Little Riddle | James Potter

Six

"I cannot believe you have an invisibility cloak!" Alexis removed the fabric from over her body to reveal her mesmerized expression. The pair were already well on their way to Hogsmeade and the cloak was no longer needed since they had already walked past an unsuspecting Filch. "No wonder you guys are so good at pranks."

James smirked down at her. "We're the kings of pranks, the cloak is just a bonus."

"The self-proclaimed kings," she muttered teasingly. "Where did you say the boys went off to?"

"The Owl Post Office." With his hands buried deep in his pockets, the lad walked alongside the significantly shorter witch, attempting to conceal his suddenly fidgety behaviour. "Remus forgot today's his father's birthday, so he needed to buy a gift and send it to him as soon as possible. We'll meet at the Three Broomsticks after they're done."

She simply nodded and kept her silence for the upcoming five seconds before finally voicing her doubt, "Is that a restaurant or—"

"Merlin!" He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at her with wide eyes. "This is her first time going to Hogsmeade, of course," he muttered to himself before reaching for her hand and pulling her along, increasing their pace as they walked. "Come on, quick! I got so much to show you!"

Picturesque buildings decorated the cosy-looking streets they walked through, creating scenery that was unlike anything Alexis had ever seen before. It angered her to think this village had been constantly visited by her schoolmates while she only ever saw it whenever she had to briefly stop by Hogsmeade Station. James knew exactly what their first destination was going to be, however, there was a small inconvenience Alexis had to voice through her embarrassment.

"James, I didn't—uh—I didn't bring any money to buy any of this," she gestured at the stack of candy the boy had been animatedly collecting.

James threw his head back with a laugh, amused by her concern. "This is all on me, love, don't worry."

"But—"

"Don't worry," he insisted, "besides, I'm known for making first times memorable."

Alexis had little to no knowledge about James Potter, however, his self-inflating humour was a commonly known trait about the guy. And it amused her immensely. She enjoyed his egocentric comments that she knew were made with light-hearted intentions. It was a type of sense of humour that went right along with hers.

He ended up dragging her to several shops and buying her anything she stared at for over five seconds, making her feel guilty but also undeniably giddy. By the time they got to the Three Broomsticks the rest of the boys were still nowhere in sight, which didn't particularly concern the two.

"You wait here and I'll go get us some butterbeer," James instructed before going to look for Rosmerta amidst the mayhem of people, leaving Alexis alone to gape at her surroundings. The place was crowded yet cosy, filled with Hogwarts students that frequented the pub during the weekends. It was a miracle they'd even found that empty table at the far right corner of the room, a table with a clear view of Fabian Prewett and his new girlfriend.

"Does that bother you?" A voice interrupted her trail of thoughts, making her jump startled and making James chuckle at her reaction.

"Does what bother me?" She asked the lad who proceeded to take a seat across from her and handed her the cold bottle. James averted his gaze from her to Fabian, then back to her. "Oh, no. We only messed around for a couple of weeks. Nothing serious."

James hadn't thought much about how, back in fifth year, he'd heard Fabian Prewett was seeing Alexis Riddle. It had been a useless bit of information for him, but now something about it simply didn't sit right. He turned to have a look at Fabian's new girlfriend, Chloe Cole, and couldn't help but think she was a downgrade. Not that there was anything wrong with her, but now that he had taken a better look at Alexis and had gotten to know her a little, the girl had managed to climb her way up his ranks.

"There's a quidditch game coming up," he broke the silence that had momentarily taken over them, anxiously scratching the back of his neck as he spoke, "first of the year, Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff. You should go. I—I mean, if you want to. It's okay if you don't, a lot of people don't like Quidditch.”

"James," she placed her hand over his to stop his rambling. "I. Love. Quidditch."

She giggled at his relieved expression, making it the first time he ever heard the sound of her giggles. A sound that brought a smile to his face and a gleam to his eyes. "Did you go to the Quidditch World Cup last summer?"

"Pfff," she scoffed, "as if the women at the orphanage would ever let me go. But I'm assuming you did?"

He nodded, a grand and proud smile decorating his lips. "The bloody Irish are something else, I tell you."

"You have to tell me everything!"

And in the blink of an eye, the unlikely pair engaged in an animated conversation that captured the attention of more than one onlooker. Remus, Sirius, and Peter joined them about thirty minutes later with very pathetic excuses that consisted of getting lost and being reprimanded by McGonagall for over thirty minutes. Once they had all regrouped Peter kept not-so-subtly looking from James to Alexis, and Remus had to not-so-subtly kick him under the table. James eyed them suspiciously but shrugged it off and returned his attention back to Alexis, who was complaining about how the Italians had cheated against the Brazilians in the semifinals.

Lily was on a date with a Ravenclaw boy. James noticed this when he walked past them as he exited the pub. It was unusual in every way because he tended to be overly conscious about Lily's whereabouts, but this time around the red-head had been just a few tables away and he had failed to notice. And even now, seeing her on a date didn't upset him like it usually would. Instead, he focused his attention back on Alexis and Sirius, who were arguing about Spain's 'obvious and disgusting cheating'. The five of them made their way back to the castle, engrossed in silly arguments and loud laughs.

Alexis was well aware of her condition. Her inability to love. She knew because she grew up seeing the kids at the orphanage as nothing more than nuisances who she never bothered bonding with. She knew because her relationship with Fabian felt dull and monotone, despite the prankster's lively personality. She knew because she could feel the emptiness. What she did not know though, was that if her brain was unable to produce oxytocin, why did it bother with keeping James Potter in her mind?

She tossed and turned in bed, analyzing the boy and his behaviour. James had awakened her curiosity in ways that were foreign to her, but she knew her condition couldn't be overturned by a pretty smile and a handsome face. It was fire, she knew she was playing with fire, meddling with things that should be left unbothered, yet she found it alluring.

"So, the weirdest thing happened today," Remus sat on the edge of his bed, his hair dripping wet after having just taken a shower. His attention was directed at James as he spoke, who was mindlessly playing with a snitch in the comfort of his bed. "You remember Josh Davis, right?" He received positive answers from all three boys. "Well, he asked to join the Dueling Club as soon as he found out Alexis was tutoring in it."

James caught the snitch rather abruptly and clenched it tightly. "Josh Davis? You mean that insufferable Ravenclaw?"

Sirius shrugged unfazed, "Don't see what's wrong with him."

Peter sat at the end of Remus' bed. "Slytherins and Ravenclaws make a good pairing, apparently. Maybe we can set them up."

"Now all of you have gone mental," James shook his head, muttering incoherences under his breath.

Remus gave a sly look at the rest of the boys and then turned back to James, "Why are you so bothered?"

"I'm not bothered!" He replied rather heatedly before regaining his composure, "I'm not bothered. I just think that guy's a git, that's all," he tried to appear nonchalant about it but he knew his acting was poor, and Remus' smirk confirmed that. "Oh, f**k off Moony. And don't think I didn't notice what you were trying to do today."

Peter chuckled as he returned to his bed. "Don't act like you didn't enjoy every second of being alone with her."

"You know what? I did. But I still don't understand where you're going with this." James buried his face on the pillow, not feeling like having that conversation at the moment.

"Have a little faith in us, mate," Remus grinned as he got under the covers.

Sirius stood up, pyjamas and clean underwear in hand, as he headed to the bathroom. "Lily Evans is so yesterday."

By lunchtime the following day the entire school was buzzing with rumours about the new alleged couple, and James could tell the three smirking boys next to him had something to do with it. He glanced at the Slytherin table and saw Alexis staring at him with utter amusement.

The boys were making their way out of the Great Hall when James turned around and shouted for the whole school to hear. "Oi, Riddle! You were amazing last night!"