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Why Didn’t We Work Out?

Summary: James Potter had two girlfriends in his seventh year at Hogwarts. Y/N Y/L/N, who he dated for five months; and Lily Evans, who he dated afterwards. When he’s dared to call one of his exes, guess who’s number he dials…

A/N: timeline for reference: reader and James dated sept-feb. James and Lily dated mar-aug. This takes place one year after graduation. 3.8k word count

It was a Friday afternoon and everyone was all gathered at James’ apartment having a few drinks to kick off the weekend. As the empty bottles started piling up, they got the idea to play truth or dare, courtesy of the deck of cards Sirius found on his way to the flat. They were all still laughing at what Dorcas confessed to when Sirius nodded at James.

“Alright Prongs, you’re next.” he says, practically bouncing in his seat.

James, ever one for theatrics, picks up the deck of cards and shuffles it around before picking a card from the bottom and turning it over.

“What does it say?” Alice asks impatiently.

“Call your ex and ask why it didn't work out and if they’d ever consider giving it another chance.” James says before putting the card down.

Everyone hollers at the task before Marlene manages to calm them all down.

“Guys! Shut it! I wanna know who he’s gonna call.” She says before turning to James. “So? Who’s it gonna be?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sirius asks, “It’s gotta be Evans.”

“No-“ Alice disagrees.

“Who else would it be?” Sirius asks.

Everyone argues back and forth while James sits quietly, wondering who to call. He knows who he wants to call, but he doesn’t know if they’d want to speak with him.

“This could change everything,” Marlene says, ever the romantic, “This could be your second chance, James. You should call the one you miss the most.”

“The only one you’ve ever really loved.” Dorcas agrees.

“The one that got away.” Alice says softly, a knowing look in her eyes.

“So, Evans.” Sirius repeats, causing everyone to either laugh or roll their eyes at him.

James doesn’t pay them any mind, he continues to stare at Alice, releasing a shaky breath when she nods encouragingly at him. Of all his friends and classmates, somehow Alice was the only one who knew his true feelings. While James assured everyone that he was fine when he and Y/N broke up, Alice had been the one to stumble upon James crying one day. He had confessed that he missed you and Alice had told him that she did as well.

She didn’t think you’d stop talking to everyone else when you guys broke up. She knew you had your own set of friends prior to dating James, but she had hoped that you’d still hang out with them every now and then. Considering that Marlene and Dorcas were already best friends, leaving Alice to be the third wheel among them, she had enjoyed having a girlfriend of her own, and cherished your company. It hurt Alice to see you pass them by in the Great Hall, not even glancing at them, as you made your way to the far end where your friends were.

Alice had tried to convince James to talk to you, to which he always refused, stating that it was done. After a while, everyone got back to teasing James about Lily, putting you on the back burner, and when he and Lily finally started dating, you were all but forgotten; being brought up only in passing, remembering something funny you had done, before moving on to something else. No matter how much time had passed, Alice always saw the sadness in James whenever you were brought up. His smile always seemed dimmer and his eyes filled with longing. Even if James had managed to fool everyone into thinking you were just a girl he dated for a few months, a girl that he was over; Alice knew that was far from the truth. That being said, he picks up the phone with shaky hands.

“Guys he’s calling!” Marlene shouts excitedly.

“Put it on speaker!” Sirius demands, causing everyone to cheer in agreement.

James types the number and presses “call”, nervously bouncing his leg up and down.

“She might not even answer.” he tells the group, though it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself.

“What if this isn’t even her number anymore? What if she somehow knows this is my number and lets it go to voicemail?” He asks, looking at his friends.

This comment causes most of them to furrow their brows in confusion, wondering who he could be talking about, considering he and Lily still talk on occasion. But if he wasn’t calling Lily, then who?

The phone continues to ring, causing a pit to form in James’ stomach. “I don’t think she’s gonna-“

“Hello?” a feminine voice asks on the other line. The woman can be heard talking to someone in the background, wishing them a good weekend. She gets a chorus of “you too” in return before a door opens and closes shut.

“Hello?” The voice asks again. Remus reaches over and smacks James on the arm, snapping him out of his stupor.

“H-hi, hey!,” James stutters. “Y/N?” he asks, causing his friends to look at each other in confusion. You and James dated for a few months at Hogwarts but they didn’t think it was that serious. Not serious enough for him to call you instead of Lily for this dare. After all, he had spent years pining after Lily, not you.

“…yes?” you ask into the phone. Your voice comes off soft yet confused.

“Hey,” he says again, and then rolls his eyes at himself, “It’s James.” he breathes out.

“Who?” you ask, causing his heart to drop. “Wait, sorry, hold on really quick.”

Everyone hears you fumble with your phone for a bit before your voice rings out again, this time sounding louder than before.

“Hello?” you ask again, checking if the sound is better.

“Hi,” James answers, not knowing what else to say.

“Oh, that’s much better. Sorry about that,” you laugh softly, “Who is this?” you ask again.

“It’s James…” he says with a grimace, half expecting you to hang up on him.

“James…” you repeat, as if you’re in thought. “James from Hogwarts?”

“Yeah…” James answers, looking at Remus who just shrugs his shoulders. James from Hogwarts, he thinks to himself, that’s what she remembers me as?

“Oh shit,” you curse, surprise evident in your voice, “I didn’t recognize you. Your voice sounds so different on the phone.”

Everyone snickers at your comment.

“How’d you get this number?” you ask and immediately, the laughter stops.

“I uh…I ran into your friend Charlotte like a week after we graduated and I asked her for it.” James says sheepishly. He hopes nobody comments on the fact that that’s a long time to have someone’s number and not call them.

“And she gave it to you?”

“Well I say ‘asked’ but it was more like begging,” James admits, blushing as remembers following her around as she did her shopping, pleading with her to give him your number.

“Huh. So what do you want?”

“Just needed to ask you a question, love.” he tells you, the term of endearment slipping out without him even realizing.

“Okay…” you trail off, unsure of what’s to come.

“How are you?” James finds himself asking instead.

“How am I?” you repeat with an incredulous laugh. “You called me to ask me how I am?”

“No, sorry.” James shakes his head, even though you can’t see it. “That’s not the question. But I do want to know.”

“I’m fine.” you say simply.

“Yeah?” James asks, a soft smile on his lips as he talks with you.

“Yeah.” you confirm, wishing he’d just hurry up and get to the point already. “So…”

“Why didn’t it work out? Between us, I mean…” James asks breathlessly, finally asking the question that’s been plaguing his thoughts for the past two years.

“James,” you sigh, “Why are you asking this now?”

“I don’t know,” James says honestly, ignoring the stares of his friends. “It’s always bothered me; not knowing why you broke up with me. But no matter how badly I wanted to reach out to you- to ask you- I just didn’t. I was too scared. But I-I need to know what happened. Can you- from your perspective- can you tell me why we didn’t work?”

“I don’t know,” you sigh, “I just felt like you didn’t love me.”

“What?” James asks, horrified. “Why- how could you possibly think that?”

“Come on,” you scoff, “You know-“

“No, I don’t,” James interrupts, shaking his head furiously. “I-I thought I was a good boyfriend. I thought-“

“You were,” you coo, feeling the need to reassure him. “It wasn’t all bad. You were funny and kind. You were caring. You were patient with me and my short temper and you always managed to make me smile whenever something was bothering me.”

“And your friends,” you sigh, causing them all to perk up at their mention. “They welcomed me into their group with open arms. They never made me feel like an outsider. I-I studied with Remus, I would play-fight with Sirius; Alice and I would have sleepovers all the time and stay up talking and giggling until three a.m.”

“Then…why?” James repeats, even more confused. If everything was as great as you said, why break up?

“I…I’m not an idiot, James. Even though we weren’t in the same circle, I knew about Lily. Merlin, the whole of Hogwarts did. Through the years, I would hear in passing every now and again about you two. I knew you fancied her. I knew she had been the only one you had ever been serious about, which is why I was so confused when you started paying attention to me.”

“Is it so hard to believe that I thought you were beautiful? That I enjoyed your company?” James asks.

“No, but us crossing paths was a chance encounter.” you stress. “We had been taking the same classes since first year, James. But it wasn’t until Professor McGonagall changed the seating arrangement in seventh year that you finally noticed me. Do you remember why I turned you down the first couple of times?”

“You said you didn’t want to cause any problems between me and Lily. But I told you there was nothing going on between us.” James tells you, growing frustrated.

“Yes, but your actions told me otherwise. How many times did I see you playing with her hair, or whispering in her ear?”

“I was talking with her,” James defends.

“You were flirting with her!” you correct. “You were dating me and flirting with her. I don’t know how you didn’t realize it when everyone else in the bloody school did.”

“Do you have any idea what that was like?” you ask harshly. “Having to hear day in and day out for months ’oh, it’s just a ploy. He’s doing it to get Evans’ attention, and I think it’s working. It’s only a matter of time before one of them makes a move’”

“And then I go to you, my boyfriend, for reassurance, and I don’t get any. Instead, my feelings are brushed off and I’m called, what was the word again? Oh, right, delusional. Yes, I loved you, but I couldn’t do it anymore, James.”

“And anyway,” you huff, clearly worked up by this conversation, “This was two years ago, I don’t understand why you’re calling me now asking me why it didn’t work out. If you were so bothered by the break up, why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Because I wanted you to be happy!” James shouts, standing up from his seat. He moves away from the couch and starts pacing the living room, running his free hand through his hair in frustration.

“I feel like we should give them some privacy,” Marlene whispers to the group.

“Shh!” Sirius shushes her, waving her off.

“I loved you so much, I would have done anything for you to be happy. That’s why I let you go without putting up a fight. I was doing what you wanted.” James sighs dejectedly.

“What I wanted?” you repeat skeptically. “What I wanted was for you to fight for me! For us! I wanted you to show me and everyone else at that damn school that I was the girl for you; that I was the girl you wanted! But you didn’t do that!”

“Instead, you went running to Lily!” you laugh coldly, “Just like everyone knew you would!”

“That’s not fair,” James says, sadly. “If I had known that you-“

“That I loved you? That I wanted to be with you?” you interrupt. “What? Would we still be together right now? Married, living in a nice little cottage, a couple of kids running around?”

Beep.

“Y/N-“

“You’re right,” you sigh, “I’m being too harsh. If you didn’t know that, then clearly I wasn’t the best girlfriend either.”

Beep.

“Merlin’s beard, what is that noise?” James asks exasperatedly.

“My phone, letting me know the battery’s about to die. Good timing, too.” you huff.

“You were a bad boyfriend, and I was a bad girlfriend. That’s why it didn’t work out between us. Let’s leave it at that.” you say quickly, rushing to finish the conversation before your phone dies.

“I hope everything works out between you and Lily. Or whoever you’re seeing now. Truly, I do. Take care, James. Do not call me again. I won’t answer.”

And with that the phone call ends. James stands there, in the middle of his living room, staring at the phone in his hand. It’s silent for a few seconds before Dorcas awkwardly claps her hands, getting everyone’s attention.

“Alright, who’s next?” She asks, softly. The fun atmosphere ruined by the heaviness of the phone call.

“You guys go ahead,” James says, making his way towards the door.

“Mate, where are you going?” Remus asks, standing from his seat.

James freezes at the door and turns around, making his way back to the living room.

“It’s not over yet.” he says with a shake of his head.

James reaches for his card on the table and hands it to Remus, before heading towards the door again, dialing someone else and putting the phone to his ear.

“Still gotta ask if she’d consider giving us another chance.” he tells them before speaking into the receiver.

“Hi, Charlotte? It’s James! Yeah, James Potter. Listen, can you curse me out another time? I need Y/N’s address. Why? Well apparently she broke up with me because she thought I didn’t love her. And I didn’t do anything to stop her because I thought she didn’t love me. Yeahhh, so I need her address so I can tell her that that wasn’t the case at all. Brilliant! Thanks, bye!”

Everyone stands in silence, unsure of what to do now.

“Should we keep playing?” Sirius asks.

“Or pack up and call it a night?” Remus adds.

They all stare at each other for a moment before Alice bolts from her seat and rushes to the door.

“I’m too invested in this! I need to know how it ends! James!” she calls, running down the steps, “Wait for me!”

Everyone else is quick to rush out the door, chasing after James and Alice into the night.

[ t i m e s k i p ]

You’ve just come out of the shower when there’s a hard knock at your door. Not expecting anyone tonight, you stand up with a confused frown on your face.

Running your fingers through your damp hair in an attempt to make yourself look presentable, you head towards the front door. The knocking has gone from rapid, consistent taps to a heavy fist pounding against the wood. The door shakes so much, you’re scared it’ll fall off its hinges. With your wand gripped tightly in your hand, you yank it open, only to become more confused at the sight that greets you.

James Potter stands on your porch; out of breath and hair disheveled as he stares at you. Looking past his shoulder, you see all his friends standing on the sidewalk. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Frank, Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas are all watching you as well. Alice has a beaming smile on her face as she waves enthusiastically at you, clearly happy to see you again. You awkwardly raise your hand at them in greeting before turning your focus back to James.

“I know you said you didn’t want me to call you again-“

“So you show up at my house unannounced?!” You shriek.

“And why are they here?” you ask, gesturing to his friends.

“They followed me!” James shrugs helplessly.

“What are you even doing here?” you ask, rubbing your temples in an attempt to rid yourself of the headache you feel coming on.

“To tell you, in person, that I did love you.” James says, releasing a shaky breath.

“….Alright. Thanks for stopping by.” You nod at him. You try to close the door, only for James to push it back open with his hand.

“No, Y/N, listen to me. I’m sorry for whatever I did that made you initially doubt my feelings for you. I’m sorry I was a tosser that didn’t listen to you when you tried to tell me what was bothering you.” James tells you sincerely.

“It’s okay,” you shrug.

“It’s not.” he says with a shake of his head. “I should've told you all this back then, and I don’t know why I didn’t. But I’m telling you now. Yes, I fancied Lily for years but that stopped the moment I met you.”

You roll your eyes at that and James grabs your hands, squeezing them once before continuing.

“I don’t know how you did it, but one interaction with you and I was hooked. Nothing else mattered and nobody else compared. I found myself looking for you in the great hall and in between classes. I’d ask around about you because I wanted to know everything that there was to know about you. I felt an actual ache in my chest whenever you turned me down. It was so bad I had to see Madam Pomfrey about it because I honestly thought I had an arrhythmia.” he says, which causes you to laugh and roll your eyes again, this time in affection.

“I didn’t fight for you then, so I’m fighting for you now. The truth is I liked Lily; but I only ever loved you.”

You widen your eyes and gasp at his confession. Somewhere on the sidewalk, someone, most likely Alice squeals.

“I loved you on that first day, when you shared your inkwell with me after I forgot mine in the dorm. I loved you when you watched all my quidditch matches, even though you weren’t a fan of the sport. I loved you when you hung out with my friends, even when I wasn’t there and when you spent Christmas with me and my parents.”

You bring a hand up to wipe your eyes before placing it back in James’ hold. You sniffle and grin at him, chin quivering as you do.

“I loved you every second that I dated you. I loved you when you broke up with me. I loved you the whole time I dated Lily, which sounds horrible-“ James admits, causing you to laugh.

“But it’s true. That’s actually the reason we broke up.” he admits, “I couldn’t be with her- or anyone for that matter- when my heart belonged to you.”

“I loved you then and I love you now.” James tells you, gazing lovingly into your eyes. “And I need to know if there’s even the slightest possibility of you loving me too? I know I let you down last time. But-“

James doesn’t get to finish his sentence. Having heard enough, you surge forward, getting on your tiptoes to place your lips against his. James immediately brings his hands up, cupping your face gently as he kisses you back. When you pull away, he follows, placing another chaste kiss against your lips. James kisses you all over your face, causing you to giggle before he leans his forehead against yours.

“James,” you call softly.

“Hmm?”

“Look at me.”

“I can’t” he tells you with a shake of his head, forehead still pressed against your own.

“Why not?“

“Because I’m scared this isn’t real. I don’t want to open my eyes and realize it was just a dream.”

“Does this feel real?” you ask, squeezing his hand with your own.

“Yes.”

“What about this?”

Your other hand comes up to cup his cheek. James sighs at the warmth, pressing a kiss to the palm of your hand.

“Yes.” he nods, slightly.

“Then open your eyes, Jamie.”

James takes a shaky breath in before slowly peeking his eyes open. Once he sees that you are in fact, still there, he releases the breath he was holding. James tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear before cupping your face in his hands.

“I love you.” you tell him, cheeks warming at the look of complete awe that he gives you.

James kisses you again before pulling you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug.

“I love you” he whispers into your ear, causing you to smile.

It’s only when Alice squeals loudly that you remember everyone else was still there. You pull back and share a shy smile with James before turning towards his group of friends that have been standing on the sidewalk.

“I guess I should invite you guys in?” you say, glancing at James briefly before turning towards the group again. “I can order some pizza and you guys can fill me in on what you’ve all been up to.”

Alice is the first to run up your steps, shoving James to the side and pulling you into a tight hug.

“I missed you so much!” she exclaims as she makes her way into your home.

Everyone else slowly makes their way inside, either hugging you or giving you a quick pat on the shoulder in greeting.

You’re about to head inside when James pulls you back.

“What? What is it?” you ask, looking up at him worriedly.

“Nothing,” he shakes his head, gazing at you with a soft smile. “Just wanted one last moment with you before we head in.”

You roll your eyes and grab his hand, pulling him behind you as you walk in.

“You’re acting like you’re never gonna see me again.”

“Am I?” James asks.

“Only for the rest of your life.” you tell him, pulling his face towards yours for another kiss.

“Um, enough of that!” Sirius calls out, “I believe we were promised pizza??”

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