O P H E L I A L O V E G O O D

"You don't have to stay with me," Ophelia reminded him with a huff. She had thought that the second full moon would be easier but she was wrong. It was somehow worse.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not going anywhere."

She gestured to his face, her hand barely able to raise up, "Sorry about that."

He shrugged, touching his hand just under the cut on his cheek, "I've had worse."

"That doesn't make me feel better," she pointed out. "And what also doesn't make me feel better is that you're missing class. Remus can keep me company."

James let out a dramatic gasp, "I knew it. This whole time..."

Ophelia rolled her eyes but it made her head spin, "I'll be fine. Go to class."

He huffed before standing up, "If you insist." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead and she smiled in satisfaction. "I'll see you at lunch."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, waving him off.

He rolled his eyes before leaving the room.

"I thought he would never leave," Remus announced.

"I heard that!" James shouted back and Ophelia let out a restrained laugh.

R E G G I E  M C L A G G E N

"Dude is whipped," Reggie announced as he walked through the wall.

"The door was open," she informed him and he rolled his eyes.

"What's the point of being a ghost if I don't walk through walls?" he inquired and it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

His hand moved to his chest, "I'm hurt."

"And I'm waiting."

"Xeno is looking for you," he explained and Ophelia grew confused.

"Xeno?" she inquired.

"It's family day, remember," he pointed out. "You should have seen his reaction when he saw me. It was like he saw a ghost."

"Ha," she replied, unamused. "Did you tell him where I am?"

"I wasn't sure where you were," he pointed out. "But I'll go get him." He turned around and went through the wall right next to the open door.

O P H E L I A  L O V E G O O D

"Xeno," she greeted with a smile. For a brief moment she had hoped her parents would walk in behind him. They didn't. "I'm surprised they even let you come."

"They don't know I'm here," he admitted and her eyes widened. "I'm hoping they don't find out."

"You're going to be in so much trouble."

He shrugged, "It'll have been worth it."

"Doubtful," she replied with a frown. Xeno took a seat next to her. "You shouldn't have come."

"I missed you," he admitted. "And if I was stuck alone in a house with them any longer, I might lose my mind."

She laughed, "I guess that's one thing I should be happy about."

He frowned, "They'll come around."

"I'm not sure I want them to."

J A M E S  P O T T E R

"They told me you were doing your whole zoning out thing more often but this is just ridiculous," Lily huffed. She stopped walking and stepped in front of him. He just barely stopped himself from running into her. She flicked his forehead, "What's going on in there? Is it Ophelia again? I thought you guys were good."

"I-I think I love her," he admitted and Lily grinned. She covered her mouth with her hands to hide her excitement. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You've loved her since you first met her," she informed him and he raised an eyebrow. "We've all just been waiting for you to realize it."

He shook his head in confusion, "Who's we?"

"Remus, Sirius and I," she explained but this only deepened his confusion.

"Do you guys talk about me often?" he inquired, running a hand through his hair.

"Not all the time," she shrugged. "Just when you're being an idiot." She tilted her head slightly, "Okay, maybe we do talk about you often."

He shot the girl a look and she rolled her eyes. He ran a hand over his face and shook his head, "What do I do?"

"You tell her," Lily suggested and James's eyes widened.

"I can't do that."

Lily frowned, "Why not?"

"What if she doesn't feel the same way?"

"I know you're oblivious Potter but come on," Lily huffed. James eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she rolled her eyes. "Have you seen the way she looks at you?"

"What are you talking about?"

She laughed, "She looks at you like you're the only thing in the world. No," she shook her head before correcting herself, "She looks at you like you are her world."

J A M E S  P O T T E R

"Can we talk?" James asked the girl and her head shot up at his voice. She looked up and over at him from where she sat at the table in the library.

After talking to Lily and then later talking to his friends in their room, he realized that he should just tell the girl. With everything happening, it was better sooner rather than never.

She bit the inside of her lip and her hair slowly started to change into a grey. She nodded before standing up.

He took a deep breath as he walked them back into one of the aisles of books. He turned around to face her and she watched him warily.

He hadn't exactly worked out what he was going to say. In hindsight, he should have.

"Are you breaking up with me?" she blurted out and he shook his head.

"What?"

"If that's what this is, can you just get it over with?" she requested and her hair was turning red as she spoke. He opened his mouth to speak but she spoke up before he could get a word in, "Really, it's not that big of a deal. I don't care, it would just be easier if-"

"Wait," he shook his head, cutting her off. "You wouldn't care if I broke up with you?" This was not where he had wanted this conversation to go.

"That depends," she began, "Are you breaking up with me?"

He watched her in bewilderment, "I hardly think it matters. The answer would be the same either way, wouldn't it?"

"Not really," she huffed. "I'm confused."

"I am too," he admitted.

"Well, if you're not breaking up with me, what did you need to talk about?" she asked him and he could see the confusion in her expression. Her hair had died down from the red and was now an amber color.

"Now I'm not sure I want to tell you," he informed her and her eyebrows pinched together in confusion. He ran a hand over his face, "Lily told me I would mess this up."

"What does Lily have to do with this?" she inquired and he uncovered his eyes to see that her hair was changing back to red.

"Nothing, she has nothing to do with this," he huffed.

"Then why would you bring her up?"

"I didn't-" he cut himself off with a groan. "This was not how this was supposed to go."

"If you just came here to pick a fight or tell me that you're still in love with Lily, I don't have the time or the energy for this," she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's not why I needed to talk to you," he tried, "I don't love Lily."

"I have to go," she shook her head with a frown. "I have to finish writing the paper for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

She turned around to leave, "Wait!"

O P H E L I A  L O V E G O O D

"I love you," he blurted out and she froze. If she thought she was worried about him breaking up with her, she was wrong. This was what she was afraid of. She turned back around to face him and he was watching her, worry clear in his expression.

From the start of their relationship, when he kissed her in this exact spot, this is what she had been dreading. Because while it was everything she wanted to hear, it was also everything she didn't want to hear.

Because as much as she may have wanted this all to last forever, she was certain it wasn't possible.

And he just said the three words that changed everything. What was she supposed to say? Surely, she couldn't say it back. It wouldn't end well. "Ophelia?" he tried and she looked up at him, "Did you hear me?"

"I-I did," she nodded and his face dropped. "James-" she tried but he stepped away from her and she felt her heart drop in her chest.

"You don't need to explain." She wanted to comfort him as she would have normally but it wouldn't have been what he wanted. "I should go."

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, "James..."

"I don't blame you," he informed her and she looked up at him. The pain was clear in his eyes and she wanted nothing more than to make it go away. "Why would you love me? You...you're perfect. And me?" he inquired. "Well, I'm an idiot."

She laughed, "I am far from perfect."

He looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since his confession. As he spoke, she felt as though all the breath had been taken from her lungs, "You are perfect to me."

She faltered. She couldn't let him walk away. Not without explaining herself first. He deserved as much.

"If I admit that I love you..." she trailed off, shaking her head. She could see the hurt in his eyes as he waited for her to go on and she hated that she was the one that caused it. "If I say it, it makes it real. There will be no going back and I know that I'll feel like this for the rest of my life. And one day, you won't feel the same anymore and I'll be stuck loving you."

"For a Ravenclaw, you're not all that smart," he informed her and she narrowed her eyes at him. He raised his hands to cup her face and she relaxed significantly. "I could never stop loving you."

She leaned into his hand and placed her hand over his. After a moment, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. They parted for a moment and she was perched up on the balls of her feet, his forehead rested against hers. Her voice was breathy as she spoke, "I love you, too."