A /N: Sorry for not updating last week, I'm really busy with exams at the moment. Enjoy!
Chapter 24
Severus's POV
"I'm beginning to think that you enjoy this too much," James complained, dodging another stinging hex. There was music floating around the room from Lily's speakers, but it wasn't playing loud enough to cover up his words.
"It's for your own good," I reminded him, watching him concentrate and rely on his instincts to tell him when to move. "And you're getting better. I haven't hit you once today."
James grinned in my direction and I used his distraction to fire off another spell. Sensing it coming through the air towards him, James jumped to his right and smacked into the wall. Thankfully, the walls were covered so that he wouldn't injure anything but his pride.
"Well," he rubbed his arm where it had banged against the wall. "I managed to avoid the spell."
"But not the wall, which is a lot bigger," I pointed out dryly. "Just because you're learning to dodge things doesn't mean you can forget to be aware of your surroundings."
"I know," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I think next time we have a training session, I'm going to work on making you aware of everything around you," I told him, the ideas already passing through my mind.
"Do I want to know what you're thinking of?" James questioned nervously. By now he could tell by my tone of voice that what I was talking about he wouldn't like.
"Probably not," I admitted, explaining my idea anyway. "I was thinking of an obstacle course, complete with holes to fall in and things to avoid or jump over."
"I hate you," he groaned, clearly not looking forward to his next training session with me.
"It will help you in the future," I smiled at him, knowing that he'd hear it in my voice, even if he couldn't see it. It always gave me a conflicting feeling when he joked about hating me; after so long of it being the truth, the fact that he no longer thought the same was strange.
A funny look crossed his face at my words. "I hope that's true," he said. "Because right now, thinking about the future is something I like to avoid doing."
"What's wrong with your future?" I asked curiously. It was hard for me to think of it, but James had a life with Lily ahead of him. I couldn't see anything wrong or worrying about a future with her.
"There's just so much to think about," he sighed, flopping into one of the seats that appeared. Cautiously, I sat down in the other one and waited for him to continue. "To start with, I need to pass the NEWTS. Then, if I do graduate, I have to find someone who'd actually be willing to hire a blind wizard, never mind finding a job I'm actually capable of doing. And, of course, all of this counts for nothing if i become just another tragedy of the war as soon as I set foot outside these walls!"
Instead of feeling better for getting it off of his chest, James looked even more stressed now that his problems and worries had been aired for me to see. I took a deep breath and pushed away my own nerves about what the future held; determined to help my friend through the things he didn't need to think about."
"You're going to pass the NEWTS with no problem," I reassured him. "You've been working extremely hard in each of your study sessions with me and the others. I'm confident that you'll pass easily. Trust me, if those idiots in the Ministry can do it, it should be no problem for you."
James smiled at my words, which was one of the reasons I'd said them. However, everything I'd told him was true; James was going to graduate. He was naturally smart; only having to be told something once to remember it and we'd all made sure that he knew everything he'd need to pass his classes and even a bit extra.
"Anyone should be grateful to have you work for them," I continued, pleased that he seemed to be taking my words to heart. "And if they don't, then it's not exactly a giant problem for you. I know you don't want to be one of those people who doesn't work just because their rich; but if we're being honest, you could do so easily."
James frowned, unhappy at the thought of living out of his trust funds. At the same time, I knew that he understood that I was right. To put it simply, he was rich; even if he never worked a day in his life, he would still have enough money to provide for his family and future generations. There was a reason the Potters were one of the most respected families; other than being Pure-Bloods, they also knew how to keep a high amount of money coming into their banks.
"As for the war, you don't have to be involved," I told him, not giving him the chance to protest. "I know that that's not really an option for you; you're last name alone means that you can't just refuse to be part of the war. However, you can choose to have a less active role; help behind the scenes. If not, if you really want to fight, then that's what you've been training for. Just the other week you managed to stun Sirius and Remus when we were practicing to see how well you would do against multiple people; you only missed Peter because he transformed into his Animagus form!"
James let out a deep sigh, slumping further into his seat even as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Thanks," he finally said, looking a bit more relaxed. "I needed someone to tell me that."
"No problem," I assured him. "Though can I ask what brought all of this on?"
"It's silly," he admitted sheepishly. "Lily mentioned getting a house together once we were out of Hogwarts. It was only a passing comment and I don't even know if she was serious, but it got me thinking about the future."
"Do you not want to move in with Lily?" I asked cautiously, preparing to knock some sense into him if he dared to reply negatively.
"It's not that!" He denied immediately, looking horrified by the idea of not living with the girl of our dreams. "It's just that by thinking about the future I ended up with all these doubts."
"Doubts are part of being human," I smiled; it had a slightly bitter tint to it, but no one was around to see it. "I think I'd be more worried if you weren't scared of what will happen further down the line."
"I'm lucky I have you as a friend to hammer sense back into me," James grinned.
"Back into you?" I repeated with exaggerated surprise. "That would imply you had any to start with."
"You can really go off a person you know," James sulked, his face twitching from the effort it was taking him not to smile.
"Wipe that pout off of your face," I ordered teasingly, standing up out of my seat and noting with pride the way James's eyes moved so that he was still looking in the direction of my face. It had taken awhile, but James had gotten much better at following sounds. "Let's go get something to eat."
James followed me out, taking hold of my elbow once we joined the busy corridor. He would have been fine finding his way normally, but when there were a lot of people around, he could get confused so it was easier to lead him down to the Great hall.
It didn't take long to find the others; we just headed towards the noisiest part of Gryffindor table. Sirius was clearly trying to tell some exaggerated tale to the girl sat next to him, Remus and Peter were snickering into their plates as Lily rolled her eyes at the 'Ignore me I'm an idiot' sign someone had glued to the dark haired Marauder's back.
James took a seat next to Lily, beaming at her when she kissed him on the cheek in greeting and asked how training had gone. Sirius turned away from the girl to hear his answer, not noticing the look of relief that crossed her face now that he'd stopped paying attention to her. I sat down between Remus and Regulus, pleased by how well the younger Slytherin had been accepted into the Lion's den.
"Dare I ask who's responsible for the sign?" I smiled as Peter started laughing again.
"That would be me," Remus owned up with a mischievous grin. The teachers may have thought that Remus was the most trustworthy Marauder, but anyone who knew him knew that he was actually the one who thought of a lot of their pranks. "Padfoot should know by now not to trust a pat on the back."
It took Sirius another hour before he realized why people kept laughing at him. Unsurprisingly, he started a mini prank war in retaliation. It was amusing to watch as even James shot off spells that hit their intended targets, but Lily and I stayed to the sidelines and started up a conversation with Frank, Alice and Regulus rather than get involved.
A/N: Hope you liked this. Please review! :)