【 CHAPTER FOURTEEN 】
━━━ BAFFLE ME ━━━
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WEEKS AFTER THE broom ride in the rain, Laurel found herself in the Great Hall, not only tutoring Lavanya, but James as well. Castor had come down with a fever, and Callen cancelled his tutoring session for him, leaving time for James to try and learn first-year Herbology terms. Or at least what he liked to call a 'refresher course'.
⠀⠀And Lavanya was not having it.
⠀⠀"You say you are a good teacher, but you do not know a thing about Herbology," Lavanya scolded, her Indian accent heavier than usual as she was frustrated. "You should be glad Castor is good at this subject, Potter."
⠀⠀James just stuck out his tongue childishly at her, resuming to looking at the more complicated notes Laurel had written out to keep him occupied as she taught Lavanya. Lavanya rolled her eyes at James, returning to her textbook where Laurel had been teaching from.
⠀⠀After a short quiz that Laurel gave Lavanya, the small Indian girl left the Great Hall smiling from ear to ear when she realized she had done better on this quiz than James had by one point. She skipped out of the Great Hall, making her way to the hospital wing to visit her sick friend, Castor.
⠀⠀Laurel started packing her belongings, smiling slightly in amusement at James' hurt behavior. "Look at you, holding your ego on your head like a crown. It's bound to fall off at some point."
⠀⠀"Yeah, but I didn't think it would fall off with a first-year Herbology vocabulary quiz," he grumbled, setting his quiz paper on fire with a quick flick of his wand. Laurel winced.
⠀⠀"You could've studied with that, you know," she said, swinging her bag over her shoulder, getting up to leave for the Gryffindor Tower.
⠀⠀"Not in the mood, Rels," James said bluntly, sulking. He followed Laurel, who paid his sudden change in mood no mind, out of the Great Hall, glaring at everyone who looked at them.
⠀⠀"Would you like me to tutor you some more after I complete all of my homework later?" Laurel asked out of pity, his mood starting to make its way through her limited attention. She stopped in front of the house portrait, waiting for his response.
⠀⠀"Fine," he said haughtily, causing her to roll his eyes at his natural egoistic male disposition. He said no more, shouting the password at the Fat Lady, who scolded him to no avail, for he did not heed a single word, slightly stomping into the Gryffindor Tower, leaving Laurel to trail behind him.
⠀⠀"I'll meet you here after dinner!" she called desperately after his quickly parting figure, which was already halfway up the steps to the boys' dormitory. All she got for a response was a loud grunt of acknowledgement, causing her to roll her eyes yet again, turning to go to her dormitory to finish up her homework with one thought on her mind.
⠀⠀James Potter was quite a piece of work.
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DOMINIQUE HAD TO DRAG Laurel out of her bed in order for the blonde to go to dinner.
⠀⠀"You have to get your bloody arse out of this unnecessary schoolwork and eat, Laurel," Dominique scolded as she pulled on the girl's arm to go to dinner.
⠀⠀"This information could be helpful when I'm actually a Healer, Dom," Laurel countered. Dominique huffed furiously, throwing an exasperated look Callen's way for help.
⠀⠀"The only way you'll get that important information in your head is by being awake and well-fed, now come on," Callen managed to fish out of her mind. It seemed to convince Laurel, who gave into Dominique's tugs on her new sweater.
⠀⠀"Laurel, why are you wearing my cousin's sweatshirt?" Dominique asked, throwing her a suspicious look. Then her eyes grew. "You two aren't actually fucking behind our backs, are you? Having his last name on your back isn't going to diffuse the last of the rumors, you know."
⠀⠀Laurel immediately threw a horrified look Dominique's way, but it wasn't enough to stop her cheeks from turning pink. "What?" she spluttered.
⠀⠀"You two have been eye-fucking for months now, you can't fool us," Dominique said without hesitation. Callen just snorted, earning a playful smack from Laurel.
⠀⠀"Eye-fucking? What in the name of Merlin...?" Laurel sighed as they turned the corner nearing the Great Hall. "It's not like that. At all."
⠀⠀Dominique and Callen both threw her a look that meant they knew more than Laurel would've liked them to know, wiggling their eyebrows. They spent way too much time together.
⠀⠀"Fine," Laurel said, turning away from them, her face as hot as ever. "I like him, okay? Happy now?"
⠀⠀"Very," Callen said, smiling as she giggled a little. "And he likes you back, you know that, right?"
⠀⠀"How do you know?" Laurel asked, confused.
⠀⠀"His best friend happens to be my boyfriend, Laurel," Callen replied, chuckling as the blonde rolled her eyes. "I don't think you need reminding."
⠀⠀"And how long have you known?" Dominique asked, who was surprisingly quiet this whole time. She knew that James had a crush on Laurel back when they were younger, but she didn't think it would last this long. Merlin, she was smarter than this.
⠀⠀"Since last month," Callen said, shrugging as they sat down across from each other at the Gryffindor table. Laurel spotted Lavanya and waved hello to her, where the little girl smiled and waved back, returning to her seemingly interesting chat with Castor.
⠀⠀"Last month?" Dominique asked incredulously, she threw Laurel a look, which caught the blonde's attention to pay some mind to the 'important' discussion happening. "You've kept it a secret for that long?"
⠀⠀"Evan told me to," Callen replied simply, shrugging. "I thought it was obvious."
⠀⠀"Nothing that's obvious to us is obvious to Laurel, Cal, remember?" Dominique said, her eyebrows furrowed. Callen nodded resignedly in response. "Fuck...does he know that you know? James? Does he know?"
⠀⠀"Probably not," Callen said, shrugging once more. The raven-haired girl turned her brown eyes to her friend, which immediately made her smile. "Oh—look at you, Laury, you're blushing."
⠀⠀"Shut up," Laurel said, her tone to gentle to match her words, hiding her face with her hands.
⠀⠀"You still haven't told me why you have his bloody sweatshirt," Dominique said, poking Laurel's side, just as Callen choked on her water across from the two of them.
⠀⠀Laurel looked up to see what was the matter, only to utter out, "speak of the devil."
⠀⠀"I mean, it did all start in devil's snare, did it not?" Dominique whispered, keeping a wary eye on the three people that had just filed in. Evan plopped down next to Callen, followed by Asher who placed himself across from Dominique, and James, undoubtedly, resigned to a seat next to Laurel.
⠀⠀Laurel rolled her eyes, elbowing Dominique lightly as the redhead sniggered, who turned to talk to Asher.
⠀⠀"Lovely sweatshirt," James said, smirking as he placed some toast on her empty plate (she didn't even realize), as well as on his own.
⠀⠀Laurel smirked right back on, raising an eyebrow, enjoying the bit of flirt inside the both of them they were exchanging, her eyes turning to the side of his face. "Wonder who I got it from."
⠀⠀"Oh, we all know who," James chuckled, looking at her, light chocolate brown meeting dark ocean blue. "I'm the only Potter in Gryffindor."
⠀⠀"Well, aren't you bloody special," Laurel replied sarcastically, turning her gaze from him, munching on her toast. Her voice turned falsetto as she feigned and over-exaggerated drama queen, placing the back of her hand on her forehead like she was fainting. "What ever shall the press say?!"
⠀⠀"How unlikely of a pair we'd be, that we're probably fucking behind our parents' backs," James said, half amused, half nonchalant. "They'll even write a two page article about it, along with a list of baby names."
⠀⠀Diva Laurel returned to normal Laurel, her gaze turning back to him, this time surprised. "They've done that?"
⠀⠀"They did that one time my mother's coworker borrowed her Quidditch sweatshirt and he was seen outside with it," James recalled passively. "They wrote about how she was cheating on Dad, they also theorized how their whole marriage was a setup and that she's actually with someone else...he was only borrowing her sweatshirt because he wanted to match with his daughter."
⠀⠀"His daughter?" Laurel questioned.
⠀⠀"She was a fan of my mum, so she couldn't believe it when she found out her dad worked with my mum," James said, shrugging. "Either way, the press went a bit berserk on that story, exaggerating it so badly, writing a two page article about it, and adding a list of baby names."
⠀⠀"You're kidding," Laurel exclaimed. "That's insane!"
⠀⠀"Some really weird names were on it too," James recalled, "but let's not talk about that."
⠀⠀Laurel chuckled, unresponsive as she slipped into her own thoughts. Could she deal with the press if she ever dated him? She felt as though if she did, her privacy wouldn't be respected and every little thing she did would be criticized by everyone in the wizarding world. Sure, the walls of the school kept them sheltered from the menacing flashes of the camera and the sharp words of the press, but once they rode those boats out of Hogwarts next year, there was nothing and no one to shield them from the reality of it all.
⠀⠀James Potter was not only the golden boy of Hogwarts, but of the entire magic world too. He was the son of Harry Potter and had expectations to live up to (even if Harry did not impose them on him), and the whole world was watching his every move.
⠀⠀Which included who he chose to love, and to love forever.
⠀⠀Laurel looked at an unnoticing James, wishing deep down that he had a different last name, that he wasn't the first son of Harry Potter. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
⠀⠀And Laurel, after a long inward sigh, finally admitted to herself that she was in fact in love with James Sirius Potter.
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THE LIBRARY HAD NEVER been so packed. Laurel didn't know why, nor did she want to find out why. She set out on a mission to find two seats, finally finding a table for two by the Restricted Section, hoping James would find her there.
⠀⠀James and her set up another study session where she'd help him with Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. He was slowly getting better, but not at the level that she wanted him to be at. He wasn't bad with the subject at all; he was just slow.
⠀⠀"Hey," a familiar voice said behind her, tapping her on the shoulder as he slipped into the chair across from her.
⠀⠀She looked up from her notes and smiled. "How'd you find me, James?"
⠀⠀"I followed your heartbeat," James joked, Laurel rolling her eyes. "I'm kidding. I just searched the entire library. Who knew it would be this full today? If I'd known, we could've gone somewhere else."
⠀⠀"Like?" Laurel asked, tucking her hand under her chin, faking curiosity.
⠀⠀"The Astronomy Tower," James said as if it was so obvious.
⠀⠀"How romantic," Laurel said, wiggling her eyebrows.
⠀⠀"We're always doing seemingly romantic things together, aren't we?" James asked, a slight smirk on his face. He looked straight at her as if trying to hint something.
⠀⠀"That's because you always suggest it," Laurel countered, flipping through her notes as she looked away from him. She was worried she might accidentally kiss him if they stared at each other for too long. "Every time we've done something seemingly romantic was because of you."
⠀⠀"Oh, so I'm the one to blame now?" James asked, pretending to be hurt. "You're the one who gave in to it."
⠀⠀"Sue me, Potter," Laurel said nonchalantly, passing him the piece of paper she had been looking for. "Just joking, we should worry about this Herbology exam first."
⠀⠀"Amazing, you are," James mused, beaming at Laurel. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met. Professor Longbottom won't even make study guides."
⠀⠀"I used those last year to help me study," Laurel said, feeling her face turn slightly pink at his remarks. "You're glad I didn't throw them away while cleaning out my trunk."
⠀⠀"Yeah, I am," James chuckled.
⠀⠀Laurel just smiled at him, not responding as she returned to her studies and leaving him to his, the quiet buzz of the library filling their ears. She immersed herself in her Astronomy notes covered in doodles of galaxies, moons, and stars, wondering why Pluto was such an underrated planet.
⠀⠀The two had no idea they were being watched. At a table a two aisles way from them, Dominique, Callen, Evan, and Asher were all congregated covering their faces with books they weren't even interested in, attempting to spy on the two emerging lovebirds studying.
⠀⠀"And now," Evan said boredly, tapping his pen on his chin, "we wait."
⠀⠀"What are we doing here, exactly?" Asher asked the two very attentive girls who quickly hissed at him to quiet down.
⠀⠀"It's about time they got together, don't you think?" Callen said, dreamily. "I mean, look at them."
⠀⠀"And all four of us know their feelings are mutual?" Asher asked.
⠀⠀"Yep," Dominique said, her eyes on Laurel and James. "It has been confirmed by you two."
⠀⠀"Well, Callen and I have known," Evan said, pointing at the two of them. "You two are just late in the game."
⠀⠀"No, you two just don't inform your fellow teammates on the game plan," Dominique countered, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I've always known. I just needed confirmation."
⠀⠀The other three exchanged skeptical glances, all hiding their chuckles. "Sure, Dom, suuuure."
⠀⠀Dominique rolled her eyes again, unresponsive as she attempted to complete her homework while the other three watched Laurel and James carefully.
⠀⠀"I actually have an exam to study for," Callen said, flipping open her books, "so if you three want to continue spying, by all means."
⠀⠀"Nerd," all three said in unison, causing them all to laugh rather loudly, immediately hiding behind their books in hopes that Laurel and James wouldn't notice. When they peeked back up, they were in luck: James and Laurel were too immersed in each other's eyes as they conversed to even notice the commotion around them.
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⠀⠀James looked away from her for a second, pointing at something she had written down in her notes. "What in bloody hell are Nargles?"
⠀⠀The blonde grinned. "I wrote a five page article on them. Want to read?"
⠀⠀"No, I'm good," James immediately answered, raising his hands in surrender.
⠀⠀Laurel rolled her eyes at him, turning her attention back to her notes, closing it, faking dejection. "Well, if you don't have a genuine question, I reckon my work here is done."
⠀⠀James, falling for it, immediately perked up, not wanting Laurel to leave. "No, no, please stay. Feel free to tell me all about these...margles."
⠀⠀"Nargles," Laurel corrected, laughing. "And I thought you didn't want to know?" She cocked her eyebrow, smirking a little. What a flirt, James thought, smirking back.
⠀⠀"Well, I enjoy your company, so if it's the only way to keep you here, by all means," James said, playing along with her little game. Besides, he wasn't lying about enjoying her presence. He obviously felt more than just enjoyment, but that wasn't the point.
⠀⠀Being around her felt utterly exhilarating, as if she were his wings and he could fly. Her laugh was a new song in his ears every time he heard it, her blue-eyed gaze beamed down on him like the sunlight warming one up on a cold day, and her smile filled him to the brim with happiness. No man on earth could be as happy as him to be existing along with Laurel Scamander.
⠀⠀Laurel chuckled, blushing a little. Enough for him to notice, but not enough that it was obvious. She ran her hand through her hair, sticking her wand on her ear like a pencil. James found it endearing, smiling at it. But it wasn't like she noticed it.
⠀⠀Her eyes looked down at her textbook, reading the same sentence again and again, her cheeks slightly burning. She had a feeling she was being watched, trying to busy herself to distraction. But she could feel his eyes on her, and she suddenly felt inexplicably shy. Laurel hid her face with her blonde locks, shielding it from him; he couldn't see her in this state.
⠀⠀"I'll be right back," Laurel said, moving quickly out her chair, almost startling him. "I'm going to do a bit of research on...moonstones."
⠀⠀"I'll come with," James said, getting up with her.
⠀⠀Laurel's eyes widened. "I—er—no, it's quite alright. I won't have any trouble at all."
⠀⠀With that, she ran off, to the left side of the library, which James found odd, since all the books about moonstones were on the right side. His eyes followed her, finding her looking through random books that were definitely not on moonstones.
⠀⠀James, chuckling, got up from his seat and found her in the Care of Magical Creatures aisle, pushing his hands in his pockets as he slowly crept up on her, where she seemed quite focused on the book in her hands, her face unnaturally flushed. Then with a quick movement, he briefly squeezed her waist together, as if to tickle her, startling her so badly, she knocked down her entire pile of books with a small shriek.
⠀⠀"What the bloody fuck, James?" Laurel exclaimed as she watched him shake with silent laughter. She wasn't even mad at him, generally speaking; she had become quite fond of his laugh. Her breath hitched; his hands were still there.
⠀⠀"I don't think that book is about moonstones, Rels," James said quietly, his mouth so close to her ear she could feel his breath down her neck. It was startling and...frankly, almost carnal.
⠀⠀Laurel gently moved herself out of his light grasp, turning around to face him, the book being the only thing keeping them apart. He was still close, too close. She even noticed that he had left his glasses at their table. "I thought I said not to follow me."
⠀⠀"Maybe," James almost whispered, smirking, "I like being around you."
⠀⠀"Maybe," Laurel copied his tone, rolling her eyes in amusement, moving gently out of his grasp, "I like being alone."
⠀⠀"You sure?" James snarked, the curl of his lip unmistakable. "I think if you truly did, you would've ignored me."
⠀⠀"Do you realize how un-ignorable you are?" Laurel said, chuckling a little.
⠀⠀"That isn't a word," James said, in a sing-song fashion, he moved a little closer to her, but it wasn't like she noticed. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"
⠀⠀"Take it as both, Potter," Laurel said, her eyes returning to the words on her book, leaning on the ledge the bookshelf offered.
⠀⠀James didn't say anything, his brown eyes not wavering from her face. And she felt it, feeling hot all over.
⠀⠀"James," she said, not looking up, "why are you staring at me?"
⠀⠀Ah, he thought, finally caught. Maybe he should tell her now exactly how he felt about her. He knew she felt the same way, she was just masking it with denial and ignorance.
⠀⠀James didn't answer, simply because he couldn't really find the words. He scoffed inwardly; him, a poet, couldn't find the words. I can't find the right words. Part of him wanted to tell her it was because she was beautiful, the other wanted to stay silent. He just kept on staring, even when she looked up, her blue eyes hitting him.
⠀⠀"I think if I told you, you would never talk to me again," he said finally, his honesty taking control of his tongue.
⠀⠀"Baffle me then, Potter," Laurel said, finally realizing how close they were. His face wasn't far from hers, she was leaning on the bookshelf still, him next to her, their heads turned, faces barely inches apart. She could feel his breath on her face, as if being in this close of a vicinity to her made his heart beat fast. It probably did and she wished for supernatural hearing just to listen to it.
⠀⠀James didn't reply, but smirked a little. His eyes wandered her face, flicking down to her lips for a mere second before averting them back to her blue eyes. They never left his eyes. Laurel wanted to kiss him badly, but for some reason, part of her didn't. She didn't want to be in a relationship again. It was as if James popped in out of nowhere, right as she was starting to get comfortable with being single again. And, Merlin, she hated him for it.
⠀⠀"Well," James finally said quietly, his voice catching slightly in his throat, he was going to say it, right now, right there, "I think," his heartbeat had never felt faster, "you look very beautiful."
⠀⠀Fuck, he thought, fuck fuck fuck, that's not what you were supposed to say, Jameseykins!
⠀⠀Laurel looked at him, grinning slightly. "What?"
⠀⠀He breathed. "I said, Rels...you look very beautiful."
⠀⠀She smirked then. "You, James Potter, will have to work harder than that to baffle me."
⠀⠀James' anxiety dissipated. He smiled, rolling his eyes. She wanted a challenge, so a challenge he'd be. "Want to be baffled even more?"
⠀⠀"By all means, Pudding Boy," Laurel said, chuckling at the nickname (James, weirdly enough, found the chuckle rather sexy).
⠀⠀James' eyes flew down to her lips again. This would really baffle her.
⠀⠀He moved in close, their lips only inches apart, shocking her slightly. But she wanted to see how far he'd go.
⠀⠀"Still not baffled?" James whispered, his hands snaking around her waist.
⠀⠀"Nope," Laurel whispered back, dropping the book. "We've been this close before, haven't we?"
⠀⠀"What are you encouraging?" James snarked, smirking.
⠀⠀Laurel didn't respond for a moment, letting their foreheads meet. "I think you know," she finally said, her words almost inaudible.
⠀⠀It was like slow motion. He dove in, moving forward, his lips on hers. It felt like a sigh of relief shaking through his body, finally being able to kiss her. He was in heaven. Nothing was going through his mind except the fact that he was kissing her. Finally.
⠀⠀Her arms flung themselves around his neck, pulling him closer. She was kissing him back, and it was exhilarating. His lips were ravaging hers, as if it was their last kiss, but, oh, it was just their first. They were soft and warm, and they felt like...fire. The flames were licking at her lips and they left marks, but his kiss made her feel alive. Her breath hitched every time his hands moved on her waist, her fingers entangled in his dark hair. She was breathless, but the feeling in her stomach was too good to let go of. She was kissing James Potter.
⠀⠀Suddenly, flashes of Liam flew through her mind, and she felt herself choking. Laurel let go of James, pulling herself out of his grasp, covering her face, tears threatening to fall. Why was she thinking of Liam? This was James! She even wanted to kiss him.
⠀⠀"Rels?" James asked, slightly breathless, his hair just a little bit more untidy than usual. He moved towards her, wrapping his hands around her. "Are you okay?"
⠀⠀"I'm...I'm sorry, James," she said quietly, pushing him away gently, "I have to go."
⠀⠀With that, she grabbed the book she dropped on the floor and rushed away, trying not to wallow up in self-hatred right then and there, leaving James to fend for himself.
⠀⠀As soon as she was out of eyeshot and earshot, he cursed internally. His anxiety flew up again, the same words from earlier echoing in his mind, except slightly different this time.
⠀⠀Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, that's not what you were supposed to do, Jameseykins!
⠀⠀And the worst of all: it's all your fault.