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James Potter didn't expect Remus Lupin to turn up to his parents' summer party with a girl on his arm. Who was most definitely not from Hogwarts, or the village which Remus lived near to. That was full of muggles, and the party had a strict no-muggle policy.
"James, hey." Remus said, noticing his best friend stood near to the entrance. He was supposed to be collecting coats, but it looked like the Lupin family and anyone they had brought with them were the last people arriving.
"Moony. Who's the lucky lady?" James glanced at the dark-haired girl, who was gazing around the garden which was filled with wizards and witches, music softly playing from seemingly nowhere and plates of bite-sized food were floating around.
"I'm his cousin. I don't know why I'm here to be fair." The girl shrugged, her eyes shifting from the slightly golden water which filled the large pond to James, her eyes flickering over his appearance, as if she hadn't noticed him before.
"If you see a guy with dark hair to around here." James gestured to a point on his neck. "Don't let him coerce you into doing anything you don't normally do."
"Note taken. Thanks for the warning." The girl smiled, then looked to Remus, who was lost in his own world. "Rem, care to introduce me to anyone at all? I have been dragged here under pretences there are people who I need to know and desserts."
"Oh we have plenty of desserts. There should be several plates full actually. If Peter hasn't eaten them all." James replied, his voice and attitude just as bright as the flowers which lined the entrance to the garden.
"Tiger, we brought you here to mingle." A woman who the girl on Remus's arm deeply resembled said as she passed by, her eyes landing on James before flickering back to the girl. "It'll be important for when you go to Hogwarts."
"I can make my own friends, mother. Besides, it's unlikely that the whole student body of Hogwarts is somewhere here. Unless they're hiding behind the marquee." Tiger replied back to the woman, who sighed and shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, Auntie Grace." Remus said, finally zoning back in. "James here is a good friend of mine. Sirius and Peter should be around as well. James is the son of Fleamont and Euphemia, who are hosting the party."
"Of course they are. My, it's been a long time since I've seen Monty and Mia. Do you have any idea where your parents might be, dear?" Grace Howell asked.
James pointed over to a group of people, saying something vague about last seeing them there. At long last, Mrs Howell nodded and walked away, being joined by a man who James thought looked rather like Remus's mother, meaning he was most likely her brother.
Tiger seemed to physically deflate as her mother walked away, letting out a deep breath and standing naturally, rather than with a straight-back, so her mother wouldn't comment on it. "So you're James Potter, huh?"
"That would be me." James smirked a little, running his hand through his hair and adjusting his glasses. "Remus, go relax somewhere mate, it's too close to the full moon."
Remus nodded and scurried away into the house, where James knew he would take refuge in one of the guest rooms, sleeping there until it was time for them to leave.
"Oh thank god he listens to someone." Tiger commented, watching her cousin retreat into the house. "I kept telling him that I could manage alone but he wouldn't listen."
"You know about his condition?" James asked, watching as Tiger nodded, straightening out the hem of her summer dress, looking around the garden once again before looking back at James.
"I'm a animagus as well. Me and Remus have been in contact ever since I left for America, I know pretty much everything." Tiger shrugged, and James didn't let the shock he was feeling show on his face; knowing it took something to get Remus to tell you something like that. "My parents don't know, so keep it to a minimum around them."
"Of course. You mentioned desserts?" James asked, and it was like a animal sniffing out it's prey, the way that Tiger's head snapped to look at him. They walked through the garden, weaving through various groups of adults, James reaching and successfully grabbing a platter filled with desserts, leading Tiger out of the main part of the garden and into the more secluded area, sitting down the steps of a gazebo.
"Is it wrong of me to assume that your animagus form is a tiger by default?" James asked, as Tiger took several bite-sized treacle tarts off the tray.
"See everyone assumes that. I have absolutely no idea why." Tiger rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she ate a tart. "It's a common misconception. My patronus is a tiger, but my animagus form is actually a fox."
"Do you like your name?" James asked, Tiger getting more comfortable and leaning against the column behind her, contemplating her answer.
"Yes and no. Yes, it's unique and quite powerful and beautiful. But also no because I have no idea what either of my parents were thinking." Tiger shrugged, eating yet another tart.
"Can I ask why you're here? I've never seen you around Remus before or seen you at all." James took a tart for himself, and watched at Tiger swallowed her final tart, crossing her legs, adjusting her slightly short dress to cover what needed to be.
"What is this, twenty questions? My parents decided it was time to move again." Tiger shrugged, "I used to attend Ilvermorny in America and lived in New York. They would have left it if I was about to start my last year there, but I'm about to go into sixth, so they dragged me out of school and moved me back here."
"You don't sound too thrilled by that." James commented, taking another tart and relaxing a little, letting his eyes roam freely, taking in the features of Tiger, the silver chain around her neck, the tiny curls of hair framing her face, the braided thread which hung around her ankle.
"Don't get me wrong, I wasn't the biggest fan of Ilvermorny in the first place. But my whole education came from there, it makes sense for me to stay there for the rest of it. Plus my friends were there." Tiger shrugged, not seeming to notice James's eyes tracing the outline of her body, taking in every feature.
"So you had to come to here to mingle - that is what your mother said right?" James asked, the first response to his question being a sigh.
"Right. I was supposed to come here because I need to meet people who I might see a lot more during the year. Some of Remus's friends. Because I'm going to be attending Hogwarts for my final years. So you'll be seeing a lot more of me, Potter." Tiger took another tart, popping it in her mouth and stretching slightly, James watching her all the while.
And that news didn't bother James Potter at all, not in slightest.
