I hadn’t planned on being here.

Honestly, after everything, the last place I should’ve been was Uma Montero’s sweet sixteen party. Her house was buzzing, music pounding through the walls, people laughing and shouting and spilling drinks like it was the end of the world. Everyone who was anyone seemed to be there.

But Sirius insisted. Practically dragged me. Said it was the party of the summer. Said I “needed to stop brooding.” Said Uma would “love it if I came.” (That last part, I knew was a lie, but when has Sirius ever cared about details?)

The truth was, Uma and I hadn’t spoken properly in months. Not since I’d been an idiot.

We met last year, when we were fifteen. It was at one of Sirius’ parties, of course. I’d noticed her the second she walked in — hair shining under the lights, smile like she owned the room. We spent the whole night together, talking, laughing, kissing. And for weeks after, it was… easy. Natural. Like I’d known her forever.

And then I ruined it.

I ghosted her. Not because I didn’t like her — Merlin, I did. Too much. But because I was James Potter, Quidditch captain, prankster, Marauder. I wasn’t supposed to get tied down. And Lily Evans — well, she’d finally looked my way. And I was too stupid, too full of myself, to see what I already had.

So I walked away without a word. Dated Lily. Pretended Uma didn’t matter. And now Lily and I were over — barely lasted the term, really — and Uma? She’d moved on. Or at least, she looked like she had.

And yet, the second I stepped into her house and saw her — laughing in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by her friends, glowing like the whole night belonged to her — that twist in my chest told me I hadn’t moved on at all.

I was still watching her when she noticed me. Her eyes locked on mine, sharp and unflinching. She wove through the crowd, every step deliberate, and suddenly she was in front of me.