Bonus Chapter (James' POV)
James tightened his cloak, once again heading into the post office. “Cold outside, isn’t it?” The blonde smiled. “Good to see you, James.”
“Thanks.” He smiled back.
“Got a letter?”
“No, um, actually, I was wondering if you’d like to grab a drink sometime?” He asked nervously.
Her face flushed slightly. “I would like that. I’m fixing to close up. Wait for me.”
He stepped back outside, snowflakes falling softly in the moonlight. True to Caroline’s word, she joined him in just a few minutes. “Shall we?” He asked.
“Lead the way.”
She sat down at an isolated booth in the Leaky Cauldron and James joined her, carrying two mugs of warm butterbeer. “Cheers.” He said, clinking their glasses together.
“Took you long enough to ask me out.” Caroline joked lightly.
“My goddaughter picked up on you liking me pretty quick.” He responded. “The rest was me getting up the nerve.”
“I’m glad you did. You know, you remind me a bit of someone I went to school with.”
“Really?” James laughed nervously. His disguise wasn’t wearing off, was it?
“Yeah.” She leaned forward, her light blue eyes twinkling in the low light. “His name was James, too, funnily enough. He was, I think, a year older than me.”
“I bet he was pretty attractive.”
“He was, although he was a complete idiot. Not stupid, far from it, but he liked to see how many rules he could break.”
“What happened to him?” James asked, still nervous.
“No idea, actually.” Caroline said simply. “So, you know what I do for a living. What do you do?”
“I work in a Muggle bank, actually, in downtown London.”
“Really? Why?”
James shrugged. “Our world isn’t all sunshine and roses, Caroline. I just needed some time away.”
She smiled sympathetically. “I can understand that.”
“Do you do anything fun when you’re off work?”
“I try to catch Puddlemere’s games when I can, but I’m also the post’s main healer for the owls.”
“The Falmouth Falcons are my team, but I haven’t watched a game in years.” James shared.
“The Falcons are alright. Puddlemere’s playing them in a couple weeks, around the holidays.” She said.
“Oh? I might have to get tickets.”
“We could go together, if you want.” Caroline suggested.
James thought for a minute. “That would be fun.”
The pair sat talking for hours in the pub, going through four drinks each, laughing at jokes. He found out that she’d been in Slytherin and couldn’t help himself. “So you knew Regg-Regulus, then?”
Something flickered across her face that James couldn’t place. “Yeah, I did. He was in my year.” She said finally, her voice oddly calm.
“Ah.” James sat back, a flood of memories coming back. Stolen kisses in every abandoned corner of the castle, arguments that seem pointless now, Regulus leaving him because of Lily… “He was a smart kid.”
Caroline shrugged. “He died supporting You-Know-Who. Clearly he wasn’t that smart.” James said nothing, staring at his butterbeer. “Earth to Jamie.”
His head snapped up, eyes meeting hers, and this time, his head cocked. There was something familiar about those eyes. “I prefer James, if you don’t mind.” He tried to smile.
“Right, sorry.” She smiled. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just tired. I think we should call it a night.” He went to pay for their drinks. “Shall I walk you home?”
“Oh, it’s okay. Thank you though.”
“Of course. I’m a gentleman.” He bowed jokingly.
“We can go out again before the game if you want.” She said as she walked away. “I had fun.”
“Me too.” He watched her leave before he headed back to his flat.
When he sat down, he pulled out an old journal and flipped through the pages. His messy scrawl alternated with an elegant cursive. When he got to the middle of the book, there was an old photo of two boys: James with his messy black hair and a slightly shorter boy, also with black hair, neat and tidy. James had his arms wrapped around the other boy, pulling him in for a sweet peck on the lips. James’ fingers traced the photo, eyes flickering over to the words on the page. My idiot.
He quickly snapped the book shut, his jaw tightening as he tried to keep the tears in. With a loud sob, he broke down, throwing the book across the living room. He hated when his memories started coming back; some things hurt too much to go through again.