Who: James Potter & Gwen Urquhart What: Defence essay worktime! When: Monday, after dinner Where: Gryffindor Common Room Rating: PG-13 Status: Incomplete
No one in their right mind would ever call James Potter academically gifted. Sure, he wasn't stupid, but James struggled to get Es in most subjects. He really was exceeding expectations to get them. Defence, however, had always been his one little bit of intellectual glory, his sole O OWL. Effortlessly, he mastered every spell Kiely threw at him, and even though she was the Slytherin Head, he frequently received her comparatively rare smiles. In Defence, he was even something of an overachiever: James usually breezed through his essays the day they were assigned. Today's essay on the Patronus Charm was no different. The Patronus Charm was his father's second favourite spell, after Expelliarmus, and seeing James' natural aptitude for Defence, Harry had taught it to him during winter break of James' third year. Lots of practise on his own ensued, and by the time he went back to school, James could produce a corporeal Patronus almost every time he tried.
It took until seventh year for them to properly learn the charm in class. Professor Kiely was extremely impressed when James told her he had learned it in third year, and even had him demonstrate. Today was their first day studying the charm, so they were assigned an essay covering it in detail--the theory behind it, its uses, and how to cast it properly. James had learned this all at thirteen too, and wrote his essay as soon as classes were finished.
James certainly wasn't expecting Gwen to write him for help on the essay, though. He was getting used to watching himself around Gwen, but his feelings for her hadn't diminished any; if anything, they had increased. He was still watching her in class when he knew she was too focused on what they were doing to pay attention to him--he could tell, because he'd watched her enough to notice she would bite her lip or the end of her quill when she was concentrating--but at least now he managed to act like James around her instead of a stuttering idiot in a James suit.
Not only was he being asked for homework help in his strongest class by the girl he fancied, he was being asked by Gwen. Gwen always helped James in classes, not the other way around. She was the meticulous notetaker, the organized, ambitious, good student who saved all of her friends when it came to exam time or difficult essays. James was more than happy to return the favour for a change, and maybe showing her he was actually good at something other than Quidditch might get her to give him a second look.
James had his journal out in the common room, at the table nearest the fire, so he saw Gwen come down the stairs. With a smirk, he wrote to tell her where he was sitting, but stopped midsentence and closed his journal when she caught sight of him and headed over. "Evening, Gwennie," he greeted with a lazy wave, dropping his journal in his bag and digging out his Defence book and essay.