"You should really talk to James," Alison tells Grace as they are sitting in the library. It has been a day since they tried the charm at St. Mungo's, and Grace was still somewhat avoiding James. Currently, she and Ali were in the library catching up on the schoolwork they had both been missing. Luckily, their teachers were very understanding of Allison, Grace, James, and Scorpius because their siblings had been cursed. "You have Astronomy with him tonight, don't you? You really should try to talk to him."
"But what if he is mad at me?" Grace asked sadly. "I don't want to bother him if he is cross with me."
"Gracie, the last time you and he spoke, you kissed and he told you he loved you. Then you ran away," Ali argued. "I'm sure that all he wants is to talk."
"MUM, DO you have any major enemies?" Grace asked her mother as they sat in her office before dinner. "Perhaps anyone who would want to exploit your secrets?"
"Well I can't think of anyone now," Hermione answered truthfully. "The last enemy I had was Cormac McLaggen, but we called a truce when I fell pregnant with you."
"What happened with Cormac?" Grace inquired. Hermione sighed and took a seat across from her daughter.
"He tried to get me to go out with him," Hermione began. "And I refused over and over again. I was with Draco at the time. And when I became engaged, Cormac tried to duel Ron. And lost."
"What a loon."
"I told him off for it, told him that he was in no way entitled to me or a relationship with me. He was very angry at first but left me alone. Then a few weeks after I found out I was pregnant with you—and Witch Weekly found out—Cormac came to my office and apologized for everything. He agreed to act civilized and stop acting to entitled."
"Did he seem like he was telling the truth?"
"Yes, of course," Hermione said, opening up another book. "Had he been harboring unresolved hatred I probably would have known."
"Alright, if you say so."
"OKAY, NOW you all locate and write down the constellations you see. You must have at least ten," said Professor Sinistra at the beginning of Astronomy. As soon as they were told to begin, Grace gathered up the courage to walk over to James. When she did, he looked up and seemed surprised. When she got a good look at him, she noticed the bags under his puffy red eyes. Well to be fair, Grace wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't been sleeping. She herself had been plagued with insomnia since the beginning of term.
"Hey," he said to her, studying her nervous demeanor. His mouth began to turn upwards into a sad smile.
"Hi," Grace said. She looked down at her feet and tugged at the hem of her robes as she combed her brain for something—anything —to say. She didn't have to, however, because James pulled her into a tight, warm hug that the both needed very much. "I'm so sorry I haven't talked to you lately."
"It's alright, Gracie," he insisted. "We have both been going through a lot. Different people deal with grief different ways."
"That's not an excuse to push people away, James," Grace pointed out. James opened his mouth to argue, but Grace put up her hand. "I'm not perfect, you know. I am very broken. You are going to see all the baggage that I carry and all the personality flaws that I've kept hidden all this time. I am not a good singer, but I sing anyway when I'm bored or have a song stuck in my head. I don't sleep well, so I spend most of the night writing out chapters of my favorite books on half-crumpled pieces of parchment. I tend to leave my clothes all around my room until it is time to do laundry. But given all those flaws, I hope that you still like me enough to be my boyfriend and my friend through all of this. Because I love you too, James, and we need each other now more than ever. So, will you be my boyfriend?"
James was in awe. He was completely blown away by her speech, and it was what he had been wanting to hear from her ever since he kissed her and told her he loved her. Without answering, he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. Lorcan Scamander hooted from a few feet away from them but neither Grace nor James seemed to notice until they pulled away a few moments later to find Lorcan looking at them and nodding in approval. Grace smiled at James sweetly and without another word they both began their Astronomy assignment.
"ARE YOU sure that's who you want to be your next target?" a small man in blue asked his boss. "It's awfully risky."
"Yes," said the man's boss. "She hasn't come clean yet. This next one will force her to. Whatever it takes, Hermione Granger must pay."
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
That's where my demons hide