Trust
Written for @jilymicrofics prompt April 17th/19th - Order + Fix
One of James's best qualities was his loyalty, Lily thought. He was endlessly trusting, loyal to each of his friends, regardless of their past actions or current faults. It was beautiful, the way he saw nothing but the best in them and trusted them with his life.
It was also dangerous. They were caught up in a war, surrounded by betrayal and darkness. No one was perfect, and trusting too much was a mistake.
For this reason, she asked him if she could pick the secret keeper. He trusted her easily and agreed. He would have picked Sirius, his best friend and brother, but Sirius wouldn't be able to handle the pressure. He was already losing trust in Remus, growing more paranoid by the hour, and the Order needed him to stay on his reckless missions. He wasn't a good choice.
Ordinarily, her first choice would be Remus himself, but he was planning on leaving the Order soon, tired of lying to Sirius and being used as Dumbledore's pet werewolf. He was planning to stay at home with their cat doing research and hoping to convince Sirius to be there with him.
Peter would then be James's go to, but Lily had never liked him. There was something about him, something twitchy and easily swayed that she didn't like. She couldn't go into hiding knowing the only thing protecting her family was a man who jumped at every shadow and whispered his doubts after meetings.
All of this brought her back to where it all started: Hogwarts. There was a single person she knew she could trust to not only protect her family, but to protect her friends.
Minerva McGonagall wasn't surprised to see her, nor was she phased by the request. She agreed to be their secret keeper over ginger biscuits and tea, and further agreed to look out for Sirius and Remus while James and Lily couldn't.
They cast the spell the next day, sending letters of farewell to their closest friends with wishes that they would be reunited soon. The Potter house went into total lockdown. James spent his days with Harry, teaching him everything he could about anything he could think of, and Lily spent her days studying potions and healing spells. At night, they slept easily, knowing they were safe from harm until the war was over.
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Wolfstar Microfic: Devotion
Lily smiled as James walked over to where she was sitting in the common room. They had a tentative friendship now, and Lily was glad that the days of him antagonizing her seemed to be past. She liked him a lot more this way. He had been exhausting for a while there.
“Remus still sick?” she asked him as he sat down.
James grimaced, and she noticed that he looked tired.
“Yeah, but hopefully on the mend.” He attempted a smile, but it really didn’t look full enough for a James Potter smile.
“Sirius still with him?” she asked.
“Yeah,” James nodded. “Won’t leave his side.”
“He’s been awfully devoted lately,” Lily said, voicing a thought that had been nagging at her lately. Sirius usually seemed so detached, so disinterested in anything real, and yet…there was nothing short of devotion the way that Sirius had been at Remus’ side every moment for the last week, while he’d been struggling with this cold. He’d gotten his homework for him (even taken notes in class for him, which was not a very Sirius Black thing to do), taken him food at every mealtime, supported him when he walked across the common room, anything that Remus asked he got. It was “Moony, let me help you with this…” or “Moony, do you need that…?” every five seconds all day.
It was sweet, Lily thought.
James shrugged. “Yeah, he’s been very helpful lately.”
Lily wondered if James didn’t see it because he was too close to it, too close to them, but Sirius was different lately towards Remus. He was careful, and doting.
If Lily had to guess, he was in love.
But Lily wasn’t going to tell James that, she would let him find out on his own.
@wolfstarmicrofic
On AO3 here
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Traditions (7/9)
So close!
Previous Part
Next Part
December 1977
James Potter was done. He was done with the longing glances and pining from afar. Done with the soft touches and blushing cheeks. If he and Lily could get their shit together in time for the Christmas holidays, then there was no reason Sirius and Remus couldn't do the same. The annual Potter Christmas Eve party was coming up fast, and James was determined that his brother would be attending with Remus Lupin on his arm.
It was the last night of term before the students went home for Christmas. The Gryffindor common room was packed with people, food, and drinks. The party, James thought, was the perfect opportunity for some well-intentioned meddling. He tried to get Lily to join him on his scheming, but she had denied him, arguing that they would "figure it out themselves" and that "meddling would only cause problems". Whatever. He knew what he was doing, and Peter would be a perfectly adequate assistant.
Plan A: Get Sirius to Drunkenly Confess
James spent the evening plying Padfoot with drinks, trying to get him drunk enough that he would either get into his feelings and confess everything to Remus, or get extra touchy and finally make the first move. It was a foolproof plan.
Except that it wasn't. He forgot to account for Remus, who looked after Sirius at all times, and kept swapping Sirius's drinks for water, keeping him hydrated and barely even tipsy. Remus himself was staying sober for the evening, so Plan B (Get Remus to Drunkenly Confess) also went out the window.
Plan C: Spin the Bottle
James got Peter to suggest the game to avoid suspicion. It didn't work, as Lily narrowed her eyes at him immediately, but Sirius and Remus seemed none the wiser. He tried to place them strategically in the circle, encouraging Sirius to sit next to Mary so he'd be directly across from Remus, but Remus refused to cooperate and planted himself on Sirius's other side.
The game did not go well. At least, not for James. He watched Sirius kiss three different people in their year as Remus scowled at them, and then had to watch his own girlfriend kiss some Ravenclaw fifth year, at which point he ended the game. Peter, on the other hand, ended up spending the rest of the night dancing with Emmeline Vance after their first kiss in the circle. This, unfortunately, also left James without his assistant for the remainder of his schemes.
Throughout the night, he tried everything. He tried making them dance together, and dance with other people. He tripped Sirius three times, trying to get him to fall into Remus's arms. He suggested playing Truth or Dare and Never Have I Ever to no avail. He even tried persuading Mary to flirt with Sirius, but she only laughed and told him she didn't plan on pissing Remus off.
By the end of the night, James was seriously considering spiking one of their drinks with Veritaserum, when Lily came to sit by him. He buried her face in her neck and groaned in frustration as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"They're idiots," he said. "Complete idiots who are going to die alone."
Lily chuckled and pressed a kiss to his forehead before lifting his head and point him in Remus's direction.
"Just watch," she whispered.
So he did.
He watched Remus beckon Sirius over to him, near the entrance to the staircase. He watched Sirius smile as Remus said something about a new Christmas tradition, before taking his hand and walking him over to the stairs. Remus stopped there and gently touched Sirius's chin, tilting his head up to the ceiling, where he spotted a sprig of mistletoe. Sirius smiled even wider, then leaned up to meet Remus in a kiss, his hands tangling in golden curls.
"They did it," James whispered in amazement.
Lily hummed her agreement.
"All by themselves!" he added.
She hummed again and pulled him closer.
"I'm an idiot," he said, finally.
"You are," she responded. "But you're my favourite idiot."
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