In chapter 13 of I Knew It All Along, James decides the best way to distract the press from… other things is to dye his hair blonde, which prolific gossip magazine In The Tea Leaves absolutely fall for, they publish several articles and in this chapter we see them invite their readers to ‘see page 8 for our countdown of all the best James Potter hair looks’ and I simply couldn’t resist writing that article and commissioning @yendts to illustrate with her wonderful James! This is the result, I love it a lot. Thank you so much Sydney, it was great working with you and I’m obsesseddd with the outcome!
Click for quality! Alt text for the article body is below the cut:
Puddlemere star Chaser (and all-round Keeper of our hearts) James Potter has never been one to shy away from changing up his look; from his colour-changing robes at the 2029 International Quidditch Awards to the ever-updated number of earrings he sports when off the pitch, James loves to experiment with his personal style.
Puddlemere star Chaser (and all-round Keeper of our hearts) James Potter has never been one to shy away from changing up his look; from his colour-changing robes at the 2029 International Quidditch Awards to the ever-updated number of earrings he sports when off the pitch, James loves to experiment with his personal style.
His favourite thing to change up is his hair. We’ve seen it all from James, and it was about time somebody collated all that auburn-haired, Potter yumminess into one handy countdown! Do not fear, In The Tea Leaves has your back, and we present the definitive countdown of all the BEST James Potter hair looks*
*rankings based on a quick survey passed around the ITTL staff room, v scientific!
In at number five… admit it, you cried yourself to sleep mourning the loss of James’ hair the first time you saw this pic! We did too, but when we heard all of the Puddlemere lads buzzed their heads together to raise awareness and funds for Cerebrumous Spattergroit Research (after their dear friend and teammate Bradley Bell was sadly diagnosed in 2027) our hearts simply melted. Talk about a team effort! On his new hairstyle, James said on Owlstagram “I’ve never fully appreciated the exact shape of my skull before now - we love you Bradders!” He must have really liked it because James stuck with the ‘do for longer than most of his teammates - we think he most definitely pulls it off!
The boys raised a whopping 5000 galleons for the charity and were over the moon to learn that Bradley was set to make a full recovery.
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Up at number four is the infamous mullet which really split our office down the middle - there were lots of votes for it to take the top spot. James graduated from Hogwarts with this trendy ‘do and carried on rocking it when he first joined the Puddlemere development squad (awww baby James!) No doubt if trendsetter James did this now, it would immediately be known as a Jullet! (we would indeed take full responsibility for starting this) James, if you’re reading this, we think it’s time to bring this one back!
In the middle of our countdown is this sweet, curly look - doesn’t it make you want to ruffle James’ hair and tell him how gosh-darn cute he is! On Owlstagram, James said he was inspired by the Chudley Cannons’ unofficial mascot, his cousin Freddie’s labradoodle (his name is Gravy and we are all kinds of obsessed - see page 17 for pics!) which makes sense - they’re both absolutely adorable! To achieve this look at home, we recommend Fleamont’s hair-curling potion: it’s a splurge at 18 sickles a bottle but we tested five brands and it was by far the best quality!
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In second place on our countdown is this cool, classic look that James returns to time and time again, his quintessential style. We’ve seen him score match-winning goals with this hairstyle, grace the cover of Wizard’s Health, enjoy the occasional night out with his teammates and blow us all away on the red carpet at the Harpies charity ball. There’s something about the way the wind rushes through his fringe as he flies that has James going back to this hairstyle and all we can say is we agree! It’s a low-maintenance and cool choice for the wizard in your life - just ask for ‘The James Potter’!
And taking the top spot, to the surprise of pretty much no one, is the look that had us all brushing up on our blowdry charms! The middle parting, the sweeping fringe, that dreamy smile; this look secured James a spot on everyone’s bedroom wall (see page 12 for a pull out poster of this pic) including ours at ITTL!
Overall, we think it’s safe to say James Potter really can pull off anything and we can’t wait to see what he surprises us with next!
The Flint Flyers, founded in 2010 by Marcus Flint, is the biggest amateur Quidditch club in wizarding Britain. They have teams for all ages, from tiny kids on training brooms (Sparrows) all the way to senior adult beginners (Owls) and everything in between and it’s a popular pastime for the many people who loved playing Quidditch in school but didn’t fancy going pro. There are recreational teams who play for fun and exercise and competitive teams who play in leagues against other amateur squads. The summer coaching programme for Hogwarts-aged kids brings in guest coaches from all over the professional industry (one is Puddlemere coaching star and life partner of Marcus, Oliver Wood) and the school teams are littered with Flint Flyers, who often play alongside their house team rivals over the summer.
As well as the Quidditch teams, the Flint Flyers field an artistic flying squad, Starlings, coached by Alicia Spinnet, who perform aerial tricks and formation acrobatics. The scene is growing rapidly, becoming competitive between clubs and artistic flying is quickly becoming a sport in its own right. Several Hogwarts students (including the Scamander twins) are in talks with McGonagall about setting up a house league in artistic flying and she has said if there’s enough interest they can do it.
Marcus’ son, Cole, is in charge of the under 11s programme and prides himself on getting any kid confident in the air. His youngest team, Sparrows, are 4-6 years old and play with specially adapted bludgers and training brooms that get them used to flying; it’s a big deal when a Sparrow moves up to a full-height broom. Cole is also particularly passionate too about adaptive abilities flying, working with broom designers and disabled athletes to make adjustments to the kit and to the broom to allow everyone to play Quidditch.
Scorpius smiled. “James, I’m not entirely sure who you’re supposed to be, but you look great.”
James looked offended. “I’m Lance Leviosa! With the Shooting Star Two?” He picked the broomstick up and held it across his body with both hands in an odd sort of pose, lunging deeply and grinning so widely it was disconcerting.
“Is he a Quidditch player?” Albus asked.
James sighed and straightened up. “He’s a model, he did that iconic nude magazine cover with the Shooting Star Two.” He took on a sulky expression. “Dad said I couldn’t, in his words, parade round my mother’s birthday party in just my pants, so I combined it with his muggle suit thing.”
“Muggle suit thing?” Albus frowned.
Scorpius stared at him, baffled. “This reference seems to have gone right over our heads, James, sorry.”
James shook his head in contempt.“Wasted on you, truly wasted…”
The hard part was supposed to be setting up by himself, going it alone and turning down jobs with the big brewing companies. Albus had thought he wouldn’t be able to do it straight away, that he’d have to work for someone for a few years at least to save up enough money, until Draco got word of his plans and insisted on investing in his business before he and Scorpius had even got married. As he continually reminded Albus, he wasn’t donating, he wasn’t even just loaning Albus the start up fund. His father-in-law owned a percentage of the business and his expertise were invaluable to Albus.
He’d taken a huge risk setting up Fleamont’s, choosing to be his own boss, but Albus had never regretted the decision once. He was doing what he loved every day and wasn’t having to answer to anyone about his potioning choices.
A week later, Albus ended up in Rose’s annoyingly immaculate office. Her filing system was reminiscent of Harrington’s and everything was at perpendicular angles. The large potted plant on her desk suddenly gave a jolt as an automatic watering charm misted it and Albus unintentionally jumped too; Rose smirked and he felt himself blush.
Deciding good coffee was a solid remedy for now, Albus set off in the direction of The Little Leprechaun. With every step he took, he felt a different emotion surge within him: disappointment, frustration, anger.
“Double shot americano to go, please,” he ordered in a weary voice, feeling as if he’d like nothing more than a hug from his husband. With that thought, Albus took a step back from the counter and surveyed the display of cakes and pastries. “And one of those little peanut butter brownie on a stick things.”
The barista smiled and nodded. “Would you like the brownie pop in a bag?”
