024. 25 august 1976.

[alotofgood]

August 25th, 1976 — Late afternoon
Diagon Alley
London, England


"I still say we ought to find Remus and Peter and get back to your house," Sirius says. "I'll bet your mum's cooked up something brilliant for dinner."

James shakes his head, looking through the window of one Flourish & Blotts store. (And hoping he won't catch sight of that blasted Jeremy.) "Just — give it another half hour."

Sirius groans, rubbing his face. "We've been here for hours already. You've been dragging us all about, looking for Evans and Cliona. And you won't even let me go out with Cliona."

James swivels around to give his best mate a look. "Um, mate, you can't go out with Cliona because she's got a boyfriend."

"That's never stopped me before."

"And," James adds, rolling his eyes impressively, "besides that, if you go out with her, it'll just — ruin the whole Quidditch season."

"How?"

"Because you're a bloody git, that's why."

"That's a stupid reason."

"It's not stupid, it's true."

"Well, then you've got the date wrong, because I haven't seen Cliona or Evans about."

"No. She told me they'd be here."

"At Milliways."

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you didn't dream that bit up?"

James turns away from the storefront and hopelessly glances about them. It's a long street, Diagon Alley; they could be anywhere.

Sirius' voice suddenly grows a little more sympathetic. "Can we at least get a butterbeer? This hopeless search has got me parched."

"Yeah, all right."

Together, they walk into the pub, noting familiar faces here and there — students come to pick up their school supplies, or otherwise spend the last of their summer holidays doing nothing in particular.

Then, scouting out a table, James hears Sirius swear before he stops where he is.

"What is it?"

"Looks like we found Evans," is what Sirius says. He almost sounds a little ... disappointed.

Following Sirius' gaze, James finds both Cliona and Evans at a table near the window.

Comments

[lilium_evansiae]

"James! Sirius!" Cliona calls, waving from their table. "Where the hell have you been? We've been watching for you all afternoon."

Lily does not facepalm. She just gives it serious consideration.

"Hello, Potter. Black."

[alotofgood]

"Cliona — brilliant.

"Have you, then?" James asks, eyes flicking from Cliona to Lily, then back again.

He offers them a wave and a grin.

"Hello, Evans."

[bound_to]

Sirius lets out a breath and collapses into the seat next to Evans.

"Finally," he says, with a fair amount of exasperation. "It's not like we haven't been looking everywhere for you two."

[brilliantchaser]

"Well, you can't have been looking that hard," Cliona says cheerfully. "You managed to miss the two prettiest girls in Diagon Alley. I really expect better from the pair of you."

She turns from them to Lily. "And there's no point kicking me in the ankle. It doesn't make what I just said not true."

[lilium_evansiae]

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lily says.

Still not facepalming.

Still wanting to.

[alotofgood]

James starts to laugh.

"No, you're right," he says easily. "And, unfortunately, the very last place we thought to look was here."

[bound_to]

"Right. I don't know how we missed it," Sirius adds with the same easy tone, "but we give you our most utmost sincerest of apologies, o' prettiest girls of Diagon Alley."

[brilliantchaser]

"Well, I suppose we can forgive you just this once, yeah, Lily?" Cliona says.

"Since you're being sincere with the apologies."

[lilium_evansiae]

"Of course," Lily says.

So this is a bit awkward, isn't it?

Last conversation with Potter, Oh, by the way, we have a son from the future.

Current conversation with Potter ...

Oh, God.

[alotofgood]

James glances over in Evans' direction very briefly, suddenly remembering their last conversation as well.

Luckily, it hadn't turned out so terrible. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He got to go flying with his future son.

How many people can claim such a thing?

Still.

It's a bit bizarre to think that in the future —

Well.

"Right," he says. "I'll — get the butterbeers, then, shall I? D'you girls need a refill?"

[brilliantchaser]

"Oh, I think it's Sirius' round, yeah? You have to put your money where those sincere apologies are, Mr. Black."

Cliona stands.

"Come on. I'll help carry."

James, you may thank her later. If Lily hasn't killed her.

[bound_to]

"— what?

"Why do I have to —"

Needless to say, Sirius does get up from his seat.

[alotofgood]

'What do you think you're playing at?' is the last thing James can hear Sirius saying before he and Cliona disappear into the crowd.

Right.

That wasn't highly obvious.

James nearly lets out a laugh.

Instead, he turns to Lily.

"So, did you get everything you needed?"

[lilium_evansiae]

"Almost," Lily says. "Clearly I'm going to have to go back for the ingredients for a Subtlety Potion for Cliona."

Because, really. Highly obvious.

"How've you been?"

[alotofgood]

James does laugh, now.

"Yeah. Subtlety's not exactly her strong-suit, is it?" he says, briefly glancing towards the bar where Sirius and Cliona have gone.

He really hopes Sirius will behave himself.

"I've been all right," he says, focusing back to Lily again.

[lilium_evansiae]

Funny. Lily is hoping Cliona will behave herself.

"Good," she says. "That's good.

"Everything's ... after what we talked about last time I saw you, everything's okay?"

[alotofgood]

James nods.

"Everything's okay, yeah," he says. "I haven't told anyone about it."

He pauses.

"And actually, it's a bit of a bizarre coincidence, but the next day, I was at the bar and —" James suddenly looks cheerful. "And I met him, Evans. I met Harry."

[lilium_evansiae]

"It seems to work that way, sometimes. The coincidences, like they're not really coincidences, you know?

"How did it go, meeting Harry?"

[alotofgood]

That is pretty much exactly how he felt upon meeting Harry.

It was as though it'd been fated, even if it was a coincidence.


"Brilliantly," James answers. "I didn't really know what to expect, but ... well, he really does look a lot like me. Except he's got your —"

He gestures to her eyes.

"He's got your eyes. They're exactly like yours."

[lilium_evansiae]

"Mine and my dad's," she says. "Kind of distinctive, aren't they?"

Very green.

"I'm glad it went brilliantly."

And maybe a little jealous.

She always just seems to wind up upsetting Harry some way or another.

[alotofgood]

James simply nods.

To say more about her eyes would probably make the entire conversation ridiculous and a little uncomfortable, and James is going for a new thing this year, in which he attempts to be a little more mature.

He's got a son in the future, after all.

"We went flying out back," he adds. "And tossed a Quaffle around. He's brilliant on that broomstick of his.

"Actually, I got to try one too. A broomstick from the future, Evans — it was something else."

[lilium_evansiae]

"It sounds like a good meeting."

Definitely jealous.

"And now we all know. And we've all met. Which is good, yeah?"

[alotofgood]

"Yeah," James says. "I didn't ask him about anything happening in the future, and I think he had the good sense not to tell me anything either.

"It's a bit odd though, having to be careful around it all."

[lilium_evansiae]

"It's a very weird thing to talk around. Our future, but his past."

She's glad to hear he didn't try to tell Potter anything, though.

"Look, I don't know any way to be subtle about what I'm about to say, so I'm just going to say it.

"All of it -- Harry, and the stunt that Cliona just pulled and writing to you this summer and, well, everything ...

"I'm really glad that you and I are getting along better than we used to. I think we might even be something not entirely unlike friends. But ...

"But that's as far as it goes. It's as far as I can let it go or want it to go, right now. Whatever's going to happen with you and me, it hasn't happened yet.

"And I didn't want there to be any confusion about that, because that hardly seemed fair to either of us."

[alotofgood]

James suddenly feels like he'd been slammed in the chest with a Bludger.

Or two.

And maybe a couple of Beater's Bats for good measure.

He isn't sure why he's surprised to hear what he has; maybe it was that he and Evans had been having all these conversations lately, things that made him wonder, made him think ... maybe.

But — clearly not.

He's not quite sure how that works with Harry in the picture, but ... yeah.

Clearly not.

"Yeah," he says, swallowing. He quickly regains his composure, sitting up straighter, looking as though they're simply talking about the weather, or the well-being of their parents. "Of course, Evans. I know that."

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily studies him for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I think that might have come out harsher than I meant for it to."

It's a hard thing to know how to say.

"Look ... I have absolutely no idea what it's going to be like, going back, after the end of last year. And until I do ... there are things I don't even know how to think about yet."

[alotofgood]

"Right," James says automatically. "Yeah. It's ... practical. It makes sense."

There's a pause before he adds, as something of an afterthought: "Except, you know, I'll bet half the class will have forgotten what happened last year. And classes are going to be smaller, with it being NEWT-level now. I don't think you have to worry about what it'll be like, going back."

[lilium_evansiae]

"I haven't forgotten," she says, quietly.

And she very much doubts Severus Snape has, either.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

[alotofgood]

"Well, of course you haven't forgotten," James says. "I haven't either. But that's because —"

Well, because they were directly involved.

He sighs; runs a hand through his hair out of habit.

"Maybe I'll just —

"Sirius and I should probably look for Remus and Peter," he says. "Before it gets too late. My mum's cooking something for dinner, so."

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily nods.

"Yeah. No, it's got later than I think it has, hasn't it?

"I guess I'll see you on the train, then. Next week."

[alotofgood]

"Yeah," says James, getting to his feet. "Next week."

He gives her a convincing-enough smile.

"See you then, Evans."

Then he heads straight for the bar without looking back, pulls Sirius away, apologizes to Cliona, and drags his (extremely confused) best mate out the door.