A smile tugged on my lips as I watched Slytherin Vinnie ask Tori to the Halloween Ball.

The poor girl was furiously blushing, her face contorted in a mix of attraction and fear, and Gloria, Olivia and I watched as she headed back towards us, a tiny smile on her face.

"So?" I asked as she flounced over. Tori had thankfully warmed up immensely to me in the past couple days, and now we were really close.

My friend flipped her beautiful black hair and smiled again. "I said yes," was all she said and we all obnoxiously squealed and she rolled her eyes. "It means nothing guys. It's just a stupid ball."

But I could tell she was happy; her eyes were shining in that excited way they are when she gets a good grade on a test, and that's when you know she's happy.

I groaned as my watch struck eight. "Ugh guys I have to go to detention with James. It's my very first one."

I had almost forgotten all about my punishment until Mcgonagall had reminded me in a letter yesterday. Olivia patted my shoulder sympathetically.

"It's okay Morgan. It'll be over soon." Gloria said, and Tori suddenly pursed her lips with mischief.

"Don't get to comfortable Morgan. You might come home with more than just muddy hands." She said in a sing songy voice, and Olivia and Gloria oooed.

I waved them away. "That is so ridiculous that even my Dad wouldn't believe it." I said.

We laughed, a little awkwardly, a little nervously. My new friends still didn't know how to react to my comments about my Dad, even though I told them they could laugh.

Speaking of my father, my heart squeezed as I pressed my fingers around my pocket, where a letter from my Dad was.

I hadn't read it yet, and I didn't even think I was going to. My my mind snapped back to my friends as they all laughed at a joke I didn't catch.

I reminded myself that my Dad was dead to me, and that I wouldn't think of him ever again.

"Well I got to go. See you soon!" I said, and my friends waved goodbye as I left, heading towards Hagrid's garden, where detention would take place.

I didn't even notice the letter flutter out of my pocket.

As I walked I recalled Professor Slughorn's announcement. The Halloween Ball seemed fun, even though I probably wouldn't get a date.

I wondered if James had one yet. For some reason a picture of him and I at the ball developed in my brain, and I pushed it away; it was the most ridiculous thought I'd had all day.

When I finally arrived to Hagrid's garden the sun was slowly dying, and I drew my jacket closer around me to block out the cold air.

I glanced at the backyard, and my heart sunk. We would be digging a huge hole for Hagrid's new garden, and I was not looking forward to it.

Forcing myself to smile I trudged over to Hagrid, who was instructing James, who was already there, on what to do.

Hagrid spotted me and turned around to shake my hand in greeting.

"Hey Morgan!" He said cheerily, handing me a shovel. "You know what to do. Now you kids have fun." He winked at me before disappearing into his cottage, leaving James and I alone.

He was already shoveling Hagrid's backyard, his muscles glinting in the sunlight.

I felt my heart flutter and I pushed it down, pulling my hair into a ponytail and going to the opposite side of him before beginning to shovel.Awkward silence filled the fading sunset, and to my dismay after an awkward hour of tension later James was done with his side of the pit.

"I'm going to have to work over here," he said, and I nodded. "That's fine," I replied stiffly, and he joined me in digging my side of the hole, the sunset fading into a pink and purple sky.

The awkwardness was so hard to bear, especially with him bending over next to me, every muscle in his strong arms gleaming with sweat as he threw the dirt behind him. His hair fell into his eyes and he flicked it away, causing my cheeks to heat up for no particular reason. And then, as if the atmosphere couldn't get any more stifling, his hand brushed my hip.

My heart jumped into the stratsophere, and I'm pretty sure my cheeks were redder then the fading sunset. "Sorry," he mumbled, cheeks burning even redder then mine. I nodded at him and we fell into silence again.

We continued to dig, my hip burning from where his fingers touched mine, and when I couldn't take the quiet I asked him a question I didn't even know was inside of me. "Are you and Steph going to the Halloween Ball?" I asked, and James calmly looked up, his eyes betraying relief at ending the silence. "I guess so, since she is my girlfriend."

For an odd reason I felt anger flutter inside me. He was being so natural, so calm. It was almost like I wanted him to react; to yell at me, to say something mean, so that I could refuse to believe he might've changed his ways, so that I could cave into the sudden urge to run my fingers down his muscles.

At the though I dug more furiously, and James raised an eyebrow at me. "Anything wrong with my digging?" I snarled, and he shook his head, shrugging. It was stifling, the way he looked so angelic and handsome digging there, not saying a word. I kept diggig, my palms getting sweatier every time his fingers accidentally brushed mine, hating the silence. Finally, when he brushed my hand for the umpteeth time and my body was practically burning from his touches I threw down my shovel and looked at him, annoyance coursing through me.

"Come on James, this is ridiculous." I said, and James stopped digging for a second and wiped his forehead. "What do you mean Morgan?" He said, but I saw a tiny smile play on his lips. "You're enjoying this!" I exclaimed and he shook his head again, laughing. "Enjoying what? Morgan relax already. It's detention. What do you expect us to do, chat like old friends?"

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I calmed down and continued to dig with him in silence until James broke the tension for once. "Are you going to the Halloween Ball?" He said casually, but the way his eyes wrinkled as he focused on the dirt I realized the question meant a lot to him, for some unknown reason.

"I don't know," I admitted, shrugging as I kept digging. "Kind of seems overrated. But probably." James nodded his head in agreement, and it kind of felt like there was a calmness between us.After a couple minutes James opened his mouth to speak but then hesitated. He closed his mouth, silent again.

"What is it?" I said, and James shrugged and tentatively spoke, not meeting my eyes.

"Well, um, Morgan, I was wondering, are you, uh, still mad at me?" He said, and I wiped sweat from my forehead, thinking.

"I don't really know. My feelings are kind of mixed right now." I finally said, and James's eyes flashed. "Like what kind of feelings?" He asked casually.

I swallowed and decided to be honest. "Well, kind of angry, but mostly you're forgiven." I looked in his eyes and happiness stirred in me as they reflected relief and even delight.

James threw down his shovel for a second and laughed. "Well that's good, because you totally overreacted, am I right?"

I stared at him, anger replacing my moment of joy. "Overreacted," I said slowly, my voice like knives.

"Yeah! I mean you stayed mad at me forever. But it's okay, I'm a huge grudge holder too." He chuckled, and I threw down my shovel, eyes flashing with sarcasm.

"Oh yes, I totally overreacted to you reading through my diary, spilling all of my secrets to the whole school, and getting me detention for saving your butt."

I could practically see James's shallow heart sink, and I rolled my eyes, feeling no sympathy.

"Goodbye James," is all I said before storming off, feeling his confused gaze on my face.

What a daft, shallow bimbo.

Tori, you were wrong for once; James is nothing more to me than dirt on my shoe.

Yet part of me knew that wasn't true.

Part of me was cursing my pride for yelling at him, tugging me back to his bright green eyes, which I knew could suck me in if I wasn't careful.

Part of me knew I had some... sort of feelings for James, feeling I could not have.

Feelings that I sort of desperately wanted.