INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Fifteen

James grinned, sitting proudly upon his broomstick, watching the crowd who adored him. His eyes instantly traveled to the Gryffindor stands, where he found his cheering three best friends, and the girl that always seemed to be around. 

For a minute, his gaze met Lyra's. Her words from after the first match of the season echoed through his mind, reminding him of how handsome and confident she said he was when he flew, that he was a person she liked much more.

His grin grew as she raised an eyebrow, as if asking him what he was staring at. James wasn't sure if she remembered that part of their conversation, but he winked at her nonetheless before speeding off on his broom. 

Lyra's eyes widened, a blush covering her cheeks. She pulled her coat up in hopes of covering it, or she would only complain about the cold if anybody asked about it. She wasn't sure exactly what she had said to James, but she was beginning to suspect she said something about what she thought of him when he was flying. 

The blonde tried not to think about his skills and the effortless leadership skills he showed for the rest of the match, but she found herself unable to keep her eyes off him. She had never truly been as invested in sports as when she watched James play Quidditch. 

The time passed, and it became obvious that Gryffindor was going to beat Ravenclaw horribly, even if the latter team managed to catch the Golden Snitch that was buzzing around uncontrollably.

Yet, it was the team in red and gold who won the match. Lyra couldn't help but grin and cheer with the people surrounding her, thinking it had been a great match, even if Gryffindors were supposed to be her mortal enemies.

Her smile faded when she caught the eye of someone on a nearby stand. Rabastan looked suspicious as he glanced her way. She tried to look away, but she knew she was caught. All she could do was prepare for an uncomfortable discussion.  

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Lyra decided to leave Sirius, Remus and Peter the minute they were able to leave the stands. There were two reasons. One being that she would feel awkward running into James when she felt she had probably embarassed herself that time she was rambling drunk to him. The second was that she didn't want to be with them when she would inevitably run into Rabastan.

Maybe if they were surrounded by other people when he saw her, she would get off the hook. At least, that was what she was hoping for as her small legs attempted to hurry towards the Slytherin Common Room. 

"Lyra!" a voice called out from behind her. She stopped in her tracks and cursed, knowing her plans were foiled. When she turned around, she saw Rabastan jogging up to her. "Can I talk to you?"

Not wanting him to think anything was up, Lyra smiled brightly at her friend. "Of course. What's up?"

He returned her smile, but it was a bit fake. He looked deep into her eyes, as if trying to study her and read her mind. "I just noticed you with the Gryffindors during the Quidditch match. With Black. You told me you didn't even like him."

Awkwardly, Lyra didn't respond for a couple of seconds. She didn't know what to say, how to convince him she hadn't lied to him, even if that was exactly what she did. "Well, I don't. I just- he's... You know, he's family, and just..."

Rabastan looked like he was getting annoyed at her attempting to lie to him, but always contradicting herself. Finally, Lyra straightened up and forced a cold, Slytherin mask on her face. "He's always trying to become close again, and he dragged me with him and wouldn't let me leave. And trust me, I tried."

Rabastan wasn't really convinced. "You didn't seem unhappy. In fact, you were quite excited when I saw you."

"About the match. It was a good match." The blonde shrugged.  Lyra brought her hands up and tried to breathe hot air on them to combat the cold, which had made her shiver for the last few hours.