This chapter is dedicated to ilovemuffins, likepurpleteal, and ShannonLovesTheDoctor.
The burrow was controlled chaos the day of Christmas. Cousins and uncles and aunts and sisters and brothers and grandparents popping out of every crack and crevice. Even ones you couldn't see. When we all got home we were all making our way upstairs and got the biggest shock of our lives.
As we trudged toward the stairs, Lily sped ahead. Scorpious, being first in line to get up the steps, had had to pass her first. As he did, Lily got up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss.
"That's for before." she said confidently and turned to go.
"YEAH LILY!" I shouted and laughed. Scorpious just stood there, stunned. Albus groaned and pushed his best friend to get him moving. James stood beside me, chuckling as we made our way up the steps.
That had been quite the event and made my day. I woke up the next morning and groaned. I wanted to sleep past six o'clock but obviously that was inevitable. I sat up, adjusting my muffin necklace so that the muffin hung in front. It was surrounded by an anti tarnishing charm so I didn't have to worry about ever taking it off. Which I wouldn't even if my life depended on it. I threw my covers to the end of the bed and got up. I walked in to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes but focusing only on a warm shower to wake myself up.
I ran the hot water until the bathroom was filled with steam and then turned on a little bit of cold. I undressed quickly and stood under the water. It was my place to think. I thought about James and my newfound crush on him. I thought of how proud I was that I didn't freak out when he kissed me. I thought of how I wanted him to kiss me again. I sighed and turned the water off.
I stepped out of the shower, cursing the fact that I had forgotten to grab a towel. I pulled one off of the towel rack and squeezed my hair with it. I wrapped my hair in it an got dressed. A brand new pair of dark denim jeans from my ever so fashionable big sister along with a worn out comfy sweater that said my name over one breast. I began to brush my teeth and pull the towel out of my hair with my other hand. As I pulled the towel out of my hair the bathroom door swung open.
"My. My. My. Isn't this a lovely sight." James joked. I threw the towel at him angrily.
"Don't be a twat Jamie." I grumbled as I spit the toothpaste in to the sink.
"Gross." he muttered and turned on the faucet, washing the spit away.
"Ever the gentleman, eh Potter?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. He chuckled and began to play with the ends of my hair. I shook my head, much like a dog would, and laughed.
"Gross! Now I'm all wet." he groaned. I rolled my eyes and turned to leave the bathroom, grabbing my hairbrush on the way out. I shut the door behind me and sat down on the edge of my bed.
A while later there was a knock on my door. I called "Come in" as I flipped the page in my Witch Weekly magazine. My door swung open to reveal Lily and Albus, cheerful expressions on their faces.
"Come on Nat! We're gonna have another snowball war!" Lily exclaimed and bounced on the heels of her feet. I laughed as Albus nodded in merry agreement.
"And what are the teams exactly?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Me, Albus, and Scor versus you and James!" Lily replied delightfully. I shook my head and stood up. I pulled on my new jacket that had come with my jeans. Lily gave an excited squeal and ran away, Albus right behind her. I slowly made my way downstairs, my wand stuffed up my sleeve.
"Don't you think the teams are a little unfair Lil?" Scorpious questioned. Oh, when did he start referring to her as Lil?
"Not at all. They're older than us so they can handle more." Lily stated matter-o-factly. I snorted a laughed and felt an arm come around my shoulders.
"We can beat you guys. It's easy." James said. I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
"What if I don't want to be on James team?" I questioned. Lily gave me a knowing look and I rolled my eyes.
"Too bad. You're stuck with me." James replied and hit his hip in to mine. I rolled my eyes yet again and made my way toward the back door.
"Get ready to get your arses kicked!" I exclaimed and ran out in to the snow.
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I gasped for breath as I made my way inside. I quickly grasped one of the steaming cups of Hot chocolate and sat contentedly at the kitchen table. My actions were repeated by Albus and he sat across from me.
"How did you get out?" I questioned and took a sip of my drink. He told me James made a huge snowball and hit him directly in the stomach. He thought he might have internal bleeding.
"And you?" he asked. I told him how Lily and Scorpious had ganged up on me and hit me on the head. We both started laughing when the back door suddenly swung open again. This time it was James.
"Albus! Get control of your friend!" James hissed. My eyes widened.
"Aw muffin. Don't be a sore loser." I responded with a laugh. He sat down next to me and placed his wet head on my now drying shoulder. I scowled for a moment but then got over it.
"I'm not. Scorpious was just making out with Lily. He's outside in a full body bind." James retorted. My eyes widened even more.
"He is in a what? JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!" I yelled. He winced, as did Albus. "You go put him right this instant! You just ruined a huge moment for your sister!" I stated, slapping his arm and moving toward the back door.
"He deserved it!"James exclaimed at the same time Albus exclaimed "Why is my best friend making out with my sister?" I ignored them both a went outside. Sure enough, Lily was angrily stomping in my direction and Scorpious was still in a full body bind. I pulled out my wand and muttered the counter curse. I grabbed Lily just as she was pushing past me.
"Lily. Relax. He's fine now. Just, calm down." I stated firmly as Scorpious got off of the ground and began to walk toward us. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened and then I can deal with your brother, okay?" I continued to hold her arm until she sighed and nodded.
"Okay, well Scorpious and I had just teamed up to get James out and had succeeded. He was standing aside to make sure we told the truth about who won. Scor and I were throwing snowballs at each other and I decided to make a run for it. Well he grabbed me around the waist and I tripped and brought us both down. He landed on top of me. And, um," She glanced sideways at Scorpious who had just come up next to her. I rolled my eyes and looked at Scorpious expectantly. Lily would never be able to finish this story.
"I landed on top of her and kissed her. It was just a spur of the moment thing. But she seemed to, er, enjoy it." he looked to Lily and both of their cheeks turned a tinge of red. I had to use all of my self control not to let out an 'aw' sound. "So I deepened the kiss a little. We were on the verge of a full makeout until James decided to put me in a full body bind." Scorpious finished. I nodded and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder.
"I'll talk to you about this later. Excuse me while I got beat your eldest brother to a bloody pulp." I gave a wicked smile and turned to stalk in to the kitchen. Albus was still sitting at the table, his mouth hanging open. I patted his shoulder as I continued stalking toward James. "You are such a git!" I shouted at the form leaning against the doorframe. His eye widened and then narrowed in to slits.
"Sorry that I'm protective of my little thirteen year old sister! Sorry that I don't want her making out with my brother's best friend. A best friend, by the way, who is two years OLDER than said little sister." He responded furiously. I scoffed.
"Oh please! That's not why you put him in a full body bind and you know it!" I yelled. I felt the strain on my vocal cords and glared angrily.
"Oh Merlin! You're ridiculous! Do you really think it's wise for my little sister to be snogging my brother's best friend?" James asked, his voice seeming deadly. I rolled my eyes.
"For the love of all that is good and holy! She has a crush on the boy! Leave her alone! Did you even consider that Albus may be okay with it? She may be your little sister Jamie, but she has the right to grow up. You can't keep her away from the male population forever." I retorted logically. But oh no, James was having none of that.
"I sure as hell can when she's at home!" he replied. I heard the scrape of a kitchen chair and the sound of feet racing down the stair case. We were about to be the family entertainment.
"What's going on in here?" came Ginny's worried voice.
"Nothing Mrs. Potter." I seethed and pushed past James while shoulder checking him. He scoffed and stomped in the opposite direction.
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There was a knock on my door and I groaned, shoving my head deeper under my pillow. I felt completely drained of energy and wished they would just let me sleep until dinner. My door opened. I felt a pressure pushing down the edge of my bed but didn't pick up the pillow. James would get the hint.
"Is that any way to treat the woman of the house you're staying?" came, clearly not James. I pushed the pillow off of my head and stared at Ginny.
"I'm sorry." I said sadly and sat up. She nodded and placed a hand on mine.
"I'm very happy that you tried to stand up for Lily." she stated. I didn't know how to respond, so I just stayed quiet. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful, but I know that this is straining you and James both. Harry is talking to him right now." she seemed to be finished.
"I just felt bad for her. That's all. I know if Margo did that to, I would be upset." I responded truthfully.
"I understand. I have six brothers. But this is something her and James must deal with. Not you and James. Just, go talk to him." she suggested. I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted, about to tell her that James would have to come to me. I was spoiled like that. That's when my door opened and James came in. Ginny stood silently, meeting Harry outside. She closed the door quietly and James sat down next to me.
"So?" I asked, arms still crossed over my chest. He sighed and moved closer to me. He grabbed me around my waist, pulling me in between his legs. He nuzzled my neck and I gasped slightly at the coldness of his nose. That wasn't the only reason I gasped but it was the excuse I would give James is he asked.
"It's not your fault. I'm sorry." he said and I could feel his hot breath on my neck. I gulped and pressed myself in to his chest.
"I'm sorry too. It wasn't my fight and I shouldn't have yelled at you." I replied. It took a lot of effort to control my breathing. He was just so close. I could turn around and kiss him. But he doesn't like me. He never would. I was simply his best friend. He didn't like me back.
"So we both forgive each other, right?" he asked, and pulled me closer to him, his hands on my hips. I sighed and nodded. "Natie, listen, I kind of want to tell you something but I'm not sure how you'll react and..." he was cut off by my door flying open.
"Can't you knock!" I snapped at whoever it was. Albus took in our position.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to, uh, interrupt." he stated with a smirk and left.
"Anyways, what were you going to say?" I asked him and turned slightly to look up at him. He shook his head.
"It's nothing. Nevermind." he stated. I raised my eyebrow but he just shook his head and nuzzled my neck again.
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I never found out what he had wanted to say. He had never brought it up after that day and I decided not to push him. We were now on our way back to Hogwarts and I was feeling rather relieved. As much as I love James' family, I wanted to be back at school. Surrounded by people my own age constantly. It was nice. The carriages stopped in front of the castle and I got out. Excited to be back. Eager to learn.
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I was walking down the hallway, James by my side, on our way to potions. He was excitedly talking about his newest endeavor when Brett Mcginty came up to us. He looked anxiously to me and smiled.
"Hey Natalya. How are you?" he asked me.
"I'm fine Brett. And you?" I questioned.
"I'm good. I would be even better if you would agree to go to hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" it was more of a question than a statement. I heard James laugh and elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"I would love to Brett! I can't wait." I smiled and nodded. He seemed to sigh with relief and said he would see me later. As he retreated down the corridor, his head held high, I couldn't help but smile after him.
"You actually agreed to go out with him?" James questioned in an incredulous tone. I raised my eye brow at him.
"Why, it's not like I was doing anything else tomorrow?" I shrugged. I continued to walk down the hall but suddenly felt a hand grab my arm. I turned around and saw it was James, a confused look on his face.
"We usually go to hogsmeade together." he stated in an odd voice.
"We'll go next time Jamie. What's your problem?" I inquired. He just shook his head.
"Nothing. It's nothing." I knew he had something to say but he wouldn't if I pressured him. It's not like we couldn't just go to hogsmeade yoghurt the next weekend we went. I had slightly given up on any romantic relationship with James. We were best friends. I loved James with all of my heart. I ached for us to be together. It had developed more than a crush during the holiday. But when we got back, it slowly lessened. He didn't like me back and I knew he never would. We were just too close as friends to be in a relationship.
A/N: I want to thank everyone who has review lately! It means so much to know that people like my story! A special thanks to Yani! Her name on here is Mrs. SiriusO. Black. She has this amazing Sirius and OC story called Maurader meets girl. It's great! You should check it out! And I am happy to say that this chapter is longer than recent ones because I finally got the chance to write. So from now on updates will be every other day! Thank you so much! Please please please review!