Rainy Days [James Potter]

Chapter 5

Robin woke up to the warmth of sunlight flooding her room as she sat up and groggily opened her eyes, only to wince at the brightness.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice hoarse. As she waited for a reply, she realised she must be alone, because no one answered her question. She knew she must be late for class, but the heat made her so groggy. She almost went back to sleep, before she made the horrifying realisation that the dungeons didn't have any windows.

Her eyes shot open as she payed attention to her surroundings. She was sitting by the black lake, dressed in yesterday's clothes that were soaked from sleeping on the ground. But just as her patience wore thin and her curiosity got the best of her, her question finally received an answer.

"I dunno, love. Probably eight in the morning." said a gruff voice that she knew to belong to James Potter.

Despite the uncomfortable situation, she didn't want to draw any attention to herself, so she calmly travelled across the castle with no particular goal in mind, just to get away from James Potter. There was an abandoned hallway on the fifth floor, she knew as much because she used it to get away from time to time, and she just sat there for a few minutes.

It was pain, really, to find herself in such a compromising position. She never liked to be the name everybody whispered in hushed tones and she walked past a corner. She didn't want to be the punchline of somebody's joke. She didn't want to be a part of some big secret that she had to keep under wraps. Because, no matter what she tried to convince herself, she couldn't do it.

I feel like such an idiot. She raked her hand through her hair, sighing. She had always managed to keep her emotions in check, and that day was no different, but, truth be told, she felt a lot more distressed than she had in a long time, even with their N.E.W.T.S around the corner.

As she made her way back down, she found that the Great Hall had just finished off breakfast, and she didn't bother taking anything from the kitchen due to a time shortage and headed straight to her room to get changed into a fresh pair of clothes. Her hair was loose and frizzy due to the rain and half of the buttons on her top were undone, so her bra was peeking through. How could she have let that happen without alcohol? Another unsolved mystery that she didn't want the answer to.

Being the perfect student, Robin had a perfect attendance to match her perfect grades that she was not too keen on abandoning. But she still wondered what would have happened had she stayed there for a little longer. Chatted a bit with him. He always was rather funny.

Why can't she make rational decisions around him?

James Potter, you will be the death of me. No matter how I feel, I cannot let that happen.

*

"Yes, James?" Professor Binns called.

"Isn't this useless?" James asked tiredly.

Shit. He normally was good at just ignoring the professor, or whispering his thoughts to his friends. James wasn't stupid. He was loud, but not stupid enough to insult just any professor to their face. But his sleep schedule had been fucked up after the nights spent with Robin.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor." Binns announced, floating across the classroom. The Gryffindors in the room groaned and a few had the audacity to glare at James.

"Mate, you okay?" Remus asked curiously, and James just waved him off.

"Just tired." James rubbed his temples and tried not to close his eyes and sleep on the table.

"Wake up!" Sirius slapped him on the back. "We're not losing the house cup to Ravenclaw again!"

"Yeah, yeah, just let me die." James groaned.