equinox [james]

[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

September 2022

Sixth year. Finally, a year where Yas didn't have to cram for exams! She could spend more time out by the lake, trying to capture the way that the sun reflected off the glassy water. Or she could indulge more in stolen moments with Emrys, her boyfriend. He was so lovely and charming, it was truly a miracle that Yas was able to get any work done at all! She was lucky to have some friends who were better at concentrating than her, otherwise she almost certainly wouldn't have passed any of her OWLs. She was also lucky that art classes started to be provided, and that course she'd passed with flying colours. She still remembered the examiners commenting on how well she had captured the movement of the trees in a faint wind. She'd been so proud, she'd glossed over her abysmal potions and transfiguration marks, coupled with her adequate charms, history of magic and defence marks.

It was a sultry late September day, just at the start of the school year when Yas found herself with nothing to do. She wasn't in the mood for homework, not on a glorious day such as today. Emrys was off doing... well, she wasn't sure what but he'd mentioned that he was busy today and wouldn't be able to meet up until the late evening for one of their dalliances. Yas had heard the occasional whisper that Emrys was flirting with other girls, but she didn't believe it. She trusted Emrys - he had earned it from her over the past months. What they had was special and deep, and she had given him one of the most precious gifts - her purity. She hadn't let that slip to her family, as her parents would surely pull her from school and Yara would curse her sideways.

Yas hummed a little tune as she flounced across the grounds, settling herself on a rolling hill that overlooked both the lake and the forest. She crossed her legs before her and leaned back, not caring if she got grass stains on her robes. She tilted her head slightly, squinting as she admired the shafts of sunlight slitting through the trees. Yas considered rummaging through her bag for a sketchbook, but uncharacteristically, she wasn't much in the mood for drawing.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

I know the direction
the lay of the land

September 2022
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

James loosened his tie and unbutton the top button of his shirt. It was the end of the day and still cool and fresh outside. Usually, he might have been hanging out in the Gryffindor common room chatting with his classmates or telling grand stories to the incoming first years, but he hadn’t been in the mood. Not three weeks prior, he had walked onto that train, excited to begin his final year at school when he’d found that boy. The image was burned into his mind and weighed on him, but he pushed through because he had to. Otherwise, people would notice if James wasn’t acting like…well, James. However, this day, he fancied a walk to clear his head and gather his thoughts before returning to the chaotic Common Room and attempting to complete some homework due for Potions.

His hands in his pockets, he strolled along the grounds where occasionally he heard voices or laughed. September was that month of reunion for many after a long summer. James passed a group of exciting second years as he turned and walked up a hill where he could get a view of most of the grounds. But much to his surprise, he wasn’t alone. A girl was sitting there and one that James had seen before but hadn’t interacted with much, but he remembered her. James adjusted his loose tie and ruffled his hair a bit, a habit that he’d been told his grandfather used to do. But James focused, hoping to Merlin he had recalled her name correctly, for she was one of the prettier girls he’d seen around.

James was hardly known for dating as perhaps being a Potter or playing Quidditch, but he enjoyed the attention that it brought him at times. Walking up, he cleared his throat to announce himself. ”This seat taken?” Obviously, there were no chairs, but he hoped she’d let him occupy the patch of grass next to hers.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas tilted her head up to the sun, letting the warmth wash across her face. For the first time in a long time, she was content just to sit here in silence. She was an unusually chatty girl, and always had to be doing something with her hands. There was something curious about the serenity of this very moment, unbroken by chatter or the scratching of a pencil. There was silence, but for the wind whistling through the golden hoops that lined Yas' ears.

Suddenly, the spell was broken as the noise of someone clearing their throat snapped Yas' attention. She didn't move for a moment, before finally opening her eyes and turning to squint up at the perpetrator. Her stomach flopped unpleasantly, before filling with something hyper mobile. James Potter - perhaps the only person in this school who could turn her head from Emrys. But she was a good and loyal girlfriend, and though she'd pined for James from afar, she was happy in her relationship with Emrys. "No, go ahead," said Yas with a smile, gesturing for him to sit beside her.

"I love the autumn. There's something so special about the way the sun hits the leaves as they turn before dropping for the winter," said Yas after a moment of comfortable silence. "I'm surprised not to see you on the Quidditch pitch. Did you not schedule practice for today?" asked Yas, a wry little smile on her lips.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

I know the direction
the lay of the land

September 2022
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

It was almost criminal how someone as sociable as James could be so terrible with names. But he didn’t forget faces. James grinned and plopped down on the grass next to her. ”It’s a lovely view from here, isn’t it?” He commented, wondering where that Slytherin she was always with was, but he didn’t ask for now. Yasmin—Yas. Yes, that was her name. Internally he felt better that his brain finally caught up to the moment. James was never one to feel particularly awkward, as his mother would comment—he just went with the flow of things while Albus did all the thinking for him and Lily combined. And even moments like this where the silence would be too loud for some, it was comfortable.

James sat crossed-legged, picking at the grass next to his feat absent-mindedly and only looking to Yas when she spoke. He nodded in agreement. ”I always loved Autumn when I was a boy. We would play Quidditch in the yard with the neighbors.” Those were fond memories. Mickey, Dustin, and himself showed the younger ones how to ride a broom and play the game. He recalled Lily picking up Mickey’s broomstick, which was far too tall for her, and flying a short while before falling in a large pile of leaves but giggling the entire time. James shrugged, there was no practice that day, and he had wished there was. It kept him busy and out of his mind and out of trouble. There had already been a minor altercation as he overheard some younger students slandering the name of a friend—obvious lies.

”No, no practice today. Although, if I were Gryffindor Captain, I’d have started practices as soon as I could.” Unfortunately, he’d not been named Quidditch Captain this year as he’d hoped, but whenever he felt sad about that fact, that image of that student on the train loved to float into his mind. Many were surprised that James was not Captain as his father had been, but the previous year had been rather difficult, and he’d been distracted. Still, he didn’t hold a grudge. ”Have you ever played before?” It had surprised him as a first-year to note that not all students knew how to play Quidditch or had even attempted. It had been so ingrained into his own life he’d lost perspective on that.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas gazed out at the trees, the leaves of which were just beginning to turn. "It really is. There's something magical about the effect of nature. I've been trying to charm some of my art to mimic it, but... well, I don't reckon muggle collectors will be able to take it on at that point," said Yas in her usual dreamy tone. They sat in an amenable silence, simply enjoying one another's company as the wind gently whistled through the branches. After some time, Yas broke the silence. "I don't reckon you need it to be autumn to play Quidditch. You seem like an all seasons sort of player," said Yas with a giggle.

Sharing that she was surprised to find James her, Yas was even more surprised to find that James wasn't captain of the team. Curious. She could have sworn that he was. Well, it just went to show how much attention she paid to the matches, even if she did follow the whole school down to the pitch every few months or so. "I feel like you'd have practices every day if you could," said Yas with a grin, slanting a glance over at James. He did look really fit in the glow of the autumnal sun. "And no. I don't think I will," said Yas, looking down at her hands. "You see, I would be devastated if I hurt a finger or something. I know the matron can put it right immediately, but even so..." She trailed off.

"Would you say that Quidditch is the most important thing in your life?" asked Yas after a beat, curious to James' answer while not realising she had a knack for asking questions that should have been left unspoken.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

I know the direction
the lay of the land

September 2022
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

James listened and looked ahead at the view, only glancing to the side when he spoke. ”What kind of things do you usually draw?” While he’d been known to doodle in the margins of his parchment during classes when his attention wavered, he was hardly an artist. It would have been nice to have such a skill and the ability to picture the world in one’s mind in such a way, but he settled for other talents. There was a bit of silence where the only noise was the breeze and whatever leaves it rustled, but it was peaceful. Peace was hard to come by these days, whether it was James shutting down rumors where he went or silencing his own thoughts. And the quieter he became, the more he realized that such peace wasn’t found with everybody.

He smirked as he glanced at Yas, lingering for a moment before chuckling and looking down. ”The professionals play in all kinds of weather.” And that had been his dream for a long time since he’d been little. James paused a moment as his smirk faded slightly. ”But I love to play… it's liberating to just fly and forget about things for a bit.” Not being able to wear that Captain’s badge had been a bit painful, and he still wished he could do it, but no amount of arguing with his Head of House or anyone would change that choice.

Yas responded that Quidditch meant risking injury, and he nodded his head slightly in agreement. That was correct, though the more serious injuries usually were sustained by the younger players. But then again, with Lily on the team there was a risk to literaly everybody—even him. ”It’s not that bad.” Well, maybe a matter of perspective. ”I mean—sometimes you get a bludger in your direction, and you can dodge that if you pay attention, but one time I collided with Lily like that—erm, but nothing the nurse hasn’t seen before.” James chuckled a bit sheepishly. Maybe it was more dangerous than he thought. Being raised around such a sport just accustomed him to it.

But he paused at her question. If Yas had asked James when he was twelve, he would have said yes without hesitation. James didn’t answer for a moment as he thought about it. He’d almost said yes—but then he didn’t. ”No.” James responded, staring out at the trees. ”No, it's not.” Quidditch was still an escape for him, but was it still a passion? James didn’t know how to answer that yet, though the past weeks and their events had merely put more perspective on his life and the things that happened outside of Hogwarts.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas shrugged. "All things. But particularly the sorts of things that ordinarily don't belong on paper," she replied cryptically, and said no more. She knew she was a talented artist, and that her art was something for her family to be proud of, but her parents had insisted she follow the curriculum to a tee when she was sent to Hogwarts. It didn't help that they had no baseline and expected the world. They'd been unimpressed with her meagre OWL marks, but Yas wasn't bothered. She had her paintings, her drawings, her talismans.

James smirked at her and Yas felt a flutter not unlike the one she felt when Emrys was around in her chest. She stifled the feeling and nodded sagely. "That's how I feel about painting. When I start to paint, I never see the individual bits. Not really. I can forget about everything and piece it all together until the final picture is done," said Yas. She combed her fingers through her thick curtain of dark hair, surveying James. She had admitted that she was afraid of hurting herself - more than ten years in the dark about magic didn't rub off so easily. Her instinct was that injuries could be career ending. What would she do if she couldn't paint?

There was a long silence between the pair, though not an uncomfortable one. At last, Yas asked if the sport was James' favourite thing in the world. He declined, which surprised her. What could be more important to the jocky, popular James Potter? "What is?" asked Yas, knowing it was a loaded question but too curious not to ask.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

I know the direction
the lay of the land

September 2022
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

James' eyebrow raised as he looked ahead—wondering what that meant exactly. ”Like what?” It might have been the many Bludgers to the head, or James’ brain was simply not able to conceptualize such abstract ideas. But what kind of things ‘didn’t belong on paper’? He was curious now, plus it was probably far better conversation than James’ rambling on and on about Quidditch. But everybody had something in their life that made them feel free and unbothered. For James, it was flying. But even more than that, it was the chance to leap before he could think about it.

The stress of decisions was heavy to carry, and wallowing at a crossroads was not his style. If he were in a match and trying to play out all the odds and all the different paths instead of just going with his gut feeling, he would probably collide with a wall before he thought to turn. Yas described her painting, the involved process of just going with it and then obtaining a result. Which it wasn’t the same, James figured it was an escape in a way.

He’d been looking for some escape since he boarded that train, anything to keep his mind off the horrible things he’d seen and the horrible things he heard walking through the halls. They weren’t even that far into term, and he’d already had to glare at some students near Ariadne in the courtyard. It saddened him to think that people could be so close-minded. James looked back at Yas after a comfortable pause, he hadn’t thought about the answer, but he did now. James still didn’t answer right away. He searched for the right words, but he failed to find them exactly.

”Well…” He began, shifting where he sat a bit. ”My family, of course. My friends.” The easy and obvious answer but true nonetheless. ”My dad is always helping people, protecting them.” As were many members of his family. Looking to create a better and fairer world for all. ”Its important to me that I’m able to do the same.” While Harry Potter was revered by many (if not almost all) in the Wizarding World, it was different for James. This was his father, his hero—the man who ended a Wizarding War. And yet who only backed down from three people in this world: his grandmother, his Aunt Hermione, and his mother, Ginny. That dead boy on the train had shocked him, and he felt useless despite not knowing that it would happen or even could happen.

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