The Difference One Choice Makes
28th September 1974
Scanning the bookshelves in the library Remus finally found the last of the books he was looking for which was an old fashioned book on Advanced Conjuration he needed for his Transfiguration homework.
Though he had insisted that his three friends should come with him and make a start on their homework which was increasing with each lesson James, Sirius and Peter decided not to join him opting to spend the day relaxing instead.
As he made his way towards the tables to make a start on his homework he spotted Narcissa sat on her own with a small pile of books working on some of her own homework.
As he stood there looking at her he thought back to how James had been on edge for the last three weeks and doing whatever it took to avoid the blonde-haired Slytherin witch.
The fact that Narcissa kept trying to get James alone was only serving to make his friends mood worse which caused Remus to finally make up his mind.
He made his way over to her table causing her to glance up at him with a neutral look on his face.
"What do want?" said Narcissa flatly.
Remus straightened up.
"Can I sit down?" said Remus testily.
"What do you want Mr Lupin?" said Narcissa flatly.
Remus placed his books on the table directly opposite her.
"I wanted to talk to you… about James" said Remus seriously.
Narcissa nodded her head towards the seat opposite her gesturing for him to sit down.
As Remus took a seat Narcissa closed her book and looked directly at him with a stern glare.
"What about him?" said Narcissa coolly.
Remus straightened up.
"I want to know what your intentions are with him" said Remus politely.
Narcissa reeled back slightly.
"Are you being rude on purpose… or just without realising it?" said Narcissa icily.
Remus opened one of his books.
"It was not intended to be rude no" said Remus.
"Well, you certainly failed at that… now give me one good reason why I should not just end this conversation right here and walk away" said Narcissa icily.
Remus sighed.
"James is my best friend… and he's been on edge for weeks with everything you have been doing to him, and I want to know why" said Remus.
Narcissa opened the book she had closed so she could resume working on her homework.
"And why would that be any of your business, James is a grown man… surely he can take care of himself without you worrying about him" said Narcissa returning her gaze to her work.
Remus took a deep breath.
"James told me what happened between the two of you this summer" said Remus warily.
Narcissa sharply looked up at him with an insulted look on her face.
"How much did he tell you?" said Narcissa icily.
Remus sighed.
"Enough… look, I just want to know what your intentions are with James… I don't want to see him get hurt" said Remus.
Narcissa slowly nodded.
"Alright… I am sure you can figure out what my intentions are when it comes to James, or perhaps you are not as smart as I first thought" said Narcissa flatly.
Remus pulled some parchment out of his book bag along with his quill and an inkpot.
"I thought so" said Remus.
Narcissa opened another one of her books.
"Who else knows about what happened between James and me this summer?" said Narcissa testily.
"No one… he made me promise not to tell anyone else before he told me" said Remus reassuringly.
Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief not wanting the events of last summer to become common knowledge.
"So you want me to leave James alone?" said Narcissa testily.
"No… no, if you want to go out with James then I'd be happy for both of you, just give him some space, all of your attempts to catch and corner him alone isn't doing him any good" said Remus.
Narcissa slowly nodded her head at him.
"Okay… I'll give him some space" said Narcissa politely.
Remus thanked her before turning his attention to his homework.
"You want me to give James some space then… fine, let's see how much you want me after going without my affection for a bit James" thought Narcissa wickedly.
27th October 1974
James and Remus walked out of their Newt level Ancient Runes class along with the rest of their class most of whom dispersed walking off in different directions either heading off to other classes or wherever they chose to spend a free period if they had one.
"I don't think I've ever needed a free period as much as I need one now" said James having found that particular Ancient Runes lesson especially challenging.
"Lucky you… I've got Arithmancy next" said Remus.
"I'll see you in the Great Hall for lunch then Moony" said James.
Remus nodded.
"Where are you off to anyway?" said Remus.
"Back to the tower, see if Padfoot and Wormtail are there" said James.
Remus sighed.
"What about this Ancient Runes homework… it's due on Friday and given how tough that lesson was you're going to have to spend quite a bit of time on it" said Remus making reference to the eight complex runic sentences they had to translate in time for Friday's lesson.
James groaned.
"I can leave it for a few hours Moony… I'll make a start on it tonight" said James wanting to put some distance between himself and his Ancient Runes homework for a few hours.
Remus sighed.
"Alright then… I'll see you guys in the Great Hall for lunch" said Remus knowing that trying to convince his friend to work harder on his homework was pointless.
James nodded to Remus before his friend left him in the corridor heading for the Arithmancy classroom in the next corridor.
As James made his way through the corridor in the direction of Gryffindor Tower for a few minutes before a voice called out to him.
"You've been avoiding me" said Narcissa sending him a teasing smirk as she was leaning against one of the stone pillars to his left.
James stopped and turned to her.
"Narcissa" said James in slight surprise having not seen her much for the last few weeks and whenever he did see her she just acted friendly with him rather than flirting with him.
Up until now he thought that she had taken the hint and turned her affections elsewhere but looking at her now he knew differently.
Narcissa moved towards him taking his arm and pulling him towards the pillar hiding them from sight.
"What do you want?" hissed James.
Narcissa smirked and took his hand.
"You know what I want" said Narcissa softly.
James sighed.
"I don't have those sort of feelings for you" said James calmly though a small part of him did not agree with those words.
Narcissa moved closer to him.
"I don't believe you" said Narcissa locking eyes with him.
James gulped slightly as the honeysuckle scent of her perfume was a little overbearing on his senses in the confined space.
"What do you want from me Narcissa?" said James.
Narcissa smirked and traced her other hand up his arm.
"Take me to Hogsmeade on Saturday James" said Narcissa softly.
James straightened up.
"Why?" said James.
"Because we both want it, so I'm giving you an opportunity most boys would kill for" said Narcissa teasingly.
James gulped nervously finding himself unable to get away from Narcissa.
"I don't" said James.
Narcissa took his other hand in hers holding both of his hands tightly.
"Come on James… you know that's not true, I can see it in your eyes, you want me" said Narcissa in a flirty voice.
"I said I don't" said James defiantly.
Narcissa smirked and leaned up to his ear.
"Just because Lily Evans chooses not to see how much of a good guy you are James Potter… doesn't mean that other witches can't make their move on you, I'm just making sure I get you first" whispered Narcissa.
James sighed as Narcissa moved away from his ear looking him in the eye.
"Fine, if I take you to Hogsmeade and this goes nowhere… will you finally take the hint and leave me alone?" said James flatly.
"Oh you will be mine by Halloween night Potter, I promise you that" thought Narcissa knowing the effect she was having on him.
She knew he wanted her even if he did not know it himself and it excited her knowing that he would soon be hers.
"All you need is a little push" thought Narcissa wickedly.
Narcissa smiled.
"I promise" said Narcissa softly.
She squeezed his hand.
"Meet me in the courtyard at 11" said Narcissa.
James nodded as she stepped away from him slightly.
"Look… can we just keep this between ourselves for now, I don't want Sirius to take things the wrong way" said James.
"Whatever you say James" said Narcissa softly squeezing his hand one more time before letting go.
She turned away from him ready to leave before glancing back at him.
"Its honeysuckle by the way" said Narcissa cheekily.
"Huh" said James in slight confusion.
Narcissa smirked.
"My perfume… I know you liked it, maybe I ought to wear it again on Saturday" said Narcissa cheekily.
With that, she left him behind the pillar pondering his thoughts and why he had just agreed to take her to Hogsmeade.
Later that night…
To his immense surprise, James found himself back in the corridor from earlier looking at a different version of himself stood behind the pillar with a flustered Narcissa who was dressed in her uniform minus her outer robe and jumper with her tie loosened and the top two buttons of her shirt undone exposing small amounts of skin on her chest.
James opened his mouth to question what he was doing here but no sound came out and neither Narcissa nor the other James even acknowledged that he was there.
"What are we doing here?" said the other James in confusion while feeling slightly uneasy at the way Narcissa was looking at him.
The mad look in her eyes and smirk on her face gave her the look of a lioness hunting her prey.
"Shh James, no more words" said Narcissa softly.
"But-" said the other James.
Narcissa placed a finger on his lips shushing him while moving her other hand to the back of his neck.
"I told you not to talk… now take what you want" said Narcissa breathing heavily as she moved closer to him.
"What the fuck is going on here?" thought James as he watched his other self pull Narcissa closer to him.
"I'm yours now James Potter, so kiss me" said Narcissa in a breathy voice.
The other James Potter crashed his lips to Narcissa's before pressing her against the wall as he passionately kissed her.
"It's about time Potter" said Narcissa as the two broke their kiss several seconds later.
"Stop talking Cissy" said the other James roughly as he placed his hands on her hips lifting her up slightly.
Narcissa smirked and jumped up wrapping her legs around his waist as he held her up against the wall and passionately kissed her once again.
Having seen enough James tore his vision away from the scene and immediately woke up in his bed feeling very unsure about how to process what he had just seen.
31st October 1974
"What have I gotten myself into?" thought James as he made his way down the path towards the magical village of Hogsmeade dressed in a dark red zip-up jumper and jeans.
He felt Narcissa squeeze his hand and move slightly closer to him. She was dressed in a dark green sleeveless jumper over her white shirt along with a matching dark green skirt and thin black tights as well as applying a small amount of makeup to her face.
Even James could not deny it, she looked great and he did not hesitate in telling her that she looked "really nice" after they met up in the courtyard.
"You don't look so bad yourself Potter" said Narcissa teasingly taking his hand and lacing her fingers through his as they joined the rest of the students making their way down to the village.
Thankfully the two had managed to make it all the way down to the village in the large crowd of students mostly unnoticed bar a few stares and comments about how the most popular boy in Gryffindor was going to Hogsmeade with an equally popular Slytherin girl.
At least Sirius was walking near the front of the students with his own date for the day Marlene Mckinnon so he had not seen James and Narcissa together which suited James just fine.
"So… where are you going to take me first?" said Narcissa softly as she squeezed his hand.
James could not explain it to himself but he did not want to let go of her hand and occasionally kept sneaking glances at her lips which glistened slightly thanks to the small amount of lip gloss she had applied before meeting him in the courtyard.
Narcissa having noticed this was full of joy inside.
"Patience Narcissa… he'll be ours soon enough, we just have to ease him into it" thought Narcissa wickedly.
James turned to her.
"Where would you like to go?" said James politely.
Narcissa glanced up at him.
"Maybe have a look around the shops for a bit" said Narcissa with a small smile.
James nodded and the two set off in the direction of the shops when they reached the village enjoying some mild chit chat.
Four hours later…
James was laughing at a joke Narcissa had told him as they walked back up the path hand in hand heading back to the castle.
Looking back on the last four hours James had to admit that he was wrong about Narcissa and what she was really like once she let her guard down. As time ticked by James found himself enjoying her company more and more finding her sharp-minded with a sense of humour rivalling his own. As well as being highly intelligent Narcissa had a great deal of ambition knowing exactly what she wanted to do with her life.
Even now he felt like he wanted to remain in her company for longer than time would allow them.
As they shared a booth while having a quiet drink at the Three Broomsticks one and a half hours ago Narcissa opened up to him about her ambitions to become an Auror planning to apply as soon as she finished school.
"I just hope whoever I end up married to will not stop me from being an Auror… any of those fools my Parents had lined up for me would no doubt have stopped me from having a career to begin with, they just want a trophy to show off to high society" said Narcissa as she took a sip of her butterbeer.
James moved slightly closer to her squeezing her hand which warmed her heart.
"I guess you can count yourself lucky that you don't have to marry any of those fools then" said James.
Narcissa sighed.
"True… but Lord Black made it abundantly clear that I can only marry someone who has his approval first" said Narcissa icily.
James sighed and pulled her closer to him.
"That has to be one lucky guy" said James.
Narcissa slowly turned to him and smiled before taking his arm and looping it around her shoulders.
James thought about removing his arm but decided against it as it felt right to him.
"Maybe I had her all wrong" thought James as Narcissa leaned into him.
James pulled her close to him wrapping his arm around her shoulders once again.
Glancing up at him for a moment Narcissa wrapped her arm around his waist.
As they got halfway up the path Narcissa removed James's arm from her shoulders before taking his hand and moving towards the stone wall pulling James with her.
She felt her rear touch the stone wall as she pulled James close to her.
James placed his hands on her waist locking eyes with her as her own hands found their way to his back.
He stared into her eyes causing her to take a few deep breaths with both of them knowing exactly what was coming next.
Moving their heads at the same time they met halfway in a tentative kiss lasting a few seconds before they separated locking eyes with each other.
No words were exchanged between the two before they kissed each other again this time with more passion having wanted to do this since they were in the Three Broomsticks.
Narcissa closed her eyes and pulled James closer to her as she made out with the Boy she had been pursuing since the start of term.
James held her close as she ran her hands over his back clearly enjoying his toned body honed from years of Quidditch.
"What has my life come to… kissing my best mates Cousin and actually enjoying it" thought James finally giving in to his attraction for her.
What had attracted him to Lily was how kind and funny she was as well as her willingness to give everyone a chance no matter their circumstances.
But Narcissa was different.
She was like forbidden fruit, you can only resist for so long before you finally give in to your temptation and succumb to her advances.
When the two separated after a few seconds Narcissa smirked at him.
"We could have been doing this long before now James Potter, if only you had not been so stubborn" said Narcissa cheekily.
James kept his eyes on her with his trademark grin that made her flutter inside.
"It took me a while to realise what you meant in July… when you said you were giving me something to think about" said James.
Narcissa smirked.
"Go on" said Narcissa.
James took a deep breath.
"You let me know that I should pursue other girls, or pursue you given your actions since then" said James softly.
Narcissa leaned up to his ear blowing hot breath into it causing him to shiver slightly.
"I told you… if Lily Evans couldn't see what a great guy you were then you deserved better, you deserved someone who appreciates you for what you really are, someone like me" whispered Narcissa.
James kissed her forehead before she locked eyes with him again licking her lips which were now glistening even more thanks to the extra amount of cherry lip gloss she had applied in the Three Broomsticks.
"Mmmm, cherry… I put it on just for you… since I saw you steal a few glances at my lips on our way down to the village" said Narcissa cheekily as she licked her lips knowing that it was only increasing his desire for her.
James turned a little pink thinking of how inviting such a sight looked.
"Even if you didn't know it then… I knew you'd be mine James Potter, you were hooked as soon as you saw me in the courtyard" said Narcissa cheekily.
"Guilty as charged" said James jokingly.
Narcissa smirked before lifting herself up onto the stone wall holding both of his hands as she did.
"Show me James… show me who you've really wanted since the start of term" said Narcissa in a sultry voice that just drew him into her like a moth to a flame.
James smirked before dipping his head to kiss her once more.
"Damn he's good at this" thought Narcissa as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer to her as he kissed her with so much passion and hunger that she melted into his arms.
She might have had him hooked from the moment he laid eyes on her but she could not deny that she was addicted to him just as much.
Feeling one of his hands on her arse and the other on her back Narcissa groaned into his mouth while his tongue wrestled with hers.
"Good thing I wore tights" thought Narcissa as she saw a few students walk past them with looks of mild shock and in some cases envy on their faces feeling thankful that her tights made sure no one got a look at her bare legs.
Narcissa hissed as James broke their kiss and moved his lips to the side of her neck kissing and sucking on it which would surely give her a visible love bite.
"I'm yours now James Potter, all yours" hissed Narcissa as James left his mark on her.
Meanwhile…
"I don't get Potter any more… first he tries to ask me out after the welcoming feast and since then he's barely said a word to me, apart from the odd hello" said Lily as she walked back up the path in the company of her friends 16-year-old short blonde haired Hufflepuff Alice Prewett, Mary Macdonald, 16-year-old neck length black haired Dorcas Meadowes, 17 year old light brown haired Leah Brocklehurst and the 17-year-old long blonde haired Ravenclaw Evelyn Davies.
Ever since she had turned James down the night of the welcoming feast Lily was surprised that James had not asked her out since then let alone said a single word to her bar a thank you when she apologised for what she said to him during the conversation that night.
"You can only turn a guy down so many times before he gets the hint and stops asking Lily" said Dorcas.
"You can't blame him if he found someone else" said Evelyn.
Lily sighed.
Though she knew that she would not consider dating James Potter owing to his treatment of her friend Severus Snape. She knew that she could have been more friendly with James if she had tried.
"Your not jealous are you Lily… wishing you said yes?" said Leah amusedly.
Lily shook her head.
"No… but perhaps I should have been a bit kinder to him" said Lily.
As they rounded the corner on the path Lily was so deep in conversation with Alice Prewett that she did not notice what was taking place slightly further up the path even though her other friends noticed.
Talking to Alice about how her parents were talking about arranging her marriage to her boyfriend Frank Longbottom who worked for the Auror Department Lily only noticed the scene in front of them when Evelyn made an amusing comment about it.
"Well… I think that explains why James Potter hasn't asked you out since the start of term" said Evelyn amusedly.
Lily looked where her friend was looking and gasped when she saw James and Narcissa the latter of whom was still sat on the wall sharing one last kiss before they made their way back up to the castle arm in arm.
"Looks like he's moved on" said Dorcas.
Lily still felt stunned wondering how James and Narcissa even knew each other having never seen them associate at Hogwarts before.
Sure they both came from Pureblood families. But from what Lily had heard from other students the Potters and the Blacks moved in completely different social circles.
"What the hell is he doing with Narcissa Black?" said Lily icily.
"Are you sure your not jealous Lily?" said Leah with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Lily ignored her friend as they carried on walking up the path before Alice Prewett made his way over to her.
"Have you spoken to Severus?" said Alice quietly.
Lily frowned knowing she had not spoken to Snape much during the year since James revealed her friend's feelings for her. She was yet to talk to Snape about his supposed feelings for her feeling unsure of how best to talk to him about the situation.
"No… I don't know what to say to him" said Lily feeling slightly dejected.
Alice sent her friend a small smile.
"Just be honest with him" said Alice.
Lily sighed and nodded as they continued walking up towards the castle.
Later that evening…
"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" said a slightly frosty voice from James's left.
James who was laid back on his bed getting a bit of rest before they would have to go down to the Halloween feast looked up to his left to see Sirius looking down at him with a frosty look on his face.
He sighed and sat up with his feet over the side of the bed.
"I didn't know how to tell you" said James feeling that the truth would be more helpful in this situation.
Sirius scowled.
"You didn't know how to tell me what you've been doing with my Cousin?" said Sirius frostily.
"What would you have wanted me to say?" said James.
Sirius sighed and sat down opposite him on his own bed.
"I just thought you were still chasing after Lily mate" said Sirius.
"I got the message from her loud and clear Padfoot, you remember what she said to me that night" said James bitterly.
True he had had a crush on Lily Evans since Third Year. But what she said to him that night had ended any hopes he had about dating her.
Sirius sighed.
"So you and Cissy… how long?" said Sirius.
"Since today mate… but she's been… interested in me since the start of term, even if I didn't want it back then" said James.
"So what changed?" said Sirius in a serious tone of voice.
James took a deep breath.
"I found out I enjoyed her company… and that I felt the same way she did?" said James.
Sirius raised his eyebrow at him.
"What are you not telling me Prongs, about this summer?" said Sirius sternly.
James sighed before telling him the story of what had happened between him and Narcissa at Potter Grove during the summer holidays.
Once he had finished his story Sirius nodded to him.
"Look James… you're like a Brother to me mate, and she's been through a lot with that blasted family of ours… I don't want to see her get hurt" said Sirius.
"I won't hurt her Sirius, I promise" said James looking his friend in the eye.
"Good… because best friend or not, if you hurt her, I'll kill you myself" said Sirius darkly.
James managed a small chuckle at his friend's words causing Sirius to smirk.
"Come on mate… what do you say we give old Snivellus a little Halloween surprise?" said Sirius amusedly.
"You read my mind Padfoot" said James with equal amusement as the two friends stood up.
On their way down to the Halloween feast, they spotted the 16-year-old long greasy black haired Severus Snape walking towards the Great Hall on his own.
Donning James's invisibility cloak James pulled out his wand and silently cast the "Levicorpus" spell which hooked a very angry Snape to one of the chandeliers before the two boys carried on walking laughing uncontrollably as Snape shouted angry words as well as "Potter" and "Black" at them even though he could not see them.