𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 ⟡ ᴊᴀᴍᴇs ᴘᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ¹

fourteen: secret plans

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

LYRA APPROACHED HER friends cautiously. They were all sitting around the fire place, the silence so thick that she was almost sure her voice wouldn't be heard if she tried to speak. Deciding to play it safe, she sat across from all of them, the action catching their attention rather quickly. "Hi" she said, softly. Her fingers instinctively beginning to pick at the rug beneath her.

"Hey there, Ly" Barty smiled. He was always the most unbothered and nonjudgmental one of their group. She returned the gesture, grateful he had decided to speak to her. "I just wanted to apologize, I guess? For not telling you-" She paused for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.

"I just knew that if I told one of you, all of you would find out and then we'd be stuck in an uncomfortable situation..." her voice trailing off slightly, as her lips formed into a thin line. "Kind of like this one"

Regulus sighed, running his hands across his face. "You don't have to apologize" She looked up at him in surprise, definitely not expecting to hear those words come out of his mouth. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad. You're just — you're my baby sister-"

"I'm older than you" she cut in, trying to make a joke. The smallest of smiles appeared on his face as he shook his head. "Fine. You're my older sister, but twin nonetheless. Obviously it was going to happen at some point, but did it have to be with that arrogant twat? I'd honestly prefer Potter over him" He shuddered at his statement. "Did I just say that?"

Mason chuckled, patting the boy's shoulder. "You did, mate" he whispered, Regulus pushing him away as he gagged. "Seriously, Ly. It's alright. Kind of sad Potter got to punch him instead of me, though" the younger twin laughed.

He supposed after watching that happen, he would be the tiniest bit more accepting of the Gryffindor chaser. He appreciated that he stood up for Lyra, plus it was really entertaining to watch. Definitely livened up his Sunday afternoon.

"Caught me a bit off guard as well" Rabastan agreed. "Is he even that aggressive in quidditch?" They all laughed at his question, Lyra biting her bottom lip as she felt the tension in the air melt away. She quickly got up and pulled the four of them in for a hug. "I love you guys" she murmured, kissing each of them on the top of their heads. They all chorused it back to her, laughing as they did so. Once she pulled away, she sat back on her knees, a bright smile on her face.

"As long as he was the only one" Regulus hummed, leaning back into the couch. When she didn't answer, the boys all raised an eyebrow, mouths agape. "He was the only one, right?"

Lyra simply stood up, ignoring their acts of protests as she swiftly moved towards the girl dormitories.

"Wait! Was he the only one!?"

✰ ✰ ✰

Five days. It had been five fucking days since James Potter has spoken to Lyra Black. He was avoiding her for multiple reasons. The first, being that he was confused. He kissed her, he liked it, he's pretty sure she liked it, but his brain was messing with his heart. Insecurities have been constantly creeping into his mind, and the only way he knew how to get rid of them was to push her away as well.

The second, were the insecurities themselves. He didn't know if kissing her on a whim meant what he had hoped it meant, or if it was just a heat of the moment type of thing. And the possibility of it meaning absolutely nothing to her was incredibly terrifying. James Potter was a hopeless romantic at heart. He's always craved to experience the feeling of falling in love, and the fact that he was so carelessly beginning to do that with Lyra without any type of confirmation psyched him out on every level possible.