𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐅║𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

─── ⚝𓄹٠٘ xlii. 𝗌𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗄𝗅𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗁𝗂𝖾𝖿

Acting as of her words didn't hurt, James cleared his throat and gave her a piece of parchment. "These people are trying out for this year's Quidditch team and as my co-captain, It's best if we form a new strategy earlier than expected."

But Stella barely spared him a glance. "Just leave it in there." Stella pointed at the table were all her four 2nd year tutees are studying.

"You can put it here." Leo Harper, a Slytherin 2nd year pointed at an empty space at the table.

James squinted his eyes at the kid. If she wasn't Stella's tutee, he would've kicked Leo Harper out of their common room because she was a Slytherin.

"Stella, we don't know the right hand movement for the disarming spell." Liam Aldrich, her Gryffindor tutee whined.

"Leo knows it." Stella pointed out, closing the textbook and putting it aside. "Now, just because she's a Slytherin doesn't mean that you won't talk to her."

James, along with her other tutees went eyes-wide.

"I noticed that you're leaving her out and that's not quite right." Stella reminded them softly, then smiled at Leo. She really felt bad for the Slytherin girl. It's not her fault that she was sorted in Slytherin.

"You sound like Snivellus with the bulls-" James was cut off with Stella's hand clamped around his mouth and dragged him into a dim corner.

Stella could feel James' smirk in her palm. "What else do you want? I get it that you hate Snape, I do too, but cursing his name in front of kids, really?"

"What?! It's true, he's a git with all his Slytherin bullshit pride!" James frusatingly said.

"Just- bugger off. Just this once." Stella sighed. "I'll go to you when I've got an idea for our new strategy on Quidditch but on the mean time, don't disturb me."

"Only if you'll go on a date with me." James smugly says, attempting to trap her on the corner with his hands above her head that's leaning on the wall.

Stella sighed again. No matter how many times she rejected this boy, he doesn't seem to give up. "I've said this once and I'll say it again. I'm not going out with you. Ever." Stella said looking straight at his hazel eyes. "You're still my friend, I care for you, so please stop all this nonsense."

There it was again, the crestfallen feeling that James unintentionally and unknowingly gave to Stella. The more she rejects him, the more difficult it was to find hope in his situation. "But you do care for me, right?"

"Yes."

"Then that's enough for me." James glumly said. "For now."

James Potter was always known for his bright, energetic, and bubbly personality. In his friend group, he was the one that'd make everyone as elated as him or to put that in other words, James Potter was their friend group's elixir. Without him, they would've been torn apart long ago.

With Sirius' parents issues, Peter's low self-esteem, Remus' werewolf problems, and even if Stella isn't open to them about her problems, it didn't mean that she had none.

And just because James doesn't tell them about his own little problems doesn't mean that he doesn't have it too. Those problems of his show when all his friends are busy and he's preoccupied with all his discouraging thoughts.

Entering the common room after some tea-time with Portia, Stella saw a silhouette of a boy sitting in the window seat with looking at the pale moonlight.

His melancholic and gloomy emotion was easily gravitated to Stella, making her feel all his emotion too.

Stella wouldn't know whom the boy was as she started to walk closer to him, but one single whiff of the lemon-scented shampoo was enough for her to know who it is.