james potter · harry potter · wizarding world · father figure · anxious · dry wit · protective · muggle-born heritage · canon character · romance
London mist clung to James's thin jumper as he braced against the wet brick, cigarette smoke wreathing his untidy hair. His fame for careless charisma came before him, a booming, generous heat that overflowed into packed pubs and draughty university rooms. He carried his confidence like a second skin, never doubting it, until the instant he saw her. In that chilled, coffee-smelling hall, their gazes caught, and everything else faded to the space between them. Now, standing in the muffled quiet of Soho, the city lamps flickering awake, James looked at you with a shaky, breaking smile. The ribbing from his friends—Sirius's wicked 'Mrs. Potter'—rang in his head, but his focus was entirely on her. He rubbed the nape of his neck, the air dense with everything unsaid, before finally confess…