The Stag and The Harpy | James Potter

Funny valentine

Meet me in Hogsmead by Honeydukes

Phoebe stares at the piece of parchment held limply between her fingers, feeling mildly irritated.

All James had been talking about was Bloody Valentine's Day and here he was, having her meet him like it's some casual thing.

She wrinkles her nose, muttering irritably, "Bloody Moose, telling me what to do."

The girls are still getting ready in the bathroom. Phoebe swings her legs limply as she sits on her bed, saying loudly,

"IM NOT GOING."

Alice pops her head out, followed quickly by Marlene and Lily.

"What do you mean?" Lily wonders, brows furrowed.

"I mean I'm not going. I'm tired."

Marlene smirks, saying cheekily, "You're not tired. You're scared, Pheebs."

The Veela lets out an indignant huff, looking down at her socks that are suddenly very very interesting.

Mary Jane shoes suddenly appear below her swinging feet. Reluctantly, Phoebe looks up at Lily. Her green eyes are glimmering with mirth and kindness. Despite their row last term, Phoebe truly believed that there was no one nicer than Lily Evans. Except Remus perhaps.

"Phoebe," She says gently. "Why on earth are you scared of Potter? You're already dating."

"Practically married," Alice laughs with Marlene and Lily. The giggling dies down when they see how pale their friend has gotten.

"Merlin, we've made it worse," Alice says apologetically. Marlene jumps in and says firmly, "Phoebe, take some deep breaths love."

Phoebe does as she's told, thoughts of marriage and feelings and the bloody babies James keeps mentioning making her stomach turn. She curses the godforsaken holiday under her breath as she calms down. It feels weird when she begins to try to convey what she's feeling, sounding rather odd on her ears,

"It's just that...You're right. I'm terrified. I'm terrified that I love him and that he loves me. I'm bloody scared that this fucking war is coming and that he might die. I mean he almost died already. Mulciber could have killed him when he pushed him off that sodding broom and all he's been talking about is this BLOODY HOLIDAY!!!"

Crickets.

The girls all stare at her in surprise, Marlene's jaw dropped slightly. Alice smiles tearfully, her words coming out softly,

"Phoebe, that's what love is. It's so good, but it's fucking terrifying! The future is terrifying! But you can't stop it."

Lily nods encouragingly as Phoebe takes it in, Marlene offering kindly,

"What you can do is put on a bloody dress and pretend to like this awful holiday because Potter loves it and you love him!!!"

Phoebe feels a weary smile grow on her face. Marlene, Alice, and Lily hold their breaths, letting out a cheer when their blonde friend grins a little and nods. Having already gotten ready themselves, they spend the next hour getting their friend ready for her date, laughing as they go. And singing and dancing because according to Marlene, "Singing and dancing makes everything better."

James paces nervously outside of Honeydukes, putting out a cigarette he'd nicked from Phoebe to puff on while he waited. He wonders if he should've walked her, if he should've done more. He tries to pat down his unruly hair, but messes it up when he runs his fingers through it absentmindedly every few minutes. He decides that this is a mistake, that he needs to go and find Phoebe and call it off. She wasn't interested in this bloody holiday and here he was—

"James!"

He jumps, frightened by the sudden interruption to his nervous thoughts. He turns, his nervous words dying in his throat when he finally sees the girl he's been worrying about all day.

"Merlin," James breathes. Her normally wavy pearlescent hair was pin straight, framing her face. Her grey eyes were lined in that charcoal black that made his heart thump harder in his chest, making her look almost feline. She looked dangerous, sexy. But what really made him melt into his shoes was the cheesy jumper she was wearing, red fabric covered in obnoxious pink hearts. She wore it for him, he realizes.

"Um, Potter?"

He shakes his head and holds up a hand, saying firmly but quietly, "Just a moment longer, please."

Phoebe flushes at his words but concedes, allowing him another minute to stare at her silently. It gives her enough time to get a proper look at him, her mouth running dry at his maroon sweater that was deliciously tight over his muscles. She has to remind herself to not swoon pathetically over his perfectly imperfect hair and crooked glasses.

"Okay?" She asks when he steps closer. He laughs and nods, bringing a smile to her face.

"I mean I'm ready to drag you back up to the castle and trap you in my dorm, but yes. I'm okay. Are you?"

Phoebe reaches up absentmindedly and gently adjusts his crooked glasses, admitting, "I was a bit nervous. But I'm okay now."

He considers pressing more on the matter, but decides to let it go. He smirks a little and replies, "Don't worry, Griffin. I know you well enough to not get you all flustered for nothing."

"I don't get flustered, Potter," She defends, removing her hands.

"Well I hope You're excited because we have a very elaborate day ahead of us."

Phoebe laughs at his use of his posh voice, taking his outstretched hand and following him as he begins to walk. Elaborate was not something she was particularly excited for. But if he was happy, so was she. It doesn't take long for Phoebe to recognize where they're going. Embarrassingly, she can admit to herself that she is intimidated by the shrieking shack even though she knows the boys are in there all of the time.

They don't go close to it however. Instead James guides her to a clearing within the trees, just outside the fence that surrounds the creepy building. She jumps when he stops short and clasps his hands over her eyes without saying anything. Phoebe can't help but laugh, picking up on some of the nerves radiating from the boy.

"If you're bringing me here to kill me you're in for a rude awakening, Potter."

"Relax, Griffin. If I wanted to do that I would've taken you to the Black Lake," He teases, carefully guiding her forward with his hand still cover her eyes. He takes a deep breath, making sure everything is in place before he lets his hand fall.

Phoebe doesn't know what she's expecting, but the scene before her makes her heart stop. There's a picnic blanket spread out with fruits and sweets and bottles of butter beer. Her eyes latch onto the candles floating, sending beautiful flickering shadows across the moss and bark surrounding them. It's perfect. And it's so James she can't contain the bubbly laugh that erupts from her chest.

"You git!" She cries, punching his arm. James winces, trying desperately to fight a grin as she continues, "You had me so stressed and worked up, Potter! Acting like you'd rented out the entire village, taking crap about how this day is the best day of the year!!!!"

James finally chuckles, dodging another punch to his arm. He catches her swinging hands and leans his forehead against hers, smirking when he says, "You're just too easy, Griffin."

He easily spots her lips twitching at the corners, making his smile grow wider. He could never pass up an opportunity to get her worked up, so he'd been talking up the holiday for weeks just to make her sweat it. The whole while, he'd had something simple and quiet planned. Just the two of them.

He hopes every Valentine's Day is like this one, where he gets to freak her out and see that special glimmer in her eyes when she's challenged or irritated. She's so lively, so free.

And a teeny weeny part of him—the part that melts into his shoes when she smiles his way and guides him over to the picnic—wishes he had a ring.