Summary: Sometimes life was sweet, but with a bitter ending. Sometimes it was the opposite. Just like butterbeer.
Full Summary: James Potter was in his prime. He was Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor, he had become Animagus to help Remus, and his group of friends were at their height in their pranking career. Now all he had left was to woo the girl. Lily Evans. But of course, James doesn't do things halfway, and all he needed was someone to help him. Now, who fit's the role? Only, Olivia Grey. Of course, Slytherin's aren't always the most helpful type, and Sirius Black knows so. Could she be hiding any ulterior motives?
Author's Note: If Harry Potter were mine, I would have way more spare time to create awesome and affordable merchandise.
Ships: Maros (Mary MacDonald x Amos Diggory), Simbre (Sirius Black x Embre Shines), Jarlene (James Potter x Marlene McKinnon)
Jianyu's POV
3 miles away. You-Know-Who attacked a muggleborn home three miles away from where my family lives. It settled the score. We're not safe in England anymore. It's time to go home. And they'll leave without me, my mother made that clear in her overly cordial letter. They're leaving next week, and if I don't show up, I'll be left behind. My parents don't have time for sentimental goodbyes. Their only concern is that their children are not in danger - or, more accurately, their bloodline isn't in danger of dying off.
That's the thing with my parents - well, most wizarding families in China, if you want to get technical - their bloodline surviving has always been, and always will be, their only concern. They don't need me. Liling, my sister, is already being primed to carry on the bloodline and the legacy of the Chang's. Honestly, they'd rather her survive than me. Females carry on the bloodline better. The family name can die off, they don't care about that, all they want is their blood to continually pump blood to another heart. In some ways, it's liberating to not have expectations. But... Sometimes it just feels like... Well, my parents don't need me and times that's difficult to handle.
Andrew, my Andrew, must have been reading over my shoulder because he looked at me in a way that made my heart watch shatter, but I;m stronger than that. Or so I tell myself. "You're not… I mean-"
"What choice do I have? I want to stay, I really do. But I can't... I can't leave my family behind. I can't be the weak link. Not again." Cutting off people isn't exactly my forte, but I didn't want to hear what he had to say. It would be the same thing everyone would say - the same, boring, bland, sentimental things that everyone says when they don't know what to say. And Andrew is better than that. At at least, that's what I make him out to be.
"I know that your family is all you have left. But what about everything you'll leave behind? Are you ready to give that up?" I didn't dare look at him in fear that something in my eyes would tell a different story than what I was convincing myself was real. I'm not emotional often, but I do have my moments. I am human, after all.
He was trying to look at me, though. I turned my head towards him slightly and instantly regretted my decision. He was looking at me like… there was something there that he was trying to figure out. Why is it that having Andrew here makes things easier, but difficult same time? Merlin's beard, I need to sort out my hormonal life. "I don't really have a choice."
"You always have a choice." He sighed and got up, his green robes slapping the edge of the Quidditch stands. The Quidditch Stands are the best place to go if you want privacy. And I knew immediately by the formal way my mother addressed the letter that it would be something I would want to keep quiet. Turns out, I was right. Apparently, I know my parents better than I think. It's funny how I know them, but they know nothing about me. "Everyone - me, Olivia, Embre, Vanessa, hell, even the Marauders - want you to be happy. If leaving makes you happy, do it. No one will hate you because of that."
I looked up at Andrew, and he had a pained smile on his face. Merlin. Why do I have to be such a screw-up? He looked at me for a long moment, his head tilted ever so slightly, lips parted just a bit. Why can't my whole life be this one moment, forever replaying itself?
Then, as if out of one of Lily's muggle romances or a dream, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I felt the heat rise in my face, in spite the fact that it was almost November and people were breaking out their sweaters. Am I blushing? Jianyu Chang does not blush. Well, at least, not in front of everyone. I guess Andrew is an exception. Speaking of…
I looked up but he was already gone.
…
Five days until I have to make my decision. I can wait until the last possible moment, can't I? I'm thinking it over, okay? I don't want to leave. I want to stay and fight, I want to protect the people I care about. Liling will be fine without me, she always has been. She'll be safe away from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but I can't hide out in China while my friends are laying down their lives for me. Hiding may be the Chang way, but it is not the Jianyu way. Not at all. I sighed and took another bite of toast. It was stale and dry, and I wondered whether or not it was made that way or I managed to rub off on it and how it tastes suffers because of me. Wow. Dark thoughts for it being so early in the morning. Maybe it's because I haven't had coffee yet…
"Lighten up, J." Vanessa, also known as actual sunshine, came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. Okay, Jianyu, let's be tolerant. "It's November!" Merlin, her voice can hit a pitch that should be unnatural and banned. Especially at this hour. "Not to mention the first Quidditch Match of the season - Gryffindor and Slytherin. Everyone loves Quidditch."
"Hate to burst your overly and unreasonably optimistic bubble, but Quidditch has never been a favorite of mine." She sighed and sat down next to me, her pink sweater falling off her shoulder. She fixed it while I took a long drink of pumpkin juice. Nope. Doesn't have the same effect as coffee. Not at all.
"You really are helpless. Andrew was right." Andrew? Since when were he and Vanessa besties? And why are they gossiping? Hufflepuffs are the last people I'd expect to gossip and talk about stupid rumors. But then again, she was talking with Andrew, and I wouldn't put it past Slytherins to have gatherings in their common rooms where all they do is talk about the latest dirt. Plus, Vanessa is one of those Slytherins that can be influenced by a group, and Andrew has pretty strong persuasion skills - even if he doesn't use them often. "Speaking of, I got you something."
"Huh?" Vanessa was rummaging through her school bag that I swear wasn't there a minute before. Am I getting worse at noticing things? Or is Vanessa good enough at spells to conjure her bag silently?
"Aha!" Vanessa smiled at me and handed me a white bottle. I turned it around. "It's lotion." I gave her my best WTF face, and she smiled. "I was told my Embre, who was told by Lily, who was told by Olivia, who was told by Regulus, who was told by Andrew that your cheeks were dry yesterday."
She waggled her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes. "Really?"
"Well, ah, I was actually told by Embre, who was-"
"I honestly don't care."
Vanesa held her hands up in mock defense and stole a muffin off of my plate. Too harsh? "Well, someone is having an off day." I smiled to myself, but before I could say something to our new company, Andrew kissed my cheek from behind. I swear, is this boy trying to kill me? Because the fastest way to social suicide is to blush in front of Vanessa - who I just found out is a gossip - and I'm also pretty sure that dying of a cardiac arrest is pretty common too, and I swear to you my heart skipped a beat. I should definitely go see Madam Pomphrey.
Andrew looked at me with a sidelong glance - and he must have just woken up because his hair was everywhere. NEVERMIND. It's totally cool if I die right now. I can't leave something this precious. Are my cheeks still pink? I'm pretty sure (read: not sure at all) that they've gone back to normal. "No coffee means I can't function properly."
Even though I'm totally awake now. I mean, when an electric current runs from your cheek to the rest of your body, it's pretty difficult to not wake up. "Luckily, I've got you covered." He slipped me a package of Charm-Choc and smiled. MY HEART. Don't smile like an idiot, don't smile like an idiot, don't smile like a…
Too late.
Vanessa, who had been stifling her giggles with the sleeve of her sweater, had composed herself, but only for a moment because once her sleeve had been removed she had to breathe heavily to keep herself from losing it. "Looks like you're awake now. I'd use that lotion sooner than later if I were you. It makes the experience better overall." She walked away and only made it five steps before breaking out in laughter. I would have flipped her the bird, but Andrew was grinning at Vanessa and they both chuckled. I slapped him lightly on the shoulder and he looked at me with big eyes.
This boy will be the death of me.
…
Embre's POV
"...And there goes Sirius Black, our stand-in Chaser, taking the Quaffle to the end of the Pitch! Finally! Took him long enough to show that he's a good choice to replace Gryffindor's Captain while Potter gets his nose fixed!" I looked up at Olivia who was sitting with the teachers, and I saw her looking at me with the biggest grin on her face. I stuck out my tongue at her and she rolled her eyes in a joking way. She had been making little jokes about the players since the beginning of the match, and it made me realize how far we came from last year. "AND BLACK SCORES! 10 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! THEY REALLY ARE FILLING THE GAP, JUST FORTY MORE POINTS TO GO!" Olivia had to scream over the cheers from Gryffindor.
"GO, BABE!" I'm not exactly one for nicknames, but Sirius has this habit of calling me 'love' or 'freckles' and I've been trying some new ones out. I'm not a big fan of 'baby' and 'honey', and I only now understand what a mistake 'babe' is. Sirius, however, looked at me and smirked. I could see it from here, my front row seat next to Lily, Alice, Mary, Amos, and Vanessa. That's right, front row seats to the biggest Quidditch Match of the season. Okay, I might be exaggerating, but only a tad bit.
"BOTH SEEKERS HAVE SEEN THE SNITCH!" Olivia pulled me out of my thoughts, and sure enough, both seekers had seen the snitch and were fast approaching Gryffindors side of the Pitch. "Silva makes a remarkable save on the opposite end of the Pitch…" How does she manage to watch two things at once? "...That Abby Smalls sure is fast and, might I add, she's the youngest player on the team. Regulus, however, has been on the Slytherin team for longer, so he might just win out. Both are spinning around - I know that would make me nauseous - meanwhile, Rosier makes quite the save, stopping Gryffindor from getting another ten points. That's not easy either, McKinnon has quite the arm."
My eyes were glued to the Seekers as they continued to chase something I couldn't see. Olivia must have thought it was a bluff because she started reporting more on the Chasers. They did seem to be following nothing at all, but there was so much intensity in the way they flew straight up. Alice was cheering for Gryffindor because we're down by forty points, and she's had a terrible attitude about Slytherins lately. Vanessa, as always, was sitting on the edge of her seat, muttering for Regulus to go faster to get the Snitch. She always cheers for Slytherin because she's 'rooting for the underdog' or something. Call me biased, but Gryffindor has the best team.
"AND A BLUDGER SEPARATES REGULUS AND ABBY… GRYFFINDOR CATCHES THE SNITCH!" Cheers erupted from the Quidditch Pitch. James Potter, his nose still obviously crooked, mounted a broom and caught Marlene in a hug. "200 TO 90!" The roar swelled with that outburst and before I knew it, Sirius was in front of me, still on the broom. "Gryffindor's Captain, James Potter, seems to be celebrating this one like it's the last one ever, the way his lips are locked with Marlene McKinnon! Yes, everyone! Jarlene is officially a thing!"
"Trying out new nicknames, are we love?"
"What's life without a dash of risk?" Sirius smirked and I walked a couple of steps so that we were face to face. He reached out and grabbed my hand, and the warmth of his hands sent a fuzzy feeling through me. Despite the fact that it was November, I felt my cheeks heat up. He had leaned in, and after pulling me close, he kissed me. I could feel his arm snake around my back and I wound my hands in his hair.
"DEAR LORD! Is this a Quidditch Pitch or a Love Shack?! Simbre - that's Embre Shines and Sirius Black - are getting it along with Andrew Thomas and Jianyu Chang! Even Theodore Farley is silencing his girl Florence Taylor with his lips. C'mon people! PDA! It's not wanted."
The remaining people in the stands laughed and I smiled against Sirius' lips.