WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU PUMPKINS , james potter

━ four. sorry for almost killing you

a/n: this is probably the worst chapter so far but just bare with me until i find the time to rewrite this monstrosity 😭😭

CHAPTER FOUR:
- sorry for almost killing you -
1977

IRONICALLY, THE COLOR OF HER HAIR reminded James of a pumpkin— it was a tinged orange color, long, way past her shoulders and reaching her elbows. You'd think that being asleep would loosen up her face, but even unconscious she looked like she had a stick up her butt. Her skin was light, clear of any blemishes or acne, and her thin eyebrows were scrunched together in a scowl. Guess his mother was right; if you frown all the time, your face really does get stuck like that.

To be fair, James hadn't meant to almost kill her. When you really (truly) thought about it, it was kinda her own fault.

Okay, but wait, hear him out!

It's not his fault she's allergic to pumpkins— he hadn't known that, by the way. It wasn't his fault she was being a total git and needed to be taught a lesson. In James's opinion — thank you very much for asking— it was only 30% his fault (and maybe even 5% could go to each of his friends which technically only left him with 15% of the blame). (Yes, he can do math, don't act so surprised).

     Regardless of whose fault it was (totally not his), he couldn't help but feel bad. James liked pranking people, especially rude Slytherins that deserved it. But nearly killing someone? That was definitely not what he had signed up for.

     At first he was content with moping around his dorm and fantasizing about Lily to distract himself, but after much pestering from Remus, James finally decided to go and apologize. He'd been told that Madeline had only woken up a total of three times in the last week so Madam Pomfrey was doubtful she would wake for James' visit.

After nearly thirty minutes of James goofing off and day dreaming about quidditch, he grew bored and was ready to leave.

Couldn't say he didn't try, right?

And just as James was about to stand and leave, off to find Sirius and abuse his Head Boy powers, Madeline's eyes snapped open.
James jumped, knocking his chair (and himself) to the ground. "Merlin, you can't just open your eyes like that!"

Madeline glared at James. Her face soured and James couldn't help but wonder what she would look like without a scold morphing her face.

"Why are you—" Madeline croaked, stopping mid-sentence to grab at her throat.

James's eyes widened. "Water, you probably need some water, right?" Looking lost for a second, James finally opted on grabbing a paper cup full of water from the tray next to Madeline's bed, handing it to her with a half smile. Madeline eyed the cup (and James) suspiciously. "Don't worry, it's not pumpkin juice."

"Funny," Madeline said with a rough voice. She downed the contents of the cup faster than you can say: 'James Potter is the bestest ever quidditch player and Snivellus Snape is a greasy git.' "Why are you here?"

"Oh, y'know, just wanted to, uh, visit and make sure everything is... good with you, I guess."

Why was James here? Okay, yeah, he was feeling (slightly) guilty, but why did he feel guilty? It was simply a prank gone wrong. Merlin knows how many pranks had gone wrong in the past. He hadn't killed anyone yet, but there have been a few (regrettable) close calls before Madeline. What made her so different?

"Thanks to you, I went into anaphylaxis shock."

     Okay, getting right to the chase then.