A/N: Beta'd by the ever amazing and wonderful Lori. Title taken from the quote (I can make no claim to it or Harry Potter).
To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.
~Clara Ortega
It's late at night, and the wind is whistling eerily through James' cracked window, when he hears the creak of the floorboards outside his room.
"Jamie? Are you still awake?" Albus' whisper is only slightly louder than the wind.
"Yeah, Al."
"Can I come in?"
Albus doesn't wait for an answer, but he never does, not with James.
James hears the soft fall of Al's small feet padding across his room. Lifting the covers, Al slips in beside his big brother. James doesn't push him out, as he is often tempted to do, but instead, he pulls the little boy closer.
It's his last night at home. Tomorrow he will be the first Potter to attend Hogwarts since his father left, and he's nervous. He needs the small amount of comfort Al's warm body and clinging hands can offer.
"I'm going to miss you, Jamie. Do you have to go?" Al asks, his voice so very young and quivering dangerously.
"Don't be an idiot, Al. Of course I have to go. But, next year you'll join me, yeah? Think that old school can handle the both of us?"
Al laughs, but wipes at his eyes, sniffling slightly, "I don't know, Jamie."
"Come 'ere." It isn't as if Al can get any closer, but James hugs him tighter just the same.
James is scared. He's terrified that he won't get into the right house, or that he won't make any friends. Or, even worse, he'll make a lot of friends, but all they'll care about is who his dad is. Yes, James is very scared. But, there isn't room for his fear here, not when Al is trembling with the need to be reassured.
"Oh Al, don't be such a baby," He says it softly and gently, all the while running his hand up and down his little brother's back.
His mother would, no doubt, fuss at him for calling Al names at a time like this, but James knows it's what the younger boy needs. James never pulls his punches with Al, and if he did so now, Al would see right through it.
"Who'll play chess with me? Who'll listen to quidditch with me?"
Who will share their bed when there's a thunderstorm, or when I have a bad dream?
It's always been James that Albus turns to when he needs comfort, and though he won't say it out loud, James is worried too. It's Al that tiptoes into his room most nights, but James needs the companionship just as much. He can't imagine spending every night alone in a strange bed. Even here, in his own home, his small bed seems entirely too large when Al isn't stretching out across it, stealing the covers and snoring too loudly for a ten year old.
"You'll just have to do those things with Lily. She needs someone to teach her how to play anyway. And, Merlin knows she needs to learn to appreciate quidditch."
James' chest aches when he thinks about forcing Al into the big brother role. He doesn't want to hand over the reigns. As excited as he is about going to Hogwarts, he'd give it up in a heartbeat, if he could just stay where he is right now. Sure, he torments Al and Lily sometimes, but he's also there to kiss their scraped knees, and chase the monsters from under their beds.
"It won't be the same."
Al burrows farther into James' side, bunching James' pajama top tightly in his small fist.
He's right, of course. Lily is fine, as little sisters go, but she will not be able to replace James as Albus' comforter and protector. James is nervous about this new adventure he is about to embark on, but Albus is facing one of his own.
James doesn't have the right combination of words to make Al feel better. So, he does the only thing he can.
"Old Babbity smiled at the charlatan-"
"Jamie! I'm not a baby; I don't need fairy tales."
James knows this one is Al's favorite. He memorized it several years ago, and usually recites it during the storms that always seem to make Al anxious, and right now, they both need this normality.
"I know, Al. But, it'll make me feel better, yeah? So, just listen."
James makes it almost to the end of the story, before he feels Al's breathing even out, puffing gently against his neck. Al's body is completely limp, but when James tries to untangle them, Al clutches him even in sleep.
Knowing he'll be stuck in this same position most of the night, James cuddles even closer. As he drifts off to sleep, visions of Hogwarts dance behind his eye lids. He dreams of ticklish pears, moving staircases, nearly headless ghosts, secret passageways, and talking portraits.