Chapter Text
Alice Longbottom groaned, rolling over in the double bed to glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table. She slowly registered the blurry red numbers and huffed, throwing back the heavy duvet and blanket. She threw her legs over the edge of the bed. Pushing herself up, she headed to the ensuite bathroom.
She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror as she flipped on the hot water for a shower and grimaced. Her skin was pale and clammy, and her heart was racing uncomfortably in her chest. As the bathroom began to fill with steam, she opened the cabinet. She ignored the bottles of various pills and went straight for the crystal phials set out for each day of the week.
After a hot shower, she padded over to her closet, still wrapped in her towel. She scanned the array of thick woollen jumpers she had acquired from her father and smiled as her eyes fell on a familiar black and grey patterned cardigan he had given her only three weeks prior. It was still singed and holey in places.
She ran her fingers over the worn fabric before she turned to the other options in her closet. Her eyes lingered on the jumpers, but she knew her brother would comment on her style choice if she went down stairs in leggings anymore.
She huffed, tugging her long dark red hair into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She then spotted the newest purchase her mother had urged her to make, and hide in her closet before her father found out. She smirked.
An hour later, she took a long look at the female staring back at her in the full length mirror as she spritzed her favourite – and most expensive – perfume over her scent points. She nibbled on her lip, as she heard her father shout up the stairs to her. She took a deep breath before tucking her wand into her thigh high heels and grabbing the handbag she had packed the night before, throwing her lip gloss in as she headed towards the door; too late to change now.
Alice flipped her hair over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen, pressing a swift kiss to her father’s cheek, followed quickly by her mother’s, and she made for the fireplace, already reaching for the Floo Powder when an arm stopped her from stepping into the bright green flames.
“You are not going anywhere dressed like that.” Frank Longbottom scowled down at his sister. “You never wear stuff like that.”
“Mama bought me this outfit.” Alice smirked at her twin brother, who towered over her despite the four inch heels.
“Hannah?” Neville choked, staring at his wife.
Hannah rolled her eyes and shrugged, knowing all eyes were on her as she returned to the sink full of dishes. “Alice is seventeen, not twelve. She is an adult, and she looks gorgeous, as per usual.”
Alice smiled. “Thanks mama!” She called ducking under her brothers’ arm and he caught her wrist before she could fully step into the fireplace.
“We’re going out to meet Fred, Louis and James.” Frank put the emphasis on his name, knowing the effect it usually had on his sister.
In an effort to look nonplussed, she rolled her eyes. “Roxanne, Molly and Lucy will be there too.”
Frank scowled and let go of his sister. He very clearly did not approve of her style choice, and that was part of the reason she had chosen it. It was absolutely going to ensure she got some time on her own with the girls, instead of traipsing around after the boys all day.
Alice beamed and tossed the Floo Powder at her feet.
Not a moment after Alice stepped out of the fireplace at The Leaky Cauldron; Frank appeared, standing over her protectively as she swept the soot from her clothes with easy wand movements, before doing the same to her brother. She then tucked her wand back into her boot and Frank put a hand to the small of her back, guiding her out of the already busy pub, towards the entrance to Diagon Alley in the back.
“I’m going to make you regret that outfit, young lady.” Frank growled as he tapped the tip of his wand to the brick.
Alice snorted. “Not likely, it’s very comfortable.” She paused for a moment, eyeing her brother as the bricks parted in front of her. “Besides, I’m only a minute younger than you.”
“A whole minute I will lord over you forever.” He winked at her.
Alice laughed, looping her arm in his. “You’re such an idiot.”
Frank gave her a wide grin, leading her towards Weasley’s Wizarding Wheeze, where he had arranged to meet the cousins. “You love me anyways.”
“I have to, you’re blood.”
Alice stepped into the crowded store and immediately smelt gunpowder and broom wax. She ignored the usual staring as she followed her brother closely as he pushed through the masses of people; the usual bi-product of being the children of war heroes. He arrived at the till, where a familiar and devilish grin met the two Longbottom siblings.
Fred Weasley was darker than his cousins, his coffee coloured skin setting him apart from his pale cousins. His black hair was short on three sides and styled into a perfect taper fade. His hazel eyes glinted with the same mischievous glint as the air he exuded.
“Well, Alice, you are looking fine.” He greeted the two as they rounded the counter. He clapped Frank on the arm before pulling Alice into a hug. “I never knew you had such good legs.” He winked.
Frank glowered.
Alice shook her head, laughing. “Where’s Roxanne?”
“Stocking aisles,” he shrugged.
Alice nodded, glancing over his magenta robes; the Wheeze uniform. She watched Fred work, as she sat on the counter, ignoring customers as Frank chatted with the regulars, and Fred. She smiled slightly as Fred showed a customer how a product worked, when a flash came from behind Frank. The three of them turned almost instantly, as Molly Weasley lowered her camera, grinning.
“Gottcah!” She exclaimed, hopping down the last few steps waving the camera teasingly at Alice. “Looking sexy as ever,” she greeted Alice, hopping onto the counter beside her, posing for another photograph, this time with Alice and her at the focus.
Alice rolled her eyes and posed for her best friend, knowing she would go on about it for hours if she didn’t play nicely. “You’re rocking the librarian look again I see.” Alice teased.
“Shut up, I had an interview.” Molly pouted at her best friend. “Dad set it up. I think he thinks I want to join the Department of International Magical Cooperation.” She huffed.
Alice laughed.
It was no secret that Molly’s deepest desire was never to have to work a day in her life; marry a rich hot man and travel for the remainder of her life – visiting exotic and expensive places.
“You did tell him you’d rather IMC than Transport.” Lucy cut in, appearing behind the two females, also dressed in the magenta work robes.
“I’m against nepotism.”
“You work here, at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheeze.” Lucy sighed, exasperated.
Molly shrugged. “You say that like I even know what nepotism means.”
Lucy groaned in frustration. “You used it, correctly, in a sentence!”
Molly grinned. “Alice said it last week, I thought it sounded cool.”
Alice face palmed.
As the three girls laughed, a familiar male approached them. He was taller than most of the people in the store, his dark brown hair with a reddish hue was as messy as ever. His eyes found hers and Alice felt like crawling behind one of the benches and dying.
James Sirius Potter.
He’d been her brother’s best friend since the day Frank was born. The three of them, along with Fred and Louis had grown up together, spent almost every day of their lives together.
James Potter was also her biggest tormentor and crush.
Alice hopped off the counter, smoothed out her skirt and glanced up at Molly and Lucy. “I’m going to go and find Roxy.” She gave them a false smile and made for the aisles, when a body moved to block her only escape route.
Her eyes slowly moved from his mid chest, up to his jaw and finally his face.
He was smirking, as per usual; which only made her blood boil in anger and her heart race out of both panic and something warm and fuzzy.
She scowled. “I know you’ve got a really big ego James, but you doing need to take up all of the space; the rest of us need to breathe.”
James scowled. “I see you’re all dressed up, trying to impress someone?”
“Yes, actually, thank you for noticing.” Alice saw Molly and Lucy’s jaws fall open, out of the corner of her eye. She knew that Frank was fuming behind her, but Fred was laughing hysterically, which was the only boost she needed. She gave James a sweet smile. “Excuse me; I have better people to talk to.”
She knew he was watching her as she walked away, and she prayed to whatever deity was watching over her, that she would not trip over as she walked away. Her stomach was fluttering and she wasn’t sure if she was too hot or too cold. Her head was light and she was definitely having heart palpitations.
Roxanne Weasley was standing over a box of Amortentia, restocking the display, when Alice reached her. She took one look at Alice and smirked.
“Did James say anything?” She asked.
Roxanne had been the one to convince Alice to wear the stupid outfit that day. She’d called her out on her feelings for the male in question, and dared her to do something about it, or get over him.
“He asked if I was dressed up to impress anyone.” Alice sighed, leaning against one of the shelves, resting her head against the cool painted wood. “And I told him that I was.”
Roxanne roared with laughter. “I can just picture his face now!”
Alice shook her head. “I think I said I had better people to talk to and I pretty much called him egotistical.”
Roxanne threw her head back, laughing. “I would have paid good money to see that.”
Alice groaned and turned to face one of her best friends. “You’ve created a monster!”
Roxanne shrugged.
“I was a nice, quiet girl!”
“Nice and quiet are other words for boring.” Roxanne winked.
Alice rolled her eyes. She knew Roxanne wasn’t being serious about that, but she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe James saw her as boring.
Roxanne interrupted her thoughts, kicking her feet and scowling at the red-head. “Before you start down that rabbit hole, you are not boring Alice Jane Longbottom!”
Alice shot her an apologetic look, and picked up a vial of the Amortentia. She’d first encountered the potion in the store, always sealed and packaged away, with strict orders to stay well away from that particular brew, from almost everyone she knew. She’d never smelt Amortentia, she’d been pulled from the Potions class when they had been studying it by her father.
Roxanne took the vial from her. “Don’t even think about it, Longbottom.”
“Aren’t you curious, about the way it smells?” Alice asked, as Roxanne set the vial on the shelf. “That’s all it does, a few hour crush or the smell in the perfume.”
Roxanne sighed. “Look, all I know is, my dad only keeps making and selling it because he can’t find the perfect replacement for it. He wanted to stop making it after the Great War. He doesn’t let any of us near the stuff. He’d hit the roof if he found out we betrayed his trust like that. Besides, you’re not allowed anywhere near the stuff.”
Alice sighed. “My dad would probably kill me if he knew I wanted to know what it smelt like to me.”
Roxanne nodded. “Mine too.”
The two girls finished off the display and headed to the tills, so that Roxanne could clock out and the group could enjoy the rest of their afternoon. They called good bye to George, who stood at the tills as they filed out of the shop. He waved joyfully.
“Flourish and Blotts first, they’ve got a new book on weather manipulation magic I wanted to check out for this new thing I’m working on,” Fred announced, since it was his turn to choose their first stop of the day.
Alice had no complaints about this as she looped arms with Roxanne, chatting about the last Quidditch game, the Arrows verses the Cannons; in which the Arrows – much to the disgust of their Uncle Ron – had trounced the Cannons, two-hundred and sixty points to eighty.
“Did you ever write back to Xander?” Roxanne asked as they headed into the store, closely followed by James.
“Yeah, we went out for coffee.” Alice nodded, catching on to what Roxanne was doing. “He was sweet, brought me flowers and everything.”
“And?” Roxanne pressed, as they entered the store. “Did you feel a connection?”
Alice knew the exaggeration was for James’ benefit, but the curiosity was all Roxanne. She was forever butting into Alice’s love life – the small part that actually existed, anyways.
Alice shrugged slightly, watching James’ reflection in the glass as he followed them towards the window display with Frank. “He was sweet.”
James’ reflection gave nothing away, and Alice rounded the bookshelves, her heart aching slightly in her chest, while her stomach turned. She absolutely needed to get over him. She should not be feeling that was about her brother’s best friend. She turned to the shelves, as Roxanne leaned against it, watching her best friend.
“So, Xander was boring. Anderson can’t stay on a broom to save his life. Jackson was dull.” Roxanne listed, watching her cousin’s reactions through the bookshelves, while Alive paged through the book in her hands.
“I don’t know where you’re going with this Roxanne.” Alice set the book back on the shelf and pulled out another letting it fall open in her hands at a random page. “However, if you have a point I would be happy to hear it.”
Roxanne rolled her eyes, taking the book from Alice, forcing her to look at her. “You haven’t dated someone in a long time Al, are you holding out on me here?”
Alice sighed, knowing she wasn’t getting the book back. She pulled out another book. “I told you, he was sweet, he had a lot of different ideals, and he was nice.”
“So translated to: boring, uninteresting and dull.”
Alice gave her a deadpan look. “Can we talk about something else please?”
“Next you’re going to tell me you don’t find Montgomery attractive.”
Alice looked up. “Montgomery is attractive.”
“He’s planning on going into curse breaking too, so he’s smart.” Roxanne pressed.
Alice set the book back on the shelf and turned to look at her friend. “What are you going to do about-” Before Alice could get the name out; Roxanne clapped her hands over Alice’s mouth, shaking her head.
“You win, now shut up.”
Roxanne let go of Alice, who was smirking triumphantly. The two girls headed further into the store. Alice picked up a few books on her tour through the store, and had just set them on the counter, to pull out her pouch of money, when someone leaned over her, setting the correct amount of coins on top of the books. The cashier was looking at them, when Alice turned to glower at the person behind her. Instead she was glowering at their chest. She looked up, still glowering.
James shot her a wink, and then picked up the stack of books. “You’re cute when you try to look angry at me.”
Alice stood in shock as she stared at his retreating back and she turned to the cashier. “Thank you,” She mumbled, before chasing after the tall boy cutting through the crowd.
She finally caught up with James in the street; he was already sitting at the Ice cream parlour, at their outdoor table beside the monument to Florean Fortescue. She dropped into the seat across from him and kicked him under the table.
“I could pay for the books myself, Potter.” Alice huffed.
James shrugged. “I know, I was bored, and you were done. It was the quickest way to get you out of there and to join me for ice cream.” He gestured around where they were sitting and she rolled her eyes. “I ordered you the Early Grey and Lavender.”
Alice mumbled a thank you, reaching across the table to the stack of books. She glanced over the spines and then at James. She watched as he plucked the top one off the stack and flipped through the pages.
“So you like Muggle technology?”
Alice shrugged. “I’m working on something.”
James looked up intrigued. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
Alice chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, before taking a deep breath. “I’ve been interested in the way Muggle technology freaks out around magic. I was researching electricity; what effect magic has on it and how we are able to use it only sometimes, like in lights, cameras and radios, but we can’t use other things the Muggles take for granted, like in phones and computers.”
James nodded, finally looking up from the second book in the stack which he was flipping through. He waved the book at her. “And what do magical parasites have to do with this?”
“Chizpurfles will attack Muggle technology, running on electricity when they can’t find other magical sources.”
James frowned. “You’ve lost me.”
“I think there are some similarities between electricity and magic. I want to find a way to integrate the Muggle with the magical, in a way that it runs on magic, instead, since they are potentially so similar.”
James nodded, finally understanding what she was talking about. “You’re clearly very interested in it. I’d love to see what you come up with.”
Alice couldn’t help the blush on her face as he pushed the books towards her, leaning up on his elbows on the table. “I started experimenting with it a few years ago, I had a little success, but things tend to explode after a while.”
James laughed. “Well, I’m pretty good at spells, and I’ve heard I’m pretty good company.” He shot her a wink, as the waitress – someone Alice vaguely recalled from a few years below them at Hogwarts – set their ice creams on the table with a curious look at Alice. “Although, I’ve also heard I’m distracting.” James added with a shrug.
Alice threw her head back, laughing. “That, you are.”
Alice couldn’t help but sneak glances at him as she ate her ice cream. He was watching the people in the street, bustling around, going about their business, while he ate his strawberry and peanut ice cream. His hazel eyes seemed to dart around the alley like he was waiting for something to happen. His dark hair had a red tint in the sun, and he had slipped off his leather jacket, which now hung over the back of his chair, leaving him in the tight fitting t-shirt.
He caught her looking at him and winked, causing her to roll her eyes and avoid his gaze.
“See something you like Ali?” He teased.
“The ice cream looks good.” She nodded.
He surprised her by offering the spoon, heaped with ice cream, to her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then leaned forward, reaching forward to take the spoon. He moved it away from her outstretched hand, shaking his head. She pouted at him, and lowered her hand. He moved the spoon closer to her face.
She ate the ice cream from his spoon, holding his gaze as she ran her tongue over her top lip to lick off any that had caught her. She could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
“It’s good.” She nodded slowly, loading up her spoon with her own ice cream. “But it isn’t as good as this.”
James leaned forward, and she caught on to what he was expecting. She rolled her eyes and offered him the spoon. As he was about to eat her ice cream, she moved the spoon, wiping the ice cream over the tip of his nose instead.
She pulled back, roaring with laughter, while he gave her a half-shocked, half-impressed look.
“There aren’t many people that can pull that off, Longbottom.” He nodded appreciatively as he wiped the ice cream off his face with a napkin. “You got me.”
Alice smirked. “Good job too, you might have wanted to swap for my ice cream if you’d got a taste.” She waved her spoon teasingly before going in for another heaped spoon.
James’ reflexes were far better than hers, and he was stealing the blob of ice cream before she could even fully get the spoon out of the tub. He held her gaze, triumphantly as he pulled her spoon out of his mouth with a grin.
“It is good.” He hummed, nodding.
Alice scowled as she took her spoon back. “That’s my ice cream.”
“For now,” he winked.
Alice finished off her ice cream with James, and then Fred appeared in the doorway of Flourish and Blotts. He noticed them and headed over, dropping into one of the empty seats and dropping the book he’d bought on the table.
“Took me three quarters of an hour to find one book in there, and you come out with seven of the books on your list?” Fred scowled at Alice, who shrugged.
“I know how they organise that book store; I spend a lot of time in there.” Alice sat back in her seat.
“Well, Molly and Lucy said to go on without them, Lucy is having one her nerdy moments, and will be in there for three hours. Frank was playing cat and mouse with Roxanne so they’ll be out soon, and Louis is meeting us in twenty minutes at Quality Quidditch after he finishes work.”
“I guess you guys don’t fancy heading over to Wiseacre’s, do you?” Alice sighed.
“What are you looking for in there?” Fred frowned.
“The new owner, Geoffrey Alcmen, was sorting something out for me.” Alice shrugged.
“He’s too old for you.” Frank scowled down at his sister, causing her to jump.
Alice stood up, looking her brother up and down. “He’s twenty, and I’m not interested in him. I’m interested in Chizpurfle lava.”
Frank gave her a blank look.
“I’ll go with you. I need some more phials; I may have used the last of mine for our product work.” James sighed, getting out of the chair. “We’ll meet you at Quality Quidditch in like fifteen minutes? Gives you time to grab some ice cream?”
Alice picked up her bag and books, sliding them into her bag, while James picked up his jacket. “See if you can drag the girls out of the book shop too if you’ve got time.”
“Don’t let Alcmen flirt with my sister!” Frank called after them as they headed up the street, following the crowd.
Alice allowed James to pull her into Wiseacre’s by the hand, though she pulled away as they entered the store. She could feel her heart racing at his contact, and she thought about her decision with Roxanne. She was getting over James Sirius Potter, not getting involved with him. Not that he did relationships anyway. That was the whole point of her new look, to give her the boost she needed, all the while making him notice her. Meanwhile she was supposed to be ignoring him and flirting with other guys.
Alice waited patiently at James’ side while he picked out the phials he wanted, and then they headed to the counter, where Alcmen was reading a book on Chizpurfles. He grinned as she approached. However, as soon as he noted James’ presence behind her, his smile dropped.
“Hey Alice, I got those Chizpurfles in for you.'' Geoffrey smiled at her. “They’ve been breeding like crazy though, so there are a lot more than you ordered.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the more the better at this point.” Alice smiled kindly, causing the older boy to blush.
“Let me go and fetch them for you.”
Alice watched him vanish into the back room and leaned against the counter, looking up at James, who was examining the cover of the book Alcmen had been reading, having reached over the counter to get it.
“Interesting read, the book is by Newt Scamander. Apparently Chizpurfles like Augurey’s,” James tapped the cover, where an Augurey was illustrated in very intricate detail.
Alice nodded. “Luna sent me that book last week, she knew about my project. Apparently her mum had been doing some research into Chizpurfles before she died. Of course they didn’t really understand the Muggle aspect back then because it wasn’t as prevalent as it is now.”
James grinned. “I bet you five sickles he offers you the book.”
Alice frowned. “He won’t.”
James smirked. “Put your money where your mouth is Longbottom.”
Alice glanced at James’ outstretched hand and then at the book, suddenly not so sure she should be betting with him. She slid her hand into his and then, to make sure she’d win the bet, she slid closer to his body, still leaning over the counter looking at the book. He tensed up beside her as her side made contact with his, her hand on his forearm. He shot her a sideways, confused look. She then crossed her ankles and smirked, daring him to do something about it.
“Don’t play chicken if you can’t win.” James growled in her ear, glancing towards the door Alcmen had disappeared to.
“Who says I can’t win at chicken, James Potter?” She whispered back, her face very close to his.
James suddenly moved away, and then he was leering over her, his hands either side of her waist, gripping the counter behind her. His feet either side of her legs.
“So I figured, if you needed any help-” Geoffrey broke off, staring at the pair, leaning against his counter. His jaw hung open and his eyes flicked between them.
Alice turned to look at him, lazily. Her eyes ran over the tank in his hands as she pushed James back. She beamed at the male still standing horror-struck in the doorway. “You’re amazing, how much do I owe you?”
He cleared his throat and rushed over to the counter, as James backed off. “That’s twelve sickles, tank included.”
Alice dropped the gold galleons on the desk and hoisted the tank into her arms. “Thank you so much.”
Geoffrey nodded, mutely, and then he turned his attention to James. “One galleon, five sickles, please.”
James set the money on the counter beside Alice’s money, and then he followed her to the door of the shop. As he shut the door, he watched the male at the counter drop the book into the bin beside the desk.
“That was a perfectly good book.” Alice scowled, following James’ gaze. “The least he could do would be to donate it.”
James threw his head back, letting out a bark of laughter, as he slid his phials into his backpack and then lifted the tank out of her arms. “Come on short stuff, let’s put this in the Leaky Cauldron and grab a glass of lemonade before we head to meet Lou.”
Alice, deciding that the glass of her mum’s exploding lemonade sounded like the perfect plan, kept pace with James as they headed up the street. She blinked as they entered the pub; it was, as usual, crowded.
What had once been a dimly lit pub; was open and well lit, with many crowded booths and tables around the large space. The rafters were filled with various scented vine plants that hung down and wrapped around the beams; carefully tended to by Neville Longbottom. The bar spanned one eighth of the room, leaving plenty of space for tables, while giving enough space for multiple people to work serving drinks at their busiest times.
James headed into the staff room and set the tank carefully on a table, jotting a note for people not to touch the tank, while Alice helped herself to two glasses of lemonade from behind the bar.
Alice checked that James was still busy in the staff room before taking the four small phials her mother slipped out of her apron, palming them to her daughter discreetly. Alice could feel her hands shaking as she un-stoppered the first phial, the orange liquid splattering onto her hands as she fiddled with the cork. She knocked back the liquid, coughing at the taste, before licking the splattered droplets off her hand. She quickly followed the potion up with the other four potions, the first, purple, followed quickly with pink, teal and finally green potions.
Hannah slipped the now empty phials into her apron pocket, as Alice wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“Good afternoon Hannah, you look lovely as ever.” James grinned at Hannah Longbottom, pressing a kiss to her cheek, causing her to laugh.
“I hope you’re behaving yourself, James Potter.” Neville’s voice came from behind James, as he took a seat at the bar.
James stood and shook his godfather’s hand. “Hey Neville, I’m always behaving myself.”
Alice snorted as she set the glass down, sitting beside him. “No one ever believes you when you say that, Potter.”
James shot her a smirk, daring her to say something else, but she avoided his gaze and sipped at the lemonade. He noted the glance Neville sent his way and grinned, sitting back in the low back bar stool.
“When do you go back to Hogwarts, Nev?”
Neville rolled his eyes as he poured a butterbeer. “Wednesday, I’ve got to sort out the Venomous Tentacula that’s grown back over the school wall.”
“If I’m not wrong, it is your fault it is there love.” Hannah teased him.
“I was busy fighting Death Eaters; I threw anything I could at them.” Neville grinned. “But, I really thought I’d dug the last of it out.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “You and your plants; you could just kill the stuff.”
Neville frowned. “You never did like plants.”
“You killed your father’s Snapping Fly Trap at only three years old.”
“First and last time dad let me into his personal greenhouse. I know Mama.” Alice winked.
James laughed. “I’ve seen your Defence against the Dark Arts and your Potions skills. They aren’t to be messed with.”
Alice shrugged. “I’m not bad. This year we’re working on duelling though.” She shot him a grin and he smiled, shaking his head slightly.
“I think you’re curse happy, you.”
Alice feigned hurt.
The two drank their lemonade, and then waved a good bye to Alice’s parents before heading back into Diagon Alley. The street was busier now than it had been when they’d arrived that morning. After all, it was only a week before school started again, and most people only made the trip to Diagon Alley in the last week.
The Quidditch Supply store was much quieter than most of the other stores they passed. The store held stacks of older model brooms in buckets, while the newest model, the Firebolt Ace was mounted in the window.
James made his way through the store, towards the older model Firebolt. At the time, his father had owned one as the fastest broom ever made. It easily outstripped the brooms of the time. Only eight other Firebolt’s had been made since then, and the Ace left all of them in the dust. However, James had always been fascinated by the original. He’d ridden his father’s. It had been great, sure, but there were still issues with the broom he couldn’t understand.
James picked up a couple bits of armour he needed for his Beater gear, as well as a new set of Quidditch robes, since he had long since outgrown his old set. He also bought himself a new jumper.
As he paid for his things, handing the money over to his cousin, who was about to finish his shift, James spotted Alice, flipping through the program for the Ireland vs Scotland game. She’d taken out the bun she’d put her hair up in that morning while they were drinking their lemonade. She’d slipped the scrunchie on her wrist and her hair fell around her, obscuring his view of her face.
“James, you aren’t catching feelings for Frank’s sister, are you?” Lou asked quietly as he handed over the taller boy’s change.
James glanced over at Alice, then back at his cousin. “No, but I’m not going to lie, its infuriating. Girls fall over us all the time, but she just,” he shrugged, “She seems completely immune to all of us.”
Lou nodded. “I get it. She’s different. She’s even immune to the Veela in me.”
James nodded. “You and I both know I’m not the relationship kind of guy anyway.”
James said it as though it were a running joke, but somewhere inside him he couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed that it was only the truth. He’d tried to be in relationships. He’d tried staying single. Nothing satisfied him for long, and there were so many girls that threw themselves at him and his cousins. It was hard to ignore.
Alice set the program she’d been reading back on the shelf and turned, walking over to where James and Louis were talking.
“Hey Lou, how are you?” Alice smiled at the blonde.
Louis grinned. “I’m well, thank you Ali. I hope James here has been treating you well.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “He’s James.”
Louis and James both laughed.
“I’ll show you how to treat a lady, fear not cousin.” Louis teased, setting his apron on the stand, picking up his blazer.
James shook his head, smiling. “I don’t need any lessons, thank you.”
“I bet Granny would say something different,” Lucy beamed as she slid her arm through Louis’ and looking up at James. “She’s desperate for some great-grandbabies though, so maybe you’ll be the first to give her those.”
The group roared with laughter, while James flushed.
“Shut up Lucy.”