The Cruel Art Of Wanting ; James Potter

James Potter x OC

James Potter would do anything for Lily Evans - even sleep with the girl who'd rather hex him than touch him.

June Weasley used to be a Marauder. She laughed with them, pranked with them - named them. But that was before James turned cruel, before he started humiliating other students for fun, before the boy she once called friend became someone she couldn't even look at without wanting to break something.

Now, June stands on the outside, fierce and unapologetic, more fire than girl - and James can't stop watching her burn.

He tells himself it's obsession. Guilt. Curiosity. Anything but feelings. But she's in his head - the way she talks back, the way she fights, the way she knows him, even now.

And Sirius, ever the instigator, has an idea: "You've never caught feelings for a girl you've slept with. So sleep with her. Get it out of your system."

It's meant to be simple. A game. But June doesn't play fair. She's angry and aching and dangerous, a storm wrapped in skin, and she sees straight through James's charm. She knows what he's doing - and she's more than willing to play along, if it means she can hurt him back.

But when lines blur and secrets bleed, when touches turn tender and hatred starts to crack, James begins to wonder if he ever really wanted Lily... or if it was always about the girl who's been haunting him since the day she walked away.

And June? She doesn't know what scares her more - the idea of letting James in again, or the possibility that this time, he might actually stay.

"Sleep with her, forget her, move on."
That was the plan. Until it wasn't.