backstage & behind the scenes


Prompts: catch, announcement

-take one-

Unlike most others, their story doesn't start in first year, where they meet and immediately know they were destined to fall in love.

He sees her up on the stool, of course, but he doesn't really think much of her. She's just a normal girl to him- black hair and pretty brown eyes. Pretty, sure, but she doesn't have something that sets her apart.

Just like any other girl, she's sorted in less than a minute, right into Ravenclaw.

He struts up to the stool, aware of all the girls' eyes on him, and all the mutterings about another Weasley. Smiling, he plops down on the stool and places the hat upon his head.

Another Weasley, eh? The hat says inside his head, and Merlin, it feels weird.

Unsure about something for once, he thinks back, yeah, that's me, Louis Weasley. Look, can you do me a favour and make this quick? We all know I am meant for Gryffindor House.

I know who you are, Louis Weasley, the hat retorts inside of his head. However, you have some qualities that would make you an admirable Hufflepuff... or maybe even a Slytherin, you know, with all of that ambition and such.

No! Louis panics inside of his head. Anywhere but Slytherin! I can't be there; I'm a Weasley! Can't you tell that I was meant for Gryffindor?

Fine, the hat compromises. Finally, he hears the words he knows he was meant to hear: "GRYFFINDOR!"

Grinning, he stands up, putting the hat back on the chair. The whole Gryffindor table stands up, bursting into applause. James and Fred wink at him, and Roxanne gives him a proud smile. Victoire just grins at him, waving her Prefect badge at him coyly.

He plops down beside James, grinning. "I got scared for a moment there."

"Why? Tell you it was going to put you in Slytherin? Ooh, Louis," James teases.

"Hush," Fred slaps his cousin's arm. "Louis, it tells that to everyone. Don't tease him, James, he's just an ickle first year."

"Ickle?" Louis scoffs. "You two are just second years yourselves."

James and Fred exchange a look. "But we're more mature than you any day, Louis."

-take two-

In fact, they first really meet when she runs into him, nearly knocking him down.

"Sorry," She says with a blush. She stretches out a hand to help him out, and then grins. "You wouldn't happen to know the password to the Ravenclaw common room, would you?"

"No, unfortunately, I'm a Gryffindor," He holds up a piece of his scarf, eyes twinkling.

"Thought you might have a relative there," The girl blushes. "Heard of your family."

"Yeah, that's me, I'm Louis Weasley," He nods, smiling. "And you are?"

She just blushes again, obviously not used to talking to people straightaway. "Natalie Patil. I don't suppose you've heard of me."

"Not really, but it's a pleasure to meet you," He tells her anyway, because he's always been brought up to be a gentleman. "So, you can't get into the Ravenclaw common room?"

"They've changed the password, again, and left only a riddle that I can't figure out," Natalie sighs, handing him a scrap of paper. "Do you think you could help? I mean, I know that you're a Gryffindor and all…"

"Bias," Louis scoffs, taking the paper out of her hand. "Stereotyping. We Gryffindors have just as much knowledge as anyone else- ever heard of Hermione Weasley? Top of her year, she was."

"Your aunt?" Natalie grins at him. "Who hasn't heard of her? Great lady, she was… is. If you got any of her genes, then you could surely solve this riddle."

"I have four wings, but cannot fly, I never laugh and never cry; On the same spot I'm always found, toiling away with little sound. What am I?" Louis reads aloud, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. Suddenly, his eyes light up. "I know! It's a windmill."

"What's a windmill?" Natalie wonders cautiously.

"It's a Muggle thing," Louis peers curiously at her. "You know the revolving things that blow air and produce… um, energy?" When she just stares blankly, he laughs a bit. "Oh, all right. You don't know much about Muggle things, do you?"

Offended, she says hotly, "My mum's a wizard, and well, my grandparents are too. My dad- I never knew him- but I think he was a wizard too. I never really had a chance to learn about Muggle things, though I'm interested, especially in technology, like computers."

"And you're pureblood?" Louis' eyes widen.

"Talk about stereotypical," Natalie informed him, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "Thought Weasleys were fair people."

"We are!" Louis protested, looking a bit scared.

"All right," Natalie says with a nod of her head, turning around and walking off. Pausing, she turns and offers him a big smile. "Thanks for the password, by the way. Guess you Gryffindors aren't as thick as you seem."

Girl has some nerve, Louis marvels.

Grinning, he walks back to the Gryffindor common room, his head filled with visions of her, this Ravenclaw girl that he's never even noticed before. He doesn't know why- probably because she's not like all the other girls at the school, she can talk to him without her eyes going big and wide. Not to mention she doesn't giggle constantly or cry all the time. She's just… unique, different. And isn't that what he's looking for?

Shaking his head, he tries to clear his brain. Things are so different and he's not acting like the ultra-confident Louis Weasley anymore.

How can this girl that he's never met before affect him so strongly?

scene 2, take 1

The next year, his childhood best friend Lorcan comes to the school, and is immediately sorted into Ravenclaw with Natalie (his little sister Dominique comes too, but he tries to forget about her because she's sorted into Slytherin and she's the Slytherin Weasley now). In no time, Natalie and Lorcan hit it off, becoming good friends. It's then that Louis comes back to Lorcan again, and soon they're friends again, meaning that Natalie, Louis, and Lorcan can all hang out together.

They gather one day by the pond, Natalie, Louis, and Lorcan. It's hot that day, so their bare toes dangle in the water.

"So, did you do your Divination homework?" Natalie inquires tentatively, staring at the grass.

"Is that all you talk about, Natalie?" Louis laughs. "Homework?"

"Well," she replies haughtily. Though she might not seem like it, she has a bit of a temper. "It's very important, especially since I had no idea what to do with our homework. You're supposed to lay back and look at the clouds, I mean, what's the point in that? Clouds are just… clouds. There's no particular shape to them, and even if there is, it doesn't mean anything."

"Agreed," Lorcan agrees, splashing his toes in the water. "I mean, who cares about clouds? That's why I don't get Divination."

Louis just stares at them silently. "Are you insane? Look at the clouds, don't you see all of the different shapes?"

"Are we supposed to?" Natalie replies, eyebrow cocked.

"All I see is cotton candy," Lorcan replies dreamily. "I haven't had cotton candy in forever."

Natalie wrinkles her nose, disgusted. "Cotton candy is like pure sugar, Lorcan. That cannot be healthy."

"Enough about cotton candy!" Louis protests, staring at them, then up at the sky. "Don't you see the shapes up there? Like that big heart, way up in the sky?"

Natalie and Lorcan both stare at him, and in unison say, "No, I don't."

Sighing, he walks over to Natalie. Coming up behind her, he points his finger up at the cloud in question. "Do you see it now?"

"I suppose it does look a bit like a heart, though I wouldn't have thought of it by myself," Natalie responds, a dim blush growing on her cheeks.

"Well, that's what you have me for," Louis grins confidently, because he's not nervous of her reaction or anything (oh wait, he is).

"Oh, you two are so sappy sweet and everything, but break it up," Lorcan grumbles, some sort of annoyed look on his face. "So you can write a heart on your paper, then. Oh Merlin, Louis, you're going to find true love!"

Crossing his arms, Louis rolls his eyes. "It's not a true love heart, Louis. There's a split down the middle, can't you see? You're both too reasonable to see what's right in front of you, if that makes sense. All of that Ravenclaw reasoning and all. Does that make sense?"

"Is it supposed to?" Natalie says with a sympathetic shrug. "And what does a split down the middle mean? A broken heart? Watch out, Louis, dear, someone's going to break your heart."

"No, because it's healed at the bottom," Louis reveals, wondering why he's so good at seeing this. "That means someone's going to break my heart or something like that… and then someone's going to put it back together, or I'll just move on. Either way, my 'broken heart' will be healed."

Lorcan just shakes his head like Louis is mad, but Natalie peers up at the clouds again. "How can you see all of that in a single cloud?"

"It just looks that way to me," Louis shrugs, as if it's no big deal, which it isn't to him. "The clouds… I find them easy to read, you know, since I'm up in them all the time, during Quidditch. I have always really liked clouds."

"That's interesting," Natalie responds thoughtfully, but she's a Ravenclaw, not a dreamer, and so firmly grounded in reason and all that it's not even funny.

He just nods. "Someday, Natalie, I'll show you what it's like to take signs from unexpected places, and not to care about reason, but to just go wild and have fun."

"That's definitely what you're good at," Lorcan laughs, and smirks as if it's some big secret that he's just revealed.

Rather than trying to fight with the younger boy, Louis puffs out his chest and grins. "Thank you, Lorcan."

Lorcan just shakes his head, and Natalie smiles at him, but it's one of her smiles that means that she's a bit tired of whatever's going on.

scene 2, take 2

Before they know it, it's the next year, and Lucy arrives at the school with Lily. Though he won't ever admit it, Lorcan's got some weird thing for Lucy (not romance- they're far too young for that- more like taken under his wing or something like that) and Lily is friends with both of them. So the trio Louis and Lorcan and Natalie splits up into Louis and Natalie and Lorcan and Lucy and Lily.

It's sort of a problem for him too, because he's also friends with James and Fred (and sometimes Hugo), so they don't want him to spend too much time with Natalie. Of course, he would never ditch her, though. So he has quite the dilemma.

One day, when they're sitting by the edge of the Forbidden Forest (pushing the limits), she says, "You can go find James, Fred, and Hugo if you want to. Don't feel obligated to keep me company."

"I'm here because I want to be," He replies, shocked that she would even think that. "If I wanted to be with the three Marauders then I would be with them."

"Oh," She blushes, looking at the ground. "Um, so… well…"

"This is a bit awkward," He agrees, not making her voice it out loud. "What's going on with you, though? How's life?"

"Going pretty well," Louis grins, trying not to make it awkward. Then he just gives up, falling back into the grass. "Look at the Forest, Natalie. It's actually rather pretty in the sunlight."

"It is, isn't it?" Natalie muses, peering into the forest. "I rather like all of the colours. It doesn't look quite as creepy when bathed in sunlight."

An uncomfortable silence falls over them once again. Finally, Louis decides to voice the question on both of their minds. "Do you ever miss him? You know, Lorcan, I mean?"

"I know who you mean," Natalie exhales slowly. "Of course I miss him, you know, once upon a time, we were best friends. But now he's gone and ditched me for Lucy, and I don't know how to feel. It's not Lucy's fault, really, she's a sweet girl… but still. I want to believe that he'll see reason sometime, come around, but he's not really as reasonable as…"

"As you?" Louis grins at her, nudging her arm. "I doubt anyone's as reasonable as you, Natalie."

"I'll take that as a compliment, and thanks, Louis," She says, her dark brown eyes twinkling. Randomly, she asks, "What's it like, being part-Veela?"

"It's amazing," Louis replies with a laugh. "Knowing you're not fully human and you have some girly creature blood in you."

"Veela aren't girly creatures," Natalie protests immediately, going into full lecture mode. "They're part-human, part-magical creatures that are able to trigger wizards' emotions and make them feel things for the Veela."

Louis just rolls his eyes. "I know what Veelas really are, Natalie. I'm one eighth Veela," He declares proudly, as if he needs to remind her of the fact again. "Not to mention my mum's always boasting about how we should be proud of our Veela heritage. Does that count as Pureblood?"

"I don't know," Natalie muses, absentmindedly brushing a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I wonder if I'm Pureblood- not that it would make a difference, y'know. Just to know, because it kind of interests me, who my father is. My mum knows, of course, but she won't tell." Once she notices Louis staring at her, she just blushes. "Sorry for the rambling, I mean, it's just my thought process."

"Interesting thought process," He teases, smiling over at her. "Anyway, it makes perfect sense to want to know who your father is. I mean, of course you'd want to know all about the person you got half of your genes from."

She sighs. "I'm glad you get it, but I'm scared. What if he was a jerk or something like that, so my mum had to leave? What if he abused her or something? And I share half of his genes?"

"Be reasonable, Natalie," He says, a twinkle in his eye. "That's the first- and last- time I'll ever tell you that, right?"

She just laughs. Around her, the air blows a nice breeze. "I'll just forget about it, then. No use dwelling on what could have been… what should have been."

"It's definitely what should have been," Louis agrees. "You deserve better than a father that leaves you."

"No one can say what a person deserves," Natalie argues, but her voice wavers, so he doesn't know if she really believes it. "We're all naturally bad, Louis, especially wizards like us."

He just nods, taking it in but not allowing himself to think like that.

scene 3, take 1

Fourth year is around the time that everything changes. Louis Weasley, who was once regarded as just another Weasley, hits a growth spurt, grows out his blonde hair, and suddenly is the hit of the school. All of the girls fall in love with him, and all of the boys look up to him.

Rather than saying that he doesn't want all of that (which really, he doesn't), he decides just to enjoy it while it lasts, since he knows fame is fickle.

One day, while he's walking down the corridor, a little first year girl comes up to him. "Are you Louis Weasley?"

"Yes," He says, a bit miffed, and overall confused.

Brushing a lock of curly brown hair out of her face, the girl begins to ramble, behaviour he finds typical of first years. "I'm Aliyah Trevors, Muggleborn, and I know that you wouldn't think about first years but I think you're really handsome and all… I've been held back a year, I'm twelve, so it's not that big a difference and oh Merlin, you're tall…"

He supposes the difference between them to be about a metre, maybe half a metre. Politely, he responds, "It's nice to meet you, Aliyah, but I'm, uh, not really planning on…"

It's then that Natalie interrupts, linking an arm around his neck and grinning at him, winking as if to say 'go along with it'. Still grinning evilly, she says, "Hey, Louis, darling. There you are. I was wondering where you got to."

Sighing internally in relief, he replies quickly, "Oh, Natalie, dear! I was looking for you when I ran into this girl, Aliyah. Aliyah, I'd like you to meet Natalie."

Aliyah's eyes widen in understanding and something that looks a bit like hurt, though he can't imagine why. "H- hello, Natalie. I'm thrilled to meet you. Um, I have to go now, bye!"

"Bye," he calls behind her, laughing a little bit. Turning to Natalie, he reprimands her, "You might have scarred the little girl! She's only twelve…"

"And obsessed with you," Natalie laughs. "Oh come on, she'll get over it, it's only some sort of celebrity crush. She doesn't even really know you."

"True," Louis replies.

"Aren't you going to thank me for saving you?" Natalie asks, not seeming afraid or nervous around him at all.

He appreciates it. These days; it's a rare thing to find a girl who doesn't blush whenever someone says his name. Nodding, he smiles at his female best friend, but says grudgingly, "Thank you, I suppose. The girl has to realise sometime that she has a very miniscule chance with me, after all…"

"And who does have a chance with you, the oh so famous Louis Weasley?" Natalie teases, her smile illuminating her otherwise dark features.

"First of all, someone who's in my year," Louis laughs teasingly, still a bit shaken from the first year situation.

"You only date people in your year?" Natalie asks, amused with her friend.

Blushing, Louis shakes his head. "I don't mean that. I mean that I wouldn't date a first year, or someone with an insane age difference from me."

"Oh," Natalie laughs. "That makes sense. But seriously, how did you get famous?"

"Is that an insult?" Louis replies, crossing his arms. "It's because of my insane good looks, Natalie." He pushes a lock of blonde hair out of his eyes, grinning.

Natalie looks as if she's going to guffaw. "Your insane good looks? Yeah, good luck with that."

It's then that a third year girl whom Louis recognises as his cousin Molly's archenemy, Merilyn Goyle, comes up to him, smiling sweetly. He sees the amount of makeup on her face and feels as if she's going to vomit.

"Louis," She says sweetly. "I've heard so much about you. Such a pleasure to see you here."

Louis tries not to laugh. Instead, he bites his lip and tries not to sound sarcastic as he says, "Um, it's a great pleasure to, um, yeah, see you too…"

"Awesome!" Merilyn beams like it's the wittiest thing that she's ever heard. "So, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

Since he's pretty much at a loss for words at this girl's blatant interest in him and her boldness, he turns to Natalie, his eyes wide. Natalie just guffaws before smiling as sweetly as she can at the girl. Her voice level as always (she never shows emotion, not even anger), she stares at the girl. "I'm sorry, dear, but Louis already has a partner to go to Hogsmeade with." Slowly, she puts her hand on Louis' shoulder.

"Oh, really?" Merilyn says in faux innocence. "Who?"

Still, the older girl didn't show any sign of anger. Calmly, she says, "I am his companion, Merilyn, obviously. I know that you would like to go with him, but I have an announcement for you, he already has me to go with." Tugging on his arm, she says in a voice that's a bit colder than usual, "Let's go, Louis."

Once they're a good distance away from her, Louis asks, "What, you're not going to fight with her?"

"What reason is there to fight with her?" Natalie shrugs. "She's just a little girl that has no idea of anything, Louis; I'd have quite the unfair advantage."

Lorcan just laughs again. "I love your sense of reasoning, Natalie. It's so… interesting."

She just shrugs. "It's entirely true, Louis, and you know it. Besides, my mother wouldn't be too happy, neither would any of the authorities in this school if I was caught fighting a third year over Louis Weasley. I mean, I don't even like you that way." She's never been particularly good at stating her feelings, Louis muses.

He just stares at her, not taking the jab or whatever it's called personally, because he's Louis Weasley and he's relieved by the idea that someone's not in love with him. "So you have no feelings for me then?"

"No," She says reasonably. "I mean… yeah, I don't have any romantic feelings for you."

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Good?" She repeats, looking a bit offended, but nothing changed in her tone. "You don't want me to have romantic feelings for you?"

"No, I mean that it's nice to have someone level-headed that won't fall in love with me," Louis grins over at her.

"Oh," She relaxes, looking as if she wants to smile. "Yes, I suppose it is."

It's then that yet another lovestruck second year walks down the corridor, her eyes going wide as soon as she sees Louis. Louis grins over at Natalie. "Help me out here?"

"Always," She promises like they're some sort of cheesy movie.

scene 4, take 1

It's not long after that incident that James, Fred, and Hugo (who's tagging along for the ride) pull him aside, not looking happy at all.

"What's up with you, Louis?" James asks. "I mean, I know you've become a random heartthrob and all, but you've been ditching us constantly for some girl."

"She isn't just some girl!" Louis protests. "She's Natalie, and she's my best friend."

"And we're not?" Fred answers, looking a bit hurt.

"Of course you are," Louis sighs, feeling torn. "I mean, I love you all, isn't that enough?"

"Ew," James wrinkles his nose. "See, she's making you go soft, Weasley. Does your last name mean nothing to you? And don't say you love us… that's a bit weird."

"Why? We're family," Louis raises his eyebrow, staring at his three cousins. "It's been forever since we pulled a prank, hasn't it?"

Hugo interrupts then, small smirk upon his face. "So family is less important to you than us, is it?"

"Prove it," James jumps in. He's always been the leader of the four, much like his namesake. "Prove that you're still loyal to us. Play a prank on all the fourth year girls with us."

"All of them?" Louis repeats nervously. Usually, the sound of a new prank is like music to his ears. But when it involves choosing between two groups of people- yeah, that's not exactly his idea of a good prank. "Can't I just sit out this time?"

"Sit out?" Fred crosses his tan arms across his chest. "You want to sit out of a prank? Just because it involves your pretty little girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Louis protests weakly, trying not to fall back against the wall in despair. "She's just my best friend and I sort of don't want to hurt her."

"So you're going to ditch us for her?" Hugo's eyes widen and fill with the utmost hurt.

"No!" Louis exclaims, trying not to hurt anyone. "I mean, I'm not ditching anyone! FINE. I'll do the prank with you."

"Yes, you will," James smirks. "And you will have no regrets; will you, since we're more important to you."

scene 4, take 2

Nervously, Louis follows James, Hugo, and Fred down a narrow corridor. The lights blaze dimly, casting creepy shadows on the walls. He just keeps walking, keeping his head down and trying not to look at anything. Really, his heart is pounding fast enough already.

"What are you so scared of, Louis?" Hugo teases from beside him. "Thought you were a Gryffindor."

"Not that you would know, Puff," Louis retorts, his nerves getting the better of him.

Hugo just laughs. "Yeah, I suppose I wouldn't. But really, it's just a harmless prank, what do you think is going to happen?"

"Natalie will find out," Louis says ominously, feeling a bit terrified of her reaction, though he knows she'll just be cool and collected. That just makes it worse for him- not knowing how she really feels, and knowing that he might never know.

"So? She'll find out eventually. I'm sure she won't hate you," Hugo reassured his older cousin.

Louis just rolls his deep blue eyes. "I'm sure she won't hate you. Right, because that's so reassuring…" His pulse quickens all the more as they approach the girls' dorm.

"All right," James says briskly, stepping at the secret passageway that the Marauder's Map had revealed to them that lead to the Ravenclaw girls' dorm, the one they would raid first. "Are you ready for this?"

"No," Louis speaks, willing his voice not to shake or anything like that.

James just smirks, looking like a true Slytherin, though he's not one. "Well, too bad for you then, cause we're going in. Is the backup ready?"

"Yes!" Hugo replies readily, his still-changing voice squeaking as his face lights up.

"On the count of three then," James announces. Louis squeezes his eyes shut. "One…" Oh Merlin, don't let her find out… "Two…" what am I going to do? "Three!" Oh help me!

Squeezing his eyes shut, he dashes through the door behind James. Then all of them freeze.

Because standing in the centre of the room, along with Lucy Weasley and some other Ravenclaw girls, is Natalie Patil. She's laughing, though. She's actually laughing.

"What's going on here?" James Sirius demands, glancing around at all of the Ravenclaws.

Still laughing, Natalie informs him, "You were going to try and prank us, weren't you?"

"No," Hugo protests, crossing his arms across his chest. "We were just… popping in to say hello…"

Shaking her head, Lucy Weasley laughs. "Trying to prank us, the wisest of the idiots at this school. Go prank those Slytherin bimbos; they wouldn't be able to tell."

Louis ducks his head so that his blonde hair falls into his face. "I'm sorry. This was all James' idea…"

"Hey!" James protests, blushing. "It was so not my idea! I mean, sure, I might've had something to do with it, but the idea was originally someone else's…"

Natalie scoffs. "Yeah, right. James Potter, you're the only git thick enough to even think of something like that!"

Smirking, James grins at her. "So you know what type of ideas I have, do you, Patil?"

As if it's a natural reaction, he feels a surge of anger run through him. It's not natural, though- he shouldn't feel this way when his cousin flirts with his best friend. But he does. Shaking his head, he tries to ignore her as she responds, "Just your stupidity to think that you could fool us, Potter, and your arrogance that's above all others."

So he just walks away, not wanting to think what this newfound jealousy (is that what it is?) means.

scene 5, take 1

Near the end of March, it snows, coming as a big surprise to the entire school- but not entirely unwelcome. The astounded teachers release them from classes for the day, so the students are allowed to roam free on the grounds.

Louis goes over to Natalie, ignoring the three other 'Marauders' who are pounding some annoying Slytherins with snowballs. Smiling, he asks, "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Not a problem, of course," She says, but her expression reveals absolutely nothing about how she really feels.

He grins lopsidedly at her. "Fancy a snowball fight against a couple of ickle family members of mine?"

"Why not?" She replies, bemused. "Mind if Janelle tags along?"

For the first time, he notices a younger blonde girl behind Natalie. He's always deemed Janelle as sort of weird and a bit annoying, but hey, if it means that Natalie will come, he's fine with Janelle coming too. And Merlin, since when did he think this way about a girl?

"That's absolutely fine," He replies, plastering on a fake smile. "The more, the merrier, right?" But he scowls a little bit as the two girls follow him to the field.

His little cousin Lily Luna looks as if she's going to explode with excitement. "All right! How about, for teams, Louis, Janelle, and Natalie versus me, Lucy, and Lorcan?"

Most of them just shrug and nod their heads, so with a shriek, Lily begins the game. Her snowball makes an arc, curving at the top and plopping right on top of Louis' head. Unreadable expression on her face, Natalie reaches up and wipes the snow off of his face, warm fingertips trailing across his cheekbone. Merlin, he thinks. How come she can never show emotion?

She turns back to the game, not distracted like he is, for her imagination never runs away with her (he can tell). But his imagination is a million miles away. That is, until little Lily Luna smacks him in the face with a snowball.

For a young girl, he realises, she's awfully strong.

Picking up some snow, he piles it into a ball and hurls it at Lucy. It hits her smack in the face, causing his other little cousin to get her head in the game too. That's when the intensity starts.

Which means that he has to work as a team with Janelle and Natalie.

Janelle is just standing there, arms crossed across her skinny chest, and Natalie's hurling snowballs hard and fast, but they don't go anywhere. Quickly, he signals a timeout, though the other team shoots him the weirdest of looks.

Natalie walks over to him. Quite seriously (she even takes snowball fights seriously?), she asks, "Something wrong, Captain Louis?"

"We're doing pretty badly, in case you haven't noticed," Louis informs her.

"I thought we were doing okay for ourselves," another voice sings. Janelle joins the circle, looking as if her head is a million miles away.

"Did you really?" Louis replies, gritting his teeth. "All right, here's the plan. Janelle, you take left flank. Natalie, you take right flank. I'll take the middle. We all throw as hard as we can, and aim, please do aim. Doesn't matter who you aim for, just don't throw at random."

Natalie nods, still looking solemn. "Got it, Captain."

From his other side, Janelle nods vigorously, her blonde hair bounces. "I will do my best, Captain Louis."

"We're going to win, obviously," Louis grins at both of them, at the two contradictions. "Because I think we'd all agree that we're the best team ever."

"Obviously," Natalie says, half of her face twisting into a smile. "Well, let's go then. Follow the strategy, both of you, or I swear I'll… I don't know what I'll do."

They put all of their hands into the middle. Louis' hand brushes hers, but as he tells himself, he doesn't care at all about the sparks that are flowing through his body and Merlin, he sounds like a girl. On the count of three, they all yell, "Team TJL!" at the same time. And yeah, it's a bit childish, but so is a snowball fight.

Immediately, Natalie dashes over to the right and begins to aim snowballs at the other team. One hits Lorcan directly in the stomach, and she smirks, looking pleased with her work. To her left, Janelle is walking around dreamily, sometimes aiming random snowballs at trees.

Rolling his eyes, Louis packs some snow into a snowball and hurls it at the other three. They retaliate nearly immediately, and the snowball war continues. Well, it continues until Louis gets socked hard in the stomach with a snowball and falls to the ground.

"Louis!" Natalie rushes over to him. To Janelle, she calls, "Attack! Our captain is down!" Then she turns back to him. "You all right?"

"Just fine," He sighs, trying to pick himself up. But with a start he realises that they've already lost, that a defeated and surprised Janelle is sitting in the snow, and that Lucy, Lorcan, and Lily have claimed victory, dancing around in some weird version of a victory dance.

Natalie goes over to help Janelle up before returning to Louis. "It's all right. We tried our hardest."

He glances over at her, genuinely surprised. "Who said I was angry?"

"You always were so competitive," Natalie says with an adorable smile, and wait, did he just think adorable?

Shrugging, he nods. "I suppose."

"It doesn't matter anyway, Louis, it's just a game for fun against your cousins. It's not like we're going to get a prize, or rather, they are," Natalie continues, using her foolproof reasoning once again.

He just stares at her like she's the weirdest thing he's ever seen. "Are you mad? Why do you have to be so reasonable all of the time, Natalie?"

Grinning from ear to ear, she taps the blue and brown scarf around her neck. "Ravenclaw, remember? It's what we do best."

Then, walking off so that her long black hair brushes the back of her charcoal robes, she starts to head off. He just stares after her.

The crisp snow underneath his feet is melting from the temperature of his body.

scene 5, take 2

The year flies by, at least in his opinion, it does. At times he wishes the year would slow down. He gets too tired of girls chasing him down and asking him out. It's supposed to be the other way around, don't they know- boys should chase the girls rather than the other way around.

But the only who stays steady, like a rock in the raging river that is his life, is Natalie. He could never express how grateful he was (is) for her.

One day, on a particularly windy day, he gets all but fed up. All of the girls are chasing him down, asking him if he wants to go outside and fly freaking kites with him. Of course he doesn't want to fly kites, he's a guy- and a very respectable one at that.

Yet another girl, this one a second year by the looks of her and a Hufflepuff, comes up to him. "Oh my Merlin. You're…you're Louis Weasley."

Trying not to sound impatient or anything, he says hastily, "Obviously I am."

Unaffected, the girl gapes. "I'm Katie, a Hufflepuff, and oh Merlin, I've heard so much about you! Not to mention you're just adorable! Want to go fly kites?"

"Fly kites?" Louis repeats, his voice still emotionless. He's glad, at this point, that he hasn't blown up on anyone yet. They're all the same- innocent young girls that apparently want to go out with the school 'player'. "Um, I'm sorry, but I don't really have time now. I promised my girlfriend that I'd meet her."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Katie smiles again with the look of a Slytherin. "Where's this girlfriend?"

Hastily, Louis glances around until his eyes land on one of his friends, Aquarius Flint. "Aquarius!" He hisses. "Um, do you want to go out with me?"

Aquarius' eyes dance, amused. "Sure, why not?"

Grabbing the Slytherin girl's arm, he drags her back over to where the second year is still waiting impatiently. "Um, Katie, this is my girlfriend, Aquarius."

"You're dating Aquarius Flint?" Katie raises her eyebrow. "As in the girl who has made out with everyone in the whole school?"

It's about then that Aquarius objects. "I'm right here, you know. And not everyone in the whole school, well, not yet. And I believe the term you're looking for is sl-"

"Aquarius!" Louis butts in about then. Leaning over, he whispers, "She's a second year, don't corrupt her already."

Katie just shoots them a weird look. "Well, since you're already busy, I suppose I'll see you later." She walks off to rejoin her giggling clump of second years that move like fish in a school.

Louis sighs. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine with me," Aquarius smiles in that usual devious Slytherin way of hers. "Anyway, I have to go meet someone, boyfriend. I'll see you later?"

"See you," He says, his head spinning. And in that moment, he realises where he needs to go. He takes off running, and he keeps running until he comes to the all too familiar corridor. Inside his head, he thinks, I need a place to think things through. I need a place to think things through…

When a door finally appears in front of him, he grabs the door and flings it open before dashing inside and throwing it shut behind him, collapsing on the floor noisily. It's then that he realises there's someone else in the room with him.

"Louis?" Natalie asks in amusement, her brown eyes sparkling. "What are you doing?"

"Hiding," Louis gets out, breathing heavily. "Have you seen those insane kids today? Coming up to me every five seconds, asking me to go fly kites with them, I mean, really."

"Oh, that's so terrible," Natalie says, using her usual sarcasm. "Why don't you just go fly kites with them? They're only sweet little firsties and well, second years, too."

He rolls his eyes at her. "Don't you think that I have more important things to do than fly kites with first years?"

"Like what?" Natalie raises an eyebrow. "Come to the Room of Requirement to hang out with me?"

"To think," Louis protests, running a hand through his blonde hair.

"Oh, yes, Louis, because you don't ever think," She laughs. Scooting over, she offers him some room. "What's on your mind, Weasley?"

He just sighs quickly, not really wanting to tell him about his stupid rash decision. "I, um, I am sort of going out with Aquarius Flint…."

Her brown eyes, which had been closed in relaxation, shoot open. "WHAT? AQUARIUS FLINT? Are you… are you insane?"

"I don't know," Louis almost cries in exasperation, but he's a boy so he doesn't do anything of the sort. "I mean, I needed a girlfriend to get those little kids to go away, and she was standing right there, and I knew she would say yes-"

"She says yes to anything with a heartbeat, Louis," Natalie tries to reason with him. "That's what you're looking for in a girlfriend?"

"Well, no," He sighs. "But I know that this relationship isn't going to last long, and it's better to end it sooner than later, so, yeah, how should I break it to her?"

"Already?" Natalie asked, amused. She just shakes her head. "I don't know, Louis. Oh, the messes you get yourself into."

He sighs, leaning up against the wall. "I don't even know why I do the things I do. No wonder I have a reputation as a player or whatever. I just ask out random girls…"

"It'll all work out, Louis," She says, as reasonably as usual. Sliding down beside him, she shows him the object in her hands. "Have you ever heard of a computer?"

Louis' head shoots up. "You have a computer? Aren't those for Muggles?"

"Yeah, they are," She smiles, shrugging. "But I don't know, ever since I came across one in a Muggle library, I've had a weird obsession with them. I can actually make them work…"

"Doesn't Hogwarts have, like, some anti-Muggle technology block or something?" Louis asks cluelessly.

She turns and looks at him, raising her dark eyebrows. "I have ways around that."

"Ooh," Louis teases, grinning at her. "Natalie Patil, actually doing something wrong. Has the world gone insane?"

"Probably," Natalie shrugs nonchalantly. "No, I suppose I'm more reckless when it comes to technology… I mean, I suppose. It was awfully hard to get an Internet network set up here, anyway."

He just stares at her, shaking her head. "What's up with you and these Muggle toys?"

Grinning, she slides the computer over to him. "Have you ever seen a Muggle movie, Louis?"

"A Muggle movie? Not too many," Louis admits, sliding over to peer at the screen. He then looks back up at her in amazement. "You made one?"

"It wasn't that hard," She replies, blushing. "All I needed was some help from Lucy and some of the other Ravenclaws. Lucy's a pretty great actress, I daresay we would make a pretty great team had we been born Muggles."

"You can still," Louis answers her, elbowing her lightly. "You could make a movie about the wizarding world for Muggles. Doubt if any of them would ever believe it; they are quite bad at believing things."

She just stares at him, mouth agape. "And how much sense would that make, Weasley? Do you know how much trouble I would get in, especially with the Ministry?"

"Does everything have to have a reason behind it, Natalie?" Louis inquires quietly. "I mean, do you have a reason behind your computer skills?"

"Yes," Natalie begins, inhaling deeply.

"You know what," Louis says, staring at her with his unfathomable blue Veela eyes. "You know what, never mind. I'm just going to go now."

He walks out, trying to forget about how empty his heart feels or whatever. He doesn't care… right?


scene 5, take 3

At the end of the year, right before school's about to let out and long after Louis has ended his relationship with Aquarius, Louis gets stuck in detention. But he doesn't mind so much because it's with Natalie.

Natalie's not quite as happy. "I cannot believe that you got me in here, Louis."

"I bet it's your first time in here, isn't it, Natalie?" He smirks over at her.

"No," She protests, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I got a detention in first year for telling off that annoying teacher, don't you remember? Now he's fired, anyway, but still…"

"One time," Louis stares at her with wide blue eyes. "That might as well be a record. Though, of course, you're the ever so responsible one."

Natalie rolls her eyes. "I'll have you know that I'm not happy with you, Louis, and my mum isn't too pleased with you either. She's depending on me to get a good education and a good job…"

"Do you ever have any fun then?" Louis interrupts, staring at her like she's insane. "You're only nearly fifteen, Natalie. You have to live life to its fullest before you get too old…"

"And living life to its fullest is blowing up potions all over Scorpius Malfoy because your sister's in love with him and taking me down with you?" Natalie says scathingly, glaring at him like he's something that she's scraped off the bottom of her shoe. She doesn't often show her temper, but when she does- well, she has a good reason and you'd better watch out.

"No," Louis just sighs. "And sorry about that, by the way, but honestly, don't you do anything just for the heck of it? Just to have fun?"

"Studying is fun, Louis," She replies, trying not to just deposit her head on the table as she waits on the Professor to show up. "And it will help me to get somewhere in the future, there's a reason behind it-"

"Everything has a reason behind it, even if you don't know what the reason is," He objects.

"That's not true," She says pointedly. "Some things have stupid reasons behind them-"

"It's still a reason," He cuts in.

It's then that the Professor flies in, not looking happy at all. "You two need to get along better," He says. "You're so good of friends…"

Natalie sighs. Turning to Louis, she says, "I suppose we just have different viewpoints, that's all. Let's agree to disagree, shall we?"

"Why not?" He says, grinning at her.

And their friendship falls back into place. Well, sort of.

scene 6, take 1

It's not until the next year that things really start to change between them.

That's when the Headmaster, McGonagall, steps forward to make an announcement. "I have an announcement for you all. Due to the anniversary of the school's founding, we will be holding a Yule Ball this year. We would encourage all students to attend. However, there is a single catch- if you attend, you must attend with a dance partner from another house."

Gasps of protests arise from all over the Hall. For some reason, Louis finds his eyes wandering over to where Natalie sits at the Ravenclaw table, blue and brown scarf wrapped around her neck.

Should he ask her? He scratches his head, telling himself that maybe she'll like him. Or maybe she'll hate him.

He then turns back to where McGonagall's speaking. The other fifth years are all whispering and giggling already, especially the girls, probably wondering who will ask them. He figures that no one will if they keep on giggling like that.

McGonagall clears her throat. "Once again, this year, the boys will ask the girls, so get out your nice robes. Dance lessons will be held for those requiring them." Her gaze lands on the boys, who Louis knows are some of the worst dancers to ever walk this earth. "I suggest some of you attend. All right, you are released now, hurry and head to your classes."

Despite her words, most of them linger behind, Louis included. To his surprise, Natalie stays behind too. Walking up to her, he grins widely. "Are you planning on attending the Ball?"

"I was thinking about it," Natalie replies, shrugging a little a bit as if she's totally apathetic about the whole issue. "I mean, that is, if someone asks me, which I don't know if anyone will."

He just stares at her with his blue eyes wide. "Of course someone would ask you, Natalie, why wouldn't they?"

"Well," She says with a raised eyebrow, "Not everyone views me the way you do, Louis."

But that proves to be a moot point as soon as they walk outside. One of Natalie's Ravenclaw classmates, one with a weird name like Zane that he can't ever remember, shyly comes up to her. "Natalie, would you mind going to the Yule Ball with me?"

She just shoots a glance at Louis before beaming at 'Zane'. "I'd love to, Zane. That would be great."

"Shall I meet you there, then?" Zane asks, staring at her like she's the most beautiful thing on the planet. For some reason, Louis feels this surge of anger.

"I suppose I shall," She says, grinning at him. "I'll be wearing blue for Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw supporters for the win," He tells her, and she grins and shrugs.

But as they start to walk off, leaving the Ravenclaw (Zane) behind, he says quietly, "Well, I suppose you're going then, Ms. I Suppose No One Will Ask Me."

With a giggle, she agrees, "I suppose I am. You should go too- it will be more fun with you there."

His heart fills up again. Looking at the ground, he nods. "I probably will end up going."

"With a first year," She tells him, smiling slightly. "They'd all be glad to go with you, Louis."

Grimacing, he rolls his eyes. "I'm very sorry, Natalie, but I promised James I'd meet him today. So I should probably get going now."

"See you, Louis!" She calls. What she doesn't know is that he isn't meeting James for another hour.

scene 6, take 2

The Yule Ball comes up before he knows it. He ends up going with Mary Alice, a friend of his sister's and a fellow Gryffindor, because he'll show Natalie house spirit. Once he arrives, he finds the room almost empty.

"Where is everybody?" Louis mumbles under his breath.

"I don't know, maybe still getting ready?" Mary Alice says, looking happy even though no one's around. She's one of those girls, Louis realises, the ones that are happy no matter what. He's not sure if he finds it to be endearing or weird.

"Um, want to go get something to drink?" Louis asks awkwardly. Usually, he's the confident Gryffindor boy, but today he's at a dance with a happy girl who is probably one of those girls that's in his fan club.

Mary Alice shrugs, grinning. "Sounds fine to me." She skips over to the drink table, her brown ponytail bouncing behind him.

It's a whole awkward hour later that people finally begin to pour in. The band finally comes and gets set up, and the music begins to play. Mary Alice grabs his hand and pulls him to the dance floor. Grinning, she asks him, "Shall we dance?"

"Sure," He allots, not really feeling up to it but not wanting to hurt her feelings. Despite her annoying attitude, he suddenly realises that she's not such a bad dancer. They might actually look okay together…

Then two people enter. Unlike in the movies, no one pauses to stare at them, and there's no dramatic music. The party continues just as it had been before. However, Natalie has just entered the room in a flowing purple dress, and she looks more beautiful than ever.

He doesn't understand why time doesn't stop so he can just stand there and stare at her.

"Louis!" An annoyed voice cuts into his staring time. "Louis, what are you doing? Why are you staring at Natalie?"

"Sorry," He says quickly, turning back to Mary Alice. But the dance is still uncomfortable and not a lot of fun for him. Finally, someone notices.

Dominique cuts in then, a dazzler in silver and green. Smiling sweetly, she asks, "Do you mind if I have a dance with my dear brother Louis? I feel like we haven't talked in so long!"

"I feel like we haven't, either," Louis says, gritting his teeth.

But Mary Alice is unaffected. "Oh, sure, Dominique, that's fine! I'll just go dance with Martin; he's probably dying, having to be away from his sister for so long…"She walked off, still chattering away.

"Why did you take her?" Dominique asks once she's long gone. "Merlin knows you don't like her. Why are you here with her?"

He just stares at her. "What are you-"

"Why aren't you here with Natalie? It's obvious that she likes you," Dominique cuts in, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Look, Dominique," He says, his voice cross and annoyed. "Not everyone gets to go with who they want to. He- Zane- already asked Natalie and she said yes."

Dominique shakes her head. "So you're just going to leave it like that? Look, he's gone to dance with Janelle, go claim her while she's open."

"Fine," He says in hopes that his sister will finally leave him alone. "Fine. But don't stalk me or anything."

"No problem," Dominique smirks. With a bounce of her blonde curls, the Slytherin disappears back into the crowd. That's around when he follows her, trying to find Natalie.

Once he arrives, he sees that she looks a bit bored. "Something wrong, Natalie?"

"I don't know," She sighs, kicking her feet along the floor. "I think that Zane likes Janelle, which might sound like insanity, but seriously, I'm wondering why he even asked me if he was just going to dance with her the whole time. I mean, maybe he just wanted to make her jealous, which is even worse. I'm sure he had a reason…"

"Forget about him," Louis encourages, smiling. Holding out a hand, he asks her with a grin, "Come on, will you dance with me?"

She stares at him, obviously uncomfortable. "Um, well, I don't know…"

"Come on," He encourages. Not letting her respond this time, he pulls her out onto the floor, snaking his arms around her back. "Just loosen up, Natalie, it's all going to be all right."

She relaxes a little in his arms. And as they spin on the floor, he can't help but think that she's one of the most beautiful things in the world right now, with her brown eyes concentrated on him…

Without warning or anything of the sort, he leans in and kisses her.

Her eyes widen as she stares at him. "What are you doing, Louis?"

"I'm sorry," He mutters, as he turns away from her. Nodding once, he says, "Well, um…"

"I have to go now," She says, still wide-eyed. And with that, she turns and runs off, leaving him to stare after her and wonder what the heck is going on.

scene 7, take 1

Sixth year is the year of awkwardness, at least for both of them. They hardly ever speak anymore, and if they do, it's just an awkward hello or something of the like. Then, one day, there's a Quidditch game, Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Like always, he doesn't expect her to be there.

But somehow, she is there, sitting with a couple of his cousins and friends in the Gryffindor stands. He blinks quickly, turning to Lysander, who's unlucky enough to be standing beside him.

"Why is Natalie here?" He blurts, hoping that his housemate won't judge him too harshly.

Confused, Lysander looks up into the stands and shoots Natalie a quick smile before glancing back down at Louis. "I don't know, maybe she wants to be."

"But she never wants to be-" Louis protests, but it's too late. The game starts and he's off, wobbling on his broomstick and wondering what the heck is going on. Everything feels so far away now…

But he tries to play his best and rid his mind of all thoughts of her.

Once the game is finally over and Lysander's caught the Snitch, giving Gryffindor yet another win, she runs down there with the rest of the audience. Smiling over at him, she walks over and tells him, "Great job this time."

"Thanks," He says, his eyes awkwardly searching the ground. "So, why did you decide to come this time?"

"We need to talk," She declares firmly, but something softens in her eyes, even if she doesn't show it. "I sort of miss you, Louis."

"I sort of miss you, too," He chuckles. But it's then that someone bumps Natalie firmly and she falls into Louis. His arms wrap firmly around them and again, with no excuse, his lips meet hers again. After barely a second, she pulls away, looking scared and afraid.

"I have to go now," She mumbles, running a hand through her black hair and running off. He's left once again to stare after her.

scene 7, take 2

After that, he doesn't see her for quite a while. Once seventh year starts up, he's surprised to discover she's not there, as in she hasn't returned to Hogwarts.

He tries to take it in stride, by hanging with James again, but nothing seems to work. He's still missing Natalie, who he could tell everything to without being made fun of (and James teases quite a lot). Empty days are wasted in the Gryffindor common room, staring out the window and wondering what's going on.

Finally, he decides to confront Lucy, who, despite their differences, had made up with Natalie, especially after Louis and Natalie's incident. "Do you know where Natalie is?"

Lucy just glares at him, one hand on her hip. "What reason do you have to know where Natalie is?"

"I miss her," Louis replies, his voice barely audible. He's never been one to be all sappy, but it's Natalie, and she's gone missing, so who cares about boundaries anymore? "I miss her, Lucy, you don't even know-"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy shoves an envelope into his hands. "Here you go. Now don't bother me anymore." She stomps off, being the reasonable cousin who's never cared much for emotion.

He holds it in his hands as if it's going to explode or something. Then, carefully, he tears the seal.

Dear Louis,

I know I shouldn't have run off like this. But you know I've never done will with facing my, um, feelings. Yes, I have feelings. No, I don't want to own up to them. But they're still there and they won't go away.

But before I try anything or something stupid like that, I have to go looking for myself. Because if I don't know who I am, how can I know if we will work?

I'm… I'm sorry. Because I know that if I were any other girl, then I would be there with you, dating you.

But I'm not. I have to know how things will work out before I try something new.

I'll come back. We'll see each other again, I assure you.

Sincerely, Natalie Patil.

There's no love tacked onto the ending, but he's never expected there to be.

end scene, take 1

Nearly a year passes by before his eyes. He graduates and is immediately pushed to get a job, especially by his family. But he doesn't want to, for whatever reason. He wants to be free for one more year before he jumps head-first into life.

It's one day when he's too annoyed by the constant nagging that he heads down to some Muggle tea shop to get some tea. It's that day that he sees someone familiar there.

"Natalie," He gasps without thinking as soon as he steps into the store.

Her head flies up and her eyes meet his. "Louis. You're… you're here."

"I am," He says. He's standing right in front of her, and he wants to reach out and hug her, but it's probably not the best idea at the moment. Drinking in her perfectly polished features, he whispers, "Where have you been?"

"I told you I went to find myself," She replies, eyes still trained on him. "I wrote you a letter. Did Lucy not give it to you?"

"She gave it to me," Louis replied, still looking confused. "But what were you doing to find yourself?"

"I went looking for my father, okay?" She said hastily, as if it was the hardest thing in the world. "I went looking for my father and I found him. He's just some jerk so it doesn't really matter, anyway…"

"It doesn't really matter?" Louis asks, his face a mask of shock. "How can you say it doesn't matter? Your father, it's your blood relative, of course it matters…"

"There's no reason for it to bother me," She states plainly.

"You still haven't changed, have you?" Louis asks her, staring at her. "You are still the same old Natalie and you probably always will be."

"I might always be," She says, looking down at the table. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"Of course not," He says quietly. Finally, her head snaps up, and her eyes meet his as she smiles just a little bit.

"I suppose we'll have to meet up sometime, then," She says briskly, taking out a notepad. "Where do you live?"

Smiling, he gave her the address, ending their conversation with a, "I suppose we will have to meet up sometime."

end scene, take 2

Their story doesn't start until after seventh year, when they realise that maybe they are meant to fall in love.

He takes her to a Muggle amusement park and dares her to ride the biggest roller coaster at the park. Of course, she refuses at first, but before long he gets her onto it anyway. Then they ride together and he sort of holds her hand. Then, after they get off, he kisses her again.

But this time, she's learned to take more risks and have more fun, so she lets him.

She still pushes him away after about a minute, though.

She's not a normal girl to him anymore.

A/N: END. ;)

Well, I'm finished. I'm finished :D


Haha, this wasn't so good at all. But this is especially for Hope and Amy (if she ever comes off hiatus) because siriusly, they're like the biggest Louis fanatics ever. :D

And this is for all of my NEXTGENFANATICS because they're amy-zhie-ing.

And this is for Mystii's challenge on the HPFC, those Weasley girls: a NextGen challenge.

/is going to try to post this :D