CHAPTER THREE
Laurel Leaves
January 3rd, 1978

When James and the rest of his friends made their way down to the Great Hall, Daphne was already there smiling at something Rebecca Goyle had said. He tried his best to ignore her, knowing it would be stupid to bring attention on them after what they had confessed to each other last night. His hand in his pocket, he held the snitch tightly and sat down next to Peter. His eyes fell on Sirius and Remus, his best friends, they shared a few glances and tried to hide the wide loving smile on their faces—if only he could have that.

"Morning boys," The familiar voice rang in his mind, and he stopped himself from looking up. Lily Evans was sitting on the other side of his body, slightly touching his shoulder. "Are you okay, Potter?"

He cleared his throat, "Evans," he greeted with a grin.

A few months ago, he would have showered her with compliments about her smile, eyes and red-hair. He would have tried to win her over because that was what he had been trying to do for years now, but not anymore. The butterflies he used to have whenever his eyes settled on hers were long gone, and he couldn't help himself but turn around just so he could look at her. Just to remind himself, he loved her wholly and not Lily Evans. Ever since he had found refuge in the Slytherin girl's arms, he begun to ponder if he ever loved Lily like he had claimed all those years, or was it just silly feelings that any young boy could experience?

"Why do you have a pin badge?" Lily asked, noticing Daphne's gift. He had worn it on the left, close to his heart like she had asked.

James shrugged softly, "Just a gift," he explained, shoving bacon in his mouth. "Laurel leaves are a sign of victory, Lily," he then told her.

"I know that," she said thoughtfully, as though she was trying to understand why he would be wearing laurel leaves. "It is nice," she contented herself to answer.

"Thanks, Evans," he replied, smiling. He looked up at his friends who were staring. "Why are you lot staring at me for?"

Remus swallowed, "Well, you haven't complimented Lily today," he said, pointing at Lily who seemed surprised. She was now red and devouring her breakfast, trying to hide the obvious flush on her cheeks.

"I just thought she had enough," James spoke slowly, the words he had rehearsed in his head a thousand times dropped from his mouth like sweet honey. "I mean, she did hex me multiple times."

Lily looked up, "Because you were a complete tosser!" She argued with her finger pointed at him. "To me, to Severus, to everyone!"

"Now," Sirius started. He had gotten closer to Evans, and honestly James knew it was because of all the time he spent with Remus. "James weren't a tosser to everyone. In a matter of fact, only to Severus and bullies."

"He deserved it," James added. "All those times where I hexed him or made fun of him, he deserved it. He called you slurs, and you cried without lifting a finger on this arsehole," he said, watching the colours drain from her face. "So, why don't you say thank you to all of us for defending you."

"I was right all along, then. You really are a tosser," Lily let out a huff, rising on her feet then turning to Remus and Sirius, "I will see you two later," she muttered under her breath.

James couldn't bring himself to look up as her footsteps faded away, it did sting to hear so angry with him—usually, she was mad but not that mad. He suspected that he had been saved by Dumbledore's presence, or else he'd have been on the floor already rubbing his head of his body from the impact. Instead, she held her high up proudly and strolled to their first class of the day—Potion. To their surprise, Gryffindor and Slytherin had Potion in common on tuesday.

"What was that?" Remus asked, his voice low, aware that most people were watching them. "I know you're kind of feeling down because Lily won't go ou—"

"Oh Merlin's tits, Moony!" James exclaimed, looking at his best friend. "I don't care about that. I was stating facts and you know it," he exclaimed, then let out a sigh as he rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...to shout at you."

Peter stared at him, "What's happening?"

Sirius ran a hand into his hair, "It's obvious, Pete. James is seeing someone," he told them and James' eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

James always had been bad at keeping secret from Sirius or anyone really, he didn't know how to lie correctly. But, he couldn't help but feel like he had failed Daphne a little—he had promised not to tell anything, and now that Sirius knew, he didn't know what he was going to do. There was no way Sirius had seen them on the map, or else James would be already dead, that was for certain.

"Oh, so I'm bloody right," he added, bringing him back to the breakfast table. "Who's she?"

"How do you know?" James asked with a hint of curiosity.

He shrugged, faking to flip his hair like Mary or Alice would do, "You can't fool me, Prongs. Them, yes," he bowed his head towards Remus and Peter who both shouted oi! Sirius ignored them and continued, "I know you like the back of my hand, James. You sneak out, come back late and you are not going after Lily anymore."

"Who's she?" Remus chirped in, serving himself juice and ignored the groan from Peter at the sight of him mixing the juices.

James swallowed thickly, after a few seconds he spoke up, "Can't say," he mumbled as they rose from their seats, walking towards the dungeons. "She's mad gorgeous, though," he winked, not being able to stop himself from bragging.

"You can show us," Sirius whispered, nudging his side as they strolled to class.

As he was about to talk, Daphne's perfume hit his nose and he was suddenly lost for words, his mouth was dry and he tried to clear his throat multiple times so his friends wouldn't notice. But it was too late, someone had bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going," It wasn't Daphne, though. No, it was Rebecca Goyle. Even though, she was there and Regulus too. Not too far, Severus was watching carefully.

James let out a dry laugh, "Come on now, Goyle. You just bloody bumped into me," he muttered. "Admit it and we can all move on and go to our class," he said.

Rebecca wasn't done apparently, "You, James Potter, are ridiculous. Strolling around, chest out with your blood-traitor friend and..." she scanned Remus with her eyes, snorting. "What even is that?"

"Oi! Watch your mouth, Goyle," Sirius spat, reaching for his wand but Remus grabbed his wrist before he could even point it at Rebecca.

James took a step closer, "I am going to ask you again, Goyle," he started. "Move."

He wanted Daphne to step in, he wanted her to get mad at Rebecca and tell her this wasn't a way to talk to people, but she didn't. Instead, she watched and held her book closer to her chest every time a word would echo in the corridor. He stopped Sirius to throw himself at Rebecca with a hand on his chest, he could hear him go crazy in his mind at the thought of mocking his Remus.

"Try me, Potter," she whispered close to his ear and he could have sworn Daphne took a step closer to them. "You are all talk, aren't you eh?"

"Not when it comes to my friends, not really," James grabbed his wand and pointed it at her.

Normally, James would have never raised his wand on a woman, and he had never done it in his life—if his mum was there, she would have probably hexed the shit out of him. But, he had enough of Slytherins terrorising other students, and calling them slurs. Before he could talk, Rebecca's eyes widened and she turned to look at Daphne who held her wand firmly in her hand. It took him a few seconds to understand that Daphne Rosier had thrown a jinx at her best friend.

Daphne faced her, cupping her face firmly as Rebecca flashed her the most vicious look James had ever seen, "It is the worst shite I have ever heard. Don't go out running your filthy mouth like that, Becca."

Regulus snorted, "You did jinx, Goyle. Should I say well done?" He asked his cousin as she sent him a dirty look. "Brother, Lupin, Potter, excuse her," he said, bowing his head towards Rebecca. "She can have quite the filthy mouth when she wants to."

"Go fuck yourself," Sirius mumbled under his breath, his eyes never leaving his little brother. "You are sick for sticking with those people."

Regulus stiffened a little, but hid it with a shrug, "Daphne is not that bad," he answered simply.

"Can I please see you all later?" She asked, looking at the three boys and they all gave her a nod. They all watched her walk away with Rebecca and Regulus. Though, James watched her little longer, and Sirius had to drag him to class.

Once they were out of everyone's sight, Daphne did the counter spell and let go off Becca's hand, "What the bloody hell was that?" Daphne shouted.

"I was just putting them back into their places!" Argued the girl angrily. "Daph, we are powerful, we are on the right side! We can't do anything we want."

Daphne was angry, her face was flushed and her chest was rising up and down rapidly, "You fucking walked into Potter. Are you bloody stupid?"

"He threatened to hex me first and you jinxed me, you fucking—" yelled Rebecca.

Before she could continue, Daphne pushed her against the wall and raised her sleeve up, then managed to get a hold of Regulus' arm and brought him closer, "He and I? We are in charge, alright? I don't want you bloody harassing people in the halls," she whispered-shouted in her face.

"But killing them are okay?"

Regulus cleared his throat, stopping Daphne to take a step closer, "Rebecca, we believe in his beliefs...You are more than welcomed to not do so," he explained slowly, staring into her eyes. "I will handle Daph," he told her as she hummed, taking her bag and threw it on her shoulder before walking away. "What has gotten into you?"

Daphne couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't manage all this anger that she had bottled for months—and she definitely couldn't handle the sight of Rebecca threatening James nor his friends. It was a risky reaction and she was aware of it. Her back hit the wall and she felt herself slide down until she hit the ground, hiding her face in her hands.

"I can't breathe," she whispered, choking on her tears. "Reg, I can't fucking breathe."

Regulus' eyes widened and he kneeled down next to her, "Is there anything I can get? Or do?"

"Get me Evan, anyone," was all she managed to say, a whine escaping her lips.

Regulus nodded rapidly, rising on his feet again as he strolled off to find Evan. A few seconds later, footsteps were heard and she looked up thinking her brother would be here—instead James stood there, frozen.

"Are you going to stare at me or...?" Daphne asked, ignoring the tears as they ran down her skin. "James, my brother and Regulus are coming and—"

He ignored her, kneeling down exactly where Regulus was a few seconds earlier, "Look at me, love. Please," he pleaded softly, his voice cracking. It hurt to watch her so sad. "Whatever's happening, you can tell me."

"I'm fine," she lied. "Just bloody tired and..."

She stopped, feeling two hands on each side of her face, "You're going to be alright," he said, the pad of his thumb drying her tears. "You are a fierce and strong girl, Daph."

"Not enough," she mumbled. "It's not enough," she repeated, shaking her head. "Please, they're coming back and..."

He let out a frustrated sigh, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently, "You're going to be okay," he murmured, convincing himself at the same time. "I will see you in Potion, I will save you a seat," he joked.

Despite her state, she chuckled smiling widely as he threw a first in the air, "Fucking hell, you are so full of yourself, Potter."

"I love you," he muttered, not waiting for her answer as he rose on his feet and left.

Watching him race to class, she grinned softly, "I love you," she replied even though he was far gone.

"Where is she?" Evan's voice roared in the quiet hallways and Daphne took a deep breath, rising on her feet so she could meet her little brother. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"Fought with Rebecca," she admitted, turning her head to look away. "And, I guess it got overwhelming to the point where I cried..." she lied.

Truth was Daphne had stepped up because she was attacking James. Her James.

"Well, you are allowed to cry with that shite mark on your arm," he whispered, embracing her into a hug. "I will see you in the common room later?"

"Okay," she managed to breathe and thanked Regulus as the two boys went back to their classes.

Walking back to Potions, her eyes trailed to the entrance of her common room thinking she could just ditch her class and blame it on her time of the month, or just a headache. Instead, she found herself pushing the door and mentally prepared to ignore all the eyes that would settle on her.

Slughorn smiled softly at her, "Ah, dear," he greeted her. "Mr. Potter told me you would be late," he whispered, reaching her side. "Although, I'm sorry to tell you that you will have to work with him today. Is it okay?"

Daphne met eyes with Rebecca as her friend looked away, clearly still angry, "I'm okay with it, Professor," she answered, turning on her heels so she could sit with James.

"Told you I'd save you a seat," he murmured, without leaning closer to her and she rolled her eyes with a playful smile on her face. "Feeling better?"

"Can we speak later?" She responded dryly, only because she could feel his friends and hers watching them—or her closely as if a bomb was about to explode.

James seemed to have understand because he shifted away uncomfortably and cleared his throat, listening to Slughorn, "...I presume you are enough skilled to brew this potion, so you will go to a cauldron and start reading the instructions on your book."

James and Daphne stood up, reaching the closest cauldron and they both stood there; unsure of what to do next. They had never worked together in any classes, though she had worked with Remus once or twice and he was great company—more than she liked to admit. James hadn't spoken a word at all, and she wasn't going to start a conversation with him but she knew he wasn't angry at her when his fingers would brush hers, or he would press himself a little closer to her when he would move to grab something on the other side.

"Da—Rosier," he corrected himself, scratching the back of his neck. "Care to stir it while I go fetch Slughorn? I think we're done," he added.

Daphne looked back at the potion and felt satisfied with the outcome and gave James a nod, "Sure."

It took a lot of concentration to not let her eyes linger on his back as he moved further into the classroom; she still couldn't believe that he had, in fact, managed to save her a seat. Him out of all these people. And she hoped, for her sake, that she had managed to appear disgusted enough at the thought of sharing her desk with James Potter. Very aware of whose eyes were on hers—her cousin's one was practically burning on her back, she stiffened and cleared her throat loudly. Parts of her wondered if Sirius was still asking himself why Daphne had stepped in between their fight.

She hadn't heard Slughorn's voice until James' hands sneakily creeped on her waist, and snapped her out of her thoughts almost immediately. She stepped a little on the side, leaving the Head of Slytherin look closely at their potion and to her surprise James' hands never left her waist. He must had been hiding her, because there was no way that he would be drawing circles on her side if everyone was watching; though, it did feel nice.

"Ah, I must say you two make a pretty good team," Slughorn cheered, beaming at Daphne who was his favourite student among a few others. "Miss Rosier, I am surprised you haven't thrown yourself at Potter by now," he leaned closer to her. "We both know how unbearable he can get," he then whispered, so only her could hear.

James smirked, "What can I say? I'm bloody charming, Sir," he grinned.

Professor Slughorn fought the urge of rolling his eyes at the Gryffindor. He then turned his head towards Daphne again, "Will I see you at my dinner party in a few days?"

"Surely, Professor," she replied as he strolled away, and James instantly moved his hands.

Soon, class was dismissed and she gathered all her belongings rather rapidly in hopes to not see Rebecca. Knowing she had a free period, she'd likely go to the library and leave Rebecca alone in her Divination class. Divination was rubbish, anyways. Her steps were getting quicker as she tried to reach the library before anyone else, so she could sit at her favourite table in the back where Madam Pince wouldn't even bother coming.

"Daphne!" Sirius' voice rang behind her and she froze. Were they following her? Their pants were getting closer and soon the three of them appeared to her side. "Bloody hell, cousin."

"Where's your fourth friend?" She asked, noticing he wasn't trailing lazily behind them.

Remus cleared his throat, taking a second to catch his breath, "Peter has a...He has Divination."

"What a fool," she said, rolling her eyes. "What are you lot doing here?"

James shrugged and she finally settled her eyes on him, "You said you wanted to talk to us."

Daphne arched an eyebrow at him, and motioned for them to follow her, "Why are you panting for? You both play at Quidditch, you shouldn't be panting that way. Are you sure you are fit enough to play orrrr maybe, just maybe, you need to see Pomfrey," she teased, already enjoying the outrageous noise Sirius and James were making. "Him, I can understand," she then added, pointing at Remus as they sat down at her favourite table.

"What do you mean?" Remus queried, looking at her with a puzzled look. "How do you understand?"

"Severus," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "He talks and I've chosen to believe him, besides it is quite obvious. The limping, the awful mood you are in before each one and the scars."

The three of them gaped at the girl, and she could see different emotions on their faces: James was looking at her lovingly, almost proudly to know that she was his; Sirius had this surprised expression, trying to understand why she hadn't yelled on every roof yet; and Remus seemed scared, completely shite-scared and it made her crack a small smile at him. Only at him, though.

"Your secret's safe with me, Lupin," she did the same thing she had done on the train, she zipped her mouth and threw the key away. Remus chose to believe her, considering she was aware of his relation with her cousin and yet had not said a thing.

"Are they...are they that bad?" Remus asked, a little too self-consciously and she understood he was referring to his scars.

"Moony..." Sirius pleaded, pain in his voice. So, he hated seeing his boyfriend or friend self-conscious of his appearance.

She leaned on her palm, smiling cheekily, "I think...you look bloody beautiful," she admitted, seeing him blush. "They suit you," she added, then shifted her attention to the two boys that had been bounded by the hips forever.

Salazar, forgive me for making acquaintance with Gryffindors, she thought.

Of course, she had settled her mind a while ago for James. Nothing or anyone would make her not love him, nor deny her strong feelings for the man. But, she would be actually damned if any of her house member stumbled upon the three Marauders with her.

"Why did you want to meet?" Sirius swallowed.

"To say sorry, on Rebecca's behalf," started Daphne. "I'm aware she wasn't pleasant to none of you, especially you Lupin and I understand your reaction," she looked at James.

There he was, hopelessly beautiful, and she hoped he had understood she wasn't mad at him for snapping at her best friend. The three of them nodded, although they appeared slightly scared of her—or what she could do. James shifted in his seat impatiently, all he wanted to do was hold her hand and kiss her in front of Sirius and Remus, just to show them that she was bloody his! That he had sympathised with the snake and that she wasn't so bad, even not bad at all.

"Thank you, Daffy," Sirius winked as she groaned at the childish nickname. To wipe off the smirk off his face, she ruffled his hair and he gasped so loudly that Madam Pince's voice echoed through the whole library. "You fucking—"

"Ah, Sirius," she stopped him, before he could utter an other word. "Madam Pince is going to be pissed at you."

He rolled her eyes, knowing how annoying that old woman tended to get whenever her library was too loud so he closed his mouth and leaned back in his chair. "Moony, we should go," he said a little more quietly as he rose from his chair, and Remus followed him quietly. "Prongs, you coming?"

"Uh, I have to ask her some things," he muttered and Remus arched an eyebrow, but did not say a thing. "About Potion, Pads," he added and Sirius seemed to believe it. "I'll see you in a few."

Everything around them fell silent and she noticed James had cast a silencing charm around both of them, he glanced around to check if anyone was around then he leaned closer to her so he could talk softly.

"So...you are not mad at me? For snapping at Goyle, I mean," he said softly, looking at her.

"Of course not," she answered quietly, trying to shake the nervousness of being in an open space with him. "You did the right thing, James. You stood up for your friends...I would have done the same," she added, earning a smile from him.

"Good to know then," he gave her a nod and licked his lips. "I will let you be, and I will see yo—"

"No, I have Quidditch practice," she cut him off as he sighed but nodded. "I'm sorry, James. Tomorrow? After the match?"

"Sure," he grinned.

Daphne smirked, "Will you come cheer for me? Your girlfriend who's captain of the Slytherin team, your biggest enemy," she stated dramatically, putting a hand on her chest as she faked to faint.

He chuckled, shaking his head, "Yeah, I will come but don't be surprised if I randomly cheer for those Ravenclaw," he teased as she rolled her eyes. "Aye, aye, Captain, I love you."

"I love you," she whispered as he rose on his feet and went the other way.

—————
authors note, well, i don't know if i like the chapter...but daphne saying remus is pretty >>>> i fear i might be in love with my own oc...

if you have any questions please feel free to ask them! i love you <333