Chapter 2: A fading glow.
The next morning, when I woke up, my lips were still tingling with the kiss from the previous night. I quickly brushed and dressed up, securing my tie with usual Gryffindor pride. I then went to the common room of the Head's dorm to find James sitting on an armchair, poring over a piece of parchment. "Hi, James." I greeted him as I neared, a tad bit shy. His face glowed with the most beautiful smile I'd seen when he saw me."Hey." he answered,"So, you ready to go down have breakfast?" "Sure." I nodded as he came over to me and pulled me into a hug. Normally, this would have bugged me like anything, but with one kiss, things had changed. I was suddenly glad of the burning quill as I inhaled James's woody smell. He let go, but I kept my arms around him."Mmmm, I love astronomy." He laughed and leaned down to brush his lips against mine. "Well who doesn't love star gazing." he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes and extracted my hands from around his neck. We walked down to the great hall hand in hand which I knew would result in shocked expressions, but I was way underestimating the crowd of Hogwarts. Soon as we entered, there was a deafening ruckus. I immediately recognised that James had told all about the kiss to the Marauders. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. After we were finally sitted, next to each other at the far end of the table, he caught hold of my hand again. "Prongs are you not going to eat?" Peter asked looking ridiculous, firstly, because of his stuffed mouth, and secondly because of his froggy expression. "Of course I am, Wormy.I mean, there's treacle tart today!" James exclaimed, grabbing the fork with his left hand. "Aw, how romantic, Prongs. Sacrificing your right hand to hold your girlfriend's left hand." Sirius gushed in false girly voice, topping it off with a giggle. James shrugged and began enjoying his treacle tart. I looked at Remus, who had recently arrived, with an exasperated expression. He gave an amused smile and shook his head. Halfway through breakfast, McGonagall descended upon us. I nugded James as she approached; he was too busy making jokes. As McGonagall cleared her throat with hawk-like eyes narrowed on the group, James gulped. I stiffled a giggle that arose when I saw his terrified face. No wonder they planned their pranks so carefully. Just before the bomb would explode, I slid slyly out of my seat. I might be James's girlfriend now, but that didn't mean I would get him out of the mess he had created himself. I decided to wait in the entrance hall. I seriously considered getting a stretcher for him from the hospital wing by the sounds I heard from inside, but before I'd even finished the thought, the bell rang and a whole mass of students rushed out from behind me. The yells were still sounding though, so McGonagall had, by no means finished giving scoldings and of course, detentions. I stood in the midst of the gathering crowd, debating on whether to proceed or not, when I saw someone. That someone caught my eye because he was looking towards me, down the staircase in the opposite direction of the students and also because he was James. I squinted, trying to make out how he ended up there, when Remus tapped on my shoulder. "Where's James?" I asked. " In detention." he answered. I looked again at James, who stood on the staircase, unnerved by the eyes that stared at him and the hands that shoved him. He had eyes only for me, and they bored into mine. I tried to make out the emotion they expressed, but he was so surrounded by people that I couldn't even see the colour of his eyes, much less the emotion in them.
Down at the lake, it was always calm and peaceful, unless of course, you had a pair of extremely indecent clowns with you. Remus and me sat side by side, reading while James and Sirius splashed around in the lake like small children and as I mentioned before, clowns. If not for the funniest home videos that began with verbal abuse of Peter and ended with me being drenched with the holy tentacles of the giant squid, I would have never noticed it. As I distangled myself from the hold of the slimy tentacles and James's arms to go and dry myself off, I glimpsed something golden in the shadow of the trees. Back on land I made to go towards it, but it disappeared. As it turned I saw two antlers. Then I blinked and it was gone. James's concerned eyes searched my face."You alright? You kind of look like you have been obliviated." "Must be you staring at me, causing that effect." I mumbled at him, not sure why I was lying. But he bought it immediately. The best way to warm up after an unexpected swim is to kiss James Potter, I decided as the blush in my cheeks rose the more feverish our kiss became. His one arm grabbed my waist, while the other cupped my cheek. Both my hands tugged at the nape of his hair as if they could act on there own. As I gasped after a long moment of snogging, I saw again the golden antlers and the fading glow. But I could not be sure of it as my head was spinning. After all, it could always be a memory, reforming itself in my distorted mind.
