issue | james potter

03 | A PROPOSITION

issue
act 1; part 3 | a proposition
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"WILL YOU EVER stop talking?" A very annoyed Diana asks a smirking James. It was Potions class and yet again James Potter has decided to talk Diana James' ears off until the end of the period. Luckily, James was talking quietly enough that Slughorn never noticed and continued spilling out facts on the possible effects of Amorentia on a person.

"Will you ever start talking to me?" Countered James, a smug smile on his face as he half-heartedly took down notes.

"What do you mean? I talk to you every time we have class." Diana replied, rolling her eyes at James and trying her best to absorb every single thing that left Slughorn's mouth.

"I meant more than things about potions and much more than your one word answers." James said, giving up on Slughorn's lecture and focusing his full attention on Diana.

"We would have nothing to talk about." Diana replied. "Now, shut up and
listen to what Slughorn is saying. I'm not failing potions because of you."

"You're not going to fail potions. You're one of the smartest people in our year." James said, rolling his eyes at the blonde who just shook her head at him. "And what do you mean we have nothing to talk about. We have EVERYTHING to talk about."

"That made no sense to me." Diana replied, a look of utter confusion on her face.

"We have a lot to talk about, Diana. We can talk about Quidditch, or maybe your favourite things, your opinion on the universe. There are so many things we can talk about!" James spoke excitedly in a hushed voice.

"Why would you even want to know those things about me? We haven't spoken in the seven years we've been at Hogwarts together." Diana said, her attention was on the boy beside her, not the professor in front. She was actually curious on why James would talk to her now. Class was about to end anyway, she might as well listen to Potter instead since his answer might just be more interesting.

"Because I don't know you very well and if we're going to be partners for the rest of the year, I need to know who I'm working with. Also, I want to be your friend." James said, a genuine smile on his face. However, Diana was not having any of it.

"Why would the great James Potter want to be friends with me?" Diana scoffed, not believing a single word James said.

"Because, I find you very interesting." James winked. Professor Slughorn had just dismissed the class and everyone was gathering their things.

"Is that all?" Diana asked, fixing her things. "Because I don't believe you one bit."

James sighed and went to fix his things as well. "You have a free period next, right?"

Diana only nodded and was about to leave the room when James had grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Walk with me."

"Excuse me?" Diana asked, her eyebrows raised at James' unusual request. James let go of her wrist and explained.

"If you really want to know why I won't stop bothering you, take a walk with me. I'll explain."

Every single voice in her head screamed, 'NO!' To ignore him and just walk away. She was planning to use the free period to study in the library, she had an Arithmancy test coming up and did not want to fail. However, the Ravenclaw in her made her genuinely curious on why James Potter won't stop talking to her. After a brief mental argument with herself, her curiosity ended up winning.

"Fine." She muttered. "But I decide where we go."

JAMES POTTER TRIED his best to think of the right words to say as he silently walked with Diana James. He wanted to explain his plan as clearly as he could without sounding like a desperate lunatic. This was proving to be difficult. He tried to think of every sentence combination possible but his mind was coming up blank.

Soon, they had arrived at the black lake. Diana sat down on the grass and gestured for him to do the same. He sat about a foot away from her, taking in the bright and clear sky and the serenity of the lake.

"Talk." was all Diana could say after a few moments of silence. She did not know why she had to be the one to start the conversation when James was the one who had asked her to walk with him.

"I honestly don't know how to start." James said, smiling sheepishly at the girl.

"Find away to. Time is ticking, Potter." Diana replied, rolling her eyes at him.

"You know Lily Evans right?" James asked.

"Yeah. Red hair. Gryffindor. Head Girl." Diana replied, listing all of the things she knew about her, which wasn't all that much.

"So, I really like her-"

"I think the entire school knows that, Potter." Diana said, cutting him off with a laugh.

"Right." James laughed nervously. "Well, I made up, well thought of a plan that involves fake-dating someone to make her jealous. That's pretty much the gist of it."

It took a few moments for Diana to fully process what James had just said. She stared at him blankly and James was beginning to get nervous.

"And that someone to fake date is me?" Diana asked and James just nodded.

"That still doesn't explain why you won't stop bothering me."

"Well," James said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I figured that if I got to know you well enough and we became close enough friends, you'd agree with my plan."

"Why me?" was all that Diana could ask.

"Why not you?" James replied back, his eyebrows raised.

"That doesn't answer my question, Potter." Diana replied, rolling her eyes at him.

"I know." James said, shaking his head. "I do genuinely find you interesting, Diana. You seem quite mysterious in all honestly, or maybe it's just because I haven't talked to you in the seven years we've been here. But I figured if I'm going to choose the girl for this plan, I'm going to choose someone that's actually worth getting to know."

"Let's say. Hypothetically, I do agree to this plan, what's in it for me?" Diana said, after a few minutes of processing what James had said. "Obviously, Lily Evans will somehow realize that she likes you and you end up together. But what do I get out of it?"

"I'm actually glad you asked that, Diana. You see I've been watching you for the past few weeks."

"Not creepy at all, Potter." Diana interjected, rolling her eyes at him.

"Let me finish. I've noticed that you keep looking at a certain Ravenclaw named, Carson Peters." James said, a small smirk on his face.

Diana tried her best to fight the gasp that escaped her lips, but to no avail. She looked at James with a shell-shocked expression. "How?"

"I'm very obsevant." James said, shrugging. "Agree to this and he'll realize what he's missing out on."

"That's a very flawed way of thinking, Potter. You don't know anything."

"At least think about it, Diana."

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