over already? ((open))

[mrpotter]

James frowned a bit, the end of the year feast would be in just a few days, it seemed almost too hard to believe it. Third year had passed rather uneventfully, just as first and second, James had failed yet again to get a place on the Slytherin Quidditch team, mostly because he refused to play any position but seeker, and the captain had chosen to stick with the same seeker the past three terms. Hiroku Hermasaki. James had seen her, she was relatively good, but deep down he knew he was better.

At least he wouldn't have to compete with seniority in trying out for seeker next term, as James knew her to be a seventh year. He paused by the hourglasses, without a doubt Slytherin would take the cup this year, unless some teacher decided to play favourites. James was really going to miss this place over the summer, but he was craving his own bed, walking around Godric's Hollow when the weather wasn't too hot... James snapped out of his thoughts when a pair of footsteps echoed in the hall that had been empty, he looked over his shoulder at...

[igloogirl]

Gabriella straightened her Head Girl badge, feeling slightly sad that she would soon have to retire it for good. While her seventh year had been a remarkably good one, she found herself wishing that it wouldn't end just yet. She would miss Hogwarts, but Gabriella supposed she would have plenty more adventures elsewhere.

Spotting her cousin, Albus, Gabriella approached him quickly, making sure her eyes were a normal shade of brown. He was one of the few, being a couple years younger than her, who didn't know about her vampire condition. "Hello James," she said cheerfully, calling him by his middle name, as most people did. "Ready for the summer?"

[mrpotter]

"Oh, hey Gabby," said James. He wasn't particularly close to many members of his family, he could do without them really, but they were nice to him, it was refreshing in comparison to everyone else in Hogwarts whom either openly disliked him or ignored his presence altogether. "Yeah, it'll be nice to be at home," James replied. Surprisingly, he was able to maintain pleasant relationships with his parents, they all understood each other perfectly.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella nodded, thinking that James probably did like it pretty well at home. He had always seemed to get along with his parents pretty well, despite being in Slytherin. But Gabriella had always wondered what he thought of them kicking out Angel. "I'm going to miss this place, though," she said with a slight sigh, then caught herself. James would probably think she was just being another nostalgic seventh year.

[mrpotter]

"I guess that's understandable if your social life actually involves people," said James, unable to miss the hint of nostalgia in his older cousin's tone. Gabriella seemed different of late, James couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something out of the ordinary about her. James never mentioned it to her, but he would spend the evenings without homework researching about her changes.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella raised her eyebrows slightly then laughed for a brief moment. James could really be odd sometimes, but Gabriella had to wonder if he had many friends. She never really saw anyone around him, though he was nice enough to be around. "How can your social life not involve people?" she asked curiously. "The whole point of "social" is interacting with other human beings."

[mrpotter]

"Well, yeah," said James with a bit of a frown. "I guess that's the wrong term," He didn't have any friends outside of family, but he did speak with ghosts frequently. This only added to how nobody wanted to actually befriend him, he was seen as a bit too quirky. But James would show them all when he made something special out of himself, and they were all stuck in dead-end jobs and whatnot.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella raised her eyebrows once more, but said nothing about the topic for the moment. Hopefully James didn't always act this oddly, he would probably scare people away a bit. But he was family, Gabriella knew him fairly well. "Are you going to be Slytherin's Seeker next year?" she asked, changing the subject to something that James would hopefully be more keen to talk about.

[mrpotter]

James instantly perked up; Quidditch, that was the best subject in the world. Not to mention he had his father's knack for seeking, just as his older sister did. He had been terribly shocked when she had announced that she had gotten knocked up; even more so when Harry kicked her out of the house. "You bet!" James said enthusiastically. "I'll have a much better shot since the current seeker is graduating this term."

[igloogirl]

Gabriella nodded, smiling once more. It was nice to see that James had a normal level of enthusiasm for something. It did run in his blood though, Harry had been one of the best Seekers that Gryffindor had ever seen. "Definitely," Gabriella replied. "You'll probably blow all the competition away, actually."

[mrpotter]

James grinned broadly. "Thanks," said he. "I suppose the only reason I haven't gotten in is seniority; go with the new guy or the person who's been your seeker before he even got to Hogwarts? It makes sense. Are you going to go out for professional?" James had seen Gabriella's prowess at being a chaser, with skills like hers she could very well be the next chaser for Ireland, or the Holly-Head Harpies.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella nodded, she didn't know much about Isaac's decisions on his team's seeker, but she supposed it had probably been a hard decision for him between James and Hiroku. "Yes, I'm trying out in about a week and a half for Ireland and in two weeks for the Holy-Head Harpies," she replied with a smile. "I don't think I'll do it for very long, but I like to keep busy."

[mrpotter]

"That's good," said James, eyes surveying the hourglasses conveying house points a quick moment before looking back at his older cousin. The silence as he struggled to come up with something to say was short-lived. "How's Angel?" James asked suddenly. "I mean, we exchange letters; but it's hard to tell if she's telling me the truth or not." He knew about Gabriella going to his sister's flat on Sundays, perhaps she would know if Angel really was as good as she claimed she was.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella nodded understandingly. She knew that if something really was wrong with Angel, she probably wouldn't want to burden her younger brother by telling him. "She's alright," Gabriella replied. "Mostly bored, I think. She's taken up knitting. It seems as though she wants to make a whole store full of blankets before her boys are born."

[mrpotter]

"Knitting?" said James, eyebrows raised. "You can't be serious," It just seemed like an activity reserved solely for women over the age of fifty; and a very "un-Angelish" thing to do. He supposed that boredom did possess people to do odd things, he himself was currently working on carving a hole in his desk in Charms. It had only been a chip when he first sat there; but now it was large enough for him to fit his thumb through; chipping away at it bit by bit with a knife.