with his trademark smirk.

The tradition had started when Victoire had come to Hogwarts. Her and Teddy would sneak off to the kitchens and then the Room of Requirement after every Sorting. It would just be a time when they could talk and hang out before the bustle of the school year had started.

As the years went on and more and more cousins came, the meetings grew larger and basically became a party. At school, all of them had separate groups of friends and this was a time that was strictly for family. The one and only rule was no outsiders allowed.

James and Jake snuck down to the kitchens to grab some food and drinks while the rest of the family headed towards the Room of Requirement.

After all the supplies had been set up, James stood in front of his family along with Dom, Freddie, and Jake.

"As you guys know this is our last year," Dom started.

"We obviously want this tradition to continue and Albus and Rose, after we leave it's up to you to organize it next year," Jake said.

The two mentioned smiled and nodded. The rest of the night was spent in a blur as they talked and laughed with each other.

James sighed, content. These were the times that he enjoyed the most. Without having to worry about the future or school, he could just sit and talk to all the people that he was closest to.

"We should get going," Hugo said, checking his watch. It was nearly midnight.

They quietly walked towards the Gryffindor common room, leaving Lucy at the Hufflepuff entrance.

"Shhhh," Lily said, giggling as they gave the password to the Fat Lady.

They walked in and Dom noticed a girl standing between the two staircases.

"Hey, do you need some help?" she asked. All the others looked at each other and shrugged. Who could possibly be up at this hour? And why were they standing there as if they didn't know what to do?

The girl started to turn. "Yeah, I was just wondering-" She stopped short of what she was about to say and stared.

They all followed her line of sight and saw she was staring straight at James, who was staring right back. Suddenly, her face broke into a brilliant smile.

"Party-crasher."

Kat paced the floor as she glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the past five minutes.

Where was he? Did he know how late it was getting? It had taken her a couple hours to get everything together, call her dad, feed the dog, and make sure Chuck would be okay by himself, but the stupid brother that was supposed to get transportation was nowhere to be found.

The clock was reaching 11:30. After finding out that she had to be at school that day, Kat had quickly taken a train to Diagon Alley. She had gotten her books and supplies but her robes would have to be delivered the next day.

Chuck had also come with her but he said that he would meet her back at home.

"Where are you?" she muttered under her breath.

Finally, she heard the elevator ding.

"Chuck! Did you get it?" she asked.

Chuck pulled out the bag of Floo powder. Kat grinned and took it from him.

"I can take it from here," she said, but Chuck pulled her back and gave her a hug.

"I'll miss you. Be safe," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"I'll miss you too," she replied softly.

Then she quickly rushed into her room and brought out her trunk. As she got in the fireplace she raised her hand to wave.

"I'll write as soon as I can. Love you!"

And then she was gone. She appeared in an office and seated at the desk was the Headmistress.

"Ms. Bass, we were wondering were you had gotten off too," Minerva McGonagall said, peering over her glasses.

"I'm really sorry, Professor, there was a mixup with the dates, and my stupid brother didn't know how to get me here. I'm sorry," Kat said, hoping she wasn't in too much trouble.

"No matter, now why don't you put on the Sorting Hat so we can all go to sleep."

The hat covered her eyes and Kat jumped a little when it began to speak.

Ah. An interesting mind. Sneaky and cunning but also brave and loyal. Both the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin would be favorable. Which do you prefer?

Well, Kat thought, I feel crazy for even talking to a hat but whichever you think is best.

I know just the one. GRYFFINDOR!

When McGonagall pulled off the hat, she was smiling.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Here are the directions for the Gryffindor tower, and you can pick up your schedule in the Great Hall tomorrow morning. Off to bed!"

Kat walked down the long halls, hoping that she was in the right place. When she finally saw the portrait of the Fat Lady she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't be wandering a huge castle for hours.

As she stepped inside, she felt instantly at home. The warm colors and burning fireplace reminded her of a cozy setting and all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. She looked at one staircase and then noticed there was an exact replica on the other side.

Shit.

One was obviously the boys and the other was obviously the girls.

Right.

No, left.

Right.

Left.

Couch tonight?

Then a voice cut through her ramblings.

"Hey, do you need some help?" a female voice said from behind her.

Thank god.

"Yeah, I was just wondering-" she said, turning. And then she froze.

She felt as though her breath was knocked right out of her. Because right in front of her was the man that had been in her dreams for the past two weeks. It couldn't be real. But it was. There he was. With his crazy hair and handsome face.

Kat felt her lips turn up into a smile automatically.

"Party-crasher," she breathed, knowing in that moment her life just changed.