#and so Jily weren’t exactly… careful | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anxioussweasley · 3 years

Text

Christmas Is Our Season|| J.P

James Potter x Reader

Summary: You’re n love with James. He’s in love with Lily. The whole friend group is confused about their feelings. And December is quickly becoming everyone’s least favorite month. Lightly based on heather by Conan Grey, that one scene from Friends, and incredibly self indulgent. Featuring: (slight) Jily and very heavily insinuates Wolfstar 😊

Warnings: cursing, angst, hurt comfort? jealousy, brief mentions of abuse, pinning, James being an oblivious idiot.

Word count: 11.4k (I got carried away 😩😭)

A/n: PLEASE READ!!!! omg this took forever. I am so sorry this is late but I figured I would wait and let this be my Christmas gift to all of you! Hope you enjoy! Also so much of this is unnecessary but I wanted to do it all!!!!!!!

Lily evens was a good person. She was your best friend. She was kind and smart and beautiful. It wasn’t her fault. Of course he loved her. Lily Evans was a good person, she wasn’t trying to hurt you. That’s what you had to keep repeating to yourself. Because it was hard not to be angry with her. You were in love with James and he was in love with her and she didn’t even care. So here you were suffering through slughorns double potions sitting next to your best friend and trying not to hate her.

“Hey, are you okay? You look unwell, do you want me to ask the professor to excuse you?”

Scratch that it was impossible to hate her.

“I’m okay Lil’s. Just kind of knackered.” You gave her a small smile and the girl sent back a small nod before turning back to her notes.

It use to be easy to ignore the fact that the guy you like was in love with your best friend. But that was back when Lily wouldn’t even give James the time of day. Now the whole group had become friends and even though James had dialed back on asking her out incessantly, he still made his affection obvious.

“Hey!” The quiet voice came from behind lily and you already knew exactly who it was. “Hey, Lily.”

The redhead glanced at you rolling her eyes playfully before turning around to look at James. “What, Potter?”

“Me and the guys were going to Hogsmeade later. Do you want to come?” Lily let out a small chuckle.

Scratch that you kinda wished she were dead.

“And why should I go anywhere with you, Potter?”

“Because it will be fun, c’mon Sirius and Remus are coming.” James tries to convince. “Y/n are you coming?” he added, glancing toward you. Lily just replied with a short we’ll think about it before turning back to Slughorns lecture.

Peter, who was sitting behind you, let out a small laugh at James' disappointment.

“Oh, shove off Wormtail,” James mumbled.

Classes dragged on with lily contemplating James' offer. You wanted to go, after all, you were invited, and you loved hanging out with the boys. But lily was new to the group and she figured James was just trying to get a date out of her. It was now your final class of the day and one of the few you had without Lily, so here you were sat next to Remus lupin listening to the professor drag on and on.

“So James said he invited you and lily to Hogsmede,” Remus whispered as the professor started on another irrelevant tangent.

“I don’t know if invited is the word I would use. I know he only asked me because he thought that lily would come if I did.”

Remus sighed. “Y’know that’s not true.”

“It is. I'm trying not to let it get to me.”

Remus took in a deep breath. He was smart enough to know the truth.“Y/n what happens if Lily ever says yes to him.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“C’mon Y/n. It’s me. That might work with Padfoot or Wormtail or Lily but I know everything.”

Of course, he knew, you weren’t exactly subtle. “I know. I don’t know what to do. She’s my best friend and I can’t blame her, especially since she doesn’t know I have feelings for him. And he-” You and Remus's attention snapped to the front as the professor coughed before he continued to ramble on. “Well, he’s James. I don’t know what I was thinking falling for him. He’s been in love with Lily since first year… Sometimes I hate him.”

“If it makes you feel better, I know what it’s like.”

You looked at him confused. “Moony, what do you mean?”

“I know what it’s like to love someone you can never have.” Remus fiddled with his hands, turning the thin leather bracelet on his wrist. A bracelet you recognized Sirius gave him. “And I know what it's like to hate them too.” You gave him a sympathetic smile. He smiled back. Remus really was your other best friend. The only person you could talk to about your feelings for James.

You and Remus shared a quiet laugh before you rested your head on his shoulder.

“We are quite the pair Mr. Moony.” You joked.

“Yes; It seems in misery we are equally matched.” Remus humorously replied with a small smirk on his face.

“So are you going to Hogsmeade with us?”

“I’ll have to check in with Lily but I want to.”

“Even if she doesn't, you should. We don’t hang out enough anymore.”

“I will.” You smiled in reply.

“Come on, Lily, it will be fun. You would like the boys if you got to know them. You like Remus do you really think he would be friends with bad people?”

“I don’t know what I think.”

“Well, I think you're confusing James for someone else.”

“Don’t bring up Sev.”

“You're still calling him Sev? Lily when are you going to get it through your head that he doesn’t care about you! His obsession with you isn't okay, not to mention what he did to that poor girl. What do you think he made that spell up for.”

“Okay, Y/n! I get it, Sev- Snape isn’t who I thought he was. But for merlin's sake y/n, you think I don’t know that? He called me a mudblood. I know I haven’t been fair to James, I just don’t understand why you care.”

You froze. You couldn’t tell her the truth; not like it mattered anyway. “Because they are my friends and you are my friend and I just wish you could get along.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go.” Lily smiled.

It took all of three seconds for y/n to realize she likely just broke her own heart. One for James and Lily to make eye contact. One for the brightest smile you’ve ever seen to pass over James' face. One for Lily to smile back.

You sucked in a breath. Remus gave you a sympathetic look. James didn’t even greet you as he addressed Lily. Remus grabbed your hand and pulled you over to the entrance of the secret passage. Sirius stood there, glancing down at your intertwined hands before furrowing his brows.

“I think I made a mistake.” You whispered to Remus.

“It’s going to be okay.” He whispered back.

“What are you two on about,” Sirius mumbled. His eyebrows still furrowed as he looked between the two of you.

Remus squeezed your hand. “It’s nothing,” he answered.

“Whatever.” Sirius scoffed, crossing his arms and turning his head away from you. “Prongs! Are you coming or what?” Sirius shouted at the bespectacled boy.

“Shove off Pads,” James laughed before walking over to the entrance and stretching out his arm. “Ladies first.” He said to Lily, then noticed your presence glancing at you. Lily looked weary of the passage but you had done this before.

“It’s fine Lil’s. I’ll go first if you want?” The girl flashed her brilliant smile at you before giving a small nod.

It didn’t take long for the group to make it to honeydukes and it certainly didn’t take long for Remus to head over to the chocolate section making the whole group laugh. Lily kept close to you as the group split up in different directions to shop around the candy store. To no surprise, Remus joined you carrying a large bag of chocolate. Sirius followed him, shoving his wallet back into his pocket. You and Lily shared a knowing look. The both of you could see Remus's light blush.

Lily started up a conversation with the two leaving you to finish your shopping. You made your way to the back of the store, reaching up to grab a pack of sugar quills off the top shelf; your hand only an inch away before someone reaches up behind you and pulls them off the shelf. You whirl around to be met with James who hands you the package with a smug smile. “Careful love, don’t hurt yourself.” He chuckled.

You narrowed your eyes but couldn’t help the smile that broke across your face. “I am perfectly capable of getting my own sugar quills.”

“I know. Just wanted to be polite. I’m glad you came with us. It feels like it’s been forever since we hung out.”

You scoffed, trying to play it off as playfully. “Please, Potter. We both know you only asked me so Lily would come.”

“That’s not true.” James sounded a little offended which regrettably made you a little hopeful. “Y/n I’m serious.”

“No you're not; Sirius is over there.” You point with a nervous giggle.

James sighed. “I’m not joking y/n. I honestly thought you were avoiding us. Is it because of what happened with Snape because-“

“No James it’s not that. I mean what you did wasn’t okay, but it wasn’t unprovoked. I promise I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“I guess- I thought once Lily became friends with us we would hang out more, but it’s like you just disappeared.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I just,” he took a deep breath before giving you a small smile, “I’m glad you're here.”

Merlin, you loved him.

“Me too.” But something across the shop had caught James' attention. You followed his eyes to find Lily walking through the store with the two other boys. You looked back to James, something in you cracking as he watched her. He was in awe.

Merlin, you wanted to die.

After the group left honeydukes you made your way over to the three broomsticks for a butterbeer.

Hogsmeade was beautiful this time of year. Christmas decorations lined the streets, garland, and lights, and carolers, and snowmen wearing festive scarfs. The wind was blowing gently and snow fell softly all around you. It was beautiful but cold and you were shivering from it. The only one in the group that forgot to wear a heavy coat.

“Jeez, Y/n/n your teeth are going to fall out from all that chattering they are doing.” Sirius laughed as you shiver from the cold. Remus shot him a glare and moved to pull his coat from his shoulders, but his efforts were interrupted when James reached into his bag and pulled out a large sweater; throwing it over your head.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure our dear friend here doesn’t lose her teeth.” James announced.

The group kept moving forward as you paused to pull the sweater over your head. Hoping the heat in your cheeks wasn’t obvious. Although at this point it would be easy to blame the blush on the weather. James stood with you as your group carried on.

“Thank you.” You said as you finally pulled the garment into place.

James couldn’t help letting his eyes look you up and down. “No problem, love. I’m glad I brought an extra. Besides, it looks better on you anyway.” James mumbled the last bit and, luckily for you, turned away before you could react. You trailed behind him as he trekked to the three broomsticks. Only if he knew. Godric you wanted to tell him. You could stop him right here and confess. None of your friends would be there to witness it. No one would witness your humiliation when he ultimately told you he was in love with Lily. No one would ever-

“Do you think- that Lily really doesn’t like me?”

The question interrupted your train of thought and caught you completely off guard. “I- um, I- I don’t know.”

James didn’t look convinced. In fact, he deflated a little. “I know I’m annoying when it comes to her but I don’t know what else to do. I just get so nervous. I can’t think straight when she’s around I’m so worried about what she thinks. Sometimes I’m so nervous I feel sick. Y’know what I mean?”

You thought about it for a second. It was easy to immediately agree, but the truth is you didn’t feel that way. James had never made you that nervous. Yes, he gave you butterfly’s but he never made you so nervous you felt sick. “Not really, James. Honestly, I don’t think people you care about are supposed to make you feel that way.”

James was taken aback by your answer but he didn’t argue. He only mumbled out an “oh” before opening the door to the three broomsticks and gesturing for you to enter first.

Remus, Sirius, and Lily had all made themselves comfortable at a Large table. There were two empty chairs. One next to Remus, and one next to Lily. James sat next to Lily.

“Took you two long enough,” Sirius commented.

“Shove off,” you retorted.

“We already ordered drinks for everyone,” Lily smiled.

It didn’t take long for Lily to become completely at ease in the group. She had been friends with Remus for years and had been growing closer to Sirius and James for months. The group quickly fell into easy conversation.

James, whose natural defense to anxiety was massive overcompensation, had turned his flirting dial up to 11. He complimented her left and right, wiggling his eyebrows as he teased her.

It was painful to watch. And the more James flirted the closer you drifted toward Remus. He eventually threw his arm over your shoulder resting it on the back of your chair. He knew this had to be hard for you, and he was willing to comfort you any way he could. This however would lead to a whole new set of problems as both Sirius and James noticed. Sirius stared daggers into the side of your head when you weren’t looking.

James got up from the table, going to order more butterbeer for everyone. Lily smiled after him causing your heart to sink. “Wow, Subtlety is not his specialty is it.” She giggled.

“He’s nervous,” you replied, your voice was a little harsh despite your effort to keep a light tone. Your eyes drifted over to James. Lily stared at you.

“Right,” she mumbled, “I’m gonna go help him carry drinks.” She stood from the table and met James at the bar.

“I’m going to run to the bathroom real quick,” Remus announced, standing from the table and disappearing.

“What’s going on with you and Remus?” Sirius questioned suddenly.

You looked gobsmacked. “Nothing.”

“Don’t pull that shit with me Y/n. I saw you holding hands back at the castle, and all the whispering, and now he’s got his arm around you. So I’ll ask again: what the hell is going on with you and Moony?” Sirius’ voice was accusing. His glare could bring giants to their knees. You understood now why most people were afraid of him.

“Sirius, nothing is going on with me and Remus.” You stated quickly.

“I’m not an idiot Y/n.” Sirius was seething. “Are you two dating? Because if you're trying to keep it a secret, you're not very subtle.”

“What? Seriously, Padfoot, I’m not dating Remus! He’s my best friend. We are allowed to interact!”

“Then what the hell is going on with you? You’ve both been acting dodgy, and I don’t know what's going on-“

A loud laugh pulled both of your attention over to the bar. James had a huge smile on his face as Lily laughed. His arm was thrown over her shoulder. Nothing could stop the cold feeling from seeping into your bones. Lily laughed again, shoving James away from her playfully. She put on a playful glare, and James pouted teasingly.

Nothing was fair.

Sirius saw your face drop as you took in the scene, he saw the longing look in your eye, he noticed the pain on your face. “Oh,” he realized. Pulling your attention back to him.

“Oh, no. Y/n you can’t like-“

“I can’t like him. I know.”

There was a pause.

“But I do. And I know he’s never going to feel the same.” You sighed. “That’s why Remus and I have been so close lately. He’s the only one I can talk to about it.”

“I’m sorry about before. I guess, I um…” Sirius trailed off. Looking guilty but more so embarrassed.

“You were jealous. It’s okay. I know how you feel.” You looked back at James, who was now picking up drinks with the help of Lily to bring back to the table. Sirius followed your stare.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. You look at him the way I look at Remus,” Sirius let out quickly as James and Lily approached the table.

“Where did Moony run off to?” James said as he noticed the empty chair between you and Sirius.

“I’m right here,” the voice came from behind James as Remus made his way around the table.

Sirius sat up straight and pulled Remus’s chair out for him; inevitably pulling the chair closer to himself. “Are you alright? You were gone for a while.” Sirius asked.

“I’m fine, just having one of my headaches,” Remus mumbled quickly, hoping not to worry his friends too badly.

“Are you out of that potion Pomfry gave you? Do you want to go back to the castle? Are you sure you're okay?” Sirius rushed out.

Remus blushed, James wore a smirk on his face, you and Lily shared knowing looks. “I’m fine Pads, I promise,” Remus reassured.

By the time the rest of the group was ready to go your heart was in pieces. James and Lily got along swimmingly during the trip and you had even noticed a light blush paint her cheeks when James complimented her. Remus noticed your sinking mood and suggested you all head back to the castle. You did your best to avoid Lily on the walk back to Hogwarts but she noticed your irritation easily.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked once you returned to your dorm room. She was verily confused about your sudden mood but she didn’t want to push you. She thought it might have something to do with the way you were acting earlier in class.

“I’m fine Lil’s,” you answered quietly, sitting on your bed to take your shoes off. You had to admit you were annoyed at her and that only made you feel worse. It wasn’t her fault that he liked her or that you liked him. Besides you had begged her to go so it wasn’t her fault.

“No, you're not. I can tell. Y/n/n cut the crap, I can tell something is up, what’s going on with you.”

“It’s nothing Lily, will you just leave it alone.”

“Is this about the boys?”

“No! Bloody hell, do you always have to be in my business!” You regret the words as soon as they leave your mouth. You and Lily barely ever fought and you hated shouting at her.

“So this is about the boys?” Lily said accusingly. She was pissed. “I don’t understand what your problem is! You're the one that wanted me to be friends with them! You're the one that told me to give James a chance! I want you to be happy, but if that’s too damn difficult for you the least you could do is pretend!”

“I am pretending!” You shouted back.

“Then do it better,” Lily demanded.

“Alright, why don’t I go downstairs and tell James how glad I am that you're getting along.”

“Oh, so this is about James?” Lily interrupted.

“Yeah Lily,” you huffed, “this is about James.” Realization dawned on her.

“So why don’t I go down there and tell him how much I like him.”

“Y/n-“

“No. It’ll be good. I can tell him how much I’ve been thinking about him.” Lily looked shocked. She couldn’t believe she never noticed. “That I haven’t stopped thinking about him since the moment we met. That I’m so fantastically over the top in love with him that for every moment of every day I can’t believe my own damn bad luck that you met him first.” Tears streamed down your face as you realized what you had just confessed. Lily looked like a deer in headlights.

You couldn’t help but sob. Large tears leaving trails down your face as you cried. The sobs wracking your body felt never-ending. It wasn’t until you felt Lily’s arms wrap around you that you saw any end in sight.

“It’s okay. Shh, shhh, shh. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Lily was crying now too. She couldn’t believe how blind she had been.

“I’m s-sorry, Lily. I’m so sorry, I know it’s- it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have yelled. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault either. You're my best friend, I should have realized.” She assured, squeezing you tighter as she started rocking you both back and forth.

“Lily, I screwed everything up.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m not mad at you, okay?” You nodded. “Okay. Now C’mon, let’s get you off the floor.” Lily finished. Pulling you from the floor. You both made your way to Lily’s bed sitting up against her headboard.

“So you and James?” Lily giggled. You glared at her half teasingly before breaking into soft giggles. “What, too soon?” She asked wearing a small smile.

“Yeah,” you smiled back.

There was a long silence as you and Lily sat there. Neither one of you knows what to say.

“Lily, I know you’ve said it a million times before, but I also know people change their minds, so I need to ask: do you like James? Because if you do, well he likes you and I want you both to be happy. I don’t want to get in the way.”

Lily laughed. Loudly. Until she saw the defeated look on your face. She stopped, caught her breath a little bit, took your hand in hers. “Y/n I promise you, the only feelings I have for James are strictly platonic. You were right when you told me to give the boys a chance. They are hilarious and James is a good person, but he’s not my type. I’m glad you convinced me to get to know them, but trust me I’m still just as annoyed at James’s flirting as ever.”

You laughed softly at Lily’s response before giving her a brilliant smile. A smile that quickly faded as a new question popped into your head. “Lil’s what in Merlin's name am I going to do?”

“I have no idea.”

But the two of you quickly figured it out. As you both had learned when it came to dealing with feelings, and dealing with James, avoidance was key. And within the next few days, you basically had a routine. Breakfast together, away from the marauders; James was clingy in the mornings. Lunch with the marauders; Lily friend-zoning James every other sentence. Dinner with the girls; gossip and corny bets on when Remus and Sirius would finally kiss to follow. It was an easy enough plan and the boys didn’t even seem to notice. It made Lily becoming friends with them easier but took away the chances of James breaking your heart all day. And James quickly stopped flirting with Lily every time she was there.

The only problem was, James did notice. And given the fact that the Christmas holiday was quickly coming up, he was determined to figure out what was wrong.

“Hey! Y/n! Wait up!” James shouted as he jogged down the hall after you. You had finished your last class of the day and couldn’t wait to retire to your dorm. Midterms were exhausting and the last thing you needed at this moment was James’ antics.

“What’s up James?” You asked quietly. Continuing towards the common room.

James quirked an eyebrow at you. “I know you think I haven’t noticed...but I have.”

Your heart rate tripled in speed. “No-noticed what?”

“You’ve been distant lately.” Your heart rate decreased mildly. “The only time we talk is at lunch and even then you and Lily sit as far away from me as possible.” But that wasn’t entirely true. You had been distant for nearly 4 months now. The only time you have hung out with the boys like you use to was that day in Hogsmeade. “Y/n- what’s going on with you? We used to hang out all the time. I thought that after Hogsmeade we would go back to the way we use to be, but we haven't had a real conversation since. Is it Lily? Because I'm trying to act normal around her, I’ve stopped nervously flirting. I-“

“It’s not that James,” you interrupted his rambling. You sighed. He was never going to let this go.

“Well then what is it?” James threw his arms up in frustration. He always was one to talk with his hands. “Because, Merlin, I can’t figure it out for the life of me.”

“It’s none of your business James.” You raised your voice slightly to match his.

“Is it Remus? Because I’ve seen you two. You’ve been holding hands, and he had his arm around you at the three broomsticks, and he was going to give you his jacket. Bloody hell Bertha Jorkins has been telling everyone she thinks you two are together. She said you guys were cuddling in class the day we went to Hogsmeade. Are you two just fooling around or are you together? Because-“

“Excuse me?” You were livid now. “As I said before: it’s none of your bloody business! And even if you were right, which you aren’t, what makes you think interrogating me about it is going to fucking help!” You and James stopped walking. Turning to face each other in the middle of the hall.

James shrunk back a little. He had never seen you this angry. Well, scratch that, he had never seen you this angry at him. But he was angry too and James Potter had one large fault. His pride. “It is my business. He’s not right for you. You do realize he has feelings for Padfoot right? You are just going to hurt each other. You're my friend, but you are messing with his head!” By now everyone in the hall had turned to watch the show go down.

“Blimey, James! The only person messing with people’s heads here is you! Remus and I are friends! End of story! I’m so sorry that he happens to be a better friend than you! That he actually gives a shit about me!”

“I care about you!”

“If you cared about me at all you wouldn’t go flaunting how much you love my best friend! If you cared about me at all you wouldn’t be standing here yelling at me! If you cared at all, you would have noticed that the reason I’m avoiding you is that it hurts too fucking much watching you fall in love with my best friend!” You gasped as you realized what you had just confessed. Tears were forming in your eyes, a few had already escaped. James looked confused, and hurt, and shocked. You were both frozen in place. That’s when you heard the whispering. Everyone in the hall gossiping back and forth. Nothing felt real. The world was moving in slow motion. There was a ringing in your ear. You turned your head to look around, Lily and Remus were shoving through the crowd as Peter pointed out your location.

Lily got to you in a fraction of a second. Throwing a look at James, who still couldn’t find the words. There were tears in his eyes too. “C’mon let’s get you out of here,” Lily whispered, putting her arm around you and pulling you down the hall. Suddenly everything was real again. You could hear the people gossiping, could feel the stone floor under your feet. could hear James call after you.

“Wait! Y/n-“ but Remus grabbed his arm to stop him from following you and when that didn’t work he moved in front of James putting both hands on his shoulders to keep him in place.

“Stop, James. Stop.” Remus sighed, “let her go.”

“I- I don’t know what happened. I…” James trailed off. His cheeks were unbelievably flushed, tears streamed down his face. He couldn’t tell exactly what he was feeling. He knew he was frustrated, tired, hurt, but there was so much swirling around his head he couldn’t understand.

Remus looked around at the unmoving crowd. A glare took over his face as everyone watched. “Wormtail, get these people out of here.” He said over his shoulder to Peter.

Peter nodded quickly. “Oi. Clear out of here! This was awkward enough without you all poking your noses in!” The crowd quickly dispersed.

“Remus?” James asked, voice cracking. “What- what just happened?”

“Remus? James? What’s going on? Everyone’s been talking about a fight all up and down the halls.” Sirius said, rushing up behind the boys. He caught sight of James' face. “Bloody hell, what happened?”

“We’ll fill you in later, now let’s get out of here.” Remus brushed him off.

It didn’t take long for the boys to make it to their dorm; everyone whispering as they passed by.

“So what happened, James?” Remus asked. Peter had only filled him and Lily in on the major details when he rushed to retrieve them.

“I- I wanted to ask her why she had been so distant. Things didn’t exactly go as planned. I got annoyed and then she got defensive and then I accused her of sneaking around with you and then she got mad-“

“You did what?” Remus interrupted.

James stood from his bed running his hands through his hair for the umpteenth time since he arrived at the dorm.

“I don’t know Remus! I was angry and I noticed you two have been so close lately and there are all these rumors, and she’s been avoiding me and I said some things I didn’t mean.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s understandable, I did the same thing in Hogsmeade. Get to the point!” Sirius stated.

“I’m sorry, you what!” Remus directed at Sirius.

“Oh my Merlin, Remus, get over it! What happened next Prongs?” Peter sighed exasperatedly.

“She got really mad and told me it was none of my business. I - I guess, I kind of accused her of messing with your head.” James winced at his stupidity. “She said that the only person messing with people's heads was me, and then she said that I didn’t care about her, and I said I did, and she said if I cared about her I wouldn’t flaunt my feelings for Lily— she said she was avoiding me because it hurt too much for her to watch me be in love with her best friend.”

“Bloody hell,” Sirius mumbled. “James, mate, you're my best friend, my brother, but you’re fucking daft.”

“Don’t you think I know that!” James threw his arms up… again. His frustration with everything was only growing. He was mostly angry at himself. His stupid pride. His stupid ego. His stupid feelings. His stupid head. His stupid heart. His stupid oblivious self.

“Mate, what the hell are you going to do?” Peter inquired.

“I don’t know… I mean, what am I meant to do? I don’t even understand what just happened,” James sighed defeatedly. Once again making his way to his bed and threw himself back in it as he spoke.

Remus facepalmed.

“Oh, for fucks sake Prongs!” Sirius stood from his bed, nearly knocking Remus over with the momentum of it. “She’s in love with you! She has been for years! But you’ve been so focused on Evans you’ve never even seen it! You’re always ‘Lily that, and Lily this. And oh, Padfoot do you think she likes me? What does she think about me? No Padfoot, I don’t want to go prank Minnie, Lily thinks I’m an annoying stuck-up prat.” Sirius mocked. “Who cares! Who cares what she thinks of you? People you love aren’t supposed to make you feel that bad about yourself! Believe me, I know.”

Remus watched as Sirius’ eyes flicked over to his bedside table. Sitting there on top was a letter Sirius had received from his mother concerning the Christmas holiday. He hadn’t discussed any of its contents, but Remus knew it must have been bad. Sirius hated going home for Christmas, but this year he was downright dreading it.

James had rolled over to face Sirius as he ranted. He looked guilty, but also as if he had realized something. Remus wanted to ask what he was thinking; he didn’t.

“You need to apologize,” Peter added.

“Apologize? I didn’t do anything wrong! Okay, yeah, I shouldn’t have yelled at her. But it’s not my fault that she has feelings for me!” There was his blasted pride again. James hated himself.

Remus stood up abruptly. Making his way to the door.

James sat up. “Where are you going?”

“Honestly Prongs, I have no idea. Anywhere but here, because if I have to sit here and listen to you bitch, I am going to kill you. Y/n is a good person. She cares about you. She convinced Lily to hang out with us because even though she has feelings for you, she wants you to be happy. Even if that means you're with someone else. So I’m not going to sit here and listen to you complain about it. You’re a good person James. You’re trusting and kind and you love your friends unconditionally, but right now you're being an arse.” Remus slammed the door on his way out.

The three boys sat in silence for a while. James laid back on his bed fiddling with the snitch that he had stolen from the Quidditch gear his first year. Sirius seethed quietly. Peter pulled out a potions book and started working on his next assignment.

After about 10 minutes Sirius stood from his bed again. “ I'm going to check on Moony,” he grumbled quietly, exiting the room before James could get a word out.

“I’m going to the library,” Peter stated, before picking up his bag and heading toward the door.

“Wormtail, wait. How badly have I just screwed everything up?”

Peter, who was never one for brutal honesty, uncharacteristically decided not to sugarcoat it. “On a scale from one to ten, I’d give you a twelve.”

James groaned. Damn his stupid pride.

He needed to fix this, and with only 3 days till Christmas break, he didn’t have a lot of time.

“Remus?” Lily's voice startled the boy. Remus had made his way to the library, surprised when Sirius and eventually peter had joined him, but the two boys had quickly gotten bored and had decided to go raid the kitchens for snacks. Remus wasn’t sure exactly how long he had been there.

“How is she?” He asked.

“About how you’d expect. She’s heartbroken and this whole kerfuffle has turned her into a nervous wreck. That’s why I’m here actually, she wanted me to ask you for something.”

“What is it?”

“Well she doesn’t want to see him, and honestly neither do I. She said you guys have this map that can show you where everyone in Hogwarts is at any time. Which I’ll lecture you all about later; right now I just need to know who has it?”

“Yeah, honestly I debate on whether or not that map was a good idea anyway. You would like it though it's got a cheeky personality.” Lily raised a brow but the smile on her face betrayed her. “James has it.” Remus finally answered.

“Of course he does,” Lily rolled her eyes. “I need you to get it from him.”

Remus gave Lily a skeptical look.

“She doesn’t want to see him, Remus. You and I both know that he’s going to pull something to try and make this better but he can’t.”

“I’m not going to pick sides, Lily,” Remus responded. James had given him too much for him to choose Y/n, but Y/n was one of his best friends. She stood up for him when no one else could. They understood each other like no one else did.

“Please Remus, you don’t have to give it to us, just keep it away from James,” Lily begged.

Remus contemplated his choices. He could take the map from James, help out his best friend, and be accused of betraying James, or he could leave it be, and watch James break Y/n’s heart all over again. There wasn’t much of a choice. “Fine. But if anyone asks, this conversation never happened.”

“Has anyone seen the map?” James asked as he rummaged through his trunk. He had been looking all over for you before deciding that the marauders map was the quickest way to go. That is until he realized that the map too had gone missing. “Guys, seriously, where is the map? I can’t find it, and I need it to find Y/n.”

The room filled with dismissive grumbles as none of the boys had seen it. Remus had decided to compromise. Instead of taking the map from James he just happened to hide it in a place he knew James would never look but would be easily excusable once found.

“Maybe you should leave her alone James. Wait until after the holidays; give her some space,” Remus mumbled, turning the page of his book without looking up.

“I can’t Moony. I have to make this right.”

“James. You’re not going to fix this in an afternoon. You need to get your head on straight. You don’t have a plan, you don’t even know how you feel, you need to take a break from all of this.”

Whether James liked it or not he was forced to take Remus’s advice. The Christmas holiday came faster than expected and the next thing he knew he was at home thinking of how he could make things better.

It didn’t take long for Euphemia and Fleamont Potter to realize something wasn’t quite right with their son. James sulked around the house, spending hours in his room or out in the backyard practicing quidditch. He picked at his plate during dinner, he dodged his mother’s questions about his love life and his father's questions about his friends. Euphemia was growing increasingly worried.

“We have to do something Monty,” Euphemia insisted.

“What do you suppose we do dear?” Fleamont inquired.

“Well, I don’t know. He’s never acted like this before, I’m worried.”

“Come here, love.” Euphemia took a seat next to her husband, who put an arm around her. “I know you're worried. I am too. But this is James. He’s always told us everything, he’s a good kid. Maybe we should give him a little space. He‘ll come to us when he’s ready.”

“Maybe you're right,” the women sighed. “I’m going to talk to him tomorrow though. If he tells me what’s wrong, great, if he needs some time then he can have it, but I’m not going to sit here and act as if nothing is wrong.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” the man smiled at his wife, who leaned up to press a small kiss to her husband's lips.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

James sighed. “Come in.”

Euphemia wasted no time in swinging the door open. She found James laying on his bed. The boy fiddling with his stolen snitch. Thinking. “Got some time to talk with your mother?” The woman questioned as she took a seat on the foot of James' bed.

“Of course, Mum.” James sat up. “What’s up?”

“Your father and I have noticed you haven’t quite been yourself. And I know you're a teenager and you don’t want to discuss everything to death, but I want to know what’s wrong.” Euphemia watches as her son's shoulders slump forward. “If you need some time that’s fine. But your father and I can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s going on.”

“It’s not anything bad, I promise,” James answered anxiously. “I-I just screwed everything up with my friends. Honestly, Mum, I don’t want to talk about it yet.”

“Okay, my love. Just let me know when you’re ready,” Euphemia stood from the bed. She brushed some of the curls out of James' face before placing a kiss on his forehead.

“I just— don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You never could.”

James took a couple of days to gather his thoughts. He didn’t know why he was nervous to tell his parents. They were unbelievably forgiving and had always made sure he knew just how loved he was. Their love was unconditional. That might be exactly why he was so nervous though, they had taught him to love the same way, and he felt he had failed miserably.

Euphemia and Fleamont Potter taught their son to take care of his own. They taught him to love extravagantly. It wasn’t a surprise James was a sucker for grand gestures, he loved big, and he wanted to make sure his friends knew it. But he had let them all down. He had broken your heart. Had disrespected you and your feelings. Had enraged Lily. Had turned Remus against him in the process. Had created massive tension in the group.

And now, after it all, he was even more confused about his feelings. He loved Lily, didn’t he? But maybe you and Sirius were right, people you love aren’t supposed to make you feel bad about yourself. He didn’t think Lily made him feel bad, she just made him… unsure. He questioned his worth with her. He cared so much about what she thought that one sentence could crush all the confidence he had.

You never made him feel like that. He was comfortable with you. Yet his many feelings involving you were starting to become overwhelming. He never felt anxious. He could be himself with you. But there was that flutter in his stomach every time you complimented him. That increase in his heart rate when you smiled at him too long. Not to mention that burning rage he felt when he saw Remus’s arm around you. The way his heart sank when he realized you were avoiding him. The heat in his cheeks when he saw you in his sweater. Godric, he needed to get his head on straight. He needed to take a break from thinking about it all.

James had made his way outside to practice quidditch though he didn’t feel much like dragging out his broom or any of his quidditch gear. This resulted in him tossing his quaffle through a short goal post with little effort. He charmed the ball to always come back to him which took even more effort out of the sport. It didn’t help that it was freezing outside. Not to mention the sun now went down at six o'clock leaving the yard dark and foggy. There was just enough light, shining from his parents' Christmas decoration, for him to see as he threw the ball.

“Well, I sure hope you didn’t become the greatest chaser in Hogwarts history practicing like that.” James turned to see his father looming by the doorway. James knew he didn’t mean to loom. Fleamont potter was a man who knew very little about how intimidating he could appear, a man who was so good-natured it didn’t occur to him that he might scare strangers. He started walking to his son.

“Not usually, but I don’t feel like trying today dad,” the boy responded. Just as the words left his mouth he realized the quaffle he sent flying moments ago was now barreling towards him. He quickly realized he couldn’t catch it and resigned to his fate of getting knocked down; it wouldn’t be the worst thing that had happened to him this month.

Luckily enough for James, his father had quick reflexes and caught the ball before it could hit him. “Maybe you should try a little harder.” Fleamonts voice was teasing as he smirked at his son. He undid the charm on the ball before throwing it toward the small storage shed where James kept most of his quidditch gear. “But not right now. Effie says dinner is ready,” the man informed as he turned to make his way back into the house.

“Dad wait!” Fleamont turned toward his son. “Can I talk to you about what happened back at school? I’m sure mum told you what I’ve already said about it, I just,- I want to know what I should do about my friends. I hurt one of them and now Remus is pissed at me and Sirius is on his side because, well it's Remus, and Peter is avoiding all of us because he doesn’t pick sides, and It's all my fault and I don’t know what to do.”

“Have you talked to them?”

“Yes. It’s not like we’re fighting but there is all of this tension and things are just weird. I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay. Which friend did you hurt?”

“I- well- Y/n. Apparently, she has feelings for me, but I've always had this thing for Lily and anyway, Y/n has been avoiding me and I thought her and Remus were secretly dating and I got pissed and things got out of hand. I really just wanted to talk to mum about that part but you’re going to find out anyway I guess.”

“Why were you upset when you thought she might be dating Remus?” Fleamont inquired.

“Because Remus has this thing with… that doesn’t matter. They just aren’t right together.”

“You know what? I think you would be right to leave this one to your mother.” James nodded solemnly. “I have one piece of advice about your friends though. The only way to fix this is to fix things with this girl. They are your brothers James. Don’t let your pride get in the way of that. Trust me, it's not worth it. Now let's get inside before Effie takes off our heads for being late to dinner on Christmas eve,” Fleamont smiled at his son, throwing his arm over his shoulder and leading him inside.

For just a few short hours James allowed himself to forget about everything else. He basked in the warmth of Christmas with his family.

“Okay. Okay, you can open one present.” Euphemia chuckles at her son and her husband's pouting faces. The two men jump up in victory. James rushes to the home’s large living area where their large Christmas tree sat. “But not the big one James that's a surprise.”

James scoffed playfully at his mother. He quickly reconsidered his options on that's of his presents to open.

“Well while James picks out a new gift,” the other man in the room started, “I have a gift you can open, Love.” Fleamont beamed at his wife.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Euphemia smiled at her husband as he handed her a small box.

“Just open it,” the man chuckled.

James watched as his mother pulled the box open, pulling out a beautiful locket. “I didn’t pick any pictures for it. I thought we could have some made tomorrow for it.” Fleamont informed.

“It's beautiful, love. Thank you.”

It was a beautiful scene. And James realized it was oddly familiar. The one Christmas he had ever stayed at Hogwarts over the break. He thought he was going to be all alone, that is until he found out you were staying as well. You didn’t know each other very well back then but you were friendly enough, and it was calming for him to know he wouldn’t be all by himself. And even though Sirius had decided last minute to stay at Hogwarts as well, you still spent time together. The three of you ate every meal together laughing and getting to know each other, you went on trips to Hogsmeade together, super excited to explore the village since it was the first year you were allowed to go, you even pulled some harmless pranks on Professor McGonagall. It was one of his favorite memories. When Christmas day rolled around you awoke to find your new friend had a gift for you.

“You didn’t have to get me anything, Jamie,” you smiled brightly at him.

“Of course I did. We’re friends now and I wanted to thank you for making sure I didn’t end up here all alone on Christmas.” The boy brushed you off. “Now go on; open it.”

You pulled the box open to reveal a gorgeous necklace. You gasped as you took in the circular pendant, it was beautifully crafted, silver, and hanging from a long chain.

“It's amazing James!” You squealed as you pulled it from the box.

“That's not all,” James commented. He gently took the necklace in his hand, sliding his fingernail between the edge to unclasp it. He showed you as he opened the locket, revealing a hilarious photo of you, him, and Sirius you had taken in Hogsmeade. The three of you were all laughing, the brightest smiles on your faces. It was a perfect picture. James realized now that you had been blushing in it.

“I love it!” you exclaimed again. You stood from the floor next to the Christmas tree and rushed over to a mirror. James followed as you tried to clasp the Jewlrey around your neck.

“Here let me help,” he mumbled as he took the ends away from you. He felt butterflies in his stomach as your fingers brushed. He quickly clasped the necklace together, watching as you took in its beauty.

“Thank you so much, Jamie. It's perfect. I love it.” Y/n beamed as she stared at the locket. “Merlin it's beautiful.”

“Yeah, beautiful,” James murmured in agreement, though his eyes never left you.

“James, which one do you want to open?” His mother's voice brought the boy back from reality.

“Oh, umm, how about this one?” James quickly grabbed a random box that had his name on it.

“That's a good one,” his parents answered.

The boy sat down on the carpet in front of the tree as he always did when opening gifts. His inner child refused to let him sit on the couch as he opened his gifts. He quickly pulled the wrapping off of the box turning it around to be met with a picture of a record player on the front.

“We know you and all of your friends like that muggle music so we thought this would be good for you.” His father commented.

James smiled widely. “It’s brilliant! Thank you.”

“We got you some records too, but you will have to wait for those till tomorrow,” Euphemia informed.

“This is amazing. I wish Y/n were here, she loves these. There's one in a shop in Hogsmeade, she loves It, she picks a record to play nearly every time we are there. I can’t wait to see her face when I show her--” The reality of his relationship with you suddenly hit him as the words left his mouth. He didn’t know if he would ever get the chance to show you. He didn’t know if he would ever get the chance to even speak to you again.

The boy's parents shared a knowing look.

“I’m going to start a pot of tea,” Fleamont said suddenly, “why don’t you two talk,” he suggested softly before leaving the room.

Euphemia smiled at her son, patting the spot next to her on the sofa. James got off of the floor and took the seat next to his mother.

“I’m guessing dad already told you what I said before dinner?”

“You would be right.”

“I hurt her mum. I didn’t mean to, but I did. I know I need to fix it but I don’t know-how. It doesn’t help that I'm so bloody confused. I don’t know how I feel. I thought I loved Lily, I always have but maybe I was wrong. Because everyone around me is telling me that love isn’t supposed to feel that way and I can’t stop thinking about Y/n.”

“How does Lily make you feel?”

“I don’t know. Like that stupid butterflies in your stomach thing… except they feel like wasps and they don’t want to be there. I want her to like me but honestly, I don’t know why anymore. And Y/n? She makes me feel like I can do anything y’know. And I thought that I had only ever seen her as a friend but that's not true. She gives me butterflies too, but these feel more like fireworks. I think I really fancy her…” James had a realization, “I think I always have. But I thought I loved Lily and I met her first. I’m just- really confused.”

“You know, my mother once gave me some advice I think fits your situation very well. ‘Don’t fall for the person who gives you butterflies, because that means your nervous, your anxious. Desperate for their approval. You fall for the person that you’re comfortable with. The person you know you can be completely yourself with. The person that makes you feel like home.’ James, I can’t tell you what to do. I can’t tell you who to choose. I’m your mother, it’s my job to support you. Your father and I taught you what love is, didn’t we?” James nodded. “Remember that. You already know what to do James. I believe in you.”

“I love you Mu-”

A loud banging on the front door interrupted James' words. Both of them stood from the sofa and made their way closer to the front door.

“Fleamont!” Euphemia shouted down the hallway.

When the banging came again James took a step forward, “I’ll open it.”

“James-”

But the boy had already unlocked the door and turned the handle. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was met with on the other side. Leaning against the doorway, James found Sirius Black. The boy's hair was disheveled and falling in his face, blood had made a trail down his face, he was clutching his side.

“Oh my god.”

“I did-didn’t know where else to go,” Sirius looked up at James who noted the tears in his eyes.

“Dad! Dad, come help me!” James raised his voice, pulling Sirius inside and placing his arm over his shoulder so that he could help him walk. “Mum go get some bandages, and your wand.”

“Merlin's beard! What happened?” Fleamont exclaimed as he finally made it into the room, quickly helping his son with his injured friend.

As soon as they got Sirius onto the couch, Euphemia was back wand in hand, bandages in another. “Sirius? Sirius, it’s okay, you’re safe. What happened?”

Sirius didn’t answer. He shook his head rapidly before hissing at the pain.

Fleamont pulled James from the room as Euphemia began patching Sirius up. “Do you have any idea who could have done this?” James didn’t take his eyes away from the door. He didn’t know when he had started crying but there were tear tracks along his face. “James?”

“His mum.” James shuttered. He had never been more sure, and he hated it. But he knew that Sirius's mother had hurt him before, and despite James’ pleas with Sirius, the boy always returned home.

Euphemia quickly finished patching Sirius up and made her way into the kitchen where James and her husband were waiting.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s going to be fine. Looked a lot worse than it is. Fleamont? I think we need to have a word.”

James made his way to Sirius's side as his parents conversed. And while Sirius told him his story, Euphemia and Fleamont decided that Sirius was never to return to Grimauwald Place again.

“So did you figure out what you're going to do about Y/n?” Sirius asked as he lounged on James' bed.

“I think I have an idea,” the bespeckled boy answered. It had been a few days since Sirius had arrived at the potter's house and the boys had been plotting.

“You just gonna confess your undying love for her?”Sirius asked sarcastically.

“No! Not like that would do any good, not to mention that never really worked out for me before,” James laughed.

“You should. It will be funny to watch her slap you.”

“Okay, ill do it, but only if you do the same with Remus.” James' smirk was unmatched. Sirius chocked.

“I- what- I don’t- what are you talking about?” Sirius was bright red as he feigned confusion. James nodded along, amused.

“Sirius, I may be a blithering idiot, but I’m not that blind.”

“Shove off.”

“C’mon pads, it's not a big deal.”

“How long have you known?”

“Y/n pointed it out to me last year,” James answered.

“Christ. Does everyone know?”

“The girls have a bet on when you are going to do it,”

Sirius choked again. James laughed.

“You're taking the piss aren’t you?”

“Only a little bit,” the boy smiled widely. Sirius threw a pillow at him.

“Lily! Lily wait! Please!” James shouted down the halls, running as lily tried to get away from him. James was faster than the girl though and once he caught up with her he quickly pulled her into an empty classroom. It was the first day back to school from Christmas break and James had come up with a plan. But he needed to talk to lily first, he needed closure, and he needed her help.

“What the hell do you want?” Lily barked.

“Lily, listen-”

“Why the hell should I listen to you! Honestly James there is not a single sentence you could say that would make me not want to punch you in the face!”

“Lily please listen to me. I know I messed up. I’m a complete tosser and if you never want to speak to me again after this fine. But I need to fix things with Y/n and I need your help.”

The redhead scowled at him. “Have you gone mental?” she fumed. “I’m not helping you with anything!” the girl yanked open the door ready to make her escape.

“I fancy her lily!” She shut the door, but James kept going. “I think I always have. That’s why I acted the way I did. I thought she and Remus were sneaking around and I was jealous. I made an arse out of myself but I want to make it right. I don’t need her to forgive me because she shouldn’t, I just need her to know that I’m sorry.” James took in a shaky breath. “Please Lily, I just need to make this better.”

Lily sighed. “You really are an arse… I’ll help you.” James smiled relieved. “But I need to make sure you actually care here. I need to know your not just saying this because she has feelings for you.”

“You really think I would do that?”

Lily didn’t answer.

“You know, you were the person to introduce me to Y/n. our first year. We had met on the Train. A couple weeks after school started Sirius and I sat next to you at dinner, and Y/n was there. I told some corny joke trying to impress you and she smiled at me. That one where her eyes light up and she scrunches her nose. You know the one?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I thought I was going to pass out. Because you had just rolled your eyes at me but Y/n had lit up.” James continued.

“I remember,” lily grinned.

“I never want that smile to leave her face. She looked so happy, like nothing in the world could ever go wrong. Merlin, I wish I had gotten to know her back then. I wish it hadn’t taken us till the third year to become friends. I wish I had realized sooner that I can’t live without her. I wish I had done everything differently. I am sorry for everything Lily. Not just with Y/n but with you too. I shouldn’t have pursued you for so long. I knew you weren’t interested and I should have accepted that. I’m sorry, and I promise to be better.”

“You really do fancy her don’t you?” James was taken aback by Lily’s question but answered anyway.

“I do.”

“So what’s the plan?” Lily wondered, a large smile on her face.

James didn’t have a real plan. Well, he had a plan for what he was going to say when he finally got the chance but he didn’t have a plan on getting you alone. Remus had forgiven James as quickly as Lily had and now the whole group was working together to help James get you alone. Plus Peter and Lily had provided James with a perfect gift. But you were smart enough to know what was going on and all of their attempts over the next few days ended up being futile.

“All I’m asking is that you hear him out,” Lily specified as you threw yourself down on your four-poster.

“Lil’s you of all people don't get to tell me to listen to James.”

“Y/n, I know your mad at him, and you have every right to be, but this needs to stop.” Remus groans. He was sitting on the floor back against your bed frame, an old book in his lap. “Seriously I’m getting knackered.”

“You two are not helping.”

“No, we are… You’re just too stubborn to see it.” Lily explained.

You stood from your bed and gabbed your bag throwing a book in there as well.

“Where are you going?” Remus quired.

“Not telling you. You'll both send James after me and then I’ll have to kick both of your arses,” you retorted.

“It’s nearly curfew though!” lily protested, but her statement fell on deaf ears.

“I thought you might be up here.” The voice startled you before filling you with dread. You had made your way to the astronomy tower, you weren’t sure how long you had been up here but you knew it must be past curfew.

“Use your special little map to figure that out?”

“No. I just know you,” the boy answered as he walked across the tower and sat next to you. You had your knees pulled up to your chest, and you refused to look at him.

“What do you want James?”

The boy frowned. “Look at me? Please?” Reluctantly you turned your head to look at him. His hair was that curly mess you always loved, his glasses were sitting crooked on his face and the urge to reach out and fix them was almost too strong for you. He wore a small sad smile. A smile begging you to forgive him. His eyes were soft and caring. Damn it, he hadn’t even said anything yet and your resolve was crumbling.

“Don’t do that,” you demanded.

“Do what?”

“Look at me like that. It’s not fair. You hurt me. You embarrassed me. You don’t just get to come up here and make it better with one look. It’s not fair. So stop. Stop looking at me like that.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

You looked away from him. You hated that he had this much power over you with just a look. You could still feel his eyes on you; though you've realized he probably couldn’t help it. James was one of the few who wore every emotion on his face.

“I have something for you,” the bespeckled boy offered. You looked back at him as he handed you a small box.

“What’s this for?”

“Christmas. And to say I’m sorry, well mostly to say I’m sorry.”

“You can’t just fix this with a gift.”

“I know. I don’t plan to. But I wanted to get this for you anyway.” James assured. He didn’t know how you were going to react. He could only hope you were just as cheesy as he was.

You pulled open the box, and much to your amazement found a beautiful locket. A locket you already owned. A locket James had given you. You looked at James confused.

“Open it.”

You did. Inside was the picture of you, James, and Sirius, where it had always been on the left. To the right sat a new picture. One you had never seen before. One you never knew had been taken. The picture was of you and James standing outside in Hogsmeade, you were wearing his sweater, a blush adorning your face, an unrecognizable look on James. Snow was falling all around you. The picture was beautiful.

“Wormtail gave me this when we got back to school. He took it that day we all went to Hogsmeade. I didn’t even know he was there I swear but the photo gave me an idea.” When you didn’t say anything James continued. “There is one more thing to.”

You looked back down at the box the locket came out of, sitting there was a folded piece of paper. You pulled it out and opened it.

Maybe Christmas can be our season?

You looked at James again. He smiled at you, before taking the gift out of your hand and sitting it down next to you. He grabbed both of your hands. “I am so, so sorry for what I did to you. I was angry and jealous, and I let my ego get the best of me. I never should have yelled at you. I know you're not just going to forgive me overnight, but I would like a chance to prove to you how much I care about you. I was so caught up with lily that I never realized it, but the truth is it's always been you. But I always told myself that you were my friend, that you didn’t feel that way about me, and that I had feelings for lily, but that’s not true. I was an oblivious idiot, and I swear if you give me a chance I will make it up to you every day. You don’t have to forgive me. But I never want to not be a part of your life.” His speech brought tears to your eyes though it was taking you a second to process everything.

“Yo- You were jealous?” You inquired. James had to fight the urge to smile, of course after everything he just said that's what caught your attention.

James blushed a little, nodding sheepishly. “Yeah. I was being an idiot.”

“I’m still confused.”

James laughed softly, “Jesus, Y/n I’m in love with you!”

You sucked in a sharp breath. This couldn’t be real could it? James was in love with you. You had to be dreaming right?

“Really? Me? You’re in love with me?”

“Yes, Y/n. I already told you, It’s always been you.” You smiled brightly at James’ words. Launching to wrap your arms around his neck. He let out a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around you. “I’m so so sorry, love. For everything.”

“I forgive you.”

“I love you,” He whispered in response.

“I love you too, Jamie.” You pulled back slightly. “Can I have one more thing for Christmas?”

“You can have anything you want ever,” James promised.

“Kiss me?”

“Well I would consider that more of a requirement than a gift considering we are sitting under mistletoe,” James smirked.

You looked up to see a small sprout of mistletoe blooming in midair over you. “You’re a cheeky bloke,” you giggled.

“You’ll have to get used to that because it only gets worse.”

Before you could respond his lips were on yours. You smiled into the kiss, causing him to do the same. It was messy, all wide smiles and clashing teeth and soft giggles between breaths but it was perfect.

“Maybe Christmas really is our season.”

Bonus:

“So you two finally got together?” Sirius laughed as you and James walked into the common room holding hands.

“Yep kissed and everything,” James laughed, causing you to elbow him in the side. He just put his arm around you and smiled.

“Look at that Remus I win!”

“Win what?” You asked glaring at them playfully.

“We had a bet on when you two would kiss. Unfortunately for me, I forgot how absolutely hopeless you were,” Remus conceded.

“And that means I win! So give it up Moony, I won fair and square!” Remus pulled a bag of chocolates out of his bag and threw them at Sirius. Hitting him in the face.

Sirius was unfazed even though the bag came dangerously close to the healing gash that ran across his forehead and threw his eye brow.

“How does it feel to be a loser moons?” Sirius badgered. His taunting was unrelenting and Remus quickly became annoyed. It didn’t help that Sirius was getting so close to his face as he teased.

“Shut up-“

“Hey don’t be a sore loser, Moony. It’s not your fault I’m so brill-“

You, James, and Lily (who had been sitting quietly in an armchair with a large smile) all gasped as Remus shut Sirius up with a kiss. When they pulled apart every ones eyes were wide. Including a very shocked and seemingly very dazed Sirius.

“Rem-“

“I said shut up.”

“Ah ha!” You jumped up, Lily groaned. Everyone’s eyes were suddenly on you.

“What you think you guys were the only ones with a bet?” You laughed when you noticed the attention. “Thanks to Remus here, Lily owes me 5 galleons!”

673 notes · View notes

quindolyn · 4 years

Text

General Relationship Headcanons || James Potter

Request: “Please can you do a general relationship for james potter? xx” -anon

Word Count: 5,835

Notes: This is kinda slow burn, I’m a little sorry. The ones I did for Remus and Sirius were not canon so this won’t be either which is a little easier because no Jily. These keep on getting longer and longer, but part of that is because Jamie is definitely my favorite marauder.

Warnings: Smut, angst, lots of fluff, dom and sub James, momma’s boy Jamie

Masterlist

You were something special

James had known that since he was 4 years old

It just took him a long time to realize exactly how special you really were

James Potter was an idiot

That would become increasingly apparent to him as he grew up

Your family and the Potters were great friends for as long as any of you could remember, meaning that you and James were practically attached at the hip

And who could blame you? He has such nice hips

The both of you are heart broken when he leaves for Hogwarts leaving you behind because you wouldn’t start until the following year.

All throughout his first year you guys write back and forth sharing every single detail of your respective days, down to the color of the plate you ate your lunch on

You can’t help but feel envious

There’s your best friend in the entire world, in fucking Scotland

Making new best friends

When the next year rolls around and you get to finally join James on the Hogwarts Express you want to hate Sirius and Remus

You really do

But how can you? They’re Remus and Sirius

You guys spend the entirety of the train ride laughing and talking and the other two boys tell you embarrassing stories from the year prior about James

When they hear your nicknames for him (Jamsie, Jamie, J), they make fun of him relentlessly

He calls you an assortment of cheesy nicknames too but his favorites, before you guys get together, are “Sweetheart”, “Sunshine”, and “love”

If you get sorted into Gryffindor James screams his head off for you, making room for you to sit next to him at the table in the Great Hall, opposite Sirius and Remus.

If you’re in a different house then James gets sad, really sad, like that night he cries into his pillow and Sirius has to climb into bed with him to give him hugs and tell him that its okay even if the two of you are in different houses. That doesn’t have to affect your friendship if you don’t let it.

The next day James would find you before you got to the Great Hall and engulf you in a hug in the middle of the corridor, not caring that there were people streaming past the two of you in either direction.

“We’re gonna be friends forever right (Y/N/N)?”

“I hope so Jamie.”

Even though you’re in different classes and potentially different houses you guys are around each other all of the time

You sit with him and the other boys at their place at the Gryffindor table

They sit with you in the library

And by the end of your first year you’re having sleepovers in their dorm

You sleep in James’ bed of course and Remus and Sirius do. Not. hesitate. To mock you relentlessly

“You and your girlfriend getting comfy over there Jamie?”

“Go to hell Siri, let me cuddle James in peace!”

These jokes continue through your years at Hogwarts and you and James take them in jest

As you guys get older the physical affection you share never dwindles

After someone made a crude comment in the hallway about the two of you he talked to you making sure that you were okay with the arms he would throw over your shoulders, the arms wrapped around you waist, the kisses to your forehead before he left the Great Hall for class, holding you in his arms in the Gryffindor common room as the two of you drifted to sleep.

You assure him that its okay, that its not weird because you guys have been best friends since forever and that you love how affectionate you are with each other

You don’t start to realize you feelings for James until he starts pining after Lily, you don’t know what you have until its gone, right?

Watching him stare at her in the Great Hall

Writing her little notes that even though he’ll go up and ask her out in front of everyone, which you’re not too fond of either, he’s too shy to actually give her

Listening to him go on and on about her, her hair, the cadence of her voice, the beautiful color of her eyes, how intelligent she is, and on and on

Sirius picks up on this instantly

And he does not hesitate to make fun of you for it all the time, obviously not enough for James to pick up on it because he’s a prick not a complete asshole, but still enough to make you blush uncontrollably

You can’t say anything to him though because he’s your James and there’s absolutely no way that he returns your feelings, you’re like a little sister to him

So, much to Sirius’ chagrin, you swallow your feelings and sit there by James, trying to listen to Remus as he tries to explain to you your Charms homework while James watches Lily on the other side of the Common Room laughing with Dorcas and Marlene

And a little piece of your soul dies

The summer between your third and fourth year, his fourth and fifth, you were excited to finally have your Jamsie back to yourself again.

It went without saying that the two of you would alternate between each other’s houses over the summer

There would be no Lily Evans to distract him

No exams to stress over

Just you and James at the Potter estate, exploring the woods that, in all honesty, didn’t change all that much from summer to summer, and swimming in the bioluminescent pond on the edge of the Potter property, simply floating next to each other on your backs, one of his hands grasping your forearm, making sure you didn’t float too far away from him

But apparently this year it didn’t go without saying.

Instead, a mere month before the end of the term, James regretfully tells you that he and his family are going to Spain for the summer to be with his aunt who lives there and he really wants to take you but its the entire summer and his parents nixed it

“I’m so sorry sunshine, I really want to take you but-”

“It’s okay Jamie, I get it if you could you’d take me, but you can’t so its fine. I’m not going to hold it against you.”

And you can tell that he’s genuinely upset about it but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt any less when you hug him goodbye at King’s Cross knowing that unlike years prior you weren’t going to see him in a few days.

You spend a good chunk of the summer wallowing, not necessarily because your crush isn’t there with you but because your best friend isn’t

James writes you every day just like he did during his first year at Hogwarts but its not the same because you can’t see him

You can’t hold onto his arm when you’re tired and set your head on his shoulder

So when September 1st rolls around and you finally get to see him again you’re down right giddy

But on Platform 9 ¾ you’re looking for a wiry, lanky boy, with a nose a little too big for his face, and a squeaky little voice

Not the 6 foot man who approaches you, with broad shoulders and budding facial hair along his jawline.

“Sunshine!”

Oh holy shit

His voice

He no longer sounds like a dog toy, a very cute dog toy but still

You must admit that you’re a fan of the change, as the word leaves his lips you imagine resting your head on his chest and feeling the vibrations as he spoke with whomever

Its not a single day that you’re back at Hogwarts before James is fawning all over Lily again and you’ve had enough of it

You’re not going to let yourself to keep on pining after a boy who doesn’t love you

Not even doesn’t love you

But loves someone else

Sirius finds you a couple weeks into the school year, sitting with your back against a wall in an empty corridor trying to hold in your tears.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“I-I can’t believe I let myself fall for him. I’m an idiot Si!”

Sirius holds you in that hallway, rocking you back and forth while he murmurs to you that James is the idiot, not you, and that you deserve so much more than him

He helps you concoct a plan to get over James, he pitches to you going out on a date with someone else

Doesn’t have to be anything all that serious, just something to get your mind off James and remind you how hot you are, and how many people are lining up for you to give them so much as a moment of your time.

It doesn’t take too much on Sirius’ part to get you to agree to let him set you up

His name was Sullivan, he was in your year, a year younger than Sirius, with sandy blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes

Sully, as he insisted you call him, took you for a butter beer at the Three Broomsticks

You had a good time, Sully was smart, and attractive, and you and he shared similar interests

And all though he was lovely, and he insisted you were too, the both of you agreed that you would be better off as friends

You spent more time with him in the following weeks and less with James, Sirius, and Remus

The latter two were very happy that you were trying to move on because watching you stare at James was a little sad

James is confused, and hurt, and jealous

Though he adamantly refuses to admit that last one

Instead he just watches you. All. Of. The. Time.

To the point where if it wasn’t James it would be disturbing

And even though it is him it gets touch concerning

Sometimes before you go and sit with the Marauders at their spot in the Great Hall you’ll stop by where Sullivan sits with his friends and give him a smile, talk for a few minutes before hugging each other and walking away

It made James’ blood boil

Who did this kid think he was, you were his best friend he didn’t get to just waltz in and take you, or Godric forbid date you

One day you’re sitting outside with the boys when you see Sullivan on the other side of the court yard, excusing yourself you walk up to him and chat for a couple minutes before Sullivan’s face goes pale and there’s a shadow looming over you.

James throws an arm around your shoulders, tugging you into his side while extending his hand to Sully

“Hi, I’m James, (Y/N/N)’s best friend.”

James is standing there with you guys maybe 2 minutes, being the most passive aggressive petty person he could possibly be, dropping not so subtle hints about his distaste for Sully before he’s tugging you back to the tree where Siri and Remmy still are, their hands resting dangerously close to each other’s

“What the fuck James!”

He plays dumb because if there’s one thing James Potter is good at its being an idiot, but eventually he relents

“I just don’t like the way he looks at you, it's like he’s trying to get into your pants!”

You start cackling

Borderline manically

“You’ve got to be kidding me James we’re just friends!”

Sirius being the eternally helpful human being he was added in his two cents, “Maybe you’re projecting Potter!”

And the laughing stops

James goes beet red, you feel all the blood drain from your face before collecting yourself and murmuring a quick apology before racing off for the castle

You and James don’t talk for 2 days

It's the longest either of you have gone without some form of communication

You’re both so embarrased and you don’t want to hear James tell you that he doesn’t actually like you and that it was just Sirius being an asshole

Of course he would say this to make you comfortable but that’s not what it would do

It would crush you

You don’t have classes together so it's easy to ignore him there, and if you’re in separate houses it's even easier

Meals

Now that’s a different story

You can’t just eat somewhere else and the prospect of facing James after what Sirius said has you running for the nearest toilet

So you scrounge up what you can in the kitchen after meals

It kills James that he’s only seen you on the other side of the courtyard or disappearing behind corridors

You’re supposed to be his Sunshine, he can’t stand that you’re hiding from him, he misses you so much

And at first he’s a little angry when you don’t sit with them at meals, but after scanning the Great Hall, he realizes you’re not there

His stomach drops, have you not been eating?

So dinner the second night he collects a plate for you with all of your favorite things and determinedly sets off for your dorm, balancing a plate in one hand and a glass of pumpkin juice in the other

He has to knock on your door with his foot

“Jamie, what’re you doing here.”

He gently pushes past you letting himself into your room to set the plate and glass on your desk

“You haven’t been eating.”

And despite yourself your heart flutters, because he’s right you haven’t been eating as much as you should’ve not wanting to get caught in the kitchens you only swiped what you could easily get your hands on

But then you have to remember, it's because you’re basically his little sister, not because he reciprocates your feelings

“I’ve missed you Sunshine.”

And you lose it

“Stop! Stop it Jamie I can’t take it anymore, you can’t keep calling me Sunshine and Sweetheart and Love and cuddle with me on the couch and then turn around and declare your undying love for Lily fucking Evans. I can’t do it anymore! I like you, differently than you like me and I can’t do this anymore!”

Poor Jamsie has never felt like more of an absolute asshole

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t revel just a little bit in the look on his face, didn’t feel a little triumph that maybe he felt even a fraction as bad as you did.

He’s an idiot and he realizes it

You’re both very quiet for a minute before he walks up to you so that you’re a mere inch from him before he gulps and leans down to press his lips to yours

“I’m an idiot.”

“Yes you are.”

“But I’m your idiot, right?”

“Always Jamsie.”

It's not as though much changes between the two of you on the surface once you’re together

You’re a bit more touchy feely with each other, kisses usually pressed to foreheads or temples often find themselves brushing at the other’s lips

He holds your hand a lot more freely now and more often than not it will end up clasping your thigh under the table in the Great Hall, or after having pushed your chairs together in the library so they touched

When you curl up together in the Gryffindor common room his hands find their way under your shirt, lightly tracing the skin of your stomach, pressing kisses to the junction where your neck meets your shoulder

His arsenal of nicknames expands impressively

Angel, darling, beautiful, gorgeous, poppet, pretty girl, mine

And he’ll add the occasional my before the word “love”

You already slept over in their dorm room every other night before you and James got together but now it's more of a nightly occurrence

Especially the day before a Quidditch match, James insists that he sleeps with his lucky charm, says you keep him calm

You cheer the hardest for James at his matches, bar maybe Sirius

Even if you’re in a different house you sit with Siri and Remus in the Gryffindor stands and get all decked out in red and gold

Now that you’re his he has no problem with Sullivan, he trusts you and by extension he trusts the people you trust

You’re touched one day, early on into your relationship, when Lily comes up to you in the Great Hall and tells you that you didn’t have to tell James to tell her that he was sorry for being a prick and not taking no for an answer.

You don’t tell her this but you didn’t ask him to do anything

James is just a good person

He also has an abundance of money and little impulse control

He’ll buy you literally anything he sees that reminds him of you, or if he remembers you bringing up that you wanted or needed it

He likes buying you jewelry because you can wear it more often than you could say the same dress or blouse

That’s not to say that he doesn’t buy you clothes too, he has all of your sizes memorized and knows whether you wear normal/petite/tall

James Potter will buy you pads/tampons/whatever product you use

He’s a man not a little boy and he doesn’t give a flying fuck if someone makes fun of him for it

One day Lucius calls him out for it and Jamie is just not having it

“You have no clue where the clit is or what to do with it do you Malfoy?”

He’s always helped you through your periods so now that you’re together he’s just more liberal with his touch because he knows how much you love it

He knows how to do basic hairstyles and such because he watched his mom when he was a little boy and watch your mom do your hair too

If your hair requires special treatments and hairstyles he will write to your mom, asking for her to teach you because he loves your hair and wants to be able to help you, like imagine sitting in his bed while he puts braids in your hair following the instructions your mom sent him

Speaking of families when he tells Euphemia you two are together (which he does as soon as he leaves your dorm that night) she literally screams

Fleamont was worried that she was being attacked

But the next day at breakfast you get a letter from Euphemia stained with dried tear drops as she poured her heart out to you, telling you how much she loved you and that if her son ever broke your heart you were to go to her immediately and she would deal with him for you

The year you finally become boyfriend and girlfriend is the year you all become animaguses

James tries to argue with you, insisting that you shouldn’t do it because it's dangerous and he doesn’t want you getting hurt

Your rebuttal is that isn’t it just as dangerous for him? And if you’re not doing it neither is he and that leaves Sirius which just wouldn’t end well

He’s so proud of you when you transform for the first time, he gets so distracted watching you that he forgets where he is for a moment

That summer, unlike the one previous, you and James spend all of your time together

You spend the entirety of the holiday at the Potter estate doing all the things that you and Jamie used to do when you were younger, only this time its better

Instead of being childhood friends you’re each other’s

You can kiss him, and hold his hand, and he can lift up your hair to kiss the back of your neck

Euphemia lets you guys sleep in the same bed but before that she sits the two of you down and gives you the talk

“Now (Y/N), I don’t know if your parents have ever discussed this with you but if you two are going to be sharing a bed I think it's important we go over it.”

There’s so much blushing and whining from James

“Muuuummmm.”

One night you guys are lying on the floor of his bedroom wearing the absolute bare minimum because it was so hot and humid out when you pitched the idea of going skinny dipping

James is hesitant at first because he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable

But you insist that you’re fine and point out to him that it was you idea not his

Being the gentleman he is when you strip by the lake he looks away making you laugh

When you turn him to look at you his jaw drops

You’re even more gorgeous than he could’ve ever imagined

It's dark out but the light from the lake allows you to drink in your figure

He blushes so much you’d think that he was the one naked

When he does strip too he grabs you and jumps into the water, you guys are all over each other, running your hands up and down his chest, his hands are supporting your bum while your legs wrap around his waist

You have sex that night, for the first time, he was very gentle with you and holds your hand when he breaks you hymen and if you cry he kisses away your tears

“Do you wanna stop baby? Does it hurt too much? We can stop.”

James is one of two things depending on your preference

We have soft dom!James and sub!James

I personally appreciate a healthy mix of both

Starting with soft dom!James, he would be so gentle with you

Also very firm though, if you broke any of his rules he would not hesitate to punish you

He’s a thigh man through and through

Doesn’t matter if we’re talking dom or sub, the man lives for your thighs

Which makes his favorite form of punishment laying you across his lap to spank you, but most of the time his blows land on more of your thighs than they do your bum

He makes you count as he spanks you too and after every blow you have to thank him

“One! Thank you Daddy!”

And if you ever call him James instead of Daddy during sex he’ll stick his fingers in your mouth and make you choke on them, kissing away the tears that fall from your eyes, “S’okay baby, you’re okay. Can you do this for me? Can you take my fingers like the good girl I know you are?”

He loves taking you up against a wall, especially in the locker rooms after a Quidditch match

Shower sex is one of his favorites, thinks you look absolutely gorgeous, soaking wet and moaning for him, not to mention he get’s to fuck you up against the wall

This is the point in the headcanon where I urge you all to go read the blurbs by @randomoutsiders where Remus and Sirius teach James how to brat tame you, she captures his essence perfectly

He loves to blindfold you, he likes the little jump he gets out of you when he touches you

He gives you the most condescending mocking smiles

What comes to mind is the first time he makes you squirt, he’s so proud of both himself and you

“Good girl, look at that, look at how much of a mess you made for me angel. So pretty, good job.”

He then proceeds to lick the mess you just made off of you

He loves buying you lingerie

He likes it in a deep red and black

Loves ripping it off of you, absolutely adores it

After care with him would be so soft and sweet, he loves taking baths with you so he can clean you up and kiss all the places he left bruises while he murmurs to you about what a good girl you were and how proud he is of you

One night he tells you that if Godric forbid the two of you ever split up and you’re with someone else that after care is necessary and that you’re precious and deserved to be treated as such

He treats you like a goddess

Sub!James is just as precious

He’s also my current obsession so stick with me here

He’s just so eager to please, always wanting to make you feel good and not even caring all that much if he gets off himself

Just so centered around making you feel good

He calls you “Mommy” and I will not be accepting criticism

I feel like “Mistress” is too impersonal if that makes much sense

The former is just so intimate and James wears his heart out on his sleeve

James is rarely if ever a brat, usually when he’s disappointed in himself and he takes it out on you and you have to remind him how to be a good boy

And the rest of the time when he breaks a rule it's completely on accident and he’ll come to you and tell you about it to apologize

He feels so guilty, like he’s failed you

Especially if he touches himself without your permission, it's almost enough to keep him from doing it but he’s still a horny teenaged boy and can’t help himself sometimes

Most of the time though you’ll end up with a horny James knocking on your dorm door begging you to help him

He prefers giving you head than you giving him head

That’s not to say that the visual of you on your knees with his cock in your mouth isn’t appealing, it most certainly is

He just loves that he can make you feel that good with just his tongue

James also loves how you taste, tells you it’s better than candy

Which makes you smile like an idiot

Will finger you under the table in the library if you ask him to, it's not like he was paying that much attention to his homework in the first place, and even if he had been you are without a doubt more important

Loves it when you ride him

Absolutely adores it, he loves the way your tits bounce which is why he prefers cowgirl to reverse cowgirl because he can keep his hands on your tits and on your thighs

He asks you for a cock ring, loves that you get to decide when he gets to cum

Extra points if its a vibrating one

With his consent of course, you tie him up and make him watch while Sirius and Remus fuck the living day lights out of you, barely paying him any mind while you scream for the cocks of his two best friends

He likes being tied up in general allowed to look and only look

The first time you peg him he almost cries it feels so good

And you take his sniffling as a sign he doesn’t like it and that he’s hurt, he has to explain to you that that is not it and “You make me feel so good Mommy.”

His whimpers and moans are the most precious things and he’s very vocal

Screaming your name and begging you to cum

He is not shy to beg you

To cum

To make you cum

To get to so much as look at you

Baby boy has absolutely no shame

I especially like sub!James because he’s such a cocky asshole 90% of the time but he’s also the kindest, most considerate soul and he spends so much of his life helping others that sometimes he just wants you to be in control

Regardless of sub or dom James you were making out on his couch that summer, your hands in his hair, his fumbling with the clasp on your bra when there was a pounding at his front door

He makes you stay where you are because he doesn’t want you to get hurt but its just Sirius

Well not just Sirius

He was bloodied and broken and looked like he’d been to hell and back

When he told the two of you what happened, how he’d been disowned and had nowhere else to go, while Euphemia tended to his wounds James engulfed him into the biggest hug and they just sit there, Sirius crying into James’ chest while James ran his hands up and down Sirius’ back whispering to him about how it was going to be alright that he was safe, that no one was ever going to hurt him again.

About 2 or so hours after you’d all retired for the night, you and James snuggled together in his bed you awoke when the door to his room creaked open

There was Sirius, with tears streaming down his face, his bottom lip wobbling

After untangling yourself from James you walked over to him, taking his hand in yours and leading him over to the bed

“James, scooch over.”

“Huh?”

“Scooch!”

When he opens his eyes and sees his Sirius standing there, bashfully ducking his head he quickly moves over and you and Sirius settle into the bed with him in the middle

You and James pet his hair hold his hands while you tell him how much the both of you love him and how you’re never going to let anything bad happen to him again

You fall asleep that night with James spooning Sirius from the back and you with your body curled into Sirius’s front, his head resting on your chest

When you go back to Hogwarts you often end up in this position in their dorm room only add Remus into the mix

You’re a year behind all of them at school meaning that when they graduate you’re still stuck their for a whole nother year without any of them

And it nearly kills all of you

You and James most, though you write to each other every day it's still not the same as him actually being there with you

When you get particularly desperate to see him he apparates to Hogsmeade where he becomes Prongs and meets you in the Forbidden Forest where you basically just spend the entire time holding each other and telling the other how much you love them

He cries at your graduation, full on blubbers

“That’s my girl!”

Insists that you look better in your graduation cap than anyone else

Doesn’t relent when you tell him how ridiculous that is

You guys move in together as soon as you graduate, it’s barely even a discussion because you guys can always tell what the other is thinking

“Hey babe, do you wanna-”

“Yeah Jamie, when you wanna go look at apartments?”

He loves going shopping for your apartment, he has so much fun looking at color swatches and different fabrics

He insists that you guys decorate at least part of the apartment in Gryffindor colors

Wolfstar lives down the street from you guys and you have biweekly coffee dates together at a little coffee shop in between your two houses.

After a year or so you realise that you and James still aren’t married, and you get very self conscious

Does he not want to spend the rest of his life with you?

Does he not love you as much as you love him?

It completely eats you up

And James can tell that something’s up

When he asks you you confess your worries to him and his heart breaks

He never wanted to make you feel like he didn’t love you

Because of course he loved you

You were his everything, you were his Sunshine

After telling you all of this he goes rummaging through his drawers looking for something

That’s how you find him when you wake up to him accidentally dropping something results in a loud bang

“Jamie? Are you okay?”

When you find him he’s standing bashfully, blushing with his head down, his hands holding something behind his back

“James?”

And that’s when he gets down on one knee and pulls the small velvet box from behind his back

“This isn’t how I wanted to do it darling, but I spend every single day thinking about you, you’re the first thing I think of in the morning and I fall asleep with you in my arms thinking about how much I love you and how I don’t know if I could live my life without you. I’m so sorry if I’ve ever made you feel differently, I can’t believe I was enough of an idiot to ever hurt you, in any way. Even though I most certainly don’t deserve you, would you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive and marrying me?”

Euphemia plans your wedding with the help of Sirius

They go all out

There may or may not be a life size ice sculpture of you and James per Sirius' request

Married life is absolute bliss for the two of you

You wake up every morning with that ring on your bedside table (do people sleep in their engagement rings and wedding bands? I’m a child of divorce whose parents are both children of divorce, true love is a foreign concept) to remind you of the beautiful man beside you

Both sub and dom James go absolutely wild on your wedding night, he can’t believe your Mrs. Potter, that your his

Its that night that you pregnant

Though you don’t know it for almost 2 months

James is the best husband

He carries you everywhere, even when you’re not showing

And he can because fuck that man is strong

He’ll carry you upstairs at night and down them in the morning and to the sofa

You can only move by yourself when he’s not looking

James is really good at puzzles and putting things together so it takes him less than 2 hours to put all the furniture together for the nursery

Which he insists you paint yellow, the color of sunshine

One of the first things he buys is a little Gryffindor onesie for your baby

When he comes James has him in it all of the time

When you go into labor he’s very calm and collected

Euphemia is there to help the both of you because that’s the person he first called when you had your first contraction

He holds your hand the entire time, kissing you, and coaching you along, telling you how good you’re doing, how proud he is of you

He cries when he first sees his son, he’s so beautiful

Even though he’s basically the spitting image of James, Jamie swears that he looks so much like you

Once the doctors and nurses leave the room he climbs into bed beside you, throwing and arm over your shoulder as you cradle your little boy in your arms

“He’s beautiful Jamie.”

“Just like his mother.”

tagging: @randomoutsiders @weasleyposts @kittykylax

#harry potter headcanon #harry potter headcanons #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fanfic #marauders headcanons #maruders smut #marauders fluff #marauders x reader #marauders angst #james potter #james potter x reader #james potter headcanon #james potter fluff #james potter angst #james potter smut

2K notes · View notes

booksarelife-stuff · 3 years

Text

our secret moments in a crowded room

Jily (James Potter/Lily Evans), minor Wolfstar (Remus Lupin/Sirius Black)

My entry for the September Jily Challenge! @jilychallenge

Prompt: I tripped on the red carpet and you caught me

Partner was the amazing @kates836! Thank you for being an amazing partner!

In a fake PR relationship with Severus Snape, Lily can’t help be distracted by the real person who has her heart.

Word Count: 4,077

Read of Ao3 Masterlist

The car took a sharp left and Lily tried to stabilize herself so she didn’t touch Severus, who was sitting beside her. She made eye contact with Mary, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Mary shot her the millionth apologetic look.

Lily glanced back down at her phone, just in time to see a reply to the picture that she had sent of her in her dress.

Ahdjsfhkjdsf I can’t breathe. How dare you send this to me right before I walk out on the red carpet.

She smiled widely down at her phone.

I don’t know how I’m going to function with you that close and can’t do anything about it.

She smiled faltered for a second, because yeah, that was truly going to be torture for her too.

I’m about to go out. I can’t wait to see you.

Lily bit her lip before typing a reply.

If you think this dress looks good on me now, wait until you take it off.

The message bubbles appeared instantly and Lily’s smile turned smug.

You shouldn’t have said that. I’m going to think about it all night now. Love you

Love you too

She locked her phone and handed it to Mary, who would be holding all of her personal items for the rest of the night. Severus sighed deeply beside her and Lily tried not to roll her eyes.

If Lily had it her way, she’d be arriving with a very different date. But Lily didn’t have a choice. What the studio wanted, the studio got. Including a semi-fake relationship with her co-star, Severus Snape.

They had just finished filming the final season of their wildly popular show, The Hollow Hour. The show definitely didn’t need this kind of press to be successful, but Lily still didn’t have a choice in the matter, considering she had already booked a leading role in another one of their shows.

On-screen, Lily and Snape played Tara and Gideon, characters who had been in love since they were children and fighting in a war where they possibly wouldn’t make it out. Off-screen, Lily could hardly stand the presence of Snape.

It didn’t start out that way. When they’d first met, Lily had thought he was pretty cool. The show had been her first big break, as she had only done television guest appearances before then. Snape had a few movies under his belt, one of which was super popular. Their friendship had started out as his kind of giving her direction when it came to the whole fame thing.

Then, it got a little invasive. He would just be in her trailer, coming in without knocking. He started asking for more date-like hangouts. His disgusting political beliefs started coming out through their conversations and his apparent hatred for their co-star, Remus Lupin because he was openly gay. And he started acting as she owed him something, especially since the show took off.

The rumors had started before Lily realized that Snape was the creep that he was. People saw them pining on screen and going out for the occasional drink after a long day when Lily could still stand him and suddenly, people thought they were in love.

It had been a real nuisance in Lily’s life. Every interview, she tried to squash the rumors, whereas Snape would encourage them. It didn’t help that the show got popular, like really insane amounts of popularity. The character shipping took a sharp left turn into people shipping them.

Snily, they called them. From fanfiction to edits and art to covers of glossy magazines. It was everywhere. No matter if Lily was doing interviews from one of her movies, they would ask about Snape.

And since Lily was some sort of a masochist, she knew exactly what the fans thought of their relationship. They thought Lily denied the relationship because she was very private about her life, and Snape would never say it outright because he wanted to respect her but also wanted the world to know that she is his.

It didn’t help that Snape had accumulated a very dedicated fanbase. Like worship-the-ground-he-walked-on kind of dedication. To the point where Lily would get occasional death threats because she was “hurting him by denying their relationship.”

They never seemed to believe Lily when she said no, much like Snape and their studio. Lily couldn’t flat out deny the relationship in interviews anymore until after the final episode. It made her want to dry heave.

The car was slowing, and Lily could hear the buzz of fans and reporters. They were in the queue now for the red carpet. Mary unbuckled and twisted around in the seat, doing a final check of Lily’s hair and make-up.

Lily smoothed down her green satin dress, her legs bent awkwardly to not crease the dress and also not puncture the fabric with her stiletto pumps. Lily’s after-party dress was hanging up in the back, but Lily didn’t know if she was actually going to attend.

It had taken her a long time to feel beautiful at these types of events. Being considered plus size in this industry felt like a death sentence, especially since Lily refused to play the “funny fat friend” or anything like that. But she felt good tonight, especially with the way it hugged her curves and the bit of cleavage showed.

Severus looked like himself, just in a suit. His greasy hair was covered in dry shampoo and tucked behind his ears. He turned towards Lily and smiled like a cat who got the cream.

“We could make this real, you know?” he said, for probably the millionth time. “You and I would work.”

Lily tried not to crinkle her nose in disgust. “Severus,” she said. “You know I have no interest in that.”

There had been many times where Lily wished she could speak her mind and rip him a new one, but she could not get branded as a diva. So, she played off these uncomfortable moments with a laugh and polite words, even when she was telling him no for the millionth time.

She saw the corner of his lips turn down in a slight frown and averted her eyes to stare straight ahead.

The voices outside got louder and suddenly the car was stopping. Mary jumped out of the car quickly as Lily unbuckled. Moody, Lily’s driver, and bodyguard, also got out quickly to open Lily’s door.

She had to take Moody’s hand to step out. She wobbled when she shifted her weight to her high heels but quickly corrected herself. She was going to have blisters for weeks after tonight. Mary appeared from the other side of the car, hands already straightening Lily’s dress.

They were covered from the cameras here, so no one saw Mary make sure Lily’s breasts were firmly taped into the dress. The low cut of the dress required her boobs to be placed perfectly and one slip would probably cost Lily her career. That’s why Lily had Mary, her best friend since they were children and who now worked as her PA. The back of the dress was practically nonexistent and her long auburn waves tickled her with every movement.

Mary quickly batted away one of her dark coily curls that snuck out of its bun before giving Lily a once over.

“You look gorgeous,” she said, smiling. “He’s not going to want to take his eyes off of you.”

Lily gave her a real smile and a quick hug before stepping away to get around the car where Severus was surely waiting. She already had her red carpet smile on and tried not to pay attention to the up and down look Severus was giving her.

Severus reached out his arm to escort Lily, but Lily walked past it. They said they had to arrive together, not actually walk together. Mary let out a snort of laughter as she followed Lily out to the carpet—to walk with Lily but hidden away.

The lights were blinding as Lily walked out on the carpet. Cameras flashing every second, people yelling questions at her. Lily was now a pro at this, after so many years of practice. The screams intensified, signaling Snape was now making his appearance.

Lily moved slowly down the carpet, making sure her smile stayed in place. Towards the end of her walk, Snape did sneak up on her, wrapping an arm around her waist taking extra care to let his fingers drag against her bare skin. She fought to not recoil away from him.

She smiled and laughed though she wanted to push him away.

The entrance to Royal Albert Hall was full of reporters and cameras. Lily never really minded this part of the red carpet because most of the time it was just questions like “who are you wearing?” or the occasional fun game with whatever fledgling media company had weaseled reporters in.

Lily was heading towards the first available reporter, a young woman who was smiling widely as Lily approached. But a familiar head of dark curls caught her eye, and she couldn’t help the way her attention turned immediately that way.

It had been six weeks since her boyfriend of three years had touched her. Six weeks since she had felt the indentation of him next to her in bed, felt his warmth, had him within her fingertips.

And James looked so good, it made Lily want to pull him away and find the nearest secluded spot. The way his tailored suit hugged the angles of his body, the body that she knew like it her own.

She could feel her heart start pounding in her chest, and she hoped the cameras weren’t picking up the way her hands were shaking.

“Lily Evans!” the young reporter cheered. “How are you on this fine evening?”

“I’m doing great,” Lily said, smiling and resisting the urge to look at James.

“So, you arrived with rumored beau and co-star, Severus Snape,” the reporter cheered. “Care to confirm anything?”

Lily fake laughed. “We just carpooled. Better for the environment.”

The girl’s face tightened a bit, but the reporter knew better than to press.

Lily answered her questions with ease. Who was she wearing? Did she feel good about her role as a presenter? What was she going to do after the final season of The Hollow Hour?

Once the interview concluded, she turned to go to the next reporter.

But there was James, looking at her with a slight smile on his lips. His dark brown eyes did a quick once over of her, appraising her every curve quickly. And goddamn, he wore his glasses instead of his contacts, reminding Lily of the quiet moments in her flat where they were tangled together, his glasses pushing into her face. His normal frizzy curls were more defined thanks to whatever hair product his stylist made him use. His brown skin was as flawless as ever, glowing in the camera flashes in the fading day.

It couldn’t have been more than a moment where their eyes met, but it was enough to thoroughly distract Lily to the point of missing the small bump in the carpet. Her shoe caught and the sensation of falling happened before she felt strong arms catch her.

“Are you okay?” James asked as Lily’s world steadied in his arms, the concern in his eyes.

Lily felt her cheeks redden, both from the embarrassment of tripping on the red carpet and the fact that she was in James’s arms. She nodded but when she stepped back, her right shoe gave out.

She moved away from James’s arms, but took his hand, their fingers clasping each other, to keep her balance as she lifted her dress up to see the heel completely snapped off.

“Well, that’s great,” she said with a laugh. James laughed with her. She wobbled for a second and James’s hand grabbed her side to steady her, his fingers making her burn.

Lily couldn’t help but smile softly at him as Mary appeared, getting on her knees in front of Lily, urging her to turn slightly. She let go of James’s hand and used his shoulder to keep her balance as Mary undid the straps on Lily’s shoes. Mary, who was definitely getting a raise after this, took off her own black kitten heels and gave them to Lily.

She was now several inches shorter and her dress dragged a bit on the ground, but it was better than no shoes at all.

“I owe you my life,” Lily told Mary, who smiled in response. Lily didn’t miss the way she gave James a glance and then a teasing smile back to her. She turned back to James. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” he replied. “I’ll see you around?”

She wanted to say that she would see him tonight, preferably with no clothes, but she just smiled and nodded in response.

As she let go and James stepped away, the last thing on her mind was the cameras catching every moment.

~~~

To Lily’s detriment, her manager had called Mary to tell Lily that she had to be seen at the after-party with Snape.

Lily tried not to recoil at Severus’s hand on her lower back as he led her to the after-party. The cameras were blinding against the darkness of the night, but Lily let herself be led into the venue, Moody doing his best to push back against the raging crowd.

The venue only had a few selective members of the press inside, but it was little enough that it put all the celebrities at ease. There was no real food, just snacks because seeing your favorite movie star get sloshed would sell magazines and get them trending on Twitter.

Lily’s stomach growled. She couldn’t remember the last full meal she had.

Severus kept a firm hand on her back. She smiled and laughed at the right times as they talked with winners from the night. A live band started and Lily’s ears rang with the loud music. She kept knocking back glasses of champagne because at least the buzz would take the edge off the hungry looks in Severus’s eyes and make her not recoil when he tried to whisper in her ear.

Her saving grace came in the form of Remus Lupin somewhere south of midnight.

She came back from the loo and purposefully walked away from where she knew Severus was waiting. The alcohol was thrumming through her veins, and she felt light. Her shoes—or Mary’s shoes—had been kicked off long ago, and she was stumbling through the crowds of famous people.

Remus stood at the picked-over snack table, probably looking for any scraps of leftover chocolate. He had been Lily’s co-star since day one and her favorite to boot. Severus hated him, mostly because Lily liked him more, but also because he was openly gay and in a long-term relationship with the model, Sirius Black, who Snape also hated.

Remus had been the reason she and James met. She also knew that where Remus was, Sirius wasn’t far, and if Sirius wasn’t far, neither was James.

And she wanted to see James more than anything.

“Boo,” she said, poking Remus’s side. The man jumped, almost dropping his chocolate-covered strawberry.

“Bloody hell, Evans,” he said. Lily laughed, already feeling better. She clumsily picked up a biscuit and took a bite.

“How’s your night been going?” she asked. Remus let out an amused huff.

“Same old, same old,” he said. “You?”

Lily didn’t respond and Remus laughed, knowing exactly how her night had been going. They grabbed a few more snacks and Lily proceeded to follow him, hoping that he would lead her to the person she needed to see.

James was sitting at a table across from Sirius, and Lily’s heart immediately started beating rapidly. His suit jacket and tie were gone, just leaving him in his tight white button-up. The top buttons were undone, hinting at his chest that Lily knew better than the back of her own hand.

The sluggish haze of the alcohol in her system reminded her of when they first met. It had been at The Hollow Hour season one wrap party, and Remus had invited James and Sirius. He had caught her eye from across the room, the curly black hair and glasses were a dangerous combination for Lily, especially with the dark jeans that had hugged his very nice arse. She was so nervous that she had had to take a shot before she walked over to have Remus introduce her.

She had taken him home and when she woke up in the morning, recovering from the best sex she had ever had in her life, she found him making breakfast for her.

He stayed the whole weekend.

Then they texted non-stop and started having dates, sitting in Lily’s apartment with take-away and cheesy movies.

And here they were, three years later, hopelessly in love, and pretending that they weren’t because her stupid television show needed promoting.

It hadn’t been meant to be a secret for so long. In the beginning, they just wanted to figure each other out without all the press breathing down their necks. It’s just how it all happened.

It wasn’t like the important people in their lives didn’t know. Their parents and most trusted friends did. And they already decided that once the whole thing with Snape stopped, they were going to go public because they wanted to move in together and finally go on real dates.

Lily saw the way he perked up when he saw her. A small smile on his lips, his shoulders moving back. There was a moment when Lily could have sworn that there were no other people in the room until someone bumped into her.

She slid into the booth beside him, not caring about how dangerous that was, especially when their legs touched.

“Hey,” he said, his deep voice tugging at her in a way she missed while he was gone.

“Hey,” she replied. She could tear her eyes away from him and she didn’t know if she wanted to, either.

“Bloody hell,” Sirius said, not even jarring the couple. “Get out of here before you start shagging on the table.”

James raised his eyebrows in question, which Lily answered with a smile. He reached down for his pockets.

“I’m texting Moody,” he said.

Anticipation pooled in her stomach and as she grabbed another biscuit to eat because it was something to do, her hands shook. James placed his hands on Lily’s thigh and she couldn’t think of anything else until he leaned over and told her that Moody said it was all clear.

Even in her drunk state, she located her shoes and practically sprinted to the back door where Moody was waiting.

There were a few paparazzi pictures taken as Lily quickly hopped into the back of the SUV and Moody got into the driver’s seat. He handed her her small bag that had her phone in it that Mary had been carrying. She was too excited to even get her phone out as Moody did two laps around the block before pulling right back into the same spot.

The second James jumped in and the door was closed, Lily was on him. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her, meeting their lips in a deep, but sloppy kiss. Lily kicked her legs up onto his lap and pulled him down as laid down the best she could in the back seat. James laughed a little against her lips, causing Lily to pull away and laugh too.

“Next year, we’re going to this together,” she said, opening her eyes to see him in whatever light that shone in from the windows. She got flashes of his eyes and his wide smile as she sat up, still keeping her legs on her.

“Absolutely,” he replied, pressing a light kiss to her lips. “And we’re going to still traumatize Moody on the way home.”

Said man let out a snort. “No, I’m getting a divider.”

Lily barely remembers the rest of the car ride and getting to her flat. All she remembers is the taste of James’s lips and the feeling of his hands on her.

~~~

The blaring noise of a phone call is what made Lily wake up. She jumped violently, kicking James in the process, who let out a pained groan as Lily disentangled herself from him to be able to reach her nightstand to turn off the god-forsaken ear-splitting sound.

Her hand smacked into the nightstand, but her phone wasn’t there. She realized it must be James’s.

She nudged him and he groaned, but she could feel him move around in the bed. Finally, it stopped and James spoke.

“Hello?” he fell silent. “What are you talking about?”

Lily, who was already falling asleep again, opened her eyes at his tone and suddenly, he was shaking her.

“I’ll call you back Sirius,” James said as Lily sat up.

He hung up the call and threw his phone down on the bed. He tugged at his hair as Lily watched him with wide eyes.

“They know about us,” he said.

“What?” Lily exclaimed, reaching for his phone.

She typed in the passcode and saw the million phone calls from his manager and publicist. She opened Twitter, and right there, trending number one, was a still of James’s arm around her when she broke her shoe.

"Lily Evans, caught in a love triangle."

"Actress Lily Evans and actor James Potter are rumored to have left the BAFTA after-party together despite Evans arriving with Severus Snape."

She clicked on the first article while her stomach soured.

"Lily Evans and Severus Snape have long been rumored to have been dating, but last night’s events have seemingly squashed the rumors for good."

The article went into detail about the rumors between Lily and Severus, before finally getting to last night.

"James Potter, actor, best known in his role on the popular historical drama "Mountainside Valley', was able to catch Evans on the red carpet when her shoe broke. The footage from the cameras that were rolling by the pair has been released.

According to sources, the two are familiar with each other. Lily’s co-star, Remus Lupin is both friends with Potter and is even dating his adoptive brother Sirius Black, so we can speculate that they have met before. Based on the videos, they do seem to be familiar with each other.

What really solidified the relationship between the two actors comes from an unknown source who attended the after-party. 'She sat next to him and then a few minutes later, they left.'

Fans seem to be having a lot of mixed reactions to Evan’s alleged actions.

@snapewife45346 wrote: 'ALL LILY HAS EVER DONE IS HURT HIM. HE NEEDS TO LEAVE HER ASS FOR GOOD!!'

@snnnily394 on Twitter wrote: 'i don’t think it’s true. She would never do that to him.'

@taraisgod wrote: 'They have never said they’re in a relationship, you all are just projecting. Let her be happy!!'

@mountainbaddie wrote: 'Evans UPGRADED'

Lily set down James’s phone, unable to do anything else. She met his eyes and took a deep breath.

Her gut reaction was that it sucked. It sucked that they didn't come out on their own terms. The studio was probably pissed, or maybe they thought the bad press was good press.

But as she looked at James, sitting beside her on his side of the bed, the bed he only rarely got to occupy these days, she realized that maybe it was a blessing.

“We could deny it,” James said, a frown tugging at his lips. “Say that we’re best friends if you think that’s what the studio would want.”

Lily shook her head. “I don’t want you like a best friend. I don’t want to deny myself of you anymore.”

He smiled, soft and sweet. Lily yanked the bedsheets off of herself and crawled over to him, straddling his legs. She was only wearing a pair of knickers and one of his t-shirts. His hands immediately snuck up the shirt and caressed her hips, his thumbs teasing her panties.

“Joint statement?” he asked, as Lily leaned in. She kissed him soundly.

“In a minute,” she said, kissing him again.

#jilychallenge #jily challenge #jily fic #jily fanfic #James Potter/Lily Evans #James x Lily #James Potter #Lily Evans #Lily Evans Potter #Harry Potter fanfic #hp #marauders era #minor wolfstar #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #celebrity au #secret relationship #established relationship

85 notes · View notes

theresthesnitch · 3 years

Text

Tango

For @blitheringmcgonagall who asked for a fic called Tango for Jily. You can see her other request, Liquid Gold for Wolfstar, here.

Send me a title and I'll give you a fic!

word count: 791

“Slow, slow, quick quick, slow. Again. Slow, slow, quick quick, slow.”

He held her hands close to his body as they moved around the improvised dance floor.

“James, I’m never going to get this.”

“Sure, you will. Just do it again. Slow, slow, quick quick, slow.”

She stumbled again, losing her footing as she tried to step around his feet. She let out a groan of frustration.

“That’s alright, let’s do it again.” He straightened her out next to him and prepared to go again. “Slow, slow, quick quick, slow.”

She tried, she really did. She got the first few steps, which James praised her for, and then she stepped on his feet again.

“Fuck! Why are we trying to do this stupid fucking dance at the wedding? Who needs to dance, anyway.”

“I’m pretty sure you picked the tango, love.”

“I know, but I didn’t think it would be so hard. Or that I’d be so bad.” She shot him a glare. “Or that you would be so good at it.”

“It’s okay, Lils. You’ll get it. Let’s just -”

“James Potter, if you’re about to say ‘just do it again’ one more time, I’m going to step on your feet.”

“Okay, I won’t say it.”

“Empty threat, Evans. You’re already stepping on his feet.” His voice came from the side of the room where he had been seated since the beginning of this atrocity. James had invited him along to help teach her, but he had provided little more than snide remarks so far. “Though really, he keeps putting his feet in the way, so it’s as much his fault as yours.”

James dropped his head. “Do you think you can do better, Padfoot?”

“I know I can.”

“Well, be my guest.” James stepped back and motioned at her in a take over kind of gesture.

“Excuse me, can we stop talking about me like I’m some sort of prank that just needs to be handled properly?”

James stepped back, his eyes wide in shock and looking ready to bolt. If Lily was in a slightly better mood, she might laugh at him for being so true to his inner deer self. As it were, it just made her narrow her eyes.

Sirius, like a true dog with a bone, stepped forward. “Well, Evans, that’s exactly what you are like right now. Someone who needs handled properly, and for once, your fiance doesn’t have the right touch.” He gave her a mischievous grin and held his hands out in front of him. “Care to try my hands?”

Lily narrowed her eyes at him, but he just stood there, wiggling his fingers with that stupid grin on his face. For a long moment, they looked at each other, each daring the other to make the first move. James shifted nervously beside them, considering stepping in between them.

“Fine.” Lily took his hand.

“Marvelous.” Sirius drew her against him and immediately began to move. He spun her in wide circles around the room. Her feet were barely on the ground, and his arms were tight around her waist. She cried out protests that fell on deaf ears. She pushed against him, but he held her tighter. He continued to spin her around and around and around.

She dropped her head to his shoulder - only for a moment because they were still spinning and she had to pay attention - but she relaxed and let herself go with him. They were spinning, but her feet were on the ground more than they were off. They were spinning, but she was moving with him. They were spinning, but she was no longer falling.

Suddenly, they weren’t spinning anymore, but they were moving together. He pressed her hips into his; their pelvises flush together.

“Black, was this just an excuse to get me pressed up against you?”

“You’re not exactly my type, Evans.”

He guided her movements around the floor. Slow, slow, quick quick, slow. A perfect tango. They repeated the steps, and again, and again.

“I’m doing it! I’m doing it!”

“Damn right, you are.” Sirius looked back at James. “Ready to cut in, Prongs?”

With a grace that came from years of pureblood dance lessons, and of which Lily could not have almost accomplished, Sirius stepped back, James stepped in, and they continued dancing.

“Now you’re both doing it.” Sirius smiled on as James and Lily danced around the room in a practiced step that suddenly seemed to work for them. “You just needed to loosen up a bit.”

“Thank you, Sirius.” Lily met his eye over James’s shoulder. “You might have saved my wedding.”

“Our wedding?” James asked, incredulously.

“That’s alright. You can pay me back by naming me godfather of your firstborn.”

#blackevans brotp #jily #jily fic #james potter #lily evans #sirius black #marauders #dancing #tango #snitchwrites #title drabble challenge

67 notes · View notes

nah-she-didnt · 4 years

Note

“It’s nothing personal.” Jily angst

Thank you for the prompt!!

Send me a prompt <3

Complicated

The students greeted each other and chatted animatedly as they loitered in the Great Hall. Excitement hung thick in the air before the first Hogsmeade trip of the term. The students, already bored of studying, longed to rid themselves of the stuffy castle and stroll up and down the village streets with no agenda. The news had been so terrible recently, new deaths and attacks reported every day, that they had collectively decided that everyone needed a day off.

Lily stood with her back to the crowd, clicking her tongue boredly as she waited for Dorcas and Mary to join her. She’s only left the common room after making both girls promise not to sleep through the day. Mary had merely grunted, and Dorcas stuck a hand out from under the covers to flip her off.

As Lily wondered whether her friends would ever join her she felt a sharp jab between her shoulder blades. Ouch! She whirled around for the cause of the pain. “Watch it, mudblood,” hissed Rosier as he passed. He’d jabbed her in the back with the point of his wand.

Lily forced herself to stay cool. He wouldn’t dare attack her in the hall, there were too many other students around. Besides, she could handle Rosier.

She watched him walk away with narrowed eyes, then looked back up the staircase towards the Gryffindor common room. It was entirely possible that her two dates had abandoned her after all.

But for Lily Evans another date was always waiting around the corner.

“Alright, Evans?” a voice called to her from across the hall.

She sighed. James Potter and two thirds of his crew meandered through the crowd in her direction.

Sirius glanced behind her, as if he were looking for someone. “You look a little lost without your girl gang, Evans.”

“Yes, well,” Lily winced as she tried to rub the bruise between her shoulders, “some of us had a bit of a lie-in this morning. They never could handle their booze.”

Remus tutted loudly. “Lily Evans, head girl, drinking alcohol!”

“I’m of age!” she laughed, punching him on the arm, “though I suppose that doesn’t make a difference when we’re in school.”

“Careful, Evans,” James wagged a finger annoyingly in her face, “or we’ll report you. We can’t have any troublemaking in the dorm that isn’t caused by the four of us.”

“Speaking of the four of you,” Lily interrupted, “where’s Pete?”

“Detention,” snickered Sirius, “the git didn’t hand in his Transfiguration homework. He’s only barely in the NEWT class in the first place, and you know McGonagall hates when people slack in her class.”

Lily raised an eyebrow at Sirius. “Yes, I’m sure you would know all about that.”

Sirius, pretending to be offended by Lily’s comment, grabbed Remus’ hand. “Come on, love, best leave these two to chat. We’ll meet you in The Hog’s Head, Prongs.” And they wandered away towards the large front doors.

James watched them go with a sappy look on his face. “Those two are so adorable, don’t you think?”

Lily smiled, but realized that she suddenly didn’t know what to say. She and James didn’t usually find themselves alone unless they were on Head duties or studying. She felt her palms grow a bit sweaty, which made her want to smack herself. It’s just Potter, she thought furiously, get a grip.

“Well,” prompted James, who raised a hand to scratch the back of his head anxiously. This movement showed off the muscles in his arms, toned from hours on the quidditch pitch. Stop thinking about his muscles! she berated herself. “I guess we should get going then, shouldn’t we?”

“What?” She snapped distractedly, forcing herself back to the present.

“Hogsmeade, I guess we should head down,” James gestured at the crowd of students behind her. They had begun to make their way out of the entrance hall and down into the grounds.

Lily paused. It was one thing to chat with James in the entrance hall where the whole school gathered. It was another to walk down to Hogsmeade with him. Alone. Where Rosier or anyone else could see.

She took a step away from James. “I better not. People might think…”

James took a small step towards her, the corner of his mouth lifting flirtatiously. “Might think what, exactly?”

Lily felt her insides grow cold. “Might think there’s something going on between us when there isn’t.”

James froze, the smile melting off his face. He tried to puff out his chest and look unbothered, but Lily knew better. “Right,” he huffed, “of course. Couldn’t have people thinking that, imagine the horror.”

“Potter,” she was doing this all wrong, “it isn’t like that. It’s nothing personal, it’s just complicated-”

“No, you’re right. It’s complicated. I’ll see you around, Evans,” and with that, James turned on his heel and marched out into the sunlight.

“Fantastic job, Lily,” she muttered to herself as she watched him go with a hollow feeling in her heart.

She couldn’t expect him to understand. It was acceptable that she and James had grown closer this year, given that they were Head Boy and Girl, but she knew she couldn’t let their connection grow into anything beyond acquaintance. These days, muggleborns walked the halls at Hogwarts with targets on their backs. Lily was already considering going into hiding with her Dad after graduation. She couldn’t drag James into her mess. Life was already complicated enough without introducing cocky, headstrong, pureblood into the mix.

She checked her watch and sighed. Her friends definitely weren’t coming. She glanced one last time towards the front doors, but James had disappeared into the thinning crowd. Lily turned on the spot and headed towards the staircase. There would always be another Hogsmeade trip next month.

#nina writes #liiilyevans #prompt #jily one shot #*complicated* by avril lavgine plays softly in the background*

31 notes · View notes

echonecho · 3 years

Text

Fearless

AN: Y’all, I’m sorry for posting this late. I have finals this week and wasn’t planning correctly. The first three fics are late and will proabably be released this coming week, okay? In the meantime, here’s some Jily (James x Lily).

Prompt: Based on Taylor Swift's song. Lily Evans has always been brave and courageous, but mainly fearless. This follows her entering Hogwarts and getting together with James Potter.

-------------------------------------------

One: The Sorting Ceremony

The first time Lily Evans noticed she was brave was the day she received her Hogwarts letter.

Of course, she had never known she was a witch, but her parents could not have been more proud. Lily had always known something was different about her, but a witch? She was a witch. All she could think about was how cool that would be! A witch. Maybe Severus was right.

Severus Snape had always said Lily was a witch, someone different. Even when they had first met, Severus was keen on Lily being a witch. It was what bonded them. Through this, they had grown to be best friends.

Another witch had arrived at her door one morning and mentioned some school for people like her. People with magic.

“Hogwarts,” a witch called Professor McGonagall had said, “School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” The Scottish witch handed Lily a small envelope, containing her acceptance letter. “It is the finest school in the wizarding world, let me assure you.”

That’s all that did it for Lily Evans. That was all she needed to know. Severus Snape had talked about Hogwarts before, saying it was where Lily just had to go. Her best friend was going and so was Lily.

Professor McGonagall was kind enough to discuss the school further, and months skipped by as Lily was so excited. September’s fresh air blew through Lily’s world. Severus had been overjoyed when Lily told him. They were going to school together!

Arriving by train, Lily Evans saw Hogwarts for the first time. It was like nothing she had seen before! Pillars and towers touched the sky, and the dark sky meshed with the stone. As the group of first years entered the Great Hall, Lily Evans was one of the few students to gape at the ceiling. She couldn’t understand how they got the sky inside. Severus tried explaining it, but Lily just stared at the sky.

Professor McGonagall called name after name, arriving at, “Black, Sirius!”

Sirius Black had been with his friend James Potter on the train. It was as if they had known each other for years the way they were together. Lily knew even then they were inseparable, but she didn’t care. An eleven-year-old James Potter had been making eyes at Lily and had no regard for self-respect.

Severus had been talking about Slytherin. He was so determined to get into Slytherin. He had said all powerful wizards were in Slytherin. Everyone worth his time was in Slytherin. Everyone good was Slytherin.

Lily was indifferent to which house she was getting into. Regardless of house, Severus Snape and her would be friends still. They were best friends. Nothing could separate them, not even Severus’s house prejudice.

“Evans, Lily!” Professor McGonagall spoke.

The Sorting Hat only took a moment to think. “GRYFFINDOR!” it roared.

Lily Evans beamed and glanced towards Severus, her best friend. He looked so angry. He had told Lily they should be in Slytherin together, they had to be in Slytherin together. Lily never really understood that, but they could still be friends.

Striding over towards the Gryffindor table, she sat next to Sirius Black. Lily figured there was still time for Severus to join Gryffindor. They could still be in the same house.

Name after name was called until Professor McGonagall got to, “Snape, Severus!”

Almost immediately as the professor placed the Sorting Hat on Severus’s head, it roared, “SLYTHERIN!”

Lily Evans smiled over to the Slytherin table, promising herself they would stay friends. She had been fearless entering this new world. Whatever was going to happen, Severus and her could get through it together.

----------------------------------

Two: Care of Magical Creatures Class

Two years passed, and Lily and Sererus’s third year was coming closer. They had spent the summer talking about their coming courses and third year electives. Lily had thought about taking Muggle Studies, but if she even questioned the so-called muggle world, all she had to do was ask Sirius Black or her parents. Either option made for more room in her schedule, and Lily had decided on Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy.

Severus had chosen Ancient Runes and was leaning towards Divination for an easy class, but when Lily told him she was taking Care of Magical Creatures, he immediately switched his schedule.

The two hadn’t grown apart, per se, but they had their own friends groups. Lily roamed the Hogwarts halls with Mary McDonald and Marlene McKinnon. Severus had his own friend group full of wanna-be Death Eaters, according to her. Lily never tolerated their remarks towards her and Mary and all of the other muggle-born students. Half of the time Lily was found bickering with Severus over some stupid pureblood ideology, but they were still friends. Best friends. They had to be. They have always been best friends.

September came around once again, and their first class in the week was Care of Magical Creatures, split between Gryffindors and Slytherins. James Potter was cocky as ever, taking more of a notice to Lily this year, always calling Severus mean names. Severus Snape would always fight back, calling him dumb names. They were always at each other’s throats.

In their second year some Ravenclaw girl had developed a crush on Severus, and she would always be mad at James, thinking he was mercilessly bullying Severus. In that Ravenclaw’s eyes, Severus could do no wrong. Even Lily didn’t look past Severus’s pureblood habits.

Care of Magical Creatures had become one of Lily’s favorite classes rather quickly. The class was almost entirely hands-on, and there was never a still moment. Bowtruckles would escape and flobberworms would spit goo at other students. Lily found the class chaotic, but every creature was different. Every creature was good and productive in its own way.

Halfway through the fall semester, Professor Ketterburn introduced a new creature, a hippogriff. Even James Potter looked frightened by the bird horse-looking animal. Lily spared a glance at Severus, who choked on a whimper.

The professor told the class to pair up, and Lily reflexively reached for Marlene McKinnon. Marlene had already paired up with Mary. Sirius Black had already captured Remus Lupin, and some toilet-tongue Slytherin arrived at Severus’s side. All who were left was James Potter. Letting out a strangled sigh, Lily approached James.

“Well, hello, Evans,” he said, pulling off his best “go-on-a-date-with-me-Evans” face with being so close to the hippogriffs.

“Potter,” she replied, uncomfortable with the entire situation. She turned towards Severus, who sent her a worrying glance back. James Potter had been into Lily since first year.

“All right, class! Now that you’ve paired up, approach the hippogriff, just like I taught you,” Professor Ketterburn announced.

Lily had been studying hippogriffs since Ketterburn had first discussed them. She had been so intrigued by the creatures. Fear found no place when Lily bowed to the hippogriff. Professor Ketterburn had named her Martha. The creature bowed deeply back and showed respect for Lily.

Lily looked towards her partner. His mouth dropped and he stared blankly at her.

She had been the first to gain a hippogriff’s respect, as it turned out. Remus and Sirius were bickering about who should go first. Mary was struggling with her own fear. Everyone else was simply not receiving any attention from the hippogriff clan. Severus Snape was being too aggressive with one named Beaky.

Professor Ketterburn approached Lily and James and said, “Look at this! This, class, is how to earn respect from this one.”

Lily had been fearless, facing an animal she had been studying for so long, and any inhibitions were vanquished.

--------------------------

Three: The Dueling Club

Year Four struck the Marauders and Lily like lightning. The year had started out normally, but when Professor Flitwick and that year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher said they were starting up the Dueling Club again, Lily Evans was not exactly thrilled.

Marlene had been insistent on joining, only when Peter Pettigrew had said it wasn’t a “girl’s club.” In fact, the club had only been boys since its establishment. Marlene McKinnon was the first female student who showed any interest in the club. Lily had come along to the first meeting when Marlene expressed she didn’t want to go alone.

Mary McDonald had tagged along, wanting to be with her friends. The same looked for Peter, never straying too far from James and Sirius. Lily couldn’t stop Remus Lupin. They had become study partners for Charms recently, and if she could not be dueling partners with Marlene, Remus was a good second.

“Gather ‘round, gather ‘round,” Professor Flitwick spoke. “Welcome to the Hogwarts Dueling Club!” He clapped his hands. “Partner up!”

Lily looked around for Marlene or Mary, but Sirius Black was already at Marlene’s side. A Hufflepuff boy a year ahead of them was trying for Mary’s partnership. Peter Pettigrew was partnered with another Gryffindor. All that was left was James Potter.

In the past year, Potter has just gotten worse. He would call Severus some stupid nickname, and Remus and Sirius weren’t any better about Severus. Severus was odd, sure, and would sometimes say things he thought were sly about muggle-borns, but he couldn’t be that bad, right? After all, he and Lily were still good friends, just with some more friends added.

James sauntered over to Lily and smirked. “‘Ello, Evans.”

How could he be so thick? Lily thought. “Potter,” she muttered out.

“How’re doin’?”

“Fine, thanks. Yourself?” she said, trying to be passive.

James Potter was a fine person, someone who achieved decent marks, but he would always challenge Severus unprovoked. He also fancied Lily straight out of nowhere since their first time meeting, and Lily had never shared his affection.

“Now! Students, do as we have taught you. Make sure to properly count your steps and turn at the same time as your partner,” instructed the professor.

“Don’t worry, Evans. I’ll go easy on you.” James smiled at her and began to step away.

Lily murmured a thanks and counted her steps. As she turned, James Potter was already completely turned around, waiting for her.

Lily sent out a disarming spell towards her partner, and he defended himself easily.

James replied with a first-year level disarming charm. Lily had been top of her Charm class since second year, and this was his response? She could have defended herself in her sleep.

Sending out a stronger disarming spell, Lily thought that would be fine. James shielded himself, and Lily could see a tremor in his movements. He sent back a small stunning spell, but Lily shouted, “Protego!” before it even reached her. Tired of whatever nonsense James was getting at, Lily sounded out, “Petrificus Totalus!”

James’s body went stiff and fell to the ground. A laugh came out of nowhere, silencing the other partners. A laugh that was all too familiar. Severus. A group of Slytherins Lily recognized all too well began laughing as well.

Lily did not laugh. James, of all he was capable of, had demeaned her, and she beat him. Even though they didn’t have a good relationship, Lily would never laugh at someone failing. If anything, Lily was mad. She hadn’t even wanted to come to this so-called Dueling Club, and her friends had left her.

Fearless and mad, Lily took the spell off James Potter and stormed out of the room.

---------------------------

Four: Useless Slurs

Fifth year came around, and James Potter was becoming more persistent that him and Lily Evans should go out. On the other hand, Severus Snape was becoming more friendly with Lily.

Both boys were showing in interest in Lily, and she was having none of it. While Mary had Marlene had both shown interest in at least Sirius Black, Lily didn’t like any of the Gryffindor boys. Remus Lupin had always been kind enough, but there was nothing more than a healthy friendship there.

Remus Lupin and Lily Evans spent their time together usually in the library, especially since this was their OWLs year. Sirius would always become nasty when he saw Remus and her together, and so would James. Weird, she thought.

Fifth year went by quickly. Severus would come by the Gryffindor Common Room and walk Lily to their shared classes. Lily could see he had developed a crush on her, and she didn’t know how to let him how easy.

One day, Severus and James got into yet another brawl, something that had been never-ending since first year. James pushed Severus and magically turned him upside down. Lily had tried and tried to calm down Severus, to comfort him, but all he did was curse at her. He had called her a mudblood.

Sure, Remus and Mary would tell her stories of the pureblood Slyhtherins harassing muggle-borns and students even slightly related to muggles, but that didn’t happen to Lily.

As soon as it came out of his mouth, Severus was apologizing. Lily stormed off and fumed at his reaction. A word like that does not just “slip out.” A word like that was rooted deeply in hatred. Hatred had no place in Lily and Severus’s friendship, what was left of it.

You needed to be fearless to cut off a friendship like that. Lily only saw fear in Severus’s eyes that day. He had cursed out and spoke a slur about his best friend. But Lily saw past this and understood that whatever his deal was, she didn’t need it in her life.

-----------------------------------

Five: A Break Up

The summer between fifth and sixth year, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans wrote to each other. They bonded over muggle bands and artists, especially David Bowie. That summer Lily introduced Remus to ABBA, but Remus himself was not a big fan.

Sixth year came back swinging, and Lily promised herself she would avoid Severus Snape at all costs that year. The Hogwarts Express was at its usual over-capacity at the end of August, and Lily immediately walked to the Prefects Cabin. Instead of seeing Remus, the other Gryffindor prefect, she saw James Potter.

James Potter was reading a book. He wasn’t with his friends. Lily cleared her throat.

“Oh, hello, Ev -- Lily.” He smiled. It wasn’t his usually smirk, but a genuine smile.

“Hello, Potter. Sorry, but this cabin is for prefects.”

James went on to explain how Remus had given up his prefect title, and McGonagall had given James Potter the prefect badge. He talked about his summer, how he passed his OWLs with flying colors, and how his summer went. James stiffened when Lily mentioned Sirius staying with the Potters. She had heard he had been kicked out of the Black family, but she stopped discussing the topic as soon as she saw James.

He tried to keep the conversation flowing, asking about her summer and how her family was. Lily found it odd they could make any talk, let alone about their families. It had been at least ten minutes into their conversation, and James was able to keep it in his pants.

The train ride was more pleasant than anything, and soon they arrived at Hogwarts. The Sorting Ceremony passed by smoothly. James and Lily led the first years to the Gryffindor Common Room, explained the basic rules, and showed them their respective dormitories. Marlene and Mary already went to bed, and Remus and Peter called it early that night.

Sirius and James were playing some wizards chess, discussing some upcoming pranks and activities. “... and we can -- Oh hi, Evans,” Sirius offered.

James looked up and smiled slightly. He looked as if he was hiding something, probably a prank he doesn’t want anyone to know.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m turning in,” Lily said. A particularly interesting book she had just finished rested in her hands. “Good night, boys.”

Before she could reach the stairs, James Potter caught her arm. “I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “I’m sorry about everything.”

“Everything?” she questioned. Lily noticed his arm wasn’t retreating.

“Asking you out so many times and only seeing you as someone I wanted to date. You didn’t deserve that. I didn’t realize it until Remus quite literally threw me into a cold shower.” James looked not so much ashamed but distressed. He was actually sorry. “I’m sorry, Lily.”

“It’s not fine, Potter,” she said simply. “Whatever that was, was not okay. You’ve never seen me as an actual person. You’re learning now, but that’s not all that matters, I guess. Be a better person, that’s how you learn. I hope you’re not expecting acceptance.”

“Right, but I’m going to be a better person. I will be, Lily.”

“Okay.” Lily figured. “I’m not helping you, Potter, but step one is to move your arm away from someone while you’re talking. If you’re at least trying to be better, learn how to make a girl feel comfortable.” She pulled arm from James and headed up the stairs for bed.

The next few months passed with James Potter becoming a better person. Lily had doubted him at first, as would anyone, but James would help Lily with Transfiguration homework and sometimes make friendly chat with her. A few times during the week they would do prefect rounds and walk along the hallowed halls of Hogwarts.

Mid-November came by quickly and Lily had developed a crush. Murray Sibac was a seventh year who was captain of the Ravenclaw Gobstones Team and had ambitions of becoming a chef. Lily couldn’t place when she developed feelings for the man, but they had met in NEWT-level Potions. She would gush over him, as he was one of Lily’s first official crushes.

She was hesitant to talk to James about Murray. They had become almost friends from talking more during their prefect rounds. She had known James was trying to be better, but she didn’t want to push him. One night, the topic of first kisses came up during their rounds, and Lily was taken aback. James was not trying to push on her, just talking about his first kiss. It was something about a girl at a muggle movie theater before fifth year. It was innocent as far as Lily was concerned, but she wanted to tell him. That soon led to him discovering Lily’s crush on Murray Sibac.

“You’re kidding.” James dramatically gasped.

“Oh, my god,” -- she chuckled -- “pull yourself together, Potter.”

“It’s just, I didn’t know you liked anyone like that.”

“And why would have I told you before?” She looked towards him.

“Right, of course.” He took a pause. “Have you thought of asking him out?”

“As if he would like me back,” she replied.

James looked as if he were going to protest but stopped himself. “Do you wanna know something I’ve never told anyone?” He turned to step in front of her and face Lily, walking backwards. “Not even Sirius.”

“Aren’t you two attached at the hip now? I doubt he doesn’t know.”

He gave her a look. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?” James stuck out his pinky.

Lily stopped walking for a minute, considering the finger. “Promise,” she assumed, taking the pinky. “I won’t even tell Remus.”

“I liked Regulus last year.”

Now it was her time to gasp and say, “You’re kidding!”

“Don’t even.”

She put her hands up. “No judgement. I think the only one immune to the Black family is me and maybe Peter.”

Within the next week, Murray Sibac approached Lily after one Potions lesson and asked her out to Hogsmeade the following weekend. Blushing violently, Lily accepted and began dating Murray before the Christmas break. Murray quickly joined Lily’s friend group, containing mostly Gryffindors.

The two fell into an easy rhythm, eating meals together multiple times a week and heading out to Hogsmeade every now and then. Murray was all Lily had dreamed of and more. She, of course, wished they spent more time together, but he was a seventh year. He had to study for his NEWTs, and Lily understood that better than anyone. Murray was a good boyfriend, walking Lily to her classes every now and then and sometimes helping her study Potions. There were times Murray would look at the occasional girl, but Lily just supposed that was what boys did.

It wasn’t until James Potter brought up the topic of Murray one night during prefect rounds four months into their relationship. He seemed to not know how to bring up Murray. “He’s just awesome, isn’t he?” Lily said and blushed at the discussion of her boyfriend.

“He’s definitely good at Potions and good at playing Gobstones,” he agreed, slowing his pace.

“What’s wrong with you, James? You’re acting weird tonight.”

“It’s about Murray.”

Lily stopped walking all together. “James --”

“I’m sorry, but you deserve to know.”

“What could possibly be wrong with him?!” She raised her voice.

“I don’t know where you were at the time, but I saw him snogging Sylvia Linings last week in the library,” James confessed.

“Of course you would say that.” Lily grew angrier. “Y’know, I was just thinking you were becoming better about your crush with me! Potter, he was helping Sylvia study. There’s no way he would cheat on me!” She scoffed and stormed off.

Lily Evans spent the following few days avoiding James and became silent during prefect rounds. She didn’t believe James. She couldn’t believe James. Her relationship was perfect. Murray was the perfect boyfriend.

As much as Lily would ever hate to admit it, there was a lurking thought in her mind. What if James was telling the truth? There was no way. Lily just had to make sure. One night Lily walked up to Murray and asked him straight up. “Murray, are you seeing other girls?”

Her boyfriend gaped. “Of course not, babe. You’re my one and only.” Murray leaned in to kiss Lily, which she consented to.

His lips tasted like strawberry lip gloss. Lily never wore strawberry lip gloss, just the occasional peach. She pulled away immediately. “Murray, you take like strawberries, and you’re not exactly one to wear lipgloss.”

This led to an all-out shouting match. Murray yelled that James Potter was jealous and had no place in their relationship. Lily argued that if you’re in a committed, monogamous relationship, you shouldn’t just go around kissing other people. She couldn’t understand what was going through Murray’s mind during the argument. James Potter once had a crush on Lily, yeah, everyone knew that, but he was her friend now. Murray grew furious quickly and towered over Lily. She eventually slapped her now ex-boyfriend and stormed off to Gryffindor Tower.

Mary was there to comfort her immediately, and Marlene called her fearless for confronting the issue. The Gryffindor boys didn’t know what to do with the emotional Lily Evans, but James offered her a hug. She hesitated for a moment, but she accepted and hugged her friend fiercely.

Almost a week later, Lily joined James at prefect rounds. She paused her steps and spoke for the first time in their silent routine. “I’m sorry, James … for yelling like that.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Evans. With my history, I shouldn’t have expected anything less.”

“If you didn’t inject yourself, I would still be with that twat. I just think I expected less of you. I guess I had assumed you were putting yourself in the middle of my relationship because you were jealous … You weren’t jealous, were you?” she questioned.

“Jealous?” He looked as though he was actually thinking about it. “No, I don’t think so. Lily, you’re my friend now, and our friendship is something I’d like to keep. You know I’ve been trying to be better about actually becoming a good person, and I don’t want to ruin our friendship over anything childish.”

Lily smiled, agreed, and began walking again. “I still prefer Remus, but you’ll make due.”

----------------------------------------------

Six: A Quidditch Party

Seventh year sped by quickly, and Lily and James became closer friends than James had ever expected. He had had a crush on Lily since they were eleven, but since the beginning of sixth year, he put aside his feelings. The summer between fifth and sixth year, Remus Lupin had approached James one morning after he had been particularly stupid.

James had made a comment about a girl he had seen that, let’s just say, was not about her personality. That had seemed to strike something in Remus. James woke up to Remus dumping a five gallon bucket of ice cold water over his head.

He cursed Remus out and reached for his wand immediately. James tried to get it through his head that Remus had a different opinion on girls and women. The boy had never shown much interest in girls, but he told James he had to actually treat them like people. Remus explained that Lily Evans had been uncomfortable even being in the same room as James, because he would almost always hit on her and ask her out to Hogsmeade. After their third year, it had stopped being funny to the Marauders let alone Lily. James hadn’t noticed, only that he was hopelessly in love with her.

That year James was hell-bent on becoming a better friend to Lily Evans, and being crowned a Gryffindor prefect only made it easier. James was trying to become a better person, reading his mother’s muggle women’s and gender studies books the final month that summer. His sixth year he tried his best to be kind and show empathy to Lily. It took a few weeks for his friends to take him seriously. Some of them thought this was James’s way of getting only closer to Eva -- Lily, but after hearing Remus out and reading his mom’s books, he wanted to learn and become a better person.

When Lily began gushing over Murray Sibac, James couldn’t lie. His heart did break a bit, but he was working over his crush. In his fifth year, he had had a different crush as well -- Regulus Black, but nothing ever came of that. James figured his prejudices also included boys kissing other boys.

One night Lily was sick and stayed back from prefect rounds, and Jame had caught her boyfriend snogging another girl! Could he do that?! he thought. When he decided to warn Lily of that, he knew it would threaten their friendship. But he had to consider that their friendship was stronger than Murray’s pathetic value of relationships. Lily stopped talking to him after that.

James offered her a hug as soon as she came back to the common room one night crying. Lily was his friend before anything, and she needed a friend at that moment. His heart grew when she accepted his hug. There was no pressure on her part, and she accepted him. Lily Evans accepted him. That was the only thing that James cared about.

In their seventh year, James had been made Head Boy to go along with his Gryffindor Quidditch Captain title he had achieved in fifth year. And Lily had been named Head Girl. That year they would talk more during their nightly rounds, and their friendship grew.

Lily would help him with Potions homework and would come support him at Gryffindor quidditch matches, not just Marlene McKinnon. James would be lying if he said his crush died out, but he valued their friendship more. James tried to help Lily with Transfiguration homework and History of Magic essays. His strength was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they had been learning about patronuses one week that spring.

Within a few tries, James Potter was the first one to cast a patronus. He wasn’t surprised it was a stag of all creatures. Sirius’s was a big dog that chased it around, and Remus’s wolf patronus nearly stepped on Peter’s rat. Lily was one of the last people in the class who was called to perform the charm, and it was a deer.

James had a deer.

Why was it a deer?

James could see Lily’s face redden, and he marked it up to their great friendship. Love didn’t even cross his mind. Lily and him were strictly friends. They would need to be in a parallel universe for Lily to remotely like him.

Probably just a coincidence, he thought.

James never questioned it again until the final quidditch match. Lily was there in his jumper. It’d become some kind of ritual, a tradition between the two of them. Since she’s worn it to every quidditch match, the Gryffindor Team had not lost. James led his team to yet another victory -- against Slytherin of all people, and the rest of Gryffindor threw a massive party that night.

Ever holding the confidence of a true Gryffindor, James jumped onto a common room table and held up the Quidditch Cup, pumping his fist. The Gryffindor crowd shouted, “Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!”

“All right, all right,” he calmed down the crowd. “I want to thank …” He went on to shout out mixings of a speech for a little under a minute and handed the cup to Marlene and Sirius. Though he was usually the one leading a crowd, there were moments he needed a breath. James offered to get more food from the kitchens, and Lily of all people offered to go with him.

Together the two ran towards the kitchens, only stopping to look around cornered for Mrs. Norris or Filch. He had forgotten his map, the Marauders’ Map. Lily intertwined their fingers when they heard a “meow.”

James’s breath hitched. He looked for Lily’s eyes. She was there, and she had reached for him. “Lily --” he started.

He heard another “meow” and held Lily closely. She looked up towards him.

Lily surged forward and caught James’s lips. He was only able to think of one thing:

Fearless, she was.

#james potter #lily evans potter #jily #sirius black #remus lupin #5+1 #mary macdonald #marlene mckinnon #getting together fic #quidditch #no warnings

11 notes · View notes

akindofmagictoo · 4 years

Text

20 first lines tag game

this comes from @zmlorenz and also I think @amillionwips — thank you both!

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20 stories just list them all). see if there are any patterns. choose your favourite opening line. then tag others.

(I will tag @writingbyjillian @pamsdrabbles @sleepyowlwrites and anyone who wants to play!)

Hurricane

Tempest stilled her bouncing leg, eyeing her sleeping husband. Had she woken him? She took a careful breath and didn’t let it go until he snored and rolled over, pulling the covers tighter around himself. Still she waited. One breath. Two breaths. When he still didn’t move, she stood up and grabbed her coat and sword belt, not even bothering to put them on. Because she had to leave, and she had to leave today.

Theo x Aella Little Mermaid AU

Water closed over his head, tugged at his clothes. Tugged him down… down…

He wanted to cry out for help, but the water filled up his mouth before he could make a sound. Cold stole into his limbs, heavy and dark, weighing him down.

His chest ached, searching for air. Deep, cold darkness wrapped around him. Dragging, pressing, pulling down.

Down… down… down…

When he’d hit the water, he’d panicked. That was gone now. All he felt was the cold, the deep dark cold.

a random post-canon Theo x Aella oneshot

Thunder rumbled overhead, blending into the drumming of the rain on the roof. Aella tucked her blanket more tightly around herself, but it did no good. She couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t keep her mind off the locked front door, Alanna’s instruction to stay inside. It felt too much like other locked doors. Every time she closed her eyes, she was back there again and—

No. Sitting in this bed alone with her thoughts would do no good.

a post-canon Theo x Aella oneshot (sort of the former version of the one above)

“Read the mermaid one again.” Aella snuggled against Theo, pressed up between him and the arm of the big old armchair.

a Theo x Aella modern AU

Even with a map on his phone, Theo was impressed he’d made it to the small cafe on the main street. True, it was the main street, but his new house wasn’t, and directions weren’t his forte. Given how recently he’d moved, it was at least understandable.

The cafe was small, but its list of drink options was larger than he’d expected. But it included several types of tea, so he ordered a familiar English Breakfast and sat down at the nearest table.

post-canon oneshot of the Hurricane women play ‘theatre’

“So, who’s up next?” Aria stretched out in her hammock. “As much as I enjoyed being the defence lawyer, I think it’s someone else’s turn.”

“I’ll play the accused. I want to try my daring escape again,” Aella volunteered, sitting up.

Theo grinned. “Because you got caught last time?”

a crossover royalty AU with another project (Labyrinth)

(this isn’t the first line, but it’s the first lines where Theo appears. also, you would be correct if you assume that the Spanish princess is not Aella. that is the complication.)

“Spain confirmed the marriage alliance,” said Jared. “We still have to confirm it one last time, though.”

Theo glanced up at his dad. “Hardly surprising, really. They offered it, after all.”

Jared nodded. “Are you still alright with this? We can turn them down now, if you want.”

“My calendar is free,” said Theo, straight-faced. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve got my eye on someone else or whatever. Just as long as I’m not expected to actually have a romantic relationship with the Spanish princess.”

the below are all fanfictions. [ps my AO3 is @/ sidebysidewithafriend go check it out if any of these fics interest you]

Shadow and Cottontail (Harry Potter: Marauders (OC insert))

(this is co-written, I’m posting the first part that I wrote)

“Is there mail today?” Kai Lupin jumped the last step down to the dining room. This was the same question she’d been asking for five days, but she asked anyway.

Her mother Hope was about to answer when an owl swooped through the open window, a parchment envelope clutched in its beak.

“I think the answer is yes,” said Remus, descending the stairs behind her with a little more care than she’d taken. Kai rolled her eyes and crossed the room to see what the envelope contained.

Hope was already taking it from the owl. “It’s from Hogwarts,” Hope said, and Kai’s heart leapt, only to be dashed by her mother’s next words. “But there’s only one envelope. It’s addressed to you, Kai.”

Told You You’d Kill It (Harry Potter: Romione)

“Ugh.” Ron shoved his books to one side and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in all different directions. Hermione hid a smile as Ron drew his hands inside his jumper sleeves.

Through a yawn, he continued, “I’m done. I’m so tired.” Probably from his basketball training, but schoolwork was also a struggle for him, she knew. And they’d been studying in the library for several hours now. No wonder he was exhausted.

Thank You For Saving My Cat (Harry Potter: Jily)

Lily pushed herself up to a sitting position and breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she was out. She turned back to the house, watching the orange flames that danced over the structure with her heart in her throat. Was it her imagination, or were they growing smaller?

Most of her stuff could be replaced. But she hoped nonetheless that she wouldn’t have to.

Then she remembered the one thing she’d left behind and couldn’t replace. Crookshanks. She stumbled to her feet. Legs shaking under her, she ran to the nearest firefighter and grabbed their sleeve. The firefighter gear covered its occupant’s face, but the voice sounded male. “Are you alright?” He took her arm gently, steadying her.

3AM (Harry Potter: Wolfstar)

The beeping of the fire alarm filtered into Sirius’s sleeping brain, burrowing in until he couldn’t help but wake up. At which point he groaned and wrapped his pillow around his head, trying to block out the noise.

But this was a fire alarm, so really he had to get up. Grudgingly, he removed the pillow from his head and fumbled for his phone to check the time. The light from the screen was blinding in the darkness of his dorm room, but after a moment his eyes adjusted to see that it was 3:07 AM.

Give Him Back to Me (The Great Library: Wolfe x Santi)

Day 1

“Nic?” Wolfe half-rose from the bed at the sound of knocking, leaving his Codex open beside him. Something was off, though. Nic wouldn’t knock. He had a key. Besides, Nic was away in Belgium, training a new company. He wasn’t due back for another day or two, and that was assuming everything went to plan.

Nevertheless, when the knock came again he got to his feet and headed for the door.

Death Is Not Fair (Shadowhunters: (very angsty) Malec)

It wasn’t fair. Then again, life wasn’t fair.

And neither was death.

It shouldn’t have happened. It should have been a simple mission. The scans and all the reports had said there was just one demon in the area. It was a larger, stronger demon, and would’ve put up a good fight, but it was still practically nothing to a Shadowhunter like Alec.

Untitled (Shadowhunters: Sizzy) (unfinished and un-posted)

Izzy was swearing off dating. She’d kind of thought about it before, but hearing about the amount of drama in Jace’s love life right now cemented the idea firmly in her mind. No more dating. Between that and the mess Alec had gone through a couple of months ago, she wasn’t sure she wanted any part of that. Not to mention that of all the boys she’d dated, none of the relationships had really been right. Did she believe in The One? She wasn’t sure. But none of her boyfriends had been it, that was for sure. So no more dating for her. She was here to study forensic chemistry, after all, and surely it was better to concentrate on that.

Moving Day (Riordanverse: Blitzstone)

Last? signed Hearth.

Blitz brushed a speck of dust from the shoulder of his shirt, studying Hearth’s face. He knew exactly how many boxes were left to move, and it was more than zero, but the elf was looking paler than usual. If that was possible. As he watched, Hearth swayed a little and put a hand on the wall for support. “No. But I’ll get the rest. You need a break.”

Untitled quarantine AU (Riordanverse: Percabeth) (unfinished and un-posted)

“Thanks for letting me stay over to finish this project,” said Annabeth, setting the last piece on the model Coliseum she’d made. They’d done most of it last night, and she was just adding the finishing touches now. Although that had been before school had been shut down; they’d been notified the night before, but since she was here she’d been determined to finish it.

Untitled (The Hobbit) (I have a “better version of Tauriel’s arc” thing in the works, and this is an accompanying oneshot of how the Durins died in this version) (un-posted)

“Where is he? It looks empty. I think Azog has fled.” Fili glanced around nervously, his breath steaming in the icy air.

“I don’t think so,” said Thorin.

Footsteps sounded on the ice, echoing in all directions. It was impossible to know their source.

“We’ve got company,” Thorin growled.

Kili readied his sword.

This was practically everyday for them at this point. Every motion of his sword, every footstep, every bit of it was familiar. Fili hardly had to think. His sword flashed in the faint light. Droplets of blood and crystals of ice spattered his exposed skin, hot and cold. He was at home here; he might not have been on the ice before, but with a sword in his hand and Kili and Thorin at his back, he was content.

this is VERY long. if you read to here, thank you! and maybe consider reading some of them in full on my AO3?

#tag game #20 first lines tag #wip hurricane #wip labyrinth #zoe writes

16 notes · View notes

january3693 · 4 years

Note

002: Narcissa, and also Lily; 001: dorcas/Marlene, and lucissa

That’s a lot, but here you go!

002 Narcissa

How I feel about this character: She’ll never be my favorite, but I do love sticking her in as a snarky, snobby side character.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I don’t actively ship her, but I think she and Lucius are probably well-suited for each other, and since I don’t have super strong ship opinions on her, I’m open to reading and embracing anything presented to me.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I like the idea of her and Regulus being close. She’s the baby in her family, but Regulus is the baby in the family overall, so I think she would have felt very protective of him and tried to shelter him but also steer him toward more traditional pureblood values if she ever thought he was wavering or acting a bit too much like Sirius. She was devastated when she heard about his death, even more so when she learned it was (supposedly) caused when he tried to defect from the Death Eaters. Narcissa sees a lot of Regulus in Draco and it scares her.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Lucius probably didn’t care much about all of the stuff Draco complained to him about, but Narcissa did. She was the one who always pushed Lucius to take care of anything that hurt or inconvenienced their son.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish she had some on the page interactions with more characters. There’s so many she’s related to or would have known that it’s a shame we never go to see her show a bit more complexity when directly confronted with Sirius, Andromeda, or Tonks.

my OTP: Probably Lucius just because it’s canon and Narcissa isn’t a character I spend much time shipping. I like her potential, just

my cross over ship: I don’t read cross overs

a headcanon fact: After Regulus’s death, it was Narcissa who sent a letter to Sirius (care of Andromeda) telling Sirius the facts (such as she believed them to be) about his brother’s death.

002 Lily

How I feel about this character: She’s fantastic! I love her, and I love writing her!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Generally just James. I do enjoy some Jegulily too, but that’s about it. I see Lily as a character who could be very happy and lead a fulfilling life without a romantic partner, so if I’m not shipping her with James I generally just picture her having casual flings and otherwise enjoying life as a happy, confident single woman.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Sirius and Lily! I mean, I wrote a 100,000 word fic about them becoming friends (also some other stuff happened, but mostly friendship). I think they would have really challenged each other (which would have made them struggle to get along for a while, but once they connected it would have been very good for both of them). They called each other on their bullshit, weren’t afraid to yell at each other, but genuinely listened to each other and always apologized the next morning when they fought.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t know if it’s an unpopular opinion, but I think she struggled with self-confidence and self-worth a lot more than most people ever knew. She was probably very good at hiding it behind perfectionism and some rather exhausting facades. The reason she fell in love with James was because he had this perfect mix of pushing and supporting her in a way that finally allowed her to relax and be fully her imperfect self with someone, and that was priceless.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Honestly, the thing I want most is for her to have had some ghostly/afterlife/other moment where she absolutely rips into Snape and all the terrible things he did in his “love” for her.

my OTP: Jily. We don’t know from canon how exactly these two went from antagonistic to deeply in love, but what little we do know implies a story of personal growth, second chances, adventure, and deep, deep love, and that’s gorgeous.

a headcanon fact: Her favorite band is ABBA.

001 Dorcas Meadowes/Marlene McKinnon

when I started shipping it if I did: I probably started shipping it while reading We Were Infinite by @wewereinfinitelywolfstar. That might not have been the first time I encountered it, but it was the first time it made a mark and made the characters feel real and shippable.

my thoughts: I like this ship a lot! It’s definitely drenched in that First War tragedy, but still gotta love more wlw ships, and that’s what AUs and canon-divergent fics are for.

What makes me happy about them: We no almost next to nothing about these two, so they’re basically blank slates to build upon. I personally head canon them as a Slytherin/Gryffindor couple and love playing with that dynamic. I also love the opportunity to build heroic Slytherin characters.

What makes me sad about them: Canon, obviously. Making them a couple does also add to the “dead lesbians” and “bury your gays” tropes, which sucks.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: It’s pretty common for Marlene to have a tomboy-ish or more wild personality in fics, which is cool, but Dorcas doesn’t seem to get as much personality in a lot of fics where these two appear.

things I look for in fanfic: Well-developed characterizations, often AUs or canon divergent fics that don’t leave them dead.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I’m down for Marlene and Sirius as a ship (Blackinnon). As for Dorcas, I have such strong headcanons about her, but I haven’t really thought about other ships for her. I’d be open to suggestions or whatever I encounter in fics, but honestly in my head canons, Dorcas is very ambitious and career-oriented (falling for Marlene was unexpected and not part of the plan), so I could see her too busy to have a romantic relationship or finding a spouse who could aid or complement her career ambitions.

My happily ever after for them: They live through the war, adopt a couple of orphans. Marlene coaches youth Quidditch teams for their kids and has some sort of freelance job she can do while being flexible schedule-wise. Dorcas rises through the ranks at the Ministry and is elected Minister for Magic instead of Cornelius Fudge. She fucking crushes it. When she’s served a few terms and the kids are out of school, Dorcas takes a job as ambassador to some other country and she and Marlene see more of the world and attend lots of fancy embassy dinner parties.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: They don’t really spoon. Marlene flops like a starfish in bed and Dorcas tends to sleep on her stomach or side. They do cuddle on the couch though, and Marlene likes to lay her head in Dorcas’s lap and have Dorcas scratch at her scalp and finger comb her hair.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Dancing. One of their first dates was a disastrous Muggle dance class where neither of them realized the Muggle instructor wouldn’t understand that they were there as a couple and paired them up with various male partners. They both managed to laugh through it and went home and practiced with each other. After that, they learned a lot of different dances and one of them will often spontaneously pull the other into a dance across the kitchen or living room, even if there’s no music on. They take turns leading.

001 Lucissa

(sorry if this one’s a little disappointing)

when I started shipping it if I did: I don’t really ship it, but I don’t not ship it either, if that makes sense.

my thoughts: I don’t actively ship it. It’s there, it’s canon. I’m fine with it. I just don’t put much thought into the relationship.

What makes me happy about them: They both seem to care for their son very deeply.

What makes me sad about them: I’m sad that we didn’t get to see more of Narcissa sooner, otherwise no real sad feelings toward them.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: When the criminal acts they (particularly Lucius) commit are excused way too easily, or they change their politics way too swiftly and seamlessly.

things I look for in fanfic: I don’t really look for this ship in fics. If it’s there I’m usually fine with it, if not, that’s fine too. I do like fics that give me more of Narcissa’s complexity and inner conflict though. She’s clearly got layers.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I really don’t put enough thought into these characters and their love lives to ship them with other characters. I’m open to it though. No strong preexisting feelings mean I’m pretty open-minded to new ships for these two.

My happily ever after for them: Actually having to make some restitution for their crimes/wrongdoings, then probably moving away from Britain to live quietly in like Monaco or somewhere.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Honestly, they probably have separate bedrooms.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Plotting political coups while drinking very expensive wine.

Send me some HP Character asks!

13 notes · View notes

quidfree · 4 years

Note

hi! hope you're well and that you're having a good day:) I absolutely adore LMV - I genuinely think it's the best fic I've ever read. anyway, the point of this ask was that I was wondering whether you had any thoughts about sirius as a godfather? like, was he suited for the job, did he actually do a good job... idk, maybe you've answered that question before, in that case, sorry! and ofc don't stress abt answering:))

this is so nice of you ty!!!

ive never talked about dogfather sirius, actually!! what an interesting pair of questions.... i would have to say a qualified yes to both?

was sirius suited for the job: personality-wise, maybe not entirely (raising a child alone in the event of jily deaths would have been Rough, and he’s not exactly a stable parental unit, not to mention he would have spoiled harry rotten), BUT he has the most important prerequisite, which is undying love and loyalty for the potters and for harry, and that means he would have done everything in his power to be a good parent figure to him, which is what really matters, so. not to mention that jily realistically weren’t contemplating he would have to be godfather alone for the majority of harry’s life- with jily around he could have been just The Coolest Godfather Ever instead of harry’s first living parental figure who didn’t treat him like shit.

did he actually do a good job? i would say a resounding yes. bearing in mind he was stuck in azkaban for twelve years (let’s not get into that), we only actively see him godparent harry for three years (plus when he was a baby). obviously baby harry was spoilt v much by his dogfather; what we see of sirius + teen harry also speaks favourably of him, i think. ok, little bit of a rough start what with the unhinged prisoner vibe, but the FIRST thing sirius does when free is go check up on harry- and he keeps tabs via crookshanks etc once at school, knows his interests well enough to send him the firebolt, and he values harry’s opinions enough to not murder peter on the spot despite his thirteen year revenge vendetta. obviously, the fact harry is the spitting image of someone sirius hasnt seen except for in his nightmares for over a decade doesn’t hurt, but he’s just so awkwardly sweet to harry afterwards- when he offers harry to come live with him, expecting him to refuse and completely understanding of it, it’s so endearing (and it always broke my heart how excited they both were about it- i bet sirius was thinking about another time a potter asked to live together). and from the start sirius ALWAYS speaks to harry like a whole person, not a child to be kept in the dark (which, if everyone else had done, looking at you dumbledore...)- the speech he gives him before he escapes is so important for harry to hear, especially from someone who knew his parents. sirius is always so careful to tell harry things about james and lily. now, it’s not that sirius treating harry like an adult would be ideal on its own, and i do think in part the issue is that he skipped his entire childhood and harry looks so much like james, but i also don’t think sirius actually treats harry too much like a grown man, apart from slipups- just like a grown teen. he advises him against threats, tells him the edgy backstories harry SHOULD know (and no other adult ever wants to tell him), looks after him as best he can (HE LIVES IN A CAVE EATING BONES TO LOOK OUT FOR HIM), listens to his teen melodrama. even when he’s fucking up by encouraging harry’s risk-taking i don’t think he’s treating him like an adult- he’s treating him like a *marauder*, because at that age, that’s what he or james would have done; being able to make informed choices is what sirius would have wanted at his age. i don’t think molly or sirius necessarily have the better argument- both make good points; sirius gets what harry wants and molly gets what harry might need even if he doesn’t want it, but that makes perfect sense- molly is an older woman who’s raised seven children, and sirius is in his early thirties and lived with kids for (1) year. james and sirius were order members by age /eighteen/ and sirius was in azkaban at /twenty-one/- he was basically a kid HIMSELF before he got put in the torture prison. i always found it so unfair that literally none of the other adults ever mention the debilitating mental issues he must be suffering from- remember the lifelong PTSD hagrid got from a MONTH there???- and that’s without even mentioning dumbledore’s purposeful exacerbating of them. not to say that mental health excuses poor parenting, but sirius both /isn’t a parent/ and really does very well at filling that role anyways, on the whole, so i think he can be cut some slack for once in his life. harry loves sirius SO MUCH and sirius loves him right back- and sirius teaches him some of the most important lessons in the whole series, even if he himself never managed to learn them- lessons that i really think shape the adult harry becomes, and the kind of lessons his parents might have taught him. so overall i’d give him kudos- and considering the absolute bullshit he’s living through, with james and lily dead, azkaban sucking the light out of him for over a decade, peter running free, and dumbledore QUARANTINING HIM IN THE HOUSE WHERE HIS ABUSIVE DEAD MOTHER IS (?!?!), i would say he does a stellar fucking job.

anyways harry & sirius’ relationship is so important to the series- even the GP was upset when sirius dies in OOTP, largely because everyone could see how bad it hit harry. that scene in dumbledore’s office? oof. they just care about each other so v much and we were robbed of a lifetime of sirius as harry’s absolute fav adult. if sirius had held onto harry that day- if dumbledore hadn’t decided to place him with abusive bigots for a plan which would only pay off by OOTP- i honestly think sirius would have outlived the series. because with harry he’d have been less unhinged by grief, able to testify properly, gotten support from other order members, not gone to azkaban- and with harry he would have had a reason to live. thirteen years of raising harry would have made harry the snarky little fucker he is at his core by age eleven, confident and happy and very good at quidditch indeed; thirteen years would have made sirius as whole as he can get. they would have patched things up with remus. there’d be no OOTP tragedy of errors. sirius would have punched dumbledore at some point. harry would have sent a pic of him and his new friends over week 1 of hogwarts and sirius would have punched through a wall and then calmly strolled over to hogwarts and taken ron’s pet rat over to minerva mcgonnagal, where unspeakable things happened to it. he would have gently butted heads with hermione (but won her over via crookshanks if nothing else) and gotten on very well with ron; snape would barely have been able to be such a dick to him because sirius would have gleefully sent him howlers for every minute of his day until he cracked. lucius on the school board terrorizing the other parents? not on sirius “billionaire heir to the toujours pur line” black’s watch- he’d happily invest even more obnoxious wealth into the school fund to get first call, not to mention lucius’ imperius excuse would not get very far with sirius around. “who’s nicholas flamel? we can’t ask adults- we’d get in trouble with the teachers and our parents are either muggles or wouldn’t know- oh wait nevermind, sirius, who’s nicholas flamel?” no more expelliarmus-ing for four years; harry Trained Duellist By Age 11 more like. dobby the house-elf? oi dobby sirius is family too- now spit it all out, won’t you? chamber of secrets? yeah, sirius knows what that is. parseltongue? yeah, sirius is familiar, and fuck those other kids for being weird to harry about it, does he want to come home for the holidays? weird creepy diary? oh, sirius’ family will have Magicke Moste Evile around somewhere. book 3 is just Harry’s Holiday: The Book because there’s no sirius subplot. you think snape would have dared treat remus the way he does with sirius hovering around paying half his checks? i think the fuck not. you bet your ass they had box seats for the whole of gryffindor house at the Quidditch World Cup. barty crouch? yeah, sirius knows THAT asshole- and remembers his son. catch harry whizzing through all the challenges minus the nerves ahead of time while sirius and remus do half the investigating for him. yule ball? no sweat, just go with ron; that’s what james and sirius would have done. if the maze went the way it goes in the books, “moody” wouldn’t even have been able to drag harry off without sirius intervening. and sirius “ptsd” black would have been The One Person who Got harry’s feelings in OOTP- not to mention sirius Skilled Legilimens black could have coopted that shit from snape and gotten harry up to scratch. sirius-raised-harry would have given umbridge twice as much shit. no kreacher lying here- and harry has sirius’ mirror anyways. so no massive drama in the ministry, and no suicidal recklessness / desperate first taste of freedom on sirius’ part means no veil incident even if they got there. hence book six through seven going Quite Differently. sirius shows up book six to be DADA teacher, why not. him and remus think it’d be funny, and besides he’s petty enough to steal the job from snape. move over firenze, new hot teacher in town. half the books are avoidable.

#answer #qui repond #sirius black #harry potter #dogfather #lmv #marauders

23 notes · View notes

crimsonrevolt · 6 years

Photo

Congratulations Carrie you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as James Potter.

↳ please refer to our character checklist

Carrie! Excitement doesn’t begin to describe how happy we were to see your name in our inbox, or that you had reapplied for James. You capture him so well and throughout so many portions of your app it’s obvious how you see his growth and character, his relationships and perception on the war and we can’t wait to see where you take him moving forward. Welcome back!

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

Introduction: Carrie, 22, she/her, EST

Activity: I try to be as active as I can. Currently, I am on Christmas break, but once I return to school, I have a tendency to work 11-12 hours a day. Still, I try to check in and do the replies that are waiting for me and I’m usually lurking to get plots going and new threads started.

How did you find us? I used to be a member here like, a year ago. I had some personal complications while I was here so I had to leave, but I logged into my old account and saw my smol son was still open. So, I thought I’d reapply. :)

IN CHARACTER

Desired character: James Fleamont Potter. He tried to keep his middle a name a secret, convincing everyone in third year that his middle name was actually Frederick. But, his friends caught wind of him trying to hide it, and started loudly calling him Fleamont whenever they saw him.

Birthday / star sign: March 27, 1960 / Aries

Occupation: Currently, James is unemployed. He has enough money from his family’s fortune that he can live off of, and he’s 100% dedicated to the war effort, so he doesn’t feel like he has time to work a job. However, once it’s all over, he has plans to try and get recruited as a professional quidditch player.

Faceclaim: I think I was the one who first requested Grant Gustin actually, so I want to keep him around. XD

Reason for chosen character: I love James Potter with all my heart. He has one of the best character arcs in Harry Potter, despite not ever being represented all that much. After all, you start out with a kid who thinks the world of himself (because let’s be real, he thinks he’s God’s gift to the world and his parents made him think that was the case until he was about sixteen) and then grows into someone who is willing to sacrifice himself in order to give his wife and child the chance that they can live. He has such a great energy and one that is definitely contagious, creating such a mischievous band of boys so early on in his school career.

Throughout his entire life, James has always felt pressure to be better. Better at being a son than any other kid, better at quidditch than anyone else, and better at being a friend to the people around him. He’s always put a lot of pressure on himself to make sure that happens, often hyping himself up in order to make sure that other people see him the way that he has tried to portray himself. Very few people know just how much of an act it truly is though. For years, the only people privy to this information, and that had insight into who James truly was were the other three Marauders (and his parents, obviously, because they were gems of people). With his friends, James was able to be much more caring, much more genuine, and much more likely to be honest. They’re the first people that James felt willing to put above himself–learning how to become an animagus so that Remus wouldn’t be alone, adopting Sirius in all but name into his family and making over him for the lack of support he has, making a fuss over just about anything Peter does in order to ensure he feels just as important in their little group. Their little family.

His goal throughout his time at school was just to see his friends happy. To make their lives better because he was a part of it. Over time though, that changed. They grew up, and James saw other people that needed their lives to be improved. He saw the way people treated those who weren’t of pureblood status, of the stigma people placed on others that were simply different than themselves and he felt it was wrong. It was why James decided to join up with the Order in the first place, feeling it was the best way to try and stand up and make life a little more equal for everyone in the wizarding community.

Preferred ships // Character sexuality // Gender & Pronouns: James has always been a bit of a hopeless romantic. During his sixth year, he was involved in a fairly serious relationship, and it was part of why he started shifting from the arrogant fifth year boy people knew into someone with a more level head. James sees romance as a necessary part of life, because, as his role model John Lennon said: “love is all you need.” Sex is something that James used to not see as a big deal. He lost his virginity after a quidditch match in fifth year, and would enjoy shagging whenever he could find someone willing to climb into bed with him. But, after sixth year, when he fell in love with someone truly for the first time, his feelings on it changed. He saw it more as a way to express how he felt about the people he was in love with.

Ship wise, I’m always down for Jily (because without it… can there even be Harry Potter?) but also, any sort of James/chemistry. He identifies as a heterosexual cismale, and uses the pronouns he/him.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER

James Intro Moodboard

James and Sirius Moodboard

James and Lily Moodboard

James Spotify Playlist

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

The following section should be looked at like a survey or interview for your character. The questions may be answered in character or out of character, with or without gifs.

Do you think it is more important to be feared or loved? Which would you rather be? “I think it’s more important to be loved. After all, if people fear you then… what’s really the point? They’re only doing what you want because they don’t want you to be angry and lash out at them. But, if you love them, then you’re doing it because you want to. Because it makes their life better. I’d want to be loved.”

What is one thing you would never want said about you? “That I was a shit friend. Or a horrid quidditch player. My friends are the most important people in my life, and I want to go above and beyond for them. I was blessed with a great life, and I want some of that to spill over into theirs too. And, I’ve worked my arse off to be good at quidditch. So I definitely don’t want there to be anything to be said bad about that.”

If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it! “I would invent something that could give me super speed. I started getting into muggle comic books around fourth year, and one of my favorite superheroes in them can run really fast. I’ve always enjoyed running–it kept me in shape for quidditch. But, I’d like to be faster. I think it’d be something along the lines of acceloratorus.”

What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make? “Serious decisions. That sounds incredibly vague, I know, but I hate doing anything seriously. It’s easier to make a joke out of things and make inconsequential decisions. But, the second something takes me a lot of in depth thought, and whatever I decide means I lose out on another option, that’s when I struggle.”

REACTION TO LAST EVENT DROP

James was super hyped about the Quidditch Cup, but when the Aversio showed up, it seemed more of an inconvenience than anything. He gets what they’re doing, he really does, but it’s frustrating. He sees more of an opportunity elsewhere, and they’re just making life for the Order infinitely harder. He’s grateful when Marlene comes to him to help find and retrieve Edgar Bones. Whenever he can be useful, James jumps at the chance, and this is prime time for him to come to someone’s aid. Whenever Edgar is found and brought back, there’s a definite sigh of relief, and it feels a little like a small victory to be had.

He’ll be excited when he finds out he’s going to be dad. Well… as excited as he can be when he thinks about the war torn world he’ll be bringing a child into, at an age as young as he is. But, James believes a child is never something to regret, and so he can only look forward to the life he’s created with Lily.

WRITING SAMPLE

It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about marriage. No, he’d first thought about it when he was a small child, seeing his mother and father strolling hand in hand around the Potter estate. They’d seemed so happy and content, and James had wondered when he’d experience something like that. Nor, was it the second time he’d contemplated marriage. That happened during his sixth year, in the midst of his first serious relationship. He could recall clearly the day Gladys fell asleep on his shoulder, his arm long numb, and how he thought he could get used to a life just like that.

But it was the last time that he’d seriously thought about marriage that James knew he no longer wanted to waste time. It was time to start putting thought into action. So that’s what he did.

She had seemed so small, lying there in the hospital bed. So helpless. It was one of the few times he’d ever thought of Lily Evans as helpless, and it was certainly a thought he never wanted to experience again. If he had anything to say about it, James was going to ensure that Lily was always safe, for as long as they would live. And, being wizards, he knew that was going to be a long, long time.

Sure, the few people he’d told of his ideas told him that he was too young. After all, they hadn’t even broken out of their teen years and he was already contemplating marriage. In fact, they hadn’t even been together again for very long when the idea entered his head.

But, of exactly three things James was certain. First, Gryffindor was the best Hogwarts house in the world. Second, the best time to go flying was right after the sun had just started to show again after its long sleep. And finally, he and Lily Evans were supposed to end up together. Besides, with all the uncertainty that was lurking around each corner, he wanted to make sure that they spent as much time together as husband and wife as possible. If that was rushing things, then he couldn’t think of a better reason to rush it.

Doing what James Potter did best, he devised a plan: Operation Future Mrs. Prongs. It was simple, had an easy to obtain objective, and had exactly five steps to execute it perfectly.

Step one: Obtain a ring.

His mom had offered up her own, insisting that it was a Potter family heirloom and that it was only fitting that he give it to his own girlfriend. But, James had refused. While it was a beautiful ring, something about it just didn’t feel right. It was too big, too obviously used for pureblood wedding ceremonies where the participants had been betrothed as children. It wasn’t suitable for someone as delicate as his Lily. Faced with no other option, he’d been forced to go shopping.

It took him two days to find it. The first day found him in each and every shop in wizarding London, desperate to find something as enchanting as his future bride to be. But they all came up short. The second day, James spent hours going from one jewelry store to the next, until he found it. Her perfect ring. It was just nice enough to please his pureblood relatives who cared about such things, while simple enough that he felt it wasn’t overdoing it. A gold band, one large diamond in the middle, with three smaller ones on each side. It was perfect. Step one was complete.

Step two: Ask for a blessing.

Specifically, he had to ask for three. For him, the first one was the hardest. He’d had the ring in his hand when he went to Sirius’s flat, nervously tugging at the hair on the back of his head. Of course, James should have expected the look of shock on his best friend’s face as he explained to Sirius exactly what he had planned for the other best friend in his life. It took some promising (on both of their parts) that no one would ever replace the relationship the two boys had forged, but both eventually agreed that it was going to be the best. And that it was the natural step forward in such a crazy and unpredictable world.

The second one was a little easier. Mrs. Evans had always been kind to James, and he sincerely loved the older woman. Sure, she had seemed a little reluctant when James told her his plans to marry her daughter, especially considering their ages, but she too, blessed the union. After all, even though Lily had tried to keep her family as much in the dark as possible as to the terrors going on in the wizarding world, Mrs. Evans was no idiot. She couldn’t have been to have raised a daughter like Lily. She knew something was wrong, and if there was one person she could trust to protect Lily (though they both knew that she was capable of protecting herself), it was James. The meeting ended with a hug and a cup of tea, and James left knowing the next one was the most important.

It was also the most awkward. For him, at least. He’d been able to find the grave without much of an issue. After all, it wasn’t the first time he’d ventured out that way, and he doubted that it would be the last. But it had always been with Lily before. Sitting down slightly to the side of the headstone, James once more pulled the ring out from his pocket, turning it over in his hands as he spoke.

“So um, Mr. Evans? I don’t exactly know how to… you know, talk to you. But, you’re important to Lily. And I know that having your blessing on us getting married would mean a lot to her. So, I figured that I would at least come and ask, you know?”

He paused then, pushing his glasses up his nose as he lifted his eyes from the ring to stare at the marker. “I love your daughter a lot. More than I ever thought it was possible to love someone else. She keeps me grounded, she pushes me to be a better version of myself, and she’s always there for me, no matter what I might need. She’s one of my best mates, and I can’t imagine a life without her in it. She’s… perfect, honestly and you did an amazing job of raising her. She works to make you so proud, and I know that you would be. I know I’m proud of her. But… I guess I say all this Mr. Evans because… I want your blessing to marry your daughter.”

Sure, he never got an exact answer. But a bird landed on top of the stone and chirped, and James decided that was as close to a yes as he would ever get.

Step two was a success.

Step three: Throw the best birthday party ever.

To the average eye, this would have absolutely nothing to do with getting Lily Evans to agree to marry him. But James Potter and his friends had certainly never had average used to describe them before. No, his birthday was the perfect time to set things in motion. There’d been the main party of course: his parents, members of the Order, old buddies from Hogwarts, all invited to share in firewhiskey, butterbeer, and the most complex cake that James had found in some muggle bakery.

To their credit, most of them tried to avoid talking about the war as much as possible. But, it still seemed to creep into even the most innocent of conversations. Such was to be expected, James supposed, when it seemed that gatherings like this would have been the perfect place to target. Still, everyone stopped long enough to sing happy birthday while James cut the cake, passing a piece around to each guest and thanking them for coming. One by one, the guests started to trickle out, passing by the birthday boy as he clutched tightly to his girlfriend’s hand. Each person wished him a happy birthday once more, and were returned with another thank you for coming. In the background, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were busy opening James’s presents for him, occasionally shouting out an extra thank you if they found that person’s present worthy of one.

Finally, it ended up with just the four Marauders and Lily. It was getting dark, but that didn’t matter to James. A flick of his wand and they had enough light to see by. For a moment, James disappeared into a wardrobe in his house, before returning, grin on his face, with a brand new quidditch set. “A birthday gift from me to me,” he explained as he set it down. Each person went to get a broom, before the teams were divided up: James, Lily, and Peter on one side, Sirius and Remus on the other. But it didn’t matter who was on what team, since there was only one true objective: have Lily catch the snitch.

Which, actually, was going to be more of a trick than James had ever planned on. Although all the boys knew exactly what was being planned and the true reason behind the game, Lily seemed to simply not be able to catch it. Once, Peter had almost given up in frustration and reached for it himself. It took a quick hex from Remus to make him lose balance on his broom and have to use both hands to hold on.

But when she did catch it… oh, how she smiled. James’s heart flipped as she dismounted the broom, proudly holding it in the air. It didn’t matter that catching the snitch hadn’t helped them win the game–Sirius and Remus scored far too many points with the quaffle in the time it took her to catch the stupid thing–James had jumped off his broom all the same, cheering as he picked her up to spin her around.

It was easily his favorite step to complete.

Step four: Have Dumbledore use his super awesome magic skills.

Flesh magic was a weird thing. It definitely didn’t rank in the three things that James Potter knew about. But he knew what it was. Once, when he was a mere second year, his parents had gifted him a book all about quidditch. There, was the first time he learned about flesh magic. Snitches would forever be tied to the first person who caught them. It was why the ones James played with were always trying to get away from him. After all, he was a Chaser. He hadn’t caught those snitches. They weren’t his.

It was why he made sure Lily Evans had caught that snitch.

Ring in one pocket and golden snitch in the other, he’d made his way to his old headmaster to ask for help. There was a twinkle in the old wizard’s eye as James began his tale and he seemed to understand what it was James wanted before he even asked.

Flesh magic, he had explained, was a rare magic that had not been fully studied. At least, not that he knew of. It took a long time, far longer than James had anticipated, to accomplish one of the last phases of Operation: Future Mrs. Prongs. Of course, to a man who was not so anxious, it probably was a reasonable amount of time, but James didn’t care about being reasonable. Not when there was something so important looming on the horizon.

He’d begun by sitting in the corner, watching as Dumbledore worked with the snitch and the engagement ring, tapping his foot as he waited. Tapping a foot turned into drumming his fingers on his legs and humming a new McCartney song. It earned him a sideways glance from the older wizard, and James took that as his cue to shut up. Deciding that he could sit no longer, he’d stood up, pacing around Dumbledore’s office while he continued working. If the Hogwarts headmaster found this annoying, he did not say. At least it kept James quiet.

Finally, Dumbledore held up the snitch, the slightest hint of a smile on his lips and a sparkle in his eye. The tiny wings flapped wildly, desperately trying to get out of the man’s grasp, but his nimble fingers kept it in place. James took it from him, quickly stuffing it into his pocket so it would not escape and grinned. The ring was safely in place. He thanked the old man and apparated home, grinning wildly. He was so close.

That only left step five. And perhaps the scariest and most uncertain step of all. He could plan as much as he wanted, and James did. He picked out the restaurant, the spot he’d take her to after, practiced fidgeting with the snitch like he had during their earlier days at Hogwarts, and planned the things he’d say to goad her on to try and have her snatch it from him. But none of his planning could necessarily help him achieve the final phase of his plan. It was all on Lily.

Step five: Have her say yes.

#accepted app #james potter

1 note · View note