She's the Girl | A Marauders Love story

Chapter 44

Dinner

Hailey hugged Lily and Marlene goodbye and waited for Remus and Sirius to say goodbye to James. When they had finished, she approached them and hugged them both.

"Thank you guys for everything."

Remus nodded.

"But if I hear that you and James aren't back together by the end of Christmas break, I will not be pleased."

Hailey sighed.

"Prepare to be disappointed."

She said goodbye to them one more time, and turned back to see her family was talking with the Potters. She sighed and walked towards them.

"Oh, there you are, dear. We were just making plans for Christmas. It looks like we're both free almost the whole Christmas break, so we'll be spending it together. Isn't that fun?"

Hailey plastered on a smile and nodded, noticing thay James was doing the same. She had decided that since there was only about a week until she went home, she would wait to tell her parents about the breakup. It seemed James had done the same.

"You two can say your goodbyes now, if you'd like." Mrs. Lowel said. Hailey's eyes went wide.

"Right. Thanks Mum."

Their parents went back to talking, and Hailey turned to James.

"I'll see you later, then." She said awkwardly. James nodded and ran a hand through his hair. Hailey noted how cute he looked when he did that.

"Yeah." He returned. Hailey gave a weak smile. All of a sudden, James moved forward and hugged Hailey tightly.

"I'm sorry."

Hailey got over her shock and hugged him back just as tightly.

"Alright you two, we've got to get going now." Mrs. Potter called. Hailey and James quickly broke apart and muttered goodbyes. Hailey turned back to her mom, who had her hand outstretched. She took it, and they disapparated.

The second she hit the floor, she blurted out,

"James and I broke up, Mum."

Mr. and Mrs. Lowel turned to her.

"Dear, we know. So do Mr. and Mrs. Potter. All of your friends wrote us the morning after it happened."

"And you still decided to hang out with the Potters all Christmas?" Hailey asked, feeling as though her parents weren't on her side.

"Well, we all decided that you two, even if you don't get back together, need to learn to be friends. You were inseparable before. We just want to get you guys back to where you were before, at least."

Hailey sighed. She couldn't just go back to how she and James had been. That was years ago. They were different now, they had grown together, and they couldn't go back to being friends.

"I just don't think that's realistic. We're different people now, and I'm fine."

Mrs. Lowel scoffed.

"I did tell you your friends wrote me, didn't I? Dear Marlene told me all about how you 'wallowed away.' Those were her words, not mine, dear."

Hailey scowled.

"I think Marlene was really just being dramatic. I will admit I was pretty sad when it first happened, but I'm fine now!" She said.

"So you were crying last night for fun?" Mrs. Lowel asked. Mr. Lowel excused himself from the conversation, not quite feeling comfortable anymore.

"Listen, I'm allowed to be upset, aren't I? I mean, we did date for almost two years. There's bound to be some kind of emotion attached to that breakup."

"The problem is, Mrs. Potter and I were talking at the train station, and we agreed that you two didn't really want to break up. I'm sure you were both stressed, and now you're too stubborn to make up."

Hailey narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure Marlene and Lily didn't just tell you that?"

Mrs. Lowel smiled.

"I was in the same kind of situation when I was your age. The only problem was, I had hidden the relationship from my mother for almost a year at that point, so I couldn't turn to her. I'm glad you didn't."

Hailey smiled weakly.

"Well, I did something right, didn't I?"

Mrs. Lowel chuckled.

"Now, your father and I have agreed, along with the Potters that we don't want two sulky teenagers all break, so you two need to talk it out. I'm not saying you need to get back together, we just want you guys to be alright being near each other."

Hailey nodded. It didn't seem possible, but she could at least try.

"Now, you can go unpack and get ready for dinner. We have guests." Mrs. Lowel winked.

Hailey took her trunk up the stairs and walked into her room. She and James had stayed together in this room two summers ago when her parents had left. She felt sad again, and sighed, frustrated. Almost every memory she had involved James. They had known each other even before they had gone to Hogwarts, and they had spent almost every second together since they had gone to Hogwarts.

She quickly unpacked her trunk and showered, unaware as to when the 'guests' would be arriving. Once she felt clean again, she got dressed in a white top with a yellow flowered skirt, spinning around once or twice to make it twirl before she finished getting ready. When her hair and makeup were done and she felt sufficiently pretty (For the first time in a week, she noticed), she headed downstairs.

"Hailey! Perfect timing. The Potters will be here soon."

"Splendid." Hailey said sarcastically.

"Hailey, please. Just try."

Hailey sighed and nodded, wanting to make her mother happy. Mrs. Lowel smiled and opened the door. There stood James Potter, in all of his glory. He stood in the doorway for a second, making eye contact with Hailey, before Mrs. Potter bumped him out of the way to greet Mrs. Lowel. Unfortunately, James was pushed right into Hailey. They both fell to the floor, James on top of Hailey. Their faces were less than an inch apart. Hailey inhaled sharply, bringing James to his senses. He quickly stood up and offered Hailey his hand. She took it, and stood up, holding on to it after. Even if they were broken up, she needed the emotional support. James looked at her questioningly, but she just smiled back, squeezing his hand.

"Well, dinner is ready, let's go to the dining room." Mr. Lowel said, leading the group towards the dining room. Hailey saw Sirius wink at James, but shrugged it off.

He's not your boyfriend anymore.

She dropped his hand and put her hands behind her back. She felt his gaze on her, but kept her eyes forward.

He's not your boyfriend.