It was New Years Eve and the Wood family was finishing cleaning up the house. This year it was easier than it usually was because Kristen and Andrew were allowed to do magic outside of school. The two of them, along with their parents, could quickly perform spells to help get the cleaning done, which reduced the amount of time spent on a certain task. Savannah, however, still had to do cleaning the muggle way, which drove her crazy.
The clock struck seven and soon people started pouring into the house. A lot of the same people who had attended the Potter's Christmas party were at this party, but this time there were a lot more Ravenclaws.
"Kristen!" Samantha exclaimed, hugging her when she saw her.
She was quickly followed by Kailey and Kim coming to the party.
"I see that you managed to survive the Potter's Christmas party," Kailey stated.
"Yeah, I did. It actually wasn't that bad this year," Kristen replied.
A look of surprise was passed between her three friends. Kristen having fun doing anything remotely having to do with James was unheard of.
"Who did you end up getting a present from?" Kim asked.
"James," Kristen replied, her voice lacking a certain tone of hatred that her friends had come accustom to over the years.
"Oh Merlin," Samantha said, "Please tell me he gave you a better gift than he did in second year."
"Thankfully, he did. He got me a muggle book. I already finished reading it. It was quite good I must say. We won't be burning anything again this year."
When Kristen had gotten back from Hogwarts in her second year, she had brought the stupid make up kit James had given her for Christmas. To cheer her up, Kailey had suggested burning the thing. It had been quite fun and made Kristen feel a lot better.
In another room, Andrew was talking with Taylor. He was actually enjoying the fact that he was having a conversation with her. It seemed as if he had been talking to her for hours. Looking up the clock, he realized that it was already 11:45. The New Year would begin in fifteen minutes.
"I never got a proper chance to thank you for that necklace you got me," Taylor stated, fingering it as she spoke to him, "I really like it."
He had decided on getting her a necklace with a quaffle on it. He had to admit that it looked quite good on her.
"I'm glad you like it," Andrew stated, smiling.
"So what is your new years resolution going to be?" Taylor asked.
"I have a couple in mind. Like usual, I am going to try to get James to stop pranking my sister. He's gotten better, but he still manages to pull something once every other week. Also, I think I'm going to try and settle down. I want to get out of random snogging in broom closets and actually get into a real relationship."
"Does that mean that you have someone in mind who you would like to get into a relationship with?"
"As a matter of fact I do."
All too soon the final countdown began.
"10!"
"Can I ask you something?" Andrew asked.
"9!"
"Yeah," Taylor replied.
"8!"
"What would you do if I did something crazy?"
"7!"
"It would depend on what you do."
"6!"
"I don't want you to hate me."
"5!"
"I could never hate you Andrew."
"4!"
"Then I'm going to risk it."
"3!"
"Risk what?"
"2!"
"You'll see."
"1! Happy New Year!"
At that moment, Andrew risked it. He knew she could shove him away, repulsed at the idea. He knew that this could ruin their friendship. He wasn't thinking though. At the moment, he wasn't thinking about all the terrible possibilities that could happen. All he could think about was the fact that he had just pressed his lips to hers and he was unbelievably happy when she soon started kissing him back.
A few seconds later, they pulled apart, slowly looking up at each other. Smiles started spreading across both of their faces and Andrew realized that the risk had been worth it.
"Happy New Year, Andrew," Taylor said.
"Happy New Year, Taylor," Andrew replied.
This time it was Taylor who started the kiss, but he joined in almost immediately. She had liked Andrew for a while. She wasn't the type of girl like Jessica, who had made it obvious enough so that anyone could figure out. Hers was for more secretive. She hadn't told anyone, even Jessica, her best friend. She definitely hadn't mentioned it to Kristen or any of Andrew's friends. She had kept the secret in her heart, hoping one day that he might feel the same way she did. Well, it looked like today, the first day of 2022, was that day.
***
James and Louis stood in the corner, watching their friends kissing their girlfriends. Out of the corner of his eye, James could tell that Kristen was with her friends and not another guy, which made him happier. He wished that he'd have the courage to go talk to her. She'd just laugh in his face though. Besides, Andrew would probably beat the shit out of him if he tried to make a move on her.
"They're so lucky," Louis mumbled, looking at his friends.
"You could have found Alyssa and talked to her," James stated, "I'm pretty sure she's somewhere in this house."
"I tried talking to her but she was with some other guy. I think it was Henry Stone. Anyway, if you take your eyes off of Kristen for a second and take a look to your left, you'll see that she's having the same kind of fun that our friends are having."
James quickly looked, and sure enough, Alyssa's lips were on Henry's. He felt bad for his cousin. At least the two of them were alone together.
"You want to go over there and snog her, don't you?" Louis asked.
"Yeah, I do," James replied honestly.
"You can't do that though. Andrew will hate you."
James took a deep breath, looking quickly at Kristen, before turning back to his cousin.
"I know," James sighed, "I know."
***
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