{ p o t t e r , james sirius }
twenty-two, order of the phoenix.
codename: talons.
v a l o r o u s.
❝and 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉 me there, bundles of flowers, we wait through the hours of c o l d winter shall howl at the 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓈, tearing down doors of time. s h e l t e r as we go. and PROMISE me this: 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓵𝓵 𝔀𝓪𝓲𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂, scared of the lonely arms. surface, far below these birds... and maybe, just maybe... I'll come home. ❞
date: january 6-7, 2026
location: grimmauld place & little haggleton
mentioned: @rooonil--wazlib @krumwood @lilyii @granger--weasley @avenggerr @hewholivedagain @shedskin-potter @ginpctters @tedlcpin
tw: injury, blood
james’ first reaction to hearing of ron’s disappearance is that he is pissed. pissed at everything. james wants to search, but everyone but him can notice how emotionally unstable he is and he gets ordered to stay put at the safe house to listen for any news of ron’s whereabouts. when they find ron’s location, james worms his way into the front lines leaving no room for any objections.
before leaving, james runs into one of his best friends, olivia. she tells him of her potential polyjuice plan but, terrified for his friend’s safety should anything go awry, he convinces her to stay at the safe house instead and keep her cover in tact.
at first arrival, james’ purpose is to keep the wraiths at bay while others find ron. he was a foot soldier. somewhere along the fight he spots multiple familiar faces in his peripherals. when the knights arrived, james distinctly noticed his younger sister lily’s bright red hair but was too caught up in the moment to feel upset with her.
james engages a strong wraith in a dual some ways away from the main fight and eventually gains the upper hand. but in defeating the attacker, he accidentally attracts four more wraiths to himself. knowing better than to face them head on he retreats. he evades the four wraiths, but not before one of them is able to hit him with a stunning spell in his left leg, rendering it useless and dragging behind him as he flees and too panicked to remember the counter-curse.
he runs into hermione and ron.
hermione orders james to apparate back to the safehouse with ron to get both of them out of danger. james does so, but his adrenaline, bum leg, and panic at the state of his godfather causes him to splinch his right leg when he and ron arrive back on the outskirts of grimmauld place (and accidentally spling ron’s toenails as well).
using the dittany that dove happened to gift james for his birthday, olivia is able to stop the bleeding and start to heal his leg injury. he’s eventually helped into the safe house where someone removes the stun on his leg and further heal his wound. he’s then sent to his room to rest while the wound on his right leg continues to heal.
knowing his family is still at the fight, james apparates back to the fight despite his injury still mending.
he eventually hears harry calling his name after being revived by albus. james, along with his family ( albus, ginny, lily, and teddy ) rush to protect harry from any threats.
afterwards, james returns to the safehouse with his family to continue healing.
who: james potter & helga pewtree ( @jfchclga )
when: ‘21-’22 school year ( flashback )
where: the great hall
he’d just gotten out of potions and could already feel his stomach rumbling in anticipation for lunch as he headed towards the great hall with the rest of the school. he and his friends entered the grand room, chatting loudly and proudly about the latest holyhead harpies match and arriving pretty late as the group had to head up from the dungeons. all eyes were on the potter boy and his companions as he gestured wildly, but that was a common occurence. upon entering james couldn’t help but notice a cross-looking girl waiting near his usual spot at the gryffindor table. with a roll of his eyes he waved off his friends — “ it’s fine, liv. i can handle pewtree. ” — and approached. the gryffindor’s arms instinctively crossed and eyebrow raised as he put on an act of confusion. “ helga pewtree, ” he stated, “ it would seem you’ve become a bit lost. if i recall correctly, the slytherin table on the opposite side of the hall. ” with a smug grin he grabbed her shoulder and gently shoved her aside as he began to sit down, already eyeing the lunch spread for the day.
who: @jamxssirius
when: december 31, late morning
where: grimmauld place
Dove had forgotten to buy James a birthday present. It had slipped her overcrowded mind, which was filled over the brim, and in all honesty, she thought she had the right to forget such things. Still, Dove wasn’t someone to show up empty handed, and so she had repotted one of the plants at home and called it a day. It felt strange, to occupy herself with a task as menial as preparing a birthday present, to be getting ready to congratulate someone with their birthday — it proved that life went on, that time was moving. The world wasn’t frozen, after all. Dove wasn’t able to fully grasp it.
She entered grimmauld place with the plant under her arm. The place was a depressing one, filled with all-too familiar faces that Dove would rather hide from. Still, it was handy to be around there plenty, she figured — maybe, with sharp ears and quiet feet, she’d be able to overhear some conversations between Order members, or even Knights. Luckily it wasn’t strange for her to hang around the safehouse. She walked into the living room, glad to spot James there, and gave him a shadow of a grin. “Hey. Happy birthday,” she said, moving over to hand him the plant. “I got you some grade-A dittany. Will provide you for the rest of your days, if you water it plenty, and don’t use it all at once.”
if it weren’t for the correspondence with a pretty major international holiday, james may have forgotten about his birthday entirely. he’d fully planned on glossing it over this year, maybe maintain only the most important traditions ( though many were now obsolete without his father, just as they had been last year. except last year, he’d gone through with them and made sure to pour one out in his memory. what was he to do this year? ). he could sneak out to a pub at night, security measures be damned, to ring in the new year and try and forget the last even happened. being cooped up in order safe houses, most interactions with the world from behind his gringotts desk, was exhausting. he had to get out. but it seemed almost cruel to enjoy himself in the midst of their current milieu — as james was bitterly reminded of as dove walked in.
happy birthday she’d said. could that now be considered an oxymoron? in his opinion, happy and birthday were now as contrasting as black and white. but, jamessiriuspotter was a tired cheery man who always had a witty comment and a sly grin at the ready to assure others that all was well. so, while james internally grimaced, jamessiriuspotter gave the old friend a quick, tight hug before accepting the gift. “ thank you, ” he admired the plant, “ i’ll be sure to take great care of this. you know, you really didn’t have to get me anything. this was very thoughtful of you. ” dittany? was that the one for burns? maybe the one that helped get rid of wrinkles? he’d never paid much attention in herbology, instead always trying to distract his friends. professor longbottom had always scolded him, but james knew deep down neville had always enjoyed his antics... oh yeah. clearing his throat, he set down the plant on a nearby table and piped up, “ it’s nice to see you, dove. it’s been quite a while. ”
who: @jamxssirius
when: 24 December, 2025
where: Wherever James lives? Could I have asked? Yes. Did I? No. We post starters with hopeful locations like men.
“Oh, James, I nearly forgot, here.” Without hesitation, Teddy pulled something from their bag, and then tossed a small package towards James. Inside the brown paper, there were a few dozen cookies. “These are for you and your family, courtesy of ‘dromeda. Of course, if you were to eat them all, I wouldn’t blame you — or rat you out.” They took a seat at the table, leaning back as they looked at James. “Your Christmas present from me is coming by Owl Post. It might be a little late. Sorry ‘bout that.” They picked up their glass of pumpkin juice, taking a sip, before saying, “Ready for the holidays to be over?”
instinctively, james caught the package from the air and set it down on the table. with a smile, he abandoned the game of wizards chess he was playing with himself and grabbed one of the cookies, immediately taking a bite. “ tell andromeda i say thank you, ” he requested, though it came out as more of a sputter as his mouth was full, “ these cookies are the best. but i’ll try to resist being selfish. maybe. ” he quickly finished off the sweet and wiped the few stray crumbs on his shirt off. at the mention of christmas gifts, he waved the hufflepuff off, “ you really didn’t have to get me anything, you know. your present’s under the tree, though, if you wanted to grab it early or anything. i wasn’t sure if you were planning on dropping by tomorrow. wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. doesn’t really feel the same when... ” the boy trailed off, staring at the ground for a couple seconds before snapping back to reality and nodding his head. “ so ready. ...but also not. does that make sense? ”
it had been a month since james had returned from the greek islands and subsequently requested a move to desk duty and in-country trips only. it was very boring work compared to the year of high stakes adventuring he’d gotten used to, but the rise of the wraiths was just... too much to have to deal with at the moment, and he certainly couldn’t help the order if he were shipped overseas again. so, mindless paperwork and cursed dressers in cardiff it was.
from the corner of his eye he could see smithers, head curse-breaker, approaching and scrambled to look busy, which wasn’t hard considering the number of cursed objects seemed to always rise around this time of the year. he silently skimmed the first report he grabbed from his stack, hoping his boss would pass by quickly so james could get back to banging his head on the wall. but he’d always had shit luck, so when smithers stopped at his desk, he grinned up at her and politely asked, “ can i help you, ma’am? ”
“ you can, actually, ” she responded curtly, “ there’s been an opening on an excavation in egypt and i want you to tag along. get some more experience on the field. it’s more high risk than you’re used to and i know you requested no overseas trips but it would only be a couple months, half a year at most, and you’d be on my team the whole time so i’ll make sure you’re safe. it’s a little last minute, so you’d have to leave tomorrow. ”
an excavation in egypt! its the assignment james had been hoping for since he’d completed his training two years ago. not only would it be an amazing learning experience but also the chance to encounter some seriously cursed objects, which is the thrill he’d always been seeking when he was in school... but half a year, away from the order? away from his family? unable to be there immediately if they ever needed him? it was too risky.
with a small frown, he sighed, “ as much as i would love to go, and i really do appreciate the offer, i’m afraid i just can’t commit to an assignment that far away. i’m very sorry. now, if you’ll excuse me, i have a meeting with my uncle percy to discuss the increasing number of cursed brooms the bank seems to be gaining possession of. ” the man rose from his desk.
“ well, if you’re sure, ” she nodded, returning the frown, “ i guess walker will have to do. let me know if you change your mind in the next twelve hours. ” he wouldn’t.
november 1st, 2024.
he was sat on the sofa, head on his mum’s shoulder. albus sat next to him, close enough for james to keep a sturdy grip on his brother’s hand ( maybe too hard, but he refused to let go in his fear that another one of his family would suddenly be gone, as irrational as it sounded ). lily sat on the ground, and james was absentmindedly stroking her hair the way they used to when they were kids. it was a hard loss, but at least the remaining potters were together. in his pocket sat a two way mirror, but it was useless seeing as the owner of the other was gone now. doesn’t mean james wouldn’t still try. the radio reported the death of walker in some hospital in egypt, but he wasn’t listening.
alternate timeline — the third war never happened
august 30th, 2024.
he had been assigned an excavation in egypt! it’s the assignment james had been hoping for since he completed his training two years ago. not only would it be an amazing learning experience but also the chance to encounter some seriously cursed objects, which is the thrill he’d always been seeking when he was in school. smithers said she’d been impressed by his performance in greece and that he was ready to take on a higher risk. no more desk-duty and cursed dressers in cardiff! thank merlin.
it was noon. the man rose from his desk and all but skipped towards the door. nothing could bring down his mood right now.
“ and where do you think you’re going? ” questioned smithers, stopping him in his tracks.
he grinned in reply, “ goodbye lunch with my family! and a dinner at my nan’s with everyone tonight. my sister leaves for her next term at hogwarts in two days and usually we’d have it tomorrow, but since i’m leaving tomorrow we’ve decided to have it today instead. ” james gently reminded, “ you approved my half day on monday. ”
“ well, then i guess it’s okay. enjoy the rest of your day off. i expect to see you here tomorrow bright and early for the portkey, though! ”
he nodded eagerly and continued towards the exit, but not before making a quick pit stop at walker’s desk to remind him, “ you’re going to the department of magical transportation, right? to follow up on all those cursed brooms? would you tell my uncle percy i say hello? thanks very much! ” and with that, he left to go spend time with his family for the last time until the holidays.
november 1st, 2024.
he was somewhere bright. people were shining things in his face but all he could focus on was the sharp pain everywhere and how hard it was to breathe when someone was siphoning blood out of his throat every five seconds to keep him from choking. he could only hear short phrases in between the agony and the numerous mediwizards rushing around him — “ ...internal bleeding... ” “ ...curse... ” “ ...trap... ”
oh. oh. james remembered now. he’d taken the hit from a rogue curse for smithers in the tomb they’d been exploring. it was supposed to be low risk, just recon, but someone ( fuck you, randall ) set off a trap. and now he was probably dying, in a hospital, in egypt, and none of his family knew. none of his family knew. he could see smithers to the side, looking more worried than james thought she had the emotional capacity to, and his bag of belongings on the table by her. he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pointing at the bag.
“ mirror, ” he choked out desperately. someone grabbed his arm and kept him pinned down to the bed as his body involuntarily jerked in pain, but he soon saw his two way mirror in front of his face and his dad’s frantic expression staring back at him. “ dad, ” he smiled painfully, “ mum. i love you. ” he gave a big toothy grin but immediately winced.
the world was starting to get dark around the edges. in the distance, he could hear mediwizards yelling at him, “ C’MON JAMES, STAY WITH US! ” and his parents screaming his name, “ JAMES! JAMES, NO! ” but at the very far end of the room, he thought he saw his grandfather smiling at him. he’d always wanted to meet james i.
the whole room sits silent in shock for just a moment as they process. people had been on their toes waiting to know what house the eldest potter would be in, and now it’s out and he knows it’s not what most were expecting and he can’t help the way his hands shake as he rises from the stool. but what feels like an eternity later, the entire hufflepuff table cheers as he’s scooped away towards his new house members.
james squeals with glee as he runs towards teddy and jumps at them with no prior warning, knowing the other would catch him no matter what. “ teddy! teddy! i’m a hufflepuff! just like you! did you see? the hat was on my head and it said hufflepuff! i can’t wait to write mum and dad! ”
the eleven year old gets set down on the bench at his new table and shushed as the rest of the hall continues to watch the ceremony. he can feel some eyes on him from other tables and for a second, he remembers who he is and what this means and worries, but a familiar hand ruffling his hair makes him positive all was well.
Harry had taken the opportunity, while the others held an Order meeting near the kitchen, to take a look around the house. He supposed he would be welcome at the meeting too - it was unclear to what extent he remained an Order member. They had started training him, but Ron and Hermione had assured him they expected nothing from him. Harry couldn’t help but wonder what the alternative was, though - stay here forever? That thought left him full of dread in its own right.
He ran a hand over the ornate branches of the tapestry adorning the wall. There was one branch, or rather, scorch mark, over which his hand lingered. He’d been told whose house this had been, whose name had once been there. That name, Sirius, meant as little to him as any other did. But it having been blasted from this tree, thrown out of a family, nothing remaining but an empty space was … alarmingly similiar to how Harry felt now. With a heaviness settling over his heart once more, he made his way out of the room and away from that scorch mark that almost felt as if it was burning through him, only to pause so as not to walk right into the person now in the hallway.
“James,” Harry said, in startled recognition, the name sounding unfamiliar and awkward to his own ears. He immediately began wishing he had stayed in front of the tapestry until night fell, whatever pain it gave him. This was far worse. He stared down the long hallway, the direction James had been travelling leading away from the meeting. “Are you … leaving?” He was envious, he would give anything to be able to escape himself. And guiltily glad if so - he would rest easier if these children of his, that didn’t really feel like his children, were far away.
in james’ opinion, that meeting was a waste of time. as the new year grew ever closer, their efforts towards ending the war stayed as stagnant as ever. and worse yet, he could sense that some of the members still viewed him as a child even if none of them said it explicitly. he could see it in the way they looked at him. hear it in the way they phrased their sentences. thank god it was over. his stomach growled, so he quickly grabbed an apple as he left the kitchen and mentally noted he skipped dinner last night again as he absentmindedly bit into the fruit. he just didn’t seem to have much of an appetite these days.
he headed towards the door, intending to head back to the bank to distract himself with some work. apparently, someone from old money up north had died and left a cursed wardrobe containing his life’s fortune behind with no non-estranged relatives named as heirs. but as he ambled down the hallway, he was stopped by a familiar figure. it him flinch, both the unexpected encounter and the way he had called his name. ‘ james, ’ he realized bitterly, ‘ not jamie. not anymore. ’ the boy cleared his throat. of course he’d get stuck face to face with the person he’d actively been avoiding. “ h-harry, ” he stumbled at the unfamiliarity of the name, “ uh, yes, actually. i was just heading out to catch up on some work. new year’s always rather busy at the bank. you know, better to get a head start before it piles up. ”
he picked at a stray thread on his jacket, a telltale sign that he was nervous. james didn’t even get this nervous with strangers. perhaps that’s why he was so nervous — this wasn’t a stranger, this was his father. to hopefully ease his own anxiety, he steered attempted to steer the conversation away from himself, hopefully leading to a quick exit. avoiding eye contact by glancing around, the younger man questioned, “ so, were you looking for something? ” he couldn’t help but notice he had come from the tapestry room. james wasn’t too familiar with it and though he knew about its contents, he’d never truly stopped to look for himself.
Feet tucked beneath her as she sat on bench, Nahla suddenly blurted out to the passing stranger, “Honestly, I’ve pondered it for weeks and I just don’t understand the mechanics of a howler. I mean, I understand when writing a letter, capitalizing signifies yelling. But then, if that’s the mechanism by which the spell is controlled, why isn’t lowercase whispering? I’ve studied the shreds of several letters but they all weren’t written with fully proper punctuation, which disproves my theory that it interprets sentence case as punctuation as regular speech….” She paused suddenly, cheeks somewhat flushed by the public nature of her outburst. “T-thoughts?”
james knew he probably shouldn’t be out here. there was no telling who or what could be watching at any time, yet he had to get out of that house or he was probably going to go crazy. covered head to toe to stay under the radar, he decided he’d go for a nice stroll in a random park to clear his head. distract himself from the... drama in his household for a little while. distract himself from the countless dangers he seemed to constantly be on the run from nowadays. this is why, when someone suddenly started talking to him his hand immediately shot to his wand pocket, ready to whip out at any given moment. “ oh, uh, i’m not really sure... ” he answered unsure, hand never leaving his pocket but relaxing his stance, “ maybe its charmed to detect the intention behind the writer’s words? to be honest, i’ve never sent one. only received. ” he grimaced at the memories.
