hiraeth - james potter x OC

cryingbecauseiwantthistypeoflove

At dinner one night, James had an idea.

He clinked his knife against his glass, standing up on the bench and gathering the attention of the entire hall.

"I have something to say," James yelled, stepping up onto the table.

"Potter, get down from there!" McGonagall said from the staff table, but James waved her off.

"This is important, Professor," he said before turning to Elle. "Elle middle-name-here-because-I-don't-know-it Carter, would you be my beloved girlfriend? Please say yes because I just embarrassed myself in front of the entire school."

Elle smiled up at him, then put on a fake serious expression. "No."

Gasps rang out through the crowd, and James' face fell. Sirius burst out laughing.

"Are you serious?" James asked, clearly believing her act.

"No, I'm Sirius!" Sirius called, causing the entire hall to break out into laughter. Even McGonagall and Dumbledore were smiling.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, you absolute idiot," Elle said, smiling up at him. "Took you long enough to ask."

"Finally!" Remus, Peter, and Sirius shouted simultaneously.

The entire Great Hall cheered, even the professors.

Well, almost the whole hall. There were quite a few James Potter admirers that decided right then and there that they hated Elle Carter.

-

Elle sat next to Remus in their last class, Potions, as James and Sirius had dropped the subject, and Peter had dropped it because James did.

As the two were working on their potion, they could overhear the conversation of the table next to them.

"I still don't get why James likes her," one of the girls said. "Especially with that horrid scar across her face. Who would be stupid enough to go into the Forbidden Forest and get attacked?"

Elle's face turned bright red at the girl's words, and tears stung her eyes. She reached her hand up, tracing the scar on her face with her finger.

"I've heard she's a bit of a tart, too," the other girl said. "James could do so much better."

"Actually," Remus said loudly, catching the attention of the girls at the table. "Elle got that scar saving someone's life, so I would watch it. And I don't think James could do much better."

The girls at the table blushed before turning back to their work.

Elle looked at Remus gratefully, but her tone wasn't happy as she said, "Thanks, Moony."

After class, Elle packed up her stuff, quickly heading back to the common room without even waiting for Remus.

"Hey, Moony," James said once he entered the common room with Sirius and Peter. "Where's Elle?"

"She's up in her dorm. I think you should go talk to her," Remus said, looking up at James, whose eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, and Remus nodded.

So James went up to Elle's dorm, knocking and waiting for an answer.

"Come in," a soft voice called, and James opened the door and walked in. Elle was laying on her bed, reading a book.

"Hello, beautiful," James said, sitting down on her bed. "Moony said something was wrong. Talk to me."

Elle shrugged. "It's nothing. It's stupid."

"If it's making you upset, it's not stupid. Talk to me, love."

Elle sighed, and a few tears filled her eyes. "I don't know. These girls in Potions were saying how they don't understand why you like me, and they called me stupid for going into the forest, and they called me a tart. I don't know why it made me upset, I'm probably just overreacting. But everyone's constantly flirting with you, and honestly I don't know why you like me either. Especially with this fucking scar across my face."

"Ellie," James said sadly, wiping a tear from Elle's cheeks. "When I look at you, I don't see that scar. I see a beautiful, brave, badass woman who almost got herself killed while saving someone's life. I see the woman I fell in love with in first year, and who I will never fall out of love with. Because you're the kind of person people write books about and write songs about. I don't care how many people flirt with me. I don't care what people think about me loving you. Because I won't stop loving you, Elle. No matter what. You're my infinity."

Elle's eyes filled with more tears. "You sentimental piece of shit. I don't deserve you."

"Darling, you deserve the world and more. And I'm going to give it to you."

-

One Saturday, James wandered down to the common room, being the last one of his friends to wake up.

"Where's Elle?" he asked, sitting on a couch next to Sirius.

"She's staying in bed for a little longer. I talked to her earlier this morning. She said she had some sort of 'girl problem' that involves cramps?" Peter said, shrugging. James, Sirius, and Remus exchanged knowing glances.

"I'm gonna go see her," James said, standing up. "Moony, do you have any chocolate with you?"

Remus pulled an unopened chocolate bar from his sweater pocket, handing it to James.

James thanked him and then walked upstairs to Elle's almost empty dormitory, knocking on the door and hoping she was awake.

"Come in," Elle's voice said, and James opened the door.

Elle was laying in her bed, strands falling out of her messy bun and into her face. She was curled up in a blanket, reading a book.

"It's a Saturday, stop reading," James said, smiling and laying next to Elle.

Elle closed her book and set it on her nightstand before hugging James. "I know, I'm sorry. My cramps are just horrible today."

"I'm sorry, love," James said, running his fingers through her hair. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, it's fine. I don't want to stop you from hanging out with the boys," Elle said, smiling up at him. "Besides, I'll be down in a bit."

"Chocolate?" he asked, handing her the bar, which she happily accepted. "Do you need anything else? Hot water bottle or anything?"

"I'm okay," Elle said, smiling up at him gratefully. "Thank you, love."

"Anything for you," James smiled, kissing Elle's forehead.