Hooked - James Sirirus Potter.

Chapter Twenty Six

Evie watched from beneath her lashes; her world had been tipped off balance for a few minutes after James had admitted that he’d slept with Claudia and now she simply had to observe them. In her youth she’d been an avid people watcher, seeing past the usual and looking deeper. She’d loved being able to see the differences. It was how she met Patrick; he moved and looked so different to the other people who’d been around him that she’d simply had to go over and talk to him.

She’d been right too, he was different and it was so… for lack of a better word, magical.

Now she was watching James, she’d worked out from the small clues who his family were and from what Patrick had explained slowly dissected his personality. He felt a responsibility and a loyalty towards Claudia because they worked together, but there was a desperate need to reassure himself too. He was constantly checking her temperature; he always leant over the healers shoulders to read the charts and even inspected the laboratory the potion had been made in.

It wasn’t love, god no it wasn’t… yet. There was something much deeper, an understanding between the two of them; even in Claudia’s comatose state she could sense it. He was comfortable around her.

Hours passed and eventually Patrick returned to collect her. Evie smiled up at him as he hovered in the door, his grey hair was still speckled with brown but only just and his eyes still smiled the same as they always did when he saw her.

“Aren’t you going to ask?” She asked standing up and putting on her cardigan.

“You’re going to tell me anyway.” He shrugged, leaning against the doorframe. “Potter, you don’t need to baby her… she doesn’t know anyone’s here.”

“Patrick they’re friends.” Evie scolded, “You spent the night with Eric when he was ill and he wasn’t half as bad as this.”

Evie winked over at James who bit back a small smile before turning back to the book a healer had lent him.  “Well, what happened do tell, Evie.”

“She’s got a few different viruses at once; bird flu, dragon pox and some they haven’t named yet.” She sighed, “It just literally took her out.”

“Just that?” he asked surprised.

“And stress.” Evie added, sliding a look at James who coloured slightly. “I think she should come home for a few days and let me look after her.”

“That never works; she’d be more stressed knowing she’s near me.” Patrick grunted, before turning to James. “The last time she stopped over I stayed in the garden.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow then James?” Evie asked, looping her arm through her husbands and dragging him from the room. “You could be a little nicer.”

“That was nice.” he grunted, putting an arm around her shoulder. “I spoke didn’t I?”

---

Claudia sat in the car, staring out of the window and into the fog. The traffic was at a complete stand still giving her leave to stare out of the windows.

She was on the A47 close to Peterborough, nearly at her grandma’s house; she must have just caught the tail end of rush hour it was never usually this busy. Leaning her head back, the car moved forwards in line with the waiting traffic, red lights flashed along the winding queue until the car stopped once more.

The warm air was beginning to send her to sleep; they were nearly there so falling asleep now wouldn’t be a good idea. Turning to the driver, she realised she was alone.

Where had they gone?

Slowly she became aware of which car she was in, it was the little red Citroën her mother had had when she was a little girl. The round dials and the curve of the dash board all engrained in her memory, turning to look in the back even the Dragon Charlie had won at the beach was present.