Sugar (Aurora)

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James had been given specific instructions by his father to send his grandparents an owl. Amidst all of the chaos that had gone on recently, he knew his grandmother and grandfather had to have been worrying about all of their grandchildren and James, being the eldest currently at the school, took it upon himself to write up an owl detailing that they were all safe now and accounted for. He made sure to let them know what each of his cousins and siblings were up to, just because he knew that his grandparents liked to hear that sort of thing. And James actually liked talking and writing about his family... it was a big one, and often times crazy, but he wouldn't trade any of them for anything.

With a lit cigarette between his lips, James took a brief moment as he walked up the steps to the owlery to read over his letter. It all seemed good to him, with no signs of any words that could trigger his grandmother to go into a panic attack and begin worrying. It was simply to calm the nerves he knew they had to have been feeling. James had actually been feeling more nerves lately as well after the kidnappings... even though Casey and the others were back now, he still was feeling a lot of stress as the end of the school year came to a close... and not just any old "end of the year" type of stress, but the end of your school career type of stress. What was he going to do with the rest of his life?

As James looked around the room full of owls for his own, he began to nervously puff on his cigarette and ended up finishing it much faster than he had intended. Being of age now, he could purchase the sticks in Hogsmeade and he had been going through more than he would care to admit... if only his mother knew. Smoking came and went for James depending on his stress levels. He used to do it socially, because it made him look "cool." Then when he met Aurora, he cut back. When she had been taken out of school, he had taken it up again... then her return made him cut back once more. But now, after the kidnappings and Lily becoming a werewolf and Ethan's death... he was smoking more than ever.

Smudge, his Great Horned owl, immediately flew down to him and gave him an affectionate peck on his right hand. "Hey, bud," James said softly to the owl. He then rolled up the letter and tied it to Smudge's left foot. "That's for Grandma Molly, alright?" He raised his eyebrows and smiled at the owl, who looked at him expectantly. With a lovable roll of his eyes, James reached into his robe pockets and pulled out a few treats for the owl who quickly gobbled them up. "There's bigger and better in store for you when you return, I promise," he said, giving Smudge a light scratching on his head. The owl cooed lovingly and then took off. James then took this moment of lonesome time to lean up against the brick wall, pulling out another cigarette and his wand; he ignited the tip of his wand and touched it to the cigarette. He stared out one of the windows that overlooked the grounds as his mind began to race with thoughts of the near future...

@aurora

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Aurora had a funny habit of finding James with his back turned. She didn't mind terribly though, as it allowed her a good opportunity to wreathe her arms around him and hold him close. That was the lone brunette's plan and that is what she did. Remembering that no-one else was around at this particular moment, she slid her arms under his arms, one going across his abdomen and the other across his chest. As much as her more polite upbringing didn't want to admit it, there certainly were perks to dating a Quidditch player. "Hello, sweet Lion!" she greeted, nuzzling his shoulder blade.

"Contacting the family?" she asked as she leaned her head sideways on his shoulders. "Probably a good idea after all of this." Aurora made a tired hum and was happy enough just to hold on to James. He had stood strong in the face of all that had happened... the kidnapping, the death of Ethan, and now the end of their education at Howarts. Something had to be getting to him by now, and all she wanted to do was keep him standing and moving forward. She squeezed him once before loosening her arms a little.

It dawned on her that she wouldn't be sending an owl to her own parents any time soon. The Longbottoms knew that she was alive, she had already talked to her brother, and Andy... well Andy was herself. Aurora caught a distracting whiff of smoke from James's lit cigarette and absolutely wanted one too. 

@jams

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If James hadn't grown accustomed to the sneak attacks of one Aurora Lestrange, he would have been frightened by the arms that had suddenly appeared around his front. Instead, a smile appeared as his mind briefly cleared of all stresses. Such was the effect of the brunette. "Hello there, my little raven," he cooed, turning his head slightly to kiss her cheek as she rested her head upon his shoulder.

James let out a small sigh and took a drag of his cigarette. "Yeah... figured Grandmum and Grandpop are probably wanting an update on everyone," he said, his gaze moving to look out over the grounds that surrounded the owlery. It was quiet... but James didn't mind at all. After everything that had happened this year, he preferred the quiet now. "It's been crazy, I'll say that much." He didn't smile as he spoke those words, his mind briefly flashing back to Ethan... then he blinked, bringing himself back to reality. His cigarette had gone out. He moved to reach into his robe pocket for his pack and instead of pulling out one, he pulled out two. He held the second up for Aurora to take. It had occurred to James that he had never really smoked with her before. He wasn't sure whether she would turn it down or not but he had always been one to offer them up almost in hopes of getting rid of them... but it had never really stopped him from getting more.

"I can't stop thinking about what's going to happen next," the Gryffindor admitted, as he reached into his pocket to grab his wand again. But his hand was oddly shaky as he admitted that strong feeling to the Ravenclaw. It had been eating him alive and while it felt good to say out loud... it was still a little scary to admit to oneself.

@aurora

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'Little Raven'... Aurora blushed. It was a silly little sentiment, but was it any different than Sweet Lion? Probably not. Aurora let out a little hum of content as his lips brushed her cheek. 

"A bit crazy for my tastes..." the brunette commented. When he had faced her, she could see that he wasn't quite right. His eyes weren't as bright as they usually were, she would know, having stared into them on many occasions. 

He held up a cigarette for her and she quickly responded, "Oh, yes please!" before slipping it from between his fingers to between her lips. James's following comment was thoughtful, though honest. He seemed to be as worried as she was that something else terrible might happen soon. What if those masked men weren't done? Aurora didn't know, though she preferred not to dwell on it. 

Aurora noticed the way James's hand was shaking as he took up his wand once more, prompting her to take out her own and light their cigarettes in a more stable manner. "Let me, sweetheart." she said as she quickly lit them and put her wand away. She took a large first-draw and let it out slowly in a long streaming cloud that drifted away across the room. 

"You know..." she started, taking up his free hand in hers. "I've also been thinking about the future a little." She slowly turned his hand upward and rested it upon her shoulder where she let her long, wavy curls drape over it and caress it. "Should things get any crazier over the summer, you know I'll follow you anywhere."

@jams

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James couldn't help the small smile that appeared when Aurora happily accepted the cigarette he offered her. Not that he condoned smoking but he figured the circumstances called for it; they had both faced a lot this year. James made no means to protest when Aurora instead lit the sticks for them, but instead raised his eyebrows and allowed a smirk when he saw the way she took the first drag of her cigarette. "That certainly doesn't look like your first smoke," he teased her playfully.

The warm feeling James got whenever Aurora took his hand in hers still hadn't gone away throughout the year. For some reason, he had figured that by now it would have. He was beyond glad it hadn't though as he watched their hands as she placed his on her shoulder under a soft curtain of her dark hair. He smiled warmly at her words and took a curl gently in his fingers and began to twirl it slowly. "I know," he said quietly and rather thoughtfully. "And you know I'll follow you." He looked now into her blue eyes with seriousness but a small smile still rested on his lips.

The Gryffindor continued to slowly twirl her dark locks as he let his head tilt slightly to the side in thought. After a moment, his head shot upright again and his hand ceased twirling. "Say," he began, raising an eyebrow. "Are you... planning on living with the Longbottoms throughout the summer?"

@aurora
I can't remember if we discussed James's knowing about her smoking but either way, he's cool with it!

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"Guilty as charged." She admitted, her voice playfully serious in response to his teasing about her first cigarette. Grinning, she raised an eyebrow. She winked at him and kissed his cheek before turning her head to take in a far shorter drag.

Gah! James was too cute when he did the thoughtful-head-tilt-thing. Aurora had to force herself not to throw her arms around his neck and pull him into a flurry of kisses. It would be a waste of their still-fresh addiction sticks! The brunette still couldn't keep herself from blushing though. 

James asked about her summer living situation, and she didn't waste time in answering. "I'm not actually." she said. "I got a wonderful offer from my brother, Nik, to live at his place for a while! He feels the same about my father as I do, so that won't be a worry." She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "The Longbottoms have been amazing, that is more than true! That said, it would be nice to live with the family I grew up with." Aurora began to chuckle. She then threw him a teasing comment. "Of course, if you wanted to put a ring on my finger, I could move in with you." 

@jams

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James raised an eyebrow at the brunette but kept a smirk on his face. He shouldn't have been surprised that she had taken up smoking... he did it often enough, he figured she would either hate it or take it up herself. But he had to admit, it looked like she was doing that cigarette a favor. He grinned when she kissed him on the cheek and took another drag of her cigarette, admiring her as she did so.

At the first mention of Aurora staying with her brother, James tensed a little bit. He had to admit that his first impression of Nikolaj Lestrange, though he had never met him, was not a good one. James knew that Aurora's home life was less than stellar and James wasn't sure why, but he had pegged Nikolaj to be exactly like her father. But when the brunette mentioned that her brother felt the same way about their father as she did, he relaxed a bit more. That had to be a good thing.

James's eyes widened slightly at Aurora's teasing about putting a ring on her finger. James had yet to really think about marriage but... the idea of marrying Aurora wasn't scary. For once in his life, James didn't mind being tied down and he imagined that being married to Aurora who was his best friend would be one of the best things in the world. He chuckled lightly at her comment. "I doubt you'd want to move in with the Potter clan. Things can be a little crazy around there," he said, smiling at the thought of his family though his comment was actually true. The Potters always seemed to be going through something.

The Gryffindor took another drag of his cigarette and raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "I need to meet your brother," he said, folding his arms across his chest. One way to find out if he was the right guy for Rory to live with was to meet him. James didn't doubt Aurora's trust in her brother but James wanted to make sure that whatever she was getting into, that she was safe.

@aurora

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"I've lived through the stiff coldness and strangely lonely parties of the Lestranges, the remarkable rabble of Hogwarts, and the peaceful warmth of the Longbottoms. With that kind of resumé, I can take on anything." She smiled and gazed into his eyes. "I guess that I haven't met enough of them, but I'm sure they're great people." 

"As for Nik... Yes!" she said. Truthfully, she wasn't terribly concerned about James meeting Nikolaj. Both of them were entirely decent people and she was confident that both of them could realize and respect that fact. "You do need to meet him. He might be wary of you at first, but be competent and your brilliant self and he'll warm up to you. He can be protective, but he's nowhere near the insanity of my father." 

@jams

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James's eyebrows rose a little bit as Aurora named off her places of past residency with ease. Smirking, he flung his free arm around the brunette and pulled her close to his side. "Well, when you put it that way..." he said with a chuckle. "That just means I'll have to have you meet my family, too." The Gryffindor flashed her a wide grin now. James loved his family more than anything in the world and the idea of introducing Aurora to all of them was an exciting one. He could only imagine the affection his grandmother would shower her in and his grin widened even more as he pictured the Lestrange in a knitted "A" sweater.

The Potter raised an eyebrow. "Well, I know what it's like to be an older brother," he let out a sigh before taking his last drag of the cigarette he had been holding. "So I can look past the over protectiveness, I guess." James didn't know how to say it, but a main reason he was wary of meeting Aurora's brother at all was because of her father. But the more he thought about it, what better did that make him than the people judging Aurora and Andromeda this past year because of their last name. He didn't know how to express that feeling to Aurora accurately, especially after her saying her brother was just a wary person who would "warm up to James." James shrugged. "Well then, we should arrange a meeting!" He smiled, suddenly more enthusiastic.

@aurora