"Can I come in?"
I stripped out of all of my clothes and stepped into the shower, the hot water falling down my body.
There was another knock on the door.
"Fine," I yelled through the door.
James was grinning widely as he walked into the bathroom, looking me up and down through the glass door of the shower.
I flipped him my middle finger, "No funny business, James."
He held up his hands in surrender, "I would never."
I turned away and looked up at the showerhead, letting the droplets race down my body. James' clothes softly hit the tiled floor as he undressed and stepped into the large shower.
James jokingly pushed me away, "Don't be a water hog."
I grabbed one of his curls and yanked it, earning a yelp from James. "This is my shower, you're just a guest."
He cupped his hands together, letting them fill with water before he flung the contents at my face.
I hit him, "You idiot, I'm already wet!"
"Wow, already? I just got here-"
"Oh shut up."
After the two of us calmed down and stopped fighting over the warm water, James poured a dollop of shampoo into his hands and began massaging the soap into my shiny wet hair.
I tilted my head back as ran his fingers through my hair.
"My turn." James exclaimed as he took his hands away from me.
James bowed his head so I could reach his hair better. I poured the shampoo into my hands and began massaging it into James's unruly curls.
"Your father, it's the potioneer of Sleek-Eazy," I teased, "And your hair is always an absolute mess."
James laughed softly, "Exactly, I love my parents with my whole heart, but I don't just want to be James Potter, Son of Fleamont Potter, I want to be James Potter-, hero or something."
"James Potter, Marauder, Quidditch Captain, Friend, Boyfriend, Son."
He looked up at me, and I stopped rubbing the shampoo into his black hair.
"The list will go on James, who knows what it will say? Father? Hero? Husband? Illegal animagi?"
James' stared at me, hazel meeting blue.
"You want kids?"
I bit my lip, "Yeah-, obviously not anytime soon-, but eventually."
He was looking at me intently, the water droplets dripping from the end of his ringlets.
"D-, do you?" I asked.
James tilted his head back to rinse the shampoo out, "Definitely, probably two-, maybe four, I like even numbers."
I helped rinse the soap out of his mess of what he called hair, "Me too, even numbers."
"Wanna make a baby?"
My eyes widened, "What?"
"I'm only kidding, Daphne," James laughed, "But if you want to practice-"
"I am going to stop you right there, James Fleamont Potter."
James smirked at me, "Make me, Daphne Jane Beaufort."
"I should've locked the door." I sighed sarcastically as I stepped under the shower's stream of hot water.
"Oi-, that one hurt." James joked, clutching his chest dramatically as if he was having a heart attack.
We finished up in the shower, washing our bodies, fighting over the water, and James's rendition of Somebody to Love, by Queen. He almost broke the shower glass.
I grabbed two towels from the rack, and handed one to James, who was quite enjoying the sight, as I dried myself off before wrapping the towel around my body.
James followed, and wrapped his towel around his waist, shaking his head to flick water droplets on me.
After a smack on the head, James settled down as I put on lotion and did my 'skincare routine'.
Once we reached our bedroom, I quickly looked through the drawers, searching for something to wear. I settled on a pair of leggings, and quickly pulled them on, but was in the mood to hate every single piece of clothing that I owned.
James noticed, and walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my bare waist.
He had put on a pair of grey sweatpants, my absolute favorite, and his bare chest was warm against my back.
"What's wrong?" James asked, kissing me softly on the neck.
I leaned into his embrace, "I don't have anything to wear."
"Wear something of mine." He replied nonchalantly as he fiddled with the strap of my bra.
I turned to look at him, "Really?"
"Yeah," James said as he opened his drawer of the dresser, "You look good in everything, but you look best whenever you're wearing something of mine."
He searched around in the drawer for a moment before he pulled one of his hoodies out.
James proudly held it up, "Perfect."
I took it from James' hands and examined it.
The hoodie was grey, with the Gryffindor crest on the front. I turned the hoodie around to see Potter stitched across the back, with a number 7, in gold lettering.
"I love it." I sighed, standing on my tiptoes to kiss James.
He kissed me back, placing his hands on my hips to pull me closer.
When James and I broke apart from our kiss, he pulled me even closer, into a bear hug. His skin was warm against mine, despite us both having cold wet hair still.
I pulled the hoodie over my head with a smile, making James grin at me.
James pulled a black jumper over his toned body as I brushed through my blonder hair, which was already starting to curl as it dried.
Without even thinking, I spoke, "Our kids would have the curliest, messiest hair ever."
James was silent behind me.
I turned to look at him, realization hitting me about what I truly just said. "Shit, I didn't-"
"Well, I personally think my hair is amazing." James explained. "So I think you mean that our kids would have amazingly perfect hair."
He was sitting on the edge of the bed as he pulled thick socks over his feet.
I quickly crossed the room and sat down next to him on the bed.
Taking his hand in mine, I smiled, "Whatever you say, Potter."
• • • • •
The rest of the day passed slowly. All of us were getting bored, but we were either too tired or too hungover to go out and explore.
We were in the middle of an argument about what to have for dinner.
James wanted pizza.
Sirius wanted French food.
Remus was just hungry.
And I could care less about what we ate, I just wanted Padfoot and Prongs to stop arguing like the brothers that they are long enough for us all to decide what to eat.
Thankfully, the screeching of an owl halted the two dark-haired boys' argument as it pecked at the window, screeching at all of us.
"Bloody hell, I'm coming!" Remus yelled as he crossed the room to open the tall, arched window.
The owl flew in, and landed on the coffee table, shaking its leg at us.
There was a letter, and a newspaper hooked to its left leg. I took a closer look at the owl and realized that it was Jolie's. It was her snowy owl, Hebe, named after the Greek goddess of youth and vitality.
I untied the two items from Hebe's foot and stroked her bright white feathers as I opened the letter.
It was from Jolie.
Daphne,
Hope you're enjoying your time in Paris because Merlin knows that I did-, anyway that's not what I wrote you about.
I thought you might like to see the contents of the Daily Prophet from this morning. My family got home yesterday morning from Italy.
Anyways, I miss you, tell the boys I said hi, see you soon.
Xoxo, Jolie
P.S. I expect details when the holiday is over.
I scanned over the letter from Jolie. Her neat, cursive penmanship curled down the parchment, making each and every word look like a work of art.
She mentioned the Daily Prophet, which had been attached to Hebe as well. What could be so important?
I turned to look for the newspaper but quickly saw that Sirius was reading it, his grey eyes turning into storm clouds as he read each line.
"What the fuck?" Sirius yelled, slamming the Prophet on the coffee table, startling Hebe as he did.
James, Remus, and I exchanged brief looks at one another before we gathered around the Daily Prophet on the coffee table.
The pictures moved in their spots as my eyes focused on the headline.
WHO'S REALLY THE GOLD DIGGER? BEAUFORT OR BLACK?
What the fuck.
I kept reading, shifting my gaze down to the column and picture below.
Purebloods Daphne Beaufort, James Potter, and the recently disinherited Sirius Black, along with half-blood, Remus Lupin, have been spotted spending their holidays at the Beaufort Family Manor in Paris, France.
They seem to be the best of friends, but an inside source suggests that it goes much further than this.
Said inside source claims that Beaufort and Black have been having a secret affair for quite a while. This leads to the question of who is wealthier? While we all know that the Black's are one of the wealthiest families in England, Sirius Black has been disinherited, leaving him with close to nothing. Beaufort comes from a wealthy French family, but sources suggest this affair began long before Black was disinherited.
Did the relationship start with Beaufort's need to move higher up in the ranks of the English purebloods? Or is Black still with Beaufort in the hopes that he will one day control the fortune that she is set to inherit?
Beaufort and Black pictured left.
I shook my head in disbelief at the newspaper sitting before me. Who the fuck is this inside source? They clearly don't know that Sirius is gay-, and dating Remus, a fellow gay who just happens to be a bloody werewolf.
To the right of the written column, there was a picture of Sirius and me hugging each other after Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup last year.
I groaned and leaned back on the couch, wanting nothing more than for me to sink into the couch and never return.
Remus and James were looking intently at me.
Sirius was pacing the living room.
"Fucking Rita Skeeter." Remus muttered as he took a seat next to me on the couch.
James wrapped his arm around me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "The bitch is nine years older than us and already trying to intrude."
Sirius slammed his hand into the wall, putting a crack into the drywall, startling Hebe even more as her speckled white feathers shook against her small body. He quickly pulled out his wand and muttered a quick spell, repairing the hole he had put in the wall.
"Sorry." He mumbled, slouching down into the velvet armchair.
I looked at Sirius, "It's not your fault, apparently I'm a gold digger too."
All of the boys began laughing, even Sirius who had been incredibly angry less than a minute before.
James kissed my cheek, rubbing my back reassuringly. "We can get them to shut it down."
"It's no bother." I muttered, leaning further into James' embrace. "Rita won't take it down unless she gets an even better story to exploit."
Remus cleared his throat, "Not to intrude on this cute little moment, but you have an even better story."
"What?" Sirius asked, sitting up in his chair intently.
Remus pointed at James and me, "You can shut the rumors down by telling the truth, that you two are dating, and neither of you are gold diggers."
"Boom, problem solved!" Sirius yelled, jumping out of the chair, earning him an annoyed look from Hebe. He let his arms fall to his sides, "But-, it's your relationship. It's up to you."
James and I shared a look, searching each other's eyes.
"Well, time to meet the bitch." I grinned, looking up at Sirius and Remus.