This chapter is dedicated to @reader_meter for the love you have shown for this book and for your comments that helped me out of my writer's slump and back into continuing this book for you all. I really do read all you readers' comments and they make me so happy. I hope I do this book justice for you all.
"So you're dating Archer?"
"Yep, it's official." Aurora popped the p and gave a giddy smile.
"But don't you think- well don't get me wrong, Archer's a great guy, but well, don't you think fourteen is a bit young to date?" James asked.
"Says the boy who thought he was in love with Samantha Wilkerson in third year." Aurora fired back.
"What can I say? Samantha was a hottie." He smiled reminiscing on his third year memories. "Though she was a seventh year and turned me down for Jack Shephard. Damn him" He frowned. "Anyways, people and their thoughts change. I'm a year older. A year wiser. Being turned down young should give me credibility on what I'm talking about." James sat straighter and puffed out his chest as if that would prove what authority and credibility he held. "So what's your idea of the perfect time to start dating?" Aurora threw a curious glance at him and gave a small smirk.
"Fifteen, sixteen? Just anything above fourteen." James shrugged.
"Then it's great you're not the boss of me because I'm dating Archer whether you like it or not." She mimicked James' crossed arms.
"You're like the annoying sister I never had." He groaned.
"Hey!" Lily yelled across the room from where she sat with her group of her friends.
"Nevermind you." James waved his hand in her direction, not bothering to look in her direction.
Lily pouted before breaking into a small laugh and diving into an animated conversation with her friends.
"You're just jealous of Archer because he has more 'fans' in this school than you do!" Aurora said with a defiant smirk even though they both knew this wasn't true. Both James and Archer were friends but could you actually call them both friends if they were really rivals? It was a game to them, to see how many 'fans' they could attract purely based on their charm and looks. Though it was an unwritten and unacknowledged rule that they both would not cheat in any form such as badmouthing the other. It was this rule that saved any possible friendship that Aurora had for them. The game itself was silly, unnecessary and it was something that Aurora often didn't stop herself to remind them.
"Sure." James smirked.
"At least I didn't create a game based on popularity." Aurora rolled her eyes, glaring pointedly at him.
"Psshhh," James said. "Everyone loves that game."
"Sure." She mimicked sarcastically.
\/\//\/\//\/\
James walked through the empty halls desperately wishing he had August by his side to entertain him to stop wandering to the thoughts he had stored in the back of his head. But no, August had procrastinated on his Transfiguration assignment that was due the next day and was busy working on it.
"So you're James Potter?"
A girl with loose blonde curls with and striking blue grey eyes stared up at him with an expectant glance.
"What do you think?" James answered cockily, smirking.
"I think yes." She said.
"Congratulations! You guessed right." James made waved his hands gave and gave a fake grin before continuing is path to wander the halls preferably to make small talk with the portraits. Yes, he was that bored. Part of him wondered if the blonde girl would follow and and another part of him didn't mind if she did. As if reading his mind, she followed him. Sensing this, without looking behind to face her he called, "So you know my name but I don't know yours. What is it?"
Though just as this blonde girl knew that the person she followed was James even before asking, so did he. It was hard not to know who she was with a good 85% of the mainly male population having at least 8 times glanced and not so secretly drooled over her with her figure , sharp eyes and all. She after all was Raven Winslet, one of the smartest witches in their year, only falling shortly behind Noor.
"I'm assuming you already know that." She called back, not in a haste to accelerate her pace to be side to side with James.
"How wouldn't I? It's like a bloody race to see who would answer first whenever Professor Sprout asks a question. You or Noor." He mimicked the teacher. "Ah, yes, Ms. Winslet?" He pointed in her direction before carrying on."Correct! Five points to Ravenclaw." "You, Ms. Khan?" James pointed in the opposite direction where nowhere stood, and imitated how Professor Sprout pointed at her students, with her wand facing down at them, right in their face. "Brilliant!" Five points to Gryffindor!"
What he didn't tell her though, was that he and August was keeping a tally on who answered more questions correctly leading with Noor with just one question ahead. Though Raven didn't need to know how much attention he paid to her. Creepy guys never get the girl. Not that he was planning on asking Raven out, he hastily told himself, but that he had numerous reasons not to ask her out. Number one was that every day at least one boy would (unsuccessfully) ask her out. The answer was always no to the point that most gave up, and some asked her out as a popular dare because seeing someone getting turned for some reason always made many laugh, and few still asked her out just for the kicks of it or in sheer hope that maybe, just maybe she'd say yes. Second reason was that Aurora would call him a hypocrite to the end of his days if he asked her out during fourth year. He could just imagine the conversations.
"You can't even follow your own advice. That says something about you, doesn't it?"
"Man, you are such a hypocrite."
"You tell me not date someone because of my age and then ask someone out at the same age you told me not to date at! What the even Merlin."
"Do we even need to talk about the level of hypocrisy in that pool you just dove in head first or?"
And third was that- "James." James?" Raven snapped her fingers in front of his face, no longer behind him. "Sorry, what? I got distracted for a minute. Just thinking about someone." He said before mentally slapping himself for the last line. Raven would probably ask who and- "Who were you thinking about?" She asked, curiosity peaked.
"Oh," He fumbled. "Just my parents. You know, I just, um, miss them." He scratched his neck awkwardly, imagining how Aurora would laugh and tease that how the ever so smooth James Potter was stuttering. To a girl no less.
Raven seemed to buy his lie though. "I miss my parents as well, they own a small appliance store in the muggle world."
"Your parents are muggles?" James said, surprised.
"No," Raven laughed a tinkering laugh. "They just really like the muggle world. They'd rather live in it."
"But why?" James furrowed his brow in confusion." The wizarding world has everything. We have exploding cards and even moving wizard chess pieces and talking portraits! Who wouldn't want to live in our world!" He exclaimed.
"Apparently them." She laughed. "They just like a simpler life I suppose."
"Sucks to be them." James muttered. Raven laughed once more.
Soon they landed near the ravenclaw dormitories and Raven bid her farewell.
"So friends then?" She asked, grinning. James ran his hand through his hair and chuckled. "Friends."
/\/\/\/
Step one was complete then, she was one step closer to being with James. To be honest, who wouldn't want to be with James? He was an excellent student and had a great body ( This was a sentence that Raven swore to herself she would never tell anyone) from his thick and picturesque hair to that perfect jaw bone. She smiled to herself before turning off her bed light with a simple tug of the rope. All was dark, but all was well.
\/\/\/\/
"Well, it's time to say goodbye." Aurora said looking out onto the families that waited them. It was the end of a successful reign of Selene and her trio and it was the start of an inviting summer for the rest.
"I'll visit a lot." Noor assured Aurora. "You're family to me. And what can I say? I can't live without my family."
"Is that your poetic and meaningful version of saying to not be down and I love you? Because if so, I love you too." Aurora replied.
"You're really good at reading my words." Noor said, impressed.
"What can I say? I can read my family really well."
"BYE RORA!!!" A loud yell ran to Aurora's ears as she turned to James giving her a grin and a salute before turning to his family.
"That boy is loud." Noor smiled a small smile, massaging her ears.
"I can't imagine him any other way." Aurora said looking in James' direction.
"I can't imagine you any other way than perfect." A new voice entered.
Aurora turned smiling, to face Archer. "For a moment I thought you'd forget to say goodbye."
"Me?" Archer scoffed. "Never."
"Good that."
They smiled at each other before Noor broke the silence.
"I'm not being forgotten am I?" "You?" Aurora scoffed imitating Archer. "Never."