Son Of Riddle

Chapter Nineteen- The Chaos Quartet

By the time James got to the chamber of secrets, he was beyond exhausted, but he knew being an animagus without a licence was very illegal, so he couldn't very well use that as an excuse. He would just have to go about the day in a state of almost-asleep-but-not-quite. He guessed McGonnagle knew about Lucy being a werewolf, so he wouldn't have to worry about her having to do the same thing.
His mind floated back to that morning and he strained to keep himself from laughing.
He got into his new robes, comforted Charlotte who was very agitated at him being gone all night, and left for his first class.

His first classes were somehow always shared with Hufflepuff. Maybe this was a pattern, maybe it was a coincidence, who knows. Today it didn't matter though since Lucy would undoubtedly be-
He started in confusion at Lucy, Sitting in her usual desk at the back of the classroom, looking white as a sheet and more frail than usual. He hastily walked towards her, determined to get answers. As luck would have it, they were both fairly early so they didn't have to worry about unwelcome ears listening in.
"I thought McGonnagle would let you have the day off, look at you" He said in a rushed whisper.
Lucy looked down. "...I forgot to tell her."
James facepalmed. "You forgot to tell the headmaster that you, a student, turn into a werewolf every full moon."
"...yeah..."
James sat down at the desk next to her, exasperated. "Do you realize how many problems that causes? First of all there's this" He gestured to her, being so frail and almost to the point of passing out. "And, what if you accidentally get too close to school grounds and they think you're a threat and they kill you?"
"...I am a threat to the lives of the people around me. I'm a threat as a werewolf and a nuisance as a human. Maybe me no longer existing wouldn't be such a bad thing."
James stared at Lucy in disbelief. None of what she said was sarcastic or joking.
She looked down again. "...I'm sorry..." She said in a small voice.
"For the love of Merlin don't apologize!" He said in an exasperated, frustrated tone.
Lucy flinched and curled up into a ball on her desk. She buried her face in her knees and covered her head with her hood.
After a minute or two of this, James stood up and put his hand on Lucy's head in an effort to comfort her.
She flinched at the feeling of his hand on her head, then realized what he was doing and fully hid her face to hide her tears as she started to cry.
James was confused and startled. "Hey, why are you crying?" He asked, alarmed.
Lucy's response was muffled through her sleeves.
He wasn't quite sure what to do, so he just gently rubbed her shoulder, still quite confused.
Lucy suddenly jumped up out of her seat and hugged James tightly, silently crying into his shoulder.
James was even more confused, not to mention startled, than before. Why was she crying? Why was she hugging him? He couldn't remember when he'd last been hugged. And why did it feel so...comforting? Like he'd needed a hug for the last 20 years but never noticed.
He just hugged Lucy back and let her cry.
By the time Lucy finally stopped crying, they were both sitting on the floor, Lucy almost asleep in his arms.
"You wanna tell me why you were crying now?" James asked.
"...I'm not used to being comforted. I'm used to being left alone, or bullied or thrown into a basement. I can think of one other person who ever actually comforted me and protected me from my siblings, who're always hurting me...and she's gone now."
Lucy looked down and another tear fell down her cheek.
James just hugged her again. Being hugged felt nice. He could get used to this.
Lucy looked up at him. "You had snake eyes this morning, what happened to them?" She asked.
James was confused, she wasn't even phased by them? "I naturally have snake eyes, these are just contacts." He pointed to his eyes. "Ah, ok." Suddenly she became alarmed. "Wait, what about you? Aren't you exhausted from last night? Shouldn't you get the day off too?"
James sighed. "The thing about that is...I don't have a licence for being am animagus. Which means if anyone knows about it, I'll likely go to Azkaban."
"I see."
"Speaking of which, I need you to promise not to tell anyone, and I mean anyone, about me being an animagus. It's imperative if I want to stay out of prison."
"Even Adam and Jamie?" Lucy asked.
James hesitated. "I'll tell them too, but you can't tell anyone else, I need you to promise."
"Ok then, I promise." She stuck her pinkie finger out expectantly. James looked at her, quite confused.
"Do you not know what a pinkie promise is?" She asked him in disbelief.
James shook his head. "Death eaters don't usually do such things."
"Ah right. Well basically it's like a special kind of promise. If you take my pinkie in yours, then I can't break the promise, otherwise you get to break my pinkie."
James just stared at her. "Did you make this up?" He asked, slightly alarmed at the violent nature of such an innocent thing.
Lucy laughed. "No, silly it's been around for like, 1,000 years."
James was hesitant and felt slightly foolish, but nonetheless, he hooked Lucy's pinkie in his, though if she broke this promise, he doubted he'd be able to break her pinkie.
"There, now it's sealed." Lucy smiled up at him, still holding his pinkie and the area around her eyes and her nose still slightly red from crying.
He couldn't help but notice how adorable and innocent she looked. You don't get to see many sights like this with the death eaters.
"Aw look, the freaks are in love." They heard a voice sneer from the front of the classroom.
It was the same Slytherin boy James was certain he was going to end up decapitating one of these days.
Lucy jumped up, also clearly hearing enough from this boy. Quite uncharacteristic of her, considering her siblings, but not entirely a bad thing.
She walked right up to him. "Now, listen here you." She pulled out her Cherrywood wand and pointed it at the boy's face. "Every single time I see you, you say something mean, now why is that?"
The boy was slightly startled, but got over that quickly. "It's not my fault you're a freak, get away from me."
"I may be a freak, as you say, but at least I'm not some...spoiled little boy who can't do anything except make other people feel bad. Is that really how you want to be remembered? As the scared little boy who hurt people?"
The boy was unphased, but that last question seemed to cause him to shift.
"...get out of my face, weirdo." Was all he said, his face red. He pushed her aside and sat down at the desk farthest from her.
Lucy walked back to James, looking proud of herself, even though she hadn't really done anything. "You think I scared him off?"
James smiled. "Nope."
Lucy sat back down in her desk, and James sat in the one next to her.
"...Thanks for making me feel better." Lucy said. "And...sorry about that surprise hug attack, I wasn't really thinking." She nervously laughed.
"It's fine, I didn't mind it at all." He thought carefully about what to say next. "...I can't remember the last time I've been hugged...it felt...nice."
Lucy smiled happily. "Do you want another one?"
James laughed. "Not with him in the room." He gestured to the Slytherin boy at the front of the room.
After all the other students had filed in, McGonnagle finally entered. She opened her mouth to teach the lesson, then stopped short when she saw James and Lucy.
"Mr. Riddle, Miss Price, what are you doing here?" She asked.
The two exchanged surprised and confused glances. "Uh...learning?" Lucy said with an air of uncertainty.
"Look at the pair of you, you should be resting now, go back to your dormitories before I have you sent to the hospital wing."
They didn't have to be told twice, the two were out of the room before one could say 'wrackspurt'.
"How did she know?" Lucy asked, amazed, as they walked down the staircase.
"I have no clue." James answered. "She is the headmaster, meaning she spent several years under Professor Dumbledore, who I hear had a knack for knowing those kinds of things, so she could have inherited that knack from him I guess?"
"Ahh that would make sense, I've heard things about Dumbledore. I wish he were still alive, he seems really nice."
James just nodded. What would Dumbledore think of him, were he still alive? From what he knew, his father respected him, and Dumbledore respected his father...but that's basically all he knew.
"Welp, this is where we part ways." Lucy said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yep." Was all he said.
"Um...thanks again for making me feel better. That was really nice."
James smiled at her. "It was my pleasure."
Lucy returned the smile. "Welp, I shall see you...soon, good sir." She waved before she turned around and headed towards the Hufflepuff dormitory. "And don't forget to sleep!" She yelled over her shoulder.
James laughed. "Don't worry I won't!"
He walked back to the chamber of secrets smiling to himself. There was something nice about making someone else feel better. He felt he had gotten particularly close with Lucy that morning. It was nice having a friend that close. Someone you could confide in. He had a feeling he would get closer with Adam and Benjamin too. Not a hunch, but a feeling; a strong one.
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