Time in a Bottle (A James Potter Love Story)

Chapter 29

The boys shifted uncomfortably when Enzo came to take her to his compartment on the train. None of them argued with it, trying to respect her decisions, but it was clear they were unhappy with it. "Save my seat at the table?" Aurelia called out as she exited.

"Always!" James yelled back, watching her retreating figure. The hand that was placed on her lower back made him frown. The Ravenclaw looked back, knowing they were watching and sent the Gryffindor boy a sly wink.

As they walked towards the compartment, Enzo looked down at Aurelia. "Bella, you and I both know you are beautiful, but why don't you change into your robes before we get there? It will save some time." She looked down at her usual first day outfit. The worn overalls paired with her red Chucks that she always seemed to wear.

The witch fidgeted, "Can we stop and say hi to the girls first?"

"Alright" the boy shrugged and led the way.

When they reached the Gryffindor girl's compartment, Aurelia was met with hugs and warm greetings. Lily's eyes bore into the side of Aurelia's skull as Marlene started talking. "Are you together or something?" The blonde pointed in between Aurelia and Enzo in shock.

"Yes Marls, it happened over the summer." Aurelia replied politely, growing uncomfortable under Lily's intense look.

"I'm surprised, I thought Potter would finally come to his senses. But if he harms one hair on your head, me and Dorcas will hex him." The hand on her lower back tensed up as James' name was brought up.

"I don't plan on hurting Aurelia, now if you don't mind, she was wanting to change into her robes before we go back to our seats." His charming smile did nothing on the compartment full of girls.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "We are barely halfway there, surely you'd be uncomfortable in your robes?" 

The hand on her back tensed again, and Aurelia's chin fell slightly. "Oh it's alright, it saves time. I will see you all later?" Lily pursed her lips and stood up to hug her, giving Enzo a calculated look before sitting back down.

"Of course love."

As they walked away, Enzo let out a sigh. "What is it Enz?"

"You never wear the jewelry I got you."

"It's silver, I don't wear silver." The boy sighed again and gestured for her to go into the bathrooms to change. Aurelia looked in the mirror for a long moment. Over the summer, the two had a couple dates that went well. When it was just the two of them, things were fine to her. She had fun. However, now that they are going back to Hogwarts, she has already noticed a change in him. She held on to her Gryffindor tie, her fingers running down the red fabric as she looked at it. There was a knock on the door, so the witch rushed to tie it before stepping out and taking Enzo's hand.

Meeting his friends could have went better. They were polite, but not similar to her usual group. She tried talking about quidditch and they scrunched their noses. As they talked about their futures, Aurelia couldn't help but contemplate hers.

It was like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders when she locked eyes with James in the Great Hall. Aurelia looked up to Enzo with a small grin, "I'll be going to my table now is that alright?"

He wrapped his arm around her to pull her close. His lips met the top of her head as he closed his eyes. "Of course Cara Mia, you'll eat lunch with me tomorrow?" Enzo cupped her cheeks and the loving look in his eyes made her blush.

"Alright Enz, that sounds good to me." She reached up and kissed his cheek before walking off to the Gryffindor table.

Aurelia squished herself between James and Peter, the former already piling food on her plate. "How's it going with pretty boy over there?" Not so subtly all 4 boys looked over to the Ravenclaw table to see Enzo already looking back at them.

"He's sweet," Aurelia shrugged. "Is anyone else taking Magical Creatures?" She swallowed a bite of food. Remus raised his goblet along with Peter. "Do we have any lessons together James?"

"Oh what about you Sirius? Do we have any together?" Sirius mumbled to himself with a pout. Aurelia rolled her eyes and threw a piece of bread at him.

"I think we have Potions, DADA, and Transfiguration." He pushed up his glasses as he read over the time tables.

"Oh Godric would you look at that, I have those as well!" Sirius gasped in shock before barking out a laugh at the deadpanned faces looking at him. "You blokes ready for tryouts?"

Aurelia and James shared excited smiles, "I practiced all summer." The witch spoke up. "I also got a new broom, much faster than the old one."

Peter nudged her with a smirk, "As if they could even find a better seeker, you're the best on the team." James gasped and clutched at his chest. Glancing up at the Ravenclaw table, Aurelia noticed a 5th year Hufflepuff chatting with Enzo. The older witch had straight blonde hair and fluttered her bright blue eyes at the boy. Subconsciously, Aurelia reached for one of her curls, twirling it around her finger. Enzo hardly paid attention to the Hufflepuff, and tried to give a reassuring smile towards Aurelia.

"I think I might go talk to Severus later," Aurelia changed conversations to distract herself from her distress. Remus nodded while the other boys groaned.

"Snivellous?"

Aurelia glared up at Sirius, kicking his shin underneath the table. The boy yelped and tossed some carrots at her. "Severus, and yes, I need his help to find a book."

"Remus knows books, just ask him." James grumbled.

"It'll probably be in the restricted section, I'm trying to find information on who my family was. Papa won't ever talk about it." Aurelia frowned.

James looked over to her and frowned. "Well if he gives you any problems, just let us know."

"Thanks James, but I'm sure I'll be alright." They gathered their belongings and stood up as the students finished up. "We are having girl's night tonight, but maybe tomorrow night I'll come by and hang out?"

"Can I join?!" Sirius pushed his way in between her and James as they walked to the common room. He threw his arm lazily around her shoulders. "I can talk relationships, you can do my nails, and I'll bring snacks."

"Sorry mate, maybe next time." The witch giggled as Sirius pouted.