𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒, james potter

07. partners again

SHE WALKS INTO class with a neutral expression, void of any emotion. It is one of the few classes she has with the Marauders, and of course, it is Transfiguration.

The class where it all started.

She takes her seat near the back of the class beside Vanessa Fernsby. Nesrin may have considered some of the people she hangs out with her friends in the past, but she has never ever considered Vanessa Fernsby to be a friend.

Nesrin has always gotten a cold, dark feeling in her gut whenever she encounters Vanessa. Yes, Vanessa is a bitch—she always has been and everyone knows that—but there's something more to it that Nesrin can't quite put her finger on.

Idris had this thing going on with her a couple of years back, during their fifth year. Obviously, Nesrin hadn't approved, but her opinion seemed to be irrelevant. They only lasted a couple of months, but those two months were plain torture for even their friends. There was this one time when they were still together that Nesrin still can't get out of her head.

She had been walking back to the Slytherin common room after sneaking out at night to watch the stars on top of the Astronomy Tower when she heard a low voice at the end of the hallway. Curiosity got the best of her as she had tiptoed down to the end and peaked inside an empty classroom that hadn't been used in years.

Inside, was Vanessa Fernsby.

She was glaring down at something Nesrin couldn't see from where she was hiding, and Nesrin wasn't about to risk getting caught to find out what it was. The weird thing about the whole situation was that Vanessa seemed to be speaking to whoever was on the floor in a language Nesrin couldn't quite decipher. Even two years later, she still wonders what she had been saying.

Her tone had been harsh and angry, that much Nesrin could tell. But she had been speaking so fast and low that all Nesrin could hear was a bunch of gibberish and muffled sounds.

She has never known for sure who it was Vanessa had been speaking to or if she had just been mumbling to herself.

But even now, it still rubs Nesrin the wrong way.

She fakes a smile at the dark-haired girl who fakes a smile back.

"Oh, Nesrin," Vanessa starts in a snobbish high-pitched voice. "Guess what happened with Sam the other day on our date night? You won't believe how sweet he was and the nice flowers he got me and..."

And... Nesrin officially zones out. She couldn't care the fuck less. She appears to be listening intently and nodding along enthusiastically when really, she's ready to get out of there.

Out of her peripheral vision, Nesrin spots a black head of hair. Her heart swells. And then it quickly crashes back down as a petite, freckled girl takes her place right next to him.

She bites down on her teeth hard enough for them to make a scratching sound that rings through her skull. Her chest rises and falls a bit more rapidly, but it's only noticeable if anyone had been paying her any attention—no one had.

She quickly glances at the boy she fell in love with when she was fifteen and then looks down at her desk, still nodding along to whatever Vanessa is talking about.

She has no right to feel this way. None.

It's her fault. She hurt him. She has to face the consequences.

They never would have worked out anyway. Nesrin had known that from the beginning. Even before she had realized how she felt about him back then, she had known that their friendship wouldn't be able to last. Not with who they were and where they came from and what their families stood for.

And now, with everything in her, more than she ever had in the past, Nesrin wishes she were not a Fadel.

"Let's have Gryffindor's Head Boy and Head Girl pass out last week's homework papers," Professor McGonagall speaks up, staring at James and Lily.

Nesrin watches the two share a smile, a secret smile just for the two of them. A secret smile that she once used to share with that same boy as they passed each other in the hallways or looked at each other discreetly from across the Great Hall.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she turns her head down so that she doesn't have to look at them. Vanessa keeps speaking, but Nesrin can't find it in herself to appear as though she is still listening anymore.

Suddenly, Vanessa scoffs. Nesrin looks at her staring down at the parchment in her hands. "How did I only get partial credit? I did everything correctly!"

Nesrin resists the urge to roll her eyes. And then the urge goes away as she looks up at the person who had given Vanessa her homework back.

His brown eyes, rimmed with flakes of green, stare at her so indifferently that Nesrin suddenly questions if she had made up their entire relationship. When her dark eyes meet his, the nonchalant exterior James appears to have been trying to show disappears as the cold glare reaches his eyes and the tension sets in his jaw.

All Nesrin wants in that moment is to lay in her bed, under the sheets, and scream into her pillow as her tears soak the fabric.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

A piece of parchment drops onto her desk, and before she can even blink, James has already moved away.

✧ ✦ ✧

HER LAST CLASS of the day before she can finally go back to her dorm is Potions. Unfortunately for her, James is also in this class.

She usually sits near the back by herself, but today, Slughorn seems to be out to get her because he announces that everyone will be getting partners that they will have for the rest of the year.

He pulls out a long parchment seemingly out of nowhere and starts calling out names. There is nothing Nesrin wishes for more in that moment than for him to call out her name alongside anyone in the class apart from James Potter.

Literally anyone. Even Idris would be fine.

But the universe is against her, as it always has been.

"Miss Fadel and Mr. Potter," Slughorn calls out, pointing to a desk near the back of the class.

Nesrin closes her eyes for a single moment before turning her head to find that Idris has been paired up with someone. He is scowling as he moves to his place near a slightly familiar brunette. Most likely a muggle-born from the look on Idris's face.

She allows herself a small second of amusement at her brother's pissed off expression before she starts walking to the desk assigned to her.

She doesn't look at the tense figure who takes a seat next to her on the very edge furthest away from her. Frowning to herself, she clasps her hands together on her lap and looks down.

After everyone is situated, Slughorn starts his lesson, but Nesrin isn't paying attention. She's trying her absolute hardest not to look to her side at the boy she fell in love with—or even worse, reach her hand out and touch him.

The minute class ends, James is out the door before Nesrin has time to process what happened.

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

hi! hope you all are enjoying the story so far.

idk why i haven't been doing author's notes lol but anyway here's the first one

fav song rn?

also has anyone read daisy jones & the six?? (aka best book ever)