Lacerta Black -- James Potter --

37

James was having a very boring week being coped up in the Head Dorms, but that was exactly what he needed. Lacerta still attended her classes, stopping by whenever she had a free moment to share her notes with him so that he didn't have to worry about falling behind. Besides his girlfriend, who he loved so very much, he was only visited by McGonagall or Pomfrey. He assumed their friends not showing had something to do with Lacerta. 

At first, he had resented his time away. It made him feel useless and angsty. Then, he started reading more books for fun or drawing up plans for Quidditch in his free time. He was assured that Marlene was making an excellent co-captain and she was handling the Head duties just fun.

He watched as his overworked love nibbled on the end of a sugar quill, thumbing through a book on Herbology as James just ran his hand up and down her bare legs. The shorts she was wearing made his brain feel fuzzy. She was so lovely and far too good for him. She had blinded him, much like a star would and that's exactly what she was. 

A bundle of light that could light up that darkest of nights. Her presence was always consistently there and immediately comforting. He wished that he wasn't so fucked up so that she could burden him with a few of her problems. Blacks knew better than that, minus Sirius who knew that he could always come to James when he needed to. 

He couldn't bear to think what life might have been like if he never risked breaking into Grimmauld place. She would be stuck at home, most likely not allowed to return to Hogwarts and even more likely to have a baby on the way. Lacerta would be frightfully skinny, like she had been last year. She was getting back to a healthier weight, but he could still feel her ribs through her skin. 

"You're the most wonderful person I know," he reminded her. She peaked up from the words to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Is that so, Potter?" she questioned. The lovesick gaze he was giving her might've made someone else feel queasy, but it was just them. His heart stuttered as she set her book aside to scoot closer to him. Having her in his proximity still made him feel dizzy and his face flush. "I think it's the opposite. You are the liveliest person I know. There is no joy in a world without James Potter because you carry it around like it's the air you breath."

How could he not kiss her when she was saying stuff like that? He could swear that he felt their magic swirling together, mingling into one all powerful force that kept them connected. No, she was magic. James cupped her cheeks, bringing her impossibly close so that their teeth clashed together uncomfortably as he tasted the sweet taste of sugar on her tongue. 

Her smile made them break apart, hardly because their lips still brushed together. "Something on your mind, James? You seem to be in a very loving mood lately."

"I've had a lot of time this week to think about how grateful I am that you're in my life," he answered, peeking her every so often because she was right in front of him and so fucking beautiful. "I love you so very much."

"I love you too," she said so quietly he almost missed it. It made his stomachache, and not in the way it had been for a while. It was with longing, because he really hoped that he wasn't hearing things.

"Say it again," he begged with wide eyes.

"I love you," she said, suddenly looking scared. "I know that it doesn't really mean much when you say it because you've been surrounded by it your whole life, but you are one of the few people I've said it too."

"I always mean it when I say I love you," James assured her, running his fingers across her cheeks. "You are the reason my heart beats Lacerta Black and I can't see a future without you in it."

"Tell me about it," she grinned. "Tell me about the future you see."

"I see us winning this war. I become a professional Quidditch player for a few years before becoming a Healer. I see you becoming a professor with Remus here at Hogwarts, Sirius will be an Auror, and in our future Regulus comes to his senses and works with plants. We all live on the same street in our own little cottages, except ours will have a Quidditch pitch in the backyard."

"Even the girls?"

"No," he said. "The girls will probably get their own flats in the city, but our floos will be connected so that they can tell us when the best parties are happening. Once we are settled in our careers, I'll propose of course, and you'll swoon before saying yes. We have a winter wedding because the snow makes your eyes look even more grey. Then we have seven children."

She choked a bit on her spit as he laughed. "No more than two or three," she giggled once she had caught her breath, her cheeks a bit pink. "But I can really see it, you know? That sounds so utterly perfect."

"It'll happen," he kissed her forehead. It felt like a lie deep down, but it felt like one that he couldn't help but believe. Whenever he was around Lacerta, he couldn't help but hope that everything would turn out alright.

"Unless Voldemort has us killed like he plans," she reminded him of the Hogsmeade incident. No way would James let anything happen to Lacerta. He would rather die the most painful death a thousand times then ever see someone harm a hair on her head. He also had to remind himself that there was a war, a war that they were most likely going to fight in.

"We are invincible my love," James kissed her cheeks this time. It felt nice to assure some of her worries instead of the other way around. "Dumbledore can defeat Voldemort and it'll all go back to normal."

She connected their lips in a short, yet loving kiss. "I can't wait for my future with you James Potter."

"And I you Lacerta Black," he loved her with every atom in his heart.