muggle summer // james potter

chapter fourteen

"YOU OKAY, PRINCESS?" James' gentle voice breaks Adelaide out of her thoughts and a startled cough slips from her lips.

"Um, yeah. Just thinking." She rests her chin on her fist, leaning against the cool glass of the windows and watching the town pass by.

They settle into silence after that, as James drives and Adelaide tries not to fall asleep as she watches the sun sink below the horizon. Some part of James wishes that he would break the silence and ask about her thoughts, but as he glimpses the way she worries her lower lip between her teeth, he knows that it is something too deep for their fragile friendship. His thoughts are rendered mute when the blonde girl leans away from the window to meddle with the dial of the radio, adjusting it until she finds a station that causes her to let out an approving hum as the gentle music fills the air. He takes another glance to his left, before pulling off of the town road and onto a smaller gravel road.

"If what you're thinking so much about is where I'm taking you, I've already told you that I'm not going to tell you until we're there, love. It's called a surprise for a reason, after all." He finally musters his courage, deciding to return to the familiar banter that had become a special joke between the two of them.

Adelaide lets out a laugh at his words, though it is more subdued, and she offers no quippy retort. It occurs to James that the last time he had seen her whole-hearted laugh had been at their game night a few days prior.

"Can I ask you something?" This time, the blonde didn't allow time for the silence to build, words slightly rushed as if she were forcing them out of her head and into the world. James responds with a simple hum, taking another turn, this time onto a dirt side road lined with weeds and wildflowers.

"How's Sirius?" Adelaide was barely able to spit out, leaning back into her position at the window, feigning nonchalance and searching for distraction in the rapidly darkening sky.

"He's good. Why?" James answers reflexively, before truly taking a moment to think about Sirius's behavior lately. "I guess he's been weirdly quiet lately. Is something wrong?"

"I just," Adelaide begins, before pausing. James glances over just in time to see her brows furrow before he parks his dad's pick up truck. "I got a letter from Remus this morning. I was just curious since I haven't seen Sirius in a while."

Though brief, stating it out loud allowed Adelaide to finally breathe deep. It felt as if she had gotten rid of at least part of the worries that weighed on her chest. There was no question that they were done talking about that subject as she released a large sigh before glancing out of the windows.

It took a few moments of silence, as she gazed at their surroundings with wide eyes. "We're at the beach?"

"Yeah. I figured we could go stargazing, if that's up to your standards, princess."

A scoff and a roll of her eyes is Adelaide's only response as she and James work on arranging the duvet and pillows he had hidden in the back seat, turning up the radio and opening the windows as they laid back to watch the stars gleam in the sky above them.

Though they had only known each other for a brief time, there was something magnetic in their connection. As Adelaide gazed up into the stars, watching them appear one by one as the sky began to glow with their light, she was so glad that her summer had lead her here, sitting in the back of a pickup truck with James Potter, pointing up into the stars and making up stories about each constellation that had them both roaring with laughter.

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i really wanted this to be good quality, but writer's block really hit me hard so i'm vv sorry if it feels forced this week. i may go back and rewrite it later.

in good news! there will only be four more chapters to this story! thank you for sticking with me through it, and i hope you guys are looking forward to how this all plays out. i love you <3