james // knife cuts sweetly through the pain

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

OUTFIT

This wasn't exactly Tabitha's best idea.

But things had reached a head with a fellow classmate, and things like this didn't happen much for tabby since she wasn't really out to many people, but she'd found a girl who found her sexy, and she had a free moment to go for it. It wasn't like Tabby was easy, she was just lonely, and a little make out was just what she needed. they rushed down the hall looking for a place, forgoing the broom cupboard because that was just too cliche "in the closet" and all.

The next best option was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Which, was not a great option either, given that the ghost could see them and expose them, but hopefully she was asleep in a U-bend and wouldn't bother them. It was a good place for doing anything away from prying eyes, that weren't Myrtle anyway.

Tabby felt a little sheepish, given that she didn't have flings much, but the other girl went for it and they began to kiss. Tabby wound a hand up in her partner's brown hair and put the other on the girl's hips, pulling her close. They just needed a little to get them through being so alone.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU."

James couldn't say he was alarmed to hear these words. The sentence was repeated at least three times a day, usually, between pranks gone wrong, pranks gone right and ordinary daily conversation. Nevertheless, there was a very angry Ravenclaw prefect standing in far end of the corridor, drenched in Gryffindor-inspired paint, and James figured that he shouldn't take his chances. After all, it was always possible that one day, someone actually would, and wouldn't that be tragic?

He briefly considered how Liam would get on without him. Or Hogwarts, for that matter. People would be clad in black for weeks, months, probably years. Weeping would replace laughter in the corridors, sullen classmates consoling one another as they tried but failed to find meaning in their everyday lives. They would probably erect a statue in his honor, created out of pure gold, to give heartbroken witches and wizards everywhere something more than a memory to hold onto, and multiples times a day, girls would throw themselves at it, desperate for his touch, if only through his monument...

Oh. She was taking out her wand. James turned on his heel and immediately sprinted down the hallway, making quick turns in attempts to lose her. When the footsteps were far enough away, he ducked into the first door he came across, hoping for a safe place to hide out. And suddenly he found himself in the second floor girls' bathroom.

And it was there that he made a discovery. Two attractive girls were wrapped in each other's arms, lips pressed against each other, hands entangled in hair, and James grinned to himself. As the door slammed behind him, sure to disrupt their actions, he shook his head and waved a hand, leaning against the wall. "Please, don't stop for me. By all means, continue."

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

OUTFIT

Tabitha missed the feeling of flesh, warm against warm. The other girls lips were soft and firm, everything about her soft and delicate. Tabby intended to make the most of it when she heard footsteps and then a door slam, the door to the bathroom. Immediately the two broke apart and looked at the intruder horrified.

Tabitha recognized him at once as James Potter. As a prefect she knew he was a prankster and of course he looked rather like his famous parents. Tabby stood there, at a loss for what to say when she heard the door slam again and realized that the other girl had run away. Tabby sighed. She must have been even deeper in the closet that Tabby was. Tabitha didn't hide it if it came up, but it made her uncomfortable and didn't generally bring it up. Only close friends and ex-girlfriends knew.

Well, and now James Potter. And he was difficult to handle.
"If you tell anyone I'll get you into trouble, I'm a prefect." Tabby informed him, turning a little to face the mirror and check her face and hair, but mostly to avoid his prying eyes.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

The mystery girl stared horrified at him, bright red, hair mussed, and James shook his head as she brushed past him and out the room. Guess the party was over. How disappointing. And suddenly, the clearly Hufflepuff girl (if her outfit were any indication) was threatening him and attempting to perfect her hair. A Hufflepuff, handing out threats? He must have just walked in on something big.

It wasn't unusual to find two girls kissing, but this tended to be at parties with a group of boys around them, egging them on. It seemed to be used for attention more than lust. But if that were the case, why get upset? Or, better yet, why kiss in an abandoned bathroom?

So James, being obnoxious, hopped onto the edge of one of the sinks, legs dangling off the edge, and grinned cheekily at her. "All the more reason to tell, isn't it?" he asked. Of course, he couldn't talk — his best mate was a prefect, so he wasn't going to go around bad-mouthing them seriously. But it was all fun and games for James, all the time.

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

OUTFIT

Tabby sighed. James liked to get in trouble, she should have known better. She turned to face him, leaning on the sink. "Okay fine, do it for her then, she's not out yet." The poor thing, she was one of those shy Ravenclaws and she'd probably die of embarrassment. James couldn't possibly understand how hard it was to be a gay teen.

"Of course, I'm not really out to the general public myself... so this can be our little secret, and if I catch you at a prank I'll let it slide?" She suggested. Most people assumed that because she was Hufflepuff and a prefect that she didn't know how to play the game and talk the talk. But Tabitha wasn't generally a pushover, especially not when it mattered.

She didn't want to introduce herself due to the fact that then he could spread rumors about her, but she wondered how bad that would really be...

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

The poor girl looked nervous, though she was clearly trying not to let that show. And while James was not one for being cruel, per say, it never hurt to have a little fun. So he listened carefully to her words, pulling his best thinking face (involving furrowed eyebrows, pursed lips and a few carefully placed nods accompanied by chin scratches). And when she offered to let him slide if she ever caught him pulling a prank, he paused, rolling his eyes dramatically toward the ceiling — the perfect touch to his posture.

"No," he finally said, shrugging. "I've got detentions lined up until I graduate anyway. No point." He grinned cheekily at her, swinging his legs like a child. But when he finally saw the panic set into her features, he laughed and shook his head.

"Why in Merlin's name would I tell anyone?" he asked, chuckling to himself still, pleased with his performance. "So you like snogging girls. Who cares? Any guy around here would find that an advantage, anyway." He sent her an easy grin to show he meant no harm, as he was just having a bit of fun with her.

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

Tabby chuckled and shook her head at his word. "You probably do." Like father like son right? Rule breakers the both of them. Of course, he had a prefect for a best friend, a boy named Liam. He was a pretty nice guy as far as Tabby knew, she James couldn't really be so bad. She sat on the sink next to hiss and swung her feet lightly as he was, careful not to let her bright yellow heels fly off.

"Not just snogging," Tabby admitted with a laugh, but she wanted to make sure he realized she was a lesbian and not just messing around. Plus, she realized he meant no harm and was just teasing with her, and she could do it back. He already knew everything. "I don't really care what guys think." She added to make her point, plus it was the truth. She didn't get with girls for boys. Tabby shrugged lightly. Maybe she should just come out with it and just tell everyone she was gay, everyone could deal and her friends would stick up for her in the case of hateful people, right?

"I'm Tabby," She told him. Tabitha didn't bother adding that he was James Potter, he was probably used to being recognized, and he probably hated it.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

When the girl pointed out that she didn't just like snogging girls, James' mind went to the very darkest corners of his imagination, and he grinned stupidly as he zoned out for a few moments. When he came to, he leaned back against the mirror, raising his eyebrows a couple of times. "Ooh, dirty. I want details," he teased, his voice rising in pitch as though he were a preteen girl. "Spill girlfriend."

His voice cracked on the last word, resulting in an even higher-pitched voice, which really just sounded like a mouse squeaking at that point. He winced, then frowned. "I apparently do not make a good girl," he pointed out, acting overdramatic about the entire thing, though also legitimately sad for reasons unbeknownst to anyone.

The sorrow disappeared within the next moment, of course, and she was suddenly introducing herself. He nodded. "Judging by the way you offered a get-out-of-detention-free card, I'm going to assume you know who I am," he replied, grinning. He couldn't say he was surprised. At least she didn't ask if he was Harry Potter's son.

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

When James cracked out with his teen girl first Tabitha couldn't help but break out laughing. She had a musical laugh, like tingling bells. Oh course, she wasn't going to spill anything to James Potter, but he didn't really expect her too, so she could just laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing. "No, you don't make a very good girl," She agreed. "You have good hair though." She said with a smile. James wasn't exactly a manly man, but he wasn't girly by any means and he wouldn't want to be.

"Yeah, I do, your reputation precedes you" Tabby nodded. "Nice to meet you James." Of course, she had seen him in passing and all, but this was the first real time they had ever spoken.

"Shouldn't you be in class now?" She asked with her eyebrows raised, but a smile tugged on her lips. Tabitha had no intention of getting him in trouble.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

Good hair? James nodded, grinning. "Why yes, yes I do," he replied, not realizing that most people would reply with "thank you" or "really?" or even just a polite smile. He wasn't normal by any means anyway.

And then the mention of class. James shrugged, folding his arms behind his head, making himself comfortable on one of the few in-tact sinks. Technically, he did, but it was History of Magic, which he figured didn't even count. Lately, given the strange graffiti and new anti-Muggle movement, Binns had been lecturing on the last anti-Muggle wave: the second Wizarding War, in which his own father had defeated the most powerful, evil wizard that had ever existed.

He had heard the story too many times to count. Granted, it was never through his father, who seemed to like to downplay the whole ordeal and focus on his family — a trait James appreciated. But that didn't stop his friends and family from bringing it up on every occasion, bragging about him and asking for more details about every situation Harry Potter had found himself in throughout the ordeal. He knew the facts like the back of his hand. He knew more about it than the history books did. Why would be go?

Besides, when he did show up during one of those lectures, his classmates would turn and stare at him. They tried to be discrete, of course, but it wasn't exactly subtle when an entire class full of students turned to glance at him from the corner of their eyes. James normally craved the spotlight, but this was for something that he hadn't done, something he hadn't been alive to see. And while he was proud of his father, he loathed the attention. He had strived his entire life to be something more than Harry Potter's son, and those classes were slowly draining all of his hard work.

Of course, he didn't say that. "Technically," James replied, and through all his thoughts, kept a grin on his face. "But it's History of Magic. Binns isn't really known for keeping track of his class." He shrugged, then, trying to switch the subject, tilted his head at her. "What about you? Cutting class for snogging?"

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

She laughed and shook her head . "So modest." She teased him. But she liked that he knew who he was, that was a trait to be envied.

Tabby glanced up at the clock. "Now I am." She said. She'd only planned for a little kissing on the way to her next class and then running off to class. However, due to James' appearance, she was now late for class. Tabby of course could always chalk it up to prefect business and apologize for her lateness.... if she even went. Right now she just wanted to sit on the sink and chat with James. He was surprisingly good company, entertaining for sure.

"Only I'm missing Herbology, which is much more fun than History of magic." She said. Binns was frightfully dull and difficult to listen to. Once she doodled an entire forest on her arm only to find out her friend had switched her ink with super long lasting kind. She looked like she was tattooed for about a week.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

Herbology? James was not a huge fan of plants. The normal muggle ones were okay — they just kind of sat there, taking whatever life threw at them, not complaining or plotting murders or anything. Magical plants, on the other hand, had a habit of trying to strangle him. Even the ones that were supposed to be complacent — ones that he was only supposed to water without incident — took an immediate dislike to him. He once had a bloody flower wrapped around his neck, struggling to cut off his air circulation. Thankfully the stem was too weak, as everyone around him was too busy laughing to help.

Still, even with the murderous plants, it was better than History of Magic.

But he pretended to seem outraged regardless, jaw dropping and eyes widening at her words. He went as far as to throw a hand over his mouth for good measure. "How dare you? Professor Binns is the best professor I have ever had at Hogwarts," he insisted as he dropped his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. This was actually partially true, considering he couldn't tell if James skipped class. "He's so interesting. I hang on his every word."

He shook his head, then realized that this, too, was partially true. At least the last part. To prove his point, he broke out into a grin and proceeded to pretend to tie a noose around his neck and hang himself, classy as always.

[TABITHA JANE WINTERS]

It took Tabby a second to realize he was kidding and she laughed at his word. Binns was still teaching here, after being dead for a super long time--how old was he even? No doubt he had lived through several of the events he taught and could actually be quite entertaining if he tried.But he didn't try, or thought the students wanted to hear every last tiny detail of anything that ever happened.

When he mimed hanging himself Tabitha let out a snort of a laugh and covered her face with her hands, trying to hold back giggles. "That's horrible." she managed, but it was still so funny, just like his goofy grin.

"I bet Snape and McGonagall were fabulous teachers, kinda sad we missed them." Of course, his dad had them as professors and maybe this was hitting low. She hadn't meant to of course. Harry Potter was so wrapped up in the history of this place.

ooc- bleh, i know, sorry