[Open]Preparing for a new year..

[James Potter]

James felt like a big loser. Why did he have to get so embarrassed all the time? Its Penny, just Penny. Sure he may like her, but he could still be himself. Or at least try to. He focused on something that made him feel really confident inside... like getting good grades on all of his work. Like being far more advanced than any other 7th year student. Now that made him feel good inside.

"So as I was saying before you rudely fell on the floor..." Penny began.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah."

"I need to get buy some more books before I leave... and Frank needs a walk so... I mean, you could come.. I duno.. are you working?? Um.."

"No, I'm not working," James said, as he stood up and dusted himself off. "It would be nice to go with you." He held his hand to help her up. "Maybe we could... go to the ice cream shop or something."

That was a bold move for James, but he didn't care. He needed to stop acting like such a shy litte kid. He was seventeen for crying out loud. Still though, that didn't get rid of the giant amount of nervousness inside. He never realized how much energy it took to stay calm.

"I mean, if you want to and all," he added, chewing on his lip.

[Penny Matthews]

"It would be nice to go with you."

Penny grinned thankfully as she took James' hand and he pulled her up to her feet, "Maybe we could... go to the ice cream shop or something" As Penny dusted down her jeans, she looked back up to James, she had never expected him to suggest doing something..

"Sure." she smiled brightly. When suddenly the red velvet curtain flew open and behind it stood a red haired man looking very interested in the scene he had just intruded on. "Oh! Hello Mr. Weasley.." Penny said with a start, being slightly startled by the mans sudden appearence. She smiled and waved alittle as politely as she could to George, "James, was just showing me all the um-"

"Muggle tricks reeally?" chimed George with a Mischeivous grin now pointedly looking at James.

[James Potter]

James was overjoyed that Penny agreed to spend some time getting ice cream together. Defeinitely not a date though. Just friends. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the velvet curtain was ripped back to reveal his smirking uncle.

"Hello Mr. Weasley.. James, was just showing me all the um-" Penny tried to explain.

"Muggle tricks reeally?" George poked.

James' cheeks turned red once more. "Yes, really. She asked to see something cool so I..."

"I bet you showed her something cool." George said with a wink.

His mouth opened in shock, yet no words came out. Did he really just say that? Now James was even more embarrassed. He nervously put his hand through his hair. "Uncle George," he said getting a bit angry. "I hate you." Of course James didnt mean it... but at the moment he really disliked him.

"You love me," he joked.

James grumbled and glanced over at Penny, then pushed his way passed his uncle. He motioned for her to follow, and he sure as hell hoped she did. James was afraid the comment his uncle made might scare her off... or something. James didn't know. He was just frustrated.

"He's great fun sometimes," he sighed, holding open the front door of the shop for her. "Other times, I just want to hex his head into a toilet."

[Penny Matthews]

As Mr. Weasley made his quip about showing Penny something cool, she bit her lip and then put a hand to her mouth trying to surpress a giggle. Glancing at James, she could see he was embarrassed and thought this might have been a somewhat regular occurance from his mischeivous uncle...

As James moved past George and waved at her to follow, she smiled brightly at the shop owner, who winked in return as she passed by, "Bye Mr. Weasley!" she said and waved as they both walked back through into the crowds of people..

"He's great fun sometimes, Other times, I just want to hex his head into a toilet"

Penny laughed, "He's funny though!" she argued back and looped her arm around James' as they made their exit from the shop. "Soo, Ice-cream first, or books?" she pondered outloud, smiling in the sunshine as they decended the hill towards the many different shops within Diagon Ally.

[James Potter]

James raised his eyebrows, but just went along with it when Penny linked their arms. They strolled down the cobble road together heading to who knows where.

"Soo, Ice-cream first, or books?" she asked.

"Would I sound like a complete nerd if I said books first?" James chuckled. For some unknown reason, he could feel his nerves calming down. He doesn't know why he's so shy, but being around Penny for extended periods of time really lighten him up. He wasn't afraid to be himself. "There was this one book that I wanted to look at actually. A bit of reading in between school work. I dunno, I saw it a while back and have been meaning to get it."

James continued to walk with her until they reached the book shop. It definitely wasn't as crowded as Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but there were still quite a few people in there. Most of them were nervous little soon-to-be first years with their parents. Some of the muggle borns even dragged their muggle parents along who looked simply amazed at it all. James smiled to himself, thinking about his first trip to Diagon Alley. "Looks like some people are getting a head start," he said with a smirk.

[Penny Matthews]

"Would I sound like a complete nerd if I said books first?"

Penny laughed alittle, "No of course not! I am a Ravenclaw you know.." she grinned as they walked over to the book store.

"There was this one book that I wanted to look at actually. A bit of reading in between school work. I dunno, I saw it a while back and have been meaning to get it."

Penny looked up at James with an interested expression, "Oh really? What book are we looking for? "she asked as they entered the store. Gazing around, there was many very small looking prospective students nervously wandering around, though Penny also saw a number of her Ravenclaw peers still in there aswell.. She quickly let go of James' arm, giving him a slightly awkward smile before walking straight over to the section where the books she wanted were, and grabbed them without hesitation from the shelf.

It was an unfortunate house quality that she knew exactly what she was looking for and where it would be. "Looks like some people are getting a head start." Penny returned the smirk some as they watched the young kids for a moment, "Yep, I remember when I was first stocking up for Hogwarts.. I got so many books I didnt even need, just because I could.."she laughed at herself.

[James Potter]

James smiled a little and avoided the question of what book he was interested in for a minute. He was too busy just taking in the sights of groups of students.

"Yep, I remember when I was first stocking up for Hogwarts.. I got so many books I didnt even need, just because I could."

He chuckled. "I was kinda like that too... I don't know why I didn't get put in Ravenclaw." James shrugged. He really did wonder why he was in Gryffindor sometimes. Its not like he was anything special like his dad or anything.

There was a less touched shelf with older looking books that James headed towards. "Oh, um... The book I wanted," he started as he let his fingers trail along the spines of the books. "Its about the history of Hogwarts. But you know, without being edited for school children. Hogwarts, A History was interesting but didn't have the information I'm looking for..." He paused and thought for a second as he read the titles of the books. Finally he found what he was looking for and excitedly pulled it off the shelf. "Aha! Here it is!" James thumbed through the pages with a grin on his face.

[Penny Matthews]

"I was kinda like that too... I don't know why I didn't get put in Ravenclaw."

Penny smiled, "Your obviously braver than you think you are.."

She watched as James made his way over to the history section to find the book he was looking for, "Its about the history of Hogwarts. But you know, without being edited for school children. Hogwarts, A History was interesting but didn't have the information I'm looking for..." Penny followed him over to the shelves, "Aha! Here it is!"

Penny peeped across from the side to see what he was reading, placing a hand across his back to keep herself steady. "What Informations are you looking for exactly?" she asked, curiosity ringing through her voice.

[James Potter]

"What Informations are you looking for exactly?" she asked.

James bit his lip. She was getting bit close for his comfort. He sighed and then said, "Its, um, speculation really. I just wanted to see if there were any other passage ways in the castle." He looked over his shoulder at her and winked. The previous year he had told Penny about his Marauder's Map, so he didn't mind sharing this information with her. He hoped that she would at least find it a little bit interesting.

"I mean they won't have it in exact writing, but I have a hunch that there are some clues in this book. Its one of the first written accounts of the history of the school."

He closed the book and held it gingerly in his arms, feeling satisfied. There had been rumors about some secret rooms and he was determined to find them himself. No one knew the Chamber of Secrets or the Room of Requirement existed until someone found them. "I can't wait to get to school so I can look for new places... that even my map doesn't know about." He said the last bit in a whisper.

[Penny Matthews]

She grinned excitedly as James explained what he was looking for in the book and she let out an excited girly giggle when he winked at her.

"I can't wait to get to school so I can look for new places... that even my map doesn't know about."

"Promise me you'll take me with you!" she pleaded as he closed the book. If there was one thing that Penny couldnt resist, it was the discovery of a secret and the chance of being the first to discover it. "Besides, you might need some Ravenclaw brains to work it out right?" she said with a grin, sticking her tongue out breifly, but quickly returning to a smile when she noticed a group of her house mate watching them both and giggling quietly between themselves.. super great awesome.. more gossip... She thought as she casually rolled her eyes..

Penny made her way to the counter and paid for the books that she needed, before turning back to James, trying desperately to ignore the group of Ravenclaw girls who were now watching their every move.. "So you wanna get out of here? Ice-cream time?" she asked with a smile.

[James Potter]

"Promise me you'll take me with you!"

"Well, sure," James said with an amused chuckle. Penny was the one person who he would love to have along with him on an adventure.

"Besides, you might need some Ravenclaw brains to work it out right

"Your brains might be useful at some point," he joked, nudging her in the arm. James noticed her looking at another group of kids and suddenly become more reserved. He took that as he was probably making himself look stupid, and stared at the ground.

They both walked over to the counter and separately paid for their books and things. James could harldy contain himself from sitting down somewhere and to just start reading his book right then. Though he would still like to spend time with Penny.

"So you wanna get out of here? Ice-cream time"

James looked up at her from under his lashes and gave a grin. "Yeah, definitely," he said with a nod.

As the day went on, it seemed like the main road of Diagon Alley got a bit more crowded. School was starting very soon, so he supposed he should have expected the crowd. He glanced around looking for other familiar faces, and didn't care when he saw no one. He actually preferred that he had no other distractions. He could see the ice cream shop now, crawling with students and parents alike. His stomach gave a pressuring growl as if to say 'Don't even think about turning around. I want ice cream and I want it now.'

[Penny Matthews]

Penny grinned as James agreed to moving on to the ice-cream shop. They exited the book store and made their way across Diagon Ally, which had become very croweded since their arrival. As they pressed on through the crowds, Penny gripped ahold of James' arm, just to keep up and so they wouldnt get separated..

As they entered the ice-cream shop, it was again, very busy inside. As they weaved their way inbetween people, Penny turned on the spot, to find herself pressed right up against James. "Oh.. umm, hah..Hi.." she laughed alittle, "Um.. we cant um.. get to the front this way.." she laughed again, motioning to the hoards of people fensing them in behind her..

Eventually, they managed to get to the front and get their respective ice-creams. making their way out hastily, out into the fresh air. "Wow.. its busy in there!" Penny laughed as they both stood outside. "Hey comon over here," she smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to a low wall outside a random shop that they could sit on comfortably.

"Soo..." she began, not really knowing where she was going with it and hoping James might come in with some to say.

[James Potter]

The outside of the shop was no comparison to the inside. There was wall to wall people crowding the place. He and Penny started to squeeze their way through, but then ended up face to face and squished together.

"Oh.. umm, hah..Hi.. Um.. we cant um.. get to the front this way.."

"Err..." James stuttered and gave a nervous chuckle. He put his hands on her shoulders and maneuvered himself and her out of the wedge. "Um, there we go," he said, running a hand through his hair.

Finally they pushed their way up to the registers and ordered their ice cream, James getting his favorite chocolate. They got outside where James could breathe a little easier. It was much less crowded out in the street.

"Wow.. its busy in there!"

"Really? I didn't notice," he said sarcastically with a smile.

"Hey come on over here," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him over to a place to sit. He hopped up onto the low wall next to her and licked at his ice cream.

"Soo..."

James fidgeted uneasily as he thought up a random topic to talk about. "So..." he mimicked. "Ice cream is good." James fiddled with the edges of the book he bought earlier as he continued eating his ice cream.

[Penny Matthews]

Penny kicked her legs out from the wall as they sat eating their ice-creams. "Ice cream is good." Biting her lip, Penny tried to supress a laugh at James' efforts at conversation.

"mmhmm" she managed to agree without giggles spilling out. For afew moments there was quiet, and Penny returned to her ice-cream, though her eyes inevitably found their way back over to James. "So, what do you want to do after school?" she asked, he sentence punctuated by frequent pauses due to licking of her ice-cream. "You wanna be an auror? I bet youve got the grades?" she added with a smile.

"Although you probably dont want to follow in your dads footsteps right?" She knew that James felt inferior against his father, even though there was no reasonto feel that way. Most of Harry Potters success was down to luck rather than judgement that and the fact that he had arguably the best wizard of all time coordinating the whole thing.. even after his death.

Penny was skeptical about most things that seemed extraordinary, generally concluding that people deemed that way were just ordinary people placed under extraordinary circumstances.. "I think I wanna be a healer.." she mused, as much to herself as to James, "That or a spell hacker.. yaknow, breaking jinx's on objects and the like.. aparently you get to travel all over the place..." she rambled. Quickly shutting up once she realised that she was.

[James Potter]

"So, what do you want to do after school? You wanna be an auror? I bet youve got the grades?" Penny asked after a moment of silence.

James paused his eating and pursed his lips in thought. He asked himself that question everyday and still couldn't come up with a solid answer. "Honestly, I don't know," he said looking over to her. "I think about it all the time... and I've had some ideas, but I'm afraid I might not be happy with what I chose." He took a couple bites of his ice cream before continuing. "I don't know about an auror, I feel like I wouldn't do the job justice. I've thought about maybe being a professor, or a book shop owner. Something stress free, then again it would get very boring..." James went off on a tanget and stared into space.

"Although you probably dont want to follow in your dads footsteps right?"

"That too," he sighed. "I wouldn't be able to live up to him. I think he's rooting for Albus in that department..." James chuckled weakly.

"I think I wanna be a healer.. That or a spell hacker.. yaknow, breaking jinx's on objects and the like.. aparently you get to travel all over the place..."

"I could picture you as both of those things," he smiled. "Though I think a jinx breaker would be the most fun, with the travelling and everything."

James paused and thought for a moment, daydreaming away about what job he should take as an adult. He was a bit jealous that Penny already seemed to have everything sorted out. He tended to be indecisive, which really held him back sometimes. All he wanted was to just be sure of himself for once. Coming out of his thoughts he said, "What made you want to be a jinx breaker... or a healer?"