Reactance | James Potter

Chapter 2

"I CANNOT BELIEVE you did that!"

   Marlene was absolutely beside herself. Hung upside down over the side of her four-poster bed, the short locks of her silky blonde hair were nearly grazing the floor as her body trembled with silent laughter.

   A gracious smile was on Lily's lips as she settled herself onto the window seat
beside Olivia. The brunette had her cheek pressed flat against the cool, foggy glass and was watching Marlene with amusement. It was only the beginning of September, which meant that the night outside of the castle was still rather warm. However, the large metal furnace in the girls' dormitory was very much alive and Olivia was feeling the heat a little too well for her liking.

   She had always preferred being too cold to too hot. She could pile on more layers, but there are only so many that she could take off.

"Did you see the look on his face, Marl?" said Lily with glee. She hadn't been this happy to discuss James Potter since their fourth year, when he had had an accident playing Quidditch and landed himself in the hospital wing for a week. It was a break from him that Lily felt she very much deserved, and she had even gone as far to deem it a 'Christmas miracle'. "I swear to Merlin, Olive, you've done it! You have broken Potter!"

   A light, cheerful mood had fallen over the girls and the dormitory felt bright. The lanterns along the walls created a warm hue, one supple enough for them to see but also sleep (should it be fit). Olivia was leant upon a few pillows, all of which she had snatched off her friends' beds upon their entry from the Great Hall.

   Lily clapped her hands together in excitement and the sound echoed. A dazed, dreamlike wave washed over her soft features as she imagined such a world: where she wasn't trailed by James daily. She stared off at the far wall of the dorm, full of hope. Olivia laughed loudly at her, which seemed to snap Lily out of her thoughts as she gave Olivia a firm smack on the arm.

"One of our own was able to finally knock Potter off his high pedestal," said Marlene, still hung over her bed. Olivia cringed at the sight; she felt her own head throb, and forced herself not to imagine how it must feel to be in that position. "I knew you had it in you."

"Honestly," said Lily, enthusiastically. With wide eyes, she pointed a finger to Marlene as though to further insinuate that her statement was correct. "I have cursed at him, hexed him, jinxed him and I have even made him cry, but none of that was ever enough to make him quiet like that. I have never seen him speechless, before, but it's easy to say I prefer it."

"He just doesn't understand what he's been doing all these years," said Olivia, a small frown on her plump lips. She thought of the boy for a moment, someone she had always pitied, and then she sighed. "He's been on the other side of it, bothering you. He doesn't know what it's like for someone to keep pestering you, despite you having already made it clear that you're not interested —" she thought of the fear she had seen on his face when she had spoken to him; She had completely stumped him. "that's it!"

   Suddenly, Olivia was off the bench. One of her white, floppy pillows fell to the floor with her movements but she didn't gesture to pick it up. Lily was very surprised; her hands placed rather dramatically over her chest. Olivia danced on the balls of her feet, fingers trembling with pure excitement.

   Marlene's eyebrows had furrowed, which was something that only happened when she was in deep thought. She flipped upright on the bed, looking toward Lily now as she asked, "Did you remember to hide the pudding at dinner?"

Lily shook her head, to which Olivia rolled her eyes in annoyance. The smile didn't fade from her lips as she leapt forward, seizing the redhead by the shoulders and giving her body a firm shake. Lily laughed loudly, but Olivia spoke over her, "James doesn't know what it's like, so we show him!" Lily and Marlene exchanged glances of confusion. "Oh, you girls, honestly — We give James a taste of his own medicine."