how to be a pureblood 101 // j.s.p.

"stop walking away"

"Took you long enough." James commented as soon as Leo stepped outside.

"Was I supposed to have rushed down just because you told me to?" Leo challenged but she couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

"Duh." James replied with a goofy smile matching her own. "Flew the whole way over here then had to wait for you."

"Poor baby." Leo teased as James got positioned back on his broom.

"Whatever just get on." James said tapping the back of it.

"Fine." Leo agreed as she swung her leg over his broom and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Where are we going?"

"Don't worry about it." James answered before shooting them up into the sky.

"Oh fuck." Leo said grabbing his waist tighter, "I haven't ridden on someone else's broom in ages. I don't like it."

"Come on I am a much better flier than you." James replied as they flew through the sky.

"I would disagree." Leo said pressing her face into his back. "And I think I may have control issues."

"I could've told you that." James replied with a laugh.

"I'm not even afraid of heights but for fuck's sake this is freaking me out." Leo insisted.

"That's normal. Well not normal per say. But my mum is like that when driving. Anytime I'm behind the wheel she flips out and makes us switch."

"Sounds like you're the common denominator babes." Leo mumbled against his shoulder blades.

"Oh shush." James said lightly hitting her knee. "We're just about there."

"Where are we even going James?"

"You already asked that and I already said not to worry about it."

"Dick." Leo said shaking her head.

James brought them down to the ground in an uncharacteristically gentle dive. Finally Leo opened her eyes as she put her feet on the ground.

"Where are we?" Leo asked looking around. The pair stood in a small park near a street.

"Well you see, according to Tío Remus, when my abuelo took my abuela on their first date they started off in that restaurant down the street." James pointed out a small Italian place, "But they ended up getting kicked out real quick because they spent the whole time chatting loudly and laughing even louder. After they got kicked out they walked over here."

"That's cute." Leo said with a sympathetic smile.

"Addy and Remus and Mary always tell me how perfect they were." James said as he took a seat on a bench.

"They all say that James and Lily's love story was one for the ages." Leo agreed as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah." James said with a small smile, "We, on the other hand, were not perfect."

"That we were not."

"And we never will be." James told Leo as she felt her heart plummet.

"I suppose not." Leo replied softly.

If James noticed her sudden change of mood he didn't show it, "I've wanted perfect my whole life. I wanted to live up to my namesake and fall in love and never lose her. Then I lost you."

"You never really did James." Leo whispered. Her friends had hyped her up so much that she didn't even think of the possibility that he would reject her.

"No I did. And it absolutely devastated me. And I promised myself- and Fred- that I wouldn't ever go back to you. That I wouldn't risk that happening again-."