A/N: So, this one has been a while coming… and I'm afraid it's still fairly insubstantial :/ On the plus side, it's the Easter holidays now, so I should have more time. Expect at least one more chapter, probably two, over the next two weeks or so, and a new one-shot in the next couple of days. In other news, I just had my braces off. FINALLY! Someone give me a Mars bar…

The following morning, I found, once again, that the prospect of seeing James that day caused me to sleep badly. Not only did I lie awake until past midnight, but I also woke early. Rolling over to check the clock at the side of my bed, I saw that it was seven o'clock, and so I still had four hours before James arrived. After trying and failing to distract myself with various books, magazines and anything else I could think of for a solid two hours, I finally headed downstairs.

The house seemed unnaturally quiet as I descended the staircase, and as I reached the bottom I discovered why. Mum had left me a note at the bottom of the stairs. It read,

Dad and I have gone out to work. Tuney's spending the day at Vernon's, she's already gone. There's stuff in the kitchen you can have for lunch/dinner if needs be (enough for two!) – we won't be back till late, boring work function this evening. Tuney also probably home late.

Have fun on your date!

Mum xx

Without really thinking about what I was doing, I proceeded into the kitchen to make myself breakfast. My mind, however, was quite elsewhere. I tried putting cereal on a plate instead of in a bowl. I poured myself two glasses of orange juice in succession without realising. I pulled a spoon out of the draw to butter my toast with. My mind was quite obviously elsewhere, and I was absent-minded and clumsy.

After my haphazard breakfast, I returned to my bedroom to get ready. Here, I forced myself to concentrate, knowing that I simply had to look good. I went for a similar outfit to that which I had worn when we had met James, Sirius and Remus in Diagon Alley, except that my top was red, matching my hear, instead of green to go with my eyes. I went back downstairs, and curled up on the sofa to wait for James.

About an hour later, I heard a knock at the door. I had drifted to sleep whilst waiting for James, and did not entirely have my wits about me as I headed to the front door. In my half-asleep state, I had forgotten for whom I was waiting, and why. However, it all came back in a rush as I opened the door, yawning, and saw him standing on the front step, looking quite as casually handsome as ever. Today he was wearing a polo-necked t-shirt and jumper with a pair of black denim jeans, and once again had about him that air of almost indifferent elegance. As I saw him, my eyes flew wide open and my mouth closed hurriedly to stifle my yawn. He laughed.

"Forgot I was coming?" he teased, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Sorry," I mumbled, stepping aside to let him in. "I was half-asleep."

"I could tell," he grinned, stepping over the threshold. I closed the door behind him, and we stood there, staring at each other for a few seconds, before I said, "Do you… um… want anything to drink?"

"Er, yeah… just a glass of water would be good, thanks," he said. After stepping over the threshold, he suddenly looked as nervous as I felt. I led him through to the kitchen, where I took two glasses out of the cupboard over the sink and filled them both with water. I handed one to him, which he accepted with a smile.

I watched him as he raised the glass to his lips. He took a few gulps and then lowered it, looking back at me. He smiled, and felt myself blush slightly. This embarrassed me still further; I felt like I was thirteen. He had only smiled at me. I cast around for something to start a conversation with, to cover the awkward moment.

"So, um… did you sleep alright last night?" I said at random. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I inwardly cursed myself for asking such a ridiculous question.

However, James just chuckled again. "I gather you didn't," he replied, the twinkle back in his eye. I felt relieved; at his joke, the tension in the room had dissipated hugely.

"Well," I said, smirking a little myself, "I had… lots on my mind."

"Oh yeah?" he replied, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," I said absently, but still grinning. "I was supposed to be meeting this really handsome guy for a date today… he hasn't shown up yet, though…"

He clutched at his chest in a mock-wounded fashion. I laughed, and he poked his tongue out at me.

"Cheeky," he said, taking another sip of his water. I placed my own on the counter behind me, then walked over to him. I took his glass out of his hand and set it down next to me, then reached up, placing my hands round his neck, and kissed him. He pulled me closer, one hand around my waist, the other on the back of my head. I felt once again that tingling sensation in my entire body, and then my heart skipped a beat as he gently brushed his tongue against my lower lip.

We broke apart after about a minute or so, and looked into each other's eyes.

"Been looking forward to that all week," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. I laughed, and, collecting my glass of water from where I had left it, led him through into the living room, where we both curled up on the sofa I had been asleep on when he had arrived.

"So what have you done with everyone else?" he asked as we sat down.

"Mum and Dad are out at work," I replied, "and Tuney's at her boyfriend's house. Mum left a note, and apparently none of them are back until late. Will we be endlessly harassed if we go back to your place?"

"Nah," he chuckled, "we should be alright. Dad's at work, I think Mum was planning to spend the day with a friend, and Sirius can be got rid of quite easily." I laughed, but slightly distractedly; as he talked, he had taken my hand in his and started playing with it absently. It was an extremely pleasant sensation, and I responded, gently rubbing our fingers together as we made further conversation.

After a while, James said, "So, shall we get going? I don't know about you, but I'm getting a bit hungry, to be honest." Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was one o'clock. I suddenly noticed that I was quite hungry, too.

"Yeah, ok," I said, and got to my feet. He stood up too, and, still holding hands, we turned on the spot and Disapparated.

A/N: Hope you liked! Please review :)