I Fancy You: James Sirius Potter

11. The Ball

TRIGGER WARNING: homophobia, violence

My beautiful girl, I'm so happy to tell you that this year for Christmas your siblings and I will be going there to London! We're all so excited, your brother especially. We'll all be joining the Minister of Magic's family along with the Potters. I can't wait to see you my dear. I love you beyond words and have missed you very much. See you soon my love. Oh! Enjoy your ball. Dylan said you've been very excited for it. Love, mom

Clutching the letter to my heart, I run downstairs to find Albus. He and Scorpius are laying around on the couch when I jump off the last step.
"Guys! Guess what?"
"You're not going to embarrass us by kissing our heads anymore?" Scorpius asks, hopeful.
"No! But I'm staying here for Christmas! My family is coming here! And we'll be joining the Potters!"
"Are those penguins in elf hats on your socks?" Scorpius points at my feet.
Albus rolls his eyes and then smiles at me. "That's really amazing news, Ellie! I can't wait to spend Christmas with you. Scorpius is coming as well!"
"I'm going to go tell James!"
"Maybe put some shoes on?" Scorpius smirks
"I'm very proud of my Christmas penguin socks thank you very much!"
I do slip some shoes on before running over to the Gryffindor common room. Luckily, Conor is just coming out when I reach it.
"Con! Could you please grab James for me?"
Conor smirks and pulls me into the common room. "Just break the rules, Fletcher! He's up in our dorm."
I laugh as he walks away and ignore the stares from Gryffindors as I run up to find James. As I go to knock on one door it swings open and there's James.
"Hi!" I say
"Hi!" He pulls me into a hug and twirls me around, closing the door behind us. "I was just going to come find you how'd you get in here?"
"Conor pulled me in. But look!" I show him my letter from Mom.
"That is the best news ever." He plops me onto his bed and I'm suddenly very aware we're alone. "Hi," he says laying next to me.
"Hello," I say pulling him closer.
"I love being alone with you." James kisses my mouth lightly.
"I love being alone with you too," I say quietly. We kiss for a while before Desmond and Conor barge in. We both jump up, me hitting my head on his.
"Knocking is actually really cool you know?" James throws his pillow at them while they laugh so hard they fall over.
"It's our room too mate!" Conor throws the pillow back.
"You knew I was in here with Ellie, you prat."
"Yeah exactly, don't want you two doing anything you regret," Desmond says winking at us.
"You're children," I groan.
"Alli is looking for you," Desmond tells me.
I hop out of bed and kiss James before waving bye to the guys and running back over to the Slytherin common room.

It's finally the night of the ball. Everyone is buzzing with excitement, the Slytherin girls all look so beautiful. A lot of Slytherins come from money so they mostly have the best dresses and hair, Alli included.
"You're going to be the absolute most beautiful girl tonight," I tell her as I zip up her dress.
"Shut up! You look even better. James is going to absolutely die," she says.
I look over in the mirror at my maroon dress. It comes all the way up to my throat, the sleeves down to my wrists, my make up looks amazing. My hair has extensions for the night. I have flecks of gold in my hair and nails to make James smile.
When we go downstairs, Albus is waiting for us. He looks so handsome in his dress robes. Slytherin green around the edges, tailored just right like I told him to.
"You both look beautiful!" He gushes.
"You look so handsome," I tell him giving him a kiss on his head. He doesn't swat me away this time.
Suddenly, Albus freezes. I look behind me to see Scorpius looking ridiculously handsome. As he walks over I feel Albus tense up.
"Hey. You look. Wow. You look really good," Albus fumbles over his words, blushing.
"You look even better," Scorpius blushes back.
"Alright lovebirds, shall we all make our entrance?" Alli chimes in.

James's pov:
The guys and I are waiting outside of the ball for our dates. Conor's Hufflepuff girl Dahlia shows up first and he introduces us all. I see Albus and Scorpius walk down the stairs together hand in hand. My heart swells with pride seeing my brother so happy. Alli is close behind them looking amazing.
"Where's Ellie?" I ask after greeting them all.
"She got caught up helping another girl with her dress," Scorpius tells me. "She said she'd be down in a minute."
I tell them all to head in without me while I wait for Ellie. Two Slytherin girls pass by and giggle. "You're going to just die when you see her I know it," one of them says to me. "Tell her thanks for me again," she says before heading into the ball.
I look back up at the top of the stairs and suddenly she's there. I feel the breath leave my lungs. My hands tremble, my heart is either completely stopped or is beating so fast it's undetectable anymore. She looks beyond stunning. As she makes her way down the steps I feel the rest of the castle melt away. Right now it's just me and her.
"I am the luckiest person in the whole damn world," I say once she's reached me. Ellie blushes hard. "You look... beyond words. Stunning doesn't even cover it, Ellie. Honestly."
"You're looking beyond words yourself Mr. Potter," she smiles sweetly at me and gives me a nice kiss.
"I would love to keep you all to myself tonight, but it'd be an absolute crime to not give everyone the chance to see you tonight," I tell her.
Ellie looks in my eyes, pulling herself into my arms. "You are one incredibly smooth talker James Sirius Potter."
I give her another kiss before offering my arm to usher her into the ball. When we enter, all eyes are on Ellie. She'd probably say everyone was looking at both of us but I know the truth. She's breathtaking. She's a different level of beauty every day but tonight her beauty has been amplified. My heart beats faster knowing I'm the most envied bloke in here tonight.