Time in a Bottle (A James Potter Love Story)

Chapter 41

"Look Rellie! Who am I?!" Peter giggled as he held up to forks to his head as makeshift antlers. James shoved him and laughed. "Mate mine look way better than that! It's at least 3 forks on each side!"

"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed while standing up. He pointed a finger at James and his loud exclamation caused many heads to turn towards the group. "It's genius Pete!" The blonde flushed in embarrassment so Aurelia reached over to pat his arm for reassurance.

James filled two goblets, one with pumpkin juice and the other with water and passed the later to Aurelia. She raised an eyebrow and sniffed it before taking a drink. "Yeah Sirius, a fork has prongs. I knew your family was odd but I'm pretty certain you still have forks." Aurelia nearly choked on her food when she laughed.

"No you git, your nickname! It's Prongs!" The long hair boy waved his hands dramatically in the air. He turned to Remus, who had been drawing his share of the map that they've been working on. "We have already voted on Mooney." Sirius smirked at him and threw his arm around the werewolf's shoulder. The action nearly messed up the almost perfect line work causing him to grumble. However when Remus tried to send a glare at Sirius, his eyes softened at the lovesick gaze given back to him.

Aurelia froze mid bite as she felt a warm tingling throughout her body. She turned her head to look at James with narrowed eyes but the boy refused to look her way. "James." The other 3 boys stopped their conversation to look at the two. Her hair started growing rapidly and when she glanced down her skin was tinted pink. She groaned and reached for her wand. The witch knew that James wouldn't allow her to just transform it back with a spell, so she just cast one that braided it back so it wouldn't drag along the floor. At this point, James' hand covered his mouth as tried to suppress his laughter. Sirius was leaning on Peter with tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. "I bloody knew it you wanker! Godric I'm so stupid, you never give me water to drink, it's always juice."

The dull pink on her skin was slowly getting brighter. Her eyes widened at the sight. "James Fleamont Potter!" His laughter ceased immediately at her tone. He pushed himself away from the table and nodded once before taking off running. She grabbed her wand and followed swiftly after him. "You get back here right now! Just wait until Effie hears about this!" Thanks to all of their quidditch training, she was in decent shape to keep up. James had the bright idea to go for the cabinet they found in their earlier years in the DADA tower. He turned his head as he reached it and quickly tapped the doors with his wand before grinning and stepping inside. The doors shut in her face and the witch tapped it to open it back up. "Potter!" She yelled with an irritated tone.

"That's my name love," he smirked as he leaned against a pillar. She aimed her wand in his direction and he flinched as a shot of fire soared past him to a torch. Quickly, she lit the room up and stomped towards him.

"Get rid of it." She pointed her wand at him with a daring look.

James seemed unbothered by the furious gleam in her dark eyes. However, his mind and heart were racing. There was no denying of his feelings for her. And even with the long funny hair and the bright pink skin, to him she was ethereal. She was the embodiment of the sun and everything that James Potter loved. "Say it again." He ran a hand through his messy hair before he crossed his arms.

Aurelia furrowed her brows, her intense gaze never leaving his face. "What? Just get rid of this already."

"My name." He smirked.

She blinked, "Potter?" James smiled, thoughts of their future ran through his mind. He reached a hand out and softly grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small vial.

"My name sounds even better when you say it." His head tilted slightly to the side as he smiled down at her. Her heart pounded in her chest and the pink color of her skin hid the blush forming on her cheeks. She took the vial and drank the contents. Slowly Aurelia felt her hair shrink back to normal and a smile spread across her face as she watched her skin return to normal. James cupped her face with one hand and rubbed his thumb softly on her cheek. As loud and big as his personality is, his touch was always gentle, always full of love. "You are so beautiful" he whispered. His hazel eyes danced across her face as if he were absorbing every detail.

"Not if you make me look like rubbish."

"Even with the pink skin and the messy hair, you were the most stunning in Hogwarts love."

"Do you mean that?" She asked quietly.

He pressed his lips to her forehead softly. "Every single word. No one can compare to you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. His arms went around her waist and he held onto her. As he buried his head in her hair, he noticed the smell of vanilla and cherry of the shampoo she got. Immediately, that became his favorite scent. For a moment they stayed lost in each other's embrace. They found comfort in the silence between them. "We should probably go back. I promised Mooney I'd do my essay for Charms today." James whispered.

Aurelia looked up at him and smiled, "Alright Prongs, I'm supposed to meet with Marlene to practice for the quidditch match anyways." When James started to grumble, she stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. "I'll see you later." He watched with a crooked smile as she walked out. His fingers were just barely grazing the spot where she had just kissed him.

When he reached the dorm, the dazed look on his face made the other boys start laughing. "You alright Prongs?" Sirius watched James in amusement as the teen fell backward onto his bed with a sigh.

"I'm absolute perfect but I will tell you one thing. She is going to be my wife one day." James closed his eyes and the smile never left his face.