𝑬𝑼𝑷𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑨|| 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

-69-

Asteria lay on her stomach in her dorm one summer night, occasionally sipping on a cup of tea and flicking through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Suddenly, a loud squawk of an owl made her jump. She watched as the owl flew through the small window in her dorm and dropped a small red letter onto the bed.

Asteria picked it up to inspect it. "Fuck sake." She muttered when she saw it was a howler. The girl then sat up, closed her book, and slowly slid her finger under the envelope to open it.

The letter flew out of her hands and floated mid-air as her father's words echoed in her dorm.

"How dare you break several school rules at once! I can't even show up to work without hearing whispers about how much of a disgrace you are! You'll never find a husband if you continue in such a disgusting manner! I look forward to the day when you are someone else's prob-"

His booming voice was cut off by Asteria who reached forward and grabbed the howler, scrunching it up in her hand.

With tears collecting in her eyes, she ran her hand through her curly hair. She couldn't hold the tears any longer so she let them flow from her eyes.

Her eyes went red and her head began to ache. She then wiped her eyes, like that did anything, and got up. Asteria picked up the howler letter and ran out of the dorm in search of Lily.

She didn't care if she was caught so she hurried through the hallway until she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Can you let me in?" She asked in her weak voice. "You're not a Gryffindor so no." She replied sharply.

"Please," She pleaded but the Fat Lady scoffed. Suddenly, the portrait opened but not by her choice. Standing there was James who heard her from inside the common room.

"Is Lily in?" She asked, looking down so he couldn't see her teary eyes. "Yeah but she's sleeping. Is everything okay?" James asked with a concerned look.

Suddenly, she flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her wet face into his chest. He was caught off guard for a second before he looked down and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

"Shh. It's okay." He whispered softly as he gently played with her curly hair. "Now what's wrong?" He asked. She sniffed up and wiped her eyes as she let go and stepped back slightly.

James then noticed the red envelope in her hand which made him sigh. "I'm sorry, it's just that-" He cut her off with another hug. "Don't worry. I'm always here for you." James whispered again softly.

He then let go and took her hand into his before leading her to the crimson couch. "Here." He picked up a chocolate frog from the table and handed it to her.

She accepted it and undid the wrapper before taking a bite, still crying slightly which made him chuckle lightly. "It's not funny." She hissed as she took another bite.

"Of course not. But how could I not be happy looking at your face." He replied as he lifted up her chin, inspecting the tears collecting in her eyelashes and red cheeks.

"Stop or I'll blush." She said sarcastically as she took another bite of the chocolate. Suddenly, she yawned loudly. "It's late. You should go to bed. You can sleep in mine." He offered but she shook her head.

"No, no. I'll go back to mine," Asteria replied as she stood up but James got up and lifted her up over his shoulder before carrying her up to his dorm. "Put me down!" She shouted as she kicked her legs but he didn't listen which made her let out a sigh of defeat.

He then put her on his bed before turning to walk out. "Where are you sleeping?" Asteria asked the Gryffindor. "The couch." He replied.

"But this is your bed." She pointed out. "I can do without it for a night," James replied which made her roll her eyes. "Then I'll just go back to my bed." She said as she got up but he blocked her way to the door.

"That's the last thing you're going to do," James told her firmly. "Then you'll sleep in your bed," Asteria replied quickly. "Only if you stay as well." He told her which made her huff.

"Fine."

"Fine."

James waited for Asteria to get under the covers before he pulled it over him. They lay there in awkward silence, their arms, and legs close to their bodies.

But it didn't take long for Asteria to fall asleep which made him chuckle lightly. Suddenly, she turned around so that her head was resting on his chest. One of her arms also reached over his chest.

James felt himself go red and hot. "Why are you breathing so quickly?" She asked sleepily as she woke up to his chest moving up and down rapidly.

"Sorry. I thought I saw a spider." He lied which made her shrug before closing her eyes again and going back to sleep.

-☘︎︎-

Asteria's eyes slowly opened to the sound of birds singing and a ray of sun shining into the dorm. She began to push herself up as she rubbed her dark eyes.

She then noticed that James' head was resting on her stomach with his arms wrapped around her and him laying between her legs.

Carefully, she sat back down so she wouldn't disturb the boy from his sleep. His messy dark hair had fallen into his face so she pushed it out of his eyes which woke him up.

He let out a small groan as he pushed himself up to stretch. "Morning." He said in a raspy voice when he saw the Hufflepuff girl. "Morning." She replied quietly as the rest of the Marauders were asleep.

They must have gone to bed after them and hopefully didn't she Asteria in his bed. James then pushed himself closer to her so that he could press his lips against hers.

"Prongs?" a sleepy Sirius called out. "Crap." She hissed before James grabbed the cover and pulled into over them. Sirius sat up and looked over the bed when he didn't get a reply.

"Must still be sleeping." Sirius sighed before closing his eyes again. Asteria chuckled lightly before she kissed the boy's cheek and snuck out of the bed and out of the dorm.