Study Date | James Potter

Chapter 12 - "You Deserve To Be Happy"

It was the second time James had stood staring after Rose, only this time he had an audience.

He felt an arm around him, leading him forwards and up the staircase. He followed in a daze, sensing a second presence by his other side and a third behind him, shielding him from the onlookers.

Soon he was in the familiar space that was his dormitory, and had just sat down on his bed when Sirius startled him with a shout.

"What the bloody HELL was that?" He looked at James. "She said it was going to be after the match right? That's what you agreed. But now she's pretending that it was all her trick." He was seething as he paced back and forth across their room. Remus was sitting beside James, Peter on his own bed next to James's.

"I think she was pretending." Remus interjected quietly. Sirius's movement stilled, his attention turning towards Remus.

"I think all the time she's spent with us has been real." Remus continued. "Maybe she just realised that she could either redeem herself to the Slytherins or stay friends with us, and..." he shrugged sadly, "she chose them."

"But why would she choose them?" Sirius frowned angrily.

"Well we're going to be gone in a year and a half, so if the Slytherins still hated her by then she would be on her own after we left." Peter pointed out.

The room fell silent.

"The only way we can know for certain is to ask her."

The other three turned, astonished, towards James.

"I'm going to wait till she's alone, and then I'll talk to her."

"Mate," Sirius shook his head. "It's not worth it. She's probably just going to lie to you again."

"No. She won't lie to me. I know it." He said, a little hoarsely.

He was staring straight ahead at a spot on the floor. The spot where unknown to the others, they'd kissed, and everything had changed for the first time.

Rose would tell him the truth, he was sure of it. She owed him that at the very least.

James watched the map every moment he could, and finally, around two days later, Rose made her way up to the Astronomy Tower, alone as always.

As soon as he saw where she was headed, James flung on the invisibility cloak and rushed out of the common room, leaving the Fat Lady's portrait squawking in surprise behind him.

When he reached the top of the tower, he was surprised to see her eating ice cream, with a second pint beside her. She didn't turn around as he took off the cloak and stuffed it in his pocket, before moving to sit beside her.

"I had a feeling you would come." She said.

James moved the ice cream to the side. It was rum and raisin, his favourite, but he didn't have much of an appetite.

"Why?" Was all he said. They both knew he wasn't asking about her previous sentence.

"I had to. It had to be a surprise - I'm sorry James, but you have almost zero acting skills, and this way you get Lily, I have my friends back... everyone's happy." She bit her lip, looking at him.

"But couldn't you at least tell me that you were going to do... well, that?"

At first James had been numb, then angry, but now he just wanted answers, needed them desperately. Rose had been his friend, and what had happened felt so awfully like a betrayal.

"Again, the element of surprise was crucial. I'm sorry."

Rose's voice was almost monotone. Anybody who didn't know her would have said she sounded bored, but James knew better.