Little Riddle | James Potter

Four

She had been on a duel before, against Lucius Malfoy, which was still to this very day the worst decision she had ever made. It was needless to say it had ended poorly for both parties. So naturally, she had been wary when she first walked into the Room of Requirement to meet with the Marauders, expecting an ambush and several jinxes to be thrown her way. Never in a million years did she imagine she would be ending the evening with tears running down her cheeks due to the incessant laughter. This was definitely more fun than trying to physically modify Lucius. Disarming your opponent and trying to outsmart them had nothing on some classic jinxes, which happened to be the Marauders' specialities.

Now, every time Sirius cast a spell it conjured a rubber duck that flew out of his wand and pathetically landed two feet away from him, making her break into a fit of laughter all over again. All courtesy of James Potter. They had stopped actually duelling ages ago, with all of the duelers claiming they had won. Peter sat on the sidelines throughout the entire ordeal, providing them with snacks and occasionally cheering them on, Remus and Alexis ended up sitting by his side as they all watched James and Sirius having a go at each other. The two cheeky masters of mischief provided them with all the entertainment needed, and after many 'Episkeys' and face-stuffing they decided to call it a night. It wasn't until that very instant that Alexis became aware of how much she'd been enjoying herself, feeling genuinely displeased that she now had to part ways with the group. Her good spirits were quickly overturned as they exited the room and ran into none other than Lily Evans, who unfortunately happened to be walking on that exact corridor at that exact time.

Her feud with Lily had stopped being personal a long time ago, but Alexis could feel how the Gryffindor projected all of her insecurities onto her which caused a hostile environment between the two. Truth be told, she didn't have any strong opinions regarding the red-head, she simply disliked Lily because Lily disliked her. On the other hand, the boys looked quite happy to see her, greeting her with cheers and hugs that she mostly reciprocated. It was James who looked the most elated, his entire demeanour changing with her mere presence.

"Lilypad," he greeted her with a charming smirk plastered on his lips. It was then that Alexis was reminded of James Potter's infatuation with Lily Evans, and for some bizarre reason, the thought made her uncomfortable.

"Potter," Lily snarled as a reply. "What were you all doing there?" She eyed them all suspiciously, purposely avoiding eye contact with Alexis.

"Oh, we were duelling---well, sort of," Remus explained, offering his fellow Gryffindor a friendly smile as he elaborated. "Remember that duelling club I talked to you about? We were preparing for it. Sort of."

Lily did not look particularly interested and instead just nodded her head dismissively. Once again, she directed her words at the boys and completely ignored Alexis' presence. "We should get going, then. It's getting late and I don't want you getting more detention."

"How caring of you, darling," James sighed enamoured.

"Right," Remus nodded at Lily before briefly turning to acknowledge Alexis. "See you tomorrow, Lexi."

"Goodnight." Her words came out like a whisper she was sure hadn't even reached Remus' ears.

Peter simply waved goodbye to her, and James instinctively followed Lily, most likely not even remembering who Alexis Riddle was at the moment. "You look extremely beautiful today, have I told you that?"

"Only like ten times, Potter."

Sirius leaned closer to Alexis and whispered in her ear. "And his corny self is actually winning her over, can you believe it?" He pulled a face before winking at her as a farewell and going after his friends.

Alexis was left stranded in the deserted corridor all on her own. It took her a couple of seconds to get herself together and start making her way to the dungeons, her dispirited ways quickly returning. There was something very odd and peculiar about the way she was feeling, it was a sentiment she rarely ever experienced, one which she strongly disliked, and it duplicated when she saw the five Gryffindors heading towards their tower side by side. Pretty little Alexis Riddle was jealous.

Why? She wasn't quite sure, but the few hours she'd spent with the Marauders had been the most she'd enjoyed herself ever since her brother graduated. Perhaps it was time she began coming to terms with the fact she felt lonely despite how difficult it was to admit. She dragged her feet in a child-like way, her mind going over all scenarios over and over almost tauntingly. Lily was actually friends with the boys while Alexis was an acquaintance at best. Then her mind wandered to James and his infatuation, and she couldn't help but scoff. His naivety and faith were heartwarming, but it would be such a poorly plotted act of the universe to have them end up together after six years of one-sided animosity and one-sided blind infatuation. Their relationship for the past five years had been less than ideal, so for something to suddenly arise between the two would be dubious. Fate was rarely that kind.

Alexis had never been so dispirited while getting ready for class. Lack of sleep and nostalgic loneliness never went well together. She had absolutely no desire to put on that stupid uniform, do her stupid hair, or apply her stupid makeup. But she did nonetheless because having an existential crisis was not an acceptable excuse to walk around looking so deplorably. She fixed her robes and mumbled to herself as she made her way to the Great Hall, the frown on her face making it evident to everyone who crossed her path that she was in a foul mood. But that certainly didn't stop a certain long haired boy from picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Hey, you wanker! I can walk, you know?!" She bellowed loudly, using her fists to try to inflict some harm on his lower back so he'd put her down, but Sirius simply snorted before setting her down in the Gryffindor table. "Oh. This is not a good look." She motioned to her green tie as she eyed the red and gold around her.

"So?" Remus placed down his mug and greeted her with a comforting smile. "If someone has a problem with it they can come say it to our faces.” As if on cue, he and Sirius turned to glare at a couple of third years that had been rudely staring at her, making them avert their gaze nervously.

Sirius took a seat next to her, an abnormally wide grin decorating his face. "Good morning, sunshine!"

She eyed them and their over-the-top smiles suspiciously. "What do you want?"

James gently pushed a plate her way, his demeanour suspiciously kind for James Potter of all people. "Eat breakfast with us."

It would be unrealistic to say her bad mood had suddenly shifted thanks to the boys' mere presence. If anything, she was quite irritated with the bunch because of a matter that was utterly childish. But she couldn't help herself, really, for years people had been evading her, and the last and only person who'd ever cared for her had been her brother. It made her feel anxious and pathetic to think she had not made one single friend in the entirety of her stay at Hogwarts, and although she was mostly to blame, it was still a sad statistic. She'd had brief flings with people that quickly lost interest in her, and as hard as it was to admit, things like that played with her self-esteem.

But then the Marauders were forced into her life, and the prospect of potentially having new friends excited her deep down. But as always, she was forced to return to her pessimistic ways. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Because you love us?" Sirius answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, indifferent to the girl's moody behaviour. "How many classes do we have together?"

She extended her hand so Remus would hand her his coffee which he unhesitatingly did. She pondered about Sirius' question, the answer not being at the top of her mind. "Charms and Transfiguration," were the first that came to mind.

"We also have Potions together, don't we? All the sixth years have Potions together," commented James, receiving an affirmative nod from the lot.

Alexis frowned, not comprehending why they were discussing their timetables. "Why does it matter?"

"Because we want to spend more time with you," said Remus, "and we wanted to compare our timetables."

"We wanted to sneak you into the Gryffindor Tower last night," Sirius added, stuffing his face with waffles as he did so, "but then we ran into Lily Goody-Two-Shoes and we knew she wasn't going to allow it." The nickname earned a couple of cackles from the group, even James couldn't fight a smile. "Anyway! We also wanted to let you know that you have to be in your common room at 1 in the morning and make sure it is empty by then," Sirius blurted with a big, fake smile.

"What? Why?" She eyed them sceptically, not liking the sheepish grins decorating the four boys' lips.

"Just do it."

"But---"

"Oh! Would you look at that?! We're gonna be late for class!" The long-haired boy looked at his wrist before reaching for another toast and storming out.

"There's still fifteen minutes left and you don't even have a watch, you dimwit!" She screamed after him before turning to scowl at the rest of the giggling boys.

James pouted. "Please?"

"James, your french is bloody terrible."

"My french is not terrible. It's this stupid portrait that doesn't know french!"

"Toujours pure," Sirius tried, the desperation clear in his voice.

"Toujours pure!" They all began loudly exclaiming over each other, making the portrait guarding the Slytherin dungeons look at them with an annoyed expression.

"Are you all quite done?" It asked in a snobbish voice.

"Toujours pure!" James shouted exasperated. Suddenly, the portrait finally swung open and James was about to let out a victorious shriek until he saw Alexis standing behind the door, looking at them as if they were mental.

"You do know that dungeons make a lot of echoes, right?" She asked amused.