eden ➡ james f. potter

04: xo.

i don't love you and i never did

AFTER HIS MIND SHATTERING REVELATION (THAT HAD STAYED BETWEEN himself and Peter, thank Merlin), James found it harder for him to function and everyone around him noticed. He was constantly dozing off in classes, frequently skipping meals in the Great Hall and had completely given up on harassing Lily Evans. Hell, he didn't even have the heart to prank any of the Slytherins anymore. When he wasn't wandering the grounds, contemplating what his life had come to, the boy was laying down on his bed and staring at the top of his bunk.

"What happened to him?" Sirius asked the group as the three boys sat down in the Gryffindor common room on Saturday before lunch. They had spent the past two weeks, observing the shell of their best friend with worry, unable to do anything. Remus (who was sickly due to the upcoming full moon on Tuesday) shook his head, indicating that he did not know while Peter grimaced.

"Well, whatever it is, it ends now," Sirius said as he stood up. They had let him wallow in sadness for a while but Sirius could not take it anymore. He needed James back. The Black marched all the way up the stairs to his best mate and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him onto his feet.

James ran a hand absentmindedly through his hair as he spoke, "What's up, mate?"

"What's up?" Sirius said, "What's up? What's up with you, man? You've been sitting around for the past two weeks, staring at the top of your bed like it's the new Nimbus 1000 or something."

The bespectacled boy shrugged, "Just a bit preoccupied."

"With what?"

"School stuff," he answered before he sat back down.

"School stuff?" Sirius questioned as he watched the boy in front of him. Remus and Peter had joined them and the three of them, Peter, Sirius and Remus, were looking at James as if he was an alien specimen that had just landed on Earth. "How can you be preoccupied with school stuff? We do the same subjects, there's no school stuff to be preoccupied with."

Cautiously, Peter poked the beast, "Does this have to do with what we talked about two weeks ago?"

James narrowed his eyes at Peter and the blonde boy knew he had hit the nail on the head. Sirius and Remus, both of whom were completely unaware as to what had transpired earlier, watched in confusion before Remus voiced a question, "So, you gonna tell us what you talked about two weeks ago?"

Peter shook his head, "Well, I can't. I swore a Marauders' pact of secrecy to never let the words 'James fancies Cecilia Lestrange' leave my lips- shit."

"HE WHAT?"

"PETER!"

"I'M SORRY!" the shorter boy yelled as he ran around the Marauders' dormitory, James hot on his tail.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up!" Sirius said as he put out his arms to hold James back. Staring into the hazel eyes of the boy that had been his friend since September 1st, 1971, Sirius asked, "Did I hear what I think I heard?"

Glaring at Peter (who had taken to hiding behind Remus with the words 'Moony, protect me!'), James mumbled an incoherent answer.

"What did you say?" Sirius pestered again.

"Alright, alright, I said yes!"

Sirius released the boy and looked around the bedroom, pretending to go faint, "Somebody catch me."

However, no one reached in time as Sirius fell backwards and straight to the floor, his friends looking on in amusement.

"Ow," he said as he sat up and rubbed his head, "All of you guys are fake."