When I see you.. (James Potter)

Chapter 11:

„Hey Prim!", I greet my friend and give her a hug. „Hi Joy! Did you sleep well?", she asks without a deep meaning but I just shrug my shoulders: „I'm kinda worried".
Her face twists, „oh, Joy", she takes me in a hug, „everything is going to be alright!"
„You don't know that"
„Right...", she says disappointed, „but you know what I know?".
I look at her.
„You need a proper girls night!"
„That'd be nice", a slight smile crosses my face when thinking of my friends, drinking tea or butterbeer and talking about everything and nothing. I shrug my shoulders again: „Nila and Lu are occupied tonight. Lu has a date!", I grin.
„Oh what?", Prim gasps ironically with the what in a high note, „actually surprising that Rosier takes her on a date after all this snogging around, might as well just skip the dating phase!", she laughs.
I giggle but add: „Don't be so mean!"
„Hey if you want to, Lily, Marlene, Alice and I plan to have a little get together tonight in the common room, I think they won't mind if you'd join!", she smiles slightly.
„Hmm idk", I say with a worry on the face. Of course I know the girls, but I have never really spoken to them.
„Okay, no, you are coming! Why did I even ask?", she asks herself. I laugh slightly, „alright, I might join..."
„Yes! I'm looking forward to it!", she puts an arm around my shoulders and we make our way to class.

After dinner, I wait for Prim outside of the Great Hall. I hear her voice coming closer as she giggles with the other girls. „Oh hi Joy!", she grins and they stop walking. „Nila really isn't with you? What a wonder! She does follow every step you take lately!", she whispers to me. I raise an eyebrow, „really? I never noticed", I shrug my shoulder. She laughs and adds an: „Anyway, let's go!" and smiles.
That was weird.
I walk next to Prim following Alice and Lily. Marlene takes path next to Prim: „Hey Joy!", she smiles friendly, „we haven't really met before but it's nice to meet you!". I smile, „it's really nice to meet you all as well!". „Your hair are very pretty! You need to show me how you get them so voluminous!".
I look a bit confused to that overly friendliness, but overplay it with a smile: „thank you, sure I'll show you sometime".
Arrived in the common room, we sit around in a circle on the floor. Lily performs a spell to fill our mugs with tea and the chatter begins. „I heard Remus needs to visit his sick mom again this weekend...", Alice starts off. „Poor him!" „That must be horrible, to be in steady worry about their family...", Marlene adds.
„We all are not in a really different situation to that...", I added with my mind lost in my thoughts. As soon as I noticed what I've said I clear my throat: „sorry... I didn't mean to downplay the sickness of Remus' mom...", I shake my head looking at my fingers, „no not at all!". I tried to explain myself, but Prim puts her hand on my thigh, with a comforting look on her face „we understand Joy". I sigh.
The evening eventually came around to be quite funny as we started to play some games or watching how Prim tries to beat Lily in wizarding chess.
„Woah woah woah... a Slytherin in our common room...?", a voice arises from behind us. Directly, Prim gets on her feet: „watch your mouth McLaggen!"
I look up to Prim, „ignore him Prim". She faces me and I continue and get up:  „it's alright, I slowly should get going anyway, it's late!"
As suddenly a blond guy next to McLaggen starts pouting: „Crawling up with the death eaters are we, Prim?"
Just as Prim outflings her wand, I see James pushing the guy to the back. Behind him standing Sirius and Remus and a little bit more in the background Peter as well. "You better watch what your saying else-". Rage builds up in me in addition to the pain from the last days and thoughts on what James thought of me as a Slytherin. „Oh shut it Potter!" ,I shout at him, what leaves him standing perplex and everyone else as well, letting off of the guy. "Don't act like this now, whereas you actually believe the same nonsense as him", I say with a strong voice but tears slowly wetting my eyes. For a second he just looks at me, while everyone around were standing still, observing the tension. I see how Remus lays his hand on James shoulders as he stumbles a "Joy, I-", but I turn around, grabbing my coat. „Goodnight girls", I say quickly, facing the floor for them to not see how the moment touched me, then storming my way out. 

Prim gets moving to follow Joy, but James was
was faster, snatching himself off Remus' grip, making his way through the crowd, out of the portal that leads to Hogwarts' stairwell.
It's past the curfew already, with Filch and his cat Ms. Norris on the lurk, possibly around every corner. Joy thought of disapparating, but hearing James' footsteps after her, she knows that it was not possible, she couldn't risk it, she couldn't trust him.
„Have you heard that Ms. Norris?", Filch's recognisable voice echoes through the hall. The baby hair on Joy's neck stand on end and she stops jogging abruptly. „Joy", James whispers. She turns around in a hurry, pressing her finger on her lips, but she couldn't see anyone. „James?", she whispers. She hears the sound of him saying „shh", demanding her to be quiet. In front of her, something that seems like a curtain gets hold to the side and James looks at her with a demanding face, telling her to get under the curtain with him.

She feels herself breathing heavily, standing very closely to James, that she has been shouting at just minutes before. Her face writes panic when the tipping noises of Ms. Norris' paws come closer and closer.
James looks down to her, with a little smirk on his face. Joy crosses his gaze, not long enough to respond with an angry glance. She gets up on her tip toes to look over James' shoulder. Even though it was blurred, she could see Filch coming closer and closer.