The Life and Times of James Sirius Potter

Chapter Four: Seventh Year

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James' face broke into a grin when he finally spotted the Smiths' walk through the Platform wall. He hurried over to take Avery's trunk, grinning at her 'I can do it myself' glare. Mrs. Smith kissed his cheeks, "How are you, James? Excited for your last year?"

He couldn't shook Mrs. Smith's hand, "How are you, Dave? How's retired life?"

"It's all right, finally reading some of those books I've always meant to."

The whistle blew and James hugged Mrs. Smith quickly before shaking Mr. Smith's hand. "Good luck this year, James. Win that Cup!"

He hugged his parents quickly before taking Avery's hand. Fred was at the door already, "Don't worry parents," he yelled.

"This is our last year," James grinned as they leaned out of the door, Avery chuckling behind them.

"And the last year of real, true -"

"Honest-to-goodness-"

"Potter-Weasley shenanigans," three of the popular WWW fireworks erupted from behind the train. Clapping and cheers sounded from the students who stuck their heads out the windows and impressed gasps from the parents. "But you'll see," Fred continued waving, "you're going to miss us!"

Cheers erupted from the train and applause and a few whistles sounded from the parents (mostly their Uncles) as the train began to pull away.

"That's my boy," George cheered.

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"Ah, apparently not everyone got the memo," Fred muttered as he led James and Avery to a compartment.

"Apparently not," Avrey agreed as she ignored the stares of nearly everyone they passed. "Merlin, you'd think it was some sort of big deal."

James cocked an eyebrow, "Love, I'm James Potter. I am a big deal."

She swatted at his head, "How could I forget?"

The staring only got worse during the Sorting and the feast.

"She's only with him because he's a Potter and she needs connections," one of the 7th year Slytherins "whispered" haughtily as they walked out of the Great Hall, her friends sniggering loudly behind her.

"Oi!" James called, but Avery patted his arm.

"No, Jamie, I got this." She stepped in front of the girls and in effective nearly the rest of the older students, "Oi, listen up! I'm not with James because he's a Potter all right! And I bloody well don't need his dad's connections when my Quidditch and my OWLs can bloody speak for themselves. James and I are together because unlike you lot, we don't care about names or family connections or blood status or any of that rubbish. So quit talking smack all right, Johannes? You're just jealous that James didn't snog you."

James grabbed her hand and kissed her loudly on the cheek, "What she said. Now, off you go." He laughed when some distinct 'Hear, hear!'s sounded from the Slytherins (Albus and his best mate Scorpius most likely), the Ravenclaws (Rose and her mates) and the Gryffindor.

People continued to gawk and stare, but no one dared talk 'smack' anymore.

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Avery's legs were draped across James' lap as she read her DADA book, James' snores grew slightly louder. Rolling her eyes and pinching his nose she laughed quietly when he woke up coughing and breathing deeply. "Must have dosed off there," his fingers ran through his hair, "why are you reading? Let's take the Map and go snog somewhere terribly inappropriate."

She rolled her eyes, "We barely made it out of Slytherin common room without a detention, Potter. We should law low for a while with these impulsive snog sessions."

He pouted and batted his eyelashes, "But it's my last year."

She kissed him quickly, "Yes, I'm aware, you like to remind me often."

He went to kiss her again when they were interrupted by Fred, Dominique and Brendan. "Oi, please keep the snogging to a minimum? You'll scare the children," he pointed to a few First Years who were huddled in a corner playing Wizarding Chess.

Fred leaned back in his chair, "What prank is it this week? It'll be hard to top the 'scattered rain showers'."

James chuckled, "Until it begins to snow, of course." They had been doing one significant school-wide prank a week in honor of their last year that would lead up to their final, large, blow-out prank at the end of the year. "Peeves really liked the fish pond idea."

"Or the snog potion -"

Dominique's mouth opened in horror, "No, that's just downright cruel."

"Something to honor your dad?"

Fred shook his head, "No, that should be closer to the end. And one honoring the Marauders, of course."

Avery closed her book with a snap, "As much as I'd love to stay and listen to you two brainstorm, I need to go to sleep. you worked us hard today, Captain." She kissed him quickly before standing up.

James winked at Fred, "Not much different than every other day."

"Oi! That's enough!" Dominique followed her friend quickly out of the common room.

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"Oi, Captain!" Lily called to her brother and pointed at Professor Longbottom who was talking with a young man below them.

"Keep practicing you lot, Huge you're doing well - Avery, Dom and Roxy, work on some new plays, eh? Shake things up." He flew down, "What can I do for you, Professor?"

"Ah, James, this is Mr. Stephenson, one of the owners of Pride of Portree. Mr. Stephenson, this is Gryffindor's captain, James Potter."

James grinned and shook the man's hand. "We've heard a lot of good things about your team, Mr. Potter. Professor Longbottom here tells me you and Mr. Weasley are some of the best Beaters Hogwarts has ever seen."

"We don't like to boast, Mr. Stephenson, but I reckon we're pretty good. Fred and I are a packaged deal."

"Yes, well, we are looking to rejuvenate our team next season. We haven't been fairing as well as we'd like to these past few years."

"Yes, I miss the glory days of Schaeffer, Gordon and Thornton too," James smiled again, making sure to be both charming and gracious, "you're more than welcome to stay for practice. We have a game Saturday against Slytherin," he shook the man's hand again, "it's always more fun playing against my brother."

He flew back up to his team, "We've got Stephenson of Portree here scouting us. He's coming to the match on Saturday."

Fred grinned, "Brilliant."

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"Would you play for Portree?" Avery asked, her head resting on his chest as they sat on the couch in front of the fire.

James ran his fingers through her hair, "If they offered us a good enough contract, yea."

Avery hit his chest, "Your mum and Fred's mum would protect you from a cheapskate, wise-ass. Seriously. Would you play for them or do you have a team you really want to play for?"

James trailed his fingers down her back, "Fred and I never really dreamed we'd get multiple offers and multiple scouts. I mean, Canons and Wasps last year and Portree already this year?" He chuckled into her hair, "We have said it would be more fun to take a once-great team and make them great again."

"Instead of joining an already great team and defending their title?"

"More of a challenge, yea? And until you and Dom and the rest of the family," he smiled, "and even bloody Malfoy join our ranks, it'll be no fun defending a title."

"So are you going to play for Portree," she looked up at him, "should I switch my allegiances now?"

"Bloody hell, woman, they haven't offered us anything yet, have they?" He laughed, pressing his lips to hers sweetly, "Besides, you don't have any allegiances anyway."

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James didn't know how he could be any happier: he was only taking classes he liked, he and Fred were pulling phenomenal pranks, the team was better than ever and he had a wonderful, perfect girlfriend. She wouldn't let him get too cocky, she didn't hag him do his work or stop pulling pranks, she didn't pressure him about the future and she didn't let him go too hard on the team.

But the excitement of having the Portree scout and potentially other future scouts made Fred and James realize they really were graduating, leaving school and moving on. "Evan's got a job in Muggle London - publishing, I think."

"She a writer?"

Fred smiled fondly as he stared out the window, "I've read some of her stuff - it's pretty good. She says this publishing company will help her get started."

"So she's going to live in London?"

Fred nodded, "And we'll probably live there too, right? No matter what team."

"Yea, probably?"

What would he and Avery do? See each other at Hogsmeade? What was she planning on doing when she graduated? He knew Teddy and Victoire had done it - in secret, of course, so there was no reason they couldn't. Unless she didn't want to. James didn't want to ruin their relationship with talks of the future. It was still some ways off.

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Mr. Stephenson had been extremely impressed with James and Fred during their match against Slytherin and James' skills at Captain. Three days after the match they both received owls with offers: the salary and contract money were negotiable. Pride of Portree wanted the Potter-Weasley duo and were willing to pay top dollar. And after one season, they would offer James Captain.

There was a large celebration in the Gryffindor common room that night complete with stolen butterbeer from Hogsmeade and pies from the kitchens.

The next morning they got a joint letter from their mothers telling them not to commit to anything yet: they'd be getting more offers and if Portree were serious, they'd raise the salaries very soon.

"You reckon we should see who offers more?"

James chewed, "Mum said she heard Puddlemere, Arrows and Catapults are sending scouts, but I don't know how much more they'll offer."

"And it is a lot already."

"And you can renegotiate after a year."

"After we win."

They grinned at each other, "It would be nice to create a winning team."

"We'd do all right first season, but once you're Captain -"

James shook his head, "I'm thinking co-captains," he grinned, "and I think we'll have to recruit."

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"Your mum invited me for Christmas," Avery said softly as they laid in his bed, her hands on his chest, his arms cradling her.

His eyes were closed, his glasses resting on his bedside table. "Good, good, I wrote her before, but she never wrote back."

Avery snorted, "It was your idea?"

He opened one eye and attempted to intimidate her, but her face was very fuzzy, "Well, Lily reminded me to do it before, you know, Christmas Day."

"Remind me to thank Lily then," she giggled as his hands ghosted over her back.

"Cheeky," he said, his eyes closed again as he kissed her soundly.

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James could not remember a better Christmas: the Burrow was filled to near capacity Christmas Eve and the next day Avery and her parents would be joining them all day. Avery was extremely excited to spend the holiday with a big family: her excitement was contagious and James was looking forward for Christmas with the entire family.

"Jamie! Get the door!" His grandmum called from the threshold of the kitchen. Warning Hugo of the consequences of cheating at Wizard's Chess, he leapt up and opened the door quickly, his face breaking into a huge grin when he saw Avery, "Happy Christmas!"

She laughed and threw her arms around his neck, catching him by surprise. "You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow!"

She grinned, "Surprised?"

Harry store into the hallway, "Happy Christmas Eve, Avery," he beamed and ruffled his son's hair, "close the door before your grandmum catches cold." He winked at them before walking on, calling for Ron.

"Was your dad's idea," she smiled, "you surprised?"

He grinned goofily before kissing her slowly, "Very."

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Mr. and Mrs. Smith were absolutely enthralled with Mrs. Weasley's clock and the "impossible architecture" of the Burrow, the wireless and everything else remotely "magical". Avery giggled and whispered a 'thank you' to James.

"For what?"

"For having such a great family," she patted his cheek, "and inviting us for Christmas. They're having such a good time."

"Are you?" He watched her, his stomach twisting in knots, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

She smiled sweetly, her eyes mesmerizing and beautiful and James wondered why he had never said it before. Before she could answer his question, he whispered, "I love you, Avery."

Her eyebrows shot up for a moment before her face broke into the prettiest grin he had ever seen. "I love you too, James."

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Portre increased their offering salary and promised James and Fred co-captains after their first season. They accepted and had a weekend-long celebration.

James gathered his courage up one night in April and told Avery he wanted to keep dating her even while he was in Australia for two years, while he was suffering through training, his first season and while she was still at Hogwarts.

"So when you're a super famous Quidditch-player you're not going to be embarrassed to be dating a student?"

James shrugged, smirking, "I mean, I guess not."

She smacked his chest, "Good, I didn't feel like sharing you. Too much trouble to find another uber-famous boyfriend."

"Oh, a right comedian you are, huh?"

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James and Fred had little time to worry about their NEWTs as the year drew to a close: they had a prank legacy to leave. Five days leading up to the end of school a giant, impenetrable hedge maze sprung up: students and teachers had to complete the maze to get from the greenhouses, the lake and the rest of the lawn to the Great Hall. Needless to say, very few students made it to Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures on time. The next day, in what would be three days of homages, a large swamp stood at the bottom of the staircase. In it were several varieties of snakes and pink toads; bats flew about around it and attempted to eat the spiders that wandered around the edges of the swamp. Mini squids popped up in every classroom and hippogriffs sounded at the start of lessons and meals. The water in the showers that night were cold, clean, swamp water.

The next day a stag, doe, large black dog and wolf wandered the grounds and during breakfast, made a quick dash through the Great Hall. Once McGonagall was assured they were harmless, she told the other professors not to bother trying to corral the animals. James took a picture of the four animals and owled one to his father and another to Teddy.

The second to last day, everyone had Weasley-red hair after drinking their juice at breakfast and as usually you couldn't simply 'magic' it away.

The last day of school all of the professors lost their voices and the Head Boy and Girl and prefects found that when they went to call for order or the students' attention, their voices were gone. Brooms flew around the corridors between legs and above heads and when someone tried to hex them or get them to stop, they broke into multiple brooms. Several soft Bludgers flew around the castle and into classrooms; every time they hit a student, House points were deducted. There were also several Quaffles and Snitches: points were awarded if someone caught the Snitch or made the single hoop that stood and swayed high above the castle door.

Several students complained about the House points, but McGonagall found that there was nothing she could do and Gryffindor won by a landslide.

Professor McGonagall grabbed Fred and James as they left the Great Hall that evening with a small smirk. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she looked at them over her glasses, "well executed. My only wish is that you had put this much effort to your studies." She smiled at their near identical grins, "Professor Dumbledore sends his thanks - he was very impressed and amused with your ingenuity in paying homage to those before you and your creativity. And as much as it pains me to admit, I will greatly miss your shenanigans. Although I'm sure I'll have to watch your sisters." She nodded, dismissing them.

"Thanks, Minnie," James winked and Fred shook her hand eagerly.

"We knew you were going to miss is something terrible."

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James and Fred stood outside the castle watching as the rest of the students filed out to the carriages. "I'm going to miss this place," Fred admitted.

"This place is going to miss us," James corrected.

"What'd you do with the Map?"

James shrugged, "Gave it to Albus."

"A Slytherin?"

"Got to keep it in the family," he grinned, "and it'll be back in Gryffindor in a few years when Lily and Roxy get it."

They continued to stare at the castle with identical nostalgic smiles on their faces: they weren't too upset to be leaving. They'd always be best mates, they'd be playing Quidditch together for years, they had girlfriends and now they'd have a new Quidditch team to prank along with their ever-growing family. They were ready for the next chapter of their lives.

James slung his arm around Fred's shoulder as they started towards the carriages. "Think we're leaving a good enough legacy?"

A broad grin spread across James' face as he thought about the two identical soft Bludgers that were currently roaming the castle. "You know, Fred m'boy, I do believe we are."

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Fin.

A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope you guys like this! It was my first second-generation story, but I plan on writing more – I'm currently writing a Scorpius/Rose fic and have plans on writing a Teddy/Victoire story as well.

Grazie!