James Potter
Sunday, 9th January 1972.
Hogwarts
From the moment that he saw Sirius on the platform 9 and ¾, James was concerned. It was little things that intensified this feeling he was having.
For example, at Peter's birthday party Sirius showed up with a cut on his cheek. Yes, the curly haired boy had some silly explanation about wrapping presents and about scissors, but none of them were idiotic enough to believe that story.
James knew deep inside what the answer was, but Sirius seemed so happy and carefree at the Pettigrews that he didn't have the heart to mention anything and ruin the boy's day. Especially because he managed to get away from the Blacks for couple of hours and mentioning them would just cut his happiness short.
From the night James had that conversation with Sirius, the two never spoke about the Black family again. Never spoke seriously at least. Sirius would always throw around some silly comments or digs about his folks that seemed lighthearted, but, again, none of the Marauders were fooled by this.
It sparked great concern to James when Sirius said to him that he was actually afraid of his parents. Then the concern was just intensified the moment Sirius confessed that the Blacks actually hurt him. The thought of someone hurting their own child made James feel furious. He didn't even know how exactly the Blacks hurt Sirius, but just the confession on its own was enough for him to hate them.
He spoke with his mom and dad about this situation. James expressed how he felt helpless. On one side, he wanted to talk to Sirius, to help him and understand him, but on the other it just wasn't fair to push the boy into telling something that maybe he wasn't ready to tell. After all, it was his story, not James'.
Euphemia gave him one advice, "Just make him feel loved and safe. Show him that you are there for him. When he is ready, he will come to you and talk about it."
It was a great advice, but James wanted to actually do something, not just wait, but was there any other choice? Probably not, so he just decided to act like he did from the start, silly and chaotic. He knew that Sirius thrived in chaos so the least he could do was join in with the boy.
Or at least that was what he had decided before he actually saw Sirius on the platform 9 and ¾.
To someone, it just looked like father was escorting his son to Hogwarts, but James wasn't an idiot. Sirius told him all about his first visit to the King's Cross Station for the start of the term, the boy was with Orion, Walburga and Regulus.
Now though, he was just with Orion. James gathered from some stories his dad had told him about Orion Black, that the man was obsessed with reputation and looks, so the fact that not a whole Black family showed up to display their power wasn't normal. It would have been the perfect opportunity for that because huge number of wizarding families always show up to bid their children goodbye which would result in a huge number of people seeing them.
On top of that, Orion was gripping Sirius' shoulder, clearly making the boy uncomfortable. James couldn't even imagine what words were coming out of Orion's mouth as he was intensifying his grip on the boy.
It reminded James of the scene when Walburga came to get Sirius before Christmas. She also placed her hand on the boy's shoulder in similar manner to Orion's. It was like some sign of control, like they were putting a leash on Sirius. Like they were trying to show him who was in charge.
James couldn't believe how one action could be so different depending on the person and situation. His dad always put a hand on his shoulder, but it was from kindness and comfort while even an idiot could see the controlling intentions behind Orion's grip.
He had to put all those thoughts and feelings aside the moment Sirius joined them on the train. Like at Peter's birthday, James just didn't want to ruin the boy's happiness. The conversation with his mom played in his head on repeat. He will come to you and talk about it. James just had to be patient and put Sirius' feelings before his own. That was the most important thing right now.
He could see that Remus and Peter were concerned as well, but they followed James' steps in just not mentioning anything due to the fact that he was still closest with Sirius out of all of them.
The train ride was as amazing as the first time around. They talked about the presents they gave to each other and the happiness it brought. Sirius expressed his gratitude one more time in person to all of them and apologized to James for not asking his parents to join them on Christmas. He said that he just didn't want to push his luck since they let him attend Peter's birthday which James completely understood. He reassured Sirius that there was no need for the apology and that he was just glad Sirius liked his gifts.
Soon enough, the Marauders were back at Hogwarts, at their usual seats in the Great Hall having dinner. Like always, the elves didn't disappoint.
The four of them were still laughing about the fact that the paint Sirius gifted Peter for Christmas would literally make anything it touched seemed like some sort of oblivion. It would make an object look like a black sky in which you could reach with your hand. They already started to envision their next prank. Needless to say, James and Sirius were the ones exited the most.
"We can literally paint all the classroom doors with it.", Sirius whispered to them while Peter nodded in agreement, but Remus seemed hesitant, "Let's add something more to it. Doing just the doors of every classroom seems repetitive. We can maybe do half of the doors and half floors..."
But James' attention to the plan was interrupted when, in the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something greasy. When he turned away from the table, there was a mop of greasy hair near the exit of the Hall looking at them, but the second Snape noticed that James was looking back he diverted his gaze to his group of lost puppies.
James' eyes narrowed just at the sight of them, he could swear that he saw Snape lowering his wand and placing it back into his robes. Unfortunately, this assumption was confirmed once he saw the four Slytherin boys laughing and pointing directly at them.
Then he felt his mouth opening without his permission, "Guys. I think we have a problem.", he announced still not looking back at his friends, eyes fixated on Snape.
"YOU THINK?!", Sirius flipped him on the back of the head and when James turned back towards the table, he figured why Sirius yelled.
All four of them had their two front teeth growing rapidly by the second. James felt his already reaching his chin which explained why his mouth suddenly opened, the freaking teeth pushed their way out.
Sirius quickly got up from the bench and grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, dragging him away from the laughing students. He saw Remus doing the same to Peter while the smaller boy tried to cover his face. At least it was good to know that Sirius and Remus reacted good in these unexpected situations.
When the Marauders reached the exit of the hall, Snape and his little gang were laughing their butts off, tears almost spilling. James knew that there was no point in arguing, not because he didn't know what to say, but because he quite literally could barely speak. The teeth were so large that they blocked his entire mouth.
It seemed as the others agreed with him because they made their walk of shame to the Hospital Wing in silence while Snape yelled after them, "Have fun! Maybe Madam Pomfrey can grow you a mouse tail to go with the teeth!"
Even though it sucked, James must admit that the idea behind the prank was okay. They attacked them with mice so the Slytherins retorted with mice.
Needless to say, Madam Pomfrey was not happy, "Why are you four always up to something? Couldn't the start of this shenanigans wait for at least tomorrow?"
Sirius tried to respond, probably with some sarcastic comment, but all James heard was "Ih wahan uhs!"
"Silence Mr. Black! Let me grab the shrinking potion and I will be back quickly. Don't. Touch. Anything.", she ordered them while pointing threateningly with her index finger.
Sirius crossed his arms defensively as she went into her office, "Wah ah we gohna do?", he questioned the rest of the boys, but James didn't understand a thing he said, "Wah dhid uh sah?"
"Suh uh huh tuh.", Remus tried to reason with them but, again no one understood. To all of this Peter just facepalmed, "Ihdihoh"
Soon enough, Madam Pomfrey was back with the shrinking potion which meant that their teeth will be back to normal.
"Are you proud of us for not touching anything?", James asked the healer as she applied the potion to Peter's teeth with a pipet. She just gave him a glare that said shut up or I will make your teeth grow again. James didn't really want to play with the future of his speaking abilities, so he indeed shut up.
When Peter was back to normal, all of them thanked Madam Pomfrey to which the healer just threw them out of the Hospital Wing, although James could see an amused smile on her face. The Marauders finally got back to their lovely dorm, but that's when James realized that this day wasn't over yet. They still needed to unpack so the dreadful task began.
* * *
James just finished brushing his newly shrank teeth. He was exhausted from the day he had, from packing the last few things this morning, traveling on Hogwarts Express and getting pranked to unpacking everything he will be needing in the next almost six months.
He splashed water on his face and grabbed a towel. After dabbing the water away, he was finally ready to just fall onto the comfortable bed and rest his eyes for a bit.
When he exited the bathroom, all of his friends had their curtains closed shut. James sat on the side of the bed, took his glasses of and placed them on the bedside table. He was just about to lay down and close his curtains as well, but then he heard a voice, more specifically, Sirius' voice.
"James?"
It was lower than a whisper, like the boy hoped that James wouldn't actually hear him, but he did, "Sirius?"
There was a head of curly hair peeking out of the red curtains now, "Can I talk to you for a moment? If you aren't tired?"
He waved both of his hands carelessly, like sleep was the last thing on his mind, "No, not at all. I was just about to read the Quidditch Weekly."
Sirius just raised one eyebrow towards his abandoned glasses, but nonetheless got up and went towards James' bed. James quickly put the glasses back on and gave his friend an awkward smile before both of them got on the bed and he drew the curtains closed.
He was propped onto the headboard while Sirius was propped against one of the poles holding the curtains. The boy hugged his knees and wrapped a blanked that he brought with him around himself. James mirrored his action and after settling in, both of them just looked at each other.
It was needless to say that all the tiredness James felt couple of minutes ago was gone in an instant. Maybe this was what his mom talked about, Sirius came to him. Maybe James will finally be able to help, if not fully at least mentally. He could be Sirius' support, a person to which the boy could come and talk to. James knew that it wasn't healthy keeping all of the problems to yourself. It could easily get exhausting and make you feel powerless.
He waited patiently for Sirius to gather the courage and start the conversation, repeating his dad's words about being patient and understanding.
"I saw you and Remus at the train station.", the boy blurted out. It seemed to James like he just wanted to start a light conversation before getting to the hard part.
He just nodded, not leaving Sirius' eyes, "Yeah, we saw you as well, but decided that it was better to wait and get on the train before saying hi."
Sirius' mouth was pressed into a thin line, he could see the boy intensifying the grip on the blanket, "Thank you. And sorry."
The apologizing caused great confusion to James, "Sorry for what?", he gave his friend small smile to ease the tension a bit.
The boy just shrugged, "I don't know. For having to think about it before saying hi like normal friends do.", his sadness couldn't be masked even if Sirius was the greatest actor of all time.
James frowned, "We are normal friends. You don't have to apologize for that. It's not your fault.", he tried to keep his voice steady and confident, but soft and kind at the same time.
"I know. I just feel bad for putting you in that situation. For the fact that you have to be so considerate when it isn't neither your problem or your job to be.", Sirius rested his forehead on top of his knees.
James felt terrible that Sirius' mind was worried about silly stuff like that. That on top of everything the boy had to worry about, there was an added problem about his friends. No, James had to reassure him that this problem wasn't a problem at all.
"Don't be stupid. You didn't put us in any situation. You didn't make us be considered. That was our choice because that is what good friends do. They think and care about one another.", he moved to sit closer to Sirius and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't ever stress about silly stuff like that. We will always be considerate because we want to, not because we have to."
Sirius lifted his head to look at him, the gratitude could easily be seen across his face, "Thank you, James."
He pushed his glasses back up his nose while giving his friend a wide smile, "There is no need to thank me, you would do the same for any of us. It was your idea to visit Remus at the hospital the first time around and bring him breakfast. Do you think he should feel like he made you to do that?"
More clarity was visible from the boy's face, "No. You're right. I would hate for him to think like that. We did it because we cared.", he now diverted his gaze back to his knees, "There was one thing I wanted to ask you."
James was all ears. With one nod from him, Sirius started, "You know all the beautiful things you guys gifted me for Christmas?"
He just nodded again, encouraging the boy to continue, "Well... I kind of wanted to ask you... If you could maybe keep them for me over the summer?"
Before James could think, his stupid mouth blurted, "Of course but why?"
As soon as he saw the grim expression on Sirius' face, he mentally slapped himself for stepping over the line. He was doing so good and now he maybe made Sirius feel uncomfortable. You idiot! What happened to being patient?!, James mentally screamed at himself.
To his surprise, the boy's expression changed quickly to a more confident one. It seemed to him like Sirius realized who he was talking to, like he remembered that James knew some things about the Blacks which maybe made his next confession seem less scary.
Sirius took a deep breath and without removing his gaze from his knees started explaining, "Well, I am scared that maybe my parents will... hide them... from me. Whenever there was something that meant to me, they tried using it against me, like some sort of weapon. They would leave the things alone if I behaved, but the conditions would always increase more and more to the point where I just couldn't do it."
The boy's grip on the blanked tightened again while he places his chin on the knees, "And I really liked those presents, you know.", he chuckled lowly, "But I just can't behave like they want me to. I always feel like I am losing some parts of myself while I do it. It just feels so wrong... I don't know.", he exhaled sharply.
James took this as the end of the boy's confession. He enveloped Sirius into a tight hug while whispering, "Of course you can. I told you, the Potter Manor will always be there for you. I will always be there for you."
He felt Sirius' arms returning the hug and grabbing him by the back of his sleeping shirt, "Thank you.", his voice tried to sound normal, but James could tell by the boy's heavy breathing and slight sniffing that Sirius was on the verge of tears.
He had never seen Sirius this emotional, even the talk they had all those months ago was somehow more controlled, more reserved. After all, they did know each other only for a week, but at the time it seemed to James like they've known each other for months and months. He supposed that child friendships were like that. Although now, when they truly got to know one another on a deeper level than just messing around and causing chaos, James could clearly see the difference.
Sirius was so much more open and expressive. This time, he came to James on his own. This time James didn't need to ask any questions, Sirius told him everything on his own accord. He felt grateful that his friend trusted him with all this burden he carried. It made him feel a bit better knowing that he finally did something. That he finally showed Sirius real support.
"No, thank you for sharing this with me and trusting me. And just know that whenever you want to talk, I am just one bed away."
This caused Sirius to sniff one more time before the two separated. When he looked at the boy, James saw Sirius with a bright smile and teary eyes. The thought of being able to actually be there for his friend made James feel a new type of happiness he never felt before.
Sirius returned to his own bed soon after that, they did have classes tomorrow morning so it was probably best for the two to actually get some sleep.
James felt awful about the confession he heard. Just when he thought that the Blacks couldn't stoop any lower, they did. Hiding meaningful things your child had was mental to James. It was such a cruel way to punish someone, but he supposed it went well with the Blacks.
All they wanted to do was to control and they wanted it no matter the consequences. To them, Sirius wasn't a person, he was the Black family's heir, the puppet that needed its master. It made James feel sick just thinking about parents looking at their child like that. Looking at him like some type of object that was to be used and thrown away after. He wondered if Sirius' brother experienced the same treatment or if it was reserved only for the heir.
Still, he looked at this conversation as a huge step forward with Sirius and he was right.
After that night, Sirius would often slip inside James' bed when Remus and Peter were asleep. The talk wasn't always about the Blacks. Sometimes it was just about pranks or Quidditch, but it still meant a great deal to James to know that he finally became someone Sirius could rely on. That the boy knew that he wasn't alone. That ever since September 1st he wasn't alone and that he would never be alone again.