The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Hostile Spirits

Hostile Spirits

Mr. Jenkins lit the bonfire as dusk started - the sunlight fading over the ocean, turning the grey water a dark green with the sunset's reflection. The whole lot of them sang Happy Birthday to Maryrose and there was a lovely cake outfitted with big sparking candles that took her two breaths to blow out. After everyone had gotten their cake, Maryrose and James walked along down the beach together, James carrying a plate with cake on it, eating as they walked, and Maryrose hugging his arm, watching as the moon glistened like diamonds off white caps of waves that broke against craggy jetties that stuck out into the sea. James sucked on his spoon as he ate the frosting from the curve of it.

"You have a bit of frosting --" Maryrose reached up and swept the frosting from his nose, holding her finger up so he could see. James smirked, then licked the frosting off her skin. She laughed, and paused in walking, stepping to stand in front of him while he ate the last of his cake, she stared up at him admiringly. "You're so handsome, James Potter."

James snorted. "No I'm not."

"You are," she answered and she ran her knuckles gently along his chin, "You need to shave."

"Do I?" he asked and he felt his chin, too. Sure enough, there was a bit of stubble growing there. He made a mental note to brag about that to Sirius later - that he, James Potter, had managed to get a bit of facial hair before Sirius had.

Maryrose leaned in and kissed James's chin.

He put down the plate and spoon on the pebbley beach and pulled her closer, bending his neck to kiss her back, his hands on her hips... The kiss deepened and James hand moved slowly up her side... She laughed and put her hands on his chest, pushing him back slightly, staring up at him with wide eyes. "Let's go somewhere more private. This way." She pulled him along the beach a little ways further os that the bonfire was a glowing speck off in the distance. It was darker down this way, and the moonlight was pale white against the water, the crashing seemed louder here... and James held onto her hand, their fingers entangled, knotted right up tight as, she led the way.

They came to the end of the beach, and Maryrose climbed up onto a large rock that led out into a jetty, they jumped rock to rock along the outcropping, and James saw between the stones there were little ecosystems, snails and crabs that waved their claws in disapproval. There was seaweed and algae between them, too, and growing on them, even, great grey barnacles... James worried they might slip and he redoubled his grip on her hand... He realized suddenly that he'd left his wand in his sweater pocket and the sweater was back at the bonfire, laying over the log that he and Maryrose had been sitting upon...

...If anything went wrong...

He pushed the thought out of his mind.

"There's a cave right around here," Maryrose said, and she pulled James down a steep couple rocks so that the jetty completely blocked the bonfire from view, "We used to sit in here and tell ghost stories when we were little, Pandora and I. It's really creepy..." she laughed at the look on James's face, somewhere between fear and excitement as adrenaline pumped through him. "People have died here," she said.

"Seriously?" he asked, excited. "Or is that just a story?"

"Well the story is that there was a little girl, an orphan, who fell from the cliffs..." Maryrose pointed up at the crags overhead, "And she died in the sea at the mouth of this very cave and her body was never found. The story is that she haunts this cave."

"Whoa," he whispered.

Maryrose nodded, "Sometimes, if you listen real closely, you swear you could hear her screaming."