Time in a Bottle (A James Potter Love Story)

Chapter 14

An enchanted butterfly origami landed in front of Aurelia during Potions one day. Rabastan lifted his brow, intrigued by the note but tried to hide it. The witch unfolded it, and in scribbly handwriting it said "Meet us after class!" A more elegant handwriting was off to the side "Don't tell Remus" along with a stick figure drawing of what she assumed to be Peter and Remus and the word "Distraction" scribbled next to the shorter boy. Aurelia tensed, and bit her lip.

"Everything alright?" Lily whispered to the girl next to her as she read over the instructions for their potion one last time.

"Yes, it's just the boys being silly." Rabastan rolled his eyes, quickly losing interest in the note.

Snape returned with the ingredients and organized them on the table. "Sallow why do you sit here when the rest of your group is over there?" Rabastan crossed his arms.

"Well, unlike someone at this table, I'm not afraid of making friends from different houses. I didn't realize the color of a tie was so terrifying." Lily covered her laugh with a cough while Severus' lips turned upward.

"I have friends in other houses!" The Slytherin narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not talking about the ghosts." Aurelia giggled at the frustration on his face. They continued the rest of the assignment in a tense silence. When Slughorn dismissed the students, James dragged Aurelia by her wrist before she could even say bye to anyone. In the distance behind her, she could see Peter distracting Remus and leading him the opposite direction. Sirius ran to catch up with James and Aurelia.

They reached an empty classroom and the witch sat cross legged on the table. She had a feeling that she knew what was about to happen, so she tried to play cool. James and Sirius paced back and forth in front of her to try and figure out what to say.

"So we've been —."

"REMUS IS A WEREWOLF." Sirius exclaimed, cutting James off. The bespectacled boy glared at Sirius and put his hands on his hips. Sirius slapped a hand over his own mouth and looked at Aurelia with wide eyes.

Aurelia stared at the two in disbelief. "What makes you think that?" She picked at her fingernails, choosing to not look James in the eyes.

"Because he's sick around the full moon every time! And the scars!" Aurelia nodded her head as she pretended to think it over.

"Or maybe, he's got a muggle illness you don't know about?" The witch made it a routine to skip classes with Remus to give him some company. Something that James noticed.

"Are you a werewolf? You miss classes too." He crossed his arms in front of her and tapped his foot impatiently.

Aurelia laughed a genuine laugh. "Merlin no, I have lady problems." Not necessarily true, but they don't know they.

"Ladies transform too?" Sirius furrowed his brows.

"No Sirius, ask mum when you come over for Christmas." James whispered. "Wait this is all beside the point, Remus should be here right about —."

The door swung open, revealing a red faced Peter and a confused Remus. Aurelia's eyes widened and she tried to think of a way to stop this. "What is going on?" The werewolf asked as he approached them. Peter was looking down to the ground, while James and Sirius stared intently at his face. Aurelia's gaze snapped to Remus and his heart dropped at the wide eyed look.

"We know Remus." Sirius stepped forward cautiously.

"Know what?" Remus awkwardly laughed and cleared his throat.

"That you're a werewolf." Peter whispered and looked up at their friend. James stayed quiet, assessing his reaction. Remus looked at Aurelia.

"You told them?" His voice shook in pain with each word. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she tried to find her words. The slight shake of her head went unmissed by James.

"You knew?" Her dark eyes welled with tears at the hurt in his tone. She hopped off the table and took a step forward, causing James to hang his head. "You sat here and lied to me just a minute ago." He whispered. It didn't hurt him that Remus was a werewolf, or even that she had known the truth. It hurt him knowing that she was dishonest.

Remus crossed the boys and stepped next to Aurelia, a step in front of her to bring the attention back to himself. "Don't blame her James."

"It wasn't my secret to tell. As long as I am alive, I will do what I must to protect his secret, and if that means lying, I will." Finding her confidence, she joined Remus' side and crossed her arms. "That being said, now that you know, you will not tell anyone." The three boys nodded.

"I understand if you no longer want to be friends with me."

"Why wouldn't we be friends with you mate?" Sirius asked. "It's bloody wicked!"

"No! I'm a monster, I'm dangerous. I can hurt you."

Aurelia rolled her eyes, "And I have a magic stick that can physically maim someone with just a word and a swish of the wrist, the only difference is I'd be hurting someone intentionally whereas you have no control."

"We will find a way to help you with your transformations Remus." James spoke up. He avoided the glares still being sent by the witch.

"I can't ask you to do that, it's too dangerous." Remus shook his head and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose with shaky fingers.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Sirius clapped Remus on the shoulder and smirked. The long haired boy led the werewolf out of the classroom, grabbing Peter and dragging him with them. Aurelia stayed glaring at James with her arms crossed.

He went to turn and follow the boys but she scoffed. "That's it? No apology for being a git?! You would have done the same thing!"

"I didn't! I went straight to you when we thought about it!"

"I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone! He needed someone he could trust! I can't just betray him like that!" She shouted back at the boy. "And you get mad at me?!" Tears welled up in her eyes again.

His eyes softened, seeing her red cheeks and teary eyes. James sighed and reached an arm out, grabbing her shoulders to pull her in for a hug. His chin rested on her head. "I'm sorry Rellie. You're right."

"Next time before you get mad, try talking to me about it first?" She looked up at him. He smiled and nodded, making her heart grow nervous.

"Oi lovebirds! Are you coming or not?!" Sirius popped his head back in the doorway. He laughed at Aurelia's bright red face.

She pulled her wand out with a glare. The boy's eyes widened and he took off running. She started after him, "You get back here Sirius!" Before she knew it, she was lifted into the air by James and thrown over his shoulder. The laughter of all 5 of them filled the corridors as they chased after each other without a care in the world.