Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise, it unfortunately all belongs to JK otherwise i would living in a mansion in a hot country.
beautiful chapter image by Caren @ tda
Chapter 4
The manuscript I had had for the past couple of days was no nearer to being read as it lay discarded on my desk. I had better things to do, like stare at the ceiling or rearrange my desk and even clean my office. I could not concentrate on it and I groaned and stood up, picking up the dreaded pages and stuffing it into my bag.
“Sky, I’m going out. I’ll let you know if I’ll be back for closing or not.” I didn’t wait for a response and simply left, making my way to the café down the road. It was only small and had small tables with cute, checked table clothes but it was one of my favourite places to be, especially if I had a lot on my mind.
Walking in, I smiled at Valda, the waitress and took my usual seat. I used to come here with Teddy a lot, sometimes it being the only place we could meet where we were left alone and unnoticed. He had introduced it to me and although he had stopped coming here, I never did. It was a home from home, somewhere I was extremely comfortable even with all the memories it held. Valda brought me a tea, my usual order and l took out the manuscript and decided that I would read it and get through at least 5 chapters before I gave up, if I needed to.
To my surprise, I was suddenly deeply enthralled in the story and before I knew it, I was through 7 chapters. Continuing to read, I only stopped when I heard my name being called. Looking up, I saw Victoire at the counter and I forced a smile. What in Merlin’s name was she doing here? It wasn’t a place I expected her to be.
“Victoire, it’s lovely to see you. You look amazing.” I stood and walked over to her, giving her a quick hug.
“Thank you, it’s the diet I’ve been on, I just have to look perfect for the wedding. Did you get the invitation? I do hope you can make it, I know how close you and Teddy used to be and he would love it if you could be there.”
I nodded and smiled again, forcing it becoming a little harder with every word she said. “Of course I am coming, I wouldn’t miss the wedding of the year!” I was being sarcastic but if Victoire noticed, she didn’t let on, instead she kept on smiling her perfect little smile.
Victoire was everything I wasn’t. She was small, petite with long flowing blonde hair and baby blue eyes. In other words, she was perfect. She was an eighth veela, which was the reason she turned so many heads but she was ridiculously nice or so she acted like she was and I couldn’t name one person who hated her.
Apart from me.
Well that was a lie, I didn’t hate her. I just disliked her a lot at the moment. Some would call it jealousy on my part and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t deny it.
“Isn’t this place great? Teddy showed it to me when we first started dating, he brought me here on our first date. It’s so quaint, I just love it.”
Her sickeningly sweet voice was annoying me and with the added information, it took me everything not to hit her. I felt annoyed and upset that Teddy had showed Victoire our place, the place where we had shared so many memories together. And to take her on a first date here was like a slap in the face but I guessed I did deserve it. I brought all of this on myself as I had to keep reminding myself whenever I felt like throwing a hissy fit and showing up at Victoire’s house and telling her that I had her fiancé first. Which I could easily do now but something was telling me that it wouldn’t be the best idea. I didn’t feel like facing the wrath of Fleur Delacour – Weasley, she was definitely one of the scariest things I have ever seen when angry.
“Well I have to be going, Teddy is waiting outside for me. We have to go and discuss the seating plan with mother, see you soon. It was lovely seeing you again.”
I smiled and tensed slightly as she gave me another hug before leaving the café. I watched as she leant up and kissed Teddy, whose eyes were on me rather than his lovely fiancée. I raised an eyebrow but he looked away and walked off with Victoire, hand in hand.
Sitting back down at my table, I sighed. My day had been ruined by a five minute exchange with a woman who was undeniably perfect. I could hear people commenting on her looks and I rolled my eyes. On a good day, I was quite attractive but standing next to Victoire made me feel like I was one of the ugly sister’s from one of Rose’s old childhood fairytale books, Cinderella I think it was called.
Deciding that my mood for reading a manuscript was well and truly gone, I paid for my cups of tea and left the shop, heading home to see whether or not I could alleviate the headache that was all of a sudden pounding against my skull.
***
Arriving home to the warmness of my flat, I sunk onto the sofa and switched the tele on, absentmindedly flicking through the channels until I found a rerun of St Mungo’s; All Access to watch. Stretching out like a cat on the sofa, I was getting myself comfortable when I heard a pop and James appeared in the middle of the room, making me jump. He looked at me, smirking before his eyes travelled down my body. When they stopped at my stomach, I looked down to see my top had ridden up and I quickly fixed it, sitting up and glaring at James.
“What makes you think you can just apparate into my flat without any notice? You Potter’s are far too full of yourself, your parents and sister excluded.”
Albus was exactly like James, always popping up when he wasn’t expected, although he had a habit of doing it to Rose, who always managed to break something whenever he appeared. But like his brother, his smile always seemed to keep him from being scolded too much.
“Because you’re practically family and at the moment, you’re the only person I can stand to be around, well I imagine you are. We’ll see after an hour.” He walked over to kitchen and began rooting through my fridge, which was newly full after I did a big shop yesterday. “Can I make myself something? Thanks.” He helped himself and I watched in amazement as he brought over a plate piled high with food and a bottle of cherry coke, a muggle drink I had become addicted to.
“You’re welcome.” The sarcasm in my voice was clear to hear and James just smiled, his cheeks full of food. I rolled my eyes and stood up, heading to my bedroom for a change of clothes, something that wouldn’t show any skin for James to ogle at. Even after growing up with me and knowing me since we were 11 years old, all spotty and probably the least attractive we would ever be in life, he still thought he was allowed to stare at me and ogle me whenever he saw me, which was definitely not allowed. Not in my opinion, anyway. But I had to admit, it was nice to know I could still catch a man’s attention after all these years, even if it was only James Potter’s, notorious flirt and male escort of sorts.
“So, who’s annoyed you this time?”
“Everyone,” I cringed as he spoke with a mouth full of food. He caught my grimace and swallowed his food before talking again. “Sorry, old habit. Anyway, everyone has. Mum because she has turned into some wedding troll, it’s all she can talk about. Dad because, well he is doing everything to stay away from the house and not including me in his escape plans, which has annoyed me to no end. Al because he is a prat who is continuously whining about this one girl he saw at a café that he is head over heels in love with and Lily just because she’s ginger.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the last one and I covered my mouth to disguise, knowing it was wrong to laugh, my own best friend was ginger, for Merlin’s sake! “That’s so mean, James! She can’t help but be ginger, if anyone is to blame, it’s your many Weasley ancestors, who oh so happily continued to carry the ginger gene down with them. You’re lucky you’re not ginger, in all fairness. There was a great possibility.”
James shook his head. “Don’t say things like that. It puts me off having children just in case they’re ginger too, I wouldn’t know what to do. It’s not as if I could go around calling my own child carrot top for the rest of their lives. I would never live it down.”
I laughed again. “Oh James, you need to marry someone with dark hair, that way the ginger won’t have a chance, maybe a Spanish or Italian girl? It gives you the excuse to go and travel the world.”
James smiled. “So what? ‘Bye mum, bye dad I’m off to travel the world for a foreign wife so I don’t have ginger children,’ I can’t see mum taking that too well, or grandma for that matter. I’d have to face her wrath.”
“Well I can’t help you there, guess you will have to find a spell. Luckily enough ginger doesn’t run in my family so there is only a slim chance of me having a ginger child. But moving on, Al is obsessing over another girl? It’s like the 3rd this month, isn’t it? Rose has kept me updated.”
“Yep, I think this one is called Sophia, or Sophie or it could even be Jane. I would have no clue since every time Al talks, I do my best to ignore him.”
“You’re such a mean brother. He’s meant to talk to you about those things.”
James shook his head, “No, that’s the kind of thing he should be talking to dad about or even Rose, if he has too. I’m only there for the purpose of taking the piss out of him when he gets dumped,” James stopped to eat and mid chew, he burst out laughing, making me raise an eyebrow. “Sorry,” He continued, “I had another reason for taking the piss out of Albus but it will never happen since he will forever and always be a virgin; get a girl pregnant. That’ll be the day.”
I shook my head and stood up. “I’d hate you as my big brother.”
“Well it’s a good job I’m not really because then it would be wrong to think you’re hot. Even purebloods refrain from having siblings fancy one another.”
I stared at James for a minute, who was busy eating his food like he had not just said he thought I was hot. I didn’t know what to think. Clearly James was not exactly bothered by his admission, seeing as he barely raised an eyebrow but I was a girl and girls did not brush a comment like that under the table, no matter how much we wanted to. I considered asking him what the hell did he mean by that comment but I refrained from asking any of the questions that were buzzing around in my head and I walked away, even it was only 4 foot away from him.
“Have you got any of that red sauce muggles have? Tomato ketchum, I think it’s called,” James looked over at me and I shook my head.
“No, sorry.”
My answer was short and I decided to make myself a cup of tea to keep me busy. Sneaking glances at the eldest Potter, I couldn’t help but realise he was attractive. Now, I couldn’t tell you if that was because he had just called me hot or it had always been there, I was struggling to work out my emotions from each other but he definitely was. I hadn’t thought a guy was attractive since Teddy (apart from that muggle actor, Michael Fassbender…drool worthy) and I couldn’t work out whether I felt guilty or I was excited that someone other than Teddy was appealing to me after all this time. I might have been a social recluse but I still had hormones like everyone else.
“What are you doing?”
I didn’t hear footsteps approaching me so when I felt someone breathe softly on my neck, I jumped slightly. Tensing, I turned around to find James Potter inches from my body. Shifting slightly, I tried not to look too uncomfortable or flustered by the closeness.
Remembering his question, I averted my eyes to my cup, which was sitting on the side ready for the boiling water from the kettle, as I spoke. “Just making a cup of tea, why?”
“I never believed everyone when they said you had a tea addiction but now I can say I have witnessed it firsthand. But I can’t help but wonder whether you make it because you love the stuff or it’s to get away from uncomfortable situations.”
James’ voice was husky and low and I tried to look nonchalant, the complete opposite to how I was actually feeling, considering I was doing my best not to let my knees buckle in front of him. “Well, I guess it’s because I love the stuff seeing as there has been no uncomfortable situation.” I tried to manoeuvre around him but he stopped me, keeping me enclosed in his personal space. “I need to grab a tea bag.”
“You’re feeling awkward because I called you hot.” I gulped and refused to look him in the eye, confirming his statement. “You should be used to it.”
I scoffed. “Yeah and you should be used to being called the ‘ugly’ Potter! It will never happen. Now please let me past, I need to make a cup of tea.”
“You just called me attractive.”
I rolled my eyes and I pushed him back, getting past him to grab a teabag from my cupboard.
“Don’t let it go to your head.” I wasn’t even looking at him to know he was smirking. “Do you want one?”
“No, I better go. But thanks for the food and for the banter.” He smirked again before disappearing out of my kitchen with a pop. Finishing my cup of tea, I once again dropped onto the sofa and curled up, cup in my hand watching the rain fall outside.
Just what was going on lately?
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