james f. potter

She shoved her wand back into its rightful place, snug against the sleeve of her sweater beneath thick winter robes. However nose still sniffled in the cold, maybe a little dramatically now she knew the threat wasn’t anything more than the little kid who used to battle her with wads of ink soaked parchment. It was the best thing to put her at ease, maybe, in the funniest way. 

“I think I actually charmed your quidditch robes to change names. Not sure if you ever noticed when you were playing since you can’t see behind you all that much.” That wasn’t an outright lie. She did try and do it, but her success back then was reliant on what crowd she’d fallen into that week. Certain plans always seemed to be hindered and a sense of regret waved through Marlene. She should have spent more time with the right people, more time with real friends.

Those last two years of school, when her sister was already out in the world and accomplishing great things, Marlene found that maybe she attracted the bad as much as she was attracted to it. 

“You’re not staying in the castle are you?” She grinned, knowing she wasn’t done bantering. “I can’t believe you need to relive your glory days that badly, Fleabert.”

james shook his head, shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets and trying to tug his jacket more tightly around himself. he really should have worn an extra layer. now instead of the sarcastic, indifferent back and forth they usually had going he looking like a pouting child crossing his arms in a tissy because he was cold. 

“if only you would have told me back then, i would have made a point to thank you properly.” he would have too. in true marauders fashion, if james actually had spotted fleabert - or fleamont if he was being honest - across his beloved quidditch robes he would have made sure marlene knew exactly how he had felt about it. he liked to think he had matured beyond that now, but he hadn’t. he just appreciated being named after his father a lot more these days. 

“my glory days are ahead of me. i’m headed back to relive the day i tried to pants you in the common room.”

 sirius  is  smiling  before  they  know  how  to  stop  it.  it’s  a  special  smile  and  one  that  they  direct  most  often  at  james.  the  type  of  grin  that  means  they  are  settling  in  already  and  getting  their  feet  back  under  them,  comforted  by  the  very  presence  of  their  closest  friend.  even  when  the  rest  of  the  world  is  perched  like  a  heavy  weight  on  their  shoulders  james  will  always  be  someone  easy  to  deal  with.  

 fondness  is  the  best  way  to  describe  how  they  feel  as  they  watch  james  fumble  for  his  glasses.  they  let  themself  in  fully  as  he  does,  shutting  james’  door  and  moving  closer.  a  considering  sound  escapes  their  throat  before  it  transfigures  itself  into  a  huff  of  laughter.  

 "you  know  that  saying  about  great  minds?“  they  were  supposed  to  be  the  one  begging  for  james’  attention  today,  but  here  he  was  disarming  them  as  he  always  did,  asking  for  sirius  in  the  same  breath  that  sirius  was  asking  for  him.  it  helped  them  to  feel  less  clingy  about  barging  into  james’  space  and  inserting  himself  into  the  other  mans  day.  "you  can  dognap  me,  but  you  have  to  remember  to  feed  and  walk  me  later.”  

 they  take  a  seat  on  the  edge  of  James’  bed  and  shove  the  bag  in  their  direction.  "and  i  could  never  deny  you  food,  prongs.  thats  very  nearly  a  war  crime.“  

once sirius finally came into focus james reached out, grabbing for them as he tried to pull them in close. he had always been quite tactile, had to actively remind himself that most people preferred a bit more personal space than he tended to give. he was a cuddler; it was impossible to grow up your entire young life under euphemia potter’s roof and not be. plus he understood sirius better than himself, he knew that look they gave him every time they just needed the two of them together. and because even though james had decided years ago to take on the role of their overprotective best friend, he needed sirius every bit as much as they needed him. 

“our minds are more than just great though.” james reluctantly exchanged his grip on sirius for the bag that had been in their hands, somehow scooting even closer until their shoulders touched. “maybe that’s why we’ve always been so in sync.”

“maybe i’ll even take you to the park, you have to promise not to shed all over my bed though. i just washed this comforter and i don’t want to have to do it again.”

location: the hogwarts library, a corner in the back status: closed to @jcmespcttr​

Not much makes Regulus feel young anymore. More often than not he feels ancient beyond his years, as if someone has stretched him thin and spread him too far. He thinks it may have something to do with the near death experience he had a few years back. Eighteen years old and facing death head on. It had a way of aging you. But he hadn’t died and mores the pity for that. It might have been better than waiting in the library to meet James Potter of all people, feeling like a foolish teenager again. 

James Potter. The man he used to hate more than anyone else in this world. With his earnest appearance and his bad habit of stealing other people’s families. James was the sinister figure that had taken Sirius away from him, once upon a time. But they were sharing Sirius now, and Regulus wasn’t supposed to hate James anymore. It had been a special request, and one he was struggling to remind himself he had given into. 

He glances up from the desk he’s sitting at when footsteps approach. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. “You’re not as late as I expected you would be, Potter.” He muses, voice a little dull as he checks his watch. 

James had truly tried his hardest to make it to the library on time. No, scratch that. He had been trying to get there early. Regulus Black had always made him nervous- not because of his past or how talented the boy was, but from what he could do. What everything he was stood for. Regulus was Sirius’s brother not in the way James was, but the way he pretended to be. For real. And the the jealousy that accompanied that coupled with the anxiety over the effect Regulus had the potential to have over them... Well, James had to get there on time.

Glancing at the watch he had been gifted for his seventeenth birthday, he squinted down at the numbers trying to figure out just how tardy he was. James had set the watch forward by fifteen minutes, hoping he could trick himself into leaving a bit earlier. But he knew the time was earlier than what was on his watch and instead of giving himself extra time he sat poking through the piece of text he had wanted to go over with Regulus when he got here. 

The recent attacks called for a gathering, not the public vigil which would take place in a day or so but among those who were not just seeking refuge. She wanted to know more about what had just happened these last two days. Marlene debated for hours whether than meant for her to go to the castle. It seemed lingering stares followed her. Their thoughts, she knew, were whispers of what she had done those nearly three years ago. Her bones went weak as she walked the path to the castle, wondering if somehow there would be a forcefield to keep out the unworthy. Protection was something the good people here deserved - and she kept back all her reflexes after that thought. 

There was a crunch of snow beneath her steps. That was comforting in itself, drawing back memories where the air felt free and the silly, giggling gaggle of her girls on either side left nearly identical marks strewn across the bridge. Those quiet moments were ones she never liked, but this was like a living memory and the quieter she was the better she could hear the past. 

 But the crunch of steps wasn’t just her own or some fading ghost-like echo calling her back . Broad daylight even felt like a danger now. Her wand slid from its place in her sleeve, and she turned, bracing herself against the stone bridge. An incantation sat on her lips but never made it past the first syllable once her eyes adjusted to the the bright haze the snow reflected back to a familiar face. 

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be, Fleabert?” The question was just a statement really, she didn’t mean for him to answer since she knew that James was going to the same place she was for the exact same reason. @jcmespcttr 

james couldn’t pinpoint just when it started, but for as long as he could remember he felt the compulsion to take care of everyone around him, seeing it as his own personal failure when he was unable to provide for the people in his life. it’s only gotten worse as he’s gotten older, and he knows it can be condescending, he doesn’t know how not to coddle- too much like his mother in that way, but its become tenfold since the war.

he wouldn’t be okay until he saw everyone together. until he figured out just what was going on these past few days and was able to be certain none of them would face the same fate as the victims of the recent attacks. it wasn’t something he would get anytime soon. 

they were all on alert these days, but james hadn’t expected marlene to pull a wand on him so quickly. he needed to be more careful, one day it wouldn’t be marlene and he would be out of ‘luck if he didn’t have his wand at the ready. instead he stood there motionless, blinking twice as he tried to think of any response other than to stand there staring. 

“funny, think you can get me a name tag with that on it?”

tagging: @jcmespcttr​ ​ at: james’ room. dated: tuesday jan 17th.

 if  there  is  a  true  magnetic  north  in  sirius  black’s  life  it  will  always  be  james  potter.  that  is  where  their  needle  points,  a  straight  line  guiding  them  home  at  the  end  of  the  day,  to  a  place  where  they  know  they  are  safe  and  loved.  james  is  his  brother  –  not  by  blood,  yes,  but  by  something  just  as  important.  they  chose  each  other.  they  looked  at  each  other  one  day  on  a  train  and  said  'this  one  is  mine,  this  is  my  person.‘  

 sirius  has  spent  a  lot  of  his  life  not  feeling  worthy  of  people.  too  broken,  too  likely  to  hurt  them.  everybody  knew  that  sirius  was  a  ticking  time  bomb  of  a  person.  they  could  explode  at  any  second  and  it  would  not  be  a  gentle  thing.  but  james  was  someone  who  looked  at  his  broken  edges  and  the  ticking  clock  of  doom  glued  to  their  body  and  saw  something  worth  having,  something  worth  saving.  a  brother.  

 it’s  a  pattern  that  sirius  falls  into.  when  their  edges  feel  to  frayed,  they  go  and  they  find  james.  they  go  early  in  the  morning  today,  so  they  can  knock  on  the  door  to  his  room  and  fix  him  with  their  biggest  puppy  dog  eyes.

 "breakfast?“  they  say,  as  if  they  might  be  denied.  they  are  holding  up  a  small  paper  bag  from  the  bakery  in  the  villiage.  warm  and  steaming  food  inside.  

 ”i  got  your  favourite.  but  i  expect  something  in  exchange  for  it.“  

james had been able to sense sirius’s presence in his doorway before he heard the soft knocks that followed. he wouldn’t feel okay again until he was able to see all of the people he loves with his own eyes safe and accounted for, but the blurry outline of his best friend’s figure in the doorway at least meant he could breath again. 

there hadn’t been a choice involved in their friendship, in more ways than one. the two had met and james had immediately found himself wishing they would break all the odds and be sorted into gryffindor because it would be a right shame if his other half was a slytherin. behind all of the insecurity and fronts and just constant need to be perfect in everything he did, sirius was the one who james could simply be around. who kept him grounded through it all. 

he fumbled around on the mattress, reaching around for his glasses before shoving them up the bridge of his nose. “do I still get breakfast if I ask you for something instead?” james glanced from the bag to them 

“because i’m dognapping you for the day but that does smell delightful.”

a real bio will make it’s way to the dash- but in the meantime, he are some rambled james head cannons