"Dammit!" Anya scowled, wandering through the corridors of Hogwarts, turning sharply whenever she saw a new corridor. She most definitely did not know where she was going, but she was far too proud to admit it as she made sure not to make too many turns on a single side.
"I honestly cannot believe we are lost thanks to you," James commented, following behind her lazily. He had caught Anya sneaking out of the library on an early Sunday morning, and joined her on the awkward exploration. He, however, made no effort to admit that he knew how to get around the castle, thanks to Remus' detailed and marked map, which he spent hours studying as they made it a mission to discover every secret of the school.
"What were you even doing at the library so early?" James asked, walking a few steps behind her, "Alone?"
"Just homework." She shrugged as she answered him. He did not believe her but did not say anything more about it.
"Why are you awake so early?" She asked him.
"Quidditch practice," he answered.
"You can't try out till next year."
"It does not hurt to practice until then," he shrugged. They walked side by side but said nothing for a few minutes, until his curiosity ate away at him, "Tell me the truth. What were you doing in the library?"
She smiled at him, "Just a little research."
He grabbed her by her arm and pulled her towards him. They stood so close that they could hear each other's hearts beating, and he was looking into her eyes. Had they been older, this would have been an earth-shattering moment where they would both be vulnerable. But they were not. They were two eleven year olds, grovelling for power over the other. Finally, James broke the silence, "Be honest with me."
She said nothing. She watched him, challenging him silently.
"I know you are no angel, so don't pretend to be one with me, princess." He scowled, closing the distance between them.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.
"I know it was you and Phoebe with the ink box prank on Naomi, the one that Sirius and I got accused of," he explained, "Remus and Peter told us. Well, they don't know it for sure, they suspect. But I am smarter than that."
"Perhaps you give yourself way more credit than you deserve, your highness." Anya was smirking as she placed distance between them. She turned around and began walking away.
He ignored her statement and he spoke more, filling in the brief moment of cold silence between them both, "Where were you headed anyways?"
"I was looking for a good hiding space. Presently avoiding my roommates, we got into a fight earlier." Anya informed him and he did not prod for more information.
"Do you even know where you are going?" He asked, watching her with a frustrated expression. She stopped moving and turned to look at him, expressing her confusion. He chuckled as he walked towards her, "Follow me."
He did not leave her much of a choice as he grabbed her hand and lead her through the castle, making his way to the Quidditch pitch. On the way out, he opened a broom closet and pulled his broom out, which he hid at the very back of it, and handed one to her. She did not argue and accepted it.
"You've known how to get around the castle this whole time?" Anya gawked, stopping in her paths.
He stopped moving when he could not hear her and turned to face her, smiling as he answered her, "It was pretty amusing watching you get lost up in here."
She caught up to him and walked alongside him, letting him lead. She was still irritated about his coldness, "You are unbearable."
"A wonderous compliment from the most annoying brat I know. And Sirius is my best friend," he laughed. They welcomed the crispy, chilling air of the morning as they stepped onto the grass, leaving the warmth of the castle. Walking towards the large pitch, he interrogated her more, "Didn't everyone get a map of the school?"
She nodded, "Yeah, but I burned mine out of boredom."
James shook his head, "Of course you did."
"What's that supposed to mean? You don't even know me!" She was defensive as she entered the game pitch. He mounted his boom at the same time that she did hers.
"Anya, I do not mean anything bad with that," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before raising off the ground. "I burnt mine too, as did my roommates. Well, everyone but Remus."
She nodded, choosing to ignore him. He noticed her change in moods and made no effort to hold a conversation with her, "Let's just go through our usual class drills. Ten laps around the arena first. On the count of three."
One. Two. Three.
James and Anya raced against each other, sometimes slowing down before simultaneously trying to get ahead of the other. Three laps had been completed with competitive aggression and the two of them were stubbornly starting to freeze as they desperately wanted to prove that they were better than the other. By the fifth lap, the pair had started to push one another playfully, trying to slow the other down rather than increase their own pace.
"Zion!" Potter shouted as she flew past him too quickly. Her eyes were on him as he gawked and watched her broom fly through one of the metal rings on the far end. Her head almost hit the metal, until she looked ahead on time and ducked her head, flying through the goal in a slouched position. James flew right after her, avoiding the rings as he caught up to her, where she hovered on her broom. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed it, comfortingly, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, "Thanks. That was scary."
"I am sorry, this was a terrible idea. Let's get you on the ground." She did not argue as their brooms slowly descended and her feet touched the ground. He landed further away from her and dismounted his broom, running towards her.
"I am fine," she stated, smiling as she looked at him. He looked at her, clearly still worried. And she did not like it, so she changed the subject, "I lied to you. Earlier, I mean."
He stood still, confused about what she was talking about. So, Anya explained herself , "I was sneaking out of the library, trying to figure out the perfect prank to pull on my cousins."
He raised a brow, "You only pull some on them?"
"Sometimes, not often. They're harmless and inevitable, so it's fun. But you were right, the ink prank was Phoebe and I. She makes the process fun as we brain storm and find fool-proof ways to pull them off."
"What about the fight between your roommates?"
"Not real," she smiled, apologetically, "I needed a cover story."
"Do they know about this?" He asked, and she nodded. He smiled, "I cannot find it in me to be mad about it, even though we got blamed for it."
She shrugged, and mounted her broom, hovering an inch above the ground to encourage him to continue training.
"So what's the next one about?" James asked, holding his broom between his legs as they slowly rose off the ground, staring at each other as they positioned themselves opposite one another.
"I have no idea yet, but I plan to figure that out before Halloween," she informed him. He wanted to ask her more questions about it, but he knew that it would be better off if he let her keep the secret. He contemplated using her deadline for a prank of his own, with the help of his friends. Either way, him and Sirius would get the blame for it, so, he might as well get detention for a prank he played alongside her.
His eyes twinkled with mischief as he smiled, "I look forward to it, princess."
♠
The sun had risen and all the students were waking up slowly, making their way to breakfast at an even slower pace.
"Lupin, do you know where Anya is?" Phoebe asked, approaching the Gryffindor table. She was watching as the tall boy with pale scratches along his face played with his food, refusing to eat much. He was pale-faced and looked sickly, but she ignored that about him, letting that be his problem.
He shook his head, and behind her, Sirius and Peter joined the meal. Sirius settled into his seat, "What happened?"
"She's looking for her friend. The Zion girl." Remus explained, ignoring his plate for the book in his hand.
"Anya?" Sirius asked and Phoebe nodded. "I saw her on the Quidditch pitch with James, they were racing each other."
"When?" Peter asked, mumbling through the food in his mouth.
"A little after five in the morning. He woke me up to join him and practice, I did not want to stayed in bed for a little longer. But then I thought I'd join him, I got dressed and went out and saw him with her, so left them together and went back to bed." Sirius told them with an unbothered tone, waving his hand, as if to dismiss the young girl's worries.
"Join us," Remus offered, pointing at the empty seat in front of him. Smiling, the Ravenclaw girl settled into the seat and filled her plate with crumpets that she suddenly craved.
"Oh, look, there they are!" Peter was pointing at the door. Anya walked beside James, looking irritated at him as they both spoke to each other, dramatically. Remus watched Phoebe as she watched her best friend, he could hear the two famous first years arguing about who cheated in whatever flying game they created - and of course, they accused each other.
James led Anya towards his friends and Phoebe looked up, "Where have you been? You said you would be back before breakfast."
"I was helping him practice for no reason," Anya cockily answered, before turning to her friend with an almost serious expression, "Come on Pheebs, grab your plate. I have something to tell you and the girls."
Her best friend nodded and stood up, holding her plate in hand and carrying it to their house table. She asked, "What's up?"
"James knows that we pulled that prank that got him and Sirius into trouble. And he knows we plan to do something for Halloween." Anya sat into her seat and explained, looking at Kylennia and Pandora, who stopped their conversation to listen to the girls talk.
"How did he react?" Pan asked, delicately putting a forkful of food into her mouth.
Zion shrugged, "He did not care much. Our pranks are harmless."
"So far," Phoebe stated.
Kylennia smirked, "Do you think he will snitch on us?"
Pan shook her head, "Most likely not. After all, they are pulling pranks on others, so it would be hypocritical."
♠
"Oi!" Nahara shouted as she ran after her twin sister, who was leaving the Great Hall. The older twin stopped walking and waited for the younger one to catch up. They were amongst the first group of students to leave, while the rest came down on their own time. It was almost ten o'clock in the morning, leaving everyone else with thirty minutes, at most, to eat something before lunch time.
"What's up?" The dark-haired girl asked, both of them walking further away from the pouring crowd of people.
"Nothing, really. I was wondering if you had anything to do in mind today." Nahara replied, redoing her hair as she walked.
"Why?" Sahara was not reluctant about the gathering, she was lazy and did not want to spend her weekend on lounging. She wanted to do something thrilling, but could not think of a brilliant idea. The gatherings between her cousins and their friends happened frequently on weekends, and sometimes the Zion's would gather without their friends and uncover more about each other's pasts. They were still not as close to each other as many would expect family to be, but they were getting there, or at least trying to.
"The girls and I were thinking of doing something fun, by the lake. Want to join us?" Nahara offered, sounding a little too excited for a simple invitation to spend time together. Kai, Ernesta and Angela stood behind the twin.
"Like what?" Sahara narrowed her brow, "Better not be homework."
Kai laughed, "Obviously not."
"We were planning on just hanging around by the lake, and possibly practice charms and jinxes, while looking for new ones." Ernesta offered, making Sahara smirk in anticipation.
"Sure, but let me gather the girls." And with that, Sahara left the girls with a fixed time for a reunion, before parting to head to the Gryffindor tower.