The Stag and The Harpy | James Potter

Mad

"On a scale of one to ten...how pissed are you?" Phoebe asks Sirius, pulling the hospital blanket up to her chin. She had a bruised skull and a scarred arm, but was relatively untouched otherwise.

Sirius frowns at her, his jaw ticking. "Not nearly as mad as prongs," He says curtly. Phoebe let's out a tiny giggle at the nickname, fully understanding it now. Sirius shoots her a withering look that shuts her up.

"Potter's always mad at me anyway," Phoebe defends.

Sirius sighs and shakes his head, saying exhaustedly, "I don't know what possessed you to go outside last night, but you're a bloody fool."

Phoebe shrugs and mutters, "I couldn't sleep. I like to sit. By the lake."

Sirius frowns and shakes his head. Phoebe thinks he's going to speak and then James Potter appears. He has a nasty cut on his cheek and his lips are in a tight line. Phoebe winces as she realizes that the boy is quite pissed. As pissed as she'd seen him in a long while.

"Hullo, Prongs," Phoebe can't help but say, earning a tiny smile from Sirius and a cold glare from James.

He doesn't say a word, he simply turns to Sirius and says, "Peter is distracting the girls. He told them that Griffin fell, which isn't hard to believe because she's a blithering idiot."

Phoebe held her tongue, not in the mood to fight. Potter was right, after all. She shouldn't have been on the grounds last curfew. While he and Sirius talk to each other, Phoebe decides to get up. She swings her legs over the side of the bed, moving to stand. Large, strong hands suddenly grab her shoulders and she's pinned back down to the mattress. She expects it to be Sirius, but feels her cheeks flush slightly when she sees James hovering over her.

"Do not get out of this bed," James seethes between clenched teeth. Phoebe's eyes widen slightly. James scowls and releases her, making sure she stays put. Sirius sends her a tiny sympathetic smile.

"I want to see Remus," Phoebe says, trying to get up again. James pushes her down, surprisingly gentle. He doesn't speak so she turns to Sirius, "Please, Sirius. I want to see him."

The black haired boy shakes his head and says quietly, "He's resting. He needs a little space, Pheebs."

Phoebe frowns and feels an unsettling wave of guilt crash into her. She swallows past the lump in her throat and nods. "Okay," She says throatily, the words on her tongue thick with emotion. "Get me a quill and something to write on."

She feels James staring at her as she writes, but ignores him and focuses on her task at hand.

Remus Lupin,

I have to confess. I've known about you since second year. Yes, that may be surprising to you, but some part of me just knew. Maybe it's the creature in me that can recognize the one in you. We are the same, you and I. In fact, I envy you! You know what to expect each month. Some days I'm terrified that James is going to piss me off so badly that I'll grow a beak and shoot fire at him. I'm happy to give you space, but we're family. I don't have a lot of good family, so I'm not letting you go over a mistake that I made. Come see me when you feel better. I have chocolates from France.

Love,

Your friend Phoebe.

Phoebe shoves the note into Sirius' waiting palm and huffs, "You two can go, I'll be fine."

Sirius glances at James sitting stoically by her bedside and grins. Cheekily, the boy drawls, "Okay! See you later."

He waltzes away, leaving Phoebe and James alone in silence. It's tense and very very uncomfortable. James watches the veela squirm in her bed, avoiding eye contact with him. He refuses to speak first, still fuming over the scene he witnessed the night before. His heart had dropped the moment he saw the blonde hair by the lake.

"You don't have to sit there all day," Phoebe says quietly, staring up at the ceiling. James doesn't answer. He continues to frown at the girl while trying to form words in his mouth. The only ones he can think of are harsh and mean or sappy and soft. He finally settles on, "Someone has to make sure you don't move and trip again."

Phoebe's eyes flicker to him, narrowed slightly. "Ha ha," She says flatly. "Phoebe is such an idiot and a clutz."

James feels his mouth lift slightly. He nods in agreement, wincing when her hand sneaks out of the covers and pinches his arm. Phoebe jumps in surprise when he gasps loudly, "Merlin! Your hands are freezing!!"

Phoebe replies snarkily, "Yes, I'm aware. It's cold in here."

James stands and walks behind the curtain, where she can no longer see him. She hears a voice she doesn't recognize say, "Hey! That's mine!"

"Now it's not," James tells the person, returning with a stollen blanket. Phoebe tries her very hardest to not smile as he lays the blanket on top of her others, pulling them all up to her chin. He sits back in his chair, but scoots closer to the bed, slipping his hands under the covers.

"Um," Phoebe says confusedly, "It's rude to feel up girls while they're in a hospital bed."

James smirks and chuckles, "So you'd let me feel you up otherwise? Good to know."

Phoebe goes to tell him off, but his large warm hands suddenly envelope her own. The intimacy of the act feels very odd coming from James, but something warm spreads through her chest.

James shakes his head and mutters, "How cold you are cannot be healthy."

Phoebe shrugs, relaxing as his hands warm her own. She closes her eyes, giving James the opportunity to study her without her running her mouth. He observes her slightly bruised cheek, following it up to the bruise that he knew was above her ear. This led to him studying the length of her eyelashes and counting her freckles. He felt something stir in his stomach as he looked at her pouty lips. They looked soft. James, stunned by his thoughts, quickly shakes his head like a dog to rid himself of whatever he was feeling.

"Is that why Sirius is always asking you to eat? Because you're cold?"

James realizes how dumb the question is once it's out of his mouth, but Phoebe smiles and opens her startling grey eyes. She shakes her head and says, "Sirius is always telling me to eat because my mother is always telling me not to."

She feels James' grip on her hands tighten, but doesn't want to see the look on his face at the new information. He runs his thumbs over the backs of her hands and the warmth starts to make her very sleepy.

James swallows past the lump in his throat while he watches her eyes flutter shut. She mumbles sleepily, "Don't tell anyone, Potter. I'll cut off your dick."

He chuckles slightly, surprised by the softness in his voice when he says, "I won't. Get some sleep."

Even when she falls asleep, the two keep their hands tightly clasped, drawing a small smile on his face that matches her sleeping one.