James had been preoccupied, of late. To say the least. Not that anyone could blame him; theoretical impending doom tended to have that affect. Before, James had earned some semblance of anonymity. As a child, being a Potter was interesting, but with three of them in the school and James having been there six years past, he hadn’t been an attraction in some time. Being a champion, however, seemed to have renewed interest.
As usual, he dealt with it in the worst possible way for himself. Whenever someone wanted to talk or ask him something, he stopped, because this was a part of what he wanted, wasn’t it? To make history you had to be known. But whenever he could he retreated into himself, hating how everything felt weak and fake between him and the place he’d grown to love. There was no way to marry the two sides of him. The one that needed the attention and the one that couldn’t put up with it.
Dueling club became an outlet, then. A way to channel his frustration in himself into magic. At times that meant he became unpredictable with it, but James was good with control. As long as he kept a leash on things, no one had to know.
Yet when he needed most to have a good sparring session, instead, they were given a partner project. To help at reading body language, they were meant to practice with someone they didn’t know, trying to guess what their next move would be before they made it. At the end, they would review how many times they’d been right and see what they needed to work on.
An interesting idea, but not exactly what he’d been looking for from the day.
James was paired with Andrea Bonham, a girl he’d seen in passing but never really spoken to. Not that he really spoke to very many people, in the end. They shared classes and clubs together, but she seemed to mirror his more solitary outlook, which suited James just fine. It would probably be beneficial to read someone who kept their cards close to the vest.
“Not at all,” he answered, noting that she’d come over before he had the chance to stand. “Are you ready to stare at each other for an hour?” It probably wasn’t a great prospect for her, looking at him that long. Probably, it was going to be incredibly awkward. Still, James hadn’t ever looked at a challenge he didn’t want to push through, if only to prove to himself he could.