Cursed Love || A Scorbus Story

Eighteen: In Which One Brother Comes Home

The bed beneath James was very comfortable, quite a nice bed. It was soft and didn't creak if he moved around. In fact, it didn't creak at all last night, when there was plenty of movement. Wales was quiet at night, so quiet that every night he had been there his thoughts ran rampant.

James S. Potter was never one to shy away from his fame as the eldest son of Harry Potter, best Gryffindor Chaser, just like his grandfather, not to mention great at academics. He was a well rounded student at Hogwarts in his years, but now he had graduated, no more fun in the Great Hall with his Quidditch mates, no nightly mock Quidditch games (all ended by McGonagall herself before the matches got good), no more childish fun.

Well, James could call what he was doing now childish. But he didn't want to sound like a nine year old instead of am almost nineteen year old.

On his left, still sleeping was a boy his age. He would be attending the Swansea University come August. Apparently, he had graduated early and had begun attending classes last year, despite being the same age as James. Luckily, James didn't need to attend a Muggle uni unless he chose to stray from wizarding fields.

But yes, the boy was a Muggle, but a very understanding one. Him and James had written letters back and forth ever since his sixth year at Hogwarts. They met during a holiday vacation the Potters took to Wales that year, when James had gone out exploring the town of Pembroke.

The boy, though a Muggle, was quite fun, even teaching James how to play Badminton. James remembered how he felt laughing with the boy, whose name he didnt even know yet. When James finally had enough sense to ask, he could feel his cheeks burning. That had only happened when he had been talking to a girl he found attractive.

Well, the boy was attractive, with sun-kissed skin, a couple of freckles on his nose, and his eyes were the best part; one was a brilliant, vibrant green, so bright that James thought it was surely fake, and the second was grey, with small flecks of gold that James only saw when he got a little closer. He was tall, just an inch taller than James., though. His hair was dark like his, but a dark brown instead of black, and it was longer than his too, almost to his ears.

"Reece," the boy told him, holding his hand out for a shake. "Reece Lewis. And you?"

"James Potter." He smiled, seeing Reece's cheeks flush pink.

They decided to be pen pals, writing to each other all year. When Hogwarts was about to be in session that September, James told Reece that he would be going to school and that his responses might take a little longer than usual. He had his parents send him the letters from Reece, then sent his replies in an envelope back home with his owl and asked them to mail it out.

James had never had this much fun, smiling as he wrote, grinning and chuckling as he read those letters. In a few, he could have sworn there was a bit of flirtatious energy, but he brushed it off for a year. Then, as the summer approached, Ginny offered to pay for James to take a train to Wales for the weekend to visit his friend. Of course, James took advantage of the oppurtunity, excitedly packing and writing to Reece that he would be visiting.

The weekend went by quicker than James expected, meeting Reece's dads, his younger sister, hearing about how his older brother had moved out and was living in Waterford with his girlfriend. He opted to sleep in the den until Reece snuck him into his bedroom, telling him all of the gossip from his school. In turn, James told him his. When Reece asked why he didn't have a mobile, James felt oddly guilty for lying and saying that his school didn't even allow phones on campus and, since he was only home a few months of the year, there really wasn't reason for one.

When the weekend was over, James felt as if it was way too short and was tempted to ask Ginny if she could extend the weekend by just a few days, but didn't. He felt odd around Reece, confused as to why he was suddenly so blushy.