Chapter 45: How Animals Make You Talk

Cressida is still marching but her pace has considerably slowed by the time that she reaches the large arched doors leading out to the courtyard. The Forbidden Forest sounds like the perfect place to retreat for the rest of the day. No doubt she has a detention waiting for her as soon as she is spotted by a teacher though. And of course, Snape would walk free.

"Cress?!" She doesn't want to turn around. She doesn't want to listen to anybody. "Cress?!" The tips of her fingers turn red as they clinch against her palm. "Cressida!" Shaking her head, Cressida slowly turns around. James slows to a stop, less than a step away.

"You're wasting the time you have with Evans," she murmurs, gesturing mindlessly towards the dungeons.

"Hardly wasting it," James smiles, resting his hands on his hips. At a lack of her response, his arms and features drop once more. "What happened?" Cressida shakes her head again. She doesn't want to tell him. She wishes she could strip the knowledge out of her brain and toss it in the Black Lake.

James takes another small step forward, gripping the sides of her shoulders with firm but gentle hands. "Can you at least tell me how strong a stunning spell I need to use?" he tries. This time the side of her mouth does tweak upwards.

"Big," she whispers.

James doesn't seem surprised. "At least Quidditch is over for the year. I don't mind a few extra detentions."

"Maybe you'll join me in whatever Slughorn gives me," she adds with an almost sarcastic smile. "I'm going for a walk, you should go back to class. I sat next to Snivellous so you could have the honour of being Evan's partner for the next two hours."

James grins in a soft manner, squeezing her arms. "A brave, and generous sacrifice," he acknowledges teasingly. "And I am returning the favour by sacrificing that time to follow you wherever your heart desires to wander."

Cressida rolls her eyes with a short sigh. "I'm not asking you to come with me. In fact, I'd rather you go back."

Just the simple idea that James would rather be out here with her than sitting next to Lily Evans forms a tight grip around her heart. But she can't read James' mind. She can't tell if he's doing this out of guilt or some sort of requirement to fulfil his sense of duty as a friend. On the other hand, James is a prideful and somewhat arrogant man, but not an un-loyal one. Nor someone to use his friends for his own personal gain.

"If I go back, then either Sirius or Remus are going to come out instead," he counters, with no sign of being insulted by her objection to his company. "And if Remus comes out, then you'll feel guilty because he's missing class. And I know that between Sirius and myself, I'm your favourite." Cressida smiles, though she tries to hide it by rolling her tongue in front of her teeth and behind her bottom lip, eyes dropping to the ground between them. James rocks on his feet, saying, "I'm going to assume that I'm right."

Cressida lifts her head again. "You're all important to me," she says with a taunting smile.

"I'm not hearing any denial." His tongue rolls over his bottom lip and Cressida forces herself to look away and collect her thoughts. "So, where are we going?"

"The Forbidden Forest," she answers. "You have a terrible habit of following me when I intend to go somewhere alone." Cressida turns, starting her trek once more out of Hogwarts and towards the forest. James stays right at her shoulder, allowing her to set the pace.

"Walking alone is terribly lonely," he replies.

Cressida snorts at his attempted words of wisdom. They walk in silence for a while through the empty courtyard, weaving in and out of the shade and sun that filters through the stone arches. The anger still seeps off her, but the thoughts that come from standing next to James are enough to distract her for now. She can sense that he is waiting for her to talk – a distinct difference between him and Sirius. Sirius would have demanded an explanation by now, but James would wait. Just like he's been waiting for Lily Evans for three years.

Nothing is said between them as they reach the edge of the forest, but with her entire self tuned into his movements, she doesn't miss James' running his fingers over his wand. He's never been the fondest of the forest. "Don't worry," she sings, "I'll protect you."

James' hand drops from his wand, running around the back of her neck to encircle it between his arm and ribs. "Oh, I'm sure little bear," he goads. Cressida is pulled into a forward bend, gripping the back of his shirt to keep herself from stumbling over completely. Once she laughs, he loosens his grip and Cressida straightens back up, not letting go of the back of his shirt. The scent of wood oil and butterbeer lingers on her nose for a few moments afterwards.

The Forbidden Forest is unusually calming, a constant haze in the distance no matter the weather and the air is always cool despite the blaring sun. Many creatures dwell within the boundaries of the forest. Like the Black Lake, it has been made a home to many creatures that struggle to survive within the realm of muggle lands. Hogwarts is not just a school for students, but a haven for many different magical creatures. Including werewolves.

To her silent delight, his arm hangs around her neck, allowing her to lean in closer to his company and her grip on his shirt seem more natural. She knows that it's…wrong, to use him in such a way that he doesn't understand the implications, but Cressida can't bring herself to move away. Not this time. A selfish deed.

Something cracks. A twig – something. Somewhere on their right, closest to James, but far enough away that they can't see anything. Both witch and wizard immediately pause their jaunting and their eyes turn in the direction the sound came from. They'd be stupid to ignore signs of danger, no matter how much a daredevil he may be.

James takes a step forward, arm slipping from her neck and she reluctantly lets go of his shirt. "Just stay here," he instructs in a smooth tone. "I'll see if it's anything."

There are many things to be afraid of in the forest, but many things that there is no need to be. Cressida tries to step forward to his side once more, reaching for his hand to tell him she'd rather he stays with her. But in James' place, a stag stands, ears perked and listening. Then he's trotting off right in the direction of the sound. Cressida huffs to herself, hands slapping her thighs.

He disappears behind a large tree, leaving her completely alone. Spinning around, she keeps her eyes and ears peeled for anything. There's no sound, not even coming from James or whatever creature was lurking nearby. After a minute or so, James still hasn't returned, and the stillness of the forest sends a shiver up her spine. "James?" she calls out.

Bastard, her mind hisses.

Another shiver runs down her spine, only this time with the sense that someone is watching her. Cressida snaps around, eyes wide and uncertain. Another twig snaps. She all but stops breathing, taking a quick step backwards. Her fingers wrap around the hilt of her wand, drawing it from its pocket.

From behind one of the largest trees, something pokes out from the side. Cressida jolts backwards, aiming her wand with a sharp gasp only to let out a shaky cry of relief. "James," she cries quietly, running a hand through her hair. His stag head is the only thing she can see from behind the trunk, his antlers like small branches. He trots back around as she gathers herself, shaking off the adrenaline that had come in a burst. "Not the place or time," she scolds him, but it is probably fruitless as it comes with a nervous chuckle.

The stag lets out an odd call, neck stretching towards her. She guesses by his over nonchalant nature, that there is nothing around them posing any danger. At least for now. Careful of his prongs, his snout bumps her arm, enticing Cressida to pet it.

She scratches the side of his face affectionately, mostly around the ears. Her smile widens as his body betrays the pleasure it brings. They all had the same reactions as Animagus. Though Cressida has come to find more enjoyment in having the area under her jaw more pleasurable than behind the ears. As her fingers trail to around his eyes, his nose takes to sniffing around her collarbone. "You have dark rims," she muses. "Like your glasses. I think it's your markings, like Professor McGonagall said Animagus have." There are two circles on his face that she hadn't noticed before, a shade or so darker than the rest of his hair that sit neatly around each of his eyes. She traces over them, being mindful of his eyes that flicker as her hand hovers close to them.

Dropping her hands, she gestures with her head towards the forest. James stays alongside her as he did before, following her lead as she meanders along the invisible path.

There's something about being in the presence of an animal that just makes a person talk more. So Cressida talks. "I've never liked Snape," she un-needingly confesses. "But I always wondered if we were being too harsh on him. Lily was his good friend for years which always made me question why." Her throat bobs in a long gulp. "We weren't," she whispers. "He told me that…that they make lists, James. Him. Mulciber. Rosier. Crouch. Avery. And no doubt the others in their Death Eater gang." Her voice quivers, eyes set forward for if she dropped it even in the slightest, a tear is sure to fall. "Lists of who they want to kill." She stops walking, feeling disconnected from her legs. Bitterly she spits out, "He said that he had dibs on you. Dibs, like you're some fucking toy to play with. And that he bargained Sirius to Rosier. I just-" Her throat forms some mangled morph of a cry and groan, finding no other way to expresses her loathing for those boys in any other way. "And of course I'm at the top of all their lists because I'm a mud-blood, and 'they take higher priority than blood traitors'."

She isn't sure at what point exactly that James becomes a man once again, but she finds herself enveloped within his tight arms, trapping her own by her side. "Don't ever call yourself that again," he whispers abruptly. "It's not even a thing, it's-it's just a stupid word that means nothing."

"That's not what's annoying me," she whispers back. Cressida manages to bend her arms upwards, settling on the middle of his back and her head pressed to the side. "Annoyed is an understatement really." James doesn't respond; in fact, he doesn't do anything but stand there with her. "How are you so calm?"

"Because I have you to protect me." He finally loosens his hold enough for her to lean back and peer up at him with wet eyes. Cressida cannot tell how sarcastic his words are, but she begins to doubt that they are when she meets his gaze. James smiles with something that might have formed into a laugh under a different circumstance. "No, I'm…pissed but I can be pissed later. Nothing like finding out you on someone's kill-bucket list. Is that something I should be proud of?"

Cressida swallows the lump in her throat, determined not to cry. "I think you'd be proud no matter my answer."

James grins from mostly the left side of his mouth as his head tips closer to the same shoulder. "I think you're right. But in all seriousness, they're not going to touch you. They're not going to touch Remus or Peter either. Or Sirius." Cressida drops her gaze slightly, nodding. They could though. They have before – by stunning spells and curses and jinxes that have sent them to the hospital wing, and with Snapes relentless study of the Dark Arts, he has a library of knowledge of spells that they haven't even heard of before just waiting to be used on someone. The question is, are they stupid enough to use them at Hogwarts or are they safe for the next two years?

"I'm gonna fuck them up," she declares under her breathe, lifting her head once more. James raises his brows but makes an expression of agreement. "If they even look in our direction-"

"With the way that Sirius has been acting, I think he'll beat you to it at this stage," James huffs lightly. "I can promise you that Snivellous isn't having a fun lesson anymore." Cressida doesn't bother to cover her smile at the thought of Sirius making the git's life miserable for another hour or so. James nods once to himself, dropping his hands to the sides of her arms. He rubs them up and down a few times. His lips part slowly, words starting to form but they don't come yet. Instead, they close back together, and he leans forward, touching them against the end of her brow.