cigarette daydream || james potter

"You can drive all night,"

Estella had been asleep so deeply that she never heard the castle clock strike three.

Curled beneath a mountain of crimson blankets, she had somehow managed to occupy nearly the entire bed, one leg hanging over the side while Oliver lay sprawled across the pillow with complete ownership of it. The dormitory was steeped in darkness, the thick stone walls muffling almost every sound except the occasional whistle of wind squeezing through the narrow gaps in the leaded windows. Moonlight spilled across the worn wooden floorboards in pale silver strips, illuminating discarded textbooks, a pair of muddy Converse abandoned beside her wardrobe, and a Quidditch jersey draped untidily over the back of a chair. The air was cool compared to the unusually warm summer days they'd been having, and the peaceful silence was broken only by Oliver's rhythmic purring and Estella's soft, sleepy breathing.

Three deliberate knocks echoed against the oak door.

She didn't move.

Another three followed.

Still nothing.

Finally, a fourth knock, louder than the rest, made Oliver lift his head with an irritated meow while Estella buried herself even deeper beneath the blankets.

"What?" she groaned into her pillow, her voice muffled almost beyond recognition.

The door creaked open only a few inches before a warm ribbon of candlelight stretched across the floor.

"Morning, darling."

Even half-asleep, she recognised James's voice immediately.

One eye cracked open.

The silhouette leaning casually against the doorway was unmistakable, his messy hair sticking up in every conceivable direction, round glasses slightly crooked from what looked like an equally short night's sleep. He looked infuriatingly awake.

Estella squinted towards the window.

The sky was still pitch black.

She frowned.

"Morning?" she repeated incredulously. "Potter... it's three in the bloody morning."

"It is."

"So you've developed insomnia."

"No."

"Lost your mind?"

"Possibly."

She let her head flop dramatically back onto the pillow.

"Go away."

James folded his arms.

"I can't."

"Watch me."

Without another word, he strode across the dormitory and, before she had time to react, grabbed the edge of her blanket and pulled.

Cold air rushed over her instantly.

Estella let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl before lunging forwards, desperately trying to reclaim it.