HEAL ME | JAMES POTTER

FIVE

- CHAPTER 5 -

❝What do you like to do for fun?❞

Hogwarts, sixth year.

GRACE WAS WAITING for her friends to finally finish what they had first started, to ruin her and all her relationships completely.

They were Hufflepuffs, but a completely different kind. Grace had done one harmless thing, to fall in love. And just because of that, the only people she had trusted the most, had turned out to be her biggest enemies.

It had been a few days since their classes had started again. And surprisingly enough, she had enjoyed all of them very much. Only thanks to James, and the rest of the Marauders of course.

They had taken a strange liking to her, it was quite fascinating to see. Out of all of them, James had known that there was more to her than what meets the eye. He knew that whatever had happened to her, it had taken the life out of her completely.

He knew that behind all the facade, there was somebody else hidden away. Whatever it was, James couldn't wait to find out more about it.

"Erm, why are your friends walking up to us right now?" asked Peter with wide eyes.

They were all in the great hall during their free period, doing their transfigurations homework together. For the past few days, the Marauders had been sitting with her for almost every second of the day.

Not that she was complaining, she actually quite liked it. For Grace, it was nice to have a little bit of company in between all the loneliness that she had been suffering in.

"Grace. Having fun, I suppose?" came the voice of Evan.

"Mind your own business, would you blondie?" said Sirius Black with a frown.

Anna looked at him and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how fast Grace had become so close to the Marauders, something she had dreamed of doing for many years now.

"Imagine if your parents found out. Hanging out with people like these, and the runaway of the Blacks, how delighted would they be."

At her words, the Marauders had stopped what they were doing, and stared at her with gaping mouths. Grace couldn't handle it anymore, she got up as fast as she could, and ran away from the scene with only one thing in her mind.

They can't find out about her, about who she actually was, and her horrible parents.

Hufflepuffs they said, such irony was like a bullet to her heart. Oh how fast people can change, all because she had let herself fall in love?

"Grace, wait!"

When James took a hold of her arm to stop her, and turned her around, he was surprised to see that the girl was crying so openly and hysterically. At that moment, he could not think.

So he did what he would do to all his close friends, he brought her close to his body and held her until she had felt better. James ran his hand through her hair, calming her down more than he could think.

Grace had known her friends for over 5 years, up until the incident. Her past self would never believe how vicious and horrible those two people could be, it was devastating to see.

"Cmon, let me show you my favourite spot. It's a secret though, you better not tell anyone," the boy said to her with a cheeky smile.

He took her near the Black lake, where in the far corner was a big tree. No one ever went there, since it was kind of too eerie for their liking.

"Thank you James."

"Don't be thankful G, anything to make you feel better."

Grace Valdez had been many things in her life. A smart student, a good daughter, a brilliant sibling, and even the funniest student in Hufflepuff. However, Grace Valdez had never been this flustered.

Being able to stand so close to him, being held by him, being able to talk to him with no intention of stopping, it was all once a dream.

A dream that she had about him, about James Potter, about the guy she had fallen in love with since the moment she had laid her eyes on him.

"What do you like to do for fun?" he asked her after a moment of silence.

"Hm, I like to bake."

Bake. Grace Valdez had liked to bake, he had noticed that before. All those little things about her, he couldn't help but notice it so easily.

"Well then, let's go and bake!"

Grace looked at him with a raised eyebrow. From her experience with the boy, he had done everything but listen to her instructions right.

"You think it's that easy?" she asked with curiosity.

"Well, with a teacher like you, i'm sure i'll do just fine."