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CHAPTER FIFTY
admittances
INSTINCTUALLY, BETTY LET go of James's hand as they neared the Great Hall. Their looks had been stolen for so long that she'd forgotten what the pounds in between their hands felt like. The weight of the heavy eyes on them. James only looked over at her with a furrowed brow and took her hand again, lacing their fingers as he did. She stopped in her tracks, stopping the both of them in the process.
"Let's think about this before we do anything," she said in a low voice, ushering them over to the side, near the wall that they used to haunt.
"What's there to think about?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.
She huffed. "We—" she gestured between the two of them "—have been known to hate each other. It'll be whiplash for the general public to learn that we've been snogging on the side let along now that we're . . ."
"Together?"
"We're now dating, yes."
James only shrugged. "Sucks." She shook her head, wondering. "Doesn't matter what they think, really. We know what we have and we know what's going on and that's what matters. Doesn't matter if Sirius knows or Aisling knows or anyone. It just matters that we do."
She bit the inside of her cheek but relented and slowly nodded, allowing him to take her hand in his again. It felt just as warm as the first night that he had taken hers. She took in a deep breath and allowed him to lead her back towards the Great Hall again before she stopped dead in her tracks once more.
"I'd like to keep this our secret for just a little longer though," she insisted.
James studied her and smiled. "Alright. You better not just be saying that because you're scared."
She laughed mirthlessly. "Not all of us can be Gryffindors."
"I much prefer you as a Hufflepuff, thanks," he remarked back with his lips twitching upwards adoringly.
She stared at the floor, letting time slip by her, as she pressed her lips together and contemplated her options. People gave them odd looks as they brushed past, wanting to greet friends and share in the food that was laid out for them. The bustling of the hall was imminent. She could feel it. Her eyes slid over to their intertwined hands. They didn't fit perfectly, but his kept hers warm and that mattered much more than anything else. "Fuck it." She lead them forward and into the hall before she could change her mind.
At first, no one paid them any mind until a few curious eyes caught sight of him and then her and then their eyes slid down to their hands. By then, Betty and James had nearly reached his friends.
