(03 : A SOUL OF LEAD . . .
SO STAKES ME TO THE GROUND)

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     "JULIET, YOU KNOW I LOVE you —"

     Glancing up from her book, Juliet interrupted in a saccharine tone, "Funny because I hate you."

    "Let's not lie," Holly waved off the insult. "You love me, I love you, it's the seventies, we're one big love fest! My point being, I love you, but I'm forbidding you from going as an angel for the sixth year running." The girl in question wrinkled her nose, like the act of going as an angel to a Halloween party was a cardinal sin in itself as she continued, "It's so . . . cliché. Don't be a cliché, darling."

    Holly Higham was the most annoying half-blood you'd ever meet, and she was Juliet's roommate. Of course she had others, but they were all sycophants and Holly seemed to be the only one that made the effort with Juliet because she wanted to, not for her pureblood connections. Not that Juliet reciprocated the efforts. For six years, the dark-skinned girl tried to befriend the eternally angered redhead, but had yet to be successful beyond a handful of conversations. Mainly because Juliet didn't appreciate people who thought adding "darling" on the end of everything and having a string of fake pearls made them sophisticated.

     "There are worse thing to be than a cliché, Higham," said Juliet, her eyes glazing over at the unexpected truth in her own words.

    Her roommate let a solemn ten seconds pass before she pulled something off a hanger. "Ooh, you should be Little Red!" she squealed, holding out a blood-coloured, velvet cloak to the witch. "It would be hot. I'll curl your hair, then you'll put on a short little dress underneath and nobody will be able to take their eyes off you the entire night. You do still fancy Avery, right? Because I heard he's going to be there and —"

Irritated, Juliet slammed her book shut. "Stop fucking talking, please." The girl began to massage her temples. "I'll wear the bloody cloak if it makes you that happy. And for the record, I never fancied Avery. Not that it matters because I'm already betrothed." There was a mocking air to the teenager's words, which was emphasised with an eye roll. Maybe she was a fatalist, but there was no point in her getting excited over boys when it could never last. She'd always been the no strings type, but her careless ways would have to end, lest her father find out she was being unfaithful — arranged or not.

    In response, Holly smirked, not shaken in the least by Juliet's harsh tone. "Don't be such a cliché Slytherin either," she teased. "Now, put that boring old book down and let me do your hair."

    Juliet narrowed her eyes, but relented after it was clear Holly was not backing down. Even if she had no clue who Little Red was, she opted to go along with it with every intention of drinking herself into oblivion, hoping alcohol would help her forget the shit show that was her life. At least for one night her soul of lead could be a little bit lighter.

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"You want to sneak into a Slytherin party? You can't be serious, they'll avada us on the spot," objected Remus, a disbelieving note in his voice.

"Of course I'm not!" Only when Remus let out a breath of relief did James jerk his thumb in the direction of an amused Sirius and insisted, "He's Sirius."

Even if Remus wanted to argue more, he was silenced by a sharp look from Sirius. It was the most James had spoken in days and he almost seemed normal — laughing and proposing their usual mischief. None of the Marauders knew what happened with Lily for James to be put in such a state, but it was the worst they'd ever seen him. Until then, he took every rejection on the chin, but something happened earlier that week and James had locked himself in their shared dorm, disheartened and quiet. The boys tried to cheer him up — even pranking Slytherin House and almost having the map confiscated — but he continued to sulk. Then, something changed in him and he woke up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, insisting they all break into Slytherin's Halloween party that night.

Sirius draped his arm around James, pulling him in boisterously. "Well, I think it's a great idea, Prongs," he said. "And stop worrying so much, Moony. The point is we won't get caught and it's not like we haven't snuck into the Slytherin common room before."

Hopeless, Remus shot Peter a pleading glance. "Peter?"

"I—I agree with Padfoot," verbalised Peter, staring at James and Sirius with a hero-like worship. "It could be fun. We can set off some dungbombs, or slip a befuddlement draught into the punch!"

Whilst Sirius' eyes twinkled at the prospect, James stopped in his tracks. "No," he stated firmly. "No pranks. All I want is to get pissed out of my head and forget this entire week even happened, alright?"

"No pranks?" Sirius mouthed to Remus like it was the most absurd thing in the world.

Remus asked dryly, "And I'm sure the likes of Snape will welcome you into the common room with open arms after you made him flash his underwear to the school last year?"

"We'll figure it out — it's a costume party!" James yelled, half way down the corridor without his friends.

"Where are you going?" shouted Peter.

"Gotta run, don't want to be late for Minnie's class again," James called back, the excuse in itself a half-hearted one. If anything, he just didn't want to admit he dreaded returning to the Gryffindor common room.

     Peter watched the dark-haired boy's retreating figure, confused. "Since when did he care about school?"

"Better question," Remus glanced at the watch on his wrist, "since when did we have Transfiguration at six p.m on a Saturday?"

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     For as long as he could remember, James told the boys everything. Perhaps that's why his lies were flimsy at best — a part of him wanted them to shake him until he spilled his guts about what happened with Lily Evans like some gossiping first year. Except, he was James Potter and that meant even his best friends, his brothers, thought he'd bounce back to his usual self soon enough. To their credit, they tried to help him (with smuggled contraband from Honeydukes and one hilarious prank on Slytherin) but Lily's words had cut deeper than sugar or Slytherin shrieks could cure. Instead of hiding behind his arrogance, James actually wanted to talk to someone about his feelings, someone that wouldn't be as biased as Sirius, or reasonable as Remus, or oblivious as Peter. Merlin only knows what a laughing stock he'd become if anyone at Hogwarts ever found out how often the too proud Gryffindor wore his heart on his sleeve.

    Yet, that too proud Gryffindor's mask was starting to crack.

    Lost in his thoughts, he collided with another body as he turned a corner. Both of them landed unceremoniously in a heap, causing James to grunt in pain. For a brief second, his brown eyes met blue ones — ones that were infinitely sad like overflowing swimming pools — then the girl dusted herself off. He caught her face for a half second at best before she spun on her heel and left, a red hood covering her features and shrouding her retreating figure. As far as Hogwarts was concerned, such an outfit was not strange — especially not on Halloween — and James wouldn't have thought about the incident twice had something not been left on the floor.

     "Hey!" exclaimed James. "You forgot —"

     The Lady in Red was gone, like the ghost she resembled. Yet, James held in his hand a battered copy of Romeo and Juliet and resolved he would find her again to return the book. Anyone else would've left it, or tossed the item in lost property, but James Potter recognised the defeated sheen over her irises and decided he wanted to bring the strange girl back to life.

     Maybe it was the Gryffindor in him, wanting to be the hero and save the day, or maybe it was because beautiful, broken people liked to fix beautiful, broken people.

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A.N: The Halloween party was going to be this chapter, but I thought it would be too much if I included it, so that'll be next chapter. I was really hesitant about including things from James' side, but I feel it was important to see what's going on with him too. And he'll be back to his usual self in no time, but he's a little sad for now because of something Lily said — I mean, how many times could one handle being berated by who they really like before it starts to hurt? I always kinda saw him and his arrogance as a facade to cover up what a softie he is. He loved the same girl his entire life . . . That's soft.