Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
✦
chapter one; gifting and tearing hearts
The day James and Sirius had to leave for their mission in France came sooner than expected and Amaya was ignoring everything in her that wanted to just go with them and not be alone. But the truth was she needed the distance. She needed to prove to herself she could be alone; she couldn't, as much as she wanted to, depend on James to live in peace.
They were leaving by boat with the families they were to ensure got to safety in France, and that the deal Dumbledore had with the French wizarding government was seen through. The boat was less suspicious, it didn't warrant magical traces and attention, and with a few wards, they would be safe for the short trip to France where they would be able to use the Floo.
And now, after a night out, just like the one before Lily and Remus left for their Order mission, and Amaya had made a few drunken decisions she hoped she wouldn't regret, came the time for goodbyes.
She let go of Sirius, kissing his cheek and wishing him good luck before he jumped off to say goodbye to Marlene, Amaya turned to see James narrowing his eyes at her from the few paces that separated them.
Amaya knew they'd only be gone a few days, a week at most was what they were told, but still, they'd never been apart for that long. He opened his arms and she'd thrown herself at him in seconds, right in front of everyone about to board the boat, burying her face in his neck as his arms slipped around her waist and he hugged her tight.
"I'll be back before you know it, Maya," he whispered, kissing her hair.
"Like you have a choice," she said, rolling her eyes as she stood on her own again, pulling away from him causing his hands to slide to her waist as he looked at her with a smile and annoyingly beautiful eyes. "Ninny would kill you if you didn't."
"What about you?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'd be fine. More room in the bed."
He rolled his eyes, pinching her waist as Sirius called for him. They had to go. Still, Amaya wanted them to stay. "Gotta go, love. You'll have the bed to yourself tonight."
Despite the teasing, she could hear the worry in his voice, and she didn't like it. She knew he was worried for her—she was worried for herself, scared even—but the look he was giving her at the moment, even if smiling, was too akin to pity. Amaya changed the subject.
"Before you go," she said in a hurry, not that James had moved in the slightest, "I have to show you something."
She almost showed it to him that morning—the impulse decision she'd made with Sirius yesterday. While James and Marlene, the poor unaware fools, were sitting at a muggle bar waiting for them to come back from finding a 'leather jacket' Sirius had seen on a store on the way there.
