𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗹𝘆, james potter

-ˋ 12

CHAPTER TWELVE
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-: seventh year :-

── IN WHICH THEY MAKE IT

. . .

Just like promised, James returned within ten minutes, a prominent lump underneath his robes. "I won't say much so it's not too suspicious." He said, as he turned back around into the corridor that Tiger was stood waiting for him, attempting to clear up her appearance in a window, the dark night outside letting it.

"How many people are up there?" Tiger asked, figuring it was reaching ten o'clock. It was an hour after the older students' curfew, but the common room was often filled late into the night. 

"Not too many." James looked as if he was thinking back to the short amount of time he said in the common room, before shrugging. "You should be fine. I'll walk really close and you can.. hold onto the back of my robes or something." 

"Alright.." Tiger looked somewhat uneasy as James pulled out the silvery-material and draped it over her shoulders. "I've never been so nervous to go under something which makes people not be able to see me."

"You have nothing to worry about. I do think Marlene, Lily and Lydia are in there though, so I might have to stop if they ask to speak to me." James made a face - not at the fact their three friends could possibly want to speak to him, but because he would much rather help Tiger. "They - Marlene especially - looked like she wanted to ask something when I went through earlier."

"If you want to talk to them it's fine." Tiger said, as James pulled the fabric over her head, and she disappeared, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I don't need a babysitter."

"I know you don't." James replied. He had mastered the art of making it look like his lips weren't even moving years ago, during the transportation of Remus out of the castle on the night before a full moon - even so, he couldn't be loud at all. "I just don't want you to be alone right now."

"I'm not going to jump off the Astronomy Tower." Tiger replied flatly, and James couldn't stop himself from turning around, a looking on his face that made Tiger role her eyes under the cloak. "But you're sweet. Still, I might need some alone time."

"So I won't be too worried if I wake up in the middle of the night and you're not laid next to. The key to open our bathroom window should be in the bathroom cabinet. I know you like to sit on the windowsill sometimes." James said, as they approached the door. "Caput Draconis." He said, and the portrait swung open.

"I'll just have to hope Sirius is waiting to unpack his millions of hair products - the noise they make when they fall off of the window is far too loud." James knew she would roll her eyes at this, and he could feel her grip onto the material of the back of his robes. 

She sounded like her usual self, which was where the problem could lie. Tiger had pretended she was ok for so long, pretended to be ok so much that she had convinced herself that she was. And now the very situation that had made her not ok was completely the opposite to what she thought it was. 

And so, despite having convinced herself she was ok, it was all coming to a head. Tiger wasn't ok, she hadn't been since the incident-that-never-was. And despite her joking about Sirius's hair products, she was hurting inside. 

Once through the portrait passage way no more words were spoke between the couple, and James made a beeline straight towards the stairs up to the boys' dorms, avoiding looking at everyone. 

And just when he thought he had made it, about to take the one step up to the staircase, Lily appeared in front of him. The Potter boy came to a sudden stop, and Tiger practically crashed into his back. 

"James, I thought it was you." If someone had thought the ginger girl looked worried, listening to her speak would make her seem even more so. "I was wondering if you'd seen Tiger? Her bags are up in the dorm but she's nowhere to be seen."

It was lucky that James was a good liar. "No, I haven't seen her since the feast. I've been looking for her, but I think she could've run off again." He said, assuming an expression of worry that could rival the Evans girl's. 

"Oh Merlin." She said, leaning against the wall. "Would it be wrong of us to go to McGonagall and explain the situation? Last time she was glad we had come to her." 

"Ow!" James exclaimed, as Tiger pinched his back, a warning sign. "No, I don't think we should. It'll just be the same and as long as she's back by lunch then we shouldn't worry." He quickly said, ignoring the funny look that Lily was giving him. 

"I'm really sorry." He ended up saying. "I really need to pee so.." He trailed off and Lily moved away, hands up like asking someone not to shoot.

"Go ahead, let us know if you see her though? Marlene really needs to speak to her, as you can imagine." Lily said, and James nodding, pulling Tiger up the stairs with him. 

The Howell girl accidently brushing against her as she did so, and the invisibility cloak slipping by her feet for just a moment as she ran up the stairs. 

Lily stared, wondering if it had been a trick of the light, or if James had been lying to her all along.

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