"Is she alright, James?" Mum asked as Katrina ran upstairs. She had declared she was sick just before she made herself scarce, and I could tell my mum was worried for her. Dad, on the other hand, seemed unabated by her sudden outburst. He sat with his nose buried in an old issue of the Daily Prophet while he slowly ate his food. Sirius looked to be still recovering from seeing his face on another person, but he did seem mildly aware that something was wrong with her.

   "I'm sure she's fine, Mum. I'll go check on her." I assured her quickly before getting up from the table and heading upstairs.

✧

   Katrina's door was shut when I got up to the landing. I knocked softly on the oak wood, before saying, "Katrina?"

   A voice thick with tears called back, "Go away, James." 

   "You know I can't do that. What happened down there?"

    "I don't want to talk about it."

    "Come out, please. We can talk." I got no reply this time. "Fine, I'm coming in." 

   I tried the knob.

   Locked. 

   Luckily, I had another idea. Although it was forbidden to use underage magic outside of Hogwarts, I grabbed my wand from my pocket. I'm risking a strongly worded warning for you, Katrina. "Alohomora," I whispered, before hearing the lock click open. I tried the knob a second time, and the door swung open.

   A large mass of blankets on the bed shifted slightly as I closed and relocked the door behind me. I approached slowly, sitting next to her blanket mound and reaching up to draw back some of the fabric. As I did, I saw Katrina was laying in a fetal position underneath the mountain of quilts and fleece blankets. She was crying,  her hand over her mouth so she didn't sob too loudly. 

   "Katrina..?" I whispered, reaching to touch her arm. She got to me first. 

  All at once, she had me tangled up in a tight embrace. She threaded her arms beneath my own, allowing her to hold both of my shoulders to her chest tightly. Her face was buried in my neck as she bawled, letting the loud sobs rack her body. I hugged her back and placed one hand on the back of her head protectively. We stayed like this for a while, Katrina straddling my hips and crying into my neck, and me rocking back and forth, shushing her softly. 

   After she had mostly stopped crying, she pulled away and looked at me. Her eyes found the collar of my shirt and she choked out a small laugh. "I might've gotten your shirt a little wet." There was still a thickness present in her voice. Whatever set her off made her really  upset. I had never, not once seen Katrina cry out of sadness. Sure, a few tears were shed when Lucius Malfoy was being a prick, but that's only because she was in so much pain. I guess her pride couldn't take letting people see her in that state of weakness. But now, it was clear her walls were down. And I didn't know why that made me suddenly care for her so much.

   But, back to the matter at hand. 

   I reached a hand up to feel the wetness on my shoulder. I gave her a grin that I hope came off as goofy and kind, just to let her know I wasn't angry or uncomfortable. "That's all right, it needed to be washed anyway. This is like the third time I'm wearing it this week."

  Katrina punched my shoulder lightly. "That's gross." She rolled off of me and sat on the bed. Pulling the sleeve of her sweater up over her palm, she wiped at the drying tears stains under her eyes and sniffled slightly. Watching her reminded me of a toddler recovering from a tantrum. But I had a feeling the reason for her break down was more justified than a toddler's.

  We sat like that for a couple moments, in a silence that didn't feel empty or awkward, just quiet. Despite this calm, I knew I'd need to ask. So I did. "What happened, Katrina?"

   She didn't look at me, just sighed and spread herself out on the comforter. It was a few seconds before she answered. "My parents don't like me very much... That's part of the reason why I wasn't allowed home for Christmas this year. I-," She took a deep breath. "Well, I've never really felt any sort of love from them. My mom was the worst, while my dad just didn't care. My mom wouldn't let me have any toys, she never hugged me or even touched me, and she would...," Katrina winced slightly, like she was remembering a familiar feeling. But not a good familiar. "She would curse me. Not like the Unforgivables, but a stinging hex, or a burning charm, something to make me "stay in line"." She hiccuped slightly, and I could tell she hadn't gotten all the tears out yet.

   "Katrina, you don't have to-," 

   "N-no. I want to tell you. I have to tell someone." I was surprised that I was the first one hearing about this. "When your dad said that my parents must be so proud, I couldn't take it. No one has ever been proud of me; not like a parent is proud of their child. And I'm so jealous that people get to live perfect little lives with their loving parents. I  want that. I want my parents to love me..." A tear slipped down her cheek. "And being here, with you and your parents  who idolize and love you so much that they'd set you up on a date, just to make sure you weren't lonely... It just hurts, so much that I'm laying here trying not to resent your wonderful mother just for loving her son." Her voice broke and she started sobbing again. 

  "Hey, hey..." I spoke softly, rubbing her back while she continued to cry. "Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to tell me all this. I'm so sorry that your parents were like that, that's absolute shit." I was struggling to find the words to comfort her. I didn't know that her parents had done all this to her; when she mentioned them, it seemed so... normal. But, I guess it would... she can't very well go around sobbing about her family all day. "There are people who love you. They may not be your parents, but they do matter. Remember that." 

   She looked at me, then. The redness of her eyes accentuated her blue-grey irises, making them almost glow in the moonlight that was cascading into the dark room. Her pale, ghost-like skin was splotchy and shining with the wetness of her tears. And her white hair was alive with static, making loose hairs stand straight up. But yet, she had a certain beauty to her. It was raw, and emotional, but still breathtaking.

   I don't know why, but it was that moment that I realized. 

   I have a massive crush on a girl who hated my guts for years. 

   ✧

(Katrina)

   The way he was looking at me was slightly off-putting. I mean, of course I had just broken down and spilled all of my deepest secrets to him, but he didn't have to look at me like I had two heads. 

   Despite his weird look, I was grateful that he listened to my tear-soaked ramblings. I had never cried in front of someone like this before, and I hadn't intended on throwing myself into their arms and using them as a handkerchief. But, he didn't flinch away or tell me to get off. He let me hug him while he held me like I was precious porcelain that he was afraid to drop. I didn't know he was so understanding of other people's feelings in that way. It made me feel closer to him. And really, how much closer can you get when you've already cried into someone's shoulder? The answer is: not much.

   James was still looking at me strangely, so I decided to break the silence. "Thank you for listening to me... the only people who have ever done that before were Lily and Alice when I ranted about how much I wanted to date Ian Young in Third Year."

   "Didn't he graduate that year?" I knew he probably realized that I was changing the subject, but if he did, he didn't say anything.

   "Yes, but a girl can dream. That man was probably the love of my life." I reminisced jokingly. James chuckled slightly, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair. When he smiled, the dimple on his left cheek appeared suddenly. It made me smile as well.

   "Yeah, and Narcissa Black was mine." 

   "Ooh, Sirius' cousin? You dirty dog!" I punched his shoulder slightly. He rubbed the spot where I had hit in mock defiance.

   "Hey! He's the dog! I'm the stag." 

   I gasped and let my hand fly to my chest dramatically. "Dear me! How could I have forgotten? Excuse me, Prongs." 

   "You're excused, Miss Rose. Don't let it happen again." He got up from the bed and offered me his hand. "Do you want to go downstairs? I could make some hot chocolate." 

   I took his hand and slid off the bed. "That sounds wonderful." I replied. I could hear a clock begin to chime somewhere in the house. It rang nine times before stopping. "It's nine o'clock already? Time really does fly when you're having fun." 

    "This was fun?" He asked, smiling at me slightly.

   "No, but that's how the saying goes."

   "Merlin,  you are weird."

✧

   The house was quiet by the time we got downstairs. Everything in the main room and kitchen was dark, except for the massive Christmas tree, which glowed gold. It was truly breathtaking in contrast to the grays and blacks adorned by the night. I love Christmas... I assumed Sirius and James' parents went to bed already, probably to give the "couple" their privacy. I had a feeling passing myself off as James' girlfriend was going to be easier now, especially since he had been holding my hand all the way downstairs and I didn't feel the need to pull away. His hand was warm and calloused from gripping his broom in Quidditch for years, and I knew mine was as well. The rough skin rubbing against my own only made me feel safer and more at ease.  I was glad to be here, spending the holidays with my actual friends and not my parents, who make me feel like shit. And James helped me realize how important it was to appreciate the people who actually care about you. I can't believe I hated his narcissistic arse just a few months ago. I can't imagine my life without him as my friend, now.

   James let me sit at the island while he began making the hot chocolate. He set the milk on to boil and began searching through the cupboards for chocolate. He emerged from his search holding a bar of chocolate, which he began breaking into pieces as he unwrapped it.

   "Y'know," James started, offering me a small piece he had broken off. I accepted it gratefully. "This is Moony's favorite chocolate. He's super particular about the brand, but he swears up and down that this is the best." I could see why Remus thought that. The chocolate was delicious, definitely premium quality. It literally melted against the warmth of my tongue and didn't burn the back of my throat as I swallowed, which was a pet peeve of mine when it came to chocolate bars.

  "Oh, wow..." I gasped when I finished savoring the flavor. "That is good. Remus had some high standards for his sweets." Speaking of Remus, I need to write him, Lily, and Alice an apology/Christmas card... James popped some in his mouth as well, before dropping the rest in the now-boiling milk. 

   "It's one of the things that makes him happy and lets him forget about his condition. At first, Sirius, Peter, and I just humored him when he went off on tangents about the perfect chocolate, but we realized that the more we listened, the more distracted he became and the less he thought about certain things. So, we listened." He leaned over the island towards me while a charmed spoon stirred the liquid in the pot. "And now I know how to tell what percentage cacao a chocolate bar is just by tasting it."

   "No way!" 

  "Yes way! I can even remember a few off the top of my head. Go on, give me a chocolate brand." He taunted.

  I thought for a moment. "Madam Mildred's Red Hot Chocolate Bars. That's gotta be a tough one!" All of Madam Mildred's products were made with distilled Fire Whiskey, and some were so hot, it was hard to even taste anything except your taste buds being singed.

  "You'd think it would be, but ol' Jamesie has got it down. It's about twenty-eight percent cacao, seventy-two percent literal fire." He told me, leaning back and going to check on the hot chocolate.

  "That's actually amazing. Remus really needs to offer lessons on that kind of stuff." I chuckled, equal parts surprised and impressed. James took the pot off the heat and poured it into two mugs. He set one down in front of me, and took the other for himself.

   "He can't teach just anyone, though; only those who are brave enough to gaze upon his werewolfiness are qualified to be taught. And someone fainted when they first saw it, so that's off the table for you." He teased me. I had almost forgotten about my first encounter with Remus' werewolf form. And how I fainted. And how I denied "growing to like" James...

   "Hey! That was one time, and I haven't exactly had another chance to come down and "gaze" at him." I chided him back playfully. I picked up the mug in front of me and took a long sip. It was like tasting heaven in a cup. Perfect milk-to-chocolate ratio. It was so good in fact, that I couldn't help but moan in satisfaction. 

   Which caused James to burst into an uncontrollable laughing fit and my face to heat up faster than a dragon's fiery breath.

  "Don't laugh at me! You know how I am around things that taste good!" I cried out in embarrassment. "I can't help it!"

   "I know, I know..." He had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. "It's just so bloody cute!" 

    He thinks I'm cute?

✧   

Hellooooo my dear readers! 

Third week posting on a consistent schedule, so I'm feeling pretty damn good right about now! (Knock on wood)

I hope everyone is still enjoying the story! I really really really wanted to make this way more romantic, but I knew it was too soon in my heart. It will be here eventually, but until then, romantic tension will have to do. As always, thank you for the continued support! Y'all make me so happy and motivated! xxx