Okay readers, here's another update! Its back to Hogwarts we go! These next two are going to be the kids all finally getting dates to the Yule Ball. We'll get back to H/Hr soon, though…have patience, they aren't going to happen overnight! Anyway, hope you like the update! I've already started the next chapter, so hopefully that we'll come soon!
Chapter 11
"We really need to find dates," Danny said nervously as he ignored his twenty-five inch essay on vampires that needed to be done by tomorrow. "It's November now…it's getting down to the wire."
James just shrugged and kept on scribbling down his work.
"Of course you're calm about it," Danny said, pouting a little. "A lot of the girls are staying available for you. Why haven't you asked anybody yet?"
James shrugged again. "I guess I'm waiting for the right time."
Danny sighed as he drummed his fingers on the table. They were in the Head Boy / Head Girl common room, but Samantha was still in her Ancient Ruins class. "I guess I could figure it out by the end of the week," he continued. "And I could always ask Sammy as a last resort."
James stopped writing and looked up. 'How can you be sure she'll be available?"
"She hasn't been asked yet, has she? And a lot of blokes probably already think she and I are going together."
James scowled and squeezed his quill so tight it almost snapped in two. He really liked Danny, but moments like these really made him want to smack him. Before he could do anything though, the portrait door sprang open and Samantha walked in.
"Hey," she sighed plopping in a chair next to James and across from Danny. "That exam was brutal…but I think I did okay….what are you guys working on? The vampire essay? I already finished, but I suppose I could always tweak it a bit."
She slid her wand free of her hair and sent it tumbling down around her. James sighed deeply as he couldn't help but stare. He was a goner. "Samantha?" James asked.
"Hmm?" she murmured while she dug through her bag for her essay.
"Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
Sam's head darted up and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Wh-what?"
"The Yule Ball. Do you want to go with me?"
"James, what are you doing?" Danny hissed leaning over the table.
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked looking him now. "I'm asking Samantha to the Yule Ball. I wanted to ask her for a long time, but I held back because I thought you wanted to ask her."
"I did!" he exclaimed while Samantha remained silent as she looked back and forth between him with her mouth gaped open.
"No, you just told me you would ask her as a last resort," James countered back then looked at Samantha. "I personally think she deserves more than just some girl to settle on."
Samantha blushed…looking down shyly while Danny sputtered in protest. "Samantha," he said again, leaning towards her. "I'm asking you straight out…do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me? I want to go with you …and no one else."
James waiting in agony as Samantha kept eye contact with him. Would she say yes? Or would she break his heart and turn him down? She sighed softly as she reached for his hand on the table, but to his surprise she turned to Danny. "Is it true? Did you say you only were going to ask me as a last resort?"
Danny hesitated. "Yes, but…I didn't mean it…I was going to ask you all along…I swear."
"What if I wasn't available?" she said asking the same question James had. "Because I had offers…plenty of them."
"What?" both Danny and James asked at the same time.
"You did?" James asked and Sam replied with a quick nod.
"Why did you turn them down?" Danny asked.
"Because I was waiting for someone else to ask me…someone I've cared about for a long time."
Danny's eyes softened. "Sammy, I promise you…I was going to ask you…I just wanted to wait and…"
"Danny," she interrupted shaking her head sadly. "The person I've been waiting for…he just asked me." She looked over at James and squeezed his hand. "And this is me saying that….I'd love to go with you."
Relief swept over him as he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He couldn't do or say anything else, but smile at her, which she received and happily returned.
"I don't believe this!" Danny yelled breaking the silence. "How could you, mate?"
James sighed. "Danny…"
"No, James," Samantha said holding up a hand. "You don't need to explain anything to him."
"The bloody hell he doesn't!" Danny shot back.
"No, Danny…this is my fault." She sighed closing her eyes briefly as she tried to figure out the best words to say. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her dear friend. "I should have been honest with you from the start, instead of prolonging things. The truth is…I've had…feelings for James for awhile now, but…I kept them to myself because I didn't think he felt that way about me…"
"Sammy," James started completely dumfounded.
"No, please," she said holding up a hand to him. "We'll talk about it later…in fact…Why don't you meet me in the Room of Requirements? I need to talk to Danny."
"Don't bother," Danny said angrily as he darted up and quickly collected his things. "I'll just leave you two alone."
"No, Danny, please don't go," Sammy said urgently as she stood up frantically. "We need to talk about this."
Danny glared at her as he put his bag around his shoulder. "No…we really don't." He gave James the same stare and then stalked out of the room angrily.
"Danny, wait!"
"No, let him go," James said holding her off. "You know Danny…all dramatic and everything. There's no reason to talk to him until he calms down."
Samantha sighed, dropping her shoulders in defeat as she walked over to the couch and sat down. "I never meant to hurt him. I handled this so badly."
"It's not your fault," James said sitting next to her and put an arm around her. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked you in front of him that way, but…I don't regret it…I got so mad when he told me he was going to ask you as a last option…like he was going to settle for second place."
She leaned into his embrace, placing her head on his shoulders. "He doesn't love me…he only thinks he does."
James rested his cheek on the top of her head and nuzzled. "I know…he'll find someone though…someone he'll be as crazy about as I am about you."
"James," she said slightly embarrassed as she buried her face in his shoulder.
James grinned as he pulled her close, pleasantly surprised by this side of her. His Samantha had always been so confident and sure of herself. "It's true," he assured her giving her a small kiss on the top of her head.
Samantha sighed deeply. "Why are you so sweet?"
"It's part of the Potter Charm."
Samantha laughed as she pulled away. "I can believe that. Your father is very charming."
"Apparently," he said with a chuckle. "According to Mum….she loved him since the first time she saw him at the train station."
"She was starstruck."
"Oh, yeah…big time, which is why it took so long for them to get together…my dad didn't like his fame at all. My Aunt Hermione told me that he was far from perfect when he was younger…completely clueless about girls."
"Sounds familiar," she said with a teasing grin.
"Hey, I wasn't that bad," he said playfully shoving her.
"Oh, yeah? Remember right before you started seeing Kiki? It took you forever to realize she was flirting with you and she was practically thrusting her chest in your face."
James winced a bit with a laugh. "Okay, I'll give you that. I've gotten better…but not perfect." He reached up to brush his fingers over her soft hair. "I was still clueless about how you felt about me."
Samantha blushed looking down for a moment. "Oh…well. That's not really your fault." She looked back at him and gave a little shrug. "I tried my best to hide it from you."
"Why?" he asked taking a hand in his. "How long have you felt that way about me?"
"Since before Kiki," she admitted, nervously biting her lip.
His brows rose. "Since before…" He broke off and sighed. "Sammy, why didn't you say anything? Granted, I might have been shocked at first…but it wouldn't have taken me long to figure out I felt the same way."
"I didn't know that," she said shaking her head. "And I'm so different from all the girls you had crushes on or dated. Especially Kiki…she's all stacked and curvy and I'm…skinny and awkward. And I have big ears."
"Samantha," he said scooting closer to her. "You are far from skinny and awkward…and I happened to think your ears are adorable."
She snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. "If you say so."
"I say so," he said reaching up to fiddle with her small silver hoop earring. "You're gorgeous, Sammy. And for your information…you were my first crush."
Samantha's jaw dropped as all she could do was stare.
"Don't look so shocked," he continued. "You were the first girl who talked to me…obviously not including my cousins or sisters. You had to have noticed how I stuttered a lot when we first started hanging out." She shook her head dumbly. "Well…I did. And you were really cool…not like the other eleven year old girls who giggled all the time. Anyway, the more we hung out…the more my crush turned into likeness, because…I was more comfortable around you, then…I made myself think of you as nothing more than a friend, because I had a feeling Danny liked you and I thought…you might like him, too. I didn't want to get in the way of that."
Samantha blew out a breath of disbelief as she let it all soak in. "Sooo…when did your feelings for me start to change?"
"Towards the end of last year," he said smiling softly. "But I always knew I felt something for you, Sammy…I just ignored it. It was stupid of me to do so."
"And I should have told you sooner," she said turning more towards him causing their knees to touch. "But maybe it was meant to happen this way. We just weren't ready for each other yet."
"Are we ready now?" he asked as he now had both her hands gripped in his.
"I think we are," she said as she felt her heart begin to race with anticipation on what was going to happen next. "So are we going to do this?"
"I sure hope so," he said, brushing his thumbs over the tops of her hands. "We can go slow…if you like."
"We could," she agreed as they both managed to move their heads closer together. "Maybe its best if we take things slowly…we don't want to rush into anything."
James shifted his eyes to her lips. "Probably right."
"Yeah," she sighed as her eyes fluttered closed when his warm breath fanned his lips.
"Sam?"
"Hmm?"
"There's only one problem."
"What's that?"
"I really want to kiss you right now."
Samantha sighed dreamily as she opened her eyes lazily to him. "That's fantastic, because I really want you to kiss me."
James grinned. "That's excellent news. Maybe one kiss…to officially say our relationship has turned."
"Okay," she said softly as her eyes went to his lips.
"Okay," James said as well before filling in the short space between them until their mouths fused together.
It was a soft meeting of lips. She sighed deeply, relaxing into the kiss while James touched the side of her face. He murmured a sound of approval as he continued to taste her…keeping it nothing more than gentle nips and short, sweet kisses. Then she let out a slow, husky moan from the back of her throat and he answered by suddenly plunging his tongue into her mouth, tasting her deeply for the first time.
Their moans merged together as their limbs wrapped tightly around each other. James yanked her until she was straddling his lap while their lips and mouth stayed busy. His hands explored up and down her long slender back, before getting lost in that long silky hair he loved, gripping handfuls of it while his mouth now assaulted her neck and shoulders.
Sam groaned in delight as she cocked her head to the side. "Then again…going slow is overrated."
He chuckled softly against her ear before nipping gently on her earlobe, flicking her earring with his tongue. "I couldn't agree more," he murmured then surprised her by suddenly shifting her back against the couch.
She laughed as she fell back on the couch and James loomed over her, grinning down at her. "There's that Potter Charm," she said playfully as she reached up to cradle his face as he swooped down for a long steamy kiss.
She had a feeling that Potter Charm was going to get her in trouble many of times. She groaned when she felt the delicious feeling of James' body pressing her into the couch. Oh yeah, she thought as she sank into the kiss. She was in trouble.
XXXX
Danny found himself heading for the kitchens. A large bowl of chocolate pudding slathered in whip cream sounded like a good way to drown in his sorrows. The small pudgy little boy he use to be still lived inside of the tall, lean body he had now. Although he still had the crazy mop of brown hair and the same soft hazel eyes, his body had taken a drastic change between the ages eight and ten. Although the pudgy boy was long gone, it still came out to play every once and awhile when he was depressed or stressed. Eating away his problems was one of his favorite pastimes when he was a boy.
He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be furious. He wanted to feel betrayed. The truth was, he felt none of those things. Instead, he felt depressed and incredibly lonely. It didn't seem fair that everyone seemed to have someone except him. He had been holding out on Samantha…at least, that's what he told himself, but was that really true?
Yes, he adored her and would do anything for her, but…he also adored his little sister, too. Maybe she was right…maybe he didn't really feel the way he thought he felt about her. If he did…wouldn't he have done something by now?
He shook his head clear as he approached the entrance to the kitchen. Don't think about it, he told himself as he tickled the pear. Right now he was going to sit down and eat some damn pudding. When the painting opened he stepped inside and the sound of cheers swept over him. Confused he walked in further to see what the fuss was about and was completely taken back at what he saw.
Every single house elf was looking up at awe at a girl whose back was to him, yet he knew exactly who it was. Her long fiery red hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and its tail swished back and forth while she juggled an apple, an orange and a banana. She threw the banana extra high, causing gasps from the house elves, but then cheers erupted when she easily caught it.
She was the youngest daughter of George and Katie Weasley. According to James, his Uncle George was determined to name his son after his long lost twin brother, Fred, who had died heroically during the war that had happened before he was even born.
Katie and George's first born was a girl and so Maggie Weasley was named, who was now twenty-two and engaged. Then came the twins…Kathryn and Kayla who were now playing professional Quidditch. They were one of the top Beaters in the league. About a year after the twins…little Emily joined the word, who had just graduated from Hogwarts a year ago and from what Danny had heard, was an editor for Witch Weekly. A year and half later after Emily was born, Katie became pregnant for the last time. George seemed to have been destined to be surrounded by girls…even their family dog was female. Their youngest daughter was born, so George…who was still determined to honor his twin brother…named her Fredrika Molly Weasley. Better known as, Freddie.
And she was definitely her father's daughter and George's twin brother Fred, would definitely be proud of her. She worked at her dad's joke shop during the summer and also put up quite a good business while she was at school. Her dad owled shipments to her and she had the talent of selling them like hotcakes. She had even invented a few gags of her own. She was also one of the Beaters on the Gryffindor team, Danny being the other one, which was why they were so close.
Next to James and Samantha, he probably knew her the best. They had made the team when he was in fourth year and Freddie in third…beating out older players according to the captain, because of the chemistry they had. Good Beaters had to have good communication and he definitely had that with Freddie.
With a grin on his face he used the advantage of her not knowing he was behind her and watched the show. With ease, she shifted all three fruits to one hand without breaking rhythm, whipped out her wand and pointed to the bowl of fruit on the table. "Accio, pear!" she said and then slid her wand back in her pocket seconds before catching the pear with her free hand and easily threw the pear in with the mix, now juggling four different kinds of fruit. The house elves clapped and cheered with excitement and Danny clapped as well without realizing it.
Not expecting to hear clapping from behind her, Freddie gasped and spun around, losing her concentration as all four fruits splattered to the floor. The house elves gave a long collective "aww" of disappointment as they looked sadly at the dropped fruit. "Danny!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you were there…I…" She turned back around at the elves. "Oh…I'm sorry guys…I'll come back soon for another show."
They seemed to be okay with that promise, because they all went quickly back to their jobs. Danny walked over to a very flustered and embarrassed Freddie. "Nice show," he teased shoving his hands in his pockets. "I didn't know you could juggle."
"It's no big deal," she said shrugging it off. "I come in here sometime to give them a show. They get a kick out of it."
"I noticed."
"Er…what are you doing here?"
"I had an intense craving for a huge bowl of chocolate pudding and whip cream." Seconds later a bowl filled to the rim with pudding and whip cream was shoved in his hands. "Wow," he said impressed.
"Bad day?" she asked as they both went over to sit at the kitchen table.
"Not great," he admitted as he put the bowl in between them so they could share.
Freddie took the spoon Danny handed to her and dug in. "Want to talk about it?"
He opened his mouth to tell her no, but what came out instead was, "James asked Sam to the Yule Ball."
"Oh," she said as Danny took a healthy bite.
"And now they are together."
She cleared her throat as she spooned some more pudding. "I see."
"And probably are snogging right now," he added with a harsh laugh. "What girl could resist James Potter?"
"What girl could resist Danny Logan?" she answered back with a teasing grin.
He rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Samantha Mason?"
"Samantha Mason has been in love with James Potter since the first time she met him."
Danny eyed her as he took a bite. "Is this your idea of a pep talk, Freddie? Because I have to tell you…you suck at it."
"What I'm saying is…there is no need to be upset over loosing a girl you never had. She's always belonged to James, Danny. I know everyone thought the two of you would get together…the way you guys bump heads and all, but…I always thought people were so blind in missing the way those two looked at each other."
Danny sighed. "You weren't the only one. I noticed plenty, but…refused to accept it."
"I don't think you are as upset about James and Samantha as you think you are." She took a spoonful of pudding in her mouth, letting the spoon linger in her mouth as she studied him. "Something else is bothering you."
Danny winced as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Sometimes he forgot how well Freddie could actually read him. "Yeah, maybe." He gave a little pout as he rested his chin on his hand while he was now sliding the spoon in the pudding, but not eating it. "It's just stress in finding a date to the Yule Ball. It's around the corner and I'm probably the only bloke without a date."
"I highly doubt that," she said as she started to fiddle with the pudding as well. "I'm in the same boat though…I'm dateless as well."
Danny blinked up in surprise. "Get out….I thought Ben Jenison was going to ask you. He told me one day after practice." He had remembered that, because Ben had asked him if it would be okay if he asked her.
"Why would I care?" Danny had asked in return.
Ben had shrugged uncomfortably. "Well…you two are so close, I just…I wanted to make sure, but…if you're cool with it, than that's great."
Danny had watched him walk off with a weird unpleasant feeling in his gut. He had quickly pushed it away. Why would he care if Ben and Freddie went together?.
"He did," Freddie confirmed. "I turned him down." She gave a little shrug. "He's like a brother to me and he doesn't even like me…I know he likes my friend Jenny and was just taking me because it was safe…I called him out on it. When he admitted he did like her, I told him to get his butt in gear and ask her."
Danny couldn't help but laugh. "And did he?"
"Yep. She said yes."
"Good news for Jenison," he said with a chuckle. "He's a great Keeper, but lousy with girls."
"And you're any better?"
"Touché."
Freddie laughed as she shook her head and took another bite. "What's wrong with us, Danny? We're good people…we deserve to find a date."
"You're right," he said as he dove into the pudding as well. "We're good-looking people…it shouldn't be so hard."
"Exactly."
"I have an idea…why not the two of us forget finding dates and go together."
Freddie paused and her brows lifted. "Really? You want to go with me?"
He gave a little shrug. "Well…you know…everyone else is taken sooo…I guess you'll have to do," he said with a teasing grin.
Freddie gasped out a laugh. "Danny Logan! You obnoxious prat!" She scooped up a spoonful of pudding and sent it flying.
Danny jerked when a glop of pudding smacked him right in the face. His jaw dropped in astonishment while Freddie, along with a few house elves that caught the act, snickered evilly. "Oh, you're in trouble now," he warned as he got up from his chair.
Freddie shot up as well, laughing as she tried to make a run for it, but Danny caught her from around the waist. With her back pressed against his chest he grabbed a handful of pudding and smacked it in her face. She laughed as she squirmed in his arms, trying to reach for pudding herself to throw back at him.
He didn't know how it happened. One minute they were battling it out with whip cream and pudding and the next, she was facing him in his arms and their lips found each other in a long, passionate kiss. It didn't seem to matter that there were house elves around them, most of them trying their best to ignore the public display of affection.
"You taste incredible," he breathed as he finally pulled away from her mouth.
"You taste like chocolate pudding," she said breathing just as hard.
He grinned. "Gee, I wonder why." He kissed her again, loving the feel of her wrapped around him. "We should probably get out of here." Another kiss merged into another as he started to back her out of the kitchen. "I don't think this is the kind of show you promised them."
Freddie giggled against his mouth as she let him lead her out. "We should probably go clean up, too…we're kind of a mess."
"A chocolate pudding fight will do that to you," he said as he pulled away and grabbed her hand so they could walk out together. "At least it's not a mud fight…had one of those with James and Sam. Smelled a lot worse and…" He sneaked in to nibble some pudding off her chin. "Didn't taste nearly as good."
"I would imagine not," she murmured as she found his mouth once more, now kissing him in the middle of the corridor.
"Get a room," a student mumbled as he passed them.
"Okay, we need to stay away," Freddie said leaning back. "Safe distance until we get somewhere private."
"Fine with me…let's clean up and then we can go somewhere and…"
"Danny!"
Freddie and Danny both stopped and looked to see James and Samantha walking up to them. "Oh. Hey, guys, er…what are you doing here? I thought you two were…talking."
Samantha blushed slightly and looked at James before looking back at Danny. "Well…we were…talking,
then…stopped, because…we felt bad about how we left things with you."
"We wanted to talk to you, mate," James said and then frowned. "What's all over your faces?"
"Oh." He shared a quick laugh with Freddie. "Chocolate pudding. We sort of had a…pudding fight."
"A pudding fight?" James asked with a grin. "Sounds pretty fun."
"Yeah…anyway, uh…don't worry about it…I'm fine with you all and everything."
"Danny," Samantha said taking a step closer to him. "We really wanted to talk to you…you know we care about you."
"We'll talk later…I promise I'm okay…we're okay and I'm happy for the both of you, but like I said we'll talk later."
"Okay," she said with hesitation. "If you're sure."
"Yep, positive. Er…we're going to go clean up and go somewhere and….talk."
"Oh, let's just tell it like it is," Freddie said with a roll of her eyes. "We're going to go somewhere and snog."
"Right," Danny said a little embarrassed. "That. We're going to go and somewhere and snog…see you two later."
"Well," Samantha said shaking her head as she watched them walk off. "What the hell were we worried about?" she asked with a laugh.
"Danny is snogging my cousin," James said shaking his head. "That is so weird." He shrugged it off. "Oh well, I'll get use to it I guess. Looks like things all turned out pretty good," James said putting an arm around her. "Why don't you and I go somewhere and snog as well. Room of Requirements just around the corner."
"That sounds like an excellent idea."
He gave her a little squeeze. "I knew you'd agree."