true loves poison • james potter

64

A week later Lorelei found herself wandering Hogsmeade alone.

James had reluctantly denied a trip to the village in favor of a meeting with Dumbledore, and as head boy he could hardly refuse to attend.

Lily of course had also been pulled into the meeting, along with the prefects of each house.

Liz and Melissa had declined to join her to work on homework instead.

So, Lorelei found herself bundled in full winter gear as she walked through the snowy village. She couldn't resent her aloneness, however. She found the activity refreshing, being able to reflect on the past few months by herself.

Time was rushing by.

As she walked through the village her gaze caught on the building recently dubbed 'the shrieking shack' after the mysterious shrieks and noises that came from the building every full moon for the past few years. It wasn't the first time Lorelei had wondered the origin of the mystery noises, and with the approaching full moon it seemed the whole village was once again alit with theories on what cursed the building.

Pulling her eyes away from the building, Lorelei walked into a Knick Knack Shack tucked between two of the more well known shops. Walking into the eclectic store, Lorelei felt overwhelmed at the small size of the store compared to the vast amount of items cluttering every surface of the room besides a small path cutting through the store.

Sucked into the shop, Lorelei glided through the store pausing every few seconds to glance at a few interesting items.

One that particularly caught her eye was an enchanted snow globe.

Gently reaching forward, Lorelei grabbed the globe from the shelf. Immediately the clear surface of the globe clouded into a purple fog.

"Found something you like?" A voice called from behind her.

Nearly dropping the globe in surprise, Lorelei quickly recovered and turned around, "Hello," She said lamely, "Um, yes I believe I have." Looking down at the still vibrant globe, Lorelei asked, "Does it mean anything?"

The storekeeper, a stoutly woman with curly blonde hair and a black apron tied around her hips, glanced at the globe in Lorelei's hands. Something flickered in the older woman's eyes before she looked back at Lorelei, "It means whatever you want it to."

Lorelei gave her a half annoyed - half genuine smile. "How much is it?"

"Four Galleons." The storekeeper said, crossing her arms.

Unlooping her coin sack from her belt, Lorelei dug out four gold coins and handed them to the woman.

Exiting the store with her prize, Lorelei stared into the lavender haze. There didn't appear to be anything extraordinary about the globe, other than the fog, but something about the object drew her in.

A breeze blew past her, finding it's way under her coat. Her heat stolen, Lorelei held the globe to her chest and walked quickly back to the castle.

Trudging through the snow, she was glad to return to her room to discard her wet boots.

She set the globe in her trunk at the end of her bed.

As soon as the lid had closed, a hoot at the window alerted her to a message. Unlatching the window, she let the tawny owl in. The bird dropped the package on her bedside table before pipping at her.

Reaching into her coat pocket she grabbed a semi smashed treat and fed it to the bird. After receiving a thankful hoot, Lorelei watched the bird leave before walking to her bedside table.

It was a rose, with a small message attached letting her know the flower was from none other than James.

Smiling as she looked at the flower, she held it to her nose and smelled it.

Instead of the pollen smell she expected, her nose filled with petrichor, and James's cologne. Confused, she checked the flower for wet spots. After not finding any, Lorelei shrugged and set the flower down.

<>

"Alice, you are a liar."

"I am not!" She laughed.

Lorelei crossed her arms and fought a smile. "There is absolutely no way you've been dating Frank for a year."

"You're right, we've been dating for longer than a year. But I'm not lying when I'm saying that we've been official for a year."

Lorelei gave her an incredulous stare. "Where has the time gone?"

Alice laughed and sipped her cider. As she set the cup down she shrugged.

They met in the gryffindor common room, unusually empty but Lorelei blamed that on it being the middle of the day. The two had just discovered they shared a break period.

"And I heard Pandora and Xenophilius Lovegood are together. Quite an odd pairing, but I can't help but think they suit one another." Alice commented casually.

Lorelei raised her brows, "Really?" She paused. "They're sure to be... Eccentric together."

"Quite." Alice agreed.

Shaking her head slightly, Lorelei looked down at her cider. "I'm glad for them." She said suddenly, keeping her eyes down, "Everyone deserves comfort, especially in the coming years."

Alice nodded, understanding lining the action.

As if sharing a large secret, Alice looked around the common room before leaning forward with a low voice, "The other day in divination, Pandora and I were paired together and we were reading each other's palms. Anyway, her life line was uncommonly short." Alice hesitated, "And she dismissed it along with the others at our table, but I can't help feeling that with everything going on-" Alice stopped abruptly, shaking her head and leaning back, "I'm being ridiculous."

Her brow cramped due to being furrowed so long. She didn't even know what to say to comfort Alice.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. It's Pandora, she's got so much life in her for it to be taken so soon."

Alice didn't respond, only looking into her cup.

"Come on, I'm sure the kitchens are still open." Lorelei stood and extended a hand to her friend, "Let's go get some pastries."