INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Forty-Four

It was a great relief to board the Hogwarts Express. Throughout the rest of Eater break, Lyra hadn't been able to get the image of Sturgis Podmore crying and screaming, all because of her plan and her going through his head without permission. 

Lyra was about to change into her robes  for school, but she had something she wanted to do first. It didn't take long to find James, Sirius, Remus and Peter's compartment, where they were laughing happily. 

As she looked into the window, the first thing she noticed was that James looked different. She was prepared for it, as he had sent a letter mentioning he had forgotten his razor at school, so he hadn't shaved his face since they left. He now had a bit of stubble, and she would be lying if she said it wasn't a bit attractive. 

The others looked mostly the same, the same happy faces surrounding one another. When she saw them together, they looked like happiness incarnated. They looked like a very happy family. 

It took a few moments before anybody noticed she was there, and when they did, it was Peter who did so first. He told the other boys that she was standing there and look towards her. But she only made eye contact with one. 

▹▹▹

It didn't take long before James and Lyra were violently snogging in the boys' changing room. She had been craving his touch for ages, and she could feel that he felt the same way due to his passion, which was stronger than ever. 

While James loved the feeling of her lips on his, he also absolutely adored talking to her, especially when they had only spoken through a couple of letters. "How was your break? Got worried when I didn't hear from you at first."

Again, Sturgis Podmore's face flashed through her mind. She tried her best to not think about the sound of his screams and the way blood had pooled from seemingly invisible wounds. "Let's not. Just snog me,"

Lyra practically threw her face onto his, but he backed away from it, wondering if something was going on. "I mean, I'm not complaining. But don't you want to talk to me or anything instead of just snogging?"

She sighed and raised her hand to gently stroke through his hair. "I'd love to talk to you, James, but right now I just want to be here with you. I've been craving your touch for a week and you're finally in front of me so I'm going to snog you."

"Fine by me," he smirked. This time, he let her put her lips on his as she pulled him closer. He also didn't mind when a kiss turned into the snog he had wanted for so long. Every time they snogged, he felt the same magic that came to him when he was fifteen and they did this for the first time. 

He could never keep a straight face when they were together. Even when he was supposed to be in the moment and only think about what was happening in front of him, he was always smiling because he reminded himself of how lucky he was to have her around. Even if she wasn't his girlfriend, though he hoped that would change eventually.

When they finally had to pull away to catch their breath, he knew he finally had the opportunity to have a conversation now that they had snogged each other's brains out. "So, you want to sit with the boys and I for the rest of the train ride?"

"I wish I could," she answered honestly, running her fingers through his dark hair once again. "I promised Lucinda that we'd catch up, and we're sitting with the other Slytherin girls, too. Even a few Ravenclaws, we're inclusive now."

"Inclusive would be if you would let me sit there with you and snog you in front of them," James retorted, mostly sad that he wouldn't get the opportunity to spend as much time with her as possible. 

"Gross!" Lyra giggled, hitting his chest playfully as she turned her head away. She didn't want to imagine their undoubtedly angry reactions if they did just that. "We're not snogging in front of my friends."