Reactance | James Potter

Chaper 7

   IT WAS THE middle of September, a bit shy of a week since Gryffindor's Quidditch trials. Dorcas had secured a proper Chaser position, to her great pride and relief, as had little Macey. The second year had been seen parading around the common room many times throughout the week, testing out her oversized playing robes and wearing the fullest, most wonderful smile.

The weather was turning chill now as fall approached the castle head-on. Dew covered the grassy courtyards in the early morning as leaves changed from the purest of greens to tired auburns. The sky became more clouded as the days went on, the sun more hidden than proud and strong.

Olivia had begun opting to wear her plain, black uniform sweater over her blouse and beneath her school cloak. The corridors were always the first to creep with chills as the winter months approached; the castle's stone foundation did little to hold its warmth.

In the immediate days following the scene made on the Quidditch Pitch, not much was seen of James. Apparently, Lily's quips at his Quidditch skills had meant something genuine for him. It wasn't the first time that he had holed himself up within his dormitory and refused to come out, but it was the first time for this term.

The first time that it had ever happened — an indisputable chip in James Potter's ego, that is — was on the day Lily publicly announced her relationship with Malcom Lendowens in their fifth year. Malcom was a pretty Ravenclaw, two years their senior. James had spotted them holding hands in the Great Hall at breakfast one morning, smiling and laughing with Lily's friends. He had walked right back out of the Great Hall after that, past his fellow Marauders, and locked himself behind his bed curtains with a particularly sloppy sticky charm.

   The charm would have taken Remus all of a second to undo, but he thought it best to not knock down James' pride any more than it already had been.

Lily did feel quite regretful of her actions at the pitch, however. Despite James still having never apologized for his attack on her at the start of the month, she was unable to live with the guilt of insulting his greatest passion (apart from harassing her, that is): Quidditch.

   So, on the third day of him not having shown to their classes, she let out a great and bothered huff. Sat beside her at their table, Olivia glanced at Lily every few seconds from the corner of her eye — trying to focus on the lecture McGonagall had just begun. Something about Animagi; Olivia squinted past McGonagall's back and to the blackboard currently being scribbled on in chalk. Wait no — it was just for review — that makes more sense, seeing as they had learned about Animagi at the end of last term.

   A sharp ripping noise caught Olivia's attention. She turned her head, looking down at Lily's fresh scroll of parchment — which was now missing its bottom right corner. Lily released the scroll, allowing it to roll back on in itself as she instead smoothed out the torn section. She held it down with her left hand, her right picking up her quill from where it had been rested in her pot of blue ink.

"What are you doing?" said Olivia quietly as she watched Lily bring the tip of the quill to the parchment. A low scratching noise reached their ears.

   Instead of responding, Lily stopped her writing — after only a few small, short words. She glanced over them for a second and then, seemingly satisfied, nodded to herself. She slid the bit of parchment across their tabletop, until it was in front of Olivia.

"What d'you think?" said Lily, pressing her lips together as she dropped her quill back into its ink pot. "Is it too sentimental? I don't want to give him any ideas — any more than he's already come up with himself."

   The note read:

Sorry for what I said - Lily Evans.

   Breathing in deeply through her noise, Olivia looked up from the curled blue writing and to Lily's awaiting face. Olivia raised her eyebrows, saying quite obviously, "Uh no, I wouldn't say so."