The 1

I saw a film today, oh boy

The English Army had just won the war

A Day in the Life by The Beatles 

Margaret answered the door when James knocked. The two had rarely seen each other that summer. Margaret was busy with summer reading and getting ahead for school, while James just stayed around his manor with Sirius Black and occasionally with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. When the girl opened the door that let in the summer heat, she was surprised to see the messy-haired boy.

“Hi?” She tried not to be rude, but she was confused as to why the boy voluntarily came over to her house. Sometimes the two families did join each other for dinner or summer barbeque, which the two teens still didn’t interact with in those situations. James opted to stay silent, which is something he rarely did or played quidditch. Margaret engaged in conversation with the adults at the dinner table, but if the families decided on a barbeque, she was silent with a book in hand. 

“Hi, is my mum here?” James had asked. He had looked all over the estate for her, so this was the next best option. It was a pleasant surprise to see Margaret, yes it was her home, but she was usually cooped up in her room or silently sunbathing in her backyard with a book and an ABBA record blasting. He had always liked Margaret. What was not to like? She was a nice girl with a brain like Albert Einstein’s. She stood in the doorway with a loose white tank top and jean shorts. She looked very nice James thought.

Margaret led James into her home, “I believe she and my mom are chatting.” she said softly and she was correct. Through the glass windows, the two teens saw their respected mother laughing over a glass of wine and crackers. One might think that James and Margaret would be better friends since their parents were so close, but they just weren’t. Of course, they were civil, but they never thought they had much in common. Margaret was a good girl. She was studious and well-liked. James on the other hand was infamous. Sure he was popular, but was he really well-liked? He was a rule breaker with the group of his friends; the Marauders. Moving from the window Margaret traveled to the kitchen and James followed. She poured a cup of cold lemonade for James.

“Thanks,” he said as he sat down at the kitchen island and she nodded her head slightly as she continued to stand. They stayed awkwardly silent for what seemed like hours until James broke the silence by clearing his throat. 

“So…” he itched the back of his hand, “How’s your summer goin’?” he smiled up at her to see that she was already looking down at him with that small smile she always had on her face. 

“Oh, you know…hot.” They both laughed at this comment. That summer had been unusually hot. Many of them didn’t have a pool and the only thing that was near their village was a small lake about half a mile away.

“What about you?” she asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, which showed her slight sunburn on her cheeks and nose, “Not much,” he shrugged, “just hanging out with the guys.” he took a sip of the sweet lemonade.

“Yeah, I know,” she chuckled. James tilted his head in confusion at the comment. Noticing how her responses could be off-putting, she quickly followed up by saying, “Oh, it’s just very easy to hear you guys from my bedroom.” 

The two had bedrooms facing each other, so noise traveled very easily.

“Tell Sirius to leave the singing to David Bowie, please.'' The pair of teenagers were attacked with giggles at the funny, yet real insult thrown at Sirius.

“Well do!” he laughed, as he tried to catch his breath; ultimately failing. They had never had to interact with each other like this. It felt foreign. It felt like a breath of fresh air. Taking a shot in the dark decided to invite her to his annual bonfire. He doesn’t know why he hadn’t before because she was friendly with all of his friends and was his next-door neighbor. His heart began to beat loudly. What if he rejects his offer out of spite of all the years he hadn’t invited her? But with another second of thinking, he knew Margaret wasn’t that type of person. Even though he didn’t know her well, he did know she was a light in every life she touched. After she noticed James had stopped laughing she stopped laughing to not annoy him.

“Do you want to come to my bonfire next week?” he said quickly, but she still made out his word vomit. She felt her ears get red out of nervousness. He really wanted to hang out with her? She swallowed the lump in her throat and took a leap of faith.

Trying to sound as confident as possible she uttered, “Yeah… course.” she reached up to her ears to try and cool them down. 

“Ok cool,” James said as he took the last sip of his drink. They heard their mothers' erupt in laughter and then James remembered why he was there. 

“Well, I guess my mom is having fun, so I’ll leave her to be.” Margaret walked James to the door. Before he walked out of the door he told Margaret that he was excited she was coming to the bonfire, which in turn made her excited as well. After James left Margaret decided to shower since the summer heat was killing her and while showering she thought about what to wear to the bonfire. She continued to think about what to wear and even thinking about how she would do her hair while eating dinner that night. This was unlike her but she just excused the excitement she was feeling. 

“I was invited to James Potter’s bonfire,” she said while pushing her peas around, “ can I go?” she finally asked, she didn’t really know why she was so nervous knowing her parents would say yes. 

Her mum, Jessica, was the first to respond, “Of course,” she smiled at her daughter. 

Her father, Daniel, who was reading the Daily Prophet just hummed in agreement with his wife. 

“Chudley Cannons won their game…wonderful,” he said to himself. Her mum cleared her throat and looked at her husband from across the table.

“How about you sit down the newspaper and eat the dinner you’ve asked me to make about three different times this week,” she said sweetly, but with a sternness in her voice that made him listen to her instantly. After dinner, her nervousness grew higher as the hours passed. The bonfire was a week away, but she still couldn’t help but not feel in place. Her anxiety was set aside when she drifted off to bed. 

A few days later James came over to return a book his mum had borrowed. He knocked at the door and it was opened by Mrs. Phillips. She had been delighted to see him. She took the book from the young boy and took him to wait by the door as she went to go fetch another book.

After only a few moments of waiting in the hallway, Margaret came down in a bathrobe. It was a plain white one with her hair up in a wet ponytail. She hesitated on the stairs, but still made her down.

“Sorry I didn’t know you were here.” she hid her face in embarrassment. James tilted his face towards the ceiling to ease the tension. She went to the kitchen to grab a mug. He wasn’t sure what was in it. Tea or coffee perhase. He wanted to see what she would choose to put on because he had to be in mind when she chose her outfit for the day, but Mrs. Phillips had come back with the book and sent him on his way. He didn’t tell anyone about this encounter. Not even Sirius, who was writing a letter to Remus when he returned. Margaret didn’t deserve that invasion of privacy. He handed his mum the book and returned to Sirius.

“What you doin’?” James asked as he flopped down on the couch. Sirius was licking the envelope shut.

“Just writing to Moony about the bonfire. He said he could nick us some muggle beer!” Sirius was always into muggle culture. Especially with things like drugs and alcohol. Sirius sent the owl on its way with the letter and sat next to James.

“So, who’s all coming?” Sirius asked.

“Just the guys and Remus said he convinced the girls to come… oh and Margaret Phillips.”

Sirius looked at James like he had grown three heads, “Like the Ravenclaw?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Padfoot, be nice.” James said, rolling his eyes. 

“I will be. I just thought she wouldn’t like us very much,” he shrugged. 

“Well, she’s a sweet girl.”

“Yeah.. too sweet.” Sirius squinted his eyes. James got up pushed Sirius’s head back in a playful manner and walked to his room to read the new comics he had gotten. 

After Margaret had seen James when she was basically naked she was mortified, to say the least. It felt as if her heart was going to pop out of her chest. She quickly got dressed to go downstairs to apologize to James again. She put on a strapless long white linen dress, but when she returned he was gone. Now that her entertainment was gone for the day she decided to do what she’s done all summer. Sunbath. She changed out of the dress and changed into a bikini that didn’t leave much to the imagination. She grabbed a book and a cup of lemonade. Margaret didn’t know why she was upset at the missed chance to talk to James Potter. It was like they were friends. But she did like his present even though she spent a short time in it. She made her way outside and played with her back facing the sun. 

James' train of thought was interrupted by the blasting Beatles song that came from outside. He sat down on the comic he was reading and looked out of the room window. He could only make out a tanning leg that he suspected to be Margaret.

Opening the window he yelled, “Ay, Margaret!” he saw her head pop up quickly. She took off the sunglasses that covered her big brown eyes which James took a quick liking to. She stood up to see the messy-haired boy at his bedroom window. 

“Yeah?” she yelled back confused about what the boy wanted. 

“Um, can I come over?” James felt his legs go weak when he asked the question. He saw Margaret squint her eyes and then she responded, “Well sure, I’m tanning though,”

“That’s fine,” he said with the largest smile on his face. He quickly rushed down the stairs passing a sleeping Sirius on the living room couch to make his way over to Margaret’s.