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As the stars twinkled above, Discordia was hard at work coming up with a makeshift sharp object; she was forced to become more creative with her tools with the increased surveillance of her possessions. Her dormmates were often kept on edge as being targeted for practice purposes during the overnight hours was like playing a game of Russian Roulette. She hummed to herself as she bashed the object against the tower wall in an attempt to sharpen it. The material was one she was unacquainted with; she would have to experiment with it until it was adequate for her purpose.

Hearing a noise from the steps, Discordia scurried to find a hiding spot. She wasn't going to let herself end up in detention and lose her precious experiment if she could help it.

"Yes, I think you would do exactly that," he sighed, "Now I hear people laughing at me. It's fantastic."

He sighed and closed his eyes irritably.

"But I suppose you're not entirely to blame. I knew that something would happen, that I'd act against my character. I gambled because I was in the moment, and now I have to suffer for it."

He paused.

"I say it because you are talented. You have the gift of the gab, people like you and think you're fun, you're not as thick as you make out to be and you're also a good quidditch player. Louis is much the same: people are just naturally drawn to him. I could never be that way."

@James Potter

People laugh at him? "That's pathetic of 'em. They probably woulda done the same if they drank tequila..." Or took some sort of stimulant.

James studied his features attentively; Chang seemed as if he could use a massage or something, but he stopped himself. That'd be gay.

"Y'know what Lou Lou has that I don't? Those Veela genes. That makes up most of his charisma per se. If he didn't have 'em and only had his looks, how many would actually pay attention to him?"

What was the point he was trying to get to again?

"I think you discredit yerself too much. Yer obviously smarter than most of the school to be in Ravenclaw. Yer obviously better than most of us to be a prefect."

@Lien Chang

He listened to what he was saying. Some of it made sense, some of it he wanted to comment on. But he had to get one detail that was bugging him out of the way first.

His eyes narrowed critically as he looked at him.

"Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?"

@James Potter

Why was he being nice? James had to turn away for a moment to formulate a response; how was he going to go about this? He didn't want for his answer to be misconstrued or come off as insincere.

"I, uh, er..."

He typically has an easy time coming up with words, but this had him struggling. What could he say that sounded like something James Sirius Potter would spout?

"I may give ye a hard time, y'know. How else do prefects keep their positions, aye..?"

Darry was right. He needed to stop avoiding his truth. Baby steps.

"I just really like bein' 'round ye. I dunno why, but I do. Yer seriousness is refreshin' to me. Ye never back down or let the celebrity cloud ye."

@Lien Chang

"I see..."

He couldn't quite look at him in the eyes. Saying that he liked being around him must have taken guts. It wasn't something one dude usually said to another dude, so to speak. Still, he couldn't say that he really minded being around James either recently. He was a lot more tolerable.

"It's not necessarily true that Ravenclaws are smarter, or that being a Prefect means that you're the most popular with students. Actually, I'm not sure why they did make me Prefect. Probably because out of Macmillan, Parkinson and I - I was more likely to take the role seriously. Atticus wasn't around then. He probably would have got it instead of me, come to think of it."

He glanced outside again.

"I'm not saying this to be negative, this is just simply how the world works. The sooner one realises that, the better. At least disappointment doesn't seem nearly as tragic."

@James Potter

Now that he had gotten that acknowledged aspect out, he faced Lien and rested his arm on the window ledge.

"I can think of a few reasons why. Yer grades are better than most in my classes. Yer more responsible than a lotta our peers. Ye were likely the best one for the job. Ye'd make a fine Head Boy as well if it were anyone other than Voclain choosin'. Again, love Lou Lou, but his only backbone is his lack of emotion. I never see him cry or get angry or anythin', and I've known him since birth."

James unconsciously placed his other hand around Chang's shoulder yearning to caress it.

'Ye got more to prove than me. I coulda been the ugliest, untalented bastard to walk down 'em corridors with only my name to get me by. Y'know how much Al loathes me just 'cause being born first made me popular by default? Fucked shit it is."

It was becoming clearer that he lacked his aunt's tact and careful phrasing.

@Lien Chang

That's only because I wasted so much of my time studying he thought.

"I didn't really want to be Head Boy," he confessed quietly, "Louis Weasley just annoys me. I'm sorry to say."

They were related after all. The way that James spoke about him was strange though. He didn't really expect that either.

When his hand reached around his shoulder, he was pulled in with an expectedly strong force. Why was he so heavy handed with everything? He felt like his shoulders were now shunted inwards and being crushed together.

"But you are ugly James."

He cracked up. It was good to have a bit of a joke. James Potter knew full well that he was good looking, in a rugged sort of sense of it. Perhaps some people would have paid less attention to him if he wasn't a Potter, but on the whole he still would have been quite popular. Maybe he didn't believe so, but Lien did.

Why did the word rugged even enter his mind as a descriptor for him anyway?!

He smiled uneasily at him.

@James Potter

"Eh, he annoys me a lot sometimes. A lot of my cousins do 'ere and there really," James admitted. Sure, they had a close bond as a result of always hanging out together growing up, but he never understood Louis.

Ugly? Hehe. "And ye look made o' glass," he chortled; he had already forgotten about the whole incident with the psychotic Lestrange that almost committed a murder or whatever. He'd also already forgotten about the fact that her unconscious, stunned body was stuck under a table to be out of the way. That was going to be an unpleasant surprise for somebody the next day.

Grinning, James found himself appreciating the closer look he was getting of Chang; how was he not a walking, talking life-size porcelain doll? "Nice breeze out, aye?"

@Lien Chang

He didn't know what to make of the made of glass comment, and momentarily he seemed troubled by it. But, he supposed, it was a joke. He forced a small laugh out of himself. Glass, as in fragile? As in just about to break? Why was he thinking about it too much, anyway? He should just let comments pass away like a breeze: James certainly did.

"Mm," he agreed vaguely, "It is nice."

Was this a strangely long time for a guy to be hugging him for? Whatever was going on, he wasn't sure if he felt entirely comfortable. His pulse quickened.

"I believe Alayna has been put off of me now, because of what happened at the party," Best to go with something in the other direction than whatever this was. "I thought that we were getting along well. But girls can be fickle."

@James Potter

Wait. Just how gay was he acting? Time for some damage control. James removed his hand from Chang and stuck it into his pocket. There, more casual.

"I dunno how long she woulda entertained ye anyway," James responded feeling a shiver up his spine. Ah, maybe he'd open up the dorm window to his roommate's displeasure later. "She ain't known for committin', really. When she and I snogged, it was just another number to her." There was also the fact that she was able to detect his closetedness, but he wasn't going to bring that up. It might make it too awkward. "More likely to settle with one of those purebloods anyway."

@Lien Chang

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice sounded darker when he uttered:

"That doesn't surprise me at all."

There was a small bit of lace that caught his attention, and he remembered that Discordia was stunned there.

"I thought she was rather pretty too. What is with all these good-looking girls? There's always something corrupt about them." He sighed. "Perhaps it's my own fault for having a type. I'm just not attracted to the plainer ones."

@James Potter

"Hey, ye can't help who yer attracted to."

That was something he also needed to take to heart, but it was important to talk about this guy-to-guy.

"Any broad can look like an angel all dolled up. Y'know a lot of the attractive ones wear some amount of makeup all the time? They do it 'cause of other broads."

The air felt like a shock to his system as he inhaled deeply. Should they actually do something about Discordia at this point?

@Lien Chang

"I like it when they wear make-up. They have to be slim as well. I don't understand the obsession with booty, or whatever it is."

He laughed a little. It was beginning to feel like guy talk in the dormitory now, so he felt a bit more comfortable. He wasn't really one of those guys who went on and on about it, but when the subject arose...

"We should probably take Discordia to the hospital wing. Then, at least, we had an excuse to have been up here all this time."

But going to bed for the night made him feel a little sad for some reason. He was actually enjoying his time speaking with Potter now.

@James Potter

"Fred's all about the bust. Don't get it really. What if ye suffocate?"

Yet he pretended to be interested in those every time he and Fred engaged in some manly banter.

James nodded in agreement. "So, we just gonna pretend she fell and concussed or somethin'? They wouldn't question it. She's already fuckin' insane."

How long had they been chatting away while the nutjob was out of it? At least half an hour? He wasn't paying attention to the time or anything. He felt upset that they'd have to part, but at least they were on friendlier terms now. That had to count for something!

"We gonna carry or levitate her?"

@Lien Chang

"It's probably the best way of suffocating, I suppose."

There was nothing wrong with a slightly bigger bust, as long as they weren't massive.

"Hmm. Levitate."

Casting the Levicorpus spell on Discordia, he glanced over at James.

"Are you serious? I'm just going to say exactly what happened. Why on earth should I be covering it up?"

@James Potter

With some of the older pin-ups he saw, James doubted that to be the case. How could chests naturally get so huge and droopy like that? It looked painful. Not like it was all muscle or anything.

"'Cause they won't do anythin' major 'bout it except maybe some owls and a crying speech from Voclain 'bout violence. Don't want anythin' bad in the papers. Gotta keep up that safest place reputation."

James wished that various aspects of society would change, but the people of wizarding Britain were, for the most part, satisfied with the post-war order.

He began heading towards the stairs.

@Lien Chang

"I'm still going to say the truth," he said stubbornly, leading Discordia through the tower to the staircase. It was a circular staircase. Now the levitation was a problem.

"Sod it - I'll just carry the bitch."

Sighing, he removed the spell and carried her instead. Fortunately she was fairly light.

@James Potter

"Just don't expect 'em to do too much, I can tell ye that."

Oh, right. It was a tower. No regular staircase to be seen. Wait. The spirally ones were regular. Maybe he should try to sleep again after this. "Want me to help ye carry her?"

On the other hand, it'd be nice to see him build a tiny bit of muscle from going through all of the staircases.

@Lien Chang

He pursed his lips.

"I can handle it just fine."

The corridors and the staircases seemed to go on forever when he was carrying someone. At last, he gave up the battle of his dignity and handed her over to James.

"Here," he said breathlessly "Your turn."

Relieved from that for a while, he looked at her limp form.

"I... Never said thank you, for coming up when you did. Even if it was just a big coincidence - thanks." He smiled slightly at him.

@James Potter

"I was wonderin' when you were gonna give up on that," James snickered as Discordia was suddenly put his arm. He then hunched her over his shoulder. "Sorta impressive how long ye kept up."

He shouldn't underestimate Chang's strength nor should anyone else. It was attractive. Just imagine how he'd be if he worked out enough...

That was gay. A bit too gay.

"Yer welcome. Does this mean I ain't gettin' written up?" It was a good question!

@Lien Chang

Prick he thought, but he was smiling nonetheless. Anyone who had eyes could see is stature, and that he wasn't built for carrying a lot of weight.

"No, I won't write you up for this," he informed him, "But only because of these particular circumstances. If I catch you again being out of your common room after hours, I have to write you up. So you should probably stop doing it."

Just a little reminder that he wasn't a pushover...

@James Potter

Like he said, Lien's seriousness and refusal to back down was refreshing. Nodding, James shot a smile at him.

"Cool, but what if I wanna say 'Hi' to ye or somethin'?"

@Lien Chang

"Then do so..."

They were coming up closer to the Hospital Wing.

"But just do it before curfew, when it's not in lessons and if I'm not studying."

Lien turned to James.

"I'll take her from here. You head back to your common room. The healers will be asking questions as to why you're out of bed, but they won't with me."

@James Potter

"I'll make sure to do that, aye?"

Why was he so suddenly determined to completely be on Chang's good side?

Handing Discordia back, James felt melancholic about having to go, but it was best for him to scurry back before another prefect catches him.

"I'll, uh, see ye 'round then. Night."

He turned towards the staircases and began to leave.

@Lien Chang