enchanted | james potter

look at us now

" How did we get here? How do we get out? We used to be something to see, oh baby, look at us now.  "

James happily accepted Keira's invitation for the double date with Josie and Henry, he was excited to spend time with Keira.

Josie and Keira got ready together, giving each other their opinions on what outfit they should wear and how their hair should be styled.

"James is really looking forward to today." Keira said as she fluffed her hair in her mirror, giving her curls volume.

"Yeah?" Josie hummed, focusing on the eyeliner she was drawing on. Keira nodded as she turned around, grabbing her handbag from her bed.

"It sucks that the others don't have any partners, we could've had a bigger gathering." Keira said.

Josie quickly got awkward, not knowing what to say with her knowledge of Sirius and Remus' relationship. She just let out an awkward laugh with "Yeah I guess it does."

Keira picked up on her awkwardness but gave it no mind, it was probably nothing, she thought. "Ready to go?" She asked.

. . .

The group of four had been chatting and laughing all afternoon, going in pretty much every shop there was in Hogsmeade. Keira and Josie had made Henry and James follow them around as they browsed the racks of clothes in Gladrags Wizardwear much to their boredom, however they still put on smiling faces when the girls would show them clothes they liked.

The four sat in The Three Broomsticks, drinks and lunch in front of them, Keira and Josie were listening sort of confused to James and Henry's conversation about Quidditch. James' arm was slung around Keira's shoulders, they both felt like for the first time in a while, they were finally how they used to be with each other; relaxed, comfortable.

"What are your guys' plans for after graduation?" Henry asked, his hand resting on Josie's knee.

Josie looked between the two friends sat opposite her, there was a breeze of awkwardness that appeared from Henry's question from the problems that came up from Keira's long term plans.

"I'm debating between professional Quidditch or becoming an Auror." James said casually, trying to ignore the thick air of awkwardness as much as possible. Keira look up at James, realising then that she actually didn't know that was what he wanted to do. They never had that conversation because all the focus was on Keira and her aspirations and her plans.

"That's cool, how about you Keira?" Henry smiled, the three looked at Keira who was in her own world for a minute, staring as the wall behind Josie.

"Huh?" She looked at Henry.

"What do you want to do?" He repeated.

"Oh, well, I've got my eyes on Magical Law Enforcement." Keira said quickly, not wanting to talk about it too much, before Henry could respond Keira changed the subject, "Anyway, what music do you listen to, Henry? Because Fleetwood Mac released a new album earlier this year and it's just class." Keira spoke quickly.

Henry looked between Keira and Josie, "Oh well, I haven't really listened to Fleetwood Mac, I'm more of a Led Zeppelin kind of guy." Keira nodded.

The groups' conversation surrounding music continued, though it didn't go unnoticed by James that Keira majorly avoided the subject of work and school. He didn't understand why, she was crazy about her future career, it was literally all she thought about.

The date soon ended, Josie and Henry decided to go back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, while James decided to take Keira back down to the tree by the Black Lake they used to religiously sit at, a carving of their initials on it. It took convincing but not as much as James expected, Keira realised when she first said she need to study that she was doing the opposite of what she was trying to do; spend more time with James.

They sat with their backs rested against the trunk, James' arm around Keira's waist as they stared out at the view of the lake and mountains.

"Hey Kir?" James kissed her head, Keira then angled her head to face him, their faces close to each other.

"Yeah?"

"What was going on with your weirdness when Henry asked about your plans after Hogwarts?" James asked bluntly, he found when confronting Keira it was easier and less painful to get straight to the point than to play around the question.

"There was no weirdness." She turned her head back to the view in front of them. James pulled her in closer by his hand on her waist.

"Come on, you can tell me. Are you having doubts?"

"Fucks sake James I'm fine!" Keira said annoyed, his hand loosened around her waist.

"You don't have to be like that I'm just asking!" He fought back, defending himself.

Keira sighed, her gaze dead set on one of the mountains straight ahead of her. "I just don't want to be constantly talking about that stuff. I do enough stressing about it." She calmed down.

"Well, there you go; you're stressed, so there is something wrong." James said matter-of-factly.

Keira scoffed, "Merlin, James I just opened up to you about it, why are you being like that?" She pushed herself up, standing over him. Though, he quickly got up too.

"Like what?"

"Like you have to prove that you're right, that there is something wrong with me! Fuck, James just... just stop trying to make it out like I'm always about to crumble apart because I work hard!" Her voice got louder, thankfully there wasn't anyone around.

"You're being ridiculous, Keira, I just care for you and want to help! Is it seriously that hard to understand?" It was clear that James was hurting.

"Maybe I don't need your help, did you ever think of that?" Keira spoke before she thought, it was a habit she did a lot and she absolutely hated it.

James was hurt by that; he loved helping people, especially people he loved, he wanted to protect them from anything bad, he wanted to make their lives easier. Having Keira say she didn't want it hit him somewhere in his heart he didn't know could be hit. Something sort of snapped in him from that attack and he got irrational, angry, and impulsive.

"Maybe you just don't want me anymore!" He said, Keira scoffed again, finding the statement ridiculous - of course she wanted James!

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're just so busy with school work and worrying about your future - a future that, let's face it, I'm probably not in anymore - that I'm just an inconvenience, a distraction that should go away!" Keira was stunned, she didn't know how to respond, "So, if that's what you want, that's what you'll get. You don't have to deal with my constant nagging to hang out, you can obsess over your studying in peace!" He shouted.

"What are you saying James?" She asked, scared of what he was going to say.

He ran his hand through his hair - a habit he always did when he was annoyed, "I'm saying that we should take a break from each other. I don't know how long, but... Well, until you want me back, I guess."

James left soon after, Keira stood there silent not knowing what to say. She didn't want to break up with James, but she wasn't going to pretend everything was okay. She had hope that their break would fix things and they'd go back to the way they were.

Keira spent the rest of her day in her dorm room, Josie brough her dinner from the Great Hall. She cried a lot. Her head in Josie's lap as she stroked her hair comfortingly.

Keira didn't know how something so good had been ruined by her so easily. Her and James had a good thing - an amazing thing - and she destroyed it like it was nothing to her, but in reality it was. It was the best thing she had going for her in life, it was something she could thing about and smile at.

But, somehow, she had gotten them both to this place of hurt and if they were both being completely honest; neither one of them knew how to fix it and get them out of the hole they were in.

(A/N: i'm sorry but i love a bit of heartbreak. also, yes, i am using a daisy jones & the six song - I LOVE THAT SHOW. anddd thank you so so much for 1k reads that's so amazing!!)