Losing Game/// James Potter

Chapter 25

Weeks had passed and James still refused to think about the question that Remus had asked him. He was truly torn about the idea of actually having feelings for his best friend, that he decided to just push the thought out of his head completely. It was bad enough that Lily still didn't want to be with him, he didn't need to deal with the stress of liking someone else on top of that. He couldn't deal with the stress of not being good enough for someone else. Because, that's all he knew about love... that somehow he was never good enough for the person he had feelings for. So, he pushed the thoughts out of his head until about a week before Christmas break in the middle of a Potions class.

Elsie was sitting next to Sirius, while Remus and James were at a desk behind them. Peter was willingly sitting next to Mary Macdonald with wide eyes and pink cheeks.

"Alright class, settle down! Today we will be working with the love potion called Amortentia," Professor Slughorn exclaimed as he walked towards the front of the room. He was met by a string of groans as he passed out a mini cauldron with the potion to each desk, "Settle down, we will just be smelling it and jotting down its effects, nothing too hard!"

Sirius smirked at Elsie while nudging her in the side, "Don't be embarrassed, we all know your going to smell me."

Elsie rolled her eyes playfully while pretending to smell the cauldron in front of them, "Nope, sorry. I don't smell any trace of wet dog in here."

Remus and James were snickering at the comment that the girl made, as Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"Okay, everyone! Go ahead and smell the potion, make sure to jot down what you notice!" Slughorn announced after he finished placing a mini cauldron on every desk.

Elsie sent a smirk towards Sirius as she gestured to the cauldron and teased, "Ladies first."

Sirius grumbled under his breath and took a whiff of the potion, "Smoke, broomstick polish, and-,"

He stopped and inhaled deeply, as if trying to draw out the last scent. But when he did, his nose crinkled and he pulled back, "Godric, it smells like fresh laundry. Why's it so bloody strong?"

"Well the broomstick polish is definitely about Marlene, unless you're suddenly declaring your love for Jamesie over there," she giggled and winked at him, until her eyebrows drew closer in confusion, "But fresh laundry? Really?"

"Wanker," Sirius chuckled and nudged her with his shoulder, "Your turn."

"Mhmmm, whatever you sayyyy," Elsie sarcastically sang while bringing her face forwards to smell the potion. She took a deep breath and took in the beautiful scents mixing together in her nose. Elsie's eyes were closed as she let the enchanting smells linger.

"New books, Euphemia's freshly baked cookies, and...," Elsie stopped talking instantly. The next thing she smelt was so obviously the scent of her best friend's cologne that if she said it out loud Sirius would know immediately. It was a musky pine smell, the very smell of James Potter himself. She couldn't say it, she couldn't tell Sirius.

"And what, Els?" Sirius questioned, catching the attention of James and Remus from behind her.

"Nothing else, I can't place my finger on the last smell," Elsie lied through her teeth, but Sirius didn't buy it.

"I don't believe that for-," he was suddenly cut off by James shouting behind him, "Oi, Snivellus. What does your slimy nose smell?"

Elsie mentally took a sigh of relief due to the fact that James' voice distracted Sirius, but became anxious again when she saw Snape's face. She knew that he smelt Lily, but couldn't say it out loud. She knew because the same exact thing happened to her, and she wouldn't let Snape take the heat for that. So, she drew the attention back to James.