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chapter twelve; moving on from flowers
James Potter was awfully proud of himself. He had, successfully, convinced Amaya Santoro to come to hang out at the flat with him and have fun instead of spending another night in the library, doing something that made her miserable.
He watched her throughout the night, like the version he'd seen whilst flying, as she laughed and talked, as her eyes sparkled mischievously each time she scammed him out of his money in poker—he didn't dare mention that he was the one who gave her the money in the first place when she said she didn't have any on her to play; either way, it would've been hers because the witch really did not lose. Besides seeing her saunter through the flat in her tiny skirt, had James checking out her pretty arse more times than he'd like to admit—she was stunning there was no going around that.
Something fluttered in his chest every time she interacted with his friends like they'd been friends for ages, even to the point where she and Sirius bickered like a pair of children on a playground and smoked together like old friends.
He watched with a smile when she and Marlene would team up against Sirius—when they moved on to a game of Exploding Snap and successfully burned Sirius' eyebrows off. Not that the latter was pouting for too long because he spent the rest of the night until Amaya had had enough and charmed some eyebrows back onto his face, saying he looked like a model from a fashion magazine and that he could pull off any look (though when Amaya suggested cropping his hair he'd threatened to cut off her head—by that time they were a few drinks in).
Throughout the night as he saw Lily and Amaya interact he couldn't be more sure that he was truly and well over the redhead, there wasn't a doubt in his mind. He couldn't, not anymore, imagine Lily as nothing more than a friend.
And she was a good friend, offering to sleep on the couch when Remus had insisted she and Amaya sleep in his bed instead—knowing it was close to the full moon and good rest was something Moony needed.
And so, Lily insisted she was fine on the couch, that she had to be gone early either way for work (she was training to be a healer in St. Mungo's), and didn't want to bother anyone. Marlene, of course, slept in Sirius' bed, Peter passed out on the little mattress they brought out in the third room, and that left James and Amaya.
He told her they could just go home, that it was fine but her eyes had widened in horror and she'd shaken her head multiple times (she was an amusing drunk) saying she'd be horrified if his parents caught her drunkenly going back home and that she was too intoxicated to take away the drunkenness like she had his the other night.
He also said he'd sleep on the floor, he offered to risk his life and try and and share the bed with Remus when he knew the boy would most likely throw him off the mattress—Amaya had called him stupid.
