#james potter why aren’t you real

[kcrbains]

james ‘the archer’ potter.

[blossoms-and-possums]

i actually think the worst part about being alive is the fact that i can’t physically exist in the same realm as a fictional character.

also paying taxes

[ellecdc]

hi! so i was wondering if i could make a request of poly!jegulus x reader fic where the reader goes out to maybe a bachelorette party or smth and gets drunk and james and regulus takes care of her afterwards? if not then no worries! hope you have an amazing day!

thanks so much darling! I love our little Jegulus fics <3

please note: my requests are currently closed as I finish exams and work through the requests that I currently have.

poly!Jegulus x fem!reader who they pick up from a bachelorette

Regulus tried to ignore the strobe lights and the booming bass that currently accosted his senses as he pushed through the masses of sweaty bodies and drunk people “dancing” in his mission to find you.

Fortunately he needn’t search long.

Unfortunately, his and James’ appearance elicited blood curdling squealing from the bachelorette party you were currently attending.

The bride (Alice) and maid of honour (Lily) started wolf whistling at the two boys and Regulus was certain it was Marlene who started the chant “take it off!”

Much to Regulus’ chagrin and to everyone else's joy, James actually started lifting his shirt before Regulus pinched him harshly in the side.

“James Fleamont Potter, you keep your sodding clothes on!” Regulus hissed before his eyes finally landed on you.

He ignored what sounded like a petulant “I was only giving the ladies what they wanted” from James as he crouched in front of you.

Regulus tried (and failed) to control his love sick smile as your foggy gaze cleared when you realised who was suddenly situated in front of you.

“Regulus!” You cheered, your mouth hanging open in a permanent smile as if you couldn’t possibly believe he was truly here.

“And James!” James added as he sat beside you on the pleather settee and roughly pulled you into his side. 

“What are you guys doing here?” You slurred slightly as you looked lovingly between your two boyfriends. 

Regulus felt his eyebrows pinch, but James - ever the master of nonchalance - simply pressed a kiss to your hair. “You asked us to come for you, angel.” He explained plainly.

Your eyebrows pinched to match Regulus’ as you let out a quiet “oh.” 

“Well, that was ver-very smart of me.” You declared through a hiccup. 

“Yeah? Why’s that?” James asked as he rubbed your arm and Regulus confirmed that all of your belongings were safely stored within your purse.

“I was just thinking how much I, how much I would like to be home with my boys now.” You admitted in a sigh, letting your head - which seemed to weigh far too much for your neck - fall onto James’ all-too-willing shoulder.

“Awe, you’re such a sweetheart, aren’t you?” James murmured, earning him a snort from Dorcas. 

“Right, you’ve got yourself a real sweetheart there Potter - which one of you taught her how to play poker?” Dorcas sneered, causing James to bark a laugh, you to hide shyly into his shoulder, and Regulus to grin proudly.

“Did you take them for all they’re worth, amour?” He whispered as he encouraged your face from its sanctuary in James with a gentle hand on your chin.

“Of course she did.” James answered for you, blowing a cheeky raspberry over your head at your friends. “She’s an all-star.”

Dorcas laughed good naturedly as Lily rolled her eyes fondly. “That may be; but she’s officially banned from playing with us.”

“Fair enough.” Regulus admitted as he smiled at your petulant pout and helped you stand like a baby fawn in your heels. 

“How’s everyone else getting home?” James asked the other girls as he supported you with a gentle arm around your waist.

Dorcas, Marlene, and Pandora were getting a ride from Barty and Evan, and Lily, Mary, and Alice were getting picked up by Frank.

After far too many hugs and cheek kisses and what looked like the beginning of tears on Pandora’s part as Regulus finally pried you away from the group, you clumsily made your way into the back of Regulus’ waiting car with James. 

“Did you have fun tonight, sweets?” James asked as he ensured your buckle was properly clasped. 

“Oh, yes.” You declared breathlessly; as if being chaperoned to the car, basically lifted in and buckled up was exhausting work. 

The streets were quiet at this time of night and Regulus enjoyed the comfortable silence that came over the three of you as he stole sneaky glances over his shoulder, sharing soft smiles with James at having their girl back.

“What time is it?” You asked urgently; you tone and words suddenly sounding half-sober as you interrupted the serenity of the car.

“It’s almost three, amour.” Regulus answered, peaking in the rearview mirror to see you staring straight ahead and James looking at the side of your face concernedly as Regulus navigated the quiet, lamp lit streets. 

“In the morning!?” You shrilled, causing James to snort a laugh and rub at your hairline with his thumb as he rested his hand at the nape of your neck. 

“Yes, baby. In the morning; that’s usually when the party’s over, yeah?”

“Did I wake you guys up?” You asked far too shyly for Regulus’ liking.

“Of course not, amour.” Regulus responded quickly, which was followed up with a “we stayed up waiting for you” from James.

Regulus heard a disbelieving breath escape your lips, the sound of James pressing a kiss to your hair, and then nothing but the sound of the tires on the road beneath you for a few moments.

Suddenly, disturbingly, upsettingly; he heard a sniffle.

Regulus immediately took his foot off the gas as he looked at you through the mirror to find your face pointed down in your lap and James leaning forward in an attempt to see your face.

“What’s the matter, angel?”

“Do you feel okay?” Regulus asked quickly, worrying you may be sick.

“I feel fine.” You cried quietly; Regulus could just make out what looked like the fall of a fat tear from your eyes where your head was lowered.

“What are the tears for, sweetheart?” James asked again, trying to encourage you to face him which you stubbornly refused.

“Why is she crying, Jamie?” Regulus asked desperately.

He pretended he didn’t see James shoot him an unimpressed look in the rearview mirror.

“Amour?” He whispered which elicited a quiet sob from you.

Regulus - only slightly unsafely - hastily pulled onto a side street and parked the car before he moved out of his seat, opened your door and crouched beside you.

“Amour, please darling. What’s wrong?”

“Do you feel sick?” James asked, still rubbing affectionately at the nape of your neck. You quickly shook your head no.

Regulus was at least a little relieved you weren’t about to sick up on him.

“Why are you crying, mon cheri?” He whispered, moving a lock of your hair behind your ear and tracing his thumb across your cheekbone.

“You guys are so lovely.” You admitted miserably.

“Angel.” James cooed as he roughly rubbed between your shoulders as if trying to ‘shake you out of it’. “You’re crying because your boyfriends are lovely?”

“Yes.” You sobbed and hid your face in your hands.

“Okay, that’s it.” Regulus demanded as he stood and closed your door gently before walking around the car and opening up James’.

“You’re fired. Get out.” He barked simply.

James let out a disbelieving laugh and looked at Regulus strangely. 

“I beg your pardon?”

“You have our sweet girl sobbing back here.” He explained (overdramatically) as he flung a hand in your direction. “So, you’re fired; you have to drive now.”

James couldn’t help the fond grin that took over his face (the kind Regulus loved the most; the kind that resulted in two dimples instead of just the usual one) as he shook his head in exasperation and acquiesced to his new role as chauffeur. 

“Okay amour, that’s enough now, yeah? You had a good night? Lot’s of fun with the girls? And two boys who love you a lot?” Regulus cooed as he took James’ recently vacated seat.

“I know!” You cried and flung your hands into your lap. “I’m so lucky!”

Regulus made an embarrassingly gooey ‘tsking’ sound as James laughed.

“Thank you, but we’re the lucky ones, angel.”

This just caused you to cry harder.

Regulus could have killed James right then and there if he didn’t look so sodding good behind the wheel of his car.

He’d deal with him later, though; for now, he had a sweet drunk lovie to snuggle.

[lonelywitchv2]

Strawberries

summary: it’s safe to say you didn’t expect company when you snuck out for a picnic with Regulus, your relationship more forbidden than the forest itself.

content: the marauders basically being your older brothers after you grew up next door to the Potters, protective and angry James and Sirius, Sirius and Regulus still being on bad terms, fluff turned slight angst, short, food, teasing, mentions of Sirius and Regulus’ parents 

wc: 587 (just a little blurb)

part ii part iii

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“So you’ve never read Pride and Prejudice?” You asked, almost offended by your discovery.

“No. Do you happen to remember that my parents are blood supremacists who forbade me from reading muggle literature?” Regulus responded.

“Okay, maybe I forgot. Either way, this is unacceptable. Reggie, it appears we have found our next book to read.” You announced, picking up a strawberry that Regulus had been reaching for.

“Oi! I was gonna grab that one!” He exclaimed, trying to reach for the red fruit, only to have you pull your arm away from him.

“You snooze, you lose,” You said with a shake of your head.

However, right as you went to bite into the sweet berry, Regulus tackled you, his body hovering over yours and your wrists pinned against the picnic blanket laid on the grass.

Throughout being tackled, you somehow managed to continue your hold on the strawberry, refusing to yield to him.

“You could’ve just asked to split it and I would’ve done it, love,” You pointed out, cocking your eyebrow.

“Well, this is much more fun. Isn’t it?” Regulus’s voice dropped to a whisper, his face lowering closer and closer to yours.

“It is…” You breathed out, lifting your head up until Regulus’s lips were pressed against yours, his hair brushing against your forehead.

The blissful silence was broken by a loud shout.

“What the hell is this?!” Sirius yelled, causing the two sixteen-year-olds to quickly break apart, scrambling to opposite sides of the blanket with their eyes wide in horror, the strawberry long forgotten.

You opened your mouth to respond but faltered at the rage burning in Sirius’s eyes.

“What is it Padfo- what in Merlin’s name is going on here?!” James’s eyes fell upon the sight of Regulus and you, his big brother mode immediately activating.

All words of defense and explanation quickly disappeared from your tongue, unsure of how to respond to the obvious rage emitting from the two boys.

“James, Sirius, I... I can explain- we can explain, please-” You stuttered out, struggling to get any words out of your mouth as your panic set in.

“No. No, c’mon Y/N, we’re leaving,” James said, his voice as firm as his grip on your arm as he pulled you off of the blanket, glaring at Regulus and dragging you away from the Black brothers- one of which was frozen in horror, the other seething with rage.

“Y/N-!” Regulus called out, going to stand before falling back from a shove from Sirius.

“What the fuck, Regulus?!” Sirius exclaimed, “Why her? Out of every girl in this school, you chose the one who’s like a little sister to me- is it to get back at me for leaving?”

“It’s not that, Sirius- I…” Regulus faltered.

“What? Spit it out!”

"Listen, I... I really like Y/N- really like her. Please, I'm not doing this out of vengeance, Sirius. I wouldn't even think about hurting Y/N! Siri… I’m not lying to you, I swear," Regulus stuttered out, the childhood nickname accidentally slipping off his tongue, "It's... real and I've never experienced anything like it before.”

“Godric… I just don’t…” Sirius paused, chewing on his lip, “I can’t do this right now.”

Sirius turned around for a moment, but turned to face his brother once more, “We aren’t done, Regulus. But this? This is.”

Regulus sat there speechless as his brother jogged to catch up to James and you, looking down to see the red strawberry sitting on the blanket, miraculously untouched.

[kjhbsies]

KJHBSIES’S FANFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

I’ll probably do more of this. 

Part II.

Angst

When I Ruled the World (James Potter x Fem!Reader) by sgrantsgf

How Tom Riddle would react to finding things that reminded him of you after you guys broke up by louiszeastronaut

Angst + Fluff

Why Didn’t We Work Out? (James Potter x Reader) by astonishment

Happily (James Potter x Slytherin Reader) by ro-is-struggling

Cake (James Potter x Fem!Reader) and Real Feelings by jamespotterwhcre

About What I Said Last Night (Sirius Black x Reader) by rainandhotchocolate

Moral of the Story ( Steve Harrington x Fem! Reader) and Sparks by refiwrites 

A Vintage Love (Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader) by ladymercury8

Love You Mommy (James Potter x Reader) by jamespottersmommy

Annoying (Steve Harrington x Readrer) by h4rring1on

“No, Please. Don’t Say That. You Love Her, Not me) by hello-everyfandom

Jealousy (James Potter x Reader) by whyennwhenyouareyn

Pov; you unintentionally confess your feelings for dbf!fwb!james by bellatrixscurls

“You Aren’t Gwen” Andrew!Peter x Fem!Reader by thebrookemunson

Missed Calls Tasm!Peter Parker x Reader and Part Two by caramelcal

Gamer!James Potter x Reader!Gf by ddejavvu

One Where You Try To Break Up With Him (Sirius Black x Fem!Reader) by proserpina-magnus

Fluff

Clingy James Potter by forourmoons

Doting (Fratboy!James Potter x Fem!Reader) by desireav

Golden Retriever James Potter x Black Cat Grumpy Reader by ddejavvu

James Potter x Shy!Reader by luveline

Gifting a Bra Strap to Boyfriend James Potter by ddejavvu 

Naked (James Potter x Fem!Reader) 

Marauders with Quiet S/O by ddejavvu

Your side (Sirius Black x Reader) by soupandsimple

Kiss Sick (Sirius Black x Reader) by luveline 

Remus Being A Boob Guy by ddejavvu 

Safe (James Potter x  non-gryffindor!fem!reader) by multiqts

Frustration (Poly!Marauders) by quindolyn

General Relationship Headcannons (James Potter x Reader) by quindolyn 

Sub!Eddie Using His Safeword by jamespottersmommy

Clingy Steve by indouloureux 

Smut

Picture Perfect (James Potter x Fem! Reader) by wrathspoet

Loose the Ropes (James Potter x Fem!Reader) by moonbcrry

Stress Relief (James Potter x Fem!Reader) by wrathspoet

Babyboy James Potter by littlest-dark-age

Jerking off James in a Secluded Area by weaselbrownie

Sore Loser (Draco Malfoy x Ravenclaw!Reader) by silverdelirium

His Obsession (Draco Malfoy x Reader) by Chanxrene

Unexpected (Sirius Black x Fem!Reader) by jamespotterwhcre

Bitter (Steve Harrington x Reader) by strawberrysodaslut

Playboy ( James Potter x Fem!Reader) by jamespottersmommy

Adore (James potter x Reader) by 1-800-amortentia

Welcome to the Jungle (Tarzan!James Potter x Fem!Reader ft. Researchers Sirius & Remus) by gxtitobxby

Summer Affairs (Best friend’s dad!James Potter x Reader) by lovegoodfics

Feels Too Right (Sex Therapist!James x Innocent!Reader) by bellatrixscurls

Best Friend’s Dad (James Potter x Reader) by itsmentalillness

Fit In (James Potter x Reader) by bellatrixscurls

Not Letting Sirius Cum For A Week After He Broke A Rule by indigoh4ze

Preacher’s Son (James Potter x Reader) by pinkcherryblossom

Room Service (James Potter x Reader) by gxtitobxby

This Ask (Sirius Black x Reader) by gxtitobxby

Best Friend James in a Subspace by eddiesbug

Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader by sweetiecutie

Curfew (King Steve x Reader) by theontrueneohero

Sirius Black Smut Blurb by siriusblackloml

How It All Began (Marauders x Fem!Reader) by bellatrixscurls

Punishing Sub Remus and Sirius by bellatrixscurls 

This Poly!Marauders Smut by bellatrixscurls

James in a Subspace in Public by bellatrixscurls 

[saintsenara]

Ooh more about the subtext around James/Sirius? I’ve always read the text this way too!

thank you for the ask anon!

this question could have been prompted by any number of posts i’ve made, because i am a great proponent of the idea that unrequited prongsfoot is canon. 

why?

i’m so glad you asked…

let’s begin with a small caveat which - regrettably - involves some engagement with discourse.

the things created within fan-fiction aren’t real - an individual fic can’t cause actual, material harm to a reader, even if it contains tropes that would be harmful or distressing if they happened in that reader’s real life; an author’s use of certain tropes or interest in certain characters is not indicative of their actual morals and values in real life; thought crimes are not real crimes - but fan-fiction is produced by human beings who are themselves products of the societies and communities in which we all live, and these societies and communities all have flaws and failings.

which is to say, those of us who prefer to read male friendships like james and sirius’ as romantic do need to be aware that, no matter how enlightened on gender and its foibles we think ourselves to be, we are nonetheless influenced as modern humans by a modern tendency to discourage platonic physical and emotional closeness between men, especially straight men, on the grounds that two men having this sort of relationship is inherently queer and, in being queer, implicitly sexual - another powerful societal influence on our thought, even if we know we don’t agree with it. we should also be aware that reading a friendship as defining and life-altering as james and sirius’ as romantic gives weight to a modern tendency to prioritise romantic love - and one of its expected outcomes, the love of parents for their biological children -  over platonic love, and to regard people for whom romantic love is not a priority as not properly having achieved the milestones of adulthood, nor as properly fulfilled, adored, or satisfied.

everything which follows here, then, can be taken to refer just as validly to a purely platonic relationship between james and sirius if the reader prefers. and, indeed, my view is that this is how the canon narrative wants the reader to understand james saw the relationship. 

but i also think that the canonical text wants us to infer that, for sirius, his relationship with james was one of unrequited romantic love.

it must be said, however, that the narrative doesn’t show this explicitly. of course, it emphasises sirius and james’ compatibility, their similar personalities, their shared affection for each other, and a certain element of codependency (the thought of these two boys unable to be apart even for a detention without talking through their mirrors! my heart breaks!), but it also sets up these shared elements as - in some senses - fraternal: sirius is quasi-adopted by the potters; harry thinks of him and james as like fred and george, at least until he sees snape’s memories in order of the phoenix. when sirius speaks to harry about james, the profundity of his love for him is obvious, and on the two occasions when we see them physically together (snape’s worst memory and the prince’s tale) it’s clear that each is the primary driving force behind the other’s decisions. but we have nothing which indicates unambiguously that sirius’ feelings for james were romantic.

until we dive into a bit of narratology. because the text does do something to suggest that its intention is for sirius’ relationship with james to be read as non-platonic, and that something is its use of narrative mirrors. the harry potter series loves assigning its characters to narrative pairs - harry and voldemort are the obvious one; ron and draco malfoy are the one which deserves more attention - and it assigns to sirius a narrative mirror whose own story is one of unrequited romantic love.

severus snape.

sirius and snape are incredibly similar, personality-wise. they also serve identical narrative roles, in that they function as the guides who lead harry through an emotional arc which begins in earnest in prisoner of azkaban and concludes in deathly hallows, in which he sheds his childish, black-and-white view of his parents and comes to regard them as real, flawed, and complex people. harry does this with james in order of the phoenix - after the realisation that he was a bully stops the hero-worshipping which has defined his earlier attitude towards his father - with sirius as his guide (sirius is then killed off the second this narrative sub-arc is complete). he then does it with lily - who spends the earlier books as secondary in importance to james in her son’s mind - in half-blood prince and deathly hallows, in which snape (via the proxies of slughorn, the discipline of potions, his textbook, his patronus, and his memories) serves as his guide, until the fact that lily is the key to the whole mystery is revealed just before harry sacrifices himself to save the world.

in the course of this, it comes to be revealed that each of them considers their life to be defined by their relationship with and love for one half of the pair of james and lily (although the series hides this in snape’s case - making it look as though he is also motivated purely by his antagonistic relationship with james - right up until the last moment). their mirrored relationships with harry - while the idea that sirius is incapable of distinguishing him from his father is an invention of the films - is also driven fundamentally by their relationship with one of the two halves of his parents.

sirius and snape’s mirrored motivation-by-love is shown most clearly in their identical approach to guilt and grief, the two things which overarchingly drive their individual character arcs across the seven-book canon (or three, if you’re sirius - rip king).

both sirius and snape indirectly trigger the death of the person they love - and, let’s be frank, if we’re going to excoriate snape for reporting the prophecy to voldemort, exactly the same level of ire needs to be reserved for sirius and his plan to switch secret keepers (what we could do instead, of course, is recognise the life-altering tragedy of making this kind of mistake, which we all have to hope we never experience ourselves, and treat the lads with compassion) - but it’s clear in canon that neither accepts the idea that their involvement was, in fact, indirect. sirius openly tells harry that he considers himself to have ‘as good as’ cast the killing curse on james and lily; snape rejects dumbledore’s (back-handed) comfort that james and lily’s deaths were caused by ‘putting their trust in the wrong person’ by wishing to die himself.

wracked by guilt and hollowed out by grief, both of them then decide to punish themselves in an effort - one which, i think, they both consider futile, since they clearly regard their sins as too great to be redeemed - to atone for causing james and lily’s deaths. both of them do this by subjecting themselves to the pain and humiliation of imprisonment.

in sirius’ case, obviously, this is literal. we know from canon that he refuses to profess his innocence at any point during his show trial - and why would he, when he considers himself to be guilty? - and that he remains in azkaban for twelve years, despite possessing the means to escape before then. he leaves the prison only to attempt the one action which he thinks will redeem him in james’ eyes: murdering peter pettigrew.

in snape’s case, the prison is a metaphor (foucault just sat up). snape entombs himself both at hogwarts - not a place he seems to have been particularly happy - and in spinner’s end, allows dumbledore to repeatedly humiliate him, and risks his life as a spy as a means of self-flagellation. like sirius, he fails to profess his innocence - through ordering dumbledore to tell nobody of his true allegiance - because he considers himself to be guilty. he leaves the self-constructed cell in which he is skulking only when dead - when harry, who has taken on the burden of fulfilling snape’s atonement himself by preparing to kill voldemort, starts screaming his true motivations in the dark lord’s face - although there is some implication in canon that dumbledore’s intention was for snape to end the series by attempting himself the one action which he thinks will redeem him in lily’s eyes: murdering voldemort.

[after all, why does dumbledore say to harry at king’s cross that his intention was for snape to control the elder wand if he wasn’t hoping he’d use it to give the dark lord his death blow?]

snape and sirius mirror each other exactly in their response to the death of the person they love. we can justifiably assume, then, that we are intended by the text to read that love as identical in type. 

jkr has been very clear that snape’s relationship with lily is one of unrequited romantic love. we obviously don’t have to accept this in our own readings or in the way we write the characters in our own work - i love a queer snape sacrificing everything for his platonic best friend as much as the next girl - but we do have to acknowledge it as the doylist text’s stated intention. it stands to reason, then, that the text’s intention is for us to regard the mirror-image of snape’s love for lily - sirius’ love for james - as romantic as well.

or, unrequited prongsfoot is canon.

[sideprince]

Today's hot take: when Harry started his first year at school, Snape expected him to appreciate the opportunity and the escape Hogwarts gave him from his abusive home, just like Snape had at his age. Snape gives him an opportunity to prove himself and Harry lets him down. I have no doubt that Severus 'I corrected the text and made it better' Snape read all his books in anticipation of going to Hogwarts, and showed up knowing as much as Hermione did on her first day. He calls on Harry in his first class because he's curious about Harry and wants to know how clever he is, and when Harry doesn't know any of the answers, Snape assumes it means Harry is taking his place at Hogwarts for granted.

He doesn't yet know Harry is abused at home, but he does know that he's an orphaned wizard living with Petunia who Snape knows the measure of enough to know she won't have started hating wizards any less than when they were kids. He likely sees that Harry is thin and bears signs of neglect, because he knows them firsthand. I think he may have had a hope that he might connect, in some way, with his once best friend's son, and when Harry shows up looking like James and seemingly not having opened a single book, Snape assumes he has no curiosity and is arrogant like James had been. And to be honest, Harry could have done better; if he'd read through the books with real interest instead of just flipping through them, he might have been able say, "I don't know what happens when you combine asphodel and wormwood, but I do know that wormwood is an herb and asphodel is a flower."

“Potter!’ said Snape suddenly. ‘What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’ Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione’s hand had shot into the air. ‘I don’t know, sir,’ said Harry. Snape’s lips curled into a sneer. ‘Tut, tut - fame clearly isn’t everything.’ He ignored Hermione’s hand. ‘Let’s try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?’ Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn’t have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. ‘I don’t know, sir.’ ‘Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?’ Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys’, but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi? Snape was still ignoring Hermione’s quivering hand. ‘What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?’“At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling. ‘I don’t know,’ said Harry quietly. ‘I think Hermione does, though, why don’t you try her?’ A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus’s eye and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased. ‘Sit down,’ he snapped at Hermione. ‘For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren’t you all copying that down?'

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Ch. 8

A lot of people like to read this moment through the lens of Victorian flower language, but there's also a lot going on between the characters. Harry had "looked through his books" but that isn't clear to a teacher who can only see his baffled face, contrasted with Hermione who knows every answer and has clearly put in effort and interest. I think Snape has high expectations of his students, in part because he doesn't understand or value how brilliant he really is himself and assumes others should have similar abilities. He doesn't appreciate that Harry, like most people, can't just recall information he read casually and didn't deliberately study.

Harry, for his part, is also not academically minded. He was given a rare, incredible opportunity to escape a terrible home situation and spent a whole month with little to do but wait until it was time to go to Hogwarts. An entire identity that he was unaware of and that connected him to his parents was suddenly revealed, and his textbooks were the closest thing he had to understanding their world, and all he did was peruse them. Even if he wasn't the smartest kid or an academic like Hermione, if he's read them with the curiosity many others would have had in his situation, he would know what at least some of the ingredients Snape mentions are, even if he doesn't know what the various effects of combining them is. Snape asks an array of questions and there isn't a single moment where Harry shows any sign of recognizing what he's talking about even remotely. If he'd read his books with any real interest, he would at least be going, "I remember seeing this... damn I don't know what the books said, though" in his head, even if not out loud. We're seeing the narrative through his lens, but there's no sign of him recalling anything, only his defensiveness at how unfair it is that Snape thinks he didn't crack a book open when he did - and yet Snape might as well be speaking Greek to him. I don't think Snape's biases against him were fully justified, but I do think there's truth in Harry having a certain degree of hubris and an ease with which he accepts that he's a wizard - special, privileged, destined for greater things - that resembles James.

The other thing I think is worth pointing out about the above excerpt is not only that Snape has given Harry a chance to stand out and prove himself in order to see what he does with the opportunity, he also ends this moment by telling the other students to copy down what he's saying. He hasn't lost sight of the fact that he's still teaching, and we see this in him again and again, most especially right after he's killed Dumbledore, when he's still teaching Harry to close his mind even as he fends off his attacks. Through this whole scene, even though it seems like Snape is taunting Harry and singling him out to make him look foolish, what he's actually doing is teaching and gauging Harry's personality. Every word he says is knowledge he's passing on to his students, and he demands that they take them as such.

[possessingtheproperspirit]

It's @mppmaraudergirl's birthday! In celebration, have this random load of nonsense: sixth year Jily flirting by the lake.

“Ah, June.”

She doesn’t lift her gaze from the book in her lap, although she can’t seem to stop the smile already tugging at her lips. 

He is not discouraged by her lack of response. “To be young and in love in June,” he sighs, and flops down next to her. He smells like mint and pine and sweat. Not that she notices that sort of thing. “How can you bear it, Evans?”

“What, June?” she asks, still not looking up. Over the course of their sixth year at Hogwarts, she’s become used to his meandering threads of conversation: his mind works in mysterious and, yes, amazing ways. Now that they’re friends, she’s more attuned to it than ever. “One day at a time, Potter. Just me and my will to survive.”

He snorts and her smile strengthens; finally, she allows herself to look up, squinting in the sunshine as she takes him in. His tie has long since been abandoned, his hair its usual dishevelled mess. His legs are stretched out in front of him, and he rests back on his elbows, a louche sort of insouciance that, again, she wishes she didn’t find as charming as she does. 

“Not June,” he corrects her, and nods towards the lake. From their vantagepoint, under the shade of an ancient willow tree, they have the perfect view of two fourth years, flirting for Britain in the shallows. “Love’s young dream over there. It’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” she wonders. She recognises the boy—he’s a Hufflepuff prefect. Seems nice enough. “All they’re doing is standing there.”

“Standing there,” he repeats dryly. She can tell that he’s enjoying himself, that he’s committing to this train of thought even if he doesn’t really care. Sometimes he says things and he means them; sometimes he says things and he’s looking to have some fun. She likes both versions equally. “Flaunting their happiness in front of us!”

She turns to look at James, biting her lip as her smile threatens to overwhelm. “Oh, I’m sorry, Potter,” she says, and he meets her gaze, his own grin blooming. “I didn’t realise you were suffering so.”

“Being single,” he shrugs, waving an airy hand in the direction of the lake. “The secret sadness, even on a sunny day.” He glances down at her book. “Even in your fine company. Even though you’d rather be reading—what is that?”

“Pride and Prejudice,” she replies, showing him the cover. “It’s a classic.”

“That’s what girls want, is it?” he smirks. “Regency romance, contained desire and declarations of love at a polite distance?”

“Well,” she considers. “That, and paddling about in a lake.”

James’ laugh warms her, and she follows his gaze back out to the flirting pair nearby. “Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong.”

“Or maybe,” she says, and she’s not sure why, because it makes her stomach feel like it’s turning inside out, “you’re not going as wrong as you think you are.”

He looks round again, an intrigued eyebrow raised. For a moment, no comment, and she thinks she’s messed this up. They were having a rambling joking conversation, and she made it into something real.

But then he smiles again, and says, “We’re often our own harshest critic, aren’t we?” A pause, then, “Most of us, anyway. Sirius thinks he’s the bee’s knees.”

“But that’s only because he is,” Lily replies. Her heartbeat is returning to a normal rate. “Ignore the lake lovebirds. Lie back and I’ll read you some of my book.”

He chuckles, but does as he is asked, settling comfortably back against the grass. “Can I try to guess the ending?” he asks. “Who dies first, pride or prejudice? My money’s on prejudice.”

“James,” she says patiently, opening her book up again. “Shut up and listen.”

“Harsh,” he murmurs, and grins up at her. “But fair.”

And that was where they stayed, until the sun started to set over the lake.

[allamericanb-tch]

crimson rivers thoughts (7)

@tastetherainbow290 more!! this one is longer

chapter 12

remus pov!!

LILY MENTION i love you lily i hope we see more of her in this

oh no wait what happened

wolfstar is wolfstarring

oh no the games. ugh.

regulus pov <3 i hope he finds evan

snake jump scare

james pov already wow ok

vanity!!! she lives

them boiling the water they’re so smart i love james

taking a break to eat dinner i will be back later.

ok i am back. (i love that im saying this as if my thoughts are being shared in real time)

“you’re going after regulus aren’t you��� right as always, pete.

“stop thinking with your cock” PETER you icon

regulus pov again! i hope he finds james

water!!!!! huzzah

what is this spider 😭

james pov again

omg who died

i know it wasn’t regulus but i hope he is okay

wait is the spider like the wolf things?! that’s terrifying actually

omg irene and mathias hi

james interrogating them about regulus 😭

nice one regulus look at you killing avery spider

the lovers have been reunited!!!!

reggie come on don’t kill james

“he’s absolutely gorgeous” james now is not the time 😭

“you’re hesitating, love” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

james “if i have to tie you up and carry you there, you are coming with me” potter

why is james flirting with regulus right now 😭 read the room james

james going with regulus because regulus wont go with james

“what’s it going to be”

chapter 13

another spice warning for this chapter… more jegulus content?! or is it wolfstar. probably wolfstar. although that’s what i said last time and it was jegulus..

young jegulus ❤️‍🩹

“James has always been that infuriating mixture of wonderful and stupid” yeah that’s james.

HELP WHY IS JAMES BEAT BOXING

james. sweetie. i know you don’t want to kill the cute little family of deer but your only other option is to starve to death.

ok but why is this sad

i guess they choose starvation??

james missing sirius ☹️

“we’re a great big tragedy” that is exactly what jegulus is. you summed it up perfectly, thanks regulus

“do you think we would have gotten married” james 😭

REGULUS TRIPPING OVER THAT you know what you did james

“if it was you asking, you know i would have” ahhhhh

of course regulus ate the snake that tried to kill him. icon behavior.

eeeeeeeee jegulus

THE HANDCUFFS james get your mind out of the gutter

“mum dad look away im having impure thoughts” 😭

james doesn’t have his glasses?! how is he seeing right now

me rn: 💔

WHY IS IT ENDING HERE

i can’t even be mad about it because i love dorcas

omg dorcas!!! she’s safe

slow painful death ☹️ gotta be the worst kind

dorlene <333

why is marlene shocked that dorcas enjoyed the games when she was young. she is literally a hallow. and she was a child??

ok they’re flirting now

eeeeeee they’re kissing

ok more than kissing

“eyes up here sweetheart” dorcas im in love with you

i love dorlene this is a nice break from the arena

noooo the moment has been interrupted

fab and gid ☹️ don’t remind me

and its over.

chapter 14

im scared for this one

i really hope evan doesn’t die

“do fish even have brains” 😭 james please

james shamelessly being in love with regulus ugh i love them

of course james has a knife kink

the story <3

yeah sirius would try to eat rocks

“Your gifts at twelve were a lot different than they are at twenty-five” jamesss you

THE PARTING GIFT james you’re teasing the viewers

“everything proceeds to go wrong all at once.” oh no

evan?! i hope that isn’t you

james killed him. oh. my.

regulus is os caring ❤️‍🩹

james having a crisis

they’re holding hands omg

“all james wants is him”

MULCIBER

run joey run (glee cast version)

ouchie that seems like it hurt (wow. great observation from me.)

“when mulciber has a sword to his throat it’s not sexy at all” i would hope not?!

“he looks rather terrifying in a sexy way” james. babe. keep it in your pants you’re about to DIE

ok regulus

this is stressful. i know they both live but it is stressful nonetheless. 

yes james you go girl

HE JUST CHOPPED HIS HAND OFF???!!!!

the spear. i’m getting rue flashbacks.

I KNOW THEY LIVE BUT STILL

EVAN!!!!!!!! he’s alive and here to save the day

i love that evan calls regulus lover boy

evan is going to die and i am not ready

not regulus thinking of james as his boyfriend

“both” ahhhh reggieeeee

jegulus + evan god tier combo

my face when james calls regulus love: 🤭

NO JAMES WHAT

YOU CANT END THE CHAPTER LIKE THIS?! THIS HAS TO BE SOME FORM OF CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

is james going to go full peeta and lose his leg too

should i read another chapter….

[annasghosts]

Summary: Miss Lily Evans, the youngest daughter of a widow with a modest fortune, at one and twenty years of age knows what is required of her: to find a husband willing to support her and her mother. The problem? Men of the London society aren’t swayed by her lack of a dowry and brazen attitude. Luckily for her Mr James Potter has just come home from Cambridge and she can enlist his help to find out what men really want.

chapter 6: “Lily! How good it is to see you.” Mary exclaimed, eyes shining with genuine happiness as she approached her and Lily smiled, taking her hands.

“I was tired of having mama as my only company.” She confessed, her tone light, trying to hide how much truth there was in that statement. Lily had refused to get out of the house in the past few days and her mama, perhaps thinking her swift change of mood had to do with the impending arrival of Mr Snape and wanting to avoid the subject of all costs, hadn’t pressed her. She couldn’t imagine the real reason why her daughter had spent her days by the window, forlorn, seemingly waiting for something and growing more aggravated with each day. 

keep reading chapter 6, from the beginning

[ladylokilaufeyson5]

Beyond Rumours

Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader

Chapter Twenty-One

Summary: Y/n is a Malfoy. A Pureblood. A pretentious, blood-status-loving Slytherin. At least, those are the rumours, but since when has Remus Lupin ever really cared about rumours?

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 1.8K

A/N: heyy. how y'all doing... sorry i left this so long lol. as u probably know i'm currently writing some things for my 1k celebration but i've nearly finished that so hopefully i'll be able to write more of this :))

Series Masterlist

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REMUS LUPIN

Saturday, 24th of December 1977

The fire crackled beside us as my group of six friends sat in the common room. It was well past eleven now – everyone else had gone to bed, but the rest of us just had so much to do and talk about, apparently.

The Yule Ball was a popular topic. None of the girls would tell us what they were wearing, which seemed to infuriate Sirius – he'd always been a lover of fashion. Whenever it was mentioned I'd always sneak a glance at Y/n – just to see her already looking at me. Maybe they were right. Maybe she did like me – maybe I could ask her...

No.

She wouldn't.

James and Lily sat together on the couch – and I mean together. At the beginning, Lily had just draped her legs across his, but now she was fully sat in his lap, arms circled around his neck and hands playing in his curls. His hands were around her waist respectfully. His hands never ventured lower, and he'd even asked her permission for it. He thought he'd been discreet, but I could hear everything – one of the few pros (or one of the many cons, depending on how you looked at it) of being a werewolf.

"We should probably be getting to bed soon," Lily yawned.

"C'mon, it's not like we're gonna miss Santa Claus," James grinned. "He's not real."

Sirius gasped, placing his hands over Peter's ears. "Shh! Don't spoil Pete's dreams!"

Peter batted his hands away with a scowl, causing the rest of us to laugh.

"Hey, what if we have a sleepover?" James suggested. "Y'know, all of us?"

Sirius sat upright and stared at James with adoration in his eyes. "James Fleamont Potter," he gushed, "That is completely and utterly the best idea you've ever come up with!"

"A sleepover is his best idea ever?" Y/n scoffed. "And here I was, thinking James may have had a bright future ahead of him."

James scowled and everyone laughed.

"A sleepover sounds fun," Lily said.

"Well, since us fellas can't get into the ladies' dorms, it seems you will be joining us," Sirius said, winking at Lily, and causing James's arms to tighten slightly.

Lily and Y/n got up to get changed into their pyjamas and get ready for bed, and the rest of us walked to the boys' dorms. Regulus disappeared into the bathroom, and James cast a silencing charm before turning on me.

"Have you asked her out yet?" he pressed.

"Who?"

"Y/n, you idiot!" Sirius cut in.

I felt myself blush a deep red, and I looked away, rubbing the back of my neck. "Er... no."

"Why not?" Sirius demanded.

"I don't think she likes me," I mumbled.

Sirius looked at me like I had said the stupidest thing ever, and it made me want to hit him. "C'mon, you asked her to the ball, and she said yes! That's gotta mean something!"

"Maybe she just didn't want to hurt my feelings," I protested. Even though my thoughts travelled back to how she'd reacted – how she'd seemed glad, excited, even. But maybe that was just wishful thinking.

Sirius scoffed and James rolled his eyes.

"All in favour that Y/n likes Remus back and he should ask her out?" Peter suggested, raising his hand.

I glared at my friends as their hands all rose in the air, and they all voiced their agreements.

"Wait, you like Y/n?" All of our heads whipped to the bathroom door, where Regulus stood, a massive grin on his face. "I gotta tell her."

I felt my stomach drop, and I was surprised it hadn't fallen out of my body and hit the floor.

"You aren't telling anyone anything," Sirius barked. "Can anyone perform a memory charm?"

"Hey! You stay away from my memories!" Regulus hissed, covering his head as if it would shield him from the magic.

James stepped towards Regulus, "You understand why Moony would want to keep this quiet, right?"

Regulus just looked at James, assessing him, and I felt my heart drop. Regulus would tell Y/n, and she would be weirded out and never speak to me again. I could already see it happening, see everything playing out in my head... until Regulus sighed.

"Fine," he muttered, "my lips are sealed."

It was silent for a moment, before Peter piped up, "Regulus would know if Y/n likes Remus too."

I saw a look of shock on Regulus's face before he quickly schooled his features into neutrality and shrugged. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that."

"Reg–" Sirius started, but Peter cut across.

"It's a yes!" he yelled.

Everyone turned to him, expressions of confusion clear on our faces.

"I dunno how you came to that conclusion, mate," James said.

"Well, if she didn't like Remus, Regulus would just tell us, wouldn't he?" Peter explained. "Y'know, so you don't get your hopes up. And if he's not allowed to tell us, it's obviously a secret, which means it's obviously a yes."

Everyone looked to Regulus, who muttered, "fuck."

"HA!" Sirius yelled, pointing at me. "Told you so!"

"Shut up," I grumbled, flopping down onto my bed.

Sirius whooped and jumped up on his bed, throwing his head back and singing, "Moony's in love! Our Moony's in love!"

"Shut up!"

"Never!"

"I will hang you from the Astronomy Tower," I threatened.

"That doesn't sound very Prefect-like of you."

I turned at the sound of Y/n's voice to see her grinning, standing beside Lily in the doorway. I quickly looked at the others, unsure as to how long they'd been there.

"How much of that did you catch?" I asked nervously.

Y/n cocked her head. "Er... just your violent threat. Also you telling Sirius to shut up, which, I'm sure, was for a valid reason."

Sirius gasped in outrage and lunged for Y/n, but she sidestepped, smiling as she did so. That little grin was enough to make me smile too, but it dropped as soon as I saw my friends giving me suggestive smirks.

Lily and Y/n conjured mattresses for themselves and made their beds, before they both sat cross-legged beside each other.

We'd never had a sleepover before – at least, not with the girls. I expected them to beg us to do our hair or make up, but that never happened. The closest thing to that was Y/n yanking on Regulus's hair because he was annoying her.

It took a while for everyone to fall asleep. We were all so excited and eager for Christmas and the ball that we were wide awake. But no one stayed up forever. Peter was the first to fall asleep. I could hear him snoring away, so I cast a sound-silencing charm over his bed so we wouldn't wake him up. Lily was next, in James's arms. And then James himself, and Sirius and Regulus, until it was just me and Y/n left.

The moon shone into the dorm – it had been full a week ago, and it still glowed brightly, the stars glinting beside it. Y/n studied it carefully and then looked over at me. I felt myself blush when I realised I'd been caught staring, but the girl just smiled at me.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

Y/n looked at me for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. James let out a snort in his sleep, which caused Y/n to jump. I had to stifle a laugh, and she narrowed her eyes at me, and I hesitated for a moment before gesturing to her to come over. She looked at the bed beside her and slowly got up, tiptoeing across the room and to my bed. I cast a silencing charm and she raised an eyebrow, to which I shook my head furiously, embarrassment and mortification filling my body.

"That's not – I didn't cast the charm because – because I wanted–"

Y/n laughed. "I was just teasing."

Relief washed through me, and I was able to smile alongside her. It was silent, before–

"The – the stars," she whispered. "I was thinking about the stars. That one is Regulus."

She pointed to a star in the sky, but I couldn't make out which one it was.

"I – I look at it, sometimes, when I'm at – at that place. When I'm surrounded by them." It took me a moment to realise she was talking about Malfoy Manor, and her family members. "It – it feels like he's there with me, sometimes. Comforting me."

"You love him," I stated.

Y/n smiled slightly. "Tell him and I'll have to kill you."

I smiled back at her, feeling her words resonate slightly.

"I know what you mean," I confessed, looking at the sleeping figures of my friends. "I – without them, I... I wouldn't..."

I wouldn't be who I am. I would be shrouded in misery and self-hatred. My friends were everything to me. They were worth more than anything in the world. More than money, more than fame, and (although I'd never admit it to them) more than books and chocolate. They were my rock in a stormy sea, the thing that kept me afloat.

Y/n nodded softly in understanding. "I know," she murmured.

She was no longer smiling, but there was empathy in her features. Did she feel the same way about Regulus? Was he her rock? Her eyes bored into mine, and I was suddenly reminded of the saying, the eyes are the window to the soul. If she looked hard enough, would she see through? See inside, see what a monster I was?

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

I couldn't tell her – not this, never this. I wanted to believe that she'd be understanding, that she'd be like James and Sirius and Peter and Lily – that she wouldn't care. But I couldn't take that risk.

"The Ball," I lied.

If she knew that I hadn't told the truth, she made no mention of it. In fact, she even smiled, looking down shyly and batting her eyelashes a bit.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said. "I, um... I think it'll be good. Y'know, if I don't trample your feet."

Y/n chuckled and looked up at me, her smile brightening the room, washing out the glow of the moon. "You'll be fine, Remus. I believe in you."

And the way she said my name – fuck. I was falling hard, and I could tell there was no stopping. I was freefalling without a parachute, without anything to stop or catch me. This wasn't going away, the feelings weren't going away. I should stop it now, I should just let her go, but...

But you're scared. You want her.

I did want her. So badly. I wanted to be with her, to kiss her, to hold her hand and hold her and be the one she called hers.

"We should probably get some rest, huh?" she suggested, looking back at her own makeshift bed. "Y'know, so we don't miss Santa?"

I grinned at her, and she slid off my bed and into her own.

You'll be fine, Remus. I believe in you.

Fuck. It was really going to hurt when I hit the ground.

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Taglist:  @1989worshipper @divinekills @cloud-9ine​ @l0v3do11​ @peachycupotea @222brooke​ @asoulsreverie @lostgirlsstuff​ @lovinnoya​ @arisarise @theghostofshadows @kaicyl @eviesmith1810 @darkenwolfie @thatgirljas13 @thecraziestcrayon @mellozhi @it-was-never-meant-to-be-boys @ilovedilfs32 @cherrysugarx @summer-noir @ilovemarauders @aavenxx @lomllino @th0mas-ed1s0n @mclennon-muggle @eddiesbixch696 @that-gayyy-bitch @justreadingabooksstuff @thesoggy-1 @valvlry @hannah-13 @beatssssssss @im-a-wh0r3 @liszblog @nottherealslimshady @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @blue-butterflies-fly @teamspideyman @staygoldsquatchling02  @betteramonster

[murderoushagthesequel]

The Only Good Thing

from @jegulus-microfic's prompt, warning (827 words)

this one also really got away from me if you couldn't tell lol. i also... cried while writing this (it has a happy ending i swear) i'm just emotional atm lol... anywayyyyy enjoy lovlies <3

“You aren’t listening to me!” Regulus cries desperately. He wants James to scream and yell and run away from him, but every attempt Regulus makes to push him away, he just comes closer. “I’m only going to hurt you,” he mumbles. Regulus hangs his head, letting the anger and frustration seep out of him, giving up.

“The only person being hurt here is you, love,” James’ warm voice says. Regulus tries to hold himself together. Those words cut deeper than he ever would’ve expected them to. “I think you need to let yourself have good things sometimes.” Regulus falls to his knees and sobs into his hands. He needs to get away from James. He doesn’t want to taint the one good thing left in his life but he’s so tired. His body has had enough.

James sits down on the floor next to him and wraps his arms around him. Regulus pathetically falls into his chest, selfishly seeking all the warmth and love that James will offer him right now. James doesn’t say anything else, just sitting and rubbing light circles on his back. He isn’t running away, even when Regulus is in this awful state. He doesn’t know if that makes it better or far, far worse. 

“You’re the only good thing I have left, James,” he chokes out. “I can’t ruin that.”

“You need to give yourself more credit. You don’t ruin things, Reg.”

“But I do!” he protests, sitting up again and avoiding eye contact. “My brother is gone, my parents don’t love me, the whole school hates me-” He slumps down again. “Hell, the only thing that hasn’t gone wrong is I didn’t run off and join the Death Eaters or something,” he chuckles a bit at that, how bad does one's life have to get that just not being a Death Eater is the only upside?

“None of that was your fault,” James says softly. “Just please, let me love you, Regulus.” Regulus’ continued tirade of self-doubt catches in his throat. He takes a chance and looks into James’ eyes. They’re swimming with so much sadness. He caused that. He was right, James should’ve heeded his warnings.

James takes a deep breath and looks away. Regulus braces himself for the rejection he knows is coming. James bites his lip and flexes his hands on his knees.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it,” he starts, fiddling with his fingers, “but you’re the only good thing in my life.” Regulus feels the tears silently begin to flow down his face again. That can’t be right. “Things are pretty shitty right now to be honest,” he laughs, but partway through it breaks and turns into a sob. “Please don’t leave me alone.” And how can Regulus deny that?

“No, fuck, don’t cry,” he says, holding James’ face in his hands like it’s made of glass. “It’s going to be okay, Jamie, I promise,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Fuck it. If this is the hand they’re both dealt, they need to hold on to each other. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’ll never leave you again.” James looks up at him then.

“You won’t?” Regulus uses all the energy he has left to summon a shaky smile on his face as he nods. 

“I could never really leave you, James,” he admits. “That’s why I asked you to leave me.” James doesn’t say anything so Regulus takes a deep breath and continues. “I could never leave somebody I love so much.” Regulus doesn’t have time to process what’s happening before he’s being kissed by James Potter. It feels like a breath of fresh air after living underground his whole life. His heartbeat quickens and his whole body trembles, but it’s strangely comforting.

They’re both too exhausted to put any real heat into it, but all their raw emotions are still spilled out to each other in a silent exchange. Their faces are both stained with tears and they’re quivering from the weight of their emotions. James moves his lips slowly against Regulus’ and it makes him believe that they really do have all the time in the world, if they only let themselves. James presses his hands firmly against Regulus’ back and Regulus simply melts into him. He’s officially hopeless for James Potter. 

James pulls back and rests his forehead against Regulus’, both of them breathing heavily, inhaling each other’s exhales. It’s the most intimate thing Regulus has ever experienced and yet, he doesn’t feel uncomfortable. In fact, it feels like this is where he was always meant to be.

“You’re my home, Regulus,” James whispers, barely loud enough to hear. “I love you more than words can describe.” James settles down on his back and Regulus burrows his head into his chest. They spend the night whispering love declarations in the dark and sharing lazy kisses. Their lives are both shit, but they finally have each other.

[jamesunderwater]

The latest chapter of you’re dead to me… let’s talk about that, bc you say things like it’s not perfect… but it was/is. The way you give us a James Potter in this chapter who is so far from perfect but such a genuinely real teenager/adolescent going through things… even if his parents aren’t like the blacks or the Evanses (spec in this fic) doesn’t mean he wouldn’t feel these things. Saying things you don’t really want to but you are saying/doing them anyway (which you’ve written out SO well) it was like reading your own 17 yr old diary and wanting to scream at the world and your loving parents for the patterns they put you in- even if that was all done lovingly. It was as if I was watching my own son’s actions through this fic. Which was absolutely incredible. So … imperfections aside… (where where we’re they ? I didn’t notice) the feelings and the depth of emotions you wrote in this chapter- just wow (I tried to come up with superlatives that didn’t just sound like flat shitty things. I can’t)- it was a feeling. The feelings were raw, real and complex and REAL and I loved it all. The ending with the glasses (oh his mum- she’ll never stop) - your family and social relations are so well described which makes me care and feel a lot for your characters! sincerely, Thank you for that! Thank you for writing this story,

x

@practicecourts PC <33 I told you I didn't forget about this ask! Even 7 months later, it pops into my head so often… I really needed the encouragement in this message -- back when you sent it, because I really was so insecure about that chapter, and for the months since, as a reminder that the story has meaning to people. Maybe that's why I held onto it for so long. But I can't say thank you enough sending it to me <3

In that chapter, the thing I agonized over the most was wanting to get the angst of being a teenager right, without making James unrecognizable from the man we know him to be. It took a LONG time and a lot of agonizing to get it there, but I was pretty happy about it by the end, and hearing that it felt like reading your teenage diary and reflected your own son's actions, too -- agh, wow, I don't think I could ever be paid a better compliment!! Writing "Real" stories is what matters most to me, so the fact you described it that way makes me so happy.

And yes, the end!! Euphemia!! It makes me ache in the best and worst ways, thinking about how there can be nothing but pure love between people, and still it can be imperfect and cause pain. 💔

Okay, not to keep repeating myself, but just -- thank you again, my friend <33

[caspian-16]

Time to save them all

Alternative ending to Harry Potter.

May 2nd 1998

There it was. The Ravenclaw diadem. The 5th horcrux. Destroying this one means a step closer to ending it all. One Step Closer to ending the war. The war that took everything from him. His parents. His Friends. His hope. His happiness. He could end this. He would end this.

He slowly moved his hand to the shimmering head piece that was embedded with the soul of the man who destroyed everything he ever loved. Embedded with the very soul that was inside of him. As his fingers brushed the azure jewel, a glistening gold flash of light hit the corner of his eye. He squinted and moved his head to look where the reflecting glare came from. Harry saw a thin metal chain peeking out from a mess of dust and clutter. His mind was practically begging him to find out what it was, begging him to look at the object, lost in a pile of forgotten trinkets. His feet moved slowly towards it. His hand reached into the mound on top of the desk, going into the void and clutching his fingers around something thin and circular.

What entered his vision was something he never thought he would see again. It was a Time Turner. Memories of his third year flooded into his brain, going back with Hermione, producing his first patronus charm, saving buckbeak, saving Sirius. Sorrow was then what flooded into his heart. Sirius. Was saving him pointless? He died only a few years later. He watched him die. Why did he have to die? Why couldn't he have saved him? Like back then. Suddenly he felt as though a light bulb switched on in his head. As though real hope sparked in his heart. He could save him. Save them. Save everyone.

“Harry?” 

Hermione's voice brought him back to reality. He looked back at her, tears coming into his eyes, a slight smile of relief resting on his face.

“What if we could save them?”

“What? Save who Harry?” 

It was Ron’s voice this time that spoke.

“My parents, our Friends, Cedric, Sirius, Everyone…What if we could save them?” 

His throat got hoarse and sore as he spoke.

“Harry, I don’t understand? What are you…” 

Hermione stopped as she saw what was dangling from his hand.

“What if Voldemort never had a chance to start a war?... What if Cedric never died?... What if Sirius was still here? or… What if sixteen years ago Lily and James Potter stayed with their son?”

“Harry…Mate…I know you want them back but this is dangerous.” 

Ron started to cry too. He could see the pain in his best friend's eyes, he could see the guilt that was held in them. But, he could also see the hope. The hope he thought he might never see Harry have again. It was crazy, but when was something they did ever not crazy.

“Harry. Bad things happen to wizards who mess with time.” 

Hermione always tried to be the voice reason in the group. Always trying to stop the two idiots from getting himself killed. Always trying to protect them, that moment more than ever.

“Not if I'm careful. If I go back and destroy his horcruxes again and kill him before the war starts, we can grow up how we were supposed to. Loving families we don’t have to say goodbye to, classmates who aren’t destined to be killers, not being forced to fight in war—”

“A normal School year.” 

The three stifled a laugh at Ron’s comment.

“Yeah, a normal school year.” 

Harry’s voice still having the reminisce of joy

“You know Ron you won't be able to use the excuse ‘I was fighting a three-headed dog’ to get out of doing homework again.” 

Hermione’s joke erupted an old sense of glee in them.

“Now I hate this plan.” 

That moment of contentment in that dusty room before the upcoming battle, meant the world to the three unlucky friends.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trio made their way across the corridor, legs walking as fast as possible.

“Everyone should be at the great hall by now.” 

Hermione stated, panting slightly from the quick movements. 

“They all must be very confused.”

“I’m still bloody confused.”

 Ron’s feet slammed against the moving staircase, making the noise bounce around the stone walls. 

“You're gonna’ have to give one of those inspiring speeches you do, to make everyone not think you’ve gone insane.”  

“Thanks for the encouraging word Ron.” 

Harry’s sarcastic comment stopped when they reached the large, wooden doors of the hall. A sense of panic coursed through his veins when he heard the chatter of the innocent lives he was supposed to be leading in front of him. Was he going to do this? Lead these people to their deaths, to go back in time and save everyone the hardship of this mindless war. It might not work. It might end with the only people he has left in this world dying in front of him then Voldemort finally, killing Harry Potter. But, what if it does work? Everyone who's died, everyone whose heart has been pierced by pain from this war, can live in peace without knowledge of what touture they endured. Was he going to do this? Yes, he was.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The creak from the heavy doors echoed throughout the hall, every head turned to the three before them. Confusion and sorrow dripped from the atmosphere, creating an almost deafening silence that could make ears bleed. 

“What’s going on Harry?”  

Ginny spoke up, asking the question that plagued everyone's mind. 

“We have a plan.” 

Harry stated to the crowd. 

“A crazy plan.” 

Ron joked.

“What is it?” 

Remus asked, making Harry hope the plan would work to see the man have his friends and husband back.

“I use this.” 

He pulled the time turner out of his pocket and showed it to everyone. A few gasps could be heard from the people who knew what the device could do but most were confused. “I am going to go back to 1978 and kill Voldemort before he started the war.” The hall erupted in yells and accusations of madness. Molly stepped forward to Harry, shaking her head.

“Harry dear, this…this plan of yours it’s—”

“Crazy?” 

The trio question in unison a smile of hope on each of their faces. 

“Yes, you're right. It is.” 

Molly answered back.

“If this plan works, this war will never have happened. Everyone we’ve lost could be alive again, we won’t know what a life of pain and sorrow is, we won’t remember the absence of goodness in the world, we won’t fear the name Voldemort. We will have a chance to live in a world with peace and happiness, so please. Help me.” 

The hall was once again in silence but this was not one of pain, but one of hope.

“How can we help?” 

Neville asked. Harry looked to Hermione to tell the world's last hope, the plan.  

“To go that far back in time it has to be spun one hundred and fifty times.”

“One hundred and fifteen times! Blimey Harry, you're gonna be sat here all day!” 

Seamus’s shock brought a small laugh to the room. 

“To do that, we're going to need to protect Harry when Voldemort and the death eaters come for him.” 

Continued Hermione.

“So we’re going to die–” 

Fred started.

“--But come back and not remember Voldemort’s ugly mug” 

George continued.

“Seems alright.” They said in unison. Laughter once again erupted in the hall, the twins alway had a way of bringing humor to even the darkest of situations.

“Right, well. The teachers and adults should help set up defenses for the hall, everyone else should relax for a few minutes, get prepared.” Mcgonagall announced. 

Everyone in the hall separated off to say a form of goodbye and a ‘see you when this shit is over.’

Harry found himself pulled into a hug by Molly Weasley.

“Stay safe out there, dear. And remember no matter what year it is or what has gone on in the world, you will alway be welcome by the Weasleys, Harry.” He could feel her tears on his shoulder and his in his eyes. She was the only mother he had and hearing her say goodbye was like a stab in the heart. They both pulled back and looked and looked at each other's water-soaked face.

“Thank you for everything, Mrs Weasley.” Molly stepped away as Aurther hugged him too.

“Good luck, Harry.” He smiled with tears and pulled his wife away.

“Don’t mess up you specky git!”  The twins said together, both ruffling Harry’s hair and walking to their parents. His eyes fell on Ginny, one of his greatest friends. She wrapped her arm around his neck while crying.

“I’ll see you soon, Harry.” 

“I’ll see you soon, Ginny.”

Ginny walked away towards Luna, Harry knowing he’ll get to play matchmaker with those two in the future or past? To be honest he wasn’t sure what to call it.

The thing that broke him out of his thoughts was by far the weirdest thing that's happened in the last thirty minutes. Draco Fucking Malfoy was coming up to him. Did he just slip into an alternate dimension?

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

…

Yeah this is awkward. 

Draco coughed and slicked back his snowy hair trying to get himself together.

“Look, I know we haven’t exactly got along–”

“Well that’s an understatement.” Harry sassed. 

“Yeah it is… but, I just wanted to say thank you, for everything. Trying to stop people like him and my father from taking over the world. Trying to stop me.” His expression turned sad and cold. He knew Draco had no choice in the matter. He knew what his father was and what he could probably do to his own son to make him follow in his footsteps. It wasn’t Draco’s fault and maybe, when everything is over, Draco can grow up in a family that doesn’t brand a mark on a sixteen year-old’s arm.

“I don’t blame you Draco, I never have. It’s your family's fault for making you believe those things, your father’s fault for making you join him. I know you never had a choice and when we meet again, maybe I'll shake your hand.” Faint tears welled up in Draco’s, feeling happy from the acceptance he received form the boy who was supposed to be his rival.

“Thanks Potter.”  

And with that he walked off. Harry saw him going into the comfort of Blaize’s arms, letting each other have peace and love in their final moments. 

It reminded Harry of his times with Cedric. When the two of them strolled along the black lake in the early morning, after hours of sleepless slumber. When they had small picnics in the astronomy tower, pointing out different constellations and staring into eachothers eyes. When they went to the Yule ball together, dancing and laughing, relishing in their time together and their time back in Cedric’s room, along with those hours in the prefect's bathroom. Merlin, he missed their moments together. Their youthful, dumb, love-filled moments together. It was probably the best moment in his war-like life. But this, this was the reason why he was doing this crazy plan, to get him back. To get everyone back. Ced, Sirius, Dobby,...his parents. He had to get them back. He had to.

“Uncle Remus?”

The tall, lanky man in an old, stitched-together suit turned and faced him. His messy brown hair almost covered his honey eyes, stubble painted on his pale skin.

“Yes Harry?”

“I’m going to get them back.”

His face softened at Harry’s word. His mind clouded of his school days with the marauders. Study sessions with lilly. Double dates with Dorcas and Marlene. Those days at the black lake with Sirius… their wedding.

“I know you will, Harry.”

They embraced each other at the end of the world, hoping for the past to be rewritten.

Harry sat at the back of the great hall, on Dumbledore's chair, staring at the trinket that could grant them peace.

“Harry?”

His eyes moved to see the two most important people in his life standing in front of him. All their faces flooded with salty water, knowing this could be the end of the journey they started at eleven.

“Hi.”

His voice choked, causing the friends to wrap each other in a strong unbreakable hug. They were all sobbing into each other.

“We're going to be okay. You’ll destroy all the horcruxes, kill Voldemort and will all be okay. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Harry replied back to Hermione’s mothering tone. 

“You can do it, mate.”

“Everyone! It’s time.”

Mcgonogall’s voice yelled over the chatter, signaling it was time to save the world. All of them started to get into position.

“See you soon, Harry.”

Everyone was in position, apart from Nevill, who was running up to Harry in the silence.

“Here.”

In his hand was the sword of Gryffindor, sheathed in brown leather.

“Thanks, Nevill.”

Nevill nodded and surveyed back to his position, shoes squeaking on the floor.

This was it.

one turn…

Two turns…

Three turns…

The footsteps and yells of the Deatheaters were growing louder. They got past the defenses. Maniacal screams of madness echoed throughout the stone wall. They were coming.

ten spins…

fourteen spins…

fithteen spins…

Sweat was gliding off everyone’s skin in anticipation of their deaths.

eighteen spins…

Nineteen spins…

twenty spins…

BANG!!!

The door burst open with Deatheaters, clad in black cloaks and intricate masks.

twenty five spins…

thirty spins…

thirty five spins…

Crackles of spells filled the halls in a few seconds, the order of the phoenix, dead.

forty spins…

fifty spins…

sixty spins… 

Fighting continued. 7th year dead.

seventy spins…

eighty spins…

ninety spins…

6th and 5th year dead.

one hundred spins…

one hundred and five spins…

one hundred and ten…

There he was. The man himself. Voldemort. The battle split like the red sea of him, walking towards his enemy, the lightning branded boy.

one hundred and twenty spins…

one hundred and thirty spins…

one hundred and forty spins… 

All the students were dead. All that's left were Mcgonagll, Reamus and Flitwick.

one hundred and forty fix spins… 

Harry was all alone.

Voldemort ran to grab Harry, planning to publicly execute his death to the whole world. He ran to the boy, bloodlust filling his veins.

But it was too late.

one hundred and fifty times…

Harry disappeared from Voldemort’s grasp.

𝕮𝖆𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖆𝖓

[charmsandtealeaves]

@jilytoberfest | 31 prompts | Prompt 3

Prompt: Teaming up when they aren’t really friends

Read it on AO3

Summary: Flitwick sets randomly assigned partners for the first major charms N.E.W.T assignment of the year. Lily just had to be paired with her arch nemesis. 

Words: 1424

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

This Isn't Transfiguration

When Professor Flitwick had started the term by saying that as their first N.E.W.T year they’d be working on a project piece for the first term, Lily had been delighted. She had always excelled at charms with it being her favourite subject after potions, it was the one class she felt came to her with a sense of ease. However, her excitement turned to dread when he continued that it would be a joint assignment. Marlene and Dorcas always partnered together, and Mary had started dating Reg Cattermole over the summer break so she undoubtedly would partner up with him. That left her with few suitable replacement options. The stomach churning feeling turned into full on plummet when Flitwick then said they’d be working in randomly assigned pairs. He levitated a pointed wizards hat filled with names on pieces of parchment for each person to select their partner. As more and more of her potential good partners were snapped up she started to feel the anxiety build. The last thing she needed was to be stuck with one or the Slytherins, or worse a slacker who would leave her doing all of the work. 

When the hat finally reached her, she quickly dove in and snatched the first piece of parchment she could reach. Lily read the name quickly. James Potter. FUCK. 

“Professor, could I please redraw?” She asked politely.

“Miss Evans in the real world you will encounter many people you wouldn’t otherwise find yourself socialising and working with. This assignment is to help you prepare for that. You get who lady luck deals you I’m afraid.” Professor Flitwick returned her answer kindly. 

“Potter. I’m with you.” Lily called out to his row. 

Upon hearing his name James smiled and shifted from his seat to join her. He had the audacity to be happy about it. Double fuck. Fuck it, fuck him, fuck this. Wait no that was three… Triple fuck. Dorcas smiled apologetically as she got out of her seat to make room for James. If she didn’t kill him by the end of term it’d be a miracle. Lily chose to blatantly ignore James' ever fidgeting presence as Fliwick explained their assignment in more depth. 

“I was thinking we could add a changing element to ours… turn something from one thing to another.” James whispered, drawing his chair closer to her so their brainstorming couldn’t be overheard. 

“That’s transfiguration Potter. This is charms. A charm adds certain properties to an object or creature, whereas a transfiguring spell will change it into something utterly different. Standard book of spells… grade one” Lily responded sharply, her tone clearly annoyed. 

“I know that. I was just thinking we could add something. There is no harm in mixing both entities.” James replied defensively. 

He was good at transfiguration; it was his strongest subject, while Lily was best in charms. He thought it would be a good idea to collaborate with their strengths. Last thing he wanted to do was to step on Lily’s toes this early considering they’d be partnered together all term. How things had ended last year after their owl exams still played on his mind. James hadn’t meant for Snape to call her that word and end their friendship like that. Snape and Lily were from the same town he knew, which must have made her Summer very difficult. Perhaps that’s why she was now so bitter to be forced into partnership with him. 

Lily had begun rapidly scribbling away on a piece of parchment paper. Clearly she already had an idea of what she wanted to work on. James leaned over to be able to read as she wrote. 

Atmospheric charm???? Modify for indoor use. 

James slid the parchment towards himself and jotted a note in the corner

Avis- bird conjuring charm. Advanced spell - mixes elements of charms and transfiguration. Aren’t supposed to cover it til later in the year. Would impress. 

Lily looked at it briefly with a scowl and wrote back. 

Caterwauling Charm. Explain later. 

When class was over Lily  pulled James aside in the charms corridor. They both had a free period now in which they could discuss their project plan going forward. James seemed somewhat reluctant to spend his first free period of the year actually doing school work. But agreed to follow her to one of the private study cubbys in the library. Lily grabbed a few books off the shelves in the restricted section as they went. James recognised a few of the titles as ones he’d ‘borrowed’ previously under the cloak while working on the marauders map. Lily slammed the books onto a table in the cubby with a loud thunk, quickly flicking to pages she must have already been familiar with. 

“I helped Professor Sprout in greenhouse four last year. She cast an atmospheric charm to work indoors to water the plants… I’m thinking we could combine it with the caterwauling charm. Instead of setting off a screeching alarm it would trigger an atmospheric change. Seems like something up your alley considering the swamp you charmed in the girls' lavatories last year.”

“Seems a little basic. Not much of a challenge for you. This assignment is supposed to push us.” James commented. 

“Then what’s your bright spark idea then? I was trying to make things easy for you.” “Oh don’t make it easy for my sake Evans. I can pull my own weight.” James growled. “Personally I think combining advanced transfiguration and charm is the way to go. Flitwick is known for giving out house points for ingenuity. Maybe we could do our own take on something similar to the Avis charm. Not birds but something else more easily contained. A fish or something.” 

As much as she hated to admit it. Lily knew James was right. Combining two types of advanced magic was much more likely to earn them praise and a good passing grade from Flitwick. 

“Well I want to put a sense of style into it anyway. A magical signature.” Lily retorted. 

“Okay deal. What did you have in mind?” James agreed. 

“Petals?” She flustered on the spot. 

“Petals to fish is a good start. You’d need a containment charm, a hover charm or barrier charm of some sort. Your idea of switching up an alarm triggering charm could come into play here. Instead of an alarm it sets off a chain reaction of transfiguration magic.” James brainstormed. Flicking through to the appropriate text page. 

It took many long hours into the night, frustrated shouting matches, starting from scratch all over again, skipped meals, tears and countless cups of tea, but they finally had their project sorted just in time for the break. Nervously Lily gently placed the most complicated piece of magic she’d created to date onto Professor Flitwick's teaching podium. To the unknowing eye it looked like a flower petal hovering above a clear glass bowl of water. She turned and gave James a knowing thumbs up. Flitwick entered the classroom and breezed down the rows of students admiring each project in turn before he approached James and Lily. Flitwick’s eyebrows furrowed in concern as he saw their empty desk. He’d never in all his years of teaching not had a pair hand a project in. 

“Mr Potter, Miss Evans?” Flitwick asked quizzically. 

“You’ll find our work on your podium Sir.” James responded, he could feel his pulse in his throat as Flitwick turned away from them and walked back towards their work. 

Lily reached out under the desk and grasped James hand tightly and gave it a squeeze. This was going to work. They’d tested and tested and tested it. There was no way it could fail now. Flitwick reached the bowl and went to touch it which triggered their silent chain reaction. James squeezed Lily’s hand so hard it almost hurt, he’d wanted this to succeed just as much as she had. The petal spun briefly in circles before it fell beneath the water’s surface, turning from white and pink to orange and black, it shimmered momentarily before it transformed leaving a small goldfish swimming in its wake. Flitwick picked up the bowl and lifted to his face, watching intently as the small fish swam in delicate laps.

“Well I never…” Flitwick uttered. 

“I’d say that’s a definite O Evans.” said James smugly, releasing Lily’s hand. 

“I’d say so… I’d like to make another one though.” Lily agreed.

“Another one? What the bloody hell for” he asked.

“I feel Professor Slughorn would like one”

[on-my-contrarian-sh1t]

speak now (taylor’s version) ! this is possibly my favorite song on this album. tell me your favorite song on this album + your character of choice and i’ll write a blurb for you.

my fav song is def mine !! with james potter please <3 tysm mwahh

here you go ml<3

“ MINE ” JAMES POTTER + FEM ! READER ( blurb )

You didn’t intend to fall as hard as you did. In fact, you didn’t want to fall at all. You took one good look at the boy and told yourself “no.” So why did you fall? Was it the way he smiled at you when he took your order? Was it the way his fingers grazed yours when he handed you your cup of coffee? Was it the way he made you laugh and felt like you’d known him for years? You had no idea. Regardless, you were falling, head-first with no real idea of when you’d stop. Part of you thought you’d never stop. Most of you thought that.

As a college student, you had to be able to balance work and school not to mention school fees and such. You were on your own now. Eating foods that weren’t inching mere hours away from their expiration dates and almost always having little to no fresh foods was something that you’d just gradually gotten used to. Something you just had to get used to. You can still remember the excitement you felt when you finally found a cheap coffee shop near your dorm. And then the sinking feeling when you made eye-contact with the cute boy that was your age who happened to work there.

Shit, you thought. Shit, shit, shit. Don’t make eye-contact. Avoid him. 

All of those thoughts were well went about until he approached you.

“Hi,” he said with a grin. A charming one. “I’m James. What can I get you?”

“Just a coffee,” you told him weakly. “Black.”

The boy named James laughed. “Black? I never trust people who take their coffee black.”

Almost instantly you felt lighter. Like you’d been talking to an old friend. “How do you take your coffee? Ten packets of sugar?”

“Are you implying that I’m sweet?” asked James with a smirk.

“Take it was you wish, dear,” you told him jokingly. 

Two years later, you came barreling in. You plopped your purse down on an empty stool by the counter. You slid behind the counter and began preparing yourself a coffee.

“Ma’am, can you refill my coffee?” asked a middle-aged man, looking at you with boredom in his eyes. 

“I don’t work here, the employee’s just don’t like me,” you told him before smiling. 

“She’s telling lies,” said a voice from behind you that you recognized. James. Your boyfriend. “We love her. She stands behind the counter and claims that she’s being treated unfairly.”

“Because I am!” you exclaimed, grinning at him. “I’m just here for good coffee and your–“

“Spare me,” said the man dryly. “Just pour the damn coffee, will you?”

“Of course, my friend!” you told him, pouring him the coffee before mouthing “help me.” Both you and James burst into annoying laughter. The man drank the coffee quickly like it was a shot, slammed a ten dollar bill on the table, and stormed off.

“I don’t think he liked us very much,” James offered before kissing the top of your head.

“’S alright,” you replied. “I like you enough for both me and him.”

“Right back at you, barista.”

“You like yourself for both him and you?” you asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m pretty great, aren’t I? I mean, I would have to be great if I’ve got you head over heels,” James said with a shrug.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you demanded in mock offense.

“I love you,” James murmured into your hair.

“Right back at you, barista,” you replied, laughing.