Too Honest ~ James Potter

Chapter 22

*7th Year*

Mariya always felt bad for Remus when the full moon came around. He never did as well in classes and was often so overcome with pain that he had to stay in the hospital wing until it was over. She knew that he didn't deserve the struggles, both that faced him at that time and those that would become obvious when he was trying to find a job. It was all well and good him being able to come to school but what good would it do once they were adults and people were refusing to give him a job purely because of his condition. She was sitting in a tree near the black lake but almost fell when she heard a voice beneath her.

"What are you looking so thoughtful about, Seratova?"

Mariya gave a shout of surprise and hung on for dear life as she scowled at the boy beneath her. "Are you trying to get me killed Potter?"

James shrugged, "Not really. My feeling is that Minnie might not be very impressed if you wound up dead because of me."

"You think‽" She asked incredulous. "And to answer your question, I was thinking about Remus."

James smirked, "Ooohhh has little Seratova got a crush on Moony."

"No you prat, I was just feeling bad about how ill he is." James immediately sobered up, all traces of laughter gone from his face in an instant.

"That's why I'm out here too. I was trying to leave our dormitory quiet enough for him to sleep but he has probably been interrupted by Sirius or Peter by now."

"Would you like to go skating?" Mariya asked him, gesturing to the lake.

"Why not." He shrugged and Mariya jumped down from her branch.

The two walked towards the edge of the lake, Mariya looking even shorter than usual next to James thanks to the flats she had picked out that morning. She pulled her wand from her belt, saying the spell aloud so James could copy.

"Nullam Glaciem." She said and smiled as James copied her.

Once James had ice skates on each of his shoes she asked, "Do you want me to go first?"

James nodded, "I think that might be for the best."

She nodded and moved to the very edge of the water, carefully placing a skate on and smiling as the ice formed beneath her feet. She took a moment to adjust, before zipping off onto the ice loving the feeling of it beneath her feet. She turned to watch James step on but let her mouth fall open slightly as his nervous look turned to confidence and he began to skate like a professional.

"You are such a sneaker!" She exclaimed, trying to frown but unable to prevent a grin from working its way onto her face. "You didn't tell me you could skate."

"You didn't ask." James retorted and she shook her head at him in disbelief.

"You pretended to be nervous just to see my surprised face when it turned out you were good."

He gave her a sly smile, "Believe me, Seratova, it was worth every second of acting. Now, how about we make this interesting." Mariya grinned, she loved a challenge.

They walked into the great hall for dinner that night wearing very different expressions; Mariya looked like the cat that had got the cream but James had his bottom lip stuck out in a deep pout.

Remus raised an eyebrow as they both sat down at the Gryffindor table, Mariya ignoring the slight look she gained from a few of the students round about them. All the students that were judging her for being a Slytherin soon backed off, as James sent them a sharp glare to mind their own business.

"What happened?" He asked before adding, "Do I want to know."

"James here underestimated me and lost some money because of it." Mariya's smile brightened as James stuck his lip out even further. "If nothing else, I trust that he will never do so again."

"I wouldn't put it past him to forget." Sirius muttered, earning a grumpy frown from his best friend.

"What were you betting over anyway?" Remus asked.

"We were skating and James thought I wouldn't be able to perform a trick. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that it was my signature move during my early teens, so he lost the bet."

"She didn't show me any mercy." James whined, "I didn't stand a chance."

Mariya patted his shoulder consolingly before reaching to fill her plate with food, doing the same with James. They ate relatively peacefully, though James shot a joking glare at Mariya every few minutes until she looked back at him. Then the two started a staring contest which lasted them through the rest of dinner, though they were quickly distracted once dessert appeared and shook hands in a truce before turning to devour the sweet foodstuffs.

As Remus walked out of the hall, Sirius drew up alongside him. "What happened to them?"

"You know Padfoot, I have no idea whatsoever. I just hope it lasts, because this year will pass a lot faster if I'm not having to deal with them fighting on top of everything else."

Sirius nodded in understanding before spotting a certain redhead also watching the two, "What's up with Evans?"

Remus turned to look at the girl, "I wouldn't be surprised if she's jealous." Sirius shot him a confused look and he continued, "After all - even if she doesn't like Prongs - his attention has been directed to her for so long that it must be quite a shock to find that he has suddenly stopped completely. She's probably confused too, given that they were at each other's throats only a few weeks ago and now they're acting like they were never like that."

"Well, that makes two of us."

"Three, Padfoot, three."