Lion Heart

Sixth year. Gryffindor. Chaser. "I like Quidditch, sex and pizza. In that order."

[missredheadevans-deactivated201]

“And it definitely shows.”

“Turning you down is only a hobby of mine because asking me out is a habit of yours. Before anything can be done about my unfortunate hobby, we have to get to the root of the problem. You won’t like hearing this, but the problem is you.” She told him sympathetically.

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“If I had a galleon for every time I’ve heard that sentence.” He drawled, heaving a dramatic sigh. “You know, half of the girls in this school would jump at the chance to go on a date with me. I don’t think you know what you’re missing.”

[the-evcnstar-archive]

Marlene ran a hand through her hair and bit her botom lip, looking towards the ceiling in search of inspiration.

“We need to come up with a new game tactic. The Slytherins know the way we play nearly as well as we do. We need to rearrange our atack and our defense, and take advantage of the other team’s weak spots”.

Suddenly an idea crossed her mind. It wasn’t much better than James’s, but at least it was more discreet.

“What if we asked one of the house elves to spy on the Slytherins while they practice ? Im sure we could call in a few favors, house elves have little love for them”.

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“Great minds think alike, McKinnon. I’ve been coming up with some new tactics for a while - I was going to test them out at practice tomorrow.” James was grinning, clearly excited at just the mere prospect of putting his game play ideas into action. 

At her next suggestion a smirk crept onto his lips to replace the smile there. “Cheating and taking advantage of the Snakes. I knew there was a reason I liked you.” He commented.

“I’ll find out when Slytherin are next practising. You okay to recruit the house elves?” 

[missredheadevans-deactivated201]

“Oh, it’s free? And here I thought I’d be paying if we went out. Clearly I have you all wrong.”

“See, I would take you up on it, but Remus would kill me if I asked him to cover for me one more time. So I obviously have to say no. Sorry Potter, I do hate having to turn you down again.”

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“Clearly you do. Believe it or not, Red, but my mother raised a gentleman.” 

“Oh? Funny, that. Remus is a pretty selfless guy. But you’re right - he’d probably be furious.” He answered, his voice just slightly sarcastic. “You seem to do it an awful lot considering you hate it. I think it’s a hobby of yours.” 

[maraudingmssrpadfoot-deactivate]

Sirius groaned as he regained his composure. His heart was hammering in his chest from the sprint, but it was slowly returning to a normal tempo. He looked up at the hand extended to him and took it standing to his feet. He’d know that hand any where. He smirked as his best mate of six years commented on his night.

“Better than yours. I mean you only had a cold bed and your right hand.” He teased.

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

Once Sirius was back on his feet, James bent to grab his bag from where it had fallen and swung it onto his shoulder. “Left hand, actually.” He retorted with a smirk, cocking an eyebrow. “I could’ve had company if I wanted to. Sleeping alone was a choice. Maybe you should try it some time.” 

James grinned, taking a quick glance over his shoulder at the almost empty courtyard. “Reckon we’ve missed the start of McGee’s lesson.” He commented. “And I don’t know about you but I don’t fancy walking in late. Getting breakfast seems like the next best idea to me.” 

[maraudingmssrpadfoot-deactivate]

It had been the winter of his fifth year and a fifteen year old Sirius Black had been at the Black family home where Cygnus, Druella and their three daughters resided. It was the annual Christmas party, taken in turns by each pureblood family. This year it was the Blacks turn to host and it was a party of special magnificence. Sirius Black, the heir to the most Noble and Ancient House of Black was going to select a girl to be his intended.

It was a tradition dating back centuries. Though he wasn’t necessarily choosing his beloved. His parents had already picked her out for him and he was simply putting on a show of choosing her as his own. Together, they would marry when she graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They would go on to make several pureblood children who would then in turn marry other pureblood children. What a vicious cycle they spun.

The whole thing seemed pointless to Sirius, he didn’t want the life his parents wanted for him and he hadn’t for a while. However, there was nothing he could do. He either did as they asked or face their wrath, which could come down on him with a vengeance. So he stepped onto the dance floor with the woman he was supposed to marry. Lavinia Fawley.

She was the youngest daughter of Erasmus and Dorothea Fawley. She was beautiful and trussed up like a porcelain doll. Her long blonde hair would have fallen in loose ringlets about her face had it not been pulled back tight to expose every inch of her skin as possible to her husband-to-be. Her breasts were forced up and out in a corset, that to Sirius seemed painfully tight. Her blue eyes shined up at him, with all the hope and promise of fidelity and duty.

He suddenly felt something cold against his skin. It felt like a snake as it slithered under the covers and glided up his belly. Then there was warmth. It touched his lips, it warmed him from the inside out and he found himself reaching blindly in his hazy state. His strong fingers tangled in a web of hair and he forced that warmth to stay just where it was. He explored it lazily with his tongue and wrestled with this cold creature until….

“Cucurucucuuu!”

He sat bolt upright. His hair disheveled as he looked down at the face of Lavinia Fawley. Her blue eyes didn’t stare up at him with a hope and wonderment anymore. They knew exactly what type of man he was and it was just a shame that she’d been given to someone else after his betrayal. He gave her a smirk in return. “Got to go.” He quickly put on his school uniform that he had worn to meet her in the Divination tower. Sirius would remind himself to later send that rooster of Hagrid’s a gift basket. Otherwise, he’d be late and McGonagall would kill him.

Sirius quickly rushed downstairs, looking disheveled and as if he’d just rolled out of bed. He was running down the staircase, this way and that dodging in and out of students. He turned the corner in the Transfiguration Courtyard and ran smack into someone, knocking both himself and the hapless victim off their feet.

“Oww, bloody hell. Watch it…” He grimaced.

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

There was something repellent about Wednesday morning Transfiguration that made it impossible to get out of bed. He’d been woken by Remus like normal - Remus usually acted as the other boys’ alarm clock, and he was usually there to nag them until they finally climbed out from under the covers and got ready for the day. But that morning was different in that Remus had left early to pick up a book from the library before class, and without the constant prompting to wake up, there was nothing to keep James from drifting back off to sleep. 

When his eyes finally opened again, he’d already missed breakfast and he was well on his way to earning a week’s detention for being late to McGonagall’s lesson. He sat bolt upright, muttering a quiet “Shit.” under his breath and launching himself out of bed, making a dive for yesterday’s uniform on the floor. He was too late to even attempt to find a clean set. 

His tie was hanging loose around his neck, the bottom three buttons of his shirt undone and his hair dishevelled - even more so than usual, anyway - as he rushed through the Transfiguration Courtyard. He was going to make it - he’d be on time, maybe only a few minutes late, until-

Smack. 

Before he even knew what had happened, James was flat on his arse on the cold concrete floor. “What the f-” He looked up with stormy eyes, ready to give the person a piece of his mind, until he realised it was Sirius and a grin replaced the surly expression. 

“Might want to watch where you’re going, mate. Next time I’ll be forced to kick your arse.” He said, reaching up for Sirius’s hand and pulling himself to his feet. James glanced his mate up and down, taking in the scruffy appearance and old uniform. “Good night?” He smirked. 

[the-evcnstar-archive]

Marlene gasped, unable to believe her ears.

“Pragmatic decision my socks! This is social suicide ! And just how do you pretend to explain to Madame Hooch why the Slytherins suddenly turned into human torched just before the match ? You’re risking the entire team’s integrity ! No, there’s no way in hell were doing it“.

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

James waved his hand, brushing off her concern. “Fine, fine. I still think it’s a good plan but I‘ll put in on hold for now.” He said. “But I don’t see you pitching any better ideas.” 

[missredheadevans-deactivated201]

“I don’t care how much fun a date in Hogsmeade would be. I have prefect duty.”

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“One of these days you’ll get bored of turning me down, Evans. I promise that.” 

“Not even you can turn down a free dinner in favour of prefect duty.”

[the-evcnstar-archive]

“Hexing the Slytherin team’s uniforms so that they’ll catch fire the moment the match starts ? Not only it’s a bad idea, it’s cheating, Potter ! Have you gone mad !? Well…more than you already were…”

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“I wouldn’t call it cheating, I’d call it a pragmatic decision.” James grinned at her. “It’s an act of kindness, if you think about it. I’d be saving them from having to endure a humiliating defeat.” 

[starlitandromeda]

“This is why you spend more time in detention than out of it.”

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“Nah, detention is just an unfortunate part of knowing how to have fun.” 

[missredheadevans-deactivated201]

“And correct me if I’m wrong, but it will take you at least seven of those minutes just to walk back to the dorms. So go on, Potter. I would really hate to hex you right now. You haven’t done anything deplorable in at least a week.”

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“Exactly; my record this week is squeaky clean. So don’t you think that earns me a bit of leeway?” He flashed a grin, wondering how difficult it would be to get Lily to leave so he could get back to sneaking out. “I’m willing to pretend you never saw me, if you are.” 

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“See, you’re telling me what a bad idea it is, but all I can think about is how much fun it would be.” 

[missredheadevans-deactivated201]

“I’m doing last call for the castle. Go back to your common room before I hex you.”

[jamespotter-afd-blog]

“That’s a tad dramatic Evans, don’t you think? Correct me if I’m wrong but I still have another nine minutes until curfew.” 

[cinematify]

Aaron Taylor-Johnson