It was probably the coldest day since spring began, James noted, as he reclined in his big swivelling chair. It should be a lot busier than it was, despite being a Monday.
Still, even with the lack of business, James couldn't help from being particularly upbeat. Nearly everything in his life was perfect, and it was all thanks to hard work, three best friends, and a bit of money. His business, Marauders' Coffee and Cake Shoppe, was doing extremely well, and after just a year and a half he was almost a quarter of the way done paying of the loan to his dad. His friends, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, were happy, young bachelors- just like him- and they were always together. He had no enemies, now that he and Severus Snape were on better terms, and his old mentor, Albus Dumbledore, was doing well and had even taken to visiting MCCS whenever the school took their trips to Hogsmeade.
In fact, James Potter could think of only one thing in his life that was less than preferable; his Soulmate tattoo. It made his ear itch, literally- that's where it was, tucked behind his ear. He remembered waking up on his eleventh birthday, for the three trillionth time since the incident occurred.
His eleventh birthday had been 27 March, 2000, the last Monday of the month. He'd refused to sleep, but lay in his bed at his mother's request. She was an old lady after all; peace of mind was the least he could give her. He watched the clock until midnight, thinking about the story his father'd told him; he, on his eleventh birthday, had also sat up waiting for his tattoo to appear. It had happened right at midnight; a nice, tingling tickle on his forehead. He'd ran to the mirror as soon as it was done and eventually worked out the backwards letters; You're the silliest person I've ever met, I reckon. He'd grinned wickedly and went right on to sleep, satisfied. He remembered mum's story, too- waking up early to run to the mirror and see words on her forehead. She'd been upset at where it was, and she couldn't read it, so she'd ran to her own mother.
He could picture their tattoos, scrawled in the other's handwriting. Mum's said, "I'd bloody hope I am." in his father's elegant, cursive writing. Dad's was in her big, girly scribble.
James had gulped as the tingles started on the backside of his left ear, and groaned loudly. He couldn't wake up his parents; dad had a big meeting tomorrow, being a hotshot inventor of new medicines, vaccines and treatments, and mum had to meet with the Headmaster of his soon-to-be Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, very early in the morning. He fell asleep around two a.m, stroking his tattoo tiredly.
The next morning he rushed out of his room to see his father sipping at tea. James had ran up to him, and he'd set down his cup.
"Why, hello, son. Where'd you get your tattoo?"
"Behind my ear. I need you to take a picture of it so I can see!" The boy had promptly spun his small, thin body, and pulled his ear forward.
His father had coughed, then touched James' arm. "A... Alright, son. Prepare yourself."
The picture he'd seen had burned itself into his brain. You are the worst fucking human being to have ever plagued this earth! Was seared into his body in the prettiest, neatest scrawl he'd ever seen.
It was then he vowed to be as wonderful as he physically could- he'd stopped using his allowance for candy and toys and made sure to give it to the homeless people who lived on their way to the market. He'd stopped teasing the girls on the playground and he'd started apologizing to everyone who would listen, and even sometimes those who wouldn't.
Soon after he'd gone off to Hogwarts, a private school with four separate housings into which people were sorted by their personalities through a series of personality tests. Dorms were two people each, the same gender, for the most part made alphabetically.
But, when he arrived, there were three beds, not two- and one held a boy with dark hair and even darker clothes.
"Oh, hey," the boy had said. "I'm Sirius Black, nice to meet you."
It turned out that Sirius' letter telling the school that he was, indeed, to attend had gotten lost in the mail and they'd had to enroll him last minute. For some reason that James still didn't understand, his best friend had been dropped into his lap by being dropped into his dorm.
They soon grew to be the best of mates, and Peter definitely wasn't stranger to them. They each brought something to the friendship; when James was upset over his tattoo, Sirius would paint him pictures of sunrises, sunsets, mountains, valleys, lakes... All of James' favorite things. Peter would leave him little chocolate delicacies; some homemade from his family's Swiss recipes, some bought from Hogsmeade. When Sirius was upset because of his hateful, prejudiced family, James would sneak them all out and go to his house, where his father's Honda Goldwing 2010 GL1800 sat. Sirius loved to just admire it, but he always denied whenever James offered him the chance to sit on it. he didn't want to ruin it. Peter would play cards with him and make him sudoku's; two of Sirius' favorite things, neither of which James was even slightly good at. When Peter was upset, James and Sirius would put on bad eighties movies and they'd all sleep in the same bed. Peter's favorite was the Breakfast Club; he'd joke that Sirius was Bender, James was Andrew and he himself was Brian. It wasn't entirely inaccurate, either; James had a thing for football, Peter was a giant nerd, and Sirius was a hardcore punk with daddy issues.
But not everything was perfect. Severus Snape and Sirius Black hated each other, and one day, Snape brought James into it.
"You're a filthy, self-centered, selfish, egotistical, apathetic, loser," hissed Snape to a laughing, 15 year old Sirius.
"Look, everyone just needs to calm down and-" James started, but Snape interrupted.
"And your mate's a nasty, spoiled little brat who's never deserved anything in his life! You're both a plague on this school-"
But Sirius had silenced the bitter Slytherin with a fist to the mouth, and for the remaining two and a half years of Hogwarts, James Potter had made an exception of Severus Snape.
However, after Hogwarts, that was all put behind them. Peter had come up with the brilliant idea of opening a coffee shop- James had always been much more fond of coffee than tea- and they'd done it, too. On July 31, 2017, in Hogsmeade, they'd opened Marauder's Coffee and Cake Shoppe, a small brick building with two offices, a kitchen, two bathrooms and of course a lobby. The interior walls were the same quaint, cozy brick as the exterior, and the floor was unstained hardwood, the same warm brown as the counter. There were six small, round tables with three chairs each, all wrought iron. It was cute and cozy, and they were saving up to put a fireplace in it.
Peter, what with his Swiss heritage from his mother, was the chocolate master, and also specialized in all of the cakes, croissants, cookies, and all the other pastries in the shop. James, with his coffee connoiseur skills and creativity, took care of all the mochas, lattes, frappuccinos, espressos, and plain old coffees in the shop, as well as teas and hot chocolates. Sirius, the big ol' nerd, ran the back of the house.
But they needed a cashier, and so one day, James put out an ad in the paper... Which was answered by none other than Severus Snape. Against all of Sirius' judgement, James hired him.
And now, here they all were. Sirius was in his office, doing whatever Sirius did at work (he didn't tolerate interruptions), Peter was in the kitchens, baking and replacing old pastries, Snape was behind the counter, to take orders, make coffees and serve pastries as well as clean the bathrooms and lobbies, and James was in his own office, on break. When he was on duty, he usually made the coffees for Snape, but they were too slow for four people to be on shift at once. But James didn't really mind, really... He'd never actually had a break before.
But it wouldn't last long. Outside, in the lobby, trouble was brewing.
Lily Evans had just walked in with her best friend- Remus Lupin. They were here to celebrate Remus' being accepted as a Supernatural Studies professor at Hogwarts, their old school. She strutted right up to the counter, not once wincing when she saw the barista was none other than her ex-best friend, Severus Snape.
"One extra-large triple chocolate fudge frappuccino and one medium earl grey tea," Lily said. "As well as two pain au chocolats."
"£11.64, please," Snape said, eyeing her in a way that made her uncomfortable. Remus dropped the money on the counter and took his receipt, then led Lily to the table farthest away from Severus Snape, where the gentle smooth jazz that played was quietest.
Remus didn't respond to Lily's gentle prodding voice earlier, and only because the stress applying for the job that Remus had experienced, she didn't try to start conversation.
She felt Snape's eyes on her and sighed to herself.
They'd been best friends even before Hogwarts, having grown up in Cokeworth only a few streets apart. He'd fallen in love with her, and had even memorized her first words to him- Hi... I'm Lily Evans, and you are?- and where she'd first come in contact with him- the right palm, when she'd shaken his hand. He'd also took to heart his own first words to her- Snape. Severus Snape.
But on Snape's birthday, 9 January, he had not gotten Hi... I'm Lily Evans, and you are? on his right palm. Instead, on the exact same place, he'd gotten If you've a ready mind, I reckon I'd let you work for me. He'd been heartbroken and refused it.
He'd been very upset, but still asked her what her own tattoo was when her birthday, the 30th, came around- on her right index finger was, I didn't write that,
And then Hogwarts... That had been Remus' first words to her, but his first contact with him had been when she'd smacked him across the face- with her left hand- after he'd supposedly broken the heart of one Mr. Frank Longbottom... Who'd actually hurt Remus. And her first words to him had not been You alright, mate? as was written clearly on his chest, but "You little prat!". Still, Snape had never forgiven Remus for that and had assumed he was just looking to steal Lily from him.
Finally, one day in the middle of fifth year, she'd broken all ties to him. She'd witness him insult Sirius Black and James Potter- two boys in their year she'd never felt the need to talk to- only to get himself punched. He was too volatile... Lily didn't want that in her life.
And now here he was.
"Your croissants are ready," Snape said. Lily went up to retrieve them. "You look good, Ms. Evans," Snape said quietly, sadly, as he pushed a plate with two chocolate croissants to her.
"Thank you, Severus," she said cordially, then walked off with her and Remus' food.
Meanwhile, Remus was thinking of something entirely different; namely, his own experience receiving his Soulmate tattoo.
He'd completely forgotten it was his birthday, because mum and dad had been fighting all day and hadn't said a word to him. He'd eaten leftover bangers and mash and had full reign of the television.
He'd stayed up late, as usual, and around midnight he'd felt a tingle on his breast; he'd pulled off his tank top to see words forming right before his very eyes in a sprawled out, cursive writing, and he'd remembered- it was his birthday. The words had said, You alright, mate?; something people always asked him. He had a very grumpy and sad appearance, and was also very gawky and clumsy. Remus had sighed and gloomily returned to his program.
"Coffee's done," Snape said, and Remus went up to get it. Snape dropped it, quite purposefully, all over Remus.
"Bloody fuck," hissed Remus as pain seared down his body. A blond, chubby man came out, saw this, and tsk-ed at Snape before knocking on a door to the left of the counter. A rather attractive man around their age came out and sighed.
"Snape…" He said, then sighed again. "Apologize and get the poor bloke some towels."
"It wasn't my fault, I-"
"It bloody was!" Lily cried from their table angrily, and Remus knew she would physically fight Snape if she came any nearer. She was fiercely protective over Remus.
Snape plopped a cup for James to use and then got towels while James apologized to Remus, making him a new coffee and offering him a free beignet, which Remus took. Lily had a crazy sweet tooth. The blond, whom James called Peter, went into the kitchens to make it fresh.
"There you go, sir," James said with a bright smile. Remus managed to return it. "Sorry about that, again."
"... Yeah," Remus managed, taking the coffee back to his and Lily's table. James went into a door to the left of the counter.
But something caught his eye- writing. He looked down to see, You're a freak and a monster, and she deserves better than you scrawled in rather appalling chicken scratch. Remus sucked in a breath, trying not to let Lily know- she'd freak out- but of course, she noticed.
"What?" she asked with a smile, but then it faded and she snatched the cup and saw the writing. "Who did this! Who gave you the cup?"
"James, but-"
Lily promptly stood and rushed into the right office.
Sirius had been sifting through several job applications by the filing cabinet when James barged in. He didn't look up, but annoyance bloomed in his chest and he pushed his reading glasses up.
"The prettiest girl I've ever seen is in our store, Padfoot,"
"That's nice, James. I'm working, so go take your break with the pretty girl."
"She's with a guy though," James sat across from Sirius. "He could be a friend though, right?"
"Did she call you the worst-"
"No, she didn't speak to me." James itched his ear unconsciously, the way he did whenever Sirius mentioned his tattoo. Sirius took off his leather jacket and flexed his arm, unknowingly revealing his own tattoo in the crook of his elbow.
"Well, spill a drink on her or something, or insult her hair."
"Her hair is perfect, and Snape already spilled on her friend. Oh, I remade his coffee and gave him a free beignet for that." Sirius glared at James and wrote the issue on the list of replacements, something Sirius wanted to keep very, very short.
"What color?"
"As red as the beautiful sunset you painted me last week," James smiled charmingly, and Sirius hooted a laugh.
"It's dye," tsked the punk teen.
"No, you don't-"
Suddenly, however, the ginger barged in and looked directly into James' eyes.
"You are the worst fucking human being to have ever plagued this earth!" She shrieked at him. She took him by the ear with her hand, dragging him closer, and he howled in pain. Sirius almost laughed, but restrained himself. A tall, lanky guy around their age followed. He couldn't believe James'd already found his soulmate… Or that she was pretty, like, at all. James was a ait.
The boy was probably taller than Sirius- who was 192 cm- and even thinner than James, who was just under 60 kg at 178 cm. He had a mess of brown hair, shaved thin on the sides with a couple inches of curl on top. He was pale with bright brown eyes, almost yellow/orange, and a centimeter or two of fuzz on his cheeks. He wore a blue polo atop brown capri slacks and and violet bracers (suspenders) and brown loafers. He looked very hipster.
The girl had vibrant red hair that looked surprisingly real, as well as glittering tan skin and a mess of slightly darker freckles. She wore an orange turtleneck under a brown jacket and browns slacks, as brown pumps.
The girl plopped down a cup of their coffee, which splashed a bit over. There was writing on it; You're a freak and a monster, and she deserves better than you.
Instinctually, Sirius knew it was Snape's writing.
"I didn't write that," James said in a pained voice, and the ginger winced.
"Snape must've," the hipster said in a low, angry voice. "As I've been trying to say, but Lily-"
"We're!" Lily, the ginger, said suddenly, releasing James. "We're Soulmates!"
James looked up at her for a moment, blinking stupidly, then grinned wickedly.
"Oh, bloody hell," the brunet said. He stepped forward, going for his coffee on Sirius' desk, and tripped right at Sirius. The latter caught the clumsy hipster, elbow hooking under his chest.
"You alright, mate?" The co-owner asked, hefting the hipster to his feet.
"Remus! What if it's him! He touched your boob," Lily said with a doofy grin. James chortled.
"It's not."
"Say something to him!" Lily commanded. Remus obviously did not want to, but Lily did not seem the type to take no as an answer. Remus the Hipster turned to a very amused Sirius, who wiggled his ears; his long hair was, indeed, in a manbun. Maybe, just maybe…
"I doubt it's you, manbun," Remus said dubiously. Sirius laughed, long and hard.
"No frigging way," James said with awe. "No frigging way."