Surviving in Harmony

Chapter Sixty-Six | Hogwarts, February 2021

Chapter Fifty-Six

Hogwarts, February 2021

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was usually very cozy and inviting during the winter, except for the dungeons where Professor Hemmingway insisted it was much too warm and kept all the windows open. Hester Bowen was running late for potions class, mainly because a chatty James had captured her attention.

"I'm never late." She hissed.

James barked a laugh. "Well you're with me now, Bowen."

"We are not - I'm not -"

"What?" He stopped, grabbing her wrist. "Are we not -?"

"I don't know." She cried, tugging him towards the classroom. "Do we have to talk about this right now?"

"Yeah, I want to know." James was jutting out his chin, like he always did when frustrated. "Are we, or are we not, together?"

"James Potter if I am late for class -"

"C'mon Hes, humour me, just for a second."

Hester gave him a long, searching look. "I guess -"

"Miss Bowen, Mister Potter?" Professor Hemmingway interrupted Hester's sentence, and they spun around. "Is your little conversation just as important as my lesson?"

"No, sir." Said Hester icily. "James was just telling me about a book."

Hemmingway raised his brow. "You read, Potter? How fascinating. Get to class."

Shuffling into the room, they got to work on their draught of peace. Hester sat beside her dorm mate Paula and James another Gryffindor. They chopped their porcupine quills and ground their moonstone, all the while neither teen looked at each other.

"We need the hellebore syrup," Hester blew stray hair out of her mouth. The dungeon classroom had begun to heat up, even with all the windows open. "Paula? The syrup."

"I forgot it." Shrugged Paula. "Can you grab it?"

With a huff, Hester crossed the classroom to the ingredients closet. She usually did not mind partnering with Paula, as they had been best friends since first year, but she was very absentminded. The closet was narrow and L-shaped, and upon turning the corner someone grabbed her. "Hey!"

"Shh." James muffled the rest of her words with a kiss. "Tell me, are we or are we not together?"

Fidgeting under his gaze, Hester's brain scrambled for an answer. "If we were together, our friends would know. We'd go on proper dates, like everyone else does - our parents would know."

Standing a little taller, James grinned. "Okay then, we'll tell our friends, go on a proper date. Hogsmeade is this weekend."

"And our parents?"

He frowned. "Oh. Yeah - uh - well we don't have to see them for months anyhow."

"James, we're practically cousins."

"Not really, family friends. We use that 'cousin' term lightly."

"I don't know Jamie, I just -"

"Tell me you don't want to kiss me." He said suddenly, grabbing her hands. "That you don't feel it."

"Feel what?" she lied.

"You know what - that spark. I'm sure - well, I thought you felt it, too." James' face fell, the sound of her calling him Jamie. "You weren't against us before, what changed?"