Chapter Ten
"Evening, Jones," James greeted confidently as he strolled into the classroom for their detention, late as per usual. Binns was still nowhere to be seen, probably dozing off in the teachers' lounge. Brooklyn looked up with a sigh, pressing her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache that she couldn't get rid off. Which was true, in a way.
"Potter. How delightful to see you." He didn't miss the sarcasm dripping from her tone, but chose to ignore it.
"This is going to be fun, don't you think?" He stated cheerfully as he took a seat at the table next to hers, leaning back on his chair and stretching his lanky body like a lazy cat. She scrunched up her nose, her gaze flickering away from him as she tried not to think about how she could see the toned muscles underneath his thin shirt.
"I think your idea of fun and my idea of fun are two very different things."
"Not true. We both agree that Transfiguration earlier today was fun, right?"
Despite herself, she had to bite back a smile at the memory of Sirius Black accidentally (or maybe on purpose) turning Amos Diggory into a braying donkey. That had been an interesting lesson.
"I suppose it was."
"Did you see how I aced the spells that McGonagall gave us?" He bragged, running a hand through his unruly black hair, and she rolled her eyes. Sure, he was hot..... until he opened his mouth. How on earth did an egotistical teenage prat like himself earn the rights to having such good looks? It just wasn't fair.
"Sorry, no. I had so much more significant things on my mind. For instance, the weather, my options for supper, the number of feathers there are on a hippogriff. There are so many other important matters at hand, I just don't have any time and energy to devote to you," she stated, sighing in mock apology.
He smirked. "You can pretend to be indifferent all you want but I know how much you really care about me. Don't worry, my lips are sealed. It'll be our secret."
She grimaced. "Ugh, sod off, Potter."
"You seem grumpy, Jones. What's pissing you off?"
"You," she said half-heartedly, but he knew that wasn't quite true. Well, for today, at least. Dragging his chair closer to hers with a loud screech, he raised his eyebrows. "No, really, what's bothering you? Want me to go hex it?"
"It's nothing," she shook her head absent-mindedly, returning her gaze to the table where she'd been in the midst of writing a letter. Slowly picking up her eagle feather quill, she furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at the few sentences she'd already scratched out. A few moments of agonising silence ticked by before she let it drop back down with a frustrated groan. James rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, she seemed to have forgotten he was there.
"Er- who're you writing to?"
She bit her lip. "Huh? Oh, just my parents. My brother's getting married this winter and they think I shouldn't attend the wedding."
James raised an eyebrow questioningly. "That's odd. Why wouldn't you attend your own brother's wedding?"
"Well, for starters, the fact that his bitch of a fiancée absolutely hates my guts," she remarked bitterly, her emerald eyes flashing. "They think I'm somehow going to ruin the wedding."
James frowned as he studied her face. There was a worried crease on her forehead as she stared down at the parchment, and her bottom lip was quivering ever so slightly. His throat felt dry as he swallowed, he didn't like the thought of her being upset. "Personally, I don't see how anyone could hate you."
Brooklyn blinked, looking up in surprise. For a moment, she stared at him uncomprehendingly, her head tilted to one side and her eyes clouded with suspicion. "Well, why don't you hate me? I'm bloody horrible to you."
"Believe me, I've tried, it's fucking impossible," he muttered. "Although you don't find it very difficult to hate me."
"I don't hate you," she mumbled, shaking her head, and he just scoffed in disbelief. "Yeah, right."
She wanted to say something to justify her statement, but at the moment, she really couldn't think of anything to say.
Lately, she'd been feeling weird, particularly whenever she was around him, and it wasn't the usual annoyance or dislike. It had started about a few weeks ago, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to shake it off. Her stomach would twist into nervous knots and her hands would get all clammy. Surely she wasn't nervous because of Potter? It was a strange feeling, one that she wasn't quite accustomed to, and she hoped that it would go away soon.
Brooklyn felt that thrill in her chest again as she realised that he was still looking at her intently with those startling hazel eyes, waiting for her to say something. She'd noticed that they seemed to change colour depending on the light. They looked more green-hazel than hazel-green today, but that was hardly the point. The point was, the more she tried to deny it, the more she realised that she was actually starting to feel something; her heart pounding against her ribcage like a trapped animal whenever he smirked at her or made a flirtatious comment. It was addictive, like a sudden adrenaline rush that left her breathless and her pulse racing. The worst part was, she actually liked it. She was starting to like how he made her feel, and it scared her. Could it actually be possible that she had feelings for—?
Merlin, no. She cut off the thought in her mind immediately, mentally chiding herself. It was unspeakable, completely unthinkable. She most definitely did not like James Potter in that way. She was probably just ill or something, maybe she should go see Madam Pomfrey. Maybe it was something she ate? Or maybe it was just PMS.
He was unconsciously pushing his glasses further up his nose, a habit which she admittedly found quite adorable. Ugh, did she just call James Potter adorable? She was feeling worse than she thought. Hastily returning her gaze to her parchment, she hoped that he wouldn't notice the crimson shade colouring her neck and cheeks. She didn't even look up when Professor Binns finally floated in, half an hour late.
The rest of their detention was spent in silence.
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"It's that time of the year again!" Marlene sang as she flopped down on top of the bed with a sly smirk on her face, her hair spread out over the white sheets like golden silk. The three of them were dressed in their pyjamas, which consisted of oversized t-shirts and shorts for that night. Lily and Alice were already curled up under the covers, grinning as Brooklyn entered the dorm wearily, kicking off her shoes.
"There you are, Brook! We've been waiting ages," Lily exclaimed, patting the spot on the bed next to her. Brooklyn sighed as she climbed in, not bothering to change out of her uniform.
"Sorry. Binns kept us for nearly an extra hour."
Lily giggled. "So, how did it go? Did you two blow up at each other? Did you hex him? Did anything explode?" Her eyes twinkled as she listed down all the things that seemed likely to occur whenever Brooklyn and James were in the same vicinity.
Brooklyn stuck her tongue out, trying not to blush. She did not want to be reminded of James, especially considering her mixed feelings right now. "Actually, it was uneventful. He was quite civil, for once."
Marlene gave an exaggerated gasp, clutching her chest as if she were about to have a seizure. "James Potter being civil? Shocking."
Alice twirled a lock of shiny brown hair around her finger as she mused. "You know, he's not that bad, to be honest. He's actually a nice bloke, albeit a little narcissistic."
Brooklyn scoffed. "A little?"
"Alright, a lot. You can't blame him though, James Potter is indeed good looking," Alice commented, picturing James' toned body in her mind, thanks to hours spent playing Quidditch. Not to mention his cocky smirk that seemed to drive girls wild, and his habit of messing up his hair to appear as if he'd just gotten off a broomstick.
Marlene rolled her eyes. "Good looking? That's a complete understatement. If he wasn't head over heels for Brook, I'd be all over that boy like melted ice cream on a sidewalk," she sighed, clutching a pillow to her chest tightly. "That boy is exceedingly attractive."
Brooklyn made a face as the other girls nodded in agreement to Marlene's statement. "You three are bloody mental."
"You're just denying the truth that's right in front of you," Lily winked. "Speaking of attractive boys, back to the topic at hand!"
"Which is?" Brooklyn inquired.
"It's time for our annual list!" Marlene declared, throwing her pillow at the dark haired girl. "How could you have forgotten?"
Brooklyn flushed, throwing the pillow back with equal strength. "I didn't! Who's carrying it this year?"
Alice pulled out an old, yellowing parchment proudly with a flourish, and they all gathered around her to read the previous years' lists, giggling at fond memories and recollections. Every year, they had a tradition of making a list of the 5 most attractive boys in Hogwarts, disregarding which year or house he was in. It didn't matter if he was a friend or enemy, boyfriend or even a relative, if they thought he was worthy, he went on the list. Of course, attractiveness included all aspects, including one's personality.
"Hand me the quill, I'm doing the writing this year," Marlene announced, taking the parchment eagerly. "Alright. Suggestions?"
"Nathan Kale," all of them immediately chorused at the same time, sighing in unison. Marlene nodded in approval and proceeded to scribble out his name, marking him as number 1. He was a dreamy Ravenclaw boy with tousled sandy blonde hair and eyes like the sea, and he had a smile could probably turn straight guys homosexual. He'd ranked top in their list for the past 3 years. This would be the fourth, and sadly, the last, seeing as he was a 7th year now. Lily rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"What about Amos Diggory? He got quite attractive over the summer."
Marlene shrugged. "Yeah, he's got great abs."
"When did you see his abs?"
"Walked in on him in the changing room on accident last year," she shook her head, smirking at the memory as the other girls laughed. Alice sighed. "Some people have all the luck. I predict that Amos Diggory is going to have fine looking children some day."
Marlene twirled the quill in between her fingers. "That is highly possible. Okay, so we all agree, right? Diggory makes number 2. Who's next?"
"What about Remus?" Brooklyn suggested, and Marlene raised her eyebrows. "Lupin?"
"He's got sexy scars," She stated matter-of-factly, shrugging. Lily nodded. "And nice eyes," the redhead offered, her cheeks tingeing pink ever so slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by the other girls. They all shared knowing smiles.
"Well, I suppose he is rather attractive. And very chivalrous," Marlene mused. And so, Remus Lupin became number 3 to grace the list.
"Number 4—"
"James Potter!" Alice immediately declared, earning a glare from Brooklyn.
"No. No way."
"But this is the fourth year you're not letting us put him on it," Alice complained.
"Because he doesn't deserve to be on it!" She lied through her teeth. If she had to be honest with herself, of course she thought that James was incredibly attractive, in fact, maybe more so than Nathan Kale, but there was no way she would ever admit that to the girls. They teased her enough as it was. Still, she couldn't ignore that strange tugging in her stomach again at the thought of him. Get a grip, Brooklyn, she thought.
"Come on, Brook, have you seen his body? Ah, the wonders Quidditch can do. And his hair? I want to run my fingers all over it," Marlene remarked cheekily. Brooklyn's face turned bright scarlet, and she bit her tongue to hold back from admitting that she'd been wanting to do the exact same thing since third year.
Instead, she grimaced. "Ugh, no. And the list has to be mutual, remember?"
"Fair enough," Lily groaned, shaking her head. The four girls continued to throw out suggestions for the rest of the night, giggling and shrieking at all of Marlene's inappropriate comments. Little did they know, a certain marauder was hiding under his invisibility cloak right outside their room, listening to every word that they said.
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"And then she goes, 'What about Remus? He's got sexy scars.' Sexy scars, Moony. She thinks you've got sexy scars!"
James fumed on his bed as he ranted to the other marauders about what he'd heard that night, annoyed that his best friend would make it on the list and not him. James Potter. Him. It was not a good night for him. Also, he could not stop the twinge of envy he felt when he thought back to what Brooklyn had said about Remus. Surely she didn't fancy him? Well, she always did like him more than the other marauders. What if she liked him as more than just friends? James felt like punching himself in the face. He could only imagine what it would feel like to find out that the girl he'd been infatuated with for so long actually fancied one of his best friends.
Remus seemed bewildered and amused at the same time. "Wow. Never knew my scars were so appealing to girls."
James decided not to voice his jealousy. After all, it wasn't Remus' fault. He'd deal with that problem later.
"And Evans said you have nice eyes," James added, making Remus turn pink. "She did?"
"That's not the point here, Moony! The point is, they were all gushing and fawning over boys like Kale and Diggory, and it was disgusting," he whined, making Remus sigh.
"It's just a stupid list, Prongs. That teenage girls make for their own amusement. Let it go."
James turned to Sirius pleadingly. "You agree with me on this, right?"
"Absolutely. One hundred percent behind you, mate." Sirius had also been quite indignant when he'd heard the story, demanding to know why he wasn't qualified enough as well. Peter, on the other hand, was in the hospital wing due to a broken wrist.
Remus smirked. "You two are just mad 'cause you're both not on the list."
"But why not?" Sirius burst out incredulously, folding his arms in disbelief. "I'm Sirius fucking Black. I'm the epitome of sexy."
James frowned. "Well, McKinnon said, and I quote, 'Black is a foul, arrogant pig that doesnt need his ego to be inflated more that it already is, and what he needs is to get his head out of his—'"
"Alright, alright, I get it," Sirius snapped, sighing. James leaned over to pat him on the back sympathetically. "Would it make you feel better if I told you they all agreed that you're somewhat better looking than Diggory?"
Sirius unfolded his arms, looking quite pleased. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Great. Now back to the real problem at hand. My darling Jones apparently doesn't think that I'm attractive enough to be on that list, and she has some sort of weird fetish for Remus' scars—"
"Let it go," Remus moaned, burying his face into his pillow. It was going to be a long night.