A James S. Potter/Dominique one-shot in the aftermath of Teddy and Vic's engagement. This fic has incestuous undertones. So please, if you're easily offended, don't read it. Otherwise, its fluffy and sweet! Yay! :D
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Magic was always in the air at Hogwarts. And it seemed as if this magic was precipitating in the skies when thunderclouds shrouded the castle in gloom. There had been low rumbles of thunder all evening, and the sun had set behind those massive clouds leaving none the wiser.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team had been relieved their practice ended before it started raining. Even their captain had agreed with his team and decided that they could let the after-match analysis pass just this once. They hurried into their changing rooms and had sped back to the castle lest the weather got any worse.
One of the chasers though, has gone the other way, out of the showers and onto the Quidditch pitch. She stood right in the middle. On either end of the field, the hoops stood ominously high from the ground. It was strange to find them standing there, more so to find herself standing there, not on a broom, trying to get closer, dodging obstacles, reaching out to throw the Quaffle through one of them. Reaching out. Out of reach. That's what they seemed. Out of reach. Like many other things in her life.
She took a deep breath. Closed her eyes. Willed them shut. Forced them shut. Her forehead marred in a frown of concentration. Her hand held her broom in a vice-like grip. Her heels dug into the ground. Images. So many images. They were the only thing she could see behind her closed lids. It comprised her nightmares from which she woke in a fit, drenched in sweat.
"Fuck." She swore. "This needs to stop."
"Truer words have never been uttered, cousin."
She stiffened as she heard his voice behind her. It took her a moment to compose herself before she could acknowledge his presence. She turned her head to the left, on the side his voice came from. Her straight, red hair, dyed a few shades darker than the rest of their family landed like a curtain between them.
He stepped forward, into her line of vision, facing her with an unreadable expression.
"James."
"Dominique."
She stared at him. Her cousin stood before her in all his Quidditch Captain glory, obviously opting not to change out of his gear much like she had. Though her brain was fogged with numerous things, one tiny corner could appreciate the man that stood before her. Broad, muscled shoulders, a chest that stretched his jersey to the limits, and biceps that swung his beater's bat at the bludgers with enough force to knock out a hippogriff. Yes, it was no wonder half the school's female population was drooling after him, what with his unkempt black hair and-
She caught herself. And her train of thought. Her relationship with her cousin had never been strictly platonic and she scolded her brain for letting her thoughts go haywire.
"Stop it." He said harshly. The brown eyes they shared were ignited with something she couldn't place on him.
"Stop what, James?" She asked, her lips upturned in half a smirk. Her tone mocking, "Checking you out? I thought you liked being the centre of attention."
Any light that had been seeping through the clouds was now gone as they stood in almost pitch-black darkness. The only thing that illuminated the pitch with a faint glow was the light from the castle. She could only see one half of his face in the dim light, and the rest of his body was a silhouette, but it didn't go unnoticed when he bristled at her words.
"You know what I mean, Dom." He almost growled. "Stop your fucking pining after him."
It was her turn to bristle. She bit down on her lip as her eyes flashed. "I am not. Pining." She bit out.
"Really?" James said bitterly, taking a step closer to her, invading her personal space. "Because the last couple of months didn't seem very merry on you."
She sucked in a breath as he closed the space between them. He was now towering over her and her brain fogged up again under his intimidating presence. "I- I've just been under the weather."
"Under the weather?" he laughed a bark-like, mirthless laugh. The skies chose that moment to let through a bolt of lightning, illuminating both their faces for a split second. His, humourless despite his laughter. Hers, strong despite her quivering voice.
"Trust the heavens to add to our dramatic presence, eh?" He said quietly, his voice had an edge to it. "Dom, did you need to see a ring to finally let it sink in that he chose her? Why the hell couldn't you see what we've all seen for the past five years?"
Her eyes didn't meet his when she replied. She didn't trust herself enough not to choke on the emotion. "I don't know what you're talking about."
His hand reached out and gripped her chin, forcing it up gently, yet firmly to make her look him in the eye.
"Dom."
She met his eyes with hers, and she barely lasted for a minute before her eyes started watering. She pressed them firmly closed, as if willing her tears to recede back the way they came from. She took in a deep breath and let her hang down, her forehead coming to rest on his chest.
"It's.. too hard." She finally let out, her voice shaky.
James fought the urge to grab her by her shoulders and shake her back to her senses. He placed a hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly, as if to encourage her. But he was taken by surprise when a sudden sob came from her and she let her broom fall to the ground as she hugged him desperately.
He didn't think twice before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer into his chest as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. It was nothing close to a brotherly embrace. He didn't intend it to be. He wanted her to feel safe, secure, and most of all, wanted.
The meaning of his actions wasn't lost on her. And she was grateful, because she clung to him like her life depended on it, her nails digging into his back as she buried her face into her chest. Her form quivering in his arms as her silent tears stained his jersey.
"Don't, Dom." He whispered near her ear, his breath tickling her skin while his hands rubbed soothing circles into her back. "He isn't worth it. He is not. Worth. It."
She stilled at his words, breaking away from the embrace as she turned her tear-stained face up to look at him.
He cupped her face with both his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.
Dom and James were of the same age, and had been nearly inseparable all their lives till they came to Hogwarts. Hogwarts altered their relationship a little because for eleven year-old boys, being best friends with a girl was not the coolest thing to be doing. Thus, she was relegated to the level of their other cousins in public while Freddie Weasley took her place as James' best friend. And with him, he lived up to the names of his namesakes. But every now and then, through the years, when the common room emptied and the embers in the fireplaces were almost dead, he sat with Dom and talked through the night. They poured their hearts out to each other on such nights, laughing at his silly antics and teasing her mercilessly for various things. He held her when she cried over her stupid, meaning-less relationships, which he knew very well were just a distraction from the one her heart truly wanted. And she heard him rant on and on about Albus, Quidditch, his studies, or anything that crossed his mind. And after every such night, when dawn broke, he kissed her quietly on her cheek before they both slipped away to their respective dormitories.
No. Things were never platonic between her and James. They had never been just cousins. They were more. Never just best friends. Always more. There was unspoken bond between them, which none had ever acted upon. Until, now. Maybe.
"James.." she started, but he cut her off by placing a finger on her lips.
"I know, Dom. What you… feel for him." He took a deep breath, as if collecting himself for what he was about to say next. "Just don't say it out loud. I don't think I can hear it."
Her eyes widened a little at his words. She was taken aback by his confession. She was in such emotional turmoil, she didn't know if she liked where this was going. But just as she opened her mouth to speak again, he covered her mouth with his hand, cutting her off again.
"Shh.. Let me speak. Just this once." He spoke, his voice a little more confident now. "I'm not a fool, you know? Do you really think I haven't noticed how your eyes have always searched for him at our reunions at the Burrow? You've always tried to gain his attention, and always been disappointed when he gave all of it to your sister."
Her eyes couldn't meet his eyes at his words. They were all true. And she was more pained than ashamed of the reality. But he would have none of it, and he pulled her chin up again to make her look back into his eyes.
"Do you really think you're any less than Victoire?" He asked her the question she asked herself every morning in front of the mirror. "Just because my ass of a God-brother prefers blondes to redheads?"
She had to crack a smile at that. Her smile did things to his pulse that even Quidditch couldn't.
"Dom." He said firmly, this time. As if trying to drill it into her head. "You're smart, beautiful, fiery, have a heart almost as large as Molly's, a body that would put the cover-girls of PlayWiz to shame-" He earned a thwack on his chest for that. "Hell. You're perfect. And if Teddy prefers less than perfect, that's his loss."
Dom felt her chest swell with each word as he held her in his arms and made her feel things she had always dreamt she would feel one day. She had hoped and prayed that it would be Teddy. That he would finally see her once and for all, fall madly in love with her and forget all about Victoire. But she could see it now, it could never come from Teddy. Teddy wasn't the sort of person to make you curl your toes under his gaze, not the kind whose single heated gaze could turn you into a puddle of mush, not the kind who could ignite a fire in your heart, the kind that sat lit in hers right now.
"Dom, I-" he started, as the first few raindrops fell on their faces as it started drizzling.
But it was her turn to cut him off as she grabbed his Quidditch robes and pulled him down while she went on her tiptoes to press her lips up against his.
He was stunned into stillness for a moment as she kissed him. But just as she started to pull away thinking that she had misread his intentions, his arms snaked around her waist to pull her back to him as his lips captured hers in a heated kiss.
She threw her arms around his neck, trying to pull him down and closer just as he did the same, only pulling her up against him. The kiss seared their lips with the heat between them. He licked her lips, encouraging her to part them, which she promptly did. She almost let out a moan as his tongue slipped into her mouth, stroked and played with hers in a battle for dominance as each tried to put more into the kiss than the other.
Above them, the clouds had finally decided that they had enough of holding back and burst into showers, drenching them both as they stood in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, kissing each other.
Dom broke away from the kiss, effectively breathless as the downpour started, though she had never felt warmer. "You know… this… is incest." She spoke in bits as his tongue reached out to lap at her lips.
"Don't care." He responded, before reaching down to claim her lips again, his hand roaming all over her back, while one dipped down to grab her butt possessively.
"I've waited long enough for this, Dom." He growled. "I'm not letting you go now. Traditions be damned."
Dom couldn't help but smile at his words as she let the storm engulf her. The one drenching her robes paling in comparison to the one that raised a tempest in her heart.
Hope you enjoyed reading this! 3