My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
15 : Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) (edited)
"Psst, Fabe!" Catherine hissed under her breath, kicking the leg of Fabian's chair while she kept her eyes locked on Binns, making sure he doesn't look her way. "Oi, Prewett!"
"What?" he whispered back.
"What's your answer in number eight?"
It was almost Christmas, and exams were given today before break started the day after. If there was something Catherine couldn't be relied on, it was her learning-new-languages capabilities and memorizing-historical-facts-and-dates capabilities.
In simpler words, she sucked arse at History.
Fabian rolled his eyes, checking to see if Binns was still eyeballing the scenery outside the window before hissing back to Catherine with a smirk, "It's an Acromantula, you dimwit."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut it, Prewett." She bent her head and scribbled the answer as quickly as she could on the parchment after muttering a thanks to him.
Time was up soon and Catherine wasn't proud to say that she had copied probably a quarter of the answers from Fabian and at least three numbers of essay answers from Gideon. She'd rather go tiger on Remus any day than recall historical crap.
"Thanks, boys." She shared a sly, mischievous grin with the twins before submitting her piece of parchment to Binns who merely took it with a grunt. Elated with the fact that she was free of exams, Catherine skipped out of the classroom with the largest smile on her face only to smack right into someone.
She managed a quiet curse, stumbling over her feet as an arm latched out to wrap around her waist and steady her. For some reason, the way the person's arm felt around the curve of her waist just seemed so familiar. As though it had been there all along and it was just a friendly reminder that it belongs right there.
"Bloody hell, Valentine. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
With those words, Catherine couldn't help but flush as she felt the color rise to her cheeks. Unable to stop the smile from curving her lips, she shyly glanced up to lock eyes with James, green clashing hazel. Her mind suddenly went into a jumble when she remembered the snow incident.
"Hey," he said and smiled gently at her, making her forget what was happening. Everything around them seemed to blur and become irrelevant — James being the only clear thing she could see.
"Hi," she breathed out.
James slowly took a step back, helping her back to her feet as he grinned rakishly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Where you going in a rush?"
Catherine chuckled, shrugging full-bodily. "Maybe I ought to prank a lucky fellow as a celebration for finishing the exams."
"I'm definitely joining you in that one." Sirius smirked, throwing an arm over Catherine's shoulder and steering her to the direction of the Gryffindor common room with the boys following.
James frowned but didn't say anything, moving over to stay in Catherine's other side, his hands tucked in the pockets of his robes. He itches to shove Sirius's arm off of her and then play it off as a joke.
Catherine laughed, making Sirius's eyes twinkle in mirth as he smiled down at her. "Remember what happened that last time?"
James was scowling now. Last time? What last time? He didn't know Sirius was there with her. Why didn't she say anything to him?
He cut his eyes back to the pair, something bubbling in his stomach, hunger maybe. But as soon as James's eyes landed on Catherine talking enthusiastically about a prank she's been thinking of the past week and how her entire face lit up so brightly, all negative feelings in him dissolved. Suddenly, he just wanted to wrap his arms around her from behind and place his chin on her head while he'd listen to her talk about anything and everything. He wanted to hold her hand — right now in front of everyone.
"Oi, Prongs!" a voice snapped him out of his reverie as he heard someone snapping their fingers. Blinking in momentarily surprise, James's eyes flashed around before landing on Remus who was looking at him expectantly and then at Lily who had appeared in front of him with crossed arms. Catherine, Sirius, and Peter were staring at him as well.
"Um, hello," he started slowly, unsure of what was happening. When did she appear?
Remus quirked an eyebrow. "Prongs, Evans has been waiting for an answer."
James flushed as he glanced back at Lily and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
Lily rolled her eyes but chuckled nonetheless. "McGonagall wants me to tutor you for the lessons in advanced. We start after Christmas break, alright?"
"Yeah, brilliant," was all James replied before Lily nodded curtly in return then left.
The other Marauders stared at James with expecting looks on their faces.
He eyed them strangely. "Is there something wrong?"
"Hello?" Sirius laughed in disbelief. "Lily fucking Evans just talked to you! Aren't you the least bit ecstatic? Or better yet going mental?"
James scrunched his eyebrows, frowning. "Am I supposed to?"
Remus shook his head as though he too couldn't believe his response as they continued walking, stepping in through the portrait. "Unbelievable. I never thought this day would come. James Potter acting normal over the fact that Lily Evans just told him she would tutor him. Without even calling him a toerag!"
James just rolled his eyes before tossing his school bag aside and plopping down to sit on the 'Marauder's' couch. "I don't understand what all the fuss is about." He reached up to loosen his tie and push the sleeves up his elbows after shrugging off his robes.
Catherine smirked though it seemed half-hearted, sitting next to James as her eyes flickered to the popped open buttons of his shirt and the veins running down his forearms. "Oh, please. I reckon his mind is completely blank right now, he can't process the fact that Lily just talked to him. I bet you he's going mental internally right now." She proceeded to poke his cheek. "I'm right, aren't I?"
James was head over heels in love with Lily Evans. That's why he even went as far as to fake date Catherine. He was certain that his heart belonged to Lily's forever. He reached up, capturing Catherine's finger in his, as he dragged his eyes over to stare right into hers. And suddenly, he wasn't so sure.
His hands still grasping hers, he glanced down to see his family ring perfectly resting on her finger and his lip curved up to a slight smile. If he was being honest here, James truly couldn't imagine seeing it on Lily's hand. It was as though it belonged to Catherine.
And James turned out liking Catherine a whole lot more than he originally planned.
With his eyes boring back into her jade green ones, he replied back. "No, not exactly."
««•»»
It was the twenty-fourth of December and Catherine was sound asleep in her bedroom, nearly the stroke of midnight. It was just her and Marlene since Lily and Alice went home for the break.
"Psst, Valentine," came a soft, nearly inaudible, voice by her side. "Valentine, wake up."
She moaned in her sleep, turning as she mumbled tiredly, "Go away, Mar."
"Valentine, come on, get up. Please, Cat Queen."
That last bit seemed to do the trick as Catherine struggled to sit up, feeling quite disoriented. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes sleepily looking particularly like a child at the moment. Blinking sleep away, she glanced around her room only to find her bed empty. Had she been dreaming a voice this whole time?
Suddenly, the air shimmered before her and James revealed himself, pushing his invisibility cloak off his shoulders. He grinned boyishly at her before nodding once. "Come along now, I've got something to show you."
"James?" She blinked in surprise, her eyebrows drawing together. "I don't—what are you—can't it wait tomorrow?"
He shook his head firmly. "No, it has to be today, right now."
Catherine let out a sound that was a mix of a sigh and a groan. "Oh, alright. This better be worth it or I'm coming straight back up to bed," she murmured as she took a quick trip in the bathroom to freshen up before shrugging on a jacket and slipping her feet in some shoes.
"Oh, it will be worth it," came James's cocky reply as he offered her his hand.
Catherine chuckled quietly before slipping her fingers in his palm, allowing him to throw the cloak over them as he led them out of the Gryffindor Common Room. James brought them to the Astronomy tower and as soon as they reached the top, Catherine gasped in surprise.
The balcony where you look over at the stars was decorated in gentle fairy lights, giving a warmth feeling and glow to the place. Catherine's heart just seemed to melt then and there as James shrugged the cloak off of them.
James coughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't know what to get you for Christmas, so I just thought of maybe doing this instead."
Catherine wouldn't stop looking around her, her hands still covering her mouth in surprise as she felt her stomach turn pleasantly. "Oh, James."
She called him by his name. He liked it whenever she did that. It made him feel all warm inside as though a flame had flickered in his stomach.
James bit his lip, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Do you . . . like it?"
Catherine whirled around to face him, a huge smile painted on her lips as she laughed softly. "Of course, I love it!" She launched herself forward and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she breathed out as James squeezed her gently in response.
He wanted nothing more than to stay in that position, his arms around her but she had pulled away. Catherine went over to sit on the bundle of blankets James had set earlier. He followed after her and sat just close enough that their legs and arms were touching.
And so they spent the whole night talking and watching the stars, the thick blanket of the dark sky with the heavenly bodies thrust upon it, glittering the black skies with stars. Looking down at Catherine who was chatting amicably to him with a breathtaking smile on her face, James realized something. Maybe to others she was just another star in their lives. But to him, she was the whole damn sky.
And slowly, as they talked more and more quietly, sleep getting to them, James felt Catherine rest her head on the crook of his neck. He slipped his arm around her, his head falling gently on top of hers as well.
"James," she whispered.
"Yes?"
"Thank you." She smiled and closed her eyes, reveling on the best Christmas present.
James didn't give her a fancy necklace or took her out to an expensive restaurant. No, he gave her the stars and his warmth.
And honestly, that was all Catherine could possibly ever want or need.
««•»»
"MERRY CHRISTMAS! Time to get up and open your presents!" Marlene's voice cut through Catherine's pleasant dreams.
"Do I really have to go?" Catherine whined under her covers. She had spent all night with James under the stars and barely even gotten three hours of sleep.
Marlene laughed. "Yes, Cathy, it's Christmas! C'mon, get up!" She grabbed hold onto her blankets and yanked it off, leaving Catherine cold.
She sent her best friend a glare but stood up nonetheless to wrap her arms around Marlene. "Merry Christmas to you too." Catherine laughed before giving her a slight pinch then walked away.
Marlene yelped, rubbing her arm. "What was that for?"
"For waking me up at this ungodly hour," Catherine sing-songed in reply before grabbing her towel and hopping in the bathroom. After a nice shower, she changed into a warm pair of thermal leggings and a thick sweater given to her by Molly Weasley (the Prewett Twins' sister) who was now married and had her third son a few months ago. She absolutely loved it, being the color of dark green and the C stitched in the middle was a much lighter green.
As soon as she finished brushing her hair, Catherine grabbed her boxes of presents and made her way down to the Great Hall to find the Marauders (excluding Peter who went home for the break) and Marlene waiting for her as they chatted amongst themselves while eating breakfast. Beaming, she skipped her way to them and plopped on the empty seat between Sirius and Remus. "Good morning." She smiled. "Merry Christmas."
She was greeted back in a chorus of 'Merry Christmases' as well before she started distributing her gifts. "Marlene, this is for you," she said, handing her an enchanted snow globe wrapped in Christmas paper. It was charmed in a way where the figures inside were moving and the snow that fell was constant and endless. And it was perfect for Marlene since she loved collecting snow globes.
Marlene lit up and handed Catherine hers as well, a wrapped box.
"Remus," she said, passing him a couple of vials wrapped in silver paper and a ribbon.
Remus accepted it with a slightly confused look on his face. "What's this?" he asked, smiling curiously at her.
Catherine grinned, leaning over to whisper in his ear since Marlene wasn't in on their little werewolf secret. "I've developed a potion two weeks ago and I'm pretty certain this would do the trick. If you drink this in the night before the full moon, it's supposed to help with the transformation. Makes you sleep when you phase to a wolf so you wouldn't have to worry over what could happen."
Remus looked as though he would cry then and there as he laughed. "Thank you — " he chuckled as he pulled Catherine in for a hug, squeezing her so tight it was like he didn't want to let go, " — so much."
Catherine grinned, returning the embrace before releasing. "Not a problem, Moony."
"Here, I've got something for you as well," Remus said and thrusted a book to her. "James told me."
Catherine took it curiously, her eyebrows furrowing before taking a quick peek on what was inside. To her surprise, she recognized a couple of Old English words along with how to pronounce it and what it meant. She beamed at the boy.
"Thank you, Remus." She then turned to Sirius who was smirking fondly at her. "And for you — " Catherine handed him a box that contained his favorite cologne inside. She remembered him talking about how he was nearly running out, and she went and took the liberty of buying it for his gift.
Sirius took it with a smile. "You didn't have to, Cat."
She winked at him. "But I wanted to." Just as she was about to face James, Sirius's hand shot out and latched onto her wrist.
"Wait a second," she heard his deep, gruff voice say. Catherine turned just in time to see him lock a bracelet in place on her wrist. He met her eyes as he said in a soft voice, "Merry Christmas, Cat."
Her insides were a mush as she brought her arm closer to her face so she could look at the bracelet. It was beautiful, silver in color with two charms hanging off of it. A tiny tiger with a jeweled green eye and a tiny dog with a jeweled silver eye. "Merlin, this is beautiful! How the bloody hell did you find this?"
Sirius chuckled in response. "That's a secret."
And lastly, Catherine looked up to face James, her face turning pink upon catching sight of his gentle smirk and warm hazel eyes. "Merry Christmas, Valentine."
She reached across the table to hand him something flat and wrapped in gold paper. "Merry Christmas, James," she said softly, as though suddenly shy.
His face brightened immensely, carefully taking his present from her. "Valentine — you didn't have to get me anything."
Catherine waved a hand dismissively at him. "Shut up and accept it — you're going to love it."
James's mouth twitched as he fought a smile, failing miserably as a wide grin lit his face up while he unwrapped the gift. "Holy shit — !" he exclaimed like a child as he brandished his vinyl record of Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight.
The song she and James slow danced to.
Catherine smiled at James who was proudly showing his present off to everyone he saw in the Great Hall. "I'm happy you like it," she whispered to herself.
Later that night, Marlene insisted for the lot of them to attend a party hosted by a seventh year. Catherine had opened her gifts from Lily, Alice, her parents, the twins, and from Peter as well. She had sent her gifts to them a few days ago through Tommy, her owl.
"I don't think they'll show up," Catherine said in a matter-of-fact voice as she tugged on her maroon dress that fell above her knees.
"I'm pretty sure they will," Marlene quipped with a giggle as she applied some make up on her face. "I mean, you're going. Why wouldn't they?"
Catherine rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Whatever you say, Mar." She fluffed her hair a little bit. "Are you ready?" she asked, twisting the ring James gave her nervously. For some reason, the thought of seeing James tonight made her stomach flip.
Marlene nodded and stood up from the vanity table, grabbing her purse from the bed. "Yeah, let's go."
The pair made their way to the Room of Requirements where the party was already starting. A Christmas tree was at the center, full of light and adornments. The whole place was warm and cozy, decorated in red, green, and silver tinsels. It was beautiful.
Marlene had went to get them eggnog with a dash of Firewhiskey as Catherine walked over to where the Marauders were. She stood before them, crossing her arms. "Hey, guys, having fun?"
Sirius snorted but a smile was on his face. "I've went to better parties."
Catherine stuck her tongue out childishly in response before noticing someone missing. "Where's Prongs?"
She felt a hand on her waist as someone's breath tickled her ear. "Right here, love."
Whirling around in surprise, Catherine found herself face to face with James Potter. She rolled her eyes playfully at him, gently slapping his chest. "Don't scare me like that!"
James laughed in response, looking her up and down. "You look beautiful, Valentine."
"Funny, Prongs," she said, chuckling.
He cocked his head to the side. "But I wasn't trying to be funny."
Catherine flushed and glanced at what he was wearing. "Not bad, Prongs. You clean up nicely as well." He was hot, a black Henley shirt rolled up to his elbows and dark jeans adorned him. She wouldn't bother denying it because she was pretty sure James knew it as well.
James smirked, opening his mouth to say something when Marlene appeared. "Well, well, look who just got stuck under the mistletoe."
Catherine raised an eyebrow, turning to face Marlene who grinned mischievously and pointed somewhere above them. She shared a look with James before they both looked up simultaneously.
There above them was a bloody mistletoe and that only meant one thing.
"You're stuck." Marlene was grinning so widely by now Catherine wouldn't be surprised if her face split. "It's charmed," she explained to James who looked confused. "It won't let you go unless you kiss."
James chuckled. "You're joking."
She shook her head. "See for yourself." Marlene reached over and attempted to pull Catherine away from James but it was as though there was an invisible barrier preventing her from doing so.
Ah, shite.
Marlene then let her go as a devious look appeared on her face. "I think I'll go request a song." She left shortly, making her way to whoever was playing the songs.
James locked eyes with Catherine, his lips twitching to a smile. "She's a handful, isn't she?"
"Oh, you have no idea," she replied, suddenly self-conscious as she attempted to cover her face with her hair.
"Don't," James suddenly blurted out as he reached over, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You shouldn't hide something so beautiful."
"Merlin, you're cheesy." Catherine couldn't help but to laugh at that as James did so as well.
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
"You have got to be kidding me," Catherine murmured under her breath, her eyes darting around to look at anything and anywhere but into James Potter's eyes but it was damn near impossible with the way he was looking at her.
But I can't help falling in love with you
As they stood there under the mistletoe that hung above them, James couldn't help but to really look at Catherine. She was beautiful, so beautiful. Despite the fact that she looked uncertain and confused on what to do.
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
"You know." James suddenly smirked, looking particularly like how Lucifer must've looked before he Fell. "So many girls would want to be in your place right now. To be able to kiss the infamous James Potter."
If I can't help falling in love with you?
Her heart was beating so loud by now, the intensity of James's hazel eyes getting to her as she managed a breathy chuckle. Catherine raised her eyebrows in attempted mockery. "Oh, really? Then give it to them."
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
James, clearly taken aback, blinked in surprise as he stammered, "W—What?"
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too
Catherine laughed softly, keeping up her confident aura despite her turning stomach. "Give it to them. I'd gladly change place with anyone else. You know what? I think I'll do just that. Oh, look. There's the girl from the I Heart James Potter fanclub, I reckon she's president. Oi, Maisie—!"
For I can't help falling in love with you
Just as quick as Catherine tried calling for the Ravenclaw girl, James had leaned in and pressed his mouth hotly against hers, effectively silencing her.
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Catherine all but melted against him, her knees giving out on her as she slumped against him, her arms wrapped around his neck with his securely around her waist. She could feel the curve of his lips, his tongue that brushed her lip, the strong scent of rain hitting her nose, and the warmth that radiated from him, embracing her with that same nostalgic feeling of home.
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
She pulled away for air, breathing heavily with her eyes shut tight because the best things in life happen without having to see. His forehead was pressed against hers, he was panting slightly as well with his lips brushing gently, his mouth hovering over hers as he spoke, "Do you still want to give it to Maisie?" Despite the cockiness, there was a slight tremble in his tone as though he couldn't take being separated from her.
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too
"You idiot," was all Catherine could say before she closed the gap between them once more, James deepening the kiss.
For I can't help falling in love with you
Suddenly, Catherine wanted him. All of him. His flaws. His mistakes. His imperfections. She wanted James, and only James.
For I can't help falling in love with you.