Study Date | James Potter

Chapter 34 - "Like What You See, Evans?"

The morning of the funeral had been cold and damp. Lily and Rose had woken early and flooed to their home, which had been connected to the network for the day. It had felt strange - almost as if her parents might appear any minute and start berating her for the pranks she'd pulled. They hadn't stayed long. From there they had apparated to the funeral home on the other side of town, where they had met Petunia and Vernon before any others had arrived.

Joseph and Marie Evans had been well-liked members of the community, but Rose had still been surprised by the number of people who had turned up to pay their respects. The service had been short, and Lily had cried the whole way through. Petunia had sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, while Rose had simply sat in silence.

Even with the two weeks that had passed since the deaths, it had only really sunk in then that her parents were gone. When they had returned to the house it had been still and cold, and unnaturally empty.

After returning to the castle, via McGonagall's fireplace, Lily and Rose had the rest of the day off school so each sat quietly in the Heads' common room with a book. They talked a little, but were mostly silent

Soon enough, they were startled by James bursting into the room. His chest was heaving as if he'd run all the way up to the seventh floor. Rose stood, and they stared at each other wordlessly, before she walked around the sofa and fell into his arms. He held her as the tears finally began to fall, held her as her body shook and her mind caved.

"I came as soon as Charms finished," he said quietly, once she'd pulled away. Rose nodded shakily, wiping her face.

"Thank you." It took all the control she had not to collapse back into his arms. He felt like home, like her own home rarely had and she suspected now never would. When she was in his embrace, the rest of the world faded away and it was just the two of them: her head tucked against his chest, his chin resting on top.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Tired, honestly," she replied. She hadn't slept at all the previous night for fear of the nightmares, and although her parents had now been laid to rest, she wasn't so sure they would disappear from her nightly torments.

"You can use my bed if you want?" He offered, but Rose shook her head.

"I don't think I could sleep right now, exhausted as I am, and besides, I can't..." she trailed off. James knew she wasn't sleeping well, but she hadn't told him anything about the nightmares, or about how it'd been better when they had been together. She knew she wouldn't be able to be alone that night, but she would deal with that later.

"I don't want to sleep," she said finally.  Her hand found his and she interlaced their fingers, tugging him over to the sofa.

"What are you reading?" He asked, lightening the mood as she picked up the book.

"The Lord of the Rings," she replied, thankful for the change of topic. "I felt like reading it again after I saw you were reading The Hobbit."

"Just wondering, how quickly will you be expecting me to read that? It looks pretty hefty," he said, and Rose smiled a little.

"Don't worry," she told him. "The trilogy takes even me a while. It took Lily almost a year to read them."

"Hey!" Her sister protested from her armchair. "It's true though," she admitted with a small laugh.

The door opened again and Marlene pushed her way in, closely followed by Dorcas, Alice, Mary, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Rose quickly shifted away from James, dropping his hand, albeit reluctantly.