Too Honest ~ James Potter

Chapter 18

*7th Year*

When Mariya got up the next morning, she got dressed and immediately started heading towards the empty classroom where she and Regulus always met. When she slipped into the classroom and gently shut the door behind her she was surprised to turn around and see a black haired boy already standing there. However this was not Regulus, he wasn't tall enough and his hair had a slightly oily sheen to it.

"Severus!" She exclaimed, feeling slightly nervous but trying not to let it seep into her voice, "What are you doing here?"

Severus Snape turned to look at the girl, who was running a hand through her straight black hair, "It has become too dangerous, Mariya. One of the boys in Black's year caught him leaving the common room and asked where he was going, Regulus had to lie and say that he was just going to the kitchens before returning to the common room. He sent me to tell you that I might have to be a go between for you sometimes this year. The Dark Lord is getting suspicious about Regulus's loyalties and if he gets caught being around a blood traitor... well, I don't think I need to spell it out."

Though Mariya was unsurprised by his words, she still felt her face fall and her heart clench at the idea of Regulus being in danger because of her.

"If I give you a letter tomorrow morning, would you be able to give it to him?" Severus nodded and Mariya smiled at him before turning to leave the room once more. She stuck her head back in as Severus called out to her.

"Seratova, he asked me to tell you that he loves you."

"Thank you, Severus, I really appreciate it." And with that she closed the door softly behind her and rested her head up against the wood for a moment in an attempt to gather her thoughts before beginning to move towards the great hall for breakfast. She had known this day was coming and, in a way, it was a miracle they had lasted this long, but she had hoped it would be a few more months before they couldn't see each other at all. Now she just had to trust that she had done him enough good that he wouldn't fall back to his parents beliefs, that he was safe, and that Severus would actually give him any correspondences she wrote.

When Mariya entered the hall, she found that all the Marauders bar James were already there, so she fell into the seat beside Remus and retrieved a piece of toast from a stack in the middle of the table. She buttered it lightly and took a bite, but it tasted like sawdust in her mouth after the news about Regulus. She continued to eat, knowing that it was important she consume something, but barely payed attention to what was going on around her as she slowly chewed the bread.

Mariya had finished the first piece and started a second when James arrived. Remus exchanged a surprised look with Sirius as the boy sat down without passing comment on Mariya's presence and immediately filled his plate with a stack of pancakes. He was even more shocked when Lily Evans walked past and James didn't call out to her. Normally James would never pass up an opportunity to ask the redhead out on a date.

Seeming just as incredulous as Remus, Sirius turned to his best friend and pressed a hand up against James's forehead, "Are you feeling alright, Prongsy?"

James removed Sirius's hand from his brow and shot him a confused look, "What do you mean, Pads? Why wouldn't I be feeling fine?"

Sirius cast him a worried look, "Well Prongs, Evans just walked past and you didn't seem to even notice her."

James looked up the table to see the redhead girl, who was looking at him with a baffled gaze, though she quickly turned back to her friends when she saw him looking at her. "Yeah, I guess she did." James turned back to his food without further remark and Sirius's frown deepened.

"Secondly, Seratova is sitting right there and you haven't said anything about her yet." Rather than giving the usual dramatic reaction to this information that Sirius had been hoping for, James simply glanced up at the girl.

"Morning, Seratova."

"Morning, Potter." She replied, her tone as flat as his. This made Remus frown as Mariya had never sounded so emotionless in his experience, it was like she was buried inside layers of her own mind and had forgotten who James Potter was.

"Thirdly," Sirius continued, seeming determined to get a proper reaction out of James, "You appear to be wearing your tie like a normal human being, which I am fairly certain hasn't happened since about third year when you wore it in an attempt to impress Evans by looking put together."

Remus snorted slightly despite the solemnity of Sirius's words. "Forgive me, Padfoot. But I am surprised that you even know what it is called, seeing as you conveniently lost yours sometime during first year."

Sirius shot him a playfully indignant glare, "I'll have you know, Moony, that my tie is attached to my bedpost with a permanent sticking charm in an attempt to show my mother that there is nothing she can do about it."

Remus nodded his head in mock seriousness, "Yes, I am sure that is the best possible use for it."

Sirius's rolled his eyes at his friends dramatics before turning back to James, who was still sitting eating his breakfast and then back to Remus. "What is going on? Did I miss something?"

"I have no idea, Padfoot, but my advice would be that you leave them along and enjoy the peace. This is the first meal I have ever spent with all four of you where no-one is shouting or insulting each other. If you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate you just accepting it."

Sirius sighed but returned to eating, he didn't know what was going on with the two, but he couldn't be bothered dealing with it that morning. Perhaps he would have acted slightly differently if James had told him what he had learned the previous night about Mariya still being friends with his brother. Unfortunately, James was far too busy thinking about the fact that the hat had been unable to determine whether Seratova was Gryffindor or Slytherin, and considering how different things might have been if she had been sorted into Gryffindor in first year rather than Slytherin. For all he knew, it might have been her he was chasing rather than Evans, that was a scary thought as he realised that - though he had always found Seratova's blunt personality annoying - it was more because she told the truth he didn't want to hear about his personality, about Evans, about everything. Maybe if he had just given her a chance and got to know her better, he would have found her to be a nicer person than he had thought.

James Potter didn't realise it until later, but that was the moment when he subconsciously decided to be nicer to Mariya Seratova and see what came of it. After all, the worst thing that could happen was that he would decide that he truly didn't like her and they could go back to the same relationship they had always had. In the best case, he would find a new friend. Or maybe even more, though - obviously - he didn't even consider that. As far as he was concerned, Lily Evans was the girl for him, and that would never change.