J A M E S P O T T E R

"Today is the last day of classes before holidays," James announced and Ophelia turned to look at him.

"I'm aware," she replied and he huffed.

"I just..." he trailed off. "You're staying here, aren't you?"

She eyed him curiously but nodded, "Yes, I am."

"Well, would you maybe...I don't know," he frowned. "Would you consider coming to my house for break?"

Ophelia appeared surprised at the request, "You want me to come with you for break?"

"I mean, only if you want to, of course. I don't want you to-"

"James," she interrupted him and he looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"I would love to come with you for break."

He grinned, "Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" she inquired and he opened his mouth. "Oh, you know what I mean."

He moved over in his bed and pressed his lips to hers. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

She moved her hands to the hem of his shirt and started to lift it up. James pulled away, slightly out of breath, "What are you doing?"

"Taking off your shirt," she explained simply.

"But-" he began and she laughed a little.

"We're not going to have sex," she confirmed and he let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. "But there's nothing wrong with a little skin on skin."

"Fair enough," he replied with a grin.

After many comments made by Sirius, they decided to talk about when they thought they would be ready to take the next step. They both agreed that they didn't want to rush things but they would just live in the moment. If it happened it happened but they weren't going to worry about it.

Ophelia slipped James's shirt over his head and he kissed her neck, sucking gently as he did so. She tossed his shirt to the side as she placed her hands on either side of his face, moving his lips back to hers.

They pulled apart for a moment as James pulled off Ophelia's shirt. As soon as it was off, she leaned upward and kissed him again, longing to be as close to him as she could get.

Ophelia placed her hand on his chest and pushed him away, "What's in your bed?"

"Uh..." he trailed off, shaking his head slightly. "Us?"

She shrieked as she moved up in the bed, pressing her back against the headboard. "No," she told him, "No there's something else."

"Something else?" he asked. "There's no-oh!" He moved as well and pulled the blanket to reveal a rat at the foot of the bed. "Peter?" James asked in both anger and confusion.

"Wha-" he began as the curtain to James's area opened. "Oh!" He turned around quickly, "I don't know what you two are up to but leave me out of it."

James moved so that his body was covering Ophelia's upper half as Remus and Sirius appeared behind Peter.

"What in the bloody hell is going on here?" Sirius asked as he looked between the three. James pressed his face into Ophelia's neck with a groan.

"James called my name," Peter explained, still not turning around. "And then I came in and-" he shook his head slightly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at Remus who appeared confused. He looked back over at the bed where Ophelia appeared to be trying not to laugh and James still covered her. "Well, Prongs, I suppose I learn something new about you every day."

James shook his head, looking over at them for a brief moment, "Oh, that's not-"

"Um, James?" Ophelia interrupted warily. He looked up at her with a slightly irritated expression. "If it's not Peter, that means there's a rat in your room."

His face dropped as he looked around the bed, his eyes widened slightly. He was quiet as he spoke, "Do you see it?"

"If I saw it, it would be dead," she informed him. "Can you pass me a shirt?" He reached across the bed and grabbed his shirt that rested on the edge. He handed it to her and she slipped it on. She slowly stood up on the bed, James standing up beside her. "Maybe it's gone?"

"Where would it have gone?" James asked her.

"There's a rat in our room?" Peter asked in confusion. He was facing them now and looking around the area.

"Can you find it?" Ophelia inquired.

"Me?" Peter gaped. "Why would I-oh, just because I can turn into a rat, doesn't mean I can find other rats."

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it means," Remus countered and Peter glared at him.

"I got it," Sirius announced and before anyone could stop him, he changed into a dog.

Ophelia stepped back as the dog leaped up onto the bed. James grabbed the girls hand and a moment later, Sirius - still in dog form - growled. He hopped out of the bed and trotted over to Peter.

Peter grimaced before sticking his hand out. Sirius plopped the rat into the boy's hand before changing back into human form.

"Problem solved," Sirius announced as he stood up from his crouched position.

"I'm going to go change for classes," Ophelia announced with a huff. She hopped off of James's bed, straightening the shirt she was wearing out. "I'll see you all later."

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

Ophelia's face dropped as she entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Scrawled on the board in capital letters was the word, 'WEREWOLVES.'

She entered the room with a huff and plopped down in the seat next to Remus. He turned to her with a cross between an apologetic expression and a slightly amused one, "At least you'll know all the answers."

Ophelia rolled her eyes but a faint smile crossed her lips. There was a hand on her shoulder a moment later and they placed a kiss on her head. She looked up to find James standing there and he leaned down, kissing her on the lips.

"Come on, mate," Sirius suggested, grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him away. "Thought you'd done enough of that this morning."

James whacked the boy's arm as he sat down at the table in front of Remus and Ophelia. Ophelia's hair fell to the sides of her face as she looked down, hoping the color of hair didn't give her away.

The Professor started the lesson and Ophelia wanted nothing more than to leave the room. She thought it was ridiculous to start a new unit when they were about to be out of school for a week but here they were.

"Oh, this oughta be good," Remus huffed, tapping the table with his hand.

Ophelia looked up to see that Sirius's hand had shot up and he was waiting to be called on. "Yes, Mr. Black?" the teacher asked.

"You've told us how to defend ourselves against a werewolf, but how would one go about seducing one?" he asked and Ophelia shook her head in disbelief.

The Professor grew flustered at this, "Seduce?"

James leaned forward in his seat, "I, too, am curious as to how one would do that."

Ophelia rubbed her forehead as Remus hid behind his hands with a groan.

"Seduce?" the Professor asked again, clearly confused.

James and Sirius exchanged a look before the former spoke up, "I do believe that's what he said."

Before the man could come up with a response, the door to the classroom opened. The students all turned to face the sudden noise and saw Professor McGonagall standing there, an apologetic expression on her face.

"Mr. Potter," she announced and James's eyebrows shot up, no doubt at the tone of her voice. Because she didn't sound angry, she sounded pitiful. "If you would come with me."

J A M E S P O T T E R

James stood up after a moment. He looked over at Sirius who merely shrugged before he turned around. Ophelia looked at him with a worried expression, her hair turning into a dark yellow. As he passed by her, she quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it in a comforting manner. He sent her a smile which she returned.

He exited the classroom, following Professor McGonagall as he tried to figure out what was going on. He couldn't remember having done anything. Was he finally going to get expelled? Had they had enough of his pranks and decided this is where it ended? Is that why McGonagall had such a pitiful expression on her face? Did she feel sorry for him?

"If you would have a seat," she suggested as she gestured to the seat that was on the other side of her desk. He gulped as he did as requested. She took a seat in her chair and folded her hands in front of her, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

James frowned. This was it. He was getting kicked out of Hogwarts and he was never going to see Ophelia again.

"We received word earlier this morning that your father has passed due to complications with having contracted Dragon Pox," she explained and he felt his heart drop in his chest. This was far worse than getting kicked out of Hogwarts. "Your mother is sick as well, it doesn't..."

But everything else she said went in one ear and out the other. Because his father was dead. And his mother...Well, she wasn't far behind him. How was he supposed to live without his parents? He was still a kid. They were supposed to be here with him for all the important milestones and...

"I have to go," he announced suddenly, standing up abruptly causing the chair to almost fall over. McGonagall looked up at him in surprise. "I, um, I have to go."

"James-" she tried but he was already out the door.

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

"Where is he?" Ophelia asked as she paced around the boys room. It had been hours since McGonagall had come for James and they had all skipped Potions, far too worried about him to even bother.

"I'm sure he's fine," Peter replied but he didn't sound all that convinced. "I mean, he's James," he explained. "He's always fine. Whatever it is...he'll be fine."

Ophelia shook her head, running a hand through his hair. "How are we supposed to know that when we don't even know where he is?" She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to calm herself down, "I'm going to go find him."

She opened the door and standing behind it was James. She let out a breath of relief, "Oh, thank Merlin."

He smiled down at her and she frowned. He seemed to be trying to cover something up, but what, she wasn't sure. "Sorry I was gone for so long," he apologized before he looked up and into the room. "Sirius," he said and the boy looked up in surprise, "Can we talk for a moment?"

"Uh, yeah," he answered, his eyebrows pinched together in confusion, "I don't see why not." He stood up from where he sat and crossed the room.

Sirius looked at Ophelia for a moment and she could see the worry in his expression. He followed James out a moment later, the door closing behind them.

Ophelia ran a hand over her face as she tried to figure out what was going on. He was upset about something. And not just upset, he was devastated but she had no idea what it could be about.

She crossed the room to where Remus was on his bed and sat down next to him. She looked over at him, "Do you think he's okay?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "But like Peter said, he will be."

J A M E S P O T T E R

As soon as he broke the news to Sirius, the boy took off to who knows where. James didn't bother to go after him.

It felt as though it was all one, very awful, very realistic nightmare. Because when he left tomorrow to return home for the holiday, his parents would be there at the platform waiting for him. He would introduce them to Ophelia and they would love her. But that wasn't what was going to happen.

"James," someone spoke up from behind him and it took him a second to realize who it was. It was Ophelia.

Why hadn't his parents said anything to him about them being sick? He had written home multiple times and they acted like everything was okay. He had written them a week ago to ask if Ophelia could come stay with them for the week and they had said yes.

He could sense her sitting by his side and said nothing. He kept his eyes trained on the lake, not looking at her.

"James," she tried again, placing a comforting hand over his. He pulled away immediately, not replying. Her face dropped as she pulled her legs against her chest and looked out across the lake as well.

He knew he was being unreasonable. It wasn't Ophelia's fault this was happening. Hell, Ophelia didn't even know what was going on.

"My father is dead," he announced, voice void of any emotion. "My mother is sick and they don't think there is much time."

Sympathy flashed across her face, "Oh, James-"

"No," he cut her off rather harshly. "I really don't need your pity."

"It's not pity," she shook her head. "I just want to help."

"You can help by leaving me the hell alone," he replied before he stood up and started to walk away. Ophelia stayed down, her gaze drifting back to the lake. He stopped walking and turned to look at her, "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him with a sad smile, "You're upset and with good reason."

"That doesn't mean I get to snap at you," he pointed out. "That's not fair to you."

She shook her head as she stood up. She crossed the distance between the two of them. "I will be here for you in whatever way you need," she explained. "And if that means you need someone to yell at, I'll be that person." Ophelia grabbed his hand carefully and placed it against her chest, "Just know that I'm here for you."

"I shouldn't have let them go," he shook his head, remembering the letter he got from his parents saying they would be away for the winter holidays. "If I had told them not to, they would have stayed home and they would be-" His breath hitched in his throat.

"James," Ophelia spoke in a hushed tone. He looked down at her, his eyes filled tears. She raised her hand and wiped one of the fallen tears away with her thumb, "Don't do this to yourself."

"I want you to meet her," he announced and she grew confused. "My mom. Tomorrow, when I go to see her. Come with me." She hesitated. She had agreed earlier that day to join him for the holiday but this was different. "Please." He placed his hand over hers and rested his forehead against hers, "I need you."

She frowned slightly but nodded, "Okay."