dizzy splendor
"I don't see why this is necessary," James complained as Kali Patil almost stabbed him with a pin while fiddling with his new dress robes.
"Because," Alice said looking perfectly unruffled even as she riffled through James' closet, "the Slug parties may be boring but a lot of important political figures attend. The Potter's may not be a part of the sacred 28 but that doesn't change the fact that you come from a Most Ancient and Noble family. Your mother is a part of the sacred 28 and pure-blooded. You need to dress like it."
"These are expensive dress robes," James felt the need to point out. "We bought them from Lyra's. They cost 25 galleons."
Kali gave a short laugh at that before she tossed back her black hair and bangles clinked on her wrists, "It doesn't matter how much you bought them for Baṅgāraṁ. It just matters that they weren't tailored."
James shot Alice an incredulous look, " Surely you lot don't get tailored robes for every event that you go to." She merely raised an eyebrow in response as she pulled out an old tie from his closet. It was in a rich blue and he was confident that it had belonged to Teddy before.
"We choose to, the same way you might dress nicely if you're going to meet the minister of magic, some of us actually enjoy this, there's more to an outfit than just the clothes on your body." Kali nodded as she took the tie from Alice and looped it across his neck.
"Clothes are an art, they're armour," she stepped back and gave a satisfied smile before spinning him towards a mirror, "You see? Clothes are used to announce marriages, engagements, courtships, funerals, and almost any event in life. Clothes have power. Unacknowledged yes, but power nonetheless," James stared wide-eyed at his reflection, "Just look at you now," Kali said, trading a satisfied look with Alice.
James looked... well he looked regal. His navy blue dress robes fell around his body in an elegant manner rather than the plain fall of them prior to the altering. The dark blue emphasized the red tones of his hair and the tie somehow elongated his torso making him seem taller than he actually was. James remembered seeing pictures of his uncles at their respective weddings, he belatedly realized that he looked like them. Al has always been the one to get the Potter coloring, James had his mom's hair and eyes, but his father's features. And that day staring in the mirror he had felt more adult than ever.
"It's different isn't it," Alice smiled at him before standing next to him and gazing at her reflection, "realizing that maybe it's not so pretentious and awful to just maybe fall in love with this world." James shook out of his own thoughts, 'I'm here for Al and not to enjoy myself' he said inside of his own head.
He abruptly turned away from the mirror and changed his clothes with the curtains drawn around his bed, once he emerged in his regular robes he sat beside Alice on Frank's bed. "So," he began, "start teaching me everything and anything I might need to know." Alice only laughed under her breath before turning to fully face him.
"We'll start with introductions," she said with a sly smile, holding out her hand to shake his. Only instead of holding it sideways she held it so her knuckles faced him, slightly bewildered James shook it. "James Potter. Pleasure." Alice only shook her head at him as she clucked her tongue in disappointment.
"That was completely wrong. Come on, let's do it again, I'll instruct you." Alice held out her hand the same way but before James could reach for it she tapped slightly on her ring. James glanced at it dubiously before bending to place a kiss on it. "Perfect!" Alice exclaimed, "When you meet a man just shake his hand but a lady is always greeted with a kiss. Now watch how I introduce myself. I'm Longbottom, Alice Longbottom."
"Pleasure to meet you Ali- Heiress Longbottom," he cut himself off remembering her title, "I'm Potter, James Potter." Alice gave a satisfied nod. "Why, though, it sounds a bit dramatic."
"That's kind of the point, Jamie, we take pride in our houses, our families, our names. Your name is your history, we're wizards, we're named for all those who came before us. There's pride in that. And well sometimes we like to show it, it's like a crest it shows that yeah this is my family and it cannot be taken from me."
"That actually doesn't sound completely ridiculous," James said with a modicum of surprise.
Alice only raised a brow at him, "Well despite what you lot seems to think we're not ridiculous, just appreciative of our past."
James groaned and flopped back onto Frank's bed, "Well how many sessions do you think this will take? I have things to do."
"James this won't be easy or simple, if anything it'll be the hardest thing you've ever had to do, most of us are taught this from our birth, it's never anything we've had to struggle or learn. It just was, that we never had to memorize these rules, we were born into them."
"Al learned them," James pointed out, feeling bitter at the mention of his brother. "Did he struggle? He looks just like one of those Slytherin gits whenever I see him. If he could do it, so can I."
"Al was in Slytherin, he was in the perfect environment to practice and he was very invested, this was something he cared about deeply, " she sighed and pulled away from him as she stood near his desk, "I know this is probably just a game to you but I need you to remember that just because it's not your culture doesn't mean it's invalid, and it most certainly means that you're not allowed to insult it or even comment on it. You don't get to say that it's barbaric or odd or inhumane. Not when you don't understand it or even attempt to." James nodded attempting to pretend to understand all of which she had explained. She was wrong about one thing though. James was invested in this plan. His younger brother had been his world. And James had allowed him to be corrupted by those slimy snakes. That shouldn't have happened. And James was now doing whatever he could to bring his brother back towards the light.
What James couldn't understand though was why James had chosen to go to Slytherin, his father had told him once years ago that the Hat always offered the student a choice. If that was true did that mean that the Hat had removed this option for his brother or that it had been offered and Albus had denied it? But why?
Why would Albus choose to associate with snakes and death eaters in the dark when he could have been the son of a hero in the light? James couldn't imagine why anyone would reject Gryffindor for Slytherin. His father had once told him that the Slytherin common room was located underwater and surrounded by dark water on all sides. How could that compare to the bright, sun-filled wonder that was the Gryffindor common room? James may not be serious about many things, but family has always been the one exception to that rule.
For his family, he would do anything. And he was prepared to test that theory by willingly entering the dangerous world of politics.
"Alice," James began seriously, "I know what you think will happen. You think that I'll lose interest or not put in the effort, but I promise I will. Don't doubt me. I can be very stubborn if I want to. It's a Potter trait." Alice cracked a small smile at that climbed next to him on the bed and began to run her fingers through his hair. It wasn't a romantic gesture, simply that of two childhood friends attempting to draw comfort in the presence of the other.
Finally, Alice broke the silence by pulling her fingers out of his hair, not before giving it a light tug, "Do you have any specific questions you want to ask me or any questions you want to cover later on? I'm going to need your help with this too. The last person I taught this to was my three-year-old cousin. And I'm already confident that she'll make a better student than you ever will." James cracked a smile at the comment, remembering the cousin she mentioned and her obsession with his father.
"I do have one question actually," James stated as he tried not to show his nerves, "Why do purebloods hate muggles so much?" It was a dangerous question. One that had changed their parents' lives, and subjected the wizarding world to many harsh realities of war. But this was something that James had never understood. Wizards accepted people of all races, breeds, and sexuality, however, they drew the line at outside blood. It had always seemed odd to James, but he knew that if he asked at home he'd get a biased answer.
Alice always told him the truth and from the look on her face, he could tell that he would not like whatever truth she would tell him now.
"It's like physical appearance, it can dull or change or disappear over generations, similarly the more muggle blood is introduced into a bloodline the more chance for squibs or underpowered magic. It's a threat to the future of every family." James could already feel the anger rising inside of him. What proof did she have, and where did she get the right to mention such things? "We're simply protecting our own bloodline. Not to mention all the other effects of Muggle-borns. They don't acknowledge our culture and yet they expect us to know everything about theirs. And if we don't know it then shame on us. Completely disregarding the fact that it is our world they are entering and not vice versa." Alice was clearly on a roll as she listed off point after point, but all James could feel was the anger burning in his bones.
What culture? All wizards followed the same traditions as Muggles.
Didn't they? Clearly not by Alice's heated rant. James didn't know much now, but he knew that he couldn't let Alice's comment go without reproach. Even if she had only been listing valid points. "You shut up Longbottom," he snapped, "what are you going to do next? Sacrifice blood at a fire in the forest? When did you start behaving so backwards? You're just like the rest of them, filthy snakes." The words were out of his mouth before he had fully processed what he had said. In the end, he had succumbed to exactly what Alice had predicted he would.
She only spoke quietly, not even looking at him, "See I told you. You insult my culture and have the audacity to insult my religion along with it?" Her religion? James thought bewildered. "You enjoy failing at this James Potter because I'm not helping unless you apologize and fuking mean it.." With those words, Alice stormed out of the dorm and James flopped back onto the bed with a groan.
These were going to be a very long few weeks.
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"I heard what you said to my sister," Frank told James stiffly as the boys climbed into their beds. "That wasn't okay, and we let you get away with a lot. Too much to be honest. But James there are limits, or at least there should be." James groaned in frustration as he lightly banged his head upon the wooden bed frame.
"I don't even understand what I did wrong," he complained, feeling like a child.
"You proved her right," Frank pointed out as he pulled his curtains open wider. The dorm was empty with only the two boys present. Caleb was on a date and their other dorm mates had detention. "You told her that you would remain impartial and wouldn't let your feelings color the lessons. And you proved that wrong within half an hour."
"You don't understand mate, she was saying foul things and someone had to put her in her place. What's happening to the lot of you? Muggles are equal to wizards."
"James, you are entitled to your opinions just like we are to ours. And you barely listened to the very rational explanation that my sister gave you because you didn't want to. You wanted to be right, just like always."
" Did your sister tell you everything?" James asked, feeling ganged up upon.
"Yes you see," Frank said with venom in his tone, "some of us actually care about our siblings." At those words, James pulled his curtains shut and slipped down the bed until he was lying down. "I'm sorry mate, that was uncalled for," Frank said, actually sounding a bit guilty. James pulled his knees up to his chest and took a shaky breath.
"That doesn't mean that you were wrong," he said ignoring the tears running down his cheeks. He fell asleep to the dreams of two young boys playing Quidditch not knowing or caring what their future held. Just two brothers without a care in the world.
What James wouldn't do to return to that time?
Another tear slipped down the bridge of his nose as he dreamed.
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The next morning as Alice Longbottom idly chatted with Kali she barely took notice of the post owl till it had landed in front of her. A smile graced her face as she saw the bouquet of white tulips clasped in its claws.
I heard white tulips symbolize an apology. So here it is from me to you. An apology. I'm sorry and I know that I should have been more considerate about things that you teach me and make sure not to offend anybody and promise to try and do better in the future.
James
Maybe there was still hope for him.
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"So I heard the Ravenclaw's are having a party tonight," Caleb told James as they walked to Charms. "And we weren't bloody invited. Can you believe that?"
James raised his eyebrows in confusion, " Who else would they possibly invite? The Hufflepuffs only really party when we're there to ruffle their feathers and a party with just Ravenclaws would be boring as hell," James paused as a thought burned in his mind, "No, really? A party for the bloody Slyhterins?" Caleb gave him a resigned look, confirming his suspicions. He sighed and resigned himself to another boring night studying before the fireplace when a thought occurred to him. Alice had taught him a few tricks to blend in with those snobby Slytherins, and Al would surely be there.
This was his chance he realized. Alice or Frank would no doubt stop him claiming that he still had too much to learn. But Caleb wouldn't. "How about," James began, "We crash the party?" Caleb only sent him a grin as he agreed wordlessly. That was why sometimes it was better to have friends who might as well be forces of chaos.
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James whistled slightly as they entered the Room of Requirement. The party was an odd mix of old-century elegance and all the messy delight of the new times. There were girls in short skirts with heirrings and kids playing beer pong while discussing the new bill passed in the Wizengamont. It was easy to tell who was in what House, as customary in Hogwarts parties each student wore a slip of ribbon around their wrist in House colors. Almost as if even while just hanging out with friends they still took pride in their houses. James and Caleb sheepishly smiled at each other while glancing at the deep blue ribbons tied around their wrists.
The Ravenclaw beater, Aaira Shafiq only raised her eyebrows at the sight of them but only turned to kiss the boy whose lap she was sitting on. To his shock, it was Marcus Rosier, a Slytherin and the son of a Death Eater. Feeling discomfited James turned around to catch Caleb's eye but Caleb had already slipped away into the crowd. James craned his neck around trying to glimpse his brother by the flash of blond hair that was Scorpius Malfoy. Where the Malfoy brat went there was Al, James thought bitterly. It was probably Scorpius' fault that Al had changed so much. But that was fine. After James showed him the error of his ways Al wouldn't even want to talk to Malfoy anymore.
"What in the world could a lion be doing so far from his den?" A voice drawled out. James turned, already recognizing the voice. Aurelia Lestrange stood behind him, a drink in her hand and a smirk on her face. He let his eyes travel up her form and couldn't help the slight catch of his breath. Much like the other girls in the room, she wore a short black skirt and what appeared to be a matching cropped top with spaghetti straps trailing over her body. Like everyone else in the room, her outfit was completed by a silky rich brown robe that buttoned at her neck and fanned out from her skin.
The outfit was something he was used to. But the other things? The robes, and jewelry winking at her ears, the ring on her finger, and even the shoes she wore seemed to be a part of another world. One that James had absolutely no interest in.
He hadn't allowed himself to even think of her. Not when he had Albus to think about, as much as liked pretty girls, his brother was more important. It was only when she cleared her throat that James realized that he had been staring for far too long. He dragged his gaze back up to her eyes and nearly flushed at the look she gave him.
"My eyes are up here," she claimed with a smirk. "And besides, you didn't answer my question." James scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment at the implication of her words. Had he been thinking about her in ways he shouldn't have? Well no, but that was only because he had been so focused on Al. But right here, right now with Al nowhere in sight, no one was stopping him from appreciating the sight of a girl who was clearly willing him to watch.
Except, she was a Slytherin
And he was a Gryffindor.
"Where's my brother?" he found himself asking in order to curb his own desires.
Aurelia walked closer to him, "He left already with his special someone, gave his regards to the host and everything. He'll probably be back later but until then I guess you're stuck with me sunshine." He was, James realized in dismay. He was too Gryffindor to blend in with this high-class environment. And as of now Aurelia, who seemed slightly tolerant of him, was beside him. He may not have known a lot about politics, but he knew enough that she was powerful enough to get anyone else to back off.
James summoned a cocky smile, "Guess that leaves just you and me sweetheart." If she was displeased by the name she gave no indication of it, only dragging him to a counter and placing a shot of fire whiskey in his hand. She held up her glass for him to clink against.
"To new beginnings, and even better endings," she declared with a meaningful glance down his tight shirt. "To beginnings and endings," he agreed before downing the shot. He grimaced as it went down his throat and gaped at Aurelia when she didn't react. She laughed slightly when she saw his expression, "When I was a kid I burned my tongue half off with an acid pop. Now I can pretty much tolerate anything."
James laughed slightly, recalling his uncle Ron telling him a similar story. It's slightly unnerving, to realise how easy it is to get lost in the world of this Slytherin girl. He raised his eyebrows as he caught sight of Caleb pressed up against a Slytherin boy. "Who's that?" he asked, attempting to leave the concern out of his voice.
Aurelia twisted around him to look at the pair, "Heir Emmerson Warrington, son to Heir Apparent Cassius Warrington and grandson to Lady Magnolia Warrington." James was about to comment on the family tree she had given him before holding back remembering Alice's lessons about family. He was about to suggest they sit down but before they could Aurelia lightly turned him towards the stage. He ignored the way his skin tingled at her touch and instead chose to glance at her curiously, hoping that he was masking his desire. Her smirk told him that he very much wasn't doing a good job of it. "You wanted to see your brother? Well, now you can see him."
Sure enough, there's Al walking up the stage and dressed in robes that he's positive their parents never bought. Albus was dressed in dark pants and a dark green shirt completed by a cloak with a gold clasp buckled at his collar. He stood tall, and in the graceful lines of his neck and the slopes of his cheekbones, James could see less and less of the little brother who used to hide in his bed and more and more of this aristocratic stranger.
"As you are all aware," Albus began, "today we are celebrating the marriage contract and union of the Houses of Shafiq and Rosier in the form of the betrothal of Heiress Aaira Shafiq, daughter of Lord Shafiq, and Heir Apparent Marcus Rosier of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Shafiq and Rosier." As people loudly cheered around them and wolf-whistled, James looked around in confusion.
What the fuck? Marriage contracts, betrothals? Who even did that stuff anymore? Slytherins evidently. As the people around him cheered and clapped Jmaes turned determined to find Aaira and ask her if she was okay. This couldn't have been her choice, what type of person didn't wish to marry for love? James hadn't realized that he had spoken aloud until Aurelia spoke up next to him, "People who want stability, people who want power. We're the ones who marry for advantage."
"People shouldn't marry for anything other than love," James spat out, "it's not right!"
"Watch your tongue," she warned looking around "Not everyone will be so tolerant if they hear you say that"
"Merlin," James snapped, "this is fucking archaic, did you even get Aaira's consent. You Slytherin's are bloody barbaric."
James didn't notice her presence till she was right beside him, "They did get my consent as it was my idea," Aaira Shafiq spoke next to him with a wave of silent anger on her face. "Watch your tongue before you speak James Potter." James turned back to look at Aurelia, but she had disappeared.
"This is my fucking engagement party, Potter," Aaira snapped as she yanked him to the exit, "And I do not want to deal with this," James had a moment to spare her a glance of incredulity before he was thrown out of the Room of Requirement. A minute later Caleb joined him, hair looking mused and lips red.
"Mate what the fuck did you screw up this time?" he asked and James found himself unable to answer.
-Baṅgāraṁ- gold (used like sweetheart or darling)