Every Little Thing, James Potter.

15. Astronomy Tower Tonight?

Gwen figured she should've known Potter would back out of such a meeting, but she couldn't help the disappointment that took over her body when she stood listlessly in the Astronomy Tower for a full ten minutes without the arrival of James.

After another two or three minutes, she sighed and, running a hand through her hair, turned to head back down the ladder.

Then, James's voice: "Doubt me that much?"

She jumped. First, she checked the bottom of the ladder, to see if he'd been on his way up. He wasn't. He wasn't on the platform, either. She glanced around.

"...James?"

"Here." His grinning head materialized out of nowhere. "Had to bring the Cloak since Mcgonagall put extra protection around our common room. We sneak out too much, apparently."

Gwen shoved where she thought his shoulder was, and he stumbled back. "You arsehole. I hate it when you use that thing."

He was still grinning as he slipped the Cloak off, gathering it up in his hands. "Only way to effectively sneak around, Gwenny. And besides, you're the one who wanted to come tonight, anyway. To find one of these evasive Snidgets. You know they rarely ever come out when people are near? They get frightened back into their nests at the sound of human voices."

     Gwen raised her eyebrows, surprised. "How would you know that?"

     James lifted his shoulders. "Read up on them. It's nothing. Don't make it a big deal."

     She smiled teasingly, before pulling him down to sit on the floor. "But you're right. They're very sporadic at ever coming out of their nests, but when they do so, it's only when the sun's down. They can see better in the dark, you know. And they're super fast; faster than a Snitch. Wizards used to play Quidditch with them, long time ago, but had to stop because they were so bloody hard to catch. And 'cause it's inhumane, of course. Also, they're incredibly silent. About as stealthy as a Niffler."

     "Ah." James crossed his legs, eyes on the open ceiling of the gazebo roof. He didn't seem any type of bothered by her facts-and-figures rambling. "So we're probably not going to see a single one, then."

     "Have faith," she said, glaring at him. "Jacob Greenwood says there's a nest up here somewhere."

     "Greenwood?" James scoffed. "That boy's a known liar! Can't believe you'd actually listen to a word he says, let alone make me miss out on my precious beauty sleep for it."

     "Merlin knows you need it," Gwen said, sticking her tongue out. "And I only want you to see a Snidget so you can understand its significance to the Niffler and draw the conclusion up yourself."

     "Can't I just look at a picture?"

     "There are only two pictures of them," Gwen said factually. "They're much too fast, kept flying off before anyone could get any better. The rest are all drawings. And no, you can't look at them on pages. Their whole allure is the fact that they literally shimmer."

     "Boring," yawned James. "I'll be sleeping. Wake me if you see one."

     He laid back, hands folded behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. Gwen rolled her eyes, but did the same, folding her hands across her stomach and gazing up at the night sky.

     They did not see a Snidget that night—and James never fell asleep. Instead he procured a pocket-sized version of a deck for Exploding Snaps and they played each other until wee hours of the morning, when the sun began to peek at them over the mountains and warned them that it was definitely time to get back to their Houses before the rest of the castle awoke. Gwen beat James thrice, and would have beat him a fourth time had he not 'accidentally' fallen onto the game and scattered the cards around so the match was ruined. Gwen called James a sore loser, and they retired to their Houses.