What’s mine is Yours
Jily Challenge
@lamelylimes | @sybilsvane
Theme: Places
Prompt: Room of Requirement
Word count: 2079
Warnings: None
Summary: James’ relationship with the room of requirement throughout the years
A/N: This is late and kinda short and not very good and not beta’d. It’s far more James centric than Jily, and it could be way better. My only excuse is that I just moved back into my dorm and classes started and January was a trying time and I am currently dealing with a cold from Hell, but I wanted to get a piece out for you guys since this is what I signed up to do. So here it is. I’m hoping I can get back on track with February’s @jilychallenge
ao3
When James was eleven years old he stumbled upon Hogwarts’ greatest kept secret. He didn’t know that’s what he did, never would find out what the crazy room that always appeared when he needed it was, but he still considered it his greatest accomplishment.
See, James shared everything with his mates, told them every secret he knew, split up every sweet he ever bought, but this room was James’ thing, and James’ only.
(Except for Mum and Dad. He had told Dad when he found it, and since Dad knew, Mum knew.)
It appeared one day when he was thinking about how to cheer up Sirius after a nasty letter from home. He honestly had absolutely no idea what would help and had taken to pacing across an empty hallway.
“Think, James, think. You need to cheer Sirius up.”
His thoughts were a running track of nothing but You need to cheer Sirius up. You need to cheer Sirius up.
He let out an exasperated sigh and turned to head back to the common room when suddenly he noticed a door in front of him that had most certainly not been there before.
Hesitantly, he opened the door and peeked inside.
(Dad always said to explore, but be cautious. James didn’t always follow this advice, but he figured strange, magically appearing doors warranted some caution.)
The sight that he found drew him in. Surrounding the walls were millions of pictures of Sirius’ family, with a little sign in the middle that said feel free to smash. A devilish grin spread upon his face (the type that always made adults shudder or groan) and went running for his best mate.
When he reached the dorm he decided that he was going to keep his room a secret, a place for only him, and so he made sure to blind Sirius, and take the long way to his hallway.
(You could never be too careful when hiding something. He learned that one from Mum.)
He repeated his steps once again, his mantra running through his head, a bit more pep in his step this time.
He looked up on the third turn around and the door had reappeared. Grinning, he took Sirius’ hand and dragged him in.
“Viola!”
James pulled the blindfold off of Sirius’ eyes, and the gray eyes underneath shined with the promise of danger as he took in his surroundings.
(The room was definitely magic. There was always a picture frame within reach for Sirius to smash, and the shards disappeared before anyone could cut themselves on them. James didn’t really care; he had been successful)
James looked down at the map in front of him. It was glorious, a moment so triumphant he could hardly believe it was real. A perfect moving representation of the entire Hogwarts grounds. The possibilities were endless.
It wasn’t perfect. There was a blank spot on the seventh floor. And, while it wouldn’t appear blank to anyone but him, he knew that there was something missing.
He had debated internally on whether or not to tell the others about it so it could be included, but eventually, he had decided against it.
His mind had come up with a pretty compelling argument against sharing, and James found that he really didn’t want to share it.
It’s part of the charm of the room. What’s the point of a magical room if it’s mapped out for everyone to see? And besides, it’s your room, your secret haven. You don’t have to share that, give that up for some stupid map.
(Peter had told him once that the map was broken because James had disappeared off of it once. James told him he had just snuck out to get chocolate for Remus and that was the end of it.)
James wasn’t thinking, wasn’t planning anything, he was just running. He could hear the slap of shoes on tile from behind him and knew that soon there would be nowhere left to go.
He slid to the side and noticed an odd portrait of some trolls learning ballet, a painting he knew surprisingly well, and knew what to do.
Please don’t let them catch me. Please don’t let them catch me. Please don’t let them catch me.
He heard the footsteps coming closer and prayed to whatever being was up above that he wasn’t crazy, that the room would work.
A door appeared in front of him, and he bolted inside, hardly pausing to make sure the Slytherins he was running from hadn’t seen his hiding place.
He sat down and tried to catch his breath, thanking the room for working in his favor.
The room wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t some miracle cure to all of your problems. James had dealt with its flaws a few times, he knew that there were some laws governing it, and he was just ecstatic that this was not one of those times.
He looked up and saw that the room was hardly larger than a closet, with a passageway leading somewhere else right across from him. He picked himself up off the ground and trekked on ahead.
(It lead him right to the Fat Lady, and he sent the room another mental thanks.)
I need my room. I need my room. I need my room.
The unassuming door with the creaky old handle appeared and James gripped the handle like it was the only thing holding him up and threw the door open.
He flopped down in the beat up armchair that was some weird hybrid of the ones by the fire in the common room and his dad’s at home, and just let everything out.
He knew he was panicking. He didn’t know why he was panicking, but he was definitely panicking. And the concerned looks of his mates were nice, but they weren’t really helping the situation, and so he went where he always did when he needed to get away.
It became his room during second year.
He just needed to get away.
James loved people, he really did. He grew up in a large house with just two other people, but his parents’ friends were always flitting in and out, and there was always something exciting. He loved it, loved how dynamic people were.
But they exhausted him, and sometimes he needed to get away. At home he would just wander the massive grounds, or the mansion if it was too cold, and be by himself, recharge his mind.
And, he maybe could’ve done this at Hogwarts, but there were so many more people, and an awful lot of them had already taken the spots where no one else went.
So one day, when he was feeling overwhelmed and just needed to get away, he decided to see how great his room really was.
I need somewhere to be alone and think. I need somewhere to be alone and think. I need somewhere to be alone and think.
A door appeared in front of him, as it always did on this particular wall. He glanced around, his dad’s words about caution echoing in his mind, and stepped inside the familiar-yet-unfamiliar room.
It was oddly similar to the Gryffindor common room, but there were a few touches of home interspersed throughout the decor as well. It was exactly what he needed.
It was his space.
He was surprisingly not nervous until this very moment.
James Potter had gone on a decent number of dates and not completely screwed everything up. Hell, James Potter had gone on a decent number of dates with Lily and she was still willing to go on more, so he obviously wasn’t bad at planning them.
He knew this was a big deal. He hadn’t really shared his special room, his go to place with anyone. But Lily was special, and he wanted something that was inherently theirs. He had spent a large chunk of his life with places that were deemed “his,” and after seven years, he figured it was time to let his space at Hogwarts go.
He knew that this was what he wanted. He knew that Lily wouldn’t think it was too lame.
He was still nervous.
“Hey, Lils, mind if I show you something after rounds? It shouldn’t take too long.”
His voice definitely gave away how nervous he was, and Lily’s face told him that she had noticed.
“Of course. Is everything alright?”
The concern in her voice made him want to scream, but it also strengthened his resolve to share this with her. He wanted something that was theirs instead of his.
“Yeah, just excited.”
He planned for their rounds to end in the right corridor, so there was no awkward silent trek to some random hallway. (He wasn’t the best at thinking ahead, but upon the rare occasion it happened.)
He could feel Lily’s confused look as he paced, but he was not to be deterred. (He was praying the room did not have a sense of humor because he’s not sure his pride could handle it if the door didn’t show up.)
But it was there all the same, creaky old handle and all, and he pulled it open with the most care he had ever offered it before.
Lily stepped in behind him, her eyes wide with wonder in a way they hadn’t been since first year, and he thought that he had never loved her more than in that moment.
“It’s nothing special really, this particular room. It can turn into pretty much any room you need it to, but this room is mine. I found this first year when I was trying to cheer Sirius up, and I’ve been pretty dependent on it ever since. It’s been coined my room, by me at least, and no one else seems to know about it, but I figured I could share it with you. Have a place that is entirely our own. It’s not much, not a big deal, I just thought you’d think it was cool. And if not you can totally forget this interaction and never bring it up aga—”
“James, you’re rambling for no reason. It’s perfect, and I’m very happy that you wanted to share this with me. It’s incredible, a little piece of you tucked away where no one can see, and you wanted to share it with me. I just—I love you an awful lot, James Potter.”
“Well, I love you an awful lot, too, Lily Evans.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
James had spent many days and nights tucked away in his—no, their room, with Lily, and they were great. He loved their little private space more than anything, wouldn’t trade it for the world. But it was still his room, his space, first, and that meant something.
The day before they left Hogwarts for the very last time (a thought James still couldn’t wrap his head around), he and Lily had said goodbye to their room, tucking away the last secret parts of themselves within the walls of Hogwarts when they could.
And that should have been enough, really, but this room had given him so much throughout the years, and it deserved more.
So he made an addendum to the map on its own special piece of parchment, a piece that would do nothing more than track what room the place was set to. And then he made his favorite journey one last time.
I need my room. I need my room. I need my room.
He turned the creaky handle, sat down in the tired old armchair, and let out a sigh.
“Thanks for everything, room. It’s been a good seven years. Be the solace for some other kids, will ya? They’re gonna need it.”
He tucked the piece of parchment in the cushion of the chair and trudged out of the room.
It’s hard to say goodbye. It’s something James Potter has never been a fan of, and saying goodbye to Hogwarts was something he could never have prepared himself for.
But saying goodbye to his room, his space, the physical embodiment of who he was, stung far more than he could handle.
He let the door shut behind him, and pushed on forward.
There were new adventures to be had, new places to find. He didn’t need a place that was him anymore. He had Lily, he had his friends, and he was ready to take on what was coming.