Someone Else's Trees [James]

[aurelia edith flint]

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June 3rd, 2028

3:13AM. Saturday. The blinding light from the phone screen made her squint away the sudden, unwanted pain, her head recoiling back in the direction of James, who she had just rolled away from. It was June now. And a hot one at that. Yet another heat wave was plaguing London. The hottest ever, according to the muggle news. The continuous low buzz from the fan that was awkwardly jammed into her bedroom window because it didn't actually fit sort of fought off the feeling of languish she'd had for the last few days. Though the two of them weren't exactly making it easy to stay cool...

Three months and change since all of this started. Aurelia didn't exactly know what to call it, since she'd actively chosen to not label it. Which brought up so many questions: what was the point of this? There was no denying that the physical part of this relationship wasn't the issue, otherwise James wouldn't be next to her in bed right now. And he was a great guy, there was just something missing and she couldn't figure out what it was. She'd spent the last few weeks thinking about this, convincing herself that it was because it was the most serious of any relationship she'd ever had and that it was simply uneasiness because of that. But that feeling always came creeping back, and now it was happening while they were together.

"Do you want water?" she asked him as she fished a shirt off of the floor and put it on, her voice dry and low. The way the shirt clung against her skin felt gross, the stickiness of the warm summer air having crept inside despite the fan's best efforts. Her own glass, situated on the other side of her annoyingly bright phone, only had a trace amount of water left in it. It only succeeded in making her want more as it barely wet her tongue. Somehow that made her throat feel scratchier than it had been.

Sliding off of the bed and onto her feet, Aurelia swayed in front of the window fan briefly, simultaneously getting her bearings and hoping to have some of the incoming air cool her off. If it didn't take energy to stand still, she felt like she could stay in front of the fan all night. Unfortunately her bed was not positioned in the right spot to get the direct intake from outside. Water glass in hand, she waited for James's response.

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[james sirius potter]

one night

and one more time

June 3, 2028
aurelia edith flint

The air hit James’ skin when Aurelia shifted away from him. While he hadn’t wanted her to necessarily roll away, he didn’t mind some relief to his body overheating even as the sun couldn’t reach them. Merlin, he hated warm nights. And of course, they couldn’t help themselves and do activities that let them remain cool. As he ran his hand through his unruly hair, James imagined buzzing it all off to avoid trapping anymore heat but he didn’t want that to be his look. Feeling the bed shift as Aurelia stood, James only quickly glanced at her before checking his phone for the time. 3 AM. He could already feel the headache he would surely have the next day as he had to pack and prepare to return to Hy-Brasil at midnight.

”Hmm?” James looked back at Aurelia, now only in a shirt that provided some cover but left her long legs exposed. If not for the dryness in his own mouth he would have completely forgotten the question. ”Sure.” He mumbled, sitting up slightly. The air circulated better, but he could hardly sleep sitting up. Aurelia was a beautiful girl and they kept things relatively private in terms of avoiding some grand announcemet that they were seeing one another. James had told his best friends Bran and Viv, but hadn’t wanted to deal with the chaos of his family.

Subconsciously, he figured the name ‘Flint’ might raise eyebrows as well. Much as Lestrange had in the past. And he liked her, he couldn’t find a reason not to if he was honest. Maybe he’d just forgotten what those first few months felt like compared to his last long term relationship. And it wasn’t like this was his first time spending the night in her flat, far from it. ”Merlin—this heat has to be a curse or something.” Maybe London was doomed to boil for eternity. That felt like the only plausible explanation.

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[aurelia edith flint]

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Aurelia almost didn’t hear his response to her question, her ears focused on the spinning hum of the fan. It droned almost everything else out, even cutting back the nighttime sounds of Horizont Alley. Typically when she left the windows open, the yowls of cats on the hunt or the singing of drunkards could be heard. Not tonight. If anything, they had been contributing to the cacophony of the darkened streets, assuming her fan didn’t completely nullify everything going out as it did with what was coming in.

”Mmkay,” she hummed back quietly in response to the water, eyes closed as the air felt like it was finally doing something to cool off her face. The smartest decision she’d made in recent months was getting her hair cut, and as she turned around to face James again, not needing to pull it all away to expose her neck to cool it off was such a relief. Realistically it was because she hated having to deal with it while working, but having a secondary function in the middle of a heat wave was amazing.

Her eyes snapped open as he mentioned the weather, having to readjust to see his face in the darkened room. ”Its wreaked havoc on my plants,” she said rather calmly. The shop was temperature controlled, but the greenhouse in the back patio was not. Every day was a struggle, and she was so over it already. The fact that she could even answer it without getting frustrated now showed how defeated she was. ”Okay…your turn with the fan,” Aurelia added before finally stepping away to head towards her tiny, galley kitchen to fetch water.

Standing at the sink as he glass filled, she reached for a second out of the cupboard above. For a moment, she thought about splashing her face with water but decided against it, knowing she’d only feel grosser with water added into the mix of sweat. Scratching her head as the glass for James filled, she once again thought about how to broach the concerns that had been ruminating in her head for a while now. Was talking about this at three in the morning really the most appropriate time for it? He was off to Hy-Brasil for a while after this, so waiting until he was back and just cycling through her own thoughts would be brutal. Merlin, this sucked.

Carefully holding both glasses of water and walking slowly back towards her bedroom in the pitch black, Aurelia picked her foot up to avoid the table leg that always managed to catch her pinky toe and stub it whenever she walked by in the middle of the night. It wasn’t getting her tonight. As she approached the bed again, she held out the new glass for James, before sitting herself down on the floor, back leaning on the side of the bed. The hardwoods were so much cooler than her sheets. ”Don’t suppose you know another way to cool down?” she asked as she took a sip of her water. While it relieved the dryness of her mouth, it ultimately felt pointless in the grand scheme of things.

james sirius potter ● 526 ● song by artist

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[james sirius potter]

one night

and one more time

June 3, 2028
aurelia edith flint

For whatever reason, the magical world had not solved this dilemma of a heat wave. It was awful, and James felt it sap whatever energy he had left as it depleted like seconds ticking on a clock. Aurelia commented on her plants, and James responded with a bit of a grunt. He listened when she spoke about her plants but found it difficult to focus because his brain had not been built for the subject. Even when Fae answered his questions about plants, James found his eyes crossing a bit so that his brother might comment on his intelligence (or lack thereof).

It wasn’t Aurelia’s fault, and James did his best knowing it was what she liked. His attention returned when he heard the word ‘fan’, and some of that energy returned to let him leave the bed and walk over. ”Thanks.” James mumbled, walking over only in his undershorts. The dehydration also hit him, as he noted how some of the veins popped out in his arms. But the fan felt better than anywhere else. And not all his years of school, NEWTs, or years of advanced training gave him a single idea of how to spread the fan's relief to the rest of the room.

James accepted the glass, his eyes adjusted to the dark. Immediately, he drank half of it. Unfortunately, The water barely affected his dry mouth and throat. Standing this long in the heat, however, proved exhausting. James knew the first day or two on Hy-Brasil would feel torturous because the heat made sleep difficult. One might call that fatigue feeling a ‘brain fog’ but James wondered if really his head might not be just full of steam. ”No.” James left the fan, feeling the need to sit down. He took the spot next to Aurelia. ”Maybe a bigger fan?” It was a half-serious response.

”It’s probably just as warm on Hy-Brasil” The idea of walking around in his black robes made him feel warmer. ”A freezing charm would probably be too much.” James finished his glass, setting it aside so he wouldn’t accidentally knock it over. Lazily, he looked over at Aurelia. James had been surprised by the haircut, but she was still beautiful regardless. Even in the dark, however, she had that far-off look in her eyes. Sometimes, James caught it here and there, often her mind elsewhere. Reaching up, he pushed some of her disheveled blonde hair out of her face. This relationship had been most unexpected and fun, though James wondered if he was still healing or if he really didn’t know how to date as an adult rather than a teenage boy. It all felt different, more serious in a way. But that fairy tale feeling was hardly realistic either.

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Despite the heat still stifling at this hour, the lack of sun absolutely helped. The only issue there was that once it cracked at sunrise, it was going to pick right back up again. Suffering through heat waves was not how she wanted to spend her summer yet here she was, making it that much worse. The water thankfully helped remove the dehydrated feeling she had, and her lips were no longer dry and parched. A temporary fix for the time being. According to the newspaper, there was still a week of this weather to go. Her poor plants...

James mentioned getting a bigger fan, which sounded great in theory, until she used an engorgement charm on it and it busted her window frame. "Maybe one of those rotating floor ones...stick it in the corner to get the air moving better," she thought aloud. The white noise of two fans would knock her out fast, at the very least. And if she had a floor fan, she could absolutely charm it bigger. The mere thought of moving right now made her groan as her head tilted back and touched the side of the bed. That part, for whatever reason, was nice and cool. Untouched by their body heat.

The glass in her hand was already starting to perspire, the cold dampness a rival to how the rest of her currently felt. Holding it up against each side of her neck, it transferred to her skin and gave a brief moment of relief. In a few minutes, it was bound to warm and add on to the collection of sweat that was always trying to bead up on her. James was saying something about going to Hy-Brasil, and the weather there, and how a freezing charm probably wouldn't work. If she had thought it would, she probably would have tried that by now. Not to mention the puddle such a thing would leave behind if tried to freeze liquid with it. Worth it? Maybe. But it would definitely be a hassle at the end of the day.

"When do you leave again?" she inquired about the Hy-Brasil trip. Setting her water down next to her, she looked over at James. It was now or never. Setting a boundary of what she wanted out of this had to happen before she let it go too far. His stupid hand pushing her hair to the side didn't help the case she was going to try and make at all. For a moment, she hesitated. "I'm uhh...not saying we should stop this, but I don't think I want it to go past hooking up," she admitted. Finally. Looking away from him as she talked made it feel a little better, that way she didn't have to see his face. "This is fun. I enjoy it. But I just wanted to make it clear that I'm not looking for a relationship just yet. I realize I'm just springing it on you, but yeah..." It was a mess of words and Aurelia instantly felt bad for dropping it now, of all the times she had to get it out. Nothing good ever happened at three in the morning. Especially not in this heat.

james sirius potter ● 539 ● song by artist

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[james sirius potter]

one night

and one more time

June 3, 2028
aurelia edith flint

”Day after next.” James responded. While James did enjoy his work on the island and the break from London, he didn’t always look forward to attending. He even missed the chaotic nature of his career at times. One could only hope Hy-Brasil’s heat was less stifling. James didn’t expect his entire body to pause as it did, including his hand. But gently, he pulled it back. Of course, he supposed it was about that time to have that conversation. It had been months right? James had avoided it, insisting he was fine with the arrangement and not because he was afraid of what Aurelia might say.

”No—it’s alright.” James cleared his dry throat. ”I guess we hadn’t really discussed it.” Truth be told, he did like Aurelia. She was a calm presence to balance him, they never seemed to struggle to have a conversation, and only a blind man would say she wasn’t beautiful. But, she had spoken, and James did his best to remain as casual as one could sitting in the world’s largest oven. A small part of James had gotten his hopes up, but he pushed that aside. ”I mean—I got out of a long-term relationship early in the year, so I wasn’t—probably shouldn’t…anyway.” Aurelia knew the highlights of that. Not that it helped James articulate his point any better.

But now he felt awkward. Awkward, like two young adults sitting on the floor in their underwear as if they hadn’t been sleeping together for the past few months. Even with that small bit of hope crushed, James hardly felt devastated, and it was better this came up now rather than down the road. ”Right—so—um—just friends and fun then?” The corner of his mouth turned into that little grin. She could still stay ‘no’, of course. And he tried not to think about that creeping loneliness he’d been ignoring.

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[aurelia edith flint]

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Was having this conversation at three in the morning after several months of fairly consistent hooking up tactless? Probably. She had better manners than that. She had been taught better manners than this. Ironic, considering said politeness had never been used in front of her or her siblings. Aurelia really didn’t care now, as her own image had been strangely ripped apart in a few different ways since school. Being a bastard child, orphaned, and then mysteriously ‘disappeared and presumed dead’ was quite the run of it. She doubted James Potter would go running off and tell everyone under the sun that she rudely declined dating him before he even asked. He wasn’t like that.

’Fuck.’ That was the singular thought that rang through her head when he finally responded to her. And not the good kind either. Would it have been better if she had said nothing at all? Trying to gauge responses in these sorts of situations was difficult. James was sort of the only person that had made it this far. She had no idea if this was what they called getting cold feet or if she really didn’t want anything past what they’d already had.

His own reasoning sounded more like a defense mechanism, in a way. Aurelia had plenty of those growing up, so she knew what it was like. Disappointment, rejection, the sudden realization that she wasn’t on the same page. To that last point, it was probably happening again. But she still felt like getting this out of the way now was for the best. Stringing each other along for any longer and then what? Committing to one another out of mere convenience because they happened to sleep together? Surely that wasn’t the healthiest. Obviously, she knew that if there was an actual spark down the road, she could reevaluate it all.

”Yeah…that’s what I was sort of thinking,” she admitted. Looking at him smiling made her feel guilty. Her timing absolutely could have been better in all of this. Awkwardly taking another sip of her water to cover the silence between them, Aurelia wondered what to say next. The dull hum of the window fan definitely made up for the lack of talking, though it wasn’t like there was much of that a few minutes ago either. She had probably just tanked any hope of seeing him again in this capacity. That had always been a possibility, especially with his constant travel to Hy-Brasil. ”Sorry.” Aurelia added, her head sliding from the edge of the mattress down onto his shoulder. It was definitely her, not him. Even her brain couldn’t decide what it actually wanted.

james sirius potter ● 443 ● song by artist

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[james sirius potter]

one night

and one more time

June 3, 2028
aurelia edith flint

James forgot about the sweltering heat for a moment. There was no weight on his chest, only in his mind. But he didn’t know for what. No heartbreak like the previous winter. Perhaps he’d been more careful about his heart this time, so he didn’t feel so bad. Still, rejection was rejection at the end of the day. Combined with the exhaustion from work and lack of sleep, James felt rather cold. James heard Aurelia mutter an apology, and her head gently rested on his shoulder. Glancing over at her, he let his hand rest gently on her leg, telling himself these conversations were easier early on now rather than later.

That wasn’t to say James didn’t have questions. But none, he would ask. Anything of the sort felt like pestering and even pushy at that point. And James was not that sort of guy. Maybe she would share with James in due time. Such as ‘Why?’ or the natural question—if he’d done something wrong? Again, he tried to clear his throat. ”I’ll still look for that book you asked about.” She had inquired about it before his last trip, but he’d been unsuccessful in finding it. Then again, he’d barely had time with Fae to ask her and relied on the few contacts he had made during his time on the island. And really, he would have done the same for a friend, so it didn’t feel like any extra trouble at this point.

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[aurelia edith flint]

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The guilt was already starting to sink in a little bit. Like a slow dripping faucet. Too bad she had already pulled the stopper out. Maybe in a different time this could have gone somewhere. The fact that this even occurred was a sign that she was figuring herself out. So even with it being nothing more than a friends with benefits situation, it was an advancement that she didn’t think was possible at the beginning of the year. Aurelia felt like it was all worth it in the end, even if it seemed like she was pulling the rug out from under him. It could be worse. She could have kicked him out in the middle of the night. She wasn’t that heartless, thankfully. Learning how not to treat partners was the only good thing her horrid mother had ever taught her. Unknowingly of course, for Pansy.

Speaking of her dear parents, maybe that was the whole reason she was retreating from this going anywhere. Despite them having zero control from beyond the grave, there were still idiosyncrasies that she had developed because of them. Being scared of relationships was one of them, and that meant all forms of them. Deep down, that was probably partially why she was calling it off now rather than giving it a shot. Whatever it was, she was sure she’d figure it out months down the road, work on it, and then despair over screwing this all up. As for right now, this was what felt right, as much as she hated doing it.

”Okay,” she answered quietly about the book. It wasn’t anything important, really. But it had come up in passing conversation a few times and was rather hard to find even amongst herbologists in London. Half of her connections didn’t even know it existed. She’d only learned of it from her mentor, Isla, and really only because of that little issue with the island and having to live in the woman’s flat for a period of time.

Reaching down to the hand that was on her leg, she traced it with her thumb. She couldn’t even look at him because she felt awful over breaking the news in the middle of the night. ”We should probably get some sleep.” As if she couldn’t open the shop whenever she wanted. The bonus of owning her own place. Standing up slowly so as to not overexert herself and get hot all over again, Aurelia slid back onto her bed. The sheets were as stifling as they were when she left them only a few minutes ago. ”If the heat allows it…” she groaned. Making light of the situation had to help, right?

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