007. She sits upon the shore

Word Count: 1,148


James did not remember falling asleep. Nor did he remember falling asleep in a dorm room in the Slytherin House. And while the thing he remembered least of all was falling asleep next to Lucius Malfoy, he found it less shocking than he thought it would have been.

Everything he had learned from Lucius yesterday fell back into the forefront of his mind and he looked over at the sleeping Slytherin. He was much less threatening in his sleep than when he was awake and could turn the Malfoy glare on him without warning - he retained almost a childlike quality and seemed to be eternally at peace.

After a few moments of thinking over what he had been told the previous day, his bladder awoke and demanded his full attention. James sat up, ignoring the protesting groan that Lucius let out, and looked around the room. He noticed Severus reading yet another book, only this one looked to be written in a foreign language - perhaps Greek, he thought - and he looked around the room. There were two doors in the room, apart from the door that was the entrance to the dorm room.

"It's the door on the left, Potter," Severus said without looking up from his book.

"I knew that," James said indignantly, blatantly ignoring the obvious fact that he had no clue where the bathroom had been. He also ignored the amused snort he got from the hopeful Potions Master.

After he had relieved himself, he returned to the bedroom and looked around a moment. He had the time to relax and think about what he had recently learned.

As it was still the Hogsmeade weekend and a number of students had decided to rent out rooms in the village to spend the night with their significant others, and Sirius and Remus had likely decided to spend the night in the Shrieking Shack, James was mentally put at ease, for now at least. He sat on the end of the bed while Lucius was still asleep and hoped the Slytherin was not a late sleeper.

Five minutes had passed and Lucius was showing no signs of waking up. James looked over at Severus, who was making a notation on a spare piece of parchment. "Do you ever sleep?" he asked.

"Yes," Severus said impatiently, though it seemed like he was forcing himself to be decent to James. At least while his mate was in the room and prone to turn feral should he feel his mate in any kind of danger. "I just don't need as much of it as you or Lucius do."

James peered at the Slytherin. "So you sleep like, what, three hours?"

Severus looked up at James. "Is there a reason you're conversing with me instead of tormenting me, or do you need the mutt at your side to egg you on?" he asked acidly, and James had the decency to look ashamed. Severus let out an exasperated sigh, standing up and picking up the books and the parchment that surrounded him on his bed. "If he's seriously into you, then you can wake him up without having to fear the repercussions. If he's not, you aren't getting out of Slytherin territory without bruises and threats against your health," he said before walking out of the room.

James groaned, resting his head in his hands. This sucked. He couldn't go out into the Slytherin Common Room without risking being seen and he was sure that the Slytherin walk of shame was much worse than the stony, cold looks that the Ravenclaws sent him in their improvisation of the walk of shame.

His stomach growled and he glanced at Lucius, who was still fast asleep. He knew the best way to get to the kitchen from almost everywhere in the school - including the threshold of the Forbidden Forest - and Lucius had to understand the need he had for food. Making up his mind, he managed to edge his way out of the Slytherin House without being seen or otherwise noticed and he all but ran to the painting of fruit that hid the kitchen.

In the kitchen he was only slightly surprised to see the Headmaster.

"Good morning, James," he said amiably and James nodded his response to the old man. He didn't not like Albus Dumbledore, but it was far too early for him to get himself into trouble with any teachers, least of all the Headmaster. For Merlin's sake, it was a Sunday morning not long after dawn. "I assure you that you are in no trouble, James," Dumbledore reassured the Gryffindor and James relaxed a bit.

A House Elf walked up to Dumbledore and handed him a small box, which the Headmaster took with a smile. He walked to the entrance to the Kitchen, where the painting had not closed itself completely. "Do try not to make too much of a mess with whatever you choose to do, James." As he had one foot almost completely out the door, he turned back to James. "I almost forgot," he said. "Lily Evans wished me to deliver a note to you for her." He handed James a note and then walked out of the kitchen, whistling to himself.

James tucked the note into his pocket and looked over at the House Elf who had just walked up to him.

"What can Tinky get for you?" it asked and James grinned.

"Send a plate of fruit and scrambled eggs to Lucius Malfoy's dorm room, please," he requested and the House Elf nodded. Satisfied that he now had the way to make the morning as interesting as he wanted, he made his way back down to the Slytherin House and slipped into the Common Room after remembering the password that Lucius had whispered to it the night before.

Once he was in Lucius' dorm room and again annoyed to see the Slytherin Prince was still asleep, he opened the note and read it.

Unseen she sits upon the shore, knowing that she knows a secret. One of them will meet her if he wants to know more.

As he processed what it could mean, he groaned aloud. "Shit," he said loudly, rousing Lucius immediately from his sleep.

"What's wrong?" he asked concernedly, though in a sleep-heavy voice.

"I have to go. I'll see you later," he said as he ran out to the shore of the lake.