The Stag and The Harpy | James Potter

Hallucinating

"Hello, love!"

Phoebe jumps in her seat, nearly knocking over Sirius' ink well. James grins and plops down, planting a kiss on her cheek. She scowls and grumbles,

"I don't understand why you insist on scaring me."

"It wasn't on purpose," James defends, winking over her head at Sirius. The boys had been busy the night before since it was the full moon, so James was pleased to finally be sitting with his girlfriend. He smiles softly and says,

"I didn't get to ask you how teaching went yesterday."

A brilliant smile takes over her face, lighting up the dull library. James can't help but laugh quietly when she begins talking,

"Merlin, James. It was brilliant! I got to see the second, third, fifth, and sixth years. We worked with unicorns and thestrals and fire salamanders!!"

"That's fantastic," James says happily, tucking her stray hair behind her ear while she gestures wildly.

"Fantastic is putting it lightly," She says excitedly. "Professor Kettleburn said it was a pleasure to have me. He's going to ask Minnie if I can do it again sometime!!"

Sirius tries to cover up his snort, but fails and earns a glare from Phoebe. He was relentless with his teasing on the subject, calling her a nerd since she first geeked out in front of him back in fourth year. James scowls playfully on her behalf and says,

"Oi, piss off, Padfoot!"

Sirius grins and jeers, "Prongs is too whipped for his own good."

Phoebe smirks slightly and pulls James closer, whispering something in his ear that Sirius cannot hear. James frowns and sighs, muttering, "Fine. Only because it will be funny."

Phoebe winks and pulls away from him, turning to face Sirius. He blinks, suddenly very confused as to why he cannot look away from his friend.

"Sirius," She says gently. "That's not very nice."

His brow furrows and his heart hurts slightly at the idea of being mean to her. He's slightly dazed by her soft voice, struggling to hang on to a coherent thought.

"I'm sorry," He stutters out, eyes wide. Phoebe smiles dreamily and gently grasps his hand.

"It's okay," She murmurs soothingly. "I forgive you."

Sirius exhaled loudly, eyes wide on hers. He sees the forgiveness there and warmth, scooting his chair closer to soak up more of her glowing energy.

"Thank Merlin," He breathes, squeezing her hand. "I'll never say it. Never again. I swear!"

James barks out a laugh, drawing attention from everyone in the library. Sirius looks at him irritably, but the confusion and dizziness he was feeling begins to fade. He gasps and turns back to Phoebe, eyes bugging out of his head at her wicked smirk.

"You did not!" He cries.

Phoebe quickly hushes him, fighting laughter of her own as James snickers from beside her.

"Of course not," She says mockingly. "I would never do that to you."

Sirius balks at his friends, asking James incredulously, "You let her do that to me?!"

"Only because she promised to do something for me later," James says suggestively, earning an elbow in his side from the Veela.

Phoebe glares at her boyfriend, silencing him rather quickly. Sirius flushes slightly when she looks back at him, saying irritably, "I feel violated."