Down the Rabbit Hole | J. POTTER

3 | jabberwocky

They had been 'dating' for a week now and the whole school was still talking about it. Every single girl in the school seemed to hate her and every guy in the school suddenly found her attractive.

Val informed James about all of this and all he said was that she was welcome. She blamed it on his outburst in the Great Hall.

Even teachers were surprised at the pairing because when they arrived at classes together, they watched in confusion. They sat together in Herbology and it took Professor Sprout an extra fifteen minutes to start class because she was trying to figure out if she had missed something.

Val had even overheard a conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall about how they had been surprised James had moved on from Lily or that he was even trying to. She had no idea the teacher's were so invested in their student's love lives.

The roommate situation was a whole other issue. Anytime Marlene was near Val, she was shooting daggers into her back. Lily always seemed sad around her while Dorcas was mostly confused as to how she was supposed to act toward the girl. Alice, however, remained as friendly as before.

She had tried to explain to James that she was pretty sure that Lily actually did have feelings for him. He told her that it was impossible because he had asked her out on the train and she had said no. Repeatedly.

He had been doing as they agreed and sitting with her at the end of meals. Once he finished eating, he would move down the table where she sat and watched her read. Sometimes he would request for her to read whatever book she was reading aloud. She thought it was odd but did it nevertheless.

"There's no way they're together," one of the Gryffindor's pointed out and Val did her best to ignore them. She overheard conversations like this all the time and she hated them more than anything else. "Of all the people for him to choose to move on with, it wouldn't be her."

"She is related to one of the founders of Hogwarts," another student replied. "That counts for something."

The first person snorted, "Yeah, she's a Hufflepuff who was sorted into Gryffindor. Her parents were probably so disappointed."

Val huffed, slamming her book shut. If they had such a hard time believing that James Potter would ever desire to be with someone like her, she would prove that they were together. Even if they technically weren't. But they would never know that.

She got up from her seat and made her way to where James sat. He didn't see her coming and she didn't wait for him to face her on his own when she grabbed his collar and turned him to face her. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. It took him a second to register what was happening but as soon as he did, he was kissing the girl back eagerly.

She pulled away after a moment and he scanned her face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape. It reminded her of a deer caught in headlights. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could, he pulled her back toward him. His hands found their way into her hair as he pressed her closer. This was not where she thought this was going to go but she couldn't say she wasn't okay with it.

Someone cleared their throat and the pair pulled away from each other immediately. Val's breathing was heavy and she realized after a moment that his was heavy as well. He was watching her curiously when whoever had cleared their throat spoke up, "As hot as that was, some of us are trying to eat."

They both looked over to see that it was Remus talking. James dropped his hand and cleared his throat. Val ignored the blush that had no doubt made its way to her face. She had forgotten people were watching.

"Right, well," Val trailed off, turning back to James. "I'm heading to the common room. Just thought I'd say goodbye."

"That was certainly a goodbye," he nodded, his breathing still shallow. His eyes flickered around the room for a brief moment, "I'll come with you."