CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
🍂 ୧ absolutely smitten . . .
& snowballs ও🦌
THERE WAS NO UNDERESTIMATING THE INTENSITY of James's affection for Autumn. She held the ability to utterly captivate him and leave him utterly lovestruck, which was evident, as it was plainly demonstrated by the way he acted whenever he was in her presence.
James Potter was absolutely smitten with Autumn Rivers.
James Potter's admiration for Autumn Rivers grew exponentially as the weeks proceeded, as did the frequency of his displays of affection. They eventually began to hold hands, embrace, and hug each other in public, which was something they had not done at the beginning of their blossoming relationship, despite having shared a kiss already.
It was all happy for them, but an unexpected development occurred in regards to Elliot, who began exhibiting a noticeable shift—in terms of his interaction with the individual members of the friend circle.
Not only did he decide to isolate himself on Hallowe'en from everyone, without even extending a birthday greeting to Autumn, but he subsequently remained withdrawn and elusive whenever the group attempted to approach him afterwards.
Each of the individuals attempted to reach out to him, yet Elliot insisted on maintaining his distance, which ultimately convinced everyone to accept his desire to be left alone and maintain a distance between them as a result.
It became increasingly clear that Lily was struggling internally while attempting to conceal her sorrow.
The individuals in her circle were aware of her anguish, although they opted to do everything they could to avoid making Elliot's name a topic of conversation. This was done with the intent of permitting Lily to progress throughout her days with ease, without allowing the situation to persist in her thoughts.
The process of Raven healing from her anger involved the support of several people, particularly Remus, who continued to be her pillar of strength.
Remus remained consistently present by her side and attempted to aid in the mending process, which ultimately proved successful even though neither party openly spoke about their emotions.
However, after an extended duration of Remus's ongoing devotion, the two finally began to reach a point of comfort between them, which marked the end of Raven's initial fury.
As the initial stages of Autumn's grief over the loss of her relationship with Elliot began to unfold, she was quiet, solemn, and detached.
However, James quickly interjected the process, using various techniques to prevent her from becoming overwhelmed with sorrow.
His efforts were successful, as he was able to provide her with a steady stream of entertainment which kept her engaged, such as exploring the school, flirting, holding hands, and kissing. Each of these minor actions effectively altered her mindset, making a substantial impact overall.
The Marauders became an instrumental fixture in the recovery of the three female peers following the loss of Elliot's friendship, and they were able to successfully maintain their assistance throughout the process.
Eventually, the group's efforts began to exhibit results, and as a result, they were eventually able to return to a sense of normalcy after a length of a month had lapsed since the occurrence.
...
After experiencing such a prolonged period where the group always hung out together, it seemed like a peculiar occurrence for Autumn and James to find themselves alone.
However, due to the unfortunate situation that led to the loss of Elliot from their friend circle, the rest of the individuals in the group found themselves inseparable, causing them to spend an unusually high amount of time in one another's presence.
James had been deprived of his alone time with Autumn for a while, and so, when the opportunity to have some quality time without the presence of any other individuals finally occurred, he couldn't help but continually gaze at his beloved.
Whether they were strolling down a corridor, passing each other as they traveled different halls, or sitting near each other in the Great Hall, James consistently found himself fixated on her in a way that was utterly intoxicating to him.
In the beginning, Autumn could not help but feel somewhat awkward when she was aware of James' constant focus on her.
However, his admiring glances eventually became a routine occurrence that she began to enjoy and appreciate. As she became accustomed to his admiring gazes, she also decided to grant him the same attention, and would sometimes find herself staring back at him.
Sirius rolled his eyes in contempt as he caught the smitten pair engrossed in their prolonged gazes, "Merlin's pants, they are doing it again."
Peter chuckled and threw a bread roll in Sirius's direction, suggesting, "Just leave them be Pads."
Raven snickered as well, then chimed in, with a sly smile, "You know, you are the one who complains about it all the time, Sirius. Maybe you should stop staring at them."
Lily chuckled and teased Sirius, who was currently feeling quite put out by the amorous couple, "Sirius is just jealous that he isn't getting attention from Potter."
Remus joined in the festivities by joking as well, "He misses the hot gazes that James used to give him."
Sirius' mood was not the best at that moment, as he was feeling a little betrayed and a bit ignored.
As a result, he decided to express his frustration with an aggressive gesture, displaying the middle finger, which was seemingly directed at all of them, followed by his harsh declaration, which was, "You can all kiss my arse."
James had been unable to stop fixating upon the girl whom he regarded most dearly.
Henceforth, upon finally breaking this prolonged gaze and acknowledging the shy behaviour of his beloved, he chose to share his sentiments. "Anyways, Sirius, I can't help it," James finally turned away from Autumn, as she turned away to have a small bite to eat, which caused her to feel slightly embarrassed, "I fancy staring at my girlfriend."
A collection of soft groans and sighs escaped the group, but they held no genuine ill will or dissatisfaction.
On the contrary, their reactions were due to the genuine delight they felt from witnessing the union of their two friends, and as a result, they were truly pleased to see the two together and stronger than ever.
After a lengthy stretch of concentrated attention on his girlfriend, James decided to return to the larger group and direct a question to everyone.
His inquiry concerned plans for the upcoming holiday season, in which he requested, "So, you're all coming over for Christmas right?"
Raven responded with a teasing comment, "Yeah, can't wait to see Autumn's dad strangle you."
The comment was certainly playful, but there existed a definite chance that the statement could become actuality, as she also anticipated August Rivers's probable reaction to Autumn being in a relationship with James.
A look of genuine concern washed over James's features after he heard the potentially prophetic joke from Raven, "Summers, don't even joke about that."
Despite the humour she displayed with her remark, the thought of Autumn's father responding to the relationship with such drastic measures seemed to deeply worry James.
"Now, that's the reason I will go now," Peter then joined the banter with a grin and a teasing remark, which caused James to turn toward the boy with a playful scowl and a betrayed look.
As the jokes and banter continued to circulate among the group, Lily contributed to it as well, adding to it with her statement.
"He'll do more than strangling"
That contribution alone was enough to elicit a sudden burst of surprise from James, as it caused him to choke on the Pumpkin juice that he was currently having a sip of, resulting in a rather dramatic and comical reaction from the male.
After regaining composure after the unplanned and humorous episode, James's attention shifted from the group, who were all laughing hysterically.
Autumn then interjected by showing sympathy towards the suffering James, as she patted his back and attempted to console him.
She then proceeded to offer some much-needed insight, noting that her father would most likely be difficult, but it would primarily be just his way of showing affection, stating, "He'll give you a hard time, but most of it is just him playing around."
After her reassuring touch seemed to give him a bit of comfort, James attempted to exhibit some level of trust by smiling back at Autumn, but his nerves remained apparent, as he continued to express his apprehension.
His doubt was palpable, and he decided to openly state his concerns to his beloved, "I wish I could trust those words, but something tells me your father will make me practically beg for you."
Sirius had heard about the idea of James potentially having to beg for his girlfriend, and he quickly responded in a rather mischievous and enthusiastic manner.
As a result, he proceeded to issue a direct request to the other members of the group, specifically focusing on the female individuals, saying, "Okay, you three — Lily, Raven, and Autumn — you need to hook us up with that Muggle video device thingie. We need video proof of James begging. Don't miss a single second."
Raven showed her surprise, her curiosity prompted her to question the choice of utilizing a muggle device, as she inquired, "A video recorder? Why bother with that when there is magic that can record it for us?"
Sirius's rationale behind selecting the muggle recorder was quite amusing, as he seemed to have a valid desire to ensure that he was capable of attaining perfect footage of his friend's potential humiliation.
In response to his suggestion, Sirius offered a bit of a strange remark, "No, I like that muggle device better. It captures the true essence."
Peter offered a logical proposal, while he ate, "Why don't we just record all of the Christmas holiday while we are at it? Then when we get older, we can go back and watch it together, like a reunion."
Sirius was in complete agreement with Peter's proposal, and he happily expressed it by enthusiastically celebrating the idea.
"That's bloody brilliant!" Sirius proclaimed with excitement, as he gave a friendly gesture towards Peter with a pat on the back.
Remus quickly gave praise to Peter for suggesting the notion, as he acknowledged it with a nod and promptly declared his approval.
"Nice suggestion, Pete," he proclaimed, followed by offering up a supportive solution, "We'll all chip in for the best recorder if we have to." Once Remus provided a valid solution, which enabled the plan to become a reality, the group members quickly agreed in unison and excitedly began to discuss the execution of their collective plan to record the upcoming holiday season.
THE FESTIVE SEASON WAS UPON THEM, which prompted a plan among the girls to commence another set of pranks, aimed at the four boys from their group.
Despite the temporary halt on the prank war, it seemed as though the females were not content with leaving things there.
Instead, the girls decided to keep the competition going by finding ways to pull pranks on the male members of their little group, and since they were now without one member, it did not prevent them from continuing their warfare.
It appeared that the girls were dedicated to their prank war, as they planned out a new scheme carefully and meticulously this time.
They wanted to pull the prank successfully but in a way where it didn't get too out of hand, since the goal was to have some fun rather than cause any serious consequences.
The females didn't want to risk the stunt becoming something unmanageable and out of control, instead preferring a fun and relatively harmless prank that they could all enjoy without facing serious repercussions.
During the quiet of the night, the three girls ventured outside and began to construct an array of unique snow-based figures.
Rather than choosing to utilize their magic, they opted to utilize more conventional means to create the creations, as their method allowed for a greater sense of enjoyment and satisfaction which was due to the hands-on nature of the project.
It was evident that the girls cherished the idea of keeping it through their muggle way of doing things and relished the act of building the snowmen since they avoided relying upon their magical abilities, favouring the experience of crafting the statues with their bare hands.
As the night's activities progressed, Lily glanced over at Autumn's creation and observed its menacing appearance, "Autumn why does yours look like it's plotting murder?" She called Autumn's attention to the snowman and requested clarification on its intent.
However, Autumn attempted to defend her sculpture, which caused a slight disagreement between the two females over the nature of its expression, as Autumn attempted to convince Lily that it was intended to exhibit a smirk rather than a sinister snarl, stating, "What? But I was trying to make it smirk."
"No, Autumn that's the look of wanting blood." Raven grimaced
In response to the feedback on her snowman's appearance, Autumn adjusted its expression, turning the original smirk into a frown.
Her explanation as to the reasoning behind the change of expression was rather fitting, as she admitted it perfectly represented her current mood, "This snowman is now me."
As the girls chuckled and continued to create their snow figures, it became apparent how deeply engaged they were in their activity, as they appeared to derive genuine enjoyment from the simple task.
Now that their snowman sculptures were complete and embellished, the girls retired to their beds for the night. As a result, two of them, Autumn and Raven, stayed overnight in Lily's dorm, which would prove convenient when implementing their prank on the guys.
The females now had plans in place for pulling their next trick, and they were prepared to lure the males to the location for the execution of the ruse.
...
Upon awakening, James was shocked to discover that it was Autumn who had woken him, and she had resorted to a rather unorthodox method by pinching his nose to get his attention.
James's sleep-induced daze quickly dissipated, and he let out a loud shout due to the sudden loss of oxygen. This action alerted all of the other young men to Autumn's way of choosing to wake up her boyfriend.
Upon being hastily roused from sleep and being ushered outside by the girls, the males were completely unprepared and caught off-guard by the ambush.
There was no time for a reaction or counter-attack, as the snow-based figures threw snowballs at their targets, immediately engulfing the males in a flurry of white fluff.
It seems that Remus had reacted rather quickly after being taken by surprise, as he was the only one to think of wielding his wand to combat the assault.
Upon summoning magic toward the snowmen, Remus effectively initiated a snowball fest, where the targets were divided, and the snow warriors launched snowballs at everyone from both sides.
The counterattack, however, quickly became chaotic, as the two groups alike were bombarded with a barrage of snowballs, making it impossible to distinguish between allies and opponents.
As chaos ensued and snowballs began to rain down upon everyone, there was no longer any semblance of control, as the situation became a free-for-all.
"Pads! you are throwing it to the wrong person!" Peter's shouts were directed towards Sirius, who had inadvertently unleashed a snowball towards his friend rather than an intended opponent.
"Sorry, bout that Pete! I saw blonde and thought it was Raven." Realizing his blunder, Sirius merely shrugged in response and was swiftly reprimanded by Raven, whose smile indicated that she found the event amusing since she was the one who had delivered the snowball that hit Sirius in the back of his head.
"Our blonde hair shades are incredibly different. Raven makes a sarcastic remark after being hit by a snowball thrown by Remus.
"And that is how you distract someone," Sirius revealed their true motive playfully by expressing a broad grin and explaining that all he had planned to achieve the desired result.
After Lily had successfully retaliated against Remus's snowball, she gloated over the outcome, stating that he would need to reconsider his approach.
"Rem you need to think out of the box," she said in a rather self-assured manner, suggesting that she had the upper hand.
The snow that had managed to linger around the perimeter of Remus's face also seemed to dampen his mood, as he was now attempting to clear it away from his outer ear canal in an unsuccessful effort.
James seemingly joined the fray a tad bit later, as his sudden appearance and successful act of launching a snowball directly at Lily's back took her by surprise.
She responded by swiftly turning around and taking notice of James, who sported a smug expression which seemed to indicate his pleasure over pulling off the task "Evan's, maybe you should remember that there is another one of us."
James did not manage to keep his grin for long, as the snowball barrage that he received was far more than he bargained for, as the multiple snowballs had forced him to tumble into the snow and spit out the snow that had managed to penetrate his mouth.
Once he had managed to regain his footing, James looked up to witness Autumn's magical control over the snowmen, with them now positioned on their side, as she had requested their assistance and had recalled them all, much to her pleasure and presumably to the distress of the males.
"Love, Did you forget we had these guys?" Autumn smirked.
James acknowledged the outwitting that Autumn had managed to pull off, but it turned him to a rather content and gleeful demeanour instead of causing him to consider a retaliatory strike.
His delight in her outsmarting him was rather evident, since he proceeded to smile at her and stated that the term of endearment seemed quite fitting.
"Love? Oh, I think that is a name that I can get used to," he grinned at her in a flirtatious manner, which conveyed her success in capturing his romantic attention.
Autumn's amusement was evident following James's unexpected kiss on her nose, and the Gryffindor proceeded to leave her for mere moments to join the battle, where the snowmen the girls had originally built were now gathering snowballs and preparing to unleash them toward the males.
The ladies then took a short reprieve to set aside their participation in the battle, before they chose to resume their efforts with the spell now no longer in effect, which effectively meant the end of their temporary truce and the continuation of the snowball battle between the two groups.