CHAPTER THREE.
( THE END.. )

     The Room of Requirement was so quiet and empty without the life she brought to it. The pillows weren't as comfortable, the lights weren't as bright. The world wasn't as vibrant now that James had lost her but he still had parts of her. Well, a part of her. Her cardigan. She had left it in his room and was holding it close to his face.

     Sobs filling the room as he curled up on the pillows. He wished she was still there but she wasn't. She was gone and he hated it. Hated that she was gone. His knuckles were white as he gripped it tightly. More sobs escaping as the tears fell down his cheeks. He had never cried this much in his entire life. He didn't know how to deal with the emotions.

     All he could do was cry and try and understand what was happening. The emotions had been like a tsunami and not even a week of lying in the Room of Requirement had made James understand them any clearer. He barely left the room. He just sat there, holding her cardigan and staring at the ceiling. Sometimes he cried, sometimes he listened to her favourite record, sometimes he talked to her as if she was still with him.

     But it was getting ridiculous, his friends had been covering for him the best they could. It was getting harder so Remus decided to try and speak to James. He entered the Room and when he found James crying, he didn't know what to do. He closed the door and stepped towards the boy. He didn't even seem to notice that Remus had appeared.

     So he was cautious and he sat down next to James. His movements were slow and gentle as he pulled James into a hug. James looked up, almost just for a second thinking that it was her but it wasn't. It was Remus and it made James realise how pathetic he was being. Crying over a girl. So heavily, so much. It was stupid really.

     "Come on, Prongs. You need to get out of here," Remus said softly. His hand moved to rest cautiously against James'. James shook his head and pulled his hands into his chest. Burying his face in the knit of the cardigan once again. He wasn't going to leave, not until he understand himself. He could leave then and only then.

     "Please, Prongs. We're worried about you. Padfoot is barely eating, he's biting his nails again. It's driving me crazy. Just come back to the dorm. We miss you," Remus asked, his hands resting in his lap. He didn't know how to deal with situations like this. James looked up at Remus and wiped his tears from his cheeks as he pushed himself to sit up a little.

     "I can't leave her... here," James muttered, quick to correct himself. Remus looked at his best friend and sighed. He knew James would take it hard. He loved Odeya more than he had loved anybody. Lily had kissed him without even asking and now it was his downfall. That's why James said nothing, he didn't want this to happen.

     "You can leave, Prongs. It'll be here when you come back. Just come and eat with us. We want to talk to you, mate. We want to help you," Remus said as he looked up at James' face. The tears had stained his red puffy cheeks and he hated that he couldn't do more than just say things. He couldn't bring Odeya back to him. He couldn't do anything for them.

     "I don't need your help. I need to understand this on it's own," James said, nodding his head. He had convinced himself that doing it alone was how he needed to be. He knew that being alone would be better than with his friends. His friends didn't want to hear about his sorrows or his woes. He couldn't put that onto them. He was his own person, he could deal with it. He fixed everyone else, it would easy to fix himself. Just as easy.

     "Prongs, sometimes you need your friends. I think this is one of those times. Please don't freeze us out," Remus pleaded and James stared down at the floor. He pushed his feet against the stone floor. It seemed he was trying to decide whether to do it or not. Decide whether to push his friends away. They were his best friends. They had already been there for him but nobody understood how he felt with Odeya. They didn't get it.

     "You wouldn't understand," James muttered and Remus sighed. Her ran his fingers through his hair before he let his hand rest against his face. He was going to hear James out even if they were supposed to be at the feast, "The love she gave me, how she made me feel. I'm never going to get it again. She made me feel so bloody alive. So safe. So happy and now she's gone. I need to work out how to feel like that without other people... other people leave," James said quickly. Stumbling over his words as his voice quivered. The memories of her clouding his vision.

     The two of them walking through Hogsmeade, holding hands, grinning. His arms around her as they slow-danced and talked about the possibilities. The possibilities that were gone now. All those ideas and thoughts weren't possible. She was gone and he hated it. He hated that he could never have that life with her.

     "Prongs, I'm never going to leave you. You're my best friend and it would take one of us dying for me to ever leave you," Remus said. His declarations was strangely honest. Overwhelmingly honest. Remus cared for his friends more than he cared for himself and he was never going to leave them. Never would he let them be alone. He cared far too heavily for them.

     "She said that to me too," James muttered. Remus sighed and he pulled James into a hug. He didn't care about boundaries or whatever masculinity they needed to keep intact, he was going to hug his friend. Society be damned. Her rested his head against James' and held him close.

     "I am not her, Prongs. You are my best friend and I love you as a friend. I'm not going to leave. Never in a million bloody years. You have helped me so much and I would never forget the repay that debt, okay?" Remus said. James sniffled and let out a long shaky breath before he nodded his head. He let his head rest against Remus' chest and the boys both let out deep breaths.

     "We need to go to the feast," Remus mumbled after a moment of just the two of them sitting there. Wallowing in the emotions. James wiped his face and pulled away, sniffling as he took a deep breath. He stared at the record-player and thought for a moment.

      "One more day. I'll be at the feast tomorrow," James said as he looked up at his friend. Remus tilted his head slightly before he stood up. He crossed the room to the door and stared at the handle. His hand hovering above it for a moment before he turned back.

      "I can't cover for you anymore," Remus said. James frowned and wiped his face again. He stared down at the cardigan in his palms and thought for a moment. He really should get up. He should leave but he didn't know if he could. Remus saw the contemplative look on his face and his frown deepened, "Come on, mate. We need to go to the feast. I'll be right next to you," Remus said as he held a hand out. James looked up at him and nodded. He stood up and crossed the room.

     Remus then opened the door and the two of them stepped out of the Room. James closed the door behind him and he looked at it for a moment. It would appear to those who need it. It would still be there for him if he still needed it. So, James just looked at Remus giving him a reassuring smile that he was ready.

     Remus returned that smile and the pair headed towards the Great Hall. James was still holding her cardigan in his hand, his thumb running over the knit as his stomach growled. He was clearly hungry and when James saw his two other best friends sat down waiting, he couldn't help but feel just that little bit happier. His friends were still there for him after everything.

***

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ! okay the last little part of this short story! the ending is kinda purposefully ambigious, like what happened to her? we don't know! i want this to be a thing that you individually decide, even i don't have a concrete idea on what happened to her because there's so many possibilities so ya know! but here's the end, i hope you enjoyed this short little story <3