After their first date at Hogsmeade, James Potter had wasted no time in continuing to court Katie Wallenby. She recalled the next two weeks of time spent together fondly. In their Transfiguration lesson the following Tuesday, James had promptly ignored McGonagall's instructions about turning the pieces of straw they had been provided into gold, instead turning his into a bouquet of flowers when the aging professor was helping another student and sending it across the room to Katie with a hastily scrawled note. McGonagall had of course quickly discovered what happened and returned the flowers to their rightful state, but it was the thought that counted.
The following Friday they had been studying together in the library – her request – when she casually mentioned being hungry. The next thing she knew, Katie had been whisked off through a secret entrance to the school kitchens where the house elves, who seemed to know James well, make them no end of delicious treats.
Despite her love of Quidditch, Katie had been nervous when James had asked her to go flying with him earlier that day. When she had come to school she had wanted desperately to make the house team, but after First Year Flying she discovered she was far from a natural and hours of practice over the summers had never been able to correct it. Still, James proved to be an excellent teacher and she thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him in his element. It was after their last run, when they had descended to the center circle, that he had finally asked her if to be exclusive. Both knew they hadn't being seeing anyone else in the intervening time, but she had been ecstatic to make things official.
As she entered the Great Hall with Renee and Marie to join James and his friends for dinner however, everything suddenly felt different. A much larger number of eyes than she was accustomed to seemed to follow her as she walked down the table. Though she couldn't make out what was being said, she could clearly hear other students whispering as she passed. Particularly jarring were the looks she got from some girls she had always had a positive relationship with. More than a few had replaced their usual smiles with glares, while still more wore hesitant, almost pitying expressions. She felt herself beginning to blush as she scanned the table for her boyfriend. Katie was relieved when she saw his messy black hair sticking out from the crowd. Noticing her, he quickly stood and walked to her, pulling her close for a hug and placing a light kiss on her lips. Katie smiled, pushing thoughts of her unsettling walk to the background for the time being.
"Hi!" James said brightly. "Saved you a place," he added, gesturing to an empty space next to Sirius Black that appeared to have room for two. "Renee and Marie, it's a pleasure as always," he nodded, winking. "We've saved you two spots next to Remus."
"Thanks, James…" the girls replied, leaving the couple alone for the moment.
"So…how've you been?" James asked.
"You mean since you saw me two hours ago?" Katie laughed. "Just fine. Listening to Renee and Marie chatter on. Thanks to you they absolutely insist on sharing every tidbit from Witch Weekly with me."
"Ugh," James groaned. "Sounds like a nightmare. You must be starved."
"Yeah…food sounds good right about now," she replied.
To Katie's relief, conversation with the Marauders came easy. For the roughly an hour they had spent at the table there had been no awkward silences or forced discussions of dismal subjects. She had even been able to squeeze in some one-on-one conversation with James at the table, when a rather peaked looking Remus diplomatically entertained her two friends. Finally however, the time came for the meal to break up.
"Have anything planned tonight?" Katie asked James. She hoped that with no major assignments looming on the horizon she could spend more time alone with her boyfriend, eager to showcase some of her own hidden talents and interests.
"Afraid so," James answered, a solemn expression crossing his face. "I've promised this lot a boys' night."
"Oh?"
"Nothing to worry about," he demurred. "Catching up…sharing a bit of drink…some classified planning."
"Classified?"
"Yes. As in top secret."
Katie rolled her eyes. "Finally going to brighten this place up with some more pranks are you?"
James winked, "A gentleman never tells…"
"Right," Katie scoffed. "Well, do try to keep yourself from getting too many detentions won't you?"
"Of course, of course," James assured her. "I have plans of my own you know. Some of which happen to involve you."
"Well, good luck with your little secret meeting," she teased. "See you at breakfast?"
"Definitely," James answered.
James stood as Katie got up to leave. Before parting ways, Katie reached forward and hugged him tightly before pulling back and planting a firm kiss on his mouth. "Just another reason to avoid too much detention," she whispered, winking at her boyfriend as she turned to go.
As she walked out of the Great Hall, Katie once again became conscious of all the eyes on her. Though she had been able to put it out of her mind while with James, nervousness came to the forefront again. As the lead-up to their relationship had played out, Katie had expected a little of this. After all, she reckoned, she had taken one of the most sought-after wizards on the market off the table. Still, it was a bit unsettling how many people seemed to have changed their attitude toward her and how suddenly. She put part of it down to petty jealousy, but it did make her wonder about the whispers and about how much truth there was to James's playboy reputation.
Returning to Gryffindor Tower, Katie was disappointed to learn that her friends had also made other plans for the evening, assuming without even talking to her that she would be spending that night with James. While it was altogether different, it seemed to Katie to be just another irritating assumption the people around her were making.
Nonetheless, she resolved to put the time to good use. While she had already completed the reading for this week's work, the next looked like the resumption of the heavier loads to which the sixth-years had become accustomed. Though a capable student, she knew she was falling a bit off the pace in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, which were not her best subjects. She knew of course that among his many talents, her boyfriend was an outstanding student, at least in terms of grades. Still, she was determined to stay responsible for learning the skills she needed on her own despite their relationship. Flying was one thing, but outside of that, she didn't feel ready to share too many of her weaknesses or vulnerabilities with him. And Merlin knows how he would react anyway. Breaking away from her thoughts for a moment, she grabbed her bag from off her bed and headed off to the library.
On the way, she found herself passing many groups of other students talking in the corridors. The whispering continued and soon she noticed that some groups of girls abruptly stopped speaking when she drew near. For a time, finding a secluded place in the stacks of dusty books was something of a relief. Being able to truly focus on her work for the first time in a while, she found that some of the material she had struggled with was coming much easier to her now. A sense of satisfaction began to rise within her. Suddenly however, her work was interrupted by loud whispering from a neighboring stack.
"I told you. Don't worry about her, Courtney. She's nothing special," one girl said.
"Hmph. Well, James Potter certainly seems to think she is," the other responded, clearly irritated.
Katie's face burned as she realized that her suspicions had been absolutely correct.
"Yeah right," the first girl began sarcastically. "She's just different than what he's had. That's the only reason he's giving her the time of day."
"You think so?" Courtney sniffed.
"It's so obvious. Not counting those disgusting Slytherins, he could have any girl he wants. You're beautiful and funny. And Merlin, at least you know how to dress. She's so plain. A boy like James can't possibly stay attracted to that for long," the first girl reassured.
"I know you're right, Rebecca…" Courtney answered again, "…it's just we have a couple of classes together and I've put in the actual effort with him and then he picks that stupid little bitch out of nowhere?"
Katie was half-broken, half-furious inside as the pair of girls carried on.
"Exactly though, Court, out of nowhere. She's nice and she likes Quidditch. That's all she has going for her. You know, my dad told me her dad is almost the lowest in his department at the Ministry, even after all the time he's spent there. Her mom doesn't even have a real job…"
"Really?"
"Absolutely, sweetheart. You have nothing to be freaking out about. James Potter could never bring that kind of girl home to meet his parents. A poor girl on the Potter's estate. She wouldn't even know what to do with herself at dinner."
Katie quietly shut her books, trying to leave their hateful conversation behind before she broke down or did something she would regret. Given that she didn't recognize the two voices, she assumed they must be students in another house, but it was difficult for Katie to understand how they could speak so horribly about her.
Suddenly a third voice entered the conversation, one she recognized as belonging to a Hufflepuff, Whitney Blake. "Hey, you two have been gone forever!"
"I'm just giving Courtney a heart to heart about her little crush on James Potter…" Rebecca said.
"Oh, Courtney, I'm so sorry…" Whitney sympathized.
"I'll be alright once he comes to his senses," Courtney replied, seeming emboldened by her friend's wicked pep talk. "I just can't believe he'd choose her."
"Merlin, Court!" Whitney exclaimed, "Nobody can. It's all the school's talking about. There has to be something going on behind closed doors…if you catch my meaning," she said conspiratorially.
That was absolutely it. Katie was livid. They weren't even bothering to whisper anymore. And the whole school was talking about it? Drawing her wand she began making her way down the stack so she could round the corner and confront them.
"That would explain it," Rebecca remarked, failing to notice her friends retreating from Katie's rapid advance. "Not that crazy given what she comes from. She's probably after his inheritance…"
Katie thrust her wand into the girl's chest. "Got a problem with me?!" she yelled. "Why don't you say it to my face?! Didn't expect I'd be right on the other side of the stack did you?!"
Rebecca laughed confidently. "I'm glad you heard us you stupid little tart. You're not fooling anybody…when Potter gets tired of whatever you're giving him, you'll end up like all the rest."
Just before Katie was able to start hexing the group into next week, Benji Bamford, a seventh-year Ravenclaw prefect appeared. "Hey! What's going on here?" he shouted. "You! You know there's no wands out in the library!"
As the girls tittered and dispersed, Katie reluctantly put her wand in her back pocket. "I'll give you a break this time," he said sternly, "but if I catch you doing the same again, I'll have to leave your fate to the librarian."
Feeling defeated, Katie slumped down against one the tall stacks of books as soon as she was alone again. So this was what it was like to be topic number one on the Hogwarts rumor mill. Of course, most of what they'd said didn't have a grain of truth to it, but their words still stung. Other parts, she couldn't be sure. She and James's backgrounds were very different. Immediately she felt worse just for entertaining the thought. Katie cast her mind back to their brief conversation about their homes and families in Hogsmeade. In his own words, James had no strong attachment to all the trappings his family's wealth and status brought. Katie doubted that a pretentious set of parents could raise a son with such a disposition. She wanted to talk to him about what happened, but, James was busy tonight and she was stronger than that. This would probably get worse before it got better. Going back around to the row where she had been working earlier, Katie opened her books again, trying to put the gossip and confrontation out of her mind. More work and a good night's sleep would do her good.
When she came downstairs for breakfast the following morning, James was waiting for her in the common room. Katie smiled the biggest smile she could muster. As they entered the Great Hall together, Katie felt the eyes and whispers more keenly than before. She steeled herself as she passed by the Hufflepuffs she had encountered the night before, though she couldn't avoid noticing their taunting glares and giggling. James seemed blissfully unaware of it all.
However, James Potter was not blissfully unaware of his girlfriend's sudden lack of appetite. Politely breaking away from the group conversation, he hugged Katie tightly. "Hey, what's wrong?" he whispered quietly into her ear.
Katie pulled out of the hug and looked up at him. "Nothing…" she said lamely.
"Pssh," James scoffed. "You've barely eaten. And I've been missing that smile all morning."
Katie smiled back weakly. It would be an easy invitation to take, especially with the poor job she was obviously doing trying to act normally. She looked away and took a small bite of egg.
To her side, she heard James failing to suppress a laugh. "Not convincing," he whispered back.
"I'm just tired is all…it was a late night trying to work through some assignments I'm behind on."
James studied his girlfriend. He knew both he and her closest friends had left her in the lurch last night. Tiredness could be a plausible explanation. Still, there was something different about her. The vibrancy and self-confidence she usually exhibited – part of what made her so attractive – seemed to have all but melted away.
"Those books must have really kicked your arse last night then…" he trailed off.
Katie sighed. Another opening. The two passed the next several minutes in silence.
"Come on then," James said suddenly, standing up from the table.
"What? Where?" Katie asked, perplexed.
"You're not eating anything," he said plainly. "No sense in sticking around here."
When she accepted his outstretched hand, he pulled Katie to her feet and continued holding her hand as they exited the Great Hall. This time, James watched her closely. She seemed to be very ill-at-ease as they walked between the tables, eyes down. He noticed a harsh whisper from a group of Hufflepuff girls as they passed by and though he couldn't make out what they'd said, the flush in Katie's cheeks did not escape his attention. As they walked through the large wooden doors into the corridor outside, James pulled led her quickly around the nearest corner and stopped.
"Alright. You can just tell me what's really going on with you now, or I can pester you all day until you give it up," James said, crossing his arms in front of him.
"James…" she groaned.
"I'm known to be very persistent…" he replied, running a hand through his hair and trying to disarm her with his trademark smirk.
"I know…I just…I don't want to be that girl. I've always handled my own problems…" Katie mumbled.
"But now," James prodded, "you have a boyfriend. And as even the dullest witch will tell you that means your problems are my problems. I know you're far from dull. So that makes me think the problem has something to do with me."
"Well–"
"Aha!" James interrupted. "Right again!"
Katie shifted uneasily on her feet, breaking eye contact with James. He was really going to force her to have this conversation. "It's Hogwarts," she sighed. "It's the stares and the whispers and the rumors going around…"
James frowned. "What rumors?"
"It shouldn't be a big deal," Katie deflected. "I mean I'm sure you're used to it…you've been popular for ages…and with Quidditch and your pranks and everything…I guess it just doesn't faze you anymore, right?" she rambled.
"Katie," James started, locking his hazel eyes onto her pained blue ones, "what rumors?"
"It's nothing, it's–"
"It's clearly not," James insisted.
"Alright!" she said louder-than-intended. Before continuing she scanned the hallway and peered around the corner to make sure no one was listening in. "You know, since I became your girlfriend, almost immediately people started looking at me differently. Especially girls. It felt like everybody was whispering about me behind my back. Merlin…I sound paranoid…"
"Not at all, actually," James reassured her.
"Anyway, I really did do a lot of work on Charms and Defense last night. You were busy," she began, "and I get that – you need time with your friends – I'm not that girl either. Renee and Marie just assumed I'd be with you so they went off somewhere, and I decided I'd just get some work done in the library."
"And?"
"And I was feeling really good about what I'd gotten done, when I heard these girls one row over just start whispering really loudly. And pretty quickly, I figured out I hadn't been imagining that people were talking about me behind my back."
The understanding, sympathetic expression that had marked her boyfriend's face before had now been firmly replaced by a scowl.
"I…I don't want to go into all of it…they just…I mean I don't even know them and they were saying such hateful things about me…really cruel things about my family…they accused me of…" Katie paused, feeling her anger rising to the surface once again. "In so many words…doing you…err favors…and that's the only reason you were with me."
James felt his fists clench. "Who? Who said all this?" he growled.
"James…I don't even know them. I mean, I almost hexed them, but this prefect–"
"You almost hexed them?" James interrupted.
"Well…yeah," Katie said, finally showing James at least part of her genuine smile. "It was either that or cry about it…I'm not really a crier…"
"Shame somebody stopped you…" James thought aloud. He looked down for a moment. Katie thought she noticed sadness, or maybe disappointment enter his eyes. After a few seconds he met her eyes again. "I'm sorry, Katie."
"It's alright…" she offered. "It's just…something to adjust to I guess. I'll be fine…" She felt James touch her arm.
"No. It's not alright. You shouldn't have to deal with it," he said, shaking his head.
"Well, it's hardly your fault–"
"It is my fault. I have a certain reputation. You shouldn't have to pay for it."
"Everybody has a past, James–"
"And I'm not proud of this part of mine. I want you to know that."
"Well I never judged you on it. I want you to know that."
James smiled and nodded. "Thanks for that." He wrapped his hands around Katie's waist, hugging her before gently kissing her forehead. "Better?" he asked.
"Better."
A/N: Since the view is to treat James and Katie's relationship as "stand-alone" rather than simply a tool to facilitate the endgame pairing, I thought it was important to demonstrate quickly that James and Katie will have "issues" to work through. As a light preview, the next few chapters will include Snape's return, Lily's POV, learning more about Katie, and one full chapter that is Marauder-centric. Though I make no promises, the goal is to get through Christmas within the next seven chapters or so, at which point I think sixth year will progress fairly quickly, including addressing the situation in the world outside Hogwarts, which will have crucial implications for not just the post-graduation portion of this story, but also for seventh year. Hope you continue to enjoy the ride!
