INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Remus Lupin considered himself an extraordinarily lucky man (if you don't count the whole lycanthropy situation). Especially when it came to the friend department. He couldn't imagine there being a person in the world who had better friends than he did.

Then again, he couldn't imagine there being a person in the world who had dumber friends than he did. 

It was at the end of Valentine's day when he had realized something was different. It was almost in the middle of the night when James returned to the Gryffindor common room with a strange, dreamy grin that was only reserved for Remus's other friend, Lyra.

The bespectacled boy plopped down on the couch in the common room, sitting next to Peter, who almost looked concerned as to why he was acting so strange. "Prongs, what's up? You look like a crazy person."

James grinned even wider, throwing his head back on the couch. He was ignoring the way Remus, Sirius and Peter were all looking at him like a madman. Then he pulled himself up, sitting straight, prepared to break the news. "She kissed me!"

"Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! Did you have to put that image in my head? I'm going to vomit," Sirius complainied, not wanting to hear about his best friend and cousin kissing. "Moony, get me bucket. Pronto!"

Remus did not want to be bossed into getting a bucket so his friend could fake-puke. Again, he believed he had the best but dumbest friends out there. "Get it yourself."

"I mean, I had a feeling that playing hard to get would get me the girl. Especially on Valentine's," James started talking about Lyra once again. "But what if it was just a one time thing again? Does she even like me? Was it only a heat of the moment kiss?"

All those questions he asked himself was driving him mad as he groaned. He put his head on Peter's lap, looking up at him with wide, confused eyes. "I'm so confused, Wormtail. How can I ever face her again?"

While Peter was invested in James's stories as usual, Sirius did not want to hear anymore. He pushed a finger in each ear, singing some unfamiliar song so he didn't have to hear another word about Lyra. 

And as much as Remus Lupin loved those boys with all his heart, he also sort of hated them. Mostly because they were so stupid. 

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Somehow, Lyra and James had managed to avoid each other the entire next day. Very luckily for them and their awkwardness, they didn't have any classes together the day after Valentine's Day. Which thankfully saved Remus from having to deal with the both of them together.

But he still needed to deal with Lyra, who was a bit of a wildcard. The way James had reacted wasn't very surprising. He had been head over heels for that girl for over a year already. He had no doubt Lyra felt the same way, but she was also incessantly stubborn and refused to admit it.

Remus had classes with Lyra that day, unlike James. They were once again partners in Arithmancy, after they had made up early December. It had taken its time, but he felt like they were almost back to normal. 

As their teacher was explaining something they should both have paid attention to (as the Professor said it would be on the exam), Lyra leaned over and whispered to Remus. "Hey. Has James, by any chance, said anything about me?"

Yes. James had talked so much about her that hearing her name almost made him sick. But Remus knew how much he cared about playing it cool, so he would kill him if he mentioned it. "No, he hasn't."

Lyra turned her head, frowning. The idea of James not talking about their kiss made no sense to her, but she also remembered how he had basically ignored her until it happened, so she had no idea how he felt anymore. "Are you sure?"