hiraeth - james potter x OC

beginning of summer

Elle arrived on the front lawn near the Whomping Willow just in time to hear Severus Snape shout, "Mudblood!"

Lily looked hurt and taken aback, and Elle filled with anger.

"You son of a bitch!" Elle yelled, appearing next to Lily.

"Ellie," Lily said sternly, grabbing Elle's arm. "It's fine. Drop it, okay? I don't care. Please, it's fine."

Elle tried to protest, but sighed. Instead of hexing Severus like she planned to, she simply turned to him and said, "You just lost the only person decent enough to put up with your bullshit."

Elle grabbed Lily's arm, and she noticed there were a few tears forming in the redhead's eyes. Elle pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms protectively around Lily.

-(possible TW)

The next few days were tense. Elle spent most of her time with Lily, comforting her, as she knew what it was like to lose one of your best friends.

And there was the fact that Severus Snape would not live Lily alone, no matter how many times she ignored him and his half-assed apologies.

One day, Elle was walking in the hall with Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius when Snape approached them.

"Lily," he said, grabbing the redhead's arm. "Can I please talk to you? I'm so sorry, Lil-"

"Leave her alone," Elle snapped. "She doesn't want your apology."

Snape turned his gaze to Elle, glaring at her. He shoved her against the wall, his hand going to her throat.

Before anyone could react, Elle took out her wand, holding it against Snape's throat.

"Let go of her!" James yelled, advancing towards Snape.

Elle looked Snape in his cold eyes. "Let me go, or I swear to God I'll blow your fucking head off."

"Put her down!" McGonagall's shrill voice suddenly yelled, swiftly moving towards the situation. Elle dropped her arm to her side, and Snape let go of her neck.

She immediately gasped for air, massaging her bruised throat.

"Are you okay, Ell-" James began, but was cut off by McGonagall.

"Snape, Carter. Come with me."

"She didn't do anything wrong!" James protested, but McGonagall ignored him, waving to Elle and Snape to follow her.

Elle stared at the ground of McGonagall's office, occasionally sending a glare to Snape.

"I would like to hear the story from both of you," McGonagall said. "Ms. Carter, why don't you go first."

"There's pretty much only one side to this story," Elle said in a slightly raspy voice. "But basically, Snape wouldn't leave Lily alone, and I told him to stop and leave us alone, and he pushed me up against the wall and choked me. I had my wand out for self-defense. So I don't really know why I'm here."

"Thank you, Ms. Carter," McGonagall said before turning to Snape. "Is that the whole story?"

Snape nodded, saying his first words since he arrived in McGonagall's office. "Yes, ma'am."

McGonagall nodded. "Thank you. Ms. Carter, you may go."

Elle nodded before turning and leaving the office with out another word or a glance backwards.

She entered the common room to find Sirius, James, Remus, Lily, and Peter sitting on the couches near the warm fireplace.

 Elle flopped down next to James, leaning into his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"What happened?" Sirius asked curiously.

"She let me go after I told her what happened. Snivellous is probably getting detention," Elle said, her voice still slightly raspy.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry he did that, Ellie," Lily said sadly.

Elle shrugged. "I'm fine. Great, actually. Did you guys see the look on his face when I told him I'd blow his head off? Priceless."

-summer

It was the last day of fifth year.

Normally, Elle would have spent the summer at the Potter's along with the rest of the friend group, but James and his family were going on vacation until the end of July.

So she had to go back to her house until August.

Which may not seem so bad, right?

Wrong.

Elle's parents were always constantly fighting, and they always roped Elle into their conversation. She was forced to listen to her parents blaming her for everything for hours.

James knew what things were like at her house, and he hated how she always had to go home to that.

Once the train arrived at King's Cross and the passengers piled onto the platform, James pulled Elle into the tightest hug he'd ever given her.

"Write to me," James said. "Write to me all the time. Especially when things get bad, okay? I'll answer you as much as I can."

Elle nodded and hugged him closer. "I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you more," James smiled. "We get back from vacation at the end of July. I can ask my parents if you and the boys can stay with us for the last month of summer."

"I would love that," Elle said as they pulled away from the hug. "I love you, Prongs."

"I love you too, Ellie," James said, leaning in to kiss her.

When they pulled away, Elle noticed her parents walking onto the platform, and she inhaled sharply. "My parents are here."

James nodded sadly. "Bye, Ellie. I love you."

"I love you too."

-

this chapter kinda sucks i hate it