𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 ―𝐣𝐬𝐩

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐧 - 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥

James

It's a quiet afternoon, well not quiet inside my dorm per se, but it's a calm afternoon in the sense that we don't really have much shit to do and the weather outside is okay, not deadly windy like yesterday. Freddie was lounging on his bed, Ronny curled up next to him with her head in his lap as he meticulously brewed wolfsbane for her, her eyes fixed on a book. Nate and Dom were shamelessly making out on Nate's bed, completely unaware—or uncaring—that the rest of us could see them. Meanwhile, Roxy and Luke were doing some ridiculous couples TikTok trend that had them giggling and acting like absolute morons.

I was sprawled on my bed, bored out of my mind, shirtless like the rest of the guys. Candy Crush was the only thing occupying my attention at this point, and I was about two levels away from smashing my phone against the wall, because muggle games piss me off. Why do I play them? Excellent fucking question. That's when the door creaked open, and Martha walked in, as if she owned the place, all golden-haired, bratty confidence and way-too-tight clothes.

She kicked off her sneakers at the door, her perfectly manicured toes peeking out. My eyes immediately trailed to her bralette, a Dior piece that was clearly expensive as hell, hugging her in all the right places. Her toned stomach, adorned with a gleaming belly button piercing, was on full display, and the tight cotton shorts didn't leave much to the imagination. She made her way over to my closet, rifling through it like it was her own.

"Ewww," she muttered with a grimace as her eyes landed on Nate and Dom. "Get a room, you two. It's like 4pm."

"It's 7:47 actually, Em." And to that she flips my darling cousin the bird, to which he just laughs still focused on his potion making.

She grabbed one of my Quidditch jerseys, a red Gryffindor one I'd just washed. She held it up, gave it a quick sniff to check if it was clean, then pulled it over her head, the fabric hanging loosely on her smaller frame. The sight of her in my jersey—and only my jersey—did things to me I couldn't even begin to describe. I mean I could, I shouldn't though, I hate her remember? She tied her long golden hair up into a messy bun, still managing to look annoyingly perfect, and before I could register it, she was on my lap, plucking my phone out of my hands and locking the screen.

I blinked, momentarily thrown off by how casually she just...sat on me, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Oi," I muttered, "I was in the middle of a game."

Ignoring me completely, she clapped her hands sharply, drawing everyone's attention to her. The room fell into a hush, eyes shifting to us. Freddie raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk playing on his lips, and of course Ronny dropped her book beside her on the bed side table. Roxy and Luke paused mid-TikTok, Luke's arm still wrapped around her waist. Even Nate and Dom stopped their make-out session long enough to glance over.

Martha leaned back against my chest, crossing her legs as if settling in for a speech. "Alright, listen up," she started, in that bossy tone she always used when she thought she had a plan. "Potter and I have something to tell you all."

Freddie's grin widened, and I could see the mischief gleaming in his eyes. "Oh, here we go," he muttered, sitting up straighter, one hand still absentmindedly stroking Ronny's hair.

Martha didn't waste time, diving straight in. "Potter and I are going to fake date each other."

The room erupted into laughter. Dom nearly fell off Nate's bed, clutching her stomach. Roxy snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth as she leaned into Luke, who looked both amused and confused at the same time. Ronny raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued as hell. Freddie, of course, was the loudest of the lot, throwing his head back in a dramatic laugh.