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.
Ellie's pov:
James has made me feel so special tonight. He's truly made me feel like the most beautiful girl not only at the ball but in the whole world. He's not as awkward at dancing as I thought he might be, actually.
After our fifth dance in a row, I feel the need for some water and a good sit. I find Albus and Scorpius who are ready to sit as well and Scorpius goes with James to get refreshments.
"Are you guys having fun?" I ask Albus, leaning against him as he leans against me.
"A blast, really! I'm so happy you convinced him to finally ask me out. Don't try to deny it."
"Okay fine I'll take credit for the cutest couple here."
"You really do look amazing you know? Everyone is saying it. Some of the sixth year Gryffindor guys are trying to find a way to distract you from James," he tells me.
"Well, one, thank you for the compliment and two... they can try it but it won't work. He's truly got me wrapped around his finger. Don't tell him that though."
"He won't hear it from me."
"Who won't hear what from you?" James says from behind us, passing over water cups.
"Nothing," we both say innocently.
"Hmm sure, I believe that." James looks between us and smirks.
"Albus the song!" Scorpius jumps to his feet.
"Oh wow! Let's go!" They both go running off to the dance floor.
James and I look after them. "We look like parents you know?" I say after a while. "That's why they swat me away when I kiss their heads I'm like their mother."
James laughs and reaches over to my hand. "You'd be the cool mom I think."
"And you'd the the embarrassing but secretly cool dad," I tell him and laugh at his expression.
"I need some air, what about you?" When I nod, James helps me up and brings me outside with him. "Desmond and Alli look sharp together right? That was a good setup on your part," James compliments me.
"I'm pretty good at that. Although I have to admit I didn't see Conor and Dahlia coming."
"Yeah no one did! But he admitted to us that he's fancied her since our first year." It's quiet between us for a while.
"Who did you like before you met me? I've heard a bit about your reputation. Who was it going to be before me?" I look over at him. He's not grinning like I thought he would be. "James?"
"Do you see that over there? Somethings wrong. Over by the forest." James's eyes focus out to the edge of the forest where I do see some odd movement. Then suddenly, a yell for help.
Without even thinking about it, James and I start running towards the yelling. I kick off my shoes as I run because they're just slowing me down. Suddenly my heart sinks to the ground as I see a familiar head of hair. Scorpius.
Some bigger guy has blood on his knuckles and dress robes and is holding Scorpius up to punch him again. "Hey!" James pushes the guy to the ground and starts punching his face with such brute force it scares me.
"Scorpius honey are you okay?" I turn to my sweet boy who's face is covered in blood. He's shaking so hard and crying even harder. I pull him close to my chest and look over to see James still beating the life out of the guy. "James! Enough!"
"No it's not!" He yells and starts bashing the guys head on the ground.
"Shit James!" I hug Scorpius closer to me, scared for so many reasons. "Where's Albus?" I whisper to Scorpius but he's unable to answer.
"James! Alright!" Out of nowhere, Desmond shows up to pull James off of the asshole who hurt my boy. "James just stop! Where is your brother?"
James throws himself on the guy again, shaking him. "Where's my brother you piece of shit?"
"I found him!" Conor yells from deeper in the forest, practically dragging a barley conscious Albus out.
My whole body shakes and I feel myself collapse. "Albus!" James yells and runs over, scooping him up. Desmond pries Scorpius away from me and Conor helps me up, taking gentle steps with me all the way to the infirmary.
"I don't understand. They were just dancing I just saw them!" I say, shaking as we walk.
"It's gonna be okay," Conor whispers to me, holding on tight.
"Conor, I don't understand," I cry.
"That guy back there... he's been threatening to hurt Albus and Scorpius since they became a couple. He's very homophobic. James made us promise not to tell you so you wouldn't worry."
I stop walking and look in his eyes. "What?" Conor looks down, ashamed. "I could've kept a better eye on them. I could've helped them. This could've been avoided!" I yell. James doesn't look back but Desmond does. "Just go! Hurry, they're hurt really badly. We'll talk about this later."
We all finally get to the infirmary and everyone but James is instructed to leave, despite my very loud protests. I slump down outside of the infirmary, defeated.
Desmond and Conor stand in front of me, waiting to be screamed at again. But I have no energy for it. "You should have at least told Mcgonagall," I say quietly.
"We did, that's why that kid was kicked out of Hogwarts. We had no idea he'd be stupid enough to come back and hurt them," Desmond says annoyed.
"What's with the tone?" I look up at him.
"He's my family too. I love him too." He crosses his arms and looks away.
"You're right, I'm sorry." I stand up and give them each a kiss on the cheek and start walking away.
"Where are you going?" Conor yells after me.
"We aren't needed here for tonight you guys. I'm going to change out of this dress and scream into my pillow for a while." I look at them for a minute. "I told him they'd be okay and they're not. They're not okay and there's nothing I can do about it." I turn and head straight for my dorm.
Ripping off my bloodstained dress, I still feel myself shaking. My boys. My sweet boys are hurt. I rip out my extensions and wipe off my already tear stained makeup. I scream as loudly as I can and punch my bed several times. I should have known. I should have watched them better. Why can't I control these things? Why are people so cruel? Standing there naked I decide I officially look insane.
I pull on some pajamas and crawl into bed, crying hysterically. Please just let them be okay.