Unrequited

18

Asphodel almost fell asleep getting ready for the morning. She braided her hair and put on leggings and a Hufflepuff sweatshirt. It was comfy enough for it to act as her blanket. It was Saturday and she could have slept in, but of course the world was against her for doing that. As she walked down the mostly empty halls to get to the Library, she saw a familiar figure heading her way.

"James!" Asphodel exclaimed, regaining the pep in her step as she outstretched her arms. James crashed into her and wrapped his arms weakly around her. She was a little confused but when she pulled back to look at him she furrowed her brows and bit her lip. "Your eye bags are bigger than mine."

"Don't worry about it, Del." James reassured her and shooed her hand away from inspecting his face in depth.

"Do Gryffindors throw a party every time a house but Slytherin wins?" Asphodel asked, but she was quite serious. Why else would he be so tired?

"No," James answered and the smile from Asphodel's face faded.

"Are you okay? Where's Sirius and Remus? Or Peter?" Asphodel asked but James had closed his eyes as he stood there. She tried not to laugh, but it was something he had always done. He was always super tired after playing with Asphodel when they were kids and she hadn't realized it because she just wanted to keep on playing. Midway, when James and Asphodel were playing or swimming or something like that he would just pause and close his eyes or float on his back in the pool before Asphodel would scream in his ear and snap the adrenaline back into him. "It's okay. I'm sure cheering for me at the match was just as tiring as it was for me."

"Yeah," James answered as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "something like that."

Asphodel hated to leave him there to navigate himself back to the Gryffindor common room, but she still had to tutor. "I'll see you later, okay? Go rest up in your dorms. I can bring you some eggs and waffles from the Dining Hall if you want."

"No," James said and Asphodel was taken off guard. "We were experimenting with some gadgets in the common room after the match and we had some technical difficulties. If I go back in there, I know the first years are going to ambush me. I'm too tired to kick them off me." James yawned.

Asphodel didn't question it, more concerned about the fact James was dozing off while talking to her. "Well I'm not going to let you sleep here on the floor." Asphodel replied and took his hand in hers, her face flushing. "Come on,"

Asphodel and James entered the Library. Marlene was already situated at one of the first few desks in front of the bookshelves. Asphodel smiled and it didn't register in her mind yet that Marlene may not have known Asphodel was going to be the one tutoring her.

"Hi, you're Marlene McKinnon, right?" Asphodel asked. Although, it was quite obvious with the dirty blonde hair, round nose, plump lips drawn in a fine line, and her sharp set of eyes. She nodded. "I'm Asphodel May. Professor McGonagall sent me to help you with Transfiguration." Asphodel said as she and James both sat down in the seat across from her, James using his arms as a pillow as he dozed off again.

"So then what is he doing here?" Marlene asked with a raised brow. "Look, if you brought him here to make me act as a messenger to convince Lily to go on a date with him, it's not going to happen." Marlene said instantly.

"No, I didn't. We've both had a long night. He won't bother us I promise." Asphodel reassured her as she brought out some Transfiguration books and quills from her backpack.

"Ooh." Marlene said and smirked. "Friends with benefits?"

"McKinnon, shut up." James interjected suddenly. "You should be minding your own business. And you have no say in this considering what you and Sirius were up to the other day." He finished before going back to sleep on the table.

"Fair." Marlene replied and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I didn't come here to talk about... that." Asphodel replied, doing her best to keep the blush forming on her cheeks. "Marlene, I figured I can check your Transfiguration essay for mistakes."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Marlene answered before digging into her backpack and pulling out a piece of parchment paper. She handed it to Asphodel, crossing her arms as the Hufflepuff inspected it.

"There's nothing on it." Asphodel said and placed the paper back onto the desk. She pushed the chair out from underneath the table and stood up. "I didn't come here to waste my time."

"Wait, wait!" Marlene said suddenly, bringing the paper in front of her and grabbing the nearest quill. "I was really busy last night—"

"With Sirius?" James interrupted. Asphodel hit him on the top of the head and he went back to sleep.

"I can't risk getting another failing grade. If I have to go to Beauxbatons I will go absolutely insane. Can I just write the essay now and have you check it as I go?" Marlene pleaded.

"Of course. I wouldn't want you to fail." Asphodel sighed as she sat back down in her seat and watched Marlene scribble away at the parchment. She turned to her right to see James sleeping peacefully next to her. His face was smushed against his arm making his glasses crooked and pressing against his nose bridge. She gingerly took off the glasses and laid them next to him.