act one ━ chapter one
( the belle of hogwarts )

❝Stag, reindeer, whatever. It's
the same thing.❞

𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 the yellow curtains, the gentle rays hitting Andrea Knight in the face as she rolled over in her bed. As her eyes fluttered open, she glanced over at the second bed in the room, seeing her best friend, Maisie Kent, tangled in her covers still in a deep slumber.

Chuckling to herself, Andrea sat upright in her bed, rolling her neck to try and relieve the tension from her muscles. Slipping soundlessly out of the canary yellow duvet, she prepared herself for the day. Fortunately for her, it was a weekend and she could wear her everyday clothes, which for Andrea, meant a comfortable sweater and her golden blonde hair pulled into two loose braids.

Glancing over her shoulder again, she saw Maisie had shifted slightly in her sleep, though she seemed to have turned upside down. She shook her head in amusement and quietly made her way out of their shared room and into Hufflepuff House's common room.

It was a cozy space, designed to be reminiscent of a badger's den. It was fitting for the house of canary yellow and black as their house crest was a badger. The ceilings were low and the walls were rounded. But it was a happy, vibrant place, a stark contrast to the Slytherin common room that sat down the corridor from Hufflepuff.

Andrea pushed open the common room door and began her daily walk up to the Great Hall. It seemed that as soon as she stepped into the castle's entryway, she was immediately bombarded by people.

"Could you ask your brother if I can join the team?" one Hufflepuff asked and the blonde furrowed her brows, shaking her head wordlessly.

"Could you help me with my Charms homework?" Andrea looked over at the girl who had spoken and nodded. "Thank you!"

"Might I have a word with you, Andi?"

Andrea turned her head and saw Peter Pettigrew weaving his way through the small crowd that had gathered around the Hufflepuff prefect.

"Gladly," she muttered, trailing after him. "I'm very sorry, everybody, but I must be going. And if anybody wants to talk about Quidditch, find my brother, not me." She let out a small breath as the students began to disperse and she looked back at Peter. "My saviour. Thank you. I thought I would avoid all that by waking up early."

Peter shrugged. "I think they still manage to find you regardless of the hour," he replied and she sighed to herself. "And not to be one of them, but you'll still help me with my Potions homework, right?"

Andrea smiled. "Of course I will, Pete," she assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You're one of my friends. I don't mind in the slightest."

"Thank you," he said in relief before looking behind him into the Great Hall. "Are you coming?"

She hummed. "Just a moment. I'm going to see if Maisie wakes up any time soon."

Peter nodded and started in the direction of the Gryffindor table while Andrea stood against the wall. She let out a small puff of air and rolled her neck, trying to rid any negative thoughts from creeping into her mind.

See, everybody knew Andrea Knight. She was the belle of the school, the golden girl.

With her soft, golden blonde hair falling effortlessly past her shoulders in loose curls and her chocolate brown eyes always shining with happiness, she was easy to approach. Her plump pink lips were always in a kind smile and her softly blushed cheeks accentuated her face. Every boy wanted to be with her and every girl was envious of her.

Many were even more envious of Jeremy Stone, Andrea's boyfriend since the beginning of fifth year. Somehow the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain had managed to capture the Hufflepuff prefect's heart.

Well, that's what they all thought.

Truthfully, Andrea had agreed to go out with him because they were friends. It was only when they continued to go out that she found how incredibly boring he was.

Of course, she would never say that out loud.

"Knight!" Andrea jumped at the sharp shout that broke through her mental fog and she looked over to see Regulus Black walking toward her while swatting at a blonde who was following him and who looked remarkably like her. "Will you tell your sister to leave me alone?" he asked, crossing his arms. "She keeps following me around like a lost puppy."

She chuckled lightly. "Regulus, you know it's what she does," she replied in amusement. "She does it at home, too. She finds somebody she seeks comfort with and stays with them. I think the only way you could get it to stop would be to stop being her friend, but I don't think you'd want that."

Regulus frowned but nodded. "You're no help," he muttered, walking away and Alyssa Knight, the youngest of the family, dutifully followed him.

Andrea laughed to herself and shook her head.

The Knight family was one of the happiest families in England. Robert was a muggle who owned a bakery in central London and had met Charlotte Thornton in a sweets shop while shopping for chocolate for his new muffins. Charlotte had attended Hogwarts and was captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team during her time there.

Three years after they married, Charlotte and Robert moved next door to Euphemia and Fleamont Potter a few months before Andrea and her twin brother, Matthew, were born. The following year, Charlotte and Robert welcomed their second set of fraternal twins, Max and Alyssa.

With each child, it seemed as though they all filled a characteristic of Hufflepuff, as they were all sorted in the same house as their mother had been.

Andrea was kind. She had been named a prefect in her fifth year and was always willing to give first years some direction if they needed it. She was also the girl many people went to when they needed homework help.

Matthew was the most patient of the four siblings; almost to a fault. If he ever got into an argument with his brother and sisters—which was rare enough—he was almost always the last one to raise his voice.

Max was the hardest worker. He always strove to get perfect marks on all of his homework assignments, but he was the worst tutor anyone could have. He certainly did not have the patience his brother had.

And lastly, Alyssa was the most loyal. When she first met Regulus Black on their first day at Hogwarts, she became his friend and he reluctantly became hers. To him, there was something absolutely annoying about her continuous optimism, but as the years went by, and his relationship with his brother became more fractured, he was happy to have Alyssa's friendship. And if there was one thing to know about Alyssa Catherine Knight, it was that she would never give up on Regulus Black.

"Stars!"

Andrea had given up on waiting for Maisie, who she assumed was still asleep, and walked into the Great Hall, turning her head to see James Potter waving her over to the Gryffindor table. With a smile gracing her face, she walked over to the table of crimson and gold and hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hi, reindeer," she replied, moving to sit down beside him. As her words registered in Remus Lupin's mind, his eyes widened and he looked between the Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor.

"Wait..." He leaned forward and Andrea and James both looked back at him. "She knows?" he whispered, now looking James in the eye. "You told her?"

"No," he answered, looking incredibly offended. "And I'm hurt that you jumped to that conclusion."

Andrea nodded. "So am I," she added with a frown and Remus looked over at her. "Besides, it's not as though we were illegally brewing polyjuice potion. We live next door to one another and one night last summer, I saw a reindeer roaming around our house grounds and looking up to my bedroom window."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Well, how did you know it was him?" he asked.

"Because he smirked at me after turning back into himself. I think he just wanted to brag that he could do it," Andrea said with a chuckle before glancing at the boy beside her. "You do make an adorable reindeer, I must say."

"Stag..." James muttered under his breath.

She shrugged. "Stag, reindeer, whatever. It's the same thing. Oh!" She groaned, feeling another body collide with hers and she turned her head to see Maisie had her arms wrapped around her upper body and resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Good morning to you, too, Maisie."

"Why didn't you wake me before breakfast?" Maisie asked her, sitting down beside Andrea and stealing a piece of bacon from her plate. "You know it's my third favourite meal of the day."

"You know I stopped trying after you gave me a black eye when we were twelve," Andrea reminded the girl who pressed her lips sheepishly together. "And you are an incredibly violent sleeper."

Maisie shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong. Oh! Will you please tell your brother to stop asking me if I'm interested in Quidditch?" she asked and Andrea raised her eyebrows. "He's been asking me since we were eleven, and I'm about ready to lose it!"

"Which one? I have two brothers..." She paused and shook her head. "I can't believe I asked that. Matt!"

Matthew's head turned from his spot at the Hufflepuff table and he locked eyes with his twin sister. "What?" he called back.

"Stop pestering Maisie about Quidditch!" she answered, turning slightly in her seat. James, Maisie, and Peter were all chuckling in amusement at the sight of the twins while Sirius and Remus glanced at each other. "But there might be another girl interested. Ask around! But not Maisie!"

James shook his head and looked at Andrea who sighed. "You Knights are quite the family," he said and she shrugged.

"But you love us," she reminded him, leaning closer to his ear before ruffling his hair and sending the group of pranksters a sparkling smile. "Boys."

"Andi."

Maisie went to follow after the blonde when Sirius called out to her. "Oi, Kent!" She paused and looked back at him, crossing her arms. "You're looking good today."

"Piss off, Black," she snapped, quickly joining her best friend and Matthew at the Hufflepuff table and Remus looked at Sirius.

"How on earth did you manage to piss off Maisie Kent?" he asked, furrowing his brows. "I know she can be a prickly human being, but she still loves everybody."

Sirius shrugged. "He didn't talk to her for nearly three weeks after spending the night together," Peter answered for him making the boy in question frown. "Not the wisest idea on your part, might I add..."

James raised his eyebrows while Sirius glared at Peter. "You slept with Maisie Kent?" he asked in surprise. "Maisie Kent slept with you?"

"Say it louder, why don't you?" Sirius hissed, leaning forward. "I don't think the bloody French heard you in France. We were drunk."

"Just how drunk was she?" Remus asked.

Sirius frowned and looked amongst his friends. "What makes you think that she wouldn't sleep with me if she was sober?" he asked them and they shrugged.

"Because ever since she was eleven, she's ignored you," Remus answered for them. "And when she was twelve, she very publicly told you that she would rather spend an entire week in History of Magic than sleep with you."

"So?"

Remus sighed. "So, I think that means that unless you want to make a girl who everybody knows is very good at hexes even more angry, you should apologize for not speaking to her. I heard she was successful in changing peoples' hair colour. What do you think of green hair?"

Sirius stared back at him. "I'll apologize to Kent."

___________________________

"𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐖 you ended up sleeping with Sirius Black?" Andrea asked later that night, lying on her bed and staring up at their dormitory ceiling. "I thought you couldn't stand him..."

"I do," Maisie replied, her voice muffled and Andrea looked over to see the girl lying face down on her bed. "But... it was good."

She shook her head and wrinkled her nose. "I did not need to know that."

"You asked!"

"No," Andrea contradicted with a frown and turned over to look at her best friend. "I asked how you ended up sleeping with him. Not for details. There's a big difference."

Maisie shrugged. "But it was good."

"Stop it!" she exclaimed, covering her ears with her bed pillows. "He's practically my brother. I see him every summer whenever he manages to escape the hell hole that is his house." She paused and tilted her head. "I wonder if Regulus has managed to rid himself of Aly yet."

"I think he secretly enjoys the fact that she follows him around."

Andrea nodded and chuckled. "I know he does." The blonde looked down at her gold watch that sat on her wrist and sat upright with a sigh. "Time for patrol. Let's all hope that I don't find any wandering Marauders tonight. I'm too tired to be dealing with their pranks..."

Maisie shrugged and stifled a yawn. "At least Remus will be with you." Andrea tilted her head in agreement. "I'd wait up for you, but... I don't want to."

Andrea chuckled. "I love you, too, Mais."

___________________________

𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐔𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 the empty Hogwarts corridors on their nightly patrol. The two of them were often paired together and it was quite lovely for them both. Andrea always got along well with the Gryffindor prefect; as did he with the Hufflepuff. They would sometimes study together for exams or he would spend time in her dormitory room whenever she had made a freshly baked batch of chocolate cookies.

She always made those for him.

She glanced at the tall boy beside her; his light scars covered his face and his green eyes scanned their surroundings. His brown hair sat fluffily on his head and his prefect's badge rested on his crimson red robes.

"How are things with Jeremy?" Remus asked, shaking Andrea out of her thoughts and she shrugged, peaking into an empty classroom.

"If I'm being honest... I don't know," she answered, turning back to look at him. "I wrote to him a few times over the summer, but he never replied. But it never truly bothered me. I've thought about it. Either he never got the letters or he's ignoring me."

Remus frowned. "I doubt that's true," he said and she glanced at him. "Everyone notices you."

Andrea huffed out a chuckle. "Yeah..." She walked over to the window ledge and took in a deep breath of the brisk autumn air. "Yeah, I suppose that's true... And you, Remmy? Still obsessed with chocolate?"

He pressed his lips together and smiled. "That'll never go away." She returned the smile and turned back to fully look at him. "You might be one of the only sane people I spend time with. Aside from Lily, of course."

Andrea shrugged. "Well, James is sane... some of the time..." she replied. "Then, other times, he's... well—"

"A lunatic?" Remus finished and she nodded, laughing lightly. "I still can't believe you've known him longer than the rest of us. I mean, I know Peter grew up with you both, but you've known him since he was a baby. James as a child... it's hard to imagine."

"He looked exactly the same," she informed him as they continued their walk down the empty corridor. "Only smaller. Same glasses, if you believe it or not. Mrs. Potter always invited us over for Sunday supper, though I'm not sure if she agreed to four children all at once. Actually, I don't know if my parents expected that either..."

"It must be nice to have a twin," Remus said thoughtfully. "You always have somebody to talk to."

She nodded. "It is nice," she agreed. "For the most part. But then there are the... strange benefits of having a twin. Like saying the same thing at the same time. The first time that happened with James, he thought Matt and I were playing a trick on him. He might still be convinced we are..." Remus chuckled and they both looked over when they heard quickening footsteps approach them. "Is that—?"

He sighed. "Yes..."

James and Sirius were running down the corridor with Argus Filch, the caretaker, trailing behind them, muttering something about them making a mess he would have to clean up. As Sirius passed the two prefects, he winked at Remus and effectively crashed into a wall that he hadn't noticed.

Andrea grimaced. "Oh, that's going to hurt in the morning." She pressed her lips together and looked at Remus. "Shall I give them the detention or will you?"

He shook his head and let out an exasperated breath. "This is why they make fun of me for being a prefect," he said. "I love them, I do, but they make life so hard sometimes..."

Andrea watched as Remus walked over to the two friends before making her way back to her common room as her patrol was over. "I don't know how they do it..." She knocked on the common room door to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. "It's a miracle they haven't hurt their brain yet... Or maybe they have. It would certainly explain a lot."

___________________________

━ author's note:

we are so back!

just a little announcement:

this is a james potter fic, the main couple is james and andrea. HOWEVER, matthew and lily are just as important. while their relationship won't be as deeply written as james and andrea, we will still see glimpses of them (namely in the next chapter)

so if it seems like they get together quickly, just know you're not seeing all of the details. but they are the cutest and will most definitely be written.

okay, that's all.