HEAL ME | JAMES POTTER

SIX

- CHAPTER 6 -

❝Do you know what a piano is?❞

Hogwarts, sixth year.

EVER SINCE THE INCIDENT with her parents, Grace Valdez had started to take a liking towards baking. She would make almost everything, even the one with the most hardest of recipes.

After dinner, she would wait until everyone was asleep and go to the kitchens to bake. Sometimes it would be bread, and other times, it would be things that James Potter himself would request to the girl.

James Potter.

She would've never imagined being so close, so open, and so vulnerable with him standing right next to her.

"Okay, what do I do next?" James asked with flour all over his body.

"Now, you go and sit down while I fix your mess."

James looked at her with a flustered smile. Every time he would try to help her, he would mess everything up. However, she would never stop him from doing so, and wait until he was done to bake the actual thing.

"What do you like so much about baking?" he had asked with curiosity.

"I like how it takes up my time, it teaches me patience."

James had rather liked this side of the girl. Ever since they had spent time together after their little moment, she had started to open up to him slowly.

Discovering her identity to him was like watching a flower bud grow open. The more he saw, the prettier it became. He didn't know what to think of his feelings. Does he even deserve to feel this way after all he had done to Lily?

"What's your favourite colour?" he asked while watching her mix everything up.

At first, Grace paused. And then she looked at him with the most thoughtful, the most mesmerising look he had ever seen and said,

"Blue, like the ocean blue."

Every time they'd be done with baking, James would sit next to her and help her eat. Just his presence alone, it was a huge help to the girl.

Even on days where he'd be full, not an ounce of space left in his stomach, he would still sit next to her and munch on what she'd make. James knew that when Grace would see him eating, she would start to feel like having some too.

"What music do you like to listen to?" he asked mid bite.

"Hm, i've never really listened to any in the first place."

James Potter was, for once, intrigued by the girl. Music, the one thing him and his friends had adored so dearly, how had she never listened to it before?

"What, why?"

"Oh, um, my parents never let me do it. They said it was rather unprofessional."

The boy looked at her and raised an eyebrow at her words. He knew that she had an issue with her parents, he just didn't know what it was.

"From now on, it's my mission to make you fall in love with music."

And so from that moment onwards, James Potter would make her listen to all of his favourite songs on repeat. He'd make her listen to the record player, to the muggle radio, to his own voice, and so much more.

He would teach her their names, their genres, their instruments, and everything he would be able to make note of in his day to day life.

To Grace, James had been like a saviour. It was as if she was drowning, and he had helped her back to the shore.

"Do you know what a piano is?"

"I didn't know what music was, but i'm not uncultured Potter."

There it was again, the fire that had started to hide away beneath her real persona. James would wait for it, encourage it even, just to feel the burn once more.

"Well, do you know how to play?" he asked with curiosity.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, yes I do."

In that moment, the only thing in the boy's mind was to watch her play his favourite instrument. With excitement, he took her to a place where he knew a piano would be present, and hoped that she wouldn't mind.

Room of requirements, the Marauders go-to place for a little bit of peace and comfort.

"Can i hear you play?"

And so, with just a single sentence from James, the girl had started to play.

For James, he had never heard something so beautiful before. It had put him in a trance. Like he was floating, high up in the air, with nothing but the wind surrounding him.

Watching her play the piano, he had realised one thing. The notes she'd play, the tunes she'd experiment with, he did not want to let it go. It was like music to his ears. And to him, music was something that had helped him during the worst of his days.

For a long time, he had wondered one thing. What was it that made life so vulnerable?

And now, he had found out the answer. To have so much fondness about someone, or even their little habits, their favourite things, their hobbies, it was all nothing but a weakness to the beholder's heart.

Watching Grace with so much intensity, James himself hadn't noticed that she had stopped. He was still in their little moment. Like it was replaying in his head, over and over again.

"Stop gaping Potter, that's rude."