true loves poison • james potter

47

"I need to talk to you."

Staring back at her, the nervous expression shining clearly in her eyes reflected back to her through the mirror hanging on the wall.

"We need to talk."

Both versions sounded horrible to her. Confrontational.

"Can we talk?"

Somehow phrasing it as a question felt less abrasive. Nerves still shot throughout her veins from her heart, but at least she found the least anxiety inducing way to phrase her needs.

Looking in the mirror, Lorelei looked in her own eyes searching for answers. Somehow she was supposed to know how she felt. There was a loop between her and the reflection. One had no autonomy, the other held all the power.

And yet, the one with the power was searching for answers within the other.

A knock on the door snapped the connection.

"Yes?" Lorelei asked as she stared at the door.

"Are you ever going to leave the bathroom? I want to take a bath."

Briefly a smile broke through the nerves. "Give me one more second!"

She could almost hear Liz roll her eyes from the other side of the door.

Looking back into the eyes of her reflection, Lorelei breathed in and out deeply. "You can do this." She whispered to herself.

Grabbing the door handle before she could talk herself out of it, Lorelei focused on walking out and to the door of the dorm.

"Where are you going?" Melissa called after her from her bed.

Pausing for only a moment, Lorelei called back before closing the door, "I have to talk to Potter!"

With each step she took, through the Ravenclaw common room and beyond, her confidence built. Her only focus was on finding James Potter, she wouldn't let her mind wander from her goal until she was facing the scrutiny of his gaze.

First, she searched the great hall. She had already had dinner, but the great hall stayed busy until nine when the students were all promptly kicked out to their dorms.

No Potter in the Great Hall.

Second she searched the courtyard, although admittedly it was a half hearted attempt in passing. No Potter.

Third was her biggest steak.

Knocking on the empty spot next to the fat lady, she waited to see if any of the Gryffindor's would pity her enough to answer her knock.

"Who would intentionally seek out that troublemaker?" The fat lady questioned after Lorelei told her who she was looking for. "Personally I would avoid the twat whenever I got the chance."

Something akin to protectiveness flaired in her chest, "He's not that awful."

The fat lady hummed, unbelieving.

At that moment the portrait swung open, revealing Alice. "Lorelei?" She asked, clearly not expecting her.

A bright smile briefly parted her nervous expression, "Alice! How are things with Frank?"

Confusion was replaced by a warm smile, "It's really good."

"That's brilliant, Alice. Really. I'm so happy for you. How long have you two been together?" Lorelei asked, crossing her arms.

"Eight months," Alice announced proudly, "Although, our one year anniversary of our first date is coming up soon."

At her proclamation, Lorelei raised her brows, "Nearly a year? Godric, I remember when you told Pandora and me when you were only first dating."

Alice nodded before seemingly remembering the situation, "What are you doing here? It's eight o'clock."

Her nerves pranced on her as Alice reminded her of her goal. "I came to speak with James."

"Potter?" Alice asked incredulously.

Nodding, Lorelei pursed her lips. Silence stunted the conversation until Lorelei asked carefully, "Is he here?"

Blinking and shaking her head, Alice seemed to snap out of a trance. "Uh, yeah. Let me tell him you're here."

Alice left the portrait hole open only a crack.

If Lorelei thought she was nervous before, it paled to compare to the utter panic coursing through her blood as she stood frozen in place.

It could have been two seconds before Alice returned or two hours; either way it felt short enough that she didn't have time to prepare for him, and altogether too much time to worry about him coming.

"Remember, curfew is at nine." Alice reminded the pair before practically shoving James out of the portrait hole.

As she looked at Alice, Lorelei could've sworn the brunette winked at her before pulling the portrait shut.

She almost forgot the Gryffindor boy in front of her until he cleared his throat, effectively dragging her eyes to his. "Alice said you asked for me?"

Crumbling under his gaze, she felt completely out of control of her body. As if she we're drowning in a sea of her own anxiety, the waves keeping her flailing under the surface as her lungs craved air.

With James's eyes bearing holes into her skull, she asked the only three words she could speak: The rehearsed words painted onto the back of her eyes. "Can we talk?"

The second they left her mouth she felt a comfortable amount of relief wash over her, giving her control over her limbs again. Her head popped above the surface, the waves rolling gently across her chest as she sucked in air.

James nodded.

Together, they walked to the courtyard. Lorelei spent the time staring at the ground, trying to form her next sentence. She knew what she wanted to talk with him about, but how was the question.

James stared at Lorelei as they walked. He could tell her mind was running faster than she could keep up with. All he wanted in that moment was for her to open up to him.

Finally deciding the silence was more oppressive than words, Lorelei stopped in front of a large tree. The dark sky didn't bother her as she turned to look at James. "I lied to you."

Before James could even comprehend what she'd said, she pressed on. "I did wake up with a hangover yesterday. But that wasn't why I took the day off classes."

"What about Poppy's potion?" James asked slowly, digesting her confession.

Lorelei shook her head, "She cured my hangover, but I hadn't realised until later-" Stopping herself, she shook her head and backtracked, "Yesterday morning when we talked, I hadn't eaten and it was right after I took the potion."

Looking no more enlightened, James looked like he was trying to find the exit to a maze.

"You asked me if I was okay." She continued after a moment, hoping she wouldn't have to explicitly say what she needed to speak to him about.

Nodding slowly, James responded hesitantly, "I did."

Sighing, Lorelei heaved her eyes up to the dark sky. They were running out of time.

Deciding on a different approach, Lorelei dropped her eyes back to his. "I didn't remember most of the party until after breakfast yesterday. After we'd talked."

Praying to Rowena Ravenclaw herself, Lorelei prayed James would understand.

She could pinpoint the exact moment the pieces fell into place for him. His eyes seemed to go from confused to anxiety matching her own. "You hadn't realized when we talked that we'd snogged."