Chapter 18

"You know, you don't need to sleep in my bed if you don't want to," James scoffed as he lay on his bed, watching Nora as she lay on Remus', testing how comfortable his was before she stood and made her way to Peter's.

"I know," she shrugged, scrunching up her nose as she sat on Sirius', "the other beds just aren't as comfortable."

"Well you could always go back to your dormitory," James teased, earning a glare from Nora who pushed herself up, moving over to his bed and taking a seat beside where he lay.

"It's a sleepover," she huffed, reaching for the fudge flies that she had stolen from Peter's stash, "Adria is going to kill me, I'm eating all of her fudge flies."

"Well, we can always go to Hogsmeade tomorrow if you like?" asked James, watching the sheepish smile decorating Nora's lips, "oh merlin, what are you thinking, love?"

"Just hear me out, alright?" she asked, titling her head as he scrunched his nose up, completely oblivious to how adorable Nora found him.

"Fine, what is it?" he sighed, his shoulders slumping as he reached for her hand, pulling her closer to him and slipping his arm around her so that she lay beside him, "can't deny that you're comfortable."

"Means a lot," she teased, chuckling as she done so, "I was thinking we could leave."

"Leave? Nora what are you-"

"You promised you'd hear me out," she sang, turning to face him, her head resting on his chest as she stared at him, running a hand through his hair softly, "Hogsmeade station is an actual train station used by the villagers that live there, of course, with your cloak we could sneak out, we could get on a train and go somewhere for the day, it's a wizarding train, who knows where it'll take us, but I'm sure we'll be able to get back!"

"Merlin, Nora," James whispered, shaking his head with a sigh, "are you sure about this?"

"Positive," she nodded, "I've always wanted to do it, but I didn't want to do it myself."

"Okay then," he nodded, a sigh tumbling from his lips, "but not tomorrow."

"Why not?" she asked, frowning as she done so, her head titled ever so slightly.

"Because we are going to Hogsmeade tomorrow," he grinned, playing with the ends of her hair, "and I'm going to buy you as many sweets as you like from Honeydukes, and then we'll go for butterbeer because I have something to tell you."

"What?" she asked curiously, "that's not suspicious at all."

He laughed softly as he tightened his grip around her, a sigh falling from his lips as he wondered how it was possible that he was able to call the girl in front of him his friend, of course, he would love to call her something other than that, his, for example.

He wanted her, badly, needed her, craved her, he simply couldn't help himself as he held her, reached for her hand, ran his hand through her hair, but he wanted more, he wanted to taste her lips on his, embrace her, call her his, it replayed in the back of his mind like a symphony, a song he didn't want to stop.

She was a wonderful sight, with a beautiful personality, and bright eyes that he could never get enough of. Her laugh was one that sounded in his mind, clouding his thoughts with thoughts of her, but that wasn't very surprising, because lately, all of his thoughts had been on the girl.

He couldn't get her out of his head, he always wondered what it was like to like someone, to be so infatuated with someone that they distracted them just with the name of that person, and whilst, he thought he had found that with Lily, he really did, nothing compared to how much Nora impacted him.

She could step into the room, and he would know, and that was him, he wouldn't be able to get anything done, because all he wanted was her, and she wasn't beside him, and that wasn't enough.

Of course, unknowingly - and a little stubbornly - he denied it, "I like Lily!" he would exclaim, flailing his arms around, because he thought that was true, and for a while he did like Lily, a whole lot, but his feelings started to crumble when the hot headed Hufflepuff entered his life, affecting him, allowing him to feel things he hadn't yet experienced.

Sirius had always went on about the way Adria was able to distract him, that he could just think of her and that was him, he wanted to be with her, he wanted her near him, and in no way did James understand him, it sounded odd to him, stupid, because as much as he knew how much Sirius and Adria loved each other, he didn't think it was possible for someone to be so caught up on someone to the point that they couldn't get anything done, or barely could, just because they wished for that person to be near them.

But then, Nora Robinson walked into James' life, and twisted his view, shaped it, gave it new life, because when Nora was there, or near, or the mere image of her popped into his mind, merlin he was hooked, he wanted her.

But he hadn't got her just yet, as much as it seemed like it, he had a few people asking him when it happened, when he had Nora Robinson had started going out, "bit unexpected, when did that happen, mate?" and James would scoff and say it hadn't, they were just friends, and that very thought, that very saying managed to break him.

If there was anyone in this world that he didn't want to be just friends with, then merlin that person is, and would always be Nora Robinson.

His eyes glanced to Nora whose head rested on his chest, his hand tangled in her messy hair as he ran his fingers over her scalp absentmindedly, her breath heavy as her arm wrapped around him.

He really didn't know why they weren't a couple yet.

He really wished that they were.

-

"I really love Hogsmeade!" Nora grinned, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat as she skipped in front of James, a giggle leaving her lips as she turned to face him, stumbling to a stop as she waited for the boy to catch up.

"Me too," James nodded, a smile of his own adorned on his lips as he caught up, grabbing her arm to stop her, and soon slipping his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together, "you excited, love?"

She nodded happily, slowing down her steps so that they walked side by side, hand in hand swaying ever so slightly, "I haven't had butterbeer in a while, actually."

"I know, it's shocking!" James teased, laughing when she turned to him with a glare.

"Your sarcasm hurts me, James," she sighed, shaking her head, a frown on her lips as she clutched her heart, "right here!"

"Oh, poor you," he gasped, "I'm sorry, really, I'm a terrible person!"

"Well at least you know," she teased, tightening her grip on his hand, "you know, you don't actually need to buy me anything at Honeydukes."

"It's part of your Christmas present," he shrugged, "seeing as you got me a wonderful present."

"Part of it?!" she exclaimed, wide eyed, "what do you mean by that?!"

"Well, usually, part of something means not the whole thing," James scoffed, looking down at the glare she gave him.

"You didn't need to get me anything, James," she whispered, shaking her head, "the fact that you're even here with me is more than enough."

"Merlin, Nora, if I didn't know any better I'd say you fancied me," James joked, a grin on his lips as the laugh tumbled from her lips.

"Oh no," she shook her head, "it's you who fancies me, James, please don't get that mixed up."

"How did you know?!" he exclaimed, a grin on his lips when Nora threw her head back, her laugh filling the air around them.

"It's just obvious," she giggled, pushing the door to Honeydukes open, keeping hold of it for James to walk through, "I have an idea."

"What?"

"You know how Peter has a secret stash in your dorm?" she asked, her head titled as she watched him nod.

"Why don't we have one?" she grinned, "that only we know about?"

"See, this is why I like you," he smirked, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he let go of her hand, "get whatever you like, Nora."

"James-"

"Anything."

She sighed, finally allowing herself to nod as she took off in the other direction, the sweets stood out to her as she walked by them, almost drooling at the look of them all. She didn't understand why James was so dead set on spending his money on her, it was sweet, and incredibly kind of him, and whenever he asked, he would always say that he'd rather spend it on her than on nothing but he was always so persistent to do so, to spend money that she didn't care about.

She worried that he thought she only was friends with him because he had money when that was far from the truth, so much to the point that she wanted to make him realise simply by not getting anything, but when she turned around, seeing James arms piled with sweets, and a frown on his lips to see her with nothing, she couldn't help but start to pile her arms with cauldron cakes, and Honeydukes best chocolate just so that he would see that she was getting something.

She picked up the chocoballs on her way to the counter, seeing as if there was one thing he bought for her it would always be the traditional chocoballs that he always got.

"Do you think we need anything else?" he asked, his head titled ever so slightly as he turned to her, seeing the frown on her lips, she merely shook her head, "are you alright, Nora?"

"I'm fine!" she grinned, visibly brightening as she turned to him, watching James pay for the whole thing, she couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty about it, "that was a lot of money James."

"It was nothing," he waved her off, a laugh escaping his lips.

They made their way to the three broomsticks, it was a tradition of theirs really, to go to Honeydukes for Chocoballs, cauldron cakes, and sugar quills and then across to the three broomsticks for butterbeer.

With the lack of students for the holidays, the pub was only filled with the regulars of the small town, all of which greeted the two familiar students as they arrived, to which they returned with greetings of their own.

"I love butterbeer," Nora sighed contently as she sat in one of the small booths with James, leaning on his arm as she sipped at the drink.

"Are you alright, love?" James asked after a few moments of staring at her, "you looked rather unhappy back at Honeydukes."

"Yeah, I'm great," she nodded, grinning, "it's just- James, you don't need to spend money on me, at all, it's your money, and I don't want you thinking that I'm friends with you just because you are able to pay for things and I'm not, your friendship means more to me than anything money can buy, I hope you know that."

He sighed, sitting down the butterbeer that he held in his hand, "I know that, Nora, i like spending money on you because I like treating you, you deserve it, you live off of nothing when you go home, you have to work for money just to do something you love, and I hate that because I don't need to work for anything, I have it because of my family, so to be able to spend it on someone who deserves it makes me happy, I just want to make you happy, that's all, I know that you don't want it, nor do you care for it, but if I can put a smile on your lips for all of five minutes, then it's all worth it."

She felt her heart swell as she turned to him, sitting down the butterbeer on to the table, "you act all cocky and confident, but really, you're a big softie," she giggled, shaking her head as she threw her arms around him tightly, a sigh tumbling from her lips as she felt his hands wrap around her.