Rainbow Illness [James]

[james sirius potter]

all the secrets

and nobody else to tell

February 18, 2028
aurelia edith flint

James recalled those initial few meetings with Fae. The shock of such a candid conversation with someone that important and the transformation over time from a powerful dignitary to merely a person with a lot on their plate. ”She loves to visit the shops when she’s here.” James found himself adding. ”A few of us are assigned as security when she visits London.” He explained for context. And he made a mental note to ask Fae about visiting herbologists if he saw her on his next stint on the Island. She was quite busy, so James didn’t often see her.

The admission of a seed obsession didn’t seem to convince Aurelia, not that he expected it to. The Potters were known for many reasons and associated with many things, but on neither list did James expect Herbology to appear. Like anything, fanatics did exist, he figured. But after he gave his real confession, there was a pause. Part of him was a little nervous, and the other part not so much. It did feel good to act more like himself and not the heartbroken mess from before. And the irony wasn’t lost on him on who he’d targeted with his charm.

If not a Lestrange, why not a Flint? James was certainly not thinking that far ahead. He hardly ever did, if he was being honest. Ignoring the seeds she slid in front of him, James didn’t see hesitation in her eyes but something closer to shock. But finally, she responded. The corner of his mouth lifted into a sly grin. ”I’ll see you at six, then.” Seeds in hand, James took a few steps backward, eyes still trained on Aurelia, before he turned to exit.

---

The moment James had stepped into the burrow, Molly Weasley knew that James was looking forward to someone. Fortunately for James, she had not managed to pry anything from him. Not even as that glare brought down almost all his defenses. But he left, his grandmother happy for the new addition to her garden. This time, James waited outside the shop. He didn’t want to hover, but he also didn’t want that plant to betray his thoughts, which alternated between a happy innocent and then the not-so-innocent. Casually, he leaned against the wall, enjoying the relative quietness of the alley as shops began to close.

template by vee

[aurelia edith flint]

▲

Aurelia could barely think about the High Druid anymore after everything that had just occurred. This was James Potter that had just asked her out after all. Even after he had left, she stood, statuesque, behind the counter, afraid that if she moved the spell would suddenly break. She definitely inhaled some mind-altering pollen from one of her plants, right? But the iridescent impatiens had clearly changed colors and the Valerian seeds were gone, so that whole interaction absolutely occurred. It was only then that she noticed that the petals had changed to a vibrant red, which matched the way her face currently felt. Merlin, had someone spiked her Spellbucks with Felix Felicis this morning?

---

There weren’t any more customers for the rest of the day, which worked out in Aurelia’s favor. She locked up early, which was a decision she’d come to fairly quickly in the internal panic that set in during the minutes following James’s departure from the shop. Unfortunately she was used to dates going nowhere, her own lack of enthusiasm not really helping, so the anxiety this brought on was unlike anything she’d experienced over the last several months. Blishwick be damned, clearly all she had to do was ask people for their phone numbers when selling seeds to their grandmothers. Obviously, she didn’t know how the Potters and Weasleys would react to hearing one of their eldest seeing a Flint, but it wasn’t like she was her parents. At least she tried not to be.

Shooting her sister a message that she’d be busy tonight with a date and after saying it was with James, she was met with silence almost until the time for it actually came around. Maybe not saying which Potter at first was her own fault, because there were obvious differences between James and Albus.

Regardless of what her sister thought, Aurelia was going out tonight. One of her personal stipulations after she ‘survived’ the island was to be more outgoing than she had been before. James hadn’t said what they would be doing or where they were going, as they had only agreed to the time. Getting ready was languishing – forgetting for a moment that it was the middle of February and going to be freezing out. Still, she managed to not wear her usual work clothes which was a victory for her, and found herself practically face to face with James as she popped out the front door of the shop.

“Hi. Again,” she said nervously as her fingers automatically put the key into the door and locked it. The rattling of the rest of the keychain was obnoxious, and she tried not to let it distract her from James waiting. ”Where’d you have in mind?”

james sirius potter ● 457 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[james sirius potter]

all the secrets

and nobody else to tell

February 18, 2028
aurelia edith flint

James felt good. He tried not to think about how long it had been since he’d felt like himself. Truth be told, it extended to a time, even before he was dumped at the end of the year. Hindsight never held all the answers despite its haunting nature. James was a few minutes early, unsure how busy Aurelia would be at the end of the day. And he would be lying if he didn’t admit it felt good to get the response he did. Speaking to people was always easy. Charming them was another, but he’d never had difficulty with it.

The door opened next to him, and all he saw were those wide blue eyes. James thought she’d been beautifully covered in that thin layer of dirt, but Merlin did she clean up nicely. ”Hi, again.” He responded casually with his equal response and a grin. And she asked him about their plan. While he was the adventurous type, they weren’t at such a level to do something drastic. Not that James planned to bore her. He couldn’t have been that rusty. ”I was thinking we could start with a drink. Have you been to The Violet Hound?” It was nearby, which was either a hit or miss. But the other pub James favored was his father’s, and he wasn’t about to subject Aurelia to any kind of awkward parental questioning. Not to mention, he had a bit of a history with one of the bartenders.

James began to walk. Standing out in the cold much longer wasn’t what he had in mind. ”Lily, my sister, swears she saw a seagull flying around in there last week.” James didn’t quite believe it, but with magic, so much was possible, he supposed. ”She does have a tendency to exaggerate, though.” There was probably an innocent explanation. It was small talk for the short walk to have their drink, perhaps some food if she was hungry and who knows what.

template by vee

[aurelia edith flint]

▲

What a silly question. Of course she'd been to The Violet Hound. She went there for lunch just yesterday. Unsurprisingly, escaping her shop and home felt nice. Sometimes she was too cooped up, only finding time to leave when errands needed to be done. This thing tonight was definitely a nice departure. Still, she gave James a funny smile at his question. "That sounds good to me," she answered. There were worse places to go. Blishwick sent her on a blind date to Madame Puddifoot's awhile back. She swore she could still smell the perfume from there on the clothes she'd worn that day, despite it being months later.

As they started to walk in the direction of the pub, James mentioned how his sister had apparently seen a seagull there. "That's odd..." Aurelia commented, trying to figure out why a bird like that would be inside a pub. "Like a gull. With wings." Aurelia broke it down and repeated back to him to make sure she had heard it correctly. She didn't remember much of the youngest Potter, aside from her being disruptive at all times. The three siblings really ran the gambit personality wise. Though if she had to guess, Albus was still the odd one out of the them.

"Don't suppose it was an animagus, do you? That would be such an annoying form to have...bloody useful if you're undercover though." But having tourists tossing limo chips and pieces of garbage their way sounded like a terrible time as a seagull animagus. There were so many better forms one would hopefully get before that. "Was that enough seeds for your grandmother? Because I can always order more if she needs me to," Aurelia added, changing gears only briefly. Which she probably didn't need to do because this wasn't work right now. Turning that switch off was difficult though.

james sirius potter ● 311 ● song by artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0