After the winter holidays, when they returned to Hogwarts, Marigold continued to ignore James, speaking to him only when necessary. Andrew, Albus and Scorpius were smart enough to not talk about it. Rose, Hugo and Lily were confused, but they knew better than to ask questions.

 It seemed as though their friends weren’t the only ones who found it awkward. One day, after Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, Harry called Marigold over.

 “Goldie, did something happen between you and James?” he asked.

 “No, Uncle Harry, not at all,” she replied.

 “Really?” Harry asked. “Your family didn’t spend Christmas with us and it seems to me as though you two are ignoring each other. I was wondering if you two had some sort of argument, perhaps.”

 “Yeah, something like that,” Marigold lied; she froze when she saw the dark-haired boy coming down the corridor.

 “Hi, Dad,” James said.

 “Hi, James,” Harry said, glancing at Marigold, who tried her best to avoid James’s eyes.

 “Goldie?” James asked.

 “What?”

 “Do you want to practise Quidditch with me later?”

 “Sorry, I promised Scorpius that I would meet him in the library. I’ll see you later.” Marigold replied. “See you next class, Uncle Harry.”

 “See you, Goldie,” Harry said, confused.

 “Oh, alright,” James said, watching longingly as she walked away.

* * *

 When Andrew entered the Gryffindor common room one night, he saw James sitting alone by the fireplace, crying.

 “James?” Andrew went up to him. “Are you alright?”

 “Yeah, I’m fine,” James replied, wiping his tears.

 “You don’t look fine,” Andrew sat down at the chair across from him. “This isn’t like you, please tell me what happened.”

 “I really should’ve just said yes to Goldie that time,” James sighed.

 Andrew struggled to ignore the uncomfortable twinge of annoyance he felt at the bottom of his stomach.

 “She doesn’t even want to talk to me anymore,” James began crying again. “She only hangs out with Scorpius now.”

 “Well, I’m not surprised since you practically rejected her,”

 “I know!” James sobbed. “And I feel awful! But after what happened with Isabella Miller last year, I don’t even want to do the same thing ever again!”

 Andrew’s expression softened a little.

 “But that’s different,” he said. “Miller forced you to go out with her even though you don’t like her. But you like Marigold, don’t you?”

 For a while, James struggled to figure out his own feelings: did he like Marigold or not? Now, thanks to Andrew, he knew the answer.

 “Yes!” James shouted. “Yes, I do!”

 Andrew wasn’t sure whether he felt more relieved or annoyed.

 “Then I think you can figure out what to do. It’s obvious, isn’t it?” he shot back before turning around to head upstairs to the dorms, leaving a confused James behind.

* * *

 The next day, when Andrew headed to the courtyard, he saw Albus waiting for him.

 “Albus!” Andrew shouted, waving at him.

 Albus looked up and tried to force a smile.

 “Hey, Andrew,”

 “What’s wrong?” Andrew asked.

 “Nothing, it’s just…” Albus sighed. “I hate seeing Scorpius being so upset over Rose.”

 “What happened?”

 “Andrew, you know Scorpius liked Rose since their first year,” Albus said, a little annoyed.

 “Well, I didn’t,” Andrew said. “And if Rose doesn’t like him, why doesn’t Scorpius just forget about her and find someone else?”

 “You don’t understand,” Albus sighed again. “I wish Scorpius would see that there’s someone right next to him who sees him for who he is instead of who everyone says he is.”

 Those words hit Andrew like a brick wall; he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed Albus’s feelings for Scorpius until now. Everything made sense now: why it bothered him when Marigold talked about how she liked James, and why he felt angry earlier.

 Albus’s eyes, which were the same green colour as Andrew's, pierced right into the depths of his heart.

 “Actually,” Andrew sighed. “I completely understand.”