The rest of the school year went by so quickly, exam season came and passed, and it was time for James to consider what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Severus, on the other hand, had always known what he had wanted to do, to become a Healer at St Mungos, the most prestigious institute of magical medicine in the country, and with his excellent NEWT grades, his application to train was soon accepted.
James began to feel rather dejected, he couldn't decide what to do with his life, nothing jumped out at him or excited him. Severus, hating to see him lost, asked Dumbledore to meet with him and offer some guidance.
A sharp rap on the door echoed throughout the flat, and a weary James went to answer it. It was, to James' surprise, Dumbledore.
"Sir?" James frowned up and the older man "What are you doing here?"
"I was asked by a dear friend to stop you from wallowing, Severus is very worried you know." Dumbledore told James, in a grave voice, stepping past him into the house and continuing into the sitting room.
James sat down, his exhaustion clear "I don't know what to do, nothing seems right for me."
Dumbledore sat with James in silence for a moment, and then spoke.
"I suppose you may have considered this before but I'd urge you to think about it again, James, I believe you would have an excellent advantage over most being going into the Auror field, knowing your uncle, and your natural talent. I would consider it your best option, I know you would enjoy it, so what is it that's holding you back?"
James shook his head, "Being an Auror is all I have ever wanted, and being an Auror is all Severus is unable to let me do, he's so worried, about the war, about the danger. He's so scared he says he can't let me do it."
Dumbledore laughed, and James looked back at him, confused.
"I see, so Severus has called me here to fix a problem entirely of his own making. You're going to become an Auror, James. Severus is your partner, I know this must be scary for him but you cannot live your life entirely for someone else. We have little choice, especially in our current climate, of what happens around us, but this is something you can choose. You need to tell Severus this is what you want, and that he must respect it." Dumbledore said, solemnly.
"Dumbledore came here today." James announced to Severus, as he came through the door.
Severus looked at James nervously, "Yes?"
"Yes. I'm going to become an Auror." James said, looking Severus in the eye in a defiant manner.
"But James-"
"No, Severus, I understand completely but I can't spend 5 days a week for the rest of my life doing something I hate because it makes you sleep a little better. I'm asking you now to not ask me to do that, don't ask me to make myself unhappy so you can have some peace of mind. I can't do it." James said, getting increasingly hysterical as his rant went on.
Severus began to cry, a few tears at first and then floods, he got up and clung to James, as James too began to cry.
"I'm so sorry," Severus whispered "I'm so sorry I made you feel like this, I should have let you choose your own path. I was just so scared."
They held each other there for at least half an hour, until eventually the tears had subsided, and they were okay again.
"Whatever you want to do, I just want to support you, no matter what." Severus told James, stroking his cheek, wiping away the tear stains.
That very night, after hours of filling our Ministry forms for James' application together, the boys went to bed. They were closer now than ever before, and the pain of earlier was gone with the tears they had shed. Severus leaned over and turned off the lamp on James' side and kissed him goodnight.
As they began to drift, Severus whispered "Good night, Auror Potter." into James' ear. James pulled Severus closer and they slept peacefully, Severus was no longer scared of the danger facing James, he knew in his heart of hearts that James would always make it home to be with him, no matter what.