nighttimestorrm:
Sirius had pieced together what had happened that night. But it was different hearing it. A fresh wave of anger rushed through him that he tried his best to push down. Peters betrayal feeling as though it had just happened all over again and was just as raw. Except James wouldn’t know all of it. And, as much as he hated the rat right now, he didn’t want to tell him and make things worse. After everything, he still wanted to protect who he believed was his friend.
How pathetic.
Taking a drag from his cigarette he watched the smoke drift through the air while he listened. He couldn’t even imagine how James felt right now. He was back and yet still lost what had been the most important to him. He couldn’t imagine the pain. And there was nothing he could do to make it any better for him. Though he wished that he could.
“He, um…” Clearing his throat he tried to come up with the right words. If there were any. He wanted to reassure his friend that his son was okay. But Sirius didn’t know that for sure. He hoped he was. He would need to find Remus and find out what happened after he…he died. The thought sent a chill down his spine. He died. It felt too unbelievable to be true. Out of everything he has been through it was his damn cousin that did him in.
“He’s fine, James. He’s a fighter. Just like his dad.” He said, and gave James a nudge with his elbow. “I can’t imagine how you and Lily must be feeling. I’m so sorry, James. This…it’s confusing as fuck.”
Sighing he took another drag. “It must have happened for a reason though, right? Maybe we can do things differently this time. Or…I don’t know…but there must be a reason. Even if it feels like shit. If other people remember then we have more information than last time. We…it has to end better this time.”
He wished this was a happier reunion. But his mind kept wandering to where he should be. And it wasn’t here. If he had only not been so close to that fucking veil. If he had stopped fighting once Dumbledore had turned up. All his mind was filled with was what if’s. And it was going to drive him mad.
--
‘He’s fine, James. He’s a fighter. Just like his dad.’
Those words made him freeze up. The way Sirius spoke about him, the way he held Harry in such a high regard, already, as if his son hadn’t only been a year old, to them, just a few months ago. Harry wasn’t a fighter, - he could be, in the future, if he needed to be, - but he was only a baby. Soft round cheeks, big green eyes, a messy head of hair he hadn’t even grown into yet. They still needed protective charms around the house to stop him from bumping into the cupboards, and climbing up the stairs.
James had only just bought his Baby’s First Fly broom for his first birthday.
And while he had wanted to believe that Sirius had been there when they had gone, after Halloween night, Lily’s own dreams, - her visions, her memories of Harry’s future, which matched up with so many of his own, including the forest, proved the worst of their fears. That Harry had gone to her sister’s, and barely knew a thing about being a wizard until he had turned eleven. The vow Sirius had made when he’d taken on the title of godfather was robbed from him, - and where had he been since, if Lily’s memories were true?
He turned, then, looking at Sirius quietly, gaze searching. They were both nineteen again, the mirror had proven that much, but Sirius still looked older. Tired. Like he’d seen a thousand years before, and was dreading the thought of seeing them, all over again. If he’d really appeared in the forest with them, with Harry, then there had to have been a reason for it, surely. Not just because he and Remus were their friends, but because, -
It hit him.
The way Sirius spoke. ‘It has to end better this time,’ he had said, and if that was what he believed, then what way did it end before?
And, more importantly.
“.. you met him?”
Friend
HEADCANON:
So much of James' personality is based around his ability to have friendships. He considers himself practically everyone's friend, unless they've been a dick to him, or he's got good reason not to like them. For years growing up, he had always seen how his parents were treated, liked, how they had so many people they could rely on and turn to, people they trusted, people who could just pop by the estate and were greeted with a warm welcome. Acquaintances, they would call them, but James always knew better; they were friends, as simple as that.
Marlene had been his first real friend, aside from his parents, and she has a special place in his heart. But something had changed on that first train ride to Hogwarts; when he had met Remus, Peter, and Sirius. There was a shift in his very core understanding of friendship, in the way he saw how it worked. Friendship was so much more than just people you got along with and saw every now and again, especially when those friendships turned into a family.
Family are people you want to stick by. People you want to surround yourself with. They're the people you call home, when you have nowhere else to go, and no-one else you want to go to. People you trust, people you would do anything for, even without asking, no matter what.
James has plenty of friends.
Sirius is his family.
part 1/3
“Interesting, now leave me alone.”
“Sorry that I look like a mess”
“____’s been a little depressed.”
“I’m sorry I was gone.”
“Daddy made you your favorite, open wide.”
“It’s a beautiful day to stay inside!”
“The world is changing.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Should I leave you alone?”
“Should I be joking at a time like this?”
“I wanna help to leave this world better than I found it.”
“And the fear is not unfounded.”
“The world is so fucked up.”
“There’s only one thing I can do about it.”
“Making a literal difference metaphorically.”
“So maybe I should just shut the fuck up.”
“I don’t wanna do that.”
“There’s gotta be another way.”
“Lord help me channel sandra bullock in the blind side.”
“I said I’d never be back.”
“But now I’m back on my feet.”
“Pour me a drink and clear my schedule.”
“I’mma FaceTime with my mom tonight.”
“These forty minutes are essential.”
“How’d you guess?”
“And that’s the deepest talk we’ve ever had.”
“It must be complicated.”
“That’s how the world works.”
“It’s similar to a constant state of sleep paralysis.”
“Don’t you know the world is built with blood?”
“That’s pretty intense.”
“No shit.”
“What can I do to help?”
“This isn’t about you.”
“So either get with it or get out of the fucking way.”
“Watch your mouth, buddy.”
“Have you not been fucking listening?”
“I can’t go… I can’t go back.”
“Look at me.”
“Are you going to be on the right side of history?”
“Who are you?”
“Or you can roll up your sleeves and get to work.”
“Is this heaven?”
“Or is it just a white woman’s Instagram?”
“It’s been a decade since you’ve been gone.”
“ Is it necessary that every single person on this planet um, expresses every single opinion that they have on every single thing that occurs all at the same time?”
“Can any single person shut the fuck up about any single thing for an hour?”
“Is that… Is that necessary?”
“ Who needs a coffee? Cause I’m doing a run?”
“The coffee is free, just like me.”
“I’m an unpaid intern.”
“You just torrent a porn.”
“I’m being a little pretentious.”
“It’s a defense mechanism.”
“ I’m so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can.”
“Oh, if I’m self-aware about being a douchebag, it’ll somehow make me less of a douchebag.”
“Self-awareness does not absolve anybody of anything.”
“I want this to stop.”
Wine
It's their first night living alone.
The flat is tiny, with a balcony, and a double bed, pushed up under the window. The kitchen is just barely big enough for the two of them, but they've been graduates now for three whole months, and summer is ending. As enjoyable as it had been to spend the warmer days wrapped up in the comfort of his own bedroom in the estate, something in James longs for more. He's nineteen, now, the excitement of being an independent adult buzzing at his fingertips. He starts Auror training in a few weeks, and then..
There's no Hogwarts to go back to, in September. No more sharing a dorm with his best friends, or sharing a common room with a whole quarter of the school population. He's gone from being surrounded by hundreds of students on a regular basis, to this.
If James is being honest, he prefers this.
This, is a life with Lily. This, is a home, their own, built together. He hadn't hesitated to ask, and she hadn't hesitated to say yes, just as eager as he had been to catch up on the time they had lost. It's abundant, now. There's still boxes to unpack. A life to start, together. They're just shy of a year into officially being a couple, and still, every day, he wakes up happier than before.
And it's all thanks to Lily.
There's a bright grin on his lips when he opens the cheap bottle of wine, pouring it out into two wine glasses. Clear crystal, the most expensive thing in the flat, and a moving out gift from his parents. The wine is blood red, sharp and sweet, and James carries the two glasses over to where she's perched on the couch, curled up, content, like there's nowhere else she'd rather be.
She smiles at him, just as happy as he is.
There's nowhere else he'd rather be.
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❝ I don’t think I can make it…❞
"You say that every time." It comes off as a little more of an accusation than he intends, but it's not necessarily untrue. Peter does say it, almost every time he suggests something, and James is reaching his tipping point. There's something going on. The war has taken it's toll on all of them, dragging down their spirits like a fucking vice. It's not fair, not when they're only just graduated, only just on the precipice of becoming adults, and they haven't had a chance to live. And as tolerant as James wants to be, tries to be, none of that can relieved the ache he feels every single time Peter says no, or doesn't show up, or cancels at the last minute. Once upon a time, all he could do was spend every waking moment at James' side, and James misses his best friend. It hurts. It's his fucking birthday. It's a slow descent into losing him. He can see it from a mile away, can tell that Peter's mind is somewhere else, even in Order meetings. Maybe he's planning on becoming a hermit, on running away, on totally disengaging from the wizarding world to keep him safe. James wouldn't blame him, really, - the bigger Lily's bump gets, the more tempting the thought becomes for him, too. "Don't worry about it," James settles on finally, lifting a hand to pat Peter's shoulder. He doesn't smile when he says it, simply shrugs, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "There's always next year."
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James
Rain & papers
HEADCANON: James adores rain. The sound of it, the smell of it, the exhilaration that comes with feeling alive. One of his earliest memories is being whisked up into his father's arms, and taken out into the rainfall, bundled up in a warm embrace and surrounded by his mother's laughter as they danced together, James between them. He can remember the feel of each drop, the smell of springtime and the flowers Euphemia had planted the week before, the joy of being safe, and home. Lily can find him out there, sometimes. Sitting on a broomstick on the quidditch pitch after a tough match, eyes closed, only a foot off the ground, but still weightless. In the summer before their seventh year, the pair tucked up together in a small doorway of some little pub near her hometown, and he takes a deep breath in, a small smile on his face despite the cold that seeps into his socks. In their last few weeks at Godric's Hollow, it becomes his coping mechanism. To sit out on the step of their back door, watching their little garden, rain falling on his outstretched palm. Harry's usually asleep by the time he goes out, and Lily is quick to follow her husband, only stopping behind him to thread her fingers through his hair. The combination of her touch, and the fresh smell of the rain, and the gentle sounds of Harry fussing in his cot nearby is everything that feels like home to him. He loves the rain.
-
DRABBLE: It looks like a bomb has hit their living room. For a moment, James is willing to not ask any questions. His girlfriend, - fiancée, his mind helpfully corrects, and he has to stop himself from dancing on the spot right then and there, - looks to be the culprit of the crime, a bundle of scrunched up papers in a little pile behind her as she tries to organise through.. whatever she's organising through. It's far too early in the morning for her to have any reasonable excuse, but he's long since learned to roll with the punches when it comes to Lily Evans. She's a whirlwind, a woman who can't be stopped when she's on a mission. Merlin, he fucking loves her. She's frantically writing something on a new piece of paper, and James knows better than to stop her and ask exactly what she's doing. Instead, he turns his attention to the tossed-away, crumpled up paper ball that's nearest to his position at the living room door, and he carefully leans down to pick it up. There's writing on the inside, scribbles, and James scrunches his nose up in confusion as he unravels the paper ball, reading over her handwriting. Blue flowers. Red? Yellow? Check J suit. No white. Center pieces. NO LILIES. Green foliage - talk to Molly about best leafy flowers for center pieces. framed? keep one center piece. preservation charm - ask alice. A smile pulls at his lips, and James tucks the paper into his pocket, picking up another. The same, again, - scribbles of wedding plans and ideas, written down like it's plucked straight from her mind and shoved onto the paper. Something about it makes his heart soar, the fact that she's so invested in making their day absolutely perfect, for both of them, while still keeping their friends in the loop. It's a small blessing, given the circumstances.
Doubt
HEADCANON:
Despite how much of his heart and soul he puts into it, James has so many doubts about himself being a father. His own father had always been a great example, and that was never in question, but he's seen first had what shitty parenting can do to a child. The first time Sirius had openly talked about his parents, something about it, - not just a hatred for how they treated Sirius, their son, but a sense of unrest that came with knowing people could just be like that to their children and be perfectly content with it, - just never sat right with him.
When he and Lily found out she was pregnant, the first thing he felt, above all else, was euphoria. Pure, complete happiness. But the doubt crept in, and the fear, and even when Harry had arrived, and he was set in James' arms in a little bundle of soft blankets, James couldn't deny that haunting doubt that loomed in the back of his mind.
He always wanted to be a good father. The only thing standing in his way was his own insecurities, doubts and fears.
8 Days of Simon Lewis Positivity + Emojis
☆ + pepperoni pizza
"Are you talking about her birthday party, when we were nine?"
He says it with a wicked grin, beyond amused.
"Ask her about it. I dare you."