A cold tear slipping down his cheek pulls James back to the present. He wipes the tear off his cheek as it cools. He finally understood now that he had no better than a bully. And how could that not hurt when he had become friends with Severus Prince (nee Snape)! Severus was or rather is a good friend as HIS LILY had told him. Maybe, if he hadn't been so overrun by his jealousy, he might have been able to see that much sooner for love makes some go mad.
James lets out a tired sigh and leans back to rest his head against the cold stone wall. It was an act of penance to be here. Death was far too good for him. No, he owed far too much and had to rectify the past even at the cost of ever being with Lily again.
A footstep startles James causing him to hurriedly pull his invisible cloak over his head. A figure slowly appears around the bend of the tower wearing a well-fitted fur-lined cloak. Tall and slender, pale with midnight-indigo eyes and raven-colored hair, it is Rowan.
Rowan folds her arms and arches her brows at the corner of the wall. "You know, I can spot the tip of your foot is sticking out, James," she pointedly chided.
James instantly moves his foot and realizes that it was already covered. "Heh, Gryffindor's the lot of you are so easy to trick," Rowan smirked watching the invisible cloak ripple at James' abrupt movement.
Pulling down his cloak, James furrows his brow at Rowan. "So, what gave me away?"
"Nothing did," Rowan answered with a hint of smugness. "However, I doubted that you would be able to fall asleep up in the Gryffindor tower with the ongoing storm racket."
"Fair enough," James admitted, before motioning for Rowan to sit down next to him.
With a small sound, Rowan sits down against the wall. "Hmm, well, I suppose this is a formal congratulations on the day of your birth."
"Is it midnight already?" James asked.
"It is officially March 27."
James glances down at his hands but does not feel any older. He chuckles ruefully, before arching his brow at Rowan. "And why are you still up? Prefect patrols should have been done an hour ago."
"I was reading," Rowan admitted. And it was true, she had been reading down in the Chamber of Secrets. She had been about to head off to bed, but she spotted James in the corner of her mindscape.
James refrains from shaking his head in exasperation, before turning to look at the stars that can be seen in the half-clouded sky. "I finished reading my journals."
"Is that so," Rowan murmured without any interest.
"Yes," James peeked out from the corner of his hazel eyes. "Apparently, you promised to teach me how to fly on my 16th birthday."
Rowan's face twitches, before lying with a straight face. "It was nothing but a joke, James."
Intrigued now, James says, "So if I decide to jump out of the tower, you won't catch me?"
Rowan darkly glares at James, before scowling. "Fine, yes, I can fly."
"Wait, really?" James sputtered in sheer shock unable to believe it truly is possible. "I was just teasing you.
"Hmph," Rowan huffed rising to her feet. "You want to learn how to fly? Then I willingly accept to do so."
"Wait, I'm not sure about this," James hastily said as a shark-like expression appeared on Rowan's face.
"Nonsense, it'll be fun," Rowan said, but the way she uttered that last word promised it would only end in a painful death.
Severely regretting his decision to taunt Rowan, James carefully folds his invisible cloak and places it inside his moke skin pouch. "Alright, what now?"
"Did you know that wizards and witches could once fly?" Rowan asked.
"But wizards and witches can't fly," James steadfastly responded.
"Show's what you know," Rowan smirked, before becoming serious. "Close your eyes, James."
Feeling rather stupid, James does as he is told. "Feel the wind on your skin," Rowan instructed. "You're a quidditch chaser try to remember how the air moves around you on your broom."
Rowan reaches over and firmly interlocks her fingers with James's own. "I need you to trust me, James. Do you trust me?"
James is silent for a moment, "Yes, against my better judgment."
"Then just like riding a broom, I need you to trust in your magic," Rowan said one last time, before jumping off the ledge and pulling James after her.
James feels himself plummeting to the ground as his hazel eyes flap open. All he could do was think about how he was going to die as his arms and legs flailed helplessly in the air. But through all of it, Rowan didn't let go of his hand.
Something deep inside of James begins to move. His magic begins to instinctively swirl out of his core. Trying to recall Rowan's instructions, he panickily tries to recall the feeling of flying on his broom. They continue to fall as the ground gets closer and closer until he closes his eyes waiting for the dreadful impact.
Yet the impact never comes, James cautiously opens his eyes to find that he is no longer falling. He glances startled around to find that he is hovering a few feet off the ground. "I'm flying," he gasped in disbelief. "I'm flying," he repeated with greater strength as a child-like grin spread across his face.
"I'm flying, Rowan!" James repeated, before pulling Rowan into a hug.
"Yes, yes, now let me go, James" Rowan huffed as she suppressed the smile that threatened to appear on her face.
James releases Rowan and pulls away from her. "Thank you, Rowan, truly thank you," he genuinely said unable to express the volume of his gratitude.
"Just don't teach it to Sirius," Rowan darkly said. "There's no telling what he would get up to."
"I promise I won't," James vehemently agreed. Sirius was well Sirius.
"And besides, I don't think everyone can learn," Rowan admitted. "Flying is a severe strain on your magic. Can you feel the strain?"
James concentrates and is surprised to find how rapidly his magic is dwindling. "Yes, I can see how it might be dangerous to fly or even teach if there aren't sufficient magical reserves."
"Of course," Rowan drily replied. "Gravity restarts resulting in a violent and rather painful death."
"Yes, I can see that," James said with a painful wince imagining the ghastly scene.
"Come along then," Rowan said tugging James by the hand after.
James feels as he is gently pulled up and through the air. A wide grin is on his face as they fly through the air and around the castle once, before landing on a balcony near the Gryffindor Tower. "Off you go," Rowan shooed James. "You're exhausted and need your rest, birthday boy."
A loud yawn escapes from James as he finds himself utterly exhausted. "I suppose so," he yawned again. "Thanks, Rowan," he sincerely said, before turning away. "Wait, what about you?"
A sly smile spreads on Rowan's face as she puts her finger to her lips, before flying off into the night sky. "Cheater," James muttered with a bit of envy. He turned away vowing to practice flying. And he would but after a good night's rest. He was so drained that he didn't even make it up to the dorm rooms instead flopping down on a couch and falling swiftly fast asleep.
That night James did not have a single nightmare. All he dreamed was of dark skies and flying high in the air free like a bird. A carefree smile plagued him all-night-long face as he peacefully slept for once without burden.