Author's Notes:
1. Thank you, Stefanie, for your excellent beta work and virtual hand holding! Thanks to the poor tumblr users who put up with my angsting for months and were exceptionally supportive as I wrote this story. And thanks to Sarah for being my first reader and cheerleader.
2. Check my profile for a link to a map of how the UK is split up among the four houses/countries in this story.
3. This story is dedicated to anyone who's ever felt not good enough.
We at the height are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
Julius Caesar, Act IV
Chapter One
He noticed her immediately: a pretty girl with long red hair standing in the back doorway to the Three Broomsticks, smiling and shivering. A lone candle, ensconced in iron and glass, illuminated the gentle evening snowfall that entranced her. James assumed by her lack of sensible clothing that she must have ducked outside only for a minute.
The girl started when he stepped out from the doorway to Honeydukes, but to her credit, she didn't shout.
"It's beautiful out, isn't it?" James said. Much too beautiful an evening to stay cooped up in the castle, he told himself. Much better to get out and explore on his first night back in Hogsmeade for the season, even if Sirius refused to come with because he hated the snow.
"What are you doing, lurking about in doorways?" she said.
She eyed him cautiously as he approached, and tensed when he leaned against the wall next to her. She was noticeably shorter than he was, with stunning green eyes and a smattering of light freckles across her nose.
"Oh, the usual," he said. "Shenanigans, tomfoolery, hooligan…ery."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Perhaps you should take your tomfoolery elsewhere for the evening."
"If either of us is the fool, it's you. You shouldn't come outside this time of year without a cloak on."
She drew herself up to her full height and forced her arms down to her sides. "I don't believe you're in a position to tell me what to do."
She would've been intimidating if she weren't still trembling from the cold. Her dress, while in decent enough repair, didn't offer much in the way of warmth.
James couldn't suppress his smile. This was why he came to town—to get that sense of equality he'd never get at home. No one ever spoke back to him there except his parents and Sirius. Even in the village, not many common women would speak to a nobleman like this. It was…refreshing. And fun. She was pretty, and interesting enough to pass an evening speaking to. If she'd let him, of course.
"Well, move along already," she said.
"I'm also not in the habit of following instructions from strangers," he said with a lopsided grin. "Besides, I just wanted to say hello. You seemed like you were having a nice moment there."
"Yes." She lifted her chin. "I was. Until a certain someone with a stupid hat and likely less-than-savory intentions decided to intrude."
He ignored her comment about the hat that his mother had knitted for him. In all honesty, it did resemble a dead ferret.
"I can see how you might believe me to be some sort of thief," he said, "but I assure you I'm not."
"Oh, and as all thieves are legally required to declare themselves as such, I can only assume you're telling the truth."
"I suppose if I were a thief, I would probably lie about it, but as I'm not a thief, I'm not lying."
She let out a brief laugh and turned around toward the door. "Good night."
"Oi."
He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she ducked his hand and glared at him.
"If you're not a thief come to steal the few belongings I own," she said, "then we certainly don't have anything to discuss."
His mouth curved into a wicked grin. "Oh, you never know, we might have plenty in common. If nothing else, I'm sure I could do something for you. Whatever you need."
She rolled her eyes. "I find that highly unlikely."
She pulled the door open to pass through, but he grabbed the door before she could shut it behind her.
"I swear, I was going to go into this pub before I saw you," he said, which was the truth.
She spun around and planted herself in the middle of the doorway. "No."
"No?"
"You are not allowed in my pub."
"Yours? I know for afact that Mr. Evans owns the pub," he countered. "He's a friend of mine."
She didn't immediately reply, her face going blank. Then the moment passed and she said, perfectly calmly, "Mr. Evans passed away and now Ms. Evans runs the pub."
James knew he'd put his foot in it.
"I'm truly very sorry to hear that," he said, and he meant it.
Mr. Evans had always been kind to James. Even though James suspected Mr. Evans had known the truth, he'd treated James like any other young hooligan.
"Yes, well, that's fine," she said, her conviction wavering only a bit, "but you still can't come in."
"And why not, Ms. Evans? I won't bother you for anything besides a drink, I promise. Would you really deny your pub willing business?"
She shot him a triumphant look. "I know who you are and I refuse to serve you."
"Oh." James deflated. So much for passing for normal. "Well, that's hardly fair. I've done nothing wrong. No one listens to me yet. I say things but it's like I'm not there, you know?"
"Truly, I do," she said dryly. "It's my right to refuse to serve patrons, so please finish your babbling and depart."
That put him in a bit of a bind. Either he insisted, revealing himself to everyone else, or he left, leaving him without a plan for the evening.
The latter sounded more appealing for the moment.
"Then it was nice to meet you, Ms. Evans." He reached up to tip his hat at her before remembering he wasn't wearing a tip-able hat. His mother's handiwork was a size too small and he had to fight to get it on at all.
"Tragically I can't say the same," she said, her voice falsely sweet, and she shut the door in his face.
James cursed the late Mr. Evans for revealing James' identity to his daughter, but just for a moment. He only hoped she hadn't shared his secret with the rest of the village.
Forlorn over the loss of Mr. Evans, and over the fact that he was now banned from his favorite pub in Hogsmeade, James tried to make a night of it at the Hog's Head instead. He'd never cared for it as much as The Three Broomsticks. While cheer and the soft glow of candles filled The Three Broomsticks, The Hog's Head seemed filled to the brim with seedy tankards and seedier patrons. People didn't talk to each other in The Hog's Head, and considering James had only snuck out in search of new stories from strangers and the thrill of passing for someone boring and normal, The Hog's Head didn't exactly fit his needs.
Not to mention he'd apparently sat in some big oaf's favorite chair and nearly ended up in a duel. A duel he would have lost since, at the ripe age of eighteen, his father had confiscated his wand and his sword in a gambit to keep James in the castle.
Clearly his father had never mastered the secret passages of Hogwarts like James had.
James drank a pint alone, silently toasting Mr. Evans, and headed back toward the Honeydukes passage to the castle.
"Mr. Evans died," James said, letting himself drop onto his bed.
"That's a shame. He was a good man."
For once, Sirius didn't come off as flippant. He even put down the book he'd been reading, something French-looking and therefore awful, and moved to sit on the end of his bed.
James had felt silly asking the castle staff to move Sirius' bed into his floor of the tower, but it was a big empty room in a big empty castle. Even with two sets of bedroom furniture in the room, it still could have easily fit one or two more people.
"Agreed," said James. "His daughter runs The Three Broomsticks now. Gorgeous and sassy, outstanding eyes."
"Oh ho ho." Sirius grinned at him. "I never knew he had a saucy wench of a daughter. Do I detect a trace of interest?"
"Shut it."
"Do tell me about her, James. Did she have the music of Northern Gryffindor in her voice? Did her hair shine like a new coin?"
"For the amount of reading you do, you are really quite shit at metaphors."
"I'm a reader, not an author."
"Point taken. And anyway, she actually has more of a southern accent."
"Mr. Evans always sounded like a northerner to me."
"I always thought so, too. Maybe her mother was from the south?"
James regretted his errant comment when Sirius' face lit up with glee.
"Are you enamored of her, Prongs? Shall I send word to your parents that you have at last found a wife to bear your children? I assume we could immediately commence with the festivities. They might take issue with a barmaid, but then again they might content themselves that it's not a barman."
James reached for his wand, remembered he lacked one, and resorted to throwing a pillow at Sirius. "Sod off. Like your parents don't want you to get married."
Sirius taunted James by pulling out his own wand, and raised his eyebrows in a challenge. James held up his hands in silent surrender, and Sirius pocketed his wand.
"Naturally they do," Sirius said, "but unlike you I have freed myself from the burden of giving a shit about what they want."
James wished he could do the same, but he couldn't move in with his best mate's family like Sirius had done. For one, the Blacks were madder than James' mother and in much worse ways, and for another, there were no families more powerful than James'. He envied Sirius his lowly viscountcy. No royal guards had shown up to snatch Sirius back when he'd run away, which was what James expected would happen if he moved in with someone like Remus.
"In any case, don't plan the wedding quite yet. Not only does she apparently know I'm the prince, she didn't particularly, er, take to me."
Sirius sat up straighter. "I now regret my decision to let you go alone. Would that I could have seen the Prince of Gryffindor get taken down a peg or three."
"In an alleyway, no less. Do you know, she actually slammed the door in my face."
"Definitely regretting my choices now."
"I mean, she wouldn't let me into The Three Broomsticks!" James leapt to his feet. "I had to go to The Hog's Head and you know how I feel about The Hog's Head."
"I do recall your previous tirades on the matter."
"Like I'm some shady character! The nerve of that girl. I've got sterling character, Sirius. Sterling."
"I like the sound of this girl already. She barred you from entering and you actually listened, which is more than most people can say."
James scoffed. "I was trying to be nice because her father died and everything, but I shouldn't have. What right does she have to hate me for being the prince? It's not like I asked to have the parents I do. Merlin, was she rude to me."
"I think you need to talk to her about this. Stand up for yourself, Prongs."
"You're right, I do!" James grabbed his cloak off its hook and headed for the door. He threw a look over his shoulder and demanded, "Aren't you coming?"
"Well, for one thing, it's half two in the morning."
James stopped putting on his cloak. "Oh. Right."
"Tomorrow night we'll go."
"Yes," James said, nodding. "Tomorrow."
The following night, they snuck through the tunnel after everyone important had gone to bed. It was much easier with Sirius since he had a wand and could light the way. On his own James had stumbled through the dark, musty tunnel and stubbed his toe more than once, but by wandlight they emerged into the alleyway behind Honeydukes unscathed.
James marched to the front door of The Three Broomsticks and opened it with as much of a dramatic flair as he could muster. A familiar rush of ale, smoke, and sweat rolled past them and out into the street.
His efforts were for naught, though, since Ms. Evans wasn't behind the bar when James barged in.
"Where is she?" Sirius asked, stopping at James' side.
"Oi, stop letting in the cold!" shouted a deep voice.
"Sorry." James shut the door behind him, trapping the cold night air outside.
The familiar scent of The Three Broomsticks made James smile as he took off his hat. This was the real Gryffindor: a normal pub where the bulk of the patrons looked to be loggers from the Forbidden Forest, with arms the size of the trees they cut down.
"I don't see her," James said. He wove through the crowded tables to reach the bar and found two empty stools near the fireplace at the end, Sirius trailing behind him.
Not more than a minute later, she came through the doorway, smiling and holding a large tray laden with plates full of food in one hand.
James watched her navigate through the pub with ease, at one point half-twirling to avoid a flailing hand from some inattentive patron. He couldn't hear what she said when she stopped at a table full of loggers, but the men roared with laughter, and she started passing around plates.
She abruptly turned and shouted, "Mary!" toward the doorway she'd come through.
Another girl about James' age, with dark hair and a friendly face, poked her head around the corner of the doorway.
"What!" shouted Mary over the din of the pub.
"Salt!"
"On it!" Mary smiled and saluted, then ducked back through the doorway and reemerged with a bowl of salt. She didn't have Ms. Evans' grace and nearly tripped over someone's shoe on the way to the table. After handing it off, she looked around the pub and spotted James and Sirius. This time she made for the wall and followed it rather than dodging through the crowd.
"Good evening," she said, stepping behind the bar. "What brings you two fine young gentlemen to The Three Broomsticks? May I get you some drinks?"
She rested her forearms on the bar and leaned toward them, smiling coyly.
Sirius let out one of his "a girl is flirting with me, make it stop, Prongs" sighs and gazed out over the crowd.
"Bring us two of whatever you fancy," James said. "Please."
"Right away."
She moved to the other end of the bar to prepare their drinks, and James turned back to Ms. Evans. She was still talking to one of the men at the table and seemed to be enjoying herself.
"I'm bored," Sirius said.
"This was your idea, I'd like to point out."
"Are you sure? Who can remember such trivial details?"
Mary returned with two pints of pale amber ale and placed them on the bar. "My brother brewed these. Nothing better in Northern Gryffindor, with God as my witness."
James lifted the tankard toward her and took a sip. It wasn't his favorite, whatever it was, but it was damn good, and he smiled at Mary.
Sirius stared at the tankard, sighed again, and deliberately left his face blank as he tried it.
"Where are you two from, then?" Mary said. "Don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Mary, by the way."
"I'm James and this is Sirius." James knew Sirius wouldn't engage, but she seemed nice enough. Maybe she'd side with him when Ms. Evans noticed their presence. She didn't appear to know who he was, which was promising. "We travel around a fair bit."
"Have you been up this way before? I could show you around later, if you like."
"Mary!" came Ms. Evans' voice from down the bar.
James took a deep breath and turned toward her, steeling himself.
Except she was looking at Mary, not him.
"Mr. Wood would like a cup of soup, when you've got a moment."
"In a minute! I'm nearly done here."
Only then did Ms. Evans realize whom Mary was talking to, based on the way her lips thinned. She marched down the narrow strip behind the bar and stopped in front of James.
"I believe I told you that you weren't welcome here."
"Naturally we had to rise to the challenge," Sirius said.
James spared him a glance and saw he was grinning, the bastard.
"I thought about what you said," James said, "and I don't think it's very fair. It's not like I can help who I am. I mean, yes, on the physical front I can, and I put a lot of work into my hair, but I mean beyond that."
"They seem really nice, Lily," Mary said, her voice quiet. Neither she nor Lily were shouting or giving any indication that things weren't perfectly well, and only the couple next to James was paying any attention to their conversation.
"I've certainly seen no evidence to that effect," Lily said.
"I take it back. This was a good decision," Sirius told James.
"I deserve to be served like anyone else," James said, not looking away from Lily's eyes.
Her shoulders tensed, and she spared a glance at the couple next to James. "Shall I ask one of the many men larger than you in my establishment to escort you out?"
"I don't think you will." James took another sip of his drink. "You obviously don't want to make a scene and neither do I. I've been coming here for a few years and I love this pub and I refuse to let you refuse me service."
"Also we haven't paid yet," Sirius added, "so unless you want to make these on the house…"
"Lily!" came a woman's voice from behind James.
James turned to see a tall, thin woman in shabby clothing standing only a couple steps behind him.
"Sorry to bother you," she said to Lily, "only I need some burn paste. Clara's gone and burned her hand something awful while cooking."
Lily's face brightened immediately. "Of course! I'll get some right away."
She dashed off to the back, and Mary took her chance and leaned in close to James and Sirius.
"What've you two done, then?" Mary said. "Something terribly scandalous?"
James had liked her from the start, and he liked her even more now. Her grey eyes were alight with amused mischief.
"No idea," James said, leaning in so he was only inches apart from her. "Don't let her throw us out? We loved Mr. Evans and he seemed to like us well enough."
Mary nodded. "We all did. I'll do what I can but she's stubborn as a mule."
"Thanks." James smiled. "Just in case she does, take this, yeah?" He dug in his pocket and paid at least double what he suspected he owed.
"Ta," she said. "She's been a right mess since her father died."
"What happened?"
"What happens to anyone? Death comes when he pleases. Lily found him herself, keeled over the desk in the back."
James grimaced.
"My thoughts exactly," Mary said. "She's usually a treat to get along with. You must've done something bloody awful to get her riled up like this."
"He says he hasn't done anything, but who knows?" Sirius said.
James punched Sirius in the arm. "I have not!"
"How about I tell her you have to stay because we've got a date and if you don't stay you're calling it off?" Mary said.
"Er," said James.
She laughed. "Don't worry, I can tell you've got eyes for someone else. It's only a ruse."
"I've got eyes for no one!"
"He's lying," Sirius told Mary.
"Am not," James said.
"They never see it for themselves," Mary told Sirius.
James gripped his tankard. "I'm right here, you know."
"She probably won't throw you out," Mary said. "Mr. Evans had very clear views on these things and she doesn't want to lose that reputation."
Just then Lily came hurrying out from the back with a small jar in her hand.
"Oh, thank you, dear," said the woman. "I've only got half right now but John gets paid tomorrow and—"
"I know, it's fine." Lily reached over the bar, her arm brushing against James' shoulder, and handed the woman the jar in exchange for a few coins.
"I didn't know this was an apothecary, too," James said.
"You don't seem to know very much, do you?" Lily commented as she pulled her arm back in, barely loud enough for him to hear.
"Thank you. You're such a dear." The woman nodded once, almost reverently, and sped toward the door.
"You're not being a dear to me," James said.
Lily froze. "The soup! Oh, Mary, I'll be right back. Take a stroll around the room, won't you? And you two—" she shot James and Sirius a pointed look, "—should make yourselves scarce."
While Lily and Mary sped around the pub serving drinks and talking to patrons, James struck up a conversation with the merchant couple next to him about the brickmaking business. Not that James knew anything about it, but he could pretend well enough, and he did learn something along the way. The conversation also had the added benefit of driving Lily away – she might be less than friendly to James on his own, but clearly she didn't want others to bear witness.
He wished he knew why it bothered him so much that she didn't like him. Plenty of people in Gryffindor had their complaints about the monarchy—more than James liked to admit—but he couldn't understand why she found him so personally offensive.
As the night wore on, James found himself losing people to use as shields against Lily. Sirius had ignored the merchant couple, opting instead to chat with his apparent new best friend Mary.
When only a few patrons remained, and Sirius had stepped outside to relieve himself, Mary dropped down onto the stool next to James.
"I hope you got what you came here for," she said. "Sirius thinks you did."
"Does he," James said, annoyed.
"He said you can juggle, too."
"Do I look like I can juggle?"
"I've never tried to judge someone's juggling ability on sight alone before and I don't intend to start now."
"And I commend you for that," said James. "Very important, not judging people right away."
"Completely agree," said Mary. "But I need to know, what exactly did you do to Lily? I hope nothing too serious or I'll feel awful about defending your honor all night."
"Nothing! Honestly. I mean, yes, in hindsight maybe lurking in the shadows in an alley wasn't the best way to meet a girl—"
"What were you doing lurking in the shadows in an alley?" Sirius asked.
James closed his eyes. Of course Sirius was back in time for this.
"He didn't tell me that part," Sirius told Mary.
"I'm still right here," James said. "Right here. Two feet from you, in fact. Would you like me to measure?"
"Of course she doesn't like you if you dropped in on her like a bat in an alley," said Mary.
"That's not what she's mad about," James insisted. "I promise."
"What were you doing in the alley?"
"It's, er, complicated."
"He likes to rummage through the rubbish," said Sirius. "It's a real problem and we've been working on it."
"Sirius is the one who can't be bothered to come around here much because he hates the way the snow feels under his boots."
"It's not solid ground! It's not normal."
Mary climbed back to her feet. "Please tell me you two are coming back tomorrow."
"If we can," Sirius said.
"Perhaps," said James.
"Are we off, then?" Sirius asked, throwing on his cloak.
"Indeed. Have you paid the young lady?"
"I'm not a scoundrel and I resent the implication."
"I was only asking."
Mary shook her head. "Well, get to wherever you're going tonight safely."
"We shall endeavor to meet your request," James said. He kept forgetting not to leave his mother's hat at home so he could tip his brim at ladies.
"Will Lily be there to lock the door behind us?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," said a newly familiar voice.
James spun around to see Lily, who had entirely too much energy for this time of night.
"Well, thank you for a most amenable evening," he said, giving her his most winsome smile. "We had a lovely time and will be sure to patron your establishment again."
"Be still my heart," she said flatly.
James surprised himself by laughing. "Until tomorrow."
She did follow them to the door and shut it with relish behind them.
Sirius grinned. "That was exceptionally entertaining. We should bring Moony and Wormtail."
"Oh, I agree," said James. "I definitely agree."