Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter- JK Rowling

A/N: Alright, I get it, no one wants to write a review. I'll stop asking so you may keep on enjoying or hating Knight Bus (I don't know which one because, you know... no reviews). So here's chapter six, I thought it was a little rushed but dunno.

I woke up the next day with a big smile on my face. The day before had been had been great, despite the little snag with Stan's father. We had come home to find Abby and Mrs. Shunpike had gone shopping. It was surprising that we made it for more than 5 minutes before giggling. It seemed that everything I said or everything Stan did was hilarious. Stan's mother and sister had come home to find us on the floor with tears rolling down our eyes, from the latest corny joke I had said. Stan went to work when his family came home and worked until dinner. I occupied myself with a game of exploding snap with Abby, which she was unsurprisingly good at. Stan decided not to tell his mom about his visit to his dad's and I couldn't say I disagreed. Eventually he would tell her and his siblings would go over to spend time with their dad. I crossed my fingers that Mr. Shunpike felt bad about not seeing his kids and paid Maddie and Tyler's Hogwarts expenses. They would mean Stan wouldn't have to pay for them and he could save up for something he wanted… like maybe his own house… or a diamond ring with my name on it. I blushed deep red at just the thought. You're just friends, I reminded myself. I should tell him I would be perfectly fine dating him, I thought. My mother's voice had been extremely quieter when I was with Stan now, although still audible. But now whenever I looked at Stan, all I could hear in my head was You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates. By no means was I in love, not in the slightest. Love takes years of trust and companionship to build up. A little voice in the back of my head said, "You've known each other 8 years." I buried my face in the pillow. I heard a chuckle and I turned to my right. Stan was watching me intently with a smile on his face.

"You have the weirdest expressions. I can only imagine what you're thinking," he smiled at me. He walked into his room and went to the closet beside the bed. After two weeks of living in the same room, Stan's things and mine were barely differential. My shoes were placed next to his at the edge of the bed. My jacket hung over his on the peg on his door. As Stan opened the door to the closet I could see our clothes mixed together. Every now and then I would wear one of his shirts on days when we stayed close to the house. "Sorry to disappoint but Mum is gone today." He turned to me with a shirt in his hands. "She's gone to Hogwarts, Tyler had an accident after he fell off his broom during a quidditch match. It was pretty serious but he's alright now," He said and the smile wiped off of his face. I gasped. "Mum was in hysterics when she got the owl. I'm surprised she didn't wake you up. She was bawling enough tears to fill the Atlantic Ocean. But since Mum's not here we've got to take care of Abby and no matter how fun it seems I think Mum would kill me if she came home to find us playing quidditch. I say we not push it," He laughed sadly. Poor Tyler! I hadn't met him personally but I had heard enough from Mrs. Shunpike, Abby and Stan to make me feel like we were already friends. Tyler, a Slytherin, was 15 and as Stan said "the daredevil of the family," or as Abby put it "The Stupid One." I giggled at the memory of Abby's face when I had asked about him. Stan stripped down in front of me, taking his time pulling the shirt off of his scarred frame, and I turned away blushing. I hope this wasn't becoming a habit- what bullshit, I loved every moment of this. I peeked over my shoulder at Stan's chiseled chest and broad shoulders, before I could help it a sigh escaped my mouth. Stan looked over to me before I could whip my head in the other direction and smiled. "You like what you see?" He flexed his arms, he even went as far as to kiss his left arm, and I laughed.

"Don't count on it," I said grabbing my clothes and heading towards the bathroom. Once I was dressed I headed downstairs to find Abby munching on Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans. She slipped a rancid white colored one into her mouth not actually looking at it. She chewed it twice before her eyes got wide and she spit it out into her hand.

"Gross! Rotten Milk!" She said getting up and throwing the half chewed bean into the trashcan.

"Hey Abby." I said taking a seat next to her on the loveseat when she had returned. "What do you want to do today?" I asked and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I was thinking we could play quidditch and then some gobstones," She said in a bored tone. I cringed.

"Maybe quidditch isn't the best idea right now," I said trying to look anywhere but her disappointed face. As if on cue, Stan came down the stairs and saw us. He quickly walked over and sat down beside me, squeezing me into Abby and Abby into the couch.

"This is a loveseat, Stan. So, do you know what that means? It means there's only supposed to be two people on here. Let's count together. How many people are on the loveseat? 1…2…3…" I said as if talking to a kindergartener. I laughed at my own cleverness though he frowned. He appeared as if he hadn't heard me and handed me a piece of paper.

"I just got an owl from him. Read what it says." He said, his voice clearly showing disgust. I made out the crisp clean writing.

Dear Stan,

I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't realize. Please forgive me. To make it up, I bought you some quidditch tickets. I knew what a big fan you were of the sport as a child. I've included tickets for you, your girlfriend, Abby and your mother.

Sincerely,

Your Father

I could actually picture Sunny breathing down his throat to send his son a letter. How did he even buy tickets? It was for a magical sport wasn't it? I looked over at Stan to see what he thought of all this. He just looked at me as if it was my choice to decide how he felt. Abby, who had been reading over my shoulder, gasped in shock.

"You saw Dad?" She questioned her older brother. He hung his head in guilt and looked away.

"What day are the tickets for?" I asked indifferently. Stan handed me 4 slips of laminated paper as 3-D holographic displays of Puddlemere United and the Chudley Cannons swam in front of our eyes obviously from a previous game, I could only make out flashes of oranges and blue as the players quickly swept on their brooms.

"Come and see Puddlemere United versus the Chudley Cannons today at 11 am." A booming voice coming from the tickets said. I glanced at my watch. It was 9 am.

"We could go, I know you two want to." He stopped and then took in a breath as a confused look crossed his face. "But if we went to the game wouldn't that mean I forgive him?" Stan asked me. Abby shook her head before I had time to respond.

"No! He just wants us to have a good time! He seems like a nice bloke though, doesn't he? We should go! We should!" Abby said talking fast. In an afterthought she added, "Can you introduce to me sometime, Stan?" Abby's eyes were so wide that they looked they would pop out of their sockets if they had the chance. I remembered that Abby had only known her father until she was three months old. I had to choke back tears. This poor girl has never met her father. She had to ask to be introduced! Stan seemed to be thinking the same thing and nodded slowly. He looked sadly down at her and ruffled his baby sister's hair.

We flooed to the stadium at 10, an hour later. We wanted to be early enough to find our seats in the unfamiliar stadium. I was bubbling with excited; I had never been to a professional quidditch match, although I had been to one baseball game with my mother. We had gotten the tickets free and even then we left in the 2nd inning. I had spent 4 years watching quidditch at school to get the hang of it. The last two of those years were spent plucking up the courage to finally try out. Stan however looked like he had been to dozens of professional games. He briskly and easily moved through the crowd and we found our seats in less than 15 minutes. Abby and I stared in shock at everything, from the vendors floating overhead to the cannons bursting loudly down on the field. Everyone was talking so loudly, I could barely hear what Abby was chatting so animatedly about next to me. Our seats were pretty close to the field and I was glad that we had a good view. Stan father must have spent a good amount of money on these seats to get us this close to the pitch. The game started a while afterward and Abby and I couldn't take our eyes off of the players. We sat on the edge of our seats as our eyes searched the sky above but even then I could only see flashes of blue and orange. I heard the occasion "20 points to Puddlemere" from an announcer, obviously using the Sonorus spell. Abby and I both cheered when ever a score was called out, not caring which team it was. Stan wasn't really watching the game but instead Abby and my reactions. I would hear him chuckle after I would let out a rather loud whoop, or snort when Abby starting chanting, "Go, Fight, Win!" After a while, my neck began to cramp from looking up for such a long time, I stretched spied a vendor selling hotdogs passing by our row. I called him over loudly. I was in such a euphoric mood, I gladly paid the extra money to get Abby, Stan and I all hotdogs, not caring that I had just spent 20 dollars for crappy tasting sausages. By the time we finished eating both Stan and Abby had ketchup framing their mouths. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I took out my wand and said a cleaning charm and they were both sanitized, their trophies wiped off their grinning faces. I smiled to myself at my fine work. By then the Chudley Cannons were losing by a whooping 320- 0. Abby got particularly motivated then and we both cheered for the underdogs, the Chudley Cannons.

"Go Cannons!" We both screamed until our voices grew hoarse. So maybe we didn't know who played on their team, but it was the enthusiasm that counts, right? After an hour or so, Benjy Williams spied and dived for the snitch with Galvin Gudgeon on his heels. I sucked in my breath and heard Abby do the same. I tried ignored the chuckle coming from Stan's direction and I slid so far to the edge of my seat I almost fell off. Williams caught the snitch in the end and Puddlemere United won by a whopping 470-20.

"That was so exciting!" I squealed to Abby and she nodded in agreement. "I was really hoping that the Chudley Cannons would win though." A red headed man passing by stopped in the aisle and looked at me for some seconds, nodding hyperactively.

"You and me both! I thought this time they were really going to win." He said exasperatedly. I nodded in agreement.

"I screamed so loud when they made that one goal. I thought they might have had a chance after that," I agreed. He nodded his head fast in agreement I'm surprised his head didn't get whiplash. I couldn't help but notice how badly the orange Chudley shirt he was wearing clashed with his hair.

"C'mon, mate, let's go," Said an unruly haired boy coming behind the red haired one. I waved goodbye and returned to Abby, she seemed to be even more excited. I looked over her head at Stan who was shooting daggers at the red haired man as he exited the stadium. He looked angry with me. Oh goodness, he couldn't be jealous? I waggled my eyebrows at him.

"I'm not jealous!" He said a little to defensively. I laughed and smiled at him.

"Don't worry. I only have eyes for you," I said batting my eyes exaggeratedly. "Oh gosh. I have something in my eyes!" I said and we both broke into laughs. Abby obviously felt left out. She tugged on my jacket sleeve. I looked down at her.

"I want to be a professional quidditch star when I grow up." She said. I nodded down at her. She looked so determined.

"That seems like a great idea! Remember to give me tickets to your first game." I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"I'll make sure to get you a suite!" She said giggling. I took Stan and Abby's hands and we headed out of the stadium.

We arrived at 1 back at the Shunpike's house. I was starving. I only had that hotdog from the game. Abby grumbled dragging her feet all the way to the front door.

"I'm going to die if I don't get any food!" She said, clutching onto her stomach. Stan chuckled and unlocked the door. We walked to the kitchen. How strange… I thought we had turned the lights off before we left. Did I hear the whistle for the kettle? My suspicions were affirmed when we rounded the bend and saw Mrs. Shunpike sitting at the kitchen table with a stony look on her face. I heard Stan gasp. Ok, so we weren't in trouble or anything, right? She hadn't really forbid from doing anything related to quidditch. And it's not like we could have hidden it now anyway, Abby was proudly adorned in a Chudley Cannons t-shirt and matching cap. Mrs. Shunpike looked up at us as we entered.

"Hi, Mum, how's Tyler?" Stan said feigning confidence.

"He's fine. He only fell 3 feet to the ground and even then he had a cushioning spell put under him. He has a sprained wrist but the nurse took care of that even before I'd gotten there." She said stiffly. I noticed a piece of paper faced down on the table that looked suspiciously like the once Stan had shown us earlier. "What have you been up to?" She said with the same poker face. Judging by her looks she already knew. Abby, thank goodness, jumped happily into her mothers arm and I could see a small smile on Mrs. Shunpike's lips.

"It was so much fun, Mum! We went and saw the Chudley Cannons play on this HUGE quidditch pitch! Brooke bought us hotdogs and Stan got me this awesome shirt and the hat!" She said excitedly. Mrs. Shunpike looked glad her daughter had had so much fun.

"That's great, honey, I need to talk to your brother though for a moment, so could you take Brooke upstairs with you?" She said, not as a question but as a demand. Abby's eyes got huge again and she grabbed my arm and practically dragged me upstairs. She took me to her room. Although I had lived here for almost 3 weeks, I had never been to Abby's room. Unlike her personality, the room was painted a light pink with a big canopy bed in the center. Toys covered every inch of her floor and as I made my way of to her bed I stepped on many a doll.

"Oh man. Stan is in so much trouble! When mom has to "talk" with me, I always get an earful." Abby said concerned for her brother. She was so cute. And then, as if on cue, I heard a yell from downstairs.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T WANT TO TELL ME?" Mrs. Shunpike yelled. I knew Stan should have hidden the letter better. I didn't even think Mrs. Shunpike was mad that we went unannounced to a quidditch game, but more about Stan's recent visit with his father. I heard a muffled response from Stan. I cursed him for his shy disposition with his mother. I knew I should probably cast a Silencing charm over Abby's bedroom to spare her innocent ears, but my curiosity got the better of me. I knew I should have bought those Extendable Ears when I had a chance at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. I walked back over to her door and motioned for Abby to be quiet. She put a finger over her lips and followed me to the landing above the stairs. From here I could hear everything happening down stairs. Sadly I could only see a tiny portion of the kitchen table and I could see neither Stan nor Mrs. Shunpike

"I don't understand. Why would he think Brooke was Maddie? Maddie is 17." Mrs. Shunpike said in a quieter voice.

"I don't know Mum." Stan said quiet still, "So we left. And it was stupid and everything but at least Brooke held my hand." He proclaimed proudly. I blushed. He was so stupid sometimes.

"So he's remarried? He has kids?" Mrs. Shunpike barely whispered. Her voice had choked up on the last word.

"Oh Mum. It's his fault. He doesn't deserve you." Stan said and I could hear rummaging and I imagined Stan was hugging him mother.

"But why did he send you quidditch tickets?" Mrs. Shunpike said after some time. Stan said nothing. I looked out of the railings trying to get a view of them. I just needed to lean a few more inches to be able to gaze directly into the kitchen. I felt Abby tug my sleeve; I swatted at her and tried to squeeze my head through the railings.

"What are you doing?" Came a voice behind me. I jumped and my head hit the railing, rather hard if I must say. I rubbed the inevitable bruise as I turned around. Stan was standing at the bottom of the steps, with Mrs. Shunpike behind him; her eyes were red and puffy. I blushed deep red. I turned to Abby and glared she shrugged and shot me a look that said 'I tried to warn you'. I grinned sheepishly at the two people at the bottom of the stairs. Stan looked unsurprised while Mrs. Shunpike looked slightly amused.

"Oh you know… Well Abby and I, we were playing with a ball… yeah and it bounced away so we were trying to see where it went," I said making up a lie as I went. Abby nodded her head and supported me. I stood up and looked over at them. "Haha, but I don't see it out here. Maybe it… rolled back into Abby's room?" I said scurrying back to Abby's bedroom, with Stan's sister on my heels. As I was closing the door I saw Stan wink and before I could help myself as schoolgirl like giggle escaped my lips. I turned to Abby who looked at me as if I was insane.

"When I grow up and fall in love, I am defiantly not going to act as idiotic as you," She said grimacing.

When finally Stan came to get Abby and me for lunch, we were both starving from hunger. We tried to find a distraction from the increasingly loud rumblings coming from our stomachs by playing a quick game of Wizard Chess. But we were both so distracted we only moved our knights back and forth to the same places not making any progress. I couldn't hear anymore of the conversation between Stan and his mother and I wondered if they placed the Muffliato spell on the door. When we had gotten downstairs I could see Mrs. Shunpike's eyes were even more swollen. I tried to look away discreetly but failed miserably. I saw her busily preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I walked over to island where she was making them.

"Mrs. Shunpike-" I started by she placed up a hand motioning me to stop.

"Julia, really, please just call me Julia," She said, placing her knife back into the tub of peanut butter. I glanced warily at Stan who merely shrugged.

"Julia," I started again and grimaced at the unfamiliar name, "Would you like any help? Back at my house, I was a pretty damn good sandwich maker. I hope I still have the flare though," I said with a lame attempt at humor. Mrs. Shunpike nodded appreciatively. We got lunch on the table in a remarkable 5 minutes due to our combined skill. It was relatively quiet. Mrs. Shunpike taking the place next to Abby, while I took the place next to Stan. I shivered each time Stan's leg accidentally brushed mine, but after he'd done it a few times I think he started doing it just to tease me. After Stan lightly touching knee again. I surprised myself by not pulling away. The goose bumps on my arms where slowly beginning to fade when suddenly Mrs. Shunpike loudly cleared her voice. I quickly moved my leg to its original place with a flailing motion. In the process, I knocked it on a beam, very hard. That would make it two bruises in one day. I cursed silently but quickly regained my composure quickly, like any regal woman would. Mrs. Shunpike, oblivious to my discomfort, looked over at her daughter. The 9 year old quickly swallowed the piece of crust she had in her mouth, fear in her eyes.

"Abby, how would like to meet your father?"