the zodiac project. jsp

chapter 9

Allison

Allie sighed as she got up from dinner. Scarlett sent her an apologetic look.

"I've had detention with Hagrid before, Al. It's not that bad," Archie said, looking up at his blonde friend. Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"I know this is your first detention ever, but it'll be over soon."

Allie was chewing on her lip. "I know, I know. I'll meet you guys back in the common room in a few hours." Her friends waved as she headed over to the Gryffindor table. James got up when he saw her coming.

"Hey, Allison. You ready?" She shrugged.

"As I'll ever be." James nodded goodbye to his friends.

"Bye Jamie! Don't have too much fun!" Fred called, laughing at the look on James's face.

The duo left the Great Hall and headed out to Hagrid's hut. James expected Allie to be cold to him, seeing as he was the reason they had detention in the first place, but she was just quiet as they made their way across the grounds. James reached up to knock on the wooden door, and it swung open instantly. Hagrid came out, closing the door behind him quickly.

"Oh. Hello. I almost forgot you two were coming down here. Uh, right. Detention. I want you to, uh, write me a paper! That's right. About, uh, oh! You're futures. I want you to write me a twelve inch parchment about what you want to do after you graduate from Hogwarts."

Allie and James looked at each other. James was scowling, but Allie blew out a breath.

Easy.

"And I want you to work on it inside the school. Go find an empty classroom. When you're done, find a professor and have them send it to me. Don't come back here, alright?" The pair just nodded. "Ok then."

With that Hagrid opened the door as little as he could and slipped through, slamming it behind him. Allie heard a lock snap into place. She glanced at James, who smiled awkwardly.

"Hagrid. You don't even want to know what illegal creature he's nursing in there. Let's get this over with." Allie wasn't even sure what to say, so she let James lead her back into school.

~

They wandered the halls for a few minutes, poking their heads into classrooms to find an empty one.

"Ah ha!" James exclaimed, twisting the doorknob and letting himself into an unused room. Allie wandered in behind him, eyes scanning the huge classroom. The ceilings were vaulted and covered in stained glass skylights, and there was a messy stack of desks in one of the far corners.

Pretty.

She smiled to herself. James had taken to dismantling the desk pile, pulling two out so they had somewhere to work. Allie sat down and opened her backpack. She handed one piece of parchment to James, and grabbed another for herself.

"What do you want to do with your life, Allie?" James asked, scrawling his name across the top of his paper in a large, untidy font. "With your brain, it's gotta be something impressive." Allie smiled softly at him despite herself.

"I don't know about impressive, but it's definitely important to me. I told you a little bit about my life before school, but I didn't go into much detail." James nodded. "Well, it was pretty awful. The wizarding world has almost no resources for poor families, single parents, orphans, you get the idea. I want to change that. Scarlett is going to help me, you know how she is, always protesting and speaking her mind and getting things done. I'm going to create a new department in the Ministry called the Social Service Outreach and Scarlett and I are going to advocate for the rights of overlooked witches and wizards."

James stared at her with an open mouth.

"No wonder you work so hard, that's a huge goal." Allie shrugged.

"To me, it's worth it." James nodded aggressively.

"Yes, it is definitely worth it! That is the coolest most inspiring thing. You are just incredible, Allison Nicoletti. Your mind blows me away. You might be the most fascinating person I've ever met." Allie couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Always so dramatic, Potter." James smiled at her.

"What about you?" Allie asked, looking down to start her essay. She was incredibly curious to know what the James Sirius Potter wanted to do with his life. James shrugged.

"After what you just told me, it's sort of embarrassing. I want to play professional quidditch like my mom. I mean, I've always known it was a selfish aspiration, but I don't know. I feel like I'll let people down if that's what I choose for myself. James Potter, son of the Boy Who Lived, a useless pro." Allie frowned at him.

"Don't let anyone make you feel bad about your dreams, James. You're allowed to do things differently, and you're allowed to be selfish. It's your life, don't feel guilty for living it your way."

James stopped writing to look at her. His eyes were so wide Allie could've drowned in them.

And people say you can only drown in the color blue.

"How come you always know just what to say?" James said quietly, staring at Allie. She bent back down to her paper so he couldn't see her flush.

"I don't know about that." James shook his head at the blonde.

"I will never get tired of learning from you." If Allie hadn't been blushing before, she definitely was now. "I know it's not as impactful as my dad's job, but it's enough for me, you know? I love the game more than anything, and the possibility that I could play after Hogwarts? That's the stuff I dream about."

Allie smiled at him, this wonderfully passionate idiot that she had grown so fond of.

Reach for the stars, James. Everyone already knows you are one.

The pair continued to work on their essays in comfortable silence, and they finished with record speed. By the time they had found a professor to send their work to Hagrid, it was almost time for them to head back to their houses.

"Are you sure you don't want to drop by the library? We could get a good half hour in." Allie shook her head.

"I finished everything I had to do before detention in case we went over. I'm set for the night." James laughed.

"Of course you did. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Allie nodded, and James turned to leave.

"Wait!" He looked back at her. "I planned something for us tomorrow." James stuck his hand out to feel her forehead.

"Are you feeling ok?" Allie swatted at him and he smiled his dimpled smile. "Where should I meet you?" Allie thought for a second.

"Come find me after dinner. And it's a surprise, so don't ask." James nodded.

"Until tomorrow, then," he saluted. Allie huffed.

"Until tomorrow."