PERFECT // JAMES POTTER

22. Infuriated

Throughout all of the night, the four animals distracted the werewolf, running around with him and playing games. Eventually, the sun began to rise and the animagi shepherded the werewolf back into the Shrieking Shack so the poor teenage boy could transform back in peace. Once Remus was back in his human form, the boys changed back and covered him with a blanket. Scarlet grabbed her pre-prepared bag full of bandages and ointments and began to cover the majority of his wounds. Of course, she was no Madam Promfrey but she covered them as best as she could.

The four students quickly rushed back to Hogwarts, ignoring the bitter chill of the morning breeze and ran to their dorms so no suspicion arose about their whereabouts that night. Scarlet got into her room and breathed a sigh of relief to see all of her roommates still asleep. She walked into the bathroom and got changed into her normal clothes, happy that today was a Saturday so she didn't need to worry about falling asleep in the middle of class.

As she left the bathroom, she could see Lily stir and wake up, yawning slightly. She sat up and stretched before making eye contact with Scarlet.

"Good morning." She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning." Scarlet greeted back, before smiling at Lily and leaving the room to go down the stairs.

When she got to the common room, the three boys were lounging on the red, plush sofa. Sirius had fallen asleep on James' shoulder and had then proceeded to drool all over it. Giggling, Scarlet sat down on an armchair.

"What a cute couple you two make." She tried to control her laughter by putting a hand over her mouth.

Peter let out a snort while James playfully glared at her before smiling a bit.

"Please help." He pleaded.

Scarlet pretended to think for a moment, making a dramatic show of stroking her non-existent, long beard and looking away.

"Hmmmm, fine, then." She sighed, "Bare with me for one moment."

With that, she ran out of the common room and down towards the kitchens. She tickled the pear and was greeted by the house elves as she walked in.

"Do you happen to have any whipped cream?"

The elves quickly handed her a can and waved goodbye as she left and went back up to the common room to find the exact same scene as before. Smiling mischievously, she squirted a large swirl on Sirius' outstretched hand and pulled out a small feather that was sticking out of one of the cushions. James started snickering loudly but Scarlet shushed him. Slowly, she waved the feather around his armpit, waking the boy up. Sirius groggily sat up and went to rub his eye with his hand.

Only to be met with whipped cream.

He shrieked and stood up, suddenly fully awake and glared at the hysterical girl in front of him. 

"Scarlet, come give me a hug..." He said and started walking towards her.

Scarlet shook her head frantically, still not able to form any words through her laughter while Sirius started chasing her. The two ran around the common room while James and Peter were holding their sides and struggling to breathe.

"What is going on here?"

Lily, as well as Marlene and Alice, walked down the stairs of their dorm and shook their heads at the two like disappointed parents. The two stopped immediately and pointed to each other.

"He started it!"

"She started it!"

-=+=-

Later in the day, Scarlet and Lily were walking around the Hogwarts grounds, bundled up in their Gryffindor scarves to protect them from the chilly, November afternoon. Before Scarlet left, the boys had said that they were going to check on Remus in the Hospital Wing so her mind was at ease.

Lily sighed in content as she rested her head of Scarlet's shoulder. The girls had linked arms and were heading down to the lake for some peace and quiet.

"How are things going between you and James?" Lily asked unexpectedly. 

Scarlet almost stumbled over her feet and spluttered.

"W-What do you mean?" She stammered.

"Well, we all know that James likes you and you like James, so what's holding you back?" Lily said, detaching herself from Scarlet arm to sit by a tree.

"Don't be silly, James only 'flirts' with me to get a reaction and to tease me. I'm sure he doesn't actually see me that way." Scarlet sighed sadly as she joined Lily.

"You're kidding? James has had a crush on you since first year!" Lily said, turning to look Scarlet in the eye.

Scarlet only sighed, convinced that it was a one-way and hopeless crush. The thought of James genuinely liking her seemed strange.

"Can we talk about something else?" She said, knowing that if they continued, she'd probably end up crying.

"Fine..." Lily gave up, sensing her best friend's discomfort, "Are you prepared for the Quiddich match tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah! I definitely think that Gryffindor has a really good chance of winning the Cup this year!"

Lily smiled, glad that they had moved on from the so-called touchy subject and had gone on to something that Scarlet was more passionate about. As soon as Quiddich was mentioned, her eyes lit up and a giddy smile always crept onto her lips. Although, Lily was infuriated and frustrated at how utterly blind both Scarlet and James were to their love for each other. They both happened to think that the other didn't like them back but Lily was sure that the love story between them would be beautiful.