She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  His eyes contrast the straight line in his mouth. He’s desperately trying to seem stoic, unmoved, by her words but there is contradiction in his blue eyes. She stands on her toes, rising to his level as she places her lips against his and it must take him by surprise because it takes him a moment before his hand wraps around her waist.

  Her lips rise at the corners as her fingers lace through the flaxen hairs at the nape of his neck. She thinks he smiles too because she feels his lips curve against hers. It’s strange, she thinks, as she tries to recall seeing Scorpius Malfoy smiling but before this year she can’t remember a single instance. Now, she feels as though perhaps that smile was meant for her, and the joy it brings makes her heart sing.

  ‘Wow,’ he whispers when she finally breaks away, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks at such a display and she opens her eyes to his burning above her. ‘I like your logic, Miss Granger-Weasley.’

  JAMES

  It’s been over a week since the Forbidden Forest and still there is unrest somewhere inside of him that causes him to feel quite unlike himself. He doesn’t normally waste free period on coursework but he knows he’s slightly behind in a few classes which is why he finds himself in the dungeon corridors, several Slytherin sixth years passing him on their way to class.

  His free period is usually spent outside, absorbing the sun. Today he’ll spend it in the Potions Lab, trying to perfect an Oculus Potion. He hasn’t brewed one since sixth year but Professor Slughorn has hinted it might appear on the N.E.W.T.s in the spring.

  It seems several other students have similar plans, when he rounds the corner to the entrance of the classroom and sees it’s fairly busy with students busying themselves with their cauldrons. His usual spot is occupied by a third year Hufflepuff so he’s eyeing another when he spots his younger cousin, Lucy, stirring away, her red hair frizzing at the ends as yellow steam rises out of her cauldron.

  He furrows his brow as he approaches, noticing a second figure at Lucy’s left, a girl with her face half-buried in her Slytherin robes. It only takes a moment before he recognizes the familiar brunette braid tied at the end with an emerald ribbon and his brow furrows in confusion.

  ‘Lucy?’ he says and the small girl looks up at him in surprise.

  ‘Oh, hello James,’ she says, almost formally, as she concentrates and he expects Thea to stir at his name but she doesn’t budge.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asks and she glances up at him with a perplexed frown.

  ‘I’m working on a potion,’ she says, as if James had asked the most obvious question in the world and he smiles at her seriousness.

  ‘I meant, with Thea Malfoy,’ he clarifies and she glances down at the sleeping girl and her lips form an ‘o’ as she looks back up.

  ‘She’s been helping me prepare for my exam next week. I’ve almost got this potion perfected but I thought it needed a bit more work so I asked for her help.’

  ‘You asked Thea Malfoy for help?’ he asks, confused and she gives him that look again as if he’s mental.

  ‘She’s the best in her year,’ she tells him, grabbing the dropper from near Thea’s unmoving fingertips and places it inside a vial labeled, ‘Lethe River Water.’

  ‘I know quite a bit about potions, you know,’ he tells her and she smirks. He’s not sure he likes it because it is a very Thea type smirk and he wonders just how much time his young cousin has been spending with her.

  ‘She’s in here all the time,’ she explains. ‘And well, you’re busy. So are the others. I even asked Rose but she spends all her time studying for her own exams. And Thea was nice to me on the train, so…’

  ‘She was?’ he asks, remember the day he had shamelessly tried to pawn Lucy off on his brother and Thea on the Hogwarts Express. Guilt starts to rise over him now.

  ‘Yes, she was. She said if I ever needed anything, all I had to do was ask. So I did.’

  ‘And she just, helps you? She doesn’t ask you to do anything in return?’ he asks her, glancing down at Thea’s sleeping form. Her lips are slightly parted as she breathes slowly.

  ‘No. I think she likes the company, to be honest,’ she tells him, using her wand to add heat to the bottom of the cauldron. ‘She’s usually in here alone.’

  He hasn’t realized it until now, but there have been more than a few times he’s come to the lab and seen Thea working diligently on something or other. He hasn’t paid much attention until now, normally trading his free period for frivolity rather than studies. But despite how he feels about her, he can’t deny Thea’s brilliance in many subjects.

  ‘Mr. Potter,’ he hears from the front of the classroom and his head perks up, noticing Professor Slughorn summoning him over from his desk.

  James approaches, watching as Slughorn scribbles in the margins of his text while another simultaneously writes on a blank bit of parchment to his right. He looks up as James reaches his desk and glances back towards Thea and then again to James.

  ‘I hope, you have not come here to disturb anyone,’ he says and James doesn’t have to ask as to who the man refers.

  ‘I’ve just come to practice, Professor,’ James says and Slughorn’s quill stops as he eyes him curiously. ‘I swear.’

  ‘Yes,’ Slughorn says slowly, his eyes traveling back to Thea. James glances back as well and then looks as his professor expectantly.

  ‘Is there something wrong, Professor?’

  ‘No, no, my boy,’ he says, suddenly flustered as if his thought was interrupted. ‘Just, if you would please refrain from any altercations with Miss Malfoy, I would greatly appreciate it.’

  ‘Of course not,’ James agrees. ‘But, Professor,’ he adds, glancing back over his shoulder. ‘You do realize, she’s sleeping?’

  ‘Yes,’ the old man says thoughtfully, his eyes softening. ‘Let her sleep.’

  James doesn’t argue, only nods, as he walks back towards the supply closet and he pulls his wand out to summon several vials from various shelves of the store room. He doesn’t hear the footsteps behind him, only hears Valerie’s voice when she places her hands over his eyes and whispers, ‘Hello, Darling,’ in his ear.

  He nearly drops each of the vials in response.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asks, collecting the glass bottles from where they levitate nearby and places them on the counter.

  ‘I wanted to see you,’ she said, letting her hands slide over his chest as she lets her body press against his and he sighs.

  ‘Val, we talked about this.’

  ‘Oh I know, Jay. But come on, it was fun the other night, wasn’t it?’

  ‘It was a mistake. We were both drunk and it shouldn’t have happened,’ he tells her, keeping his voice down. When he tries to step away he steps back into the shelf and wonders how girls are always managing to corner him.

  ‘I wasn’t that drunk,’ she says with a smirk, her hands toying with his tie and James can smell her perfume and regret is mixed with the memory of her body and his, intertwined, and though the draw is there, it’s fleeting.

  He pushes her hands off gently.

  ‘Well I was,’ he repeats. ‘I was distracted and angry and I took advantage of you being there. I shouldn’t have. And I’m sorry.’

  ‘Jay,’ she says, the way she always used to say when they were together. ‘I wanted it to happen. You and me, it’s how it should be. It felt good to be with you. I’ve missed it.’

  ‘You’re with Preston,’ he reminds her and she sighs.

  ‘Merlin you’re blind,’ she tells him. ‘I only got with Preston because I thought it would piss you off the most,’ she says and he shakes his head. ‘Though maybe I should have tried to get with Theodora,’ she grumbles. ‘Maybe you would have noticed then.’

  ‘Don’t be like that,’ he says, when he hears her playful tone sour.

  ‘What, I’m just saying, if you’d spend half as much effort on this, me and you, as you do trying to outwit Malfoy, then maybe we could try and make a go of this aga
in. And make it work this time,’ she says and she’s pulling gently on his tie again and he feels himself growing more frustrated.

  ‘This was wrong,’ he says again. ‘It shouldn’t have happened.’

  ‘Why?’ she asks and her voice is low but her eyes speak volumes as she steps back. ‘Why am I not good enough for James, fucking, Potter?’

  ‘Christ, Valerie,’ he says, shaking his head. ‘Me ending things before had nothing to do with you being ‘good enough’ okay?’

  ‘Well then why? We were good together, weren’t we?’

  ‘We had fun, sure. Things were good for a while. But things changed, I changed and that has nothing to do with you. I just don’t know what I want right now and I can’t do that to you, you don’t deserve someone who can’t figure out what the hell they want.’

  ‘But I loved you,’ she says and he can hear the tears in her voice and James feels instantly like a bigger ass than the first time they did this. ‘I still do.’

  ‘I know,’ is all he can say, scratching the back of his neck. ‘And I’m sorry. There’s no easy explanation. But I do know that what happened the other night, it can’t happen again. I can’t do that to you.’

  She stares at him and he sees her eyes glistening in the light above them and the pang in the pit of his stomach grows. She wipes her eyes and straightens her skirt as she walks back up to him. She’s almost his height and it’s impossible not to meet her eyes when she walks up to him, places a hand on his cheek, and he turns when she leans in, causing her lips to graze his cheek and she sighs.

  He watches her turn, starting towards the door and for the first time they notice Thea standing in the doorway, cauldron in hand and deep dark circles under her eyes.

  ‘Of, fucking, course,’ Valerie says under her breath.

  ‘I didn’t mean to interrupt,’ Thea says, her voice tired as she flicks her wand to put away the pewter cauldron as it floats towards the top shelf, stacking itself neatly on top of the others. ‘I’ll just���’

  ‘You just can’t help yourself, can you?’ Val says, clearing her throat to hide the near tears that were threatening to fall moments earlier.

  ‘Pardon?’ Thea asks and James places his hand on Valerie’s shoulder which she instantly brushes off.

  ‘You. You’re always there. Everywhere I go, it’s like you pop up when you know it will bother me the most.’

  ‘Well, Thomas, I can assure you I’ve been here quite a while and it was in no way part of a master plan to cross paths with you,’ Thea says, her composure steady despite her disheveled hair and tired eyes. ‘Now if you don’t mind���’ she says, brushed gently past Valerie, not making eye contact with James as she opens a few drawers located directly between him and Valerie.

  ‘Oh but I do mind,’ Valerie hisses. ‘That’s precisely my point. I take issue with your very presence. You’re a constant plague on my existence.’

  ‘Wow, and here I thought you were the one who was obsessed with me, Jamie,’ Thea mutters dryly as she inspects one of the boxes she pulls from the drawer.

  James nor Thea expects when Valerie slaps the box from her hands, her eyes burning with fury. Valerie is not quite as tall as james, but with the small lift in the heel of her shoe, she still looks down on Thea from her height.

  Thea, doesn’t look taken aback, only amused.

  ‘Stop smiling at me,’ Valerie hisses.

  ‘I don’t know what this is all about but���’

  ‘You. It’s about you and your inability to take a hint,’ Valerie says. ‘You lurk around, sticking your nose in everyone’s business. You think you’re so clever, Malfoy, but you’re just pathetic. Utterly, unwanted. And you can’t get that through your thick skull.’

  James tenses at Valerie’s words, knowing Thea’s limits almost as well as his own, and despite the fatigue that Thea attempts to hide, he sees her fingers twitch at her sides. Her jaw clenches and if Valerie’s eyes are fire, the blaze in Thea’s eyes is an inferno.

  ‘I’m fond of this expressive being you’ve decide to become, Valerie,’ Thea says slowly. ‘But whatever anger you’ve decided to take out on me, is clearly misplaced. So take a breath, and walk away, because I only have so much patience left today.’

  Valerie’s laugh is deep, slow at first but it rises out of her chest as she stares down at Thea, shaking her head.

  ‘You think you’re so fucking smart,’ Valerie whispers.

  ‘Valerie,’ James attempts but it’s a mistake because both girls have nearly forgotten his presence and Valerie shoots him a silencing glare.

  There is a long silence as Valerie stares at Thea, challenge in her eyes and James recognizes that while Thea is putting on her usual stony expression, she’s still only that tired girl from the forest he saw a week ago and he knows this can’t go on much longer before one of them reaches their limit.

  ‘I’m bored of this,’ Thea says, her voice low in warning and she picks up the box that has fallen to the floor and slides it back into the drawer, closing it softly and steps in the direction to leave. ‘Feel free to resume whatever infidelity you had planned for the afternoon.’

  James isn’t sure which happens first, but he sees Valerie’s hand fly back, followed by Thea reaching for her wand. He makes a decision, gauging the damage and uncertain what an angry Thea Malfoy might do in the heat of the moment, and he shouts out ‘Expelliarmus,’ collecting Thea’s wand in his spare hand just as Valerie’s hand flies across Thea’s face.

  The force is enough to throw Thea off balance and she catches herself on the counter, nearly running into James as she does so. When she regains her balance, she looks up at Valerie in disbelief and then to James, spotting her wand.

  ‘Thea,’ he says. ‘I was just���’

  ‘You’ve got to be bloody kidding me,’ she hisses, snatching her wand from James and flinching when she notices the cut on her lip. ‘That…is the last time you take my wand, James Potter.’

  She’s shaking it as she scolds him, so he’s certain it looks worse than it is when they’re spotted by Professor Slughorn. To say he’s angry with them, is an understatement, and James almost feels bad at how red in the the face the old man manages to get when he shouts at the three of them to report to the Headmaster’s Office.

  Thea’s small legs manage to outpace both he and Valerie on their way to McGonagall’s office. She disappears around corners, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence as James stays a few steps behind.

  ‘There’s something off with you, James,’ Valerie says from ahead of him. ‘You haven’t been the same for weeks.’

  James is glad that she doesn’t look back at him because he can’t exactly hide the acknowledgement in his expression. She’s not wrong. He hasn’t been himself and he still can’t pinpoint why.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ he says, trying to deflect and she scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she quickens her steps only slightly. ‘And you took it a bit far in there, didn’t you? I know you were upset but did you really have to…I don’t know. It was a bit much, is all.’

  Valerie spins around.

  ‘See!? This is what I mean. Why the bloody hell do you care if I went too far with her? Since when does the thought of knocking her down a peg or two, turn your stomach?’

  ‘It doesn’t…I don’t care. It just doesn’t suit you is all,’ he attempts because if he’s being honest he doesn’t know how to explain himself.

  ‘Why? Because you’re the only one allowed to poke fun at her? Right, because tearing down Malfoy is all you have going for you, isn’t it? That and being Harry Potter’s son.’

  James feels something stir in him at her words. He’s not sure if it’s deep-rooted embarrassment or fear. But either way he feels his eyes fall to the floor as she looks at him in disgust. She’s speaking out of anger, but her words have meaning, to both of them.

  ‘At least Albus doesn’t use your father’s fame as an excuse to be mediocre. You think everyone around
you worships the ground you walk on, Jay, but you’re just as pathetic as her.’ She’s still talking about Thea, he realizes. ‘Everyone is sick of it by the way. You and her, sparring all the time. They laugh because it’s what you want to hear but we’re not blind. Stop wasting everyone’s time with your hate act. If you want to fuck her, just do it and get it out of your system so you can stop being so painfully boring to be around.’

  She leaves then and James is unable to follow, rooted to his spot in the stairwell where students begin pouring in after the end of free period. He steps back, into the wall to let them pass and ignores several strange looks in his direction as students push by.

  Valerie’s words seem ridiculous as they hang over him, bearing down against his shoulders and he tries desperately to shake them off to no avail. James’ insecurities are pouring in, breaking through the walls he tries so desperately to hide them behind. She’s not entirely wrong, he thinks. About being Harry Potter’s son, anyways. He uses it as perhaps he shouldn’t. But it’s only so he doesn’t let them see the truth, that perhaps he’s a little more like Albus than he thought.

  That the burden of being Harry Potter’s son is almost too much to bear. And the pressure of his uncertain future is starting to rear it’s head.

  THEA

  She’s late to Divination, thanks to the altercation with Valerie and James, and so she fully expects a long-winded scolding from Professor Trelawney when she arrives. She is surprised, however, as she climbs the seemingly infinite spiral tower, that Professor Trelawney is not in the classroom either.

  Tables are occupied by students, talking quietly amongst themselves in hushed whispers as they huddle over newspapers or scribble on parchment. There is a definite tension in the air, heavy with some sort of dread that she can’t quite place but it only sours her mood further.

  Albus notices her as she walks in but doesn’t make eye contact as he looks back across from him at Lysander. Thea feels unnecessary rage towards the tall blond and feels her nails digging into the flesh of her palm as she looks for a vacant seat of her own.