Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

Hallowe'en 1975

Chapter Nine

16:37

Archie and Rosie arrived back at the school, where they waved each other goodbye to go and find their own friends so they could change into their Hogwarts robes and go down to the Great Hall for the feast.

Rosie didn't stop grinning for a single moment as she skipped up to Gryffindor Tower and into the dormitory, stripping out of her warm, comfy clothes and into her school uniform. She never understood why they insisted on making them wear their robes and hats for the feast, especially after they hadn't even been attending lessons. Still, she wouldn't bother protesting after five years of it.

She jogged back down the stairs with her black robes and witch's hat draped over her arm but didn't spot any of her friends yet, so she flopped down on one of the settees, looking into the fire and reliving the scene from the robes shop – with a few extra details that they didn't get to before Archie left. A smile seemed to be permanently spread across her face, and she leaned her head back on the soft arm of the velvety seat.

The flames in the hearth were hypnotic as Rosie let her eyelids droop softly, and her mouth opened a little so that her breathing could slow down. She felt her head drop sideways as she lifted her feet onto the couch and slowly... fell... asleep.

Slap.

"Ow!" Rosie groaned with a groggy cough stuck in her throat, reaching a hand up to her forehead. She opened her eyes as wide as she could to glare at her attacker, but nobody stood before her.

She rolled onto her side and scoffed when she saw Mary holding her new blue dress up to her body and dancing around the small area between the seats, pretending to wear it while Marlene wolf-whistled and Lily scolded her quietly, telling her to put it away. She looked to her left to see Sirius sitting with an arm casually draped over the red sofa as he let her feet rest in his lap, chatting casually with Peter as if she wasn't even there.

Rosie then looked up to the ceiling and saw Alice smiling cheekily. So, it was Fortescue. "What did I ever do to you, Alice?" she pouted quietly, letting her eyes flicker shut for another moment.

"You were snoring, and I thought it might embarrass you," Alice shrugged sweetly, walking around and sitting on the floor in front of the other sofa where Peter and James were sitting together.

James's hair looked freshly windswept as usual as he rested his head on his fist and looked dreamily at the girl, not listening to his friends' conversation.

"Potter, there's genuine saliva dribbling down my chin. Why in Merlin's pants are you looking at me like that?" Rosie raised an eyebrow, wiping her face from her sleep and sitting up slowly, listening to her bones creaking.

"Because, my darling, I was thinking that you could lie face first in a pile of vomit, and I'd still want to snog your lips off," he told her dramatically, smiling widely and admiring her face more closely now that she was looking into his eyes.

Rosie rolled her eyes at him and looked towards Mary now, smirking, "Oh, MacDonald, I wouldn't touch that too much if I were you..." she trailed off mysteriously, letting a smirk grow slightly at her friend.

Mary quickly held the dress at arms'-reach away from herself, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Why?" Though she didn't look like she wanted to know the answer.

"Because that dress has seen a couple of things I wouldn't exactly describe as innocent," she snickered, causing Mary to gasp and drop the dress to the dusty floor, shaking her hands out in disgust while Marlene and Alice burst into laughter.