James buried his head under the duvet when he first heard the knock at the door. He didn't want to see anyone. He definitely didn't want to talk to anyone, not when every waking moment felt like something angry and starving was gnawing away at his insides. He wanted to go back to sleep, where the last of his good dreams still lingered. Where none of this was happening.
But the person at the door didn't seem ro get that hint. James couldn't imagine it was Remus, who knew the code and would probably have just let himself in at this point. So who? There weren't that many people left who would come to visit James' small, dark room. Not now.
Reluctantly, James eased the covers off and clambered from the bed, his feet touching the floor for the first time in hours. Maybe days, he had no idea what day or time it was. Something lurched, heavy and broken, in his chest, and he had to grab the bedside table to steady himself. Sucking in a breath, the animagus forced himself across the room to open the door.
Flinging it open, all wild bedhead and day-old pyjama bottoms, it took him a moment to realise he didn't have his glasses on. Partly because the flurry of red hair and bright, no-nonsense tone was like a punch in the gut, leaving him too winded and breathless to protest as Ariel (of course it was Ariel) swept over the threshold. Grabbing the offered tray with the instincts of a chaser, and feeling vaguely stunned, James followed her, unusually docile as he placed it on the table and squinted across at her.