A/N: In honor of James Potter's birthday today, here is a quick little oneshot of the day he turned seventeen. (He would've been 59 today. /3 )
Saturday, March 27th, 1977
On the morning of his seventeenth birthday, James Potter woke with a start when his mattress was flipped onto its side, spilling him out of the warm covers and onto the cold stone floor. Groaning, James rubbed his left elbow, which had taken most of the brunt force of his fall.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" he grumbled, reaching blindly above him for his glasses that were perched on his night table.
"Happy birthday Prongs!"
"One year older, none the wiser!"
"Oi, let's get this day started!"
Remus, Sirius, and Peter—the Marauders and James's best mates—chorused, grinning widely. James narrowed his eyes as he slid his glasses onto his face, glaring at them as he rose to his feet.
"Was flipping me out of bed really necessary?"
Sirius laughed. "Of course! It's tradition!"
James sighed, but the start of a grin was spreading across his faces. He couldn't stay mad for long, and Sirius was right, it was Marauder tradition to begin a birthday with a rude awakening.
"So, what've we got planned then?" Peter asked eagerly. He was the one out of the four who most loved birthdays.
"I dunno. I thought you three would've done the planning, seeing how its my birthday and all."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "We do have some things planned, but those are for this evening. I figured we'd spend the day as we usually do on Saturdays."
"And how's that?" Remus questioned from his perch on his bed.
"Well, first Prongs here will ask Evans to come with him to Hogsmeade. She'll reject him, so we'll go with him out of pity and get good and sloshed at Madam Rosmerta's place." Sirius smirked as he baited James.
James shrugged. "Sorry Padfoot, those plans aren't going to work out for you."
"Oh? You think Evans won't reject you on your birthday then?"
"Nah," James replied nonchalantly as he moved to pull clothes out of his trunk, "I'm not going to ask Lily out anymore."
The other boys froze, all turning to stare at James as he went about choosing a pair of dark trousers and a light gray long sleeved shirt.
"What do you mean?" Remus was the first to ask.
"There's not a world in which you don't ask Lily Evans out every time you get the chance." Sirius remarked.
Peter merely stared, looking at James as though he had never seen him before.
As James changed, he tried to explain. "I've spent the last six years making myself out to be the biggest git in the world, and Lily still doesn't want to give me a chance. I'm not about to go for a seventh year of making myself look the fool."
"But Prongs," Sirius began.
James held up a hand to stop him. "No, Pads, I'm not doing it anymore. I've got to move on. As much as I want to be with her, I've got to accept the reality of it."
Remus, sensing James didn't want to further the conversation, stood. "Alright then. Let's start with breakfast. Then we can venture down to Hogsmeade and see what trouble we can make there."
Distracted by the promise of food, Sirius and Peter turned to the door of the dormitory and dropped the subject. James grinned at Remus, who sensed the thanks behind it and gave a slight nod.
The common room was full of students lounging around, as it was a Saturday and there wasn't much going on. Most of the older students would go to Hogsmeade in the afternoon and they would all be present for the Marauders' party for James later that evening, but in these early hours the common room was full. As the four boys made their way down the staircase, James had to stop himself for searching the room for a familiar head of red hair (which was nowhere to be found). He was serious about moving on from Lily, even if it killed him.
"Potter!" a voice called, and Frank Longbottom rose from the couch near the fireplace and waved them over. "There's something over here for you."
James joined the seventh year by the fireplace. "Morning Frank."
"Happy birthday Potter." Frank clapped him on the shoulder, smiling his wide, friendly smile. He nodded to the coffee table, upon which sat a card and a small box wrapped in red paper. "It was sitting here when I came down this morning. Dunno who left it."
James looked at his mates curiously. The three boys shook their heads, looking just as curious as James.
"Open it then!" Frank laughed.
James moved for the gift, grabbing the card first. He didn't recognize the writing.
Happy Birthday James.
Shrugging, James tore open the paper. Beneath it was his favorite candy from Honeydukes—cinnamon bats—and he couldn't help but grin. Whoever had left this here clearly knew him well. Out of all the candy he ate—and between him and the other three Marauders, there was a lot of candy—cinnamon bats were his absolute favorite.
"Got a secret admirer then, Prongs?" Sirius questioned, reaching over his shoulder to snag a bat. James pushed his hand away and placed the lid back on the box.
"Guess so." James laughed. "C'mon, lets get down to breakfast, I'm starved."
It was like the house elves knew it was his birthday, James thought as he loaded his plates with all of his favorites—French toast, strawberry crepes, toast with jam, scrambled eggs, and loads of bacon. Sirius and Peter were already shoveling food in their mouths while Remus timed how fast they could clear their plates.
James, however, took a second to enjoy the moment. It was hard to believe that he was seventeen. He had one more year at Hogwarts ahead of him, and then it was the real world where there much greater problems than how to spend the day. But for now, right here and now, James could enjoy the little things like watching his mates have ridiculous competitions and planning parties and spending the days doing nothing but making mischief.
Movement down the table caught his eye and instinctively he looked up. Lily Evans sat near the other end of the table with her mates, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, and Dorcas Meadows. She was laughing about something, her head tipped slightly back and her cheeks faintly pink from amusement. Merlin, she was beautiful, James thought, shaking his head as he reminded himself to look away.
He tore a bite of bacon off and chewed, willing himself to focus on his mates and remember his vow to stop making a fool of himself over Lily Evans. Despite his efforts, he couldn't help but steal one more look at her. This time, however, he caught her eye. Her cheeks flushed more and she bit her lip before smiling at him (that was something new, he noted). She tucked her hair behind her ear and with one smaller smile she turned away.
James turned back to his mates, shaking his head at himself. Just because Lily smiled at him didn't mean he could fall right back into his old pattern. She had made it clear time and again that she didn't fancy him—hell, she could barely stand him—and it was time for him to grow up and stop trying to force it. With one last reminder to himself to push thoughts of Lily out of his head, he turned back to his breakfast and joined in the fun of watching Sirius and Peter devour more food than he thought humanly possible.
After breakfast, the Marauders had headed to Hogsmeade and spent the day roaming the streets, occasionally popping into shops for a few things here and there. Remus had insisted on purchasing for him a book on Quidditch that James had been eyeing the past two Hogsmeade weekends. Peter selected an assortment of items from Zonko's Joke Shop, and Sirius convinced Madam Rosmerta to slip them a few bottles of Fire whiskey for James's birthday.
Now, the four boys were headed back to the castle with thoughts of a party on their mind. The Marauders parties were always infamous. Only sixth and seventh years were invited (save a slight few fifth years who had proven worthy) and most often the Marauders were always the last four standing. As the four of them spilled into the already packed common room, James once again couldn't help but scan the room for one person in particular. A habit of six years was hard to break, he supposed.
His eyes flicked past the assortment of upper year Gryffindors and the occasional Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, finally landing on the witch whose bright hair made her stand out from the crowd.
Lily was seated in an armchair by the fire, her legs tucked beneath her comfortably as she leaned forward to listen to some story Amos Diggory was telling Lily and her mates. James felt his gut clench as she laughed, her head tipped back so that her hair spilled over the arm of the chair. The glow of the fire was reflected off the bottle of butterbeer that she was sipping from, lighting her face. Merlin, she was beautiful. She had always been, of course, but this year there had been a shift in her—maybe more confidence in the way she carried herself, with purpose, as though she knew exactly who she was and what she ought to be doing with her life, or maybe James was just a little bit biased—and James's chest ached each time he looked at her.
Not wanting to look like more of a git than ever, James turned away, shaking his head as he walked to the other side of the room where there was a makeshift bar. He needed a drink, and he needed it now. There was no other way he would stop himself from going over and interrupting Amos bloody Diggory and his stupid story, even though he knew that was a bad idea.
Steeling himself with a pint of Fire whiskey spiked butterbeer, James turned back to the party. Though it was his birthday, he wasn't feeling much in the mood to join the festivities, so he stayed near the sidelines. He'd throw out a few smirks to the girls as they giggled past him or share a quick quip with a few of the blokes, but he was content to merely sit and watch as the other three Marauders had a merry time with their peers. Agrippa, he was old.
As the night carried on, the common room began to empty as couples went off to try their luck finding a broom closet and others turned in for bed, having already consumed well past their limit in alcoholic beverages. There was only a small group left sitting by the fire, consisting of the Marauders, Marlene, Alice and Frank, and Dorcas.
James frowned slightly. He hadn't seen Lily head up to her dormitory. James bit back the curse when he realized she had probably left with Diggory.
He stared into his drink morosely, feeling even less in the partying spirit than before. And why should it matter, if she went off with Diggory? He was over her. Er…at least he was trying to be. He tipped his head back and finished his drink…his fifth? Maybe seventh? Relishing the burn of the alcohol as it slid down his throat. He realized he was more than a little buzzed, and with a sigh decided he ought to let his mates know that he was turning in for the night. They'd give him hell about getting old, but he wasn't in the mood to sit down there. He knew he'd only be focused on waiting for Lily to return from whenever she had run off to, and he didn't want to think about the implications if she didn't return.
From behind him, someone cleared their throat, startling him out of his thoughts. He turned and came face to face with the witch that had been holding court in his mind.
"Er, hullo Evans." He said, running a hand through his hair.
Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't look so happy, Potter. I thought this was your birthday celebration."
She crossed her arms, drawing James's attention to the soft green sweater the witch was wearing. The sleeves hung off her shoulders, exposing the smooth white skin of her shoulders and neck. James swallowed and glanced away.
"Not much in the mood, I s'ppose."
"James Potter, not in the mood for a party?" she lifted her hand, pressing the back of it to his forehead. "Are you ill?"
James chuckled. "No. Just a long day."
Lily nodded. "I heard you boys went to Hogsmeade. I didn't see you there, though."
James tilted his head, looking at her curiously. "You were looking for me?"
"Well, I didn't get to properly tell you Happy Birthday."
"Oh." He wasn't sure what else to say. Sure, he and Lily had been slightly friendlier this year, but they still didn't just casually converse like old chums.
Lily laughed, shaking her head. "Alright then. Happy Birthday James."
She went to turn around, back to the group by the fire, but stopped midway. She turned back to him, and James was surprised to see the faint signs of a blush on her cheeks.
"Did you get your gift?"
"Gift?"
"Yes, James, your gift." Lily replied, looking at him. There was something there, in her eyes that he couldn't quite put a finger on. All he knew was he had never seen it directed at him before. "The cinnamon bats?"
James started. "You got me those?"
Lily nodded, biting her lip. "Those are the ones you like, right?"
"My favorite, yeah."
"Good."
He was still staring at her. Lily Evans had gotten him a gift. And she was talking to him like he was a normal bloke and not the sickly second cousin of the Giant Squid. In fact, she had sought him out. And despite his vow of just that morning, despite his determination to finally get over Lily Evans, James felt something like hope stir deep within him.
"Evans, you got me a gift."
"Oh, sod off, don't read into it." Lily rolled her eyes but there was no anger behind her words.
James merely grinned. "Thank you, Lily."
"You're welcome, Potter."
James tilted his head towards their mates, still seated by the fire across the room. "You heading back?"
She shook her head. "Going up to bed, actually."
James nodded. Discarding his glass on the table beside him and slipping his hands into his pockets. "G'night then."
Lily nodded, then paused. She seemed to be thinking something over rather thoroughly, chewing her lip and furrowing her brow as she did. Then, moving quite fast, she took two steps towards James, closing the distance between them. She fisted her hands into the front of his jumper, pulling herself up onto her toes, and pressed her lips to his tightly. James's eyes widened, and he moved to respond to her, but she had already pulled back and stepped away from him. Her cheeks were flushed, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly, as though she were out of breath. James could relate to that.
"Happy birthday James." Lily whispered. She turned away and hurried up the stairs, leaving James standing there, too stunned to chase after her.
Merlin and Agrippa, Lily Evans had kissed him. He raised his hand and ruffled his hair, trying and failing to stop the wide grin from spreading across his face. Lily Evans had kissed him. Seventeen was going to be a fantastic year.
A/N: Meh. I don't know how I feel about this. Please review and let me know what you think!