These will be posted in random order… hope you enjoy.

James Sirius Potter

James absolutely loathes the fact that he looks so much like his mother and most of his cousins: red hair that he wears longer than what his grandmother considers "decent", a bunch of freckles on his nose and warm chocolate eyes framed by long lashes. It isn't that he doesn't look good or anything, but honestly, which guy wants to resemble his mum when his father is Harry Potter? And of course, if that wasn't bad enough already, little Albus just had to come out as a carbon copy of their dad. That way, when they're both walking outside in the streets of London, Al is always the first to get asked for a picture or an autograph. If James wasn't there standing besides his little brother, people wouldn't even notice he was a Potter himself. And Al doesn't like the attention since he's so shy; it makes James sick just to think about it. Honestly, where's the justice?

James is the first boy to make his way into the Weasley-Potter cousins clan, if you don't count Teddy; he is born a little less than a year after Dominique, a couple of weeks before Roxy and Fred, a year before his little brother Albus. He becomes rapidly adored by his grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and especially by both his parents since he's their first born. His father teaches him how to ride a broom almost as soon as he can walk.

The first time James notices something weird about the way that people look at his dad is when he is seven and the three of them go to see Uncle George at his joke shop in London while Al and Lils stay at their grandparents'. James loves going to the shop because it's nothing like the old, gloomy book store his mum takes him to often, where you get scolded as soon as you lay a finger on anything and where you don't even dare breathe for fear of attracting attention to yourself. No, Uncle George's shop is very different from this: for the first part, it's lit in a bunch of colors that make it look like it's Christmas day everyday. There's also always loud and lively music playing from muggle speakers that Granddad fixed in the broom shed the previous year. And, finally, the shop is filled with wickedly fun and crazy stuff, like fireworks or dungbombs that James' mum won't let him buy even when he begs.

This particular day, when the three Potters come into the shop, people get kind of quiet, they point at his dad's face and whisper among themselves. Some even step forward and start applauding for no reason at all, others takes their hats off and practically bow and women rush forward to get an autograph. This time is worst than usual, maybe because the three of them are in George's shop, or maybe James is older now and just finds it unusual all of the sudden. His mum holds his hand and drags him a few steps backwards; James watches the crowd in front of him in wonder. At home, later that day, he tugs on his father's sleeve as Harry is putting Lily in her crib.

"How come people act like that around you all the time?"

But his dad only whispers that he'll tell him when he's older. Stubborn, James tells Roxy and Fred that they've got to figure out what's so special about Harry Potter; their resolve is reinforced when they realize that, by the way Dom looks down at them with malicious eyes, she clearly knows the big secret.

They aren't able to get a straight answer from their parents and grandparents, but before they can move on to a wider berth of targets, Harry decides that now might be the time to tell them; and that is how James learns that his father pretty much saved the entire wizard world when he was only seventeen.

As he grows up and understands more and more what the true meaning of this statement is, James starts to absolutely worship his father; he tries to imitate everything about him. The way he holds his wand, his voice, how he walks, rigid and fast like he's trying to flee the spotlight as soon as humanly possible, the way he must have said the final spell that summer morning when he killed Voldemort. He wishes he'd been there, fighting alongside his father, becoming a hero himself; born earlier so he could have participated in the war against evil wizards, showing off his battles skills, impressing girls, being someone extraordinary. If only he could've been born in a time that would've showed to the rest of the world his true potential.

At ten, James is a big fan of his grandfather's war stories, always sitting up front whenever granddad gets all serious and starts talking about darker times. Only, James isn't interested in the way his cousins are; he doesn't listen the way Roxy does, sitting still and quietly for once, chewing her lip off as she listens to some of the death eaters' most horrible actions; or like Rose or Lily, who always end up getting tears in their eyes before the stories are even over; or even like Al or Fred, who both get very pale in the face and look like they would gladly flee the room if they could. No, James listens with eagerness, bouncing up and down, interrupting his granddad with random questions, asking for more details whenever the story gets interesting (or particularly terrible), while the others stare at him in bewilderment, and on Rose's part, utter disgust.

"You aren't being respectful." She tells him one day, and he tells her to sod off, mostly because he doesn't understand what she means. The war is fun, exciting; James doesn't see how his attitude could possibly look inappropriate. He flexes his muscles and tells his cousins that he would would've loved to give the death eaters a piece of his mind. Dom grimaces at him.

"Shut up, James," she snaps at him, "you have no idea what you're talking about." Dom's first year at Hogwarts has just ended and she's already acting like she's a know-it-all when she's around her younger cousins, as if they didn't get enough of that from Rose already. Just because she has History of magic classes now doesn't mean she gets more out of the war stories than James does.

When summer ends, James, Roxy and Fred all leave for their first year at Hogwarts, and James gets sorted into Gryffindor, exactly like he'd hoped he would. He loves going to school and getting to spend time with his friends and cousins, living away from home, feeling like he's a real grown-up. He starts acting like he is his father when he was younger, making sure his hair looks messed up whenever he's around other people, boasting about his wartime knowledge, starting fights with whichever Slytherin crosses his path. He feels like he's all-powerful and loves the way other kids look at him with admiration in their eyes although he's one of the youngest students at school; he really enjoys the attention his surname and gloating attitude bring him.

Everything goes smoothly… until Memorial Day.

Memorial Day comes around once a year on October 19th, and this year will be James' first time attending the memorial ceremony organized at Hogwarts. And it isn't when he sees all the names craved into the white marble of the war memorial, or the hysterical tears of some of the students around him when the names are being read, or even the deathly silence that falls on the crowd when the minute of silence is requested that James finally gets it.

It's when he sees Teddy sob like a big baby that he understands.

Teddy is his father's godson and James' hero, the man he looks up to, the guy he admires most after his dad. Teddy has been constantly coming to their house for as long as James can remember; even if he doesn't actually live at home with them, he is their closest almost-relative. He's cool beyond belief, because he's awfully nice and fun, and if it wasn't for his disastrous balance he could actually be considered the perfect guy. Well, at least that's what Vic always says before she leans forward to kiss him and all of the kids run out of the room, covering their eyes and crying out in mock-pain.

And here is Teddy, who's technically out of school and currently in training to become an auror, coming back to Hogwarts for memorial day and sobbing his heart out in front of a huge crowd. To James, this is crazy and incomprehensible behaviour (which guy cries on memorial day, honestly?) and he must look more confused than usual because Dom leans forward from beside him and pinches his arm to get his attention.

"Teddy's parents were killed in the war," she whispers severely. "Do you still find that funny, then?"

And all of the sudden, he doesn't anymore… all because the toughest guy he knows is suddenly breaking down in front of his eyes like a huge cry-baby. And the names of his father's parents, his grandparents, his sister's namesake and his own, seem to be jumping out of the marble stone and attracting his gaze like a huge neon sign.

The more he thinks about it, reads books on the subject and talks to people who actually survived the war, James starts to understand how lucky he is to have escaped it all, how lucky he is that some people like his grandparents or Teddy's mum and dad were willing to risk their lives so he could live in a peaceful world.

And he knows, in the pit of his stomach, that he could never have been as brave as they were, standing directly in front of the ones they loved, welcoming death if it meant that they could keep their families and children safe.

When his father sees him during the next holydays at Christmas, he looks at him with a sad smile tugging at his lips, messing up his hair a little and saying that it seems as though James' head has deflated a bit. His son doesn't really understand what he means, but his father's gaze looks lost far away when he says this, like it always does whenever he's thinking about the past. James nods and silently promises himself that he isn't going to let himself act in a way that makes him seem arrogant or conceited anymore. From this day on, he is going to make himself realize what he has the chance to have, parents he loves to death, siblings he sometimes manages to get along with, a peaceful world to grow up in. He is finally going to honour the sacrifices made by the people who came before him and gave their lives for him, and regularly take the time to thank the Heavens for the courage they had and the small treasures they left him.

oOo

James is twelve and standing in front of his grandparents' graves in Godric's Hollow, his hand clutching his dad's as they both stare down at the words engraved in the stone.

"I would've have really wanted you to know them," his dad whispers, breaking the long silence. "They were amazing people."

James nods and clears his throat. "I know they were."

The wind blows the red and golden leaves from the treetops. It's October 19th and James doesn't even feel ashamed when a tear leaves a wet, shiny trail on his cheek.

oOo

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