attached | james potter

sixteen: lucky stars

Chapter Sixteen

For James, the few days after the full moon incident were a blissful blur. He missed all of his classes, lazed around in bed for the majority of the week and did absolutely nothing. And that wasn't even the best part. Brooklyn doted on him, showing up every morning and in between classes to check on him, making sure that he was healing properly and getting enough rest. It was nice to have her care so much about his wellbeing. James was rather enjoying all the attention, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't milking it just a little. Maybe he should get hurt more often, if it gave him the opportunity to get closer to her.

Three nights later, Brooklyn was sitting cross-legged on Sirius' bed, their astronomy homework laid out in front of her. He was her partner for the subject (apparently, most of the teachers in Hogwarts liked pairing students up), so he'd suggested that she come over to their dorm so they could do it together with the other boys. After what seemed like an eternity of him pleading and whining, she'd grudgingly agreed. She'd brought along all her other homework as well, determined to get it over with as soon as possible so that she could kick back and relax during the weekend.

"How many words does Flitwick want for this essay?" James asked, biting his lip as he glanced over at her parchment. He'd only just fully recovered, and he had a ton of work to catch up on.

He was sprawled out lazily beside Brooklyn, having unceremoniously kicked Sirius off the bed so he could claim the spot next to her. Remus, Peter and Sirius had left a while ago to nab some food from the kitchens, so it was currently just the two of them, something that she wasn't too thrilled about. James on the other hand, was ecstatic. They'd grown fairly closer, and she was much more tolerant with him now. Sure, they weren't even on a first-name basis yet, but still. A month ago, she would've rather jumped in front of a moving train than be in their dorm alone with him. So, it was progress, right?

"Six hundred," she murmured in answer to his question. James groaned loudly, letting his head fall down with a soft thud. It was well past midnight, and he could think of a million things he'd rather be doing than writing a stupid Charms essay.

Brooklyn sighed as she set down her book, shutting her eyes for a moment to regain her train of thought. She was exhausted, stressed and cranky, and the only thing she wanted now was to fall back on the bed and sleep for a thousand decades.

Feeling James' shoulder brush her arm lightly, she inwardly shivered. Even though she was sitting up, and he was lying down on his stomach, he was so tall that there wasn't really much of a difference. She could feel his unruly hair tickling her elbow every time he moved his head, and it was incredibly and torturously distracting. This was exactly why she'd been so reluctant to be left alone with him. Her feelings were already confusing enough, she didn't need it to get worse. In her mind, she could just picture Lily grinning smugly and mouthing the words, 'I told you so.'

His deep voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her eyes to flicker open.

"You alright, love?" He tilted his head to one side to study her concernedly. "You seem a little tense."

"I— I'm fine." She stifled a yawn. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Well, go to sleep then." He patted the soft bed encouragingly. "Go on. Sirius won't mind, he can share with Peter later. Or sleep on the floor," he added as an afterthought.

She shook her head stubbornly, gesturing to her work. "Just as soon as I finish this."

"That can wait till tomorrow. You look drained."

"I'm fine," she protested as she proceeded to flip through the pages of her Astronomy book, looking for the right one. She could feel his intent gaze on her, so she chose deliberately not to look up, fearing that she might start to blush.