James Potter's Big Dilemma

or

Gryffindor House's Quidditch Tryouts

James Sirius Potter rolled out of bed on Saturday morning feeling an overwhelming sense of dread at the idea of the Quidditch tryouts. He was sure it would be just as much of a spectacle as it had been the year before, and on top of the week he'd had... he just really wasn't feeling it.

He met with his team in the Great Hall after lunch that afternoon to discuss strategies with them. He had his 2 beaters- Grayson MacMillan and Ben Saunders- as well as their backup, Fred Weasley (James' cousin). He also had the 3 chasers- himself, his cousin Molly, and Michael Wood. And then there was his keeper- Eli Davies, with backup Winnie Ashburn- and his seeker- Kathryn Baker (or K.B., as she prefered to be called). Today they were looking for a backup chaser (or potentially 2, if they found great players) and a backup seeker.

He had them huddle around him, and switched into "Captain Potter," mode. Captain Potter was stern, serious, focused, and intense... and only loosely based on the normal James. To his team, especially those with whom he was close friends, Captain Potter and James were two completely separate entities.

"Okay, team, so here's the game plan," he began, and they all listened intently. "We're looking for a backup chaser and a backup seeker today. There's going to be about 100 to 150 people out there today, and so I'm going to need help from all of you to see who actually has talent and who's just there for a laugh.

"K.B., since you obviously know the most about seeking, you're going to stick with me and keep an eye out for anyone who you think has what it takes. Molly, Wood, same goes for you two with the chasers. Everyone else needs to just help me keep things in order. Feel free to scout the talent, as well, but remember that your main job is to keep things from falling apart. Understood?"

"Yes, sir, Captain Potter, sir!" they all chanted at once, startling a few of the passers-by in the Great Hall. The team members were all very used to saying: "yes, sir, Captain Potter, sir!" It was one of the first things James taught them all when he became Captain, and they all knew it well.

They all made their way down to the Quidditch pitch together, most of the team laughing and talking amongst themselves. James walked slightly ahead of everyone else, staying dead silent, which was very atypical for him. His best friend ElI Davies caught up to him, and fell into step beside him, until they were walking side by side.

"Hey, mate, you alright?" Eli asked, though he knew perfectly well that James hadn't been himself recently, ever since that Tuesday night when they played truth or dare. He thought it was probably a result of James' breakup with Chelsea, which had happened that same night, but that was just because Eli didn't suspect at all about the true reason James had been stressing all week.

Well, there were multiple reasons… but this was the main one.

See, James had more important things to worry about than Alice Longbottom. Things like getting through the Quidditch tryouts, and being there for his team.

Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only thing he could think about. He knew he couldn't just avoid her, any more than he could avoid thinking about her.

He just needed to play Quidditch and focus on that. He had to be there for his team; he couldn't afford to be so distracted right now. But it just kept nagging on his mind:

"Why? Why did I do that? What was I thinking? How could I have been so stupid?!" He asked himself over and over, but he had yet to come up with any answer. James had done plenty of really stupid things in his time, but he was pretty sure this one took the cake.

He didn't know how he was going to face her. But he knew that he had to.

He'd seen her in class all week, and she'd been avoiding him. Occasionally, he'd catch her glancing in his direction, but as soon as they made eye contact she would turn pointedly away and blush a furious red color. This had happened approximately once every class (of which they had multiple together each day) and an average of 3 times per meal. It was the only contact they'd had.

On Thursday, they were supposed to study in the library together at their regular time. James had foolishly believed that she might show up- because Alice always showed up- but not this time. And he had sat in the library anyway, at their usual table, from 7:30 until just before curfew... just in case.

The truth was that James had felt stirrings recently. Stirrings of emotions whenever Alice Longbottom was around. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it had started- all he knew was that one second they were studying in the library (as always), and the next second all he could focus on was the pretty warm blue color of her eyes, or the way she tucked her hair behind her cute little ears.

She was just so freaking adorable. Like, what was he supposed to do when she giggled like that? He could hardly stand it.

And now she hated him. I mean, she'd always kind of hated him, but it had never felt real. It was always a fake, teasing kind of hating. She had never actively avoided speaking to him before. And he couldn't stand himself for making her feel like she had to.

That was just like him, to mess everything up before anything could even happen. Not that anything would ever happen between him and Alice- he wasn't that stupid. She would never go for him; she knew better than that. She deserved someone smart and nice and rule-abiding, like she was. Not some class-skipping, prank pulling, idiot delinquent like him.

Besides, he had Chelsea. Yes, that's right, his girlfriend Chelsea; if he could even still call her that.

Chelsea- who was completely gorgeous and who he'd fancied for quite some time before they started going out. Chelsea- who he enjoyed being around (for the most part), even though his friends couldn't stand her. Chelsea- who, when he thought about it, he'd never actually had a deep conversation with. Chelsea- who didn't seem to care about anyone other than herself much at all. Chelsea- who'd told him she needed some "time off."

He'd tried to pretend otherwise, but it really upset him when she did that. See, James had never been the "dumper." Despite seeming like that's the kind of guy he would be, he'd never actually ended a relationship. He was always the one who got broken up with.

None of his previous relationships had really lasted that long, and he'd never been too broken up about it when the girl decided to end it. They would be at that point where neither of them were really into it any more, and they both knew the end was near, but James was always too afraid to end it. He was always the optimistic one; the one who thought it was probably just a phase, and would work itself out.

So to James, that's what this felt like. Like things between them hadn't been the same recently, and while he thought things were fine (or were gonna be fine sometime soon), maybe for her it was over. When she told him that she thought they should "see other people," it had felt like it was the end for real, and that was it.

Now, Alice had told him that it was probably just a test, and Roxanne had confirmed Alice's theory later that night, when she came to find him and ask him where the bloody hell he went off to. But that just made him pissed off. She broke things off with him to test him? What was she thinking?

And then there was how bloody annoying she'd been acting during truth or dare. First, there was the fact that she'd shown up at all. Those were mostly James' friends- not hers- and she knew that. And then she'd dolled herself all up and went out of her way to do her makeup and hair and wear her skimpiest little outfit. What was she trying to prove? And then, to top it all off, she was flirting with his friend (Michael Wood) all night long, but yet felt like it was perfectly okay to act like a jealous girlfriend when he was dared to kiss Alice!

All of James' other breakups had been clean. A simple, "yeah, this isn't working anymore," and a "see you later," and that was it. He'd pass them in the hallways and wave, or see them in class and smile if they made accidental eye contact, but they never stuck around! He never had to hang out with them again! With Chelsea, he had a feeling it would be messy. She wasn't the type to move on easily, or let herself be forgotten about.

The thing was, even though this break up hadn't been "for real," if he was being honest, he didn't really see things going much farther with Chelsea. He really couldn't see them together beyond 6th year, let alone beyond Hogwarts. He couldn't even picture her as his date for Victoire and Teddy's wedding in the spring.

Victoire and Teddy- now that was a real relationship. That was real love. That was something that he would never have with Chelsea, and it was something that he was beginning to realise he wanted.

So maybe he should break up with her. Like, for real. But, James had never done that before! And he still liked Chelsea, or at least he thought he did. So why should they break up if he was still into her?

But why should they stay together? He didn't have a good answer to that, either.

He didn't know what to do. When he woke up that Wednesday morning after "The Alice Incident," having spent hours the night before contemplating all of this, he decided to write two letters- one to his dad, and one to Teddy- asking them what they thought.

In his letter to his dad he left Alice out of it, because he knew that Harry was close with Professor Longbottom and loved Alice, and probably wouldn't be able to be objective about it. But he included her in his letter to Teddy, because he trusted him to be hush-hush about the whole thing, and he valued his advice.

Teddy was like a big brother to him, since he was around all the time when they were growing up. He always went to him with his problems. James thought that Teddy was a way better older brother to him than he was to Albus, but he suspected that was mostly because he and Al were so different. Al was quiet and smart and introspective, and James was pretty much the opposite.

That Friday he had received a letter back from his dad, telling him to follow his heart and not be afraid to end things with Chelsea if that felt right. Basically, it was all very broad and vague statements, and not helpful at all really.

He hadn't heard back from Teddy yet, but he was really anxious about what he may have to say.

So anyhow, on the way down to tryouts, Eli asked James if he was doing okay. Then, when James didn't answer right away, he followed up with another question. "Is it about the tryouts? Because, honestly, mate, I think it'll be fine. Can't be half as bad as last year, can it?"

The year before, in James' first year as captain, the Gryffindor tryouts had been scheduled in the morning slot, from 7 until 2, with Ravenclaw after them from 3 until 10. However, the Gryffindor tryouts were always a huge spectacle, in which sometimes more than half the house would come out, even if there were only one or two backup spots open. The tryouts had gone overtime and a big discrepancy had broke out when Ravenclaw had arrived on the pitch to begin their tryouts. This year James had to fight Madame Hooch so that they could be in the night slot, with tryouts allowed to go on for as long as they needed to after hours.

James was always fighting with Madame Hooch. They really didn't like each other, and this time around it had been especially bad because Madame Hooch was convinced that James was the one responsible for blowing up her broom shed. Even though she had absolutely no proof! She was right, obviously, it had been James, but he was offended that she suspected him without any evidence. And she was upset that no one would listen to her that it was "that Potter boy!" who did it.

Thankfully for the Quidditch tryouts, the captain of the Hufflepuff team- Maria Fencik, who was also to have tryouts on Saturday- insisted on having the morning slot because she didn't want to have any kind of altercation with the Gryffindor team. So, Madam Hooch was forced, upon Maria's request, to give James his way.

"It couldn't possibly be any worse than last year," James agreed, making Eli smile broadly because at least he'd responded.

"In fact-" Eli continued, "I think everything will run extremely smoothly and we'll be out of here before 10!"

"Bold prediction, Davies," K.B. chimed in, walking up beside them. "Tell me, are you new here?"

K.B. was a seventh year, and this was her last season with the team, which is why they needed to find her a good backup. She was small, dark haired girl with a fierce attitude, a sarcastic sense of humor, and a sharp wit. She was also a brilliant seeker, and one of James' all time favorite people. When he was new on the team, she had welcomed him with open arms, and when it came time for them to pick a new captain, she relinquished the position to him without hesitation, knowing that he was what was best for the team. And even though she was older, and she'd been playing longer, and was, in a technical sense, a better Quidditch player than James, she still respected his authority, and even helped him enforce it at first- when she still needed to.

"C'mon, K.B., you gotta be positive!" Eli said, flashing his award-winning smile, "It's all going to go smoothly and everything'll be fine!"

About this, Davies was half right. Things at the tryouts did not go very smoothly at all, but it did turn out fine, in the end.

James knew he should have closed off the tryouts to first and second years, who quite honestly had no chance of making the team and were nothing more than obnoxious as far as trying to organize real drills went. But... his father has been only a first year when he made the Gryffindor team, and he turned out to be exactly what that team had needed, and one of the best Gryffindor seekers of all time. So, for his dad (just in case), James left the tryouts open to any Gryffindor, of any age.

Big mistake, honestly.

Somewhere around 170 students showed up, far more than they'd ever had. Even just getting his rowdy housemates to quiet down long enough so he could give instructions was difficult. Then, once the actual drills commenced, there were so many brooms flying in so many different directions that is was almost nauseating to look at. Forget trying to find someone who was actually talented in that mess.

After the first hour or so, James and K.B. flew around eliminating people. Since they didn't want anyone's feelings to be hurt, they would send the ones they eliminated down to one side of the field to do drills with Fred and Winnie. They were the two youngest on the team, both being only 4th years, but extremely talented players (even if they were only backups).

After another two hours, there were a few players James had his eye on for chasers, and he sent them off to do drills with Michael Wood and his cousin Molly. Molly had been a backup herself the year before, to seventh year Alfie Richards, but now that he'd graduated she'd be playing first string.

Once another hour passed by, he could see everyone getting worn down, so he called a break to discuss the situation with his team. Many of the people at the tryouts didn't even hear him call the break because they were busy goofing off, and they continued to fly around in circles over everyone's head until they realized that the majority of the students had landed.

A few of the first and second year girls were on the verge of tears at this point because they were tired and worn out, so James sent Winnie (the sweetest and most comforting of the girls on the team) to go take care of them and take them back up to the castle. He then discussed with the rest of his teammates what potential they had seen, and who they thought might be worth a shot.

Then James gave Molly the job of sending some "no-brainers," back to the castle, aka the ones who it was obvious that they were never serious about joining the team, and just came down for the hell of it. He chose Molly for this job because she was the most intimidating. She could do a scary good impression of her sister Lucy that was bound to make anyone listen.

A few of the obnoxious 3rd and 4th year boys got extremely offended when Molly told them they hadn't made the team, and demanded to speak to James directly. James didn't really have time to deal with them at the moment, so he very bluntly told them that they hadn't made it. They, in response, very bluntly told him to go fuck himself before storming off the field.

After drills and tests commenced again, about an hour later, around 8 o'clock, a younger girl fell off of her broomstick from an almost ridiculous height, and broke quite a few bones. The sound of her hitting the ground, followed by her loud, high-pitched screaming, was sickening. She was almost instantly healed by Madame White, the school nurse (who was on the Quidditch pitch already, just in case of a situation like this), but many of the students didn't quite feel up to playing after having witnessed that.

Soon enough, they were down to 50 or so people. It was the amount of students who should have been there in the first place- the ones who were actually interested in playing Quidditch for the team. James had his eye on one or two of them, as did K.B., which he was excited about. There was just one hitch in the works. The best candidate for chaser- by far, if you asked James- was Sam Meyer. And unless you know Sam Meyer (or know of him) then you have no idea why this was such a terrible thing. And this was a very terrible thing.

You see, James hated Sam Meyer. James and Sam had been at odds ever since first year, when James' first ever girlfriend had cheated on him with Sam. Sam and James were in constant competition over girls, and every girl who ever dated James would probably end up dating Sam at some point, or vice versa. In fact, Chelsea had just broken up with Sam when she and James started going together. And Sam was not happy about it.

James and Sam were very similar in very many ways. They were both cool and funny and thought they ran the show. Sam was a little bit better at school than James was, and he was always smug about it, but James had always had Quidditch. So if he let Sam on the team… then what would he have?

But Sam was good. He hadn't been at the tryouts the year before. James was sure; he would have noticed. But he had major talent that couldn't simply be overlooked. And Captain Potter would never pass up a brilliant player because of some personal grudge. James might, but Captain Potter would never. His team took priority.

After a brief discussion with his other chasers, Molly and Michael, they all decided that Sam was their best best. Michael, being one of James' best friends, knew about his rivalry with Sam, but also knew how much he cared about the team. And he could see Sam's talent for himself. They were in agreement- they would have to let him on.

Because there was room for another backup chaser on the team, there was a fourth year boy named Toby Pritchett who was also very good, who they were considering. He had excellent ball skills and his speed was decent, which could be useful. Though it was doubtful he would see much field time, especially at first, James was still seriously considering him.

At 10 o'clock they were actually ready to wrap up the tryouts. It wouldn't end up going hours overtime this year, thank god. James had decided on Sam Meyer and Toby Pritchett as his new chasers, and he and K.B. had decided that a fifth year girl named Hadley Simmons, who was extremely quick and nimble, would be perfect for a seeker.

Though the decisions were made right then and there, for the sake of preserving feelings James told everyone that they did a great job and that the team roster would be posted on the announcements wall outside of the Great Hall sometime Monday. Then he thanked them all for coming and watched as they slowly left the field, some feeling better than others about their chances, I'm sure.

Soon only his team was left. He thanked them all, too, for their patience and their help controlling all the rowdy Gryffindors.

"No prob, Captain Potter!" Eli exclaimed, patting him on the back. A few of their teammates laughed, mostly out of relief that the tryouts were over and had gone pretty well, actually.

They all started heading back to the castle, but something told James to stay behind. A few of his friends seemed to be waiting for him, but he just waved them on. He couldn't leave just yet.

The grass was wet with dew and suddenly all James wanted to do was sleep, but something was keeping him on the Quidditch pitch. He set his broom down on the ground and then lay next to it, staring up towards the stars and just… thinking.

The fact that the tryouts were over and had gone well and he didn't have to worry about them anymore should have been a huge weight off of his shoulders. Typically, it would have been. But, laying there, he felt just as weighed down as before. As he expected he would feel until he sorted out his feelings.

Then, as if called there by his thoughts, James heard a familiar voice say softly, "Well, that was quite something. I never knew how crazy Quidditch tryouts could get." He looked up to see his (unofficial) ex-girlfriend Chelsea coming towards him slowly, as if he was some kind of dangerous animal.

"How long were you watching?" he asked, as she finished approaching and sat down on the ground beside him. What he didn't know is that Chelsea had been planning to speak to him (about their relationship, of course) all weekend, but had never had the chance because he'd been either locked away in his room, sulking, or otherwise engaged. When someone informed her that Quidditch tryouts were being hosted Saturday evening, she came down after her dinner and watched the end, hoping she'd get a chance to get him alone after they were over. She'd thought she would intercept him on the way back up to the castle, but when he stayed behind on the pitch, she saw her opportunity, and took it.

"I just saw the end really." He was looking up at the sky, but watching her out of his peripheral vision. She was staring down towards the end of the pitch, at nothing in particular. Just not at him.

"That wasn't even the crazy part. You should have seen it in the beginning."

"Well, Quidditch has never really been my thing, anyway."

"Yeah, I know." He had always slightly resented that she couldn't care less about Quidditch, which was one of the most important things to him. All she cared about were the parties held after the big games. Any excuse to dress up and get drunk, Chelsea was in. He used to like that about her; he wondered what was different now.

She didn't respond for a while, and neither did he. It was odd that she was here, and, thought he didn't want to admit it, it felt slightly uncomfortable for him to be alone with her like this. He was waiting for her to reveal why she'd come- because obviously there was a reason.

"So… James," she began, obviously unsure where to start.

"So Chelsea."

"I was thinking… that if you're up for it…" she was speaking very slowly and taking big pauses. James felt he knew where she was going, and stopped her from having to say it.

"You want to get back together?"

"Well, we were never really broken up, were we? Just on break." It sure felt like a breakup, James thought.

"Which basically means broken up."

"Not if we don't want it to! It's been less than a week, if you think about it."

"Has it really?"

"Yeah. Hardly any time at all. Listen- it was a stupid idea in the first place. I never should have suggested it. I don't want to be on break." And he was inclined to believe her. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to dive back into a relationship with her. Besides, she had done this in the first place.

"Are you serious?" he asked. She couldn't read his tone, and glanced down at him, confused.

"Of course I'm serious!"

There was a long pause while James formulated his answer. Chelsea started getting anxious and flipping her platinum blonde hair around and twisting it with her fingers like she did when she was nervous. "Listen, Chels…" he began, and she glared at him angrily.

"James! This whole thing was stupid! Can we just forget it and go back to how we were? Please don't say what I think you're about to say."

"I just don't think I can," he said honestly, sighing.

"Can what?"

"Do us anymore." She looked at him in shock- this is obviously not what she thought would happen when she came here.

"What do you mean you can't do us anymore?!" Her voice was getting more and more shrill with every word.

"Once you ended things with me... I got to thinking. And I just don't think this is something I want anymore."

"But James!" she cried indignantly. He was sat up now, and they were both staring at each other. She was so beautiful, but not when she got like this. "You knew we weren't broken up for real! You really took it this seriously? You honestly don't even want to try and start again?"

"I just don't see the point." And he really didn't. He didn't want to do this, but he literally felt like he had to. No matter how much he had once liked her, looking at her now… he was sure. He felt nothing when she met his eyes. Not even sad, not even angry, just… nothing. And he just couldn't be with someone he felt nothing for.

Chelsea, at this point, was getting desperate. She had come to get back together- not break up! So she went into emergency backup plan mode. Before either of them knew what was happening, she practically jumped on top of him and started kissing him. And James kissed her back.

For about half a second. Then, he pushed her off of him and held her at an arms' length away. She wrenched herself out of his grip, fuming with anger. This was not a girl who was used to being rejected, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle herself. She stood up quickly and glared her most withering glare, her cool blue eyes turning to ice.

"Fine. We're done. For real this time." James didn't say anything, and she stared at him for a few moments longer, waiting for the last minute change of heart that she was sure was coming. But it didn't. So, as a final remark, she shouted, "You're going to regret this, James Potter, I swear you will!" before storming off the pitch.

She was always so dramatic.

And suddenly, that omnipresent thing he felt weighing on him earlier was lifted. At least partially. He breathed a large sigh, but it was a sigh of relief, before getting up and returning to the castle himself.

The next morning, he received his return letter from Teddy, which only confirmed what he already knew. Here's what it said:

James,

Honestly, mate, I'm not entirely sure what you're writing me for. It seems to be you already know what you need to do, here.

So yeah, you fucked up big time with this mysterious "Alice" (gee, I wonder who that could be?). But you wanted to kiss her, right? At least, that's the impression I got. And you didn't kiss her because 1). You technically have a girlfriend, and 2). you're scared of your feelings.

There are simple solutions to both of these problems. But since you seem so determined to be teenage-angsty, and even though you already know both of these things, I'm going to have to spell them out for you, it seems.

Solution to problem #1: Break up with your girlfriend! Actually, she already broke up with you didn't she? So just don't get back together. Forget about it, and move on. It doesn't seem to me that you even like her that much anyway. So what if she's the fittest girl you've ever met in real life? If this is the same girl I saw a picture of hanging in your room, then yes, she is well fit. But that doesn't mean she's the right girl for you. You know that there are more factors to compatibility than physical attraction, right? If not, then I, as your self-proclaimed mentor, have failed you.

Solution to problem #2: Man up! I know you're scared of the things you're feeling for this girl, even if you won't admit to yourself that they scare you. The reason they scare you, mate, is because this girl is for real. You've never had anything real before, and you're worried about what this might mean for you, your reputation, etc.

But let me tell you a secret, mate. It's worth it. Don't be afraid to pursue something real. I know that it's easier and probably more fun to go after the ones who don't actually mean that much to you. Trust me- I dated a whole string of those. And while I'll never deny that it was fun with those girls, I now see that all of those moments I had with all of them combined, don't add up to one single moment with Victoire.

Now, I'm not saying that this mysterious Alice is your Victoire. And I'm not looking to freak you out with all this "real" talk. But I do think that something about this girl, and what you've been feeling for her, scares you. And I think that fear stems from something more, and I think it's something you need to face head-on.

Now remember, above all else, that I am no love guru. I don't hold all the answers. The best I can do is tell you what I think, and now I've said my piece. Good luck, mate. Let me know how it all works out.

Your (older, wiser, and devastatingly handsome) friend,

Teddy Lupin

And after reading Teddy's letter, James knew for sure what he had to do.

He had to find Alice Longbottom.

It was Sunday, a day that James knew Alice had deemed "Study Sunday," which meant she'd be busy with homework and stuff all day long. Which meant that she was either in the library, outside, or in her bedroom.

Instead of running around the entire castle looking for her, he decided to use the Marauder's map to check on her location. That is, until he remembered that he'd loaned the map to his cousin Fred, who claimed to partially own it because of who his father was. Which, James decided, was fair enough, so he'd let the kid have it.

Which meant now he'd either have to go searching all over the castle for her… or wait until he saw her in class on Monday. And even though he wasn't sure if he could wait that long, he decided to go with Monday. It would just be easier that way.

They just so happened to have their first class on Monday, Divination, together. He arrived slightly before class began, which was rare for him, seeing as he was always either running late or not there at all. He walked in and flopped down at his table next to his best mate Eli, who was, somewhat surprisingly, there on time as well. Then he did a quick scan of the room, almost immediately finding who he was searching for, sitting at a table near the back. Her warm blue eyes were already trained in his direction, but she quickly turned away when she saw him looking, a flustered blush spreading to her face. She stared determinedly at the wall, not looking at him.

"Longbottom!" he loudly whispered, cupping his hands around his mouth. She definitely heard him, but refused to look his way, though plenty of the other students sitting around them did. He ignored them and tried again. "Longbottom!" Her best friend- who also happened to be James' cousin, Dominique- glared at him, most likely having heard by now what he'd done last Tuesday.

James gave up trying to call her name, and quickly pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, scribbling a brief note to her.

Need to talk. After class, wait for me?

Eli read it over his shoulder as he wrote. Then, James folded it up and turned around again and handed it to the closest person to him, Nora Cleary, who he flashed a charming smile.

"Nora, would you mind passing this to Longbottom for me?" Nora smiled lightly and took the note from him, passing it to the person behind her with a quiet, "give this to Alice." James was worried that Alice would see the note and ignore it, maybe not read it or maybe rip it up because she was so mad at him, but she didn't. She took it and read it carefully, then looked up at him again. Their eyes met for just a second, and something passed between them. Pleading, on his part, and some kind of unspoken agreement from her, however reluctant it may be.

Dominique got a hold of the note then and read it quickly before tearing it up, still scowling. Then she whispered something angrily to Alice, who whispered something back. James turned to Eli and spoke. "I don't know what you see in that girl." He didn't have to specify who he meant, as they had both been watching the two friends across the room, and it could really be no one else.

Eli opened his mouth to respond when the Professor came in, calling class to session and the room to silence. James spent the remainder of the period wondering and worrying about what he was going to say to Alice. If she would even talk to him.

When class ended he lingered by his desk, waiting for the rest of the students to file out. Eli went to get up and leave, too, but James grabbed him on the arm.

"What?" Eli asked, annoyed.

"I need you to distract the demon-spawn," he said, gesturing with his head to where his cousin was now dragging Alice out of the classroom, their arms linked together. Eli looked a little mad, and James realised it was probably because he'd just referred to the girl his friend fancied as a "demon-spawn."

"Fine! I need you to distract the very nice and pretty girl while I apologise to her very nice and pretty friend!" Eli raised his eyebrows slightly at that comment, but then shrugged in reluctant agreement, and they followed quickly after the two girls, who were already making their way down the stairs.

Once they caught up, Eli called Dominique's name, flashing his shiniest, happiest smile. She was having none of it.

"What do you want?" she demanded, eying James suspiciously.

"Can I speak to you for a minute?" he asked, keeping up the smile. She looked at him, and then at Alice, and then at James, and shook her head.

"No, I don't think you can," she answered, continuing to pull Alice away. But Alice stopped.

"It's okay, Dom," she practically whispered as she pulled her arm away. Dominique looked at her friend, obviously confused. "I've got this." Dominique narrowed her eyes, but gave in, turning to walk down the stairs without a backwards glance. Eli shrugged again, and followed quickly after her.

Now James and Alice were standing alone in the stairway, everyone else having gone. Neither of them were moving, and she was still refusing to look at him.

"Al…?" he began, waiting for some kind of signal from her to begin apologizing profusely.

"Don't call me that," she insisted yet again, staring at the floor.

"Okay. Alice…" he said her name slowly and deliberately. At the sound of her first name, she finally looked up at him, meeting his eyes. And the apology came pouring out a immediately after. "I am so so sorry I left you like that. I'm sorry I was being stupid and I'm sorry I didn't kiss you and I don't know why I was acting so strange, or what I was even thinking, but it was totally idiotic and I'm really really sorry." He said this all in one breath. "Please don't be mad at me, and please don't hate me forever, and please say you'll be my tutor again please, please, please?"

Alice hesitated for a moment, though deep down they both knew she would end up forgiving him. "Yes, I forgive you," she relented, causing him to break into a huge smile. "And of course I'll still be your tutor..." she paused, a smile playing on her lips, "but I still hate you."

"Yeah, but you always hate me," James reminded her, feeling the rest of the weight slowly lifting off of him.

"Because you're a giant moron!" she exclaimed, whacking him lightly on the arm and then beginning to walk down the stairs ahead of him.

"The biggest," he agreed, speeding up to walk next to her. "Which is why I need you!"

"What was that?" Alice asked, a cheeky grin on her face. "You need me?"

"To help me study! And stuff…" James corrected.

"New condition!" Alice exclaimed. "I'll forgive you if, and only if, you admit that you need me."

James chuckled, but solemnly placed his left hand over his heart and his right in the air. "I, James Potter, need you, Alice Longbottom... big time."

Alice nodded her approval. "Good. You are officially forgiven."

"You're not gonna come up with any more out-of-the-blue conditions, are you?"

"I will make no such promises."

"Fine then." There was a brief pause, as they continued to walk along. When they reached the bottom floor, James asked, "So, tomorrow?" Tomorrow was Tuesday, their usual studying day.

"Same time, same place," Alice confirmed, and she began to walk off down the hallway, thinking the conversation was over. But there was still one more thing James had to do.

"Hey, Alice?" he asked quietly, and she turned around to look at him. Her big round eyes were staring at him, making him suddenly nervous.

"Yeah?"

He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really did want to kiss you. I don't know why I didn't." She looked sad all of a sudden.

"It's okay, James, you don't have to lie to me. I get it, I'm over it." She didn't believe him!

"I'm serious!"

"Oh, please, spare me. Why-" but before she could finish her thought, James closed the gap between them, grabbed her by her waist, and pulled her in to a deep kiss. He didn't overthink it, and he didn't panic, and the next thing he knew she was kissing him back. She threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him like he'd never been kissed by anyone before.

He lost track of time. It could have been seconds, it could have been days. He didn't really care. When they finally pulled back, both of them breathless and slightly dazed, he stared down into her eyes and whispered, "I meant something like that."

They stood there for a moment longer, and then she pulled away, still breathing heavily, and began backing away from him. Then, without another word, she turned around and walked away faster than he thought possible.

And he was left standing there, alone, amazed, and out of breath… and more confused than ever about his feelings for Alice Longbottom.