Little Riddle | James Potter

• forty four

That situation happened during breakfast that Wednesday morning when two tired and completely worn out boys joined her at the Slytherin table. Remus' absence was all too notorious and the reason behind it was all too obvious. "Took a good beating last night," Sirius groaned as he tried to stretch his body despite the obvious bruises and cuts that were causing him pain. "A dog and a rat can't do much to stop a bloody werewolf," he muttered under his breath, making sure his friends were the only ones to hear.

Alexis immediately looked up from her plate, staring at the boy with a disbelieving expression. "Where was the stag?"

"Somewhere shagging his girlfriend, probably," muttered Peter bitterly as he fixed himself a plate of food a little too aggressively.

Alexis' fork dropped, making a loud sound as it crashed against her plate, to which she payed no mind as she was already out of her seat. "Son of a--where's Remus? Is he okay?"

"He's okay." A fourth voice joined them as Remus himself made his way towards them, moaning and groaning with obvious discomfort that came as no surprise given his current physical state. He gave Alexis a small, comforting smile as he sat down and motioned for her to do so as well.

"He didn't go," she whispered.

"I wasn't expecting him to." Remus shrugged, trying his best to look nonchalant about it. "Can we please just.... forget it?"

The conversation was immediately dropped per Remus' request but the unease in Alexis remained. She had made peace with the fact James had chosen Marion over her, but never in a million years did she imagine she would see the day when he would prioritize someone else before his friends. Before his own brothers.
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"That is absolutely ridiculous, Josh!" Alexis argued with a laugh.

"Hear me out--hear me out!" He raised his hands, trying to get her to allow him to explain himself as he led the way out to the grounds while they enjoyed their lunch break. "Flitwick and McGonagall make perfect sense."

"I have always been more of a McGonagall and Dumbledore kind of person." She added absentmindedly, which caused her to receive a side eye from the boy.

"I'm pretty sure Dumbledore swings the other way, Lex," Josh sneered.

"What—no—what?" She gasped, looking up at him with a wide and shocked eyes.

"Don't tell me you missed the whole Dumbledore might be gay debate?" He asked her with a teasing smile.

"It appears I did." She looked around perplexed. "Good for him, then."

"Yeah—so, Flitwick and McGonagall—"

"No." Alexis pulled Josh to a stop next to her before pulling him down slightly so she could comfortably wrap her arms around his neck. "Shut up," she whispered before briefly connecting her lips with his. "I don't want to picture that."

"But it's bloody hilarious," he commented with a breathy chuckle before kissing her once again, this time with a deeper and more passionate kiss that lasted for some good several minutes before they got interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.

Alexis let out an audible groan at the sight of a smug looking James. Josh tried to pull her away to avoid any confrontation, but James' voice stopped them from leaving peacefully. "Always been into sloppy seconds, haven't you Davis?"