bruises - james potter

eighty-three

( chapter eighty-three )

CASSIOPEIA BLACK RESTED HER HEAD on her boyfriends shoulder, her eyelids covering her cloudy eyes as her mouth let out soft, and almost inaudible, snores.

James continued to eat his breakfast, trying not to move too much as he did so, he didn't want to wake Cassie up from her slumber.

Sirius and Remus sat opposite the two of them, Sirius glancing at his sister every now and again, not helping the furrowing of his eyebrows as he did so.

Peter was the other side of James, finishing off some homework that he had forgotten to do over the Christmas break, he was oblivious to anything other than the words on the page and the quill in his hand.

James raised his toast to his mouth and took a small bite, chewing as slow as he could so that he didn't move too much. He froze as Cassie shifted slightly, before she went still again.

"What's wrong with her?" Sirius asked in a quieter voice than usual as he looked over at Cassie once again, who was now smiling slightly in her sleep.

Remus and James both turned to Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" James asked, confusion evident in his voice. "She's only sleeping?"

Sirius shook his head, his dark hair moving slightly as he did so.

"I mean, she walked in the hall, sat down and was asleep within seconds."

James looked at Cassie, her eyelids fluttering slightly as her eyes moved underneath them, as if she was looking around in her dream, her eyes trying to take in every detail she could before she woke up.

He smiled softly, his heart skipping a beat or two, before his smile turned into a frown and he looked up again.

"You're right." He said, looking back at Sirius who nodded.

"Maybe she just had a hard time sleeping last night?" Peter spoke up, making the three boys turn to look at him.

Sirius was quick to shake his head.

"No, she always sleeps best on her first night back at school. She told me and it was the same with me. . ." Sirius trailed off, his mouth making an 'o' shape as he realised something.

"What is it?" Remus asked, titling his head to the side slightly as he looked back at the other boy.

"I always slept best on my first night back at school, before I moved into the Potters." James frowned more deeply, looking back down at Cassie.

"You think she didn't sleep well last night because she's so used to be at home with us?" James asked, not looking up from Cassie.

"Yeah. . ," Sirius responded, running a hand through his hair as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, his elbow on the table.

James opened his mouth to speak, but he noticed that Cassie's eyes were slowly opening and that she was becoming slightly restless as she slept.

"Hey, sleeping beauty." James joked as Cassie completely woke up, her eyes blinking a few times to get them to focus on her surroundings. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, which was closed into a fist.

Cassie then let out a small yawn, placing her free hand over her mouth, but she didn't move her head from resting on James' shoulder.

"More like sleeping beast." Sirius mumbled, but loud enough for them all to hear him.

Cassie stared at him, then picked up James' toast and threw it at her twin brother with a fake smile on her face.

Sirius yelped, and quickly duck under the table to avoid the flying toast.