So, I hope people enjoy this chapter. I enjoy it myself. James makes me smile most of the time. Cora's shy, though, so I try to push her out of her shell to mixed results. Poo. I had another character named Cora once who acted nothing like this. Weird.

Well, enjoy! Or point and laugh. That's good too. :D

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling's the one the mega bucks. Me? I'm broke. Woe.


Winning at Everything

Chapter Four: James Wins at Romance

Month Four: Fourteen Weeks – February 14, 2022 – Valentine's Day

The Gryffindor verses Hufflepuff match was in four days and James Potter was going to be using up all his luck beforehand. But this was one of the few things that James considered (and he hated to say it, but it was true) more important than quidditch. Not that his team needed luck. They were the best because of how well they played and nothing else. Plus, Slytherin had been flattened by Ravenclaw. James wasn't sure if that made him scared of playing against Ravenclaw or gleeful that Slytherin had lost. It was a dilemma that James was happy to let plague his mind instead of his more immediate problem of wanting to throw up.

James was a Gryffindor, though, so when he walked into the common room he didn't hesitate in walking to where Cora was watching Fred and Roxanne have a heated chess match. The days after Cora had been disowned had been hard on her, but James and Albus had banded together to make sure Jack and Cora got to still see each other with no one the wiser. The threat of Cora having her Head Girl Status revoked was also put to rest when Flitwick had called her to his office and acted completely sympathetic. Though she had gotten quite a few detentions. You wouldn't have known it, but teen pregnancy wasn't exactly uncommon in Hogwarts. It was just usually kept quiet.

"Cora, can you come with me for a bit?" James whispered.

Cora blinked, but nodded. "Sure, see you guys." Thankfully, she missed the wicked smirk Fred sent him over her shoulder.

"Where are we going?" Cora asked as they stepped out of the common room. He could feel her looking over his outfit and shifted a bit. Lily and Hugo (who was remarkably good with fashion) had helped dress him for the occasion. The casual black slacks and slightly unbuttoned white shirt seemed a bit much, but it was better than dress robes, which was really too formal.

James just took her hand and hoped she couldn't tell it was sweating. "I just want to show you something." Cora gave him a strange look. She still squeezed his hand though, so he thought he was doing pretty good. He hadn't bolted yet. That was always a good thing.

At the entrance to the Room of Requirement, James pulled Cora to a stop and began pacing. He was a little disappointed that the door looked so unassuming, but was pleasantly surprised at the way the Room had transformed inside.

It looked a lot like the Great Hall, but dimmer. The sky in the ceiling was cloudless and filled with stars, while all the tables were absent. A slow ballad from the Golden Knuts (Cora's favorite band) was playing softly throughout the room, while several fireplaces were lit along the walls.

It was perfect. James wished for a moment he could hug the room, but that would be a bit awkward. For everyone.

With a grin at Cora, he pulled her to the middle of the room, while she gaped around them in awe. The candles hanging in the air gave Cora's hair a golden tint, while it made her skin glow. James couldn't stop staring at her and wondering why such a wonderful girl was with him. She didn't care about how famous his father was, or how many pranks he had pulled while in school. Before being disowned she had been as rich, if not richer, than the Potters were. James was just a goof-off and Cora didn't seem to mind at all.

"What's this all about?" Cora asked with a grin.

James pulled her into a slow waltz. He only knew the most basic steps and that was only because Teddy had been bored one day and had tried to teach James, Albus, and Hugo. The other two had taken it up like fish to water, but James, like his father, had two left feet.

"Happy Valentine's Day," James told her softly. He took a moment to slowly twirl her, proud of himself when he didn't crash her into anything. The fact they were in the middle of an empty room didn't matter. James was bad at dancing.

Cora smiled up at him. "Happy Valentine's Day to you."

James had asked advice of every single adult male in his family, even Uncle Charlie. It had been his father and, surprisingly, Uncle Percy who had given him the best advice: say everything. His mother had been unexpectedly giddy when he had written to them, and Trevor Bobbin had actually been pretty cool about the question James had asked him and replied in the affirmative.

Bringing them to a stop, James took both of Cora's hands in his own. "Cora, I didn't really notice you at all until you tried to take points off of me last year. That's probably because my head hadn't really deflated until then. Couldn't see past my own nose and all that." He smiled a little wryly.

"I am glad that your ego is an average size now," Cora commented with an amused grin.

"Me too," James agreed. "You know, I didn't actually expect us to last very long. I thought you'd get tired of me after a while, or not understand my sense of humor like most people. They're think that I'm just like my Granddad James since I'm named after him, but you know I'm bollocks at transfiguration. They get to know me and don't really stick around once they realize I'm not what they thought at first, but you didn't. I think you actually liked me more after that."

"I did, you know," Cora said quietly.

James rested his forehead against hers and continued. "I guess I just want you to know, I love you. Really love you, more than anything. We have the same taste in quidditch teams and music. You also like the legs of chocolate frogs, while I like the head so we can always share them. I know we started a bit too soon on the whole baby thing, but I don't really regret it that much. It's a little piece of me and you, and if there's anyone who could make me better, that's you."

Cora's lip trembled. "Oh James..."

It seemed all the nerves that had been building in James for the last few days had faded away in an instant. With a devil-may-care grin, he lifted his head and slipped a hand into his pocket. "So, I know we should probably wait, we're only seventeen, but I don't bloody hell care what anyone thinks about us. We're doing this whole thing backwards, but that's how I like it. I want to spend the rest of my life sharing chocolate frogs with you and trying to out scream you when a bludger misses someone at a match." He took a breath and pulled his hand out of his pocket. "So, Cora, will you marry me?"

There was a thick silence as Cora stared at the ring in James's hand. It was gold, with a single round diamond. It had reminded James of Cora the instant he had seen it: beautiful, but not over-the-top. Lily had absolutely died when she had seen it.

Cora let out a wet laugh and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Oh James. Yes. Yes."

A grin big enough to hurt plastered onto his face as he pulled Cora to him and spun her around. He didn't know if he had ever been happier than that moment. She had said yes! He was going to marry the love of his life and have a family with her.

The whole castle probably heard it when James yelled to the common room "SHE SAID YES!"