Jealousy, turning saints into the sea... [James]

[Luc Norwood]

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“Friend or foe,” the large, brass eagle doorknocker asked.

“Well, that depends mightily on your point of view, doesn’t it,” Luc returned, his voice a vague mixture of bite and fatigue.

“Logic accepted,” the eagle said and the door opened to reveal the Ravenclaw common room and Luc dropped unceremoniously to a couch.

The pain had mostly subsided, thanks to the potion work of one of his house mates. There was little he could do about the pattern of bruising on his shoulder from the hard punch from James and across his back from the landing, but at least he could cover those. His black eye, on the other hand, stood out for all to see. Luc was quickly reaching the end of his patience with people looking at him and whispering back and forth.

By Sunday he’d said, “I don’t want to talk about it,” so many times, it was almost automatic if any one dared to approach him. Luc realized he needed a project and fast, something fun and interesting, something to do with his hands maybe. Trying to keep occupied with school work was quickly losing its merit, since at some point he’d lost track of the subject the essay he was supposed to be working was even about. Penny had a way of steering him to focus when it came to boring things like this. But, he hadn’t seen much of Penny since the incident yesterday.

Probably helping James lick his wounds, Luc thought shutting his book harder than necessary as he stood up. The leftover ache prevented him from going for a run, and unless he went around begging for something to fix, there was nothing to do that would clear his head. A hot shower would help his muscles, but not as much as a soak would. And there was only one place to take a long, hot, soak in the castle.

The prefect bathroom.

The password protected entrance might deter some, but not Luc. After all, the prefect bath was meant to be used by, well prefects, which Luc certainly did not fit this description. Another group had the privileges as well, quidditch captains, though Luc didn’t fall under this category either. If there was one advantage to being particularly close to his quidditch captain however, it would be this: Penny had shared the password with him.

The room was made up of two parts. A line of stalls filled with toilets took up the left wall, while on the other side was a bath tub that could better be described as a swimming pool with different colored faucets surrounding it. Luc set to work turning a few on, hoping it would make it fill faster. Different colors of water and soap poured forth and Luc was amazed how quickly it did fill, given the size. Before long, there was a mound of welcoming bubbles, beckoning him in. Luc pulled off his shirt and kicked off his trousers, more than ready to wipe James from his mind.

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Words: 512
Tag:James
Comments: Finally it's up!

[James Potter]

The mediwitch had reluctantly let James leave the hospital wing Saturday evening. Judging by the looks he got as he trudged through the corridors, news had spread fast that there was some kind of fight. James kept his gaze forward, not acknowledging anyone on his way to Gryffindor Tower. Upon entering the common room, all eyes were on him. A few brave students shouted out questions, but James just ignored them and continued up to his dorm. He didn't owe anyone an explanation. All he needed was to be alone for a while.

He didn't sleep very well that night, if he even slept at all. He kept remembering parts of the fight, and the look on Penny's face. No matter how hard James tried to distract his thoughts, it was no use. He felt so guilty that he hurt Penny, though strangely satisfied that he at least gave Luc a black eye. Git deserved it. On the topic of deserving, James couldn't forget how Luc said that he didn't deserve Penny. What if he was right? No, he couldn't let that get to him. But so far, James was losing that battle.

Sunday morning came unexpectedly, because James still hadn't really slept besides a few snoozes here and there throughout the night. He rolled over in his bed, groggy and aching. So much for that healing potion. It must've worn off by then. James sighed as he sat up in bed, which wasn't even comfortable anymore. He rolled his head to crack his neck and tried to shrug the ache out of his shoulders. His efforts were futile. There were a few other boys waking up just then. Their eyes falling onto James questioningly. Annoyed, James grumbled and rolled out of bed. He proceeded to grab the closest pair of clothes, which happened to be a rumpled pair of jeans and his wrinkled white school shirt. He slid into them silently as he contemplated what he should do with himself that day. James wished he could spend it sleeping, but his bed was just too uncomfortable. He could go visit Penny, but that would require heading over to the Ravenclaw Tower, and Luc would be over there. He frowned.

After slipping on his shoes and placing his glasses on his face he thought of a good idea. A nice bath would do him good and relax his aching muscles. Before heading out of the dorm, he grabbed his towel and slung it over his shoulders and picked up his bottle of soap from his nightstand. The common room occupants again stared at James as he made the awkward journey towards the portrait hole. He remained silent like always. There was no way he was ready to talk about this with anyone. It was hard enough admitting himself to Penny. Why should he have to tell strangers about his personal life?

His footsteps echoed off the high walls of the empty corridor as he made his way for the fifth floor. His head hung low and he stared at the floor most of the way. James felt his eyes droop from his exhaustion and for a moment wished he just stayed in bed despite his aches. Finally he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered.

"Licorice Wand," James said the password with a sigh as the door to the bathroom swung open.

He stepped in as the door closed behind him. It was already rather steamy in the room, perhaps someone had just left. James tossed his towel onto one of the hooks, the started to pull his shirt over his head lazily and almost getting himself stuck. He grumbled to himself as he hung it with his towel, noticing now that there was another towel on the row of hooks.

Confusedly, James turned towards the steaming bath and saw a figure. Trying to get a look at who it was, he noticed his glasses had right fogged up from all the vapor. He made to wipe them off with his fingers. His face darkened into a scowl. James studied the figure for a moment, hidden jealously sparking inside of him, which made him suddenly want to cover himself.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked bitterly as he folded his arms across his chest. Luc was definitely not a prefect or Quidditch Captain, so what in the hell was he doing in a place made for only those people? James was right out annoyed beyond belief. He was hoping this bath would be relaxing to him. It just turned out to be another annoyance.


WORDS: 824
TAGS: Luc
COMMENTS: Uh oh. Let the games begin.

[Luc Norwood]

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The hot water from the bath gave off a great amount of steam. It quickly spread throughout the room, leaving a trail of pleasant soap smells along the way. Luc drew in a long bath, letting the sensation relax him. Prefects and captains had it good, didn't they? Luc's thumbs were hooked under the band of his boxers, ready to join his growing pile of clothing next to his feet when he heard a noise. It almost sounded like a faint click, like the sound of the door opening and closing again. It made him pause and turn to the entrance to see if and more importantly who, had arrived. Luc grumbled as he realized he recognized the figure standing by the towel hooks. Of all the various prefects and quidditch captains that had the password and could have come in at this moment, did it really have to be James Potter?

"Bloody hell," Luc muttered. "Of course it's you." Because the universe saw fit to rub salt in his already open wounds by not having seen much of Penny since yesterday... Why not just shove the object of his apt irritation right in his face? The person who'd not only wrongly accused him of 'hanging all over' Penny, but also proceeded to pick an unnecessary fight about it. A fight, Luc would have finished if it weren't for the unfortunately timed panic attack.

"What are you doing in here?" James asked with a scowl as he folded his arms across his chest, looking very uncomfortable. Of course James was a prefect, and of course James was going to be a dick about it. At one time, Luc thought he would've liked to have been one, but it didn't seem all that fun if James was any example. Luc didn't know how James was able to patrol with the giant stick up his arse. Was it something they installed when you were elected, or was it a requirement? Luc wasn't sure.

"What does it look like I'm doing," Luc said indicating the bath. Even though he knew perfectly well what James meant, Luc wasn't going to give the other boy the satisfaction of being right.

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Words: 400
Tag:James
Comments: hehe...

[James Potter]

James was lucky for the heavy cloud of steam in the room. It effectively helped shade his faltering expression. Finding Luc in the bathroom was totally unexpected. With the strain James had gone through, he was in no mood for a fight. But James couldn't wave his white flag, not with Luc. He squared himself again, hoping to give himself a little bit more height against the Ravenclaw. It was bad enough James felt guilty over Penny, he didn't need this pratt rubbing it in any more.

"What does it look like I'm doing" Luc spat at James.

It was so easy for James to get annoyed, but it took someone like Luc to infuriate him. The idiot thought he could just waltz into the Prefect's Bathroom without being a prefect? Not on James' watch. Luc already infringed enough on James' life. What with him coming on to Penny and making James look like a fool in front of her. James was tired of Luc's belittling.

"It looks like you're breaking some rules," he said smartly with his nose in the air. It was the only thing he could think of at first, though it was true. Sure his confidence was all a front, but a difficult one to hold. On the inside, even though his mind was spitting with insults, he was quivering with insecurities. Though his annoyance was prominent enough to at least keep his feet firmly on the ground, for now. There were certain things that could set James off on the wrong end. Hopefully James could hold it together. He didn't need to be made a fool yet again.

"How did you even get in here anyway?" James asked in a huff. He was actually really curious. Maybe Luc had overheard someone talking about the password, or something. All James knew was that he wanted him out. Besides, the Gryffindor had the right to be in there, and he could really go for a relaxing bath.


WORDS: 393
TAGS: Luc
COMMENTS: James is about to get even more pissed.

[Luc Norwood]

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The heavy steam filled the room, but Luc could still see James squaring off his shoulders to appear taller. James attempts at compensating his shorter stature hadn’t been that amusing yesterday, and it wasn’t anymore so today. Was Luc supposed to make the other boy feel better in someway? Ease his sensitive sensibilities? Boosting James’s ego seemed to be Penny’s gig lately, Luc shook his head to clear the thought. That wasn’t fair to Penny, even if Luc didn’t understand James’s appeal. A ball of apparent awkwardness wrapped up in a meek looking package, what exactly sparked the relationship in the first place? Did Penny and James even have anything in common?

"It looks like you're breaking some rules," James said with his nose in the air, somehow forcing the metaphorical stick even higher.

Arrogant know-it-alls annoyed Luc to begin with, but with the addition of James’s face, his words threatened to push Luc over the edge. Luc shrugged, trying to stay focused. He was not going down to James's level, not today. It was just not worth it.

“Hard to break a rule that doesn’t exist,” Luc quipped back. As far as he knew the rules regarding the prefect bathroom were vague at best and not exactly grounds for punishment if bent. Not that James would exactly care one way or the other, he seemed the type to abuse his prefect powers over something so petty. James had started the fight yesterday after all, that couldn’t be very good prefect like behavior.

"How did you even get in here anyway?"

“Penny gave me the password,” Luc grumbled in return before realizing it was perhaps the very wrong thing to say.

It implied exactly the opposite of where Luc and Penny currently stood in their relationship. Sharing such things implied an intimacy between them, and for all intents and purposes there was. Just not of the of the sexual variety… at least not anymore. Though that detail was neither here nor there, and best left alone. Regardless of what happened between them in the past, and it was in fact in the past, Luc and Penny were only friends.

Now it was just trying to get James to see that fact was the problem. Popping off with things like that wasn't exactly going to appeal to the already testy Gryffindor. So, what did Luc do now?

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Words: 401
Tag:James
Comments: uh oh