Don't Blame Me

Reading With James

It's Monday now, which means I have classes. Surprisingly, the girls never found out about me sneaking out with the Marauders. Or maybe they did, but decided not to mention it. Either way, I'm fine with it.

I sit at my desk in potions, waiting for the class to begin. Regulus isn't here yet, which is odd as he's usually the first person here. A very small part of me is a tad bit worried, but the worry disappears when he walks in.

The second he sits next to me, he glares, "I got three weeks of detention thanks to you."

"You could have run too," I say.

"You and the Marauders made a ridiculous amount of noise, so Filch caught me just as I was turning the corner."

"I fail to see how that's my problem."

~~°°••°°~~

Potions was excruciatingly unbearable, as were the rest of my classes. Thanks to a certain Slytherin. Regulus had managed to ruin every class for me by purposely destroying my projects or tripping me when I walked by him. He's a rather immature man, and I try to keep my composure, but I can feel my anger bubbling up more.

I sit under the tree by the lake, peacefully reading my book. My last class finished early, but everyone else is still in their classes. Except for James, who I haven't seen since our last class. He's most likely sitting outside of the classroom the other Marauders are in.

"Hey, (L/n)!"

I spoke too soon.

"You don't need to yell, I'm right here."

James sits next to me, a big smile on his face. He stares at me for a few seconds before speaking, "I was waiting outside the class for the others to get out, but I remembered you were free. So, I thought I should hang out with you instead."

"Lovely," I say sarcastically.

He takes the book from my hands, "What are you reading anyway?"

I reach for the book, but he rolls away and jumps to his feet. His eyes move back and forth as he reads the pages. I scramble to my feet and make another failed attempt at getting the book back.

He suddenly lets out a loud gasp, "My Godrick, this is a filthy book, (Y/n)!"

"Give it back!" I yell, lunging towards him.

He uses his free arm to hold me back as he continues reading. "Is this really what muggles write about?"

"James, if you don't give me my book back, I'll hex you," I threaten.

"But it's just starting to get good!"

His face is tinted red, but he continues reading, and I finally give up on trying to get the book back. If he wants to read the smut, then he can. If he tries to use this against me, I'll simply remind him that he's the one who kept reading it.

He finally hands me the book back. His face is a dark shade of red, and his blue eyes refuse to meet mine. I hit his arm with the book, my embarrassment melting away.

"Why are you so red, James?" I ask, smirking.

He pushes his glasses up, "Shut up."

I laugh, and he pushes me lightly, still trying to hide his blushing face. He sits back down under the tree, and I join him. It's quiet for a few minutes until someone walks up.

"That's not the same girl you were snogging last week, Potter."

I look up to see Regulus standing in front of us, along with his goons. His eyebrows raise when he sees me.

"Oh, it's you," he says.

I roll my eyes, "I'm not kissing him, but if snogging James is something you're interested in, then he's all yours."

I stand up to walk away, but Mulciber stops me. His hand stays on my shoulder as he forces me to spin around.

"Get your hand off of me."

Mulciber laughs and tightens his grip on my shoulder. I elbow him as hard as I can, causing him to let go of me. When I turn back around, I see him hunched over in pain. Regulus stares at me, a look in his eyes that I can't figure out.

James comes up behind me, "Let's go."

The two of us walk away from the Slytherins, but I can feel them staring at us as we walk.

When we're inside the castle, James stops me, "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

He gestures for me to follow him, and I do. I don't know where to, I'm just following him aimlessly. It's quiet between the two of us until I realize we're standing outside of the DADA classroom.

"You brought me here so I can wait outside with you?"

"I don't want you on your own. Regulus and his goons could sneak up on you."

I roll my eyes but stay with him. There's nothing better for me to do, and class will be ending soon anyway.