Engraved Love | J. POTTER

2 | patrolling and wrackspurts

J A M E S  P O T T E R

'Then why don't you try and figure it out?' The words were scratched into the table and he was honestly irritated with the reply. James read and reread the sentence about thirty times before one of his friends spoke up.

"Just come up with a response already," Sirius requested impatiently and Remus moved his arm from over the boy's shoulder to elbow him in the gut. Sirius held his stomach and narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend before stating, "At this rate we'll miss dinner."

"Then leave," James suggested, tapping the end of his quill against the table. Sirius stood up at this but Remus grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. James looked up at them, "What do I ask?"

"What do you want to know?" Peter asked.

"I want to know who she is," James pointed out with a huff. "What'll narrow that down?"

"Figure out what house she's in," Sirius recommended, his eyebrows narrowed on the boy. "Or don't, just ask something so we can leave."

"He makes a good point," Remus stated, "If you can figure out what house she's in-" Peter opened his mouth but Remus was quick to correct himself, "-they're in-" Sirius rolled his eyes before the boy continued, "-then you'll narrow it down."

"Right," James nodded before quickly scratching the question into the table and making the other line disappear. He stood up, gathering his things, "Let's go before Padfoot kills me."

The boys nodded in agreement, Remus pulling Sirius to his feet before dragging him out of the room. "We could have eaten over an hour ago."

"I know, honey, I know," Remus replied, a slight smile on his face as he put his arm back over the boy's shoulder. Sirius rested his head on his shoulder with a huff, his arms crossed over his chest, grumbling about how it was all James' fault. "You'll feel better once you've eaten."

"I swear, Moony, if you offer me chocolate-"

"I wasn't going to offer you chocolate," he shook his head.

"Oh you totally were," James countered in amusement.

"You, shut it," Sirius suggested, his finger jabbing in James' direction. "This is your fault."

James rolled his eyes before the boys entered the Great Hall and satisfied Sirius' hunger.

O P H E L I A  L O V E G O O D

"So nobody else thinks it's weird that they have nicknames for each other?" Reggie asked as he leaned back in his chair watching as the boys left the library. He then looked around at those at the table, "No? Just me?"

They had made a habit of migrating to the library after dinner. The Great Hall tended to get far too loud for them to focus, let alone talk to each other without having to scream over everyone around them.

"It's just a way for them to express their affection for one another," Pandora pointed out as she looked up from her book to talk to the boy. "Men have a tendency to not be verbally affectionate. With nicknames, it's less obvious then saying 'I love you.'"

"That's not true," Reggie protested, his arm crossed over his chest to emphasize his distaste.

Ophelia laughed at this, "Oh, please. It totally is." She gestured from Reggie over to where her brother, Xenophilius, sat, "Why do you think you call him bro?"

"Because he's my bro," he replied simply. "What do you want me to call him?"

"There's nothing wrong with what you call him," she informed him. "It's just an example that helps prove Pandora's point."