Chapter 15

A sigh tumbled from Nora's lips as she stood at the edge of the stairs in the Gryffindor common room, grumbling curse words under her breath and soon did she scream, "James, hurry up!"

She heard a faint response coming from what she assumed was his dormitory, and with another sigh did she move to sit on the couch, feeling the heat from the fire in front of her, she had to admit that she was rather comfortable.

Wrapped up in her own little world, Nora fails to notice Lily bounding the stairs hurriedly, stopping in her tracks at the sight of the Hufflepuff, and although she was running late to meet her boyfriend, she couldn't help herself as she walked over to the girl, she hadn't had time to apologise for intruding in her space, seeing as Nora had to leave when they were supposed to be studying in the library, and the thought that Nora left because she arrived had entered her mind more than once.

"Hello," Lily whispers, her stomach bubbling with nerves as she sits on the arm chair near the couch that Nora took residence.

Nora's head lifted at the sound of the familiar voice, a small smile decorating her lips as she caught the sight of Lily and soon did she speak, "hello Lily, are you alright?"

Lily took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping after a few moments and soon does she nod, speaking, "I'm sorry, Nora, I just- I feel as though I've been terrible to you, I took away your best friend, I disrespected a place that you made, from scratch, I should add, I couldn't help but think that you left the library because of me, and if you did, I completely understand, I guess you're just a little intimidating, in a way, I really wanted you to like me, Aubrey too, and now I feel as though I just wrecked that, I mean, you and Caden aren't even talking for Christs sake!"

Nora's eyes couldn't help but widen as she stares at Lily, speechless was an understatement really, her mouth had parted so much to the point that she looked like a gaping fish, and only did she snap from her gaze when someone else entered the common room, "are you kidding?!" she laughs ever so slightly, speaking, "Lily you are so amazing, you're so knd and funny, and not to mention that Caden should be honoured to have you as his girlfriend.

It wasn't your fault that the blood twat took you to the tree house, you didn't know, and I know you wouldn't have intentionally done anything malicious, and I would never blame you for something that wasn't your fault, please don't think that I left because of you, I would never, I just really needed to clear my head that day, seeing as Adria made me realise something entirely obvious. As for Caden, it's just hard I suppose, he was the one that said he wouldn't speak to me again, and It really isn't your fault but he's been acting a whole lot different now than before, I feel as though I lost my best friend a long while ago and not a month or so ago!"

"Yes, I heard you and Aubrey saying that one day," Lily sighed, a frown painted across her lips as she turned ever so slightly, she hadn't the faintest idea what the girls meant when she overheard them one day in the library, and she couldn't deny that it bothered her, "what do you mean by that, if you don't mind me asking?

"Well, Aubrey, Caden and I used to have this tradition where we would go to the tree house every Thursday after class, maybe to talk, or to do homework, but we would never miss it, I mean it might be silly but at least we got to really talk every week, maybe about something that bothered us, or to rant about a specific professor, it really helped with anger and frustration, at the start he would miss a week, and then show up another week, and it went on like that, and then he missed two weeks, and then three and then he just stopped showing up, finally said it was stupid, and it was rather awkward with him, because you are so popular, it was odd that you are so calm about it, but it's as though he is letting the attention get to his head!" Nora exclaimed, shaking her head, "I do miss him, I suppose, it's hard to get over a friendship, especially when the person isn't who you remembered them to be."

"He misses you, Nora, it's clearly obvious that he does, I tell him all the time to give you space, but he just wants you back in his life," Lily tutted, shaking her head as she done so, "I didn't know he had changed, though, I didn't know about your tradition."

"It's alright," Nora smiled softly, "James has been joining us."

It was true, every Thursday, James would join the two girls in the tree house to the point that even James and Aubrey had become really good friends too.

"Ah yes, I hope you don't mind me saying this, but Caden bloody despises him," Lily chuckles, "I mean, I suppose I'm not too keen on him either, but he's been leaving Severus alone, so I can cope with him."

"Well James isn't too fond of Caden either, hates him, really," Nora scoffs, "and well, I suppose I'm not too keen on him now either."

"So, we're in very similar situations, then?" Lily laughed, earning a laugh from Nora as she nodded.

Nora moved to agree with the girl, unable to deny that she was having a lovely time speaking to her when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning, she saw James, clad in a winters coat and his Gryffindor scarf around his neck as he grinned down at her, "ready to go?"

"Oh yeah," Nora nods, matching his smile with her own before turning to Lily, "I'll see you later, Lily, we should really hang out some time!"

"Oh yes!" Lily smiles widely, her eyes crinkling with delight as she nods furiously, "definitely!"

-

"Oh Lily, we really need to hang out some time!" James mocked in a high pitch voice as the two walked down the hill on their way to Hogsmeade, Nora turned with her eyes narrowed, moving closer to push him whilst his laugh filled the air around them, "oh Lily, I love you, oh Lily, are we best friends now?!"

"Oh, piss off," Nora scoffed, rolling her eyes, "you're just jealous that Lily actually likes me."

"Ha, funny," James grumbled, throwing his arm around the girl. She turned to grin at him, reaching for the scarf that hung from his neck and soon was it around hers, "oi!"

"I'm cold," she mumbled, frowning until she sent him an innocent smile, batting her eyelashes, "please?"

"You know, I'm just going to bloody buy you your own scarf," he huffs, moving in front of her to fix it properly around her neck.

"No," she shook her head, her nose scrunched up as she inhaled James' scent, "I prefer yours, it's comfortable."

"Okay, then I'll buy myself a new one, then," he scoffs, shoving his hands into the pocket of his coat, unable to help the smile twitching at his lips when Nora placed her hand in his pocket, clutching on to his hand to warm hers.

"No, you can't!" she exclaims, shaking her head furiously, "then this one won't be yours!"

"Why do you want to wear mine so much?" he asks, laughing softly until the curiosity bubbled in his stomach when a blush attacked her cheeks, soon turning away from him with a quick shrug.

"Nora-"

"It smells like you," she whispers, pulling her hand from his and hurrying ahead, completely oblivious to the wide grin unable to keep from James' lips as he rushed after the girl.

"Oh, so you like how I smell, huh?" asked James, his lips brushing her ear when he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his side, "how cute."

"Shut up," she grumbles, rolling her eyes, "you can have your bloody scarf back you arse."

"Oh no," he shook his head, guiding her face to look at him, "I think I like it much better on you," he smirks, leaning forward to kiss her nose and soon did he hurry in front of her, unable to see her face heating up drastically.

"We should have another sleepover," Nora speaks as she catches up with him, her cheeks only looking red because of the winters breeze around them, "that was really fun."

"Oh yeah, but we should invite Adria," James nods, reaching for her hand absentmindedly, it was bound to happen, like they couldn't seem to help it, they unknowingly craved each other's touch to the point that James would wrap his arm around her shoulder, or grab her hand, and she would do the same, tracing his fingers as they walked, or wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Yes!" Nora grinned, "and Blair, I heard that her and Remus kissed!"

"Oh yeah, Remus told me that he messed it up," James snorted, "bloody giraffe that he is was probably too tall for Blair to reach!"

"Oh, shut up!" Nora exclaimed, whacking his chest, "Adria, Blair and Isaac told me what happened actually."

"Well on you go, tell me?"

"Fine, they were in the library with Adria, and they were writing little notes to each other which is entirely adorable in itself, so Remus wrote that Blair looked beautiful that day on the note, so she responded with her own note asking if she didn't look beautiful every day, and when Remus got flustered and tried to defend himself, she just kissed him!"

"Lovely."

"You aren't a hopeless romantic and it breaks my heart," Nora huffed, shaking her head disappointedly, "Remus is adorable for doing that, maybe you should take a few lessons with him."

"Oh yes, Remus Lupin is the one I'm going to go to on tips to woo girls," James scoffed, rolling his eyes, "first step, stalk her for three months, second step, say hi and then run away."

"Oh piss off, he's lovely-"

"What, do you fancy him?"

"No, of course I bloody don't, Remus is just my friend," she rolled her eyes, a smirk decorating her lips as she turned to him, her head titled teasingly as she asked, "why, jealous?"

"I thought I was hiding it well," James sighed, tutting, "you caught me."

"I don't blame you," Nora shook her head, pushing the door to Honeydukes open and going straight for the sugar quills that she knew James would be buying, "I mean, I'm irresistible, really."

James couldn't help but laugh as she handing him the sugar quills, the tub of chocoballs already tucked under his arms as he shook his head, asking, "do you want anything else?"

"No, I'm alright," she shrugged, "you know, you don't need to buy me chocoballs every time, right?"

"I want to," James shrugged, "I may as well spend my money on something worthy, like you, instead of letting it waste away in a drawer."

"Oh, so you think I'm worthy?" she asked, a grin on her lips as she looked up at him, watching the smile twitch onto his lips as he placed the items onto the counter, "how sweet."

"Oh, so you think I'm sweet?" he mimicked her tone, turning to look at her, "how lovely."

"Oh so you think I'm love-"

"We could do this for hours," James scoffed, cutting her off as he hands her the bag of chocoballs, "come on, love, I want butterbeer."

"You're going to turn into butterbeer," Nora commented, unable to keep her already heated cheeks from flushing red at the nickname, it wasn't the first time that James had called her love, nor would it be the last but every time it tumbled from his lips she couldn't help feel the butterflies that erupted in her stomach.

She held the door of Honeydukes open for James to walk through, a soft laugh falling from her lips as she walked beside him.

"That's not so bad, really."