A/N: So me and my friend have always liked James and Al, so I thought up this nice little one-shot. And somehow, the girl always gets rejected, so I wanted to switch it up. Enjoy!!
Chapter 1
“I hate you, Albus Severus Potter.”
I laughed at my [apparently] now ex-best friend’s irrational statement and slung a lazy arm around her. How exactly could someone as irritatingly nice as Addy possible hate someone as adorable as me?
“No you don’t, Adelaide Hedwig Fossil,” I said still laughing at her. She shook my arm off and glared at me for saying her middle name,
Hedwig. (I love her name.)
“Uh, except I totally do, Albus Severus Potter.” She stared creepily at the First Years until they left for the library to finish their precious homework.
“Well, I guess this is good-bye, then.” She flounced up the Gryffindor girls’ staircase, tossing her fire-red hair over her shoulder.
“Bye!” She spat bitterly at me. Not that it bothers me. I mean, she’s only my best friend. Totally not my girlfriend or significant other or something crazy like that.
I stared up at the staircase that Addy just stormed up. There was a chuckle behind me. I turned around, hoping that it was just some prank that she was playing on me. I couldn’t lose Adelaide. She was what got me up in the morning. The prospect of sitting next to her in every class. Because we were best friends. We told each other everything. Except the fact that I was in love with her…but that could wait until later.
“Hey, little bro. Where’s Addy?” Oh. James.
“Somewhere.” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Somewhere, huh? And would that be gallanting off snogging a handsome thing like you and I, while you sit here, in your self- misery, trying desperately to kiss Olivia Weeks?” He asked me with all seriousness. What? It was
once.
“Like yourself? James, Addy never really liked you, no offense.” James looked a little surprised. “I mean, really, she always disappears from the room, and then you just sigh and go to the kitchen. You only like food. She likes Quidditch, studying, chocolate, yellow, stuffed dinosaurs, spinning in circles-” He chuckled and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me until my head went back and forth like one of those Muggle bobby-head things.
“Merlin, Al. Do you stalk her or what?” I glared at him.
“Oh, and like there’s something absolutely wrong from knowing your best friend like the back of your hand.” I retorted sarcastically. “Why do you even care anyway?” I ranted again. “Whenever she and I have problems you just shake your head, and then go up to your room to cheer or something. You’re always so happy that I could possibly be ending my relationship with my best friend. I mean, you don’t need another best friend. You have Freddie. And you always get all the girls. I never get any. Which is why I need Adelaide. That is, I need her as a best friend, why would I look at her like that?” I licked my lips nervously, anxiously reading my older brother’s face. Did he notice my nerve-wracking state?
“James.” He was staring at the girls’ staircase.
I rolled my eyes. “James?”
Merlin. I can’t believe he’s cheating on Jones already. And staring at the Gryffindor staircase isn’t the best idea, when everybody knows that his “love of his life” is in Ravenclaw. Actually, I’m surprised she hasn’t done anything yet. But who would dump James Potter, Quidditch God?
“James!” He shook his head.
“No, Mama. I’m NOT in love with Alana. Remember I had to keep it a secret that me and Ad-” I covered my ears frantically. As much as Lily will tell you, I don’t want to hear about my brother’s love life. ‘Cuz I already know enough by the ominous thumps from his room.
“JAMES!”
He blinked at me. Not in the owlish way that Addy did. More in an “I’m stupid, kill me” way.
“What, Al?” He said in an annoyed voice, ruffling his stupid hair. He went back to staring at the staircase, as if willing someone to come down. Maybe Lily.
“Hey, Al?” a voice floated down. I could hear the pitter-patter of soft feet coming down the cool stone stairs.
“Al?” I turned slowly, taking in the vanilla scent of my best friend. She smiled at me.
“Listen, sorry about earlier. Can you meet me down here in fifteen minutes?” I looked at my brother (I don’t know why I did. He annoys me to no end.) who was, surprisingly, blushing to the floor. I turned back to Addy.
Oh. I could see why he was blushing.
Any bloke in his right mind would. Addy was wearing a huge white shirt of mine, along with her bright red shorts that she had to sneak in because her brother wouldn’t let her wear it around a school full of hormonal boys. She had knotted the shirt up, so you could see the short-shorts and not just some slut that goes around wearing giant shirts. She told me once that she thought sometimes, people just saw her as a gold-digger looking to get close to the Potters. Well, she could get Voldemort to pet a puppy wearing that. Actually, that and her big, baby blue eyes.
“Oh. James. Erm. Good to see you…” The awkwardness was thick. She looked over to me as if she expected me to explode any second.
Oh Merlin’s saggy left balls. They pranked me again!
“That’s totally not fair, Addy.” She paled.
“It isn’t?” She looked over to James for help. Oh right, James helped.
“And James! How come you never let me prank Lily, but you always help prank
me? And with a non-family member!” He took a deep breath.
“Al, c’mon. She’s practically family, and pretty soon-”
“Oh, whatever. Just go up and change, Adelaide.” James rose from the big armchair by the window.
I raised my eyebrows. “You’re not Adelaide, James.”
He rolled his eyes. “Duh. I need to get ready, too.” I pulled him back down.
“You are not contributing to the “Let’s Humiliate Al” plan, anymore.” I ordered like a three-year old.
James looked at me patronizingly. “I’m going on a date, Albus. You can stay here and wait for Addy, alright?” he said each word slowly, as if I couldn’t understand. Like I really was a three-year old.
He made his way up to the Boys’ Dorms. Still, I could hear a laugh coming from the Seventh Year Dorms’.
Well, then. Since I have nothing to do, I’m just gonna plop myself on the armchair that James left.
When I wasn’t around Adelaide, I liked to sit near windows. That was because she always stared out windows, day-dreaming. Sometimes she sang out to the sun. She said she liked the feeling that she could just jump out of the window, and she’d die. I wonder about her.
But that was why I liked windows. Because I knew that somewhere, Addy was staring into the fields of sunshine, and singing with her beautifully clear voice. And sometimes, I thought I could hear her.
“Heeey, Potter.” It was a flirtatious voice totally unlike Addy’s. A body sidled into me on the armchair.
“I don’t know where James is, but I suppose you’ll do for now, Potter.” I scoffed at her words.
“Alana, how did you even get
into the Gryffindor Common Room?”
She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, and used the chance to show off her cleavage. “So naïve…I just snogged Lucas Wood to get the password. His girlfriend was horrible at Quidditch, anyway.”
“Whatever, Blondie. You don’t even play Quidditch either.” I mean, c’mon. Alice was a family friend, and she was just scared of the bludgers. She was alright once you cast a gazillion Patronuses to keep away the “black balls of death”.
“Work on your flirting, Potter.” She retorted. My mouth fell open.
“I am NOT flirting with you, Alana.” I replied in outrage. Who cares about some stupid blonde when there’s an amazing redhead who just happens to be your best friend? Exactly. Nobody.
“Um, yes you are?” She phrased it like a question. “And if you don’t snog me for a full twenty minutes, I think we can safely say that James and that Fossil girl will know about our little…rendezvous.” She smiled at me. A fake smile, one that made me want to tear her hair out, scratch her skin, slap-
“So how about it, Potter?” She picked at her nails.
“I don’t care what James and Addy think about you and me. They won’t believe you.”
Alana smirked. “Is that so? I hear the way your little Adelaide sings about you. Lovingly.” She spat the last word as if it were bitter pumpkin juice.
“Just think of this as…a jealousy technique.” Jealousy…
I sighed.
“Fine, Jones. I’ll play your little game. Twenty minutes. Tops.” I had forgotten about the fifteen minutes that Addy told me to wait. All I could think about was making her jealous. Though, I doubt she actually-
“Mmm…” Alana had brought her lips crashing down on my own. They were soft, but had a sticky feel to it, like it had touched one too many lips before me.
I groaned as she sucked on my neck. Merlin was she a good kisser!
“Al, I’m ready to-” It was Adelaide. She was clad in a simple blue dress with her favorite pink-heart socks pulled up to her knees, so unlike Alana’s almost bare minimum. “...go.”
She looked at the ground. “Erm. I’ll guess I’ll see you later then, Al.” She pulled her socks up and made to leave. I grabbed her arm.
“Addy, I-”
“Whatever, Al. So you were snogging Alana Jones. So what. James already broke up with her.” She took a deep breath.
“I’m not mad at you for practically doing it with your brother’s ex-girlfriend. I just had something to say to you, and you were busy.” Not jealousy? I just snogged Alana Jones for you, woman!
“Oh, so it’s okay for you and my brother to go behind my back to prank me, but not okay for
me to have a life outside you?” Anger was dancing in my veins.
“Is that it, Adelaide?” She shook her head.
“Listen, Al-”
“I’m not the only one who needs to listen.”
“Al, I’m…I’m-” I cut her off again.
“Oh Merlin. You’re pregnant aren’t you, Addy? I’m so sorry! I mean, I know that pregnant women have hormones and everything, but…wait, who’s the dad? I hope it isn’t that Diggory, I’ll have him kil-”
“Al, I-I’m in love with James.”
I think I may have died there, because when I opened my eyes again to reality, Adelaide was touching my head. Her hand was really cold; actually it’s more like a wet towel-
“Al? Are you feeling alright?” I looked over at her and her blood-stained shirt.
My blood. Not James’, though I’m sure Addy falling in love with James was just a dream.
“Yeah, Addy. I’m alright.” I told her breathlessly.
She smiled. “That’s good.”
She slid back down to floor next to me., leaning her head on my shoulder. I could feel her shoulders tense, but I thought nothing of it.
“Al, do you remember
why you hit your head on the Fat Lady portrait?” I heard a snort of indignation from the painting above. Once again, I ignored it.
“You mean when you said you were in love with James?” Her eyes widened.
“You remember?”
“Yeah. I remember.” She glanced away. I heard a sniffle from her direction, but I guess the Fat Lady was still upset.
“Al, I’m sorry.” Once again, she turned back with tears in her eyes. I lifted her chin up.
“Addy, why on Merlin’s big, fluffy top hat are you sorry?” Adelaide giggled faintly before leaning back on the wall.
“Al, you said you remembered.” She started in a slightly reproving voice. “You said you remembered that I was in love with James.” Wait- what?
Adelaide cannot be in love with James. It just can’t happen. She’s
mine. Not James’. He always gets everything better, the girls, the popularity, the Quidditch skills, it’s endless. I was supposed to get Addy. Not James’. She was innocent and funny and understanding a-and she was…perfect.
Apparently, not so perfect. She took my silence for suddenly remembering. Adelaide grabbed my arm, “Oh, and it’ll be just ...wondeful, Al. Once I graduate, we’ll properly date and what not- I think I love him, Al.” She sighed, and danced down the hall, singing like the lunatic she is. I reached out.
“I love you, Adelaide.”
She stopped dancing for a moment, and turned against the stone walls. She smiled sadly.
“Al?” She patted the ground next to her, sliding down to the floor. Obediently, silently, I came.
“Once upon a time, I would have been thrilled to hear that. I’m not just a little innocent girl, anymore. I love
him. I love-” Her voice cracked.
“I love James.” Adelaide broke free of my tight grasp on her wrist, and walked down the Gryffindor hallway.
It should be our- Adelaide and mine- wedding aisle that she’s walking down. It should be the path I take to kneel and propose to her. It should be the first steps that our child takes. It should have been her running into my arms.
“But I love you, Addy.” I whispered to the silence. I turned back to the Common Room. “I love you.” I gave the words one last time to the empty halls that Adelaide just turned.
It was always just you, Addy.
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