Chapter 26

Her Christmas was the best one she ever had, it was absolutely perfect for her and she was happy with her presents but the best present she got was spending it with her friends. Beau had gotten her a new set of dungarees, James had gotten her paint supplies that seemed to be the best make and whilst she absolutely loved them...and the many vibrant colours that she couldn't wait to use - it must have costed him so much.

"Paint me," he whispered in her ear as she stared down at the paints. His lips brushed against her earlobe and she could feel the shiver down her spine, and she leaned into him...leaned into the pleasure, "paint us."

"Paint us...doing what?" she asked, eyebrow raised, and she turned to see a smirk on his lips.

"Well what do you want us to be doing?" he asked, his hand running over her stomach, "because I can certainly give you some ideas if you're short."

She rolled her eyes, "your mind needs to be washed, and so does that mouth."

She gasped when he pulled her in tighter, kissing her neck and whispering, "your mind seems to be just as bad as mine if you thought it too."

"Piss off," she huffed, glaring at him and stopping when he grinned, but he wasn't teasing, and she raised a brow - wondering why he looked so happy after her words.

But he had lifted her chin and captured her lips on his own and whispered, "we're bickering again."

"You seem awfully happy about that," she had whispered, allowing her head to fall into his forehead whilst the butterflies erupted in the pit of her stomach.

"I am more than happy about that."

Her Christmas day ended on the astronomy tower with her boys. It was just her, and the boys...and Peter was chatting about a girl he was talking to, and how she wanted to talk to him - she really wanted to talk to him, and Merlin he wanted to talk to her so he did, and he chatted so much he was sure his lips had gone numb but she giggled, Bea did you hear me?! he had said, she giggled!

And she was curled into Remus' side, her legs sprawled over James whilst Remus' head lay on Sirius' shoulder and as the stars sparkled above them, they were all content listening to Peter, nodding along to him and laughing and smiling.

"Did you ask her out?" asked Sirius, running his fingertips over Remus' cheek and in his hair whilst the boy smiled lazily.

"Did I - what, no!" Peter exclaimed, "of course not...I had just met her."

"What was her name, Pete?" Bea asked, leaning over and lacing her fingers with James who had brought up a very funny prank idea, though she was involved with it and she wasn't sure trouble was something she should be getting into.

"Isla," he sighed softly, dreamily almost - as though he had been drinking a love potion, but Bea knew better than to think that, she had even asked him as he rambled on about this girl, and the length of her hair and how pretty the freckles on her face was.

"Why does that name sound fam- oh Merlin!" Bea gasped, soon piecing bits together at the description he had given her, "I know her! She defended me against those girls!"

"What girls?" asked Remus and her eyes widened, suddenly looking to James for help. She had decided not to tell her boys what had happened that day that seemed like forever ago, thinking it would cause them unnecessary anger.

"Just these girls being idiots," James said, "but Isla was nice, wasn't she Bea?"

"She was," Bea nodded, "you seem to really like her, Pete."

His grin was brighter than the stars in the skies above as he nodded, his chubby cheeks dotted with little freckles lifting as his eyes crinkled at the very thought of her liking him back.

"I think she likes you, Wormy," Sirius said, leaning over to pat his arm, "I think if you like her then you go for it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," James said, nodding along and Bea smiled at the boys - at how supportive they were for him. It was nice to see them with him because she knew for the longest time a lot of people saw Peter as a tag along...like he didn't belong, and he had been terribly insecure about it.

But when he told the boys...merlin.

She can remember that week, it was prank after prank after prank on every single person Peter said he had overheard because Peter was their brother, they loved him, and he loved them so much.

And Bea loved him, he was something else...and at first, he was awkward, and she could sense the insecurities he had - and she hated it. He was so lovely, he was sweet, and he just wanted friends to love him and he finally had that and with his jokes, and his humour and the fact that he was so comfortable showed that from first year until now, he realised he did have that.

He had people to love him, he had so many friends who loved him for who he was, and the insecurities weren't so evident, and it made Bea so happy to know he was happy.

"What if...what if she rejects me?" he asked, fiddling with his hands that seemed more interesting than facing that very fact.

"If she rejects you," Remus pondered, "then she's missing out."

"Not on much," Peter mumbled, frowning slightly with his eyebrows furrowed and Bea lurched forward to take his hand, furiously disagreeing with him whilst the boys shouted their protests.

"Fucking hell, Pete," she exclaimed, "you're a catch and if she can't see that, it's an opportunity for someone else to. But I think she will - actually I think she already does like you, I think she likes you a lot."

"I second that." James nodded tiredly, lazily reaching for Bea who rolled her eyes and pushed herself back into her original spot.

"I third," Sirius lifted his arm, allowing it to drop onto Remus who grumbled some curses for the boy.

"I fourth!"

The week after Christmas night with the boys was lovely too, she spent a lot of time with Beau in her gallery and almost cried the first time she entered after Christmas at the sight of many, many more flowers that had bloomed and a lot more bees flew over the walls.

She had a girl's day with just her and Violet, but they both decided it wasn't very fair to leave Lily out and invited her to spend the day with them, though to their surprise Lily was busy with Beau who had asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him just to get butterbeer.

"As a friend, of course!" Beau had blurted out, hand on the back of his neck and a sheepish smile on his lips, and Lily couldn't reject even if she wanted to, but she certainly didn't.

So, her girls day with Violet ended up as just that and it was wonderful and she felt the feeling of home in her stomach because she had her best friend back.

Currently, she was with that said best friend and another in the form of Bertie who was cursing Bea's name through every hall they walked down, "holy fuck this is heavy!"

"You know what," Bertie announced with a huff of breath, "our friends are cursing far too much these days!"

"That is the least of our worries right now, Bert," Violet grumbled through gritted teeth, clutching onto a plant pot twice the size as an ordinary plant pot that was heavier than her and Bertie's weight combined, she was sure.

"It's not that heavy!" Bea exclaimed, dragging along a plant pot just a little smaller whilst the very small plant pots floated around them.

"The levitation spell didn't even work on it, Bea!" Violet exclaimed loudly, "good Godric, why do you need all of these!"

"My gallery needs real plants, I'm sick of it!" she huffed, "it's far too dull, and I need to get rid of those silly curtains shielding half of the windows!"

"Does Sprout know you're taking these?" asked Bertie, feeling as though his fingers were slipping and was quick to hold on tighter, "because I'm not helping you if you get caught stealing."

"Of course, she knows I'm taking them you walnut," she grumbles, faintly hearing him ask Violet if she did, in fact, call him a walnut, "she offered me them!"

"Oh yes, you are her favourite student after all," Violet teased, giggling when Bea rolled her eyes.

"I can take it from here," she announced on the corridor of her gallery, and the two stared at each other before turning back to Bea.

"They weigh a ton, Bea!" Violet exclaimed, "we can help!"

"No, no, no you can't," she shook her head furiously, "you can't go into my gallery...not yet - soon! Hopefully, but not right now."

"Why not?!" asked Bertie, leaning his arm on Violet's head who looked less than happy with him. Bea brought out her wand, moving the two out of the way and levitating the plant pot they had been carrying.

"You told us it was too big!" Violet screeched, watching the giggling Hufflepuff.

"Well I pranked you!" she shrugged, "so go lie down and rest, cause your arms might get sore later."

"Are you...giving us tips to deal with your prank?" asked Bertie.

"I don't appreciate the fact that you two Gryffindor's are ganging up on me," she frowned, "I hope you don't take my tips, have fun with your sore arms!"

She turned on her heel, waving her arm lazily whilst the two of them watched her drag the plant pot and for the others to follow her into the room they were banned from. Violet leaned into Bertie when Beau strolled from the other side of the hall, waving at the two of them with a grin and wandering right into the room.

"Why does he get to go in?!" Bertie exclaimed, but Violet could only laugh, pulling Bertie along and down the hall whilst he protested the unfairness.

"Plants!" Beau exclaimed as he closed the door, "or well...plant pots?"

"For plants!" she exclaimed, turning to grin, "Sprout had a ton of old pots hanging around so I'm going to paint them and then put them places...this place is lacking nature and life and these curtains have to go."

"You said you hated the sun," Beau frowned.

"No, I said I hated when it was too bright, but now it's too dull everything is so boring!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. She already had her wand pointing at the curtains when she said the spell that had them vanish...to where? She didn't know.

"Have you noticed how good you are with charms now too?" Beau said, "you read that full charms book that you picked up on all of the spells."

"Well, not all of them," she laughed softly, "I mean it was easy - course the wand movement was a bit hard cause it was just a drawing to guide you, but it was fine, I got it alright."

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, and when she frowned with her head tilted ever so slightly to the side, he couldn't help but laugh, "the plant pots, Bea there must be about twenty here!"

"Well, I need to paint- oh! Do you want to paint a few?!" she asked, suddenly excited by the idea in her head but he was quick to shy away.

"You're the painter, Bea, not me - I would mess them up!" he furiously shook his head, but she waved him off.

"They don't have to be good, Beau, but you're in here as much as I am bloody hell, you may as well contribute!" she grinned, clapping her hands and picking up one of the smaller pots, "come on! We need more bonding time!"

"We do not!"

"Oh yes we do so!" she turned to glare, "come on, bonding time is in session!"