Chapter 1

"Hey Rosie why the long face? Christmas at Grandma's not manic enough for you?" James joked as he dropped onto the well worn sofa beside her and nudged his cousin in the ribs. She smirked back at him but did not reply instead she stared around at the mass of people all crammed into the main living room of the Burrow. It had been the typical Weasley Christmas at the tottering old house where her Grandparents had lived for their whole married life, everyone gathered around the enormous wooden table eating turkey and stuffing with cranberry sauce and all the trimmings before wolfing down home made Christmas pudding and custard while Molly Weasley watched on proudly. Everyone had then retired to the living room groaning about their full bellies as they collapsed on the mismatched chairs and sofas which edged the room mostly cosied up in couples before the fire. "Come on Rose talk to me, what's wrong?"

"Like you really care, James," she said sarcastically.

"Hey," James retorted, "I do care when you're sitting here woe faced on Christmas day, you're making everyone miserable!"

"Get lost," she replied hitting him with a cushion which caused him to double over as it hit his full to bursting stomach.

"Seriously, Rose," he went on in a slightly winded voice, "I do care, talk to me."

"Since when?"

"Since I don't like to see people miserable on such a happy day," he answered stroking her arm in an attempt to show his sincerity.

"Merlin, getting serious with a girl has really turned you mellow dear cousin."

"Hey, I've never liked to see people miserable, so come on spill, what's making you so unhappy?"

Sighing loudly Rose turned to look at her dark haired older cousin, "I'm always the lonely one," she said gesturing to the multitude of couples in the room. Her parents and Aunts and Uncles had always been hopelessly in love with one another, especially her youngest Aunt, Ginny and her husband Harry who had a special bond unlike anything anyone had ever seen. This unique bond however was now reflected in their daughter Lily's relationship with her boyfriend and one time crush of Roses's, Raulph Krum. Almost everyone over the age of fifteen, including her younger brother, Hugo, had a partner with them this Christmas even the once serial womaniser, James who up until a few moments ago when she left to visit her own family had been ensconced in a corner with his own girlfriend, Annemarie.

"What happened to...Chris?" he asked hoping he had the right name, his closest cousin had dated many different people in the last year or so and as he only saw her sporadically now they were older he had trouble keeping up with the latest one. Rose winced at the sound of the name and James realised immediately that the relationship had yet again gone sour.

"You mean the git who neglected to tell me about his wife and children?" Rose barked and James' head shot backwards in shock.

"What?" he asked utterly flabbergasted.

"Oh yeah, beautiful wife and three year old twins, but it's alright he still wants to see me he just can't commit to anyone that's all!" she went on. Thinking over her past four relationships made her face fall again, she never quite managed to find anyone who would commit in any way and she was starting to think that there was something wrong with her. Chris worked at the Ministry and they had met four months ago in the atrium where he had bounded into her knocking all her important papers onto the floo. The handsome and charming young man had picked up the papers for her and offered to buy her a pumpkin juice in apology so after accepting his offer she had arranged to meet him in the Leaky Cauldron. There had sparked their feisty relationship, he had charmed her within minutes with his witty conversation and endless compliments about her hair, her eyes, her skin and by the end of the night they had been back at her small house and in her bed where she had enjoyed many hours of repeated sex with the blonde who was obviously slightly older than she was. He had taken her to heights she had never experienced before and knew when he left at close to midnight that she was deeply interested in the man.

They had continued meeting two or three times a week either at the Cauldron or at her home and one weekend he had even whisked her away to a pretty little Cumbrian village where they had stayed in a wizard bed and breakfast, barely leaving the room at all. By the end of the first week she was in love with the man but had found it strange that he would not introduce her to his friends or family, she had also found him cagy when it came to meeting her friends. However she had been so besotted with the man that she had not noticed this as strange until a few days prior to Christmas when she had been in Diagon Alley shopping with her old school friend, Sally Bones, whom she had not seen properly for six months. Unbeknown to Rose, Sally worked in the same department at the Ministry as Chris and thinking that they did not know each other she had introduced Rose to her lover in Madame Malkins where his stunning, dark haired wife had appeared from the changing rooms in dazzling green slinky robes. Sally had gone on to introduce Rose to the delicious Alista and their twin girls who had been running hyperactively around the shop. The bemused girl had stumbled through a short conversation which had made Chris very uncomfortable and then they had left to continue their shopping. Feeling as if she had been smacked in the heart with a bludger Rose had excused herself from Sally's company soon afterwards and returned to her house in order to process the devastating information she had just received. Three hours later her mother had flooed in and found the bushy red headed girl on the kitchen floor sobbing into a cushion. Rose had gone home to stay with her parents and brother for the few days leading up to Christmas and Chris had been unable to contact her there at all.

Spending Christmas with all these couples had been hard as all Rose really wanted in her life was someone to love who would love her back and she had struggled all day to put a smile on her face. "Do you want me to sort him out?" James asked supportively and Rose actually managed a chuckle, "Hey, what was that for? I am an auror you know!"

"Yeah an auror on probation," she laughed back.

"I can still do some pretty mean stuff to him if you want me to, they don't teach you the castration spell in auror training but I'm sure I could find it in one of the dark magic book in our archive library!"

"Hmm..." Rose pondered smiling, "that could be interesting!"

"See that's better," James said watching her, "you need to keep smiling!"

"I know," she replied, "but it's hard, you don't understand, you've never had your heart broken James Potter, you've always been the one doing the breaking!"

"I know," he said sheepishly, "but not anymore," he continued thinking about the dark haired beauty he had just spent the day with, James had never known happiness like he had at the moment and he could understand why Rose was feeling so down, if he lost Annemarie now James was not sure he would be able to cope either.

"Why can I never hold onto a man though?" Rose implored. Because you're too desperate James thought to himself knowing exactly why Rose had trouble holding onto a decent man, she had dated a few of his friends in their last years at school and they had all complained about her behaviour after a few weeks of being together. He knew that once Rose got into a relationship she clung on like a limpet desperate to spend every waking moment with them and most men were put off by it, she was so desperate to be in love that she drove them away but James knew he could never admit this to his cousin as she would be devastated if she realised that was what men thought about her. He was actually struggling to understand how Chris had managed to hide his double life from her for four months as he was sure Rose would have been as demanding with him of his time as she was with all other men she had been out with. However James just shrugged his shoulders convincingly at her as she turned to look back at the fire where Lily and Raulph were playing wizard chess on the sheepskin rug.

"What are you doing for New Year?" James asked changing the subject.

"Probably just staying in the house on my own," she replied sullenly. "Either that or going over to Grimmauld Place with Mum and Dad, that's where Hugo and Mandy are going."

"Why don't you come to the Cauldron?" he said.

"What, to watch more loved up couples kissing in the new year and toasting their relationships?" she barked, "No thanks I think Gran's turkey sandwiches and a large bottle of firewhiskey will suffice for me!"

"Come on Rose, not everyone will be in a couple," James pleaded, "Sal will be on his own, you can both sulk in a corner and grumble about people in relationships!"

"Why will Sal be on his own, what about Glors?"

"You haven't heard?" he asked then continued when Rose shook her head in response, "he caught her in bed with another bloke last week, called round at her flat to surprise her because he'd wangled a day off work and was going to take her shopping for a ring!" he pulled a wry face at his cousin who looked shocked, "He let himself in thinking she'd still be asleep and crept into the bedroom where he saw her going at it with a bloke from work."

"Oh my god!" Rose wailed.

"I know, definitely a shocker for all of us."

"But they were always so solid, when they started going out back in school we all thought it would be forever, they just seemed connected somehow, how awful. I can't believe she'd do that to him I mean he worshipped the ground she walked on!"

"Apparently it had been going on for a while she said something about them getting together too young before they'd had chance to sow their wild oats as it were."

"I bet Sal was gutted, he'd actually been going to propose too?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, he'd had it on the cards for a couple of months and had decided to wait until Christmas, he had this whole special day out planned where they'd end up in a jewellery shop and she could pick any ring she wanted."

"That's so romantic," Rose gasped almost crying for the poor man who she had grown up with and been at school with for seven years. Despite being the son of a school professor, who himself was a little dorkish, Salamander Longbottom had been a popular confident boy who had attracted many girls with his soft almost white blonde hair and brooding features. Rose even had to admit that there was a time when she had been quite taken with him herself but they had been childhood friends and she struggled to really think of him in that way. He and Gloria had got together in their fifth year at school and had always seemed like the forever type of couple even though many girls had tried to tempt Sal away from her but he had been forever faithful never straying from the dark haired beauty who many girls had become extremely jealous of.

"Well yeah, that's what she said when she found out what he had planned. She tried to apologise and say she'd been stupid, realising too late what she had actually had with Sal but he was having none of it, even though it broke his heart to say it he told her that it was over. He's barely left the flat since then and even Annemarie and I have been trying not to be too 'couply' around him.

"So what's he doing today?"

"He's with his Mum and Dad and Consuella, who has only just calmed down."

"I bet," Rose joked knowing how close the brother and sister were, Consuella was short and skinny where Salamander was tall and strong but she had always fought her own battles along with Sal's and she was fiercely protective of her older sibling.

"She was all on for going round to Gloria's and knocking her out until Sal persuaded her that it would not do him any good. She went round and had her say though, Lily was telling me the other day, screamed and shouted at her for a good half an hour but kept her hands to herself!"

"I wish I'd been a fly on that wall!" Rose chuckled remembering the temper that the younger Longbottom had, she was completely unlike both of her parents who were two of the most laid back people Rose had ever known. In her own school days their mother Luna had been known as Loony Lovegood and even though they had grown up knowing her as a close family friend Rose and her brother, Hugo, had always found her relaxed nature a little too laid back. Neville had always seemed a bit more 'normal' but he was still a quiet character who would willingly stand up for his family and friends but who rarely had to show it. Salamander had his father's temperament but Consuella had taken on a whole personality of her own resembling a rottweiler when wound up and Rose found herself feeling a little bit sorry for Gloria who had been on the receiving end of her wrath.

"So what do you say? Grace us with your presence and at least be miserable with another miserable friend instead of drowning yourself in a bottle of firewhiskey? Anyway if you are desperate to drink firewhiskey you can still do that at the Cauldron and at least you can share the fuel and it's after affects with an old friend!" He looked imploringly at his cousin and she found herself nodding her head thinking he was right, she could wallow in self pity and opposite sex loathing with an old friend instead of by herself with Gran's leftover.

"Alright," she replied nodding her head at James who had become much less of a wind up merchant since he had become involved with a woman.

"Great, we're getting there for about eight, I'll reserve you and Sal a quiet booth, a bottle of the good stuff and a couple of glasses shall I?" he chuckled and she swatted him on the arm but smiled in spite of her sombre mood and marvelled at the sudden caring nature that had appeared in the cousin she had bickered with her whole life.