INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Forty

Lyra Black hadn't ever really been on a date before. She was supposed to go on her first one a few months before, but that obviously didn't work out. But things were different now, and she was going out with the same person who had sabotaged her last one.

And it was really weird. Lyra was going on a Hogsmeade trip with James of all people. A year ago (hell, even two months ago) he would have been one of the last people she could imagine going on a date with. Yet, it was happening. 

Lyra found herself tapping her fingers against the wall by the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Whenever someone left the common room, she would turn around so nobody could see her. Then they could only see blonde hair and her red sweater, so they could easily have thought she was one of them. 

Usually, people met for their dates by the carriages, but James had sent Lyra a note telling her to meet him outside of Gryffindor tower at eleven o'clock sharp. But she was five minutes early just to be safe, even if he was always annoyingly perfectly on time. 

So, at exactly eleven o'clock, James walked out of Gryffindor tower. On instinct, Lyra turned around in case it wasn't him and some random Gryffindor would see her there. But he recognized her instantly. "Lyra?"

"Oh, hi, James," she breathed, turning around again. She smiled brightly at him, but his mouth just opened as he gaped at her. Once again, he simply wasn't able to handle seeing her wearing red. His favorite girl and his favorite color was his favorite combination. 

And as he kept just staring at her in awe, she smiled slightly as her eyelashes fluttered while she looked down, knowing what was going through his head. "The carriages aren't gong to go on forever. We should hurry if we want to get one with no one around to see us together."

James tried to ignore the stabbing feeling in heart at her not wanting to be seen with him. He just wanted to focus on the fact that this was happening, and he had waited a long time for this. "We're not taking the carriages, love."

Lyra furrowed her brows in confusion. "We're not? You know that's only way to Hogmeade, right? Merlin, please don't tell me we're staying here. I know we've already kissed. Twice, actually. But I'm not going to sleep with you on our first date."

"That's not what I meant," the Gryffindor rolled his eyes, hoping she wouldn't always think so lowly of him. "I just wanted us to have a bit more freedom at Hogsmeade, so we're going to use a secret passage to get there."

"Like, breaking the rules?" she asked, not sure how she felt about it. She was a prefect and she was raised to never break the rules. That's not what a proper lady did. Then again, she didn't feel like she had to act like a proper lady with him. 

"You're going out with James Potter, what did you expect?" he grinned widely. He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out an unfamiliar cloak. "Don't worry, we're not going to get caught. You're going to love this."

"It's a cloak?" the Slytherin girl frowned, her statement coming out more like a question. She didn't want to know how he was going to make sure they didn't caught with that. "Not a very pretty one either."

"It's not just any cloak, sweetheart." James held it up in front of her proudly. "This is an heirloom of the Potter family. I own it proudly and I show it to you only because I like you and I really want to snog you."

The blonde rolled her eyes, leaning forward so her hair would cover her face. She didn't want him to see the bright, red blush on her cheeks. "Alright, shut up already. What's so special about it, then?"

James was almost jumping in excitement, like a little kid at Christmas ready to open his first present. He just liked showing things to her and impressing her. "This, Lyra, is an invisibility cloak!"