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The group had decided to head upstairs for the night all except James and Nico who played a game of Exploding Snap on the floor infront of the fire and Alya who read her book on the sofa, occasionally looking up in amusement as either boy whined a...

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The group had decided to head upstairs for the night all except James and Nico who played a game of Exploding Snap on the floor infront of the fire and Alya who read her book on the sofa, occasionally looking up in amusement as either boy whined as they lost a game or accused the other of cheating.

The firelight danced across her face as she pulled the blue knitted blanket up to her chin.

"Ha! I win!" James shouted jumping up off the floor

"Shut up you prick. You cheated and you're going to wake everyone up if you keep screaming"

"You're just angry you lost again" James shrugged

"I've had enough. I'm leaving" Nico rolled his eyes standing up and heading up the stairs

"Sore loser" James smirked packing up the cards and pausing, "You want a game Hill?" 

"No I'm alright thanks" Alya smiled back

James nodded walking over to the sofa and sitting down beside her.

"May I? The others have been taken upstairs" He asked gesturing to the blanket that she was under

"Oh, er yeah sure" she nodded, opening up the blanket as James shuffled underneath it beside her.

He smiled at her gently as their arms brushed. Alya focused her attention onto the pages of her book not looking at James.

"What are you reading that's so interesting?" He asked peering over her shoulder

"It's an old fable by mum used to read to me when I was little"

James looked at her blankly.

"You know? The Tortoise and the hare?"

"Nope" he shook his head

Alya laughed to herself, "of course it's a Muggle tale"

"My dad was raised by muggles" James hummed, "and my Grandad, on my mother's side, had a Muggle mum. Though they never told me many Muggle stories"

"Well I suppose they have lots of real life stories to tell" Alya replied

"You could only imagine" James smiled, "I've no idea how they've both lasted this long to be honest" he laughed, "they definitely had a few screws loose"

"Well the apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it" Alya grinned teasingly making James nudge her softly

"Very funny"

"So are you going to tell me one of these stories?" She asked

"Afterwards you have to tell me the Muggle story"

"Deal. But I doubt it'll be as interesting as your parents stories"

"You never know" James shrugged, " In my dads fourth year he was entered into the triwizard tournament. You know of that right?" He asked as Alya nodded, "so anyway, he didn't put him name in the goblet and was forced to go ahead with the tournament. He never wanted to, but it was just the rules. He told me all about the different tasks. The first one, he had to retrieve a golden egg from a dragon. They made the quidditch stadium into a massive pit and chained the  dragons inside to protect the egg. He used his firebolt to retrieve it. In the second task he found out he'd have to swim in the lake to retrieve something important to him, Ron. You know Ron? Professor Longbottom told my dad all about Gillyweed and he was able to hold his breath for the full hour saving not only Ron but the rest of the champions loved ones. As for the third task, well that was a maze. The maze held several challenges and tasks that they all had to complete. The first person to claim the cup would be the winner. And well... you know how that turned out"

"What about your mum? Does she have any stories?"

"A few but none as extreme as my dads" James replied, "so come on, tell me about this Muggle tale" he smirked as he stretched and draped an arm around Alya's shoulder.

She looked at it raising an eyebrow before looking back to James who smiled at her expectantly.

"A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow" Alya started, "it kept saying things such as, 'do you even get anywhere' and 'that he might as well give up'. The tortoise, however, just replied with words as such, 'I may get there sooner than you think'. And so to prove the tortoise wrong the hare challenged it to a race. At the start of the race the hare went tearing off as the Tortoise started walking slowly. Half way through the race the hare became cocky and decided that he was so far infront of the tortoise he could fit in a quick nap. The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time. It's all about the saying, 'slow and steady wins the race"

James nodded, thinking over the fable while looking over Alya's face that was slightly pink from the warmth of the fire, blanket and closeness of James.

"Slow and steady wins the race?" He asked leaning over to her

Alya's breath caught as he neared her

He reached out and tucked a fallen strand of hair behind her ear.

"Slow and steady wins the race" he repeated leaning back, "Goodnight Hill" he smiled, standing up from the sofa and nodding to her before making his way up to the stairs.

Alya let herself finally inhale. She felt as if all the oxygen had suddenly rushed back into the room letting her breathe. She dragged a hand through her hair and down her face before wiping her eyes tiedly. She must of been more sleep deprived than she originally thought.

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A/N

Miss hill are you crushing on Mr Potter? It's a yes or no question. Very simple.

Addictive Attraction 3 ~ J.S.P Where stories live. Discover now