Lions Inside¹ | James Potter

five

There was another one beside it with Andrea, James, Fleamont and Aisha all on brooms, Fleamont diving to catch a Quaffle Aisha had sent towards him and Andrea and James wrestling mid-air, trying to knock the other off their broom. Peter leaned in closer.

The day the Russo's were adorably wrong about their Quidditch skills, with a line drawn through the words. Underneath a new line read; The day Monty cried because two girls beat him, take that Mia!

Peter smiled to himself. They all knew Euphemia and Fleamont Potter and if the Russo's had their stamp of approval, they must be nice. And judging from what Peter could see, their families seemed amazing.

"No way! You still have this?!" James called out, his eye-catching on a particular picture. Andrea stood up and went to see what he was on about, only to laugh when she saw the picture he had found.

It was taken at a Quidditch Match in Northern Ireland from when they were about six, maybe seven, going to watch their favourite team play, the Ballycastle Bats.

Marco was taking the picture, and you could see Aisha and Fleamont in a fight about who had the better Seeker, the Bats, or the Montrose Magpies.

It was a sad day for the Russo's when Andrea declared she supported the Ballycastle Bats, which Monty never stopped rubbing in their faces.

In the moving shot, Euphemia was in movement, on her way to catch an escaping James and Andrea, who wanted to go and place bets at the ticket station by the entrance.

"We got close that day as well before Mia caught us and pulled us back to our seats," Andrea laughed, explaining the story to the other boys. She had grabbed both their wrists right when they were first in line.

Sirius felt a twinge of envy towards Andrea. He loved James and his family. Ever since he first met them, Christmas their first year, he had wanted a normal, loving family like that.

And here were James and Andrea, able to share happy childhood memories together with both their loving sets of parents.

How he wished he'd been born into a different family.

-//-

3rd September, Monday, 1973

Monday brought with it the start of term and the third-year Gryffindors started off their year with a delayed breakfast. Andrea ran down the stairs from the girls' dorms and was met with four boys waiting for her by one of the unlit fireplaces.

"Finally!" Peter groaned, jumping up from his seat and heading for the door with the speed of a cheetah.

James got up as well and looked at his wristwatch. "How can you take so long getting ready? You look just as bad as you did yesterday," he complained as he climbed out of the portrait hole.

Andrea smacked the back of his head. "Because, you pulce, I had to shower today and then dry my hair," she explained.

James wrinkled his nose at that and looked at her. "So? Hair dries quickly," he said. Andrea stopped up and looked at James with a lazy expression. "You guys know I'm black, right? This hair takes time," she sighed, holding her hair up. Sirius furrowed his brows. "I thought I was Black," he joked, just a second too late realizing what he said.

James and Remus came to an abrupt halt and looked at Sirius with alarmed expressions. Sirius' eyes were wide in horror and looked at Andrea, not sure what to say. Andrea smiled at him.

"Clever, Black. Real cute. But you don't get sympathy points for your last name," she retorted and started walking again.

Sirius picked up his pace and hurried after her. "Oh, I beg to differ. If you heard more about my family, I'm pretty sure I would get all the sympathy points," he smiled. Andrea waved a dismissive hand to him. Andrea held her hand up.