When James was eight he asked his mother about his future. Would he be tall like his dad? Would he have a beard? When would he get married? Who would he get married to? Would the person be kind? Would his hair be grey like his abuelo? Would he have kids? How many?
His questioning continued but his mother didn’t have any answers. At least not the ones he wanted. You’ll probably be tall, and the beard is your choice.I don’t know when you’ll get married, you will get married to the person you love, I hope you marry someone kind, someone who loves you. Your hair will get grey when you’re really old. It’s your choice if you want kids, but don’t think about that right now. You’re still so young.
But the question with the most impact was one he didn’t even realise was important. “Abuela always says I’ll grow up to be a handsome young man, and that I’ll marry a beautiful woman. But, you married a boy, mum. Why can’t I do that? Why do I have to marry a girl?”
The question hit her hard. When she imagined what her kid would be like, what person he’d grow up to be, this possibility had never crossed her mind. She loved her son, and of course, this didn’t change that. It didn’t change anything. But at the same time, it changed everything.
But her son's happiness and well-being came before everything else. So she answered and hoped that it would give him what he needed to grow up and be his true self.
“You’re allowed to marry exactly who you want. What’s important is that you love that person and that they make you happy. If you want to marry a boy, then I want you to do just that.”
Will he be brave enough to be himself, even when the world told him he shouldn’t?
-
When James was sixteen his mother got the answer to what she asked herself that day eight years ago. Will her son be brave and be himself?
It was the first evening of the summer. Fleamont had just picked James up from the station, and the family were sat eating dinner.
Their son had told them about his year a Hogwarts, what he and his friends had done and what classes he’d enjoyed. He thought he’d done well on his O.W.Ls and that he’d beaten his record in the number of detentions he’d gotten. He sounded awfully proud of the number, his parents didn’t approve, but he sounded so happy that they merely laughed.
It wasn’t until they were all finished with their food and ready to do the dishes that James quietly spoke up. He sounded scared and his parents noticed the tone in his voice immediately.
They put the dirty dishes in the sink and sat down again, their son wouldn’t meet their eyes.
“What is it?” His father had asked, looking worried.
Their son picked at his fingernails whilst looking down at the table. His mother had told him to stop abusing his nails since he was ten, but the habit never stopped.
“Has something happened?” She had asked, putting her hand atop of her son’s.
It was silent for some seconds before he took a breath, looking like he was preparing himself for battle.
“I… Mum, dad, I- I’m bisexual.”
This was what she’d been waiting for. He son to tell her the truth. To let her in, and she couldn’t feel more proud.
“What does that mean?” her husband had asked, confusion painted on his face.
Euphemia knew, of course she did. When her son had asked her about him marrying a boy when he was eight, she made sure that when he told her who he was, she would know. She wanted to know, no matter her son's feelings, no matter his sexuality.
“I-it means I like girls,” their son explained, “But I also like boys. Romantically.”
His mother stayed quiet, waiting for her husband's response, but never taking her hand off of his.
She had never discussed with her husband about their son's future, wanting to focus on the present. But she knew him, she knew the man she married, and he wouldn’t want to do anything to harm his son.
“Oh,” he said softly, understanding, “But, that’s okay, cielo. Te queremos, pase lo que pase.”
Their son smiled wetly, finally looking up, letting out a soft laugh at his father. He moved his eyes to his mother, looking for reassurance. She nodded warmly, whispering the words she’d said eight years ago.
“You’re allowed to marry exactly who you want. What’s important is that you love that person and that they make you happy. If you want to marry a boy, then I want you to do just that.”
Recognition flooded James’ eyes. Remembering his life as a child, sitting in his mother's lap, asking about the future.
-
“I could stand up here all day, talking about how proud I am of my son. But I think that would bore all of you, and embarrass James. He doesn’t like when I bring up memories of him as a child in front of Regulus, always saying how he was such an embarrassing kid. But I hope that he will be able to look back on his life, and feel happiness. To adore his life. And love all the memories that made him… him. I want to tell you all a story, a memory I hold very dear to my heart. I think it was almost… gods, nearly fifteen years ago. James was eight, we had just gotten back from visiting my husband's parents in Venezuela. He was sitting on my lap asking me questions that I couldn’t possibly have the answers for, so he was getting quite frustrated with me. He got so mad when I told him that I didn’t know if he would have a beard or not.”
“But then he asked me a question I never forgot. He said to me “Mum, you married a boy. Why can’t I do that?” And me, having grown up in a home where same-sex relations weren’t even mentioned, had no clue what to say. I know that it’s expected for a man to marry a woman, for some dumb reason, but I thought what a sad way to live your life, having to hide yourself because people think it’s unnatural. I wanted my son to grow up and feel safe, I wanted him to be happy and healthy, and be himself. So I told him- I told him that as long as he loves the person it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman.”
“That was the only answer little eight-year-old James was happy with. And after I’d said that, he went back to being irritated that I couldn’t tell him when his hair would turn grey.”
“I wasn’t sure if James even remembered that conversation, for him it was just a simple question. But for me, it changed how I looked at life. I think everyone in this room has had dreams about their future, thoughts about what it would look like. And I also had them, expectations of what James’ future holds, but after that conversation I changed them. I waited, and waited, and waited, for that conversation. That conversation where he would tell me about the person he loved, the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And when he was sixteen, he told me about him. He sat his father and me down, and told us “Mum, dad, I’m bisexual.””
“Now, Fleamont being a little behind on the modern terms didn’t know what that meant. And when James had explained, we told him that we love him, and it doesn’t matter who he loves. Then he told us about the boy he liked.”
“He said that he was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. That when he talked to him he felt happy in a way he’d never felt before. But then he got sad and said that they would probably never be together. Because, and listen to his amazing reasoning, he was a Slytherin.”
“Not because he thought this Slytherin boy didn’t like him back, not because he was his best friends little brother, no, because he’s a Slytherin.”
“It took two years before he sat us down once again, and told us that he and this Slytherin boy were together. I mean, the anticipation me and Fleamont had. It felt like we’d been sitting at the edge of our seats for two years and it finally happened. He had finally gotten over the fact that he was in Slytherin. It took Sirius moving in with us, then Sirius and Remus getting together, and then Regulus moving in with us, then he graduated, and then he finally got the balls to confess.”
“Mum!”
“It was quite the show. It was a long week with Sirius complaining about it being incest. But then Sirius moved out and Regulus went back to his last year at Hogwarts and we were stuck with a sulky baby.”
“MUM!”
“It’s so much drama with these kids. I thought I would have a heart attack when James was nineteen and came over in a panic, telling us he was going to have a baby. He never even bothered to explain how that was even possible before rambling on about how he couldn’t even take care of a plant, how would he be able to take care of another human being? But after calming down, and explaining that he hadn’t cheated on Regulus, it’s quite the confusing story, so I think we’ll skip that.”
“Thank you.”
“Anyways, we eventually convinced him that he would be an amazing father. And that wasn’t a lie. Now, I may be biased because I love my son, but that child, little Harry… I think he’s the luckiest child in the whole world. Growing up with four parents and a million aunts and uncles who love him more than anything in the entire world.”
“I didn’t really plan this speech, as you might have noticed. It’s all over the place. But, what I wanted to say with all of this- is that James grew up to be the person he was meant to be. He stayed true to himself and found his other half. I am so proud and so happy for you and Regulus, beta. I know that you were made for each other, I’ve seen the love you share and it is beautiful. I love you both so much.”
“So, my beautiful sons, as you begin the rest of your life with each other, I only have one wish. And that is that you find the beauty in every day. Cheers to the newlyweds! May you always feel the love surrounding you.”