The week passed by quickly and I was glad that Seventh Years could visit Hogsmade freely on the weekends. After throwing a scarf around my neck, I called to Marie. “Ready?”

“Yes…” she said, coming out of the bathroom. “I had to brush my hair. So, you’re going to meet James, right?”

“No.” I said shortly, heading down the stairs.

“You’ve got to give him a chance sometime.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do.”

“Don’t.”

“Want to fight me over it?” Marie laughed, putting up her fists.

“Yes, she does,” Sirius winked from across the room. “But only as long as I can watch.”

I laughed. “Hey, you want to have a drink with us?”

“Sure,” he smiled, not taking his eyes off of Marie. “OY! PRONGS! We’re heading out, you coming?”

“No, he’s not!” I hissed through gritted teeth.

“Actually, yes, I am,” James grinned from the boy’s stairs. His hair was messy and in his eyes, but his black sweater made him look more adult. I shook off the thought and said, “fine, but you’re not sitting next to me.”

How wrong I was.

Marie was supposedly ‘freezing’ and just ‘had to have somebody to keep her warm.’ I told her I’d give her my cloak but she argued that she’d be much more content lying in Sirius’s arms.

“Thanks a lot,” I said sarcastically as James slid in next to me.

“You’re welcome.”

So my day went on, Sirius and Marie on the verge of making me sick, and James talking non-stop about Quidditch. I sipped my butterbeer and zoned out, instead wondering what the sorting Hat had meant.

Could our times ahead really be hard? And if so, what was going to happen? There had been some funny stories in the newspaper… But that was just coincidence, right?

“What do you think, Evans?” James asked, looking at me. “Hello, Evans? Are you in there?”

I jumped, realizing that he was talking to me. “I have a first name, you know.” I snapped, mad that he’d interrupted my thoughts. I’d felt like I was on the verge of something.

“Well sorry.” He said, trying but not succeeding on keeping the anger out of his voice. “I just figured that for once, you know, you might actually like to socialize with the rest of us.”

He stood up, glaring at me, and left the bar, the door slamming behind him.

“Great, just great.” I muttered under my breath. “What do I do now? What was he even talking about?”

“Our plans after school… he wanted your opinion on him becoming an Auror. Said he’d never told anyone else before us that that’s what he wanted to be.”

“Just great!” I cried, guilt ripping at my stomach. I grabbed my cloak, and realized that James had left his. Picking it up, I said, “I’ll see you guys later.”

I rushed out the door to barely see James turn the corner, heading towards the Shrieking Shack. I ran after him and finally found him ten minutes later, leaning up against the rusty white gate.

“Here,” I said softly, handing him his cloak. He snatched it from me and walked away.

“James, wait! James!” I called after him, and finally reached his side once more. “Listen, I’m sorry I hadn’t paid much attention… but I think it’s a great idea to become an Auror, I really do!”

He stopped, turned, and glowered at me something fierce. “I’d never told anyone that before, and I decided to give you a chance and ask your opinion. Instead of getting a shocked look, a ‘congratulations!’, or anything of the sort, you snap at me. You know what? I’m really sorry that I’ve liked you for so long. You’re not even worth it.”

And he left me standing there, my mouth wide open and my mind racing with shock.