The Chaser and the Keeper (A HP Next Gen Story)

33 ► Intervention

It had been two weeks since the incident in the Chamber of Secrets. Kristen hadn't tried to talk to James because she didn't want to seem desperate. He should be the one trying to talk to her after that stunt he pulled! She tried to make eye contact with him several times, hoping he'd get the hint and start talking to her again. It was really annoying Kristen. She hadn't a clue of what she had done wrong. Was he avoiding her because they had kissed and she was his best friend's twin sister?

Kristen hadn't given James his invisibility cloak back yet. She had figured that if he wanted it bad enough, he would come and talk to her. Otherwise, she could keep it and maybe even use it if a situation arose. This didn't make James very happy. He could no longer sneak out late at night to plan pranks on various students and professors. It made his evenings quite boring to be honest.

Both of their friends had noticed what was going on. They thought James was being stupid for avoiding Kristen. It would make things a lot easier if he would actually talk to her so they could work things out. Finally, they decided that they needed to confront him.

"James, we need to talk to you," Louis stated, dragging his friend into a secret passageway.

"I don't have time for this, Louis," James argued, pulling away, "Quidditch practice starts in fifteen minutes. It wouldn't look good if the captain was late to his own practice."

"Half of your team is here anyway. Besides, they're all related to or good friends with you. I don't think they'd be that pissed off. Don't worry though, we'll be quick."

James now stood in front of a small crowd of people. He recognized Kailey, Samantha, and Kim and knew that it had something to do with Kristen most likely. Alyssa was there as well, along with Jessica, Taylor, and Fred. The only really important people who was missing was Andrew and Kristen. That was when he realized they were probably going to talk to him about the stunt he had pulled a couple weeks back in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Hi everyone," James said politely, "Would someone please inform me why we are here so I can get to quidditch practice?"

"This is an intervention, James," Fred replied.

"Why the bloody hell are you holding an intervention for me?"

"You're totally ignoring Kristen and it's obvious she wants you to talk to her," Samantha replied.

"It's rather rude actually," Kailey added.

"I'm just trying to avoid the awkward situation that would definitely arise if I went and talked to her," James replied.

"There would be no awkward situation if you hadn't kissed her and left her in the bloody Chamber of Secrets," Louis pointed out.

"I'm sure Andrew would not be very pleased to hear about that," Taylor stated.

"He'd beat the shit out of me! He told me to stay away from her and I kissed her! I'm trying to save my friendship!" James protested.

"He also told you not to hurt her," Jessica said, "I'm pretty sure that you really hurt her by walking out on her like that."

"Why the hell would she care? She hates me. She was probably disgusted that I kissed her and thankful that I left."

"You are such an idiot," Fred mumbled.

"For the last time, she doesn't hate you!" Kim exclaimed.

"If she hated you, then why would she be constantly looking at you, pleading for you to come talk to her?" Samantha asked.

"Maybe she wants to scream at me," James replied, "Besides, she should come to me if she wants to have that conversation."

"It's a pride thing; Kristen is not going to give in and seem desperate for you," Kim explained.

"Have you ever thought that maybe she bloody fancies you as well?" Alyssa asked.

"She did kiss you back after all," Kailey pointed out.

"That's impossible," James stated.

"No it's not! You said yourself that she was freaking jealous that Moaning Myrtle was flirting with you!" Fred exclaimed, "The girl fancies you James!"

"Now she probably thinks you've led her on," Jessica stated.

"I do fancy her! I just don't want her brother to beat the shit out of me!" James exclaimed.

"You need to have a conversation with him," Taylor said, "Tell him what happened and how you really fancy her, and maybe he'll actually be OK with you asking her out! What you don't want is for Andrew to find out what you did before you tell him. I'm pretty sure he would beat the shit out of you in that case."

"You've been sending her love notes for months, James. You can't just give up on her now. Especially since I know you've been sending notes since the incident. You're not ready to give her up. Talk to her brother, work this shit out, and stop being an asshole," Alyssa advised.

James took all of this into mind. He was acting like an asshole. It was not fun ignoring her like he was. He just didn't want to be totally embarrassed or have his best friend be totally pissed at him. He would be graduating Hogwarts in a month and a half. He would be a chaser for Puddlemore United come July. None of the people he knew now could touch him then. Maybe it was time to take a risk. After all, he had come to the conclusion, many months ago that Kristen Wood was a girl worth fighting for.

"I guess I have been kind of an ass," James stated, "I should probably work that out. By the way, when will I be able to have my invisibility cloak back?"

"She said she'll give it back to you when you come and talk to her," Samantha replied.

"Well, I guess I should talk to her. First, though, I should probably talk to her brother."

"That sounds like a good idea," Taylor agreed.

"Damn it!" Fred exclaimed, looking at his watch, "We're late for quidditch practice!"

With that, along with a few other swear words, James, Taylor, Fred, and Jessica rushed out of the corridor. James had to admit he was feeling a lot better after that. He felt like he might actually stand a chance.