INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Eighteen

The whole situation with James just made Lyra uncomfortable. It was strange knowing a boy liked her, and wouldn't stop liking her just because she said so. Especially as it was the last boy she'd ever think would like her.

The worst part was that she didn't know how to act around him anymore, therefore she tried to avoid him as much as possible. The issue with that was the fact that it meant she was avoiding his friends, too. 

Remus and Sirius had already been annoyed at her spending much less time with them because of her friend, Rabastan's, protectiveness, and her being afraid to even make eye contact with them because James was close by was too much.

Sirius had no time where he could speak to Lyra, and all their correspondence was through clandestine letters slipped through Remus or through assigned group work in class, where they usually weren't put together anyway. 

But, thankfully, she still had Remus. They were still prefects who had the same patrol schedule, forcing them to spend a night together every week. Not that they would complain, as they figured out quickly that they got along swimmingly. 

But Remus had some bitterness in him after her avoidance and the way she seemed afraid to approach him and his boys. "So, what's going on with you and James? You look like you're avoiding him more than usual."

"Oh, Merlin, don't even mention that," Lyra groaned, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment. "I still have nightmares from Valentine's Day. I can't ever listen to You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me again."

"It's that bad?" chuckled the Gryffindor. He was a bit annoyed at the situation, but he couldn't help but think it was a bit amusing, too. "You love Celestina Warbeck, and he's managed to ruin that for you?"

The blonde smiled, shaking her head. She wasn't even sure why she smiled, Remus just always made her smile. "Not all of Celestina Warbeck. Not even James Potter could ruin my favorite singer for me."

"But he can ruin your relationships with Sirius and I?" Remus raised an eyebrow, making her look away awkwardly. He sighed. "Look, I can tell James to calm down because I don't want to lose you as a friend, and Sirius is so annoyed when you avoid us."

"I don't want to avoid any of you, really," said Lyra, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I love hanging out with you and Sirius. Even Pettigrew and Potter on occasion. I just don't know how to deal with the Potter situation."

"The Potter situation?" the sandy-haired boy repeated, raising an amused eyebrow. "Look, he fancies you. He fancies you and it's pretty gross, actually. But you don't hate him, you've even gotten along sometimes. Why don't you want to give it a chance?"

Quite serious, Lyra met his gaze. "Do you really want me to answer honestly? It will open up a door of uncomfortable conversations that I've never had with anyone, except like once with Sirius."

She expected him to let it go, to let her sit in her own emotions like most fifteen/sixteen-year-old boys did. But instead, he smiled comfortingly and held her gaze "I want you to be able to talk to me, especially if you can't talk to anyone else."

It was in that moment Lyra realized how lucky she was to have Remus in her life. A boy who would just sit and listen to her because he cared, not because he had any ulterior motives. A boy who wouldn't judge or try to get her mind off it just because he didn't know what to say.

"There's no use even entertaining the thought of fancying Potter back," Lyra shrugged, looking away, afraid that she would cry as the conversation would keep going. "I know exactly what my life is going to bring."

Somberly, Remus shook his head. "Nobody knows the future. It's not set in stone."

"But it is." She turned to meet his gaze, pursing her lips. "Every single one of us born into this aristocratic, pureblood society have been raised to fulfill one task. Nobody ever strays from that path."