197AN: If you're still reading after all this time, thank you.
So far (A complete recap, to make jogging your memory easier):
Once upon a time, in a Scottish school of magic and wizardry, there was a teenage boy named James who thought the word revolved around a certain red-haired witch named Lily. One day, after months and years of trying to get Lily to go on a date with him, James decided to vent to his friend and fellow classmate Sarah. A seemingly innocuous suggestion from the latter that the former might have a better chance at winning Lily's heart if he gained more experience turns into a charade where James and Sarah pretend to date, with Sarah being James' love-guru.
James and Sarah start fake-dating, with Sarah showing James the ropes. Sarah's best friend Alice is positively ecstatic that Sarah has a boyfriend, but her other best friend Marlene is wary about the Quidditch Captain — she doesn't believe that he's over Lily yet. Neither of them knows that it's all nothing more than pretense. Sirius and Peter are supportive of the new 'relationship', as is Remus, much to James' surprise. Sarah's arch-nemesis, Ava McKinnon (Marlene's cousin) is of the opinion that James is using Sarah, which is true in a way, but she's never going to find out that her conspiracy theory is actually spot-on.
Lily on the other hand believes James is a toerag that no one should talk to, and thinks Sarah has gone insane, seeing as she's now with said toerag. However, Sarah's lessons seem to be working, because these days, James can hold a complete conversation with Lily without the witch of his dreams walking off in exasperation and annoyance.
The more time Sarah spends with James, the more interesting (read: disturbing) things she learns, such as the fact that there was (maybe still is) a Ravenclaw boy who fancied(s) her. She also learns that James and his mates are nosy, and know everything going on everywhere, possibly by eavesdropping on innocent people and private conversations.
But what's more disturbing, Sarah realises, is those pesky teenage hormones. Maybe it's only because they're spending so much time together, but Sarah is pretty sure James is physically attracted to her, even if his heart is Lily's. And Sarah is confused because when she's with James, she can't stop blushing. At the same time, hanging out with him is easy, and the time they spend together feels very real.
One thing leads to another, and Sarah and James find themselves in Myrtle's bathroom, when Sarah slips and hits her head. She wakes up in the Hospital Wing to find out that she's had a concussion, and to find James sitting there by her side even though it's well past curfew. Thinking that the James she's seeing is just a figment of her imagination, she kisses him, only to discover that the James she has kissed is very much the real version – much to her mortification, and James' bemusement. James stays on for some more time to catch her up on gossip, and to give her company. (Neither of them acknowledges the kiss.)
When the sleep potion finally kicks in, all Sarah can think of is how weirdly nice James is being, considering that they're nothing more than friends.
x
Sarah's family: Sarah is an only child. Her dad is a Muggleborn and her mum is a Pureblood who got blasted off the Rosier family tree when her family found out she was running away from home. Sarah's only relatives are her aunt Lana and cousin David, both who are Muggles. Her Godmother is her mum's best friend, Evelyn. (Sarah is related to people like the Black sisters on her mum's side, but she doesn't consider them to be family.)
—Post update addition :3
x
October 15, 1976
Friday
"My precious poppet is finally up!" coos a familiar voice, and I smile as Marlene becomes clearer in my blurry vision.
"Hi," I say, as I turn onto my side, still smiling.
"How do you feel, baby?"
Alice is sitting by my legs on the bed, and I hadn't even noticed.
"Happy," I say, and Marlene chuckles.
"That must be the painkillers, sweetie."
"Yay, free drugs," I say lightly, and Marlene snorts at that. I try to gauge Alice's reaction – normally she'd tell us off, but she's only shaking her head and smiling fondly at us.
"Didn't I tell you girls to call me if she wakes up?" comes the sharp voice of Madam Pomfrey as she strides in from her office.
Alice and Marlene say nothing, though the former does get up from the bed and go to stand behind Marly's chair.
"How are you feeling Ms Davies? Any pain?" she asks, to the point, as always.
"Nothing, Madam Pomfrey."
She steps past the bed and shines a bright light into each of my eyes, before moving her right index finger from side to side, telling me to follow her actions. I suppose whatever she was checking seems to be fine, because she nods her head curtly.
"I'll have your lunch brought up in a few minutes. Do not eat any of those," she says, eyeing the table full of sweets, or rather sweet wrappers, with barely disguised disgust.
"There are potions which you need to have after your meal, and do try to stay awake – your father said he'd try to pop by during his lunch break – he came over this morning but didn't want to wake you up. And no running around, walking around or any heavy physical activity today, or for the next week, have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, Madam Pomfrey."
Five minutes later, she bustles in and gives me a steaming bowl of gruel – bleugh. She rolls her eyes at my expression, and tells me that if I hadn't been thoughtless enough to run in the corridors, I wouldn't be here eating this.
I really want to be able to remember what happened yesterday, because James had never mentioned that I'd been running. In fact, he'd said that I had asked him to hold my bag outside Myrtle's bathroom.
The thing is, I'm pretty sure I wasn't running.
I'm also pretty sure I didn't ask James to chaperone me to the loo – I wouldn't have done that in a million years.
And Ava's theory that James took me to the second floor to murder me, so that he could start dating Lily without fearing my wrath? That's equally preposterous. (That was the "drama" that Ava had indulged in yesterday when I was knocked out.)
Pomfrey turns to leave, but pauses to look at Marlene and Alice.
"Lunch hour ends in five minutes, in case you didn't know, and don't give me that face, I let you stay for more than that ten minutes you bargained for. The next official visiting hours are from half six to half seven," she says, glancing at Marlene's scowling face.
But Alice is as dutiful, as ever. "Thanks, Madam Pomfrey!"
Once the older witch has moved away, Marlene rolls her eyes.
"So it's settled then. Alice will go to class and take notes for us – we have Herbology and Arithmancy today – during which time I'll update you on how hilarious dinner yesterday was–"
Alice interrupts, "Wait, why am I on class attending duty? Why do I always get the brunt of the work?"
Marlene looks like she's about to say something like 'fuck off', so I intervene.
"If it were Marlene's notes we were relying on, we wouldn't have made it past First Year."
Alice laughs at that in her girlish high pitch, while Marlene cries out an exasperated 'hey'.
But it's the truth.
"Why can't we both go or not go to class then?" she asks, once she's done laughing.
"If we both don't turn up, they'll think the three of us are playing truant. I'm sure Lily or James will make it clear that Sarah's here, but one of us needs to make an excuse for the other – you know I can't make excuses without teachers launching a Spanish Inquisition, so it's best you go...
"Also, what kind of best friends would we be if we left Sarah alone, all by herself, when she can't even take care of herself enough to not get knocked out while visiting the loo?"
At the conclusion of that long winded speech, I'm the one crying out an exasperated hey, while Ali just narrows her eyes and shakes her head.
"You should have gone to Slytherin, McKinnon," she says acerbically, flicking the blonde on her left ear.
Then she steps up to me, kisses my cheek, and says sweetly, like the sunny angel I know her to be, "You have your potions and go to sleep, love. And don't strain yourself too much trying to remember, okay?"
I hum in response, taking in Alice's jasmine scent. The hospital wing has no odour of its own – it's very bland.
"And an owl dropped this off today, but I'll give it you only on the condition that you'll read it once you get better," she says, moving to pick up her bag from the neighbouring bed, before taking out a wrapped package.
Be still, my beating heart.
"It's here?" I croak out.
My precious is here.
"Just show her book already, Als. She looks like a bloody Niffler that's spotted gold."
I'm unable to pull the wrapped package from Alice's twiglike hands because of the disgusting gruel I'm holding. It's the next book in this Medieval Age series, where a female mage falls for the warlock she's apprenticed to, and I've been waiting for ages for this book to come out.
"Give me!"
"I'm taking this to class. And if you take good care of yourself, have your medicines and sleep on time, then I'll give it to you next week."
Next week?
She can't be serious!
I want to murder her in her stupid bed; I want to suffocate the breath in her miniature body till she's blue like a Cornish Pixie. She'll look like an elongated Oompa Loompa, but that's not going to stop—
"OI, SARAH!"
I startle and look at Marlene, who has a smug expression on her face.
"I told you she was retreating, didn't I?" she says with a toss of her head to Alice.
Now that I've gathered my wits, I try to be charming.
"But Alice, if you don't let me read, then someone at the book club might reveal the plot – and that would ruin the suspense. And it wouldn't have been worth the eleven month wait."
"If you've waited for eleven months, you can wait for one more week," she says, with a shrug of her shoulders, before stuffing the book back in and walking out.
I watch her forlornly, my earlier feeling of anger being replaced with one of intense grief. With my copy of A Court Of Warlocks And Runes being so close, yet so far, I can feel a part of myself dying.
"Your book can wait, you dork. Your favourite-est person in the entire world has been having fun in your absence. Aren't you the least bit curious about what she did yesterday? And today as well?"
I'm about to say no, that James told me everything, and that I just want my bloody copy of ACOWAR, but then I realise I can't very well tell her James spent the night here – that would lead to a line of interrogation my poor brain wouldn't be able to put up with.
So I settle in with my absolutely lovely bowl of bland nothing, and listen to Marlene, as she recounts Ava's theories as to what happened yesterday – both her old theory, as well as her new one.
I sigh and try not to roll my eyes too much at how laughably stupid both theories are.
;;
"Is there a patient named Ms Davies here for me?"
I shut my book resolutely, a large grin gracing my face even before I look up from my comic. It's a voice I'd always been able to recognise, since time immemorial.
"I believe that's me, Healer Davies," I say, looking at the self-assured man who's walking in briskly, with a briefcase in his hand. Madam Pomfrey follows, and smiles at the exchange between my dad and me – my dad and I? – I'm not sure.
Whenever my dad has to look at me in a professional capacity, like when I was six and broke my wrist, or whenever I just end up with a bad case of flu, we go through this charade of him asking for a Ms Davies, and me calling him Healer Davies.
"How are you feeling, sweetling?" he asks, as he whisks out his wand and does the same things that Madam Pomfrey did this morning.
"I'm just tired and sleepy all the time. And my head hurts now and then."
"Your head hurting probably has something to do with reading in bad lighting," he says, and a quick look at Pomfrey shows that she agrees completely.
"I specifically told McKinnon and Greengrass not to bring reading material, so that she can rest, but those girls don't listen to me at all," she huffs.
My dad's greyish blue eyes twinkle merrily, showing that he's amused.
"Has she been having her potions, Madam Pomfrey?"
Dad knows how much I hate the taste of painkillers. It's bitter, and I just can't stand it.
"I've had all my dosages properly," I cut in, earning a wry look from my dad and a hmmph from Madam Pomfrey.
"I'll leave you two to it, then," she says, and walks into her office.
Dad gestures for me to turn my head slightly, and gently probes the bump on the back of my head.
I wince.
"Still tender?"
"Yes, Daddy."
Now that Madam Pomfrey isn't around, I can act like a kid and not be judged.
"Your mother's beside herself with worry, you know? She wrote to Dumbledore, asking if she could visit, but Dumbledore refused her. Thank goodness he did, eh? She'd have tried to admit you at St Mungo's."
"What exactly is the diagnosis, Dad? Apparently I have a concussion, and I can't remember anything from yesterday, but according to James, I hit my head twice when I fell. What really happened?"
"It happens all the time, sweetling. People trip, sometimes slip, and fall and hit their heads. Your lapse in memory extends only to the past day, so it's clearly only your temporary memory which has been affected. Chances are, you'll remember what happened yesterday in a few days, but even if you don't, there's no long term damage."
He pauses, before continuing, "And as for that young man, your mother and I have some interesting questions to ask."
"What if I witnessed a murder, and I can't be counted on to identify the killer because I can't remember?" I prompt, ignoring the second part of what he said.
"That would mean you've read one too many macabre novels. Your mother and I are thinking of cutting off your pocket money, so that you'll stop reading books."
Whaaaat, oh come on!
"You should actually be happy that my poison is books. I could be like other kids, getting stoned every Saturday, or turning up high to Transfig, or even be a nymphomaniac, but all that I am is a harmless bibliophile."
"You and your pragmatism," he says, shaking his head.
"What? That was a brilliant point, and you need to concede it!"
"If I concede to anything, you'll use it against me later when you're talking to your mother. And talking about your mother..."
He opens his briefcase, and takes out a stack of letters, and a package tied up in brown paper.
"Your mother's written some advice for you. She also wrote Evelyn out of worry, and she's written a letter for you as well. And then Alana had to throw in her two Knuts as well, so here you go," he says, placing the letters on my bed and patting my duvet clad leg.
"Your mother was also sceptical about the potions that Slughorn has the NEWT students make for the hospital wing, so she's made a new batch for you, and flavoured them with strawberries and chocolate so that you'll have them."
My dearest mother. She knows me so well.
"Auntie Lana is back in town?"
"Only briefly. She had some bank work to look into, and had to stop by. And before you ask, David's still in London."
"Okay," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Four."
"What?"
"It's the fourth time you've rolled your eyes since I got here."
"For Merlin's sake–"
"You know how your mother would get if she'd been here."
I roll my eyes again, out of sheer habit, and Dad laughs his deep, gravelly, familiar laugh.
;;
"So, um, I don't know if this will help, but here you go."
I never thought I'd see the day the self assured James Potter struggle to use the right words. Then again, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be reduced to almost crying at how thoughtful someone is.
"This is too much," I tell him, and my voice breaks, and it's obvious that I'm emotional, because in the background, I can hear Alice say awww and hear Sirius generally berate everyone in the room for making the poor girl cry.
But I can't help it – I stand up too quickly and fling myself onto James, to crush the life out of him.
I also am forced to remain holding him, because my head's spinning from my getting up too fast.
There's a hiss and I look up to see Peter's taken a picture, but James continues holding me, as I lean against him heavily. He sways from side to side gently, as though he's soothing me like a child. The smell of cinnamon and musk is faint, overpowered by how sweaty he is, coming off from the Quidditch pitch, but I don't complain.
Marlene and Remus keep clearing their throats, getting progressively louder, till Marlene sounds like she's got a bad case of whooping cough.
James slowly helps me back into the bed, and I open the bound booklet of parchment. I haven't even read my mother's letter yet, or my godmother's or my aunt's, for that matter, but I'm reading James' booklet already. I feel stupid, for not prioritising my own mother – my flesh and blood – over a boy I just feel attracted towards, only because of continuous association.
So I just flip through the book once again, just the way I'd done before I'd all but mauled the Quidditch Captain.
"It's a very thoughtful gesture," I tell him sincerely, and he responds by squeezing me left shoulder with the arm he has around me.
"Right, so can we finish this game of chess we were playing before these uncouth people all rushed in, Rah?" asks Ali, her voice sounding snooty, but a smile gracing her face.
I'm probably losing the game, and my pieces have given up on me. Once upon a time, around ten years ago, they used to give me advice on how to play, but after a continuous losing streak of ten years, except for when I play with David, they've just gone and given up on me.
The cracks on them signify how many times I've lost games.
"Move your knight there," Sirius says. "You can protect your rook from her queen."
"Hey! That's cheating!"
"She needs the help," chimes James in from my side, and I nudge him with my elbow.
Sirius pulls up another chair from the neighbouring bed's area, and sits down. He and James talk to each other and tell me where to move each of my few pieces, while Marlene, Peter and Remus munch on the chocolates that the book club had sent me earlier today.
(This time, I gave them permission to eat the chocolates.)
I think the only person who's my friend, who hasn't visited me, is Lily. Even Joe had left a Darke Potions book for me when I'd been fast asleep. Ava had left me a condolence message, the idiot.
The game's over in fifteen minutes – it's a stalemate. Alice looks furious, while Sirius looks smug with himself.
"The trick, Davies, is not to win. It's to make sure your opponent doesn't win."
I laugh at that, and relax further into my pillow. It takes me a moment to realise that my pillow isn't a pillow, as much as it is a warm limb of James Potter's. Content with my current posture, I watch as my chessmen pick themselves up off the board, and march into their box, looking slightly elated at a not-complete loss.
"Didn't I tell you there can only be a maximum of three visitors at a time?" comes a clipped voice from the doorway, and Madam Pomfrey's there, looming and glowering at my fellow Gryffindors. Her nose wrinkles up at Marlene, Remus and Peter sitting happily on the neighbouring bed.
"I'd expected more sense from you, Mr Lupin," she says, and the boy has the grace to look slightly ashamed.
Remus Lupin is a lovely boy, but he has very poor constitution. He's perpetually sick all the time, and is a constant inhabitant of the infirmary. In fact, he looks a bit peaky right about now–
My thoughts about Remus are cut short by the appearance of someone with fire red hair behind Pomfrey. She looks quite apologetic, and is holding a stack of books.
"Out, all of you, OUT!"
And just like that, my socialising for the day comes to an end.
"I'll try to sneak in after dinner," says Alice lowly, as she takes her chessboard , and I nod my head distractedly, giving her my box of chess pieces as well.
"She won't be able to come; Longbottom's going to try cornering her," whispers James into my ear, and I turn to look at him, surprised.
I'm about to ask more questions, but Madam Pomfrey clears her throat.
"I'll see you tomorrow, sweetie!" Marlene says brightly, stuffing all the chocolate covers into her Quidditch robes' pocket before she hugs me gently. It's awkward, because James hasn't moved yet.
"Bye, Sarah," calls out Peter, with Sirius curtseying to me like a courtier to a queen. I'm amused, to say the least. James chortles.
"Get well soon." says Remus, and I smile at him warmly, when James tells in a low voice, "Goodnight, princess."
I might have blushed at that, as James slowly removed his arm from around me.
And said blushing might have stopped abruptly when I catch James staring at Lily wistfully.
Everyone troops away, trudging slowly, when Pomfrey tells Lily, "Five minutes, Ms Evans. Five minutes only."
Lily nods quickly and makes her way towards my bed, without knowing that Ali is glaring at her intently, even as she's walking out.
I really love Alice.
Almost everyone's out, when Pomfrey calls out, "Mr Lupin, if you'd meet me in my office, I need to speak to you."
Both Lily and I watch as Sirius and James, the last stragglers, look at each other meaningfully, as Remus steps back into the hospital wing and moves to the office. Pomfrey follows shortly after, after ensuring that Ali and Marly aren't coming back.
Lily fidgets, standing on one foot, then the other.
I say nothing, and neither does she.
"So... how's your head?"
"It hurts a little."
"Is it true, you can't remember anything from yesterday?"
"Nope, can't remember a thing."
"I see James gave you the book," she says, looking at the booklet on my lap that I haven't read yet. "That's when I found out you'd had a severe concussion. I was working on our Charms homework, so that you wouldn't have to worry about it, that's why I didn't come to see you earlier."
She speaks in a rush, but it hasn't escaped my notice that she's called James by his first name.
"That's okay, you did come in the end," I tell her, and she looks right into my eyes, hers looking like gleaming emeralds in the light from the burning torches.
"I thought maybe Potter did something – don't protest, he's not beyond hurting others if it comes to protecting himself or his friends – Marlene's cousin might have been onto something. But then I saw how he went around collecting stories today, and I can't help but feel awful about suspecting him."
"I-I know he's been repeatedly lousy to your Slytherin friend, but he's not like that to everyone."
"I know," she says bitterly, sitting on the bed, where Ali had been sitting earlier. "Do you think I should apologise to him?"
"For what? It's not like he knows you were suspicious," I tell her, struggling to be a good friend – to James.
Was Lily beginning to respect him? Well, someday, eventually, James is going to feel ready enough to ask Lily out, and she's going to say yes, and they'll have a beautiful love story. And I–
I shake my head to stop myself from going down that path.
It's a dangerous, treacherous slope.
"I might have written what I thought as a post script note on my page in the booklet. I do apologise in that as well, but I wonder if I should apologise to his face."
I'm saved from replying, because Remus comes out of Pomfrey's office, with Pomfrey on his heels.
"Your five minutes are up," she says, brusque as ever, and Lily gets up quickly.
"I did the Charms assignment. I've kept it inside my notebook. I've made special notes for our project, they're here," she says, holding aloft her book, placing it on my bedside table.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she says, and I nod at her. In the corner, Remus is waiting for her to join him. He smiles when I catch his eye.
And then they're both gone, and Pomfrey is giving me my dinner, which is full of spinach, liver, and French beans. She must have seen my face, because she says in a reprimanding voice, "Iron is good for memory. When I come back from the Great Hall, I want your plate to be clean."
I still hate my meal.
;;
I've had all my medicines on time, and it's only because Alice has held hostage my copy of ACOWAR. She really does know me well. Madam Pomfrey had told me to have Dreamless Sleep before I turned in for the night; that I definitely needed it after a day of continuously not listening to her.
Now, at half eight, I feel physically tired, but mentally awake. And I can't bring myself to drug myself into a sedated sleep, so I pull out the wad of letters that Dad had given me.
I'm actively choosing to read what people who love me have written. I'm not caught in a flood of teenage hormones. I know what I'm doing. I'm reading Mum's letter first.
I tell myself that repeatedly, but I know I'm shying away from the truth. I'm denying what's been going on.
I might be a teensy bit attracted to the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.
There.
I said it.
I let out a breath of relief, now that I know where I stand.
So I like James.
Big deal.
Do I want James to like me back as well, in that way?
Not necessarily.
Does it bother me that he looks at Lily the way he did earlier today?
Yes.
The thing is, it's very easy to like James Potter. He's easy going, humorous, kind (sometimes), and undeniably charming. And it's the constant exposure to such toxic levels of charm and laughter that's left me feeling kicked in the gut – like earlier today, when it feels like it's all about Lily.
But where does that leave me?
Are my feelings as fleeting as my crushes have always been? Can I choose to ignore them and continue helping James out with his plan to win over Lily? Will I actually be capable of helping him out?
But what if I start liking him more?
In that case, I'll eventually have to choose, at some point, to either serve myself to make myself happy, or choose to be a good friend to him, which would mean dealing with yet another period of dejection and jealousy
Hello, Ms Non-Gryffindor-Prefect... You'll never be Lily.
A sharp pain makes me realise that I've been digging my fingernails into the palms of my hands a little too hard – there are crescent shaped red marks on the pale skin of my palm.
Restless, I dump the entire bunch of letters without reading them back onto the table, right onto James' booklet.
Sweet, well-meaning James.
I sigh for probably the hundredth time in the past hour, before chugging down more than the required dose of Dreamless Sleep like a champion.
I'm out like a candle in the wind, before one can say Holy Helena.
;;
End Note: This chapter was written around the time A Court Of Wings And Ruin (ACOWAR) by Sarah J Mass was published – for weeks and months, the only posts that turned up in my Goodreads feed was about the book. I've never read anything by the author, but my usage of 'ACOWAR' in this chapter is simply me paying homage to the hype that surrounded this book.
The Sarah's family section was added after I posted this update — I was reading to check if everything was okay, and I realised I hadn't worked in family details pertinent to this chapter into my "summary". This last part was added in via my phone, so do excuse any typos and SPaG errors.
AN:
Did you guys miss this story as much as I missed writing it?
The last 1.5 years have been tumultuous – lots of terrible things happened, and I was barely functioning. Mentally, I was at my poorest, and naturally, I did not have enough spoons to write fanfiction. ('Spoons' is a reference to the Spoon Theory in mental health.)
Believe it or not, I wrote this chapter in 2017. Chapter 10 was about 50% complete when I decided to take a break from writing. Fast forward to October 2018: I lost ALL my written work – anything I'd ever written (about 70 WIPs, most of them unposted) – because my laptop died. We managed to recover about 30% of the files, and this was one of the stories which survived.
After a couple of months of moping, I've decided to get back into writing.
Give me lots of love (aka reviews) because I need the motivation to write more!
And as I said earlier, if you're still reading after all this time – thank you.
Guest Review Replies:
Guest(1): Yesss, they kissed! xD
Clara: I'm glad you liked the story – enough to read it multiple times! Thank you! :) There wasn't more in 2018, but universe willing, there'll be more in 2019!
Guest(2): Thanks! :)
Anon-Chan: Thanks, and here's your update (even if it's been a while). Btw, I love your name! :D
SA: Thank you! :) I hope you did well on your exam though, because I've been there - reading fanfics instead of studying. "The more you update, the more follows and reviews your gonna get " – I certainly hope that's true! xD
Guest(3): Thanks! :) And you needn't worry, this fic (and none of my others) are abandoned — I don't like abandoning things IRL as well. :)
Guest(4): As I said in my AN, I haven't been okay for the past two years, but the day you posted your review in particular was a good one — I remember because of things that happened IRL then. When people I don't know, like you, ask me if I'm doing okay, regardless of when/where I read it, it makes me feel better, like somebody cares about me. It especially helps when I'm spiralling. So thank you. Thank you so so much. :')
HellsBells: Firstly, thank you for reviewing multiple stories of mine! :) Secondly, YES, the amnesia angle is going to be pretty HUGE. ;) I'm really glad to know that you find this fic soothing — writing this fic soothes me. :D Joshua Brand is deffo too hot for James Potter, I agree. *eyecandy mode* And I love that you have a list of your favourite moments from this story; it makes my heart flutter. :D Thank you! :)
O: Thank you! :) Good to know you like the OC.
Guest(5): Yes, good James/OC fics are hard to come by — I'm happy to know you think this is one. :)
Guest(6): Thanks! Hope you like the update! :)
Kat272001: PMs were disabled; just wanted to say thank you! :)
Update Info: Hopefully March, 2019?
Writing Status: Chapter 10 – fully done, but won't be posted till I'm done writing Chapter 11.