Rainy Days [James Potter]

Chapter 1

JAMES POTTER HATED rain.

Always had, and he claimed he always would. He dreaded autumn for this very reason, because he knew the storms would keep him up at night, tossing and turning in his bed despite the soft snores of his best friends, his dorm mates.

On the night of the biggest storm of the year, he was stuck in his bed, unable to sleep. Thunder roared outside his window, and he pulled his duvet over his head to muffle the sounds. He groaned quietly when he realised that he would sleep until he got some fresh air, no matter how much he hated it.

He muttered a few curses under his breath and left his dorm, careful to not make any noise. He wandered the empty halls of the castle, which were freezing cold, and headed in the direction of the Black Lake, careful not to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris. As he reached the open doors, he cast a charm on himself so the rain wouldn't get him wet, and went to sit down against a tree in the corner, until he noticed a silhouette, a shadow of a girl dancing around the corner. As he approached the mystery woman, he found that the girl was none other than Robin White, notorious for being friendly with Death Eaters and his own personal worst enemies. Scowling, he considered walking back to his room, but then he realised.

She was covered from head to toe in rain, but seemed either blissfully unaware or didn't mind it. She twirled and jumped in the rain with a genuine smile on her face, contrary to her usual dark frown. Her technique seemed perfect, like some kind of dancer (no surprise, since her upbringing was most likely posh and dull). She had goosebumps on her bare arms but she didn't look to warm them up. Her wavy brown hair was soaking wet and fell loosely on her shoulders, a look which he had never seen before (her hair was always in a tight ponytail). Raindrops scattered themselves on her long eyelashes, but she seemed genuinely happy despite them. Before, when he saw her, she seemed dangerous. But right then, she held a sort of aristocratic beauty and elegance.

She didn't give him the time to observe her much more (though he thought he'd reached the limit of 'observation' and it was now stalkerish) before she turned around and looked in his direction, and he just bolted.

Although at that point he didn't know that this storm would last a week. He didn't know he would come to that very spot where he saw her again, he didn't know he would get to know the girl he had learned to blindly hate. But that night was a turning point for him, and for her, too. From then on, his life would be flipped upside down, and one name would be imprinted in his mind: Robin White.

*

Robin was a about as Slytherin as a person could get. Ambitious, cunning, sly. She was cold and calculated, she was stubborn and quick-witted. There couldn't be a person who better fit the description of her house. Maybe that's why, despite her unspoken opinions, the Slytherin considered her one of them. A child of a rich pure-blood family, she was, in every way they could think of, a future death-eater, like the rest of her gang.

Why couldn't I have picked normal Slytherins to befriend, she thought to herself, which was no different than every other day she doubted every major life decision she had ever made because she was young and easily influenced.

As a child, she hung on her parents' every word, and they took advantage of that to poison her thoughts with ideas of blood purity and status. It might not have been intentional, but it happened nonetheless. As she grew older, she realised her mistake. However, it was all but too late. Her friends were already picked, her reputation already made, her life already affected beyond repair.

But, to her, it was better to have fake friends than to be seen alone.

It may have been sad, it may have made her uncomfortable-- at some point in her life she was sure that she would never recover. But she persevered, and she overcame her difficulties. It was the only reason she was there, in that History of Magic classroom, bored out of her damn mind. She sighed and listened to the soft pitter-patter of rain falling gently on the window; drifting into a serene sleep for the first time in days, forgetting the droning of professor Binns.

*

As Robin sat down at the Slytherin table, she knew exactly what was going to happen. It happened every day, like clockwork. When Sirius approached her, she didn't even flinch. She hadn't for a long time. He didn't scare her anymore.

"Trust me, we'll get you."

The threat from him was always the same, and would continue to be that way, until either one of them decided to give in. Unfortunately, neither of them were known for their compliance.

Sirius had a passion for pranks. Juvenile, perhaps, but it was an acknowledged truth around Hogwarts. However, Robin was in possession of one of the Deathly Hallows: the cloak of invisibility. She used it to grab food from the kitchen without getting caught, or to sneak it out of the castle.

In the beginning of their sixth year, the Marauders had planned a prank on her. She was humiliated, of course, but she had since vowed to never let them do so again.

Every night she would find wherever they were in the castle; whether it be the Astronomy Tower, the Room of Requirement or the broom closet on the second floor, she would hunt them down and ruin whatever they were planning on doing the next day.

Of course, Sirius didn't like this, and had announced (very publicly) that she was his sworn enemy, and, by extention, that of the Marauders.

But it was like she was living a double life. By day, just another miserable girl in a castle full of contented people. By night, she was a carefree girl in the rain. Alone.

And sometimes, she wondered if it was really better that way.