Pride and Prejudice | James Potter

Chapter Thirty One

Elizabeth finished her exam and put her quill down. She looked up at the stars once again and sighed. This was her last year at Hogwarts, and it was already gone. She just had a couple weeks before she was thrown into the real world, done with school and onto bigger things. She heard James finish his exam as well, and looked over to him. He gave her a weak smile, understanding her sadness. 

"Five minutes, ladies and gentlemen!" The Professor yelled. Elizabeth stared back at the sky, appreciating the stars that littered the darkness. She thought of all the dates she had gone on with James in the Astronomy Tower, staring at the stars from this very spot. She smiled at the memory of her first date with James in the Astronomy Tower, and their half-confessions of love. They had come such a far way since then, it was strange to think there was a time where Elizabeth wasn't comfortable saying she loved James.

"Alright, quills down, please. No need to stress if you didn't finish it. We will simply grade what was done. Thank you, everybody, and goodnight." 

Elizabeth walked down with the Marauders, laughing and talking. James wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's waist, and she leaned against him, happy for the time she had left with the group. 

"It's crazy to think we're done with school." Sirius said. Remus nodded. 

"I didn't think it'd pass so quick." 

"I'm going to miss seeing you guys every day." Peter said sadly. 

"It's not like we're going to forget about each other the second we graduate." James said. Peter smiled, but Elizabeth couldn't help but think that hers and James's relationship might not last out of school. She wanted it to, in fact, she wanted their relationship to possibly last forever, but the realistic bit of it was that high school relationships weren't forever. She felt a bit upset with James, and pulled away from him. She knew it was ridiculous to blame anyone for the inevitable, but she felt bitter knowing that she had fallen for James head over heels when it probably wouldn't last. 

James noticed her change in mood and frowned at her, giving her a look that she took to mean 'We'll talk later.' She offered him a fake smile, and his frown deepened. She sighed and looked ahead. She noticed Sirius glance at her, but ignored him. 

"I'll walk you to your common room." James said. Elizabeth shrugged. 

"That's fine." 

"Perfect! We'll see you guys later." James said over-enthusiastically. He waved to the other Marauders and they split paths, each group going up a different stairwell. 

"What's wrong?" He asked when they were out of earshot. Elizabeth sighed. 

"It's nothing, really. I'm just being silly." 

"Elizabeth, it's bothering you. Please, just tell me." 

"Well, I mean, I think we've just set ourselves up for failure." 

"What do you mean?" James asked, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Well, high school relationships never work out. You've just gotten me to fall in love with you and get my hopes up, when this will most likely fall apart after we graduate." 

James stopped walking, and grabbed Elizabeth's arm to stop her as well. 

"Elizabeth. I'm not going to let you slip away. I love you." 

"But how long does I love you last? I know neither of us wants to let this go, but we can't control it. You can't promise that we won't fall apart the week we graduate. You can't." 

"We can control it, Elizabeth. It's up to us. Don't give up on us because people say we won't last. Help me prove them wrong." 

"There's just no guarantee. I depend on guarantees, I always have." 

"Don't you want to start a family with me? Isn't marriage a guarantee?" James asked. Elizabeth stopped. 

"You were serious?" 

"Why would I lie to you? Elizabeth, I love you, and I want to get married and have a family with you. I know it's crazy, but I do."

Elizabeth smiled. 

"No kids for a bit, just dogs." 

James smiled with relief and chuckled slightly. 

"That's fine, it's all fine. Just don't give up on me." 

"I won't. I'm sorry." 

"You have nothing to apologize for. You had doubts, which is fine. I wouldn't mind a kiss to make up for it, though." He said with a mischievous smile. Elizabeth rolled her eyes. 

"Get me to my common room, and I'll consider it." 

"Deal." James smiled and led her through the halls. As they talked, Elizabeth's mind wandered to James's words. He wanted to get married. That was a big step. Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder, if James proposed, would she say yes?

They reached the knocker, and Elizabeth answered the riddle, allowing James to follow her into the empty common room. They sat on the couch and cuddled up together, enjoying each other's warmth. 

"Thank you, James." Elizabeth said. James looked down at her. 

"For what?" 

"For being my rock. You've always helped me, no matter how difficult I've been." 

"I'm always going to be there for you." James said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Elizabeth smiled and closed her eyes. 

"You look really nice tonight." James commented. Elizabeth snorted. 

"I've been wearing these pants for four days now, and I didn't do my hair this morning." 

"Well, you look beautiful." 

Elizabeth looked up and kissed him softly. James held the back of her head and wrapped his other arm around her waist, bringing them together. Elizabeth adjusted herself so she was straddling James, her legs wrapped around him. Quickly, the kiss became heated, and soon enough, James's shirt had been unbuttoned and fell to the floor.

Just as the first button on Elizabeth's shirt came undone, a familiar voice interrupted them. 

"What the hell?" 

Elizabeth turned quickly to the sound of the voice, finding Edmond standing in front of the portrait hole, book in hand, and mouth hanging open. 

"Edmond! What are you doing in here?" Elizabeth asked, quickly fixing her shirt.

"I came to return your charms book that you let me borrow. What are you doing?" He asked, clearly angry with Elizabeth's actions. 

"Listen, it's really not what you think." Elizabeth started to explain. Edmond held up a hand. 

"Please, just take your book and talk to me tomorrow. I'd rather not see you like this." He said, walking out of the common room. 

"Goodnight!" Elizabeth called. Edmond held his middle finger up. Elizabeth sighed. 

"He'll be fine. He just needs some time to think. Besides, it's not like he didn't eat Lily's face off in front of me earlier this week. He doesn't really have the place to be upset." Elizabeth reasoned. James nodded and stood up. 

"Well, I'd better get back to my dorms. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast, okay? No skipping." He said, looking at her seriously. She smiled and kissed him. 

"Alright. Tomorrow." 

She watched him walk out of the portrait, waving to him when he turned, then sighed and went up to her own dorms. 

Her last year at Hogwarts had certainly been eventful.