Chapter
-7-
The Easter Hogsmeade Trip
"I love Spring!"
Demi sighed and collapsed into the long grass. There had been a week of sunshine and warmth, and the four of them were enjoying being outdoors as much as they could. Their spot in the shade of a tree by the lake was claimed as soon as their classes finished.
"And look!" Demi exclaimed softly. "The tree's getting flowers!" She breathed in deeply and sighed again happily. "It smells nice."
"You're truly in your element during Spring, aren't you, Demi?" Kasia laughed.
"The snow finally stopped," Demi listed, "the sun is shining and making me look slightly less translucent. The breeze smells amazing with all the flowers blooming. It's a wonderful time."
They all smiled in agreement and took in the feeling of the sun on their skin, before Fred sighed.
"Speaking of a good time," he began sarcastically, "it is April, which means we have a stack of homework and study to do for our exams next month."
"Damn it, Fred!" Demi said, jokingly annoyed. "I'd almost forgotten!"
"I had forgotten," James chuckled.
"Classic James," Kasia remarked, "not having to study at all, and still getting over 90% on exams."
James gave a sheepish grin. "I'm just talented?"
"Well know that we all despise you and your talent," Fred said half-jokingly, "and hope that you're bored while the rest of us ordinary people go and study."
Demi pouted. "Can't we just spend ten more minutes in the sun before we go back inside?"
"Sure," Kasia smiled and leaned back to lie down, "it really does feel lovely."
She closed her eyes as the boys laid back as well.
"Kasia?"
She opened her eyes and turned her head, seeing James' next to her's on the grass. His brown eyes looked brighter in the sunshine.
"Yeah?"
James gave a half grin. "It's just nice seeing you relaxed and smiling. Also your eyes look really purple in the sun."
"Thanks," Kasia laughed, smiled wider. "I have nothing to be stressed about at the moment. My father is awesome, third year is so much more interesting than second, therefore study isn't as painful. The full moon isn't for another week, and the weather is perfect. I'm happy."
"Good," he grinned, turning his head upwards and closing his eyes, "I like seeing my friends happy. It makes me happy. You know you guys have quite an influence on my mood?"
There was a moment of contented silence.
"Mate, you sound like a girl."
They all broke out into laughter.
"Hey! Just because I care about you lot!" James exclaimed in defence.
"I think with that," Fred sighed after he stopped laughing, "I'm in a good enough mood to study."
They spent the rest of the afternoon studying for Charms and Potions - it was Kasia's turn to pick - going over their notes for the practical side that they would be practising that week.
After dinner, Kasia and James studied Ancient Runes together with the Every Flavour Beans bonus points game while Fred was being tutored by Victoire - who was very happy to help seeing as she struggled with it when she started as well - and Demi studied for Muggle Studies.
"Oh, I have to say, Days, this is not your day," James remarked, "Potter pulls even further ahead with 15 questions to Days' dismal 11."
"Nice alliteration," Kasia laughed, "but you're giving me the hard questions and you know it! Besides, I'm still way ahead on beans caught!"
"Yeah, well, catch this!" James exclaimed, standing up and throwing a handful of beans in Kasia's direction. She opened her mouth and squealed.
"Ha! I actually caught one! Ooh, vanilla."
"Well, when they have a food toss class in fifth year I'm sure you'll get an Outstanding," James joked, "shall we get back to it?"
"You guys have so much fun studying!" Demi complained. "I should've done Ancient Runes."
Kasia sighed, her eyebrows raised. "Yes you should have. But we're just awesome and think of fun, delicious and occasionally revolting ways to study."
"Ugh, I'm having a sweat flavour flashback," James said with his face scrunched up.
"Hey, I had vinegar flavour once!" Kasia remembered. "That was far worse!"
"I'm sorry, do you like the taste of sweat?" James asked rhetorically.
"It's just salty."
"Demi?"
Demi shrugged. "I just want to understand muggle electricity."
oOo
Later that night, all of the girls in third year were in their dormitory.
"It's been so long since we've all been able to talk!" Yasmine said happily. "Just us girls."
"Third year's been so busy," Chandi Talley pointed out, "we've all had to focus on our new subjects."
"You shouldn't have chosen Arithmancy, then," Katriel laughed, nudging her best friend.
"It's interesting," Chandi insisted, nudging Katriel back.
"You sound like Fred," Demi said, rolling her eyes, "oh Arithmancy's so much fun, too bad it takes up half his time studying for it."
Kasia gave Demi a look. She knew Fred wouldn't appreciate being gossiped about.
"Maybe you should study with Fred, Chandi," Kasia suggested, "he sometimes gets help from Victoire, but when he studies with me I can't really help at all."
"Hey, that's a great idea!" Katriel exclaimed. "Besides, Chandi, didn't you say the other day that Fred was so funny?" She put on a funny voice and twirled her hair while she said that, and Chandi glared at her.
"Everyone knows that, Katriel," she reminded her, then looked at everyone else, "she's convinced that I fancy Fred."
"Fred?" Demi laughed. "But he's so...Fred!"
"He is pretty funny," Yasmine reasoned.
"Well Chandi certainly thinks so," Katriel teased, earning a pillow to the face.
"Speaking of funny," Yasmine sighed, "James. And he's so -"
"Handsome," Demi sighed, mocking Yasmine.
"And thoughtful," Katriel joined in.
"And charming," Kasia laughed, mimicking Yasmine's expression.
"And he's just so amazing," they all chorused.
Yasmine pouted. "I don't talk about him that much."
Demi laughed. "Enough for us to know all of the classic adjectives you use to describe him."
"But he is all those things, don't you think?" Yasmine grinned.
"Well, yeah," Kasia responded before she thought about what she was saying, "but it's James."
Theyall looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"What?" Kasia said defensively. "He is funny and thoughtful."
"And charming and handsome?" Demi said with a grin. Kasia glared at her.
"You'd have to be blind to not think so," Yasmine reasoned, "anyway. Do you think I could tag along with you lot at Hogsmeade?"
Demi smiled slyly. "If you bring that brother of yours."
"Roy?" Yasmine asked incredulously. "But he's so quiet!"
"He's cute," Demi shrugged.
Yasmine's expression of disgust continued for a few seconds as she thought it over. Then she shrugged.
"Yeah, okay. If you get married then we'd be sisters anyway!"
They all laughed.
"You're hilarious, Yasmine," Katriel told her.
"Yeah, I was totally kidding," Yasmine laughed. "Anyway speaking of Hogsmeade, I heard David Jackson asked you out, Kasia."
Kasia groaned. "That event is proving to be way more trouble than it was worth."
"You're not going?"
She repeated her comet excuse. It was half true anyway. There was a comet that night.
"Would you have said yes if it weren't for the astronomical circumstances?" Demi asked curiously. Kasia shot her a glare at her choice of words.
"I don't know, to be honest. I mean, he is really funny..."
"And he's got that classic Beaters build," Katriel added with a grin, "muscles and all."
Kasia blushed. "I wasn't even thinking about that."
Yasmine snorted. "Oh, okay."
"Well, I'm not going to date someone just because of their physique," Kasia said obviously, "not that I'd complain."
They laughed and the conversation turned to Katriel and a Ravenclaw boy who she worked with in Transfiguration.
oOo
"So it looks like you're stuck with Yasmine at Hogsmeade on the weekend," Kasia told James at breakfast. He groaned.
"What? It's bad enough she crashes our study sessions and talks all the way through Ancient Runes so I actually have to try and listen, and comes to the Quidditch practices, but now she's coming with us to Hogsmeade?" He looked at Kasia. "Can't you just come and drag me along to the bookshop with you, then we can sneak off? I doubt Yasmine would want to go into that shop."
Kasia laughed tiredly. "As much fun as I'd have sneaking around Hogsmeade for a day like a game of Hide and Seek, I told you. It's Easter, remember? Holiday that revolves around the full moon."
James moaned and put his head on the table. "Maybe I'll borrow one of Fred's Skiving Snackboxes. Come down with hives or a fever."
"Come on, James, she's not that bad," Demi persuaded, "she's funny, pretty..."
"Yeah but I see so much of her," he told her, "I was looking forward to a day at Hogsmeade with just you three." He frowned. "I forgot Kasia wasn't coming."
"Well Roy's coming as well," Demi said.
"I always liked Roy," Fred said absent-mindedly, looking up briefly from his Arithmancy homework.
The bell rang. "Come on, let's go to Ancient Runes," Kasia told James.
Fred gathered up his Arithmancy papers. "Thursdays are the worst. One period of each subject, no doubles."
"Yeah, it's pretty tiring," Kasia agreed, yawning. "I can't wait till the full moon's over."
All through Ancient Runes, Yasmine talked about where they were going to go in Hogsmeade on Saturday and how much she was looking forward to it. Kasia's day went by in a blur, all those subjects and conversations. By the time they were sitting in the corner of the common room, practising Charms, Kasia was nearly asleep.
Fred smiled at her. "Maybe you should go to sleep, Kasia. You almost froze my wand last time you practised that charm."
Kasia nodded and started gathering her things slowly.
"Windgardium Leviosa!" James said, piling her books on top of each other. He grinned. "There. Now before you go to bed, let me practise the Cheering Charm on you. It was on the revision."
Kasia smiled softly, and he cast the charm. Her smile turned into a lazy grin. "Thanks, James. I feel happy."
"Good," he grinned, "night, Kasia."
"G'night, everyone," she said as she walked up to the dormitory. "Save me some chocolate."
She fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.
Friday passed quickly and soon Kasia was heading off to the hospital wing for her potion.
She was met by the new Healer, Madam Burns. She graduated from Hogwarts four years earlier.
"I'm told that you always come here for your potion," she said to Kasia, "but we've decided that you're getting old enough that we trust you'll take it at the appropriate time. So after this month, the potion will appear in the first drawer of your bedside table every month."
"Sounds good," Kasia nodded, making sure to commit that fact to memory. It was kind of difficult to focus that close to full moon.
As she made her way to the forest, she thought about what would've happened if the full moon hadn't been that night. She'd have gone to Hogsmeade, maybe even with David, and she'd spend some time with her friends as Yasmine and Roy joined them.
David was nice.
Kasia shook her head. Dating seemed like a particularly silly idea. It would just give her false hope.
Shuddering, Kasia begun her transformation as the sun fell behind the hills of Hogwarts. She reminded herself that she only had a limited number of transformations left, if she managed to find a cure in the years to come.
oOo
After the sun came up, Kasia went back to the dormitory, said her obligatory imaginary good night to Teddy, wherever he wes, and collapsed into her bed.
Hours after noon the next day, she was awoken abruptly by a loud noise in the room.
Hesitant to open her eyes completely, Kasia squinted in the direction of the window.
"Hey Kasia."
Her eyes popped open. "James?"
It was indeed James. He was dismounting his broom in the girls' dormitory, his hair windswept.
"How are you here? The stairs -"
"What did you think the broom was for?" James laughed. "I came through the window, Kasia."
"Oh yeah," she said, remembering, "you woke us up at Christmas once, too."
James dug into his pockets and pulled out a container. "Saved you some Easter chocolates. I know they're you're favourite."
She cracked a smile and took them. "Thanks James."
She sat up, wrapping herself in her blankets. "So why are you here?"
"Yasmine was bugging me," James frowned, "I didn't know she was so interested in Quidditch."
"Is she?" Kasia didn't know that, either.
"She wouldn't stop going on about our last match and how well the chasers did."
"Ah," Kasia yawned. Yasmine was fawning over James. "What else did she talk about?"
He shook his head irritably. "Surely everything! She wouldn't stop! So I thought I'd come back here. You never talk too much."
"Thanks," Kasia said sleepily, collapsing back into the bed. "I am wrecked though, so don't expect me to want to do anything."
"I won't," she heard him say softly as he sat on the end of the bed. He was quiet for a minute.
"What do you usually do the day after?"
Pulling the covers over herself and closing her eyes, Kasia answered. "Read. Not a textbook or anything. Usually a novel. Muggle ones are the best. They're more imaginative. But I don't really feel like reading yet, my eyes are too heavy."
She heard scuffling on her bedside table. "Is this what you're reading at the moment? The Fault in Our Stars?"
"Mmhmm."
"Want me to read it aloud?"
Kasia smiled. She really was lucky to have such amazing friends. "Only if you want to."
"Yeah, let's try this reading thing."
After she heard pages turning to her bookmark, James laughed. "You stopped right in the middle of a chapter. And of a conversation!"
"I like to leave myself something good for next time," she explained. "When I finished reading, the characters were actually reading to each other." She laughed softly, and James started.
"'I am,' he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. 'I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and is know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labour has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.'"
He paused.
"John Green is such a great writer," Kasia commented after James didn't continue, "please keep going."
He cleared his throat and read again.
"'Augustus,' I said again, not knowing what else to say. It felt like everything was rising up in me, like I was drowning in this weirdly painful joy ..."
Hekept reading until the chapter was over, and Kasia opened her eyes when it was.
"You're amazing, you know that?" She said to him.
He grinned sheepishly and put the book back. "I don't know about that."
"I do," Kasia told him, "I know that you're an amazing friend who not only accepts others' flaws, but helps them with whatever it is they're dealing with. I know that you constantly put their needs above your own, and that when you make friends you're fiercely loyal to them."
"Thanks," he smiled, looking down.
"Now," Kasia said as she swung herself around to sit up, "what do you say we grab some leftover food from lunch and think of an excuse for you skipping the rest of the day at Hogsmeade just to read to a tired werewolf the day after a full moon?"
He laughed. "Sounds good."
They walked in a comfortable silence as they went down the Gryffindor tower. Finally, James cleared his throat.
"So...do you wish you could've come to Hogsmeade?"
Kasia stared. "Of course I do. I always wish I didn't have to deal with the full moon."
He laughed shortly. "I know that. I meant because you could've gone with Jackson."
"David?"
"He asked you, didn't he?"
Kasia nodded.
"Would you have said yes if it were another day?"
"Does it matter?" She asked, looking at him. James looked away and shrugged.
"I was just curious. Yasmine mentioned you thought he was funny and...had a nice physique."
Kasia laughed. "They were the ones who said the second one, I just didn't disagree."
"So?"
"I don't know," Kasia admitted, "I mean it would have been fun, but I just don't know about dating."
James titled his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"What's the purpose of dating?" Kasia asked him.
He stared. "Um...I guess if you like the person, you want to spend more time with them?"
"The ultimate purpose," Kasia said, "dating either results in breaking up, or marriage, right? So the ideal purpose of dating is to marry at some point, or at least be in a relationship that your would consider having for the rest of your life. Otherwise, it's just going to be a painful breakup."
James laughed. "That definitely is the pessimistic way to look at it."
"Well for me it's realistic, because I'm not going to be able to marry someone when I'm still a werewolf. The whole marriage and kids thing that everyone expects is pretty much out of the picture for me."
"Why?"
"Because of my condition," Kasia said obviously, having flashbacks to the conversation she had with Teddy at Christmas years ago, "not only is someone not going to want to be with me once they find out I'm a werewolf, but I can't risk passing on my infection. Teddy may have gotten lucky with his genes, but he still has symptoms on the full moon."
"There are people who don't care if you're a werewolf or not," James reminded her, "I'm sure you'll be able to find someone."
"Yeah, but I don't know how they'll react until I tell them, and then they could tell everyone and...it would just be more painful in the end."
James shook his head. "You're silly, Kasia. You still deserve a normal life, regardless of your condition. You're just being pessimistic."
"More like realistic," Kasia muttered, and they arrived at the Great Hall. "Look, can we just drop it, James? I've already thought this through and made up my mind. Maybe I would've gone to Hogsmeade with David, but I wouldn't have gone on any dates after that."
"Fine," James huffed, "but just so you know, the standard of what you think your life is going to be like is far lower than what it could actually be."
"Yeah, yeah."
oOo
Okay, so many of you asked if this was going to be updated regularly now. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure. For now, yes. Maybe as often as once a month, maybe more. I'll definitely finish third year and I'll try and continue on until the story's done, but I don't know how often I'll be updating. Sorry for being so vague :P
Anyway, please leave a comment (it doesn't take long) and enjoy :) in your comment, tell me what you think of Yasmine, David and Roy when it comes to them being with James, Kasia and Demi ;)