Hey guys! I'm joining on the drabble-series bandwagon, instead of posting dozens of 500 word one-shots. Most of these drabbles won't have a specific plot or anything, but will instead focus on character. Meliora means, essentially, "better things". This one is about James, who turns 56 today. Happy birthday James!


oOo

James had come to his parents as a shock, a surprise. They were older, and had given up on the idea of a child long ago. And then, he came along. His parents stayed home to take care of him and catered to his every wish. He was pampered, spoiled even, and so it was obvious that when the time came, he'd have no trouble adjusting to living in a castle.

For some, James Potter was a mere concept, a hybrid, a mix between a man and a God, ringleader to the group of infamously famous pranksters, the Marauders. James was extremely attractive, although not in an obvious way like his best mate, Sirius Black. No, James Potter was thin and gangly and, when it came down to it, a bit of a dork, but it was the way in which he carried himself, strutting through the corridors that demanded attention. When James Potter walked into a room, he filled it up completely, and it wasn't because of his position as Quidditch Captain or because of his unruly hair (well, only a little). When he walked in, everyone stood up to talk to him. He was charismatic, magnetic and he knew it too. After all, how could he not know it?

Severus Snape, however, thought of him as nothing more than a spoiled, rich kid (which wasn't that far from the truth). He saw James as arrogant, lazy even and the distaste was nothing if not mutual. For Severus Snape, James Potter was a lost cause.

For Lily Evans, James Potter was not a lost cause. Of course, the boy was often more trouble than he was worth and his habit of hexing students left, right and centre just because he could infuriated her beyond belief. But truth be told, ever since that day by the lake, he hadn't raised his wand on a single student unprovoked. And so they had started a tentative friendship that the both of them cherished more than they cared to admit. James was a boy of admittedly remarkable talent, both on a broom and in the classroom. His popularity, his fortune, his inability to shut up... none of that mattered to her. What did matter was the way he had taken in three misfits, that had all been abandoned in one way or another, and given them a family. Or maybe it was the permanent glint in his eye that not even the wire rimmed spectacles could hide. Because, for all his faults, his heart was in the right place and she loved him for it. She loved all of her friends, of course, but there was something about him that just warranted a second look.