true loves poison • james potter

14

Lorelei smiled into the cold breeze of the mid November air.

The weather was turning for the worst, but she'd always preferred the colder season anyway. As it was cool but not cold Wednesday afternoon, Lorelei had dragged Elizabeth, Melissa, and Lily outside to enjoy the pleasant chill whilst doing their homework.

"I hate the grass. Why are you making me sit on the grass." Liz complained loudly, sounding like a yowling cat. "Why can't we be like every other reasonable teenager and study in the common room?"

Liz huffed as Lorelei patted a nearby spot on the ground by Lily.

"Fresh air is good for you. If you never leave the castle you'll become a hermit."

"I leave the castle when I need to." Liz said, plopping down next to her. Melissa sat delicately down, smoothing her skirt under her legs.

"Why don't you start working on your Alchemy homework, Liz?" Lorelei asked, already clutching pages of her own Arithmancy homework.

"If it'll mean we get to go inside earlier, I will." Liz told her, more focused on reaching in her bag for her homework. Each girl had more schoolwork than usual this week, and Liz especially was slacking on getting through it all, prompting Lorelei's trip into nature to bust out some pages. She'd invited Lily, expecting an excuse, who surprised her by saying she would join the trio.

"Lori," Melissa asked, "For the Arithmancy homework, what did you get for question thirteen?"

Looking down at her parchment, Lorelei noticed she was on question thirty one. Flipping back to the second page she looked dryly up at Melissa, "This is due tomorrow and you're only on page two?"

"Don't be silly." Melissa said, her quill hovering over the parchment, "I'm just reviewing my answers."

"December sixth." Lorelei answered quickly.

"I got December seventh?" Melissa said, reaching forward she grabbed the sheet from Lorelei's grasp. Moving closer to her friend, she pointed between the two papers.

While the two girls compared notes, James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter all walked out of the castle using a doorway nearby. Liz noticed and ignored them, Lily didn't show any outward signs of noticing them instead focusing on her parchment, and Lorelei and Melissa didn't as they argued about who was correct.

"Clearly," Lorelei pointed at the cluster of numbers forming the question, "That means six, so it's December six."

Melissa chewed on the inside of her lip as she looked at Lorelei's parchment. "Maybe." She finally relented.

"Ha!" Lorelei explained, sandwiching her parchment between the other pages of her homework.

The exclamation caught the attention of some certain Gryffendors, who only noticed the group of girls just then.

Potter in particular noticed the flaming redhead sitting amongst the group, "Lily flower!" He called out, attracting the attention of Lily and the girls surrounding her.

"Oh Godric." Lily muttered, dropping her head into her knees and using her homework to cover the rest of her face, "It's Potter."

By the time she'd finished muttering, the four boys were close enough to hear them without yelling. Potter clutched his chest and recited his words like a poem, "My dearest Lily, flower of my heart who has bloomed into the most beautiful woman, will you go to hogsmeade with me this Saturday?"

Lily didn't even look up from her knees, "No." She said darkly.

Taking in the exchange, Lorelei glanced between the two, finally standing after Lily's response.

All the girl's eyes (minus Lily) were on her as she took her time brushing grass off her skirt. By the time she'd finished, she'd caught all the boys' eyes as well. "It seems to me you need someone to educate you on how to properly address a lady, because currently you're acting like an entitled swamp creature."

Taking a deep breath, she continued, walking slowly toward Potter while keeping eye contact, "Lily is clearly showing, not only with her body language but also with her words, that your attention is not wanted. Do you know what it's called when you repeatedly do an action that makes another person clearly uncomfortable?"

Trying feebly to stutter something out, Lorelei plowed over him, cutting his words off, "Harassment, Potter. That is what that is called. I would have thought you weren't one to harass others as your reputation around the school seems to paint you more like a quidditch god than a pathetic boy who doesn't take no for an answer reverting to harassment to get what he wants."

She was now close enough to pick out every color flickering through Potter's eyes, "I would have thought someone in Gryffendor, no less, would understand the meaning of chivalry and take being rejected with pride rather than whatever pathetic attempt this is that you are making."

Breathing deeply, Lorelei cut off the rest of what she wanted to say. Backing away and walking back over to her friends, "Now kindly, leave us alone."

Potter seemed stunned to the spot, having to be pulled away by both Sirius and Remus.

The girls sat in silence, only Lorelei trying to move on with her work, while the girls stared at Lorelei.

"Thank you." Lily said finally after more than five minutes of silence.

Looking up, Lorelei looked at her eyes, "You're welcome."

The brief exchange seemed to relive the other girls, as Elizabeth and Melissa went back to their homework.

Moving closer to Lorelei, Lily whispered low enough to not distract the other girls, "I'm nervous about what will happen if James finds out about your project."

"What do you mean?"

"James can be..." Lily hesitated, "Enthusiastic. I'm just worried that if he were to find out that you plan on usurping his social throne, and toying with his feelings."

A smirk ghosted onto Lorelei's face, "If he does find out, I can hardly wait to fight with him about it." She joked.

"I'm serious Lorelei, I care for you as a friend and I care for James as a person. I don't want either of you to get hurt to the point of no return."

"There is nothing Potter can say to me that would hurt my feelings." She chuckled softly, "Honestly, if he somehow found a way to hurt my feelings I'd be impressed."

Lily pursed her lips, clearly wanting to say more. Lorelei watched her, waiting for her other concerns to tumble out. She didn't have to wait long, as Lily asked not a minute later, "Just be careful with your feelings, and with his. If he makes you cry I will-"

"Believe me Lily," Lorelei cut her off with a serious tone, all signs of humor gone. "He can't hurt me worse than I've already been hurt. I am only going to make James realize how big of a prat he's been, and hopefully make him become a better person."

Lily stared at her for a moment longer before relenting, "James could use a touch bit more of humility."

"Exactly." Lorelei smiled again.