Romeo || James Potter

8 - Libraries and Dance Halls

December 23rd -  long chapter but I didn't feel like splitting it into two so deal with it. also lots of dialogue but idc.

This may be surprising, but the first week of the Christmas holiday was going swimmingly. Their days were full of early mornings and late nights. It felt like a dream, if Aspen was to be honest. The food was amazing; the property was gorgeous; the Potter parents were lovely. She was so incredibly comfortable at this estate that on the 23rd, she felt like she was in a second home.

She was running down the spiral stairs with a smile on her face. It was almost 7 in the morning, so she figured no one else but the parents would be up. And she was almost right. When she stepped off the stairs, she saw Fleamont and Euphemia both cooking breakfast and a familiar boy with terrible posture sitting at the island.

"Remus!" Aspen exclaimed as she hugged him from behind.

He gripped her arm. "Hello, Penny." 

Fleamont turned around, a kitchen towel draped over his shoulder. "Good morning, Mini." He said to her. This nickname came to be the first night she was here. He kept calling her a Mini Minerva, so then came Mini.

Aspen greeted the parents as she sat next in the seat next to Remus. "Mr. Lupin here," Euphemia began as she flipped whatever she was cooking on the stove, "Will be with us tonight, leave tomorrow, and then will join us for the gala. I heard from the Pettigrews, and they said they are in the States with their eldest daughter, but they will all be here for the gala as well."

Charlie snatched the glass of pumpkin juice that Fleamont had levitated towards her. "That's wonderful. I kind of miss Pete." She said with a slight frown before taking a sip of the juice.

Remus snorted in amusement. "You won't in a few months." He said under his breath. 

Aspen slapped his shoulder. "He's a sweet boy." She defended as Remus snickered. She sighed, "Well, I miss the other girls too. It's been too long since I've seen them."

"A week, Aspen. It's been a week."

"Yet I didn't miss you. Funny, innit?"

"Go wake the others, please. Breakfast is served!" Euphemia exclaimed brightly.

They walked back up the stairs and woke Sage first. She was sleeping, her limbs completely spread out over the queen-sized bed. She awoke with a start, but her face brightened as soon as breakfast was mentioned. She was also eager to wake the other two.

They carefully and quietly opened the door to Sirius' bedroom. But, to their surprise, it was empty. They checked the bathroom and balcony that were connected to the room, and, still, he wasn't there. So they confusedly moved onto James' room. They opened the door with less care to find James and Sirius both sharing James' bed. Trying not to laugh, the three moved closer and found the two both curled up in balls, facing each other and sharing the blanket.

Sage had to walk out of the room due to her laughter. Aspen was laughing quietly, but when she looked to her right, Remus was staring at them with some sort of expression Aspen couldn't read. Her laughter stopped; studying Remus' face made her almost sad. 

"He had nightmares." Remus stated without looking away, "Whenever he has nightmares about Grimmauld Place, he goes to his bed. He does it..." he let out a breathy laugh, "all the time at Hogwarts."

Aspen didn't take another moment to grab the empty glass of water on James' bedside, fill it with her wand, then splash them both with an excessive amount of water. They both sat up fast, yelping in shock. "Breakfast, lovebirds!" She yelled, setting the glass of water back on the table.