𝑪𝑰𝑮𝑨𝑹𝑬𝑻𝑻𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝒀𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴|| 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

"gathered up your things and slipped away,"

Estella lay in her bed that night. The Gryffindor common room was silent, the breeze tapped lightly on the window and the gentle purrs of her cat created an atmosphere that anyone could easily sleep in. But Estella couldn't.

She lay on her back; her hands resting on her stomach as she stared up at the dark ceiling above.

'What did she do? Did she actually kiss James Potter?'

As she replayed the moment over and over in her head, the corners of her mouth began to rise up and her face became hot and flustered.

"Shit." She hissed as she sat up in bed, realising that she was smiling and blushing at a moment that was her worst nightmare for years.

But whenever she closed her eyes, the imagine of James' hazels eyes, his scent of broom polish and sound of his soft snicker engulfed her whole.

She has to think of anything, do anything to forget about it. James was probably fast asleep, forgetting about the kiss they shared.

Estella pushed the covers off of her and swung her legs off, her woolly socks reaching the cool wooden floor. Carefully, she snuck out of her dormitory and out into the hallway for the kitchen.

The hallways to the castle was deafening silent at night apart from the soft flicker of the candles which lit up the corridors with an amber haze.

She stared down at her feet rather than where she was going. But the sound of footsteps made her snap her head up.

James Potter was turning the corner, a couple bars of chocolate in his hands. "Crap." She muttered before scurrying to hide behind an amour stand nearby.

"Do you think I'm blind Lupin?" He asked, his voice echoing off of the stone wall surrounding them. She let out a sigh before stepping out and calmly replying with, "No."

A smirk grew on his face. That one smirk that Estella had wanted to knock off his face forever. "Why are you up so late?" He questioned, noticing how she hadn't even put shoes on and was walking around in her socks.

"Could ask the same about you?" She hissed back before beginning to continue to the kitchen. A groan escaped her mouth as he began to follow her.

"Getting chocolate for Remus because I'm such a nice person." He sang with a grin. "Ha. Next joke." She harshly replied. James rolled his eyes but he refused to give up.

"You like me really." He said as he walked along beside her. Estella scoffed at his comment but a mischievous smirk grew across his mouth.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pushed her against the brick wall. She shivered as she felt his hot breath across her skin.

"If you didn't," He paused to stare into her eyes for a moment. "You would of slapped me instead of blushing." He leaned down ever so slightly so that their faces were closer.

Estella swiftly kicked his shin, making him bend down in pain. When he did, she gripped onto the collar of his shirt to ensure he stayed at her level. "Wouldn't want to fill your head with such lies, Potter." She replied with an even wider smirk on her face.

James was left standing there as she walked away, turning to corner to the castle kitchen. "Why are you following me Potter?" She asked as she pushed the door open, the creaks echoing loudly.

"We've gone back to Potter now? Much preferred it when you called me James." He stated, leaning on the countertop as she poured herself a glass of water.

"But giving you a name makes you seem normal, and you are nothing but an arrogant troll." She shrugged as she took a long sip to avoid conversation with him.

"You hurt my feelings Lupin." He replied back. "My goal in life." She replied with a slight shrug. A silence fell between them as James' hazel eyes inspected every small detail of her face which he had never noticed before.

Like how she had less freckles on her cheeks than her nose, or that her eyes had small flecks of gold like pools of sunlight or how she had a light scar on her jaw which was usually hide by her hair.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch me drink?" She hissed at him sharply with furrowed brows.

Estella flicked her wand at the cup, cleaning it but also accidentally turning it hot pink which made James snicker. "Someone's in an arsey mood." He muttered as she walked away as he fixed the bright pink cup.

"Say that to me again Potter, and promise me you'll be in St Mungo's for years." She stated as she walked towards the wooden door.

"You suck." James called out. "And you swallow." She replied, her middle finger up at him which made a smirk left on his face.

-☾~☽-

Estella had to wake up early that morning for Quidditch practice which started before the sun had even risen.

She groaned as she sat up but her eyes refused to open due to the lack of sleep she had. After rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stood up. The bags under her eyes were as dark as the midnight sky.

"Oh for fuck sake." She hissed when she noticed the red stain on her bedding.

After cursing at her ovaries for a few minutes, she got changed into the crimson jersey. It felt good to be back in her Quidditch uniform again.

-☾~☽-

As she walked down the path towards the Quidditch pitch, it was still silent. She guessed that she was early but she didn't mind waiting for a while, watching the sun glisten on the dew on the grass.

But when she walked through the stands, she realised she wasn't the first. She let out a loud yawn which made James Potter, who was standing on the grassy pitch, look up.

"You look like shit." He stated as she threw her broomstick on the floor beside his. "Don't lie Potter. I'm proper sexy." He scoffed but she only smirks as she stood close enough to him that their faces were inches apart.

"Aw, look at you blushing." She mocked which made him scowl and turn to hide his red face.

The collective sound of footsteps approaching made her step away and turn to see the rest of the team walking onto the pitch.

"I'm curious how you are as a captain." Estella told him. "Why? So you can see how it's done?" James asked with an eyebrows raised. She shook her head. "No. So I can see how shit you are and how much better I would be."

"Now, now you two." Marlene smirked which made Estella roll her eyes. "Right, line up!" He shouted which made the team hurry to stand in a straight line.

"Since Estella has been such a good girl," He said in a mocking tone. "She is back on the team." A smirk grew on his face when he saw the glares she gave him.

"She got kicked off for a reason." A 3rd year said slightly too loudly. "Very well." James cleared his throat. "You can do a 1 v 1 with her and see why she's on this team." He suggested.

The third year fell silent and shook their head. "No? Thought so." He replied. A smirk grew on Estella's face as she stared at him. "Right, 3 laps of the pitch!"