Pride and Prejudice | James Potter

Chapter Twenty Three

Dates

"I thought for a second you didn't get my message." James said as Elizabeth stepped up into the Astronomy Tower.

"I was talking with Professor Flitwick, and it went a little longer than I had anticipated."

"Ooh, are you in trouble?" James asked, smirking. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"No, I just had a question for him."

"Darn. You've only been in trouble once this year. I really thought I've had an influence on you."

"You have, a little bit. You just haven't made me want to risk my reputation."

"I'll work on that."

"Right. So, why did you tell me to come here? Is this where you murder me and make it look like suicide? Or is this something romantic?"

"Even though we clearly have different interpretations of the word romantic, I brought you here to go stargazing."

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you just implied that homicide is romantic. Do you often go stargazing, or is this one of your traps to get me to fall in love with you?" She asked. James chuckled.

"Believe it or not, I like to go stargazing. When it's not during Astronomy class, it's actually quite enjoyable."

"I'll let you take the reigns for this one, because I don't know much about Astronomy. I dropped it after fifth year so I could have a free period to study law."

"Well, Miss Dropout, that up there is Orion, and his belt, of course. That's Sirius, Bellatrix, Andromeda, Regulus, and Arcturus." James said, pointing to random stars across the sky.

"Did you really just show me all of the stars the Black family are named after?"

"Yeah, those are the most memorable to me. But my favorite star is Ophelia. It's not actually a star, it's a moon in Uranus, and you can't see it, but I think it would be the prettiest star if it was one. In a tragic way."

"What makes you think that?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head to the side. James shrugged.

"Well, Ophelia from Hamlet was a tragic character, and I think the name is bittersweet in a way. Just the way it feels is almost upsetting."

Elizabeth nodded.

"That makes sense. What about that one?" She asked, pointing at a particularly bright star.

"You really don't remember anything from Astronomy, do you? That's Venus, the planet."

"And why is it named Venus?" Elizabeth asked, enjoying James's passion for Astronomy.

"Because Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty. I assume the planet is named after her because it shines the brightest, it's the center of attention, and I think it's almost the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Everything falls behind Ophelia, then?" Elizabeth asked jokingly. James shook his head.

"Nah, they all fall behind you."

Elizabeth blushed brightly, feeling her face and neck get hot. She hid her face in her hands.

"You can't say things like that! You'll turn me into a narcissist."

"At least you'll appreciate yourself as much as you should."

"James, I'm serious. I don't like compliments."

"Well, that's something we'll have to work on, because you're simply too fantastic to not compliment."

"James, please."

"I can't help that you're the most fantastic girl I've ever met, Elizabeth." He said seriously. Elizabeth looked up at him, aware of the change of mood.

"Well, you just might be the most fantastic boy I've ever met." She said. James smiled and leaned closer to her.

"In that case, I just might have to kiss you."

Elizabeth leaned in as well, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"That's fine by me."

"Good." He muttered. Their lips met, and Elizabeth leaned against the wall, feeling herself melt into James's arms. He pulled her flush against him as they fell against the wall, letting all their weight depend on it.

When they broke apart, James smiled.

"If that's what I get for complimenting you, I might have to try it more often."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pecked his lips.

"Don't push it."

Elizabeth ran her hands through James's hair, enjoying her peaceful surroundings. Her mind wandered to Regulus and Henry, and she tensed slightly. What if she couldn't do it? If they couldn't get Regulus out of the house, Henry would never leave, and they would both be recruited. She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. It wasn't helping anything to over stress herself.

"What's up?" James asked. Elizabeth shrugged.

"I'm just thinking."

"Yeah, but it's bugging you," He said, sitting up. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything."

"Henry told me death eaters might try to recruit him." Elizabeth confessed. "And it wouldn't be a problem, we could just send him to a different school, but he doesn't want to leave Regulus behind, because Regulus can't leave."

"Well it wouldn't be hard to get Regulus out of the home." James said. Elizabeth nodded.

"That's what I was thinking, but I don't know if it will. The Black family has a lot of influence in the ministry, and most of the abuse was towards Sirius, not Regulus. And I did some research, and the court almost always sides with the influential family. The real problem is that if we go through with this, and we lose, Regulus might actually be in danger. I don't want to take that risk. I'm talking with him tomorrow about it, hopefully he'll be on board. I just, I don't want to lose my brother."

"It'll be okay." James said comfortingly, rubbing her shoulder. "I'll help you with whatever you need."

Elizabeth sighed and wrapped her hands around James's waist, relaxing against him.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. I'm always here for you."

"You know, I think I'm falling in love with you." Elizabeth thought out loud. James stopped rubbing her shoulder, but his embrace was still warm.

"What?"

"I mean, it's too early to say too much, but I really think I'm falling in love with you." She said pulling away from him to read his expression. James smiled and kissed her.

"Well, I know I'm falling in love with you."