NEED HIM SO BAD OML

Aww, my little boys !! <3

I love love love your writting. can you do an enemies to lovers Sirius Black one shot? idk like make it hella dramatic, like fighting in the rain n then they kiss, or like a truth or dare n they have to kiss or sum. again love u sm have a good day stay healthy

— amortentia ; sirius black x fem!hufflepuff!reader 𐙚

☆

summary: one thing about you is that you could not stand sirius black. one thing about sirius black is that he could not stand you.

warnings: swearing, drinking, james is an arse in this sorry :,(

a/n: hi my lovely, thank you so so much for the compliment & the request! i'm so flattered that u love my writing. i love YOU and i hope this did ur idea justice! <3 i also decided to make the reader a hufflepuff in this cause i thought it'd be a cute lil asset, hope u don't mind!

check out my masterlist & send in any requests <3

One thing about you is that you could not stand Sirius Black.

Everybody seemed to love him. Not just the students, but teachers too; even Professor McGonagall couldn't hide her smirk behind her hand when she often gave him a good scolding.

Really, the only one of the four marauders you could stand was Remus Lupin. Peter Pettigrew was okay, though he was far too much of a tag-a-long for your liking, and James Potter was practically Sirius' right hand man. Remus was your Potions partner and he was, admittedly, as much of a sweetheart as a marauder could get, often helping you study and walking you back to your common room when he caught you asleep in the library during his prefect rounds (which only happened once... or maybe twice).

"They're not so bad," he promised you one Potions class, watching for your reaction with a sheepish grin as Sirius and James messed with Snape's potion at the back of the room. "They're actually really nice once you, y'know, get to know them."

"Nice?" you questioned him, scoffing out a laugh and grimacing at the sound of Sirius' laughter bellowing through the classroom. "Need I remind you what Sirius did to me in third year?"

"I know, I know! But he's changed, Y/N, honestly! He's more... mature?"

Even Remus couldn't quite believe the words that had just left his mouth as you both watched the boy in question actually spit into Severus' cauldron. "Oh yeah, Rem, so mature."

One thing about Sirius Black is that he could not stand you.

He'd always believed what he did to you in your third year was harmless, something that would be forgotten within a month or two and not to be dwelled on. He knew you harboured a secret little crush on him at the time, so he figured... why not?

He really did mean it when he asked you out, though. Sure, he didn't know you too well; you were really just another Hufflepuff that he shared some classes with. But Remus seemed to like you, so he figured it could at least be a good way to make a new friend if nothing else.

"Hey."

You looked up from your book on Herbology at the rude interruption, and of all the people you were expecting to be standing before you, you were surprised at the sight of Sirius Black. You cleared your throat awkwardly, willing the immediate blush to disappear from your cheeks. "Hi?"

It came out as more of a question than you intended it to, but he grinned at you nonetheless and your face felt warm, was it warm in there?

You did a quick scan of the library in search of any of his smug little friends, but you saw no one. Just him.

He didn't wait for an invitation before pulling out the chair beside you and sitting down, still grinning ear to ear. "You free Saturday?"

You couldn't help but raise your eyebrows in surprise, your yellow tie suddenly feeling far too restrictive around your neck as you somehow managed to splutter out a "yes". Sirius pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back (pink and white roses) and offered them to you with the same lopsided grin. "Meet me at the Three Broomsticks? Two o'clock?"

The only problem was... James had gotten into his head.

That same afternoon, Sirius entered his dorm with an air of confidence, not dissimilar to usual, but he had a different sort of spring in his step.

Remus and James were sat on their respective beds. The former looked up at him over his book and raised a single eyebrow, clearly noticing something different about his entrance, though James didn't look up from the Quidditch magazine he was reading and paid no mind.

"Afternoon, boys," he announced, his voice dripping with glee as he crashed down onto his bed.

"Afternoon, Pads," Remus responded, a curious tone to his voice as he kept his eyebrow raised. "What's gotten into you today?"

"Scored a date," he said, far too matter-of-factly for the grin he was still sporting. "With Y/N."

Remus' book fell shut on the ground with a thud, jaw dropped open and lost for words as James finally cocked an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

"Y/N L/N. Y'know, the Hufflepuff girl in our Potions class?"

"And Herbology, and Charms," Remus finally composed himself, now staring at Sirius with a pointed look, well aware of his friend's... reputation. "Look, Pads. I know she likes you, but you have to be careful about this. Y/N is my friend, and I don't want to see you hurt her."

James suddenly barked out a laugh, finally dropping his magazine as he engaged in the conversation. "Be careful? There's nothing to be careful about, Moony. As if Sirius is actually going to go on a date with a Hufflepuff. Don't embarrass yourself like that, Padfoot."

"Don't be such a dick, Prongs," Remus spat, tossing a cushion at his mate and hitting him square in the head. "She's my friend."

Sirius said nothing.

So the next Saturday rolled around and you arrived at the Three Broomsticks at five minutes to two. Though, five minutes to two became two o'clock, which became two thirty, which became three, which soon became four.

And Sirius never showed.

The next day at breakfast, you'd found him, slapped him across the face, threw the bouquet of pink and white roses back at him and left without a word.

Sirius Black did not like to be publicly humiliated. He decided there and then that he wanted nothing else to do with you.

It wasn't until your sixth year rolled around that Remus realised things were changing.

Gryffindor had just won their first match of the season against Slytherin and, as usual, there was a huge party in their common room.

You weren't much of a partier, usually preferring to stay in the comfort of your dorm with a book that you and Remus were bound to discuss within the next few days. Of course, you'd attend the parties when Hufflepuff won, but you were never one to join in with the other houses.

Although he knew this, Remus Lupin had a plan.

He was beginning to grow sick of the constant complaining on both sides of his friends. It was always "Come on, Moony, she's so bloody weird" or "Look at him, Remus, how on earth can you stand to be friends with him?" and, quite frankly, he'd had enough.

He loved the marauders, of course; they were his best friends, his brothers. But he also loved you, and though he knew that Sirius' young and dumb actions in third year hurt you, he really wasn't lying when he said he'd changed.

Yes, Sirius would call you weird or strange or annoying to his friends, but Remus knew he was deflecting. He saw the way something in his eyes changed when he watched you enter Platform 9 3/4 on the first day of your fifth year. He saw the way he'd been secretly pining over you for the last year.

Likewise, he knew the same went for you too. No matter how badly he hurt you, your feelings for Sirius never really left. He saw the way your gaze lingered on his friend for just a little bit too long. He knew the way you shook your head and muttered "what a dick" under your breath every time you looked away was a cover up.

The party in the Gryffindor common room was in full swing by the time Remus convinced you to join him. It had taken a lot of begging and a fair few promises to buy you more books before you agreed, and you found yourself awkwardly at Remus' side as you entered through the portrait hole.

It wasn't long until James had found his friend and immediately tugged him away. Remus tried to fight it but found him impossible, shooting you an apologetic smile before you lost sight of him. You made a mental note to demand another promise of more books when you found him again.

You accepted defeat and made your way over to the drinks table, in need of at least something before you inevitably called it a night early and headed back to the comfort of your own common room.

Smoothing the fabric of your dress down, you suddenly felt very out of place in the yellow and white floral fabric, but an unfortunately familiar voice snapped you out of your thoughts before you got too caught up in them.

"L/N?"

You immediately snapped your head up and fought the urge to roll your eyes at the source of the voice. "Black."

Sirius seemed surprised at your presence, his eyebrows raised and an interesting sort of smirk gracing his features as he looked down at you. "And what exactly are you doing here?"

"Remus invited me," you kept your answers short, trying to slow your rapidly beating heart as you reached for the firewhiskey and flashed him a sarcastic smile. "Is that a crime?"

"No." His smirk only grew, seemingly amused at your snap back as he kept his eyes on you. "Not a crime at all, love."

He knew what he was doing. How dare he try and flirt with you now after what he did before.

"Don't call me that," your response came immediately and you felt yourself trying to fight the shiver that was so desperate to creep down your spine. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a party to enjoy and somebody to stay far away from."

That was an hour ago now, and since then you had already downed way too many cups of firewhiskey for your body to handle. You were so set on trying to avoid Sirius that you tried to make yourself forget he was even there at all.

An hour became two and Sirius ended up finding you back at the drinks table again, barely even holding yourself up as you tried to pour yourself a cup of whatever alcohol was nearest to you. Sirius, though definitely not sober, was painfully so compared to you, and he watched in slight amusement as you managed to get more of the liquid on your dress than in the cup.

"You alright over there?" His voice snapped you out of your pitiful concentration and in turn made you jump, even more of the liquid spilling down you when you did.

"Hello, Sirius," you responded, turning to look at him with a big smile and almost stumbling into his chest, causing him to wrap his arms around you as he caught you.

In your clouded state of mind, you couldn't for the life of you remember that you're supposed to hate this guy, and instead only found memories of the longing gazes when you racked your mind. You'd regret this tomorrow; you most certainly could not handle your drink.

"Hello, Y/N," Sirius raised his eyebrows at your state as he answered you, still amused as he copied your tone of voice. "You look like you've had enough."

You gasped as if he had just suggested you were You-Know-Who himself. "I have not!"

Despite your best efforts, your words came out slurred and Sirius knew Remus would not be happy that you're left out here alone in this state. He cast a quick glance around the common room but couldn't find a single glimpse of his mate in the crowd, and he let out a quiet curse under his breath.

I'm supposed to hate her, he thought to himself, letting his eyes fall back on your smiling face. She embarrassed you Sirius, shoved a bouquet of bloody roses at you in front of the entire Great Hall to see. But why did she have to grow up and be so bloody pretty?

"Let's get you back to your common room, yeah?" He suggested, gently taking the cup from you and placing it back down on the table.

He admittedly felt bad for you. Remus was nowhere to be found and he couldn't just let you get all the way back to the Hufflepuff common room by yourself in this state. You're just being a decent guy, Sirius, he told himself again. You'd do this for anyone.

You either didn't seem to hear him or his words didn't register in your brain, because when he placed a hand on the small of your back to carefully lead you through the crowd and back through the portrait hole, you only spoke with a grin.

"Are we going on a walk?"

"Yeah, love. We're going on a walk." Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at your reaction, but deep down he felt a little tense. With the state you were in, anyone could've taken advantage of you, and he was glad he found you before anyone else did. Maybe it was the little bit of firewhiskey still running through his veins, but Merlin, Black, the fuck is wrong with you tonight?

The walk back to the Hufflepuff common room was slow and quiet, and Sirius ended up wrapping an arm around your shoulders and taking most of your weight against him to stop your constant stumbling.

Once you'd reached the portrait, you muttered the password and allowed Sirius to half-carry you through, still not completely aware of what was going on, and the pair of you only stopped when you reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories.

He'd never been in this part of the castle before, and he couldn't stop the small smile that graced his lips when he noticed it smelt like a lovely mixture of flowers and freshly baked cookies.

You turned to face him once you reached the stairs and something suddenly clicked in your drunken mind.

"Sirius? Is that you?!"

He chuckled quietly again and nodded his head, raising his eyebrows with an amusement smile. "Yeah, it's me. You're back in your common room now, yeah?"

You took a moment to process his words through the thick fog clouding your brain and nodded your head, still smiling too before looking down at your dress. Your smile fell into a sad frown. "Oh no, it's ruined! It was so pretty!"

The boy in front of you took notice at the alcohol stains on your dress and shrugged his shoulders. "It's still pretty. I mean, you look pretty. I mean-"

If you did notice him stumbling over his words and the blush that rose to his warm cheeks, you didn't show it (though Sirius doubted very much that you did notice in your state). You simply smiled again, turning away from Sirius without another word as you all but skipped up the stairs.

It wasn't until he neared the portrait hall to leave again that he heard your quiet little drunken giggle. "Sirius Black thinks I'm pretty."

That was months ago now and you and Sirius hadn't even uttered a word to each other about that night.

Actually, if it was possible, you started avoiding each other more.

You were finally starting to admit to yourself that you had feelings for Sirius Black, but that scared you. How could you fall for him again after he stood you up in your third year? He left you there for two hours, your single butterbeer looking pathetic in front of you as Madame Rosmerta shot you sympathetic smiles from behind the counter every now and again.

You hadn't been in there since.

Little did you know, Sirius was avoiding you for exactly the same reason.

Okay, perhaps he was a little embarrassed to admit that he liked you. James was a dick that day three years ago and, although Sirius knew the both of them had matured since then, he couldn't help but worry his best friend just wouldn't approve. He knew deep down that James, especially now older, would just want him to be happy, but he was scared.

Remus had been so angry with him when he stood you up that he was also scared to face him again. Would he even believe him or force him to stay away from you for your own wellbeing?

The rain was pelting down heavily in early February as you trudged into Professor Slughorn's Potions class. The castle at this time of year was sickening, with pink and red paper hearts hovering over your heads in the hallways and fluttering around the tables in the Great Hall as Valentine's Day drew closer.

Even your professors had taken on the Valentine's theme, and you couldn't help but groan as you gathered around Slughorn's desk with the other Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

"Amortentia," the professor announced, and a group of Gryffindors standing behind you giggled to themselves. "The most powerful love potion in the world. If brewed correctly, the scent will be different to everyone according to what attracts them."

James Potter scoffed on the other side of the crowd and whispered something in Sirius' ear. The latter laughed loudly, pulling the attention of everyone in the room.

"Mr Black?" Slughorn spoke through the boy's laughter, keeping his calm demeanour. "Perhaps, since you find this so amusing, you'd like to demonstrate for us?"

"Don't mind if I do, sir," Sirius just laughed again and made his way through the group, going to stand by the professor with a cocky smirk. "I bet it's just a load of old bollocks anyway."

"Well, I suppose we'll find out, Mr Black. Tell us what you smell, won't you?"

You watched as Sirius leant over the cauldron and you took a moment to take in his appearance. His shirt was untucked and unbuttoned a quarter of the way, his red and gold tie hanging loosely around his neck, and though you willed it not to, your heart couldn't help but flutter slightly.

At that moment, you realised that, if Slughorn was right, Sirius was about to reveal the scent of the one he loved.

"Smells like..." his voice pulled you from your thoughts as he took in the scent of the potion, "vanilla, fresh cookies, and..."

He trailed off, and his eyes suddenly flicked up to meet yours, an unreadable expression on his face as he muttered quietly.

"And, uh, roses."

Whether it was the intensity of Sirius' gaze or the fact that everybody had turn round to look at you that made you storm out of the Potions classroom, you couldn't be sure.

Not even the heaviness of the rain could stop you as you tried to get as far away from the castle as possible. What the fuck just happened?

"Y/N?"

You shook your head, refusing to turn around as you continued walking. "Leave me alone, Sirius."

"Y/N, please-"

"I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Merlin's beard, L/N, would you stop and listen to me for one bloody second!"

He'd caught up to you now, throwing himself in front of you to stop you on your course. You'd almost crashed into his chest, and Sirius suddenly remembered how you'd done the same thing at that party four months ago.

"Sirius, please-" you begged quietly, trying to push past him.

You didn't get very far as he gently grabbed your elbow and brought you back in front of him. "No, Y/N, we're going to talk. For the first time, we're going to bloody talk."

"About what, Black? What could you possibly want to talk to me about? You haven't wanted to talk to me for the last three years, why start now?!"

He couldn't help it as his voice raised slightly, and you watched him grab at his dripping wet hair in frustration. "I just openly admitted my feelings for you in front of the entire fuckin' class and you won't even talk to me!"

"Because it's bullshit, Sirius!"

Sirius stopped at this, his eyebrows furrowing as he shook his head slightly. "What the bloody hell do you mean?"

"This is just another one of your plans to humiliate me, just like you did three years ago. I'm not falling for it this time."

Successfully this time, you pushed past him, shoulders brushing together as you did. He tried to grab your wrist to pull you back but you shook it out of his grip and continued walking away from him again.

"Y/N-"

"No."

"Y/N, come on-"

"I said no, Sirius."

"Y/N, I fucking love you!"

His words halted you in place. Neither of you spoke for a moment, and the only sounds you could hear was the violent pattering of the rain and his heavy breathing.

You shook your head slowly, not even turning around to face him. "You can't. You can't do this shit to me, Sirius."

"Why not? It's true!"

His words dripped with exasperation. He seemed desperate now, his body moving back in front of you again and Godric, were those just raindrops on your face or had you been crying too?

"Sirius, I can't- I can't let myself be hurt by you again," your voice cracked slightly as you refused to look at him, feeling your throat clog pathetically. "I liked you. I really bloody liked you and when you stood me up I was so humiliated."

Something in his face softened at your words, and his voice grew quieter. "Y/N, I didn't know-"

"I haven't been on a single date since, Sirius. I can't let anyone even attempt to get close to me like that because every time they do I think they're just gonna stand me up anyway, because that's what Sirius Black did. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to fall in love with you when-"

But suddenly all words were forgotten as his lips were on yours.

Sirius' hands were now on your waist, pulling you impossibly closer. He tasted faintly of cigarettes and some chocolate that was no doubt stolen from Remus, and it took a moment to process what was happening. But you kissed him back.

Godric, did you kiss him back.

It was a few moments later when you pulled away, his forehead finding place against yours. Neither of you spoke for a moment and your eyes took their time to flutter open, only to find him already looking at you.

"You love me, you said it yourself. Give me a chance," his voice came as a whisper, his breath fanning against your mouth as his eyes searched your features desperately.

You nodded your head breathlessly, your hands sliding up around his shoulders as you gave him a pathetically pointed look. "You pull that third year shit ever again and you're dead."

"I swear. Merlin, I swear."

You laughed quietly and Sirius broke out into a wide smile. The silence that took over you both was comfortable, the rain providing a settling background noise despite the cold that chilled your bones

"For the record, I would have smelled you too."

“Two of a Kind”

a parent trap inspired au

Summary: You and James Potter were once intertwined, hearts beating for each other, but due to unforeseen circumstances, you decided to break up, taking Harold with you and Harry with him.

Pairings: James Potter x reader

Series Masterlist

chapter i

chapter ii

chapter iii

chapter iv

BEST SERIES EVER GO GIVE IT A READ !!!

You’re Losing Me Part 13

𝖲𝗎𝗆𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗒: 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖩𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝖯𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗇𝗈 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋, 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗎𝗇𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗄𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝖻𝗈𝗇𝖽…𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝗈 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍. 𝖶𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗇𝖺𝗁𝖺𝗄𝗂, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝗉𝗎𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝖩𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗇𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌, 𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝖺𝗇’𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗆 𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝗈 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍. 𝖶𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝖻𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗉𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝗌𝗍, 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝖺𝖼𝗁 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋? 𝖮𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖩𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽?

A/N: this is a hanahaki au. WC: 4k This is like 80% James w/ a little Remus sprinkled in there but I promise the next part will have more Moony content!

“Moony!”

Remus jolts when a pillow hits him right in the face, opening his eyes with a tired groan.

“What the fuck?” He complains, sitting up in bed.

“It’s time to get up, mate.” Sirius says, snickering at the unamused glare Remus gives him.

“Did you have to be so aggressive?” Remus sighs, whacking Sirius with the pillow when his back is turned.

“Oi! Watch the hair!” Sirius shouts. “I’ve just done it! And you slept right through your alarm! It woke us all up and you were still snoring, so yeah, I did have to be aggressive.”

“I didn’t hear my alarm go off?” Remus mumbles to himself before giving his friends a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Sirius assures. “None of us had set an alarm anyway. If it weren’t for you, we’d all be fucked.”

“What were you dreaming about?” Peter asks curiously as he tries to get the wrinkles out of his shirt.

“What?” Remus asks.

“For the first time, possibly ever, you slept through your alarm.” Peter reminds him. “It must’ve been a good dream.”

“Yeah.” Remus says, mind once again going back to the kiss you shared the night of the Yule Ball. “Yeah, it was.”

“So what was it about?” Peter presses.

“Are you guys seriously standing around talking about your dreams right now?” James asks in an annoyed huff as he exits the bathroom. “We have far more important things to discuss.”

“Like?” Peter asks cluelessly, fastening the final button on his shirt.

“Y/N! Obviously!” James shouts.

Peter flinches at the loud outburst before getting back to adjusting his tie, sharing an amused smile with Sirius as he does. Across the room, Remus sighs in annoyance. This is all James talked about during dinner last night, and when they got back to their dorm. Remus thought the conversation was over. Clearly he was wrong.

“Prongs,” Sirius groans as the boys finally start to make their way to the great hall. “This again?”

“Yes!” James insists. “Yes, this again! I’m telling you, something is wrong!”

“Why?” Sirius asks, clearly having had enough of James’ theatrics. “Because she didn’t immediately fall into your arms? Because she pushed you away when you kissed her?”

Remus stumbles on his feet and looks at James with wide eyes.

“Kissed her?” He repeats. “You…you kissed her?”

“Yeah?” James says, giving Remus a funny look. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“No!” Remus denies. “When I got here, all you guys kept talking about was how cold Y/N was to Prongs. None of you said he kissed her!”

“Oh.” All three boys say in unison before they start talking over each other.

“Well I did.” James confirms.

“That’s what happens when you don’t ride the Hogwarts Express with us, Moony.” Sirius chastises. “You miss things.”

“It completely slipped my mind.” Peter says honestly, giving Remus his typical clueless smile.

“Prongs, you’re my best mate; but you’re driving me crazy with this.” Sirius admits.

“I can’t help it!” James groans, running a hand through his hair. “I just don’t understand. I-I love her... How could she be so cruel? It was like she didn’t even recognize me…”

Remus turns away at the confession while Peter and Sirius share a concerned look.

“Mm-mm.” Peter shrugs, frowning in discomfort when Sirius elbows him.

“Maybe she was messing with you?” Sirius offers.

“You think?” James asks softly.

“She had to be.” He insists. “You know, like…payback for all you put her through-“

“I didn’t know!” James defends before sighing. “You really think it’s a prank?”

“Come on, Prongs. This is Y/N. Your friend. Your best friend. She’d never purposely be cruel to you. I’ll bet that the next time she sees you, you guys laugh about this whole thing.”

“Yeah.” James nods hopefully, smiling at Sirius. “Yeah, you’re right!”

With that, the marauders finally make their way into the Great Hall. Remus does a quick scan of the room; and when he doesn’t see you, he takes a step back.

“Aren’t you coming, Moony?” Peter asks, having noticed his friend no longer beside him.

Remus does a pathetic attempt of digging through his bag before pointing over his shoulder.

“I actually forgot my…something.” He lies. “You go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Peter nods his head before running off to join Sirius and James. Remus immediately turns around and starts heading back to the common room, turning his head this way and that every time he passes a corridor, desperately trying to find you. He has so many questions.

Why did you kiss him on the night of the Yule Ball? Why did you leave him without so much as a goodbye? Why didn’t he hear from you once during holiday? What’s going on with you and James?

Upon reaching the portrait hole, Remus considers waiting in the common room before changing his mind and choosing to wait outside, lest you think he’s trying to ambush you. Remus, lost in thought, doesn’t even realize you’ve arrived until you literally appear right in front of him.

“Morning!” You shout with a beaming smile, coming to a stop right in front of him.

Remus, who had previously been digging through his bag, if only to give himself something to do, looks up at the sound of your voice and immediately has the wind knocked out of him. This is the first time he’s seen you in weeks and you look amazing. Gone is the weak, frail girl he spent the previous term taking care of. The girl standing in front of him now is beautiful; with shiny, bouncy hair, full cheeks, and a radiant smile. There’s a warmth to you now, a twinkle in your eye, a skip in your step. You’ve changed- for the better, of course. It’s like you were…reborn during holiday. Remus doesn’t even realize how long he’d been staring until you anxiously tuck a lock of hair behind your ear.

“Are-are you not happy to see me?” You ask timidly.

“No…I mean yes!” Remus corrects, shaking his head at himself. “Of course I’m happy to see you! Are you kidding me? Come’ere”

Remus grasps your wrist and pulls you into his chest before wrapping his arms tightly around you. You let out a surprised squeal before hugging him back. Remus’ hold on you gets the tiniest bit tighter, and he presses a kiss to your head before pulling back. He cups your face and smiles fondly at you.

“How have you been? Are you doing okay?” He asks softly, eyes roaming over your features, as if it’s the first time he’s seen you. Perhaps it is.

You nod, bringing a hand up and placing it over his.

“You sure?” He presses, causing you to squeeze his hand affectionately and giggle.

“Moony, I’m fine.” You assure, smiling up at him. “Missed you.”

Remus huffs at that, though he can’t lie that his heart flipped at the confession.

“I missed you too, love.” He replies, “More than you know.” He adds softly. He doesn’t mean to, but it slips out. His eyes widen the tiniest bit, registering what he’s just said; but he changes the topic before you’re able to comment on the slip up. “Come on. Breakfast is waiting.”

You nod excitedly, turning around and falling into step beside Remus. He wants to ask you about the kiss. He wants to ask you about James, but now isn’t the right time; so he simply lets it be, content to be by your side once more. For the first time in weeks, he feels whole.

Reaching the great hall, Remus looks over at you and smiles softly. You’ve been going on and on about some action movie you went to see during the break. Apparently you loved it so much you went to the cinema a total of six times, dragging your poor parents along for most of them.

“Oh my god! And then he does this super cool move, where he does a sharp U-turn? But when he does the turn- for fucks sake.” You cut yourself off.

“What? What’s wrong?” Remus asks.

“Why is he here?” You ask with a frown, nodding your head at the table. Remus follows your gaze and looks back to you with a confused frown.

“Who? James?” He clarifies.

“Don’t tell me you’re friends with that creep.” You whisper as you both look at the table. Sirius and Peter wave at you, and you smile and wave in return. However, when James looks at you, you look away, frowning at Remus.

“It was a misunderstanding.” Remus tries to reason, even though he himself doesn’t know the full story.

“Misunderstanding or not, I don’t want to sit next to him.”

“What about Padfoot and Wormtail? Don’t you wanna sit with them?”

“Yeah.” You groan. “I guess I can be in his general vicinity for a few minutes. But sit next to me!”

Remus nods his head and you let out a grateful squeal, grabbing onto him as he leads you to the table. Remus looks at your hand placed on his arm, before looking at you with a bashful smile.

“There she is!” Sirius exclaims when you finally join your friends.

“Hello gentlemen.” You greet, sitting down with a smile.

“Hi Y/N.” James says softly, shifting nervously in his seat.

You look at James and nod your head with a forced smile before immediately looking away, finding your plate of food much more interesting than it actually is. James looks at Sirius with a frown and he shakes his head, silently telling James to let it go for now. Which he does! For a while. He’s able to make it fifteen whole minutes before he starts, effectively interrupting the conversation you and Peter were having.

“So where were you during holiday?” James asks, causing you to look up from your pancakes.

“Mm?” You hum while you finish the bite you just took.

“Holiday.” James repeats. “Where were you? I wrote to you every day…I thought you’d write back at least once but I never heard from you…”

“Why would I write back?” You ask with a confused laugh.

With that simple question the table goes quiet. All four boys share a concerned look before turning to you.

“Y/N.” Sirius laughs, because surely you must be joking. “That’s James.”

“Right… Well I’m gonna start heading to Charms. You coming?” You ask, standing from your seat and grabbing your backpack. James starts to gather his things before you stop him in his tracks with a single word.

“Moony?”

Remus chokes on his tea before quickly setting his cup down and looking at you.

“Are you coming or not?” You ask, staring down at him with a smile.

Remus shares a confused look with the boys before nodding his head at you.

“Yeah.” He agrees, grabbing his bag as well. “Yeah, let’s go.”

He shares one last confused look with Sirius, Peter, and James before following after you.

“Still think she’s just messing with me?” James asks Sirius, watching with sad eyes as you and Remus exit the great hall and turn left, disappearing from his line of sight.

“Nah.” Sirius shakes his head as they all start to gather their belongings. “You’re right, mate. There’s something going on.”

“Yeah, but what?” Peter asks, taking a large, final sip of his juice.

“I don’t know.” James shrugs helplessly as they start to make their way out of the great hall. “But I’m gonna find out.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You walk into charms and follow Remus to his seat. He sits down and starts rummaging through his bag while you squat, resting your head on his desk as he gets all his supplies out.

“Hey,” you whisper at him. “What’s your last class today?”

“Ancient runes. Why?”

You bite your lower lip before smiling mischievously at him and Remus is once again taken back to that night- that kiss.

“Do you wanna skip and go to Hogsmeade?” You ask.

“Sure.” Remus nods. The first day would most likely just be a review of what they went over before break, so it’s not like he’d be missing anything important. “I’ll tell the boys to meet us at the usual spot.”

“Actually, I was hoping it could be just us?” You clarify.

“Oh?” Remus says, brows furrowed.

“Just this once?” You plead with a pout before smiling at him. “I missed my Moony.”

Remus feels his heart stutter in his chest when you refer to him as yours. He can’t fight the goofy smile on his face as he nods.

“Okay. Sure.”

“Yeah?” You ask with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah.” He confirms.

“Okay, cool.” You smile at him. “It’s a date.”

Remus’ eyes widen at the word. You smile at Peter as he takes his seat next to Remus. You stand up, prepared to take your own seat only to groan when you see James sitting in the row in front of you.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding. Wormtail, switch seats with me.”

“No.” Peter refuses, sinking further into his seat.

“Come on.” You plead.

“Why?” Peter asks skeptically.

“Look who’s sitting in front of me!” You whine, jerking your head to the side. “I don’t wanna sit with him. He’s weird.”

“Good morning, class!” Professor Flitwick greets as he enters the room. “I trust you all had a good holiday. If you could all settle down so I can start taking attendance.”

“Y/N, please.” Remus begs. “Just for today. We’ll talk about this later.”

“Ugh, fine.” You concede with a roll of your eyes. “But if he tries to kiss me again, I’m drawing my wand.”

Remus nods his head.

“And getting a restraining order.” You add, causing Peter to snicker.

“Fair enough.” Remus agrees with a chuckle.

You begrudgingly walk to your desk, dropping your backpack on the table before falling into your seat. You start pulling your supplies out, only to groan when your parchment rolls off your desk. James, having heard it hit the ground, picks it up and hands it back to you.

“Thanks, Jeremy.” You nod at him.

“It’s James.” He corrects with a frown.

“Whatever.” You shrug.

Sighing, James turns around and faces the front once more. He doesn’t try to talk to you again, no matter how badly he wants to. It’s near the end of the lesson when James, and just about everyone else, gets the shock of a lifetime.

Professor Flitwick, having wrapped up the lesson a bit earlier than expected, decided to let everyone talk amongst themselves until class was over. You’re doodling on the margins of your notes when someone comes to a stop beside your desk. You look up and smile when you see Lori, a girl you had tutored the previous year, standing in front of you.

“Y/N!” She greets excitedly. “Look at you! You’re glowing!”

“I am?” You ask with a confused smile. Sure you feel different, but you didn’t think you looked any different.

“Yes!” She confirms with an enthusiastic nod of her head. “You look so happy and healthy and- and full of life!”

“That’s because I am!” You tell her with a smile of your own. “I’m all better now.”

You’re so absorbed with the person standing in front of you that you don’t even realize nearly everyone in the room has stopped talking, desperately trying to eavesdrop on your conversation.

“Really?” Lori gasps, eyes widening. “Does that mean the guy…he loves you back?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” You reply with a careless shrug of your shoulders. “But even if he did, it’s too late.”

That sentence causes the marauders to share a concerned look.

“I got the surgery done during holiday!” You exclaim, biting your lip in an attempt to hide your smile.

James’ heart drops at the announcement.

“You did?” Someone sitting behind you asks.

“Uh-huh.” You nod, turning around in your seat to face them. “I’ve got a big ol’ scar going down my chest to prove it. It’s very hot.” You joke, causing a few classmates to laugh.

Sitting in front of you, James finds it difficult to breathe.

“Were you scared?” Lori asks softly.

“Well sure,” you nod, giving her a kind smile. “But I didn’t wanna die. I mean…you saw me… I was getting worse and worse. At the end of the day, he just wasn’t worth it.”

“Prongs…are you alright?” Sirius asks softly, whispering so as to not draw attention to his friend.

“Fine.” James nods, smiling tensely at his friend, desperately trying to keep it together.

“Are you su-“

James stands abruptly from his seat, grabbing his backpack before rushing out of the room. Sirius stands, prepared to go after him, only to stop when Remus shakes his head.

“Give him some space.” He mouths from his seat a few rows away.

Sighing, Sirius nods, sitting back down and rubbing his temples.

“I thought seventh year was supposed to be easy.” He grumbles to himself. “This whole situation’s fucked.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

After Defense Against the Dark Arts, the marauders all convened in their dormitory for an emergency meeting. Well, the marauders minus Remus, convened in their dormitory. But to be fair, they didn’t have time to track him down in a time like this! They trusted him to find his way eventually. And sure enough, he comes rushing in only a few minutes after them.

“What’s all this?” He asks, breathlessly, clearly not expecting to run into anyone. “What are you all doing here?”

“Waiting for you!” Peter exclaims. “Sit down, we were just about to get started.”

“With?” Remus presses, still completely lost as to what he’s just walked into.

“With our meeting!” James stresses. “To talk about Y/N. Figure out what’s going on and you know…set up a game plan of some sort.”

“Now?” Remus asks, glancing at his watch before heading to his trunk, trying to find something acceptable to wear. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I have plans.”

“You have plans?” James repeats incredulously.

“Cancel them.” Sirius says simply.

“I can’t.” Remus repeats.

“Why not?” He fires back.

“Because they’re with Y/N!” Remus admits, releasing a shaky breath before turning to face his friends.

“You have plans…with Y/N?” James asks softly.

“What plans?” Sirius interrogates, crossing his arms as he stares at Remus.

“She wants me to go to Hogsmeade with her…”

“Just you?” Sirius asks, to which Remus nods.

“Just me.”

“Why?” Peter finally asks.

“I-I don’t know.” Remus shrugs.

“This is great.” James says, getting everyone’s attention.

“It is?” Remus and Sirius ask at the same time.

“Yes!” James assures them. “Brilliant actually. Think about it, guys! Who was by her side the whole time she was sick?”

“Moony?” Peter guesses.

“Right.” James nods, “So who do you think she trusts the most right now? Who would she spill everything to? Who would she let pick her brain?”

“Moony!” Peter repeats, more confidently this time.

“Moony, you could be our man on the inside.” James tells him eagerly. “Go to Hogsmeade. Find out what happened. What really happened. Then come back and fill us in.”

“I don’t think this is such a good idea…” Remus trails off unsurely, toying with the jumper in his hands.

“Don’t think, just go!” James insists, pushing Remus out the door before throwing himself onto his bed.

He groans in discomfort when he feels something jabbing him in the neck. James pulls it out and sits up when he sees it’s a letter from his mum. He rips it open, wondering what’s so important that it had to be delivered straight to his dorm instead of the owlery.

“Hello love.” James reads out loud. “I found this tucked into the back gate while tending to the garden. I think it might be that letter you were waiting on this whole time. I’m sure by now you’ve probably already discussed whatever was written inside, but I figured I’d send it to you anyway! Love, mum.”

“What is it?” Peter asks curiously, sitting down on his bed as well.

“It’s a letter from Y/N…” James says, taking in the weathered envelope. He rips it open and pulls out the parchment inside, unfolding it gently before holding it up.

“Well?” Peter presses. “What’s it say?”

“I don’t know.” James sighs, shaking his head as he puts the letter down. “I can’t read it. I’m scared.”

Sighing, Sirius stands and holds his arm out. James gives him a grateful smile before handing him the letter. Sirius clears his throat before reading.

James,

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s you. It’s you I’m in love with. I’m sure that right about now you’re hating yourself for not realizing sooner, and blaming yourself for everything I went through… Don’t. It wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for any of it. And you shouldn’t either.

I knew what I was getting myself into when I fell in love with you, and I don’t regret it. I don’t regret any of it. It was worth it. You were worth it. And I would have happily died loving you…if only I loved you a little more.

The thing is, the thought of dying terrifies me, Jamie. The thought of leaving you behind, of never seeing you, or Peter or Sirius or Remus, it keeps me up at night. You guys are my best friends, the most important people in my life. I can’t leave you. Which is why I’ve decided to get the surgery.

“Fuck.” James sighs. “Y/N, why didn’t you wait for me?”

Sirius gives him a sympathetic smile before continuing to read the letter.

I’m afraid you’ll get the short end of the stick. I’ll come back in January and I won’t love you anymore. Hell, I won’t even remember you. But I’ll be alive. That’s enough for me. I hope it’s enough for you.

I’ll apologize now for whatever the new Y/N does. I imagine she won’t particularly be nice to you. She'll probably tell you off and roll her eyes whenever you look in her direction. She’ll make her disdain for you apparent. She might even raise her wand against you. Don’t take it personally. That’s only because she doesn’t remember you. She doesn’t remember loving you, or being loved by you. Go easy on her, yeah?

From where I’m standing you have two options. If you don’t love me back, then you have nothing to worry about. You can carry on loving Lily and you won’t have to think twice about me. I don’t remember you, remember? Don’t feel bad and please, in the name of Godric, don’t feel guilty. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy; even if that wasn’t with me.

If, however, by some stroke of luck you do happen to return my feelings, I am so sorry. I’m sorry because what I’m about to ask you to do is going to be incredibly difficult… Jamie, you need to let me go.

“No.” James says immediately, angrily shaking his head. “Fuck that. I won’t do it.”

Sirius huffs in amusement. James and Peter look at him questioningly before he points to where he left off in the letter and continues.

I’ve known you my whole life, James. I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably reading this letter, shaking your head defiantly, saying you won’t do it. So that leaves you with one last option…

Somehow, you have to get me to fall in love with you again. And you’ll have to be quick about it; because if you do love me, when I come back in January you’ll be the one with unrequited love. And wherever unrequited love is, hanahaki is not far behind.

I don’t know how, but I’m sure you’ll be able to pull it off. After all, you already managed to make me fall in love with you once before- and you weren’t even trying that time! This time around should be easier, right?

I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but I’m still here. Don’t give up on me, Jamie. I’m still here…somewhere.

Sirius carefully folds the letter back up and hands it to James.

“So….” Peter trails off.

“What are you gonna do?” Sirius asks, leaning against the wall.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m gonna get her back.” James says with a determined nod.

INFINITELY YOU

part two // crullers & constants

SUMMARY - In every universe, Peter Parker seems destined to fall in love with you. And, in every universe, he realizes it too late. When universes collide and two of them are granted a second chance at rectifying their biggest mistake, neither of them are willing to let the opportunity go to waste–even if you end up not being the person they thought you were.

WARNINGS - 18+, story will contain mentions of blood, broken bones, weapons, suggestive language, and more. I will try to update warnings accordingly for each chapter, but please read at your own discretion

WORD COUNT - 4.2k

// masterlist // series masterlist // send me your thoughts // no way home fan fiction // rewrite

name key: tom!peter = peter // andrew!peter = parker

Peter Pan Donuts is a sacred place. 

Or, rather, it was a sacred place—and walking back into the shop now felt awfully strange. 

Back when you and Peter first started high school, it had become a tradition to end every Friday with one of the renowned pastry shop’s legendary frosted crullers. You considered it a well-deserved reward for surviving another week of more drama than either of you could stomach, thankful that the weekend was finally upon you and that you could finally breathe without inhaling the reek of the unwashed teenage boys that lined the halls of Midtown. 

Peter Pan’s quickly became a haven. A safe place where the two of you could tuck yourselves away at the end of the bar, talking for hours about the teachers you hated and the bullies you hoped would fall from the face of the Earth. There was nothing that you couldn’t talk about, no secrets kept between you and Peter. 

Or, at least, none that mattered. 

But things changed as time passed, as they so often do. 

It started with the inclusion of Ned. You didn’t particularly mind his presence, even if the conversations had begun to shift towards less intimate topics, focusing instead on movies that you all wanted to see or upcoming video games that you would all try to play. 

Then came the inclusion of Mj a few months later, after she landed a job at the shop. That was when everything truly changed—when it was no longer you and Peter tucked away at the bar, but you and Ned, left to pick at your food and watch as Peter leaned across the front counter and talked to Mj over her shift. 

After a few months of testing every donut on the menu with Ned, you stopped going altogether. 

And Peter never even asked why. 

“I was surprised to see you texted me,” you quip as you slid onto the free barstool, “what happened to not wanting me to get involved?” 

Peter exhales sharply through his nose, and even though his eyes are glued to his phone, you can tell that he was already regretting asking you to meet him here. “I already told you that what I want doesn’t matter.” 

And how true that must have been. 

There had been nothing kind about his text to you this morning, although there was nothing inherently rude about it either, you supposed. It was simple—meet me at Peter Pan’s asap, need 2 talk—but you could almost sense the begrudging nature with which he had typed it. And, sitting next to him now, you could almost feel it, too. 

He didn’t want you here, even if he had been the one to invite you, and you couldn’t help but wonder why he had decided to involve you at all—especially so soon. What had changed in a single night? 

Sitting on the barstool to your left, Parker pops his lips. “Well this is fun. I’m not at all uncomfortable right now.” 

You turned towards him, acknowledging just how different he looked in the civilian clothes that he donned in place of his suit—black jeans that certainly looked worse for wear and an old Ramone’s t-shirt that you immediately recognized as yours. Oversized on you, the short sleeves clung rather tightly to his well-muscled arms. Did he seriously go through your stuff?! 

 “Why are you even here?” You ask, perhaps a little sharper than necessary. You weren’t angry that he had gone sifting through the armoire in the spare bedroom, especially since he couldn’t just parade around as Spider-Man all of the time. But he could’ve at least asked. “Shouldn’t one of you be busy patrolling?” 

It was hard to tell if the offense on his face was real or feigned, but you didn’t care much either way. “Peter wanted answers about my world, I wanted food,” he shrugs, gesturing at the crème-filled donut in front of him. “And Peter 2’s handling patrol.” 

Peter 2—you had almost forgotten about him, the version of Peter that hadn’t wanted to come with Ned and Mj to your apartment last night. As far as you could tell when you woke up this morning, he hadn’t shown up in the middle of the night, either—no trace of Parker or anyone else when you had finally stumbled out of your room to get ready after reading the text from Peter. 

You didn’t figure it was really your business where the mystery Peter was, but you were a little surprised to hear that he was still out patrolling. Was he not exhausted?  

“Ametaur move getting crème-filled,” you tell him, ignoring everything he said. “Should’ve gone with the frosted vanilla cruller, it’s way better.” 

“No way,” he gapes, grabbing the half-eaten pastry and shaking it for emphasis as he said, “this is god-tier, alright? No way anything’s topping it.” 

The expression on his face was actually hilarious, his brown doe eyes alight with pure euphoria as he took another bite of the donut. An exaggerated moan slipped his lips, coated with bits of sugar and crème. It was hard not to laugh at him, especially when you knew that was probably his goal—to combat the evident tension between you and Peter. 

Chuckling, you lift your hands in mock defense. “Suit yourself, Parker. But if you ever wanna experience true pleasure, then you know what to order.” 

Parker looks as if he's about to continue his borderline-lustful tangent about the donut, but Peter spoke up instead, his attention snagging on the name you used. 

“Parker?” He echoes in disbelief, letting his phone clatter against the bar. 

Peter’s sudden resurgence to the real world left Parker silent, sinking back against his stool and taking another bite. 

“What?” Your brow arches, your voice laced with incredulity. “Did you really think I’d keep calling him Peter 2? No offense to Ned, but everything about that feels stupid.” 

Peter’s eyes narrow, coupled with a subtle shake of his head that indicates he doesn't care nearly enough to have this conversation right now. 

You didn’t care much either, and so you steered the conversation in a more productive direction. “So what is this grand plan of yours?” You ask with a somewhat sarcastic lilt. “And where do I fit into it?” 

Another huff of breath escaped his nostrils. “We don’t even have a plan. Not yet,” he reluctantly admits. “But I tried talking to Doctor Strange last night, to see if he had some sort of magical spell or something that would let us go back and fix all of this.” 

Your lips press together, nibbling on the skin and pretending you didn’t notice the hidden meaning behind his words. He hadn’t just gone to Doctor Strange to find a way to get rid of the villains now lurking in your world, because if he had, then he wouldn’t have gone specifically seeking out a spell that would let him go back—not just to stop the villains from ever coming here, but to save May, too. 

“Did he?” 

Peter reached for his cup of iced coffee, if only to occupy his now-fidgeting fingers. “No,” he murmurs, the sound of sloshing ice nearly overpowering him as he swirled the cup. “He didn’t.” 

You frown at the tinge of disappointment that snuck through his otherwise even tone, your chest aching. You had to fight against the urge to say I’m sorry, remembering what he had said to you last night—he didn’t want your apologies, nor did he seem to want anyone else's. 

In truth, you weren’t sure what Peter wanted; or what you could do to help him. 

“Well did he have anything useful?” 

He shook his head, lifting the cup to his mouth. “Define useful,” he scoffed, sounding uncharacteristically sharp. He took a sip of his drink, his nose scrunching as soon as the coffee hit his tongue—too bitter. 

Despite the coffee’s pale color that indicated it was more cream than coffee, you weren’t surprised that it was still too strong for him. Peter had never truly developed a taste for coffee, only pursuing a caffeine addiction for the sake of combating the exhaustion that came with being Spider-Man. That didn’t mean he had ever grown to like it though, masking the taste with copious amounts of sugar and syrups. 

“Something that will keep multiversal villains from tearing our world apart?” You venture half-heartedly, guided by pure instinct and muscle memory as you reached over to take his cup from him, snagging a few packs of sugar from the plastic canister on the bar to0. 

“He has a theory,” Peter gives you a tight-lipped smile, born of pure frustration. 

“A theory? And he expects us to save the world with this theory?” You ask, a bit more derisive than you would have been if Doctor Strange were around to hear. 

Peter scoots closer to you, his voice purposefully low. “Do you remember when I told you about him using the Time Stone before Mr. Stark died? To look through all the different outcomes with Thanos?” 

Ripping open the sugar packets and dumping them in his cup, you managed to mask a wince at the mention of Peter’s dead mentor. You only nodded, not trusting your voice to stay steady if you tried for any sort of verbal affirmation. 

“Well… when he did that, he thinks that he might have actually seen through the multiverse—he just didn’t know for sure at the time.” 

Your forehead creased as you popped the lid back onto his cup, sliding it back towards him. Given his advantage of Spidey-sense, he easily caught it before it could slide too far and end up on the floor—which is what would have definitely happened pre-Spider bite. 

“And you don’t consider that to be useful to our current situation?” 

“No. I don’t.” Peter answers firmly. “Because at the center of it all—in every universe the Stone showed him—all he saw was you.” 

You nearly laugh, your lips curving as you rose a brow at him. “Me?” 

Peter gave a nod as he took another sip of his drink. This time, his nose didn’t scrunch. 

“But it’s been almost a year since the Avengers took down Thanos,” you reminded him, your stunned amusement beginning to fade into confusion. “If he saw.. Me, when he used the Stone, then why didn’t he say anything until now?” 

By no means would you consider yourself to be close with New York’s resident Sorcerer, and so you wouldn’t have expected him to come to you with this knowledge. But Peter—he knew Peter, and he knew that you were Peter’s best friend, and so it didn’t make any sense to you why Doctor Strange chose to wait until now to mention what the Stone had shown him. 

Given the aggravated expression Peter wore, it was clear that he was thinking the same. “I don’t know, and trying to get answers out of Doctor Strange that he clearly doesn’t want to give is like pulling teeth.” 

“But what does that mean?” You couldn’t stop yourself from pressing further, concern starting to bubble up inside of you. Regardless of his answer—if he had one—you had a feeling you wouldn’t like it. “I don’t get how I’m at the center of every universe.” 

Peter blew out a breath, his fingers going back to tapping against the sides of his plastic cup. “Alright, so there are probably well-over a hundred thousand different parallel universes, okay? Some of them are probably super similar to ours, and then there are others that are the complete opposite.” 

“O-kay,” you drone, your brows drawing together. You felt the start of a headache coming on as you prepared yourself for the confusing science-talk that was surely about to start pouring out of his mouth. 

Perhaps noticing your pained expression, Peter tries to find a way to simplify whatever explanation he was about to use. “Try and look at it like this,” he started, “think of the multiverse as some giant, cosmic loom, alright? Now imagine that each thread on the loom signifies a person. As the loom weaves all of these different threads together, different decisions get made and different actions are taken—and with every choice, a new thread is spun, branching off and creating a variation of the original tapestry.” 

“So it’s like you and Parker, right?” You interrupt him, rubbing at your temples. “Same thread, different reality?” 

“Exactly! And, technically speaking, that’s how it’s supposed to be. As the loom weaves and alters reality, each thread continuously evolves into something different.” He paused, his fingers finally falling still. “But now imagine that—in the center of all of these branching tapestries—there exists one thread, entirely unbroken and unaltered by this ever-weaving tapestry of existence, okay? A glitch in the cosmic fabric, a constant that’s woven into infinite realities and yet, somehow, remains fundamentally unchanged. How does that work?” 

You couldn’t ignore the sense of dread creeping up your spine, nor could you escape the slight wobble in your voice as you said, “It doesn’t sound like it should.” 

“You’re right, it shouldn’t work.” Peter confirmed, his expression nearly impossible to read. “But according to Doctor Strange, you are that thread. A constant anomaly that defies every potential law of the multiverse.” 

Nausea bubbled in your gut. God, you did not want to deal with this right now! 

“And let me guess,” a bitter laugh follows your words, “that’s as much information as he was willing to give, wasn’t it?” 

“Yep,” Peter pops his lips, leaning back into his stool. His brows raise slightly in a silent I told you so before he says, “Hey, you’re the one that wanted to be involved, right? Now you’re at the center of everything-” 

“I said I wanted to help you,” you correct him sharply. “Not that I wanted to be at the center of Doctor Strange’s weird Time Stones fantasies!” 

He only shrugs, barely acknowledging the dirty look you gave him as he plucks his phone off of the counter, clicking on a notification. “Same thing, isn’t it? Either way, you get what you want.” 

“What I want?” You echoed, your mouth hung open in disbelief. 

“Doctor Strange seems to think that whatever is wrong with you might help us solve all of this. That you might be connected to the multiverse somehow, or that you’re at least immune to it. So yeah, you get what you want. You get to help,” he spat the word out like an insult, too focused on typing something to even notice how rude he sounded. 

If it weren’t for the feeling that stomach acid was about to come crawling up your throat, then you might have taken some time to unpack the bitterness in his tone or be hurt by the claim that something was wrong with you—but you didn’t. Even if you had, you weren’t sure that it would have gotten you anywhere. 

You weren’t stupid. Peter was wielding his insolence like a shield, purposefully trying to hurt you as an effort to keep you at arms length—and, if you had to guess, Mj and Ned were probably receiving the same treatment right now. 

“Well this isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to help,” you admitted, one hand going to rest against your cramping stomach. At least the throbbing in your temples had died down… 

Peter only shrugged at you, shoving his phone in his back pocket and rising to his feet. “Too bad,” he told you, offering a smile that most definitely wasn’t genuine. “I’ve gotta go, but make him walk you home, alright? I’ll text you if I hear anything else from Doctor Strange.” 

Parker frowned beside you, and whether it was because Peter was speaking about him like he wasn’t here or because of his attitude in general, you couldn’t tell. 

“Whoa, hold up! You didn’t even tell me what your plan is until you hear from him!” You argue, reaching for his wrist to keep him from walking past you until he answered. 

He pulls his hand back from your grip, but not before your stare snags on the reddish hue that stains his nails—blood. Noticing it only served to make you feel sicker, and to make your concern for Peter grow larger. Was he really still walking around with May’s blood caked under his nails? Has he rested at all since last night? 

“Same plan as always,” he told you, your eyes snapping up to meet his, suddenly noticing how rimmed with exhaustion they were. “Stop the bad guys.” 

He didn’t leave any time for protests or further questions before turning his back to you and heading straight for the exit. When the little bell on the door chimed as he shoved his way back out onto the streets, you couldn’t stop the worried sigh that escaped your lips. 

Peter was an Avenger by every right. He had battled alongside a Norse God and helped take down a literal Titan, and so knew that you shouldn’t have any reason to doubt his capability when it came to taking down whatever villains had crossed into your world. 

But it wasn’t that you doubted his ability to survive against them, or even his ability to stop them—you were worried about whether he could handle the weight of it all. 

The weight of him placing yet another thing on his shoulders. Another villain, another fight, another burden, another chance to lose someone. 

Thinking of that, it suddenly dawned on you that maybe Mj and Ned weren’t getting the same treatment as you. Maybe you were getting the worst of it, if only because now whatever connection you had to the multiverse was just another weight he thought he had to bear, another person he had to worry about protecting. 

Guilt flooded your veins, and even as you tried to remind yourself that you hadn’t caused this, you still couldn’t shake the anxious feeling that it was somehow your fault anyway. 

“Y’know, I get that this probably isn’t the right time for this,” Parker starts. When you look at him, your attention immediately snags on the dozen donuts that he had ordered while you were talking to Peter. “But I think it’s so cool that you guys have magic in your world!” 

He takes another bite of the donut in his hand, powdered sugar falling from his lips as he says, “And these donuts! It’s a tough call, but they might be even better than magic!” 

You didn’t know him well enough to be able to tell if he was intentionally trying to lighten the mood or if it was just incidental, but it worked all the same. Laughter poured from your mouth, and it wasn’t until it died down that he said anything else. 

“Sooo… That was tense, wasn’t it? Like, it wasn’t just me, right?” 

You groan, propping your elbows against the counter and placing your cheeks in your palms. “Was it that noticeable?” 

Parker snorts a laugh, stretching an arm past you to reach for Peter’s abandoned coffee. “Oh, yeah. It’s actually painful to be in a room with you two.” 

His playful tone made it clear that it was just a joke, but it still made you feel bad. You already didn’t like how hostile things felt between you and Peter, even if it was only one-sided, and to know that others felt it too just made it that much worse. 

“Things are just.. Difficult, right now.” You tell him, choosing your words carefully. 

“So it hasn’t always been like that with you guys?” He asks, and the delicate arch of his brow made it seem as though he were shocked by the possibility that things had ever been civil between you and Peter. 

There was a chance that you had misread his expression though, as it was very quickly wiped away once he took a sip of Peter’s half-drank coffee, gagging as soon as it hit his tongue. “Holy shi-” he started coughing, cutting off the vulgarities that threatened to spill out. “How does he drink this?!” Parker yelped as soon as he could take a full breath, looking utterly disgusted as he shoved the cup back across the bar. “It’s literally just liquid sugar!” 

You found it hard to stifle your amusement at his suffering, even as he shot you a teasing scowl for it. “No,” you answer his previous question, trying to ignore his melodramatic display, “believe it or not, things between us actually used to be really… I don’t know—easy, I guess.” 

Parker was still smacking his lips to try and rid himself of the cloying aftertaste. “What changed?” 

In retrospect, you realized that it probably would have been smarter for you to bite your tongue. To offer him some cheap, cop-out excuse rather than tell him the truth. After all, you already had experience in hiding from the truth and it wasn’t like you really knew Parker, and so lying to him shouldn’t have been a hard task. 

Yet, for some reason, you told him the truth anyway. 

“Mj happened.” 

Parker’s brows furrows. “The girl from last night, right?” 

“Yep. That’s the one.” 

“Y’know, I don’t really like her all that much,” his words were spoken like a balm, seeking to ease the dejected look etched upon your face, but tinged with enough playful sarcasm for you to know he didn’t actually mean them. “She threw a bread roll at me. A few of them, actually.” 

It was hard not to laugh at the thought considering that it was such an Mj thing to do. “Sounds about right,” you crack a smile, although you don't feel particularly happy. “She’s always been slow to trust, especially complete strangers.” 

In an odd sort of way, the statement felt like a lie. Not because it actually wasn’t true—because Mj was wary of strangers—but because Parker didn’t quite feel like a stranger in your mind. While last night had been a bit awkward, you now felt like talking to him was effortless, each sentence rolling off your tongue with unnatural ease. 

“But she trusts you?” Parker asks, picking a crumb off another one of the pastries and popping it into his mouth. 

You sucked in a breath. 

“I don’t know,” you answer him, with a bit more honesty than you're comfortable with. “I mean, I know that she used to trust me. But now… I’m not even sure if she likes me anymore.” 

His brow snapped up. “What changed?” 

Suddenly the truth no longer felt so easy, and you found yourself wishing that you could change the subject altogether. You didn’t want to talk about this—especially not with him, some boy that you had known for less than twenty-four hours. 

But you had backed yourself into a corner, and so in an effort to try and satiate whatever interest he had developed in the story you had told, you settled on offering a vague half-truth. 

“She started dating Peter,” you tell him simply, putting effort into looking disinterested. “They got together a few months ago and things just… It just got weird, y’know? It’s always awkward when two of your friends get together, I guess. Creates too much drama.” 

“Yeah, for sure,” Parker hums, agreeing with you. “Especially when you have feelings for him, right?” 

An incomprehensible noise escaped your throat, best categorized as something between a laugh and a cough. Your mouth fell open to try and defend yourself, to try and deny his claim—but he didn’t even give you a chance. 

“Oh c’mon!” Parker groans, grinning when he notices the now rosy complexion of your cheeks. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? I mean, let’s be real here, alright? That whole sugar thing earlier?” He jutted a finger towards Peter’s abandoned iced coffee, “Was a dead giveaway.” 

“You’re insane,” You declare, shaking your head and masking your embarrassment with uncomfortable laughter. “I don’t have feelings for Peter—and even if I did, it wouldn’t matter! Regardless of what it’s done to our friendship, Mj is literally perfect for him and-” 

“I think it’s cute,” he interrupts, a delicate smile gracing his lips. Noticing the way your brows furrow, he elaborated, “How much you care about him. And how much you care about her, too, since you’re so willing to pretend like you don’t like him.” 

“I’m not pretending-” 

Parker jokingly cut his eyes. “Yeah, sureee.” 

Blowing a frustrated breath, you push yourself up from the barstool. “Alright, I think it’s time to go home.” You tell him, far too flustered to try and come up with a good defense to his teasing. “You can take the rest of your donuts to go, Bug-boy.” 

There was a subtle shift in his demeanor as the taunting nickname fell from your lips, and he almost felt as though his heart had stopped dead in his chest. 

“Fine,” Parker yields, rising to his feet and snagging the box of donuts from the bar. “But I really hope that you have your wallet—cause I definitely don’t have a way to pay for these.” He flashed a crooked smile before continuing, “Or we can just run really fast and hope they don’t call the police on us for stealing pastries.” 

“I can’t imagine that robbery would be very good for your reputation as a hero,” you chide sarcastically, your own lips curling into a half-smile, “so I’ll pay—but only if you give me every cruller in that box. Deal?” 

Parker spares a quick glance down at the dozen box of donuts in his hands. Half of them were already gone, but through the small cellophane window he could see that there were three frosted crullers left. “Deal.”

series masterlist

a/n - for those who read IY before the rewrite, you may already be able to note some rather major changes going on lmao. i genuinely can't describe how much i actually enjoy rewriting this story, as i'm finally able to collect my thoughts enough to write the plot the way i originally wanted to.

as always, please leave any feedback, opinions, etc.! any and all comments/reblogs definitely encourage me to write/edit faster! and, if you'd like to be added to the tag list, just let me know!

part three, titled "spitfire", to be released april 15th

don't blame me | j.potter [part one]

𝗇𝗈𝗍𝖾 : I decided to rewrite this one as I had a pretty good plot in mind going - but kinda fumbled it with the following part and I didn't like the original direction I took it so I've decided to rewrite this one and give a better plot line :>

𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀/𝗌 : 𝖺𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗆𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗍𝗋𝗈𝗉𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗌𝗍, 𝗆𝗎𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝗁𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀, 𝗋𝖺𝗏𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗅𝖺𝗐 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋, 𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗎𝖺𝗀𝖾, 𝖼𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗂𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗊𝗎𝗂𝗇𝗍, 𝗃𝗉 𝖻𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗍𝗈𝗌𝗌𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗇𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝖿𝗅𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝟧 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗌.

𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗀 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗏𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖾𝗇𝗀𝖺𝗀𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖩𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝖯𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋 - 𝗁𝖾'𝗌 𝖺𝗌 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝗈𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇'𝗍 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗌 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗆 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖻𝗂𝗍. 𝖲𝗈 𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗌 𝗂𝗍 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗈 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗁𝗒. 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗌 : 𝟦𝗄

Your life has been pretty normal up until the summer of 1977 when you found out that you have been engaged to someone for most of your life and you never knew until your parents dressed you up and dragged you all the way to the Potter Manor for a dinner party.

You remembered that night very well and desperately wish you didn't because it gives you a headache every time you recall the unfortunate chain of events that leads to you now, attending school with your fiancé whose guts you hated.

"Here we are," your Father announced, stepping out of the fireplace where you three floo'd in and reached his hand out to your Mother who accepted. "That was a smooth trip."

You bite the inside of your cheeks and stepped out as well, running your hand through the skirt of your dress - wondering why you're all dressed up and having dinner with the Potters out of nowhere. 

Your families have been friends for many generations but you were certain you're not carrying on that tradition - specially when James Potter was one annoying bloke who made a point to be so eccentric and a menace every day he spends at Hogwarts.

Not to mention the whole pining for Evans, what a nuisance. No one cares about his stupid crush, so there was no need to announce every bloody morning! He's so full of himself that he really thinks he's some main character in a novel, prancing around being all charming.

Euphemia and Fleamont Potter came into view,  greeting your family warmly, and you look around - you haven't been here in a while. The last time you were here was back when you were 11 and very eager to go to Hogwarts.

"Lovely to see you again, dear." Mia greeted you, giving you a hug which you awkwardly returned by patting her back and you stepped back - spying James come into the living room and you raise a brow.

He dressed up as well, all pampered-looking in a suit and his messy hair looks a bit on the tame side this evening. He caught you staring and frowned at you, you only rolled your eyes at him and turned to your parents and his striking up a conversation.

"Well, no need to stand here - come to the dining room," Fleamont gestured to the hallway. "We've prepared lots."

"You really didn't have to." Your Mum chuckled, but began following them anyway. 

"Nonsense! Anything for such important guests."

The adults left the room and you cross your arms, turning back to James. "You actually look decent, congrats." you tell him, despite yourself.

He frowns at that - he recognizes you. He's sure he's known you before Hogwarts but that was only because your family and his got along well, and that was it. You never interacted at Hogwarts. He has no idea why you dislike him so.

He thought he was very likable.

"Thank you?" 

You began walking away, heading towards the voices of the adults chatting in the dining room and you entered - making them all turn to you and James was right behind you, you can only feel nervous when you see the look your Mother had on her face, seeing you with James.

You take a seat at the table and the night progressed normally. You had dinner and the adults engaged themselves in random conversations about the wizarding world while you and James stayed quiet.

He was mostly busy trying to figure out why you seem to dislike him, and he keeps coming up blank. While you tried your hardest to remain civil and not tell him off for staring at you the entire time, looking so conflicted.

"Now that dinner's out of the way, it's time we actually discuss the reason we're all here today." Fleamont announced, making you turn to him.

"You're right, it's time." Your Father agreed, lightly dabbing his lips with a napkin.

"Dad? What's going on?" You ask, frowning at your Mum who only smiled at you.

"Yeah, what's up?" James asked. 

"Well, you only have one year left at Hogwarts - so we thought it's finally time to discuss the wedding."

You felt your hand grow colder and the hairs at the back of your neck stand, you struggled to speak and was glad James took over that for you. This can't be happening.

"What wedding?"

"Yours, of course. You two have been engaged for quite a long time," Mia clapped her hands excitedly. "We thought it was time to discuss."

"What?" You choked out.

"Oh don't you worry, dear. There's no rush, we only want to start preparing to make sure everything goes well and you two have the best wedding."

You blink, unable to form a proper sentence, and didn't notice how all the feelings left your arms when you dropped your fork and it clanked loudly against your plate. James was watching you - realizing you also had no idea.

"We're engaged?" James asked. "Since when?"

"Did you forget?" Fleamont asked his son,  a deep frown on his wrinkled face.

"You proposed when you were ten," Mia answered for him. "I could never forget the way you got down on one knee and offered a flower to _____ here."

You felt your chest burn and your vision began blurring, this is all too much and definitely not what you expected. You couldn't even make this up in your literal nightmares. How does one even act in this situation?

"I proposed when I was ten and you think - I still want to marry her?" James was stunned beyond all reasons, he couldn't even process it entirely. He knew his parents were a bit much but he didn't think they'd be able to pull this off.

"It was in your oath, was it not?" Mia frowned. "I do recall your little speech about not looking at any other girl for the rest of your life."

Despite the horror that is your engagement to James Potter - in your very shaken state, you feel the tension release from your shoulders and you began laughing. Laughing at the irony of it all, some oath that was!

You've been engaged for most your life and never knew because you never thought your parents and his would take that seriously? Specially when it was made 7 years ago and one of his oaths was to never look at another girl - when he's spent all his years in Hogwarts pining for one redhead.

You remembered. Unlike him, you kept that promise in mind - but not once in your wildest dreams could you have predicted this outcome

Everyone at the table was too stunned by your reaction, none of them able to say or do anything except James when he saw the tears brimming in your eyes. Aside the laughter, you were about to cry both from frustration and from laughing too hard.

He got up, chair scraping against the polished floor, and went around the table to assist you, pulling the chair out for you and ushering you away from the dining table. Your laughter died down as James got up to go around the table to escort you off your seat.

"I'll calm her down," he nods at the adults and began steering you away from their prying eyes. "We'll be in my room."

You let him guide you down the halls, you still had tears in your cheeks and you quickly wipe them away - feeling embarrassed and stayed quiet as you enter his room. He gestured for you to take a seat on his bed and you did.

Looking around to find his room to be surprisingly organized. Barely any posters on the wall, just a framed poster of his favourite Quidditch team, bookshelves lining the walls and his bed was a bright red and gold.

"Feeling better?" He asked, shrugging his coat off and throwing it over the chair next to a bookshelf. Throwing a look over his shoulder to watch you sit stiffly on his bed.

"No." You answer, fiddling with your fingers on your lap. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"I could have asked you the same thing." 

"Not my breakdown - the engagement."

He paused, turning to you and seeing how shaken up you still are over the whole thing, and he felt bad. He admits he was taken aback by the entire thing as well, but given your treatment of him earlier, he could sense that you weren't too fond of him.

And now you found out you're engaged to him.

"I have no idea, if I'm being honest." James shook his head - about to ask you something when a knock on his door made him look away from you. He walked over and opened it, Sirius Black is standing outside with a grin.

"What did I miss?" He asked, peering through his shoulders and his jaw going slack when he saw a figure of a girl on James' bed and audibly gasped. 

James shrugged and opened the door wider, allowing Sirius to enter his room and shut the door closed behind him. Sirius took slow and careful steps, slowly drinking in your appearance and frowning when he recognized you.

"Meet my fiancée, mate." James threw his hand to gesture to you lazily and you scoff at him.

"What? Fian - what?" Sirius exchanged glances between you two and could feel his thoughts spiral from confusion. "Are you two messing with me?"

You groan into your palms. "I wish."

"I don't understand."

"How about you take a seat first, mate?" James offered and you watched as he settled on the beanbag chair.

It was no secret that Sirius Black ran away from home and has been living with the Potters who warmly welcomed him into their family. You did feel pity for the boy, he was too young to be going through something so difficult and you can't say you understood his struggles.

You didn't have the world's greatest parents but they weren't abusive, just terrible at providing a child the emotional support they needed. They were too caught up with work that they forgot a child didn't just need clothes, food on the table and a house to live in.

You do admire their friendship - something you can't relate to. You have friends from your house but you can't say you've formed a bond with anyone similar to the one Sirius Black and James Potter has.

It was almost disgusting how close these two are - their personalities fit so well and they look damn good next to each other. Still, you have a lingering distate for Sirius Black and his. . .endeavours all around the castle that never failed to reach your ears.

But even if you didn't hear about it - you'll see it. Down the halls, during meals and even while you did your rounds. 

It's probably bad etiquette of you as a Prefect but you really don't bother with him at all. The moment you spy that long black hair in the dark halls after curfew - you just turn the other direction and go about your night, forgetting you even saw it.

Sparing yourself the awkwardness of it all. You didn't exactly fancy interrupting students making out - they always glare like you just deprived them of their greatest plasure and it's just overall disturbing to stand there, waiting for them to fix their appearances and then having to escort them back to their dorms.

You'll leave that job to the others.

After letting James explain the whole situation to Black who just got back from Lupin's - you three sat down in his room in silence. No one knowing what to do. Because what do you even do after finding out you've basically been engaged to someone all your life?

And your parents are expecting to plan a wedding before you even graduate from school?

You sat on James' bed while he and Sirius occupied the bean bag chairs and talked amongst themselves. You felt too out of it to join their conversation and only listened in, occasionally making a comment.

"How about Evans, then?"

"What about her?" You ask, allowing yourself to fall backwards and land on the soft bed with a quiet thud, your hair sprawling on his bright red sheets and James frowned at you from where he sat.

He didn't exactly expect you to grow comfortable in his room - given how you acted towards him earlier.

"Well - Prongs here has been in love with her," Sirius points. "And-"

"Blood hell, I know that," you yelled, interrupting him and made the two boys jump from your sudden outburst. "I went to school with you for years, I bloody well know he's in love with her. He practically announce it every damn day!"

The two boys were stunned, growing silent as they watch you and you only stare at the ceiling, feeling your irritation travel up and down your spine.

"What I'm asking is why should she be in the discussing when we're talking about my future here," you roll to your side and raise a brow at them. "Who cares about Evans right now? I'm bloody engaged to - that."

James abruptly stood up, walking over to the bed and looking down at you with a conflicted expression on his face. "Do you have a problem with me?"

You roll on your back again and prop yourself up to look him up and down. And he has to admit that the way you treat him was starting to grind his gears, he can't recall ever offending you intentionally or not.

He knows their pranks often get out of hand and innocent bystanders are affected but you didn't stand otu at all so he must've never ran into you while at Hogwarts but for some reasons - you don't like him.

And everyone likes him - except, Slytherins, but that's it.

He's practically the golden boy. Pureblood, rich, good-looking, has great friends and has amazing skills as a wizard.

What did he ever do to you?

"Yeah, do you have a problem with him?"

"Piss off, Black." You said through gritted though you kept your eyes on James.

"Have I offended you somehow?" He asks and you raised a brow.

Merlin, he hates this. You're looking at him like he's the most offensive thing you've ever seen in your life, and it's making his skin crawl. How were you two childhood friends again?

"I don't know, Potter. Have you?"

He's growing frustrated and you are not helping ease him into the situation.

"I'm pretty sure my mate here asked you politely."

You get up from the bed, crossing your arms and switching your glare to Black, who also stood up and is staring you down. You flash him a sarcastic smirk.

"I heard him, there's really no need to sit him on your lap and act as his caregiver - " You roll your eyes and stood your ground despite the sight of an angry Sirius Black taking a step forward. James reached his arm out to stop Sirius. "Control your guard dog, Potter."

"Merlin, what is with you?" James asked exasperatedly.

You turn back to him and see the brewing anger in those hazel eyes through the rim of his glasses and smile, one that was void of any happiness of any form.

"There it is, good. Keeping disliking me, will make this whole ordeal worse for me, and I can have a valid argument to back out of this engagement." You begin heading for the door and turn the knob. "After all, who would want to marry someone they hate?"

You shut the door closed after you, and the two Gryffindors are left stunned, standing in the bedroom. Left to exchange confused stares and the awkward silence that followed was almost deafening.

Boarding the train back to Hogwarts - you can only roll your eyes at the list of Prefects you had in your hand. James Potter got Headboy instead of Lupin, and it was the stupidest news you've received, right under the engagement.

You didn't have it in you to argue with your parents, so you were leaving that up to James. He's the golden boy, spoiled rotten by his parents, so surely he can get you both out of this while you lived your life as if it never happened.

You sat in the Prefects' carriage waiting for everyone else, the only ones already present is some Slytherin Prefect whose name you didn't know, so you kept quiet, reading the list and rolling your eyes at Lily Evans getting Headgirl.

Dumbledore did this on purpose.

You kept your eyes on the parchment, scanning names, even as a few more students entered the carriage and you felt someone sit next to you. You swiftly flickered your gaze to spot the bold colour of red on their robe.

"I was looking for you all over the train." You turn your head to find James Potter sitting next to you, on the Prefects carriage - Lupin right beside him watching the exchange.

"And why would that be?" You frown at him, shaking your head lightly before turning back to the parchment and found your counterpart as a seventh-year Prefect will be Oliver Klove. You're not close, but he's really smart and he performs well in class - should be fine to do rounds with him.

"We didn't get to finish our talk - and you didn't respond to my letters." You could almost hear a pout at the end of that sentence.

"Take a hint then." You shrug lightly and rolled the parchment up, tucking it inside the pocket in your robes right next to your wand and keeping your eyes ahead as the door opened - there walked in Lily Evans in all her glory.

Wearing her uniform properly and despite it looking like everyone else's, she carried it like it was her own and her beautiful red hair swayed as she walked in and took a seat next to a Hufflepuff Prefect. Her curious stares pointed at James next to you did not go unnoticed.

Her eyes skimmed your figure as well but she must've quickly registered that you were watching her as well when she fixed her posture and turned to chatting with the Hufflepuff next to her.

"I get you don't like me but we still have to talk about our bloody en - "

"Okay," you interrupt him. "But let's not talk here, after dinner - I'll be waiting in the Astronomy Tower."

With that, he was satisfied, and he kept his mouth shut until the carriage was full and it was time for both Headgirl and Headboy to commence the orientation. Welcoming fifth-year Prefects who are new to the Prefect duties and addressing the rest.

As expected, Evans was flawless. Establishing her authority but remained a friendly figure, all the while handing off the schedule of rounds, and Potter didn't do too bad next to her. They looked like the picture-perfect couple in their matching robes and with them both being gorgeous people.

James handed you your rounds schedule and you sucked in an exasperated breath through gritted teeth - all your rounds were paired up with his. You lift your gaze from the schedule and spy him adorning a smirk as he went around handing off the others' schedules.

This bloody arse.

Dinner was uneventful - Dumbledore delivered his usual speech, congratulating Gryffindor for producing this year's Headgirl and Headboy and you can only roll your eyes at the obvious favouritism.

You ate dinner quietly despite the bustling great hall. Friends catching up about their summers and discussing Christmas plans, you chose not to partake. Your mind was occupied with the thoughts of James Potter.

You're meeting him in the tower later, and you have no idea what to tell him. How do you even explain all your thoughts and feelings about him in a way that he'd understand and in a way that won't embarrass you?

You actually think you'd rather die than admit the truth as to why you seem vexed by his existence.

Dinner finally ended - you make your way around the castle, carefully making your way around and finally reaching your destination. You expected to wait for him so you brought a book to keep you occupied but you spied him on top of the stairs as you made your way up.

Once reaching the top, you walked past him and quietly addressed him with your gaze before speaking.

"Potter."

Merlin, he really feels weird around you. And he can't tell if it's in a good way or a bad way - you talk to him as if he's some mild inconvenience you couldn't shake off but still disliked nonetheless. As if he was a tiny rock inside your shoe that you could feel with every step, but also barely there to bring absolute discomfort.

He's never been treated this way. It's either he was greatly liked (his friends, fellow Gryffindor and fangirls) or greatly disliked (Evans, Slytherins and otherer purists not agreeing with his tolerance for muggleborns and half-bloods).

You were in between, but leaning more on the dislike side, and he doesn't know what to make of it. You sparked something in him and he couldn't just shrug it off, he needs to know just why you have an evident frown every time you look at him.

"_____." He greeted back.

"I didn't read any of your letters, so I have no idea what you want to talk about," you admit with a shrug. "Why did you mess with my rounds?"

James leaned against the wall coolly, crossing his arms and flashing that infamous smirk on his face. "I don't know whatever you mean."

Annoying you further will probably not help his case but he couldn't help it. He oddly feels excited when you dismiss him with that incredulous look on your face and the look of distaste painting your features.

It was very much unlike with Evans - when it would genuinely hurt every time she rejected his advances, but you seemed fun to him.

He's unfamiliar with all this so he's willing to explore, how convenient is it that you're engaged so there's no escaping him?

You deadpan at him, trying to read that stupid expression on his face to understand the current your situation you're in, but ultimately got nothing. James Potter was a hard act to follow, actually - his entire squad is.

You'd rather decipher ancient runes all day than try and figure out just what is going on inside the mind of a Marauder.

"There's no way Evans would agree to that, did you falsify my rounds?" You ask, raising a brow and he dramatically scoffed in offence.

"My, what a bold accusation," James tilted his head slightly to the side. "Actually, she agreed."

"She did?"

"Gave her an offer she couldn't refuse."

"What could you possibly offer Evans that she'd want?" You ask, chuckling and stepping forward to level gazes with him.

He wasn't backing down, however. He pushed himself off the wall with his feet and stepped forward, looking down at you with a glint of challenge in his eyes that appeared a dark brown in the little light the Astronomy Tower offered.

"I offered her peace," James grinned. "Promised to leave her alone until the Christmas break if she matched our rounds."

Your jaw went slack at his words - your brain almost short-circuiting and it enticed him to know that caught you off guard. You parted your lips but no words came out and he could take a picture to live in this moment forever.

He's been thinking of so many ways all summer to get back at you. You ignored all his letters and avoided him on the train like he expected - this was a good enough payback for that, he revelled in your stunned expression until you recovered and regained your composure.

"Why sacrifice such a sacred tradition?" You ask, voice laced with distaste and sarcasm.

"And here I thought my fiancée would like it better if I stopped pining for another girl."

He didn't expect that to strike a chord in you. You stepped back, feeling your chest burn from both the pain and the anger bubbling inside you, and sent a harsh glare his way.

"I am not your fiancée, don't ever call me that again."

He could tell you were genuinely upset now, but still it didn't stop him. He still found it in himself to close the distance between you two and raise a brow.

"Sure thing, Wife."

to be continued . . .

part two | masterlist

2022 really do be the year of pretty Hispanic men in everything and I’m living for it

Chadwick Boseman: Ew. What kind of tea is this?

Michael B Jordan: I boiled Gatorade.