YOUNG JAMES POTTER HEADCANNONS
especially fond of early morning runs
“look mcgonagall, I know its 2 AM but the slytherin match is less than a week away and I just had to try this new dodge out-”
quite intelligent, but especially excels in transfiguration, which endears him even further to mcgonagall
he has a faint scar on his left shoulder from a mishap when learning how to become an animagus
“sirius all I’m saying is that we could never live alone together because which one of us would kill the bug? huh? which one of us could live with the blood on our hands and in this essay I will-”
could ride a broom before he learned to walk
giftwrapping extraordinaire
will spend the time it takes for him to fall asleep thinking of clever comebacks he could have used that day, and kicking himself for not thinking of them sooner
“james potter, you ugly prick!”
“oy, james potter is not ugly! a prick? maybe.”
bought mcgonagall a muggle record player for her birthday one year- she still plays it to this day (and even used it to teach harry how to dance before the yule ball, but there are some bittersweet memories that he doesn’t need to know yet)
“james that is not a proper excuse to not brush your hair for a week straight”
his mother calls him jamie- and he pretends to loathe it, but secretly loves the way she says it
saves peter from getting caught by mcgonagall for being out after curfew on their second night. they escape under the cloak to the kitchens, eat cake- and james, with the wildest hair and most sincere look on his face, tells him well, guess we have to be best mates now (peter never forgets that look, not even years later, when he turns his arm around and takes his own life instead of-)
so loving. that boy would suffer through anything if it meant his friends didn’t have to shoulder it alone
gives the most sincere compliments, always “you have the happiest smile” or “that lesson was rough, but you were really brilliant” or “sirius, you may be an idiot but at least you’re our idiot”
naps. anywhere and everywhere.
when napping, will sleep through anything- marauders consider testing this to be the greatest challenge over the years
never ever ever loses his glasses
hates to see anyone cry, and always has a box of tissues and chocolate frogs in his bag just in case
hardly ever studies, achieves near perfect grades (which drives lily MAD)
makes a list every year of all the people staying at hogwarts over break and invites them all to his home for the annual potter christmas eve party, even setting up a floo network to each common room just for the event
while he strongly dislikes the slytherins who are obsessed with blood purity, he holds no animosity towards the others, and even considers a fraction of them to be good friends
sings everywhere he goes, at all times
sends lily a charmed flower every birthday, no sender ever attached (she pretends not to know its from him, and keeps them all on her bedside table- what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him)
has a strong aversion to pumpkin juice ever since his third year, when sirius hexed him so that he had to wear a pumpkin on his head for all of halloween
“dumbledore, sir! sirius has been cursed!” “with what?” “chronic stupidity. a shame, really.”
always talking pictures of everything, carefully dates and labels them with his shit handwriting (the ones with peter are now hardest for harry to watch, but he can’t bear to part with any piece of his dad’s happiness)
a good listener, and will take a secret to the grave
“I said I was smart, I never said I had my shit together”
always smells like the quidditch pitch and pine trees
takes freezing cold showers, which are often characterized by remus flushing the toilet so that the water turns boiling hot
“I’m no cactus expert but I know a prick when I see one, sweetheart”
flirts his way into and out of everything
once threw up out of the gryffindor common room window from drinking too much firewhiskey
certified lightweight, remus can drink him under the table but sirius and peter really aren’t that much better
inexplicable love for quidditch, born and built for the feel of the broom and the wind rushing past him- will take midnight rides if he’s feeling anxious
brightly colored socks. never match.
the Potter Eyeroll™ is a licensed trademark, the certification being his birthday gift from peter in their fifth year
will dance to anything, especially fond of the muggle music lily likes
“I’d agree with you mate, but then we’d both be wrong”
knows the castle like the back of his hand, and will go out of his way to help the lost little first years
his hugs with the marauders last longer after their first full moon, longer after sirius is kicked out, longer after-
terrible habit of letting his glasses get completely filthy, constantly getting plucked off his face and cleaned by sirius, remus, peter, and lily
“I’d like to offer moral support, but I happen to have questionable morals”
secretly is really really talented in herbology, and can make almost anything grow (sirius, on the other hand, kills almost every magical plant he touches)
has to salt everything. if lily has to pry the salt shaker from his hands one more time damn it-
befriended the lake mermaids that one time in his second year that the marauders swore to never mention again
receives a breathtakingly beautiful shell for his birthday each year, no sender ever attached
“LILY what do you mean I saw mommy kissing santa claus isn’t about a mother cheating with santa claus my ENTIRE LIFE from first year to now has been a lie”
his mother raised him to be respectful- persistent, but respectful
lily owed him a favor in fourth year for covering for her when she slept through herbology, and instead of requiring a date like lily feared he would ask, instead asked her to teach him how to whistle
“whistle? you want me to teach you how to whistle?”
“Quite embarrassing really, never quite could get the blowing technique down”
makes charmed little doodles of animals and things that dance around his notes, sometimes offering helpful advice in return like “the answer is dragonsbane” or “your breath is frying this parchment, could do with some gum”
remus is in trouble? wand blazing. peter is in trouble? wand blazing. sirius is in trouble? wand blazing.
the shy little hufflepuff who always helps james find books in the library is in trouble? FISTS FLYING, has to physically be restrained by all three marauders from sending some random ravenclaw into “freaking SMACK DOWN TOWN BABY”
“we really ought to work on your trash talk there, mate”
can’t sit still for more than two seconds, fingers always drumming on somethings, hands aching for some form of stimulation
always active, either sliding down bannisters, dancing down the halls, or making a fool of himself in the common room
has a firm policy of keep moving
whether it be in everyday life or dealing with real issues, its always pushing forward and adjusting. no sense dwelling on the past
