HEAL ME | JAMES POTTER

FOUR

- CHAPTER 4 -

❝I told you to cut it, not crush it!❞

Hogwarts, sixth year.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE, James had noticed Grace Valdez being present in most of his classes. In the past, he hadn't seen her around him. But now, knowing that she had existed, he could see her almost everywhere.

"Can we sit here?"

Remus had realised that the girl was sitting alone, and he didn't want that to happen. Not in his presence at least. Now that the Marauders knew of her, they had found quite a liking to her jokes and personality.

"You're already sitting, if you can't tell."

They were in potions class, without their own consent of course, waiting for their Professor to begin teaching. And if there was one thing James had been horrible at, it was potions.

"Alright, pair up!"

Remus and Sirius had immediately turned to eachother, and Peter had gone to James. But he was surprised when he saw that James had already turned to Grace instead. He was hurt, but he couldn't protest.

"You better not mess it up Potter, i'm an ace at potions."

At her words, James gave Grace a cheeky little smile. He knew that from that point onwards, their potion would be anything but perfect.

"Go get the ingredients Potter, be the ladies man that you are," she said while leaning forward on her hand.

For a moment, James had been in a trance. He could see that her eyes were brown, a very light brown. The freckles on her cheek were small, but visible.

"Go on then, we don't have all day."

To James, the whole thing was like a once in a lifetime experience. Being bossed around by Grace, it wasn't something you'd see everyday. However, a few minutes in, James could feel a pair of eyes staring right at them.

When he looked around, he saw two Hufflepuffs, a girl and a boy, staring very angrily at the pair and talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. James wasn't stupid, he knew that those two students were Anna and Evan, the girl's old friends.

At times like these, James wouldn't know how to react. But knowing how detached Grace had been, from her friends and just life in general, he felt like he had to do something for the girl and help her feel better.

So from that moment onwards, James had started to do everything Grace would tell him to, completely wrong. He knew that the more he messed up, the more amused she would get. Like watching an animal in a zoo, she was intrigued.

Not only that, it would also help her stray her mind away from her old friends. And just like that, James had helped her out for the first time in his life. Seeing the look on her face, a subtle hint of gratitude, he knew that this would not be the last time.

"I told you to crush it, not cut it!"

During dinnertime in the great hall, he had noticed that the girl had been missing once more. He was curious, worried even.

And so, to see her in the kitchens like last time, he skipped dinner and went to his dorm on an empty stomach. After everyone had fallen asleep, he took his invisibility cloak and headed out to the kitchens as quietly as he could.

Only this time, he was careful while going in. Just like his suspicions, Grace had been in the kitchens as well. However, this time she had been baking her own bread instead of just munching on an old loaf from dinner.

"I know you're there," she said while taking out the pan from the oven.

"You're.. making bread?"

Grace looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Was that so hard to believe?

"No Potter, i'm making pasta. Want some?"

James sat next to the girl reluctantly and took his own plate of fruits to eat with her. At one point, he had noticed that even though the girl was eating the loaf, she was doing so in a very slow manner.

"Why don't you eat in the great hall?"

"Just don't want to."

Her words, that were short but so rushed, had sparked his curiosity once more. From that point onwards, James skipped his meals more and more everyday. Too see Grace in the kitchens, to eat with her, to make sure she had been eating and just overall, to get to know her a bit better.

"Ew, you like to eat pineapples?"

"And you don't? Cmon, try some. They're good!"

"I'm allergic to pineapples Potter."