James I
James woke with a start.
Someone was pounding on the front door of Lily’s apartment, shouting unintelligible words through the thick oak door.
Lily clambered out of bed, pulling on a pair of linen pants and a blue tank top as she raced from the room.
James remained in bed, sitting up groggily and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He reached for his glasses on the bedside table, quickly pushing them up his nose and scanning the room.
The mess from the night before was evident. Clothes lay strewn across the floor, Lily’s purse, James’ shoes. Though the night seemed a blur, James remembered stumbling in the dark, kicking off his clothes and tumbling quickly into Lily’s bed.
James could hear shouting from down the hall, Lily’s voice calm and stubborn, and finally the slam of the front door. Lily appeared in the hallway once again, padding back into her bedroom and flopping onto the bed next to James.
“Sev again.” She sighed, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
Since their breakup in December, Severus Snape had taken to knocking on Lily’s door in random increments, begging for her forgiveness and turning angry when she inevitably denied him.
James watched as the morning light washed over her face, her pale skin and freckles, her button nose and plump lips. She was beautiful.
Lily opened her eyes again and turned to James, meeting his gaze. They were inches from each other now, their noses almost touching. Her hot breath kissed his skin as she exhaled, her long copper eyelashes flickering with each blink.
James could have stayed like that forever, he decided. He could live in the pools of moss that were her eyes, breathing only the scent of her perfume.
“You better leave,” Lily breathed, barely a whisper. “Mary will be up soon.”
James felt his heart sink in his chest, but he obeyed anyway. He rolled onto his other side, feet hitting the ground softly. James padded across the floor, pulling on his cargo pants and white socks, shouldering on his button-up flannel, and picking up his shoes with one hand and coat with the other.
Lily escorted him down the hallway, standing expectantly at the door as he tied his shoes.
“Can I at least have some coffee?” James asked, raising an eyebrow, a lazy smile tugging at his mouth.
“No.” Lily scowled, waving him out the door and slamming it behind him.
Pulling on his coat, James practically skipped down the stairs and out the door into the crisp morning air. Snape stood on the sidewalk below, his usual scowl barely visible beneath a mop of greasy black hair.
“Snivellus.” James nodded, striding easily past the other man and down the street towards home.
James reached into his pocket, rooting around for his phone. When finally his fingers closed around the cold metal rectangle he recognised as his phone, he produced it from his pocket, scanning the lock-screen.
James stopped in his tracks. Seven missed calls. Unknown number.
James unlocked his phone, immediately redialing the number. The mystery caller could have been anyone; a record executive looking to hire the band, one of the many girls he had given his number to in the past few days, or even one of his friends in danger calling from a stranger’s phone for help.
James was very good at worrying.
The line began to trill, ringing only twice before the phone clicked and a voice on the other end answered.
“Hello?” The voice answered, soft and cool and undeniably familiar. “Who is this?”
“James Potter,” He replied as he continued walking. “You called me like seven times last night.”
The line was silent for a moment, James could hear the person breathing on the other end.
“Is Sirius there?” The voice asked, barely a whisper.
Sirius had lived at the Potter residence since he had been seventeen years old and his parents had kicked him out, forcing him to live in the back of a stolen car until James and his parents had caught wind of the situation.
Although James and Sirius had only known each other for a year at the time, Mr. and Mrs. Potter had shown no hesitation when it came to inviting the boy into their home. Since then, James and Sirius had been inseparable. It was not far-fetched to assume that Sirius would be able to answer James’ phone. Still, why wouldn’t this mystery person have called Sirius?
“Who are you?” James demanded, feeling anger rise inside him. He was Sirius’ protector. The caller was silent again.
“Just tell him there’s something going on in the family.”
The line clicked shut, leaving James in a puzzled silence.