✧✦✧

DO ME A SOLID

act two ━ chapter twenty-five

. . . . . .

━ BRONWYN WARD ━
october 1977

THERE ARE MANY GREAT BENEFITS TO HAVING GHOSTS WANDER ABOUT A SCHOOL. They teach useful life lessons to students who stop to listen, they act as someone to talk to. And they flood the bathrooms.

Bronwyn never minded Moaning Myrtle ─ the poor girl just wanted to be seen ─ but when it came to disrupting the entire castle's operations, she wasn't the ghost's biggest fan. After another mental breakdown, Myrtle flooded every single bathroom in Hogwarts. It took the staff several hours to mop up the majority of the mess but at dinner on Monday evening they reported that the issue was much bigger than they had originally thought and cancelled lessons for the following day.

So while the rest of the school celebrated joyously at the many things they could be getting up to on a Monday night, Bronwyn was thinking about how she was not going to be able to wash her hair that night.

"Think of it as partner scouting," Andromeda said from where she sat across from Bronwyn at dinner. Andromeda didn't care for her hair but was thinking about the party that was happening later. The party that Bronwyn wasn't convinced about.

"What if I wanted to date someone who isn't a Slytherin?" Bronwyn queried. It was something she had completely considered but a party in the Slytherin common room happening at the same time as the other houses' parties felt too restrictive for her dating pool.

Andromeda slowly chewed on her toast. "Oh," was all she said. "That's . . . cool too."

"You seem sceptical."

"Do I? I wonder why."

Andromeda gave Bronwyn a knowing look but the latter wasn't quite catching on to what her friend was hinting at. Andromeda just sat silently, brows raised in judgment as Bronwyn tried to piece together what Andromeda's problem was with her dating other houses.

Bronwyn decided to put herself out of her misery and probed her best friend. "What's wrong with me dating other houses?"

Andromeda shrugged innocently. "Nothing. Just that your choice of friends in other houses is . . . questionable."

Bronwyn couldn't help but scoff. "Like who?"

Andromeda's answer practically flew out of her mouth. "James Potter."

Bronwyn felt very blindsided. "We're not actually friends. We were practically birthed in the same room, we've been forced to be friends all our lives so it's hardly a choice."

"I guess you've gotten pretty good at pretending you like him then."

"All those years of practice," Bronwyn explained.

Andromeda swirled a butter knife around in her hand, her eyes trained on the grain of the table as she said, "You're almost like his number one fan."

"Oh please, I'm anything but."

Another dubious eye roll. "Sure you are."

Bronwyn let her cutlery clang onto her plate to emphasise how ridiculous she thought this sentiment was. "The person who is James Potter's number one fan is James Potter. And it will stay that way."

Andromeda was far from convinced. "If you're so sure."

✧

JAMES POTTER RARELY PUT ANY EFFORT INTO ACADEMIC-RELATED COMMITMENTS. Unless they had been cancelled for the day and that meant he could redirect his creativity and energy into planning a killer party in the Gryffindor common room since he didn't have to wake up for any boring lessons the next day.

Since the Prewett twins made their departure from Hogwarts, James believed that the responsibility of hosting parties and playing pranks and generally making the school a more fun environment was bestowed upon him and his posse of friends. And, to his delight, the rest of the student body gratefully accepted his efforts.

Today was an especially fun party because they were celebrating the lack of education they would be receiving on a very random day of term.

Sirius decided the best way for them to get as many people in the common room by eight pm was to stand in the common room and tell passersby what was happening later, making sure to warn them not to bring their non-Gryffindor friends because "they can entertain themselves". James and Peter just sort of sat on the sofas as Sirius gave speeches every ten minutes to tell the new arrivals of the evening's plans while Remus studied at a nearby table.

It got very boring quite quickly because Sirius didn't want to do anything but make sure as many people as possible were coming to his party. It meant that as soon as James Potter spied Lily Evans, he jumped up from where he sat. Of course, he was never not going to say hello.

He started to jog over to her but as he went, he spied how Dorcas noticed him and tapped Lily's shoulder as the latter's back was to him. It almost looked like a warning. These suspicions of James' were only further confirmed when Dorcas' eyes flared and Lily span on the spot just as his feet aligned with hers on the floor.

"Hey, you coming to the party later?" James asked, not letting his scary gut feelings get in the way of the toothy smile he was giving Lily.

Lily seemed frustrated if only for a second. It was a quick flash through her eyes, something minute but also something James Potter would obviously spot. He had been training himself to read her emotions ─ with hopes to one day locate adoration in those green eyes ─ so it was rare he didn't pick on any tiny change. So what was she frustrated about?

Her muscles contorted in a kind of insincere apology. "Probably not," she exhaled.

James couldn't stop the disappointment showing on his face. "Oh." But despite the strange feeling he got in his belly that something wasn't right, James did what he did best, and put on a smirk to flirt. "Even if I'm there?"

Lily's eyes fell to where James' shoulder had nudged hers with what seemed to be discomfort. "Yeah, sorry, James, I have a lot to do," she mumbled, barely able to look him in the eyes, flitting to Dorcas to deflect. "See you."

Before James could comprehend his life crumbling in front of him, Lily was sparing him a strained smile, waving and subsequently, leaving.

Maybe it was just an off day for them and everything would be right on track again tomorrow. So why did James have a bad feeling that's not what was happening? This disappointment and self-resentment was a familiar feeling ─ he had felt it for the years he was pining after her. What was it doing back in his stomach making him feel all mopey and no longer excited for the party he was planning?

Lily Evans, once again, had no interest in him. It was official and he was confused. She was just gushing about how wrong he and Bronwyn supposedly were for each other and he interpreted that as meaning he and Lily would be a much better-suited couple. Is that not what Lily had meant?

James didn't know what had happened in the span of a single day. Had he said something wrong? Was his personality that revolting she couldn't stand being friendly with him for more than twenty-four hours? What. The. Actual. Fuck. Having one girl on his arms made the rest of them flock to him and now the one girl he actually wanted to go out with wouldn't even look him in the─

Oh.

He wondered briefly if anyone could see the cogs moving in his brain as he hovered like a buffering robot in the middle of the Gryffindor lounge but he didn't care. Lily was in his peripheral vision, across the room and walking out. His eyes were glossed over but he could still pick her out with her big green eyes and long orange hair.

Single James was nowhere near as appealing as Relationship James.

The only way he could fix that as soon as possible was by acquiring a fake girlfriend. He knew there was only one girl in the entire school that would even consider doing that. Because she had already done it once before.

✧

"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS CHASING AFTER GIRLS THAT DON'T WANT YOU? It's getting embarrassing and kind of ruining my rep."

"What rep? The one where you shag anything that breathes?"

"At least they want me to shag them."

"Unbelievable."

James knew that his departure from their very popular party mid-way through the festivities to hunt down Bronwyn Ward was never going to go down well with Sirius but it had to be done. At least Remus was present as a mediator.

James hadn't had a sip of alcohol since the night had started but his housemates hadn't hesitated to get drinking quick and so by the time eleven rolled around, half the common room was drunk and the majority of their half-arsed red and gold party decorations were on the floor. The music was pumping, the drinks were flowing, the usual ─ you get the gist.

"First Lily and now you're crawling back to Ward? Seriously, James, I taught you better than that."

James scowled over the top of the undrunk red cup Sirius had shoved in his direction at the start of the night. "You haven't taught me anything."

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe that's the problem."

Remus placed a comforting hand on James' shoulder. "Ignore him. Do whatever you think is best, James. And if that means hunting down your ex-girlfriend in her common room you're not allowed in, go ahead."

Even as Remus delivered his supportive speech, it was clear he was dubious. But of course he would be, no one knew the true extent of what was happening between James and Bronwyn, which was technically, nothing.

That didn't stop James from focusing on that phrase, ex-girlfriend. People used it when speaking about him and Bronwyn. A narrative about the two of them dating was widely used. He liked people talking about them like that, he just didn't know why.

"I just want to talk to her," James told Sirius.

"Can't you do that after the super cool spontaneous party we are credited with throwing?" Sirius drunkenly swayed as he stared down at James like he had sprouted horns.

Probably. "No."

"You're romantically incompetent, did you know that?" Sirius told the boy who was supposed to be his best friend.

"Thank you for that assessment, Padfoot." James was beginning to regret telling his friends about the fact Lily wasn't showing up tonight and the fact he was literally about to go hunt down his ex and beg her to take him back. That's on him.

"You're so welcome."

Remus watched as Sirius got precariously close to falling over and whispered to James, "Go now. I'll keep him busy."

Sirius instantly sparked up, regaining the use of his leg joints. He crawled his fingers up Remus' arm. "Will you now?"

James didn't need any more reason to hang around and was out of the busy common room after a few brief hellos, hugs, and offerings of shots.

As he walked to the dungeons, James tried to clear his head, grateful for the space and air to breathe. What was going on with him? He loved to party ─ it was like the one thing he was good at. And now he couldn't wait to get out of one?

He decided to clear his head by coming up with a game plan. He concluded he had to slip this into conversation very naturally, otherwise Bronwyn wouldn't hear him out. James was almost certain he'd get an immediate no and so this could take a bit of convincing. But if there was one thing James was good at it was getting his own way. He was going to leave this party with Bronwyn Ward as his girlfriend whether she liked it or not.

His plan was simple: follow Bronwyn around like he was a pimple she couldn't ignore, eventually giving in, and giving it the attention it needed.

As soon as he arrived in the Slytherin dungeons, James located Bronwyn in the corner, Andromeda by her side. The pair looked as though they were scouting the vicinity and, remembering the day he and Bronwyn had spent together yesterday, James decided to present himself as the perfect candidate for the new boyfriend Bronwyn so desperately wanted.

"Shouldn't you be in your own common room, Potter?" Andromeda asked as soon as he was in earshot. It was a fair assessment ─ every house was throwing a party tonight since it was rare to have a blessing as random as a day off mid-week.

James clasped his hands together and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "An excellent question, Andromeda," he said before squaring in on Bronwyn. "One I would rather answer in just Bronwyn's company."

Bronwyn and Andromeda shared a glance ─ one that read, we would feel much better if we just got this over with ─ before Andromeda sauntered off to get another drink.

"I have a proposal to make," James said, somewhat proudly when there really was no reason.

"Oh dear, that's never good."

"That's always good," he corrected her before guiding her towards the bookcases at the back of the lounge for some shelter.

"If you have to drag me away from the crowds to 'propose' something, it's definitely not good," Bronwyn said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Hear me out, okay?"

Even when, nine times out of then, something ridiculous was about to come out of his mouth, Bronwyn agreed only because it really couldn't be that bad─

"I need you to pretend to get back together with me."

Bronwyn couldn't help the cackle that tore its way out of her. After a moment of howling, she realised James had barely moved an inch, except for the slight lift of his lips in an awkward smile.

Her laughter died in her throat. "Oh, you're serious?"

"As a heart attack."

"James Potter is never that serious about anything."

"Why are you talking about me like I'm not standing right in front of you?"

Bronwyn let her arms fall to her sides and she smiled sarcastically up at him. "Because you're not."

And then she walked away.

And then he followed her.

"Following me around like a lost puppy is not going to get you anywhere, Potter," she told him over her shoulder, picking up her pace while also scanning the crowds for the only person who could save her. Andromeda, however, was long gone.

"I'll be the one to decide that," James announced before hurrying up and blocking her path. "Do me a solid? Please?" He said, linking his fingers and bringing them to rest under his chin in a begging motion. He pouted his lips like a child.

"Doing you a solid would be letting you copy my Potions homework!"

"You can do that too!"

"Give me strength."

Sighing, Bronwyn tried to get around him only to no avail. For once, she was grateful practically the entire Slytherin house had gathered here tonight otherwise someone might spot them talking. And she hadn't thought enough about how she should play that.

"Bronwyn, please. You said it yourself, you want a boyfriend."

"Yeah, a real one, James!" She exclaimed exasperated.

"I can be as real as they get!" James argued before softening up a little. "I learned from the best, after all."

A very solid point but still not enough to convince her. "How am I supposed to get a real partner if everyone thinks I'm in an on-and-off relationship with you?" Bronwyn actually shivered as she said this, the thought was so diabolical.

Unfortunately for his persuasiveness, James didn't have an answer for this. As a remedy, he decided guilt-tripping her would be best and he thought he could do this by hinting at the reason he was asking for her help. Again.

"Girls like what they can't have," James told her, leaning in a little closer.

Something started to gel in Bronwyn's brain. How James had come to find her even when he wasn't allowed to be here and was no doubt throwing a party of his own. How almost stressed he had become when she denied him what he wanted the first time. Besides the Quidditch Interhouse Cup, James Potter has only ever wanted one thing and Bronwyn suspected that was what was slipping away.

"Evans has already gone off you?" Bronwyn suspected. It was the only logical conclusion.

A more than depressed sigh. "Yep." There was no point denying it if she had already figured it out.

Bronwyn placed a hand on his shoulder and James thought he'd cracked her if only for a second. "I'm sorry, James, I really am. I know how much you liked her."

The sincerity in her voice, the sympathetic crinkle of her eyes. James sensed there was a but coming.

"But?" He said already defeated.

She slapped his back. Hard. "Not my problem."

Maybe he needed to soften her up a little bit. Alcohol was good for that. But how could he execute this plan without being a total creep?

Or maybe, he just needed to leave her alone like she had asked and try another day. Being on her good side may be beneficial to him especially since he wanted something she was very against giving.

Nevermind. He was too impatient and was never going to try that. Instead, James would hang around until the party was over. If she knew that he was willing to awkwardly hover in a place he didn't belong just to prove a point, maybe she'd relent.

And so James did just that. He let her walk away from him and go and play beer pong with Andromeda, with Evan Rosier as their opposition. He helped himself to a drink, grimaced at the music taste, and tried to convince himself that this was where he would rather be. Not in his cosy common room, with his friends and David Bowie, while they danced on tables instead of waiting on the sidelines of a party they weren't invited to . . .

Meanwhile, Bronwyn was quite happy she might have successfully gotten James Potter out of her hair. And she tried to enjoy herself.

Outside of practice, Bronwyn does not like to be seen with Evan Rosier. He's rude, entitled, and has possibly the worst attitude out of anyone she has ever met. Next to Evan, James Potter might just be a saint.

But when it comes to competitions, specifically ones she likes her chances with, Bronwyn will happily be in Evan Rosier's company. Just to kick his arse at beer pong. Being a Seeker, Bronwyn is quite good with small balls so playing this game with Evan, is a double whammy.

Evan's aim was okay but Bronwyn was still winning by a mile and not feeling the effects of the beer whatsoever. Then again, Evan was a hunk of a boy and probably wasn't either.

That didn't mean Bronwyn wasn't utterly terrified when Evan's eyes locked on the Slytherin common room's entrance and the boy scowled. He crushed the cup in his hands and dropped it on the floor.

That kind of anger is usually reserved for a particular kind of student so did Bronwyn dare throw a glance over her shoulder?

"What is Potter doing in our territory, Ward?" Evan turned his attention to Bronwyn.

Bronwyn tried to calm the tension that had fallen around the table by posing her next throw. "Don't know, Rosier, we're not together anymore, remember?"

"Does he know that?" Evan teased, jerking his head in James' direction.

Bronwyn didn't have the energy for any of this so put the ping pong ball in her pocket to make it clear the game was paused before sizing Evan up and promising, "I'll get rid of him."

James' face lit up when he realised Bronwyn was heading over to him. He thought he had finally won, that his exposure therapy had worked and she was giving in to his demands─

"You gotta leave," she said plainly.

"What?"

Bronwyn could hear Evan calling her name from a distance and knew she didn't have long to convince James to fuck off for his safety.

"You're not here to confess your love for me and beg me to take you back?"

Bronwyn did not appreciate his joking at this time because they did not have a lot of time to talk before Evan was marching over towards them, his mouth scrunched in annoyance, looking as though flames might burst from the top of his head.

"Seriously, James, this is not the time to talk about this," she whispered to him, before planting two hands on his arms and manoeuvring him towards the door. She had yet to work out how he was constantly getting inside here but with Evan close by, Bronwyn was not about to ask.

"Then when is the right time?" James asked. Clearly, patience wasn't the only thing James was lacking right now, since it appeared the high-level threat trudging towards them wasn't registering in his mind.

Bronwyn's eyes turned to warning as she heard Evan calling her name, his voice booming as he got closer. She pushed James closer to the exit ─ and therefore safety ─ but he resisted her force, making it exceedingly difficult.

"Seriously, James, when some of these guys have had a few drinks in them, you don't want to be here."

"Then leave with me."

Bronwyn had barely opened her mouth before Evan was right up by their side. She put herself between Evan and James because at least she could rely on the former not hitting her. Not because she was a woman or anything but because she ranked higher than him when it came to Quidditch and the staff wouldn't take that kind of thing lightly.

"Bronwyn, care to remove this dickhead like you said you would before─"

"Before what?" James scoffed. "You'll hit me?"

Bronwyn's head whipped around to look at James. She shot him a look that read do you want to get yourself killed? He just shrugged and she was infuriated further.

In James' defence, he had a lot of strength to him. He was more agile than Evan, but all Evan really had on him was that. They were the same height and similar build. Evan was just drunk and James didn't seem to fully comprehend what that meant for someone who was pissing him off.

Either way, the only person that could possibly intervene was Bronwyn. Evan's friends didn't care if Evan did anything stupid and it seemed the only person that James would listen to was Bronwyn.

"No one is hitting anyone," Bronwyn asserted.

"I don't think you get to make that decision, Ward," Evan said, sizing himself up as James tried to shuffle out of Bronwyn's way. He didn't want anyone to think he was cowering behind his ex-girlfriend because he certainly wasn't. If Bronwyn wasn't leaving with him right then and there, then James didn't mind staying in the Slytherin common room a little longer.

Bronwyn took a step closer to Evan and successfully got him to edge backwards a little.

A crowd was forming now and Bronwyn feared what that would mean for her level of control. Any kind of egging on and she would lose their attention in a second.

"I do if you want to keep your position on the team, Rosier," she spat back.

Evan's eyes finally found hers and suddenly James wasn't the biggest threat now. A rage was burning inside of him and suddenly Bronwyn became more worried with how much she could rely on him not hurting her.

"Why are you siding with him?" He asked. "He shouldn't be here and you know it."

"Get over yourself, Rosier," James scolded from over her shoulder.

Bronwyn placed a hand on James' chest as she debated the best way to play this. "I'm not siding with anyone. I just don't want to see anyone get hurt."

Evan leaned forward, his eyes narrowing in on hers patronisingly. "Better me than him though right?" He queried.

"I don't know what you're suggesting," she told him calmly, but still through the gritting of her teeth.

"Oh that's right," Evan then said, a smirk taking hold of his lips. "You dumped his pathetic arse."

A roar of laughter erupted from behind Evan where his goons were gathering, inching in like a pack of hungry wolves, ready for James' slaughter. James' demeanour was only slightly dampened since the two of them had agreed that their breakup was a mutual decision and that's what they would tell people. Evidently, James didn't like what this loud proclamation did for his reputation.

Stupidly, James decided to react. "She didn't dump me," he scoffed, though it was clear the conviction was hard to put on.

Bronwyn pressed harder against his chest as if trying to shove him out of the room completely.

"You keep telling yourself that, lad," Evan's raucous cackling had drawn in quite the group of spectators now.

Although the threat of Evan going for James may have subsided since it was clear Bronwyn was trying to get him out of the common room, the tension was still high and she needed to get Evan and his friends off James' back.

Despite it definitely having later effects, Bronwyn understood what she had to do. Evan wouldn't hit her because it would affect his Quidditch career. He didn't much care for the trouble he'd get into with the staff, but crossing Bronwyn wrongly would lose him the one thing he actually cared about. James was obviously willing to have a scrap ─ for what reason, Bronwyn hadn't yet figured out ─ and so she was the only one who could truly intervene here. If Evan knew Bronwyn cared about James in some capacity, he'd back off.

She just hoped she was right.

"Actually," she said, taking a large gulp before she continued, letting her hand slip from James' chest. "He's right. I didn't dump him. He is still my boyfriend so if you would be so kind as to back off, that would be brilliant, thank you, Evan."

She felt James' body relax behind her as she watched confusion ripple across Evan's face. His lips fell open as if he was going to say something but couldn't quite figure out what. His eyes flitted up and down between her and James trying to put two and two together but to no avail. James' body rose up again in defiance behind her, like he had found himself again. A very proud smile rippled across his face.

"Un-fucking-believable," Evan muttered. He all but scowled, sending both Bronwyn and James warning glances before sulking off.

Bronwyn finally let herself breathe. James was just getting started. She should have expected the gleaming twinkle in his eyes and flashy smile but something about the threat of a fight had her thinking about everything but what her words meant for outside of this common room.

Just before he had the chance to open his mouth, Bronwyn summoned the stone wall open and shoved him away from the prying eyes and poised ears. If they were going to talk this through, she'd rather people didn't hear it, thank you very much.

James never once considered Bronwyn was just saying what she had to to avoid his face being dented inwards and he beamed back at her, practically giddy as the wall came to a scraping stop beside them.

"So we're really doing this again?" He asked her excitedly, already dreaming up of other favours he could get out of Bronwyn since she really didn't know how to say no to him apparently.

It took her a second to respond. Again. Why was she letting him force himself in her company? He was worming his way into her final year of school and she was letting him. And then there was the exhausting reality that she was going to have to pretend to fancy him again. And it had to be even more convincing this time because apparently, she took his sorry arse back. Technically, the last time they fake-dated was The Girlfriend Experience. This was flat-out free labour.

But as more time passed before she responded, he turned on the puppy eyes and stared down at her like she was about to give him the world. She thought about her mum and James' mum and the times they had spent together as kids and Bronwyn felt like she owed little her this. Small Bronwyn and Small James were best friends and now she was going to abandon him in his time of need? She had always been fiercely loyal and even if she wasn't his number one fan, she owed James that.

Plus, he wasn't that bad. Not really. She supposed she was always so desperate to separate her home life from her school life that she never considered that spending time with James during term time wouldn't be that bad.

Bronwyn knew she was going to give in so she stopped delaying the inevitable. "You owe me," she told him, pointing her finger at his face, so close it almost grazed his nose. "So bad."

He knew she'd relent eventually, but it still felt nice to hear anyway. James pushed her finger out of his face and looped his arms around her back, tugging her close so that she nestled under his chin. "You won't regret this," he said, grinning, squeezing her tighter into his chest. Bronwyn was suffocating, being swallowed up by his grip and familiar scent but she didn't pull away.

Instead, she waited for him to. James still kept her at arms length as he lifted his chin from the top of her head, keeping his hands on the small of her back even when she wasn't returning the gesture. "Think of it as following up with one of your best alumni," he teased, bopping her nose with his finger.

Bronwyn hovered in front of his figure as she threw a glance around the vicinity. "James, there's no one here, you don't need to hug me."

"Oh, Bronwyn," he sighed, spinning her by the waist so that she slipped under his arm. His hand dangled off her shoulder as he guided them out of the dungeons. He smiled down at her, waiting for her to connect their gazes before he spoke so that he was certain she knew he was being genuine.

When Bronwyn finally did look up at him, her cheek practically burrowed in his armpit, his dimples were on display and there was such life in his eyes. "I want to hug you."

Well, one thing was true: Bronwyn had indeed acquired a partner before the week was up just as she had intended to. Whether it was how she had expected to or not.

———————————————