scarlett - james f. potter

scarlett

"Thomas!" I exclaimed, running towards Hufflepuff's common room as he was about to enter.

"Scarlett" He smiled, turning around. "I've been meaning to say 'hi'"

"Yeah, okay" I scoffed, softly punching his arm.

"Ow!" He yelped, holding his forearm. "Quidditch tryouts are soon! Don't break me"

"Why have you been avoiding me?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I haven't been avoiding you" He chuckled, shaking his head. "I just wanted you to get settled in"

Thomas Abbott was one of Xavier's best friend. His letters constantly filled with stories about what he did that week with Amos and Thomas. I was happy that he had people to rely on when we were so far away, however, I couldn't help but have the feeling of being replaced. I had begged and begged my mom to go to Hogwarts, she always denied saying that Xavier needed to go to Hogwarts and that his path wasn't the same as mine.

"I've been settled" I snarked.

"Did Potter help with that?" He quickly responded with a cheeky smile.

"W-what?"

"I saw you two sitting near the black lake on Monday...and then Tuesday, oh and Wednesday, did I mention Thursda-"

"Okay, I get it" I said, cutting him off, getting tired of his teasing.

James and I had decided to spend 15 minutes before class near the black lake. At first, we hadn't planned to, but one morning I told the girls that I was going to get something from the dorms and ended up there instead, he had shown up five minutes later. Sometimes we would talk about pointless things, like which character from Happy Days we thought we were. Other days, we'd sit in silence as music softly played from the headphones of my walkman. We both wanted to enjoy the music, and bless Merlin that we were both wizards, we simply put a charm on it to amplify the music.

"He's a friend"

"Alright" He shrugged, his smile still on his face. "But, as your brothers best mate, if he ever becomes more than that, I have to beat him up"

"I won't be stopping you" I joked back, my smile slowly faltering, feeling my stomach sink as I remembered Xavier.

"I miss him too" He softly said, his smile becoming a sad one. "Listen Scarlett, anything you need, anythin-"

"I know" I smiled, remembering the words he said at my grandpas funeral. "And if you ever need to talk or-"

"I know"

We stood silently as a few Hufflepuffs entered the common room, greeting Thomas. Once they were gone, he suddenly pulled me into a hug.

I hadn't received a real hug in months, making me react slowly, but I gently wrapped my arms around him, closing my eyes as I felt them water.

I felt my shirt slowly get wet, he was crying.

"He's out there" He mumbled, his voice slightly wavering.

I stayed silent, unsure of what to believe at this point. So many months have passed and nothing has been found, not a single trace.

"I know" I breathed out as we left each others arms.

"We can't be crying before a party" He chuckled, wiping his tears and running a hand through his hair.

"You're going?" I excitedly asked.

Tonight, the Prewitt twins were throwing themselves a birthday party. It was exciting to feel excited, an emotion that often brought me disappointment.

"Yeah, do you even know who I am?"