1 hour – prompts used: "Don't look back.", "I already told you that." And "Green really brings out your eyes."
He found her up in the Astronomy tower, her legs swinging over the ledge and her hair blowing in the wind. She looked like an angel, something out of a dream; she looked calm and happy but he knew that it was all a façade. Sirius had told him about the confrontation with Snape – about how the Slytherin had taunted her about her parents' death. She had been prepared to retaliate if any of Snape's group chose to hex first but when he'd opened his mouth, the Head Girl had frozen.
Remus had looked worried. Peter had looked concerned. Sirius had looked close to being manic with both his worry and concern for his friend. James just wanted to hold her.
"How are you?" He asked, breaking the silence and watched from his position in the doorway as she jumped and whirled around to look at him. "Sirius and Remus told me what happened." He explained and she stiffened.
"I'm fine," she claimed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. He snorted, not believing her at all and walked to sit next to her. He didn't say anything and she didn't expect him to. He'd always understood when she needed to be comfortable to speak first. "Every time that I look at him, I remember the times where we were little kids and we'd sit on the swings and play around and there were no difference in opinions or hostility between houses." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.
"Every time you see him, you look back at the times where you were happy with him. But you can't do that anymore. Don't look back." She looked up at him and his thumb wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "Don't look back to the times when he was a decent bloke because it will only remind you of the days when you watched him change and eventually you'll be left with a whole load of hostility. Let his memory rest with you."
She didn't speak for a few more minutes as she let his words set in but then she whispered into the air, "My parents though James. He was on about my parents. People who cared for him." Taking a shaky breath, she sat up. "He's a jerk."
"I already told you that." He commented, hoping to lighten the mood and was rewarded with a weak laugh. "Come on, let's get you inside." He clambered to his feet and offered her a hand. "You know, I like that top." The top in question was baggy and unflattering. "Green really brings out your eyes."
She stared at him for a moment, trying to determine if he was serious, before bursting out into laughter. Not the weak laugh that she gave him earlier but a side creasing laugh which only continued to torment him when tears sprung in her eyes.
"I didn't think it was that funny." He grumbled and she placed a comforting hand on his cheek, trying to look at him seriously without laughing – which she was struggling to do.
"James, my eyes are green so I would imagine that it would complement them." He rolled his eyes and acted annoyed that she was laughing at him but secretly he was grinning – he'd made her forget about Snape's mistakes and he'd stopped her from looking back on memories that would only worsen her mood.