Little Riddle | James Potter

Fourteen

       The Great Hall had been decorated in a winter wonderland theme. The long House tables had disappeared to be replaced by smaller circular ones. The music was boring and low, which was something she assumed would change as the night went on. The luminescent candles no longer flew over the students, and instead, a sparkling disco ball illuminated the place. Alexis shifted uncomfortably as she waited for Josh to return with their drinks, which by now she assumed would most likely be spiked.

       Josh was wearing the outfit she had chosen for him, and even though she couldn't deny that he looked absolutely dashing, the boy didn't quite capture her attention. Not when she could feel a pair of hazel eyes on her. She subtly turned to glance at James' direction and found the entire table watching her with mixed expressions.

       Alexis knew what she was doing when she delicately placed her hand on Josh's shoulder and leaned in closer to whisper sweet nothings in his ear. He bit his lip and shifted nervously, absolutely smitten with her, because after all, the Riddle siblings were known for being uncannily charming. It just so happened that Tom used his charm to manipulate people and lure them into the Dark Arts and Alexis used to it make James Potter jealous.

       The three Marauders watched with concern as James continued to bitterly sip on his drink as he stared ardently at Alexis and her date. His good mood was beyond dead, giving up any interest in the night and instead focusing on stalking the tipsy, giggling couple.

       Arabella, Remus' Ravenclaw date, looked at Alexis with approval. "She's your friend, isn't she?" She briefly glanced at Remus, who nodded in confirmation. "She's gorgeous."

       "I personally think the dress was a little too much." Mary sipped on her drink, trying her best to be discreet about her bitterness.

       "Nah," Beca, Sirius' Hufflepuff date, shook her head. "There is no such thing as being overdressed. The rest of us are just underwhelming."

       Bethany, a fellow Hufflepuff and Peter's date for the night, giggled. "She sure makes the rest of us look like a sack of potatoes. But good for her, she looks stunning."

       "You girls are being silly." Marlene rolled her eyes.

       "Hey," Lily nudged James. "I'm really glad you left her. She's nothing but trouble."

       James frowned. "What do you mean?"

       "Well, she's obviously super involved with the Dark Arts," Lily noted as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't you remember back in first and second year? How close her and her brother used to be?"

       "Used to be," Remus said through gritted teeth. "She hasn't seen him since he graduated."

       "Still, that's her family, her flesh! Blood is thicker than water, remember?" Dorcas pressed. It was clear none of the girls were particularly fond of the Slytherin.

       "Eh." Sirius raised his hand. "I beg to differ."

       "The point is," Lily raised her voice. "Whether directly involved or not, she's still dangerous. Guilty by association if you want."

       "Guilty by association, huh?" James had clearly gotten irritated by their discussion and had finally decided to intervene. "How convenient that you seem to forget that your best friend is willingly messing with those people. Or are you still lying to yourself, Lily?" He leaned in closer, trying to keep his voice steady but unable to conceal the anger in his eyes. "Snape is a Death Eater, sweetheart."

       "I know what I'm doing, Potter." Lily's face contorted with anger as her eyes welled slightly.

       James shook his head not only in disbelief at the girl's naïvety but also at his sudden outburst. He had not meant to be that harsh to Lily, but the night had already been ruined and he just wanted it to stop. "I'm sorry." He stood up and walked away with the rest of the boys going after him.

       "Are you jealous?" Remus asked after twenty minutes of painful silence in which James downed pure Firewhiskey while he stared agonizingly at Alexis.

      "Terribly."

       "Why don't you go get her then?" Peter asked timidly.

       "It's easy for you to say, you're just her friends. Things are more complicated if you were planning to date her." He rested his chin on his hand as he continued to sulk.

       "f**k that!" Sirius exclaimed, slamming his glass on the table. "She makes you feel good, you make her feel good! That's all that matters! f**k labels and terms and all that s**t! Just do what feels right."

       Sirius' words echoed on James' mind for longer than the latter intended them to. It was a matter of head versus heart, pride versus feelings. Sirius and Peter left to retrieve their own alcoholic beverages from their dorm, while Remus remained next to James and gave him sympathetic looks. "Maybe she can't love you, but she's willing to give you the best of her. And if you truly like her, then that should be more than enough."

       James returned his gaze to the empty table where Alexis and Josh sat no more than a minute ago. He frowned, noticing their absence, and took another shot of Firewhiskey. Head or heart?

       Sirius and Peter returned, hiding a bottle of Muggle alcohol. James gladly took a swig straight from the bottle. Maybe he could go find her and they could talk things out. Maybe they could go back to the way things were before. Pride or feelings?

       The Prewett twins joined them, giving them each a shot of tequila which they had stolen from their uncle after he returned from his trip to Mexico. James drank it without hesitation, his eyes still glued on the empty table. He stood up abruptly, struggling to regain his balance, and stormed out of the Great Hall. Where was she?

       "I swear on Merlin's beard they were shagging!"

       "I have trouble believing you walked in on a house-elf f*****g a witch." Alexis giggled as she aimlessly walked the empty corridors next to Josh.

       "I'm telling you it's true! I was at the Leaky Cauldron and I walked into the wrong room. I know what I saw!" He giggled uncontrollably. Throughout the night she had learned he was not a heavy drinker, and two spiked drinks were enough to get him in a silly state.

       "I'm curious but at the same time I don't want to ask for details." She shuddered with disgust at the thought.

       "You look amazing tonight, have I told you that?" He placed his hand on her waist as they walked side by side.

       "Only like fifty times, mate." They both laughed loudly, alcohol getting the best of them.

       Josh halted, making her stop as well. He pulled her closer by her arm, biting his lip as his eyes lingered on hers. His hand was still gripping her arm while he ran his other hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, I have to do this."

       Alexis stood still as Josh's lips crashed against hers. She kissed him back softly but kept her eyes open. Sadness and emptiness took over her as her body remained numb and unresponsive to his touch. The tingling in her stomach that mimicked the famous butterflies wasn't there, and her body didn't feel warm and electric, like it usually did when James caressed her.

       Amid her sorrow and heartbreak, she managed to convince her inebriated mind that the lips pressed against hers belonged to the messy-haired boy she'd grown to care for. And the hands that ran through her body were the same ones that took her breath away with their touch. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, dreaming James was back in her arms. And that's how she ended up pinned up against a wall with one of her legs wrapped around his waist while his hands ran desperately through her body as they shared the sloppiest kiss she'd ever had.

       "No." A hoarse voice whispered, making Alexis immediately push Josh away, not wanting to be caught in such a compromising position. But when she turned to face their intruder the situation turned ten times worse.

       James didn't know much about heartbreak, he just knew he'd reached the limit. He'd reached rock bottom. His heart broke all over again, his inebriated mind blurred all clear thoughts and he impulsively did the first thing his drunken state told him to do. Punch that scumbag.

       Alexis screamed and scurried to the side as James threw the first punch of what had quickly risen to be a full-on fight. She frantically called for help, knowing better than to try to step in. "Sirius! Remus! Someone!"

       Thankfully the boys seemed to have been looking for James and weren't far off from the commotion, arriving almost immediately. The boys knew James was heartbroken and drunk, which is never a good combination, but to get in a physical fight was completely unlike him. It was inevitable that he would end up doing something stupid, but no one expected that.

       Sirius and Remus broke the fight, forcefully pulling the boys away from each other while Peter stood next to Alexis comforting her. It was then that she realized tears were running down her face, most likely from the shock of the entire ordeal.

       James pulled away from Sirius, no longer fighting him or trying to get to the Ravenclaw. Sirius then moved to help Remus who was trying to ease the situation, apologizing to Josh on James' behalf and claiming this was all a drunken mistake. Sirius offered to help Josh with some of the wounds he had acquired and they both headed off, leaving Remus and Peter to deal with the growing tension between the former couple.

       "What on earth do you think you're doing?!" Alexis pulled on her hair exasperatedly, screaming at a defeated looking James.

       "Why did you kiss him?!" 

       "Because you left me, remember?!" Alexis was getting angrier by the second. She didn't care for Josh and didn't see him as more than a distraction, but James still had no right to barge in and ruin the little fun she was having, messing with her emotions all over again.

       "But I want you." His voice broke as a couple of tears ran down his cheeks.

       "Then you should've told me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "You should've told me instead of turning your back on me! Instead of leaving me! Instead of running off to Lily!" She began pushing him as she spoke, releasing all the pent-up anger she felt. "You ran off to Lily, James! Do you know how that made me feel? Oh, I'll tell you! I felt like I wasn't good enough! You made me believe I wasn't good enough for you, you dimwit! And now you just walk in after not speaking to me for weeks and beat the s**t out of some innocent guy because you want me?"

       "Lex— please— I know I f****d up tonight—"

       "Tonight?" She asked indignantly. "No, not just tonight. You f****d up the night you walked out on me, James Potter."

       And now, it was her turn to walk out on him.

       She tried to suppress her sobs as she furiously wiped away her tears. The scene was entirely too similar to the one that had occurred weeks prior. And it was also because of the same person.

       Her dorm was still empty when she arrived and as tempting as it sounded to trash the whole place down she knew it wasn't a smart idea. Instead, she threw a tantrum reminiscent to that of a five-year-old as she stepped out of her dress and wiped away her makeup, taking her pity party to bed. A rustling of parchment came from under her pillow as she laid down, making her frown in confusion. She reached under the pillow and pulled out a letter, sent by none other than her brother.

       She wondered if it was a coincidence she received letters from her brother every single time she was upset over James. She pushed aside the thought and left the letter in the bedside table, knowing its content would most likely leave her tossing and turning all night. She couldn't afford that. She had a pity party to attend.