The party, dressing up, all of it had lost the same thrill as years prior. She didnât want to leave the house to enjoy some party, the image of Belle haunting her ever since sheâd woke up in her own body. It hadnât been her fault, but it didnât matter to Cat. There wasnât a doubt in her mind that she couldnât have done something to prevent Russell from attacking anyone. But she still stood in a corner of the party, dressed as Nancy to appease her father and the group costume his family was going for. Cat had plans to sneak out before anyone could really notice her, the thoughts washing away as her eyes landed on him. She hadnât seen James in what felt like forever, worrying about him all the same while it mixed with the guilt for the past few of weeks. Her legs took her towards him, not having too much of a say until she stood in front of him. âHey...I didnât expect to see you here.â
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To say that she was rattled would not even remotely begin to cover it. Â Lily Evans was terrified. Â Her hands were shaking, her face was pale, and her skin felt as if it were crawling. Â She had been stupid, she knew, but sheâd also been angry. Â Angry at Rosier for the damage heâd done to James the day before, for the fight heâd had with Sirius during the feast - though in all fairness she was cross with both of them for that - and sheâd set out to do the only thing about it that she could. Â The detention was coming anyway, perhaps she had been foolish to seek out Rosier to tell him in person. Â
Fists clenched as she walked back to her common room, nails digging into flesh until the portrait swung closed behind her, and only once she was sure that the common room was empty did she let out the ragged breath that she had been holding. Â Her breath came out in a broken sob and her knees gave out from beneath her. Â She crumpled into the closest chair she could manage where she curled in on herself, shaking.
James had a heck of a time convincing Poppy to let him go back to his own room, but he assured her that Lily would be there to watch over him and she let him leave. Little did he know heâd be the one who had to take care of Lily.
He stepped into the common room and his eyes immediately landed on her. âHey, Lilââ The greeting caught in his throat when he saw her, curled into a ball and trembling. âAre you okay? Who did this?â He demanded as he moved across the room and knelt in front of her chair.
Sheâd hoped he would be in the hospital wing longer, that she would at least have managed to get her legs steady under her and get to her room. Â That had been the plan. Â She wasnât foolish enough to think sheâd have any privacy in the Common Room but her legs had had other ideas. Â
She struggled to control her breathing the moment she heart the portrait swing open. Â Her lips were pressed tightly together and she shook her head at his question. Â âIâm fine,â she insisted, lying through her teeth. Â âItâs nothing.â
"Please donât do that. Donât act like nothing happened," he murmured as he took stock of her. "Let me get you some ice, okay? And Iâll start the fire and you can relax and we can talk about it if you want," he offered. "Are you hurt, though, or just shaken up?" He needed to make sure she wasnât internally bleeding like he had been or anything.
"I donât want to talk about it," she said more sharply than she had meant to. Â The idea of telling him, though, scared her out of her wits. Not to mention she didnât want to relive it, not if she could help it. "Just shaken, I think," she said as he asked, her voice better under her control. Â She could still feel Rosierâs grip on her throat and chin but there were no marks, nothing to ice or conceal.
"Okay⌠Thatâs why I said if you want," he clarified and moved away from the chair to start a fire. "Let me get you a blanket then, and maybe a book, and Iâll just give you time to cool off?" He suggested.
As he moved to step away from the chair, a shot of fear ran up Lilyâs spine. It surprised her  and she reached out, grabbing his wrist.  âDonât,â she said, her voice small.  She hated that she sounded so weak and needy but there was nothing she could do about it now.  âStay.  Please.â  Now that he was here, she didnât want to be alone.  The idea sent panic down her spine.
He glanced back at their hands and frowned. âOkay,â he promised. âIâm not going anywhere, yeah? The fireâs right here,â he pointed out. âBut if you donât want me to move, I wonât. Can I sit with you?â
She knew she was asking a lot, considering how hard sheâd pushed him away for six years but having him here now simply made her feel calmer and right now that was all she could think of. Â She nodded at his question and shifted in the chair so they could both fit. Â âThank you,â she said, her voice quiet and almost embarrassed for how badly she needed him to stay.
"Anytime, love," he murmured and sat down, pushed toward the edge of the chair so he didnât encroach on too much of her space. But he looped his arm around her and tried to make sure she knew he was there for her. "If you need anything else, lemme know, yeah?"
She stayed curled around herself as he sat and put his arm around her shoulders but as soon as she did, she curled up against him instead. Â Her shakes were starting to calm and her skin crawled less with his arm around her. Â The heat from the fire warmed her chilled bones and she finally began feeling something akin to normal.
"There you go," he murmured, kissing the top of her head as they sat together. He rubbed her arm as if it would warm her up and stop the shaking. "Whatever it was, Iâm going to make it better, okay? Youâre safe now." But his mind was spinning. What caused such a drastic change in his bright, laughing Lily flower in such a short time?
Her eyes closed as his hand moved over her arm, doing more to stop the shaking than anything else so far. Â She suddenly just felt tired, exhausted even, from the adrenaline. Â His voice was quiet, kind, protective, and it soothed her. Â âThis is making it better,â she said quietly, her exhaustion seeping into her voice. Â
He wished he could smile when he heard that, but how could he ever smile when she was this upset? âIâm glad,â he told her, his volume matching hers. âMaybe I could persuade the house elves to bring some hot chocolate up?â He suggested. âWeâll stay here for the rest of the day if thatâs what you need.â
She vaguely noticed that he asked her a question and she forced her eyes open to try and listen better. Â âI just need to calm down,â she insisted, her voice clearly contradicting her stubborn words. Â
James would take that as a yes, then. As if knowing their needs, a house elf popped up with two mugs of the requested hot chocolate. They were mostly well hidden and only came around after hours, but James had gotten to know them well enough over the past few years.
"Thanks," James murmured to the elf and leaned forward to take the mugs, releasing Lily for a few moments in order to do so. "Here, love, you want this right now or should I put it aside?" He asked as the house elf disappeared again.
"Now is fine," she said as the smell of the hot chocolate reached her. Â Lily forced herself to wake up a bit and sit up so she could take the mug he offered her. Â She pulled her knees up to her chest as she rested the mug on top of them, letting the steam warm her cheeks. Â "Iâm sorry you came back to me such a mess," she said after a moment, eyes on her hot chocolate.
He sat up with her and blew on the top of his drink to start cooling it off a bit. âYou donât ever have to apologize to me, Lil,â he assured as he glanced over at her. âAnd youâve seen me a mess more times than I can count, so weâre more than even now, yeah?â
She knew he had a point but that didnât do much to cool the pink on her cheeks the steam was easily explaining away. Â Lily didnât like needing other people, feeling weak and needing someone to make her feel safe. Â It had happened only once before and Sirius had kindly not mentioned it to anyone, much to Lilyâs relief. Â âI donât like being this way.â Â The admission was quiet, far more honest than she was used to with anyone but Marlene. Â âShaken. Â Needy. Â Iâm not.â
"Youâre right. Youâre not," he agreed, trying not to let her intense vulnerability and honesty throw him off too much. Sheâd never been this way with him, but he knew she was perfectly capable of it, so he tried not to comment. "I donât know what it was, but you dealt with a difficult and unusual circumstance today, and weâre not going to let it happen again, yeah? Iâm going to do everything I can to keep you safe, yeah? Iâd die if it meant protecting you. I hope you know that."
She had chalked the safety she felt in Jamesâ arms up to just being around someone who she was sure would not hurt her. Â To being with someone she knew and trusted and would let her be as on her own as she needed. Â But as his words settled in, she couldnât help but raise her eyes to him with mild surprise in her expression. Â She was still getting used to this James, the one sheâd seen on the train and the one she sat with now, so different from the one she had known all through school. Â âWhy?â she asked after a moment, genuine confusion on her face. Â After all, that was not the reaction she was used to.
He considered her words for a moment, his voice quiet when he finally spoke. âBecause I donât believe what any of them say about you. I donât believe talent and magical ability are measured by who your parents are, and I think you prove that every day. You have more skill in a pinky than most purebloods ever have. And when you find someone as special and talented, bright, dedicated, as you, you donât punish them. You help them thrive.â He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. âYouâre gonna change the world someday, Lil.â
She wasnât sure what kind of answer she had wanted or expected when she had asked him why. Â The word had slipped from her lips before she could think better of it, one she might never have asked if sheâd taken even half a second to think about it. Â And then he answered, and she felt a bit like she couldnât breath. Â Her head spun with the way his words were influencing her emotions, the fear and insecurity sheâd been feeling now at war with the sheer gratitude his words inspired in her and she smiled at the kiss. Â âYouâve gone quite sappy, James Potter,â she said with a smile that reached her eyes, her voice soft despite the teasing words. Â âThank you.â Â That was more somber, but just as genuine as she rested her head on his shoulder.
He smiled at that and kissed the top of her head. âSurprisingly, Iâm a sappy guy,â he mused. This was just how he usually thought about her. Heâd never said much of it aloud because he hadnât known how to properly deliver it, but this seemed a somber and genuine enough setting to let his actual thoughts and feelings through. âSirius will attest to that. And youâre welcome.â
The idea of James Potter being a sappy guy brought a smirk to Lilyâs seemingly permanently turned down lips, but as the idea took a moment and sank it, it didnât surprise her at all. Â After all, heâd only been asking her out for ages, you didnât do that if you didnât have at least a little bit of a hopeless romantic in there somewhere. Â And then he mentioned Sirius and for the first time since sheâd entered the common room, she chuckled. Â âWax poetic often, do you?â she asked, tilting her head up so she could grin up at him.Â
He beamed down at her, relieved and surprised to hear her laughing. The grin was a step in the right direction, too. âOnly to you, really. Sirius, sometimes, but itâs nowhere near as sappy as I am with you,â he grinned back.
The words were said lightly but the meaning behind them wasnât lost on Lily. Â And it made her nervous. Â The idea that there was a way he acted only around her, coupled with the way heâd spoken about her before, it was more than Lily was ready for. Â More than she could handle yet. Â Her smile didnât wane but she did push herself up so there was space between them. Â âPoor Sirius,â she joked lightly. Â âHe must feel very put out.â
"Ah, no. I mean, no offense but heâs always my number one," he chuckled. "Dunno if you could top that if you tried."
"None taken," she said with the grin still fixed in the corners of her mouth. Â She knew well how important Sirius was to James, maybe better than James realized. Â Even if she did want to be number one in Jamesâ life - which she absolutely did not what are you talking about - she wouldnât have dreamed of ousting Sirius Black. Â "Itâs not as if I hadnât noticed. Â He has all but moved in here, you know," she said with a jokingly raised eyebrow as if she had a problem with the situation, which she surprisingly did not.
"Has he really? Already?" He asked as he looked around. "I havenât even moved in yet. My word," he rolled his eyes. "What are we going to do about him?" He chuckled and shook his head. Kids these days.
She fought the urge to roll her eyes, something she did far too often when James was involved she knew. Â âChange the password?â she suggested with a smug look on her lips, not the least bit serious as it would mean Marlene not being able to let herself in at a whim either. Â
"You know heâd find a way in anyway," he chuckled. "Besides, how would the girls get back in?" He could see evidence of their sleepover spread across the common room. There were too many pink and fluffy things lying around to be his or Siriusâs. Well, maybe Siriusâs.
She grinned at the reference to the girls who had indeed spent the first night there while James was in hospital. Â âWell I wasnât about to sit here all on my own the first night back,â she pointed out. Â âItâs not my fault the Head Boy went and got himself stuck in the hospital wing in less than twenty four hours.â Â
"Thatâs not my fault either," he protested. "I mean, not entirely. Well, I did try to eat an entire plate of food and overdid it, so thatâs on me. But still. Not my fault," he grinned back at her. He leaned away to take a sip of his hot chocolate, the steam from it fogging up his glasses. "I need to find a spell to fix my eyesight, I swear," he grumbled. Now he actually was blind.
"Youâre lucky youâve spent six years trying to charm me, Potter," she pointed out wryly. Â "Otherwise Iâd think you just wanted to avoid being stuck alone in the dorms with me." Â Perhaps she wasnât ready to acknowledge or think about the serious implications of his feelings for her, but she at least tried to joke about them. Â A step in the right direction, she hoped. Â "What you need are contact lenses," she said as she pulled her wand from her robes. Â With a quick flick she muttered a charm and it cleared the steam from his glasses. Â If sheâd done it right, which she was sure she had, it should stop them from fogging up ever again. Â "Though I rather like the glasses."
"I would spend all my time with you if I could," he told her and blinked when she fixed his glasses. "Thanks for that," he murmured before quirking his head to the side. "You like my glasses?" He repeated. "Really? I think theyâre a bit annoying. What are contact lenses?"
She blushed lightly at his words and looked down into her own hot chocolate, taking a sip of the steaming liquid to hide the rather pleased smile she couldnât stop from turning up the corners of her mouth. Â âContact lenses are like lenses you put right on your eye,â she explained, ignoring his pleasure at the compliment sheâd paid him. Â âTheyâre about the size of your iris and they do the same as glasses only you look as if youâre not wearing glasses.â Â The explanation was clunky and lacked eloquence but to be fair, so did her explanations of magic when she was talking to her parents. Â Some things just did not translate well between her worlds.
"Wait," he frowned and set his hot chocolate on the table closest to them. "So youâre telling me these lens thingies are this big?" He held his thumb and index finger an inch apart. "How do those stay over your eyes?" Muggle technology was confusing.
She laughed as he held up his fingers and shook her head. âHow big do you think your iris is?â She asked as she reached over to press his fingers closer together. She arranged them so they were about as far apart as a dime. âTheyâre about that big and they go in your eye, not over it like glasses.â
Jamesâ eyes widened. âIn your eye?â He repeated. âHow do you stick a piece of plastic in your eye? Thatâs so uncomfortable!â He protested, alarmed at the very thought. He was definitely okay with having glasses.
As much as she had needed and appreciated his comforting embrace at first, she hadnât realized how badly she had simply needed to laugh. Â Her amusement only increased with Jamesâ revulsion at the idea of contact lenses. Â âApparently you canât feel it at all,â she insisted through her breathless giggles. Â âYou should see your face. Â Youâd think I told you muggles stick glass in their eyes for fun.â
"Thatâs what it sounds like!" He protested, but her laughter was infectious and his panic gave way to a round of chuckles as well. "Maybe youâre just bloody awful at describing this stuff. This is all on you, you know that?" He grinned. Merlin, it was good to hear her laughing.
"Theyâre not that bad," she insisted, though to be honest the idea of sticking anything in her eyes did make her shudder a bit. Â "I am not awful at it," she insisted, dropping her jaw and faking offense. Â "How would you know anyway? Â You wouldnât know contact lenses from contact paper if you were out in the muggle world alone."
"What is contact paper?" He couldnât help but ask once his laughs had subsided. "How is it different from the plastic they make contact lenses from?"
"Contact paper is this sticky sided paper you put on drawers to keep them from getting scuffed up or something." Â She tried to explain yet another muggle object but this one, as she did, she had to admit she didnât understand. Â She screwed up her face as she tried to explain the importance but gave up with a laugh. Â "I honestly have no idea what itâs for but my mum uses it on every shelf in the house."
He laughed at that. âWell, youâll have to owl and ask her for a better explanation, because Iâm still confused. And while youâre at it, ask her to explain contact lenses, because youâre rubbish at that,â he teased.
"I explained them just fine," she said, setting her near empty mug of hot chocolate on the table next to the chair so she had a hand free to chuck one of the throw pillows in Jamesâ direction. Â "Youâre just too thick to picture it right." she teased, sticking her tongue out at him for the second time in as many days.
He laughed as he caught the pillow and playfully smacked her leg with it. âI am not! Iâm a genius, for your information,â he grinned. âJust not about Muggle things. Is that my fault?â
Lily swatted at the pillow and couldnât stop herself as she snorted when he called himself a genius. Â âOh excuse me, great all knowing one,â she said impishly. Â âi didnât realize I was in the presence of genius. Â i would have thrown a far fancier pillow.â
"As you should have. What is this garbage?" He joked as he looked in mock, prissy horror down at the pillow. "I think itâs cotton. I need the finest of silks. Didnât you know that?â He grinned up at her again.
"Well excuse me, your majesty," she said with a roll of her eyes. Â "Perhaps this will be more to your standards." Â She pointed her wand at a pillow on another chair and flicked. Â The pillow whipped through the air, turning from cotton to sil in a matter of moments as it aimed for Jamesâ chest.
James caught it after it hit his chest, giving a light âoof!â of surprise. âThere. Thatâs much better,â he laughed and smacked her gently with it. âYou are a prat, Lily Evans,â he grinned.
She grinned proudly as the pillow made contact and she gave an fake yelp that faded into a laugh as he hit her with the pillow again. Â âAnd you love it, James Potter,â she retorted thoughtlessly. Â
He was nearly as thoughtless in his reply. âI loveââ He managed to stop himself and coughed. âThat youâre a prat, yes. Obviously.â No way was this going to be how he told her he loved her. Not on the first weekend at school. Not a day after heâd realized it for himself. âI mean, Iâve spent so much time being a prat that I think youâre well overdue to act like one to me, yeah?â He started to babble, trying to cover for his very near mistake.
For half a moment it occurred to Lily that James was about to say something else, something that would have ruined the peaceful fun they were having, not through any fault of his own but because Lily would have bolted like the proverbial deer in headlights. Â She was happy, though, to smirk at the words he chose instead and to file away her fears for later. Â âI suppose itâs my turn,â she said with an exasperated sigh. Â âThatâs a lot of pratish behavior I have to make up for, though. Â Are you sure youâre up for it?â
"Even if Iâm not ready, I deserve it," he laughed. "So bring it on, Evans. Try to get to my level of pratishness. Thereâs no way thatâs a word, by the way, but I just made it up."
"I donât know if I could ever get to that level of pratishness," she admitted, chuckling as she said the made up word. Â "Youâve brought home the gold in pratishness. Â But Iâll do my best," she assured with an impish grin. Â "Itâs not," she agreed, "but if Shakespeare can make up words, so can you."
He smirked to see that kind of grin on her face. Heâd make a rule breaker out of her yet. âShakespeare?â He repeated. âWhat is that?â
Her eyes widened, her grin dropping from her lips in real surprise this time. Â âJames. Â Charlus. Â Potter,â she intoned, a pause between each name. Â âDonât tell me youâve never heard of Shakespeare. Â William Shakespeare. Â Playwright. Most famous playwright of all time? Â Lived before the Statue of Secrecy and so you absolutely should know who he is?â
His eyes widened right back and he held his hands up. âWhoa! What are you full naming me for?â He protested. âI donât know this guyâwhat did he write?â
"Because he is famous. Really famous. Muggle and magic worlds both kinds of famous. Â And heâs brilliant. Â And he put magic in his plays all the time." Â She pushed herself off the chair as she spoke, making her way towards her dorm. Â She shouted her words to him from the open door as she dug a book out of her trunk and came back to the common room. Â "Here." Â She tossed the small and well loved book in his lap. Â "Midsummerâs Night Dream. Â Fairies playing jokes on humans, love spells, and a man with a donkey head. Â Youâll love it."
He watched her go, and caught the book as easily as if he were catching a Quaffle. âLil, no offense, but I donât really read for fun,â he wrinkled his nose. âOr at all.â
She dropped back onto the couch where sheâd been sitting, not as concerned anymore with keeping the entire length of the couch between them. Â Theyâd started out curled up together and then sheâd pushed far away, now they sat at a happy easy middle. Â âThought you were supposed to be a genius,â she pointed out. Â âRead it, donât, up to you. Â I think youâll like it, though.â
"Well, you could read it to me?" He grinned. "Or we could act it out. Itâs a play, right?"
"You canât read a play to someone like a book," she pointed out. Â "It would be too confusing." Â She laughed lightly at his suggestion of acting it out. Â "What, in the Common Room? Â Like twelve year olds playing pretend?"
"Why not?" He grinned. "Just a scene or two. Puh-leaaazze?" He pouted. He was very persuasive, he liked to think. Sirius had taught him puppy dog eyes.
She considered the idea for a moment and then shook her head. Â âIt would be ridiculous,â she argued, taking the book back from him and flipping through it. Â âThe only scenes with just two people are either the fairy king and queen telling each other theyâre awful or Lysander and Hermia being sappy.â
James tried unsuccessfully not to smirk. âYeah? So?â He asked, his eyebrows raised. Heh. âWeâre all for role reversal here tonight, arenât we? Youâre supposed to be a prat because Iâm sappy. Obviously we should just read both.â
She glared at him for a moment before sighing and stopping on a page near the beginning. Â âAlright,â she said, scooting across the couch so they could both see and read from the book in her hand. Â âLysander and Hermia are in love but Hermiaâs father refuses to let her marry him. Â Heâs just told her she has to marry Demetrius and so she and Lysander plan to run away together,â Â She explained, feeling rather silly about the whole thing. Â âYou start,â she said, pointing to the first line. Â
James took one look at his first line and burst out laughing. âDear Merlin, what have I signed on for?â He chuckled, but said it anyway through a fit of quiet laughs.
She laughed as he did, convinced they wouldnât get through more than a couple of lines. Â âI never intended us to read it out loud,â she pointed out as she tried to get her breath under control to read the next line, doing her best to seem upset and pouty as Hermia was supposed to be and failing miserably every time she saw Jamesâ smirk out of the corner of her eye.
James very barely managed the, âAy me!â required of his next line in the most obnoxious and exaggerated tone he could muster before laughing again. âThis is ridiculous. Whose terrible idea was this? Certainly not mine,â he laughed before finishing out the line.
"It was a terribly idea, of course it was yours," she pointed out, interrupting his line with a bump of her shoulder against his and her next one. Â "For Merlinâs sake, this is more ridiculous than when Mary and Marlene and I did this in first year." Â She could remember acting scenes out with the girls when they were younger, it was a decidedly different experience and she had felt far less self conscious than she did at this moment. Â Not to say it was a bad feeling, but it was certainly - different.
"I have great ideas, so excuse you," he laughed. "And this is my first exposure to Shakespeare, so you better make it good," he teased and nudged her right back.
James was doing just fine until they got to the longer sections of the scene. âAnd there, gentle Hermia,â he paused, a little surprised by the next few lines. He hadnât known what was coming from this scene. âMay I marry thee,â he finished and glanced up at her for a brief second before he continued on. His voice was softer now, more earnest. âAnd to that place the sharp Athenian law cannot pursue us.â It felt realâmorseo than it should, probably. He wet his lips and stared down at the book held between them. âIf thou lovest me then,â oh, how he hoped she would, âsteal forth thy fatherâs house to-morrow night.â
He glanced up at her and finished the lines without taking his eyes off her. Suddenly, it wasnât as funny anymore.
In Lilyâs defense, it had been years since sheâd taken the time to read through this play. Â She remembered the gist, remembered the bigger plot points, but as sheâd chosen this scene, she hadnât entirely thought through the content. Â James voice softened and as it did, Lily felt a lump in her throat that made it hard for her to swallow. Â She couldnât keep her eyes from glancing up as he read the lines, peering at him to watch him read and quickly looking back down before she could be caught doing so. Â
And then he looked up and his eyes on her were warm and she couldnât look away from the page as he couldnât look away from her. Â âI swear to thee by Cupidâs strongest bow,â she began, her voice steadier than sheâd imagined it would be. Â It remained soft and steady as she repeated vow after vow and finished the line, looking up at him as her voice faded out.
James Potter was certainly not about to cry over some book. But there was a slight glimmer in his eyes when she looked up at him again. Something in the way she spoke, the way sheâd delivered the lines, gave him hope that maybe even if she didnât mean them now, she would someday. And someday was good enough for him. Someday wasnât too far off. Heâd waited six years now; he could take a few more months.
"Keep promise, love," he finished the scene, holding her gaze as he did. Someday.
She made the very obvious mistake of looking at him as he finished the scene, as he spoke the last line, still holding her gaze with his own. Â They werenât laughing anymore, there was no giggling and chuckling over the foreign words and exaggerated deliveries. Â It was quiet between them now but it wasnât uncomfortable. Â If anything, it was charged. Â
"So," she said, swallowing hard and sitting back to put at least an semblance of distance between them, though not nearly what there had been before, "thatâs Shakespeare."
He dropped his gaze briefly to her lips before he nodded and looked back to the book. âBrilliant,â he murmured and cleared his throat. âAh, Iâll hang onto this for a few days, if you donât mind? Actually read it?â
"Sure," she said, probably with more enthusiasm than the answer warranted. Â Silence that was comfortable before now felt strange. Â Still not uncomfortable, not exactly, but Lily felt the longer they sat in it the harder it would be to find the friendly ease with which theyâd been passing the evening. Â "I - um - hope you enjoy it." Â Yes. Â Because that was less stilted and awkward.
"Yeah." He was glad he had that word, to spit out in situations like this, when he couldnât think of anything else to say. "Ah, are you doing okay now? I should probably go set up my stuff in my room." He hadnât exactly had the chance to do so yet. "But I donât want to leave unless youâre feeling better."
"Iâm fine," she assured him, forcing herself after a moment to stand from the couch. Â "I didnât get much settling in done either," she admitted. Â "The girls were here so we stayed mostly in the Common Room." Â Mostly, though, it was as good an excuse as any to run and hide. Â "Thank you, though," she said before she went, biting her lip. Â "For staying with me. Â I-" canât think of anything else that isnât terribly embarrassing. Â She thought silently. Â So instead she just ducked her head before she turned tail and disappeared in to her room. Â
James grinned as he watched her go, biting the inside of his cheek. She would come around eventually, even if it took some time. He turned and headed back into his room, unpacking for a while before he settled in and tried reading the book. If Lily recommended it, he was going to get through it no matter how dull and confusing it was.
It was only after heâd started reading that he remembered heâd never found out what was upsetting her.
Marlene McKinnon had never been good at staying still. Full of lively, reckless energy, and more like a force of nature than most people knew what to do with, she much preferred doing something with her spare time to just sitting around the common room, especially if the latter had the express intention of completing homework. No thank you. She'd been wandering around the clock tower - avoiding Professor Slughorn when she saw him in the courtyard because no thank you; now that she had officially dropped out, she had literally no reason to ever force herself to talk to him again, except for embarrassing Lily or annoying James by inviting him into conversation where he could fawn over Lily - when she'd decided she ought to head to the grounds, maybe fly a little. The route through the clock tower was actually much quicker than going back via the castle, but she distinctly remembered seeing Peeves head down to the entrance of the Clock Tower and was rather not in the mood to deal with whatever he'd rigged up, especially because it'd probably end in an interaction with Filch. Instead, she ended up heading through the castle, and found herself passing through the DADA corridor when suddenly James appeared in front of her. Her first thought was something along the lines of this being a sure sign that she ought to fly for a bit and make Cap come with her, but then she realised he'd kind of staggered out of the classroom in front of her and her eyebrows shot up in alarm. "Cap, what happened?" she asked, reaching out to brace him and starting to crane her neck into the classroom he just appeared from, in case there was someone he was running from.