"You're the oldest of three?" He was playing with his hair again, but this time Gypsy could tell he was trying to flatten it. "Me, too. The oldest does have to be the protector, and that's true. It would be nice to have someone to protect me. What do you say we protect each other?" James smiled, eyes bright. Gypsy seemed to have cheered him up somehow.
Gypsy smiled also -- again. "Sounds like a deal to me. And you know, I'm really starting to like you. I think we could be really good friends."
James's face lit up like someone had just said "Lumos" inside his head. "Anyway, yes, I am in 5th year, mind you. For my O.W.L.s, I'm taking Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. All the same as my dad. How about you, Gypsy?"
Gypsy's eyes were wide, jaw hanging open, and James looked confused. "You're doing nine?" She said. "Wow, I didn't expect that." Gypsy went back through all the ones he had said again. "You're doing Divination? I would've thought that you weren't into all that woo stuff." She did a hand motion to go with her "woo," and James laughed. Gypsy grinned, eyes twinkling. James seemed to be able to make her smile a lot -- a rare quality in a person. "Okay, so the ones I'm doing. I'm doing all the ones you're doing, except Divination. I'm doing Muggle Studies instead, but that's only because I know I'll pass. I study muggles at home, you see." Gypsy smiled, and so did James.
At that moment Cassandra Malfoy opened the door to their compartment, blue eyes tight, face hard, and spoke to them. "I'm letting all of the cabins know -- otherwise you wouldn't have to be bothered by my presence, and I wouldn't even bother. We're almost to Hogwarts, so you'd better get your robes on unless you want Filch on your back." Then she muttered something that Gypsy thought was something like "... can't believe that old git is till there... someone should get rid of him..." Cassandra slammed the door and stalked off, shaking her pale blond hair behind her back.
"Well," James said. "Someone is not having a good day so far." The way his face looked made Gypsy laugh. His eyebrows were raised, his eyes wide and sparkling, and the corners of his lips curved up in an almost-smile. When Gypsy laughed, James grinned.
"You really know how to me me smile, James Potter," she said. He looked happy, and at that moment his eyes shone with something Gypsy couldn't quite figure out-- or maybe didn't want to at the moment. "Well, we'd better get our robes on. You don't want Filch-- or worse-- McGonagall on our backs, do you?" Gypsy raised her eyebrows.
"No Gypsy... what's your last name?" James asked. He seemed to be pretty set on learning about her-- or she was just telling him all about her.
"It's Phillips. But it's just Gypsy. There's no need to call me Phillips." She smiled a small smile. Gypsy was starting to come out of her shell a bit. Gypsy knew, though, that this mood of high spirits wouldn't last for her. No amount of joy or happiness was ever permanent with her, and no one knew why.
"Well then, Gypsy Phillips, I sugest we get right on that." James, in Gypsy's opinion, seemed to be the kind of person that liked to make people smile. Surprisingly, she liked that. She had a pretty good sense of humor herself, but never really got to show it.
When they were in their robes and back sitting in their compartment, Gypsy got curious. "Sorry, this might sound out of the blue, but do you have a girlfriend? For someone as charming as you, I would have thought that the girls would be all over you." Gypsy didn't know what made her do it, but she had, and now that it was out there, she wondered what-- or who-- his answer would be.
James seemed hesitant, and a little reluctant. "Well, I actually don't have one." James fixed his emerald eyes on her. "Some have asked, but..." He stopped, deep in thought. He seemed to be trying to make sense of what to say.
Gypsy understood. "Yeah, it's the same with me." She wasn't a really boy-crazy person. She had actually never had a boyfriend before. The train suddenly lurched, and stopped. Gypsy assumed that they had reached the carriages, judging by the fact that everyone was crowding, all getting out of their compartments.
"Well," James started reluctantly, "I need to go check on Lily, you know. Make sure she's not a parselmouth or something now." James smiled, and Gypsy couldn't help smiling herself, one last time before they'd see each other again. "Nice meeting you, Gypsy. I'll see you around. Maybe we'll have some of our classes together."
"All right," Gypsy said. "See you at the feast, or in the Common Room." James's eyes twinkled at that: he must not have known she was in Gryffindor like him, or maybe he just hadn't thought about it.
He waved to her, and left Gypsy in the compartment by herself. She watched him push through the crowd, and then leaned back, shrinking into her shell once again. She let her hair go back in front of her face again, her bangs falling down into her aquamarine eyes. It seemed as though when James had left, he had taken her good mood with him. She was cheered at the thought of being able to see him again, but just barely.
She waited until she knew that there was hardly anyone left on the train, then got up out of the compartment, ready for the feast, and (hopefully) to be happier again.