Halley

30- Halley Has Too Many Things

"What in Merlin's name is in this box?" James complained as he arrived at the flat, carrying the very last box of Halley's belongings and slamming it down heavily in the middle of the room. James straightened up and rubbed his back.

"Careful!" Halley rushed over and opened up the box, "this has all of my research in it!"

"Couldn't you keep it at St Mungo's?"

"Stuff tends to go missing there," Halley shrugged, beginning to sort through her papers, placing them in piles on the floor.

"I'm guessing that I'm not allowed to touch your work?"

"If you mess up my piles, I will jinx you," Halley assured him.

********

"You know what?" Mali said to Venus and Ginny when the three women went to Diagon Alley together not days after Halley and James had moved into the flat (both sets of their parents had been there to help the young adults, as both of them, seemed to own far too many belongings).

"What?" Ginny peered into a window display as they passed it.

"I think that I might have been wrong about Halley and James," said Mali, "it's been years, and they still show no interest in one another. I hate to say it, but I think the love guru may have been wrong."

Venus laughed, "finally, you agree with us! They have both had plenty of relationships, and as we have always said. They are just friends."

"I'm losing my touch!" Mali wailed, drawing several strange looks from passers-by. "I didn't anticipate Nova and Selene, and now I was wrong about James and Halley!"

"You might not be wrong about James and Halley," Ginny patted Mali on the back, "I mean, neither of them has settled down yet, it could still happen."

"So you agree?" Mali demanded, "you agree that they'd make a good couple?"

"Now, Mali I never said that!"

"Finally, someone sees my genius!"

********

"I am so behind on work, I am so behind on work!" Halley sang one afternoon. She was sat at the kitchen table, pouring over some of her notes, trying to work out the most effective way to use the unicorn hairs that Mali had got her.

"Will you please shut up!" James sung back from across the room, he was playing with a small Quaffle, tossing it in the air and catching it again.

"Can I put it in then?" Halley mumbled to herself, drawing lines in her notes, "no that would react with the murtlap root."

"Keep your thoughts in your head please."

"What if I stirred it really fast?" Halley wondered. She hardly noticed James setting down the Quaffle and making his way over, as she continued muttering about Unicorn hairs to herself, scratching out sections of her notes.

Without Halley noticing, James leaned in very close to her ear, "shut up!" He said quite loudly,

Halley jumped half a foot in the air, spilling her ink bottle, which rolled off the table and smashed on the floor. James dissolved into fits of laughter.

"Goddammit James!" Halley got to her feet and shoved him away, "I'm working!"

"I'm sorry Halley, I couldn't resist." James laughed.

"You're impossible."

"You're more impossible."