A/n: Sorry guys about the big hold up! Every time I tried to get this chapter written, I didn't like it and just rewrote the whole thing. Thank you again for reading and if you notice any errors or have recommendations let me know!
Nico had given Diana a lay down about dealing with James and his friends." Don't do anything stupid that could piss them off because they aren't always the most kind to their enemies," blah blah blah. He made it out to be a big deal, like it was her fault she ended up being partners with the boy.
She wasn't trying to do anything but get good marks, so she told Nico to chill. He was always like acting like a big brother when it came to protecting the girl from others. However, she was a big girl and could handle a teenage boy. She hoped.
The rest of the day carried on uneventful, but Diana was fine with that. She could still never get over the sheer euphoria of being able to magic. Even when the day was dull for others, and sometimes it could, she just couldn't seem to feel cynical.
The next day however, specifically Potions, her normal routine was once again thrown out. She'd arrived on time and reluctantly departed from Amy, to sit next to James again.
He had turned to give her a grin and a quick hello before turning back to converse with his friends. Class still had a few more minutes before beginning and the small amount of people Diana felt comfortable enough to talk to, were on the other side of the room. She was stuck with being silent.
'Come on girl, it's not that hard to handle being still and quiet,' the blonde girl internally groaned at her own thoughts.
The class dragged on until they were finally able to resume working on their potions. Pulling out a list that Diana had worked on narrowing down, she once again mentally prepared herself for attempting to get James to help her out.
"Alright James, I comprised a narrowed list of a a few potions I thought would be the best to choose from," the blonde girl meekly tried to get the boys attention.
James had sighed and turned to the blonde girl. Her nose was pinched up and she had a hesitant smile on her face, she looked quite funny to the boy, who couldn't help the grin that spread on his face. She had made a similar one the day before, he assumed she was nervous. He didn't remember her from many of their apparently shared classes, but from this class, he knew she wasn't a very outgoing person, only ever talking to one of her fellow housemates.
'Well, she'll at least keep me entertained with her face!'
"Alright Harron, lets see what you got," the bespectacled boy took the paper and read it over quickly." It doesn't really matter to me which one we do, so you pick."
James handed it back to Diana, who sighed. Hopefully this wasn't a foreshadowing of how the rest of the project was gonna go. She really didn't want to have to do it all by herself.
"Actually hand that back over." James grabbed the paper out of her hands. Inconspicuously, the girl examined her hand for paper cuts.
Jeez, he didn't need to snatch it from her hand!
Looking back at James, she noticed he circled 'Amortentia.' It is known as the strongest love potion in the world, and smells unique depending on the person.
Putting two and two together, it clicked in Diana's brain. Oh boy.
"Are you sure that you want to make this one? We could do another like the Shrinking potion," Diana tried to sway the boy to choose another one.
"No way, that's too easy! Plus, if I have some of Amortentia, than I know Evans will come to her senses about her feelings for me." James' grin was so innocent and boyish, yet so stupid at the same time, that Diana didn't have it in her to crush his bubble.
"Okay then. I guess we can do it. We should next start working on the essay." The blonde girl tried to see how he would react to her bringing up the essay portion.
"We can do that after class. We should meet up in the library around 6 o'clock, sound good?"
"I guess so. I might get there a little earlier to grab some reference materials."
"Well Harron, I'd say this calls for a well earned break," James pulled out two oranges." Fancy an orange?"
"Oh thank you." Confused but not one to deny food, she began to peel the fruit.
Having to be careful not to get caught by Slughorn, the girl was content to eat the citrus fruit and to watch the bespectacled boy. His knee was constantly bouncing, and he kept trying to get one of the other boys' attention. His energy was making her anxious, but it was interesting to watch him twitch and squirm in his chair. It reminded her of her younger brother, he was only four but he would constantly be off somewhere in the yard trying to fly his sisters broomstick.
"Don't you have quidditch tryouts tonight?" Diana questioned, remembering that Nico has said something about tryouts being this week.
"We did, however, Ravenclaw traded off days with us because the captain had something going on Thursday. So now they have today and we have Thursday." James' face brightened at the mention of the sport.
"Ah. And you play seeker right?"
"Yes! Do you play?" James became even more excited.
"Oh no, I don't. As much as I love flying, athletics have never been my strong suit. I do love to watch though, Amy and I go to all the games here and have even been able to go to a few of the Montrose Magpies and the Holly Head Harpies games. They are my favorite teams!" Diana
"The Holly Head Harpies are good, however, my vote is always for the Bellycastle Bats. They almost always rank in the top three in Europe, and have some of the best uniforms I've seen," James' smile practically fell off his face.
Not many of the girls he knows at his age are into quidditch like he is, so it was definitely a surprise to see the meek girl interested in it too. It seems that this project is turning out better and better. First a chance to get Lily to fall for his charms, and now a new quidditch friend!
The two teens continued conversing about quidditch until the end of class, and Diana was almost sad to leave. She didn't always feel as unreserved with someone she just met, especially not someone she's been warned to stay clear of. James Potter was not as she first assumed. But, she couldn't say she was upset by that.
Well she'll see what happens when it's 6o'clock.
