...Hate is a Strong Word

I thought my parents were in love, sickeningly in love actually. In love to the point of it being embarrassing.

When I (I'm James Sirius Potter by the way) went to Hogwarts all of those perceptions I had of my parents changed and it all started very subtly. Looking back, the first hint that my parent's life was not all that it seemed was in something Professor McGonagall had said on my first day.

I listened intently to her opening speech and when we were given our tasks, I immediately got to work. As she walked up and down she looked at our progress and when she reached me she paused.

"Very impressive Mr. Potter," She had said, "You certainly don't get your Transfiguration skills from your biological Father."

I laughed, "I know, my Dad is terrible at Transfiguration. It was my Father who taught me."

She smiled very slightly, it was the sort of smile that you could only see if you were really looking for it, "I can see that."

As she walked away she mumbled to herself thoughtfully, "Who would have thought?" and that sparked the smallest doubt in my head.

That doubt only grew as I progressed through my first year. I knew my Father had wronged in the past, but I never knew the full extent of it. The little comments about how unbelievable it was that my parents had raised me and my little brother Scorpius together never stopped though. The teachers made these comments, not my fellow students and I started to wonder what it was they knew.

Eventually, I asked, "What do you mean by that Professor McGonagall?"

She looked surprised, "Oh. Only that your parents weren't exactly friends when they went to Hogwarts together."

I frowned, "Because they were a Slytherin and a Gryffindor?" I asked.

She frowned, "That was part of it, yes. But perhaps this is something to ask your parents about."

That was all I got from that conversation. But as I asked more and more questions I grew to realise that my parents had not just 'not been friends'. By all accounts they had hated each other and this just didn't compute to me. Not until I was cornered by a group of Gryffindors who were much older than me in the common room one night.

"Potter," The tallest said as they boxed me in and towered over me.

I took a step back, "What do you want?"

"To ask you how you managed to worm your way into Gryffindor," Another of the boys said.

"Scum like you doesn't belong here," The third said.

I swallowed, "But my Dad was in Gryffindor-"

"Your Dad divorced your Mum because he was a pansy," The tallest said nastily.

"And the pansy he left her for is a Malfoy," The second said, "Malfoy's are Slytherin scum and so is everyone associated with them. You deserve to be in Slytherin, like him."

I didn't know what to say, and I couldn't take another step back without stepping into the fire.

The third boy said, "Malfoy killed my Uncle, and Jack's Aunt too. He was a Death Eater, sucking up Lord Voldemort's arse. I suppose he's sucking up your Dads now."

They all laughed and I felt tears prickling at my eyes. This was the first bad treatment I had gotten because of who my parents were and I wasn't prepared for it all.

"Look at the little pansy crying," The tallest chortled, he pushed me and I cried out as I nearly fell in the fire.

They left me alone after that, and as I sat in front of the fire I realised that everything I knew was a lie. The man I had called Father from about the age of 3 years old had been a Death Eater. He had fought on the other side of the war against my Dad. I could see why my Dad had hated him, I could see why they had been enemies but I couldn't understand why they were together.

I never slept that night, tossing and turning and trying to make sense of my life. But when morning came, nothing was any clearer. It was a Saturday so I dressed myself and went to the person I trusted most, apart from my parents.

"James!" He said brightly when he opened the door to his quarters.

"Uncle Neville," I said miserably, stepping inside.

Neville frowned at me, "What's wrong?"

"Everything," I said miserably, flopping onto an armchair by the fire, "My Father was a Death Eater. He fought for Voldemort against my Dad."

Neville sighed, "That's not true. He was forced to become a Death Eater, James. His Father held him down while he was branded and his family forced him into that life. He was never against your Dad, in fact he did what he could to help him."

"How?"

"Well, it's complicated," Neville admitted, "But he saved your Dads life a few times during the war. And your Dad saved his life too."

I shook my head in disbelief, "But it doesn't make any sense Uncle Neville!" I exclaimed, "My Father was such an idiot! He bullied my Dad and they fought and they duelled all of the time! I mean how could they be together after that, it makes no sense at all!"

"Your Dad caused as many as those fights as your Father," Neville said wisely, "The blame for the animosity was 50/50 and I can assure you James, your parents love each other very much."

"But how?" I shouted, "You don't understand Uncle Nev, they hated each other!"

Neville looked up at me and smiled, "Nah, they didn't."

I looked at my Uncle like he was mad.

"Trust me," Neville said, "I was there to witness it all. They never hated each other, they fought and they bickered like an old married couple. Just like they do now, but hate is a strong word James. They always liked each other, but neither of them admitted that for a very long time. You know what they say, little boys pull on little girls pigtails when they like them."

I snorted, "Or in this case little boys will duel little boys when they fancy them."

Neville laughed loudly, "Exactly. It doesn't matter how your parents story started, just that it's a happy one now."

I nodded slowly, "You're right."

Neville looked amused at the surprise in my voice, "And now if you are quite finished, do you want to join me for some breakfast?"

My worries now relieved I nodded and smiled, "Yes, please."

THE END

A/N: Based on this post on tumblr from 'magicalfeminazi' but adapted slightly;

"I'm just imagining James Sirius going to Hogwarts and hearing all this stories about how Draco and Harry were always fighting and some one even shows him a picture somebody took of them in which Harry punched Draco. And he just can't understand how the parents he saw at home, disgustingly in love, could be the same people as in those stories.

And then he hears stories about his father Draco and he knew his dad had been a Death Eater but people say such horrible things and he begins to understand why Harry hated him. And he is so confuse. He goes to see his uncle Lupin and starts ranting about how was it posible that his parents were toghether and that Draco was such a jerk when he was young.

"I can assure you your parents love each other very much, James" says Remus, his eyes not leaving the exams he was marking.

"BUT HOW? You don't understand uncle Remus, he HATED him!" He cryes messing his hair.

Remus looks up and he is seeing James and Harry all over again and can't help but smile fondly.

"Nah, he didn't"."