Our Nest

Close to 120 Students Were Now Watching

Wednesday

James and Ashley walked hand-in-hand to the Great Hall for lunch. It was raining outside and the couple was walking under the covered hallway. A few stray raindrops fell through the thin archways, which were the only barriers between the hall and the patio.

Ashley looked outside and saw two people dancing in the rain, one of whom looked very familiar. "James," she said, stopping to look, "Isn't that Lily?"

Sure enough, James's little sister was dancing in the pouring rain with none other than Lysander Scamander. However, it wasn't dancing as much as running and spinning. But each of them had huge smiles stretched across their faces and Lysander was giving Lily a look that every girl had dreamt of receiving.

"It is," James smiled, "Are they together now?"

"Don't ask me," Ashley said, "You're her brother."

James and Ashley stood—though they weren't the only ones—watching Lily and Lysander. After a few moments, James grabbed both of Ashley's hands and pulled her towards the patio. "C'mon!" he grinned.

"What!" Ashley said, planting her feet to the floor, "Why?"

"Because it'll help you break out of your shell!" James's eyes were gleaming.

"I like my shell," Ashley responded.

"But you can't stay in there forever!"

"Why not?"

"Because I'll get lonely," James pouted.

"You'll be fine."

"Please, Ashley! Come dance with me!" James tugged her forward another foot so that he was standing in the rain, and Ashley was standing in an archway.

"But there's people watching," she nervously glanced at everyone who was watching Lily and Lysander.

"That's the point, Ashley," said James. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"If you don't dance with me," dared James, "then I'll run out there all by myself and look completely mental."

"I'm fine with that."

"Please," James stuck out his bottom lip, tilted his head sideways and widened his eyes, like a dog begging for food.

Ashley let out a deep sigh. "Fine."

James smiled, and ran into the middle of the patio with Ashley's hand in his. Before Ashley had time to worry about the fact that people were now pointing at James Potter dancing with "the shy girl", James was pulling her close and spinning her outwards and lifting her up like there was no tomorrow. Ashley was out of breath in no time but she was too busy laughing to notice. James and Ashley were soaked to the bone in no time but neither cared. They didn't care that they were going to be late to lunch. They didn't care that they were going to have to walk into their next classes dripping wet. They didn't care that close to 120 students were now watching because, to be honest, they forgot they were even there.

The couple's charade ended when their dancing slowed and James brought Ashley close and wrapped his arms around her neck. He pressed his cold lips against her wet forehead. Ashley closed her eyes; despite their chilled skin, James's kiss warmed Ashley on the inside as well as out.

"Ashley?" she heard James say.

"Yes?" she looked up at him.

"I love you."

Ashley smiled. "And I love you, James Potter," she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist, "I love you so, so much."

James leaned down and kissed her lips this time. It was better than any kissing-in-the-rain scene Ashley had ever read about. Her books had created images in Ashley's head that she thought she would only ever experience via paper and ink. Never in 6 million years would she have imagined that one day, she would be standing in the middle of a downpour, kissing the boy that loved her as much as she loved him. The books however, came nowhere close to describing how truly fantastic the actual thing was.

The pair was pulled from the love-struck world of their own by an eruption of applause. James and Ashley broke apart and both broke down in a fit of laughter. Ashley buried her smiling face in James's chest and he held her tight wearing a smile of his own.

Ashley looked up and the students were still clapping. She realized that she wasn't as embarrassed as she would have been two weeks ago. James really did manage to break her out of her shell.

Ashley was suddenly crashed into by something blond and thin. When she heard the happy squealing, she realized the something that was hugging her tighter than thought humanly possible was Masie. Looking over Masie's shoulder, Ashley saw a blond boy and a dark-haired boy pounce on James the same way Masie had done to her.

"You just danced with and kissed James Potter in front of the whole school!" Masie squealed.

"It wasn't the whole school," Ashley laughed, finally managing to pry Masie off of her.

"But it was in front of people!" Masie said, "That's something!"

"I know!" Ashley squealed back.

"Can we go to lunch now? I'm starving."

"Sure," Ashley answered. She walked over to where James was laughing with his...cousins?...and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll see you inside."

"See you in there," he smiled to her.