@weewxtch
James and tidying up had never gone hand in hand in the eighteen years he’d be on this planet. His room at home was the equivalent to a nasty bout of devil’s snare, no book nor lone sock safe from getting lost among the destruction. It seemed obvious that this trait of his, would follow him to Hogwarts - the same wreck forced onto the hands of his new roommates. It certainly appeared that way so far with James having shoved his entire life into several enchanted bags and then proceeding to dump said bags onto his bed in one giant heap.
The burning sensation of judgement tickled at the back of his neck as he made his best attempt to sort it out, curled locks falling in front of his glasses. It took him a whole of two hours to create a dent in it, wanting to put his possessions away the good old fashioned way. A Ballycastle Bats poster, a stack of brand new school books perched on his nearby bedside table, a journal he tucked under his pillow - all tiny touches of James that made this his new home. Sure, James had never shared a room in his life but it wasn’t so bad, so far. In fact, he might have ventured that new surroundings brought new opportunities.
Finishing up with the pile left on his bed, James slid his truck toward the foot of his bed and made his way out of the room, down toward the common room. At this point in his Hogwarts career, James knew that playing the risky card was not the right hand to play. At least for now, he’d play the good cautious young man. Not the type who ventured off in the castle after hours, of course not.
It was a great plan in theory, he thought as he tossed himself onto one of the arm chair with a heavy yet relieved sigh. Something about Hogwarts was just as comforting as the walls of his own home, the soft scent of the fire place crackling easing whatever stress he’d created for himself. Relaxing just like this could very quickly become common place for him.
Even so, James never completely sat still, pulling out his wand and taking to rattling off spells that came to mind. A favorite of his had always been a good ‘accio’, seeing as being lazy was certainly a trait most people had in common. Focusing on a book in a corner of the room, James flicked his wand to send the book flying toward him except - he really hadn’t expected anyone to come down the stairs at the same time. The book flew without abandon and whizzed right by the face of whoever had decided to make an appearance.
“Oh bloody hell,” James cursed as the book slammed into his chest, knocking his glasses crooked on his face. He stood up immediately, a word of apology already on the tip of his tongue. “Didn’t see you there. I was just - practicing, I guess. Or mucking about, same thing.” Something about James and first impressions never really worked out for him, did they? But no, this wasn’t a first impression at all. The second he blinked back his shock, James recognized the face of the woman standing there and a horribly cheesy grin came onto his face.
“Wait now, I remember you.” A laugh already threatening to leave his lips because wow, habits died hard. “Lily. Fancy seeing you here,” he started, recalling the sorting ceremony and wondering if his own worry had caused him to miss her in the lot. “I think this makes us housemates.”