So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky

13 : More Than a Feeling (edited)

     James couldn't concentrate in Transfiguration.

      While McGonagall was instructing the correct pronunciation of a spell, he was busy staring at the empty spot in front of him while chewing on his bottom lip. This was so unlikely of Catherine to be absent. She's never absent. Late maybe, but not absent.

     James's eyebrows were furrowed deep in thought when he barely heard McGonagall dismiss them. As soon as she did, he was up on his feet and stalking out of the classroom without as much as a glance to his friends and dare he say it, to Lily either. He needed Catherine here, after all she was one of them.

     Yes, that's probably the reason, James thought. It's just odd not seeing the newly proclaimed fifth Marauder prancing around the school.

     Without even realizing it, James was entering the Gryffindor common room and making his way up the stairs to the girls' dormitory after making sure no one was around. There was news that the Headmaster was planning on charming the girls' dormitories next term on having the stairs be inaccessible to boys. He cleared his throat, stage-whispering as he eyed the doors. "Oi, Valentine! Are you there?"

     After a few seconds of silence, James heard the faintest sound of coughing, followed by a raspy, "I'm here."

A breathy chuckle left James's lips as he shook his head fondly before tucking a hand in his pocket and pushing the door to his left open. At first, he couldn't see anyone in the room. Eyebrows furrowed, he scanned the room before his eye caught a slight movement on one of the beds.

     It was Catherine under her thick blankets, a few strands of her dark hair escaping from under it. She was so small next to him, James couldn't help but to laugh softly. "Valentine, are you alright?" he asked, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows as he stepped forward to her bed.

     "No, don't come any closer," came her muffled voice followed by a sneeze. "I smell like colds and phlegm."

     He rolled his eyes, "Don't be ridiculous, Valentine."

     "Prongs, I'm serious, you could get sick."

     "Valentine." He sighed stubbornly. "I really don't care."

     There was silence before mumblings and grumblings. "Fine. But first, fetch my perfume by my nightstand, would you?"

     James's face morphed into one of confusion but he obliged. He snagged it off and followed her next odd instruction, spritzing the delicious rose scent around her bed. James couldn't help but to smile, liking Catherine's perfume since it smelled like how she usually does whenever she's around him. "Can I come closer now?" James asked in a teasing voice before adding, "Your Royal Highness?"

     "Unfortunately, you may," she said with feigned disappointment, coughing in the end.

     James stepped over to her bed, taking a seat on the edge before gently pulling the comforter from her head. Something in James ached, his chest tightening upon seeing Catherine look so miserable. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red, and her skin was ghastly pale despite the color high on her cheeks. "Wow," James breathed out, blinking at her, "You look . . . terrible."

     She rolled her eyes at him, though a hint of a smile played on her lips.

     "Oh — no — I mean — are you alright?" James stammered, concerned as he rested a hand over her forehead before quickly pulling away. "Shit," he mumbled with a frown, "you're burning, Valentine. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the Hospital Wing?"

     "I'm fine," she insisted dismissively, tremors running down her arm as she shivered.

     "Are you cold?" James stood up immediately and snatched a blanket off the first bed he saw. He draped it over Catherine, tucking her in but she was still shaking so badly.

     Catherine chuckled, though it sounded strained as she coughed once again. "I reckon you'd like to keep the covers. They belong to Lily."

     "Fuck that," James said as he scowled in worry for the girl, reaching over to clasp her hands over the thick covers. "Valentine, please. You need to go to the Hospital Wing."

     She cracked an eye open, the jade color still full of mischief. "Potter." She grinned though it looked like a grimace. "I'm fine."

     James wasn't the least bit convinced but he sighed defeatedly and perched on the side of Catherine's bed, his back against the headboard.

     "So, how was class?" she asked, her nose stuffy, making James's lips twitch as he smiled.

     "Absolutely boring," he replied in an amused tone.

     Catherine seemed to be half asleep as she murmured, "Because I'm not there?"

     "Because you're not there," he repeated, chuckling softly to himself before adding thoughtfully, "I took notes in Transfiguration for you to borrow, but it doesn't really make much sense. So, you ought to use Remus's instead."

     She just smiled in response, shivering like a twig.

     James frowned before gently pushing her over, getting under the covers next to her. Catherine's eyes flew open upon feeling James's arm slip under her head as a pillow and one go over her waist as he pulled her back flushed against his front.

     "James Potter, what in Merlin's name are you doing?"

     He shushed her, rubbing soothing circles on the flesh of her waist. "Just go to sleep. You feel warmer now, don't you?"

His heart was hammering wildly against his chest as he tightened his arms around her in hopes of providing warmth. James's eyes fluttered shut as he felt at a strange moment of peace. She fit like a puzzle against him, he couldn't help but notice.

     She hummed back absentmindedly, snuggling closer to James as she slowly drifted to sleep. "Promise me you'll go back to class soon?"

     She was already asleep but James whispered back anyways, "I promise."

     So James laid there, his body curled over Catherine's, almost in a protective way as he reveled in three things only—the rose scent that masked the colds and phlegm, the strong smell of the stash of candies on her nightstand, and Catherine Valentine herself.

««•»»

     Sirius wasn't very pleased when James arrived late for Potions with the reason being 'stayed with Valentine until she fell asleep because she had the flu.' Scowling, Sirius stood up abruptly, ready to leave the class when Professor Slughorn called out, "Ah, very good, Mr. Black. Now, if you please, step right over here and take a nice whiff from the cauldron."

     Reeling from shock and surprise, Sirius realized that he had stood up coincidentally when Slughorn asked for a volunteer to smell the Amortentia potion. "Oh—no—actually—"

     "Well, come on, then. We haven't got all day."

     Sputtering incoherent words under his breath, Sirius had no choice but to drag his feet over to the front of the classroom, sending a silent message to James to help him out. But the latter was too busy drilling Lily with questions concerning Catherine's illness.

     He crinkled his nose at the sight of the bubbling liquid, but leaned over nonetheless. "Honey," he blurted out immediately, recognizing the sweet smell. "Cinnamon," Sirius loved cinnamon, especially on hot chocolate. Sirius was about to leave when something else spiked up in the air. He furrowed his eyebrows as he murmured, "Candy? And wait, there's one more," Sirius's eyes drifted over to the empty seat as he breathed out in shock. "Strawberry."

     "Well done, Mr. Black," Slughorn nodded to himself downright cheerfully and gestured for him to return to his seat.

     Numbly, Sirius walked back to the chair next to where Catherine was supposed to be. Lily was next since she was Slughorn's golden student. Sirius wasn't listening, he was too busy mulling over his thoughts as he kept his eyes fixed on the vacant seat.

     James wasn't his usual flirty self around Lily lately, some girls realized this when James barely glanced up to listen to what Lily smelled from the potion. Instead, he kept his gaze on Sirius, an unreadable expression on his face.

     As soon as Lily finished (peppermint, vanilla, chamomile tea, and parchment), James was called next. He stood up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, accidentally flexing his muscles tight against the sleeve of his shirt. The other half of the female population sighed dreamily but already knew that James would say one of Lily's scents from the Amortentia potion. Either way, they still perched on the edge of their seats in anticipation. 

     James was still feeling distraught, having a mental battle with himself if he should just go ahead and spend the rest of the day feeding soup to Catherine when a scent reached his nose. "Rain," he pointed out, his mind taking him back to the time he played Quidditch in the rain. He loved the smell of it so much, his cologne had a similar scent. "Firewood?" He trailed off to a question before a memory of the Marauders drinking Butterbeer in the warmth of Three Broomsticks popped up. James's lips curled up to a breathtaking smile as he stated the last two mingling scents. "Rose and candy."

     As he said that, he suddenly felt a tug in his heart as flashes of vibrant, jade green eyes and mischievous smiles filled across his mind.

     The whole class turned silent as James allowed his gaze to linger on the empty seat while Sirius snapped his head up so fast to stare at James, a question burning in him. Does he have feelings for her?

     A knowing smile stretched Lily's lips, an immense feeling of happiness for her best friend filling her.

««•»»

     The next day, Catherine woke up feeling much better. She still had a slight cough and the occasional sneezing, but she was well enough to attend all her classes. She inherited her father's excellent ability to heal faster or get over sicknesses better than her brother or mother did. James and Sirius were like her parents, nagging her endlessly to stay in her room and rest, but she blatantly refused.

     James, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable, his head was pounding and his nose seemed stuffy.

     Later that day on Potions, Slughorn had saved the Amortentia potion just for Catherine. She had been forced to sit next to James (he had came up with a stupid reason that since they were dating, they had to sit next to each other in all classes already). Let's just say Sirius wasn't very happy with the new seating arrangements.

     "Come on up over here, Miss Valentine." Slughorn beamed at his other golden student.

     Smiling shyly, Catherine stalked over to the front where the cauldron of the bubbling liquid was. She bent over and took a huge intake of breath, closing her eyes as she listed down what she smelled out loud. "Chocolate, sweets," she paused before smelling her perfume and shampoo, "rose, berries." Suddenly, others appeared. It was strange yet at the same time, it felt familiar to Catherine. "Fire coals and...it's like rain or waterfall," she paused as the smell gave her a huge feeling of nostalgia.

     She opened her eyes to peek at James who was staring intensely as her just as a memory creeped up on her; the feel of James' strong arms around her with her head buried in his chest.

     Catherine flushed, blinking fast as she forced herself to look away. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes curiously at the last smell, "And something spicy . . . nutmeg?" She shook her head to herself. "No. Cinnamon. Yeah, cinnamon." Satisfied with her answer, she looked back up at the class to find it quiet. Many kept glancing back at Sirius and James, irking Catherine. Sirius was looking at her, his eyes widening as she mentioned cinnamon.

     She quickly made her way back to her seat next to James who gave her a brief smile, causing her ears to turn pink. Stop, she told herself, you can't be like this, you're probably still sick.

     "You smelled . . . rain?" James trailed off a bit, watching her carefully.

     Catherine nodded. "Yeah. Odd, right?" She chuckled, nudging him in the shoulder with her own. "Maybe my soulmate smells like rain."

     James stiffened, his chest tightening as his stomach churned. Surprisingly, it was in a pleasant way. He couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips as he reached over to affectionately flick her nose.

     Catherine snorted and shook her head as she mumbled to him, "As if I even believe in those sorts of things." She glanced at James who was awfully quiet. "What did you smell?"

     He coughed awkwardly and stammered out a lie, "Oh, you know. Whatever Lily smelled."

     "Ah," Catherine nodded with a smile. "That's great."

     "Yeah," he murmured distractedly, a slight frown on his face. Why did he have to lie? It's not like she was the only one in the entire school to smell specifically like roses and candies.

     Her eyes suddenly lit up as she peeked over James's shoulder to talk to Sirius in hushed whispers. James watched her converse with his best mate. She was always beaming so brightly whenever she talked with Sirius, her smile so dazzling. She never talked this way to him, James realized with a painful pang to his chest.

     Eyeing Sirius, James watched how he spoke to Catherine. He gave her his full attention and his lips were pulled to a smile instead of his usual flirty smirk to other girls.

     James scowled at the two, clearing his throat as he brought his arm to rest on the back of Catherine's chair.