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Tweak says, "I hate celery!"

James "Prongs" Potter (_cervus_) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-05-18 09:23:00

Entry tags:

character: james potter, character: remus lupin

RP: James & Remus
Who: James Potter and Remus Lupin
What: Returning from rainy target practice
Where: Entrance Hall
When: April 18th, early morning

It was raining, but James had played in worse. At least the snow was gone, and it wasn't that cold. For Hogwarts, anyway. A quick repelling charm to keep him dry, a jumper and jacket and James had been fine to face the elements, at least for the little time he had before work.

He'd slipped out their room early, trying not to wake Lily and leaving a note so she wouldn't think the castle had had a hissy fit. It had been a while since he'd gone out onto the pitch this early, but the bite of the May air and fresh breeze coming off the lake had been refreshing, even in the bad weather. He was glad he'd gone, and now he was returning for breakfast, his broom over one shoulder, quaffle under the arm.

James' glasses fogged up the moment he stepped into the warm castle, and he had to stop for a moment to wait for it to fade. Perhaps he should take a page from Harry's book and get McKinnon or someone to fix his eyesight, but then he always thought he looked like a bit of a startled doxie without his glasses on... Dismissing the idea, James shook the worst of his slightly damp hair from his eyes and adjusted his grip on the broom. He probably had time to stow everything away before he went into the Great Hall.

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slowburn_alpha
2021-05-19 02:01 pm UTC (link)

"And here I thought only Sirius shook off rain like a wet mutt," Remus teased from where he'd come up from the dungeons in time to catch James' entrance from the rain. He'd spent the previous night with Regulus, but got up early to do his usual morning training before breakfast. He probably could do some of it in the common room without waking Regulus...or keeping him awake, as Remus was sure he woke Regulus by getting out of bed most mornings in the first place. Besides, he still lived in Gryffindor tower with his friends and needed to see them periodically.

They were the family he had left, after all.

So, he was amused to find the other early rising Marauder already in the Entrance Hall when he came up. "Have a good flight?" he asked, putting two and two together from the fact James was drenched and carrying his broom. Sirius loved flying in the rain, too, and Remus had never understood either man's need to fly that badly. Rainy weather was curled up with a book, a blanket, and a cup of hot chocolate weather, not flying weather.

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_cervus_
2021-05-19 09:27 pm UTC (link)

"He copies me," James shot back, before turning to grin at what turned out to be a slightly fuzzy Remus through his partly misted up glasses. In reality, he and Sirius had picked up a good number of each others habits through the years - who really knew where any of it had started any more?

"Not bad," James shrugged, striding across the hall to meet Remus at the top of the stairs. "These new brooms are mental. Have you tried yours? Makes my old Nimbus look like firewood."

James tilted his head slightly, glad that Moony was looking slightly less foggy as he turned the quaffle absently on his broomless hand. It spun easily, the weight and feel of it reassuringly familiar in his palm. "How's it going, anyway? It feels like I'm always missing you at the moment."

He very purposefully avoided looking over Remus' shoulder towards the entrance to the dungeons. He knew, of course, where his friend was spending a lot of his time these days, even if the appeal was entirely lost on him.

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slowburn_alpha
2021-05-20 05:03 am UTC (link)

"Is that how it is, huh?" Laughing, Remus leaned one shoulder against the wall as James moved closer. He could remember a few times seeing a drowned rat version of both James and Sirius coming back into the common room after practice. It was almost too easy to forget the intervening years now that they were all back in the castle.

Conjuring a dry handkerchief he offered it to his friend after seeing the way he tilted his head like Moony or Padfoot when they'd caught a scent. "Here. For your glasses," he explained. "I've taken mine up a few times. Bit rusty after not flying since early in the war, except for that quidditch match. But it comes back easily enough once I'm up there." Not that Remus was practising quidditch moves, except for the ones that translated into combat flight. But, he was looking forward to a flying date like he and Regulus had talked about.

"I know," he said, frowning for a moment. "Our days don't seem to match up much these days. I was actually thinking we should have a lads' night soon, the three of us and a drink or two." Remus really wished it could be the four of them, but he'd gotten the sense at the Full James wasn't ready for him to push that, just yet.

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_cervus_
2021-05-20 08:56 am UTC (link)

"Thanks. Can you hold this?" James reached for the handkerchief and passed Remus the quaffle in return, managing to wedge his broom in place as he pulled his glasses off. He nodded as he wiped them down. "I get it. It had only been a year for me and my cornering is shocking." He had tried to fly in the boundary of their home a couple of times, but it was only a small cottage garden and you set off the wards if you went too high. There were only so many times you could have Mad-Eye or a Prewett turn up at your door without getting hexed.

"We definitely should. I'm free whenever, let's just book it in." Replacing his glasses, James passed the hanky back to Remus. A part of him wondered if they should invite Peter, but it was still such a complicated mess... the idea of a whole evening in Wormtail's company made his stomach clench uncomfortably. He definitely didn't trust himself to have a couple of drinks around him. That said, James couldn't shake a note of guilt at the idea of leaving him out.

"How's working with Lilu going?" he asked, holding his hand out to take the quaffle back.

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slowburn_alpha
2021-05-21 01:43 pm UTC (link)

"Let's try for this weekend, then. Saturday night? I'm heading back up to the tower and can give Pads the word." Feinting a pass off to give the quaffle back to James, he pulled it back at the last second with a grin. "That is, if you think you can manage without Lily for a couple hours," he teased, relenting in the next moment and passing the quaffle back now that James could see properly again. Some day, there'd be four of them again. He was sure of that. The bonds between them had been too strong, despite the problems that had come with them as well. But, for now, there was nothing to be gained by pushing James too hard.

It'd be enough to have all of his friends with him at the Full again the next week.

"Your granddaughter is very enthusiastic. She reminds me you and Sirius, all boundless energy. But, so far so good. She's definitely more patient with the paperwork involved than her ancestry would lead one to believe," he added with a wink. It was no secret that of the four of them Remus and Peter were most likely to get lost in a pile of books while James and Sirius were most likely to skate through exams on pure talent. "So, was rain-drenched flying for fun or work training?"

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_cervus_
2021-05-24 11:43 am UTC (link)

"Saturday works," James nodded, reaching for the quaffle and then rolling his eyes when it was pulled back out of reach. "You're hilarious. I'll do my best to weep quietly; As it's you."

James couldn't help but grin proudly at the mention of his granddaughter. He really liked Lilu, and the fact that she was working with Remus made him oddly pleased. All his grandchildren were good kids, really. Even if they were kids who were older than him. James had quite enjoyed the lunches that they'd had together, although if there was a bit of a weird undercurrent going on. Luckily, he'd never had much trouble when it came to filling silence.

"I'll talk her out of that, don't worry." He assured him, taking the ball back and tucking it under his arm. Sure, he'd done a bit of the 'writing things down' stuff in his time, mostly as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, but he definitely better off letting other people take the quill. So to speak. "I'm glad though. You two'll be sweet talking goblins before we know it. Or whatever it is you're planning in that office."

"Nah, my brain was on and I couldn't get back to sleep," he shrugged offhandedly. "Thought I might as well head out for a bit before work." There wasn't much that a good fast fly and a few rather aggressive goals couldn't fix, after all.

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