Little Riddle | James Potter

Nine

       "Why were you avoiding me?" Was the question James had been dreading, yet it was inevitable for Alexis to ask. His embarrassment served as amusement for her as she observed the way his gaze shifted from the sky above to the grounds below, purposely avoiding her.

       "I wasn't avoiding you." James feigned shock, although he was well aware of what she was referring to.

       "You were hiding in a broom closet because it's a fun activity, then?" She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and a teasing grin adorning her lips.

       "Oh, Merlin." He threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut just as a groan escaped his lips. "You saw that?"

       "Of course I saw that. You're not a particularly silent person." His suddenly shy demeanour only fueled Alexis' teasing seeing as the girl was loving every bit of his sheepish smiles and scarlet cheeks. "You jumped in as soon as I turned the corner. I just kept walking to spare you the embarrassment."

       "Well, my stunt at potions earlier was absolutely ridiculous," he covered his face with his hands, attempting to hide the heat that was spreading through them.

       She had to cover her mouth with her hands to muffle her laughter. "That was truly something else. I'm just glad you didn't faint."

       "Fainting would've been less embarrassing," he muttered, still unable to look her in the eye.

        Understanding that he found his stunt during Potions humiliating, Alexis decided to change the topic to save James from further embarrassment. And so, the conversation swiftly turned into a rant about some of the staff's negligence and Filch's creepy tendencies, a topic Alexis seemed to feel very strongly about. James stared at her with a glint in his eyes, wondering how on earth had he never noticed her before. But that didn't matter now, because now she was there, engraved in his brain and endlessly capturing his attention, sitting by his side on the top of the Astronomy Tower, late at night with the stars and the moon as their only source of lighting. And she looked absolutely breathtaking, making him laugh at the irony of how a face he never really cared for before now looked like the most intricate work of art to him.

       It was his time to catch her off guard now as he surprised her by crashing his lips into hers. He started the kiss slowly, trying to keep it gentle, but when she bit his bottom lip all self-control flew out the window. There are a few moments in life that make you realize why life is worth living, that makes you realize your existence has a purpose. You're at that exact place at that exact moment because that's where you're meant to be. You begin to understand fate, or the stars, or whoever is in charge of your destiny. Because James' heart was racing and her lips tasted like vanilla, their hands were running through each other's body with great fervour. And it felt right.

       They broke the kiss once their lungs began to demand air, but no words were spoken as they gazed into each other's eyes with rosy cheeks and silly smiles. James looked majestic. She didn't want to forget that, she wanted to keep that image of him forever. Dishevelled hair, rosy cheeks, and swollen lips had never looked so stunning. So she did what every person does when they want to capture a moment for eternity and took out her camera.

        "What do you think you're doing?" He giggled, covering his face to hide it from the artefact.

       "Say cheese!" She began taking random pictures of him, not caring what the results were.

       "I need a touch up first," he lowered her camera and began to comically rearrange his hair, which was of course not cooperating in the slightest.

       "Too bad your glam squad isn't here," she cackled, her British accent sounding exceptionally thick in that one sentence. "Now give me your best smile," she instructed, bringing the camera to her face and taking a single picture of him.  She stared at the moving image for longer than she intended, carefully inspecting the features of the boy beaming up at her. Ever so charming, ever so handsome, ever so captivating. She was entranced not only by his looks but by the particular reaction her body tended to have at times, giving in to the allure, feeling almost like a teenage crush.

       The camera was suddenly snatched away from her hands as James got his chance to play with it. "Now model."

       "Don't you even think about it!" She giggled, throwing herself forward to take the camera away from him. But instead, she chose to push the camera away from her face and locked their lips again, hoping it would distract him. James, however, thought that would make a wonderful picture.

        "Did you just---" she looked at the camera then back at him, unable to hide her amusement.

       "Now I'll have proof if you ever try to claim this never happened," he grinned proudly, waving the camera around.

       "Oh, what an atrocity that is!" She feigned disgust by scrunching her nose. "I don't want people knowing I'm making out with James Potter." Her little act didn't last long as she was unable to stop the laughs from escaping her lips because of his outraged expression. A loud noise coming from the stairs of the tower interrupted their little teasing, making them hold their breath and pray that Filch hadn't felt like going for a midnight stroll.

       "For f**k's sake, Peter! Couldn't you hold the bag properly? Now the cauldron cakes are all crushed."

       "I wouldn't have dropped them if you hadn't farted on my face, Sirius."

       "It was an accident! A man has his nee--"

       "Can you two shut up before I kick you both down the stairs."

       "Are we interrupting anything?" Sneakily, Sirius pushed the door open and peeked in. Alexis shook her head as a reply, a silly grin teasing her lips, while James simply frowned and muttered incoherences under his breath. "Hey!" Sirius walked further inside the room, with Remus and Peter following close behind. "I have no idea what you just said but that wasn't very nice."

       James sighed defeatedly. "What are you guys doing here?"

       "Well, our dear Wormtail here mentioned you were taking your lady for a little star gazing and I thought, hey, why should they have all the fun!" Sirius sat comfortably next to James, ignoring the glares his dear friend was directing his way.

       "We brought snacks." Remus lifted a couple of bags, hoping it would improve James' mood. Alexis patted the empty space next to her, motioning him to sit there.

       "Sorry, James." Peter blushed, being the last one to take a sit in the circle.

       "It's alright, Pete. It's not your fault, I don't think anyone would've guessed Sirius was a fan of stargazing," stated James, his comment laced with irritation.

       "Don't feel the need to," Sirius immediately retaliated, "I just have to look at myself in the mirror and boom, right there, a star. Literally."

       Everyone groaned except for Peter, who looked at everyone else confused. "What?"

       "It's a pun, Wormtail," Sirius cackled, taking a handful of sweets before casually explaining the joke. "You see, a star was named after me."

       Remus sighed. "For the hundredth time, Sirius, it's not--"

       "Shhhhh. Hey," Sirius reached for the camera that had been previously left aside. "Wicked."

       "What on earth are you doing?"

       "Taking pictures of myself. Everybody smile!" Sirius readjusted the camera so they were all in the frame, making the group spend a good ten minutes doing silly faces. "Anyway, this is getting boring. Want to go prank Filch?"

        Absolute mayhem ensued after the first quidditch game of the school year ended, with the Lions claiming the victory against the Badgers. The student body had been divided during the game but when it came to the party everyone seemed to support Gryffindor. And of course, Alexis had been one of the non-Gryffindors that had invaded the red and gold common room she had now began to grow familiar with.

       James' jumper hung loosely from her body as she drank firewhiskey from a red plastic cup and made fun of the drunk partygoers with Remus by her side. She was slightly worried about James, the team captain had been receiving a lot of attention and also a lot of drinks. He was always surrounded by people congratulating him, and now it was Lily Evans' turn. Alexis groaned and threw her head back, making Remus laugh at her theatrics.

       "Relax." Remus took a sip of his drink as he gently patted her head. "He doesn't fancy her anymore. I swear he never stops talking about you now."

       She giggled, leaning against his shoulder. "He better."

        "Hey, Remus! Moony! Buddy! Pal! My friend!" James' tipsy self interrupted their conversation before grabbing Alexis by the waist. "Mind if I borrow this one?"

       "She's all yours." Remus winked at them both before joining Frank Longbottom and his friends.

       James pulled her to the couch in front of the fireplace, making the people who were already sitting there leave so they could have some privacy. "You know, I really don't care about all this attention if it's not coming from my favorite girl," James stated, sneaking in a quick peck.

       "What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure I saw Evans talking to you a minute ago." She furrowed her eyebrows, clearly teasing the lad.

       "Ha-ha." James rolled his eyes before pulling her closer. "In Sirius' words, Lily Evans is so yesterday. So there's no need to get jealous, darling, don't worry," he smirked before leaning in for another kiss. Not even in her wildest dreams did Alexis ever imagine herself sitting on James Potter's lap as they had a steamy make-out session in the middle of a very crowded common room. But alcohol, adrenaline, and hormones had always been a dangerous mixture.

       The couple seemed to forget all about their surroundings as they focused solely on each other's tongues, as grotesque as it sounded. Alexis placed a leg on each side of his waist so she was now straddling him, which was probably not the smartest move, but the urge to feel him closer had become overwhelming. For the first time in her life she felt genuine desire, and to hell all the spectators, she was going to act out on it.

       James moved slightly, causing fraction between their intimate areas, making a moan escape from her mouth and into his lips. She could feel him tense under her touch before catching her off guard and standing up, still holding her in the same position. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he made his way up to his dorm, causing the room to erupt with whistles and cheers from their drunk schoolmates.

       James laid her down on his bed gently before positioning himself on top of her to continue their steamy make-out session. The kiss was getting heated as they both became eager and desperate to feel the other. Surprisingly, neither made an attempt to take off any item of clothing, being too preoccupied with the task at hand. Their lips crashed with fervor and it was then, in her half-asleep, half-tipsy state, that she realized she wasn't a lost cause. Maybe things wouldn't work out with a swish of a wand, but they would with patience and time. She had been too preoccupied with the resentment towards her family and with her loathing of that potion that had turned into a poison for her life, that she'd never considered things could truly work out for her. After all, there's an antidote for every poison.