J A M E S  P O T T E R

'Then why don't you try and figure it out?' The words were scratched into the table and he was honestly irritated with the reply. James read and reread the sentence about thirty times before one of his friends spoke up.

"Just come up with a response already," Sirius requested impatiently and Remus moved his arm from over the boy's shoulder to elbow him in the gut. Sirius held his stomach and narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend before stating, "At this rate we'll miss dinner."

"Then leave," James suggested, tapping the end of his quill against the table. Sirius stood up at this but Remus grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. James looked up at them, "What do I ask?"

"What do you want to know?" Peter asked.

"I want to know who she is," James pointed out with a huff. "What'll narrow that down?"

"Figure out what house she's in," Sirius recommended, his eyebrows narrowed on the boy. "Or don't, just ask something so we can leave."

"He makes a good point," Remus stated, "If you can figure out what house she's in-" Peter opened his mouth but Remus was quick to correct himself, "-they're in-" Sirius rolled his eyes before the boy continued, "-then you'll narrow it down."

"Right," James nodded before quickly scratching the question into the table and making the other line disappear. He stood up, gathering his things, "Let's go before Padfoot kills me."

The boys nodded in agreement, Remus pulling Sirius to his feet before dragging him out of the room. "We could have eaten over an hour ago."

"I know, honey, I know," Remus replied, a slight smile on his face as he put his arm back over the boy's shoulder. Sirius rested his head on his shoulder with a huff, his arms crossed over his chest, grumbling about how it was all James' fault. "You'll feel better once you've eaten."

"I swear, Moony, if you offer me chocolate-"

"I wasn't going to offer you chocolate," he shook his head.

"Oh you totally were," James countered in amusement.

"You, shut it," Sirius suggested, his finger jabbing in James' direction. "This is your fault."

James rolled his eyes before the boys entered the Great Hall and satisfied Sirius' hunger.

O P H E L I A  L O V E G O O D

"So nobody else thinks it's weird that they have nicknames for each other?" Reggie asked as he leaned back in his chair watching as the boys left the library. He then looked around at those at the table, "No? Just me?"

They had made a habit of migrating to the library after dinner. The Great Hall tended to get far too loud for them to focus, let alone talk to each other without having to scream over everyone around them.

"It's just a way for them to express their affection for one another," Pandora pointed out as she looked up from her book to talk to the boy. "Men have a tendency to not be verbally affectionate. With nicknames, it's less obvious then saying 'I love you.'"

"That's not true," Reggie protested, his arm crossed over his chest to emphasize his distaste.

Ophelia laughed at this, "Oh, please. It totally is." She gestured from Reggie over to where her brother, Xenophilius, sat, "Why do you think you call him bro?"

"Because he's my bro," he replied simply. "What do you want me to call him?"

"There's nothing wrong with what you call him," she informed him. "It's just an example that helps prove Pandora's point."

"They make a good argument," Xenophilius spoke up and Reggie narrowed his eyes at the boy. "It could always be because of the Wrackspurts. They make your brain fuzzy."

Ophelia stifled a laugh as she put her book into her bag. "I'm gonna head back to the common room before patrolling," she informed them, "I'll see you later."

"How is it that James Potter managed to get Head Boy?" Reggie inquired. "Bro causes more problems than I do."

"Is that your way of informing us that you're in love with him?" Ophelia asked with a grin. "I can talk you up when I patrol with him tonight. I'll be your wing-women."

Reggie scowled at this, sinking down in his seat, "Shut up." Everyone laughed and he glared at them, "Even if I was interested - which I'm not - he's been in love with Evans since first year. I wouldn't stand a chance. Nobody does."

Ophelia's smile faltered at this but she quickly masked her reaction, hopeful that no one noticed but of course, Coralena had. Coralena frowned before Ophelia slung her bag over her shoulder, "Bye."

Her friends waved at her and she started to walk away. She paused, making sure they weren't looking before going to the table James and his friends had been at.

She read his response and was grateful that it wasn't something that would completely give her away.

Ophelia wrote down her response. 'Ravenclaw. Congratulations, you've narrowed it down to about a quarter of the school's population.'

She made her way to the Ravenclaw common room after this, entering her room a moment later. She plopped down on her bed with a huff. She could tell him. She could tell him tonight that she's the one he's been talking to.

But she knew it wouldn't end how either of them would want it. Because she knew that if he ever knew it was Loony Lovegood he had been talking to, he would change his mind about everything.

J A M E S  P O T T E R

"This is going to sound like an odd request," James began warily as he walked down the hall with Ophelia at his side. She stopped looking around and tilted her head so she was looking at the boy. "Can we stop at the library?"

"The library?" she repeated, clearly confused. She shook her head slightly, "It's kind of late to be going to the library."

"I know," he agreed, "I just need to check something."

"I don't see an issue with going," she replied and he smiled at her in appreciation. "I take it, this has to do with the table?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it does."

They entered the library a moment later and James jogged ahead, arriving at the table seconds before Ophelia joined him. She fought down a smile at his eagerness to see the message but of course James was far too distracted to notice.

"Anything promising?" Ophelia inquired as she leaned against the beam next to the table. She watched the boy as he read the line through again, smiling slightly at whatever had been written. "I'm taking the smile as a good thing."

"Hey, you're in Ravenclaw, right?" he asked her once he looked up from the table. She shot the boy an incredulous look and he grew confused. "What?"

She looked down at her uniform that was very clearly blue and had the Ravenclaw emblem on it. She looked back up at him, keeping her face neutral, "No, I'm actually in Slytherin. I've just been disguising my robes to look like I'm in Ravenclaw for the hell of it."

He cleared his throat, a light blush creeping its way up his neck. He shook his head, "Right, sorry."

"If you're going to ask if I know who the mystery person is, I'm not of any use for you," she informed him and he frowned. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he huffed. "I'm just...I've been talking to her - or him -" he corrected and this confused her but James was too distracted to notice, "- for three years now and I've never met them in person."

"I can tell you it's definitely a girl," she informed him and he looked up at her in confusion.

"You can tell by the handwriting."

"You can?" he asked, looking back down at the line.

"I could be wrong," she pointed out, "But if they really are in Ravenclaw, they're definitely a girl."

"Hmm," he replied before scratching out a quick response and waving his wand to make the previous line disappear. "Let's go finish up the rest of the castle."

"Good idea," she agreed, pushing herself off the beam. He walked ahead of her and she glanced back at what he had written in response before he noticed.

'Aren't you curious as to who I am?'

O P H E L I A  L O V E G O O D

Had he asked her that a few years ago she would have said yes. Hell, had he asked her a week ago she would have just wanted a confirmation that her suspicions had been right.

But of course, she knew now so her response was simple. She had gone back on her way to her common room and written a quick answer. 'Nope. I already know who you are.'

And when she had returned after breakfast, the boy had already responded. She smiled at how quick he had returned and written, 'You do? How?'

She could just imagine the look of confusion on his face as he tried to figure out what her sentence had meant. This was when she could understand why he had wanted to know who she was. Knowing what a person looked like made it a thousand times better.

'I was going for more of a, I know you because we've been talking for three years.' She wrote this quickly and erased his sentence. She looked around before exiting the library before anyone noticed her.

Ophelia sat down next to Coralena at the Ravenclaw table. "Did you reply to his message?" Coralena asked so that only the pair heard her.

"I did," she nodded as she placed food on her plate.

"Did you tell him who you were?" she asked and Ophelia shot her a look. "You should tell him."

"That will never happen."

J A M E S  P O T T E R

"Who do you think it is?" James asked as he scanned over the Ravenclaw table. He had been trying to figure it out since last night but he couldn't think of anyone. The three boys groaned pulling James from his thoughts, "What?"

"We're worried about you, Prongs," Sirius announced with a huff once it was clear that neither Remus and Peter weren't going to say anything.

James shook his head at this, "Why?"

"You see..." Peter trailed off, clearly hesitant. "You've been distracted by whoever it is you're talking to. You don't even know who she is and you spend all your time focused on her."

"I don't see the problem," he replied, still confused.

"You don't see a problem with spending all of your time thinking about someone who you don't really know?" Remus asked and James turned to look at him.

"I do know her," he pointed out.

"You know what she decides to tell you," he countered. "There is obviously a reason she's not telling you who she is."

James rolled his eyes before standing up, "I'm not having this conversation with you three of all people."

"Prongs, we're just trying to-" Sirius began but James cut him off.

"Enough!" he exclaimed and the Great Hall fell silent at the outburst. Everyone turned to look at the boy and he shook his head. He placed his hands on the table and lowered his voice, "We're done talking about this."

O P H E L I A  L O V E G O O D

Reggie let out a low whistle as the group watched as James stormed away from his friends. "Trouble in paradise," he observed as they all turned back to their food. "What do you think that was about?"

"Knowing them, probably a prank gone wrong," Coralena concluded, shooting Ophelia a look. "They all tend to be overdramatic."

Ophelia stuffed a pumpkin pasty into her mouth as her friends discussed James and his friends. She would keep her opinions to herself.

"How is he as Head Boy?" Coralena asked, feigning innocence. Ophelia narrowed her eyes at the girl as she swallowed her food.

"He's fine," she replied simply. "Talks a lot."

"About himself, no doubt," Reggie concluded, "That or Lily."

Ophelia was about to tell him that he actually didn't talk about either of those things. He spends virtually the whole time talking about his friends and the person he had been talking to on the table. She decided against voicing her thoughts when she saw the look on Coralena's face.

"Don't you guys have class?" Ophelia inquired and there was a collective groan from the group. Where as they wanted to be something that involved lots of desk work, Ophelia wanted to be an Auror so their classes were different. This occupation was obviously discouraged by her brother who held the firm belief that Auror's were actually trying to take down the Ministry through Dark Arts and gum disease. She assured him that if that were the case, she would report it immediately and it seemed to ease his concerns if only a little.

"Try not to spend too much time in the library studying," Coralena suggested. "You'll end up with a headache."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ophelia replied, rolling her eyes slightly before the group left. As soon as they were gone, she got up as well and gathered her things.

She approached the library but hid out of sight as soon as she saw a still clearly irritated James leaving. She peered around the corner as he turned to look in her direction and she moved back quickly, pressing herself against the wall. She counted to three before turning the corner only to run into James.

"What are you doing?" he asked her immediately. He towered over her and she took a step back as he watched her curiously.

"The Wrackspurts," she blurted out and he grew confused. She cursed herself internally at her inability to come up with a story on the fly.

"The, what now?" he inquired with a look of bewilderment and she couldn't blame him.

"Wrackspurts," she repeated. "They're all around you."

He looked up and around himself, still perplexed by the girl's antics. If he hadn't bought the whole Loony Lovegood thing before, he surely did now. "I don't see them."

"They're there," she informed him. "They tend to mess with people's heads." He raised an eyebrow and she quickly added, "They make your brains go fuzzy."

"And how do I get rid of them?" he inquired.

"Think positive thoughts," she suggested before pointing behind him. She flipped her Spectrespecs back up so they rested on her head, "I have to go."

Ophelia made her way straight to the table once she had entered the library. She read over the response a few times, contemplating her answer. He had written, 'Okay, fine. You know me but you don't know who I am.'

Which she did. And it probably wasn't fair to him but she couldn't tell him who she was. She wouldn't.