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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Oct 28, 2015 10:16:59 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 10:16:59 GMT -7
James missed his best friend. Plain and simple. Sure he had Aurora and Casey but his best friend in the entire world had not spoken to him in months. Alice Longbottom. The two had known each other since they were practically born and had been the closest of friends all their lives. But his relationship with Aurora had somehow soured their friendship. James had no idea why. He did not at all regret being with Aurora. It was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He was a new man. But his new life felt completely different and dull without Alice. He loved her like a sister and they had not spoken since before Halloween. So many holiday traditions were broken this year. He had spent the whole of the holidays feeling sad and depressed because of all that was happening in the community and also because he could not see Aurora or Alice.
Aurora had spent the holidays with the Longbottoms. She lived with them now. So out of respect for Alice's not wanting to see him, he stayed away from Aurora and the Longbottoms during the holidays. Which was fine as he needed to spend time with his mother and family anyway. But the school year was so close to being over and he could just not bear to spend the remaining days without Alice. So he had sent an owl to her, apologizing and asking her to please meet him in the astronomy tower so that they could talk. They had often spent time up in the tower over the years whenever one of them was feeling down and just needed space to think. The two of them would go there to talk and be free together. It felt only right for them to meet there.
Now James was in the tower. He had not received a return letter from Alice so he had no idea whether she would show or not. It was quickly approaching the time at which he told her to meet him and he could feel his heart pounding. He was ready to talk to his best friend again.
@alice
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Nov 5, 2015 22:03:20 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2015 22:03:20 GMT -7
Alice didn't know if she was ready for this or not. She thought she had been ready to talk to James again, she missed him. She wanted to fix things with him more than anything. Even more surprisingly, she was willing to talk with Aurora to be on speaking terms with James again if that was what it took. However when she received James's owl, Alice wanted to retreat all forces.
It had taken a lot of convincing herself for Alice to finally leave the Common Room and head up to the tower. She was nervous. Her mind was reeling, wondering what James would want to say to her. Apologize? Confront her? End it all? She was scared, whatever the outcome. She was going up there to talk to him for the first time since Halloween and she had never felt more awkward or nervous before in her life. She could feel her heartbeat racing as she got nearer and nearer to the tower. While she was nervous, she was a little excited about the idea of having her best friend back.
Alice began to climb up the stairs to the towers. As she did, she passed different levels and heard some other students. No familiar ones registered only because she was so focused on getting up to the top to James. When she did, she felt her breath hitch in her throat. He looked different, but also the same. He looked happy... but it seemed like everything that had gone on this year had changed him. Whether it was for the better or not, Alice would have to wait to tell.
The Hufflepuff walked in and looked up at James. She glanced down at her feet. "Hey, James," she said a little quietly. She decided going into the encounter with an open mind was the best option: she did not want to push him further away.
@james
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Nov 11, 2015 8:39:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 8:39:11 GMT -7
The more James stood at the top of the astronomy tower overlooking the grounds, the more Alice's anger made sense to him. Aurora was everything Alice absolutely hated A Ravenclaw, intelligent, and most of all a Lestrange. The last reason made most sense to him but really he could not find it in him to blame her for any of it James had quite suddenly been all about Aurora, and he would be the first to admit that he did kind of put Alice on the backburner, not talking or being around her as much. But James had actually found a girl he really liked and not just one to snog. So he felt that they both had some apologizing to do. Though knowing Alice, he didn't expect her to go down easily
"Hey James." James turned around quickly to look upon his best friend. She seemed different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it made him smile regardless. "Hey," he responded. "I'm glad you came." He could not remember the last time anyone made him feel so happy. (Except Rory, but he thought it best not to mention that to Alice. Instead he figured he would just go right ino why he had called her there.
"Alice," he began and took a step forward toward her. He struggled to know where to begin. That was a first for James around Alice. He used to be able to tell her anything. He wanted to be able to do that again. "Al, I'm really glad you came," he said with a stern nod. He looked away and let it a deep breath before looking back at the girl. "I'm sorry, Alice. For everything." He looked up with her with almost pleading eyes. There was nothing more he wanted at this point than acceptance.
@alice
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Nov 13, 2015 19:48:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 19:48:01 GMT -7
While many bad things had happened this year, Alice felt like it had been better than most. If only for one reason: Carcer Hagrid. With James putting Alice on standby while he was off with Aurora, Alice had managed to get closer to the half giant and happened to find a very good friend in him. So while James had not been there, she had had someone else to turn to and Carcer had turned out to bring a lot of good things out of Alice. She always happened to be in a much better mood around the fellow Hufflepuff and she had started coming out of her shell more around others too. She had missed James, of course, but she had come to terms with not only his absence but also her feelings for him. And those once strong feelings were beginning to fade and shine their light on someone else...
Alice looked down at her feet when James told her he was glad that she came. She pretended to kick a pebble with her left foot. She was silent for a moment more as he repeated himself and Alice kept her gaze down. She was hoping for an apology, sure... but now that he was giving her one she had no idea how to respond. She let out a tired sounding sigh. More than anything, Alice just wanted all of this to be done.
Finally Alice was able to look up at James. The look on her face was more blank than anything, as she wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling. "I'm sorry too, James," she shook her head, looking down at her feet again. She now wore a look of more shame. "I... I shouldn't have gotten as angry as I did. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry." She looked back up at him, this time making an effort to keep eye contact with him. She wanted him to know she meant it.
@james
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Nov 25, 2015 12:27:05 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2015 12:27:05 GMT -7
James had been expecting an outburst or at least an eyeroll or a scoff. After he and Alice's last interaction, he figured they weren't on the best of terms and he knew how angry Alice could stay at people. Her actual reaction, he had to admit, was a huge relief.
James let out an actual sigh of relief. "That's... that's great, Alice." He said between small laughs. He was happy, and he didn't know how else to really react. "It's been bothering me for a while. I've missed you, Al," he said. James then wanted to bridge the gap between them and embrace Alice in a hug, something he had not done in so very long.
As James walked over to her though, the ground began to crumble. The ground shook and James looked down as he saw the ground beneath them begin to crack. He looked up frantically at Alice and then..... he fell.
@alice
(sorry trying to speed this along. lol i figured they could have fallen through this floor and onto the floor where albus and the others were, just trapped behind more debris?)
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Dec 1, 2015 23:30:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2015 23:30:29 GMT -7
Alice wanted to be angry with James. She wanted to yell at him and tell him how upset with him she was, how much she had been. But she had wasted so much time resenting and avoiding him for the last few months that now that he actually stood in front of her, she felt too tired to do any of it. She sighed at him as he spoke, clearly sounding a little relieved himself that they weren't arguing. Alice had to hand it to him - at least he knew to expect the worst out of her. She hoped she had at least surprised him with her actual response, though.
"I've missed you too," she said simply. And she had, but right now it just felt so forced. Alice wasn't ready to forgive and forget 100%, but rather talk it out. Alice had done a lot of talking with her father and had decided that it was time to talk things out with people instead of keeping all of her emotions bottled up inside. Because who was that really helping? "Really. Things definitely... have been different," she hesitated to find the right word to explain what she meant. Alice wondered how different James's life had been. All their lives they had been involved with the events in one another's lives from their first fight with their parents, first failed class, the birth of their siblings, all the major stuff. So the fact that they hadn't been there for one another in what was becoming a pivotal part of their lifetimes was a huge deal.
Alice let a small smile appear as James began to make his way over to her for what she assumed was a hug. She didn't care how much she still wanted to be mad at him, Alice wanted a hug from her best friend. Alice stood still and had just begun to spread her arms slightly apart in preparation for embrace when the ground began to shake. Alice looked around, wondering where the shaking could possibly be coming from. She looked back at James and then, as if in slow motion, the ground beneath them caved in and James fell first. Then Alice followed shortly after him.
There was smoke everywhere and a loud thumping in her ear. She could have sworn she heard other peoples' voices but the ringing in both ears was so loud she couldn't be sure. The Hufflepuff opened her eyes slowly to see smoke all around her and a hole in the ceiling above her, from where she must have just fallen. Slowly, she sat up and looked around. The throbbing in her head was unbearable as she searched around the room for James. She felt her forehead with her left hand and then looked at her hand to see blood. She had hit her head against some rock, but doubted it was a concussion. Instinctively Alice reached into her robes for her wand and thanked Merlin it hadn't broken in the fall. With a flick, she cast the Bubble-Head Charm on herself and then flicked her wand to cast "lumos." This proved to be no help, as the light did little to nothing to help her see through the smoke. "James?!" She called out, searching around for him.
That was odd... she could have sworn she heard someone yelling the name of Albus as well...
@james
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Jan 2, 2016 16:57:54 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2016 16:57:54 GMT -7
The world around James was frozen as he laid down on the cold, stone floor. He blinked slowly and above him through the smoke could see where they had fallen from. It wasn't a huge drop, but at least a level's worth. He tried to move all of his limbs and found that none were broken so he slowly began to stand up. Smoke was all around the room and he couldn't see anything. He cursed loudly to himself, a word that his mother would smack him for using. What else could possibly go wrong this year?! James stood still, unsure of how sturdy the ground they now stood upon was, and he looked around for any sign of movement. Where was Alice?
"James!?" Her voice. James cursed again, more than thankful that she was alright. Or so he hoped. He walked in the direction of her voice and when he opened his mouth to speak, he inhaled smoke and began coughing. After a moment's worth of stumbling around and coughing, James finally stumbled into Alice. She was standing and seemed to be okay, which he was glad to see. She also, of course, had had enough sense to cast a bubble head charm on herself and James was cursing himself that he had not thought of that also. He pulled out his wand from his pant leg and then also did the same.
"What in the name of Dumbledore was that?" He yelled out, still in shock from the fall. "Are you okay? Are -" He stopped when he, too, then heard someone calling out @al 's name. James stopped and turned around, his heart feeling like it dropped into his stomach. He turned back around to Alice. "Did you hear that?" He asked. And there it was again. It sounded like his cousin, Rozalina Antonina Nightshade, and that fact didn't make him feel any more at ease.
@alice
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Jan 6, 2016 10:40:53 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 10:40:53 GMT -7
As Alice searched for James in a panic, she began to think the worst. If he had fallen and was unconscious, she didn't know what she would do. Or worse... she would never be able to forgive herself. She was the reason they were up there, she had been the one to write him off for so long all because he was following his heart and trying to be happy; which Alice knew was all James deserved after the year he had had. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she called out his name again, a sense of panic in her voice. A sense of panic that quickly turned into relief as she saw the Gryffindor now standing in front of her, seemingly unscathed. She thanked Merlin profusely.
"Thank goodness you're alright," Alice breathed and after James had cast the Bubble-Head Charm on himself, she ran at him with a long overdue hug. She held onto him a moment, realizing how much she had missed him after all that time of not speaking to him. How cruel she had been. She pulled away when James asked what had just occurred. "Something must have happened below us..." She looked around for any signs of a cause of this explosion. "I hope there was no one el -" Alice stopped speaking immediately when she, too, heard familiar sounding voices.
The Hufflepuff looked around, scared and determined to escape in one piece. "Yes," she said quietly, turning in the direction she believed the voices to be coming from. "It sounded like Rose..." she said, her heart feeling like it was in danger of pounding out of her chest. Then came another familiar voice: her father. Alice's eyes widened. How many people were in this mess?
@james
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last online Mar 29, 2024 0:09:49 GMT -7
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Feb 15, 2016 20:03:16 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2016 20:03:16 GMT -7
When Alice hugged him, James had not realized just how much he had missed his best friend. He actually hesitated a moment before hugging her back. But when he did, he smiled. He was glad they were talking again. James looked around the rubbled tower. Whatever had happened was powerful, as the tower looked like all the upper levels had been demolished. He was actually surprised that he and Alice were okay. "What in Merlin's name?" He said aloud but mostly to himself as the two of them looked around.
But hearing @al's name struck something in James that he had never really felt before. A sense of urgency and anger. Whoever, or whatever did this to the tower had quite possibly put not just Alice, but his family in harm's way and he wasn't going to let them get away with it. "Al, we need to find a way to get down there to them! We need to help them!" James wasn't feeling any sort of calm now that he knew Albus was in danger.
@alice
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