CHAPTER EIGHT

It was the beginning of a new school year at Hogwarts, signaling the start of a new chapter in the lives of the Marauders. As they had progressed to their sixth year, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air.

Meanwhile, Tabitha had entered her fifth year, but, amongst the Marauders—James had been especially looking forward to reuniting with her.

Throughout the summer break, the majority of their conversations had been limited to occasional owls exchanged via mail.

James had been impatiently counting down the days until the start of the school year, eager to see Tabitha again. Their summer correspondence via mail had only managed to fan the flames of his anticipation, making his excitement all the more intense.

As he waited for her in the Great Hall, his eyes scanned the crowd of students, searching for the familiar sight of her pink hair.

Remus sighed and put down his book, fixing James with a disapproving look. "James," he said firmly. "If you don't stop fidgeting, I won't hesitate to shove you off this table."

Sirius, never one to miss a beat, chuckled and joined in the conversation. "Come on, Moony," he teased, "James is just excited to see his adorable Hufflepuff." He pointed a chicken leg at Remus as if to emphasize his statement.

James shot a sheepish glance at Remus, embarrassed to be caught fidgeting incessantly, but he couldn't help his impatience.

Sirius' comment only added to his restlessness, as he couldn't deny the truth.

He shrugged, attempting to act nonchalant. "Can you really blame me, mate? It's been a long summer, and I've missed her pouts and witty comebacks," he protested with a hint of a smile.

Remus just laughed, finding James' anticipation endearing despite his constant fidgeting.

Sirius, seizing the opportunity, chimed in, "Not to mention the way you've been counting down the days until you could see her again. I'm starting to think you've developed an actual crush, James."

He rolled his eyes at Sirius' comment, not willing to entertain the notion that his excitement about seeing Tabitha was anything more than friendly anticipation.

"Oh, shut it, Pads. It's not like that," he protested, trying to keep his voice level. "We're just friends, you know that."

Remus chuckled at James' attempt to deny any hint of deeper feelings. He knew his friend too well to believe his words.

"James," Remus interjected, his tone laced with a mix of amusement and knowing. "No need to deny it. We all see the way you look at her. You practically have hearts in your eyes whenever she's around."

James shot a quick glare at Remus, silently cursing his perceptiveness. He knew his friends saw right through him, but he wasn't ready to admit his feelings to himself, let alone them.

"You two are reading way too much into this," he protested half-heartedly, trying to downplay his emotions. "I'm just excited to see her, that's all."

James sighed and shook his head at his friends' banter. Meanwhile, Peter spoke up, "If you're looking for her, she's right there." He pointed behind James.

James felt a rush of excitement as Peter's words caught his attention. He turned his head to follow the direction of Peter's pointing, eagerly searching for Tabitha in the crowd.

As soon he spotted her, his heart skipped a beat, and he was instantly on his feet, moving swiftly towards her. He was acutely aware of his friends' eyes on him, but at that moment, all he could focus on was Tabitha.

Sirius let out a cheeky smile, pretending to wipe away fake tears with one hand. "The puppy has found its owner," he commented, causing Remus to scoff at his comment.

Remus muttered under his breath, "That's more fitting for you." In response, Sirius tossed a chicken leg at him, but it was swatted away in mid flight.

"How in Merlin's name did you do that without looking?" he asked in disbelief.

Remus calmly replied, "Because you're predictable."

"What a waste of food" Peter huffed eyeing the chicken that landed on the table.

James barely registered his friends' banter as he closed the distance between himself and Tabitha. He could hear the chuckles and jabs being exchanged between Remus and Sirius, but their words faded into the background as he reached her.

His voice was soft, almost a whisper as he spoke. "Hey, Bitsy," he greeted her, a warm smile spreading across his face.

Tabitha, who had just arrived at the Hufflepuff table, was interrupted from taking a seat by the very familiar voice of James Potter. She looked up to see him striding towards her, flashing a wide grin. She glanced to the side and saw that many of her housemates were watching them intently, but after a year of experiencing this same situation, she had grown accustomed to ignoring their stares and carried on with her day.

James was perfectly aware of the curious gazes from her fellow housemates, but he didn't care about them in the slightest. All that mattered was reaching Tabitha, and the amused smirks from her housemates didn't bother him at all.

He stopped in front of her, his smile widening as he looked down at her. "Missed me, Bitsy?" he teased, his voice laced with playful affection.

"I see you've already spotted me, Jas," Tabitha quipped, turning to face him ignoring his question on purpose.

James smirked in response, "Well, I tried to find you on the train, but I had no luck."

Tabitha nodded, explaining, "I was in the prefect section. I saw Lupin." She waved the badge pinned to her robes, drawing his attention to it.

James feigned offense and asked, "And he didn't mention he saw you?"

Tabitha chuckled before responding, "Well, we both thought it was funny."

James pretended to look wounded, placing a hand dramatically on his chest as if he'd been stabbed in the heart.

"I can't believe it! Betrayed by my closest friends. They withheld the knowledge of your whereabouts from me, knowing I wanted to greet you straight away," he exclaimed, playfully acting like a wounded puppy.

Tabitha couldn't help but laugh at his over-the-top acting. She rolled her eyes, used to his tendency to exaggerate every situation.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, Jas," she teased, her voice filled with amused fondness. "You say it as if your life depended on seeing me the second I got here."

James chuckled, his smirk growing wider as he continued his theatrical act.

"Well, my life does depend on it," he declared dramatically. "Without seeing you, I would have wasted away, like a wilting flower without water. I barely survived the summer without your pouts, you know."

She snickered behind her hand and smiled," It's nice seeing you Jas, did you have a good summer?"

"Well, someone hardly sent me mail—so it wasn't all that fun" James pouted

She couldn't help but snicker behind her hand and smiled, saying, "Don't be silly, Jas. I wrote to you."

James, refusing to surrender, pouted and retorted, "Right, I hardly think a few letters are enough."

Tabitha remained composed and answered, "Oh? Well...it was hardly easy for me to send mail from where I was during the vacation. I refuse to make Haribo fly through the cold air." As she spoke, James chuckled at her response.

James couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. It was true that the idea of her owl, Haribo, flying through the cold air wasn't exactly ideal.

"Ah, your precious Haribo," James said, a hint of tease in his voice. "I suppose I can't argue with that logic. But honestly, Bitsy, you can't blame me for missing you and getting a little dramatic about it."

Tabitha playfully rolled her eyes, not the least bit surprised by his overdramatic nature.

"No, I can't say I'm too surprised, but that doesn't stop me from thinking you are absolutely ridiculous," she replied, her tone full of fond amusement.

James leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper as he spoke, "Well, we have an entire year ahead of us again. You can always make up for the lost time."

Without giving her a chance to protest, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her across the hall to his house table.

Tabitha soon fell into step with him, as she had frequently found herself eating at the Gryffindor table since becoming friends with James.