Smoke | James Potter

。twenty-five 。

"have you been spending time with lovegood?" james joked.

"no, i'm serious—"

"that's your twin."

"shut up." astra chuckled, turning to james who was grinning.

"okay, professor black, tell me about these thestrals." james said with mock seriousness, although he was genuinely listening to what she'd say. he'd listen to anything astra had to say, even if it was in a completely made up language.

"thestrals are usually associated with being a bad omen. they're said to have the face and neck of a dragon or a reptile while they're body is similar to a horse, they have wings too. however, they look malnourished and almost skeletal." astra mused. "they're attracted to the scent of blood because they're carnivorous. but they're misjudged. they're calm, kind, but hesitant when the person approaching isn't going to treat them with kindness or respect."

"how come we've never seen them?" james asked, truly entranced by her soft voice.

"because only people that have witnessed death can see them. that's why they're considered a bad omen." astra explained. "i think they sound beautiful. but i don't wish to see one, as curious as i am. i doubt it would be worth the consequences."

"no, definitely not." james denied. "you could be a professor. you could be one of the best. i don't think a lesson with you could possibly be boring or drag along like some of ours do."

"thanks." astra smiled, shuffling closer to him. "what would you say to a swim?"

"now? in the beginning of febuary? at 2 in the morning when it's probably going to be ice cold?" james asked, eyes wide.

astra shrugged, nodding, "yes."

"you're round the bend." james chuckled.

"i thought people that weren't, were boring, james." astra hummed, shoving the blanket from her shoulders and pulling her boots off.

"they are. you're certainly not boring. far from it." james whispered.

astra was still a large mystery to james. she was an enigma and he so desperately wanted to figure her out. everything about her enticed him; the way she smirked, the way she spoke, the way her hair flowed so gently in the wind, the way her body curved in a softly beautiful way. he wanted to know everything about her, from her favourite colour to her darkest flaw.

astra pulled off her quidditch jumper, leaving her in her leggings and bra before she dived into the black lake without a second thought. seconds passed and she didn't come up for air, james waiting for her head to pop back out of the water as he stood up, shrugging his own blanket off.

astra came up for air, her hair pushed back and wet now. her grin shone in the light of the half-moon and james' body seemed to have a mind of its own as he pulled his boots and jumper off as well as his joggers, jumping into the lake in his boxers, coming up for air as quick as he could, feeling the cold around his body.

"shit, it's freezing." james said, brushing his hair back from his eyes.

"it's the start of february at 2 in the morning when the water's ice cold." astra repeated his questions from moments before in a statement, swimming towards him. she pulled her wand from the band of her leggings, hovering the end of her wand by his glasses, causing the water to leave the lenses.

"they'll stay dry now." astra muttered, casting another spell over his entire body. "and you'll be warm."

"give me some facts about stars." james blurted out, wanting a way to keep hearing her voice. "or planets. or anything."

astra laughed softly, treading water, "okay, um... the largest constellation by area is hydra. it takes up 3.16% of the sky. the smallest is crux, only taking up 0.17% of the sky. the word 'constellation' comes from a latin term meaning 'set with stars'."

"any more?" james asked, swimming closer to her, until there was barely any space between them.

"there are two stars which, in a way, are supposed to represent two star-crossed lovers. the lovers are represented by the stars vega and altair. they're in the asterism called the summer triangle. the 'river' that separates the couple is the milky way. it's seen as a symbol of the whole 'boy meets girl, father doesn't approve' trope." astra explained, her voice turning into a gentle whisper as her hands reached out for james in the water, running up his shoulders to the back of his neck. "i'm partly named after it."

"how d'you mean?" james asked quietly.

"it's my middle name. vega. my great grandmother on my mother's side was called astra, and, despite sirius and regulus being named after stars, my mother wanted to honour her in a way, so i got named after her. my father decided he wanted to keep the tradition in his family in a way by making my middle name vega. astra's still kind of space-y though." astra told him. "don't tell anyone, or i'll make you bald for a week."

james smiled, "i won't."

"you better not." astra whispered. "i trusted you with that."

"and i won't tell a soul." james promised, eyes glancing down at her lips.

astra caught the glance. well, it was more of a stare as his eyes stayed trained on her full lips. her fingers glided down his arms, feeling the muscles from playing quidditch so much. she grasped his hands under the water, placing them on her waist, feeling james squeeze her soft skin adoringly, pulling her closer. her hands found their way back up into his wet hair.

"kiss me." astra whispered and that was like music to james' ears.

astra's fingers tightened in james' curling hair as he pressed their lips together, his arms wrapping entirely around her waist, pressing their chests together. the slytherin smiled against his lips, the kiss turning more passionate and heated as her fingers moved from his hair to cup his jaw. familiar goosebumps, identical to the ones she experienced in the library, began to appear across astra's skin as james' fingers dug into her soft skin, holding her as if what was happening wasn't real.

a small whimper came from the back of james' throat as astra's tongue brushed past his lips, their kiss fuelled by passion and impulse. astra wondered if she'd regret this, but that thought slipped her mind as james made another sound of pleasure, distracting any smart thoughts she could have had at that moment in time.

{1551}

they kissed, i hope it wasn't too soon, i'm not great with slow burns