Romeo and Juliet ▹ James Potter [discontinued]

ii

[ II. ]

Change was something everyone did every year. Whether their change was a small, minor one or a big, drastic one. Everyone changed. And for James Potter, change meant that he would no longer perceive after Lily Evans. While it was a very tough decision, he had to let her go. There was no possible way he would be going after the redhead again.

He didn't find chasing after the redhead amusing, only for him to be rejected over and over again. Lily had spent all her time judging James for being himself, and demanding change where she saw fit. And so when the time came when James Potter stepped on to the Hogwarts Express and noticed Lily Evans herself, his heart didn't pound loudly against his chest. There was no longing desire to hug and kiss the red headed witch.

"No, Potter. I will not go on a date with you." Lily stated blandly, adding a piercing glare upon seeing James Potter. James only nodded his head in response, rolling his light hazel eyes. He muttered under his breath, trying his best to get away from Evans, as he simply wanted to reach his compartment to meet up with Padfoot and Moony.

Valerie, who had soon arrived on the Hogwarts Express, watched in surprise as her archenemy had ignored Lily Evans. Everyone knew about Potter's huge crush on Evans. And to see that he hadn't asked her out this year and simply ignored her was a huge surprise.

Valerie cleared her throat, causing Lily and James to look at her. Lily soon became nervous as she looked between Valerie and James, although she tried to hide it. James glared at the Creswell girl, while Valerie remained indifferent. She muttered a small "excuse me", Lily and James parting ways to let the Creswell pass by.

James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he watched Creswell walk away from him, her brown curls bouncing elegantly as she walked. He was hoping for a little more than a simple 'excuse me' from the Creswell girl. It almost seemed unnerving. Everyone knew that the Creswell's and the Potter's were far from friendly towards each other, sometimes causing duels when each family was next to each other. He was surprised nothing came out of her mouth. She always had something to say to him. And most things weren't too nice. But that was expected as she was his enemy and vice versa.

     James sighed. Without casting another look at Lily, he turned away and walked towards his compartment.

     ~

     News spread like wildfire in Hogwarts. Once the welcome back feast had began, all everyone could seemed to gossip about was Valerie's and James' encounter on the train. Some even seemed to be mentioning her wedding with Regulus. And while Valerie would enjoy the fact that she was the talk of the school, she was annoyed.

     Valerie played around with her food as she tried to ignore everyone around her. Sometimes her gaze would drift toward Sirius, giving him a small nod in greeting when their gaze locked. She was glad that he seemed to be doing fine. He seemed more lively and happy now that he no longer had to live up to the Black's expectations of being a blood supremacist. It was something that Valerie envied about Sirius. He was no longer apart of the cruel and twisted clutches that were his family.

     Her eyes drifted away from the eldest Black to the younger one who sat across from her. Valerie noticed that he was already looking at her, a smile on his face. Valerie forced her self to smile back, but her smile lacked enthusiasm and the happiness didn't reach her eyes. She was pretty sure her lousy attempt to smile probably looked like a grimace.

     Soon, her eyes drifted back towards the Gryffindor table, but this time, she wasn't looking at Sirius. Oh no, far from it. Her eyes settled down on her enemy. James Potter. Valerie tilted her head to the side as she studied James from where she sat. She knew that she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. She wondered why the world had been so cruel to curse her to be enemies with someone so handsome. Yet, Valerie wouldn't say this outloud. She couldn't. Even if she wanted, she knew that it would cause a huge mess between the Creswell's and the Potter's. Her unspoken thoughts were to remain unspoken; hidden in the deepest, darkest corners of her mind.

     James had stopped talking all of a sudden when he felt someone staring at him. Looking up, he noticed Valerie Creswell looking away once their eyes met, a blush adorning her cheeks as she looked elsewhere. He raised his eyebrow in question, but shook his head instead. There was no possible way that she was looking at him. She was his sworn enemy since birth for the love of Merlin! But james couldn't help to admire her from afar. Her beauty was too good for this world; she was too beautiful to die and be buried.

    James thought that Valerie outshone the other girls like a white dove in the middle of a flock of crows. James wondered if he ever loved anyone before this moment. He never thought about Lily as deeply as he thought about Valerie Creswell, his sworn enemy from birth.

     James shook his head as if he was trying to remove his thoughts about the Creswell girl from his head. And maybe he was. His thoughts were dangerous even if they were unspoken. And what made the situation even worse was that he was thinking about his enemy as if she weren't. He didn't want to fraternize with the enemy, but it was impossible when your enemy looked like Valerie Creswell.

     Glances were shared between the two enemies here and there between the feast, eventually catching Dumbledore's attention. Most of the teachers at Hogwarts refrained from partnering Creswell and Potter together; knowing very well what the outcome would be if they did. It was like walking on eggshells when the two students were in the same classroom together. It had most teachers on edge, having them make sure that no one said anything to offend each other. The last thing they needed was to add more fuel to the already oversized fire.

As Dumbledore watched the two students share glances throughout the feast, he couldn't help himself but wonder what would happen if the two fell in love with each other. Surely, there would be over exaggerations that would come with the idea, maybe even being disowned by their families. Dumbledore knew that his thoughts of joining Valerie Creswell and James Potter would come with sacrifices. But maybe the sacrifices would be worth it if there was finally peace between the two families.